Much of the lands that were contained in the palace grounds consisted of thick forest, with trees such as the local tabunoki whose bark was used to make a mosquito repellent, and the oak which was also found many thousands of leagues away back in Yeupis. Other flora and fauna that made the Iwasoto Palace their home included vibrant azaleas, koi like the ones that Genichi owned, the giant salamander, and most importantly to the Shogun—goshawks.

  “While the rest of thy company has't gone to learneth about our means of tradeth with mine own ministers, thee, mine own friends, art in f'r a special treateth.” The Shogun explained to Stefan and about third of the southern Sailors as they stood somewhere in the dense greenery of the palace forest, while the rest of the Yeupisian convoy received lectures with Anwen providing interpretation for them.

  “Your Excellency, does that mean ya like walking around this forest?” one sailor asked as the others looked confused. There were forests just like the one they were in back in their homeland, and they didn’t appear drastically different from one another.

  The Shogun smirked as he scanned the crowd of Yeupisians, with his hands behind his back, as if to detect something. Then, from out of nowhere, Daisuke threw an object that he hid behind his back with intensity at one particular target. However, this move was calculated carefully, and despite it being hurled with such force that it seemed that it would hit someone, it landed right in front of Stefan’s geta-clad feet.

  “Mr. Laine, wouldst thee prithee kindly putteth on yond glove? I'd liketh to assureth thee all yond a m're tread in the woods is not amongst mine own fav'rite pastimes.” the Shogun asked. His tone was polite as it had always been, but the southerners were hesitant about how he had given the item on, though they kept this thought to themselves. It was a thick, long glove, and it was not meant for warmth during the winter nor designed to grab onto things. Stefan picked it up and carefully wore it on his left hand. He examined it twice over and was still not sure what its use was.

  Daisuke revealed his other hand, clad in the other half of the matching pair that Stefan donned.

  “This is takagari, a heritage cherished by a lucky few in this nation, and thee lucky fellows shall beest the first outsiders to seeth t in a millennium. Eiji!”

  A shadow swooped over the heads of the sailors, originating from somewhere in the forest behind them. While those men ducked, astonished by its appearance, Stefan stayed noticeably still as Daisuke held out his hand, the shape coming to a stop atop his gloved fist. It was a bird of prey, its body such a pure white that it rivalled the snow of north Yeupis in magnitude.

  Like the skin of an Angel… Stefan briefly found himself entranced by the beautiful animal, that he flinched when Daisuke brought it within a foot of his face.

  “Holdest this on thy fist,” the Shogun said as he placed a tiny piece of cut meat on Stefan’s hand. It was unlike the game birds that the boy was used to hunting, nor was it like the thick venison that Jay would cook in bulk at the monthly Black Shield feasts. It was different. “I shall showeth thee Eiji to trust thee, and thee to trust Eiji.”

  Daisuke instructed the sailors to watch attentively, before having Stefan distance himself from the others by around a hundred yards.

  “Anon, Mr. Laine, whistleth and yelleth his nameth! That gent shalt cometh to thee! Rememb'r, doth not removeth the meat!”

  Stefan did as he was asked, holding his gloved fist away from his body. Though his skin was strengthened by the Reserve in the blood rushing below it, he still feared the possibility of getting a talon or two to the face.

  Stefan had merely blinked, and within that brief speck of time, an alabaster shaped form torpedoed toward him. It became bigger and bigger, moving at a speed he himself had not moved at since the Battle of Depot-011. But still, he did not flinch.

  He’s testing me, he surmised. This might be a friendship-building exercise on the outside, but the Shogun is testing my bravery as well. Out of all of us, he picked me because he knows the most different looking is also the most unique. Or could it be that he’s using his Detection instead? Maybe he’s had his sights set on me the whole time but wanted to give the impression that any of us could’ve been picked.

  “Isn’t that cool?” he said to himself as the goshawk landed gracefully on his fist, swiftly swallowing the meat piece as quickly as he had flown to Stefan’s hand.

  “Yond one's mine own greatest beast. I am fain yond thee trusted that gent to landeth safely. Oth'rwise, I'm afraid that gent would've clawed thee up until thy skin wast all gone,” the Shogun chuckled. “Birds liketh that gent art intelligent entities. Those gents can senseth one's force and honour. You've earned his respect, Mr Laine.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Just how intelligent is Eiji?” Stefan asked, his tone meek. But intention was to try and seek out more information as discreetly as he could.

  “I'll alloweth thee seeth f'r yourself.” Daisuke said with a confident smirk.

  Without warning, Eiji returned to the air. His path was straightforward, and he did not have to look where he was going, like it was predetermined. Stefan lost visual contact with him as the bird disappeared deeper into the woods. Seconds passed, which grew into minutes. Stefan wondered just when he would return, and why he had left in the first place so suddenly.

  “Your Excellency, he hasn’t come back yet.” The boy pointed out the obvious. The Shogun simply put finger to his lips, politely reminding him to be patient.

