The citizens already lining the parade route looked like tidy colorful lines of paint drops. Lots of grays and browns, but also more colorful blots, randomly interspersed. The only constants visible from such a height were the gray-red spots, which appeared evenly spaced along the whole route. A ground level observer would recognize those gray-red spots as the Red Swords, protectors of the monarch. The eagle’s keen eyes scanned the rooftops as it spread its wings and held its relative position over the parade route. A flicker of movement and the eagle’s head snapped to the right. Its right wing tucked in slightly, and the eagle started a slow spiral loop towards the area of interest. As the eagle’s eyes focused sharply, two human figures came into sight. One, dressed in dark brown, held a bow and had a quiver on his back. The second was like a night shadow, a dark black wraith that moved stealthily and was aware of everything around it. The wraith looked skyward.
