Beastmen: She Tames the Land-Chapter 93: The debate about laws

The fifth month of spring came with a persistent drizzle. The already thriving caldera became a lush garden paradise. A section of the meadow was being used for large-scale farming, and the gloomroot took to the soil nicely.

The constant construction of houses was the sound of everyday life. Visha was thinking of whether to introduce metalwork to the pack. But they had too many things on their hands to do anything else.

She had found a kind of metal that looked similar to copper. But she didn’t know much about metalwork. If the system had the information, it would still take a lot of experimenting. They didn’t have the number of people capable of doing things like this now.

Stone instruments were fine, but most of the time, the pack ended up barely using such things and opted for their claws because they were the easiest thing to use. Even Visha’s stone knife is mainly used for carving meat. It went from being owned by one person to communal property.

A system had gradually emerged because of the lack of people. There was a rotation system about who would hunt, work on houses, and forage. It worked surprisingly well. Though some of the credit might have been attributed to the new pack bond.

On some quiet evenings, Visha and Chi would teach the pack members to read. They took to the information relatively quickly. It was also on one of these evenings that Visha took a look at one of the knowledge shards she had.

It gave her the creation process for a chisel. The only thing she had was the red-iron. As for the other metal, it required she didn’t know where to find it.

She didn’t bother to look at the other knowledge shard.

In the evening, Uri would sit by the fire with a piece of charcoal and bark. He would write on the bark, his eyes trained on it as his brows furrowed. Neither Visha nor Xeno was sure what he was doing.

That is, until one night he called everyone to attention.

"Building our pack had been fulfilling thus far. I know we will become bigger before long. I have been thinking that as we get bigger, we will need to make sure we have rules that govern the pack."

He held up the bark in his hand. "Before we grow to become too large. I think it is best if we set rules now, so that in the future, we will not need to debate this."

"I have rewritten them multiple times. And while they are not perfect, I believe these can be something we will live with." He started to read them aloud. "All able-bodied members must contribute in some form to the pack. Food is to be placed together and distributed by the tribe leaders. Any dispute between pack members is brought to the Tribe Leaders. No fighting, no vendettas. Scraps and unused animal parts must be buried within three days, in a space to be later designated."

The rules were few but simple.

Uri knew his rules were flawed, and that is why he opened the floor for the pack members to ask questions.

Xeno was the first to ask. "If someone doesn’t follow the rule, what is the punishment?"

People nodded, then another question came. This time from Fil. "If I spend a day tracking and kill a rabbit with my own skill, why isn’t the meat mine? It doesn’t have to be all of it, but shouldn’t I get the larger piece?"

There was more nodding and murmuring. Uri didn’t stop it. He had the same question himself. But after thinking about it, he decided that since the rules would govern everyone, it would be best to let everyone have a say.

Kael’s voice came next. "When Heta is unable to work because of the cub, is she not allowed to eat?"

The questions flew back and forth. Each with a valid concern. The simplicity of the rules has become a source of debate for the pack.

Visha, who was standing close by, watched the debate. She glanced at Uri, who was listening intently.

Then came the system notification.

[Task: The foundation of law]

[Objective: Establish three core laws. These are guiding principles that can withstand the test of time and conflict.]

[Reward: 100 CP, unlock Tribe management]

Visha stepped forward, holding up a hand to silence the pack. "There is nothing wrong with the rules as a whole. It is simply a matter of wording. How do we resolve the issues that arise from each individual’s situation? We need to take each rule and think about how it might affect others. What kind of exceptions might there be for the rules? People get ill, and things happen that might be unavoidable. So we need to flesh them out, then narrow them down."

"We can come up with three core laws or principles. These can then be divided into minor laws. This way we avoid any misunderstandings."

The debate went on for quite some time. Even when they had eaten, they were still debating.

Uri was making notes on different pieces of bark. His hands were covered in charcoal dust. Visha couldn’t help shaking her head when she saw it. She knew how serious he was about this.

It was getting late, and the debate was getting heated. No one wanted to leave until everything was settled. But Visha had to ask them to pause. She made note of their talking points so they could continue tomorrow.

She told them that although they had not implemented the rules yet, everyone still had work to do when they got up tomorrow.

When she saw them walking home and still talking about it, she knew the following morning would be all about the rules. She wondered what each person would come up with.

She took her own two rule warriors home. She was waiting to see what everyone would come up with tomorrow.