The world of the nonhumans was just as complicated as human society. They had their intrigues and factional rivalries too—if anything, they were even worse. Even in these turbulent times, many nonhuman families had failed to cooperate openly and honestly. This might have been related to the excessively long histories of most of their families. Most nonhuman families had histories stretching back to the Mythical Era, and many grudges and old feuds had accumulated over tens of thousands of years. Even when two families had no enmity between them, they were still bound by their own ancient traditions, making complete cooperation impossible. That was why such powerful nonhumans had been picked off one by one by the Demon Hunters and the Human Church—their races were too numerous, and their factions were simply too divided. No matter what, they were still a scattered mob.
Several relatively powerful nonhuman families and more than a dozen weaker ones lived together in this ancient, mysterious European city. Broadly speaking, they supported one another, but that only applied when facing a common threat like the Demon Hunters. Outside of that, the nonhuman families in Athens had always engaged in all kinds of overt and covert rivalry. Of course, they were not foolish enough to let things get out of hand, so the head of each family kept these conflicts within certain limits. Usually, they competed for territory or leadership in the city. When a major discovery of unusual importance was made—such as the ruins discovered this time—they fought over how the greatest benefits would be distributed.
"Who has the most power here right now?" Lady Vivian asked, frowning as she looked at Heiserana. She had not visited this city in a very long time, and even when she had passed through it several centuries ago,