The messenger was very weary, yet he kept running onward without halting. "Make haste! Make haste!" He'd scream to The Darkness's troops. "Make haste! Important news to Her Majesty!"
With weariness, he passed throught the imposing gates of Her Majesty's castle and made his way to the Throne Room, ignoring rudely the Darkness's Guards who greeted him with puzzled expressions.
As he stood finally in front of his destination, he could hear her voice booming with pride and power as it echoed:
"Alas! After centuries of war! The inevitable has been achieved! The Spear's efforts was a futile endeavor! A feeble resistance that cost them only deaths! But no more! We have won this war! Our elite soldiers have now infiltrated the strongest positions of the Six! Ylbunish's fall to the Darkness is now but a matter of time! Who is foolish enough to defy us now?"
A huge roar of applause could be heard. The messenger couldn't take it anymore. Breaking in the news could cost him his life but in his centuries of service he has only know his duty, and it would be his honor to die carrying it.
"None can!" Her Majesty concluded before he opened the door to the massive room.
"Your majesty!" He screamed as he made it to the throne room.... "Your majesty... The Spear lives!"
A heavy silence fell upon The Council until the room was suddenly filled with surprised murmures: "Impossible.... It can't be... Slein has gone mad... How...." "SILENCE!" The Dark Queen hushed them all. She then eyed her most trusted informer before asking solemnly.
"Are you undoubting of your claims!?" "Yes your majesty!" "And who are your so called survivors of the massacre Slein?" "A child your majesty..." ... For a moment only, fear filled the Queen's face. But none could perceive it in the general panic.
"Alert all our forces, I want all the living breathing men of Ylbunish on the tail of that child!"
Even more surprise filled the Council memebers' faces. A voice rose timidly from the back.
"Your majesty, isn't it too much? It is only one target we're hunting, and a-" "I didn't ask you to question me! Execution!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nyr soared above the woods, his blue wings spread below the sky, eyeing it with scrutiny. When he spotted what -Or rather who- he was looking for, he exclaimed before diving in.
"There he is!"
He plunged between the branches before slowing down to land inside a dimly illuminated cave.
Inside, he found Aklas, his companion, resting while eating berries. The hunter was hidden by the cave's darkness.
"Back already?" Asked Aklas.
"Aye. Whispers and gossips were easy to get this time."
"Interesting. Some big event brewing?"
"No. But the The Dali needs to carry a very secret and important operation... So obviously, the whole town knows of it."
Aklas let out one of his rare chuckles.
"Which brings me to today's bounty." Continued the Night Eagle. "I have good news and bad news."
Seeing no reaction from his companion he went on.
"The good news is that I can not only confirm that Talj is alive and is indeed the one people call The Hammer, but I have also found his whereabouts."
If joy filled Aklas's heart, he didn't let it show. He was a hunter, and he didn't skin his prey before making sure it all was taken into consideration.
"The bad news?" He simply asked.
Nyr, being a mystical bird, couldn't show much emotions through his face... But the gravity of his voice betrayed his unease.
"The enemy found him before me."