The Franco-British Union: The Trials of Time

Chapter 9: Fallen Angel

At the same time...

The Inner Ward, Raveryn, Kingdom of Pais

     Efeus sat on the walls protecting the inner ward, his helmet and sword lying right beside him, as he stared into oblivion. The sounds of the banging of the battering ram grew more powerful as it rammed the small gate while his men struggled to keep it closed with everything they had.

     Yesterday, they were forced to evacuate and abandon the outer ward from the chaos that ensued after the Quistadorians breached the outer walls of the city, all Efeus could do was watch in horror as women who were unable to get to the inner ward in time were subject to rape and torture while men weren't spared from the misery as they too were beaten to death or executed on the spot.

     The Quistadorians, like the very barbarians they despise, were so busy pillaging the outer ward that it seemed like they completely ignored the protected inner ward altogether at first. It was only after there was nothing left to pillage that the Quistadorians finally turned their attention towards the city's inner walls, the last remaining defence and the only thing preventing the Quistadorians inside the city itself.

     Earlier today, Efeus met with the admiral in charge of the thirty vessels of the Paisian Navy anchored inside the port and discussed the prospects of breaking out which was quickly dismissed as suicidal, not only will they also have to take on civilians, but going up against 400 vessels with only 30 vessels is just like signing their own death warrants faster than waiting inside the city itself.

     And so, what was the point of fighting anymore? Efeus thought to himself as he looked at his men, less than half of them were still standing, the rest were either severely wounded or dead. It would be only a few minutes before the Quistadorians' wyverns were launched and the battering ram shatters the last remaining defence and hopes Raveryn had.

     With their wyvern knights all wiped out from the fighting yesterday, they have nothing left to stop the unrelenting bombardment of not only the Quistadorians' wyvern knights but also their siege engines which would definitely reduce the city to nothing but ruins this time, yet, he and his men weren't giving up.

     And so, Efeus stood up and stared into the skies above as flocks of wyverns approached the city from afar. "So this is it...", he thought to himself as he slowly closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable as silence finally sets in around him.

     The silence was then interrupted by a thunderous sound, however, Efeus wasn't surprised. The Quistadorians were definitely going to finish this as soon as they could, after all, the faster they wipe him and his men out, the longer they get to loot the city of its beauty.

     However, it was only after he heard the rattling sounds of the wyverns that he realised something was seriously wrong. He opened his eyes, only to see the pieces and ruined remains of the wyverns and humans falling from the sky in varying chunks like a rain of blood and with it, the fighting stopped in an instant.

     Everyone, including Efeus and his men, couldn't believe what had happened in front of their very eyes and no one let out a single word. "...Is that a dream?", Efeus thought to himself as he slapped himself in the face once, which was followed by a realisation that went through him like a tremor shooting through his body, he wasn't dreaming, those wyverns are really falling from the sky.

     Soon, two grey-coloured objects that shot down the wyverns appeared and passed over Raveryn at an unbelievable speed. The creatures passed over Raveryn in an instant, spewing out flames from its rear, followed only a short moment later by a thunderous roar that echoed all across the battlefield and the shockwaves that assailed them.