“Therian tribes tend to be competitive and territorial, and honestly, were it not for the prodigious size of the Western Isles as a whole, most of them might well have been extinct by now. As it was, many tribes migrated away because they failed to compete with a neighboring tribe, or just passed on into obscurity,” - Alina Knizhnyycherv, Researcher of Therian Cultures at the Verozgrad University, circa 672 FP.

“You sure you’re not from here?” Kyara asked jokingly as they disembarked on the next of the seven largest isles on their itinerary. Unlike Market Isle, the second isle was far less developed, and displayed more of the tribal scenery the group had expected to see, if interspersed with some modern conveniences here and there.

Inhabitants of the isles who chose to maintain a tribal lifestyle did so because they favored that kind of life to the “civilized” city life most of the world preferred, but they were not above adopting some modern conveniences that made life better for them as a whole, much like the orcish tribes of the northern plains.

In fact, some of the locals of the Largefang Isle - so named due to the abundance of predatory therian breeds amongst the inhabitants - could be seen working on handicrafts which they then traded to the Long-ears of Market Isle periodically in exchange for modern conveniences for their own usage. Storage artifacts were as common as in the mainlands, so were enchanted tools for purifying water and the likes.

Willa had taken to the Isle like a fish to the water, instantly getting chummy with the local youngsters, playfully brawling and chatting with them within an hour of their landing on the isle. They also noticed that there were some wolf-therians like her in the gaggle of youngsters she got along with, though none of those grew to her prodigious size.

“I dunno, maybe?” replied the girl with a shrug. She herself was mostly of wolf-therian ancestry, with a dash of orcish blood mixed in from her great-grandfather. “I’m from Boroes as you know, and we’re supposedly originally from the south. No idea if the south means Ur-Teros or here, y’know? So it might well be that my ancestors are actually from this place. Never really asked.”

“Right, you mentioned growing up in a poor village if I remember right?” asked the therian matron back.

“Pretty much in the boonies, yea. It’s not that different from here just from the looks, but the folks here clearly eat way better than we did back home!” replied the girl with a loud unwomanly chortle. “We’re doing way better these days though, so no worries. Mom and pops told me in their letter that everything is improving and developing well back there these past two years.”

“Oh? That’s nice to hear,” replied the therian matron with a motherly smile at the younger girl. “What changed?”

“What changed is that this silly girl sent over the vast majority of her tournament winnings to her parents to help build and develop her village,” said Cal as she walked in and seated herself on Willa’s other side, while patting the girl’s back. “I might have also sent in a portion of the winnings I got betting on her back then along with a few goodies.”

“Oh right, teach, my little bro said to thank you for the bow. He ain’t ever hunted as well as he did with it, he said,” Willa said to Cal with a large, genuine grin. She had a trio of little siblings at her home village, that she taught some tricks to, though none of them had her prodigious amount of mana and thus could never approach the feats she was capable of these days. Cal had sent in a couple items like good bows and nets when she heard that Willa’s family often made a living by hunting in the woods - a role Willa herself often played before she went to the Institute, in fact - to supplement their parents’ meager incomes.

“Glad he likes it,” replied Cal with an equally genuine smile. It was hard for her not to like this most promising student of hers, what with her open, cheerful personality and straightforward manners. Much like many other therians, Willa wore her true self and feelings right on her sleeve, and the idea of deceit never even crossed her mind. Cal liked that part of her student. “It is good that you still keep your home and family in mind, even as you soar high.”

Cal meant what she said. Willa had risen from a teenage hunter from the boonies, who had the fortune of attracting the attention of an Institute lecturer passing by and winning herself a scholarship with her abilities, to a renowned - and by now, certified - blood archmage, the likes of which in the current world could probably be counted with the fingers on one’s hands.

It was what most would have considered a meteoric rise, especially after she won the quinquennial tournament at Sabaya two years ago, a feat that people notice. That she remained as she always was, down-to-earth, simple, and straightforward was honestly a relief to Cal. She had seen far too many who got drunk on their newfound fame and power and practically ruined their lives with their own hands.

She had heard that some influential figures from Boroes had offered to adopt Willa over the past two winters, basically an offer to make her nobility, but she had turned them down, preferring her podunk little village in the middle of nowhere and her adventuring life over all that fuss, in her own words.

Her father had been elected village head in her home village recently, and with the princely sum Cal and Willa sent, had set to work to improve their little village into a better place, an endeavor their local lord supported wholeheartedly as he sent craftsman and workers from the city at cost, out of a desire to build a better relation with Willa, who was by now one of the most famous figure to have originated from Boroes.

Willa herself might be a straightforward person, but she was also smart enough to understand the underlying meanings behind such gestures. She had amiably thanked the lord in person, building a good relationship between her family and his, to ensure that her village would be taken care of in her absence.