"Thanks for your hospitality and concern. My name is Nalrond of the Rezar tribe and I'm starving." He gave the man a small bow while looking at his Soul Projection.
It looked like a curled-up Dewan holding his head between his huge hands while sighing often, something that usually manifested in teenagers experiencing their first crush.
If not for his age, Nalrond would have thought that his guest had romantic problems.
"There's no need to thank us. All Werepeople are family and you'll be our honorable guest for as long as you need. My name is Kimo of the Dewan tribe. Please, follow me." The elder said.
Nalrond didn't like how Kimo kept looking at him and his clothes nor did he appreciate the excessive kindness they had shown him.
'If a fully dressed Emperor Beas had crash-landed inside our cultivated fields, we would have chained and interrogated them before letting them roam the village. Sure, they don't seem to be protecting a relic as powerful as Dawn, but they should know that just because someone manages to enter a Fringe doesn't make them good people.
'Kimo's Projection is usually related to a deep yearning for something or someone. I have a few ideas why they are being so friendly towards me and none is good.' He thought.
The elder introduced Nalrond to his wife, Sephe. She was a kind-looking woman in her late sixties, about 1.6 meters (5' 3") tall with greying blond hair streaked blue and hazel eyes. Her Souls Projection resembled a Dewan who looked around like a scared animal.
Sephe offered him a fruit platter and oatmeal which Nalrond's stomach welcomed with enthusiasm. Between all the emotions and the long sleep, he didn't eat for over a day.
"I'm sorry for prying in your personal business, but someone looking like a Tyrant came to the village earlier. He claimed to be your friend. Was he telling the truth or is the village in danger?" Kimo had a worried look on his face.
"Don't worry about him. Morok is really an Emperor Beast and no one forced me to open the way into the Fringe. He accompanied me here to check if any more survivors from the Bright Day's escape still lived in my old village."
Nalrond saw his hosts sighing in relief while their Projections now looked at him as if he was their long-lost son, making him feel bad for doubting their honesty.
"I'm really sorry for your loss, child. When our Fringe suddenly expanded, we thought that Mogar had finally answered our prayers, giving us the land that we needed for our growing tribe.
"Yet when we found all those charred ruins, we knew that something terrible must had happened so we looked far and wide for survivors, but we found none." Sephe said.
'Dammit, between my sour mood and Lith's paranoia I've become a prick. If they met Morok, I can consider myself lucky he didn't trigger a manhunt. Werepeople are naturally suspicious of strangers and they must have been afraid that my condition was due to captivity.
'Soul Projections cannot lie. The shadows above their heads mean honest relief for Morok's presence and compassion for my tribe.'
"Then I'm not going to trouble you for much longer. I'll make camp in the plains far from the village and once my companions are done with the Fringe, you have my word that we'll never return nor disclose your position to anyone."
"There's no need to leave the village. You and your friends can stay here if you want. We have heard many great things about the Rezar tribe and we'd love to hear from you about the outside world. None of us has left the village since we escaped the humans." Kimo said.
"Thanks for your offer, but I don't think you understood my words. I'm the last survivor of my tribe and I met my companions while hunting for the Horseman of Dawn. They are an Emperor Beast and two human mages." Nalrond words made his hosts flinch in surprise and their Projections snarl, but it lasted only for a second.
"Do you trust them so much that you've brought them inside a Fringe?" Sephe asked.
"Yes. I've formed deep bonds with them and coming here wasn't their idea but mine. They are at a dangerous crossroad in their lives that needs enlightenment and I needed to make sure that our Fringe still existed. Two birds with one stone.
"As for the Emperor Beast, he managed to get inside by himself so you can rest assured that even Mogar trusts him." Nalrond didn't like to lie, but he had no other choice.
He didn't actually trust any of his companions that much. Nalrond had brought them along because he expected to either find an empty Fringe or no Fringe at all. The presence of another tribe of Werepeople changed everything.
'It's a leap of faith that I must take. The girls never tried to exploit me, but that Morok is a wildcard. He didn't know about Fringes or Werepeople, but once he gets outside and learns about the value of this place, the Dewans might be in danger.
'On the other hand, if I tell Sephe the truth, they won't let any of us come out of here alive.' He thought.
"Even if we've taken these lands after your departure, this is still your home, Nalrond. All Werepeople are family so if you trust them then we trust them as well. You and your companions will be our honored guests.
"You have my word as a village elder." Kimo extended his right hand while conjuring a broken rune of water on his palm which Nalrond shook after conjuring a broken rune of fire on his own hand.
Those runes had no real magical property, they were just the experimental serial number that the humans had used to identify the different tribes of Werepeople. The rune symbolized their shared past and its broken state was a memento of the day when they had freed themselves.
Even though tribes of Werepeople would rarely contact each other, the use of the broken rune allowed them to recognize one of them and guaranteed their sincerity. To all tribes, the act of breaking an oath taken upon their ancestral symbol was akin to stoop as low as humans.
"I'll go get my friends. You'd better prepare your people for their arrival." Nalrond said while opening a Warp Steps leading to one of the few spots outside the village he still remembered.
Once he made sure of being alone and that no one had followed him, he used the communication amulet to contact the girls and explain the situation to them.
"What do you mean, two Fringes have merged?" Quylla asked.
"It's exactly as it sounds. I never heard about it before, but even my tribe considered it a possibility. If a species grows its number past what the Fringe can sustain, Mogar has two choices.
"Either to enlarge the Fringe or merge it with another that has lost its purpose." He said.
"But your people lived in the middle of the Blood Desert whereas the Dewans look more like people of the Kingdom. Doesn't merging two Fringes so far away cost much more energy than just expanding their own?" Quylla asked.
