By the time the last of the dead had been carried from the battlefield, night had fallen. More people had died in that single battle than in all the earlier battles of the war combined.
Some of the wounded asked to be carried outside so they could sing with their comrades. Others were too badly hurt to leave their tents.
When the knights of Norvaegard began the song for those who would take their place in Varkun's hall, the healers drew back the tent flaps so the men inside could hear.
Lucen stood with Thornefang. Beside him, Greg drew breath to sing. From the tents behind them came a few voices that could barely manage the words, but they joined in all the same.
When the last blade falls, and the banners fold,
And hearts lie still, their courage told,
He waits beyond where thunder drums,
Varkun calls, the honored come.
Velmira guides our souls to the warrior's hall,
Varkun's army of the brave and true.
He gathers those whose steel has sung,
