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### **May 15, 2000**
May 15, 2000. In the small town of Ravenna, in the interior of Catarina's Empire, the smell of fresh coffee spread through that chilly winter morning. Along with it, the first doors and windows of the rustic wooden cottages were already opening.
The first messenger crows began to arrive: five in total. Among them, one stood out, named **Phantom**, both for its size and the white feathers on part of its body. Phantom belonged to a local witch named **Emília**. The birds were sent to all corners of the empire, arriving every day, promptly at six o'clock, in the small town. After crossing the Gray Lake, their shadows glided over the rooftops.
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**“Caw! Caw!”**
“News from the capital!” - one of them echoed, harsh and cutting.
“Twenty dead... The Teodora Prison... will never be the same!” - Phantom announced.
“Caw! Fugitives are in the human world, caw!” - Phantom announced, flying lower and lower, losing altitude as if tired, its white feathers shining under the gray sky.
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"Hey, Phantom!" - an old fat man, sitting on a bench in the square, shouted, struggling to get up, his gray hair reaching his shoulders, his huge whitish beard hiding almost his entire face, wearing a faded wool coat with cigarette stains.
**“Tell Emília she doesn't need to capture these beasts.”** - Richard laughed hoarsely, which turned into a strong cough. - “We could let them finish off the humans, it would be a favor for us!” He lit a cigarette, adjusting it in his mouth.
“Since you got old, you only talk nonsense, huh, Richard?!” - Agnes exclaimed with her sharp, shrill voice, raising the umbrella with a quick and precise gesture. She delivered a sharp blow to her husband's head. The dry sound echoed through the square. Her short hair, cut in an impeccable gray bob, swayed with the movement. The pink floral dress she wore contrasted with the paleness of the snow.
"OUCH, WOMAN!" Richard shrank back, grumbling. The cigarette flew from his lips, falling into the snow and losing its glow.
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Phantom and the other birds began to lower their flight as they saw Emília approaching the square. She was carrying a bag of freshly baked French bread, the warm scent mixing with the chilly morning air. A steaming cup of coffee warmed her gloved hands. Every day, Phantom would follow his route through the Empire and land on Emília's arm as she headed to work.
**Emília** was a redhead, her hair a vibrant copper tone that contrasted with the whiteness of the snow. She wore a black, impeccably cut overcoat that reached her feet and a red woolen scarf, as intense as her hair, elegantly wrapped around her neck. Her fine-featured face had a light, carefree expression; full lips curved into a subtle smile. She was the pride of the humble people of that part of town.
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Emília had already won the Ebony Crow award three times, each represented by a black obsidian brooch in the shape of a crow with open wings, adorning the lapel of her overcoat. Despite the pride it brought, many questioned her awards, as they were won in a time when the Witch Empire was more peaceful.
The crows, except for Phantom, crashed onto the frozen ground of the square. Upon impact, their bodies disintegrated into a silent explosion of dark smoke that spread through the chilly air like a living mist. They were peculiar animals, capable of sneaking through shadows, coming and going anywhere, defying the laws of nature.
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**Emília** raised her left arm. A smile spread across her lips as she watched Phantom glide towards her. The crow landed gently, its claws delicately closing around her forearm.
**“You did a great job today!”** - Emília whispered, her melodious voice contrasting with the crow's harsh caw. She stroked Phantom's soft feathers under its chin. **“You deserve a reward.”** - With a loving gesture, she took the largest loaf from the bag and offered it to the bird.
**“Hey, Emília! Come over here!”** - Richard shouted, his booming voice echoing through the almost deserted square. He got up from the bench with a grunt, his protruding belly pressing against his faded wool coat. He saw the young witch crossing the square, Phantom perched on her shoulder, and waved clumsily. - **“Hey, Emília!”**
The young woman pretended not to hear and continued walking, her firm and quick steps leaving delicate footprints in the fresh snow. The old Richard, frustrated, crouched down with difficulty, grumbling something about back pain. He grabbed a handful of snow with his thick, reddened hands from the cold, forming a ball the size of an orange. Without hesitation, he threw the snowball towards the young woman.
