Everyone filed out of the stifling tent in hushed, solemn silence. Yet the moment they crossed the threshold, they were instantly swarmed by a throng of anxious tribespeople, waiting outside with flushed faces and fear lingering in their eyes.
"Chief! Did you find the Successor to the Sharu?!" someone in the front row shouted at the top of their lungs, their voice trembling with desperate hope.
"A successor has been chosen," Neria answered in a booming voice.
For the first time, a broad, relieved smile broke across her stern, scar-etched face, instantly shattering the suffocating tension that hung over the crowd.
"Praise the heavens! Our Totem will not break!" The young men in the crowd began pumping their fists and raising their hands in triumphant cheers.
"We won't become defenseless Wanderers left to be devoured in the wild!" women cried out joyfully, clutching their children with tear-filled eyes.
"Wonderful… this is truly wonderful… We have not failed our sacred Ancestors! The tribe will endure!"
Several of the clan's oldest elders dropped straight to their knees, weeping with raw emotion and raising their hands to the sky.
"…Alright, that's enough. Settle down," Neria commanded, quickly regaining her stern, unyielding expression. Raising her authoritative voice, she cut through the mounting clamor.
"Do not linger here crowding the entrance. The old Sharu needs his rest now more than ever. Return to your duties and get back to work immediately!"
"Yes, Chief!" the crowd echoed in unison. With noticeably lighter hearts, they began dispersing briskly toward their shelters and workstations.
A few warriors who had just exited the council adjusted their gear and called out curtly:
"We're heading straight out on perimeter patrol to secure the camp's borders."
"Go, and keep your eyes sharp," Neria nodded solemnly, watching them depart.
Before long, the clearing before the grand pavilion emptied, leaving only Elizabeth, Neria, and a young girl standing just off to the side, observing the scene with unvarnished curiosity.
"Valeria, get over here," Neria commanded with a flick of her wrist, summoning the girl forward.
"Mother! Does this mean you're finally letting me join the main hunting party in the forest?"
Valeria asked in sheer excitement. She jogged over with a light, springy step, her eyes sparkling with vibrant youthful energy.
She bore practically no resemblance to her massive, battle-hardened mother.
The girl was clad in exceptionally tight leather garb that clung snugly to every curve of her supple figure, giving her a striking, downright alluring presence. Silky, raven-black hair cascaded in gentle waves down her back, framing a flawless, jade-white complexion that contrasted sharply with the grime of the camp, while hypnotic, blood-red eyes shone with vitality.
The most eye-catching feature of her exotic appearance, however, was a single, elegantly curved crimson horn protruding from the crown of her head.
Is she some kind of goat or gazelle-horned beast-kin?
Elizabeth wondered in intrigue. Her blue eyes instinctively drifted downward, tracing the girl's slender waist before lingering on the hem of her short leather skirt, fruitlessly trying to see if a small, fluffy tail was tucked away beneath the fabric.
"No, you're not going on any hunts," Neria cut her down with a stern, maternal glare, extinguishing her excitement in an instant.
"Your duty is to guide our new Successor through the entire Tribe, introduce her to the camp layout, and explain our current situation."
"Fine…" Valeria muttered, momentarily stunned and clearly disheartened by the turn of events, but she quickly nodded in obedient compliance to her mother's orders.
Neria turned toward Elizabeth, her tone carrying noticeably more respect and deference:
"Successor, if you have any questions, requests, or needs, do not hesitate to ask Valeria. She will attend to everything."
"Understood. Thank you, I can manage," Elizabeth replied with a calm nod, appreciating the courtesy.
"Call for me immediately if anything unexpected occurs," Neria added in closing.
Without another word, she spun on her heel, lifted the heavy pelt flap, and disappeared back into the pavilion.
She needed to discuss the clan's precarious future and security behind closed doors with the rapidly weakening Sharu, as well as finalize every ritual and detail for the impending Sharu Succession Ceremony tomorrow evening.
Valeria turned to look straight at Elizabeth, sweeping a sharp, calculating gaze over her tattered attire before asking without preamble:
"Successor, what's your name anyway?"
"My name is Elizabeth," she answered with a subtle, measured smile, doing her best to sound perfectly natural and conceal the nerves still churning inside her.
"What a weird name," Valeria remarked coolly, raising an eyebrow in clear skepticism.
