Under the Burning Sun:
The Beginning of the End

~ Chapter Five ~

Age 714, Rebirth Season

The unusual brutality of this cycle's winter season quickly waned soon after the adoption of Bardock and the other Steridyl cubs into the Vegetabyl Great-tribe. As winter flowed into rebirth, the temperature gradually warmed and the snows slowly melted. There had been so much snow that had fallen during the past winter that the melt water coming down from the mountains was torrential. The river was several feet higher than normal. The planting fields had flooded earlier during the rebirth season. But now, as the river slowly receded and the fields were eventually drained of excess water, the ground remained a thick muck of mud. Already into the fourth fortnight of the rebirth season, the field had yet to be tilled.

Aleguu and half a dozen other children from her great-tribe were mingling along the edge of the field. With the planting postponed, there was little work to be done and so the cubs were wont to get into mischief with the spare time on their hands. A few of them had come up with the great idea of trekking through the thick mud, to see how far into the field they could walk or how deep they could submerge their feet without getting stuck.

Aleguu was no exception. She removed her thongs from her feet and set them next to the other sets of footwear. After hiking up the bottoms of her leather breeches, she made the first step into the mud. As her foot sank into the ground, she felt the cold, wet, gritty soil consume the appendage, stopping a couple of inches above her ankle. With a grin on her face, she plunged the second foot into the murky earth.

As Aleguu experienced the sensation of mud squishing between her toes, she asked the girl nearest to her, "Colasia, does it tickle your feet too?"

Colasia, the youngest daughter of Alaria the peace-maker, answered with a giggle. "It does! It feels so strange!"

A boy who was a few cycles younger than Aleguu's nine cycles challenged them, "I bet I can get farther than you can!"

"I bet that you can not, Jute!" Colasia rebutted.

"Yea, Jute! We can get further than you!"

The trio of cubs slowly trod through the muck. Two of the other boys, Rampion and Sentel, both Steridyl refugees, had joined the low-speed chase into the field. From the sidelines, Seltuu and Colasia's very young brother Laziu, watched warily as the braver cubs tread deeper and deeper into the mud. Colasia, the eldest of the group at eleven cycles, was a mere three steps ahead of the pack. Aleguu and Jute were about even with each other; Rampion and Sentel were just behind them.

The struggle against the thick earth was quickly wearing down Aleguu's stamina. The mud was unforgiving, tightly clamping onto her feet. Each time she tried to pull a foot from the muck, it seemed to suck onto her limb, refusing to release her. She put her weight onto her left foot and pulled hard on her right. A soft 'ssssshhhhhlllluhck' whispered from deep within the soil as it slowly relinquished its hold on her muddy foot as it popped free from its prison.

Just as the group had slogged about ten feet into the field, a girl's voice scolded, "All of you better get out of there right now! You are going to leave deep divots in the soil that we will have to repair once the ground is dry!"

Aleguu shifted to look behind her. She recognized the voice as belonging to Teridi, Colasia's older sister. Aleguu groaned. Teridi, hoping to one day follow her mother's footsteps and become the next peace-maker, would often try to exert the authority she believed that she had over the younger cubs within the great-tribe, and especially within her family clan. Of an age with Vegeta's twelve cycles, Teridi had an obvious crush on the chieftain's son, although she adamantly refuted it.

The other children moaned their disappointment at having had their fun cut short and began making their way back towards sturdier ground. Teridi continued to lecture the five cubs as they approached.

"You know there are plenty of things that need to be done. Just because the field cannot be planted does not mean that the lot of you can create trouble. And look at your clothes! They are covered in mud! Colasia, I am especially disappointed in you. You are older than the others; you should know better. And Aleguu, you too! You are the chieftain's daughter; what kind of example are you setting for the young ones?"

Aleguu's scowl grew deeper and deeper with every sentence that Teridi spat. The young girl thought, She will never become the next peace-maker by being so bossy. People would never listen to her. Just because she likes to talk like the elders does not mean she is a woman-grown. Thank the Deities that Vegeta does not like her back. I would hate to have her as my sister-by-bond.

