570 w One hour. That was all it would take. Umi gulped, desperately looking at the timer. This was alright, she’d be fine. One hour. One hour of patiently waiting for the ritual to be done, one hour of calm, still silence. One hour. But then again, it was one hour in enemy territory. The elf clenched her teeth tighter, and sat unmoving under the moonlight. The interspecies war had taken a toll on all of them, with the recent battle being especially damaging. Umi was completely depleted of magic which was a dangerous state to be in. Without her magic, her weapons wouldn't work, meaning she’d be defenceless against the enemy. Tapping her scythe against the snow, the elf waited, biding her time. She had come too early, and leaving now meant immediate death as the patrols had started. Forty-eight minutes left. Why oh why couldn't the hotspot be in a different place? Why was she this unlucky? Grimacing, Umi rustled around to keep her awake. The steel armour made a loud CLANG! And she jumped. Someone must've heard that. Abandoning all thoughts about the ritual, Umi flattened herself to the ground. She knew there were patrols nearby but she had been extra careful; until now. For a few heart jerking moments, there was silence. Just the distant murmur or soldiers patrolling the area. Breathing deeply, Umi clenched her scythe tighter, before proceeding to move to a better position. Only thirty-three minutes left now. Then she heard a rustling noise, and the grass beside her moved suddenly. “Oh shit!” she breathed out in horror, before pacing backwards as slowly as she could. However, her efforts were futile, as the rustling noise became louder. Right. Time to scram. The ritual could wait, her life could not. Abandoning all attempts at silence and stealth, Umi turned and high-tailed it as fast as she could. Distantly, she heard guards yelling to investigate the noise, but Umi was fast. “Oi, isn't that a Mage Elf?” she heard someone yell as she ducked by a low-hanging bush. “Oh shit no- I can't be caught, I haven't given over the Book yet!” Umi muttered as she picked up the pace. WHAM! An arrow narrowly missed her, and she yelped. “Gods, let me out alive!” she cried out, willing herself to move faster. Her magic would be of no use, and her scythe was powerless against arrows. The yells became louder and louder, but the boundary was there- right there! One more minute,” she huffed, dodging another arrow. Something skimmed her right ear, clanging with the metal piece to create an unpleasant ringing noise. The boundary. Only fifty feet away. Then would she be able to hide, and get help. Forty feet, thirty feet… It grew closer and closer, and just when Umi thought she had it, a powerful force jolted her from behind. “Agh-!” her scream was cut off mid-sentence as a spear thudded into her back, causing her to fall. Shit, not now! Whimpering, Umi tried to stand up, but her knees wobbled and gave out. ‘Ah,’ she dimly thought.’ Must be the magical exhaustion.’ A Techeria guard scrambled up beside her, and immediately went for her limbs. “Caught you,” they crowed. Umi sent him a glare, quivering for life as she was bound. “Filthy Mage, trying to use up all the power eh? You’ll see what we do with you!” Oh. The hour was up.