"Young Lord, that is Pala, our tribe's city"
Edward, Elder Mars, and the group in a slow pace have traveled more than two hundred miles, the pace determined by Elder Mars who was taking his time enjoying his conversation with Edward. The two spoke of philosophy, cultivation, martial arts, arrays, many subjects adjacent to the dao.
Traveling with the sun past set, six hours after the groups departure tall stone walls illuminated by faint blue light appears in the distance
[Walls and light capable of lasting against the cold elements of the tundra? Interesting... I thought it would be a canopy village and maybe some wooden constructs]
"Elder Mars, I must admit this is not what I expected"
"Haha, boys the Young Lord probably assumed we sleep on the icy ground under mounds of wool and furs. HAHAHA" The Elders joke hit the mark, and all of the accompanying guards laugh. The Palaeo tribe, a few hundred years after its vassalization begun to construct walls and insulated homes that protect them from the elements and threat. The notion that southerners believe them to still live such a harsh life was amusing to them, regardless of the disrespect.
"That is not far off from what I thought actually"
Turning his head over in to Edward and in a serious voice Elder Mars responds "The southerns ignorance of us, our culture, is something we all grapple with. However, assuming we still live so bare is much too funny"
[Master Hao did warn me these people are hardly barbarians]
The group halts their flight and grounding right outside of the gates of the city, as they walk through the snow and towards the gate Edwards attention is continuously drawn towards the bottled light painting the walls
"Halt, this city is sealed! Return to where you came, or you will be fired upon!" The orders were loud and shouted by a brown furred warrior on the city's walls. Shortly after his command, groups of warriors sporting white fur peak the walls with a bow drawn, action that snaps Edwards intrigue from the light
"STAND DOWN you idiots!" The shout of a man flying inside of the city
"Are you people unable to recognize your own? Unable to recognize your Chief and Elder?" The warriors word causes the bows to drop and the brown furred guard to bow within sight of Elder Mars
"Thats alright Callmine, just open these gates"
Elder Mars words of easement hop the kneeling warriors to his feet to open the gate, and the white furred warriors to take alert positions. The guards of the wall were average warriors of the tribe, the elites and geniuses were assigned as hunters and gathers or into battle platoons, given resources and time to cultivate unlike the watchmen.
As the cold steel and iron gates open vertically like the mouth of a beast, Edward and company step into the city
"Young Lord, I won't assume our conversation on the way here is exactly what you had in mind. I will take my son to his quarters and Trenn here will take you to my private cabin"
"Sure" Edward expecting he would have to wait to talk with Elder Mars was wholly focused on the city around him. Buildings built vertically, made of stone and wood just like what is common in the south. Roads that only have a light coat of snow atop it despite the heavy fall. As the two walk through the city unbothered by the eyes of the civilians, Edward interest is again caught, this time by statue a hundred feet tall depicting a male warrior in the center of the city.
"Let me guess, Levant Palaeo" While Edward was laying down the Heaven Evading array, he heard Elder Mars mention Levant
"Thats right, Young Lord. Not the founder of our tribe but the cornerstone of what we are"
Edward remarks to himself how impressive the depiction is, the leanness of the muscles, hair wavy almost as if it blows against the wind, and facial features that make it seem as if the statue is an image of Levant captured and still in time
After admiring the craftsmanship of the statue Edward and Trenn continue to walk through the city, past an aqueduct something that surprises Edward, wondering how the water does not freeze. Past more and more crowds of uneasy onlookers, then finally arriving at a staircase leading to a large oval house that sits alone on its landing
"Young Lord, I cant accompany you any further, you can let yourself into the cabin and make yourself comfortable"
"I understand" Without saying goodbye to Trenn, Edward strides the staircase and into the cabin wondering how long he will have to wait for Elder Mars. However, once his eyes settle inside, he sees Elder Mars resting at a table in the middle of the cabin with two cups poured.
"Haha, Young lord, I didn't mean to trick you I just had to get here first to make sure the maids cleaned this place up ready for guests"
Unresponsive Edward steps towards the table, noticing Chief Luke in Elder Mars bed, and a girl in the back of the room in the shadows
Taking his seat at the table "Elder Mars, as you have surmised, I am now speaking to you as one of your rulers. As such I believe this conversation is better had when the chief is with us"
"Our chief is with us, Young Lord. HAHA"
Edwards cold eyes pierce Elder Mars letting him know now is a time of seriousness, conversation between a higher and lower, and what his expectation is
"Ha, with the chief out in times like this I speak for the tribe. If your ruler wants to speak with the person in charge, that is me at the moment"
"Good. Elder Mars in the small amount of time we have spent together, I've noticed many things about you. You are intelligent, you have conviction, you have your path, and you walk it well. What I noticed above all these things, is that you resent how your tribes been treated throughout our history until today. My family, my ancestors, the rulers of the past have kept you here as guarding animals, my father maybe even thinks like this-"
"Young Lord!" Elder Mars interrupts Edward and the shadow stalker grits her teeth
"My family has acted wrongly, however I will not apologize. I am not my father or my ancestors, and until recently I had no power within my own family. I am not to blame for the treatment of the Palaeo tribe, but I can vow here to allow the privileges you and your people are entitled to, to be given"
"I-" Mars Palaeo was taken aback by Edwards statements, they were words that the powerful of the clan have always wanted to hear, words that the common warriors thought impossible, and words that civilians didn't dare to dream of anymore. While unrest was everywhere inside of the tribe in regard to how their southern rulers treated them, there was never even a meeting with the topic of separating the tribe from The North
"Hold your breath for now Elder Mars. I must admit that my motives are not completely pure, I have decided this course of action when I heard the tribe is powerful enough to defend the entire northern border. I simply thought that a tribe that powerful used only as guards was not right. I am capable of laying down arrays that can defend the border I thought, why must these warriors be kept away from the true battles I thought. Then that's when it hit me, there is now such reason for them to remain far into the snow and ice. Not only do I need your strength, but it is also The North that needs your strength"
[The North needs your strength... A country we have been a part of for generations but never truly seen. Now you say it needs us?]
Edwards words were true and honest, and in his mind, he knew how Elder Mars must be feeling. Anger and readiness, angry with the amount of time it took his people to advance further into the world, but also ready to see it come true.
"Young Lord, I am thankful. These words aren't nearly enough to describe how I am feeling"
"I understand that this a happy time for this tribe, you probably can't wait to share the news but let me give you an outline of how this will go. Schooling for the tribes children down south so they can learn more of the world, your warriors being called upon and expected to swiftly gather when and where I call for them, proper lines of communication established between Lions Hall and Pala, and in the future a possible elder position within my family allocated to the Palaeo"
Elder Mars lowers his head in disbelief of what he has heard, proper education, potential military station that is meaningful, and of course the last part of Edwards speech- position inside of the Albert family itself, an elder seat no less
"Young Lord, all these things you have promised are beyond what any of us here could have hoped for" Elder Mars Rises from his seat and calls the girl who has stepped out of the shadows with tears in her eyes to kneel at Edward with him
While they are kneeling, Elder Mars looks up at Edward nearly with his own tears and introduces the girl "Young Lord, this is my granddaughter, Kaida"