Reincarnated to the Past 23: Arnsya 3 (Patreon)

Reincarnated to the Past
Chapter 23: Arnsya 3

-VB-

The duel between Homkal and myself decided how the rest of the chieftains would react. 

During the second meeting between the chiefs, Homkal formally and publicly apologized for his words, and Ghigari accepted that apology magnanimously on my advice without demanding further reparation. The other chiefs, seeing how Ghigari was willing to forgive easily, quickly caved into Ghigari’s previous demands. 

At the end of it all, Ghigari was promised by the Greater Kettin Confederation thirty-nine slave households, half a dozen broodmare horses, two dozen cattles, and ninety iron ingots in total.

If it wasn’t clear, then it was I who asked Ghigari to seek more iron from reparation than slaves and horses we would have to feed in the coming fall and winter. 

And so, they held a feast to celebrate the re-affirmation of the confederation’s promises.

I watched the preparation for tonight’s feast, and I couldn’t help but wonder if this was the end of the problems the confederation would have. The confederation, by its very design, allowed its members to gather to form a unified front but lacked a strong central authority that could make use of that unified front. 

By design, the Kettins would forever play the defender against other regions of the world. Once the Greeks united, they would come up to conquer. Once the Scythians united, they would come and conquer. Hell, if the confederation didn’t change for long enough, then the Romans would come and conquer. 

The loose structure would even allow one of its tribes to grow in strength and conquer the others.

With “Blesseds” like me around, it would happen sooner or later. 

“What are you thinking of, Alan?” Ghigari asked, grim-faced. I looked at him in surprise. “Whenever you are thinking of bad things,” Ghigari added ineloquently but bluntly. “You have this look to your eyes that tells me that you are planning something, just like how you planned out the path of this entire arnsya.”

I blinked in surprise. “I haven’t planned the whole thing out,” I confessed. “Only took advantage of the rumors I have been hearing.”

He scoffed as he sat down next to me on the bench next to a house wall, leaning his back against it. “Then I am more of a fool than I thought I was.”

“Ghigari?”

“Perhaps I am being … dramatic, as you explained the word to me, but whenever I am near you, I feel small, Alan. You know so much. You do so much. I feel small.”

“... I didn’t know.”

“Don’t stop on my behalf, however,” Ghigari quickly interjected with a firm tone. “It is the role of the next generation to surpass the previous generation. This is the will of the gods.”

I didn’t say anything, merely staring back out at the feast preparation.

“Tell me, what would you have done if you had lost? You may not have thought of it as a gamble, but it sure felt like that to me,” he chuckled. “Got sweaty hands and all.”

“... If I truly did lose, then I would have been taken to the Mahk’s. Give it a year or so, and I would have taken over.”

“... Truly?”

“Yes.”

Ghigari chuckled again. “Then it is good that you consider my tribe as yours.”

I smiled. “Well, you guys didn’t stop me from helping yourselves.”

“Yes, you really did put emphasis on that when you talked with me before. And I am glad I let you teach the children how to do numbers. Some of my more shrewd kin are already paying less tax! It’s a little vexing, actually!”

“Of course, tax would be the first thing they use their math on!” I laughed. 

Ghigari grew somber quickly, though. “The tribe will change, yes. I can’t help but feel that I won’t be there to see its rise, though.”

I frowned. “Ghigari, why would you say that?” 

He looked to me. “I feel weak, Alan. I’ve been feeling weak even before you came. The …” he wheezed, stopping himself. “The battle outside of the tribe has worsened whatever has afflicted me. On some days, I stumble out of my bed, Alan.”

My confusion turned into horror. 

“I didn’t bring you to this arnsya because I needed help. I needed to see if you were capable.”

The horror intensified inside of me.

“Capable of what?”

“Leading the tribe.”

I stood up. “No, you can’t do this,” I hissed.

He looked up at me not in surprise but in understanding. “I am sorry,” he said with a downward tilt of his head. “But I simply cannot trust my family. My sons are not ready to be a chief, and I suspect that they never will be. Johaken… he’s a good warrior, but he’s impulsive. He thinks deep planning is a waste and would rather charge into the enemy. I cannot have that sort of a warrior as the head of the Lower River Kettin.”

“And I am an outsider,” I growled. 

“And married my daughter.”

I stared at him. He knew his daughter was an outcast, so why would t-

“You planned for this.”

He smirked in acknowledgement. “I didn’t plan it like you did here, but when I saw that you were willing to talk with her and get to know her, I knew that I had found my successor. The tribe will accept you. You have don-”

“That is not the problem and you know it, Ghigari,” I snapped.

“You mean your unwillingness to lead anything more than a temporary gathering?”

My jaw snapped shut at his words.

“It was hard to see at first. How could a learned wiseman like you not lead? How could he not have been a leader among wisemen?” he asked. “You certainly led the women to battle with ease. You show no discrimination, though I can’t tell if that is a good thing or not. You even had the arns of the Kettin Confederation begging scraps from you for a while.” Ghigari slowly stood up. 

I could see that he was indeed in pain.

“But you also take over a house at the edge of the tribe. You are completely willing to give ground to others if it means less responsibility. You certainly act when you are sure of what you are doing.” He took a step forward and laid a hand on my shoulder. “You do not seek power among people for the sake of power. The way you hunted to feed the children because you promised them food for their education was one. I know of no one who would have done that. It still boggles my mind that you would give for those children to learn, not take payment!” 

“It’s-”

“-Only right?” he finished for me. “You’ve said that phrase quite a bit, and I can’t help but wonder if it isn’t something of an obligation that bore that phrase’s birth back in your homeland.”

He wasn’t wrong. 

“Alan, the life of a tribesman or tribeswoman in these lands is harsh. Death is ever so close. Life as a slave not too far away. Do you not see how important you are to the tribe? You prevented many of our people from being enslaved by the Scythians, if not the destruction of the tribe, You made water much more accessible. You made food more plentiful. You have taught children, the next generation, to follow you and know that you are wise and trustworthy, even if that wasn’t your aim!”

He paused to look at me.

“Do you know what would have happened if I brought my only loyal son to this arnsya? Hmm?” he asked, a little frustrated. 

“No.”

He would have fought Homkal like you did and lost, and I would have lost a son. He, in his impulse, would have lost the tribe even a little reparation that I might have been able to get with words with his actions. Because he is that sort of a man. I cannot have him be the chief of the tribe, but if you refuse to be the chief, then the tribe’s elders would certainly choose my son to be the chief because there is no one else!” 

I clenched my fists in anger and frustration.

“Just… just think about it. When we get home, give me an answer. For now,” he gestured to the feast. “Let’s just enjoy the night and our victory.”

“... Very well.”