Chimera Rising: Beast King Ascension [How a human-turned-lion went from Zero to Absolute Ruler]

Dominic clenched his jaw tightly. Honestly, he'd been hoping the elves wouldn't ask. He'd hoped they would let him leave without needing to deny them further aid. Yes, it felt wrong to abandon them to a wave of beasts when he had just saved them from a smaller one, yet they had responsibilities elsewhere – which the elves knew about. And when it came down to it, his Pride and the Place of Power which strengthened them came first.

The wave of strong agreement from Leo's direction told him that the lion was watching very closely. Perhaps he feared that Dominic would give in at this critical moment, would put the humanoids before his own Pride. But as much as the elves presented opportunities, including the potential to be able to find his father more easily, Dominic wouldn't lose the bird in his hand for the one in the bush. His Pride members were his responsibility now.

'Listen, Alwen, I wish I could help,' Dominic started, trying to soften the blow, 'but as I said before, I have my own territory and people that I need to protect. I'm sorry, but I can't split myself in two. And I won't weaken my forces by leaving some with you.' For a moment, he actually felt angry that they were even asking. He'd made it clear when they were discussing the changing plans of how to deal with the matriarch, hadn't he? They'd had to hasten the defeat of the matriarch because Dominic couldn't stick around until the dungeons started overflowing. Were they trying to make him feel guilty? Or were they just hoping that he might have changed his mind – don't ask, don't get?

Then he jumped as he felt a sharp nip to his shoulder. He jerked his head to send Nyx a wounded look.

'What was that for?!' he demanded.

'What did the elves say?' she asked, looking unbothered by his tone or body language.

Chagrined, Dominic relayed Alwen's words and his own response – he had been so shocked that he'd forgotten to translate for her or even include her in his response.

'Yes, we must protect our territory first and foremost,' Nyx agreed, looming over the elves and baring her teeth threateningly. The five elders didn't exactly quail back, but they certainly looked far warier.

'My companion agrees that we must protect our own territory and that we cannot stay here to help protect yours,' Dominic relayed to Alwen to explain Nyx's sudden change in attitude.

'We understand that,' Alwen answered after exchanging a series of glances with her fellow elders. 'And we would not expect you to abandon your territory if our own does not match what it offers you.' She paused for a moment as if that was the cue for him to admit that actually their territory did offer him enough to justify giving up his home for theirs. Dominic stayed silent apart from assiduously sending the words to Nyx. Alwen seemed to deflate slightly, but she continued speaking. 'But the fact of the matter is that we are without true protectors.'

'Won't more of your people be willing to fight when they know that their lives are on the line? And that they can't just hide in their trees and hope it all goes away?' Dominic asked, feeling that that was the obvious solution. Nyx grunted in agreement when he translated. He was rather surprised that even since the arrival of the System, so few elves seemed willing to become hunters or even guards. Then again, from the sound of it, it had been fairly peaceful until the recent Settlement Challenge so perhaps they hadn't seen the need for it. Hopefully they would now.

'The vast majority of our people do not have the hearts of warriors. Those who do have already chosen to join the hunters; the others are not suited for battle.'

'Getting in a fight is a pretty good way of learning how to be a fighter even if that's not someone's personal preference,' Dominic pointed out. That had been the case with him, after all. Prior to the arrival of the System, he'd never been in a fight for his life. He'd rarely been in a fight at all, and those were schoolyard scuffles. Yet he'd learned quickly how to fight – in a lion's body, even – when it became a question of life or death. He wasn't sure which side he'd have ended on without a lion's natural defences and weapons, but he was pretty confident that even if he hadn't had a predator's instincts, he'd have still fought as hard as he could. He'd already done so in his human body – he had tried his hardest to fight against Leo when the lion was already eating him, after all.

'That's true, but for us, such actions come at a cost we are unwilling to pay. Healing, farming, and crafting are our strengths, not fighting. We created this town for a reason, and with the king's protection, it would not normally be a question which required an answer.'

'I recognise it's not ideal,' Dominic replied, struggling to keep hold of his patience. 'But you've said it yourself – you don't know where this king of yours is, and the warriors who would normally protect you aren't here either. The fact of the matter is that unless you start protecting yourself, your numbers are just going to get whittled down again and again. The dungeon beasts may not have a Challenge to destroy you all, but I would lay good money that when they realise where you are, they'll beeline towards you – sapients without any defences are juicy targets for anyone, dungeon beast or not. Is whatever cost you need to pay worth leaving everyone defenceless? Maybe if you arm as many adults as you can and teach a few basics like simply throwing stones or spears from balconies, you will have a chance.'

'Or die if you are too weak to protect your pack and young,' Nyx offered, once more baring her teeth. Dominic hesitated a moment uncertain whether to translate her words – his desire not to offend warred with his self-imposed duty of faithfully conveying her thoughts. In the end, he was preempted by the Elder.

'Or we find another protector,' Alwen countered, which was met with a more approving grunt from Nyx when Dominic translated her words almost automatically. Dominic supposed that was kind of what the ameshek had done – thrown in her lot with a stronger opponent by making him their protector. Still, Dominic gave Alwen a hard look.

'Sure, but not us. We're just going to check our rewards, wait until the rest of the armor is ready – tomorrow – and then we're leaving.' Even though he felt he was being very clear and maybe a little harsh, the elf didn't seem to be getting the message. Dominic's heart sank as he saw Alwen exchange a meaningful look with the other elves – that didn't look like giving up to him.

