468 Devine Eagle

After glancing in a certain direction in the faraway forest, she put on a thick outer robe and disappeared from her chamber. In just a few moments, she reappeared in the dark forest where she felt the source of the strong supernatural energy.

‘This energy…it’s neither magic nor natural power…it’s a force from the innate talent of an ancient bloodline…’

A distance from where she was standing atop the trees, she saw a huge flash of light brightening up a part of the forest, followed by a heavy muted thunder sound. It was a familiar sound, a kind of colliding sound she had not heard for more than a century ever since she lived among humans.

‘A battle!’

After that thunder-like sound, the forest was calm again and darkness engulfed the area.

Esther hurried towards the place of the incident. Though the calm of the dark forest had been restored, the traces of battle–the thick black smoke and the destroyed trees—were like a lighthouse beckoning her to come close.

‘Who’s fighting here?’ she wondered as she continued to inspect the area while keeping herself alert for any possible threat.

She could not sense anyone’s presence, but based on the destruction the battle caused, it was safe to say that even someone like her could be hurt if she put her guard down.

Walking around the ruined forest, Esther noticed something on the ground. There were feathers spread around which were stained with blood.

She kneeled down and picked up one feathers to inspect it. It looked like a  feather of an eagle, but larger in size with dust-like particles glittering around it, obviously not something that would be left behind by an ordinary eagle.

She sure knew exactly what it was, and that meant she knew at least one of the involved parties.

She decided to continue wandering around the battlefield, checking each fallen tree and turning over rocks, inspecting to see if she could find more clues about the situation.

Just as she thought there was nothing more to see, she stepped away from the ruined part of the forest and discovered something that would have gone unnoticed if not for her sharp eyes.

At the bottom of one tree, under a pile of dried leaves, there was a faint protective barrier  that would prevent ordinary people’s eyes from seeing what’s inside.

Esther being one of the strongest supernatural beings alive, there was nothing that could go unnoticed by her. She stepped forward and pushed those dried leaves away, only to find a giant bird nest in which she saw an unconscious young eagle bleeding.

She touched its body and confirmed that it was still alive and decided to bring it away from that place that very instant. Her intuition was telling her someone had died while protecting this young eagle, probably someone belonging to the same family or race.

Esther disappeared from there along with that nest. She reappeared inside the royal palace, but instead of bringing the nest inside  her own chamber, she brought it inside Lady Tyra’s quarters.

Lady Tyra had long retired for the night, but the moment she sensed the strong presence of her ruler, the Monarch of Witches, the woman immediately woke up and stepped out of her bed to greet her.

“Your Eminence…?”

In response to her greeting, the oil lamps inside her chamber were lit up while the curtains moved on their own to cover all the windows.

Lady Tyra understood something serious was happening. Esther had to go to her room at this hour and she even had to close all the curtains.

Her gaze then went towards the strange thing that Esther brought. There was a giant nest placed on the wooden table in the middle of her quarters, and Esther was looking at something inside it, her hands moving like she was caressing whatever it was gently.

Lady Tyra walked closer and looked at the nest. A bird of prey covered in blood was sleeping inside.

“Is that…an eagle?”

“Not an ordinary one,” Esther said, which made Lady Tyra observe him carefully. Though his wings were coated with blood, it didn’t hide that rare gold shine on its feathers that emitted what seemed to be divine energy.

“Your Eminence, is this divine beast?” the woman said in wonder. “Do they still exist on the continent?”

“You are half-right,Tyra,” Esther said. “This is a descendant of an ancient divine bloodline.”

Lady Tyra nodded. “My grandmother did teach me that there are no longer ancient beasts in the human world. If it’s a descendant…”

“This child is a shapeshifter from the Divine Eagle Family,” Esther commented. “You grew up within Megaris so you might not be familiar with that race. If I am not mistaken, I have met this child’s family before.”

Lady Tyra frowned. “Why is a shapeshifter here in a human city?”

“There were remnants of battle outside Blackhelm,” Esther explained the incident and how she found this eagle. “From what I gathered, this young eagle was not alone. From what I feel, after they kept this eagle hidden, the ones who were protecting him died.”

“But Your Eminence, didn’t the supernatural races hide in Agartha? Even if there is a battle over supremacy among their kind, they shouldn’t have reached as far as Blackhelm—”

“I am sure you know that there are many of us roaming around the continent, some cohabiting with humans, like your parents and yourself, living normal lives in the different corners of the continent while hiding their true identities.”

Lady Tyra nodded.

Esther continued, “While some of them are like you, the majority are drifters like me. There are also rare cases of some who live in groups or clans outside of Agartha, perhaps as a hidden village in the mountains or as a mysterious clan in the countryside.”

Lady Tyra nodded but she could not help but be curious.

“However, Your Eminence, among the different families among the shapeshifters, I heard that those descendants of divine bloodlines are their strongest warriors since their inherited abilities are always superior.  Shouldn’t someone precious like a Divine Eagle be protected in Agartha? “

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