Dark winds lashed out and the sandstorm was torn apart. The golden winds on this side were completely shredded under my anger.
I quickly controlled myself and the winds were withdrawn. Without the golden winds, the rift had disappeared. I wondered if it would return.
For now, I had to leave. Whatever those golden winds were, they had originated from this side and they weren't natural. If their creator came to see what was going on I didn't yet want to meet them. I'd had enough of killing gods or similar beings for a while.
I shapeshifted into an unassuming bird, a red-tailed hawk, and flew off into a random direction. Not soon after I felt an ethereal gaze sweep over me and pass me by without further notice.
I flapped my long, reddish-brown wings and shot through the sky like an arrow. Below me, the desert seemed endless at first but then gradually I could see a mountain range rise in front of me. The grey, silent giants stood perfectly still as my wings carried me ever closer.
Vegetation was still sparse in this area. However, I could see the occasional needle tree defying the environment and growing tall. In their branches nested a multitude of birds. Far more than I had expected.
Rock, crystal, and snow eagles were occupying the treetops while the smaller birds would take the lower branches or hide away in small crevices inside the rocky slopes.
The abundance of birds struck me as strange. The desert would provide little food and the mountains seemed equally unsuitable as a hunting habitat of so many birds.
Was there something higher up the mountain? I caught an updraft wind produced by the thermal lift of the mountain and rapidly gained altitude.
As I reached the mountain ridge a vast lake lies beyond it. It was protected by a mountain crest all around like a valley. Behind the lake was a small open area that led to a fissure in the mountain crest allowing entry into the valley.
On the shores of said area, a commotion was disturbing the tranquil atmosphere of the lake. As I was flying above the lake the sun above was perfectly reflected in the round lake below creating a sort of duality between mirage and reality.
I could vaguely feel that gravity began to shift and pull at me from above and below. Around the lake and the sun, clouds appeared forming two planes of fluffy white that were indistinguishable. All sense of reality was lost as up and down became one and the same only to disappear completely.
I blinked my eyes and the phenomenon vanished. The downward gravitational pull returned and the sky was clear again.
The commotion at the lakeshore once again attracted my attention. Two groups of humans were fighting with spells blasting all over the place.
One group was clothed in black with their faces masked. They held the advantage due to one particular ice mage that was a second rank archmage. His spells that were fueled by an innate understanding brought devastation to his opponents' lines and forced them to retreat.
The retreating group was led by a rank one archmage that seemed to be using illusions. However, his group couldn't retreat much further as they had their backs to the lake. And entering a large body of water certainly wasn't wise when fighting a more powerful ice mage. But what could they do?
I dove done and swooped over them at a low altitude. They hardly paid any attention to me and I was able to pick up a conversation between the two leading mages.
"Tristan, I know it is you even if you use a mask to hide your face! You are the only ice mage with an innate understanding of ice in the entire empire. Will you really betray my father and kill a prince?"
The masked individual hesitated a moment but then as if in anger at his hesitation fired an even bigger burst of icicles at the alleged prince.
"So what if I kill you, prince Gideon? Your entire entourage will perish with you and therefore no one will know who did it. This is all your fault for standing in prince Sullivan's way."
"My brother is a madman! We can't just invade these other worlds we have discovered! We should try to communicate."
"You are a fool to think that we can communicate with those savages! Your suggestion nearly ruined our plan to take over the jungle world. Even now we had to postpone the grand invasion because you somehow got the Emperor's approval."
"So you are just going to act against my father's wishes?"
"I am acting for the good of the solar empire! And for our empire to flourish you, prince Gideon, must disappear."
My luck was truly good. I had been looking for a way to temporarily halt the expansion of the solar empire and now I was presented with it. But how to approach this?
The prince's group was in dire straight so I gave up on coming up with an elaborate plan and while flying above the fighting groups I shifted into my human form. I made a black tuxedo, a black top hat, and a raven half-mask.
This was like Portly Bonnefoy a character of the past I liked to play. His name was Lord Raven. As one might guess this identity was one I usually assumed when dealing with things related to the raven god beast. Edward hadn't yet progressed far enough to enter the raven department so he had yet to meet me like this.
I pulled an elegant ornamental walking cane out of a separate space and let myself drop to the shoreline below. I used a cushion of air to smooth out my landing while giving an elegant bow.
"Greetings ladies and gentlemen, how are you doing this fine day. This a rather loud scuffle you are having would you mind if I joined?"