With midnight having passed hours ago, the moon would be well along its descent, or so Kathren assumed. She hadn't seen the dim light of the moon in hours. The roiling clouds gathering overhead had only thickened every time she looked up. They were to the point that catching a glimpse of the elusive celestial body through them this night was more unlikely than happening to glance up and having one of the many lightning bolts forking across the heavens appear and burn itself into your eyes.

Which was the main reason why Kathren hadn't looked up lately. She didn't feel like lifting the weights hanging on her eyelids to clear her eyes, adding to her struggles. Her entire body was stiff, and she knew she could fall asleep instantly if she lay down on the stone floor and closed her eyes.

Kathren's years of training had taught her that wearing her full armor and clutching the hilt of her sword with one hand wasn't an issue when it came to getting a few minutes of sleep. She knew that for a fact, as throughout this night, she did just that the two times she had been given the opportunity. The armor dug into her a bit, but she wasn't one to grumble about wearing her armor while sleeping.

There was no doubt an attack was coming. Kathren couldn't think of another reason the beastkin would stand in silent rows outside the walls and rapidly build their siege equipment within the legionary's line of sight.

Gotta admit, though, it's intimidating as fuck. And they were still there after all these hours. If the lighting flashes didn't make that clear, the large sunstones periodically infused with psy to light up the night and reveal the beastkin's efforts made that abundantly obvious.

Those manning the Western Fort's walls could not know, but Kathren and those around her could see the reality of their situation just fine. There was another army of equal size outside of the Northern Fort.

Distantly, battering its way through the rush of water surging below the Middle fort, she could make out a steady beat of drums. The pounding was so deep that she felt the sound more in her chest than her ears, and it resounded through the air for miles. The rhythmic sound continually chipped away at her morale with a mental one, adding to her physical exhaustion. It must be so much worse for those on the closer walls rather than miles away.

The legion needed someone manning the walls to raise a warning for the impending attack and on the off chase of some surprise, but it would be idiotic to exhaust everyone while having them stand in position. Every hour or so, everyone manning the walls would be rotated off the battlements for a rest.

She could see it happening now down on the walls of the Western Fort. Sadly, she wouldn't be relieved soon, as she had just come onto her shift. It might be mentally and physically exhausting to look out from over the Triad, watching the soon-to-be attacking armies… "But it's better than being those bastards," Kathren muttered to herself, throwing a glance down at the figures lying on the Western Bridge.

Feet to head, hundreds of men lay face up down the ramp's length, watching the gathering clouds as the cold stone seeped into their bodies. Every few minutes, she could see a wave run down the two rows lined up on the sides of the bridge as they kicked the shoulder of the individual below them.

They couldn't be allowed to sleep. When their battle came, it would be there within an instant. There would be no time to wake up and start fighting.

"Poor souls," Anooha said, agreeing with Kathren's statement and breaking the silence that had existed since they took their latest turn. There was a pause after her words, and a heavy weight pressed down on the air between them. "You did your duty, Kathren. Someone had to do it, and you were the best option at the time."

Kathren's back stiffened, and her hand twitched towards the knife on her waist, but Anooha only placed a light hand on her shoulder and patted before her hand fell back to her side, and she looked away. Kathren didn't lash out with violence like she might have.

Because Anooha's words weren't for her. At least not only for her. Kathren could tell most of what she was saying was to herself. The scout trainees had only known each other for a few weeks while they waited or traveled to start their training, but they had bonded.

Hard not to when they fought together and saved each other's lives. Even Instructor Green, who they had only known for days, had earned her respect. The man had saved Kathren's life when the birds were swooping down on them on the training fields with his commands, and then he stood next to her shoulder to shoulder as they fought to buy time.

But it wasn't the first time she had lost comrades in battle. It won't be the last, either. She had to admit, however, that this time was different. Or it felt that way.

The thing was that looking at her emotions wasn't… something she did. Maybe it was her upbringing, as turning emotions into anger and lashing out was a good way to survive on the streets. Nothing like a good offense to take the place of a defense. That and spotting the kawrashit that others were spouting before it bit you on the ass.

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And yet, her shoulders were stiff, and her left hand was cramping from being clenched into a tight fist for too long. I did my duty… Kathren hesitantly said to herself mentally. Like she was tasting every word as she thought them. It was hardly anything, but her hand relaxed a little. And… it was a little better.

Kathren grunted, "…Thanks…" eyeing Anooha from the corner of her eye without turning her head.

Anooha's mouth twitch upward, "Nopr—

"What's that…" Joxin said from Kathren's other side, cutting Anooha off. His tone immediately claimed her attention, as suspicious resignation had that effect in their situation. "…I think—" He never finished, as all of their minds were probed with a mental link mid-word. Without hesitation, they accepted the link, joining the thousands of others already in the union. Seconds passed, and thousands more joined until it abruptly stopped.

