Among the tribes(4)

Aron knew that persuading a tribal leader to trade his own people wouldn't be as simple as flashing steel and making demands. If anyone thought otherwise, they were a fool. At best, he could hope to strike a deal for prisoners of war.

It had been done before—across history.

The African slave trade had functioned in much the same way, with tribes raiding one another and selling their captives to foreign traders in exchange for weapons, glass, salt, or other coveted goods. But that was a system built over centuries, reinforced by the lure of power and profit.

This, however, was different.

These mountain tribes, lingering in the rugged lands behind the Azanian Sultanate, were naturally isolationist. It was no accident—it was the result of a long, bloody history of resisting the Sultan's rule, of fighting tooth and nail for their independence. That struggle had bred deep distrust, making them wary of any outsiders, no matter what they brought in their hands.