40. Callum
CALLUM
DAY SEVEN
There was a heavy weight in the air as we flew toward The Wall surrounding Solis Quarter today. A looming presence. The shadows cast by The Wall threatened to consume us as we began our approach. Today marked the day Solis fell. Today, we would circle The Wall seven times.
Seven hours of flight.
Seven laps around The Wall before we attacked.
To our left, the eerie shrieks and cries coming from The Rift sounded even louder as we began to circle around The Wall. But today, we flew in tight cohorts.
Today, like the six days before, we flew in formation by affinity. Each cohort housed those of a certain affinity as we began to fly. Those whose elemental affinities were strongest flew first.
The leading cohort selected was one with a fire affinity.
They flew, leading the army as rings of fire danced and flickered around them, appearing as though a massive ball of fire were circling The Wall, their affinity on display in a powerful presence.
Next came the cohorts who favored their water affinities. Glowing streams of liquid splashed around their aerial fleet as they cut through the air, chasing after the fire cohorts.
Earth affinities came next, gliding on currents of air as they showcased their affinities, the ground rumbling beneath them as they flew by.
For a moment, there was silence from the right—from Solis.
No shots fired. No shouts or commands from the RSG lining The Wall.
Nothing.
Our display of affinities left the guards stunned.
Nothing had changed in our advance. We didn’t attack, we didn’t fight back.
And yet, the pure, unleashed strength of our affinities on display left a warning of what was to come.
Even The Rift seemed to fall silent as we began our first lap around. Just the steady beat of wings could be heard as our aerial fleets flew in synchronized movements and began to circle the outer length of the cement and metal framework of The Wall.
The illustratio and seer cohorts flew in formation next, their affinities less noticeable. However, the intensity of their combined affinities could be felt radiating from them as they flew through the air, following the earth cohorts.
Finally, I flew forward.
Alone.
The singular vitas in Aurum. A gift from the Eternal.
Seven priests from the Temple of the Eternal flew behind me, closing the last of the ranks. Between the priests, they carried a sacred chest from the reign of the City of Gold—a reminder of what we were fighting for. Of the light that would once again shine over Aurelia.
From where I flew, drawing up the rear of the aerial fleets, I could hear the priests flying behind me, their lips moving in prayer as we flew toward the enemy—as we prepared to defeat the darkness threatening to overtake Aurelia.
We flew close to The Wall as we made our way around Solis, so close that the outer wings of each cohort nearly touched the outside edge.
When we’d completed the first circle around the outer edges of Solis Quarter, one of the priests separated himself from the others.
Lifting a horn, he released a loud alarm, the chiming noise echoing along the shrouds of fog encasing The Rift. The signal of the first lap.
One of seven we would complete as we surrounded the enemy.
One hour down . . . six to go.
By the second lap around The Wall, the guards atop the structure had begun to realize that something had changed.
It was easy to hear the shouts of concern and frustration falling from the perimeter of The Wall.
Orders were being shouted, and more forces were being called to come protect their Quarter.
It was unbridled chaos as we flew at a swift speed, circling the perimeter of The Wall. Now that our forces were no longer veering off toward camp after each lap, at any point in our flight, the aerial fleets, seven by seven, covered nearly every inch of The Wall.
A perfectly rotating circle of forces as we circled the Quarter, leaving no space between troops.
On the third lap, they resumed firing on us. Bullets laced with affinities began to rain down on our troops in a stronger display of power as they began to protect their Quarter.
While, it had been easy to pick locations to fire on our troops as we surrounded The Wall the prior six days . . .
The seventh day was different.
We circled Solis from every angle as we flew in a circular pattern around The Wall. Aurum’s Army surrounded every inch of limestone cement slab as we flew, even under fire.
Bullets continued to rain down on us, affinities cutting through the air as they attempted to stop our forces from circling. As they attempted to protect the sacred wall they’d built. Screams and shouts filled the air as drones whirled by, and we continued to push forward.
Continued flying.
I lost track of the number of laps we made around The Wall, my affinities weakening with each lap as I shielded both myself and the seven priests who flew behind me.
