“Where do I begin?” Nolkonoe said, looking to Charlie who had only managed to move a little more into the room.

“What happened?” he asked in morbid curiosity, “After the sacrifices to the Goddess of war?” Charlie said, only managing to steel his nerves by keeping his eyes locked on her and avoiding seeing the blood and bones on the floor.

“Once those sacrifices were given, I and the other clan leaders readied ourselves to sacrifice the men we had chosen. No, they weren’t men, they were scum,” Nolkonoe said, a mix of anger and sympathy in her eyes.

“What happened?” Charlie said, not wanting to know, and wanting to just turn and leave.

“The Lead Huntress and Lead warrior bound the men to these poles. As did me and the Lead Forger,” she said, looking at the four poles on either side.

Again, she began to recount what had happened.

Drums echoed through the temple. Through the entrance came the four leaders of the clan. The Lead Huntress and Warrior moved to their respected three men. Nolkonoe moved to Maxwell Green Water, son of the Region Lord before he had the title. Staring down, Nolkonoe broke from her story.

“I didn’t know who he was, or who his father would become,” Nolkonoe said, her eyes large with tears.

“If I hadn’t killed him, would the Region Lord have not come to this area?” she said, noticing the tears in her eyes and quickly wiping them away.

“Sorry,” she said, smiling at him.

“You don’t have to say if you don’t want to,” Charlie said, doing his best to hide the trembles in his voice. Looking at the piles of blood and bones on the ground, he thought it was best to not know what she had done back then, and what had happened recently here.

“Anyway, I just wanted to tell you this… story from a long time ago for two reasons. First, a warning, second an explanation,” Nolkonoe said, finally turning and walking out. Seeing the look of terror in his eyes, Nolkonoe placed a kiss on his cheek on Charlie.

“Here we did to some criminals the same thing I did to the son of the Region Lord,” she said, wanting to explain the bloody scene in as little detail as possible.

“Come outside, I’ll talk to you further about this,” Nolkonoe said as she walked him outside. Closing the door behind her, she looked to see Charlie’s pale face.

“So why am I here,” Charlie said quietly, not daring to look behind himself to the door.

“I said to you I wouldn’t hide anything, so I brought you here to tell you what I found while at the Region Lord’s outpost. At the time I panicked, thus why I didn’t want you to look at the booklet. It contained all the criminals we had brought for breeding and sacrificing. We thought what we were doing was good, and I still believe it is and was. We bring new life into the world while snuffing out that evil. It just so happens that the reason the region Lord came here and the reason he has tormented us, is because I bred and sacrificed his son,” Nolkonoe explained. Charlie stayed quiet as he contemplated what she said. She had killed the son of the Region Lord, explaining to him why he had lied about owning the land and taking it over. He wanted revenge.

“I just thought you would want to know why he holds such hatred for us,” Nolkonoe said, moving to Charlie and wrapping her arms around his side.

Nolkonoe sat with Charlie along with a pile of pillows. Neither was too sure what to say to one another. Contemplating the information given to him, Charlie sat in quiet thought. Gathering what she told him, he understood that the reason the Region lord had been so tyrannical for the past five years was due to wanting revenge.

Nolkonoe had panicked before when she found the documents because she had discovered that the man, she had bred with and then brutally sacrificed was his son. Raping the natives was his way of getting revenge for what they had done to his son. Taxing them was he was of starving them and trying to force them into declaring war. A war in which he could then take his revenge. Bastard.

Looking to Nolkonoe, Charlie found it hard to not hold her a little accountable for the Region Lord being so monstrous. Despite having a sliver of sympathy towards him, Charlie still felt an overwhelming hatred.

“Who were the ones in there?” Charlie asked, referring to the most recent sacrifices.

“They were some male raiders. Besides them, we haven’t been able to buy any criminals due to the Region Lord preventing us from doing so,” Nolkonoe explained, putting an arm around the nervous boy.

“This brings me back to my first reason for bringing you here. I want you to know that despite how bloody and evil you may see our practices as, know that I would gladly do it again in a heartbeat if it meant that there were fewer monsters like those men in the world, a necessary evil is how I think you would put it,” Nolkonoe carried on.

“But since we have stopped doing this practice, there has been a great lack of men in our tribe. Our species give birth to males so having those criminals was how we repopulated. For example, my daughter, she is the child I had with the Region Lord’s son,”

“Does she know that?” Charlie questioned, wanting to know the severity of the situation. Staring at him, Nolkonoe could almost see the battle waging in his mind over who was the lesser evil. The Region Lord for wanting revenge, or the natives wanting to rid the world of evil, even if it was through such barbaric means. But even then, the reason they were so barbaric was that they wanted to have the men pay through their pain and give children to the tribe.

Holding his head in his hands, Charlie started to debate whether who was in the right and wrong, or even if there was a person in the right. After a while of silence, he raised his head and spoke.

“So, what’s the problem?”

“You aren’t angry? Or scared of what we have done and actively do?” A confused Nolkonoe answered.

