A calm peaceful melody rang throughout the small tent. A young blue-haired fat boy with his eyes closed gently strung the strings of the gigantic horn-shaped instrument. As the sweet relaxing music played, the sand underneath him began to dance along. The sand twirled, spun, and swayed to the sound of the music. Then a hiss from below suddenly revealed itself in the middle of the song. Yun Tae moved his eyes downward as he gestured with his hand.
The sand parted itself and revealed the head of a ginormous snake staring right at him. Tae continued to play and simply watched as the Vicious Pit Viper seemed to move along with the melody. Slowly, Tae began to ramp up the intensity of the song and the viper happily followed along, its body swaying left to right. Eventually, its head began to bob as well and Tae couldn't help but smile and join him.
Near the end of the song, the Vicious Pit Viper curled around Tae's plump body. At first, the temperature of its scales was cold but as the two continued to enjoy their music, both of their bodies warmed up as they lost themselves in the melody. It was only through the feminine scream that Tae felt himself brought back to reality once more. His new friend immediately wanted to attack the sudden intruder and the intruder didn't mind retaliating back.
She pulled out her gundao and was ready to charge forward to kill the monster.
"Stop." Tae told her. "I'm not in danger. Stay where you are and don't come forward, please." Yun Tae wasn't sure of his bond with this snake extended to it followed commands from him.
"What the hell are you doing inside your tent with a Vicious Pit Viper?!" Yun Kkot, his youngest sister, demanded.
"I made a friend." Tae smiled. "I'd like to nurture this bond until he becomes a tamed pet. So please do not make a big deal out of this."
"Nobody makes friends with monsters! Why do you have to be so strange eldest brother?! Why can't you just be like how everyone else wants you to be?" KKot seemed distraught.
"The way of our tribe is not my way." Tae simply smiled.
"What is your way then!? You won't be able to find a wife like this. You won't be able to take over as chief of the tribe like this. And if we're invaded, you definitely won't be able to defend yourself with that stupid instrument! I can help you train, I can help you become stronger!"
"Kkot." Tae looked at her. "Our path in life is not chosen by familial responsibility but free will. I have no interest in being a warmonger for the sake of appeasing the gods. There are thousands of others who will freely step up to that plate. I rather go my own way and I refuse to step away from that path because of what others think." Tae gently massaged the scales of the viper curled around him.
"You talk all smart, Tae, but in this world strength reigns supreme! It doesn't matter how logical and reasonable your words are when put against a warrior with a sword! Everyone knows that the strongest person is the one who is right in the end." Kkot didn't refute her eldest brother's words.
"That is an undeniable truth, isn't it?" Tae laughed.
Kkot could see the pain in her brother's eyes and it infuriated her. She wouldn't take her own words lying down! Why didn't her big brother have a spine when it came to anything other than defending the way he lived his life?! Kkot loved her eldest brother who always treated her with nothing but love and kindness but hated the way everyone else treated him.
She wasn't blind to the fact that her brother was worthless as a warrior in both temperament and ability but that didn't mean he was completely useless! Just because warriors were the most respected and valuable of the tribe didn't give everyone the right to humiliate anyone who wasn't a warrior. Everyone of the tribe had value in their own way and when she takes over as leader of the tribe, she's going to change things from the top all the way to the bottom.
"So, what did you come to discuss with me?" Tae strung a soft melody.
"I came to tell you about the upcoming war with the Pung Tribe. I'd like you to avoid Father and Second Brother for a while." Kkot knew they would come to make trouble for Tae.
"Thank you for the warning, Kkot." Tae gave her a loving smile. "What is the battle over this time?"
"A battle between two monsters unearthed a buried oasis. The winner of the battle will take control of the oasis and the resources from it."
"I see. The chance for more resources would lead any tribe into a skirmish." Tae sighed.
"I'll be leaving now, Tae. If you can tame more monsters, the tribe might appreciate you like before." Kkot left him with those words but both of them knew he wouldn't even think about doing such a thing.
Everyone knew of Yun Tae's pacifist nature by now. A trait of his that was revealed in his youth after he effortlessly defeated a well-known adult warrior as a child. The warrior was beaten to severely that he never recovered and committed suicide out of humiliation. Kkot heard from her mother about how Yun Tae was forced into the fight by his father. Yun Tae tried to run away but the other warriors surrounded him. When the fight began, Yun Tae stayed on the defensive and tried to avoid hurting the adult warrior as much as he could. It was only when he could no longer avoid the hits and was on the verge of death that his true potential exploded. Yun Tae beat the man half to death with just his bare fists. Blood, terror, and angry all converged into his small figure. After that day, Yun Tae never went to the training grounds again, never picked up a weapon again, and never trusted his father again.
"What do you think it would take for true peace to spread across the Land of Decay?" Tae softly asked the vibrating serpent.
It hissed.
"It's ironic, don't you think? The path to peace must be littered in corpses. You've really played a cruel joke on me, haven't you?" Yun Tae looked upward. "The God of War, speaking about true peace... I'm a fool for believing you but I have no other choice but to take this power granted by you and use it for good. I'll just have to put you out of business by the end of my journey, won't I?" Tae felt that the sky was laughing at him.
The ends justify the means but only if the ends could be reached. Yun Tae was idealistic but he wasn't foolish. Just like his sister said, only with enough power could he change anything. Power he was just given and rather afraid to use. People were going to die as a result of his choice here. But people are going to die regardless of his choice. Perhaps the Land of Decay will be engulfed in wars for another hundreds of years. Maybe someone will manage to unify all the desert tribes and set in an age of prosperity.
Yun Tae vowed to make that someone himself. Without losing himself in the process. His first act of bringing in the Era of Peace within the Land of Decay begins soon. The war between the Yun Tribe and the Pung Tribe will be stopped by himself. But the real difficulty will begin after the armies are subdued. Tae's biggest challenge will be thinking of how to prevent internal conflicts after merging the tribes together. Tribes of different cultures, ways of thinking, ways of practicing, and etc coming together is nothing but a disaster waiting to happen. It appears Tae will have to take a much more proactive approach in this than he initially wanted.
Just as he was thinking of having the Yun tribe absorb all of the other tribes, he thought about how difficult it would be having those of the Yun tribe accept being equals with those Tae conquered. No one would be willing to give up their superiority in order to be on equal standing with people they consider losers. But... there wouldn't be any issues if those of different tribes proved themselves worthy as capable warriors. Tae thought of having them journey out alone into the Land of Decay and returning with a powerful monster that they've slain alone. Once they return, they'll be gifted status, fame, and proof of their strength that they are worthy of being respected regardless of the tribe they've come from. Tae would then have to implement some sort of boon for their family on return to help them and their future generations be equal with the Yun tribe.
'Yes... This could work...' There were still issues to iron out, like finding the perfect warriors to send on the journey with certainty that they would return but that was only a matter of time. Tae knew there were talented warriors out there who would be eager to prove their worth either for themselves or their families.
"Vermont. Let's go introduce ourselves." Tae gently petted the Vicious Pit Viper's emerald green scales.