Night hid without sound, rain passed without trace, and the dark clouds at the edge of the sky remained. This rainfall was only the prelude to the overture; the true downpour was drifting in from the west, already on its way.
By the time Xolotl in the White Snake City camp received the more detailed report, it was already the third day after the city's fall. He sat cross-legged in the great tent, carefully reading the figures in the report, and then his expression changed.
"White Snake City originally had fifteen thousand people. After being besieged for more than a year, by the time the city-state fell, two thousand two hundred were captured. Of these, two hundred were captive descendants of the Cloud Snake God, and two thousand were surrendered White Snake Warriors. No civilians survived. Of the remaining thirteen thousand, some died of disease, some in battle, some by people eating one another... A mass grave was found at a small temple in the city, estimated to hold the bones of eight thousand people..."
Xolotl lowered his eyes, his fingers tapping lightly on the desk as if playing something. A moment later, he sighed and picked up his pen to write down a royal order.
"Royal Order: Tear down the large and small temples in White Snake City and build a new temple to the Main God. Dispatch the army's priests to hold funerals to guide the souls onward, as well as rites to pray to the god for blessing."
"Royal Order: Dispatch envoys to report the victory to the Alliance. White Snake Hill City has already fallen at the beginning of the seventh month. Cloud Snake Mountain City will still require some time... Dispatch two hundred warriors to escort the two hundred captured descendants of the Cloud Snake