In the southern city of Penzes, inside an unremarkable house, a plain-looking young man held a magnificent falcon. The bird was not large, but its eyes glinted sharply, and its talons were incredibly keen. The young man carefully untied a letter from the falcon's leg, then picked up a piece of raw meat from beside him and tossed it into its beak. The falcon chirped happily a few times, swallowed the meat, and then flew away with a flap of its wings.