  “Doth thee heareth t, Mr. Laine?” he asked shortly after.

  “Hear what, Your Excellency?”

  “Yond.”

  Stefan heard a disturbance in the air in the forest. It was so faint, that only his Reserve-enhanced ears could’ve made it out. The southern sailors all tried, but they could hear nothing. But Stefan could, and so did the Shogun. Stefan knew what it was—the flapping of a bird’s wings. But it wasn’t just one bird—it was around a dozen goshawks of varying color. At the front of the flock was the only one with all-white feathers—unmistakably Eiji. The southerners finally heard the flapping and cooing of the birds, and they covered their heads, startled by their quick appearance.

  “They gon’ drop dead critters on us!” one cried as he scampered below the cover of a tree.

  “Critters is the last I’m worried ‘bout!” another shouted, doing the same thing. “If they shit on my linens, it ain’t never coming out!”

  Daisuke laughed with his chest, amusing himself at the southerner’s perceived threat. Stefan found it amusing too, but he was more amazed at what Eiji had done without speaking a single word. The bird had gone across the forest to another part of the premises where the palace pens were kept. There, he gathered every goshawk in the open enclosure to follow him, like he was their leader.

  You can train animals to do whatever you want, but for an animal to order others of its kind as it wants… impossible. Not by any normal means. This has to be the ability of Utrium.

  “At ease, my friends. my birds know very well to not harm esteemed guests.” Daisuke said with a smile. Servants immediately entered the vicinity, carrying with them the same gloves that the Shogun and Stefan wore. They distributed them to the sailors, who were initially hesitant to put them on. As soon as the gloves were snuggly clad on hands, the goshawks which had been observantly perched on surrounding trees swooped down, conditioned to rest themselves on gloved hands as a person was to put on a shoe before going outside.

  “As I hath said, Eiji is v'ry intelligent, and so is his flock. Those gents enjoyeth learning, and I knoweth thee all doth too, so what I need to doth anon is showeth thee thee what I showed Stefan, and—

  The Shogun was interrupted mid-sentence as Eiji took off once again, without any prompt. A look of confusion appeared on his face.

  “Well, I didst not intendeth f'r yond to befall. Prithee waiteth, mine own friends. Eiji is cunning, but that gent is also a wild animal. A less'r fowl must've hath caught his eye. I'll seeth wh're he's gone.”

  Something did catch his eye, and it wasn’t a bird, Stefan noted as he saw the bird fly off. He looked at for a good couple of seconds before he left. He wants to tell me something, I can tell.

  “W-Wait, Your Excellency. Would it be fine if I went after him instead? We can waste less time, and these guys won’t have to wait.”

  “Thee showeth most wondrous initiative, Mr Laine. An excellent representative of thy homeland. thee art,” Daisuke bowed for a short second, showing his respect for his guests. “Prithee wend ahead, we won't beest moving anywh're.”

  Stefan wasted not a single second and vanished into the thick woods, running as fast as he could while being careful not to trip on overgrown roots, which were a testament to the age and stability of the Shimajimese nation. He knew the bird used Reserve, and he turned his Detection on to make it easier to search for the creature. As his feet glided over the forest floor, Stefan was consumed by a wave of nostalgia. Instead of seeing the Iwasoto palace grounds before him, he saw the snowy woods that surrounded his hometown of Derban. Imagining a deer or rabbit somewhere in the distance, like the ones he would hunt with Joakim and bring home to his mother, he thought he felt a presence that resembled his brother to his right, and one that emanated his Uncle Ruben’s to his left. He wanted it to be true, but all he saw were trees to all sides of him. He wanted to be disappointed, but he could not. The Detection had become overwhelming, meaning Eiji was practically in front of him. And he was, sitting on the forest floor at the edge of the grounds, next to the stone wall that confined it.

  “Ah, there you are, Eiji-san. Why did you look at me like that? What do you want to show me?”

  The bird responded by pecking and scraping at a patch of ground below him. There was something sticking out of it. A shiver ran down Stefan’s spine that he could not explain.

  “I’ll dig it out for you. Is that what you want?”

  Eiji moved out of the way for Stefan to do his work. He very soon unearthed a large bone, one that couldn’t have belonged to a quarry animal. There were more bones underneath, and Stefan dug more. He wanted to believe that they belonged to a deer or a boar, but he could not have been more wrong. There were skulls, dozens of them, and they were all human. What was more horrifying was that they contained traces of Reserve. These people had been killed by Reserve weapons.

  “This is horrid…” Stefan muttered as he backed away from the scene—a mass grave.

  “Mr Laine, has't thee hath found that gent yet? We're moving to seeth firew'rks displayeth anon!” The Shogun cried from a distance. At the sound of his voice, Eiji flew, but not as quickly as before. It was like he wanted to give his master the impression that Stefan had just found him and was only a bit behind.

  “I’ll be right there, Your Excellency!” Stefan said, darting back to where he came from.