At the first light of dawn, the warriors began to pray.
Anglu meticulously brushed the back of the Red Mane, softly reciting the curses passed down by the Dusans generation after generation:
" ... At the top of the iron column stands an iron man leaning on an iron staff, commanding ferrous, steel knives, and sharp swords of all shapes, 'Go back to your mother, the earth, stay away from the Lord's servants and my companions, stay away from my Warhorse. Let the arrow shafts return to the forest, feathers to the birds, and fish bones to the fish's body'..."
Beside the campfire, the militiamen who had suffered all night gathered around the military chaplain to partake in the final sacrament.
The chanting echoed in the thin purple mist, drifting and lingering while a hint of blue light shone on people's faces.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Iron Peak, along the banks of the Big Horn River.
The dam, now weakened by the removal of some stakes, was on the verge of collapse.
