Blooming in the Desert

Thus Spoke the Lion, part 2

As dusk comes to the southern part of Vargas, a contingent of Bagira warriors moves from the tiny oasis toward northwest. Led by their chieftain Kunzak, the contingent is moving toward the Onro village to attend the parley. Kunzak thinks that inviting your enemy to a negotiation feast in the heart of your territory is a really stupid move, but such thing only reinforce the Onros' goodwill and desire to discuss everything peacefully. He simply have to respect such brave conviction, and thus honors their invitation. Not to mention the Onros invited him with the ring of the king.

As stars show up in the night sky, the Bagira contingent arrives at the Onro village. Welcomed by their warriors' salute and their women's flowers, it feels like the Onros is welcoming their allies instead of their invaders.

Soon, the Bagiras and the Onros sit around a large bonfire, set up by the Onros in the middle of their village as the place where the parley will take place. The Bagiras sit on the right side of the fire, with Kunzak sitting in the front-middle of his fellow tribesmen. A few minutes of waiting, and the Onro chief appears, followed by his elders and several Onro warriors. Sitting crosslegged in the left side of the fire, the Onros sit in a similar arrangement as the Bagiras, with their chief sitting front-middle facing the other chief directly.

"Thank you for responding to our invitation, chief of Bagiras. On behalf of all the Onros, I, Juror, current chief of the Onros, says a heartfelt thank you for your attendance in this parley." Juror, his voice bellowing through the whole village, opens the parley with a polite greeting. He bows as a sign of gratitude.

"It is my pleasure, chief Juror. I, Kunzak, the current chief of the Bagiras, also says a thank you for this feast that you've prepared for us." Kunzak returns Juror's bow. "Now then. Shall we get started with the negotiations and parley?" The Bagira chief continues as he raises his head.

Juror's face shows surprise. "...I was thinking of how we should start the feast first before getting to the negotiations. But If you insist, then we shall comply." He responds politely to Kunzak's request.

"Thank you. Now, what is it that you want to talk about? Ah, surely about the oasis we occupied by now, right?" Kunzak says quickly, not letting Juror to control the flow on the conversation.

"...true, chief Kunzak. We are pretty concerned with your tribe's bold move, occupying an oasis within our territory and wounding some of our fellow tribesmen." Juror answers, directly getting to the heart of the negotiation.

"And thus, you will ask us to stop our advance, yes? Maybe to also give the oasis back to your tribe?" Kunzak inquisitively questions Juror's intentions on the parley. The Onro chief closes his eyes.

"...yes. We would ask you to stop your advance to our territory. And we would also ask for you to return the oasis, too." Juror calmly but firmly states his demands. Kunzak scoffs at his statement.

"This is a parley, is it not? Surely you know that a parley is held for two sides to discuss a solution, which will benefit both sides. With your demands now, we the Bagiras receive nothing in return. Do you think we would accept?" Kunzak fiercely argues, his statement incites a roar from the Bagiras sitting behind him. "You have to be fair here, chief of Onros. What would you offer to us so that we will listen to your demands?" The Bagira chief inquires with a confident grin. Juror, on the other hand, is calm, his eyes still closed.

"...we would offer you some help. And by help, we mean water from our well, and food from our field and cattle. We would also allow your tribe to take water from our southeastern oasis – our two tribes will share its use." Juror calmly but firmly speaks of his proposition. One can see a small surprise on Kunzak's face, but the surprise is quickly covered by another grin.