The Holy Banner's Echo, Whispers of the Dead

At the edge of the death pit over the sixth grayblood vein bed, the Condemnation Warhammer had just been withdrawn.

This had once been a battlefield forty years ago, sealed for decades by holy silver, sacred ash, and the lingering fire of source furnaces. Now the ground had collapsed again, forming an enormous ring-shaped pit.

The Purification Battalion scattered holy silver powder along the pit walls. When it reached the bottom, the residual gray blood membranes shuddered and spat tiny sparks. They then turned over the flesh membranes with long iron hooks, pulled out the vein threads beneath them, and poured sacred ash over them.

Occasionally, wisps of gray-red smoke rose from the depths and crawled up the pit walls, only to be driven back by the holy silver powder.

Several Mobile Source Furnaces stood beside the pit, their fires banked low, with only platinum-colored embers shining through the seams in their iron shells. Two furnaces had already gone out and were covered with black cloth, ready to be hauled back to Tear Knight City for repairs.

The knights sat down nearby to rest. Gray blood had corroded black spots into their holy silver armor plates, and blood from their old mounts still clung to their greaves.

Their squires helped remove their armor. The linings had already stuck to their wounds.

The Condemnation Holy Knight Battalion was even quieter. The twelve hammer bearers had already been replaced once; of the original group, only three could still stand.

Even the newly assigned knights had collapsed shoulder plates, chains biting into their flesh, and fingers still curled in the shape of a hammer grip.

Clerics knelt behind them, using sacred arts to mend their shattered shoulder bones.

Six of the eighteen grayblood vein beds had been uprooted. By that measure, the Expeditionary