It was hardly a beat of the heart later when a voice spoke into their minds. "My legionaries, I — your legatus, Valee Panta — wanted to speak to you before the battle truly begins. I speak to you so you understand the stakes we are fighting for. Whether you want to admit it or not, this beastkin hoard is unlike anything we — the Olimpians — have faced. The walls of the Triad and its generations of defenders have held back hoards numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Our forefathers held strong against all that came against them, and their expectations fall onto our shoulders to bear. And yet, these beastkins are not the savage, mindless creatures we have heard of and fought all our lives. The supposed impossibility of our situation must be accepted as fact. One look past the walls will provide more than enough evidence of that."

The voice was calm and measured. Every transmitted word carried a weight of confidence and expectation behind it, cutting through and then suppressing the growing panic and fear Kathren could feel through the mental links encompassing the 15th Legion and the militia. After he spoke, she could even feel her own wavering resolve solidifying.

"This fight. Our coming battle and how we stand against this challenge will be remembered for generations. I believe we are the vanguard of a new war, one that will push our republic to its limit. But whatever the future holds, we will be the first to confront a force unlike anything we could have imagined before now. Regardless of the challenge, I have faith that we will overcome the odds. That we will win. We will uphold the honor of the Triad and throw back our foes. I ask you to fight for the children and civilians we stand in front of. To fight for your shield mate… And should you fall in the attempt, ensure the bastards choke on your corpse! Listen to your centurions and tribunes, and we will have victory! Long live the Republic!"

"Long live the Republic!" The collective shout of the legion ripped through the night, carrying our resolve to our enemies. It almost seemed to Kathren like the clouds above were pushed back slightly, and a ray of moonlight broke through the oppressive cloud cover for a moment.

At the exact moment, like the words of defiance shouted by the 15th Legion and Southtown militia were some signal, the beat of the beastkin's drums picked up. The siege towers and battering rams started rolling forward at a walking pace, but that was all. None of the gathered beastkin so much as moved a muscle to advance.

Why would they? Huddled within and behind the dozens of siege equipment were hundreds of beastkins, but they were sheltered from attacks by the object's mass. They didn't even appear to be pushing the contraptions forward, only walking along behind them. If there are any more people, they will be taking unnecessary losses while waiting for the large equipment to slowly approach the walls.

One minute piled onto the next, and before Kathren knew it, most of an hour had passed. It was time for her to be relieved from her position on the wall, as was apparent by someone tapping her in the middle of the back to trade places.

With a start, Kathren rolled her shoulders, trying to loosen them up. She didn't realize how stiff she had become, watching the siege towers' slow, implacable advance.

Nothing had even happened yet, as the towers weren't even halfway to the walls and still outside the effective attack range of the throwers.

"Prepared to rotate!" Cracked a voice behind her and in her mind. A few seconds later, the voice spoke again, "Rotate!"

At the voice's signal, Kathren stepped diagonally back to the right, trying to keep her borrowed shield in the gap of the corrugated wall as long as possible. At the same time, the middle-aged man taking her place stepped into her spot at a diagonal from the opposite direction, covering the area her shield left with his own as she pulled back.

"Hold!" Shouted the centurion again, waiting to see if anyone had not rotated properly and needed to be assisted. "Relieved century, march!"

Turning to her left, Kathren started to march off the walls quickly, only to be stopped as gasps of shock sounded all around her and filled the union of the Middle Fort. When she looked at the distant grassland, as that was the only place that could hold the other's attention, she didn't see what had sent a wave of shock rolling through the legion. Not at first, but then, it became impossible to miss.

It was like the Elemental of Earth decided to manifest before the walls of the Triad. The entire Western Fort seemed to hop into the air, like a mountain had somehow plopped to the ground next to it, shaking the land like the surface of a lake before settling.

She could hear the distant clattering of stone as buildings collapsed from the quaking, but it was outside the walls that had her attention. A massive ramp of earth spanning the entire length of the siege towers' approach had risen outside the walls, lifting the ground and filling the trenches meant to slow the beastkins' advance.

Everything seemed to freeze for a moment, and then the beat of the distant drums pounded out a rapid pattern three times before returning to their previous rhythm. At the signal, the siege equipment surged forward several times the speed of a moment before, and the gathered mass of beastkin let out a collective roar of challenge as they charged forward. From the first second, it was clear the creatures would cross the distance to the walls in a fraction of the time of their equipment.

"In the river!" Someone shouted a few dozen feet away from Kathren. "I see a boa—" his cry of alarm cut into a gurgle of death.

"March, you bastard spawns of whores!" Barked the centurion, snapping Kathren back into reality, "Clear my damn wall!"

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