Teridi continued her rant. "Seltuu and Laziu are much better behaved than the lot of you. A shame that the youngest two are the ones who acted more responsibly. Rampion and Sentel, you two probably do not know any better as you have not been here long enough to learn all of our rules. But the rest of you ought to think about the trouble you have caus–"

The twelve-cycles-old girl was suddenly cut off as a huge glob of mud slapped her in the left shoulder. She was stunned completely speechless as the hunk of earth slid off of her. The look of absolute horror on her face was too much for Aleguu who started snickering uncontrollably. Jute was laughing just as loudly. Colasia was trying desperately, and failing miserably, at hiding her mirth. Rampion and Sentel were initially just as startled as Teridi; being the outsiders, they were uncertain what the proper response should be. But with the other three laughing so hard, their uneasiness quickly wore off and they, too, were snorting with merriment.

Teridi's shock eventually morphed into rage. Her chocolate eyes were lit with fire as they darted from child to child, searching for the culprit. When her eyes landed on Aleguu's mud-coated hand, she found her attacker.

"Aleguu! How- Wha- Why you! You better get out of there right now!"

The nine-cycles-old girl settled her laughter and defiantly said, "No! You come in here and get me!"

Teridi scowled. Aleguu was still five feet away from solid ground, well out of the older girl's reach. Aleguu reached down and grabbed another hunk of mud from the ground. Jute saw this and, still chuckling, retrieved his own clump of wet soil. The Steridyl boys watched gleefully, but wisely refrained from arming themselves. Colasia, meanwhile, had stopped laughing completely and her eyes were now filled with dread, knowing full well that her older sister would be several times more furious if she were struck with more of the muddy missiles. Seltuu wisely moved away from the eldest girl, gently guiding Laziu with her.

"Do not dare!" warned Teridi.

A sinister smirk spread across Aleguu's face. "Try and stop me," she challenged, knowing full well that Teridi wasn't willing to enter the muddy field to do anything about it.

Before Teridi could get another word out of her mouth, she was struck with a second ball of mud. This time, it had been thrown by Jute. Aleguu quickly slung her own ammunition while her partner in crime reloaded. Teridi was struck in the stomach and the leg respectively. She took a few steps back as another two mudballs were hurled at her, one going wide, the other grazing her right arm. Rampion and Sentel decided to join in then; simply watching the bossy girl's stern expression morph into terror was enough to encourage them to participate. They each took a shot at Teridi, but neither of their mudballs struck true – the older girl had turned and ran the moment she saw four more clumps of earth being scooped up.

Another round of laughter was shared among Aleguu, Rampion, Sentel, and Jute as Teridi retreated. Colasia looked frightened, however. She would no doubt share the blame, even though she hadn't slung a single ball of mud. At the edge of the field, Seltuu turned towards the village proper and, without saying a word, began following Terirdi. Laziu stayed rooted in place, however. He stuck a thumb in his mouth as he watched the two girls cross the flooded creek as they made their ways home.

"I should go," Colasia said out loud to no one in particular. She trudged her way out of the mud, retrieved Laziu, and followed the same path the previous two girls had taken.

"Well, now what?" Rampion asked as the laughter settled down.

"MUD WAR!" Jute yelled as he pitched a hunk of soil at Sentel.

"Hey!" the struck boy protested and hurled his own wad back at Jute.

In mere moments, an all out battle broke out between the four remaining cubs. Peals of laughter and screams of delight echoed in the air. So caught up in their game, they didn't immediately notice the strange noise growing from the distance. Aleguu was the first one to become alert to its presence. She mentally withdrew from the battle to listen more carefully. But the boys' boisterous activity hindered her.

"Shh! Quiet!" she snapped.

The boys halted, confused.

Jute demanded, "Why?"

"Shh," Aleguu hushed him again. "Listen."

The boys grew quiet and still.

After a few minutes, Sentel asked, "What are we listening for?"

A gentle wind whispered. Fallen leaves from the previous cycle crinkled as they skittered across the ground. Tree branches creaked as they swayed. Birds chirped and sang to one another. The striking of mallets as tribesmen repaired buildings within the village echoed from the forest. Barely perceptive beyond all that, was a constant, high pitched whine. And it was steadily growing louder.

One by one, the boys became aware of the noise. All four cubs were familiar with the sound, and all knew the only thing that could be its source. They looked skyward just as the high pitch tone became accompanied by a deep and menacing rumble. Immediately, they spotted the bird-scout almost directly overhead. Four sets of eyes widened in fear as the creature descended upon them.

