In the mornings following, Alex attended to several people who needed to consult with him. There were several Dwarves worried about their futures, as well as many Gnolls under Alex's leadership who felt somewhat lost. It was understandable to Alex, as the Gnolls had depended on the matriarchs since time immemorial. The shift in paradigm was clear; it would make them feel slightly lost.
One day, a strange event interrupted Alex's peace in the morning.
"Sir, there's a problem with the Fheres," reported a Gnoll.
Alex recognized this Gnoll as one of those dedicated to caring for them, so he immediately became concerned.
"What's happening? Are they in danger?" Alex asked.
"I don't know, sir. It's possible. Apparently, a large group of Fheres has been discovered being harassed by Moonstalkers," said the boy, who quickly guided him to where the incidents were occurring.
Alex had to mount one of the Fheres to head to the place where the problems were reported, and when he arrived, what he saw left him stunned.
Among the group of domesticated Fheres, there was one that was larger and stronger than the rest, which had started acting as the pack leader. It was in a nearby clearing surrounded by a large number of Fheres of all sizes. Near them was a group of small Moonstalkers, among which Alex recognized an old friend.
"Lunaria!" Alex shouted.
Upon hearing someone refer to her, the small feline looked at the source and immediately, upon recognizing the young human she had been seeking, she dashed towards him.
Alex hugged the small feline as she leaped into his arms and immediately began petting her using his newly refined technique. He had learned to infuse his forest energy into his caresses, which helped animals feel relaxed and even heal certain wounds.
"We were just playing with your horses," Lunaria replied.
"Come on, little one, you don't need to be so offensive. They are Fheres, and they have helped me a lot. We should treat them with more respect," Alex said as he stroked her.
"All right, as long as they do their job, we won't bother them. But if they don't, they'll be food," said the small feline, meowing louder so that the distant Fheres could hear her threat. It evidently worked, as the younger Fheres immediately sought shelter behind the alpha male.
"Don't worry, they won't eat anyone," Alex reassured them to calm their nerves.
Throughout the exchange, the few Gnolls who had come with Alex could only look at him with strange expressions. They didn't know what Alex was doing or how he understood the animals, but it was evident that it worked, so they couldn't say anything.
Dismounting from the Fheres that had brought him and still holding Lunaria in his arms, Alex advanced towards the large group.
"What happened here, and where did these little ones come from?" Alex asked.
Alex's large Fheres began to neigh, allowing him to vaguely understand where they had come from. It seemed he had found a group that had lost their leader, and upon seeing him, they began to follow, so he decided to bring them with him, where he could protect the young ones from the forest predators, glaring at Lunaria when he said the last part.
"I understand, and you don't need to worry. They'll be safe here and can grow big and strong like you," Alex said.
"And they can finally be domesticated like the pack animals they are," added Lunaria.
Alex stared at the mischievous feline and then said, "Friends, Lunaria. They are not my pack animals; they are friends. They help me, and I help them."
"As you say," said the feline, losing interest in the matter and moving away from Alex to watch over the rest of the cubs traveling with her.
He had to spend time calming the different Fheres, who quickly accepted him, but it was more difficult for them to trust the Gnolls he had brought to guide them back to a stable in the village where they could be better cared for.
In the midst of this effort to bring the Fheres back, realization finally struck Alex.
"How can I talk to Lunaria?" he said to himself in a low voice.
Indeed, he had had a direct conversation with the small feline. Thinking about the exchange felt extremely strange to him since when the small one spoke to him, he could perfectly understand what she was saying, almost as if she were speaking in his native language. And likewise, when he spoke to her, he could feel how the little one understood everything he communicated. There was no communication barrier at all.
The strange thing was that this new power seemed to extend to the other Moonstalkers, too, as he could also understand what they were saying to each other. However, when he tried to communicate with the Fheres, the result was much more obtuse. It was harder, and he could only understand in a general sense what they were trying to communicate, only being able to express general ideas of what was happening.
"What's going on?" Alex wondered to himself.
The more he thought about this strange phenomenon, the more perplexed he became. Now that he recalled his previous meetings, Alex could remember clearly understanding what the Dwarves were talking about among themselves. He could even understand Torel more clearly, despite his Elvish language lessons not having progressed much.
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He had no explanation as to why he could now communicate so freely with other races he previously couldn't. With regard to his knowledge of the Gnoll language, this could be attributed to the Gnoll ritual and Sera's intervention, which had granted him the ability to communicate with them. However, he couldn't find any reason or rationalization for his new ability.
Finally, Alex could find only one answer: apparently, this new ability had emerged after his expedition to the temple ruins, so it was very possible that it had something to do with this and the discovery of the Codex. Later, he would have to ask Athena when she returned if there was any record of those who received something from it obtaining this strange ability.
"What are you doing here?" Finally, Alex decided to set aside that matter and focus on the felines that ran from one place to another playfully, chasing each other. Although it might seem playful to Alex, to the others, they would see a fierce competition between Moonstalkers trying to kill each other.
