“Chief, can I have word?” Rori asked as he walked over to Ares.

“What is it?” Ares replied back as Rori motioned with his head, and so Ares walked beside them away from the village.

“I have heard that the horns have decided who they are going to send to face you for the fight. Orion, Ombe, and Urtz all have decided to come to face you. Grita has sent her son to face you. Lana will either face you herself, or send a cousin. Morak may face you himself too, though his father is sick, and has yet to confirm such a thing. Sohka has yet to pick, though some are whispering he may face you himself.”

“Interesting. Well I’m glad that the muscle trio are wanting to face me, I wanted to see how I ranked in terms of strength.” Ares nodded his head.

“Do you believe you can win?” Rori asked.

“I don’t know.” Ares smiled. “Still, there’s no harm in trying.” Ares shrugged and then let out a laugh.

Rori didn’t seem to respond, instead then staring off into the distance. Ares waited to see what else Rori would say. Rori then turned to face Ares.

“I believe that it would be a good idea to speak with Morak’s father.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“Morak or his cousin are to be the next horn, but that is only if Torak passes away. I believe that you may be able to help them, as you have helped our people.” Rori said.

Ares’ stomach grew slightly warmer, and his chest grew a little tense. He looked to the distance, embarrassed at how much Rori trusted him with something like that.

“Alright, I’ll go check it out.” He said.

It was in the late afternoon, but Ares went to go ask Sohka if he could be led to Torak’s tribe. Sohka didn’t ask why, instead sending him along with his daughter, a woman in her early forties or so, who was the curvier kind of oxfolk, with long hair that went down to her thighs, which she then pulled so they spun around her horns and then tied it up around the base of her neck.

“I am Rehka. It is an honour to meet you.”

“I am Ares, and the honour is mutual.” He replied back as he shook her hand.

She whistled and a pair of oxen came over to her. She climbed up hers, offering the other to him. Ares hopped atop and then Rehka led them towards the tribe.

“My father says you are a weird man.” Rehka started off their chit chat.

“Oh yeah? Your father would be right.” Ares replied back with a chuckle.

“Do you truly intend to take on all seven great warriors? It is not too late to stop with this foolish behaviour.”

“Foolish behaviour?”

“Are you not a chief? You should know your limits, otherwise those under you will feel the pain of your negligence.”

“So, you’re one of those, are you?” Ares chuckled.

“One of what?” Rehka replied.

“Someone with a truly good heart, though your words are more blunt than any hammer.”

Rehka smiled. “Yes, I guess that is correct.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about me. If I can’t beat them all, then I’ll know my limit.”

“So you think you can win?”

“I know I will beat the first one, everything beyond that is unknown. I can’t be afraid of the unknown, otherwise I can’t really allow anyone to call me chief. I’m sure I won’t be the greatest chief in the world, but I can be the greatest chief I can possibly be. That’s all they can expect of me, and that’s all I can give them.”

“You truly are weird man.” Rehka said, though her voice was playful and sweet.

It took a few hours, and dusk was steadily approaching before some oxfolk came to meet them, riding away from their large city to meet them out in the wilds still. There were about ten of them, and when they saw Rehka, they seemed to relax.

They grunted to one another before eventually flanking the pair on either side, and then guided them to the giant tent city. It was similar to that of Sohka’s, but there was a large perimeter of blankness around the inner most part. When they finally reached the perimeter, they were asked to dismount and then walk in on foot.

Finally they were handed off to six others, all of these wore no tops, and Ares tried to avoid looking at the pair of topless women that were a part of the six. ‘What’s with these exhibitionists?’ He turned slightly red as he was led to a large tent in the middle, where he could see Morak glaring at him from outside.

They seemed to grumble something to the oxman opposite them, who flared their nostrils, but didn’t seem to reply otherwise. As Ares was led into the large tent, the first thing that hit him was the intense smell of the incense burning. It was a wooden, musky smell that filled the air. The next thing he noticed, a large man that sat up against a number of pillows, their lower body covered by a large, thick blanket.

They were topless, revealing a broad chest, their dark hair loosely flowed down the front of their shoulders. Their skin was pale, their body covered in a thick layer of sweat. Their eyes seemed to be half fallen, yet they tried to remain sitting tall and proud. ‘Damn, this guy is manly.’ Ares couldn’t help but think. Even so, he could very obviously see the amount of effort it required.

The man brought up his arms, flexing them to reveal his muscular form, and then pat the base of his horns, which went back and then curled up at the sides of his head. So it seemed that Morak couldn’t sleep on his back, his father couldn’t sleep on his sides.

“I am Torak, and you are welcomed honoured guest.” He growled out, though his voice was low.

“I am Ares, and I am honoured to be so welcomed.” Ares replied back. Torak motioned for them to sit, and so Ares did, sitting cross legged. Torak growled something to those nearby, and one left quickly.

Torak did not say anything, and Ares waited until he was told to speak. Torak started to growl towards Rehka, who replied back in their tongue. Torak’s gaze them fell onto Ares.

“You have come to speak with me.” Torak stated.

“Yes, I have.” Ares nodded. “I mostly have come to pay my respects.”

“Mostly?”

“Well, seeing your condition, I see you are quite poorly. Is this why I was unable to speak with you with the other horns?”

The air seemed to grow tense, but Torak replied as he had before. “Yes, I am very sorry. Due to this sudden illness, I was unable to come meet with you.”