Panic filled each child. Flight was the only option. Aleguu struggled to pull her feet free from the mud. But in her terrified state, the task seemed impossible. Her hands trembled uncontrollably. Her heart beat wildly in her chest. It is going to get us! It is going to get us! she fretted irrationally as she pulled one of her legs free. Jute and Rampion were having just as much difficulty. Sentel, the very youngest of the group at only five cycles, was frozen with fear. The only thing he managed to do was wet himself. Rampion took notice of Sentel's immobility and tugged on his arm to prompt him into action.

As Aleguu scrambled onto the slightly higher, but much more solid ground, she finally noticed both her father's and her brother's presence in her mind. They were feeding her their reassurances while letting her know that they were quickly coming to help her. Aleguu felt a small wave of shame wash through her. Despite all of her recent lessons to gain better control over what she transmitted through the various bonds she shared, she had, in her moment of terror, fallen back into old habits and slammed them with a powerful wall of terror.

When the girl had climbed onto solid ground, she looked back to see that the three boys were still having difficulty. Her fright urged her to run for the cover of the forest where she could see some of her fellow tribesmen start to cautiously emerge. Instead, she reached a hand out to Jute, the closest of the three.

"Come on!" she called to him.

Jute stretched his hand out and clasped onto Aleguu's. The girl pulled as hard as she could manage. Her feet, slick with mud, could not find purchase. She almost went sliding back into the muck. Her feet slid out from beneath her and she landed on her bottom. The girl repositioned her feet on an exposed rock and tried again. There was a long moment where Jute didn't budge. But then the mud suddenly gave way. Aleguu flew backwards as the boy fell forward onto the edge of the higher ground. They repeated the process for Rampion and Sentel.

Aleguu kept an eye on the bird-scout as they pulled the smaller boys out of the mud. It was hovering directly over the center of the field, having halted its decent only after it had dropped below the height of the treetops. The light of its eye had flickered to life and was being directed towards the edge of the forest to Aleguu's left. Her fear elevated. So far, it appeared as if the creature had yet to spot them. But they were still out in the open and dangerously exposed.

As soon as Sentel was free, the four children bolted for the forest. They didn't bother going out of their way to cross one of the three bridges spanning the creek. Instead, they ran through the five-inch deep water, paying no heed to its brisk temperature. They cut across the corner of the old village proper. Aleguu raced into the forest just as Tarve, Vegeta, and several others emerged from within. The chieftain caught his daughter, who hadn't acknowledged his presence in her haste to reach safety. She struggled against his hold, fighting like a caged animal.

"It is okay, girl. Calm yourself," Tarve soothed.

Aleguu felt her father's calming presence through their bond. Her struggling slowly ceased. She met his eyes with her own. Instantly, a floodgate opened up and tears streaked down her mud-coated face. The girl didn't sob, but her lip trembled from her recent terror and new-found relief. Tarve gave his daughter a comforting hug, paying no mind to the clods of dirt caked all over her person. After a few moments, her breathing settled, and she was handed off into her brother's protection.

Aleguu wasn't happy to have been transferred into Vegeta's care. It wasn't that she didn't have faith in his ability to protect her. She simply preferred to be in the safety of her father's embrace at that particular moment. But she recognized when he had to put his fatherly duties on hold in exchange for the duties of the chieftain. She watched as Tarve stepped towards the forefront of the tribe, focusing his attention on the intruding creature.

The bird-scout was scanning the edge of the forest... and all the saiyans who had gathered to see the disturbance. So wrapped up in their curiosity and trepidation, they failed to consider that they were foolishly revealing themselves to the enemy. The creature's gaze fell upon a cluster of villagers, lingering on them for several moments. The light of its eye was too bright to look at directly. But eventually, it shifted away. Unfortunately, it shifted to fall upon more and more of the tribe members until it finally landed upon Tarve and a small group of warriors.

The bird-scout's gaze remained on the chieftain and those around him – including Aleguu who clung tightly to Vegeta. The assembled warriors perceived the creature's actions as a threat upon their leader and retrieved their weapons. They gripped their spears. Some wielded the fletched plumbata spears typically used by the hunters; others were armed with the barbed sibat spears of the warrior class. All were ready to unleash an attack upon the demon should it attempt an attack.

Aleguu watched with trepidation as those who were armed inched forward, itching to go on the offensive. While the girl felt marginally better now that she was behind the line of defense, she was still anxious. The wall of warriors was only a thin protection against the devastating and ruthless capabilities of the demons. She felt, through the bond with her brother, that he was just as nervous as she was.

