VARUL
The council chamber smelled of wet wool, smoke, and stale blood. Not because the dead lay within its walls, but because the men who had carried them home did.
The lords, elders, and commanders were already seated when I walked in. They rose from their seats around the long oak table. Water dripped steadily from travel cloaks onto the stone floor, forming dark pools beneath worn boots.
I took my place at the head of the table, and they followed suit.
“Report.”
Omri stepped forward. He unrolled a stained map across the table, anchoring its corners with iron weights. Silence settled over the chamber.
“When we got to Linewatch there was nothing left to save. The barricades were destroyed. The watchtowers collapsed inward. Horses were… torn apart.” He swallowed. “Eight dead men and
