“Some of them dared to answer our hospitality with demands and contempt as if we’re pets supposed to obey to a master. We kicked those people out in the wilds, which made things worse for those who remained.
“Even after all this time, only a few of them have realized that the world as they know it is over. They are scared of us and have a hard time understanding our way of doing things.
“At first, I let them grieve, then, I forced them to come out of their shell and earn their living. If you want to work with humans, you can teach them your language, work in the nursery, as police officers or healers. It’s up to you.” Aren said.
“What about working as Forgemaster? If you give me the right materials, I could craft a few tools that would make everyone’s life easier.” Lith described to Aren home appliances like stoves, central heating, self-cleaning toilets, and tap water he could provide.
“Interesting ideas.” Aren nodded.
“For an Emperor Beast all those things require but a snap of their fingers, but to magical beasts or humans they could be really useful. You would become a Magus here, if humans could still bestow such title and if I allowed you to make such tools.”
“What do you mean? You just said that they could work.” Lith asked.
“Yes, but they would work against everything we’re trying to do here.” Aren shook his head.
“This isn’t the Garlen continent and those people are not at peace. They belong to different countries that warred against each other for centuries. Those humans have different beliefs and speak different languages.
“The people we host here are survivors who are trying to overcome the shock of losing everything they had while resisting the urge to pin the blame for the plague on their neighbor and jump to their throats.
“I didn’t give them water because that way they have to rely on us or on those with enough magical power to conjure it. It leads them to open up and seek help instead of drowning in self-pity.
“I didn’t give them heating because they must learn to appreciate what they have now instead of obsessing with what they lost. Also, every time they ask one of us to sleep in their home to provide them heat with magic or simply by snuggling on our fur, their fear of the stranger fades a bit.
“Trust is something that can only be built slowly and sharing hardships is the best way to do it. Your inventions would be great for a community, but right now we only have a crucible of different individuals that will drift apart the moment they won’t need each other anymore.”
Lith pondered Aren’s words, finding them true.
“Thanks to this pin, I can speak most of Jiera’s languages. Do you need an interpreter?” He asked.
“What a wonderful invention.” For a split second, the Jǫrmungrandr’s eyes shone with envy while looking at Leegaain’s gift. “Sometimes I really think that we draw the short end of the stick with our Guardians.”
“As for the interpreter, there’s no need for it, but we could use someone capable of teaching the Great Mother’s universal language to the different communities.”
Aren called a Tyr (bull-type magical beast) who gave them a tour of Reghia on the way to the human district.
The Tyr spoke a different idiom from Aren, allowing Lith’s group to notice that each time they needed to access to a new language, the sudden flood of information caused them a brief headache.
The city was quiet, with no carriages moving along the roads nor the bustling activity of the merchants. Money had no meaning to beasts. In their society, only food and resources mattered.
“Don’t you have things like bakeries or restaurants here?” Phloria asked.
She could see plenty of arrays, mana crystals, and short-distance city Gates spread throughout Reghia. Despite the presence of several magical marvels, she had yet to see a single shop.
“Those who like bread are free to make it and to eat you must first capture your prey. Why would someone bother to cook and serve you instead of eating themselves the fruits of their labor?” Meno the Tyr replied.
Tista couldn’t argue with his logic, but at the same time, she found the city of Reghia to be glum and cold. At least until they moved out of the fortified zone and entered the workshops’ district.
Huge magical labs of all disciplines replaced the small buildings assigned to those on guard duty. From their opened doors, Tista and the others could see groups of people too beautiful to be humans who discussed different magical topics and exchanged their workings with each other.
Arrays, alchemical tools, artifacts, and even spells were shared in broad daylight, making the group stop more than once to listen to those conversations. Beasts had no problem divulging spells up to tier four except for those belonging to Gravity and Spirit Magic.
Dryads and other plant folks had turned their homes into open gardens that, along with their ability to freely move through the ground, provided Reghia with fresh air, flowers, and fruits free for the taking.
Children of all races ran and played in the middle of the road, stopping only from time to time to drink from the fountains placed at every city block. Each one had three taps, providing a different potion instead of water.
A pink one for healing those who got hurt, a purple one for providing body enhancing to allow everyone to play on equal footing, and a white one of nutrients that tasted like honeyed milk for those who got hungry.
‘We should ask for the recipe.’ Lith thought after tasting the nutrients potion. ‘No offense, Solus, but yours tastes like raw eggs blended with minced meat.’
‘Much taken. Sorry if I’m no cook and if when I devised it, I was more worried about keeping you alive rather than to offend your sophisticated palate.’ Solus replied while pouting.
“If you need silver, the mines are located in the south district while if you need mana crystals, you have to go to in the deep end of the north district.” Meno showed them how to operate the Warp Gates.
Unlike those that Lith used in Belius, there was no security system. Even reaching the crystal mines required but a simple touch on the holographic display. The only problem was navigating successfully the language menu.
“Do you really give both crystals and silver for free?” Lith tried to sound polite, but the disbelief in his voice made it clear that he considered such a policy stupid beyond belief.
“Of course not. You go there, explain why you need them and how much you’re going to take. Then, only if your request is approved do you get to take exactly the amount requested under supervision.” Meno said.
“Isn’t it dangerous to build a city so close to a crystal mine?” After her experience in Feymar that had led to her Awakening, Phloria didn’t feel comfortable being so close to such a powerful mana geyser.
“I mean, raw crystals and spells don’t get along well. A single undercover enemy could blow them up. On top of that-” A sudden pressure on her shoulder cut Phloria short.
