Chapter 40: The Clash Before Dawn
The sun had barely risen when a scout burst through the gates of Greystone, panting heavily, his armor scratched by brambles and his boots caked in mud.
"Enemy in sight! They’ve reached the border!"
Lucas was already in the central command tent, surrounded by his lieutenants and his closest companions. A wave of silence swept through the room. The storm had arrived.
"How many?" Lucas asked.
"Two thousand, at least. Beast riders. Siege units. They’ve set up camp ten miles from our southern border. Their banners... it’s the chained lion. Lord Agram himself leads them."
Lucas’s expression hardened. The Warhound of Stonewatch had come, and with him, the full wrath of Prince Varion.
He turned to his commanders. "Reynard, you’re in charge of the city’s defenses while I meet them. Kaela, Elira—you’re with me."
Reynard saluted. "Yes, my lord. I’ll have the ballistas and flame towers ready."
Lucas nodded. "Don’t engage until my signal. We might buy ourselves some time."
The three rode out, escorted by a small vanguard. The open field before the Greystone border was vast and quiet, the tension hanging like a noose. At the center, a delegation waited under the black-and-silver banner of Stonewatch.
Lord Agram stood tall and grim at the front, flanked by his three generals—Darion Bragg with his fresh scars and eagle helm, General Corven towering with a fur cloak and his massive beast hound beside him, and General Nera Valen, the Silver Fang, perched like a razor-honed blade, her silver hair pulled into a tight braid.