"Do you think it is going to attack?" Aleguu quietly muttered to her brother.

Vegeta's response didn't come immediately. When he finally replied, he prayed, "Jitaba and Mele, please... please do not let it harm us."

The standoff continued. The warriors moved into attack formation. Tarve continued to scrutinize the creature, watching for any indication that it would lash out at them. Although the creature was alone and flanked on two sides, it clearly had the advantage over the saiyans. The chieftain knew that his tribesmen had only one chance to survive this encounter.

"STAND DOWN!" he commanded to the bewilderment of the armed saiyans. "DO NOT PROVOKE IT! STAND DOWN!"

Reluctantly, a few of the villagers lowered their spears. But most of them did not. They were too afraid to let down their guards. They didn't want to risk being taken by surprise and left unable to defend their families, their friends, and their homes. Tarve gritted his teeth at their defiance. He was frustrated, but not angry at them; he knew their refusal was not out of disrespect for him.

"LOWER YOUR WEAPONS!" the chieftain commanded again.

This time, Tarve exerted his dominance upon them. As their leader, he shared a very subtle link with his people, one that could only be summoned in times of dire need. Only twice before during his tenure as the chieftain did he have to rely on this rare ability. Both times had been during periods of war. Both times had been draining. Both times had left him feeling troubled; he disliked the idea of inhibiting the free will of his people. But he conceded that there would be times that using such an ability was necessary. Apparently, now was such an occasion.

Aleguu felt her father's will press down upon her, even though she wasn't one of those who were readying an attack. She had never felt her father's presence in her mind in such a way before. She felt herself bend to his command. Her fear seemed to inexplicably wash away. It was replaced with the unrivaled yearning to obey. She had no weapon to drop; instead, she took several submissive steps back. She noticed that Vegeta did the same.

As one, the villagers lowered their spears. They slowly retreated into the forest. Only those who were refugees from the great-tribes to the west retained control of their actions. Wisely, they followed their hosts' example and backed away as well. When the saiyans were no longer within line of sight, Tarve turned his attention back towards the bird-scout. The creature hovered in the air for several more minutes. The beam of its light remained focused on him. Aleguu held her breath, waiting for the outcome to unfold.

Without warning, the creature's light winked out. The fire beneath its wings flared. And then it quickly rose into the sky. Another flare of its flames, and it launched away towards the west. Undoubtedly, it was going to regroup with the other demon creatures and report its findings.

Aleguu felt when Tarve released his hold over the tribe. The pressure in her mind suddenly disappeared and once again she felt free to do as she wished. The fear came flooding back, but with the bird-scout's departure, her fear wasn't as thick as it had been before. She felt the normal bond she shared with her father return. He was feeling her out to make sure she was alright. He was likely doing the same with Vegeta.

The chieftain turned to face his tribe. He reentered the forest and gathered his children to him. Aleguu was squashed between her father's and her brother's embraces. Crushed between them as she was, she wouldn't have chosen to be anywhere else. Through their kinship bond, she could feel her father's sudden exhaustion. She was alarmed, but he wordlessly reassured her that he was alright. When Tarve relinquished his hold on his children, he slowly rose to his feet and addressed the villagers.

"As soon as I return to the new village proper, I will be conducting an emergency meeting with the representatives. I will be waiting in the salarg with my council. Any representatives who have not arrived before the salarg doors have closed will not be included in the discussion. Spread the word. This is not a meeting that I would advise passing over for other matters."

Almost the entire great-tribe had gathered around outside of the salarg, filling almost every possible space available. The benches had been the first to be filled. Then the ground all around them. When space began to grow limited, a few wise saiyans had taken to the bridges and balconies in the trees above. Others soon followed, and those spaces, too, had become packed. They were all waiting for word from the meeting still taking place within the building. Almost two hours had passed, and still the representative had yet to emerge.

Aleguu was one of the villagers who had planted herself on one of the many bridges overhead. She was seated at the center where the bridge hung at its lowest point. She was gripping one of the many ropes that connected the supporting lines to the base boards, leaning her weight into it. The girl sighed with boredom. She had hoped, like everyone else, that the meeting would be a quick one and the details of the discussion would be revealed soon. So far, only a few hints of the secret conversation had been revealed through heated rebuttals, loud enough to be heard beyond the walls of the salarg. But the true meat of the dialogue had yet to be discovered. And it had been quite some time since they had heard an outburst.

