The Zero Hour | #Wattys2016

Chapter 22 - White Harrow (Part 1)

And this shall be a sign that I have sent you, when it is most dire, call out to me, and I will deliver you from the hand of your enemy. You only need to... trust.

The words echoed in Amadeus' mind.

Am I dead? He asked himself.

"It looks bad," a female voice said shakily.

A low rumble could be heard in the distance. Aside from that, utter darkness. Is this what the afterlife feels like? It's really cold. Another low rumble echoed, then silence. A droplet of water hit his face. Another followed, and soon he could hear the pitter patter of raindrops all around.

"There's a pulse. He's still alive," replied a male voice which sounded like Rei.

I'm alive, Amadeus thought. He willed his eyes to open but his eyelids refused to obey.

"I hate to break up the party, but the Nobles are trying to approach again. We have to stand together to keep them back." Another voice interrupted their conversation with urgency.

"We fight. Have to keep master safe." Another person grunted.

The sounds of feet scrambling next to him could be heard. What's going on? Amadeus' eyes finally opened a fraction, just enough to make out the world around him. Everything looked like blurred figures to him and weak rays of moonlight peeked through dark clouds which had started to cluster together in large groups. Have the battle-wizards stopped attacking? How long has it been since I blacked out? Are the commoners all dead?

Turning his head, he made out a group of people a short distance away. The blurry figures started to solidify and he could make out from their clothes that they were commoners. The commoners had retreated back towards the concrete building's door. Out of the thousand commoner fighters they started with, only roughly about a quarter had survived. They stood in front of the barricaded door, guarding the lives of their loved ones. A mixture of bravery and fear were on their faces. Above them, an enormous Eadren hovered in place, with Old Jarbus sitting upon it as their commander.

Seconds passed and strong breeze blew throughout the battlefield, chilling Amadeus to the bone. The dark and ominous clouds were blown along gently, only to block out the last rays of moonlight. The dim light of the night soon faded away into total blackness.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed across the darkness, and disappeared in the blink of an eye. A second later a deafeningly loud boom was unleashed upon those below. Why haven't the Nobles killed me? Amadeus asked himself.

Looking around, he surveyed the ground around him. It was littered with battle-wizards. Dead or unconscious, he couldn't tell. Did I do all that? The remaining battle-wizards had their numbers thinned out severely from Amadeus' earlier rampage, but now that he was down, they could take him out easily. What were they waiting for?

Grunting, he rolled over on his side to look in the other direction. The scene that greeted him surprised him greatly. There were six. Six sets of feet were standing between him and the Nobles. Rei, Izumi, Onyx, One, Bastian and Bianca stood in a protective line between him and the Nobles. Between the sets of feet, he could make out the battle-wizards who were in standing together in a defensive stance. Could his six friends be holding back the remnants of the third wave of attackers? They were the ones who were keeping him alive. He lay flat on his back and smiled gratefully.

He was alive. He didn't know for how long more, but he was alive for now. The rain drops felt refreshing as they dropped gently upon his face. All at once, the droplets of water increased to a stream, before gradually turning into a torrent. Another loud roar of thunder erupted, and all the heavens opened up the floodgates.