Din was once told of a saying. It went along the the lines of a man’s death was marked at the moment that the last man said his name.

This is a debated saying. Some want it to mean that without thought of a person, the person ceases to exist. Other posit that they never exist to begin with.

Both are nonsensical. In the great Laq Docte doctrine there is an occult phrase. It says, and we must paraphrase here. That if a man’s name is forgotten he is reborn.

This is why all older Laq Docte forgo their names when retiring.

This phrase can be originated from the patriarch himself. As is expected. He experienced trauma that caused him to forget his name. And in passing he said that was when he felt free.

His words were then twisted and turned. Discussed and debated. It got to a point where even the patriarch himself did not know where this mysterious saying came from.

Everytime Din heard others speak his name he would feel slighted. It was an odd thing to feel. He bore his name proudly. But that didn’t mean he felt others had the right to speak it.

He prefered being referred to as camp leader. Leader, commander or boss. Even Jao didn’t call out his name.

He didn’t feel these people were worthy. Once Jao became pregnant he’d most likely shift his view on the mother of his child. Until then she was just a valued asset.

It was hard on Din. He always kept up appearances. This was what he was taught to do. To do otherwise was to shame the family. Worse, he himself believed it to be blasphemy.

Seeing as he was only an educated zealot adhering to his upbringing. Showing slave like subservience to the family.

He was only educated. He wasn’t scheming or inventive. Not any more than others, at least. So it took him months for him to cook up an idea.

An idea to rename himself. It was a simple decree. Like a king would convey a new law. He had A few people create a ranking system.

There was a need for it. Not dire. But issues were cropping up and stricter discipline was a solution.

These were made up military rankings. He would be Leader and First was called Commander.

The difference was little. Some might even argue that First had more power than Din. And in many ways he did. But he still took commands from Din. Making Din the unseen tip of the pyramid.

This matter didn’t change much. People were now aware that some people had to be addressed in a certain way. But for the most part things stayed the same.

It looked like people were happy. But this wasn’t the case. When people sat around laughing. Joking about home or this twilight jungle.

They would sometimes laugh with their all their hearts before descending into uncontrollable sobbing.

This was a common occurrence. Very few people felt like they belonged here. Perhaps only a person like First would willingly come here.

Not even Din wanted to be here. He’d return the second he could.

The problem was how to return home? Many if not everyone had thought about this. None had a way. And it was made clear to them early on that this wasn’t their planet.

Like travelling to a foreign country, it was obvious something different about this place. For most it was the other people. Everyone was a humanoid and only looked a bit off.

Stolen novel; please report.

In some cases they were indistinguishable from each other. There were cases where some stood out. Longer ears, strange hair color, longer fingers and other such differences.

But even those could be attributes to a variance within the same species. It also helped soothe everyone that they were so beautiful.

It might actually be the largest factor. For many, it was hard to harbor ill feelings to someone they considered good looking. This may seem vain but it was truth.

Of course the opposite could appear as well. But this was rare, people secure in their appearance didn’t really care about the looks of others.

Din could be considered striking. But he was still just about average in his camp. There were some terrifyingly handsome people within the Din’s domain.

As bizarre as it would seem, all of them were male. Not one woman was considered to be breathtaking.

They were all beautiful in their own right but not when compared to their male counter parts.

This was a another thing no one mentioned or even took note off.

There is an explanation for this phenomena that also answers why they are here in the first place. Or at least a skin deep reason as to why. How can still be considered an unknown.

It shouldn’t be too difficult to divine that reason. Din’s ancestor gained something special from this world.

It wasn’t only Din’s ancestor, everyone here is a descendant of a person that managed to survive and leave this place.

Their gains different, but all passed their genetic improvements to their offspring. A stronger genetic inheritance not only gave them good looks but more potential.

This potential isn’t much. It is at best an easier time adjusting to changes happening to their bodies and minds.

All members of Din’s camp have changed in their temperaments. Even Din. His zealotry has managed to stabilize substantially.

If he wasn’t his own person before, he had solidified this foundation. Leaving him a puppet of the Laq Docte. To his great fortune, no Laq Docte is here to control him.

Without control he may yet see a day where he can find a purpose other than the betterment of his family. As far fetched as it might sound.

But Din can be considered below average when changes to the psyche is considered. Even just turning to Jao, you’ll see a person as different as day is from night.

‘What can they possibly be buying?’

Din is currently watching his resource points grow. The amount isn’t much but it is constant.

‘I don’t understand.’

After thinking about it, Din felt curious. This was another mystery. So the ordered some people to survey.

The results were confusing. These people were buying everything. If it was for sale. Someone was buying it occasionally.

‘This can’t be right.’

Din was reading from a type of ledger. It wasn’t his, but something his subordinate handed to him. They had used to it to write down the information.

After a few moments he realized something. This ledger was expensive. Once this came to mind he began flipping through the store options.

His frown deepened and he became quieter. His breathing was almost still. He really couldn’t understand.

He consulted with Jao. She didn’t have anything to say. She felt people were wasting their resource points. But even she was frivolously spending points, if you asked Din, that is.

Yet another mystery. He wasn’t happy about it, but what could he do?

Din came out of another deep thought and saw one of his subordinates waiting for him.

‘What does he want?’

He took measure of him. Then looked at the man beside him.

‘Did I ask them to wait?’

“You can go now.”

One of them had a strange look on his face while the other looked like he was holding in a laugh.

‘Why aren’t they leaving?’

“Sir. The book.”

It was now that Din realized he was still holding onto the ledger they handed to him. It didn’t take him long to respond.

“This is my book now. You can go.”

The man was clearly unhappy about it. This Ledger was expensive. It was a pedia of sorts. It could hold insurmountable information in it.

It was for this reason that Din wanted to keep it. Out of everyone in this camp. Din had bought and researched the most. His stockpile of miscellaneous data was staggering.

Even further, it added additional options to his map. He could plan out buildings. Add tags which could be turned on and off.

There was no way he would return the ledger. As for purchasing one for himself? He thought it was too extravagant. And he would make much better use of it anyway.

It wasn’t surprising turn of events. This was always how Din acted. He was superior. He was superior because he was a Laq Docte.

To Din. This wasn’t him stealing from the poor man. No, to Din, it was a favor. There was no other way around it.

This reasoning was a part of why there was a rumor around the camp that the leader was a kleptomaniac.

It was odd. There was little to dislike about Din. As a leader at least. But he had this absurd streak of just grabbing things from people and not returning them.

Of course this was because Din knew these items were in better hands. He often lamented how inadequate the people were. This also mixed into his praise of the Laq Docte family.

To Din’s infinite fortune, no one knew his mind. If they did, a revolution might be near. Not even Jao had an inkling that Din’s superiority complex was so severe.

This had to do with his demeanor. He was taught to please. Not as in server but as in instill good will. To allow others to feel respect and adoration towards him.

It was a contradiction to his families low-key status. But this education wasn’t for Earth. It never had been about earth.

The whole reason why they were low-key back on Earth was because in the grand scheme of things, Earth didn’t matter.

Din of course didn’t question this for one second. He acted as he was supposed to. It was only on rare occasion that his emotions caused an uncharacteristic response.