Depthless Hunger

Now that the battle was over, the Manticore tribesmen didn't seem inclined to start murdering one another again. Kai spent a while cultivating atop one of the stone outcroppings, just watching both sides while they prepared, but they had retreated to treat their wounds and otherwise recover from the battle. Other than burying the bodies, they didn't seem particularly concerned with their losses.

Eventually the large tribesman from earlier approached, with only a bandage over one of his injuries. The Manticore tribe must have been decent at healing, even though they weren't known for it. After catching Kai's gaze, the man bounded forward to stand beside him.

"Never introduced myself before," he said with a quick bow. "My name is Ahn Rit Kulha, head of the Tail faction."

"One of the main branches." Kai nodded as he glanced to either side. "Is this the whole branch? Does that make you one of the four strongest people in the tribe?"

"Hah! We aren't quite as strong as we used to be, but we haven't fallen that far. No, this is only a part of the Tail faction. I'm our strongest Earth Soul, but we have half a dozen more with the other groups. I suppose we need to talk about all that."

"You implied the tribe is in decline?"

"Enough talk out here in the cold." Ahn Rit Kulha gestured toward the tents, which were beginning to light up as the sun set. "We've prepared a whole feast for you, so come back and enjoy first."

It seemed like even tribes that were called barbarians by others had a sense of hospitality. When Kai entered the largest tent alongside the faction leader, he was surprised to find that it wasn't slabs of meat in every direction. Clearly that was his bias: instead the tables were covered with hundreds of different dishes.

They proved to be similar to those he'd eaten elsewhere in Cloudspire, though they were much spicier on average. Some of them looked to see if he would be surprised, but Kai could eat essentially anything by that point and didn't flinch. Mostly, he was just glad that there wasn't any shellfish, which had been a daily food in the Bloodcoral sect.

Once they'd eaten most of the food, Ahn Rit Kulha sat back with a satisfied sigh. "Never let it be said we can't put on a good feast, even out here. Are you from the Western Wilds? I didn't think there were any tribes that grew that big."

"I'm actually from the Bloodcoral sect." Kai fished his medallion from under his shirt and held it out in case he needed proof. "I'm not here on behalf of them, though, I'm just pursuing my own cultivation."

"Bloodcoral sect, eh? Met a few of them, and they're not bad. I don't mind saying that I don't usually think much of the coastal cultivators, but the Bloodcorals are strong enough. What brings you all the way out east? Is our reputation really that prestigious?"

"Ahn Rit K-"

"Call me Kulha. These are the real Western Wilds, not the cities! No sense standing on ceremony out here."

"Fine, Kulha. I'm glad you want to talk, but I need to understand." Kai looked across the table at the other man, ignoring all the remaining dishes. "What's going on with the Manticore tribe?"

"Well, that's a story." Kulha sat back and shook his head. "Our patriarch is a Sky Soul, and a strong one. But he pursued strength instead of immortality, and then in his later years... never quite attained immortality. He's getting old now... that was supposed to be a secret, but it's widely known now."

"So without your leader, the tribe has a problem."

"Oh, problems. Tons of them. Some factions are striking off on their own, or trying to join other tribes while they still have leverage. We have ancillary tribes who aren't obeying us anymore. And... well, like you saw, we're fighting each other." Kulha clenched a fist around the edge of the table. "If someone could unite the factions, they might pull most of the Manticore tribe together. But with every failure, we bleed each other out."

At least he finally had a proper explanation, though Kai wasn't sure he approved. Asking about the tribe's willingness to kill its own didn't sound like the right line of questioning, especially since there were other cultivators listening from nearby tables.

"So you want me to kill your rival," Kai said. "You'll promise me everything you have, because you want to unite the tribe under your banner, but you don't actually have control of all the tribe's resources."

"So you understand." Kulha shrugged and gestured at the table. "I don't suppose the feast was so impressive that you're willing to agree right now?"

"No, I'm going to accept Feida's invitation next. Make your offer now."

"Damn. I knew it would probably end up there, but I hoped..."

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"I have one more question," Kai said. "Why did you start this fight now? Why attack her faction?"

"Because she's the biggest threat." Kulha clenched his fist again. "We need a strong Manticore tribe, united under good leadership. Given time to herself, Feida will draw in other factions. I knew I'd need to fight her eventually, so I wanted to do it now, before the battle would destroy the entire tribe."

Kai analyzed his face, trying to see if there was anything else lurking underneath. The motivations seemed simple, but focused, intentional. As vicious as the battle had been, it wasn't more violent than he regularly saw from cultivators, they were simply in unusually difficult circumstances.

As Kai left the tent, Kulha moved along with him. When they were alone, lit by the last sliver of the setting sun, the cultivator moved closer. "No doubt Feida will promise you everything, but you can't trust her. Let me tell you one thing she can't match: the Tail faction has far more women. They're not all darkened by the sun, either, we have some real beauties. Whatever you prefer, I guarantee we can do better for you."

