Violet's parents were followers of the Sun Goddess. They disappeared during a mission to eradicate heretics, leaving no trace for many years. Since then, they never reappeared.
At the time, Violet was only five years old. According to the law, she would have been sent to a community welfare home, waiting for adoption by a couple.
The followers were not happy. They were colleagues and friends of Violet's parents, who had watched her grow up. They didn't believe that the so-called adoptive parents would treat Violet as their own. Moreover, what was a welfare home? What if she encountered a perverted director or disappeared for no reason? How could they explain to Violet's parents?
After discussion, a family of followers took care of and raised Violet. She had many relatives, uncles, aunts, who treated her like their own and never hesitated to show their love.
Perhaps Violet's childhood was not complete, but compared to her peers, she received no less love.
Even more!
After hearing this story, Wayne felt quite emotional for a moment. Despite Violet's loud and boisterous appearance, her heart was incredibly strong.
Violet was very optimistic, loved to laugh, and her smile was infectious, making people want to get close to her and have fun together.
However...
One thing was clear, this wasn't the reason for the muscleheads to intimidate him. Today's matter wasn't over yet; when he got back, he'd write in his diary, accusing society's scum of persecuting a kind-hearted young man.
Coach Dick got Wayne a free gym card. Nowadays, there was no such thing as a gym card; it was all face recognition. Wayne just needed to blend in with the coaches and point to himself to indicate that his face was free from now on.
Seeing the enthusiastic looks of the coaches, Wayne was determined not to come back if he could help it.
On their first meeting, everyone got along reasonably well.
Violet felt that Wayne was being bullied and wasn't very happy, so she pouted with her hands on her hips to express her dissatisfaction. The coaches dispersed like a flock of birds, heading towards the ring area to continue wrestling.
The followers of the Sun Goddess were quite affectionate, fully confirming the saying that a moderate amount of exercise attracts the opposite sex, while excessive exercise attracts the same sex.
Considering that synthetic metabolic steroids hadn't become popular yet, bodybuilding wasn't as big as it would later become. However, the coaches were all muscle giants, and Wayne guessed that their physique was directly related to their belief in the Sun Goddess.
Maybe it was magic after all!
...
Violet led Wayne through the gym area to the backyard of the fitness center. Three quaint iron gates were embedded in the white walls.
The crescent-shaped iron gates bore simple patterns of the sun, with sunlight pouring down on the earth, bringing light to dispel darkness and nurturing life.
That vibrant and competitive atmosphere was right before their eyes!
The three crescent gates, from left to right, bore a hexagram, a cross, and a triangle symbol respectively. Wayne looked at the equilateral triangle symbol and thought of the Golden Triangle Magic Array that Mike used for sacrifices.
It wasn't just similar; it was identical!
There was also a portrait of the Sun Goddess carved on the iron gate, holding a spear to guide the followers forward. Wayne carefully observed it, but the facial features were too blurred to see clearly, only the graceful figure and slender arms were visible.
Unreliable. This person was definitely a cross-dressing boss, and a heavily muscular one at that.
Violet stood by the leftmost iron gate, placing her hand against it. With a ray of light spreading out, the crescent-shaped gate became transparent, revealing the bird-song and floral scents of the forest inside.
It covered a large area, larger than any park in London. Wayne speculated that it was a portal, accessible only to followers of the Sun Goddess.
He didn't ask where the other two gates led. Instead, he followed behind Violet and stepped onto the forest path surrounded by greenery.
The air was filled with the natural scent, and sunlight filtered through the trees, casting warm patches of light. Bathing in it, Wayne felt an inexplicable tranquility, and his restless heart calmed down.
Soon, Violet led Wayne to a wooden cabin. There was no one guarding it, only a form hanging on the wall next to the door.
After signing it, she asked Wayne to leave his name behind, then began to help him select a day-use bird.
A day-use bird was a white dove, there wasn't much to say about it. They were relatively easy to raise, and due to their high consumption rate, they were generally not valued by magicians.
The key was the nocturnal bird.
"Goo Goo Goo—"
"This one calls the loudest, let's go with it."
Under Violet's suggestion, Wayne chose a relatively robust white dove. After signing the contract, the dove disappeared into the gentleman's hat that Violet held in her hand, like magic.
"When you need it, just tap the hat, and it will appear. But remember to feed it regularly, or it will starve to death inside the hat." Violet reminded, handing Wayne a bag of feed from the shelf.
Mixed feed, mainly composed of wheat, corn, and peas. When it ran out, he could come and get more, just remember to sign for it.
The three goddesses of the alliance shared many resources, and the birds were one of them. As long as Wayne got his face familiarized, he could get bird feed even when visiting other major strongholds.
Wayne put on the hat, listening very seriously. As a novice, every piece of information was crucial.
"The birds can be used to contact friendly magicians or exchange information with major strongholds. Nowadays, with phones, communication is optional, but combined with bird magic, it's very practical. Come to my room later, and I'll teach you."
Violet started to make faces and wink at him. Wayne thought, not possible, definitely not. It wasn't that he couldn't, or Violet couldn't, but with a dozen muscleheads blocking the way, he bet there would be all sorts of reasons later that would prevent him from entering Violet's room.
He couldn't even reach the doorknob.
The two arrived at the back row of the wooden house, and Violet opened the curtain blocking the light, revealing a pair of big round eyes staring at Wayne.
...
Eyes full of wisdom!
Indeed, it was a round-faced fat chicken.
Wayne wasn't surprised at all; he even felt it was natural. He didn't understand owls and such, but he heard that these things were raptors and were the most trusted companions and spare food for magicians.
"Goo Goo Goo—"
"Ga—"
"Chirp Chirp Chirp—"
Seeing someone come in, the round-faced chubby chickens collectively tilted their heads and made various strange noises.
"Stop!"
"Quiet down!"
Vi scolded loudly, but it was useless. She called hers, and the owls called theirs, showing no respect whatsoever.
Rude, far worse than pigeons that only knew how to coo. From this, it can be seen that pigeons still have some pigeon decency.
"Owls can be used for communication just like pigeons, but they can also guard the house and warn intruders. In necessary situations, they can borrow their owner's magic to transform, speak, track, and so on…"
Vi counted on her fingers one by one and concluded, "Although owls are not magical creatures, when a magician encounters an owl that suits them, it can unleash unimaginable abilities."
"Suits?" Wayne asked. "How do you determine if it suits, and by what method?"
"Yes, don't hesitate, choose the one you find most pleasing as quickly as possible."
Vi said, "They are all carefully bred excellent messenger birds, each with its own personality. The one you find most pleasing will have a personality that is very close to yours. Generally speaking, the closer the match, the more compatible."
So it's based on intuition!
Wayne frowned. Vi made it sound easy, but these guys all looked pretty much the same. Where's the most pleasing…
Oh, that one looks pretty cocky!