Aleguu sighed again. Waiting like this would not feel so long if I had someone here with me to talk to, she lamented. Despite having saved space for her usual crew, none of them had joined her and she had unwillingly forfeited each space she had reserved as it had become apparent that they wouldn't be arriving.

Vegeta, she knew, was in the salarg with their father. Ever since his twelfth name day had been observed this past winter, his almost constant presence had been required so he could learn and observe the duties of the chieftain. Tarve insisted that his son begin to take more responsibility as he would one day inherit the great-tribe.

Although she expected that Vegeta wouldn't be joining her, Aleguu thought that perhaps Nappa would. But the older boy was a no show as well. Earlier, when he had arrived among the gathering crowds, Aleguu had grown momentarily elated. But the junior hunter hadn't even glanced in her direction, despite the three times she had called out to him. Instead, he had settled in with many of his hunting party. Apparently, without Vegeta's presence, there was no incentive for Nappa to join her.

At the very least, Aleguu had hoped that Bardock and Turles would sit with her. She hadn't yet seen them and was still scanning the faces of the assembled masses, hoping to catch a glimpse of their whereabouts. Eventually, she did manage to spot Bardock, far off to her left on the ground below. He and his brother were among the refugees from the Steridyl and Bafalyl great-tribes. She noticed that Rampion and Sentel were among that group as well.

With nothing else to do, Aleguu observed the number of refugees that had amassed. Ever since Bardock and his group of strays had arrived over five fortnights ago, more refugees had trickled in. At first, they had come in small groups of twos and threes and the time between the arrivals of different groups had been long. The winter weather made travel difficult. It had been a miracle that Bardock and his flock had survived the journey.

As the winter snows melted and the mountain passes slowly opened up, the number and frequency of evacuees had increased. Every couple of days, another group would come down from the mountains, asking for salvation. There had been far more immigrants from the Steridyl Great-tribe than there had been from the Bafalyl. Now, with almost all of them gathered here, Aleguu could grasp exactly how many had successfully found safety with her people. She did her best to count the number of heads she could see, which was no easy task since several of them were moving around. But by her best guess, their numbers had grown to a little over two hundred survivors.

That number was horrifically small. If each of their great-tribes had had as many members as the Vegetabyl Great-tribe claimed, then over ninety-five percent of the other two tribes were unaccounted for. The hope was that they had fled south to the lands of the Zinibaryl. But they had no way of knowing that yet. The easiest route from the Vegetabyl Great-tribe to the Zinibaryl Great-tribe was through Steridyl lands, which were, of course, currently occupied by the demons. The alternate route was much more difficult. It consisted of crossing the river to the south – which was at this point in time too dangerous with the fast flowing melt waters – into the lands of the Aposyl Great-tribe. That was followed by a trek across the small Aposyl desert. If the traveler was able to survive the brutal heat, they then had to contend with the southern end of the western mountain chain, where they were taller, more rugged, and all the more difficult to surpass. Despite these challenges, Aleguu knew that her father had plans to send a party southward anyway, as soon as they could safely cross the river.

The best that the refugees could do was to pray to the Deities to protect their lost loved ones and to thank them for the safe return of those who had been reunited. With the odds stacked against them, the number of reunions had been small. Almost rarely, those who reconnected were closely related. Some cousins had found each other. A woman and her nephew had reunited. A man had found his grandson. Although these reunions were rare, they offered a glimmer of hope to others who had yet to find their missing relatives.

"This is taking forever," a young woman sitting next to Aleguu whined in a way that was far beneath her nineteen cycles.

Aleguu nodded.

The older girl turned and looked at her younger cousin with a smile. "How are you holding up, 'Leguu? I am surprised that you have stuck around so long."

"Oh, I am terribly bored, Kordata. I wish I had brought something to do like some of the others."

The teenager's eyes lowered to look upon the crowd. Sure enough, many saiyans had brought work with them to do to occupy themselves, having not seen any sense in wasting the time that they would have otherwise spent on their duties anyhow. Seamstresses were repairing clothing. Leather workers were forging armor. Smiths were crafting tools and weapons. The list went on.

Kordata chuckled. "I can not see you committed to any chore for quite so long. You would have long ago abandoned it."

Aleguu scowled, but didn't deny it.