"What, now that you have your new Fhere friends/pets, you don't want me here anymore?" Lunaria asked in a salty way.
"You're always welcome, but if I remember correctly, your pack isn't located nearby. Won't they be in danger if they wander so far?" Alex asked.
Lunaria casually licked her paws as she replied, "The clan has managed to expand quite a bit thanks to our contribution in the last incident. However, there aren't enough Moonstalkers to cover all the lands, so I'm training the younger ones," she said proudly.
Alex raised an eyebrow and looked at the other felines. When he stared at one, he somehow felt the pressure he felt when one of the elders of the clan stared at him, so he felt pressured to respond.
"The chief is trying to strengthen us so we can prove to the elders that we're not useless," the feline said.
"To whom are you calling useless?" Lunaria immediately poised herself to pounce on the informer.
"Calm down, no one has called you useless," Alex was quick to try to defuse the situation with the little beast. "What do you plan to do to strengthen your followers?" he tried to change the subject of conversation so that the physical integrity of the informer would not be in danger.
"Basically, you'll give us resources," Lunaria replied nonchalantly about any mundane topic.
Alex stood stunned in place; he barely had enough resources to maintain his own operations and train his own units.
"I don't have spare resources at the moment," Alex replied.
Immediately, the human could see how Lunaria's world fell apart. It now seemed clear that the little one had fled or defied her elders by saying that she would obtain her own resources, thinking that Alex would be able to provide them. However, resources for cultivation had never been so common to begin with, let alone those that were specific to each race.
"But we'll see how we can help you," Alex added.
The feline's face expressed a plethora of emotions, ranging from sorrow and resignation to relief when she heard the last part.
Lunaria's presence made Alex happy, and he had no problem helping them when he could, especially Lunaria, who was his first friend in Glamoria.
"Is there anything else you need to strengthen yourselves?" Alex asked the little feline.
"Hunting, of course. A Moonstalker only becomes stronger by connecting with its natural instincts and sharpening its skills. It will be necessary for them to go hunting much more and learn to use their abilities better. That's why I came with you; our elders aren't willing to go to war with the other tribes at the moment. They say nonsense about reclaiming the forest. Of the few who are at war, you're the only one who smells right," the feline replied while teasing Alex with her tail.
"Well, that solves everything. No one will object to providing resources if they can help our war efforts. Of course, I hope you take care of your own and don't involve them in fights they can't win," Alex said as he played with her tail.
"You underestimate the Moonstalkers," replied the feline, getting into position to pounce on Alex.
"I just don't want to lose any," Alex replied, getting ready to catch the feline's leap, which he was sure would go for his face.
They both confronted each other visually.
Finally, the feline jumped... to his left.
Alex turned his body in the same direction, but he was fooled by the feint.
With a quick step at the same moment she landed, she jumped back towards Alex's face.
Although he tried to catch her, his position was now too awkward, and he had missed the best opportunity, so she slipped through his fingers.
The end result:
Alex lay sprawled on the floor.
Lunaria stood proudly on his face.
Lunaria 1, Alex 0.
Alex stroked the feline's back for a moment and then returned to the camp, bringing back both the Moonstalkers and the remaining Fheres. Previously, they had very little help for carrying and were always short, having to make the few Fheres overwork. Additionally, they had sent one with the Dwarves of the trading company, which exacerbated the shortage. However, now they could train more and use them more moderately.
With Alex's help, the Gnolls had developed special breeding methods to meet the needs of the Fheres. Of course, it wasn't that Alex was an expert in wild animals, but rather that his heightened perception and unity with the forest allowed him to understand in a general sense what the Fheres thought and felt, so the Gnolls had been trying out a variety of things to address the needs without groping in the dark. They knew what needs they had to address, which made everything easier.
Back at camp, Alex waited a few days before convening his General Council. There were many things each individual had to do, and he also needed to give time for the individuals summoned to arrive from the different settlements.
However, the one who needed the most time was Alex himself. There was one thing that weighed on his mind: who he was, who he was to them.
They had only just begun to wage their war, yet there were already under Alex's leadership various species with very different forms of government and cultures.
The Gnolls were a matriarchal and tribal society. Their only governing body with a pseudo-legislative power was the grand council of matriarchs, which rarely met but had a significant influence on the lives of the matriarchs, which was always enforced in some way.
On the other hand, there were the Resh, who, although also tribal, had never had a community legislative body in their history. Instead, they gathered in small councils of elders that applied a rule to each specific case, which generally did not become long-term.
There were also the recently integrated Dwarves, who since the fall of their last great empire had begun to scatter to the four winds in search of who knows what. From what Alex knew and understood of their culture and tradition, they were generally republican, and the king or emperor was more of a figure of national unity, usually from some ancient dynasty. The Dwarves used to build great metropolises, and in their parliament, each city had a representative.
If Alex wanted to govern these different races, he should take these differences into account because trying very radical changes would encounter much resistance, and he was sure that it would only invite resentment that would accumulate in the long run.
To start, he should clearly establish things. Although maintaining the current situation would not cause problems, the longer he delayed his proclamation, the worse things would be.