*** Snowkeep – Enemy Camp Outskirts ***
The blizzard howled like a beast unchained.
The Holy Allied Territories' camp was in chaos, half-buried siege engines groaned under the snow, soldiers screaming as their ropes snapped from the cold. The air reeked of smoke, burning oil, and blood.
Then came the thunder of hooves.
"Cavalry! From the treeline!"
A soldier's voice cracked in terror as the dark shapes burst through the veil of snow, riders in fur and leather, charging low, swift, and silent until the last second.
By the time the heavy cataphracts moved to intercept, the lighter cavalry had already slipped past.
"Protect the trebuchets! Don't let them—"
The rest of his command vanished under the roar of an explosion as one of the trebuchets burst into flame, ignited by a flask of oil and a spark of steel.
"Keep moving! Burn the engines!"
"Don't stay to fight! Move, damn you!"