**Splat!** The snow hit Emília's copper hair squarely, spreading like a white explosion. Her hair, once vibrant like fire, now looked covered in a layer of ice. Phantom, startled by the impact, was thrown aside but quickly recovered, flapping its wings forcefully to regain balance.
**“Son of a…”** - Emília muttered through clenched teeth, her serene face now twisted in a grimace of fury. **“I’m going to kill that sack of crap.”** - She bit down on the red scarf, her fists clenching, her body trembling slightly. Let’s say, on cold winter mornings, Emília wasn’t in a good mood. And, for some reason, she really didn’t like old Richard.
Emília turned her face slightly, forcing a smile. Richard and Agnes were sitting on the wooden bench in the square, the old man with his protruding belly and whitish beard dominating the space. He slapped his thick hand on the wooden bench, signaling for her to sit. Emília approached with firm and slow steps. Before she even sat down, Richard, without a word of greeting, leaned forward, his blue eyes shining.
**“Tell me something, my girl, the Raven Order isn’t thinking about sending our dragons to battle, is it?”** - Richard questioned, his voice deep and rough from cigarettes. He leaned even further forward, his thick fingers gripping the arm of the bench. - **“The last time you did that kind of thing, those bastards got so small they couldn’t even hunt rats.”**
Dona Agnes interrupted him, her high-pitched voice ringing like a bell. **“Be more polite, you old man!”** - Agnes wiped a lip with a fine lace handkerchief. - **“I’m sorry for this, my girl.”** - She added in a gentler tone.
**“Be quiet, woman! We’re talking about the future of the city.”** - Richard retorted irritably. - **“Why do you always have to interfere?”**
Emília’s mind filled with images. **“Future of the city?” “What would that old fart know about war?”**
**“No problem, Dona Agnes, maybe I’ll even take Mr. Richard with me. He might lose some of that belly!”** - Emília mocked, looking at the old man with an ironic smile. Agnes let out a quiet giggle, while Richard shrank back on his bench and muttered something inaudible.
Richard raised his voice to protest, but before he could utter a single word, a deafening roar cut through the sky. The ground shook violently beneath their feet, and the snow fell in heavy bursts, obscuring the horizon. Amid the chaos, from among the town's small faded brick buildings, a gigantic creature emerged. Its shadow, dense as night and as vast as a storm, covered the square in a shroud of darkness, turning day into a funeral night.
That creature was so large it couldn't be counted on fingers. Its skin was black as obsidian, covered in pointed scales that reflected the weak morning light like thousands of fiery eyes. Two horns, curled like a ram's, rose above its gigantic head, and a long neck, flexible as a whip, stretched towards the sky, roaring with a force that shook the earth.
**“Three hundred meters... that beast is three hundred meters long!”** - Richard exclaimed, his rough voice lost amid the monster's roar.
The dragon's wings, immense and membranous like those of a giant bat, struck some buildings, reducing them to rubble. The heat emanating from the creature's body burned Richard's skin, even at a distance.
**“That beast can swallow a whole whale in one bite,”** - Richard stammered, swallowing hard, fear chilling his bones.
The inhabitants of Ravenna, paralyzed with terror, looked up at the sky. Above the colossal dragon, a fleet of black wings cut through the cold air: perhaps a hundred dragons, maybe more, their roars blending with the sound of wings and the clash of scales against stone. They marched towards the Teodora Prison, a sight unseen for a hundred years. **What really happened at Teodora Prison?**
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### **Character Information:**
**Name:** Emília
**Age:** 23 years
**Height:** 1.76 m
**Nickname:** the crow girl, the black valkyrie
**Magic:** crow magic
**Favorite food:** pudding 🍮
**Artifacts:** Phantom, umbrella of the thousand nights, black flame dragon.
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### **🐲 Dragon Urubraxá**
**Size:** 300-500 m
**Age:** 240 years
**Nickname:** the black beast of Ravenna
**Rider:** ?
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