The Master of Uradan

The night had fallen for a long time already. Rohan was sitting on the ground, on a pile of rocks making up for a chair. In front of him, a bit away was a large fire surrounded by the Blackwolf clan. It was a feast.

The same kind he had seen when the clan had stopped after finding the Green Miracle. Laughs and yells echoed all around. The warrior who had fought earlier was in the center of attention, with some of the other warriors bashing him for the teeth he had lost.

But Rohan's attention wasn't on them. His face was turning on his right, where another fire camp could be seen. It was one of the Greybat clan.

After the duel had been won by the Blackwolf clan, the chief clan had put himself on the front of the other one. There was respect in his gaze. This man, Kirek, was without a doubt a great fighter.

Since the duel had been lost, the Greybat clan had then no choice but to give a tenth of all their belongings to the other clan. It was the rules, and it was to be expected. But it was the next scene that had deeply shocked Rohan.

The two clans had then started to install a camp. A camp for the two clans, simply separated into two parts: one for the Blackwolf members, one for the Greybat members.

And here they were now. One clan was feasting under the nose of the one mourning. But even so, and that was the part making Rohan look with disbelief, there weren't any problems between the two clans.

The members of the Blackwolf clan weren't even trying to rob or to bully the other clans, even though they had the power backing them. It was simply a duel. A duel deciding the winner and the loser. And once it was done, the two clans weren't enemies anymore.

Rohan watched the area of the other clan. There, the only warrior of their clan, which was probably hiding it, was consoling a woman. She was crying. She was probably his mother. At this moment, the young man turned his face, crossing his gaze with the one of Rohan.

Their eyes were locked onto each other for a time.

"Ha, you are here, Rohan!" Deidros appeared behind like a ghost and sat down next to him.

This man had always the habit to move without making any noise, and while Rohan thought about the idea of giving him a small bell, the son of the clan chief lean back and sighed toward the night sky.

"What do you think of the Barren Lands Rohan?"

"Hot. Cold. The most terrible lands I have ever seen, and the clans have strange traditions. Only small patches of land are great enough to see them."

"Hahaha." Deidros burst into laughter as he heard the warrior. It was already more than two months that Rohan had joined the Blackwolf clan, and he and Deidros could be considered friends. It was the first time in his life that Deidros could talk with a person coming from the other side.

It was his dream, to one day, leave this hellish place and find a way to live outside the Barren Lands.

"The interior ring is quite semblable, but it is much easier to live there. We should reach this area in a few days, so you'll be able to see it!"

"If it is better, why can't you live there?" Rohan watched back to the place where the mother and son were hugging each other while asking this question. There was nobody. Only the light of the fire.

"Because of the rules of the clans." He smiled, his eyes glued at the stars high in the sky. "Once two clans meet each other, a duel must take place between two members. The winner takes a tenth of what the other clan had."

"So the clans inside the internal ring are much stronger than the Blackwolf clan?" A chill ran down his spine as he asked this question. If it was the case, then it was the best idea he had ever had to follow this clan.

"Yes and no! We are still on the top 3 stronger ones of the external ring, and we are quite strong. After that, we have still Garrold, who is a rank 4 Beginner Warrior. But even so, there are a lot of clans as strong as us, so it is better to live here, without too much struggle."

"So you all prefer to be the master of the pond instead of a fish of the sea?"

"Yes! That's why we had waited until the last moment to descend toward the sacred mountain. This way we shouldn't encounter a lot of clans. And once all of the clans of the Barren Lands are gathered at the foot of the Kolmos Mountain, duels are forbidden. So we enter last, and we will leave first. All the clans of the external ring try to do the same."

"Then what about the two other clans of the top 3, wouldn't it be bad if we fall against them?" At least that would be bad for them since he was probably the stronger one out there.

"Don't worry about that!" He waved his hand as if there was no problem. " We all live in our area. The Blackwolf clan in the north, the Whitetiger clan in the east, and the Purplestarling clan in the west. That way, we all are the strongest in our area."

'What a strange way to name their clans.'

Deidros continued to explain the differences between the rings while Rohan was quietly listening.

The Barren Lands, taking up the whole south of the continent, could roughly be separated into three areas which had the shape of rings. The first one, as well as the largest one, was the external ring. It was the area far away from the mountain that stood on the center of these lands and was also the poorer one. This area was connected to the sea at the west and the south, the different kingdoms at the north, and a high chain of mountains at the east.

In this area, there were countless clans. So much in fact, that it was impossible to know them all. After all, the exterior ring represented an area much, much larger than the Empire of Elyria composed of the empire itself, and the kingdoms of Prasthana, Daksina, and Storona.

And among them all, the Blackwolf clan was known for being the third most powerful one. Or second. As from the explicit words of Deidros, they were tight against the Whitetiger clan.

The internal ring, which was surrounded by the exterior one, was smaller than the first one. The main differences were the resources that could be found, as well as the life which was much easier out there compared with the exterior ring.

Inside this area, the number of clans was also important, but not as numerous as the weaker clans. These clans were composed of much more members, as it was easier to find the resources for everyone. Most of them were also composed of warriors, which was a rare occurrence for the smaller clans of the external ring.

The strongest clan out there was the Greencobra clan, with a mighty rank 6 Intermediate Warrior. After Rohan heard that, he fell into deep thought.

He was himself a rank 5 Beginner Warrior. But not only: he was also a rank 1 Beginner Wizard.. Was it enough to fight against an intermediate warrior? His blood boiled, as curiosity slipped into his mind.