The Foundling Was the Sky Goddess

An infant girl of the Winged Folk was abandoned and turned up in the sheep pen of a nearby herdsman, where she was discovered by the herdsman's son.

The herdsman viewed her as a demon or a freak and wanted to sell her for profit, but his son adamantly refused, protecting the girl. Later, the herdsman discovered that when the Winged girl was frightened, she shed a golden powder; accidentally inhaling it induced an intense, euphoric high that made one feel as if floating in bliss. He began scaring her on the sly whenever his son was away, quickly becoming addicted to the powder. When a landlord came to collect a debt, the herdsman gathered some of the powder, sold it on the black market, and used the proceeds to pay the landlord. He hoped to use the substance to clear his usurious debts and buy land of his own, but the landlord noticed his strange behavior, trailed him, and decided to seize the Winged girl. Meanwhile, the powder had entered the market and fallen into the hands of colonial scientists; a team of scientists arrived at the ranch with an armed force and snatched the infant girl away...