Chapter 26: Village Shaman, formerly known as Breeder

The ceremony didn’t end when the last child got their blessing. There was a feast where everyone talked, danced, and drank. Today, despite the shocking revelation that Kanan was a descendant of Nemean and the Village Shaman, the feast went on as scheduled.

Kanan didn’t have the luxury of participating in the feast this year as he had done years prior, or at least for the time being. His role, his blood, was far more important than that.

The Village chief, alongside his wife and the elders, made their way to the Elder Sanctum. This was a place where the elders gathered to talk about the future of their people and ways to move forward, even in times of hardship.

With them, Omula followed. Normally, this wouldn’t have been acceptable since she wasn’t ordered to go with them, but since she was the next chief, no one stopped her from following.

"Kanan." Omula tugged at his arm with a worried expression. She was shocked to know about his heritage; everyone was, but she also saw how shocked he was and how overwhelmed he looked.

The two of them, while not friends, did know each other. They sometimes hung out and would help each other if needed.

"Y-Yeah?"

"You okay?"

He wanted to say yes, wanted to show how excited he was to be related to their god, but he would be lying. His brain felt like mush; his thoughts were jumbled, and he was still in shock from learning who he truly was.

So, he answered truthfully, even with the Chief and elders around.

"No. I’m not. This...This is..." He shook his head. "This is crazy. This is crazier than fighting against monsters with Terin."

The sanctum was a large wooden building, one of the largest in the village. Inside, there was a round table with a stool for each elder and a chair for the chief. Decorations hung on the walls, and animal skin mats covered the floors.

Each elder, four of them in total since Warren had left, took a seat while the chief pulled out three extra stools, one for his wife, daughter, and Kanan.

"Kanan?"

"Y-Yes, Chief?"

"I understand that you are overwhelmed right now, but I’m going to have to ask you some questions. Is this okay?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"Your Cousin, Dilon. How was he related to you?"

Kanan instantly understood. The chief wanted to know which side Dilon was related to Kanan.

"My mother’s. He was the son of my mother’s sister."

"Hmm." Everyone knew what happened to Kanan’s family years ago. It wasn’t just his family who perished, but many families that day.

"B-But Chief, I’ve been wondering something."

"Speak."

"If I have the blood of Nemean, t-then how come my father, or his father, never showed it? Or even my mother, if she had the blood?"

That was a question that everyone was trying to figure out.

"I don’t know. My only guess is that Lord Nemean kept his descendants hidden until the time was right. You did say he spoke to you, yes?"

Kanan confirmed and even relayed what Lord Nemean had said to him.

"I see. Then I’m sure of it now. After seeing his bloodline get wiped out, he suppressed the blood of his remaining descendants until the time was right."

The Village Elders agreed with the chief.

"So what’s Kanan’s role, Father? With him being the village shaman, he could lift our curse, right?" Omula’s question sparked another topic to discuss.

"Right, that nearly slipped my mind, me worrying about Lord Nemean’s bloodline. Kanan, do you know that our people are cursed, right?"

"Yes. My Aunt Glena told me about it."

One of the elders spoke up this time. "We aren’t the only tribe to have abilities. Other tribes do as well, and one of their people cursed us. Without the Village Shaman, our numbers dwindled, becoming what it is today."

The village had over a thousand people, but according to the ancient texts, it used to have a population of over 10,000.

"With you here," Elder Hal spoke. "Our curse will be lifted. The village shaman, on top of having great abilities, can get any woman pregnant. And since you have Lord Nemean’s blood, your power will be more potent."

"That’s right." The chief nodded. "The few texts passed down by our ancestors spoke of Village shamans with Nemean’s Blood living for decades on end, even centuries. While you can still be killed, you won’t get sick."

"Eternal youth?" Kanan asked

"Pretty much."

He didn’t know if he liked that. But he wouldn’t argue. Doing so would be going against his God, and that was a sin in his eyes.

Pema placed her hand on Kana’s back, rubbing it so he could feel better. "Kanan, this is a huge responsibility. I know you weren’t expecting this, but the village’s future rests on your shoulders. Your role is practically that of the Village Chief. You are now a leader of this tribe."

"I understand. I will do my best. Please guide me well." 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Everyone was satisfied with his answer. They knew how hard Kanan had worked over the past few months, so they had no doubt that he would do well as a village leader.

One thing he thought about doing was telling the elders and chief about his system. It could be a good thing to share this information with them, but for now, he decided not to. If he needed to tell them something important from the system, he would say that Lord Nemean spoke to him.

Technically, he wasn’t lying since the system was given to him directly by Lord Nemean, and it was his will.

"To ensure that our future is bright, we shall send four women a month for Kanan to breed."

"Huh?"

"What? Do you think that the title of Village Shaman is for show? Sure, you will have more duties than that, but right now, recovering our strength is extremely important."

"N-No. I was just...it’s nothing."

The chief chuckled. "Kanan, do you know how to mate?"

"Yes. Aunt Glenda has been teaching me for the past three months."

Everyone nodded.

"Good. This makes it easier for us. Also, Kanan, you may still have a Mate companion; however, as the village shaman, it is your duty to breed multiple women in this village. I also highly recommend you take more than one mate."

Kanan’s eyes widened. "More than one?"

Normally, it was unwise to take more than one mate. The reason was simple: more mouths to feed. Childbearing was always included when selecting a mate, so if a person had two mates, then that’s two kids they also had to feed.

Very impractical.

Only people in higher-up positions could afford to handle multiple mates, and even then, two was the limit.

"How many?" Kanan wondered

"Hmm?"

"Five would be ideal, would it not?" Elder Trena asked

"Wouldn’t that be too little? He’s the shaman of our village. It would be wise to have at least ten. This way, not only can our curse be lifted sooner, but we’ll also have more descendants of Nemean." Solan voiced.

Kanan understood the logic, but he didn’t know if his body could handle ten women.

"Ahh, I was short-sighted." Elder Trena nodded. "You’re right, five is too little."

A bunch of numbers were thrown around: 15, 20, 40, even 100. Kanan pleaded with them to stop, as he didn’t think he could handle all of that.

"Right. We’re getting ahead of ourselves." Solan sighed.

"Indeed." Pema nodded.

"Father?" Omula asked

"Yes, child?"

"If Kanan is the village shaman, wouldn’t it make sense for him to breed every woman in the village who can bear a child?"

"Yes, that would make sense. Why?"

"Then, does it matter how many mates he has?"

"Hmm. I suppose not."

Though Kanan still had his work cut out for him, he was thankful to Omula for easing that load.

"Alright, then, Kanan, you can have as many mates as you wish. They will be your legitimate mates and bear your legitimate children. Your children with other women shall be blessings from Nemean. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Good. If you wish to have a lot of mates, you are free to do so. No one will stop you. After all, the more, the better, and the brighter our future will be."

"Speaking of mates. Do you have a woman in mind?" Pema asked

"Yes. I was planning on having Viola be my mate. We’ve been friends for years."

"What a lovely pick. Say, why don’t you take our dear Omula as your mate as well?"

Kanan turned to Omula, who looked at him with anticipation. She was the best of their generation, so having Kanan as a mate would be ideal. If he declined, she would still bear his child, but that Mate status would be gone.

"I-I think I should get accustomed to everything first before I find a second mate." Kanan did find her attractive, but everything was too overwhelming right now, and he wanted to at least understand things first.

"Very well. But the offer still stands."