9: Minos Tribe

SURAY VILLAGE, HOME OF THE MINOS TRIBE

The Minos Tribe Chieftain, Toro Minos, sat upon his throne with a large goblet held loosely in his right hand, and with his left, he caressed the hair of a young maiden who was asleep in his lap.

"Soon the land and workers of the Silo Clan will be mine and Grandfather's wish of a prosperous Minos Tribe will come true."

The Chieftain was pleased with himself.

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Many years ago, the ancestors of the Minos Tribe had fled the plains of the Western region due to a large civil war between the rulers of the Western Region, the House of Gaia, and the aristocracy led by the now-extinct House Nyx.

Many civilians were caught up in the flames of war and the Chieftain of the Minos Tribe at that time decided it was time to leave the plains of the west for the forests of the north just passed the regional border.

A merchant he was well acquainted with told him about the Kalytpo Forest and should he be able to get his tribe there and take the land from the small village that resided there that they would become rich beyond imagination.

"And why is that?" the Chieftain asked the merchant.

"There is a rare fruit in that, but the clan that owns the lands in which the fruits grow is not receptive to large trades and does not enjoy dealing with outsiders. Thus, my merchant troop takes a loss every time we head up there, but we can't stop because demand for the fruit is high with the noble families around Isla Nava."

The merchant had known the Chieftain for many years and the two had a good rapport, so he was not fearful when divulging such information.

"So what do you get from this, such information would have fetched a high price from one of the Noble houses or large clans. Why come to me with this?"

Though he was tempted by the thought of riches he was still a Chieftain of the Minos Tribe and putting his tribe in danger just for the promise of riches was irresponsible.

"They all fear that place, something about a monster being sealed away there. Old superstitions, you know how these old lineages can be." The merchant added.

Still, the Chieftain was not convinced.

"Fine, I will be honest." The merchant finally gave in.

"Your tribe and my merchant troop are in the same boat, you both will be extinct if we don't move. Your tribe needs to move away from the flames of this war and my troop needs to move away from the competition in this region. With the numbers of your tribe taking over the area will be easy, and as long as you don't disturb the seal the 'monster' can't be free."

There were grains of truth in the merchant's words, and this gave the Chieftain pause.

'He is right, to stay in these lands would mean the death of my tribe.'

"Fine, hypothetically if I were to agree, how many people are in that clan? How far away is this place? And what will be the structure of our deal?"

The merchant grinned from ear to ear, his whole face lighting up.

"The village contains roughly 2000 people, but more than half are unrelated individuals who came to work in the plantations. Aside from Clan members, everyone, there is a low to mid-stage Grade 1 Novite." He began to explain the details of Vanco Village and its inhabitants to the Chieftain.

'Only 2000!?! And more than half are non-combatants?!?'

The Chieftain couldn't hide the surprise on his face as a smile also managed to creep its way up his face.

Shaking hands the two men smiled.

"Let's get rich"

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After a year-long migration, the Minos Tribe arrived in the Kalypto Forest and began to construct their Village.

The tribe was ten thousand strong and all members aside from children were combatants, so after erecting their village they prepared for the subjugation of the neighboring village.

What they had not expected was that this small clan would make use of barrier techniques to halt their progress and pick off their warriors one by one.

Thus began a two-generation battle of attrition that had lasted until now.

One side fought to take while the other simply fought back to not be taken from.

Eventually, the previous Clan Head of the Silo Clan agreed to pay the Minos Clan a percentage of plantations output. 

For the Minos Tribe, on the other hand, a percentage was not enough, they wanted it all.

Becoming sick of their greed the Silo Clan head took the life of the Minos Tribe Chieftain, Father of the current Chieftain causing tensions to flare up even more.

Following his father's funeral and his coronation as the new Chieftain, young Toro received three unexpected guests.

The first being the merchant who made the proposal with his grandfather all those years ago.

The second was his son.

"Greetings to the new Chieftain of the Minos Tribe. I come today as a friend of your father and grandfather, my condolences Chieftain Toro. Our two families have made a pact many years ago and now given the current situation I wish to lend my aid to the young Chieftain.

Toro hearing these words was unmoved, unlike his father and grandfather before him he was not a man to be moved by profits. 

" What do you want merchant," He spat at the man.

Sensing the tension the merchant decide to lay his cards on the table, though he was young it was clear Toro was not one to be swayed with sweet words.

"I Bring you my son Golor to aide you in the subjugation of Vanco Village, and I also bring you another gift" as he said this he pointed to the third man who had accompanied them.

This third man was Loki.

"I am Loki and I am here to propose a plan that will have Vanco Village in your hands within five years." Loki told the Chieftain in front of him confidently.

Hearing the confidence in the man's voice piqued Toro's interest.

It was clear this man Loki and the merchant's son Golor were strong, but he was not quick to bite the bait.

"What do you gain from this Loki. The merchant and my Tribe have an agreement in place so I know what he has to gain from this, but what about you?"

"Profit of course, I need capital for my people, you should understand this as a Chieftain. Raising the young isn't cheap" Loki said as he rubbed his thumb and index finger together.

"Very true, so what will your services cost me?"

Cutting in the old merchant spoke up,

"He will be compensated from the my merchant troop."

"Hmm. Fine tell me what it is your services are Mr. Loki"

Loki grinned, 

"My plan is simple, send Golor and some troops to Vanco and cause a ruckus. Me and my subordinates will infiltrate amongst the chaos, after that we will make it so not only Vanco, but its workforce will be yours."

Thinking of that this was a great opportunity Toro agreed.

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 "Chieftain, Loki has arrived and he wishes for an audience with you." an attendant spoke out.

"Send him in, and bring Golor as well."