Naomi left the island again, this time to embark on a quest for a black bird that destroyed a portion of a nearby city called Mytokon.

It was reported to have fled off into the night after taking some serious damage and after further investigation, Naomi learned that it was lurking the outskirts of a famous city called Anilyx.

The Skerratic newspaper she picked up the night before made mention of the city as well, calling attention to a mysterious energy cloud swirling in its vicinity.

Of course, Naomi couldn’t quell her curiosity or the impulse to claim the bounty that was placed on the head of the black bird. She decided to kill two with one stone.

The creature was fierce with unruly plumage and massive wings, pearly red eyes and talons like those of a raptor.

A single feather was larger than most swords and sharp enough to slay a man. Naomi happened to find one lying on the old roads leading to the town just outside the city.

Naomi held the stem with a complete fist, admiring the sleek and delicate vanes and began to wonder if she could kill the beast with it.

She slid the quill under the belt of her leather sword holster which was already carrying two swords and she continued on her way. At last, reaching the town of Beura, she passed under a thick archway sculpture where sat a despondent looking man wearing a leather trench coat and hat.

“So you possess the feather of the beast.” He spoke as the girl walked by.

Naomi stopped and looked at him. “What?”

“The Raven of Thamus. His wings are like that of a black angel and his feathers are sharper than blades of grass....”

“You’ve seen it?”

The man nodded. “It is a terrible creature. Many lives have been lost trying to combat it. If you are searching for it, I urge you to abandon your quest. You are not adequate to bear its wrath.”

“I heard it was in Anilyx.” Naomi said, ignoring his warning.

“It is in the old ruins…” he replied in his low gravelly voice. “It fled there after taking damage from artillery, but do not be fooled. He is far from vulnerable…Not even the mighty U.S. could withstand his power.”

His arms trembled in vivid recall. “I have lost so much…”

“Where exactly are the old ruins?”

“They are...difficult to navigate through the forest. If you go to the city and get access to the cliff, you may see them from a distance but beware...the people of Anilyx claim witness to a thermal force that levitates over the vista.”

“It obviously has something to do with the raven…” Naomi determined.

“Likely so…” the man nodded. “It has been said that the demon flew in from the east, pursued by another winged fiend. I suspect there were two men riding them since several flashes could be seen in the sky until one was shot down. After that night, the aether appeared; a revolving cloud of energy the color of blood and anyone who endeavored to consume it were vaporized from the inside out.”

“From the inside out…” Naomi spun a loose strand of her hair between her fingers.

“Again, I implore you…” the tragic man continued. “You should not pursue this quest. The bounty may be great but the consequences far outweigh that. You are only a child… I have seen many like yourself taunt death with beautiful eyes only to be crushed and minced into—”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Naomi stopped him mid-sentence. “I don’t care what you saw. I’m not a child and I’m not an idiot like your stupid friends.”

The man seemed taken aback. “I did not say you were—”

“Shut up. What else do you know?”

“I don’t believe I can say any more that will be of merit. It seems you are determined to conquer this task. But what if someone has already taken care of the beast?”

“Maybe they didn’t.” Naomi shrugged.

“I see...Well, may the Sight be with you. I give you this talisman for good luck.”

He reached into his trench coat and pulled out a luminescent blue stone with brass casing. Naomi took it from him and examined it in her palm.

“Cool.” She said flatly then walked away, leaving the man to brood over his tragedies.

Anilyx was known to be one of the wealthiest places in Dragma, second to Ultima. It was perhaps best known for it’s impressive sky towers made of hardened crystal glass, bound by sculptures of gold.

The city was surrounded by an outer wall bulging with petrified scenery covering a distance farther than the eye could reach. There were five entrances, each a tunnelling archway with a sparse amount of guards because the rest were assigned to the inner wall encapsulating the real part of the city where the sky towers stood.

They were firmly rooted atop a town raised to the height of the inner wall, outshining the elaborate urban dwellings crowded at their feet, bestowed enough material divinity to make queens curl in envy.

There was little one could do to not see the proud Anilyxian buildings, especially within the outer wall where everything was conveniently built shorter. This wasn't particularly a concern for the hired swords assigned to guard the gated entrance to a particular cliff at the edge of the city.

There were enough rectangular columns around the graffiti ridden streets to obscure the view and fortunately not many people were present.

"I hope they give us good money for this job." Said one of the guards.

There were three of them, a band of rogues who were hired by the rich city even before the energy fell above the cliff. They'd been travelling together knocking out various assignments of mundane quality and turned up in Anilyx after they caught wind of work needed in the area.

En route, they gained a fourth member named Blackout, a wandering swordsman that was no stranger to strangers oddly. But he liked to keep to himself.

The squad got along easy but he couldn't see himself hanging with these guys forever.

They were keen about his experience in doing contracts, having done a few of their own and he shared with them his most recent encounter.

