Chapter Five: The Fourth Army at Frostbridge

Soldiers were already drawing arrows over insults. A single loose hand could begin a war. “Pay it.” Fire fell. He remembered that his mother had held him, the calluses on her palm, the melody. But her embrace became a fact without comfort: the human body was approximately thirty-seven degrees. The future opened. Before sunset, a Red bugler killed a Frost scout. Sif ordered a volley. Rowan ignited the dragoncrystal, dropping both armies into the chasm. Amid the chaos, gray-cloaked troops emerged from an abandoned mine and stole the banners and command seals. The next day, two reports reached the capital. The Red faction said the Frost Legion attacked first. The Frost faction said the Red Legion destroyed the bridge.