"My king!" A guard shouted as he quickly entered the doors to the throne room. The man rushed past the many nobles, along with the beast kingdom's delegation, straight to the first step to the staircase and bowed deeply. The crowd in the room was currently having multiple conversations in hushed whispers, no doubt about the strange light from the sky that was visible from the throne room's windows a few minutes ago.
"Speak!" The king commanded. "Of course, your Majesty. I have received word from two guards that were patrolling in the area the golden light had appeared in. It seems the light had no ill effect on any of the people there. On the contrary, people that were within the light are rumored to have been blessed by it. Bum legs, arms, diseases, illnesses, missing limbs, and even scars have been healed by the strange light." The guard quickly replied.
"Is that all you have for now?" King Elric asked with a brow. Something strange was happening in not just his kingdom, but the capital. He was sure there was more to this.
"The guards also mentioned seeing a large white rabbit with antlers. They say the creature stood as tall as a building, yet it did not attack any of the civilians nearby. While the guards only saw the beast from afar before it disappeared with the light, they did hear rumors from those at the front of the crowd that a young man appeared to be talking to it."
The entire beast kingdom's delegation was completely frozen upon hearing the guards' words. "By the gods," Wes muttered, "A jackalope has appeared?"
Frowning, Elric noticed the bewildered expression on each of the beast kingdom's diplomats. "Do you know something about this?" Elric asked in a firm tone.
Clearing his throat, Wes replied, "Of this particular situation you Majesty? No, we do not. However, if that truly was the creature that is well known to our kind, then the changing of times is upon us."
"Would you like to explain to me what creature you believe it might be based on the description alone? I have never heard of such a being of that description, especially one who might wield such a strong power that uses no mana. If that was caused by a being of this plane, those of us who are proficient with mana would have felt such a large power being used. And what do you mean by the changing of times?"
"Of course, your Majesty. If that is the creature I believe it to be, then that would be a Jackalope. They are ancient beings from a different realm than ours. It is said they do not wield mana like the many races from our world. They use a different energy. Since we have had limited contact with their race dating back to our earliest ancestors, we have referred to that energy as a Divine Authority. From what we have seen, their powers are typically associated with healing magic and light magic."
Wes paused, letting the king soak up his words. Elric thought for a moment before nodding and letting the panther kin continue.
"While us beast folk have not had any documented sightings or engagements with a Jackalope in over a hundred years, it is believed that the appearance of one is a sign of upcoming prosperity and calamity. Though which one will come first or how long each will last is said to be random. The Jackalope are mysterious to even us, but what perplexes me is the fact one may have appeared here. As far as we know, our kingdom is the only place that has received the blessings and misfortune of the Jackalope. For one to appear here…" Wes trailed off as Elric continued to take in the new information.
"You," the King pointed a finger at the guard. "Your Majesty," the man bowed again. "Do you have a description of the rumored man that was speaking to the creature?"
"The guards heard many different answers, but the ones that were consistent was the fact he was young and had short white hair, and he was smaller in stature, along with the fact his clothes were in tatters." The guard replied dutifully.
"Hmmm," Elric rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Put word out to the guards to be on the lookout for a young man with short white hair. I will have someone interrogate each person matching the description. If someone truly was conversing with this beast, they may have some more information. Or they may be a threat to our kingdom. Either way, go out and spread the word."
"Yes, your Majesty!" The guard bowed one last time before turning on his heels and sprinting out of the throne room.
Lina, who was towards the rear of the delegation next to Giselle, had a prominent thought going through her mind. 'It has to be him! The supposed Inheritor of Ransein. I can't believe he is not only supposedly an Inheritor, but he also interacted with a Jackalope!'
The fox girl was currently feeling very jealous of Ken. While becoming an Inheritor was a very farfetched dream, getting to meet a Jackalope wasn't. She always dreamed of riding one of those mythical beings as a young girl. Hell, it was the dream of every beast-kin child to ride and meet one.
While dragons and other rare beasts were cool as well, they weren't as special due to the fact that Jackalopes were beings from a different realm.
The only way Lina could see herself getting anywhere near her dream of even petting a Jackalope, was if she stayed around Ken. Trying to imagine it, she shook her head. Though her exchanges were quite brief with him, she had already found him and his nonchalant demeanor incredibly annoying. She definitely did not think she could stand to be around him for too long pretending to be nice.
Giselle, who had been listening to Elric and Wes' conversation intently, finally looked over towards her friend. Noticing the inner turmoil on Lina's face, the lion woman tried to stifle a laugh. From her fox friend's description, it had sounded that the supposed Inheritor they were supposed to find, also happened to be the man connected to the recent Jackalope sighting. A knowing smirk painted Giselle's lips as Lina's face showed the inner turmoil the fox girl was going through. Giselle knew all too well just how much her friend loved to talk about meeting one of those mythical beasts one day.
Since it is rumored that Jackalopes imprint on a mortal being, and typically only appears around that person every now and then, it would mean that Lina would have to swallow her pride and be nice to the boy.
Knowing her friend very well and how stubborn she could be, Giselle felt as if things were going to get very entertaining when they finally come into contact with the Inheritor.