Eventually, the situation calmed down, and we all agreed to move to a more private room inside the fox-kin's Sanctum to talk. I let Xian out of his cage, and Teyla arranged for all of her unconscious people – who I discreetly healed at range – to be taken care of. She also arranged for the Sanctum's east gate to be repaired discreetly, for drinks and snacks to be prepared in a meeting room for us, and...for Xian to put on some clothes.
As we were led through the Sanctum to our destination, and Teyla and Xian conversed privately, I caught Zara up on some much-needed context – subtly, in wolf-kin tongue. Mainly, the Note, our suspicions about it, and how it connected to my concerns about a fox-kin Otherworlder. I felt horrible for not making a point to do it sooner, especially after I went off-script after her clash with the Daima and put her negotiations in potential peril.
Fortunately, she was very understanding about it after I explained everything. It also helped that Teyla implied today's events would need to be swept under the rug, and diplomacy was still on the table for us.
Now, we've all taken seats on floor cushions around a large, low-rise table, and two fox-kin women are pouring tea for all of us. Zara is seated next to me, and Teyla is, inexplicably, also seated next to me. Xian is seated on the far end of the table, lounging on the floor sideways in a robe that's a little looser than I'd like.
Once everyone's tea is poured, the two women surprisingly walk over to Xian and take seats on either side of him, leaning into his chest affectionately. I raise my eyebrows at the sight, and Xian seems to notice. He smirks, wrapping his arms around them smugly.
"These are two of my wives. They're nice, eh?" (Xian)
The two women wave at me casually. I blink.
"Uhm...sure. It's nice to meet you two." (Mizuki)
Amusement flickers across Xian's face, then he lazily gestures at Zara.
"So...you said she's not your child bride?" (Xian)
My eye twitches, but Zara beats me to it.
"No, and I am not a child. I'm Elder of the wolf-kin." (Zara)
Xian shrugs.
"Hey, I wasn't judging. You look fifteen, he looks seventeen...that's fine by me." (Xian)
A trace of irritation enters Zara's voice.
"I am sixteen, and Mizuki is almost twenty-three." (Zara)
I give Zara a surprised look, not expecting her to have remembered that, while Xian waves dismissively. However, Teyla interjects, her voice full of surprise as she stares at me.
"Really? That's how old I am..." (Teyla)
I glance at her, finding her crimson eyes studying me with keen interest. I sigh, nodding.
"Yes, but I feel like we have more important matters to discuss. Why don't we start with your Otherworlder. You said he's dead...since when? How?" (Mizuki)
I turn my attention to Xian for my questions. He gives me an incredulous look.
"Yup, like I said, he died a good two hundred years ago...or something like that. As for how...seriously? Based on what Teyla told me, you already know he started helping us like three hundred years ago. How long did you expect a human to live?" (Xian)
My eyes widen.
So, he's definitely human, and not a 'mutant' human like me, a human human. In that case...if he was active about three hundred years ago...could he be one of the two human transplants that Azazel already told me about? That would certainly make me feel more at ease if I could confirm as much. Though...it would leave my Note sender search officially at a dead end.
"What can you tell me about him?" (Mizuki)
Xian flashes me a wide grin, showing off his pronounced canines.
"Oh, everything...he was my best friend. Greatest fucking human I've ever met. No offense." (Xian)
I raise my eyebrows at him expectantly, silently urging him to elaborate. He chuckles, then glances at one of his wives, winking at her.
"You mind? This is going to take a minute." (Xian)
She nods sweetly, then I watch, dumbfounded, as Xian slowly lays himself out across the floor and uses said wife as a lap pillow. Then, he sighs dramatically.
"Ahhh...much better. So here's how it was with me and my best bud Zang..." (Xian)
And yeah...he straight up proceeds to give me their entire fucking life story. Basically, he starts with lore we already knew about the fox-kin before they met 'Zang', his self-proclaimed BFF. How they lived, how they were exploited like the wolf-kin are today and suffered human raids, etcetera. Then, Xian throws me for a loop.
"Anyway, one day those bastards came in full force, and I couldn't do a damn thing – I'd been reborn too recently. And then-" (Xian)
I give him a puzzled look, interrupting.
"Wait, what do you mean reborn?" (Mizuki)
Xian sighs deeply, cutting me an annoyed glare.
