An Owl's Rise



'It looks like we are going to be able to hold out until the Roost is warped away.' Evelyn thought with a hopeful expression. 

Several minutes had gone by as the forces of the Tyrannis Union battered away at the barrier protecting what remained of the Roost to no avail.

The battle had seemed to become one sided in the favor of the owls, and it would only be a matter of time until they made their escape.

However, this attack was not a spur of the moment decision, and the humans that and come to destroy the Roost and take Evelyn come prepared.

'What in the world is that?' 

Squinting her eyes and using mana to enhance her vision, Evelyn looked high up in the sky and saw what looked like several black dots.

As she continued to stare the black dots multiply and spread out across the sky.

Naturally she was not the only one that noticed such a thing, and the leaders of the Roost diverted some of their offensive capabilities to stop whatever was going on above.

Yet, for as many of the black dots in the sky that were destroyed, two more took their place until a giant web fell down around them.

Once they were closer Evelyn could see that the dots were actually flat sheets of some kind of metal shaped like hexagons with thin wires spreading out from each of their vertices and connecting them to the others.

This self-multiplying magic tool that that the Tyrannis Union had deployed fell down on top of the Roost's barrier and encased it in a giant web.

A massive pulse of magical energy spread out among each of the hexagon's which began glowing brightly before each one exploded.

All at once the barrier that was protecting the owls of the Roost was rocked by the rapid chain of explosions.

Cracks began to form, and large pieces of the barrier fell away until all that was preventing the human attackers from closing in broke apart.

A tremor of panic began to break out among the owls now that their stable line of dense had been breached and dread once again gripped Evelyn.

"Everyone stay together and work on protecting yourselves and your fellows. Flying about in panic will only make us easier targets. These humans will not be able to beat us if we keep strong." Melisandre said, her voice echoing throughout the area.

Around the other Hall Masters leading the defensive groups of owls began arranging their ranks and preparing for the assault from the humans. 

Their victory conditions still remained the same. All they needed to do was hold out long enough to be warped away.

"Evelyn, stay close to me and get ready to move. They have already keyed in on you and are coming." Melisandre said, her eyes glued on the horizon.

Following Melisandre's gaze, Evelyn could see that several people were speeding right towards their location. 

Without more than a glance at her pursuers, Evelyn took off with Melisandre, her friends and siblings sticking right next to her.

The plan as Melisandre quickly told them was to fly around the edge of the sixteen Halls and keep the fight on the move so that those after Evelyn could not concentrate on breaking through the rest of the Roost's defenses. Those coming after Evelyn were clearly elite fighters and keeping them busy would be paramount to their success.

"BOOM!"

A loud explosion shook the air behind Evelyn and she turned her head around behind her and saw a man glad in lightning speeding towards them ahead of everyone else and firing off bolts the size of sky scrapers.

"Keep your eyes forward and focused on flying at your full speed. I will cover our backs." Melisandre said.

She had extended a barrier of water behind them that was intercepting the blasts of lighting. Each time a bolt hit, the water would absorb it and turn into a steam explosion. Slowing down their pursuers and creating a smoke screen for them.

Of course, the man that was firing off the lightning magic at them soon realized he was not getting anywhere with ranged shots and began using his speed to close in.

Evelyn could feel that this man wielded immense magical energy and that Melisandre would have to face him head on soon. 

But her master did not show any concern to the threat that was only seconds away from reaching them and kept flying forward without giving him any concern.

'I just have to trust her. Surely, she has some sort of plan.' Evelyn thought as she felt the fastest purser getting closer.

Then right as he was about to blast through Melisandre's barrier at close range and attempt to grab Evelyn, several magical attacks fell down upon him and pushed him back.

From above a group of eight owls began attacking him and cutting off his path.

Among those that were interfering with him, Evelyn recognized one of them as Annalise, the only individual that Melisandre had introduced to Evelyn as her friend and equal within the Alchemy Hall.

"See, I told you that you only need to worry about anything expect flying. This plan has been coordinated among all the leaders within the Roost. There are multiple squads waiting to help us slow down those after you. The longer they keep their attention chasing after you the better our chances." Melisandre said with a confident smile as she looked back towards Evelyn who was fraught with worry.

The team led by Annalise fought back against the squad of humans chasing after Evelyn for a few dozen seconds before backing off and joining with the main mass of owls that were holding up a defensive position around the alchemy Hall.

This allowed Evelyn to gain some more ground from them and put them in a difficult spot.

If they chased after her again then they would only have to deal with more interference, but actually putting down the sovereign rank owls that were getting in their way would take a significant amount of time in which Evelyn might get away.