"You saw vultures?" Kael asked as he stared intently at the fiery owl, "What was strange about them?"
"They were...I donât know how to describe them, forgive me, Your Majesty," The fiery owl said.
"What were their feathers like, how big were they? How many did you see?" Kael kept on with his questions.
"Just four, all of them had black feathers, although the color of their featherless heads differed.
One had a green-skinned head, one had a brown-skinned head, one had a pink-skinned head, and the last vulture simply had a pale grey head.
It was the vulture with the pale grey head that gave off that creepy feeling the most. The skin that could be seen seemed sickly and his feathers looked damp and decayed.
His eyes were pitch black, like a starless night."
The fiery owl described them to the best of his ability. It wasnât their appearance to put him off, it was the aura and the feeling he got from looking at them.
"What were they doing?" Kael asked as he painted a mental image of the vultures in his mind.
"I donât know, maybe scouting for something. I didnât look at them long enough to find out what they were doing.
By the time I was ready to bring my report back to you, they were all gone."
"Hmm," Kael was having a strange feeling within him, it was particularly coming from his Primordial Lionheart that was intertwined with the fortune power.
"How best would you be able to describe what you felt when you saw them? Try your best to remember the feeling," Kael asked one more time, he wanted to understand something.
The fiery owl flapped his flaming wings, keeping him soaring a few meters above the ground. His mind settled down as he tried to recall that feeling for his king.
"When I looked at that pale-headed vulture, when I felt his presence, I felt like...
...Dying."
Kaelâs eyebrows rose, "Dying? Like, you wanted to die?"
The owl seemed to sink into his own thoughts, "Yes, I remember that I felt like dying. At that time, it felt like death was calling me, trying to embrace me, trying to get me to accept it.
It was a very vague feeling but thatâs how I understood it. As at that time, death felt like it wasnât such a bad thing, but now, I feel..."
"I understand," Kael interrupted the owl with a calm tone, "I think I know whatâs going on.
Ignore what you saw for now and tell no one, let us focus on the zebra herd and the super mega herd beyond.
Both of you, spread the word, they should all prepare for battle!" Kael raised his voice at the end, working up the morale of the two birds.
Both birds flapped their humongous wings and ascended into the air, releasing clarion cries as they communicated through the budding telepathic hive mind.
Kael, what is it?" After the two birds had gone, Priya asked Kael. Her hive mind structure wasnât yet completed and it was being held up by the collective power of over spirit-based creatures.
"When you are close to me, especially when Iâm actively doing something, how do you feel?" Kael asked.
Priya frowned, not really understanding what Kael was trying to ask. "How I feel?"
"Yes, how does it feel when you suddenly see me after a long time? How does it feel when I walk past you? What comes to your mind when you stare into my eyes?
What is my aura?" Kaelâs gaze narrowed as he waited for Priyaâs answer.
Priya thought to herself, trying to recall what Kael was asking of her. How did she feel after suddenly seeing him when she hadnât seen him for a long time?
She reminded herself of when she was in the forest border, when Kael suddenly showed up out of nowhere. Before then, she hadnât seen him for a month.
No, she had seen him a few times when he was lying unconscious in his room but he wasnât actively doing anything then. He was just Kael.
But when she saw him moving about, when her eyes gazed upon his massive golden frame, when she felt the restrained power contained within his powerful body, she felt...
"... Oppressed?" Priya muttered telepathically. "Submissive, dominated..."
Kael nodded, "Can you compare it to the aura of others? Do they evoke any emotion within you when you feel their aura?"
Priya rephrased the question in her mind as she thought of all the many auras she had come across of different creatures.
She discovered that their auras were indeed not as unique as Kaelâs, they were rather...plain.
"No, all I can estimate from their auras is their general power level, it doesnât evoke any feelings within me like yours does," Priya answered.
By now, most of the zebras had already plunged into the river water and Sherone was very close to the river bed on the other side.
Many zebras have been slaughtered and devoured, either by the crocodiles or the beasts of the horde.
Also, the horde was already approaching the river and would soon get to it. It was only a matter of time before another large-scale battle unfolded.
"Do you know why my aura has that strange property and others donât?" Kael asked.
"Is it because you are a Primordial Lion?" Priya answered with a question.
Kael sighed, "Yes and no," He gave a vague reply, causing Priya to lean in, hoping for some more information.
"My aura is a byproduct of my power, and my power is drawn from the Law of Conquering. Therefore, my aura is supposed to have that feeling. Unless someone was casting an illusion with spirit powers, it would be impossible to mimic this aura.
What you feel when you see me or get close to me when Iâm active is just the side effects of being exposed to the elements related to the Law of Conquering."
"Oh," Priya said in realization.
"So," Kael continued, "That means if you ever encounter any creature that evokes some kind of unwanted feeling within your mind without your consent, that could either be a powerful spirit trickster or a Primordial."
"A Primordial? Like you?" Priya raised her eyebrows.
"Yes," Kael nodded, "Like me. A Primordial would have his or her powers derived from one of the laws that serve as the foundation of the universe, it could be any law. But I think most laws would evoke some kind of feeling within you when you get close to the Primordial."
"So thatâs why he felt like dying," Priya said.
Kael nodded with a frown forming on his face, "Thatâs very likely, he had gotten close to another Primordial like me.
I never thought I would meet another Primordial on this planet, werenât they supposed to be rare?" Kael muttered the last question to himself.
"Yours is the Law of Conquering, thatâs why I feel oppressed and like Iâm being forced to be submissive. But the wolves said he felt like he was dying..." Priyaâs mind churned as she thought of the issue.
"Vultures are known to feast on creatures that are already dead, rotten, carcasses. Many times they are affiliated with the dead.
Itâs safe to assume that a Primordial Vulture would be affiliated with the Law of Death if there is a law like that."
"The Law of Death, that sounds very deadly," Priya said, "Do you think heâs a threat to what weâre building?"
Kael nodded, "Perhaps, I would have to meet this fellow Primordial first, I have my own designs." He said.
It was at this time that Kael remembered the brief history lesson Exalon had given him about Derylia. Exalon had mentioned things about Derylia sharing her primordial powers with the Primordial Dragon of that time.
The key detail there was that Derylia had shared her power as a Primordial, with another Primordial. This indicated that Primordial powers could be shared with other creatures that werenât of the same race.
That meant Kael could share his power with a Primordial, which also meant that any Primordial could share their powers with him...
A shockingly evil smile appeared on Kaelâs golden-furred face, revealing his long and sharp lion fangs to the world.
"Kael?" Priya called to him, worried as she saw him smiling strangely.
Hearing Priyaâs call, Kael wiped the mischievous smile off his face and returned to a calm demeanor.
"Katari!" Kael suddenly called out, surprising Priya. Kael had not spoken privately and his telepathic voice spread out to enter the minds of the surrounding creatures that were walking beside them.
From above, one could see these creatures stylishly moving away from the area around the golden lion as though they had just discovered a deadly plague.
Who had not heard rumors of Katari, the High Killer, the invisible claw, the psycho?
Katari did not appear but Kael continued talking, "Katari, I need you to take care of something for me,"