Raymond was still bent over catching his breath when Leon finally walked over. "Should I call a medic?" He offered Raymond a hand. "You alright, brother?"
"No need." Raymond grabbed the offered hand. "I'm fi—"
The moment he put his weight on Leon, disaster struck. Leon's knees immediately gave out, the exhausted younger brother folding like wet paper. Both of them crashed straight into the dirt.
THUD.
A brief silence followed. Arthur closed his eyes. Cedric failed to suppress a chuckle. Even Gareth looked amused.
From the ground, Leon groaned. "Why..." He shoved Raymond off his chest. "...are you so heavy?"
Raymond blinked. "I'm not that heavy."
"You're built like a siege weapon." Leon pushed himself upright. "And why did I think helping you was a good idea?"
Gareth burst into laughter. "You should recover fully before helping others." He pointed at Leon. "Look at yourself. You're in worse condition than Raymond." That only made Leon grumble harder.
Arthur eventually stepped forward and hauled both of his sons back onto their feet as though neither weighed anything. As Raymond regained his footing, Skyrend immediately moved closer, the metallic eagle studying him carefully as though making sure he wasn't about to collapse again. Satisfied, the bird spread its wings and hopped onto Raymond's shoulder, talons settling comfortably into place with a faint metallic clank.
Skyrend puffed out his chest. Raymond grinned. Somehow the two wore the exact same expression.
Arthur looked at the pair and shook his head, then turned toward Raymond with a small nod. "You did well."
Raymond immediately straightened.
"Against an Orc Lord, I believe you'd at least be capable of escaping alive."
"Escaping?" Raymond looked offended. "I'll gut them alive." He flexed his clawed fingers dramatically. Perched on his shoulder, Skyrend immediately raised one talon. "Screeeech!"
Arthur's lips twitched. It was becoming increasingly difficult to determine who was influencing whom. "Looks like you haven't had enough humbling." The color drained from Raymond's face.
To his surprise, however, Gareth spoke first. "He might actually do it, City Lord."
Arthur looked toward the giant warrior. "Oh?"
Gareth nodded. "The strength behind his punches isn't inferior to most Platinum Rank warriors." That immediately drew everyone's attention. "Forget that ridiculous defense for a moment." He pointed directly at Raymond. "Those eyes of yours are monstrous." Arthur raised an eyebrow. "By the end, I wasn't holding back much of my speed. Yet he tracked every movement."
Cedric's eyes widened slightly. Arthur's expression also became more serious. Gareth wasn't a normal Platinum Rank warrior. Even among Platinum Ranks, he stood at the very top.
Gareth shook his head. "The strange thing wasn't that he saw me. It was that he saw everything." His gaze settled on Raymond. "Every step. Every shift in weight. Every strike. His eyes followed all of it perfectly." A grin spread across the giant warrior's face. "The problem was that his body couldn't keep up."
Raymond immediately looked offended. "I was keeping up."
"No," Gareth replied bluntly. "You were watching yourself get punched."
Leon nearly laughed. Cedric outright did. Raymond looked ready to argue. Gareth ignored him. "Those eyes alone would make most scouts weep from jealousy. Combined with your defense..." He shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised if you could challenge an Orc Lord."
"See?" Raymond immediately perked up. "I told you." He proudly flexed his claws. "And I haven't even used these bad boys yet." Perched on his shoulder, Skyrend raised his own talons. "Screeeech!"
The synchronization was disturbing. Everyone collectively rolled their eyes.
Cedric adjusted his spectacles. "He's obsessed." The old advisor sighed. "At this rate he'll forget how to use a sword."
"Agreed." Leon nodded immediately. "One hundred percent."
Raymond looked betrayed. "You two are just jealous."
Neither bothered responding. Instead Leon rubbed his stomach. "Can we eat now? I'm starving."
"Same." Raymond nodded vigorously. Now that Gareth had forcibly removed the contents of his stomach, hunger had returned with a vengeance.
Arthur chuckled. "For once, I agree with both of you."
The group began walking back toward the castle. Halfway there Arthur glanced toward the eagle perched on Raymond's shoulder. "What does your bird eat?"
"His name is Skyrend," Raymond corrected immediately. Then he shrugged. "He hunts his own food." Skyrend puffed out his chest proudly.
Arthur sighed. "Just make sure he doesn't hunt the city's livestock." This story is hosted at novelping.com.
