Amadeus and his six friends formed a semi-circle around the entrance of the large building. The smell of various substances and herbs still lingered in the air, as the building was a processing facility which made potions for the Nobles. Now, it held the lives of all the women and children of the commoner camp. Every door and window had been reinforced and sealed.

All around him, commoners of all walks of life held different tools in their hands to be used as weapons. There were kitchen knives, daggers, hammers, and even sticks. Some of the commoners had buckets over their heads in absence of proper steel helmets. They took positions all around the building underneath the wooden spikes they had driven into the ground earlier.

A gust of wind beat against his head, causing him to look up above at the impressively large and ferocious looking Eadren with Old Jarbus mounted on it. Old Jarbus soared around the battlefield in a large circle, preparing to give commands and defend the skies. As powerful as his Eadren looked, Amadeus wondered how Old Jarbus had planned to fight back hordes of Nobles by himself.

Old Jarbus had left Amadeus and his team in charge of defending the building which held the commoner women and children. He had full command over his team of six while Old Jarbus would try to keep the rest of the commoners in defensive positions outside the building alive. Looking to the left and to the right, Amadeus saw the familiar faces of those who had pledged to fight by his side – Rei, Izumi, and Bastian on one side; Bianca, the Onyx Assassin and One on the other. He smiled to himself silently; there were no others whom he would rather have at his side for the coming battle.

The moon was high in the sky, and the tension in the air was palpable. His heart beat fast and hard under his chest, and he took deep breaths to keep himself calm. His mind was racing, calculating every possibility for the battle ahead. Stay one step ahead of them at all times, he reminded himself. It was an old habit, one that had kept him away from trouble many times.

There were many lives in his hands. Despite him being the least experienced of them, the group of Exiles had placed their trust in him and allowed him to take command. Old Jarbus trusted him with the lives of the women and children in the building. He started to break out in cold sweat as the pressure mounted in his mind. There was too much at stake to let them down. He would need to be certain of his decisions, and couldn't afford to second guess himself. Confident and focused, he reminded himself as he cleared his throat.

"Bastian, Bianca. Old Jarbus won't last long in the sky by himself. You two mount up and do what you do best. Show me why they call you the 'Riders of the Sky'."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," replied Bastian with a confident smirk. His strong features were highlighted in the moonlight and he was even better-looking that Amadeus had remembered him to be. Sheesh, some people get all the good looks, thought Amadeus with a tinge of jealousy. I wonder if Izumi thinks— no, no; not now, I need to focus! Amadeus shook his head, jolting himself back to reality.

Bastian and Bianca both put on their helmets simultaneously. It was amazing how coordinated they were, both in and out of battle. The helmets covered the center of their faces and the top and sides of their heads, leaving only their eyes and cheeks exposed. Bastian whistled as he lifted up the large circular silver shield from his back. It was well-polished and shone brightly in the dark as though it was glowing. There was a symbol in the middle of the shield which looked like an Eadren. Bianca did the same.

As Bob and Deb landed next to them, Bastian and Bianca drew their spears which hung loosely on their backs. Twirling his spear between his hand and arm, Bastian leapt onto Bob. Bianca used her spear to vault effortlessly onto Deb. The two Eadrens looked imposing in the silver armor which covered their wings, sides, claws and head. The armor on their wings had sharp tips and Amadeus shuddered to think about the poor souls which would find themselves on the wrong end of those pointed ends. Bastian and Bianca made a clicking sound with their mouths and both Eadren took off into the night sky, accompanying Old Jarbus.

"One, remember that thing you did against the assassin that made you glow?"

One grunted knowingly with a nod while the assassin recoiled slightly at the memory of it.

"When the Nobles come, I need you to do that again. Stand in front of the group... you'll need to protect the rest of us from the Noble's range attacks. Got it?"

"One gots it," One replied as he hammered one of his fists against the palm of his other hand and stepped forward. "Easy peesy!"

Amadeus let One walk past him to the front of the group and turned to face the rest. Rei, Izumi and the Onyx assassin looked at him attentively. "Okay, the rest of us are going to try and keep them at bay for as long as possible. Use your range attacks while you can. We have limited ammo, so make each shot count."

"We always make every shot count," said Rei with a smile and Izumi nodded in agreement. Both of them were already familiar with battle strategies and did not have any trouble understanding his orders. They both drew a frost dagger in one hand and an icicle in the other.

The assassin stared at him silently and remained motionless.

"Got it Onyx?" Amadeus asked. The assassin folded his arms and nodded confidently. Amadeus had to give the assassin a nickname, given that he had no idea what he looked like or what his name was since he stayed behind his mask and refused to utter a single word. They had to communicate mostly by body language. When that failed, Amadeus had to guess what Onyx was trying to say, and Onyx would nod or shake his head to confirm or deny.

Even though the night air was chilly, a bead of sweat made its way down Amadeus' face as Rei and Izumi took their positions behind One. He had done what he could, and almost any second now, the sky would be filled with killers; killers who wouldn't hesitate to end any of their lives in an instant. He glanced down at the Lighvel. It glowed strongly with waves dancing strongly on its surface. The blue glow helped to calm his nerves.

Any minute now, thought Amadeus as he took his position next to Izumi and Rei behind One.

