The ritual on that fateful night had turned the lives of all dhionne in the clan upside down. They had to leave behind their ancestral homes, the uncountable memories both good and bad they had with the lands and lakes of their native settlements, to travel to an unfamiliar place hundreds or even thousands of miles away.

The journey wasn’t particularly safe either. A close loved one dying was a genuine possibility.

The noble houses would not have as much say in Lochuir as they did in their own territories. The freemen would have to sacrifice a lot of the ‘freedom’ they or their forefathers toiled so hard to obtain.

Even the servants would gripe at how their safe daily routines got ripped to shreds by two blabbering kids. As ignorant as they were, even with an iota of common sense, they should be able to guess that their lives would only get more complicated from now on.

Almost all servants were but mortal realmers. Ones like Dofnald, who crossed the first circle before adulthood without the resources of a noble house, were few and far between.

High and mighty cultivators could benefit significantly from high-level gheist cores and other elements the collapse would bring. But for the majority of servants?

They couldn’t even fathom what ‘100 cycles’ actually entailed. So far, the reality of their lives had taught them that they had nothing to do with concepts such as the glory of the clan.

They didn’t have the luxury nor leisure, so most of them never bothered. A day’s worth of food, a simple shelter, and maybe the protection of the master household in times of danger was enough for them to be content in their meagre lives.

Yet from now, they would have to work harder but receive even less in return. It won’t take long for even the dullest of servants to see the unfairness, if Elrhain judged them by similar cases from back on Earth.

However, because they were so used to that unfairness, they couldn’t even complain.

They were the perfect example of learned helplessness. However,

‘Heck, even if they don’t think it unfair, they will at least feel that something is wrong, right? Even if that’s how it has always been, it has never been this bad.’

Their grievances would fester like a plague within the heart of Lochuir. Elrhain had seen so many of such occurrences leading to unstoppable explosions in his previous life.

In the new dome-towns of the nuclear-wasted areas. In the solitary, coffin-like space colonies on the asteroid belts.

There would be violent riots every few days. Many gangs would sprout out in the destitute, overpopulated settlements like mushrooms after a rain. Public order would have declined to non-existence, and diseases would spread like crazy.

But when Elrhain had asked his mother of the current worsening situation in an unplanned moment of vexation, she beamed a smile so bright it washed away all his gloom. The fair maiden spun him around in the air praising how “Little Rhain is already thinking like a proper chieftain!”

Eluned was a servant, and now she is a noble. So she could fairly represent both sides to certain extents.

And she did so after placing the pouty Elrhain on her lap and stroking his hair tenderly. For the first time ever, she sang what she thought life in the clan meant to her, hidden opinions she had never spoken before, much to the boy’s surprise.

The nobles were strong. But to them, there could never be enough strength.

The freemen wanted more than freedom; they wanted land and people they could call their own.

Finally, the servants either wanted to quietly live a life without hunger or suffering, leaving all the complex thinking to the nobles. Or they wished to cast away their bound sigils and live the life of the upper class they so envied. Especially the ambitious ones. And it only took one instance of success to plant the seed of ambition in even the most apathetic dhionne farmhand.

With time, more people would triumph in their respective goals. These examples would tell the meek and the unambitious that even they, the traditional losers of the realm, can succeed.

As for those who failed? What proof would they leave behind if they were but bones in the dirt now? They were weak and had overestimated their puny abilities.

They should never have attempted to cross the cavern when they didn’t have feet to walk.

But,

“We aren’t like them. We are like the successful ones. The newest freeman is even my cousin. Our mothers are sisters, and our feet could not be more similar. If he can do it, so can I!” they would chant day and night. To convince themselves, to trick themselves, to empower themselves. Ultimately, some more would succeed and so on till it became the norm.

The nobles, the freemen, and the servants would forget all their short term worries and be beholden to Elrhain and Agwyn for the long term glory their ritual had so generously bestowed.

Or so Eluned exclaimed with shaking fists and zealous red eyes, her slit pupils burning with the rage of dragons.

…. his mother had been acting strange lately.

Elrhain still weighed her views against his, though.

Indeed, a quick dispatch of an oceanic realmer would deal with all dissidents. The dhionne were much hardier than humans against diseases too, or curses as they were called here. Unexpected illnesses were rare, and epidemics were often caused because of malicious magical reasons more often than not. Their tribal lifestyle, dietary habits, and cultivation of manna gave them better immunity against things that would be fatal for a human, and clan practices dictated a somewhat more hygienic lifestyle, at least compared to the tribal folks back on ancient Earth.

Another of the discrepancies Elrhain had noticed from what should be expected in such societies, designated pits all over Lochuir to be used as outhouses.

The only ones vulnerable enough to fatal ailments were the children and the elderly. To the dhionne, fate was to be blamed for that.

In the end, the benefits would eclipse the losses a hundredfold.

But whatever reasoning Elrhain could make in his head favouring the positives, his modern values couldn’t wholly ignore the negatives. People would still die. Unique people with hopes and dreams just like him, and he could not simply chalk them off as numbers on a sheet of paper.

The ways of this world were too unfamiliar, obscure, and exotic. He needed more information, lest his worries never abated.

And he knew he wasn’t the only one having such foreboding thoughts.

