The forest screamed before the soldiers ever did.
Vines snapped and curled into smoke as an army's vanguard forced its way through a rainforest, flames licking up their lengths. Towering trunks—so wide that three men could not have circled them—toppled one after another in wet, cracking bursts, sending flocks of unseen creatures shrieking into the canopy.
The army did not pause to watch. Hundreds of thousands pressed on in a single, massive tide, the grind of boots, bare feet, and claws rolling through the forest like a storm.
At the very front marched branded Runebound slaves. Their brands glowed faintly with each heavy breath.
