The Ancients and the gods sounded scary. Big and scary, if the old mythical stories were anything to go by. Weren't they also almost all cannibals who loved to kill at a whim?
"The remaining descendants of the Ancients still live and rule among the beastmen. Some are giants and very skilled at fighting but no match for modern weapons. Some of the Ancients have already mixed with the bloodlines of the beastmen gods, ordinary beastmen and ordinary humans. They're not as tough as they used to be."
Stacey nodded to herself. That was good. At least modern weapons should keep them at bay. With the advanced technology here, Stacey expected they similarly had advanced weaponry. There was no need to be too scared of them. Stacey let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding.
"The beastmen are exactly all those you might have heard in the myths and legends back home. There are centaurs, satyrs, dragons, snakemen, mermaids and so on. There are also animal headed beastmen that tend to be more savage and primitive, acting according to their instincts. Among the beastmen, the most dangerous are probably the dragons and the intellectual ones. Elite beastmen can shapeshift to look like normal humans. They also don't think much. They just take and do what they want because they're so powerful."
Wow. They were all real? Well, that centaur earlier kind of proved it but… when she was younger, she used to wish she could see such creatures. Now she could, but the thought of it and what they might want or do to her was frightening.
Why were they so often depicted as peace loving fanciful creatures to children back home then? Although, if she thought about it, the actual mythical accounts were kind of violent, gory and unpleasant. If they were really not safe creatures to be around, why did the people on Earth try to change people's images and perceptions of them?
The centaur earlier had mentioned something about a war. Was she going to be the cause of a war? Because that would be bad. She didn't want there to be a war because of her. If there was a war, what would she do? She didn't know how to fight. The centaur had said that he expected to see her there. She didn't want to go to war or fight.
And they could sniff her out? Why? Was she so different? Why was it important?
"Is there really going to be a war?" Stacey asked, panic welling up in her again. It was hard to keep her voice steady enough to keep herself comprehensible. "Do I have to be there?"
"There will be a battle. Not a war." Mr Huo said.
Thank goodness. It was just a battle. Not a war. But wait. A battle was still pretty bad. Did that mean she would still have to fight?
"It is the way things are done here," Mr Huo informed her. "When the Ancients are in need, their beastmen can demand gifts from the humans - usually human females, but it can include other livestock or other resources. Since most women would be unwilling to go with the beastmen, a battle without modern weapons is permitted for the beastmen to take and carry away whoever they can while the humans are allowed to defend themselves."
She was going to have to fight. She was. What should she do? What could she do?
"It is the duty of all the people of Gaius to protect themselves and their homes by fighting to keep the beastmen and Ancients respectful enough of us not to raid our homes. We have a somewhat cold war with them where we are trying to make sure our population numbers are always greater than theirs."
Cold war? Stacey thought of Russia and the US back home. But that cold war was a military race. Was Mr Huo saying the cold war here was a population numbers race? Would the world be able to sustain growing populations? Mr Huo was from Earth. He should know the problems associated with overpopulation. Unless that wasn't a consideration here because the current world population wasn't big? Or because this world was large?
"The moment the beastmen or Ancients think you are weak," Mr Huo continued, "they attack until they have won. The way things are here, all children are taught to fight to defend their homes and families. They all wear hidden weapons. You can't be an exception. Here. Take this knife. You can use it like a hair pin or something. At least you'd have a weapon in case of an emergency."
Mr Huo took a small, thin sheathed knife the size of a pen out from a pocket and pressed it into Stacey's hand.
Help. She was really expected to fight. Expected to know how to fight and defend herself. Help.
At least he had been kind enough to give her a weapon. Even if it only looked like a weird scalpel.
"Someone will teach you to fight for real and prepare you for the battle. If you want to survive and live, you're going to have to fight. If you are conquered on the battlefield, the beastmen will have the right to take you away with them. In that case, you have the choice that any other girl here has. Surrender, kill your captor before you get to their beastman town or kill yourself."
Stacey wanted to cry. This was too scary for words. This wasn't a game. How could this be a normal part of life? These were real human lives that were at stake here. If a person died, there'd be no coming back. They'd be dead.
"If you can't defend yourself and get taken away, forget about me helping you anymore. Remember, you have to be useful if you want me to keep you and help you go back home."
That wasn't reassuring at all. Was he trying to scare her more on purpose? Now Stacey wanted to cry even more.
Wait.
She was already crying.