Kael opened his eyes to the sound of thousands of voices.
It wasn't a gradual waking up, like the slow chirp of birds in the morning. It was an assault. A physical wall of noise slammed into his eardrums with the force of a concussive blast.
One second, he was staring at a peaceful golden pond in a void of infinite silence. The next, he was drowning in a sea of bodies.
"We made it!"
"I can't believe I'm alive!"
"Move over, you're stepping on my foot!"
Kael blinked rapidly, his brain struggling to reboot as his senses were overloaded.
The smell of ozone, unwashed bodies, and lingering adrenaline filled his nose.
He looked around wildly.
He was standing in the center of a colossal auditorium.
The ceiling was high, vaulted with dark stone ribs that arched like the skeleton of a leviathan.
Rows upon rows of tiered seating stretched up toward the shadows, but nobody was sitting.