"They want us to hold this place down until they get the research team but its already been a day or two." Sift Drazko, a member of the party mused.

"Look fellas, why don't we just ditch this gig then?" Another exclaimed, "That bird's still out there ain't it?"

"Yeah, and after we get our money we snatch it and cash the sucker in for more money." Igaza snapped. "Relax."

"I'm just saying." Ryx remarked, "There's no telling who's gonna get it first. There's a lotta fish out here. Only one bait, man."

"You mean one hook." Blackout corrected.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Big difference."

"Doesn't have to be, Ryx." Sift said with an air of confidence. "There's always gonna be plenty of fishermen at sea. But see the thing is, we don't go for the bait. We go for the fishermen."

"I'm not sure if I get the analogy." Igaza said. "Wouldn't we want to be the fishermen?"

Sift shrugged, "I dunno, Ryx's the idiot that came up with it."

"In other words," Blackout said, "We should be more like sharks, patiently waiting and when the time's right, we hunt the predators."

"See?" Sift exclaimed, "This guy's smart. He knows what I'm talking about."

"Nah…" Igaza shook his head. "Not getting it."

"You guys suck." Ryx grumbled. "Y'all are just here for the stupid energy."

Sift grinned, revealing his shark like teeth and he looked at Igaza.

"Should we tell him?"

Igaza smirked and Ryx looked at both of them perplexed.

"Y'all ain't actually tryna…"

"Don't worry, bro." Sift assured. "We'll get this all sorted out before the feds get here."

Ryx had been going off of implications but if these guys were really about to pull the stunt he thought they were, he wasn't sure how, given the situation.

Conversation became sparse for a while and there was nothing to listen to other than the city train circumambulating the city in the distance.

Several minutes later, the guys heard footsteps approaching.

They looked up and saw a girl striding toward them with no sign of hesitation and she looked each of the warriors in the eyes, except for Blackout because his vision was sealed by bands of cloth for some reason. Yet, he seemed to gaze right back.

The girl stopped in front of the group, staring beyond the gates of which they guarded.

For a moment, she felt a strange sensation wash over her as the wind blew. It travelled swift and gentle like the leaves of autumn and then came pouring through her like a cold river. She wasn't sure if she was recalling something extremely vivid or getting showered by the spiritual force of that energy cloud.

She felt a desire so subtle yet so strong, blooming like a flower before being consumed by a flame of emotion that suddenly vanished as quickly as it came.

Wander no farther…

At long last the sky rests…

Come to me…

Come to me…

Among the cacophony of silent whispers, those were the few that Naomi captured in her mind.

"Earth to random female." Sift waved his hand over the space she'd been staring into.

Naomi looked at him as if he'd disturbed her concentration.

"What?" She said.

"I don't know, you tell me."

Her finger twitched slightly. "Is this the cliff where that strange energy cloud fell?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I'm here to take a look at it."

"Who are you, the feds?"

"I'm your mother's sister as far as I'm concerned."

Igaza chuckled under his breath.

Ah, a feisty one. Sift smirked with a hint of aggression. At first I thought they sent us someone to keep us boys company…

"Yeah, well, sorry auntie but if you haven't heard this area's closed to the public. We've got some highly radioactive spirit pressure floating over the cliffside and anyone who's gone too close got vaporized. It's probably best that you turn around and go home."

"Wait, is that…" Ryx squinted, pointing out the large feather on her back.

"Is that the raven's feather?"

"So what if it is?" Naomi answered.

"No way. You took it down?"

"No she didn't." Igaza snapped. "She's looking for it."

"See?? Man, we need to dump this stupid security gig and go after it!"

"Shut up, Ryx." Sift said, "That bird's a dud anyway."

While the two were going back and forth with each other, Naomi started toward the gate again but Sift quickly drew his sword as she came within arms length. Their eyes locked and spirit pressure singed the air around them.

"Yo, Sift." Ryx gulped, "Easy now. She's just a girl, bro."

Sift's blade' although completely still, seemed like a feral beast awaiting the command of its master, eager to shred flesh and bone.

He was smiling but his gaze held darkness.

Naomi stared back with her own amount of bloodlust, holding the end of her braid in her fist.

Igaza and Blackout simply watched unnerved while Ryx was considerably worried.

"Come on, man. It ain't worth it."

Sift looked at him nonchalantly. "I'm just horsing around you idiot."

He returned his sword to the holster. "Go up there if you want, auntie but don't come crying back down here when you start hallucinating."

"Stop calling me auntie." Naomi said.

"Yeah, whatever. Go on. Scram." Sift said, pushing the gate open.

Naomi glared at him as she ducked under the caution tape and passed through the entrance to the great cliff at the edge of the city.

The guys watched her dart up the stairway through the opening.

Igaza felt a bit off. "You sure that's a good idea, Sift?"

"If the dumbass want to get herself killed, that's her problem not mine."