The door to the salarg suddenly opened. The eyes of the gathered crowd snapped to attention. All tasks were immediately forgotten. The representatives filed out first. These were the heads of each of the seventeen family clans and the masters of the eight professions found in Vegetabyl territory, totaling twenty-five representatives. The representatives filed off to the left and right of the salarg's doorway. Once they were clear, a few advisers came into view. These consisted of three scouts who had traveled to and returned from the western lands and two candidates to represent the refugees of the displaced great-tribes, one adviser for each tribe. Next, Shaman Tabos, War-adviser Kailan, Peace-maker Alaria, and Vegeta emerged. The last to exit was Chieftain Tarve.

Immediately, questions erupted from the crowd.

"Are we going to war?"

"Do you know when or if the demons plan to return?"

"What is our plan of attack?"

"How are we going to protect ourselves from the demons?"

Kailan's booming voice cut through the clamor. "BE SILENT! Your questions will all be addressed soon enough!"

Most of the chatter immediately died. The rest slowly dissipated over the course of the next minute. When all had grown quiet and still, Tarve stepped forward to address them.

"It goes without saying that the location of our village has been compromised. Despite our best efforts, the enemy has found us. I had hoped that we would have more time before this would happen. In the end, however, it matters not when we would be discovered; it was inevitable that it would happen eventually.

"While the mountains have thus far protected us from a land invasion, they will not keep the demons at bay forever. Their fliers have the ability to rain fire down upon us at any moment and without any advance notice. While I do not believe that they will do so until their land-crawlers are ready for infiltration, the council and I have come to the conclusion that an invasion by land will come sooner than we had earlier anticipated."

Tarve gestured to one of his advisers, summoning him forward. Aleguu recognized the man as one named Nopal. He was one of the three scouts who had left during the winter to learn the status of the battle at the Steridyl-Bafalyl border. Instead, his traveling companions had returned early with a pack of cold and starving cubs while he continued onward alone. He had only recently returned, having prolonged his ventures in the western territories in order to obtain more information. He observed the enemy from the boundaries of their wrongfully conquered lands, doing everything he could to remain hidden. He had discovered several survivors during his espionage, and had directed them to flee to the mountain pass.

"During my travels, I had plenty of opportunity to witness our enemy's activities," Nopal began. "They are spreading themselves out, claiming more territory for their own. They are transforming the land to suit their needs. So far, there is nothing that can stop them, short of the natural barriers such as the mountains to our north and west. But this will not hold them forever.

"I have seen demon-birds that we had not been aware of prior to this past winter. These are several times larger than their bird-scout and fire-dropper counterparts. As a matter of fact, these new ones are capable of swallowing several dozen of the land-crawlers within its belly and carrying them across vast distances where they then spit the land-crawlers out, unharmed. I would not be surprised if these belly-carriers could fly over the peaks of the mountains and release armies of the land-crawlers upon us."

As Nopal stepped back, a quiet murmuring of concern spread throughout the crowd. But the saiyans quieted again when Alaria spoke up.

"We have spent much time weighing our options as we move forward. Clearly, doing nothing will result with us sharing the same fate as the Karofyl, the Bafalyl, and the Steridyl. As the Chieftain has already said, we can not predict when the demons will return. They may come as early as tomorrow or they may not come for another cycle. But this is not something that we should be complacent about. Now is the time to act. Now is the time to prepare."

"TO WAR THEN!" someone shouted from the crowd, earning a few cheers of agreement.

Kailan smirked at their enthusiasm. Initially, he had shared their same opinions. They should attack the demons before they had a chance to launch an attack on their lands. But those thoughts, he admitted, were hasty and irrational. There was a lot more to to the situation to consider. And knowing that his fellow saiyans would be just as quick to declare war, it was especially important that he, the war-adviser, enlighten them why jumping into battle was not necessarily the best decision, as he had come to realize.

Kailan stepped forward, holding his hands up to still the crowd's overzealousness. When they quieted again, he addressed them.

"Please, do not be hasty. War was definitely an option that we discussed. But please consider the result of our last attempt to engage the enemy. The Steridyl and Bafalyl Great-tribes sent the bulk of their armies towards the frontline. In addition to their battalions, we supplemented them with two hundred of our own warriors. Among these warriors was my own brother Tagaru. Many of you have mates, fathers or mothers, sisters or brothers, uncles or aunts, cousins and friends who also went to the battlefront."

