The dawn was deathly pale.
The Silver Vein River was no longer a river.
It had become a graveyard.
Four days of slaughter had piled corpses layer upon layer. Those at the bottom had frozen into the ice, becoming the roadbed; those in the middle had been trampled to pulp, red ice chips mingling with shredded flesh; those on top still steamed, the unlucky souls who had only just died.
Thud.
The dull, tremendous impact shook the riverbank.
Count Marius pulled his grease-stained Wyvern-hide coat tighter and tenderly patted the scales of the old companion beside him.
"Easy, Grave Treader. Easy."
This Six-Headed Serpent Lizard towered higher than the city walls. Marius called him Grave Treader because the old fellow was so heavy that every step seemed ready to stamp the earth into a grave.
His six heads circled in the air, white frost clinging to his dark green scales.
With every step forward, the ice beneath his feet cracked.
Two others followed behind: the ill-tempered Rotthroat and the cold-fearing Shattered Spine.
These three Magical Beasts had been with him for over a decade. They were old companions, as close as family.
"My lord, the ice... it doesn't seem strong enough." Listening to the sounds beneath his feet, the adjutant went pale.
"This damned weather." Marius spat out the grass root in his mouth, worry creasing his face. "No one knows how thick the ice is, but at least the three-headed ones crossed a few days ago without much trouble."
He looked up at the luxurious carriage on the eastern riverbank.
Major General Kaden stood beside it, waving his riding crop like a harbinger of death.
"No choice. Let's go." Marius sighed. "Let the Ascended and those heavy infantry go ahead and pave the way... if these old companions really