Flames flickered as they surrounded us in a shield, my eyes constantly scanning The Wall as we flew, ensuring my shields were reinforced. I was covered in sweat and sand, my affinities nearing exhaustion as we continued on in a never-ending loop.
Angels dropped in cohorts before me as shields began weakening, bullets finding their way through our masses.
Still, we flew onward, our wings beating in the summer winds as we circled Solis.
The summer winds beat against us, bullets flying in rounds still raining down as we flew around The Wall, still not advancing, not attacking, merely surrounding them with sheer numbers.
I heard the first of the priests sound their alarm, then the next, and the next, until I counted six chimes in total.
Six laps.
We had flown around Solis Quarter six times.
Six hours of flight under attack. Six hours of narrowly avoiding being shot from the skies with affinity-laced bullets.
Six hours.
And so we flew the final lap around the Quarter.
I could feel the power behind each wing beat—the vibration that flowed through the aerial cohorts as we closed in on the final round. We were drawing near the end.
The energy shifted in the fleets as we flew this final lap around Solis, a new current pulsing through our wings as we pushed forward on this final lap.
I nearly veered off course as a bullet pierced through my shield, the metal cutting into the bullet-resistant material of my attire. Pain flared in my shoulder as the bullet bruised my skin, momentarily distracting me.
“Fuck.” A pained snarl ripped from my lips as I refocused my attention, attempting to strengthen my shield, along with the shields protecting the priests flying behind me.
I couldn’t afford to lose focus now. Not when the battle was only just starting.
The suns were high in the sky as we circled the final lap.
Drones still circled our troops, releasing rounds as they tore through the ranks, but the rounds of ammunition fired from above began to slow.
Perhaps they were running low, or perhaps the RSG were beginning to suspect that this day was different.
That something far worse was coming for them.
I could hear the mutterings from cohorts before me growing as they flew, lifting prayers to Aeternus as we fought against the summer winds. Shouts began to sound from atop The Wall as we drew nearer to completing the final lap with every wing beat.
When the first of the chimes sounded, I couldn’t stop the grin that formed on my lips. Relief that we were done flying. That we could finally—finally—defend ourselves against the onslaught we’d been forced to endure.
I counted the chimes as each of the priests completed their seventh lap around The Wall.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
The final chime sounded.
And a silence fell through the air.
For a moment, not a single sound was uttered.
No one moved.
Not a single wing beat could be heard.
Not a single bullet was fired.
Not even the eerie shrieks of The Rift could be heard.
The wind seemed to halt its howling.
Silence filled the Quarter.
The seconds ticked by before a lone voice rose up in the front cohorts.
“For Aurelia!” The shout sounded, ricocheting off the metal and limestone slabs of The Wall.
More voices joined, a chorus of shouts lifting to the heavens as angel by angel joined in.
“For Aurelia! For the City of Gold! For Aeternus!”
The shouts rose as the soldiers from Aurum joined in. Their words blended together in a chorus that consumed the space. The shouts grew louder and louder.
We prepared to take flight, ready to siege Solis Quarter, when a large rumbling began to spread over the ground. Every muscle in me tensed as I looked around, my eyes scanning the area.
The rumble started softly across the ground, then it grew louder, the ground shaking beneath our feet.
Looks of confusion spread across our ranks, shouts now rising from The Wall as the guards atop the surface began to frantically run across the barricade.
Shouts sounded from the perimeter along The Wall, and the ground was rumbling with even more force, the tremors shaking the foundations of the cement slabs.
Even the ledge of The Rift began to rumble, slabs of rock breaking off and falling into the darkness, swallowed by the abyss.
The tremors grew more violent, the ground shaking with an unnatural force.
Then, just as suddenly as the rumbling appeared, it halted.
Silence stretched across the open expanse of the desert.
Seconds stretched on, the ground settling from the tremors.
A large cracking noise resounded—a sharp crack that cut through the air, loud enough to be heard across every inch of Solis Quarter. A piercing, sharp sound that seemed to be emanating from The Wall itself as all eyes whirled in that direction.
And right there, it could be spotted.
In the center of the towering cement and metal structure, a wall created by darkness, a large split was forming in the center of The Wall.