The keeper's clan pt2

Deep within the caves, the Keepers Clan had gathered all around the reos. The air was cool and filled with the faint hum of energy radiating from the surrounding gemstones, their light making it seem like the above grounds of Vitalus to the three vayrons. They were all surrounded by the Keepers, but the focus was on the little haedian pups. They could not contain their curiosity at seeing the new creatures, their little brains not yet attuned to the concept of shame. Their eyes gleamed with curiosity, ears perked, and bodies wriggling in excitement like some overeager creatures.

 

Mer, who had more of a personality that the children could appreciate, had started recounting random facts about their hometown, like how there were competitions to see who could reach a certain floating crystal the fastest, to how they had a market where they traded currency for goods.

 

Jeon-e, the oldest of the bunch, nudged Mer to stop him playfully. "Don’t you think you should probably explain what markets are?" she teased, her voice warm and inviting. "Markets are where some reos go to buy things. It can be different thing, but the main one is food. Usually small-sized farmer send farmers to sell their product."

 

"Farmers?" piped up one of the braver pups, a small, pink colored haedian. "What’s do farmers do?"

 

Mer took back the attention. "Oh! They do farming!" he said, his voice full with enthusiasm, perfect to keep the attention on him. "It’s when someone grows a lot of food, either a small amount or a big amount. Those who grow a little bit of food do it so they can feed themselves, like you do in these caves, but there is also reos who grow a lot of it and sell it to others at the market!"

 

Jeon-e stepped in again "We pay them with krones, our currency, and they can buy seeds and fertilizer to help the vegetables grow"

 

"And there’s more to it than just planting and harvesting. There are tools to help plant the vegetables. Like the fertilizer, who makes the terrain with more nutrients so the plants can grow, and even other animals that help make farming possible. For example, have you ever heard of an ox?" Valentine said, looking at the adult haedian in the back.

 

The pups collectively tilted their heads, their confused expressions making it clear that they had not. One of them asked, "What’s an ox?"

 

"An ox is a large, strong creature." Valentine looked around the room "They’re bigger than any haedian present here, with muscles like boulders"

 

The pups' eyes widened as they tried to picture this animal, bigger than their parents. "Are they dangerous?" asked another pup. Valentine replied "don't worry, they're kind animals, they eat grass and are very patient"

 

Mer said "But! It's ok to be scared. If you stood next to one, its shoulders would reach three times higher than your head," he explained. "Its legs are as thick as tree trunks, and its hooves are solid and can hurt if they get scared."

 

Jeon-e chuckled softly. "And," she added, "they have these big horns that curve like the moon."

 

The pups gasped, and even the adult haedians who had joined to listen leaned in closer to the description of a creature bigger than them.

 

"But what does it do?" asked one of the pups.

 

Valentine continued. "Oxen are partners in farming. They pull heavy carts loaded with vegetables and grains, or really anything that needs to be transported from the farms to the city. Imagine a cart, a kind of wooden box with wheels underneath. It’s made of wood at it has a lot of things on it, so it's too heavy for us vayrons to move on our own. That’s where the ox comes in. They’re trained to pull these carts, so we put a harness on them and they pull on it, and since they're so strong, they can do it when we cant"

 

"Wait," interrupted an adult haedian, his brow furrowed. "Why would they work with you? What do they gain from it?"

 

Jeon-e then addressed the adults "Since they eat only grass, they're considered prey animals. Out in the wild there is also predators, just like us, who eat meat and would not stop and think twice about eating an ox. There is oxen that are wild, not all of them are farm animals, but the ones that are get shelter and are sure to be fed, if there is a lack of grass in winter or if it dries up in summer. It's all part of coexistence"

 

The pups looked at each other, their young minds racing to comprehend this new information. "But why not just hunt?"

 

Cailu’s felt the need to intervene, his deep voice softened as he spoke to the pups, as this was an argument that even haedians could instinctly understand. "Hunting is vital, especially for us haedians, but what happens when prey is scarce? Or when the seasons change and food is harder to find? It seems that farming provides a steady source of food, a way to survive and thrive even when nature is unkind. What would happen if the fish of the caves were to die all?"

 

"We would starve" said one of the pups, an older one, a teenager so to say.

 

"That's right" Cailu said. "This is why we work together" he added, and looked at the Keeper's leader in the eyes.