「Daddy also said something worrisome yesterday.」 Agwyn muttered, a hint of distress in her voice. 「Lochuir might not be able to feed everyone who comes. Grandpa’s hair yellowed even more, and daddy looked so haggard. I’ve never seen them so stressed.」

Her unclenched palms gestured towards an area by Aenraad river, ranging from the tail end to the midsection of the line of dhionne.

Another prick in his mind and Elrhain’s vision focused like a telescope.

The dhionne there were unloading what seemed to be large leafy sacks and makeshift wooden containers full of sun and wind-dried foodstuff, meats, veggies, and fruits.

They all had desaturated brownish colours, with none of the vibrancy or freshness remaining. But the sheer quantity was enormous.

There were at least a few thousand tons there, and this was just the amount the dhionne convoys had brought in today.

Which made what Agwyn shared all the more unbelievable.

「Why? Aren’t the manna-rioghs like fantasy dungeons, seemingly able to spawn monsters out of nothing? The production of gheists will soon go into overdrive, right? No matter how many dhionnes come, the clan should have enough catch to last years, if not decades, just from the usual hunting. Even if, let’s say, each mortal eats about 2 to 4 tons of food a year, not even counting the cultivators.」

「Ellie, gheist meat is poison.」

Elrhain started.

「Seriously? How did I not know that?」

「I didn’t until yesterday either. I always took for granted how much meat we could eat every day. But in reality, our daily dinner, and the feast on the night of the ritual, too, are all luxuries only the highest noble houses can afford. 」

Agwyn twirled a lock of her leafy hair with a melancholic expression.

「Apparently, most dhionne live on wild fruits and vegetables, and the meat of mortal or low earth level gheists. Since the lower cultivation keeps the toxins in their bodies down. But now, their cultivation will quickly rise because of the overflow of manna. Resulting in the number of safe to eat gheists dwindling alongside.」

The scent of roasted meat once again brushed Elrhain’s nose. But the sight of many tired dhionne carefully preparing a diminishing supply of foodstuff and still happily sharing that portion by portion with their family gave rise to a totally different feeling.

「Even high realmers can’t casually eat gheist meat for long. For gheists above low earth, only a few specific species of exceedingly less population are not poisonous. General gheists only have a small portion of their meat with low enough toxins to be viable as food. Do you know which part that is?」

Elrhain nodded, remembering all the times he had grumbled during their family suppers. The variety of meat was always a lot. But at the same time, it was so bloody lean. Whether fish or bird, Red or white, not one satisfying fatty piece. As if anything other than a sirloin or chicken breast was taboo.

The adults’ reactions to his insensitive grumbling on the topic now made a lot more sense.

「Imagine spending days on a hunt, but you have to throw away ninety to ninety-five percent of the meat. Neither the quantity nor quality is anywhere near enough. It was fine when the hunting areas spanned the whole Siorrakty, but now…」

「Yikes.」

「Exactly.」

Elrhain could only click his tongue. He took in the scenery outside for a few more minutes with a complicated mind as the two lapsed into silence, only the soft breeze and the murmurs down the mountain backdropping their thoughts.

He suddenly climbed down from the stool. The boy walked to the bed and sat down, patting the position next to him. 「Come.」

Agwyn furrowed her brows.

「Just come.」, Elrhain repeated. So the little girl could only roll her eyes, jumping down with a soft thud and scuttling to take the seat beside him.

Elrhain tenderly held her head and laid it on his lap, then started stroking her leafy hair with his six fingers. The ribbon-like filaments felt both rough and silky on his hands.

「You don’t usually think about stuff like this. Tell me what’s bugging you.」

Agwyn flinched, angling her head away.

「You think it’ll be like the Astra Ternus Colonies?」

Agwyn held her breath before exhaling out with a tired sigh. 「These dhionne are refugees, no matter how the adults frame it.」

Elrhain tugged the girl’s ears lightly. 「Last time we… you didn’t have the clout to force the Collective to pay the matter sufficient attention, not until the worse came to pass. Even Mrs Hildebrand had to take into consideration the other political leaders’ standpoints. This time, your parents are the literal kings and queens of this land.」

He felt the girl’s body stiffen up at her past mother’s name, but then she gradually relaxed. Agwyn almost purred under his gentle caress.

「This time, it won’t be the same. Every dhionne, noble or not, will yield to your will. If not yours, then your father’s and your grandfather’s. You can stop the worst case from happening before it even starts. It’ll be okay.」

「Really?」

「Yes.」

Agwyn’s worried eyes finally lost a bit of their distress. She let herself be lost in the comfortable strokes, and a few minutes later, fell silently to sleep.

So she couldn’t see Elrhain’s complicated gaze.

「It’ll be alright.」 He repeated as if to convince himself.

‘Food scarcity, innovations, social stratification, education….’

Elrhain believed he could help deal with these problems, and so many more, to a large degree. He had even planned out a few steps of his enlightenment master plans the days following the ritual.

At first, he was excited. He squealed, thinking of all the possibilities and how he could fundamentally change the way of life and culture of the denizens of this world for the better.

After all, he’d promised Agwyn ice cream.

‘They’ll eat you alive, this world.’ Sarah’s voice had come out of nowhere, like a ghost haunting him, punishing him for his baseless conceit.

And then, the nightmares started.