Without another thought, she pivoted on her heel and started down the packed-dirt trail running between the tents. She called back over her shoulder in a crisp, clear voice:
"Follow me. I'll show you our Tribe's current state and layout."
"Alright, lead the way," Elizabeth replied briefly, quickening her pace to fall into step beside her.
My name is weird to her?
It's a completely normal, classic name!
Valeria doesn't even sound alien, though her mother's name, Neria, definitely sounds far more exotic around here… Elizabeth thought with mild amusement.
Her internal musings were quickly cut short by the girl's solemn, matter-of-fact tone.
"Our tribe proudly bears the name of the Blood Fire Tribe, and our supreme Totem and guardian is the Blood Fire," Valeria began explaining in a reverent, almost devotional cadence, keeping her eyes fixed on the path ahead.
"As for Her true divine form and the mysteries surrounding Her, I cannot yet fully comprehend or describe them myself, but Mother will explain everything once she is free from the council."
"I see. Understood," Elizabeth responded calmly. The burning vision from the boundless void of stars immediately flashed behind her eyelids.
Could that majestic four-armed figure dancing amid the sea of flames have been the Totem Herself?
Everything points to it…
"The current Chief of our Tribe is my mother,"
Valeria continued. As the words left her lips, a deep, smoldering ember of resentment flared in her blood-red eyes. Her melodic voice lost all its lightness, turning frosty as she spoke of their clan's fall:
"Right now, our entire Tribe numbers a mere eighty-two souls, and only eleven able-bodied warriors remain in our main Hunting Party. Just fifteen days ago, the Blood Fire Tribe was thriving with over three hundred members, and thirty-seven hunters stood in our ranks…"
The girl choked for a fraction of a second, her tone plummeting into an icy chill dripping with thick, spine-tingling murderous intent:
"But that cursed Green Snake Tribe brazenly ambushed our hunting grounds under the cover of night! They struck from the shadows and slaughtered our people without mercy! Then they seized our sacred Ancestral Lands… In the end, we had no choice but to take the survivors and flee here."
"In other words, our mortal enemy is the Green Snake Tribe?" Elizabeth asked pragmatically, narrowing her blue eyes as she rapidly assessed the political balance of power.
She hadn't anticipated that her new faction would be teetering on the brink of total annihilation against such a ruthless adversary.
In practice, taking on the mantle of Sharu meant that the Green Snake Tribe would immediately become her direct threat - and a target to neutralize.
"Yes! The moment an opportunity presents itself, we will exact bloody vengeance without hesitation, wipe them out to the last man, and reclaim our beloved Ancestral Lands and all the rich Hunting Grounds they stole from us!" Valeria spat through gritted teeth, her hand instinctively drifting to the hilt of the hunting knife at her waist.
"Vengeance will come. There's no doubt about that," Elizabeth stated with cool composure, meeting the girl's gaze directly.
"Hm?"
Valeria snapped her head around in surprise, looking the blonde girl up and down with an entirely transformed expression, a hint of genuine satisfaction curving her lips.
Her initially cold and distant impression of Elizabeth noticeably warmed. After all, Elizabeth was still a complete outsider to their community - she had been with the Blood Fire Tribe for barely three days, most of which had been spent unconscious at the camp's edge. It was only natural that integrating into the clan would take time and shared resolve.
"Are all the tribe members currently living in these makeshift leather tents?" Elizabeth asked after a moment, scanning the crowded shelters and crude fire pits.
"Unfortunately, yes. For now, we are forced to cram into these flimsy tents. Back in our ancestral lands, we lived safely inside vast natural caverns that shielded us from wild beasts," Valeria replied, her jaw tightening as suppressed fury flashed in her red eyes at the memory of their lost home.
"I see…" Elizabeth fell silent, unable to offer any real words of comfort. Compared to the solid masonry and modern apartments she was accustomed to on Earth, neither these damp, musky tents nor dark caverns struck her as particularly comfortable places to live with dignity.
Just as that thought crossed her mind, a crisp, cold, and utterly inhuman mechanical chime echoed inside her skull without warning:
[Congratulations!]
[Compatible host detected. Core integration initialized...]
[System integration: 10%… 20%… 70%… 100%!]
[Support System successfully bound to host soul!]