The nine remaining tribes then went out amongst the country of Solom and into other lands, spreading their culture and meeting other peoples. But it was the lost tribe that grew angry since their founder was not gifted with power. His anger turned to into their hate, and every child into that tribe perpetuates it. – The Creation Chapter 48 verses 1-3

“I invited the leaders of the tribes in the Gar’shan Quarter to meet you here. This is the first time you will meet members of your own tribe, and they were thrilled to come here. I also wanted you to tell them of your time in Taurus and of your predicament. It is good to share these stories, though it might be difficult. We must tell and remember the hardships of our kin in Taurus. It is too often we get lost in our own thoughts and situations. Yes, we are oppressed by the Yeshuans, but here we have a degree of freedom and rights by law. Our Tauron brothers and sisters do not have any of these.” Teacher Grimshaw appeared to be speaking more to the leaders of the tribes than to us.

“I know this might be hard Shalin, but you must tell your story to us, if you can. Telling us will help gather money, recruit fighters, and garner more sympathy for the Tauron Gar’shan.”

Shalin looked at Hector, who nodded, and then at Teacher Grimshaw. He nodded as well, and then she looked at me. I shrugged and smiled. “This is up to you, Shalin.” I said this softly, only so she could hear, since I was next to her. She seemed to gather her courage and then told her story.

She went into detail about her own upbringing under Master Gyles. She talked about how her family was split up, and how Hector and Cas adopted her. She then described the harsh treatment and hard work she was forced to do under Gyles command. There were shakes of heads and mutters of anger amongst the table. I grimaced; they hadn’t heard anything yet.

As I was listening to her story, I looked around the table. I saw, through the braids of hair amongst the men, which tribe they belonged to. 5 of the tribes were represented by the men, and 4 by women, though I could not tell their tribes due to lack of braids.

The Mattean tribe was represented by the tallest of the tribesmen. This was typical, as Matt was the eldest of Gareth and Shana. They were usually leaders in war and in peace.

The tribe of Dan was represented by one of the shortest tribe members, but he was very muscular and fit. He also had the lightest of blonde hair. Dan was the second son of Gareth and Shan. He was the protector of the home and temple. The Danians were shamed at the loss of the temple and instead worked the hardest to get it back. They were the most militant of tribes.

The tribe of Robert was the third son, and the fifth child. The leader of the tribe was thin and bookish, and he was taking notes. Robert wrote many of the scriptures, The Histories, and therefore his tribe was full of scholars and historians.

The tribe of Joshua was the fourth son and the eighth child. Their tribesman was plump and merry looking. Joshua was the lover of earthly delights in The Creation stories, and the tribe was well known for its craftmanship.

The last tribe represented by the male leaders was Alexian, and the man was dressed in all black and the thickest of braids. Alex was the judge of the children of Gareth and Shana, and their duty was to keep the law. He was the 5th son and the ninth child.

The tenth child, Trevor, was never represented by our people- they had left and became the Yeshuans.

The four women leaders were undoubtedly the daughter tribes of Gareth and Shan. I wondered which one was Treenan, my tribe. I could tell some of them, though.

The Victorian tribal leader was the one holding The Scriptures. Victoria was the most faithful one both to Gar’shan, her parents, and to God. Victoria was the 6th child, and the third daughter. The tribe used to be the temple priests before the temple was destroyed. They were now largely the most faithful and boasted the most Teachers from the tribes.

Shalin finally got to Unther and his atrocities. When they heard of the desecration of the bodies, some screamed in horror and others moaned in sorrow. There were a few shouts of anger, too. One of them broke into Shalin’s story.

“What tribe are you, child?” said the Mattean leader asked.

“I am Danian, Hector is Alexian” Shalin announced proudly.

The Danean leader stood up in fury. “This abuse cannot stand! We must punish the Taurons for what they do.”

