Dawn broke over the Threian frontier with the pale, uncertain light that characterized the border country's mornings, the sun climbing through a haze of ground mist that softened the hard edges of the landscape and turned Valdenmarch's stone walls into a gray silhouette against the brightening sky.
The First Horde was already moving.
Sakh'arran's operational plan unfolded with the methodical precision that the commander brought to every tactical problem. The 3rd through 6th Warbands, two thousand warriors under War Chief Trot'thar, advanced to screening positions south and east of Valdenmarch, establishing a cordon that was too dispersed to assault the fortress but dense enough to deter any sortie that Gresham might attempt. Their shield walls faced the fortress, Roarer crews positioned behind the formations, the defensive posture communicating a clear message: we are not attacking you, but if you come out, we are ready.