"Come on man...nobody likes stopping for side stories. Like I said, I'm a Ketsu..." (Xian)
Which apparently means he has a kind of phoenix-like life cycle. Ketsu are born with six tails, which represent six lives. If a Ketsu suffers a mortal wound, or reaches the end of their natural lifespan of about two millennia, they can be 'reborn' in their child state at the expense of one of their tails. Similarly, when two Ketsu mate, they can each sacrifice one tail to conceive a child, and that child is born with the combination of their worldly knowledge.
In Xian's case, he's actually the only Ketsu on Azura...brought here from the fox-kin home world maybe a dozen millennia ago or so. Or rather, his past incarnation was. Apparently, he's able to reproduce with normal fox-kin women, with some caveats. He has to sacrifice two of his own tails instead of one, and the conceived child is basically a clone of him, devoid of the mother's worldly knowledge. If he sacrifices no tails during the...process, he makes 'normal' fox-kin children.
After he finishes explaining all of that, he continues with his story of meeting Zang. Apparently, he'd recently died, sacrificing the first of his six tails to be 'reborn' in his child body, and human raiders picked that time to launch a massive attack on the fox-kin he was with.
Just when Xian thought they were doomed, a strange human swooped in and saved Xian and the other fox-kin, pretty much single-handedly wiping out the raiders.
"And damn, did my buddy look good doing it! Hahahaha! That snazzy white robe, his katana, and dual class magic with more power than any other human on the planet. Whistles...coming in like hot shit to save everyone, with those damn blue eyes of his, the fox-kin girls were all over him after that. Not that he minded.
"Ah fuck...I respected the hell out of the guy. Fufufu...asked him to give me a new first name for saving my life, took his name as my family name, and that was just the beginning of our epic adventures together!" (Xian)
To leave out all the philandering side stories, which Xian apparently does not hate, Zang settled down with the fox-kin and began helping them. He eventually revealed to Xian and a select few other fox-kin – the ones that slept with him – that he was an Otherworlder from a planet called Napaj.
Enamored with the tales of his home world, the fox-kin had Zang help reshape their society in the image of his own. They learned how to make cities with modern buildings, to make advanced armor and weapons, like Zang's katana that he transmigrated with, and they even founded the Council as their governing body.
Apparently, the original Council was just Zang and his EIGHT wives...all fox-kin. If I wasn't sure before, I am now. The esteemed Otherworlder Zang was a degenerate furry.
Anyway, that original number of nine Council members has been maintained ever since, three for each of their three cities. I asked Xian how the council members were selected now, half expecting more harem shenanigans. But, turns out they're invited based on merit.
Although, Xian confessed he just can't help but try and seduce them after the fact. So, a few of the current Council members are part of his harem – in addition to the two women with us now. Oh, but not Teyla...she's made a point to reiterate that several times.
Back to Zang, he apparently continued such efforts for decades, helping the fox-kin progress while protecting them, until they were strong enough that they didn't even need Zang's or Xian's protection anymore. Eventually, Zang reached the end of his lifespan, and since humans and demi-humans can't conceive, he had no heirs despite his many wives.
Hearing that, I cast a question gaze at Teyla.
"Wait, but isn't your family name Zang? You're not a descendant of his?" (Mizuki)
She shakes her head, then gets inexplicably angry and stares daggers at Xian, raising her voice.
"No, everyone with the family name Zang is a descendant of this scum! That's why I keep telling this degenerate to stop trying to make me his wife! I'm not fucking my ancestor, you pervert! Also, I hate his personality." (Teyla)
Xian snorts dismissively.
"Oh, don't be so dramatic. We're barely related. Anyone six generations removed is fair game, and you're nine. Also, most of the male fox-kin say the same about your personality. Sounds like a perfect match." (Xian)
I blink. What...the actual...fuck.
"So anyway..." (Xian)
As if he didn't just advocate for incest, Xian finishes his story. When Zang was in his final year of life, he encouraged Xian and the fox-kin to not keep isolating themselves forever. He told them he loved the idea of one day sharing his culture with the rest of Azura, and he hoped the fox-kin wouldn't give up on reconciling with and aiding the other demi-humans either.
After Zang died, it took some time for them to work up the courage to make good on his wishes, and to justify it to the general fox-kin population that was kept in the dark about Zang's origins. But eventually, they did. They made contact with the rabbit-kin, and now they've even opened up the Outer Courts of their cities to visitors, so they can enjoy and spread the culture of Zang's home world.
I sit in silence for a few moments after Xian finishes his story, digesting it. Then, I open my item box and pull out my katana, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. I raise my eyebrows expectantly as I present it towards Xian.
"Recognize this, by chance?" (Mizuki)