Night crept in quietly, but above our heads clouds forming in the east gave the sign of impending danger. Compared to a journey here, the walk to the village itself was pretty quick. According to Ivar, the village is home to four principal clans; clan Haddrick, the oldest and most politically influential house, clan Shqel, the clan who specialize in craftmanship and produces most of the villages tools and weapons, clan Beluga, the largest clan who handle agricultural duties and food processing, and clan Tunu, Ivar's people and who act as the villages primary line of defense and hunters. He told me that most clan members live in large, semi-subterranean structures that house on average 100 people with each clan having hamlet¹ in different sections of the village.

Being guided to there hamlet was an interesting experience. One of the features I found impressive of the village was that they had gravel paved roads along with proto-streetlights using the same kind of moss that illuminated the inside of the boat. As we past the gates to the Tunu hamlet by the edge northern edge of the village, I looked up and saw what I believed to be a crest of five fishes forming an inverted pyramid engraved in wood. There was nobody outside, but I saw the grand clan house. It was made stone with wooden pillars and a earthen roof blanketed in snow; it resembled a longhouse in function, but larger than a football field in size. When Ivar and his daughter, Shasha, went to the large front door, I stayed back with the animals and the haul. 

"Hello?" Ivar knocked. "It is Ivar and Shasha, I have returned."

A minute later, a smaller door inside the larger opened to reveal another man in similar clothing to them but younger than Ivar. "Ivar, the elder will be happy to hear of your return." He greeted, then his smile went when he saw me. "Who is this?" He pointed an axe at me.

"Calm down, Sven." Ivar lowered the axe. "He is my friend. Please, allow him to enter."

"If you trust him, I will allow." He went inside and opened the main door with the help of two other men.

Ivar and his daughter led me inside to a wonder of engineering. The inside of the clan house was rustic, but it was large with dozens of people circled around fire pits cooking, wolves playing with children, and three of the four walls of the structure held two floors of small, apartment sized structures that must have been individual families resided. Right now, I was being led to a meeting area directly in front of the door at the other side of the clan house. With so many people around, I observed most of the Tunu clan had features of blonde hair and blue eyes, and everyone was focused on me.

"Uh, Ivar, is it alright for me to be here?" I whispered.

"Do not worry, the clan means you no ill-will, they are simply unused to seeing someone with..." Ivar struggled to find the words.

"Earth skin?" Shasha guessed. "And your hair looks like a wooly sheep, and your mouth is big."

I know could confirm that nobody in these regions ever saw someone with brown skin or looked non-European.

When we reached to meeting hall, another member took care of the sleigh after I grabbed my stuff and Tremble off it. Then, I walked beside Ivar as he waited with Shasha on his other side. A minute later, three elders were escorted to the elevated platform while everyone else sat cross-legged on the floor. Two elders were men with long beards and walked with canes, and the other one was an old lady sitting between them brewing tea.

"Ivar, we welcome you back home." The old man to the right spoke first.

"Thank you Elder Snow." Ivar kowtowed.

"However, we notice you have brought someone here with you." The old man to the left spoke next. "His appearance is unusual. He is clad is metal with skin like dirt."

"Yes, Elder Jonq. When I was sent on my mission, I met a great misfortune of being trapped under a large branch. My friend found and rescued me, shared his food with me, and gave me much assistance to return."

The female elder arose. "Child, please stand and speak." She pointed to me.

I did as instructed. "Hello." I smiled. "I am Aiden Ortega. I am not from here and what Ivar has told you is truth."

"Where do you come from?" She asked.

It took a moment for me to give a good explanation. "I... I am a traveler. I got lost in the wilderness and found my way to your valley."

"Is he from the mainland?" Elder Jonq asked the old woman. "He could be a \+@, or a ^FJD4%1."

I whispered to Ivar. "Ivar, what did he say? What's a '\+@' and a '^FJD4%1'?"¹

Ivar rubbed his head. "'\+@' is a man who enters another clan and harms them for another clan." Learning this, that word must mean 'spy' or 'criminal'. "And the last... that is someone who takes people and sells them." I suppose the closet translation to that is 'kidnapper' or 'slaver'.

Having a better understanding of their concerns, I stood up to speak. "May I have a word?"

The crowd looked shocked by my request, but the three elders agreed to hear me.

"I know I am new to you, but I bring no harm. I have no people, and my only intension is to find people who can help me return to my family." I got on my knees and bowed. "If you wish for me to leave, I shall leave. I will only ask is to wait until the weather is favorable."

After I finished talking, the elders joined hands and closed their eyes. They maintained their silence with everyone else following for a few minutes until I whispered to Ivar.

"What is happening?"

Shasha spoke silently. "Are you an idiot? They're having a psychic debate."

I stared at her blankly. "Say I don't know what that means, what is it?"

"You... those jewels they wear around their necks allow them to transfer their thoughts to anyone they touch is also wearing them. Those jewels have been in our village for hundreds of years." She responded irritably.

Another few minutes passed and the Elders stood up. "We have come to an agreement." Elder Snow spoke. "Our visitor is unusual, but he has proven himself to Tunu Ivar to be a trustworthy man. As such, Ivar and his family be given the responsibility of monitoring him. If he is proven to be a danger to our community, he will be exiled or put to death." He finished talking, but then the female elder continued.

"However, if he proves himself to be true ally to our village, he will be permitted to stay for as long as he wishes."

Ivar bowed. "Thank you Elder Snow, Elder Jonq, and Elder Yeshka."

With their final word, the crowd dispersed, leaving only Ivar and Shasha here talking to me. "I don't believe everyone is happy about me staying here." I saw some suspicious and frightened looks.

