My Servant System

Lugging my ice chests behind me, I walked alongside both Eyoli and Valaka, the two Arese women conversing with me softly as we made our way Northwards.

The subjects brought up were vastly different from one another; Eyoli would inquire about my fighting style and how I learned to fight, while Valaka would then ask about my home and the people in it.

When it got back to Eyoli, she asked about my lovers, wanting to understand more about me and my tastes, only for Valaka to bring the conversation to another different thing, asking about the largest monsters or animals I've ever hunted.

The two didn't seem to care about the topic, and whenever we found something interesting to discuss, we lost ourselves to the topic.

For instance, I wanted to learn more about how the Arese hunted something as large as mammoths, and what they used each part of the mammoths for.

Obviously, they ate the meats and donned the furs, but I learned that most of the weapons they wielded were made from mammoth bones, since that was the prime target for them to fell.

Each huntress and guard would need to participate in a hunt of their own to get access to some of the bones, which would then be used to create their own weapons.

Obviously, bone itself wasn't the strongest thing to use as a weapon, especially not when I noticed that some of the women did indeed have metal tools on them.

However, back in Scythiara, a group of the Arese Tribe studied magic diligently, and these were the Priestess' of the Tribe.

They were both the spiritual as well as the magical leaders of the Tribe, and they were the ones you needed to go to to get yourself magical tattoos and enchanted weaponry.

Most of the enchantments were cheap, since the most common one to purchase was simply a hardening enchantment and durability enchantment, but some got fancy.

Eyoli's giant hammer was enchanted to be heavier and harder then normal bone, and one side of the hammer had an enchantment to summon a blade of wind, turning it from a hammer to an axe.

Valaka, on the other hand, had her daggers made lighter and sharper, whilst a few had water enchantments to lengthen the blade using moisture, creating swords for her to use.

The two women were proud of their weapons, telling me the enormous cost they paid to get them.

Both needed to trade valuable goods with the Priestess' of Scythiara, namely the manufactured goods from Polaris City, which meant many, many hunts.

Though, they both said it was more then worth it, since they were now amongst the top of the Arese inside this traveling group, giving them prestige and certain privileges.

Besides the weapons, I asked about the tattoo's as well, and that was when I learned that the Arese normally were incapable of awakening their Cores, leaving them magicless for their entire lives.

The Core was still there, but they weren't capable of regulating mana around the body, meaning they were stuck as 'just mortals'.

However, some still awakened their mana, and those were the Priestess' of the Tribe.

With their magic unlocked, they could forcefully awaken parts of their Tribemates Cores, allowing mana to seep through their veins.

Except, the normal Arese couldn't exactly control their mana naturally, since they had never felt mana before in their life; therefor, the Priestess' came up with a way to solve that problem.

Magical Tattoos that forcefully activate with the will of the person they're on.

If you need to increase your skins hardness, and that's the spell engraved on your body, simply will it to activate, and boom!

You now have strong skin!

It's a crude, primitive way of going about using mana, but for a race of women so gifted physically, this was simply the check that balanced them out; it wasn't just unique to them either.

Orcs are brutish specimens on their own, usually around four or five times stronger then the average human male alone.

Then, with a Core and mana added to the mix, it gets a little crazy.

So, their control over said mana is abysmal, to the point that seeing an Orc capable of doing any kind of magic is usually pretty rare; full Orcs, that is.

Hybrids like Nirinia are rare, but utterly potent; she comes from a magical race - the Djinn's - and a physical race - the Orc's - to create someone incredibly strong and capable of utilizing her mana.

Obviously, it isn't perfect; she isn't a good magician, but she doesn't need to be one.

One punch from her can floor most people instantly, even those of similar strengths or 'levels'.

As for Dogkin, our racial 'disadvantage' is that we... aren't good at anything, really.

Great senses, sure, but we don't stand out in other aspects, especially not magic.

Most Dogkin tend to be skilled trackers and scouts, but of course, exceptions pop up; my Mother and I, for example.

