A gray eagle soared over the Royal Capital. Perhaps it had grown tired from flying, for it alighted atop a towering sculpture within the Royal Capital.
The sculpture stood over a hundred meters tall. The tallest structure in the Royal Capital was neither the royal palace nor the "Fuxiu Clock Tower," but this sculpture that had stood here for several hundred years.
This 127.42-meter-tall humanoid sculpture was the symbol of the Royal Capital. Even the royal palace had to be built lower than it.
The sculpture depicted a man wearing a crown, his arms raised as if embracing the sky—or perhaps offering a respectful salute to the sun.
The sculpture represented Taling's first king. That was merely the common name for him, however. The Edri Royal Family called him the First King, the source of the royal bloodline.
After enduring the elements, the sculpture had grown old, but it still stood there. Before pledging allegiance to the Edri Royal Family, every Tower Guardian had to recite an oath beneath the sculpture and leave his name on its base with his own blood.
Of course, the bloody graffiti could not last long. The blood-written names of the Tower Guardians were replaced from generation to generation, symbolizing the inheritance of their mission. Their names were left upon the sculpture, for they had become nameless men. They were willing to defend Taling to the death, never marry or have children, and oppose the gods with mortal bodies.
From this, one could imagine what the First King's sculpture meant to the Kingdom of Taling. Every year, many travelers from other nations came here to pay their respects.
The Royal Capital remained lively and prosperous today. Only the nobles knew what lay hidden beneath that prosperity. The battle for the royal bloodline was nearing its