The bird landed and with it's razor sharp fangs, ripped off Brody's hand, munched it and used it's wings to hit Brody's eye and he fell and died.
The bird wasn't a usual bird. It was strange and looked like a monster. After the bird save Clay's life, it started transforming into a man. When Clay noticed this, he stepped backwards. After the transformation, Clay pulled off Brody's pants and gave it to the bird which had transformed into a naked man.
"Thank you. " The Man replied as he put on the pants. "I am Maximus, Delta skyprowler and the one tasked with bringing restoration to the lives of the celestials. You must be Clay, son of Luka and Rachél. " Maximus explained. "How do you know my name and What the hell is a skyprowler? " Clay asked. "A skyprowler is a majestic and mystical creature with wings. " Max replied.
A skyprowler was often depicted as majestic and mystical creature with wings twice the size of it's body. It had hooked beak with sharp fangs and claws. It had great speed that it could travel a hundred miles with few hours. It had great strength, enhanced senses, super charged brain activity, spiritual awareness; The ability to sense the spiritual energy or chi of a cultivator or monster, it had the ability to breathe fireballs and feed on the fear of others. They had extrasensory vision and could hear the lowest noise made miles distance from themselves. They had fur-like feathers. They also aged very slowly and had very small hearts. It was also said that the skyprowlers had eyes that glow yellow in the dark.
According to the Nigerian Mythology, The Skyprowlers were messengers of the gods. They were used to send message to the humans. When Agwe, the god of war succeeded in sending the gods away, the skyprowlers lost touch with the gods. So, the skyprowlers only went to Earth to show humans who were worthy to see their beauty. They could communicate and understand humans through vocalisation and body language.
When a set of humans decided to catch them, they started cultivating and learned the ability to shape shift into humans. They hid amongst the humans, but they were soon discovered because they all had a tattoo-like mark on them, They tattoo was the word 'Zhengjiu', Mandarin for 'Salvation'.
They had to flee, but wherever they went they were caught. So they gathered themselves and separated into four different cliques, with a celestial as the leader. The cliques were Eclipse Fang Legion, Wild Fang Manes, Sundown hide clique and Dawn Biters Band. Together they found their way to different safe havens. The Eclipse Fang Legion found their way to a forest on the edge of the highest mountains in North America, which they turned into an oasis and called 'the nest' .
The Skyprowlers were ranked according to power and they had physical differences.The first was the Juvenile, It had the same ability with the others, it's physical difference was in it's tail. It had the tail of a normal predator, like the tiger. The next is the Gamma Skyprowler. This one's difference was also in it's tail. It had a blade, hook-like and long tail. The third was the Delta. This was the rank Maximus was in. It was the only skyprowler able to manipulate fire. Even the Celestials, once they leave the Delta rank the ability dies. It's physical difference was the small horns it had.
The one that came after the Delta was the Zeta. These ones had the ability to compel anyone but it's physical difference was mild. It's eyes glowed grey instead of yellow. The Sage was the next. It's ability to sense the presence of monsters was it's difference from the other ones. It was the only skyprowler with that ability. It had black skin while the others had earthy brown and deep green. It's eyes glowed blue while the others glowed yellow.
The last but not least is the Celestial. The Celestial is the leader of a clique. The strongest and most powerful amongst the ranks of skyprowlers. They were silver in color and their eyes glowed yellow like the other skyprowlers. The Celestials had their own special ability as well. They had Divine absorption, they could see and absorb spiritual energy of other creatures.
The Scouts were also types of skyprowlers but it wasn't a rank. It wasn't also in a clique. It was a lone and feral creature, with little or no self control.
Maximus was a Delta skyprowler in the Eclipse Fang Legion. They had only one celestial. But when two skyprowlers managed to cultivate and become Celestials, they became the only clique with more than one Celestial. The Celestials were getting weak as they got older. Their human bodies couldn't hold their monsters form anymore. If they weren't given the essence of a young skyprowler, they would die or abandon their bodies and roam in their real form but the hunters would kill them if they were caught.
So they sent Maximus to find the youngest skyprowler of their clique. A Delta skyprowler, at least would be powerful to pass it's youthful health and strength to the Celestials.
"Wait, are you trying to say I am a mystical creature that can fly? Bruv', do you see any wings behind me? " Clay said. "I'm just having a trauma. I got into a fight, so I'm seeing things like Brody being dead and a bird man talking nonsense. When I get some sleep, everything will be normal. " Clay said and walked away.
"I know what happened to your parents. " Max said. Clay stopped moving and walked back to Max. "What do you know? " Clay asked. "I'll show you if you come with me. " Max said. "Look, man , it's almost midnight. Whatever you got to say, say it. " Clay told. "I'll have to do this the hard way. " Max replied. "Do what? " Clay asked. Max threw a punch at Clay and it knocked him unconscious. "That. " Max replied and pulled Clay into the woods.
Clay woke up in the forest. He got up and was a bit dizzy, but he tried to stand. "I see you've had the sleep you talked about. " A voice projected from behind him. As he turned back, he saw a figure in the fog, walking towards him. This figure looked like a man and a rather huge one. When the fog cleared out, Clay saw that the person who spoke was none other than Max.
"It's you. " Clay said. "Yes, it's me. I am... " Max said and was interrupted. "Maximus. I know your name. " Clay said. "Then, that's a start. " Max said. "What were you saying about my birth parents? " Clay asked.
"Luka and Rachél Garza. They were skyprowlers. Luka was a Delta skyprowler like me, while your mother, Rachél was a Sage. " Max said and handed the journal of an ancient Nigerian philosopher, astronomer and historian named Jesukobiruo Gbagbeke.
"What's this? " Clay asked. "That's the diary of an ancient Nigerian philosopher named Jesukobiruo Gbagbeke. He studied mystical creatures like the Iyesi-adjan, Vampires, gods and other kinds of monsters. But he focused on the skyprowlers. It was like he was drawn to it. He wrote about our kind, our abilities, physical appearance and ranks.
Jesukobiruo Gbagbeke was a 27 years old guy, tall and dark in complexion. He was part citizen of Nigeria and Canada. He had graduated from the Akwa Ibom State University where he studied astronomy. He wrote the diary after his first sight of a battle between Oya, the goddess of light and a Lycanthrope. Ever since he started looking into the skyprowlers, people noticed he had been acting weird. Two years later, Jesukobiruo disappeared. The hunters searched for him because of what he knew about monsters, but they couldn't find him.
"The book says that the Sage is higher than the Delta, which means my mom was stronger than my father was. " Clay said. "Yeah, We were going to make you become as strong as a Delta skyprowler and use your essence to heal the Celestials. " Max said. "Since we lost you, we knew that it was over until Andreas, the eldest celestial sensed your aura from thousands of miles away. I've searched for a long time until I stumbled upon the Somers family tech program. I saw your picture and knew that you were the one. Now, I have to train you to become a Delta skyprowler. " Max explained.
"If it will help me know how my parents died, let's do it. " Clay said. "First, you'll learn how to deploy your wings. " Max said. "You need to believe you can do it, picture your wings behind you. " Max added. "That's very helpful. " Clay said but meant the opposite. "Hmmm!! " Clay exclaimed as he forced wings to come out but nothing happened.
You don't believe. Until you have faith, you're just wasting your time. " Max said. "I'm done, Max. " Clay said.