“I see. Can I ask for the nature of the illness?”

“You don’t need to trouble yourself with such matters.” Torak replied back.

“I know, I’m just asking. If there is any way I can help, I’d like to offer such a thing.”

Torak remained silent for a moment. “My shamans have told me that I have ramblut.”

“Ramblut?”

“It is a rare affliction that affects very few of our people. It only occurs in adulthood, and quickly kills.”

“That does sound horrible.” Ares replied back dryly. “Is there a way to cure the disease?”

Torak bowed his head. “I will be sending a few of my warriors to retrieve a herb.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“There is a chance they do not return.”

“Then will you send others?”

“No. If they are unable to retrieve the herb, I will send no more to their deaths.”

Ares nodded. “How long will it take for them to retrieve the herb, if they manage to find it?”

“Three days.”

“… If you weren’t suffering from this affliction, would you say you were the strongest one in this tribe?”

“I would be, or perhaps my brothers.”

“Then I’ll go and help your warriors, that way I can fight the strongest one.” Ares smirked.

Torak narrowed his eyes. “It would take me some time to recover.”

“Well, I suppose I’ll do it out of the good my heart.” He shrugged.

Torak remained still and silent as tea was brought to them. “My son told me you were a foolish human.”

“If your son calls me a human one more time, I’ll slap him.” Ares replied back, a smile still on his face.

“Do you think I will allow you to strike my son ahead of me?”

“I’ll do it. So you’d better rest up well, then you can take your revenge during the fight.”

Torak stared into his eyes. Rehka offered her cup to them, and he poured the drink. Ares offered his cup, and Torak poured. Torak then placed the pot down. He paused and then picked up his cup, holding it out to Ares.

‘Whoa…’ Ares stared into their eyes, and then poured in some tea for them, before they gently sipped their tea.

“Very well. If you want to go with my warriors, I will not stop you.” Torak replied. “I apologise for my son’s rude behaviour.” They bowed their head, and looked as though they were going to topple, but with some effort they pulled back up.

“No, it’s fine.”

“He will be heading to find the herb as well, so if he calls you a human once more, you may slap him out of my sight.”

Ares laughed, almost choking on the sweet tea. “Alright, I’ll be sure to slam him good. I don’t want to take any more of your time, I’d feel guilty if your affliction was aggravated because of me. Would you mind if I went to go speak with your warriors?”

Torak nodded and then motioned an arm. Ares quickly stood, and then left. He could hear the sound of Torak falling back, and then followed the oxman that led him out to five large oxfolk, all of whom were also topless, three of them being women.

Morak also followed, and then walked over to the oxfolk, saying something in their language.

Rehka whispered into his ear. “He called you a human.”

Ares whispered loudly. “The coward is clever, to not let me hear him say it.”

Morak turned. “Coward? I’m not afraid of you, human sc-”

In a flash, Ares had stepped forward and brought a hand down against their cheek, holding back just a little as Morak was flung aside.

The five warriors all stood, weapons at the ready. The oxfolk behind stepped in front of Ares, snarling something at the five warriors. Ares looked over to Rehka, who couldn’t help the smile on her face.

“Excuse me, I should introduce myself. I am Ares, and I have spoken with Torak. He has allowed me to come with you to find this herb, and he has also given me permission to slap his son whenever he calls me a human.” He smiled. “You may ask Rehka, or these fine oxfolk to confirm my words.” He continued to smile.

The oxfolk growled something, and with that the five sat down again. One of the women called out to him, and Ares glanced over to Morak. “So why has a … why have you, Ares, come to help Torak?”

“It’s simple, he said that I could slap Morak whenever he called me a human.”

“Are we allowed to call you a human?”

“I prefer not.”

“Why will you not show me respect and look at me when you respond to me…”

“Because then I’ll see your… breasts.” Ares gulped, his heard pounding in his chest. ‘It’s weird right? Won’t they think I’m a creep if I did that?’ He thought, not realising how flagrant they were with such display.

The oxfolk roared with laughter, even Rehka behind him did so. Rehka slapped his back. “Though you may not be a human, you sure act like one.” She said. “I heard that they prefer to keep their above covered. We sometimes grow too hot for such a thing. The keepers do not wear anything that covers their top, regardless of the weather or temperature.”

“Why is that?”

“It is the way. We have given our lives to the chief, something like the cold is nothing to us.”

“That makes sense…” Ares nodded his head. “What is this herb that we’re going to gather?” Ares asked, raising his brow questioningly.

“It is the black viper herb, a herb that grows from the poison of a black viper.”

“Sounds rather scary.” Ares said. “So is there a chance we’ll be poisoned?”

“The chances are high, though it’s poison is only terrifying if you are bit by it. Have you faced a black viper before?”

“No, I can’t say I have. Will you please tell me more about it… oh, uh, what is your name?” He finally asked the woman, though still kept his eyes shut, his arms crossed as he visualised the task at hand.

“I am Korra.” She said. The others introduced themselves as well; Salea, Koifon for the women, Roshe, Kask, Ronfan for the men. Then she went on to explain how they’d have to face the black viper, and that for it’s size, it’s pretty quick.

“So, it’s fairly small and agile, huh? It’ll be hard to notice…”

“No, not at all. It’s the size of about twelve of us oxfolk from head to tip.” Korra smiled at him.

“Oh…”