6 An Army Wakes

"Yes." A bald man said, seated upon his throne.

"Let us begin then." Xel said with a tone, though the faint look of excitement pulsing in his eyes was apparent.

The bald man gestured on the groups of people upon the left balcony. "Kara. It's time." As soon as the harsh words of the man came out, a pair of majestic wings, draped with shimmering white feathers, blossomed and unfolded in the masses upon the balconies. The wings shimmered against the light passing through the yellow-stained windows, creating an illusion of beauty.

The wings flapped once, twice, then the figure in robes took off, gliding majestically around the throne room as it landed upon the podium in which the thrones we're built.

Flo stared at the seeming embodiment of an angel in front of him, radiating high power like Xel, however differing in a way that is beautiful. "What is it, master?" Said the girl, her golden eyes staring straight at the bald man on the far right.

Flo's senses dulled as he awed the girl in front of him. She was around his age, with beautiful brown curls hanging up to her bum, with her wings connected through her backside. She was almost inhuman, he thought until his eyes wandered to the lower half of her body.

She had a pair of bird's legs as legs.

Certainly her wings we're inhuman enough, now this? Flo knew he also wasn't quite a human himself, but she was just maybe beautifully decorated?

The girl, apparently named Kara, then faced Flo, with a staff held between her hands.

Hands.

She had scar marks clinging unto her wrists, almost like she were in the same predicament as Flo. But how could that have been? She was so well-groomed and dressed; he had scrapped the idea of even thinking she was a slave.

"Do it." The bald man said, pointing his index towards Flo.

"Yes." She said as she held her staff high with her right. "Chur'na ant'gr em rent'sr." She said in a language Flo didn't understand.

In a flicker of a second, a white light overwhelmed the room, leaving Flo completely blinded.

After the light seeped out the throne room through the doors and windows, something grabbed unto Flo as he opened his eyes. It was strong. It seemingly came from the ground below, locking him in place with its fleshy and bloody hands, hooking unto his shoulders.

Flo couldn't move. To be precise, he didn't want to move. A cold feeling, seemingly from a breath of air from the creature, ran down Flo's spine, making him shiver in anxiety and terror. The thing behind him, whatever it was, it was scary. Terrifyingly so that Flo couldn't afford to do anything irrational.

Flo looked up to the raised podium in arrest. Behind Kara, there was a massive shape, an ambient, ten-sided, bloody figure floating behind her, having disturbing designs and characters shifting by the second that made Flo grimace in disgust. Flo couldn't begin to describe how ugly the figure behind her was. He looked back at Kara, seeing her beautiful figure right in front of the monstrous floating plate of gore.

So much for being an angel.

Flo then felt something inside him draining away, like blood being sucked out from his body. He felt weaker and weaker as his energy left, seemingly consumed by the creature behind, locking his limbs.

"I'm gonna start then." Kara said, turning to Xel then to Flo, as she struck down the ground with her staff, making a thud of a sound as her staff glowed pure red.

Flo felt immense pain like oil sizzling in his skin.

Flo knew he was in trouble. What had he heard again? Sacrifice? For what? He didn't understand a thing and wasn't in any position to ask. All he can do right now was run. That was what he thought, but his body couldn't follow. Was it fear? He could feel the strong presence of the creature behind him in every breath, that alone telling him that he's not capable of running. His senses dulled by the second, making him weaker and weaker for each passing moment. He couldn't die here. Not like this. Where was that old man? Wasn't he supposed to help him escape?

His senses numbed as, finally, his world came crashing down, turning it all pitch black as his eyes closed seemingly, for an eternity.

.

.

.

Clink.

The sound of a lock unlocking broke the absolute silence in Flo's black world.

Flo felt warmth clinging unto his fingertips, crawling along towards his elbows, then shoulders, spreading like wildfire, covering his entire body after a mere moment. Flo felt the power contained within the warmth. The feeling, like boiling blood running through his veins, engulfed him, and everything else of what happened after was a product of pure desperation and impulse.

All he knew was, his mouth was open, trembling; he was shouting maybe, as he felt his lungs shaking and fists clenching. The world around him seemed unclear, although he could make out some things. A tremor shook the earth. The sound of hundreds and hundreds of heavy, ironclad footsteps, like a knight's, passed by him.

He opened his eyes, his world becoming lucid in a pause. He gaped in awe at the wonder of what he was seeing with his own two eyes.

Hundreds of black knights, embellished with majestic red auras, formed a circle around Flo, with their backs against him and swords and spears drawn against the others.

"What?"