"They only need time." Ivar placed his hand on my shoulder. "Come, my wife is waiting for us."

My host and his daughter guided me to the second level of the structure via a staircase to the second story like an indoor motel. As we walked past doors, I noticed that they were all simple, wooden doors with wooden boards acting as windows instead of glass. We reached a door that was about close to the center of the wall and Ivar knocked. The door opened, revealing a plump woman in a green tunic dress with the Tunu clan hair and eyes.

"Ivar, I am very happy you're home." She hugged Ivar, then they pressed foreheads. "Come in, you and Shasha must be hungry." After her husband and daughter walked in, she noticed me.

"Hello, it is nice to meet you." I greeted without entering.

"Deka, this is Aiden, he saved my life when I had an accident during my mission and the elders have placed him under our care for a while." He explained.

"Really?" Deka grabbed my hands. "Thank you much. Please, come in."

I walked in, hitting my head on the doorframe; it was then I realized most of the people I've seen weren't as tall as me, 5'9-5'10 being the tallest I've seen. I entered the room and looked around; it was a single-room, rectangular home with clay floors, a fire pit, and curtain covering one corner of the room that must be the toilet. Their home was clean, and spacious enough for a small family to live.

"You have a nice home." I gave a simple bow."

"Thank you." Ivar accepted. "This is my wife, Deka. My oldest daughter, Shasha, you've already met. And this is my youngest daughter, Mayu." He knelt down and patted the head of a little girl dressed similarly to her father and sister. "Go on, say hi."

Mayu walked up to me. "Hello." She smiled.

I gave my hand. "Hello, Mayu." She and the rest of her family stared at me. "It is a custom amongst my people. You join hands and shake up then down." I demonstrated. Mayu did the same with her father.

"You two must be tired, please rest and I'll start serving. Shasha, assistance." Deka went to the firepit where a pot was boiling.

Ivar opened a wooden box against the wall and pulled out a tunic similar to his. "Here, this might be more comfortable."

"Thank you." I accepted. I remove my armor and place it with the rest of my things by the door; after that, I removed the t-shirt I was wearing the day I died and threw on the tunic before I removed my shoes.

"What strange garments?" Deka looked at my UC Berkley t-shirt. "How did these markings appear?"

I needed a believable excuse. "A special skill my people use. It's a secret."

Deka and her husband nodded in understanding while their youngest daughter made faces in the reflection of my breastplate and Shasha just glared at me. After that, I ate with my hosts while they asked me about mine and Ivar's trip, and about myself. I was Junior, technically Senior now, at UC Berkley majoring in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science who graduated early from high school in Houston, Texas, but I doubt they would even know what that would mean. So, I decided to be as honest as possible about my family and vague with other aspects.

"Tell me, Aiden. What are your family like?" Deka asked.

"Oh, I my mother and father are... scholars." I wasn't technically lying, their architects which is close. "I have an older brother who was married a year ago who is a warrior." Still true, he's an Army Special Forces member but I don't know what he does. "He and his wife, Jolene, are expecting a child in..." I don't know their calendar. "A few months."

"Your family is very peculiar." Ivar commented, curious but not suspicious. "Both your parents are scholars but your brother is a warrior. What are you?"

I needed to find the right cover. "I am a... scholar and warrior." I am an idiot. "I do writing jobs for my people when I am not fighting." At least saying I was a warrior would explain my armor.

"I did see you use a pen earlier." Ivar thought back to the night we met. "You also picked up learning our language very well."

"I still have much to learn." Ate some more stew. "This is really good."

"Thank you, stewing seal can be tricky but the seaweed gives it a cleaner taste." Deka smiled.

I gulped a littler due to the shock of eating an animal that would be endangered in my world. After dinner, I asked if it was alright for me to go behind the curtain to use the toilet. Ivar nodded and gave me stick.

"Only tap lightly." He advised me.

"...Okay." I was confused but I went behind the curtain and found my hunch was correct, it was a toilet. It looked like something in an outhouse, simple and made of wood, like a knee high box with a hole in the top. It was surprisingly clean, so I was about to use it when I felt something slimy touch my butt when I sat down. "Ah!" I jumped off and fell to the floor, turning around I saw a gelatinous blob. "What is that!?"

Everyone looked confused. "You have no Slime among your people?" Ivar picked up the stick and lightly tapped the 'slime'. "It harmless. Our clan keeps them to stay clean and remove excrement, in return the slime has food and warmth during the colder months."

"Really?" Talk about culture shock. "I will remember that." This caused the adults and Mayu to laugh while Shasha looked at like I was a dumbass.

Soon it was time for bed. According to their village's customs, families sleep in tents during the night for warmth while the fire outside dies. Parents, or married couples in general, sleep in one tent while the children sleep in another; in the event of guests, like me, I would sleep by the fire if I didn't have my own tent, which I don't.

"Good night children, good night Aiden." Ivar went into the tent set up by one wall of the room.

"Pleasant dreams." Deka kissed her daughters goodnight and followed her husband.

"Good night, Aiden." Mayu went into her sister's tent and cuddled a pillow.

Shasha reached under her pillow and pulled out a dagger that she unsheathed in front of me. "This can cut a finger off, keep that in mind." She warned, then closed the flap of her tent.

I rested on the floor by the firepit, bag under my head as a pillow with a blanket over me, and Tremble was huddled next to me for warm.

This is family life away from Earth. I petted Tremble while I thought about my host family; they were different from what I'm used to, and I'm different from them, but they're nice people. Except Shasha, she's a bitch.

 

 

 

 

A hamlet is population of about 1-2 hundred people occupying a small area of land with a few structures.

[/modern_footnote] Aiden hasn't encountered these words talking with Ivar, so he has no idea what they mean.