"Incoming!" Old Jarbus yelled, interrupting his thoughts. Amadeus immediately tensed up and looked around him for the source of the attack. The sound of metal on metal and thuds resounded like an ocean wave as the commoners between the wooden stakes in the ground braced themselves for the incoming attack. They held their shields firmly in one hand above their heads and their makeshift weapons in the other hand, ready to strike. Onyx drew two onyx daggers from his belt and rotated his head in a full circle, releasing a cracking sound. He started to bounce on the balls of his feet and seemed to be the most relaxed out of everyone.

Gasps of awe and fear rang out among the commoners as the moonlit sky was filled with scattered black figures which looked like tiny specks at a distance. They swirled and swooped in fluid motions, only to converge into shapes of spearheads. The spearheads shot up into the sky and started to descend speedily, getting closer and closer.

Within seconds, they were close enough for Amadeus to make out each individual figure that formed the spearhead. They were all dressed in White Harrow white and were hooded. Faceless killers, he thought to himself as the Lighvel sparked to life in his left hand. Old Jarbus, Bastian and Bianca hovered above the commoners, the three of them against what seemed like hundreds of Nobles. Old Jarbus roared a battle cry which was inaudible to his ears and the three of them charged into the nearest spearhead.

Like a pebble breaking the surface of water, the three ferocious Eadren riders pierced through the spearhead formation, causing it to split into two as several of the Noble riders fell on the edge of the Avianath spears. Several of them plummeted to the ground. They'll be surrounded, thought Amadeus worriedly as the Nobles started to converge again behind them. He held his breath as the Nobles started shooting out fire at the riders from all sides.

Old Jarbus led Bastian and Bianca forward, they emerged from the other end of the spearhead and rose rapidly into the night sky before somersaulting and diving right back into the fray. Blue, green and red fireballs erupted in the sky and beat upon the Avianath riders but did not faze them in the least. The silver armor and shields they used must be protecting them from the flames, Amadeus deduced as he breathed a sigh of relief.

The other four spearheads took the opportunity to attack the commoners below while the Avianath riders were kept occupied by the first group. All around him, commoners gritted their teeth and shielded themselves against the attack. Most of the shield held steady but a few poorly made ones broke under pressure.

"Change of plans," said Amadeus with a frown. "We can't just stay and guard this door or the commoners in the front lines will be dead when the Nobles turn around for the next attack."

"We're the last line of defense," Rei reasoned. "If we abandon our post, the women and children behind this door will be slaughtered. The commoner men knew what they signed up for when they agreed to fight this battle. Their sacrifices will help us hold until dawn."

Amadeus turned to One. "One, can you hold this building by yourself for the next five minutes?"

"Master go smash some Nobs. One hold Nobs back from door until master get back," grunted One in agreement.

"Onyx, Rei, Izumi. We split up in different directions. Five minutes, then reconvene back here." Amadeus commanded. Old Jarbus trusted him to make the right decision and he couldn't afford to second guess himself. "Focus on defending those who have lost their shields. We only need to buy them enough time to reposition and replace their defenses." He took off without waiting for the others to reply.

A burst of energy filled his legs and his run escalated into a full on superhuman dash. He leapt swiftly into the air to meet the flying Nobles head on. He stretched out his hand as he soared through the air and his arm knocked two battle-wizards clean off their brooms. He kicked off a third battle-wizard and punched a fourth in the nose. The unlucky battle-wizard's nose cracked under his fist. Amadeus knew that his fist would be bruised the next day, but he would worry about that later. The spearhead immediately started to disperse in confusion at the suddenly attack from a 'flying' commoner.

"The commoners are on the offensive," muttered one of them in panic. "Why are we being attacked up in the sky?"

"Commoner's aren't supposed to be able to fly!" another one yelled as he swerved out of the way. "I didn't sign up for this! I'm only a rookie."

"Cut the chatter," a commanding voice shouted. "Disperse and regr—"

Amadeus swung his left hand and the Lighvel released a chain of lightning which snapped like a whip in mid-air, leaving a bright arc in its trail. It struck several battle-wizards, including the one who was commanding them. It interrupted him in mid-sentence and he fell to the ground in a heap. Landing back on the ground, Amadeus was surprised to see that the battle-wizards that he had struck with lightning were not getting back up. How did I just do that? He had just swatted the battle-wizards of White Harrow like flies.

A realization dawned upon him, bringing a grin to his lips. Commoners and Exiles normally use physical weapons and attacks against Nobles. These battle-wizards must have enchanted their robes to heavily protect against physical attacks but this leaves them vulnerable against the Lighvel's lightning attacks. All magic comes at a price.

I better take them out quickly before the other groups notice and recalibrate their robe enchantments. The group was in disarray from the loss of their leader, but they were starting to regroup. They hovered above Amadeus, contemplating their next move. I can't let them inform the other groups that someone among the commoners is able to wield lightning, Amadeus reasoned as he aggressively launched himself at them. The group of battle-wizards had not expected a commoner to launch himself right at them, and widened their eyes in shock, unprepared for what came next.

Extending his left hand in front of himself, he released a burst of forked lightning which struck the remaining battle-wizards of the group. Their bodies went limp, and a clutter of bodies and brooms dropped from the sky. Amadeus landed on the balls of his feet and surveyed the immediate area. The commoners crouching underneath the stakes were starting to gather themselves and replenish their shields. My job is done, thought Amadeus as he sprinted back to the main building where One was waiting with a concerned look on his face.

Author's Note: I'm not sure if my fight scenes are decent. How do you find them? If you like it or have thoughts about it, don't forget to vote and comment!