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Dominic resolved that if the elves continued to press their suit of the Pride staying as their protectors, he'd just fly away. He knew approximately where the reward centre was and he doubted that anyone would stand in his Pride's way to get to it, not considering how their whole plea for protection was based on them not having enough fighters. Given that the Pride had just defeated the matriarch, he rather thought that none of the few fighters they did have would risk getting taken out just to stop them getting the rewards they were owed. And if they did try to withhold the rest of the armour, Dominic was sure he could convince them that an angry Pride was not a good neighbour to have.

'And what if we could come with you?'

Dominic wasn't expecting that. His half-formed reply to what he thought they were going to say vanished as he stared at Alwen. Nyx nipped him again impatiently and he absently asked Leo to take over translation duties since he was a bit busy figuring out exactly what Alwen was suggesting.

'Are you talking about a group, or…all of you?'

'All of us, of course,' Alwen answered as if the response was obvious.

'All of you,' Dominic repeated numbly. 'And what about your tree town? The Great Mother? You'd abandon them?'

'Of course not,' Alwen replied matter-of-factly. 'We'd bring them with us.'

Dominic was silent for a long moment as he tried to get his head around that. He even looked at the massive baobabs just in case they had shrunk significantly while he wasn't watching. They hadn't so he repeated what he thought he'd heard in a doubtful tone.

'You'd…bring them with you?'

'Yes.' Dominic had the distinct feeling that Alwen was laughing internally at him – and not only her. He was embarrassed momentarily until he considered how he doubted anyone would be able to make sense of her cryptic statements.

'Can I ask how?' he asked with what he thought was remarkable control, considering the provocation. Even Nyx had gone silent and Leo wasn't commenting much either.

'Magic,' Alwen answered, then seemed to realise that her approach wasn't likely to get what she wanted from him and explained. 'A ritual will enable us to find a new home location. We will not be able to bring the entire forest with us, but that is not a problem – many of us remember the original move when we brought only the Great Mother with us and had to nurture her seeds and runners so her offspring might become our homes. We can do it again, if given a good reason. I, and the rest of the Elders, agree that such a move is preferable to being forced to shed blood against their natural inclinations.'

Alwen paused for a moment, making sure that she was in full eye-contact with Dominic, her face as grave as it had ever been.

'If you are willing to be our protectors and open your territory to us, I promise that you will not regret it. You have expressed your appreciation of our crafters' speed and excellence in creating armour for your people. We will be your weapon and armour crafters, your farmers, your healers…. We will make you whatever you need in exchange for your protection, our loyalty for your benevolence.'

Dominic looked at Alwen with narrowed eyes.

'So, what, you'd become my vassals or something? And what if we manage to get into contact with this king of yours and he wants you back with him?'

Alwen hesitates.

'Vassals…yes, I suppose that is a good term. Under your protection and owing you loyalty and service. As for if our king asks for us to return…I cannot give you an adequate answer to that without knowing what state the kingdom is in. All I can say is that he has long protected us and since it seems likely that he is not coming to our aid because of the interference of the System, he cannot be held to blame for failing in his duties to us now. If he calls us, we are duty-bound to answer, unless it is discovered that he could have rendered us aid and chose not to.'

'In short, you will offer me service in return for protection until or unless the king demands you return to him?' Dominic summarised.

'You have understood well, Honoured Brother,' Alwen answered, her voice quiet.

Dominic eyed the elf without speaking. Once he had inspected her face – pale, and slightly fearful, but determined nonetheless – he looked over at the other elders. They bore similar expressions, with more or less of each type of feeling. Sylmar and Lystar both showed hints of excitement as well as determination and nervousness. But he didn't see any hint of a lie.

'The rest of you truly agree with this proposition? Taking your town to pastures new to follow the lead of a beast?'

It was Melia who stepped forwards, the quiet head of the farmers a surprising spokes-elf. But perhaps that was the point – to prove that it wasn't just the strongest characters who were ruling over the weaker personalities.

'We have discussed this in depth over the time you have been away, Honoured Brother. Uprooting our whole community is neither a simple task nor an easy decision to make, but it is the preferable option. We do not want another generation of soul-wounded elves growing up under our watch.'

'Soul-wounded elves?' Dominic asked sharply, reminded that Berion had alluded to something like that. He hadn't wanted to interrogate the elf more at that stage, but if he was going to commit himself to being the elves' protector, it seemed like information he should have.

'The consequence of an elf turning to violence who does not have a natural predisposition for it,' explained Lystar in a neutral tone. 'A natural warrior has something which enables them to deal with having blood on their hands without being wounded by it. Something which other elves do not, though hunters have it to a smaller extent. If those without the natural predisposition take a life, they are forever changed in a small way, their soul wounded. The more lives they take, the worse the wound becomes and the more it affects them.

'You'd prefer to serve a beast instead of that,' Dominic realised. Suddenly, several things about the elves made much more sense, particularly their reactions to the matriarch's forays and Alwen's insistence on not acting in their own defence.

Which meant that he now had to make a decision – did the benefits offered by the elves make up for the dungeon-beast magnet that they would likely be? With both a Place of Power and a large group of sapients under his protection, Dominic had a nasty feeling that they would be the main focus of any dungeon that discovered them. Which, unless someone found and cleared the dungeons, was inevitable given enough time.