Druoag led us to the entrance, where we sat by the massive table. He in his gigantic chair and the four of us in the smaller ones.
- Would you like to start, or perhaps should I? - he asked.
It was very strange to hear his deep voice, and then the AI in my ear translating the words to stuff like 'perhaps', and other more eloquent ones. I couldn't help but see him as a brute. His physique was like the embodiment of aggression.
- Maybe you should start - I proposed.
- Very well... - he nodded. - My people are called Oags. Oag means person, and Dru means two in my language. So my name basically means two people. We used to rule over this planet, but with the expansion of the Ixan empire, we were taken over. It was long ago before the law was allowing to join everybody who proved themselves as a vassal, so we never became part of the empire, but we also never were slaves, although they tried...
I nodded to his words, trying to show him I understand.
- My people are quite brutal, as my appearance could indicate. Our culture was built on the strong dominating the weak, and a constant need to prove yourself. We were tribal, and the tribes constantly fought among one another. Not to mention our ritual of becoming an adult. Did you see the wall when you were landing?
- Yes, and the firestorm behind it...
- Sometimes it's lesser, sometimes it's stronger. Before the wall existed, to prove yourself and become an adult you had to go there and dig through the sand to find a sand leech and bring it back to the tribe. It meant days of digging in a very harsh environment. Only the toughest or the luckiest could make it. If a son of the family didn't return, they became a laughing stock for the rest of the tribe, which even led to the parents killing babies who seemed to be not strong enough. Even aster the wall, some of us went there, climbing the wall, to prove ourselves. I did too.
I immediately thought of the Spartans, when he said that story, but since I didn't want to interrupt him, I just made a mental note to later tell him about that.
- You see, I was not always interested in history. I used to be only concerned about proving I'm the strongest, the best. Bashan changed me. He discovered me, trained me, and showed me the world outside. He expanded my horizons. Now I'm a laughing stock for my people, but they don't dare laugh when I'm present. They are afraid.
- Bashan mentioned you were the champion of the Royal Tournament. That must mean you are strong.
- Very strong. I spent my whole youth doing incredible deeds. Making my people see me as the reincarnation of the heroes from the old tales. There were many since each tribe had its own...
- So you went there, behind the wall, and survived? Isn't there any radiation there?
- There is. As I said, only the toughest survived. In the past, we were even not leaving this close to the burning half of the planet. We stayed away, in the darkness. Now when the walls protect us from the fire and radiation, and we can transport water all the way here without issues, it's possible for anybody to live here, but back in the days, it was not. Now your turn. Now you know about my people, but I still don't know about yours.
I sighed and chuckled, as humankind's history for me was a tough nut to crack. I didn't even know how to start. My reaction made him surprised, so I had to explain myself.
- There is a lot, so I need a moment to think where to start...
He nodded, understanding my explanation. It took me some time, but I eventually dug the residual knowledge left on the very bottom of my memory about the past of my own race. I told him how we used to make tools out of stone and then moved to the tools made out of bronze and metal. I brought the Spartans, which also resonated with him, as the value of strength was also very important in their culture.
Then I briefly went through the roman empire, and moved to the medieval times, from where I quickly jumped to the present time, as I knew very little about the renaissance.
He was a very good listener. Very active with the questions about things he couldn't understand or was curious about. We spent hours talking, completely ignoring the three Atri, until Bashan actually interrupted us, saying that the dinner is ready.
Do you know how difficult it is to describe the taste of something when you can't just say that it tastes like a chicken? Very hard, so I tried my best to talk about the stuff I ate there and attempted to compare it to food back on Earth.
I always wanted a big house with walls covered in thick ivy, so I picked one of the houses like that. It was quite spacious with multiple rooms, and many weird alien things I had no idea how to use and was too embarrassed to ask. Which by the way was quite dumb on my part.
The Atri were to live with me, so directed them into some rooms, and went to rest, as, from all the conversations I had during the day, my head started to hurt a little.
Despite how tired I felt, everything on Qual-O-7 was quite refreshing after the fucked up life I lived in my enslavement. I also was very curious about what the near future was to bring. I really wanted to know what the High Queen was planning to do with me.. I made a mental note to dig further into Druoag life as a champion and learn more about the ruler of the almighty Ixan empire.
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