Raymond looked genuinely offended. "Don't be ridiculous. He isn't some wild beast." Arthur raised an eyebrow. Raymond reached up and scratched beneath Skyrend's neck, and the eagle immediately closed its eyes in satisfaction, a loud pleased screech following. "See? He's smart."
Arthur remained unconvinced. Very unconvinced. Still, he let the matter drop. "Go have your breakfast."
Raymond patted Skyrend's side. The eagle let out one final screech before launching into the air, its metallic wings producing a series of sharp clanking sounds. Within seconds it was already climbing toward the clouds.
Leon watched it disappear. "He'll be alright?"
Gareth snorted. "Unless something around this city suddenly learns how to catch a thunderbolt." Everyone looked toward him. The giant warrior pointed toward the sky. "That thing's speed is absurd. Even if it somehow stumbled into an Orc army, it'd still escape."
Raymond immediately puffed out his chest, as though Gareth had complimented him personally. Which, in Raymond's mind, he probably had.
The atmosphere during breakfast was surprisingly pleasant. For the first time in days nobody was discussing collapsing walls, food shortages, damaged defenses, or incoming reports. The servants had brought out a generous spread—fresh bread still warm from the ovens, roasted meat, eggs, vegetables, several bowls of fruit, even a small pot of honey that Raymond had immediately claimed as his own.
Leon was beginning to suspect his brother's appetite had somehow increased after the Blood Pact. Not that Raymond seemed to notice. The man was too busy enthusiastically recounting Skyrend's accomplishments from the previous night.
"And then he caught it right out of the air." Raymond demonstrated with exaggerated hand movements. "A whole rabbit. Without slowing down."
Cedric adjusted his spectacles. "You've told us this story three times already."
"Because it was impressive."
"It was a rabbit."
"It was a very fast rabbit."
Arthur quietly sipped his tea, choosing not to involve himself in the discussion.
Leon, meanwhile, was enjoying the rare opportunity to eat in peace. The headache from yesterday's transformation had mostly faded. His body still felt weak, but compared to the state he'd been in after transforming the mare, the recovery was noticeably faster. That alone was reassuring.
Raymond reached for another piece of bread. Then suddenly froze. The bread stopped halfway to his mouth.
Arthur noticed immediately. Years of command had sharpened his ability to detect even minor changes. "What is it?"
Raymond didn't answer immediately. His brow furrowed. The cheerful expression vanished. For a moment he simply sat there, listening, feeling. A strange sensation brushed against his mind—faint, distant, yet impossible to ignore. It felt like someone was pulling on an invisible thread tied somewhere deep inside his chest. Not painful. Not uncomfortable. Just insistent.
His eyes widened slightly. "Skyrend."
The eagle's name immediately drew everyone's attention. Leon set down his fork. "What about him?"
Raymond shook his head slowly. "I don't know." The sensation returned, stronger this time, the invisible pull seeming to tug at him again, as though the eagle was trying desperately to get his attention. "It feels..." Raymond struggled to explain it. "Like he's trying to show me something."
Arthur immediately leaned forward. The casual atmosphere vanished. Cedric's eyes sharpened. "A Blood Pact effect?"
Raymond nodded uncertainly. "I think so."
Leon's interest instantly spiked. "Then don't resist it." Everyone looked toward him. "If the connection works both ways, try focusing on it."
Arthur nodded. "Do it."
Raymond took a deep breath, then closed his eyes. The room fell silent. For several moments nothing happened. Then the world disappeared.
Wind. The first thing Raymond felt was wind. Cold. Wild. Powerful. It rushed through his feathers, beneath his wings, across his face. For one terrifying moment he thought he was falling.
Then instinct corrected him. No. He was flying.
His eyes snapped open and the world unfolded beneath him. Mountains stretched toward the horizon. Dense forests covered vast portions of the land. Rivers carved silver lines through the wilderness. Clouds drifted lazily beneath him. Beneath him.
Raymond's jaw dropped. For a brief moment he completely forgot why he was here. Forgot Arthur. Forgot Leon. Forgot everything. A single thought remained.
I CAN FLY!
The sensation was indescribable. Freedom. Speed. Power. The sky itself felt within reach. Every beat of Skyrend's wings felt natural, instinctive, effortless. He banked left and the world tilted. He climbed higher and the earth shrank further below. Raymond felt exhilaration unlike anything he had experienced before. Even riding at full speed couldn't compare. This was different. This was true freedom.