There were several possible directions there, so Kai only blinked and said, "I'm married."

"Damn, is your wife that fearsome?" Kulha laughed and slapped his shoulder. "I hope she's worth it, then. If you change your mind, just remember, we can do better for you than gold coins and empty promises."

It would have taken only a second to cross the distance between camps with Thunderbird's Wings, but Kai walked to give himself time to cool down and think. He didn't want to draw conclusions without hearing both sides, so he tried to avoid filling in too many details. Because he'd managed to impress them enough, and they thought he was a local, they probably wouldn't lie about the biggest things.

When he arrived at the Claw faction tents, Kai was surprised to find himself greeted by an entire line of women. Unlike the female cultivators he'd seen fighting, who wore either rough brown robes or breast-bindings that bared their tattoos, these were dressed in silk robes. They all waved him inward with feathered fans and broad smiles.

Inside, he discovered no feasting hall: Feida was waiting for him alone. There was a table filled with dishes, very similar to those he'd seen, and she gestured to it ruefully.

"We prepared a feast," she said, "but I heard you've already eaten. A shame, because the Claw faction has more prestigious dis-"

"No, I could eat again." Kai sat down opposite her and began digging in. He didn't need more food, really, but his hunger was bottomless and he figured that interrupting her plans would put her on the back foot.

It seemed that Feida had left her battle robes behind, because she was dressed in a far more daring outfit. Her arms were completely bare, revealing elegantly curving serpent tattoos that flowed up her shoulders and then disappeared into her cleavage, bringing obvious thoughts to mind. He knew that she had a manticore tattoo from her soul, so one had to wonder where it was.

Not too many years ago, Kai would have been severely distracted by her attempt at seduction, but he felt fully armored against that sort of thing now. Mostly, it just made him remember how much he missed Zae Zin Nim and Omilaena. He still couldn't help but notice, but he wasn't going to stare like an adolescent, and his mind was perfectly clear as he began consuming the dishes in front of him.

"Such impressive hunger," Feida purred. "A man of your strength must have all sorts of hungers..."

"Kulha tried that too," Kai said between bites. "I'm married."

"So?" Feida stopped the seductress act and just stared at him as if her eyes could drill into his skin. "You somehow have the strength of a Sky Soul, and anyone with that much power can take whatever they want."

"Does no one on this continent have a happy marriage?" Kai set down his chopsticks and met her stare without blinking. "I'm not going to pick either faction based on what luxuries they can offer. What I want is power, and I'm not convinced that either of your little factions can actually help me gain the Manticore tribe's full strength."

For a painfully long moment the tribeswoman just stared at him. Kai met her gaze for several heartbeats before he went back to eating.

"Very well." Feida made an expression that might have been a smile or a grimace and her tone shifted again. "It's true that we don't have access to the entire tribe's resources, but we're the only people who are likely to get them. The other faction leaders are fools, nepotists, or mindless warlords. We have the legitimacy and resources to potentially seize control."

"And so that's why...?"

"Yes, I attacked Kulha to decapitate the enemy. He may be a bore, but he has strong cultivators and loyalty across the tribe. If I'd won, his cultivators would have followed me, then I'd have two of the four factions under my control. Now things are more complicated."

"Would it really have been so easy?" Kai asked. "Your followers seemed so willing to kill one another, it's hard to imagine them having much loyalty to anyone."

"That's life in the Western Wilds." Feida shook her head. "This is no tiny tribe or family sect, where everyone has strong bonds. The Manticore tribe has conquered or absorbed so many tribes over the years, most barely know one another. They follow strength, and if the Manticore tribe can't give them that strength, they'll go somewhere else."

"Well, consider me one of them. Why should I get involved?"

"You weren't swayed by coin, you won't be swayed by flesh... what do you want, a manticore tattoo across your back? Most cultivators consider it an inferior power, despite its strength."

"I want all the information about how they're created, and the resources to do so. I'll figure out the rest."

Feida sat back and considered him for long, silent seconds before she eventually spoke. "You know you have the advantage over us here, because you could beat any of our champions. If you intend to go back and forth from feast to feast, you could easily bid us up beyond what we can bear. We may be important faction leaders, but Kulha and I have limited resources."

Kai set down his chopsticks again and pushed back. "Then who has what I want?"

"Wait. The Manticore Head faction is heading toward disaster, and the Manticore Quill faction cannot be trusted. Let me tell you a truth that the others won't... we can't offer you a cultivation tattoo, not now. The experts of the tribe, and the mana ink they need to work, are split across too many factions."

He smiled and didn't say anything. Feida sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"I see where this is going. If you think you can make yourself leader of the Manticore tribe, you might be able to kill your way there, but you could never command the loyalty of-"

"I don't want to be leader," Kai said, "I just want the end result. Can you offer that, or should I walk out and leave you to your war?"