The Alexian leader responded calmly, “the judgment is to come, for now we are chronicling the sins,”

“Perhaps the time to act is coming soon,” said a woman all in white. I guessed she was the Alician leader. Alicia was the seventh child and youngest daughter of Garreth and Shana. Alicia was a renowned healer, and her tribe took after her in this way. But what the healer could mend, they could also break. Alicians were also amongst the best poison makers and assassins in the Gar’shan.

“Please, let Shalin continue with her story, it is hard enough on her as is,” said one of the females. She had the darkest of skin for a Gar’shan and I guessed she was Elaynian. The Elaynian tribe was the tribe of beauty and culture. Elayne was the second daughter and fourth child.

Shalin continued and started to share Hector’s story. Faces were growing pale and disheartened. Some were openly weeping. The Danian even tore part of his clothes. As her story ended, with the funeral at the Fluvius River, the room was quiet. Tears were pouring shamelessly from my eyes, remembering Cas and my inability to protect him because of my stupidity. But Shalin made me out to be the hero, who single handedly saved Hector and Shalin from certain death. I didn’t deserve the praise.

Teacher Hawthorne was especially grim. He looked multiple times at Grimshaw and they seemed to be in agreement about something. I was not sure what they agreed upon, but I maybe I would find out later. Perhaps it was a teacher thing.

Then the Danian asked me what my tribe was. I was happy to be asked because I wanted to meet a fellow tribesman. I hadn’t met another Treenan other than my brothers, as my father was Mattean. Tribes were passed matrilineally and the slaves really had lost the culture of the triibes, though the vast majority knew the tribe the were born into. We were mixed and mashed up without a care of family or tribe. We only knew what the scriptures told of our tribes.

A woman said “I knew it!”. She was tall and thin, but graceful and proud looking. I knew she was the Treenan leader. “All of our tribe are heroes.” Treena was the third child of Gareth and Shan, and the oldest female. She had sought glory and honor through daring combat and heroism.

“Come here, Teacher. My name is Ashlay Stephenson. My title is Champion. You may address me as Champion if you feel the need to be formal, ma’am if you are being polite, or Ashlay if you we are having an informal discussion. I, of course, will call you Teacher Prion… though your last name is Tauron, it sounds like. Let me tell you of your tribe!” I went over to her and she sat. “What do you know about us?”

“Not much, ma’am. Just that Treena was a hero in the Creation scriptures, that she killed all the Goblins and that she was proud.”

“Proud to say the least… some might say she suffered from hubris, but I think she deserved her own opinion of herself. But we are a proud tribe. Countless heroes of the Gar’shan have been from our tribe. We value honor, glory, and individual strength. Children are taught at a young age to stand up for themselves and for the weak around them. If there is a scuffle between a Yeshuan and a Gar’shan, you can bet that the Gar’shan is likely a Treenan. The leader of the city’s Treenan population is decided by the strongest of women in the tribe. Deciding that can be tricky, whether it’s the strongest willed, the strongest fighter, or the strongest advocate for the tribe. That leader is named ‘Champion’ and holds her position for at least 2 years before selection is made again. We have 5 main braid designs for men, though there are 22 commonly accepted variants, and I hear the Gar’shan in Taurus have made some changes to the braid, which I would love to see.”

I liked Champion Stephenson. She talked a mile a minute, reminding me a little of Cas. I looked at her more closely. She wore her hair in a small pixie-like haircut. Her light blond hair framing her face. In fact, most of the women here grew their hair out a little- not too long, of course, for long hair would be way to manly- but long enough to have a style. She wore a sky-blue shirt and a pair of cotton pants that had been died a dark shade of red. She noticed me looking at her garish colors.

“These are the colors of our tribe- light blue and maroon. We live on the southeast side of the Gar’shan Quarter, as far away as we can be from the Yeshuan population, ‘to keep the peace’ Teacher Hawthorne says.

“We have a yearly athletic competition in the summer, a ballad competition in the winter, and every 10 years, the Champions of the tribe all meet to have a Conclave. The next one will be coming next year. You should come if the school will let you. It will be a great introduction to your tribe.”

“I would like that, ma’am.”

