Chapter 5: The Truth Behind the Eagles

It was a strange place where no human could ever set foot. The mountains, houses and ground shone like glass.

There was a jet of silver light illuminating the image of a thousand maybe more birds with wings wide, and strong flapped in unison.

They flew higher and higher from where the clouds of the dark night extended for 100 ft, 1000 ft, 10,000 ft. They broke through what the humans called the ozone layer until they reached the realm where they could exist as more than just their spirit form as birds. Once they reached the realm they could see the brothers and sisters of their kind approaching from below. It was a bubble that only they: The Protectors of the Universe could puncture or view; hidden from the human eye.
Those that had already gone through the barrier stood comfortably on the clear ground; they were no longer in their earthly form as eagles. They first grew; looking like some bizarre form of bird; huge, mammoth. Their features skewed and reorganized and their beaks began protruding inwards until human noses and lips formed. Their feathers shed and beneath was soft silk looking skin transmitting an eerie translucent glow.

When they were fully transformed they looked almost human. They were all different heights and statures but when looked at closely similarities between the group were more apparent; their features sharp and angular in similarity to the beaks of their Eagle form, they were also astonishingly, breathtaking gorgeous creatures.
“Gather here now, gather here.”
The place where they stood did not have any similarity to ‘space’ as humans perceived it. There was gravity, day and night, houses, roads, and plants. Yet all these regular things were made of the same strange clear substance.

Their world was parallel to earth. Their grounds however were clear as if made of glass like the floor in the C.N tower and ironically they had a birds eye view of the entire world; living above mere humans. Humans who were weak and naïve, trapped in their bodies unable to soar where they pleased, unable to control the universes decisions. The group of thousands gathered around her, she was the most remarkably beautiful creature that one could ever set eyes upon even more-so than the rest.
Tall, slender. Her hair was white blonde almost silver and her eyes a clear blue. She was intimidating and the way that the others admired her it was obvious she was the leader. She stood on a platform made of solid gold, which levelled her higher than the crowd surrounding her.
“Take a seat if you wish.” as she spoke the words, wind whirled behind all the creatures standing before her, when the wind disappeared chairs stood behind them all, levitating a few inches above the clear ground. Taking a seat was represented as an option but they all knew that it was really an order, to obey showed her respect. There were five left standing and they were also more powerful and respected then the rest. Three males one with long dark hair that ascended halfway down his back, another which was very short for a male but very built with white blonde hair, lastly was a tall and husky man with black short hair and full lips. The rest were female and the most beautiful of all the creatures aside from the leader they surrounded. One of them was tall and voluptuous with long auburn hair that curled around her face eccentrically, the other had a short pixie cut of plum coloured hair a pointed chin and wide grey eyes. “Yavier, Jorlin, and Marxley you may join me at my left. Beatrix and Scotopia to my right.” They immediately followed her commands walking to either side in a uniformed fashion. “We have met here today, all of us, because we have a new addition to The Protectors of The Universe. This has not happened in centuries - 500 years to be exact…” For the first time since the crowd had gathered a soft murmur broke out. Confusion, wonder, questions. “Silence!” she commanded, the murmur subsided and they gazed at their leader in awe. “I understand you have questions, and I’m afraid I do not have all the answers yet. But I believe he has been sent to help us with our war with the…” a look of disgust broke across her face tarnishing her beauty momentarily “…falcons.”
The crowd looked down to the ground as they could see something transcending up to their heavenly abyss puncturing their bubble. It was a single eagle, and they knew it was the new protector as it travelled alone, this one eagle they hoped had been sent to save them. The crowd dispersed toppling over chairs and converging together tightly in order to provide an area for the great hawk to fly through and join them. Their leader stood silent and calm between the warriors that surrounded her, all strong with their own talents and abilities. The clear ground melted away like wax from a candlestick when the eagles feathers touched it, when he was completely through the barrier the ground hardened once more. Without understanding or knowing what to do the body of the eagle began to transform in the same way as the others changing into a form close to that of a human.
The crowd admired his beauty, his light brown hair speckled with gold, his skin was the same porcelain as the rest of them but glowing slightly brighter. He was tall and slim but muscle adorned his arms and legs, and his sharp green eyes pierced even the furthest of the crowd with their depth and exquisiteness. The first to speak was the leader, “I am Hailey; welcome to our world we call Halcyon. You have been granted an unexplainable honour by the gods, you are now one of us.” Wondering how his imagination and dreams were so inexplicably vivid he was lost for words. Finally he decided he would play along with this strange dream. “And what are you referring to when you say ‘one of us’?” he asked, “Are you all gods?” he then began walking out of the middle of the crowd and towards the woman who had announced herself as Hailey. The men to her left looked uneasy with his sudden movement so he stopped not wanting to end up injured even if it was just a dream.
“something like that”, she smirked displaying a set of teeth so straight and white that they looked false. “do you remember how you got here?” she asked him analyzing his creased in eyebrows and thoughtful eyes, he’s confused she thought. The others in the crowd all stared at the new addition to their family, waiting for a response. The silence seemed eerie and unnatural; there was no movement or sound of wind whistling to ease the atmosphere, only the unbalanced soft and slow thumping of the strange creature’s heartbeats. Finally, he opened his green eyes widely; the confusion that had been displayed across his gorgeous face was erased and replaced with astonishment.
“Yes.” he gulped quietly, “I remember.” Hailey’s smile widened and she beckoned him with her hand to come nearer, he walked past the mob of creatures; he feared them, was unsure of whether they would attack. He walked up the stairs to the gold platform where Hailey and the others that surrounded her stood. The woman with the purple pixie cut held her hand out in front of herself reaching around in the thin air, muttering words under her breath. Her slender fingers reached for something that had started to appear in the empty sky. When the object became solid, the others awed as they rested their eyes on the golden scroll of parchment that appeared. She stopped uttering the enchantment and opened her grey eyes, joining them with his green.
“I am Scotopia.” she told him “I need to know what is your human name… do you remember? It is important that we know.” She was a small creature, very slim but not in the same form as Hailey or the other girl whom he had yet to be introduced; she was so petite with no womanly curves a straight figure almost like a child.
“Why must you know?” He asked strongly trying to ease the stutter in his voice to sound more brave or menacing. She is so fragile he thought she cannot intimidate me. He faintly remembered an accident; pain. Falling off a great stone cliff and… he was with someone - a man? His Brother he thought. He remembered Nathan’s face in horrific fear and shock. He hadn’t been awake for a long time he could feel that. How long had it been? weeks? Months? The time was irreverent however to the fact that over this time a transformation took place. An utterly significant and fantastic transformation. His heart had started to beat slower, the constant drumming had sounded in his ears day after day that he was lying in the hospital half dead. Instead of feeling weaker as he knew he should when the grim was dressed in black, scythe in hand just around the corner; he had started to feeling stronger. Only when he knew his full potential of strength had been reached did he let his soul slip away from his body. He had felt so free; he had literally been soaring, a bird free from a cage. But why him? Why couldn’t he have stayed on earth where he was so completely happy? Here in this strange place among these creatures who as interesting as they were had no meaning to him. Although he was alive feeling stronger than he had ever been in his life he also felt utterly dead. Dead because she wasn’t with him “Robyn” is all he could think, “Robyn” he yearned for her with every cell in his body, with all the blood in his veins… Her long dark hair cascading down her back, her skin so smooth - waves flowing over the softest sand…and then her smile, that perfect smile. Not like Hailey’s: fake, intimidating and too perfect.