Chapter 96 - The Ash of Victory

My return to consciousness was slow, a gradual ascent from a deep, dark well of oblivion. I was aware of hushed voices that felt miles away, the gentle crackle of a nearby fire, and the rhythmic, hollow drip of water somewhere in the darkness. When I finally managed to pry my heavy eyelids open, the world was a blurry, unfocused smear of shadow and flickering orange light. I was no longer in the scorched, bloody clearing. I was in a small, dry cave, a makeshift camp that my team must have established in the aftermath of the battle. A warm, heavy woolen blanket was draped over me, and the searing, white-hot pain in my shoulder had been reduced to a dull, throbbing ache that pulsed in time with my own weak heartbeat.