“Now tell me, what is your class? It is so rare that we get a Teacher in our tribe- as it is for every tribe I suppose, except for maybe the Victorians. I expect great things of you!”

I wondered if it was appropriate to ask a Teacher what his powers or classes were. I decided it was alright to tell her, though.

“I am a nomenclaturist.”

“Ahh, so you are a thinker, I see. Still, though, nomenclaturists can be deadly. You might be the first nomenclaturist of our tribe. Do you know your specialty?”

“Umm, no. Not yet.” I said, lying. I wasn’t sure if I wanted it to be public knowledge- especially since it was so rare that it hadn’t been seen for 700 years. I liked her, but I didn’t want that information out yet.

“Well, whatever it turns out to be, I am sure that you will work hard to help our people out in whatever situation you find yourself in!”

“Thank you, ma’am. It is my hope that I do so as well.” I said politely.

Hector came to me, quiet and impassive. He had been listening to the Alexian leader tell about his tribe, and the conversation seemed over. Apparently, Hector decided my conversation was over too- and I couldn’t help but agree.

“It has been good to meet you, Champion. Hector here is tired and wants to go to bed. We have had a long day and week travelling.”

“Of course, Teacher Palion. Maybe we can meet again later this week. I am just so excited to see a Teacher of our tribe again, and I am excited for you to learn about your heritage and people.” Ashlay waved goodbye and headed out. The party was finishing up, and I was legitimately tired.

Shalin had come over. She looked happy, maybe for the first time since I have met her. “I learned so much about my tribe. I mean, we have people here who care about us, our being Gar’shan is not a curse here!” She looked bubbly and happy, and she wanted to talk about it.

“My tribe is all about protection of the teachers and the temples that the teachers run. Maybe I can be your protector!” Shalin said. “And thye hate the Taurons like I do. I was told that wherever we end up, the Danians will accept me and teach me how to never be hurt by the Taurons again!” Hector harrumphed at this, but he seemed happy that she was happy.

Teachers Grimshaw and Hawthorne came up then. “We still need to talk tonight about what you want to do, if you will stay here or travel on to Solom with us.”

The two newly freed Gar’shan nodded their heads and we went into a private room to talk. Hawthorne started.

“I want to formally offer you a place here. We are a close community. We might be poor, but we share the blessing we do have, and you will find a home and a tribe to fit in with. With what you two have been through, my guess is that is especially important to you. You are also safe here- travel to Solom is dangerous, with monsters and less kind war parties that you will come across. You will find this place to be safe, comfortable, and respectable.”

Grimshaw nodded. “Solom does have a larger population of Gar’shan, by leaps and bounds. They are not as close knit, however, and you might not be as warmly welcomed there as you would be here. I know both of you want to get strong and serve the teachers or join the freedom fighters that raid the Tauron Land. You will receive better training there. There is even a program for younger Gar’shan hosted by the Danians and affiliated with the school where you can learn how to protect teachers and their temples. If you work hard, you might get a coveted spot, Shalin. As for you Hector, you can join the city patrol, the army, or the freedom fighters that are based out of Solom. They will gladly continue teaching you to hone your weapon skills.”

“We have to choose tonight?” Shalin asked.

“No, you have until midweek prayers to decide. We will leave after that. We would like to know before then, if possible, to figure out the route we are going to use and the supplies that we need to take.”

Hector stood up and went over to Shalin. “You stay here. I will go to Solom. It is safer here. You will have a family.” He said this with his gravelly bass voice. He spoke clearly, however, and it sounded like a command.

Shalin looked angry. “You can’t tell me what to do, you are not Cas. I will decide what is best for me, I am free and almost an adult, you know.” She said this harshly, but then her face softened. “I might stay here, but I need to be the one to decide. I might want to go to this program and learn to protect teachers- it is what my tribe is all about. I want to get back at the Taurons. That might be my way to do it.”

Hector looked at her sullenly for a few moments, then sighed and nodded. They had a choice to make and had only a few days to make it.