So, while it isn't the most interesting aspect of this world, understanding the differences between the races - and the hybrids as well - could provide insight into what exactly my opponents will be predisposed to doing.

Stereotypes exist for a reason, and can be useful in a fight, since you can go in having a rough idea on what your opponent *might* be capable of.

Anyways, learning all of that from Eyoli and Valaka was interesting, and that only made my desire to understand their Tribe grow that much more.

After all, they were all Hybrids themselves, and they had grown to overcome whatever weaknesses their race might have inherited through being apart of so many different hereditary branches.

It was this moment that made me ecstatic that I had chosen to accompany the Arese Tribe to Polaris City, as we managed to arrive to Scythiara before I had even realized.

What would have dragged on and felt like eternity earlier now flew by like a breeze, and I grinned as we began to make our way towards the collection of large rock walls and colorful tarps.

The Arese around us all sighed happily as the walls of their home appeared, and everyone began to walk just a bit faster, wanting to stop for the day.

Only hours had passed, but lugging around various pelts, bones, and other materials was really straining on the body, even for a race like theirs.

Approaching the large gates, I saw multiple tall, muscle bound charcoal skinned women looking over the ramparts, spears and bows in their hands.

"Is that you, Liana?"

One of the guards shouted over the walls, and the Priestess stepped forwards, her arms spread wide as she shouted back "It's me, Cani; open the gates! We have returned!"

Nodding, the women on the walls began to shout orders down below them, and moments later the large stone gates slowly slid open.

"Come on everyone! Inside quickly now!"

Waving us all in, the Priestess remained where she was as she looked over the expedition, making sure everyone made their way in before joining us.

Scythiara was a large, crude city, but it was rather beautiful as well.

A thick ring of stones had been piled and smoothed out to create the tall walls encompassing the area, which was a spacious semi circle.

The buildings inside were of two makes; sprawling tents and lean-to's created temporary housing all around, much like the encampment we were in a day earlier, while the other buildings were made from stone, much like the walls.

Flat, squat squares filled the flat tundra, and gravel paved the way around this city.

Although everything was rather crude, it all functioned perfectly for the citizens, who laughed and joked as they went about their day.

Unlike the Arese I had grown accustomed to, the women and girls running around the city were all short, gentle looking Arese, their skin almost perfectly black without a single white tattoo adorning the.

Their bodies looked soft and unaccustomed to perilous work, while their hair was just as black as their skin, contrasting the greys of the hunters and warriors.

Sensing my confusion, Eyoli chuckled as she said "It's... a long story, but one of our founders disliked combat; she was a quiet, caring woman, and so she preferred to look after her siblings. Even though her siblings were brash and rowdy women who loved fighting as much as they loved air, they loved their sister even more, so they made sure to protect her. When she married and had children, these variations of Arese were born, and they were all gentle women just like her. It's a reminder that everyone needs something to fight for, something warm and caring for us all to temper ourselves with."

Valaka nodded, her eyes soft as she added "They take care of most tasks that would be otherwise... boring for us. I don't particularly enjoy cooking, nor do any of the expedition enjoy sewing or crafting. We only do so out of necessity. They are the opposite; they love the arts, love to make and create things, where we enjoy destroying or tearing things down. Two sides of the same coin, I believe is the phrase."

Chuckling softly, I watched as some of the women and girls swarmed some of the warriors, laughing happily as they launched themselves at the returned Arese.

Many were swiftly dragged away by their families, wanting to get the most out of the time they had together, whilst others looked on with smiles of both happiness and envy as they stood alone.

Glancing at the two women beside me, I raised a brow as Eyoli coughed gently into her fist, while Valaka looked away.

"I thought you two said you were important? Sought after? So... why are we alone now?"

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Sorry it's been rather... slow paced recently; just needed a quick little break to rest my mind a bit. Anyways, hope you enjoy the Arese, since we'll be with them for a bit, hence the info-dump on them~!

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