Sing in the winds, sing at the rocks, carry the seeds, bring on the force.

  A lone bird crossed the stormy sky, undeterred by the imposing visage of Bazardüzü. Its peak, covered in mist and dew would have scared away any small critter; but this was no mere starling.

  The bird dived among the rocks effortlessly, measuring the span of its wings with a surprising intelligence. Again, it was no mere starling, but a follower heeding to a call.

  Sing in the winds, sing at the rocks, carry the seeds, bring on the force.

  It landed on a rock, only to appear as a dark-clothed human. Its feathers still adorned the edges of his clothing, and a beaked mask obscured his face. The man stood solemnly, watching the valley below. An ominous storm cloud was devouring Q?b?l?. A steady voice, deep but not particularly loud, disturbed the silence.

  “Glad to be finally blessed by your presence, Zephyr.”

  The masked Zephyr did not turn, focusing his efforts on surveilling the view.

  “Is this all necessary?” He asked finally.

  “I am afraid so. If you cannot find her, no one can,” she responded. There was no disappointment in her voice, if anything, there was a hint of satisfaction.

  “Are we the protectors of our domain, or the ones leading it to its fall?” He asked. He did not dare raise his voice, but he could not prevent it from cracking.

  A shadow-feathered figure enveloped him, and a hand caressed his cheek.

  “Your loyalty to the Starling Domain is remarkable,” the woman whispered, “if only your friend had half of it.”

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  “I am sure she has been tricked,” Zephyr urged to justify his friend’s actions, unjustifiable as they might have seemed to him so far, “I do not even know how she found herself in that house.”

  The woman stepped closer behind him, her face inches away from his neck. Her breath carried a pestilence that churned his insides, but he remained unflinching.

  More starlings had now landed in the rocky area around him. Most would be true birds, confused by the flock gathering on such high ground. But Zephyr would not make the mistake of underestimating her: perhaps every single bird around was one of her followers.

  “It matters not. This is bigger than any of the domains. We were successful in retrieving what we needed, but the world has started spinning.” The woman dragged the last word as she span around herself.

  The starlings whispered.

  Sing in the winds, sing at the rocks, carry the seeds, bring on the force.

  The woman released a mix of a cackle and birdsong. “The pendulum stolen in Sierra Leone leads the chaos in Central Africa. The Antarctica Mirage is breaking. Another artifact was lost in Aden’s Gulf. Or at least that’s what all the winds are saying. Whisperers across the world are reaching out to find out: are all of them safe?”

  As she narrated the news of every corner of the world collapsing into a new generation of Cursed crimes, Zephyr could not take his eyes away from the storm brewing in the skies of Q?b?l?. Lightning bolts looked deceivingly unimportant when standing in the mountains. He could see the chaos they were brewing.

  Satiated by what he could witness through his Cursed eyesight, Zephyr turned to face Starling, his leader, and the face of the Starling Coven.

  She was tall and slender, and her face would be deemed common by the region’s beauty standards; if only it would not be perverted by a mix of mutations and glamours. As she moved, the feathers on her clothes gleaned, and her visage shifted, ever obscuring her true form, but undeniably revealing the extent of the toll the Animal Curse she bore had exacted from her.

  “Can I finally see it? The bow?”

  “Patience dear Zephyr. Let’s first make sure the Shadows and the Trees are kept busy,” she said and approached him. She pulled away his mask, revealing the rugged face and glare of a seasoned fighter. Zephyr could not take his eyes off her face, constantly shifting between beauty, unholy mutation, and eldritch horror. She leaned towards him. “Let’s first have a feast!”

  Sing in the winds, sing at the rocks, carry the seeds, bring on the force.