My fingers tightened around the hilt of my sword, a cold comfort against the surge of adrenaline coursing through my veins. "Hold," I instructed, my tone betraying none of the maelstrom within. The soldiers before me were a reflection of my own conviction, a bastion against the coming onslaught.
"Remember what we are fighting for," I said, allowing the briefest glance skyward where the stars began their nightly vigil. "For our freedom, for our future... For the empire we will build from the ashes of this conflict."
The space between us evaporated into nothingness, and there they stood—an arm's reach from destiny. The moment stretched, taut as a bowstring, and in that silence before the clash, I knew that whatever came to pass would forever alter the tapestry of our lives.
