31 opened my eyes

Both Raknar and Atasha were stupefied, unsure of what to do. Sweat ran down their bodies, and they stood frozen, unable to move a muscle. The primal energy of the small predator terrified them on a fundamental level, and their bodies refused to obey any commands, preventing them from running even though it was all they desired.

Alex, on the other hand, began to receive certain whispers from the collar that he found intriguing. He closed his eyes and entered a deep meditation.

Seeing the human in this state, Lunaria halted her transformation and returned to her normal form. She glanced at the two gnolls, made a final farewell gesture, and then departed.

Both gnolls finally regained the ability to breathe once the small predator left the tent.

"What just happened?" asked a bewildered Raknar.

"I don't know, but it seems to have been a parting gift for Sir Alex. Look, it seems he is in a state of enlightenment," replied Atasha.

"What should we do? We'll be in trouble if someone comes, and we don't have the human. We still need him to defend this camp," Raknar said.

"Sir Alex, you must start treating him with respect, or do you want another beating?" Atasha retorted.

"Whatever. Don't get uppity with me, Atasha. You may be the matriarch, but you don't have any Sha clan warriors with you."

"For now."

"What do you mean?" Raknar asked incredulously.

"Sir Alex recovered a map. I'm thinking of sending Tharoh to investigate the locations. If what is depicted on them is real, we might have a chance."

"You're crazy, Atasha. Tharoh is not trustworthy. Plus, what makes you think this human can stand against the Kron? From what we know, there are several of those bastards' realms that migrated here."

"Several clans of our kind migrated as well," the young matriarch obstinately replied. "I didn't know you'd become a coward, Raknar, or is this the caliber of Ra clan warriors? Unlike Sir, it's our people who are enslaved; we can't run away."

Raknar couldn't say anything because, even if he were called a coward, it would be hypocritical to respond, as the truth was that he no longer had the will to keep fighting.

"Let's go, leave Sir alone. I have things to organize."

So both of them left the tent. The warrior went to a corner to recover from his injuries and reflect on the events he had just witnessed, while the matriarch began issuing an endless stream of orders and gathering and convincing many people.

As for Alex, he had received a tremendous gift from the small predator, but he didn't yet know it. Lunaria herself wouldn't realize the impact of her actions in the not-so-distant future.

Two days passed before Alex finally emerged from his deep meditation, two days during which Atasha had been issuing orders like a machine gun during a certain landing.

Finally, the young matriarch was able to put the camp in order. Moreover, she had gathered a ton of information and had a purpose, a plan, and a longing.

To begin with, her purpose could be called megalomaniacal. She had set out to liberate all gnolls on the Iretar Peninsula, which was a crazy plan since she would have to face a variety of powerful forces that were already present, along with many others who had interests in this land.

Her plan was simple in essence but difficult to execute. There were many factions in this land, and most of them didn't communicate with each other. All were slavers, so in each settlement, she would find members of her species. It would be "easy" to start attacking the smaller, weaker settlements and gradually escalate their operations.

Finally, her longing was for a land for the gnolls. This was supposed to be a good place for them to settle, which was why they had migrated here en masse in the first place. Of course, that was before it was discovered that this place was full of treasures, and everyone else came.

The linchpin for all of this was a human. She still needed to inquire a bit more and get to know him better, but time was short, and she had decided to take the risk. After all, from what she had seen, Alex was hardly a normal human. From her perspective, it was highly likely that he was chosen by the system, an extraordinary being due to his innate qualities.

"Atasha, I think it's appropriate that we talk. You can gather the others as well; this could concern all of us," Alex finally spoke after eating lightly to recover.

"I understand, Sir. I will gather them shortly," Atasha replied, sensing that something unusual was going on.

While Atasha gathered the rest, he couldn't help but think about what had happened. The little feline had somehow taught him to communicate with his collar, although doing so felt like bashing his head on a fall down a hill. He had been able to glimpse a variety of topics, although not enough to solve any of his problems. However, he knew where to start and what challenges lay ahead.

Alex's aura had changed. Everyone could feel that he had become much more serious, losing the confident and easygoing attitude he had displayed until now. There was a certain pessimism in his demeanor and way of speaking, as well as other darker emotions hidden in his eyes—anger and resentment, among others.

"Oh, little Alex, something happened," Shalara was the first to speak. Of all present, she had only seen Alex's wounded heart and had entered a maternal mode.

"Some things. Lunaria opened my eyes to some truths I had ignored until now, as well as other things I didn't know. Now I have some idea of how much has been stolen from me and how much more I'll have to risk," Alex said.

The room fell into a brief silence, but Atasha was the first to interrupt. "I can see that Sir Alex has realized the cruel world we live in. His determination is evident," Atasha interjected.

"Not just how cruel it is but how much crueler it will become and how despicable it has been to me. Anyway, I'd like to speak with you all. I know that each of you has served as pillars for this camp, and your voices represent the majority here. So, I want to know what you've decided to do," Alex paused to review his decision. Even though he was reluctant to accept the information he had received, it was damning. "Moreover, I don't think I have much room to flee. For my part, I intend to stay in this land, so I consider myself one of you. Although I accepted the leadership against my will, I still believe there are merits in staying with you. However, I won't force the issue at this point."

"If that's your decision, know that the Sha clan gladly accepts your leadership. I know very well that you can lead us to greater heights and prosperity," Atasha responded.