Kailan paused as the villagers absorbed this reminder. Mumbles of acknowledgment burbled among the crowd.

"Despite how bravely our loved ones fought against this terrible enemy, we cannot deny that this excursion against our enemy resulted in complete and utter loss. We were ill informed and poorly prepared to contend with the demons' advanced weapons and vast numbers. It grieves me to say that our warriors will not be returning to us..." Kailan placed his right fist over his left breast and recited, "May Jitaba and Mele judge them worthy to be reunited with our ancestors in Viradisia."

The chieftain, the advisers, the representatives, and almost all of the villagers repeated Kailan's prayer. About a dozen saiyans excused themselves – a few women, mostly children – to grieve in private over the loss of their loved ones. Except for these few, most who had sent a family member to battle had already suspected the worst. Bravely, they remained among the crowd, to hear the rest of what their leaders had to say.

Kailan continued. "The enemy not only overran our best fighters. They also conquered all of Bafalyl territory and ran deep into Steridyl lands. Our fellow great-tribes were with little defense when they were invaded. We must consider the possibility – no, the inevitability – that the same will befall us if we run hastily into battle. We cannot at this time rush to war. We still do not know enough about or enemy to thwart them. We cannot again send our warriors to become fodder for their weapons. We will not put ourselves in a defenseless position."

"Then what do we do?" a man cried out with frustration.

Tarve stepped forward once again and resumed control of the dialogue. "After much debate, we, the council and the representatives, have decided that our best course of action is to retreat."

An outburst of protest surged from the crowd.

"You want us to flee?" yelled one.

"This is our home!" cried another.

"We cannot abandon our land!" declared another.

The chieftain spoke above their outcry. "I understand your sentiments. These lands have been our home for over twelve generations. We were born here. We have raised our young here. We have poured our blood, sweat, and tears into the cultivation and protection of our lands. I empathize with your reluctance to evacuate our ancestral home. But you must also acknowledge that if we remain here, at this time, with what little we know of our enemy, we will not be able to prevent them from destroying us, just as they did with our friends to the west.

"The council and I have decided that we will not force this decision upon you, although we highly recommend that you agree to this plan. We will allow you to discuss among your own family clans and decide whether you wish to leave or stay. But please consider this; what is more important to you? The survival of your siblings? ...your mates? ...your children? Or this plot of land? I ask that you consider the facts and weigh the options wisely. If you wish to try to defy the odds, then no one will stop you."

At this point, Shaman Tabos stepped forward. "In five days, those of you who wish to evacuate will depart for the lands of the Aposyl Great-tribe to our south. Please be ready by then. Of those who wish to stay, I will remain behind to offer you my knowledge and guidance, as I am far too old to make such a long journey."

Tarve made the final statement. "As Shaman Tabos has already said, we will leave for Aposyl territory on the morning of the fifth day from now. Please use this time to make preparations. For those of you who chose to stay, I will pray to the Deities for your protection."

With the end of the meeting, the villagers began to disperse. Already, there were dozens of discussions among many clusters of saiyans about the revelations. There were too many for Aleguu to keep track of as she made her way against the flow of the crowd and towards her father and brother. She caught up with them as they were joined by other members of the Vegetus Clan, undoubtedly to have their own discussion among the members of their family.

As Aleguu wedged herself between Tarve and Vegeta, her father placed a hand on her shoulder as they headed towards their family nesting grounds. They shared no words, but the girl could feel the sentiments echoing from her father and from the rest of their clan through their many shared bonds. The family would stand behind Tarve's decision to evacuate, knowing that it was the wisest course of action. There would be no opposing discussion. Their upcoming meeting would be to solidify plans for their inevitable departure.

Story Notes:
Colasia – from colocasia escuelenta, a tropical plant found in Malaysia, grown for its edible root.
Jute – from jute, a plant grown in Nigeria, its leaves are an ingredient in a Nigerian soup called ewedu.
Rampion – from rampion, was a plant that was once grown in Europe and was similar to spinach.
Sentel – from centella, native to the wetlands of Asia, it is commonly used in Sri Lankan dishes.
Laziu – from diplazium esculentum, a fern of Asia, used in salads or deep fried.
Teridi – from pteridium esculentum, or bracken, the rhizomes are a staple food in the diet of the Maori of New Zealand.
Kordata – from houttuynia cordata, it grows in many parts of south and east Asia, used as an herb.