LORD SILVAIN MORDAUNT The final pieces are in position. Seven days of preparation culminating in tomorrow's dawn assault. I stand in my war room. Maps covering the walls. Troop positions marked. Attack vectors planned. Every detail accounted for. "Status report," I say to my assembled commanders. The vampire hunter captain speaks first. "Sixty hunters positioned around Rookeries perimeter. Silver weapons, UV armaments, full tactical gear. Ready to deploy on your order." "Hermetic Order?" I look at Master Thorne. "Ten mages in position. Containment wards are active. Nothing supernatural enters or exits the Rookeries without our knowledge. When you give the signal, we collapse the wards inward. Force them into the center where your hunters wait." "Dragon mercenaries?" Lord Vermithrax

