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The clan had visitors today...

That is not something that happens every day, and whenever it does happen, the whole clan will know. Obviously, Ren is included.

At first, Ren wasn’t interested. In his mind, his time was better spent going through his morning routine rather than peeking at the visitors. He thought that maybe they’re just some people who had some business proposals for the clan. Although it’s rare for the clan to have visitors, most of them come here with the same purpose anyway. After all, the services of the clan are what they’re mostly known for, not their overwhelming strength, wealth, or anything else.

However, Ren’s disinterest faded the moment he heard that their visitors were some people from the White Haven Clan.

All of a sudden, Ren was very interested, and it’s for a good reason.

The Banished Arms Clan doesn’t often receive or entertain visitors, and even when they do, it’s purely for business. But there are times when the clan has to entertain guests despite their unwillingness because of history.

Ren knew of the White Haven Clan from the clan records. And the relationship between clans could only be described as...complicated.

With a foreboding feeling upon him, Ren stopped his morning routine just to scout the group that visited the clan.

And before they entered the main hall of the clan, Ren managed to catch sight of them.

There were five adults and about a dozen people around Ren’s age in that group. Seeing this line-up, Ren practically confirmed the purpose behind their visit.

’They’re here to show off,’ he concluded inwardly.

This wasn’t his bias speaking. Ren saw the confident/arrogant look on the faces of the people around his age. They looked at the ’humble’ infrastructures of the clan with barely disguised disdain.

They wore pristine white robes as if representing ’purity.’ They stayed clear of the ’mess’ around them as if afraid that the things of the clan would dirty their clothes, which is an affront to the purity they held.

It’s even worse when they look at the youth of the clan. Those of his age looked down on them. They act like they’re scholars of high society seeing the povertized folk of the deepest recesses of the kingdom, judging them as filth and low-lives with their gazes.

Ren didn’t need to look around to see what his distant cousins thought of that. The tension in the clan sharply rose. It’s like a bomb just short of a spark before exploding.

Knowing the situation, Ren braced for something, because he knew what was about to happen.

He walked back to his house, concluded his morning routine, showered, changed into a fresh set of martial gi, and hung at the training hall where he figured things will eventually end up.

Why this sudden hostility?

As stated earlier, the relationship between the Banished Arms Clan and the White Haven Clan was truly complicated.

Because once upon a time, these two clans used to be sworn allies.

Yes. They indeed were. Two clans swearing an oath to advance and retreat, rise and fall, and live and die as one—that’s being sworn allies. The luck and fortune of one are also of the other, and in the same manner, the misfortune and bad luck as well.

Once upon a time, these two clans were really close. So close that you’d often see them moving in parties. If you see one from either clan, you’d see another not too far behind. They moved as a unit. Hell, if it weren’t for the distinctive appearance of those from the Banished Arms Clan, the two clans would pass as one.

Obviously, because of their closeness, it’s normal for marraiges to be arranged between the two. It’s a way to maintain their close relationship and to tie them deeper.

Alas, this alliance wasn’t meant to last like the older generations thought.

At some point, the White Haven Clan gave birth to a white-eyed wolf—a beast that hated its own pack and sought its destruction. That wolf was well-spoken, well-liked, and even more cunning than most of the old foxes the clan had ever seen.

He glided through relationships like butter on a hot pan. He concocted a saintly persona that fooled everybody into following him. But deep down, this wolf hated his own clan so very much that he swore that he would destroy everything about it.

To do that, though. He needed strength and reputation; that’s why he hid his time, cultivated allies, and plotted his way into usurping the position of the clan head.

But of course, his road wasn’t smooth. And the very first people who crossed him were the Banished Arms Clan—the White Haven Clan’s sworn ally.

The clan head back then warned his fellow clan head to be wary of that wolf. Alas, his warning fell on deaf ears because the wolf had convinced everybody that he was a pastor instead.

It wasn’t until the wolf bared his fangs for the first time that the warnings came true, and the Clan Head of the White Haven Clan realized his blunder.

He sought the help of the Banished Arms Clan to deal with the wolf, which was the first intense resistance that the wolf ever encountered. Alas, it was already too late; the wolf had already seduced and deluded the people around him, making them see him as the pastor of purity that upheld the clan’s vision and goals regardless of the cost.

And since the wolf sought to destroy his own clan, his plan naturally involves dealing with the Banished Arms Clan too.

He led people into a massive confrontation that forever changed the relationship of both clans.

In the end, the Banished Arms Clan failed to protect their allies against an enemy they let into their homes. The wolf broke the ancient adage and terminated the alliance, weeping fake tears and regretting that it had to come to that.

Those who tried to stand against his way of sitting to the position of the clan leader and anybody who entertained ideas of resistance, even just for a mere suspicion, were dealt with behind the scenes, quietly. And the blame was passed on to the Banished Arms Clan.

Killing everybody in the White Haven Clan was the easiest way to completely eradicate them. And the white-eyed wolf refused that option. He wanted them to experience the worse life could offer.

He wants to flay every single thing that the clan has ever been proud of and drag their reputation into the ditch. They want the entire world’s perspective about this hypocritical clan to be the worst it could ever be.

The wolf wanted the most painful, most embarrassing, and most humiliating end to the clan to satisfy his vengeful spirit.

And he damn near succeeded in that.

If it wasn’t for a rebellion, which was supported and assisted by the Banished Arms Clan, by the way, the wolf would not have been dealt with. Alas, the damage he caused already wormed its way into the heart of the clan and can never be restored.

The worst part is that, even after helping the clan deal with the wolf and revealing the truth, the White Haven Clan never shook hands with the Banished Arms Clan ever again.

Alliance was no longer a possibility. The two clans can never return to what they were before.

The successor of the wolf to the clan leader’s position did his best to fix the damage, but the cut was too deep. He’s also not skilled or decisive enough to do what must be done.

And, as luck would have, he’s also a bad judge of character because the successor he chose to replace him turns out to be a secret disciple of the deceased wolf. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

When he rose to the position, he revealed a piece of ’truth’ to the clan. He said that the Banished Arms Clan took advantage of the White Haven Clan’s weakness and stole from them. He even rose a conspiracy that the white-eyed wolf was, in reality, an agent of the Banished Arms Clan who planted him there so that they could subdue the clan.

While the successor wasn’t as extreme or nearly as dangerous of a threat as the wolf, he was a nasty piece of work on his own.

In his eyes, every single person born of the Banished Arms Clan was ’unnatural.’ He’s disgusted at their ’cursed’ arms. And even though it’s been long proven that it’s not infectious—at least not in a non-consensual way—he still finds them offensive to his idea of ’purity.’

He disliked the Banished Arms Clan for something that’s out of their control, and he wants nothing to do with them. That’s why he fabricated all those lies and fake evidence so that the alliance will never be restored.

Obviously, their relationship never improved after that. The Banished Arms Clan lost hope afterwards and turned their attention inwards instead.

Both clans had their own versions of history, and of course, the White Haven Clan would believe the ones passed down on theirs.

That’s how the once sworn allies became bitter rivals of the modern era.

And the White Haven Clan’s visit today is a sharp reminder of that.