I leaned back in my chair, satisfied, the mostly empty platter on the table now held the barest scraps of ham. My lids felt heavy, and I realised this was one of the first times I felt fully fed and rested since leaving Avandun. Helezar had told us in his broken, stilted way before returning to his duties that we were now meeting the Arcuzane in the morning, so in truth, I could have slept now until meeting them, but I wasn’t ready to relinquish this feeling yet. I stretched out my arms above my head and let out a large yawn, with the others following suit not long after. Yawns, like the Shivers, Coughs and Sneezes, were contagious. Eggs watched our table. Despite having been given several hams of their own, they eyed the platter with wide eyes and a flattened frill, their forked tongue flicking out to taste the air.

  “You’ve had yours already, and ours is done; settle down now,” I said, trying to be firm, but my smile escaped into my voice.

  Eggs huffed and made a strange, grumbling, groaning sound before lying on the floor, curling their tail over their face. They were sulking, but were learning that cuteness alone wouldn’t cut it.

  “Oh, you’ve made Eggs grumpy now, Tullen.” Sila laughed as he shoved the last piece of his meal into his mouth. He still winced when he chuckled, but his injuries were far less pronounced than when we’d arrived. The Doctor knew her trade well, it seemed.

  “Well, they’re only gonna learn one way, and that’s me being consistent with them,” I said. Ulther had taught me that, when he’d bored me to death telling me about training a dog he’d owned as a lad on one of the many days we’d spent guarding that blasted wall together. I didn’t know what the old sod saw in animals as companions. Not until I had one of my own. It made me appreciate parts of him I’d not even considered before. I guess in a way, that helped him stay alive. Not in the way the bloody Fugue or Helezar did, but the proper way.

  “You say that, Tull, but it didn’t stop these two getting any crazier as kids.” Gertha laughed and grabbed at Sayo’s ribs, causing her to squeal and mock ward off Gertha with a stick of bread.

  “That’s hard when your Hold Mother is just as mad!” Sayo cackled before they both sat back in their chairs, giggling. It was nice to see them relax.

  Fighting the fatigue, I stood up and walked over to the large window, which still inspired me with awe, which was strange for such a comparatively normal thing to experience. But what amazed me about it was the craftsmanship. There were no breezes coming in from the edges, the glass was warm to the touch, even at this height, and no sound, not even a whisper, escaped into the room from outside. Even if I weren’t in a tower of those touched by magic, I’d have known it had magical properties. That or the craftsperson was one of the lower Gods, like the Forge.

  The sun was low, making the entire land look golden. If you didn’t know about the dangers of the forest, you’d be taken in by its beauty. In the far distance, I saw a winged Dragon rising in the skies, although it was far enough not to cause me concern. It was flying from east to west and would probably end up attacking Orl or one of the smaller towns like Bridgetoll or Sentry.

  I looked east to where the Dragon might have come from, in the direction of Cemfyllen, the first kingdom in centuries to declare war. I wondered what might have been going through King Stallivindium’s head when he chose to declare war against a kingdom on the other side of the forests. Although having met King Perek myself, I had sympathy for Stallivindium, even if I thought that war itself was stupid and just a way to eventually feed bastard Lizards.

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  The forest east of the Arcuzane’s lake was considerably thinner than the rest. An ancient, but still functional road snaked its way through the trees and I could make it out into the far distance, it would eventually split, it’s south eastern side reaching the crossing to Narbridge, one of the entry ways to the lands of Nargaz. The North would take you directly to Cemfyllen itself.

  I rested my hand against the glass, which gave me a closer look at those far lands. I’d never travelled that far in my life, and I couldn’t deny a childlike curiosity within me.

  The glass rippled, and I jumped back, startled as chairs scraped across the floor. I turned back to the others, who were now all standing.

  “What was that?” Sila walked to the glass, peering closely at it.

  “I just touched it, and it did that,” I said, holding my hands up.

  “It’s…different outside now,” Sayo said slowly, her voice sounding distracted.

  “Tullen, what were you thinking?” Gertha asked.

  “Leave off, how was I supposed to know it’d change?” I grumbled.

  “No, I mean, what were you thinking when you touched it?” Gertha sighed.

  “Oh…I just wanted to have a closer look at the lands in the distance.” I said.

  “I see a large road flanked by mountains on one side and trees on the other. It’s like I’m a bird.” Sayo said.

  “Bloody Godbody, it’s Glance Glass.” Gertha gasped.

  “What’s that when it’s at home?” I asked.

  “Quick, look out before it changes back.” She ushered me back toward the glass, Sila, and joined the rest of us.

  Sayo was right; I saw a road just as she described, lit by the golden sun, but an engorged, dark serpent wound its way along it, spilling out from the sides, trampling everything in its wake. It rippled unaturally, moving at odds with itself in places, and I saw swaying strips of orange, red and yellow at regular intervals along its body.

  I tapped the glass, and it rippled once more, giving us a closer look.

  It was no serpent, but instead, hundreds, no…thousands of soldiers. Their armour was dark, dulled to remove any trace of glint and the strips of colour I saw were Cemfyllen’s banners. Now that the Glint Glass had given us a closer look, I could also see rows of horses on either side of the marching soldiers. Their riders were similarly clad, holding what looked like long spears that opened into a cup covering the hand; tall shields hung at the sides of the animals, which trotted. The horses themselves pulled large wooden structures behind them; some looked like large crossbows, some were strange levers with large braziers at the end, and the largest were large moving towers, easily as tall as Avandun's walls. Had they somehow made portable fortresses?

  I had never seen horses so close to the forest act so calm; it was unnatural, and I couldn’t take my eyes from the sight.

  “By the Godbody,” Sila whispered.

  “I’ve never seen so many fighters.” Sayo’s voice wavered.

  Gertha turned to me, snapping me out of my reverie as she placed a gentle hand on my arm, “Tull?”

  It dawned on me that the world was about to experience something that had only been spoken about in hushed voices, tomes and drunken rumour.

  “Cemfyllen marches for war,” I said.

  My heart pounded, and my palms itched.

  This was what I’d been trained for. The times when humans finally turned on one another, but not at this scale, not with this...madness.

  I took a deep breath in and tried to ignore the chuckling I heard in the back of my mind.