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The priestess stood next to the wax figure of a large, powerful jaguar, which was draped in a blue robe and gazed sternly out over the gathered children.

“Garra Ligera, the King of Talons, was later regarded as a reformer who, together with Emily, laid the foundation for our society as we know it today. However, neither he nor Emily would live to see the positive effects of most of the reforms and projects they had initiated.”

The priestess explained, pointing to a row of display cases containing various ancient parchments, alongside which a translation of the text had been printed. Most of the children, however, didn’t bother to give the documents even a moment’s attention. Their guide rolled her eyes briefly before continuing.

“Shortly after taking office, both of them attended negotiations in what were then the eastern territories, where the herbivores living there struck a pact with the jaguars, following the example of the tigers.”

Once again, she pointed to a document bearing countless signatures before continuing.

“This was the beginning of an unprecedented series of events in which, little by little, the remaining regions on this continent adopted our system, and within a few years, prosperity among the inhabitants of the jungle and the neighboring biomes soared to previously unimagined heights. Admittedly, it took more than half a century before absolutely all territories had adopted this way of life, and many a hard battle still had to be fought, but the foundation for our society had been laid.”

The priestess explained calmly and matter-of-factly before leading the class to a large relief map of the continent, on which the individual regions into which their land had once been divided were highlighted. As the children slowly gathered around her and the map, she began pointing out specific areas and stylized models on the map.

“Here you can see how small the original territory we Tigers once called our own was, and how large the territory of our alliance is today. All of this has only been possible because we all managed to take a leap of faith and give peaceful coexistence a chance.”

She explained, pointing to the wide red line enclosing the Tigers’ territory, then pointing to the simplified depiction of the temple.

“You probably already recognize this temple and can see that there are several more of them on this map. As I mentioned earlier, the Nea-Phi-Lim built several of these temples, but this one is by far the best-preserved of them all.”

She continued, pointing to the other temples, some of which were depicted as ruins. She was just about to point out another structure shown on the map when one of the children spoke up. The priestess’s smile grew wider and gentler before she turned to the girl.

“What would you like to know?”

She asked cheerfully, and the student looked around briefly, uncertainly, before formulating her question:

“Have those Nea-Phi-Lim ever come back?”

The young Okapi asked timidly but curiously, and the priestess looked at her calmly for a moment before slowly nodding.

“In fact, our ancestors had contact with these creatures twice more. The first time nearly led to the downfall of us all, had we not managed to seal off the cave from which they had crawled out back then. The second time was much later, at a time when we had already united most of the continent under a single banner. This time, our ancestors certainly destroyed them, but that’s a story in which the herbivores played a much greater role, and I don’t think I can do it justice. Your teacher can tell you that story someday.”

The tigress explained with a little wink toward the teacher, who nodded with a smile; the Third War against Nea-Phi-Lim was part of the history curriculum and was covered in detail. The same teacher, however, also gestured toward her watch, which in turn prompted the priestess to nod.

“All right then, my dear little ones, that’s enough of this dry history for today. Let me escort you outside so the guards don’t get any silly ideas after all.”

She joked, licking her lips. Some of the children giggled, but one particular water buffalo ducked behind one of the teachers.

Smiling, she led the children through the temple’s corridors back to the entrance, past a row of mannequins clad in armor and wielding weapons from various eras. From the more primitive bladed and edged weapons, paired with armor made of wood and leather, to the first bronze weapons and armor — whose polished surfaces gleamed golden in the light — to the plate armor and weapons crafted from folded steel.

At the very end of the row stood a soldier clad in modern composite armor, who had traded his sword and spear for an assault rifle, which he carried casually on a strap across his chest. The priestess was already grinning as she led the class further down the aisle. The children whispered boredly among themselves, and the teachers chatted about what they would do once they had dropped the children off at school again.

They passed the row without paying much attention to the mannequins, until the moment the soldier stepped out of line and startled some of the children. While the children squealed and jumped back, the teachers laughed nervously, and the priestess slowly turned toward the soldier, whose face remained hidden behind a mask and who was staring at a young capybara and growling softly.

“Hrrrmm… breakfast…”

He growled, but before he could reach for the boy, the tigress behind him intervened.

“Isn’t it a little late for breakfast, Garra?”

She asked, not without a certain amusement. The soldier paused briefly as his ears twitched slightly and his tail wiggled back and forth, but then he refocused on the little boy.

“Hrrmmm… a little snack for in between meals, then…?”

He asked, a grin clearly audible in his voice. The capybara backed away a little, but then bumped into a classmate. Before anything else could happen, the priestess grabbed the soldier by the tail and pulled him back.

“No, you’re not going to eat him… get your butt over to my chambers; I’ll give you something else to nibble on as soon as I’ve dismissed the class.”

She instructed the warrior, who slowly lowered his hands and straightened up before turning to face her. Meanwhile, one of the teachers blushed, and some of the students grimaced in disgust. A broad, knowing grin spread across the tigress’s lips as the soldier nodded slowly.

“Don’t keep me waiting too long…”

He replied before retreating with astonishing silence and leaving the class alone with her.

The rest of the way passed without incident, and the priestess sent the children and their teachers back out into the world. She lingered in the doorway for a moment longer, until all the children were a good distance away, before her smile slowly faded.

She took a deep breath and sighed. Had she been just as ignorant when she was young? Probably, but she wanted to convince herself that she’d been more attentive, more interested in her own history. She was just about to turn away when one of the two guards addressed her:

“Garra stopped by a little while ago; he wanted to see you…”

The remark was laced with such obvious envy that she could only grin.

“Yes, I know—he’s already found me, but thanks for letting me know.”

She replied, patting him good-naturedly on the shoulder.

“ All for the greater good…”

The End