Depthless Hunger

"It's been difficult." The elven couple sat morosely, the man with an arm wrapped around his wife but fearful himself. "A lot our family has moved west to Crescilor," she continued, "but we have our roots here. And we can't just abandon our shop..."

They had finally found some elves willing to talk in the next city, so all three of them stood in the small shop. These two weren't fighters of any kind, just tinsmiths with glamours that barely made them stick out. Omilaena had been taking the lead, sitting opposite them and feigning compassion.

"Would they even target someone like you?" Omilaena asked.

"Oh, it's not the demons." The husband shook his head. "The problems only got bad when the Council of Elders started blocking trade, and it turned into a feud. That's when everybody started looking at us differently, even our neighbors."

"Nobody here wants war," the wife added. "There's always fighting, but actual wars between factions? That's bad for everyone."

Omilaena continued asking them soft questions, occasionally offering a supportive touch. It was remarkable how much she could change, and it wasn't just the shawl making her outfit more modest. Everything from her posture to the lines of her face changed as she gathered information from the elves. By the time they said their farewells, the couple seemed to believe she was their friend.

"So no pogroms against elves," Zae Zin Nim said as they left. "Just pressure."

"Racial warfare is uncommon on a continent as mixed as Rosemount," Omilaena said with a shrug, "but a lot of people are always suspicious of the elves, off on their own up in the north. So this is building on old prejudices, if weak ones."

Kai hadn't had much to say during the conversation, but he had to voice a concern that had been niggling at him. "Are we sure the elves aren't responsible?"

Omilaena put a hand to her mouth in mock horror. "Such bigotry! Kai, I expected better from-"

"Obviously I mean their leaders. All we have to go on is their word that the demons were targeting caravans, but can we be sure they didn't take the first aggressive actions? Technically they only attacked the school after we had already hit them and killed one of the true demons."

"Culpability doesn't matter," Zae Zin Nim said. "The Commonwealth has been developing and deploying anti-glamour artifacts. If your neighbor starts stockpiling weapons or cultivating for war, their justifications aren't relevant to what's coming."

"We're entirely in agreement for once," Omilaena said. "The Council of Elders isn't innocent - they're a major power and that always comes with dirty hands. But evidence suggests that the demons are the aggressors in this case." "Just wanted to check." Kai glanced around the street, looking for a place large enough to take out the diamond star without smashing something. "Where to next?"

"I think we've spoken with enough elves. Take us west - there are some chakra artists I need to talk to."

Once he found space, Kai pulled the diamond star from his spatial ring and they all leapt inside. Since he'd grown dissatisfied with driving, Zae Zin Nim took over. As they floated over the city, his mind kept going back to the same question.

"So why focus on the elves?" he asked. "I understand the Commonwealth isn't concerned about its western border, but why wouldn't it be more worried about the Coiled Empire or Flaeren Dominion? Didn't they have a whole battle with the lamias?"

"I'm not sure it's elves specifically," Zae Zin Nim said quietly. "I've heard about the demons targeting others who have similar auras or glamours."

"So it's about power? But of all the threats in the world, why that one?"

Omilaena had been surprisingly silent but now spoke with abrupt confidence. "I don't know enough about god abilities, but I've seen people like that before and I know they're always anxious. Think about Matiavel - he has an ability that seems to kill instantly, so he knows how fragile people are. He's probably deeply concerned about powers that might be able to counter his."

"But glamours?" Kai shot a glance at her. "It's not like you can become too pretty to kill."

"You haven't seen a Sky-tier glamour, and their strongest must be even more impressive. I think if someone had a powerful enough presence, they might be able to stop him from using his technique, and that would make him vulnerable. Yes, there are other threats in the great powers. But I presume the elves are either the one he's worried about or the one he believes he can master first."

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It was at least a plausible theory. Part of Kai was discomforted at the idea that one of the most powerful people in Rosemount - and thus one of the most powerful in the world - could still be fearful. At home the threat of the incursions had always been constant... viewing other people as your greatest threat was an entirely different way of seeing the world.

"Here we are." Omilaena abruptly kicked her legs and twisted to sit on the side of the diamond star. "I'll jump down here and you can pick me up tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Kai asked. "You're going to spend that long with these chakra artisans?"

"I think I might be able to track down the key ingredients involved in these obelisks, but I'll need to spend a while proving myself and earning trust. You two can gather intelligence if you want. We might be getting close, though."

