Chapter 35: East Village

We are greeted warmly by the Tribu elders when we arrive at Adelita’s and Elodia’s village three days later. The other villagers all come out to see us, but they are more wary of us. Several are obviously pleased that Adelita and Elodia have returned safely. We are told that Whina and Emere are with a small group visiting another village, and they are expected back here in a couple of days.

The Tribu village stands on a small hill that raises it above the surrounding forest. The oppressive heat of the forest is eased by a gentle cooling breeze blowing from the west. Although it rains for a few hours each day, the stormy weather has cleared completely. We can once again see the distant mountains that separate this land from the Atenex and Thurnian territory far to the north.

There are around eighty adults and thirty children gathered to meet us. The vast majority of the Tribu are male. Seeing how few female Tribu live here makes me realise that Adelita’s and Elodia’s absence had left very few adult females in the village. All of the adult female Tribu we see are pregnant, so the prospect of having more sex while we are here will be a forlorn hope. There seems to be nothing wrong with the fertility of the Tribu, but the rarity of female offspring will doom them to extinction.

To the east of the village is a winding depression in the ground with evidence of mining activity along the exposed sides. An assortment of buildings and winches near the access road from the village must be where the ore is processed. A smaller building looks like stables for whatever animals are used to carry the finished metals to the river. We are too far away to see more than the general layout of the mine.

Makareta, Cassandra, Rawiri and I are provided with accommodation in one of the many wooden houses, all built to the same general design. Unlike in Thurn, all the property in the village is communally owned. The village elders allocate housing depending on need. Adelita previously told us that Tribu adults usually live in shared accommodation with three others of the same gender. While friendships are common, marriage or exclusive intimate relationships are not features of Tribu society. In that respect their society is similar to traditional Thurnian customs.

Adelita comes to babysit Rawiri while Makareta, Cassandra and I meet with five of the village elders that evening. As in Thur, Atene, and Pahuna, the word ‘elder’ is a relative term. The Merope sentient machine suggested that our distant ancestors could live beyond eighty years of age. However, few Thurnians alive today will survive into our forties. The oldest Elf Maiden on record lived to the age of forty-three. The Atenex don’t seem to be longer lived than Elf Maidens, but we have insufficient information to be sure. I don’t know about the longevity of the Merope, but all members of their senate are younger than forty years of age.

“I am Paulus,” says one of the Tribu elders. “I officially welcome you to our village, and thank you for your help. The elders have already met with Adelita and Elodia and we have been told of what has occurred. As you may already know, the Tribu and Phebes are struggling for survival. At last count, there are now less than three hundred Tribu. Of those, only thirty are adult females. Mining is a dangerous occupation with accidents common. We rely on mining for our trade, but we can’t sustain the current number of deaths each year. Even if every adult female produced one child a year, our society will cease to be viable within a few generations.”