“I have no one else other than this tribe. Whether or not it is filled with monsters, I can have a piece of mind knowing that you kill enough bastards to make up for any evil you have done. No matter how angry I want to be, which I am, I still have committed myself too much to your people,” Charlie said, his once still cracking slightly as he wasn’t sure whether to cry or scream. Smiling, Nolkonoe leaned over and placed a kiss on the side of his cheek.

“And I know that telling me this was a great risk on your part as it could have easily turned me against you. But I trust you, I am having no one else to trust,” Charlie said, leaning his head against Nolkonoe.

“Thank you for telling the truth,” Charlie said with a wide smile. Smiling back, Nolkonoe kissed him again.

“Now that is out of the way, I wish to lead the first part of why I brought you here into the second. You are in danger,” Charlie froze as he heard her say this. Originally, he assumed she was just going to try and tell him more about the tribe and their darker side, but this was something that shook him far more.

“Since our men came from criminals, there has been a lack of men. And since you have proven yourself to be quite worthy of being one of our people, many clans shall fight for your affection,” Nolkonoe said, trying her best to downplay the situation as she could tell from the slight trembles and cracks in his voice that he was still getting over being inside the temple as well as hearing about the bloody past of the tribe.

“To understand how potentially dangerous this is, I think it is best I explain how our tribe works,” Nolkonoe stopped speaking as she saw the bags under his eyes. Her explaining the rituals and history of the conflict with the Region Lord had been a little much for him. Unfortunate thing.

“If you like I can put you to sleep for a while, and then we can talk about this,” Nolkonoe said in calming, almost motherly tone.

“I’m fine. It’s just…. Hard hearing about someone as kind as you are doing such…” Charlie didn’t have to say anything further as he looked back towards the temple. Nolkonoe sighed, she was happy that she didn’t explain how she sacrificed the son of the Region Lord. That would have broken him. Hugging him, Nolkonoe pulled him closer.

“Don’t you worry my little one? I’ll take great care of you no matter what,” grabbing the sides of his face, she turned him to look at her. Her tone became far more serious as she locked eyes with him. A flash of purple in her eyes placed him into an unusual calm.

“In our tribe, violence is the last option, reserved for those who we deem evil. No matter how many times I need to say it, I will, until you believe me, we only hurt bad people. The son of the Region Lord just so happened to be one of those people. As you said, we may be monsters, but we kill those far worse than ourselves. Think about it, if one man kills ten people (the requirement to even be sacrificed in the way those men were) what shall stop him from doing it again? Killing him has probably saved many more lives,” Nolkonoe reassured as she wrapped her arms around him tighter.

“I love you; we all love you but remember that is why many battles to have you join their clan,” again Nolkonoe used her eyes on him, immediately calming him and clearing his mind of any fear.

“So, do you want some rest, or can I start explaining?” Nolkonoe said with a bright smile. For a moment Charlie was quiet as he thought. Considering every she had said, he couldn’t help but agree. What they did was evil, but a necessary one.

“I’m ready, tell me how the tribe is run,” Charlie said, and Nolkonoe began her explanation of tribal politics and affairs. Despite moving onto a new topic, both were happy to simply know that now they could begin to be honest with each other. It would take a long time for them to be fully open with each other, but Nolkonoe exposing herself and the tribe’s dark past is defiantly a good begging. Something thought kept him distracted. Those eyes of hers. In his life, he could have sworn that they had flashed purple, and when she had done so it had brought a wave of calm and rationality over him.

“What did you do to me?” Charlie asked quietly as he stared at her.

“What do you mean pup?” Nolkonoe tried to fain ignorance. But seeing the flicker of hate in his eyes, and not wanting to undo any trust she had just built, she explained her power.

“My eyes can make you feel one of two emotions. Hate, or calm, I saw you were getting stressed up and wanting to be nice, I used the power on you. I can promise I have no bad intentions, in my life!” Nolkonoe pleaded. Satisfied with the response, Charlie only gave her a light kick in response.

“Thank you. But please ask me before you do that again,” Charlie said, staring down at the wolf woman. Nodding, she agreed to his demands.

“Anything for you my dear,” she said with a smile.

“And again, I’m sorry I hid our history for so long,” Nolkonoe said, knowing she had said It for what felt like the hundredth time, but still she wanted to have his trust and forgiveness. Shaking his head, Charlie smiled.

“The past can’t be changed, so apologising does nothing. Let’s just move on and promise one another we shall be entirely honest,” Charlie put a handout to his side. For a moment Nolkonoe stared at his hand, not knowing whether she could keep the promise. Deciding that there were worst things he had done rather than lie one time, she shook his hand. Still, though, she did want to try her best.

“Alright then, shall we get back to business,” Nolkonoe said with her bright smile.

Calmed and returning to the topic at hand, they toned down their enjoyment as they turned to look at each other. Taking in a deep breath, Nolkonoe and Charlie, both resided themselves to start diving into the deep seeded history and political landscape of this tribe.

“It all begins with the four clans and a point system we have in place. Whichever tribe has the three points or the most points at least, is the one who is crowned the lead tribe. And their leader becomes the Chiefess,” Charlie listened intently. Ready to unravel a new mysterious part of this ever increasingly complex tribe.