Lu Qian was roused from sleep when a troop of riders arrived outside the gate of the Great Golden Mountain Temple.
Because of its national name, the Xuanyan Immortal Court kept, within its borders, a breed of large swallows whose whole bodies were pitch-black.
These Xuan Yan were regarded as auspicious beasts; among all flying mounts they were first among equals in value and status.
The Black Yan Guard of Xuanyan rode precisely these great black swallows.
Only the imperial clan of the Xuanyan Court had the right to keep so many of these “Xuan Yan” as mounts.
Other ministers of state, noble houses and the like could only hope for imperial favor — be granted a few Xuan Yan to serve as parade mounts.
And those Xuan Yan given by the emperor were never allowed to be bred freely within the recipient families.
If a favored minister died, the gifted Xuan Yan had to be returned to the royal house as soon as possible.
So in the Xuanyan Court, if you saw someone riding a Xuan Yan, they were either a member of the imperial clan or a minister especially favored by the emperor — no exceptions.
In the middle of the night, the troop that had come to the Great Golden Mountain Temple was led by a floating carriage drawn by six Xuan Yan.