Beast King

A beast king’s aura is authority among wild beasts. Other beasts shrink from it and a beast horde may route around the region unless a stronger horde or another beast king arrives. ^{ch. 95} Large beast groups create beast kings. The threat of a beast king is multiple times that of a normal wild beast, because one or two Gu live in its body and come out to assist when the king is attacked. ^{ch. 114}

Group size ranks beast kings from low to high as Hundred Beast King, Thousand Beast King, and Myriad Beast King. Weaker kings cannot rule a large number of their kind. ^{ch. 114} A hundred beast king may, over years, advance toward thousand beast king and unify more of its kind if it gains that ability. ^{ch. 115}

Strong beast groups invade and conquer neighbouring land; weaker groups are exiled, and that instinct also feeds beast tides. A territory’s beast king can be recognised by roaming beasts such as River Swallowing Toad, which leaves once that recognition is settled. ^{ch. 118}