Chapter 397: Gupta

"[Orc] We named this village Gupta, which is a combination of the orcish Gurth (AN: meaning New Day) and the goblin Nopta (AN: roughly translates to: Hope). Combined I guess it roughly translates to 'A New Day, New Hope?'" Roas explained as they passed through the village borders.

Unlike outside there were no walls erected, at least not yet, nor were any gates marking the borders of the village's territory. 

The reason? There was no need to. They were the first arrivals, the first settlers in this new plane of existence. Apart from the fishes in the nearby river and the emerging animals in the forest, there were no real threats. 

The threats of raiding parties of the other, greedy races, bandits, robbers, or violent aggressors of any kind were completely non-existent. They did find traces of predators in the forest, but their habitats were not threatened, and with the sumptuous food source of the smaller mammals, they did not attack the village during nights.

"Gupta…" Aiden repeated the name, instantly growing fond of it. "[Orc] I like it! Gupta is Haven's first settlement!" He then turned to look at the other two of his servants, walking at his sides. "You guys are the first pioneers of this new dream of ours!"

"[Goblin] Haven? Is that the name of this world, Young Master?" Gob asked with a curious gaze. After all, the people were indeed wondering if there was a name similar to Eora, the outside world. 

"[Orc] Yes, it has. Haven, as this place, will serve as the safe place for those exiled, shunned, or disdained. I may be idealistic, or even childish, but I want this place to be the sturdy, impenetrable fortress that would stand against the taint and corruption of the outside." 

Aiden explained with a warm, friendly look. Although he was passionate about this dream of his, he wasn't a complete idiot. He was aware that as more and more people will settle down in this place, eventually the same issues as the outside world would pop up. 

It was inevitable after all.

However, this is where the other crucial factor that Enya informed him about would come into play. Unlike in the outside world, he indeed should have the power and authority to do something about it; he was the assigned 'administrator', with a supposedly complete set of tools.

"[Orc] Don't say that, Young Master! It is not a childish dream! We all want the same, and pledge to the same cause!"

"[Goblin] Yes, Young Master! In fact, not just us three, but everyone that already lives here can make the same promise!"

With a worried look on their faces, Roas and Glohn exclaimed, fervently thumping their chests in the process. Gob also nodded at their exclamations, also standing behind the cause wholeheartedly.

The passionate stance of his servants made Aiden give a heartfelt smile. 

"[Orc] Thanks guys, I really appreciate it…" 

He then looked away, trying to find something to change the subject, lest he would actually shed a tear and embarrass himself in front of his own people!

Looking at the larger, central structure, a wooden, single-floor building stood out he asked whilst pointing at it.

"[Orc] Anyway… what is that building?"

Following where their Master was pointing at, Roas explained.

"[Orc] It is what we call [Village Hall], Young Master. Since we don't have an appointed leader, but rather a council to make the decisions, we made a neutral-looking structure at the place where the Village Leader's hut would be."

"[Goblin] As Brother Roas mentioned, it is designed to be neutral. It was either this, or we would have to sit down and figure out a clever way to merge goblin AND orc cultures into one." Glohn added.

"[Goblin] While many would ultimately want to see that come into fruition, for now, this was the best option, Young Master. Unless, of course, you would like to make a change to it!" Gob joined in, jumping on the chance to offer the Master the option to give the final say."

While the offer would have been a great idea to test out the system in this way, Aiden gently shook his head, declining the chance. This was something he shouldn't force himself into, it would be best if the people of Gupta could handle it themselves.

"[Goblin] No, I think this is fine, I like it for now. I also agree with the idea of merging the two cultures into one. After all, you guys are now living together, and whilst I can kind of guess that some small frictions are happening every now and then, you all are striving to live together from going forward." 

Aiden didn't fail to notice the miniature twitch on both Roas and Glohn's faces when he mentioned frictions. It seems that there were indeed some challenges ahead of Aiden's first pioneers.

Noticing their Young Master's gaze and also feeling his intention through their shared connection, Roas sighed and motioned towards the Village Hall.

"[Orc] Young Master, as you may have already guessed, we are indeed facing a couple of issues that we are in the midst of looking to resolve…" 

"[Goblin] Would it be too much of a problem, if we would ask you to listen to our woes and offer your guidance?" Stepping forward, Glohn gave a courteous bow, not daring to look at the Young Lord. 

In his mind, his request was presumptuous and blatant disrespect to the Young Master. To ask him to lower himself to their level and give his godly guidance… That was not something he should be doing.

Aiden, however, wasn't aware of Glohn's weird thoughts, nor would he have agreed with his sentiment. He simply smiled and nodded at the request. He reached out and gently pulled the robust ex-goblin chief up from the ground. 

"[Goblin] I clearly remember that I have already told you not to humble yourself to me this much." Aiden chided the elder with a smile, before nodding at his request. "As for the request: Though I don't think I can offer much, I will gladly offer my thoughts on the issues you are facing. If it's something I can help with some changes to the world, the landscape, or whatever, just let me know and I will do my best!"

"[Orc] Y-young Master!" Roas looked at Aiden with a shocked face. "Y-you mean… You are the g-g-g-…" He tried, but couldn't finish the sentence. The idea of his was so heavy, that even he had difficulties comprehending.

Luckily, Aiden could understand his stuttering, mostly thanks to their shared connection. His thoughts were clear to read.

"[Orc] Yes, I am something similar I guess, though I would ask you guys to not call me by that title, it's way too uncomfortable. Besides I can only do this because…" Realizing what he almost blurted out, he awkwardly coughed before rephrasing his wording. "What I meant to say is that I can make changes to the world. Not sure to what extent yet. One of the reasons I came here was to experiment a bit." 

Though his response wasn't totally clear, despite that, all three of his servants' eyes were glimmering with admiration. 

Roas, being the eldest, snapping out of his daze, motioned towards the building, urging the Young Master to take a look at the list of their current 'challenges'.