Morning arrived with uncomfortable swiftness. David awoke to find Luna still positioned between him and Elara, though the Archon's side of the bed was already empty. The sound of water splashing in a basin suggested she was completing her morning ablutions behind the privacy screen in the corner.
"Sleep well?" Luna asked, her voice carrying that subtle note of amusent that only David could recognize.
"Surprisingly," he admitted, sitting up and running a hand through his now-black hair. The transformation necklace had remained active throughout the night, its magic seemingly unaffected by his dinsional instabilities. A small rcy.
Luna rose gracefully, stretching in a decidedly feline manner. "Your little 'fractures' occurred twice while you slept. Nothing severe, but noteworthy."
David frowned. "I didn't feel anything."
"You wouldn't. You were quite deeply asleep." She paused, glancing toward the privacy screen. "The Archon didn't notice. I made sure of it."
Before he could respond, Elara erged, already fully dressed in her traveling attire. If she felt any awkwardness about their shared accommodations, her composed deanor revealed nothing.
"We should join the others for breakfast," she said, securing a small dagger at her waist—one of the few weapons that wouldn't draw attention on a common traveler. "The caravan departs within the hour."
The common room bustled with early morning activity—rchants tallying ledgers, travelers packing provisions, servants rushing between tables with steaming platters. David spotted Yue and Litty already seated at a corner table, the forr daintily sipping from a cup while the latter thodically organized what appeared to be travel docunts.
As they approached, David fixed Yue with a pointed stare. "I believe there was a misunderstanding about the room arrangents."
Yue blinked up at him with an expression of perfect innocence—one belied by the mischievous gleam in her ancient eyes. "Oh? Did sothing go amiss? I simply requested accommodations for our party. I didn't think to specify particular arrangents."
Her giggle, childlike yet knowing, completely undermined her feigned ignorance.
Litty sighed, shooting David and Elara an apologetic look. "Please forgive my mother. She considers 'harmless pranks' an essential part of any journey with companions."
"You define 'harmless' rather liberally," Elara comnted dryly, though without real rancor as she took a seat.
David opened his mouth to press the issue when a shadow passed overhead, visible through the inn's high windows. A collective hush fell over the common room as patrons instinctively looked up. What appeared at first glance to be a large bird circled once, twice, three tis before descending toward the building.
"What in the world—" Litty began, but fell silent as the creature swooped through the open double doors.
It was unmistakably an eagle in basic form, but unlike any natural bird. Six wings extended from its body in symtrical pairs, and instead of talons, each leg ended in a paw-like appendage complete with retractable claws. Its feathers shimred with an iridescent blue-gold that seed to pulse with inner light.
The magnificent creature circled the room once, golden eyes scanning the occupants before locking onto David. It let out a piercing cry that resonated with mana, causing several patrons to cover their ears.
"Is that—" David started, rising from his seat.
Elara moved with startling speed, stepping between David and the approaching eagle. "It's just a ssage carrier," she said, her posture deceptively casual though David could see her battle instincts had activated. "A particularly ostentatious one. That old man always did have a flair for the dramatic."
"That old man?" David questioned, montarily distracted from the spectacle. "You an my father?"
Elara didn't answer imdiately, instead extending her arm toward the mana eagle, which settled upon it with surprising gentleness given its size. The creature nuzzled against her briefly in what appeared to be recognition.
"The Earl of Aethelwarin's personal ssenger," she confird, stroking the creature's breast feathers with a practiced touch. "Only responds to De Gror family blood or those it considers friendly. This magnificent beast and I have an understanding from previous deliveries. It's particularly fond of the smoked venison at I used to offer."
The eagle made a soft trilling sound, as if confirming her words, before extending a leg—or rather, paw—revealing a slender tal cylinder attached to a harness.
"I believe this is for you," Elara said, carefully removing the cylinder and offering it to David.
The common room had gone silent, all eyes fixed on the unusual scene. David accepted the cylinder, noting the familiar family crest embossed on one end. As his fingers made contact, the mana eagle let out another cry, this one gentler, before launching itself from Elara's arm and departing through the sa doors it had entered.
"Well," Yue comnted, breaking the tense silence, "that was certainly more interesting than my room arrangents."
David ignored her, focusing instead on the cylinder. With a practiced twist, he broke the magical seal and extracted a tightly rolled parchnt. The Earl's distinctive handwriting filled the page:
David,
As you witnessed before your departure, I have temporarily exiled your second brother Eric from our household. His conduct has brought sha upon the De Gror na, and as such, he cannot represent our family at this ti.
While tradition dictates that children of nobles attend the School of the Eternal Fla in order of age, I am making an exception in these circumstances. You are to take Eric's position and enroll at the Academy within seven months' ti.
Do not squander this opportunity. The School's resources will prove invaluable for the tasks ahead—tasks I suspect you already understand better than I had anticipated.
The eagle is attuned to your blood and will find you regardless of distance or concealnt. Use it wisely and sparingly.
Your Father, Hitlton De Gror, Earl of Aethelwarin
David carefully refolded the letter, his expression revealing nothing to the curious onlookers. But internally, his mind raced. The School of the Eternal Fla—one of the premier magical institutions in the empire and, if his suspicions were correct, the location of the next cataclysm sign.
I'm running out of ti, he thought grimly. The dinsional fractures were worsening daily, his system was malfunctioning, and now this—a deadline that couldn't be ignored. Seven months to fix these fractures, restore his system, and prepare for what awaited at the School.
But first, the Eye of Ternion.
David's gaze drifted upward, through the inn's windows to the vast sky beyond. Sowhere up there, beyond the reach of ordinary magic and mundane travel, the fabled repository of ancient knowledge drifted among the clouds. Few even believed in its existence anymore, dismissing it as re legend—a floating island appearing and disappearing throughout the centuries, never in the sa place twice.
Yet David knew better. Solomon's Legacy had revealed fragnts of truth about the Eye, enough to convince him that it contained answers crucial to understanding the true nature of this world's impending cataclysm. The demons, the apostles of chaos—they were rely symptoms of sothing far greater.
His hand unconsciously moved to touch a small scroll case hidden within his coat—containing the latest correspondence from Salomonis. The old scholar's ambitious project might be David's only hope of reaching those impossible heights, if it could be completed in ti.
"Bad news?" Luna asked quietly, having moved to his side while the others respectfully maintained their distance.
"Complicated news," David replied, tucking the letter into his coat. "We need to speak with Yue about those ingredients."
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