After days of frenzied skirmishing, war finally descended on Estalis like a black tide. General Odin held the line at Zaraga with grim determination, while Prince Vaskar and another seasoned Estalian general rode out to shield Lavista.
But in Azul, the fighting went from bad to worse: during the first three days, the Zurans' cannons had shredded the fleet the Estalians had so feverishly built. Galleys that had been built only weeks before were riddled and broken; merchant and naval ships alike foundered under the enemy's iron fire. Hundreds of lives had been swallowed by the sea.
Lara watched the maps and casualty lists with a hard, unblinking stare. She furrowed her brow until the lines between the coast and the waves blurred. The disparity between Zura's naval power and Estalis's was huge. There was no point in comparing. It was like heaven and earth. Every loss sharpened her resolve until a dangerous, precise, audacious idea took root.
