Darian leaned back in his chair as his mind considered the options. Whether magic was required or whether there was some sham going on with that mask, he had to decide.“Jerry, why don’t you go check if the mask is made of magnets or any other material? Meanwhile, you can take a group of intelligent craftsmen with you to investigate what is going on,” Darian said.Jerry nodded his head and bowed slightly as he extended both hands and folded them. “Yes.”“In the meantime, I have something to show us all.” Darian spread his hands on the table, and a scroll appeared. Picking it up, he said, “You all remember when I left for the mountains for a while, and when the Rebel Master took over? I obtained this—it is a map, and it happens to mark all the resources my ancestors stored up before the Eagle Clan was destroyed.”Noel rose to his feet and spread the map across the table. It was a large map, covering nearly half of the massive surface. The men rose to their feet, as did Darian. Their ey

Helena’s walk was slow, and she kept thinking of what Holga had come to do. Had Holga come to make sure that she got what she wanted from Darian in the guise of a reward? Maybe Holga felt that Helena was too slow and had come to speed it up. Or maybe Holga had come to cause trouble. Whichever it was, Helena would find out when she reached the place.Darian had been waiting a while for Helena, and he was wondering if she was taking this long because she was with Noel. Noel had told him that he would try not to meet privately with Helena until Darian could talk to her, but it seemed he had gone back on his promise; he simply could not resist seeing her.Darian considered the woman before him. She had lines of straight white hair coloring her black hair, making it resemble the plumage of penguins huddled together. Holga was wearing a red dress. The top was full of beads, and she gave a smile each time Darian raised his eyes to briefly look at her. Darian had invited Jerry to be present a

Darian clapped his hands twice. “Now we are getting somewhere.” He sat at his table. “Take her away, and Noel, please do with her as you please. She seems to sing the songs we want when you handle her.”Noel gave a wave to the men holding Holga, and they dragged her away. His eyes followed her with heavy malice even as she screamed, begged, and yelled for mercy. When Noel turned to Helena, her eyes were red and tears were threatening to pour out. He walked to her, and this time when he tried to touch her, she did not flinch. She did not refuse. She just sank into his embrace as if that was the only thing that mattered.Darian turned to Jerry. “I need us to go check some of the new equipment Heali just brought.”Jerry’s face wore a puzzled expression; he knew of no new equipment up for checking. Darian walked to Jerry and whispered, “Let us leave her now. We cannot disturb them.” He nodded in the direction of Noel and Helena, and Jerry finally took the hint. He walked by Darian’s side

His eyes were red, and the smile was gone from his face.Charles’s gaze was unflinching and full of retaliation. The Rebel Master attempted to smile, and Charles noticed. He raised a side of his lips, and that was when Charles decided to continue hitting him. He did it four more times, and the Rebel Master coughed up blood. A bit of it splashed on Charles’s hand, and the rest fell on the floor, decorating it as a painter’s brush would.“I still do not know why you are called the Rebel Master,” he said, wiping his hands on the side of his lower cloth. “We might not know your name, but you will stop bearing the name ‘Master.’ The Golden Eagle will tell you your name soon.”The Rebel Master’s eyes were heavy with anger even as blood dripped from a side of his mouth.Charles turned to one of the guards. “Bring a seat in for me.”The guard hurried to do as he was told.Jerry gazed at Charles even as he cleaned the sweat from his brow. Charles got his chair and sat on it. “We are very hospi

In unison, all the soldiers did the same. The sound of all their swords unsheathing at almost the same moment created a thrilling resonance. They raised their blades into the air, mirroring their leader.“From today, this army will no more be called the rebel army. It will be called the Eagle Army!” Darian yelled at the top of his lungs.The soldiers erupted into an uproar of agreement.Jerry brought out something from his pocket and began spreading it; Heali joined him, and soon the image of the head of an eagle bathed in golden light was revealed. This was to be their new flag.Darian’s eyes became blurry for a moment, and then they cleared again. He was seeing golden light shimmering on the heads of several of his soldiers. It was the same golden light he had seen on Noel’s head—the mark that identified him as a member of the Eagle Clan whose powers were still in Darian’s possession.Not all of the soldiers had this mark, but there were many. Jerry had the mark too. Darian kept thi