Then the exhilaration vanished. Because Skyrend wasn't showing him the sky. He was showing him something below.
The eagle banked sharply, its attention fixed upon the earth, and Raymond finally saw what had captured the bird's attention.
The excitement disappeared instantly. Broken walls stretched across the landscape. Massive sections had collapsed entirely. Watchtowers lay shattered. Entire streets had vanished beneath rubble. Buildings stood gutted and blackened. Others had been reduced to little more than foundations.
The destruction wasn't random. It wasn't age. It wasn't neglect. This was violence. Systematic. Brutal. Absolute.
Raymond felt a chill run down his spine. Nature had already begun reclaiming portions of the ruins—grass pushed through cracked stone, vines crawled across broken walls—yet not enough time had passed to hide what happened here. Death lingered everywhere. Vultures circled overhead. Scavengers moved through the streets. Bones littered the ruins, some belonging to livestock, others clearly belonging to people.
Raymond's exhilaration turned into horror. The city wasn't ancient. It hadn't been abandoned years ago. The destruction was recent. Weeks at most. Perhaps only a month. The scars of battle still remained visible even from the sky.
Skyrend let out a low screech. The eagle circled once, twice, as though trying to ensure Raymond saw everything.
Then recognition struck. A name surfaced from memory.
Stonehaven.
One of the frontier cities. A settlement that stood between the deeper territories of mankind and the wilderness beyond. Communication with Stonehaven had been lost weeks ago. No one had known why.
Now he did.
Stonehaven had fallen.
But as Skyrend continued circling, Raymond noticed something strange. Movement. At first he thought they were scavengers. Then his enhanced vision focused and his breath caught.
Orcs. Dozens of them. No. Hundreds.
They moved throughout the city—patrolling ruined streets, standing guard atop damaged walls, dragging timber, hauling stone, clearing rubble. Raymond stared in confusion. The orcs weren't looting. They weren't destroying. They were rebuilding. One section of the wall had already been partially repaired. Smoke rose from several locations throughout the city. Temporary camps had been erected within the ruins. Watchfires burned atop surviving towers.
The realization settled heavily upon him. They weren't preparing to leave. They were settling in. Claiming it.
As Skyrend banked lower, another detail caught his attention. A banner. Crude. Dark. Mounted atop one of the surviving towers. Even from this distance it was clearly visible. A black tusk surrounded by jagged red markings. Raymond didn't recognize the tribe. But the sight alone made his stomach tighten.
Whoever they were, Stonehaven now belonged to them.
The vision shattered.
Raymond's eyes snapped open. His chair nearly tipped over. The room spun. His breathing had become uneven. For several seconds he struggled to remember where he was. Breakfast. Arthur. Leon. The castle. Reality slowly returned. Yet the image of the ruined city refused to leave his mind.
Arthur immediately noticed the change. The excitement from moments ago had completely vanished from Raymond's face. "What did you see?"
For several seconds Raymond simply stared at the table, as though trying to convince himself it had been real. Then he slowly looked up. "I think..." His voice sounded strangely distant. "I just saw through Skyrend's eyes."
Silence. Even Cedric looked stunned. Arthur's gaze sharpened. "And?"
Raymond swallowed. The image of ruined streets flashed through his mind once more. "Skyrend found a city."
Nobody spoke. A city?
Arthur's expression hardened. "What city?"
Raymond answered quietly. "Stonehaven."
The room froze. Even Arthur's calm expression cracked slightly. Cedric's spectacles nearly slipped from his nose. Leon felt his stomach sink.
Stonehaven. Everyone knew that name. Communication with the frontier city had been lost weeks ago. No messenger had returned. No explanation had arrived. Only silence.
Arthur slowly set down his cup. The sound echoed loudly within the room. "What condition is it in?"
Raymond looked toward him. The answer came immediately. "It fell."
Silence descended over the room. Then Raymond continued. "But that's not the worst part." Everyone looked at him. "The city is occupied."
Arthur's eyes narrowed. "Occupied?"
Raymond nodded. "Orcs." The word landed like a hammer. "They're rebuilding it."
Nobody spoke. Raymond could still picture them—the repaired walls, the camps, the patrols, the banner flying above the city. "They aren't raiding. They aren't passing through. They're settling there."
Arthur slowly leaned back in his chair, his gaze drifting toward the map hanging upon the wall. When he finally spoke, his voice was calm. Far too calm.
"They're building a foothold."
No one touched their food after that.