The valley was quiet in the uneasy way that only battlefields could be quiet. Smoke drifted slowly through the early morning air, rising from the broken remains of siege towers and shattered gates that had once guarded the eastern fortress of the empire. The wind carried the bitter scent of ash across the fields, brushing against abandoned armor and torn banners that lay scattered among the fallen. Ravens circled above the valley, their dark wings cutting across the pale sky as if they had already accepted that the war here was finished, even though the greater war across the empire was far from over.
The valley was quiet in the uneasy way that only battlefields could be quiet. Smoke drifted slowly through the early morning air, rising from the broken remains of siege towers and shattered gates that had once guarded the eastern fortress of the empire. The wind carried the bitter scent of ash a...