Centaurs might not be part of the so-called beastmen alliance that was created for the siege of human-occupied lands. But at the end of the day, they were part of the beastmen race as well. Hence, there was a good chance Yalda's question might come as too intrusive to Naila.
When in proximity to experts that can simply pinch you to death, weak people like Yalda can never be too careful. Even at this time while Naila had not particularly reacted to her words, she was sweating bullets.
"You do realize centaurs aren't a party in the beastmen alliance?" The counter question might be too much for a faint-hearted Yalda to answer, as such it was time for Linda to jump in. "We are very much aware. Just the fact that you acted to save us and aren't keen on harming us is proof in itself."
Seeing Naila was yet to react, Linda bowed her head deeply. "If the question offends madam, then I apologize on behalf of my servant." After only a short break and a long breath, Linda continued. "Let me try rephrasing our plight, madam. Recently I lost my husband and son to such a raiding party... So if you could guide us a little over this matter.. we shall be forever grateful."
Just the fact that she was asking for help from a centaur was proof of Linda's desperate circumstances. Naila carefully listened to whatever the mature woman had to say, yet she didn't react swiftly. Life and death were a common occurrence in this world, such a matter could not faze a true expert like her.
"I regret your loss, lady. However.." Naila wanted to tell the two women that she was not willing to bring her tribe on the crosshairs of the beastmen alliance. But she ate her words midway discovering the moist eyes of the woman opposite her.
Be it human or beastmen, Naila knew very well how much a personal loss meant to them. "Firstly, I truly don't have any knowledge of such a raiding party that you are speaking of. Secondly, even if you manage to locate such a party.. what can you even do? By now they must already be in the alliance's territory."
Over the past decades, it's always been the hardy beastmen tribes that had invaded human countries. Never once have the humans managed to bring the war to the alliance's territory. That's the reason Naila held some amount of skepticism in her words.
Even if Linda had a great background, it would be foolish to assume Cylon will risk another grinding war for the loss of a single family. Sure enough, their relative silence over her questions was an answer in itself.
"I know the feeling must be horrible. But if you try to take matters into your own hands, you know better than me your end will be worse than death." Naila might have come out as rude, nevertheless, this was actually her concern showing itself.
Not every tribe in the alliance was civilized like Centaurs. There were some who love to capture humans and make a show out of them. Naila's severe warnings were meant to dissuade the Wilder woman from trying to sneak into the beastmen territory to plan her revenge.
Coming across Linda's spaced-out eyes, Naila could only direct her gaze towards her assistant who reacted promptly by putting her head down. "We are aware of our limits, Madam Naila." She can only hope that the advice from such an expert will be enough to deter the suicidal tendencies of her mistress.
"You are a strong one. But there are countless such strong individuals in the alliance. Say less about identifying the one who took out your family, you can forget even wounding them at your level." If there was truly a party of beastmen who were brave enough to invade the enemy territory and take out humans without being caught, Naila can perfectly improvise that such individuals were out of Linda's league.
"We Centaurs don't particularly like those Barbarians either, that's why I am telling you this..." For the first time, Naila took the initiative to gently squeeze Linda's shoulders, in order to console her. In return, the red-eyed lady raised her head to stare back at her.
"You only have two choices. Either assume your loss to be an act of fate and live the rest of your life in peace. Else..." Naila can see her audience was much more interested in the next part of her sentence. "Else reach the level of a grand mage in your lifetime. Only a person of such absolute strength can hope to sneak behind the enemy lines to take out their targets."
The burning passion in Linda's eyes told Naila that she might just have lit a fire in her heart. If she could keep this passion burning, she may one day break into the ranks of the grand mages.
"You are right. Right now I will only be courting death." Surprisingly, Linda was able to recover from the distraught state once Naila had shown her the way. "Good for you then. We don't have access to proper intelligence on the alliance's actions, but if I ever come across who was involved... I shall at least provide you a name."
This was much more assistance than the Wilder women bargained for. Even too much generosity from an expert like Naila can be bothersome. "Won't that generate a rift between the alliance and the Centaur tribe... if this matter comes to light?"
Yalda was the one who raised concern, causing the big centaur woman to start laughing gracefully. "Hahaha... that is fine. Our relations aren't all brotherly even now. You can say many neutral tribes like ours are just tolerating the ambitions of the alliance."
Beastmen's territory lacked well-defined borders since their lands were marred with difficult terrain and dense forests. Nevertheless, one thing was certain.. their territory was humongous when compared to what the human species held.
