"Ether?!"
"That can't be…"
"Those humans have it? How's that possible?"
"I thought they weren't real…"
The rest of the elders clamored for the hunter to explain himself. After all, seeing Ether was akin to seeing the moons suddenly turn blue or seeing pigs fly. No one had seen it, even the oldest Elder alive. Everyone assumed it to be nothing more than fiction. Now, this hunter was saying that the humans had it in their hands the entire time.
"It's true…I saw it with my own hands…they had it stored in one of those glasses. It looked like red sand, and it twinkled a rainbow color."
The hunter's description of the Ether matched that of their imagination. It was the same thing that their parents told them all those years ago, the very thing that captured their dreams and hopes. Every one of them yearned to be able to touch, let alone see, even a tiny sliver of this mythical object.
Rumors had it that those who absorbed Ether could become a being much more powerful than normal. The ancient scrolls told them that it could give them strength equivalent to a thousand bulls, it could give them speeds even the eyes could not see, or it could give them the powers of a God.
Their imaginations went wild. They imagined themselves absorbing that Ether for themselves and dominating everything. The strongest elder wanted to get that Ether and hunt predators. The wisest elder wanted to use the Ether and become the village's absolute ruler.
They all had one thing in common: they wanted that Ether at all costs.
Everyone's eyes were full of greed. Even without saying anything, all of them had the implicit decision of letting the humans come and show them that Ether.
They had never let anyone into their village before, especially since they had the reputation of conquering all the lands they had come across. However, the mention of Ether made them forget all about that. They were willing to risk everything.
And before they could even say something to the hunter to let the humans inside, the door opened, and in came the human merchants. They didn't even wait for any permission and simply forced themselves inside the elder's meeting.
There were about 5 beings that came inside. The two humans at the back made sure to raise their hands and show their lack of weapons to the elders, while the one in the front, the one with golden jewelry around his body, had a small golden box in his hands.
The leader of the humans was smart. He immediately opened the golden box and showed them what the Thalls wanted to see before they could even react. They were supposed to be angry at their intrusion, but as soon as they saw the reddish tint of sand inside a small glass vial, all their anger disappeared.
The elders were silent and the only sounds they made were gasps and gulps. Everyone wanted to get up from their seats and look at the Ether with their own hands, but that would be improper. Also, this could be a trap, and they didn't want to be the one to set it off.
Seeing this, the human merchant spoke up in a different language, something that the elders didn't understand.
"(!#^$)!@(@#^!%@*&@)"
Then, from the back of the humans, someone spoke up.
"The human merchant greets the elders."
It was only then that the elders realized that there was someone else with the humans. Their eyes went wide when they saw a red-skinned Thall obediently translating the human merchant's words to them.
They never thought that one of the subspecies of Thalls would be so subservient to a human, especially a red-skinned Thall. There were three main subspecies of Thalls, the yellow-skinned Thalls like Achram and the villagers, the red-skinned Thalls like the one translating, and the blue-skinned Thalls that kept to themselves.
They didn't know much about the blue-skinned Thalls, but they knew plenty about the red ones. They lived on the opposite side of the forest, far away from the village so there wasn't much crossing between the two species.
That was especially because the dangerous wilds separated the two species. The yellow-skinned Thalls had to fight through the dangerous lairs and habitats of predators in the wilds for them to reach the red-skinned Thalls.
The reason why the red-skinned Thalls could live beside those apex predators like the Brown Bears was because they were much more physically gifted than the yellow-skinned Thalls. Even youths and novice red-skinned hunters could beat experienced and veteran yellow-skinned Thalls with no problem.
And because of their strength, the red-skinned Thalls grew to be very proud of themselves. They thought of yellow-skinned Thalls as inferior, mostly because they only targeted weak prey. Only when they hunted predators could they count it as a proper hunt.
So, the elders were surprised when a red-skin was serving the humans.
"Why are you serving them?" asked the Elder.
"(*$^@*#%!!!!!" the human said.
"The human said that you should only pay attention to him. He has what you need," the red-skin said.
The Elder stopped his questions when he understood that the red-skin was being treated as something they used, something disposable: a slave.
"Now that I have your attention, I have a proposition for you, Thalls. Do you recognize what this is?" the human merchant said after the red-skin translated it for the Thalls.
"Yes. That is our treasure. Ether," the Elder said.
"Hmph. It is not your treasure yet. But it can be." The merchant picked up the vial of Ether and showed it to the elders.
"May I ask how you acquired that?" asked the Elder, reaching for the vial.
The human pulled it back and put it back into the safety of the golden box. "That is none of your concern. The only thing that you need to know is that I am the only source of this Ether. You can't find it anywhere."
The rest of the elders believed it. In the first place, they never even thought that Ether was real. If they wanted Ether, then this was the only chance they could get. If they failed to please the human merchant, then they could lose their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
They didn't know that they would have gotten an Ether from God if they had just joined Achram and his expedition to the mountain. It was unfortunate. Now, they were completely in the hands of the human merchant.
"Is it real?" asked the wisest Elder. They already saw the unexplainable twinkling of a myriad of colors on the Ether, an effect of the supernatural properties of the Ether that cannot be faked. However, it didn't hurt to ask if it was genuine.
"Hmph. Just ask that red-skin over there. Why do you think he's so obedient towards me?"
The merchant implied that this was not the first deal he made with Thalls. It was more than probable that they went to the red-skinned Thalls first and offered them a chance to earn the Ether.
It was the reason why the proud red-skinned Thall became subservient to the humans. They obtained Ether for the price of their freedom.
"Are you saying that you'll give us Ether if we become your slaves?"
"@&^$^#" the human answered.
"...yes…" the red-skinned Thall translated with a tinge of regret in his voice.
The elders went into an uproar. Some of them felt that the price was too high. They weren't willing to become a human's plaything even if the reward was an Ether. Some elders were the complete opposite. They felt that slavery to the humans was completely worth it if they got their hands on the Ether.
They erupted into a discussion between themselves, with one side having the majority. Unfortunately, the majority was in favor of taking the deal.
"This is our chance. Once we acquire enough Ether, we can have enough power to break off our chains and become the apex predators of this forest." the oldest Elder said with fervor. His eyes burned with anger and fury. It was his chance to get stronger and take revenge on Achram.
With this decision from their most respected elder, the debate was settled. Some of the elders watched in horror as the human merchant happily shook hands with the Thalls. They were helpless as their entire village was enslaved. The villagers outside didn't even know what happened, but now their lives will be under the hands of humans.
"Good! You Thalls won't regret your decision. I will leave this Ether in your hands. Once you have done enough merits for us, then you may receive another pinch of Ether."
With that, the human merchants left the village, leaving a couple of human and red-skinned Thall guards to make sure that they abided by their agreement.
The rest of the Thalls tried to leave and protest, but with the combined strength of red-skinned Thalls and human soldiers, they could only return to their home bloodied and bruised.
One of the elders who deeply opposed this agreement lamented. "What have we done…"
He looked up the mountain, wondering if it was too late for them to join that paradise.