chapter 19 “The Deal with The Ancestors for the future of the Clan”

The fire burned low, casting flickering shadows across the cave walls. Lu Yan sat in silence, the weight of his thoughts pressing down on him. Around him, the spirit beasts lay at ease, their glowing eyes watching.

The realization had settled in. Survival was not enough.

This land, these creatures—they were trapped in a cycle of hunger and instinct, with nothing beyond the next hunt. The ruins scattered across the landscape spoke of something that had once been greater, something lost.

Lu Yan would not let it stay lost.

A Plan for the Future

He reached into the pouch at his waist, pulling out a handful of gold, copper, and silver coins—the wealth of the scattered tribes that had once called this place home. Not taken. Not stolen. Inherited.

He let the metal glint in the firelight.

"These mean nothing to you," he said, looking at the beasts. "But to those beyond this land, they mean everything."

He turned his gaze to the remnants of the tribal ancestors, their presence lingering in the ruins, their will woven into the bones of this forsaken land. They had watched in silence, waiting. Now, he called upon them.

"In exchange," Lu Yan continued, his voice steady, "transport to me all the unknown useless to you, Crystals"

And now, they had given their answer.

The Crystals meant nothing to them.

But in exchange, they demanded something else.

The unknown Crystals would be gathered and sent to Lu Yan. He would take them beyond this land. Whatever they held, whatever they could become, it was no longer the ancestors concern.

But the land itself could not remain as it was.

Wealth meant nothing if there was no structure to hold it. Strength meant nothing if it was wasted on survival alone.

The ancestors did not demand conquest. They did not demand war or blind expansion. They demanded continuity.

The tribes that remained here the remnants of something older, needed a foundation beyond the endless hunt for survival. Something stable.

Lu Yan listened. Not as a hero. Not as a ruler. But as someone who understood the weight of reality.

He spoke carefully. The name of the past is lost, but what comes next cannot be.

The old tribal names were discarded, left behind with the ruins. In their place, something new, a name that held weight.

A hush fell over the cave. The air grew thick, heavy with unseen weight. The ancestors did not speak in words, but their answer was clear.

A deal was struck.

The smaller beasts sniffed at the coins, uninterested. Wealth was meaningless to them. They did not need it.

But that was the point.

Gold was not for beasts.

It was for building.

"We will not be scavengers forever," Lu Yan continued. "No more wandering. No more endless fighting. We will build something that lasts."

He let the words settle.

The beasts did not reject them.

But a people needed a name. A banner. Something to bind them together beyond instinct.

He thought of the lands he had known—the iron rule of Rome, the vast empires of the desert kings, Umayyad, the wisdom of the old scholars. He needed a name that held weight, something drawn from the past but shaped for the future.

Something that fit the spirit beasts.

The name came to him slowly, rolling through his mind like distant thunder. Ancient sounds. Feral strength.

"Auraria Al-Qadimah."

A blend of the old tongues—half-formed words from a forgotten empire, twisted by the growls and howls of the beasts that now ruled these lands.

A name that meant nothing, but would mean everything soon to the beasts.

The largest beast exhaled sharply. A sign of acknowledgment.

Auraria Al-Qadimah.

It was theirs now.

A kingdom was nothing without order. Power without restraint was chaos. Lu Yan had seen too many warlords rise and fall, their empires crumbling under greed. He would not let that happen here.

And so, the first laws of Auraria Al-Qadimah were set:

1. The Strong Guard the Weak. Power is a duty, not a privilege. Strength is used to protect, not to oppress.

2. Hunting is for Survival, Not Waste. No life is taken without reason. The balance of the land must be upheld.

3. Everybody stands as One. Betrayal of one is subjected to Death. Loyalty is absolute.

4. Honor is Law. Deception, cowardice, and selfish ambition will not be tolerated.

5. We Build for the Future. Auraria Al-Qadimah will not remain a roaming pack. It will be a kingdom.

The beasts listened. They did not challenge. They understood.

These were laws of the wild, forged into something greater.