Linda can only thank the fact that the beastmen lacked proper cordiality between themselves because all different tribes of beastmen combined their strength under the same banner... human kingdoms will fall within weeks if not days.
"Besides, as long as our leader is there, we centaurs need not fear anyone." Naila's words emerged from a position of extreme confidence. Everyone knew about the infamous leader of the Centaur tribe. He was the one who was challenged by the ruler of the Beastmen alliance and had remained undefeated, winning the Centaur tribe their current fame.
Linda nodded. Human interaction with such important beastmen experts had been very rare, therefore, the Slider lady could not help but seek some guidance from her on the status of hostility between the two nations.
Naila once again proved to be a patient listener. However, along with that, she proved herself to be blunt as ever. "You are fighting a losing war. Without any drastic changes in the status quo, there is not in a million-year chance that you can successfully defend."
Candidly shrugging her shoulders, the lady centaur gave the two women a cruel reality check. "And you two must know better than me that your species is already in dire straits when it comes to producing young ones."
"If I have to be honest with you, Beast King is just toying around with the human nations. He is very much aware that other species will be watching his hostile takeover of human territory with suspicious eyes. That's the reason he desires to minimize his losses, so that once he emerges victorious.. other species won't start an all-out war with him."
Linda was sure these kinds of considerations must have been brought for discussion within the Royal Court of the Cylon Empire as well. But hearing it from one of the powerhouses of the beastmen species had its own captivation to it.
"Then again, you guys are fighting for your home. It will be naive of me to think that you will choose subjugation willingly." Naila sighed as if not pleased with the results, yet found herself incapable of influencing them. "This conflict is going to stretch out for years... who knows how many lives will be sacrificed."
Even with their fascination with fights, centaurs were at their core against death and destruction. According to them, strongmen should resolve any issues between them by means of a duel instead of laying down so many innocent lives. Yet, they were cognisant that the world was not an ideal place.
"Madam is correct. If possible, I believe our two species should be more worried about whatever these things are.." Yalda meanwhile surveyed the rocky ground covered with large stalks of shattered Krypto Vines. "Alas.. but that will be expecting too much from the situation, I guess."
Shockingly, Naila actually carried a different opinion. "Contrarily, once today's occurrence comes to light... I think even the Beast King will have his ears perked up. These vines were already a pain in the ass and now we have evidence that whoever is behind this black magic, is also experimenting with demonic magic."
Naila's revelation definitely came as a pleasant surprise to the two Wilder women. "You think so..?" Yalda was driven by her curiosity. A grand mage-level expert was truly a fountain of knowledge. She can't resist her thirst to comprehend the bigger world.
"Indeed. I am sure you humans must also be aware of these Vines targeting not only the plantation in your territory but rather it's a worldwide phenomenon." Linda and Yalda certainly had some apprehension about this, however, they were not very clear on the true scope of the problem.
Both women nodded repeatedly, prompting Naila to continue. "World powers were already worried about this matter of vines devouring our lifeline, so you can imagine our horror when we come to know that these vines might have a demonic origin."
"If you guys are lucky, Beast King might actually decide against a full-force invasion.. at least as long as this matter doesn't reach a conclusive end." Naila's words were like a ray of hope for the human kingdoms. Does this mean they were at the cusp of a ceasefire with the Beastmen alliance?
Too bad for Linda, before she could push the mighty Centaur lady for more answers, her head turned as she stared into the distance. "The brats are here. I guess we should get on the move."
Seeing Naila get back on her hooves, the two humans didn't dare remain sitting. "You are such a benevolent soul, Madam Naila. If only our species had not been involved in such rabid hostility, I would have loved to toast you with some wine."
"Haha.. rightly said. Us centaurs don't see any point in encroaching on others' territory. With every passing decade, our population is only going to shrink.. who will even be there to occupy these vast lands?" When faced with the hand of fate, even a mighty expert like Naila can only reveal a desolate expression.
Even with all the indications of the centaur woman not being interested in further talks as her eyes followed the distant figures walking in their direction, Linda can't help but shoot one last question at her senior.
"Do you really think it's the curse of the Demon clan? Are we truly unable to do anything about it?" It's not like Linda didn't have answers to her own questions, but what she needed was a fresh perspective.
"The nature and the virility of the curse are such that only the Demon clan could produce something like it. In the end, whether it's the Demon clan behind our plight or not, the case remains that we mortals are incapable of overturning this hand of fate."
Linda can only imagine what level of helplessness one must be feeling for referri
ng to themselves as incompetent despite being one of the strongest. "I understand."
