The evening sky glowed red with reflected banners. The blizzard had just stopped, but shards of ice still swirled through the air.
The heavy beat of iron-shod hooves came from the end of the mountain road, steady and rhythmic, like distant thunder.
Louis's convoy slowly climbed the slope.
The vanguard knights rode in formation, scarlet cloaks draped over their shoulders. Together with the supply wagons and heavily armored guards behind them, they formed a torrent of steel that filled the mountain pass.
Banners bearing the twin emblems of the Red Tide and the Harvey Family hung all around the city gate, symbolizing the union of nobility and the new order.
The bell tower had already begun to ring, and all of Silver Ridge Hill was alive with excitement.
Joern had ordered a welcoming ceremony prepared, but it proved entirely unnecessary. The people had already gathered of their own accord.
Miners put down their hammers, children sang as they held up hand-painted Red Tide Flags, women swept the streets and scattered furnace ash to prevent slipping, and the elderly brought out homemade wine.
The entire city had been buzzing since morning. No one had forced them.
Why were they so excited?
Because for two years, they had listened to bards sing the "Song of the Red Tide" day after day.
At night, they gathered around campfires to watch theater troupes perform "Dawnlight Harbor" and "Light of the Snowfield," watching masked actors portray how that young lord had saved the Northern Frontier.
The children found it entertaining, but the adults listened with tears in their eyes. They knew that without Louis, there would be no Silver Ridge Hill as it was today, nor the stable lives they now enjoyed.
Torches lit up along both sides of the streets, illuminating the enormous iron-bound