In an abandoned monastery turned forward operations post outside Aragon,
Night began to fall, and the sun was soon replaced by the moon.
The silence was almost sacred.
The old stones of the monastery still held the chill of vanished prayers, but now they harbored whispers of war.
The nave had become a map room; the altar replaced with a field table littered with wax-sealed envelopes, grease pencil diagrams, and hand-marked prints tkaen from aerial photography.
A long-wave radio hummed faintly in the background, the signal clean; encrypted relay from Zaragoza.
Three men stood at attention as the message was read aloud, low and clinical:
"Directive... Immediate Redeployment:
Priority Alpha.
Werwolf elements to withdraw from northern Pyrenees corridor.
Reposition across Teruel and surrounding provinces.
Civilian interaction protocol: Humanitarian Cover.
Engagement rules unchanged.
Codename: Operation Balmung begins."