Without another word Omilaena slipped over the side and plummeted below. There was a large block-like building that seemed to have hundreds of workers moving in the yards around it. Four massive cauldrons belched out smoke of different colors, covering the neighborhood in a haze. They pulled away before they flew into the smoke and retreated to clearer air.

"Do you have any ideas?" Zae Zin Nim asked.

"Uh... not really. We're not exactly spies."

"I noticed that this city has an arena. There are no events as important as the match we watched in Yulthens, but I thought it might be interesting. I want to go, but if I go alone..."

"Sure, that's a good idea." Kai sat forward with a smile and began looking for the arena. He hadn't found very many opportunities to see combat in the Commonwealth and it would be good to be prepared for what he might face.

Unlike the grand stadium at Yulthens, this arena was clearly a much less important institution: it looked like a big pit dug out of the city, with platforms along the sides to watch the battles in the center. There wasn't much seating, more just places to stand. As a whole it seemed more dedicated to skilled fighters than general audiences, which suited him just fine.

They flew down to a cleared area nearby and as soon as they were out, Kai pulled the diamond star back into his spatial ring. Now that it was so easy to store, Zae Zin Nim wanted to use it all the time, and he had to admit it was handy. Given that he wasn't going to master the Thunderbird essence any time soon, it wasn't like he would be flying on his own.

Nobody stopped them or asked for payment - several guards with around 400 Power eyeballed them, and their evident strength seemed to be invitation enough. As they walked to the pit Zae Zin Nim drew attention from the crowds, desire from the men and jealousy from the women... and some jealousy in men and desire from women. She was scowling, but on her new features the expression still looked beautiful and didn't seem to ward anyone off.

They didn't let up until she moved closer to him. Now Kai got some looks of jealousy or irritation, but the focus faded from both as they approached the arena. This group was mostly composed of warriors, after all, and they were here for the fights. Still...

"Shouldn't you be used to this?" he whispered to her in Goralian. "From before, I mean."

"No one in any respectable sect would dare," Zae Zin Nim answered bitterly. "Rosemount is a vulgar continent without respect."

He was glad that he was able to help her, even if it made things a little awkward. At least some of the people must assume they were a couple, which he would have thought would make her uncomfortable. And that in turn made him wonder... no, it was easier to focus on the fights. That was why they were here, wasn't it? They made their way to one of the areas with seats and took their places to watch.

The current fight was a man who looked like he was made of stone against a massive lamia, resulting in a brutal slugging match. Both of them could take a lot of punishment and seemed uninterested in other defenses, which meant it was a match of stamina. Even though they had 500 Power each, Kai wasn't particularly impressed because almost all of it came from powerful Rosemount chakra. They wouldn't have been impressive if they'd been born on Deadwaste.

Once the match ended, with the lamia collapsing but the stone man partially broken, they were pulled out and replaced by new combatants. These were a little more impressive, with some sort of chakra-based cultivator against someone called a Brutal Artisan who created weapons similar to Omilaena, if blunter. He watched curiously until the chakra cultivator managed to win with an explosive palm technique.

"That's almost pure yang energy." Zae Zin Nim had only made minor dismissive or analytical comments during the previous matches, but now she sounded more engaged, so he glanced over at her.

"You've used that term before, but I'm not sure I understand what it means."

"Yang energy is masculine." Her hair hid her face as she looked away. "Is that someone from Deadwaste?"

She wasn't distracting him, she was right: the next competitor was a burly man from the Elemental Nations who had rocky lumps of hair. When Kai examined his spirit, his strength appeared to be primarily from "Chakra-engorged Stone" - unlike the thugs that had tried to attack Kai, he seemed to make it work, because he had over 600 Power.

His opponent was a moderately muscular man whose power seemed to stem from D-rank Physique and an ability called Savage Heart. He only had 450 Power, so the match seemed like it would be uneven. The man from the Elemental Nations was far from weak, building up armor of chakra-strengthened stone and then pressing the advantage. All his opponent could do was retreat and it seemed like the match was settled.

Until the smaller man's Power exploded. His right arm twisted as it transformed into a monster's claw that slashed through the air, releasing claws of power that tore through his opponent. Many in the audience cried out in surprise, but Kai was on his feet first, staring in shock at the monstrous claw.

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