“Sharu!” Elizabeth greeted him courteously.
She then sat down respectfully, crossing her legs on the thick animal pelt laid out across from the elder.
Her tight sports top stretched slightly with the movement, accentuating her full bust line, but in the presence of the venerable priest, it didn't matter in the slightest. The air inside the tent was thick with a nearly sacred atmosphere of gravity.
“I know perfectly well that your mind is currently swirling with a multitude of difficult, unanswered questions.” The Sharu nodded his white head slowly, his aged, raspy voice echoing in the dim light of the tent:
“I will tell you everything honestly, without concealing a single truth. And when I am finished, you will be able to make a fully conscious, independent decision on whether to accept this burden.”
“Alright, I will gladly listen,” Elizabeth nodded quietly, focusing her complete attention on him.
“You likely do not yet know exactly what a Sharu truly is in our tradition, do you?”
The exceedingly slow, measured cadence of the old man's words carried a magnetic pull, making one involuntarily want to hang on his every syllable.
“Yes, honestly speaking, I have no real idea,” Elizabeth shook her head with complete candor.
“Allow me, then, to explain the very core of this role.” The elder straightened his hunched back with considerable effort, stroked his long, snow-white beard, and spoke in a hushed tone:
“The eternal and foremost duty of every Sharu is to protect their entire Tribe from annihilation, to tirelessly safeguard its future, and to point the way forward in the darkest of times.”
“Sharu, how exactly do you protect the Tribe from danger?” Elizabeth asked pragmatically, eager to understand the underlying mechanics of this world.
“Through the Power of the Totem, which constitutes the absolute foundation of existence for every tribe beneath this sky,” the elder said, his wrinkled face adopting an incredibly solemn expression.
“It is the Sharu who exercises full control over the Totem's Inheritance and maintains spiritual stewardship over it. For only the rightful Sharu possesses the mystical ability to awaken the dormant power of the Totem within the flesh and souls of our Totem Warriors.”
“Sharu, who exactly are Totem Warriors?” Elizabeth asked directly about the concept that had been gnawing at her mind since her arrival.
“Did the Elders of your former clan never teach you what a Totem is or who Totem Warriors are?” The Sharu looked at her, profound surprise unconcealed in his eyes.
“No… my loved ones passed away forever when I was very little,” Elizabeth shook her head sadly, recalling her lonely childhood within the cold walls of an orphanage.
“Poor, solitary child… then let this old man bear a portion of the responsibility your Elders did not live to impart.” With fatherly tenderness, the Sharu raised a trembling, dry hand and gently patted the back of Elizabeth's hand, speaking in a soft, warm voice:
“Totem Warriors are the strongest, most elite individuals in the entire clan, standing second only to the Sharu himself. Totems are the condensed essence of the soul and martial will bequeathed to us by our mighty Ancestors. Every human being is born with vast, dormant biological potential that can only be fully unleashed through focused spiritual energy. Our Totems are nothing less than the highest form and manifestation of mobilizing that dormant energy.”
The elder paused for a fraction of a second before breaking the phenomenon down into an even simpler, more vivid analogy:
“Without the guidance and grace of the Totem, ordinary humans possess absolutely no means to mobilize this internal energy. Consequently, they have no way to unlock their hidden physical potential and transcend the limitations of their mortal flesh.”
“I see. Everything is becoming clear to me now,” Elizabeth instantly grasped the entire mystical structure.
Translating this knowledge into a far more comprehensible, literary analogy from her writing: the totems in this world functioned exactly like legendary internal energy cultivation techniques.
Regardless of how much raw talent, sheer determination, or genetic predisposition an individual possessed, without access to the proper energy cultivation method, they remained nothing more than fragile, defenseless mortals left at the mercy of beasts.
The Sharu were the unique conduits - the only ones who held the key to passing down this Internal Cultivation Technique, personally guiding initiates through the assimilation process and advising them on how to manipulate this power safely.
That was precisely why the Sharu's position was absolutely priceless, and their loss equated to a death sentence for the entire clan.
So that’s why I saw women fighting alongside men in their hunting party… Elizabeth realized with a sudden flash of insight as she analyzed the imposing physiques of Neria and Valeria.
Through this energy and cultivation, their female bodies develop at a superhuman rate, completely bridging the biological gap in physical strength between the sexes.
It allows female warriors to become just as powerful, swift, and lethal as the men in every conceivable aspect.
Elizabeth’s deep contemplation was suddenly interrupted by the elder's warm, reassuring voice:
“Good. It is truly wonderful that you grasp all of this so swiftly and effortlessly.”
The elder nodded with profound satisfaction, feeling a massive weight lift off his chest at the sight of his new disciple's remarkable sharpness of mind and intellect.
“Sharu, can you finally tell me what a Sharu actually is?” Elizabeth asked quietly, circling back to the very question she had so desperately sought a concrete, exhaustive answer to from the start.
