Chapter 12 - The Golden Flight

One nobleman clasped both hands as if in prayer, "Are you sure we can be saved today? The eagles are powerful. And if this is the Golden Eagle, we might die!" He was a round man with a potbelly as big as a loaded potato sack. He was wearing blue and purple clothes.

Her Holiness's eyes turned glassy. She raised one hand and bent her fingers inward slightly. Sparks of lightning came out of her fingers. She brought her fingers closer and the sparks intensified. Then she stretched out her hand, pointing it at the nobleman who had just said those words. A long streak of thunder-like flash rushed at him straight from Her Holiness’s hand. The thunder enveloped him. The man vibrated wildly as he was electrocuted.

Those watching cowered in fear. The man’s clothes and skin turned pale black. He seemed to be burning. Suddenly, fire started to slowly crawl out of him. It spread from his belly to the rest of his body.

A few women watching fainted. Others began weeping. Husbands put their hands around their wives, but some men could not help but shake.

Her Holiness twisted her hand a bit and placed it by her side. The thunder stopped. Her Holiness exhaled.

But the man on the floor... he was burnt beyond recognition. His body began to disintegrate to ash. As the ashes broke piece by piece, it ascended to the sky, forming a circle that looked like a tiny hurricane. The ashes moved to get to the giant palace door.

The other nobles hurriedly made way for it.

Her Holiness hit her crooked staff on the floor. There was a circular vibration from beneath the staff that extended line by line to the whole room. "Now, is there anyone that doubts my power?"

Silence answered.

"Anyone? Speak now or forever hold your peace," Her Holiness said again.

No one spoke a word.

The King finally spoke, "What would you want us to do?"

She answered, "Get me the sacred gem. I will bring this eagle down."

***

The eagles surrounded Darian like a shield. Darian could feel a heavy vibration in his body. He shook violently. He wondered what was wrong with him. It was so painful that he screamed. His hands grabbed his golden locks of hair.

At that moment, it seemed like a portion of the sky opened, and a golden light shone down on him. His eyes turned golden, and they shone. Then his eyes went shut, and he lost consciousness. The light enveloped his body and seemed to pump into him. The ground shook terribly as the light entered his body.

The Crown Prince and the others moved some distance away even as they watched in awe mixed with fear.

Darian seemed to expand very wide. The eagles surrounding him gave him space even as they still circled him. Next thing was: two golden, strong iron bird feet, golden large strong wings, then a golden beak. The unconscious body of Darian lay inside the transparent golden eagle. The golden eagle began to spread. The other eagles around moved to the side.

The golden eagle expanded and gained the height of thirty feet, and gave a powerful, piercing shriek that could be heard many miles away. Then he spread his wings wide, showing his full glory. It was transparent, and so, the unconscious body of Darian could be seen inside it.

The Crown Prince and the other boys were startled at the sight. They immediately took to their heels. Soldiers had already gathered around with spears and swords in their hands, but on seeing the giant and transparent golden eagle, they became faint-hearted. Many ran off. Others stood pointing their swords and spears with shaky hands.

The other eagles got fire on their tails and began to drop it on soldiers and buildings. Each gave their piercing shrieks in the process. The soldiers ran.

A few sorcerers gathered, each with their staff. They chanted songs and pointed their staffs forward even as that side of the palace were engulfed with flames. Red smoke in straight lines were produced from their staffs. It moved towards the golden eagle, then it joined together and became a big sword. The big red sword pointed at the golden eagle, but with a wave of one of the golden eagle’s wings, the red swords broke and the sorcerers fell.

The golden eagle lifted up to the sky. But even from high above, the golden eagle was still clearly visible. The other eagles were by his side.

Her Holiness walked out of the banquet hall with a red gem in her hand. The gem was the size of a medium palace lantern. The gem was cut around the edges and almost resembled a pyramid. Her Holiness raised her eyes and spotted the golden eagle. She smiled wickedly. She removed her gaze from him and tapped on the floor three times with her crooked stick. Circular white vibrations shone and covered the place. Then she raised the gem high up in the air.

She yelled loudly, "No golden eagle. Spirits of darkness and rage! Destroy the life of the good within. Thunder with your mad rage. Destroy the golden flight!"

The spirits answered by thunder and lightning. Thunder danced in the air, shooting down some eagles who turned into dust immediately. The Golden Eagle was enraged. It gave its powerful, piercing scream, and more eagles appeared in the sky. It was almost like he was creating them.

Her Holiness was observing it all. The red gem in her hand was still raised. She chanted some more, "Destroy all good! Let only evil prevail. That they may all feel the might of darkness!"

Thunder sounded harder now. It rained over all the other eagles, turning them to dust. Then immediately, two hands formed in the sky. The hands were a mix of thunder and lightning. The hands rushed to the sides of the Golden Eagle, then clapped on it as a man would do to a mosquito. The lightning invaded the body of the Golden Eagle and it began to vibrate violently.

Then a tornado danced in the air, encircling the Golden Eagle. The golden eagle began to spin and it's body began breaking. It's parts fell hurriedly, creating a scene of broken dust flying in the air

"You are just a boy. You may hold the highest power, but you cannot activate it. You are still a boy. And I will kill you when I can, Golden Eagle!"

The body of the Golden Eagle continued to disintegrate until only the body of unconscious little Darian remained.

"Evil hurricane! Bring the boy to me!" Her Holiness shouted.