1931 The Great Mother (Part 1)

The Shadow Dragon flew away from the city until they found a secluded area. Then, she used a float spell for her passengers and reverted to her human form before Warping everyone on the ground.

"I'd like to fly straight to our destination, but the time we spend walking is time saved from answering the questions of the local warlords and avoiding job offers." Zoreth said as her body shapeshifted into that of a black-skinned tall man with beady eyes.

Bytra shapeshifted as well, assuming the appearance of a woman of her same height but with dark brown skin, light chestnut eyes, and curly short black hair.

"You can keep your appearance, but those clothes have to go." Zoreth said in a deep baritonal voice with a thick unknown accent.

She handed Lith tanned leather pants and a long-sleeved linen shirt, an attire suited to the savanna surrounding them. The climate was more humid than the Desert, but no less hot.

Grassland covered most of the ground, revealing only a few patches of an unknown red soil that seemed to be fertile. Despite the lack of any visible source of water, there was plenty of pasture for herbivores and lots of trees.

Unlike the forests he was used to, the canopy was open, allowing plenty of sunlight to reach the ground. Most of the plants weren't recorded in the tomes stored inside Soluspedia.

Lith was so taken aback by their transformation and the unknown environment that he looked around like a tourist who had just gotten off his flight.

On top of that, it was the first time that he had seen black-skinned people since he had come to Mogar and he didn't know how to ask the obvious questions that were popping in his mind without sounding ignorant, racist, or both.

'Does racism exist on Mogar?' He thought.

"Judging from your staring, you had no idea what the locals look like, correct?" Zoreth had forgotten that Lith was still very young and had never left Garlen.

She wasn't aware of his trip to Jiera and Lith had never felt the need to share it with her.

"Yes." He nodded with a dumb expression on his face.

"Well, just like the people of the Kingdom are pink and those of the Desert are bronze-skinned, here they have an even darker color." Bytra said. "If you ever go on Jiera, instead, you'll find even people with a kind of yellowish skin."

"Really?" Lith's eyes went wide in surprise.

"Yes. The appearance of humans, just like for beasts, changes based on the climate they grew in, but they are still people. Staring like that is plain rude and betrays the fact that you come from Garlen."

"Do the people of Verendi discriminate against the other continents?" Lith asked crossing his fingers.

"Yes." Zoreth replied.

'Fuck! I had hoped to have left this kind of bullshit on Earth!' Lith inwardly whined.

"They can't stand the people of Garlen because you are their enemies. If it's of any consolation, they discriminate against anyone who isn't from their own country. Your accent betrays you so leave the talking to us." Bytra's accent was just as thick as Zoreth's, making it hard for him to understand some of the words.

Lith shapeshifted his clothes after the gemstone in the Voidwalker armor absorbed them.

"Wait, so the discrimination is only aimed at people perceived as enemies?" He asked.

"Yes. What kind of other reason did you expect?" Zoreth looked at him in confusion.

"I don't know, maybe the color of my skin?" He said it as a joke, obtaining genuine laughter in reply.

"Why would people do that? It's the most stupid thing I've ever heard." Bytra said.

'This explains why no one ever bothered Nalrond even in Lutia and why the people of the Desert had no problem accepting us as their own. It wasn't just because of Salaark but also because on Mogar racism doesn't exist.' Solus thought.

The three of them ran toward the main road, shifting to a jog as soon as they came close enough to other travelers. They kept moving at a human speed to not draw attention and even pretended to sweat.

As soon as they reached the highway, a few people approached them. Lith's hand instinctively moved to his hip, where War usually was but Bytra stopped him in time, threading her fingers through his.

"Are you lost or have you been robbed?" A tall middle-aged man with a round belly asked while offering them a water skin.

His colorful clothes identified him as someone rich, just like the magnificent white stallion he rode. The man had a warm smile and a friendly expression that didn't extend to his eyes, especially while looking at Lith.

"Both." Zoreth nodded to the man in gratitude, taking the water skin with both hands and drinking as if she was thirsty. "We were showing our friend around when bandits took us to a secluded spot and robbed us blind."

"You have been truly unlucky." The man said.

"I consider ourselves lucky, instead. They took our belongings but at least we kept our lives. We can always make more money and buy new things." Bytra had just answered correctly to the merchant's coded words, making his smile turn genuine.

"I'm always glad to meet new friends and I'll happily do what I can to help you. My name is Zugu, and I'm a merchant." The man dismounted and offered his hand to Xenagrosh.

"I'm Goro and she is my sister Palea from the Meraka company." She shook it, noticing how the people surrounding the caravan acted casual, but they had positioned themselves so that their rings pointed at her.

Their hands held the reigns, but they would need but a thought to rain magic on the strangers.

"He is my sister's fiancé, Ilyum." Zoreth nodded at Lith. "We were showing him the ropes with a simple food transport when we got attacked. The kid needs to do better if he wants to enter the family."

"Ilyum?" The man was already suspicious of the stranger's features. "What an odd name. Does he belong to the famous riders of the Ghiskan plains? I could use a good horse tamer as well."

"I wish." Zoreth said with a sigh. "He's just a foreigner from Garlen. He had trouble there and was forced to run away. My sister fell in love with him and you know how these things go."

She had noticed Zugu's caution under his amiable façade. Also, Lith's accent would betray his origins the moment he opened his mouth, no matter how good his cover story was.

Claiming that he was a mute would have been too convenient to be believable so the Shadow Dragon had preferred to mix lies and truth.

This way, Lith was free to stare at unfamiliar things and make social blunders without arousing suspicions. The people of Verendi were suckers for love stories and claiming that Lith was a renegade only made him worthy of respect.

"Don't be so harsh on the lad. Young love is the most beautiful thing on Mogar. May the Great Mother bless your union with many magically talented children." Zugu gave the couple a bow before shaking their hands.