The fortress gates thundered under the impact of Varik’s war engines. The sound echoed across the valley like the beating of a colossal drum, rattling dust from the stone walls and testing the resolve of everyone within.
Ren stood atop the battlements, his cloak whipping in the cold night wind, eyes fixed on the shadowed horizon where firelight painted jagged silhouettes of the enemy. Thousands of armored soldiers filled the plains, torches held aloft like a sea of stars. Siege towers creaked forward, monstrous shapes dragged by chains and oxen, while catapults hurled burning boulders that crashed into the walls with bone-shaking force.
The defenders behind Ren shifted nervously, some clutching weapons so tightly their knuckles turned white. They weren’t career soldiers; most were miners
