We stood on the riverbank, staring at the mountain of fish that had willingly volunteered to leave the water. It was ten times more than what Mira caught before.

Mira turned to the crowd, her hands on her hips and her tail swinging happily. Her eyes sparkled with innocent excitement. "Let’s have a fish barbecue tonight everyone!"

"Uh, kid?" Korin crossed his massive arms. "Didn’t the Elder just finish saying these things are basically your friends?"

Lyra stepped forward, with a gentle smile on her face. "He makes a good point sweetie. Are you sure you want to... eat your new friends?"

Mira looked at the massive pile of fish, then she looked back at her mother. An angelic smile spread across her face. "It’s fine!" Mira chirped cheerfully. "They won’t complain. They would be happy to be eaten by me."

"...Well," I sighed. "You heard the little apex predator. Someone go.. collect the fish. We will be having a fish barbecue tonight."

By evening, the village was preparing for a barbecue banquet. The scent of woodsmoke, charred scales, and roasting herbs hung in the cold air. Fire pits crackled, casting dancing orange light against the weathered wooden palisades.

"I’m really proud of Mira," a soft voice entered my ears. I looked up. Lyra took a seat beside me, her bright green eyes fixed on her daughter, who was currently explaining to the other children how she commanded the fish.

"Mira did good," I said, setting my skewer down. "She’s got a bright spirit and a terrifying amount of potential. She would definitely be a great figure in the demon lands." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Lyra’s smile faltered a bit. "That’s exactly what terrifies me. Potential is a curse here. Power draws hungry eyes. I don’t want Mira to be taken away from me. The world is cruel to things that shine, Ren. If the wrong people find out what she can do... if one of the warlords decides they want a Beast Tamer for their army..."

"They won’t," I said, my voice quiet. "Because if anyone tries to use her, they’ll have to go through me. And I am strong, you know." I flexed my muscles.

Lyra looked at me with grateful eyes. "...Thank you, Ren. Really."

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The panicked ringing of the watchtower bell shattered the night. The shift in the village was instantaneous, the children hid behind their parents fearing another fallen attack. Within seconds the drunken hunters vanished, replaced by hardened killers. I stood up and expanded Qi outward like a net.

"Open the gates!" a desperate voice came from the watchtower. "By the demon ancestors, get the gates open!". The demons responsible for opening the gates started opening the gates. A lone figure stumbled through the gap, immediately collapsing on the ground. It was Vance, one of the village’s scouts.

Vance looked like he had been put through a meat grinder. His leather armor was shredded, his left arm hung at a sickening, unnatural angle, and an arrowhead was buried deep in his shoulder.

"Vance!" Korin roared, dropping his spear and sliding into the mud to catch the young man before his face hit the dirt.

Lyra rushed forward, her hands glowing faintly with whatever healing magic she possessed, but Vance weakly batted her hands away.

"The others..." Vance wheezed, his eyes bloodshot and his fingers digging desperately into Korin’s forearms. "T-The patrol... they’re dead. All of them. Those bastards killed everyone."

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Four men had gone out on that patrol. "Who did this?" the Elder of the village demanded, pushing his way to the front, "Was it a beast horde?"

Vance shook his head weakly, his breathing shallow and ragged. "No... Blood-Iron Tribe. It was an ambush. They let me live... just to deliver this."

With a trembling hand, Vance reached into his pocket and pulled out a rolled parchment, the paper stained red from his wounds. He held it out toward the Elder. "For... for the village..." Vance’s eyes rolled back, and he went entirely limp in Korin’s arms.

"Get him to the medical tent! Now!" Korin bellowed, lifting the unconscious scout like he weighed nothing at all.

The village was dead silent, except for the crackle of the bonfire. The joy of the night had been entirely snuffed out.

The Elder stared down at the blood-stained letter in his hands. His aged face seemed to age another ten years in the span of ten seconds. With trembling fingers, he broke the black seal and unrolled the parchment.

Beside me, Lyra went entirely rigid. She knew the Blood-Iron Tribe. They were a nightmare that haunted this region. I learned that they were the overlord of this region from Korin.

"Read it, Elder," a hunter demanded, his voice containing suppressed rage. The Elder swallowed hard, his eyes scanning the letter. When he finally spoke, his voice was hollow.

"To the residents of Elderglen village," the Elder read aloud. "Chief Malakar has stepped into the A-rank." The Elder paused, his eyes flicking up from the parchment to look directly at Lyra. "Deliver the widow Lyra to the northern pass by tomorrow’s sundown to bear the Chief’s heirs," the Elder finished, his voice barely a whisper. "If she is not there, we will not ask again. We will burn your walls, feed your children to the hounds."

The parchment slipped from the Elder’s fingers, fluttering gently into the ground. The entire village turned silent.

"How dare they...". One of the hunters roared.

"We won’t give Lyra to them."

"Yes... we would rather go to war with them than hand over one of our own to them."

I looked at Lyra, who had clapped her hands over her mouth, tears spilling over her cheeks as she looked toward Mira. I looked at the hunters, whose hands were on their weapons. They were burning with rage within.

And deep within my dantians, qi violently surged. Ready to devour anything in front of me. Blood Iron Tribe, they dared demand Lyra.