The Martial Unity

Rui heaved a sigh of relief.

He had to admit that he was happy to hear that.

“However, you shouldn’t conflate species with culture,” she warned him. “Nor should you conflate species with polity. The world is extraordinarily diverse in culture with each species. And not all members of each species see eye to eye with each other. In fact, some of the greatest enmities and wars fought in the ’true world,’ as you call it, have been fought between members of the same species. Be sure to keep that in mind when you travel across the six continents.”

Rui nodded knowingly.

It would be stupid to assume that all human beings were allied just because they were of the same species, and the same was undoubtedly true for each of the six species that lived on even bigger continents with even larger populations.

“Are there any groups of more friendly therianthropes out there than the Pasupati Clans of Kiriket?”

“There are,” she confirmed. “However, you need to understand that the Pasupati Clans of Kiriket are not united. Not by a long shot. Just because they came together to your continent in one convoy of animals does not mean that they are part of one nation. They are, as the name suggests, entirely different clans with far too many differences with each other to fall under the same set of governing structures. They inherit characteristics of the beasts that each clan is dedicated to. And once they go deep into the Beast Path, their reproductive affinity for each other change drastically. On top of that…”

She directed a pointed gaze at him. “Beasts in nature do not exactly have peaceful relationships with each other. In the wild, it is eat or be eaten. Survival of the fittest. The same is true for the Pasupati Clans of Kiriket. The only time they can stand together is when competing with other continents. Because as much as they hate to lose to each other, they hate to be outdone by the evolutionaries and the tekvores.”

Rui grew engrossed in these details. “That makes sense, given our propensity to discriminate, I truly can’t imagine all the therianthrope clans being completely allied with each other.”

Of course, he was projecting the sins of racism in human history, of both worlds he had memories of, upon other humanoid species, but he highly doubted that these people were above the same tribal prejudice. The dark elf elder had just told him about how the light elves didn’t want other species to even set foot on their land by virtue of their species.

“Alright, fine,” Rui accepted. “The Pasupati Clans of Kiriket not being monolithic or unified is understandable, but all those who came here still declared war on us for trumped-up reasons. That doesn’t inspire confidence in me.”

The dark elf elder. “That’s a selection bias, I’m afraid. The clans that came here were those centered around beasts that are aggressive or predatory. I believe that the Bull Clan led that expedition to this continent. Bulls are not predatory, but they are capable of great aggression in their interaction with other animals. There are more peaceful Pasupati Clan, but that same peaceful nature made them not want to join the aggressive and domineering charge into the Panama Continent.”

“Ah…” Rui’s eyes lit up with understanding. “Right. So, I just need to find the clans that are more relaxed and peaceful.”

He directed a curious gaze at the dark elf elder. “Do you have any recommendations for which clan I can visit to learn more about the Beast Path? Preferably, clans that are strong but also peaceful.”

She fell into thought. “…the clan that comes to mind is the Gajanan Clan. They are very powerful, one of the most powerful clans in Kiriket, and they are very peaceful despite their power. Their leader, Lord Vakratunda, is extraordinarily powerful, extraordinarily wise, and sagely. He will not raise his hand against you lest you raise yours.”

“Gajanan Clan…” Rui murmured. “Fascinating. Coincidentally, what animal does this clan of therianthropes cultivate the Beast Path with?”

“Elephants,” she replied. “Elephants are powerful but wise animals. They possess great memory, emotional intelligence, and great power. Yet, they are not innately destructive by nature, barring the males in certain conditions.”

“Then, I will definitely consider approaching the Gajanan Clan,” Rui replied. “I intend to try and integrate some of their power into my adaptive evolution.”

The dark elf widened her emerald eyes at those words. “You follow the Path of Adaptive Evolution? Are you an evolutionary? I thought you followed the Martial Path.”

“I follow the Martial Path of Adaptive Evolution,” Rui replied, reiterating what he had told Anthea. “I am not an evolutionary nor a human. I am a Martial Artist.”

“…Fascinating,” the dark elf murmured. “In that case, you might actually learn more from another group of people than therianthropes when it comes to the Beast Path.”

Rui frowned. “Learn more about the beast path than the therianthropes?”

That didn’t even sound right.

The therianthropes were the most knowledgeable about the Beast Path, surely.

“They are indeed the most knowledgeable about the Beast Path, of course; however, if your Path is Adaptive Evolution, then you might learn more from a hybrid species between the evolutionaries and therianthropes.”

Rui’s eyes lit up with intrigue. “…A hybrid species between therianthropes and evolutionaries? I wonder what they look like. What kind of path do they even follow? Where do they even reside?”

“They reside on the islands in between Kiriket and Moridia,” she pointed to a map. “Long ago, evolutionaries from Moridia and therianthropes from Kiriket migrated to these islands and reproduced with each other, giving birth to a stable and fertile hybrid species with its own unique hybrid path. They combined the adaptive evolution they got from the evolutionaries with the beast cultivation they got from the therianthropes and gained the power to adaptively evolve through beast transformations. This hybrid species is known as…”

Her tone grew heavy.

“…the skinwalkers.”