The soldiers on the secondary line saw the light before they saw the man.
It came from the north — from the direction of Ashenveil, from the kingdom's heartland, from the place where the temples were tallest and the Sovereign's presence was strongest. A column of amber fire that descended from a sky that had been cloudless a moment before, striking the earth three hundred meters behind the secondary defensive positions with an impact that was not destructive but foundational — a force that built rather than broke, that arrived as announcement rather than weapon.
The column burned for seven seconds. Within it, something formed.
