Blooming in the Desert

To See is to Believe, part 2

The Bagiras, the tribe of predatory Animas which commands the greatest military strength despite their smallest number between the three great Anima tribes.

Theirs is a culture of warfare and honor, with fighting prowess taken as their greatest treasure one can have. The Bagiras chose the strongest between them as their chief, and whenever the chosen chief falls or defeated in a duel, a tournament is held to elect the next one. For the Bagiras, it doesn't matter whether you are male, female, young, elderly, carnivore, vegan – once you prove yourself by standing tall over your opponents' fallen bodies, you are worthy to lead them.

Yet strength alone is not all the Bagiras held high – tradition, honor, and warrior code are the things that any Bagira is expected to obey until the day they die. The Bagira's code of conduct is said to be passed down since the ancient times, before the war, during the reign of the first Anima king, and any member of the tribe should be following them to the latter. Any of them who break these things is immediately expelled from the tribe, no matter if they are the chief or an elder of the tribe.

Despite them actually living a rather strict life as warriors, most people - even fellow Animas from the other tribes - see the Bagiras as a tribe of bloodthirsty warmongers who can't stand still without bloodshed. This is why, most of them who get the chance to actually speak and know one are usually surprised to see how such so-called 'bloodthirsty warriors' can be so polite and amiable.

Which is what Nafa experiences now, as she is brought to the audience of Kunzak, the Bagira chief.

The panther Anima look surprisingly unthreatening – despite the large scar crossing from below his lip to his left eye – he is lithe yet toned, with a colorful stone necklace hanging from his neck. His mannerisms is quite refined, bowing as she enters the circle of warriors that stands as the audience chamber within the occupied oasis.

"Greetings, envoy of the Onros. My name is Kunzak, current chief of the proud Bagiras. I am truly sorry that we meet in this circumstances." Kunzak starts the conversation; his tone is polite and respectful. "Seeing that you brought with you the ring of the king, I suspect you are here to give us an urgent message?"

"Y-yes." Nafa stuttered, both from shock of meeting a very polite Bagira and from anxiety acting as an envoy on behalf of her tribe. It is bad enough that Ur is forced to wait outside of the oasis with the sand dragon – the Bagira guards only let the bearer of the relic into the oasis. "Uh, ummm, w-we of the Onros ask f-for the Bagiras to attend a feast t-tonight."

"Oh, a feast? It is very kind of you. But I'm afraid we have to decline." Kunzak quickly replies.

"W-wait! I-it's not just a feast! We would like to parley!" Nafa, scared at how Kunzak quickly shoots the invitation down, raises her volume.

"...and a parley for what, exactly?" Kunzak asks. Nafa can feel his tone changes and starting to sound rather threatening.

"Um, w-we... we... we would like to parley for you to stop your invasion of our territory..." Nafa replies. She can feel Kunzak's gaze is fulley upon her now.

"An invasion, is it? Well, it's not much of a stretch. But why is it a problem for you?" The Bagira chief suddenly poses a question.

"H-huh? Why? You just waltzed into our territory and takes over one of our oasis..."

"Exactly. Why is the Onros, the tribe known for their everlasting prosperity, care about how they lose a measly, tiny oasis like this? Don't you have the bottomless well in your village? Is that not enough for you to feed all of your people?" Kunzak cuts Nafa's answer with a series of questions about her tribe. From the tone he is using when asking them, Nafa could feel some sort of anger welling in her.