CHAPTER 39:
Dawn broke pale and clear, and before the sun had cleared the eastern peaks, the first distant sound reached us—the low, steady rumble of many horses, the creak of wagons, and the faint, rhythmic chant of voices carried on the wind. The whole camp rose at once, pouring toward the valley mouth, no panic, only breathless anticipation. I stood at the front with Kael, Cole at my right hand, Knox and the others flanking us, as the first banners appeared over the rise—deep blue and silver, marked with the stag of the Western Clans, fluttering bright against the morning sky.
They came in a great, winding column that stretched as far as the eye could see—five hundred warriors on horseback, then families in covered wagons, then pack animals loaded high with grain, dried meat, furs, an
