Dimensional Descent

Elthor looked up to meet the murky gaze of the head of the tribe. He didn’t answer immediately, instead looking around and gauging the reactions of everyone else.

As one might expect, not everyone was happy that Elthor would express his opinion first. Though the men who were on the Oryx Council were much more measured than the ones who would pick fights with him day in and day out, as far as Elthor was concerned, they were just better at hiding it. No amount of maturity would make a man okay with his wife being so attracted to another.

Toward this, Elthor could only shake his head. His smell wasn’t even present while he was in his normal form. But, in order to prove that he was an Oryx back then, he had no choice but to enter his battle form which had practically imprinted his scent in the minds of everyone.

Luckily, Leonel had expected this and constructed a few counter plans, but they would still take time to implement, that much couldn’t be changed. That said… This was an opportunity to bring up the due date by a few measures.

“I believe that we should accept.”

Let alone the others, even Raymundus was surprised by these words. He wasn’t a fool, he could tell that Elthor had been brought over to rope them all in. If anything, Heira’s appearance was no different from throwing a wrench in his plans.

The fact that Elthor wanted them to join him wasn’t a secret, this wasn’t something that he could hide. The only real secret was that he was working at the behest of Leonel rather than some mysterious, unknown Oryx Kingdom. This information was more than enough for them to understand that Elthor may very well be against this.

Raymundus had asked Elthor first precisely because he knew all of this. He didn’t want his small Tribe to end up in a power struggle between two entities.

They knew too little about the worlds outside of Planet Valiant. There very well could be an Oryx Kingdom that they had never heard of. But, think for a moment… Why would such a Kingdom go so far out of their way to send a Prince to recruit them?

Even if they were from the same race, one only needs to see the interaction between humans to know that this isn’t normally enough to maintain peace. There’s no reason for such a Kingdom to care about a group they’d see as no different from a bunch of hillbillies.

Why then would Elthor come? Wasn’t it obvious…? He needed their strength. And if that was the case, didn’t that mean that this Kingdom was in trouble? It was a very logical conclusion to leap to and one that neither Leonel nor Elthor would blame them for having. In fact, it was almost preferrable that they believed this.

It was in the nature of the intelligent to not believe in what was too good to be true. Someone who was wizened and had seen much of the world wouldn’t easily accept that some higher power was helping them out of the kindness of their heart.

As long as Raymundus and the others believed that Elthor had a purpose for using them, they could then assess the situation themselves. If things were in the form of a transaction, it would be easier to swallow, especially if the Oryx felt they had some use.

Oryx weren’t afraid of battle. What they wanted to maintain was their pride and dignity. Beyond that, they wouldn’t even mind drowning in a river of blood…

However, it was exactly for all of these reasons that Elthor’s words were so baffling. Him saying this made Raymundus raise his guard. It felt almost too good to be true and nearly reset Elthor right back to square one.

Until, that is… Raymundus continued.

“The same way they want to use us, can we not use them as well?” Elthor said.

Raymundus’ murky gaze narrowed. “Continue.”

“Your Tribe is currently in a state of Hyper Evolution. What I failed to tell you all before is that my Kingdom had once been in such a state as well, that is why I have two forms I can enter, one of which is capable of hiding my scent.”

Raymundus looked toward the other elders and they all simultaneously nodded. It seemed that they had reached this conclusion long ago as well. But this was perfect for Elthor, it made him more believable, especially since he was already using large kernels of truth.

“Unfortunately, though I am quite talented as a result of our Hyper Evolution period, we never took full advantage of it. My father always said had we prepared adequately, even the galaxy itself would be in the palm of our hands.”

The temperature of the room seemed to rise, the blood of warriors that ran through their veins surging at faster speeds.

“I myself never wanted to be a King. In my opinion, we Oryx aren’t meant to rule, we are meant to conquer. Whatever means that we can grab at that greater strength with is the path that we should take.

“There is no illusion here, I do want you all to join my Kingdom as warriors beneath our flag. However, I am also keenly aware of my Kingdom’s current weakness and its inability to help you all.

“At the same time, I don’t want to see my fellow Oryx fall into the hands of someone who only wants to use you without understanding you.

“So, I say to use her. Take her as a chance to see the broader universe, to fight on larger battlefields. I will be there to fight by your sides.

“I can also guarantee that my King will do everything in his power to ensure that you aren’t reliant on outsiders. We can use this opportunity to make this Galaxy… No, this universe, fear the name of the Oryx!”

Elthor’s voice boomed. Even if he never wanted to be a King, what General couldn’t rally his soldiers? This burning passion he was seeing reflecting back in their eyes, this was exactly what he wanted. The Oryx would rise again!

Elthor rolled his spatial ring between his fingers, an undisguised determination lighting his eyes.