“Do not be so impatient, my child. I will explain everything to you in due time, and I will hide nothing from you,” the elder replied with a gentle smile.
With some effort, he rose from his furs and walked slowly toward the darkest corner of the tent. With deep, pious reverence, he pulled out a massive, heavy chest crafted from dark, exotic wood.
He set the chest directly on the earthen floor before Elizabeth, kicking up a small cloud of dust, before slowly lowering himself back onto his bed of pelts. He explained in a calm, solemn tone:
“From this moment forward, this ancient chest belongs entirely to you. Within it lies the material portion of the Sharu Inheritance, gathered and safeguarded by countless generations of our predecessors.”
“May I open it now and look inside?” Elizabeth asked respectfully, eyeing the wooden chest.
“Go ahead, open it. It is the perfect opportunity for me to explain what a Sharu truly is and what power they wield using physical examples.” The elder waved his bony hand encouragingly.
Elizabeth carefully reached out and touched the lid of the chest. She instantly realized with astonishment that the hard surface of the wood was unnaturally smooth, as if polished with the finest silk.
A moment later, a deep, invigorating scent of pine resin and forest herbs wafted into her nostrils. Any lingering remnants of morning grogginess instantly vanished from her mind, leaving her feeling infinitely clearer and more alert. It was concrete proof that this chest alone was a priceless, magical treasure.
She suddenly felt a powerful, stomach-churning surge of nervousness - the exact same sensation she experienced back on Earth whenever she sat with trembling hands to open her email inbox and check the crucial editorial sales numbers for her newly published books.
Click!
With a firm grip, Elizabeth lifted the heavy lid of the chest with both hands, revealing several meticulously arranged items inside. By far, the most numerous were thick Scrolls of Animal Hide.
“All of these animal skins are precisely inscribed in the ancient Sharu Script, which no one but a rightful Sharu can read, let alone comprehend. They contain our most potent Arcane Techniques, ritual formulas, and knowledge of energy. All of these scrolls were personally penned by the sanctified ancestors of our Blood Fire Tribe,” the old man said, a touch of hesitation and profound melancholy lacing his voice.
“Sharu Script?” Elizabeth repeated dubiously. She carefully reached into the chest, lifted one of the scrolls, and slowly unrolled it across her lap.
Across the cured, smooth leather, she instantly saw dozens of complex, marvelous patterns resembling writhing tongues of fire and geometric symbols.
However, after merely a few seconds of intense observation, she realized with horror that the seemingly static symbols were slowly, hypnotically undulating and shifting across the material, just like living creatures.
She furrowed her brow fiercely, straining her eyes to the limit to clearly perceive and interpret what the shifting lines represented. Yet, the harder she tried to pierce the illusion, the faster an overpowering exhaustion washed over her. Her eyelids grew heavy, practically forcing themselves shut under the weight of immense spiritual resistance.
“Enough! Stop immediately! In your current state, you cannot read the Sharu Script without consequence,” the elder interrupted swiftly and firmly, placing his hand over the edge of the scroll.
“Phew…” Elizabeth let out a deep, ragged breath and hurriedly rolled the animal skin back up, setting it aside. Only when she tore her gaze away from the pulsating symbols did her clouded, throbbing mind slowly begin to clear.
“Only tonight, once you fully inherit the spiritual power of the Sharu during the ritual and bond with the Totem, will your mind gain the necessary resistance, allowing you to read the Sharu Script effortlessly,” the elder explained, shaking his head tolerantly.
He reached deeper into the wooden chest and withdrew three smooth, highly polished plaques crafted from the thick bones of some massive beasts. Each plaque was roughly the size of two adult hands pressed together.
He laid them carefully before him and explained their purpose:
“These are ancient Bone Tablets. By using the proper proportions of your own Vitality, Blood, and your acquired Sharu Power, you will be able to instantaneously activate the devastating Sharu Technique that has been enchanted and inscribed into these bone mediums.”
The elder looked incredibly serious, staring straight into the girl's blue eyes as his white brows furrowed. He added with heavy emphasis:
“To permanently craft such bone tablets, one absolutely must possess the knowledge to precisely carve potent Runes. The runes themselves are derived directly from the deepest, most primal versions of the Sharu scripts. Each single, unique type of rune represents an entirely different type of combat, defensive, or utility technique.”
The elder placed the bone plaque back onto the soft lining of the chest and said with unconcealed pride:
“Our Blood Fire Tribe holds a total of three fundamental types of runes within its inheritance, which our ancestors managed to pass down to us.”
“And what exactly are these Sharu Techniques?” Elizabeth asked, her bright eyes wide with undisguised fascination. She finally had the unprecedented opportunity to come face-to-face with the unknown, mystical power of this new world.