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* * * By the time morning came, most of the work was done. Empress Celene rode with her forces on her shining white mare, resplendent in royal plate that glittered even in the weak, smoky light of dawn. She ought to be tired, she knew. But even though she was up late this day instead of early, the dawn worked its magic upon her mind, keeping her moving. The elves had heard the crash of armor as the army approached and had tried to form a spear wall, using sticks with knives and wooden shields made from tavern tables. The Orlesian army, marching four abreast in the narrow and winding streets of Halamshiral’s slums, had cut them down without even pausing. When they reached an open square, the horsemen had swept out and around in clean flanking waves, butchering the elves as they tried to flee and terrorizing any who thought to gather themselves for a counterattack. After that, Celene’s greatest concern was troops losing discipline and turning the night’s work into a celebration. The elves lived in these slums, Celene knew, and with nowhere to turn, they would be vicious if given the chance. She rode along, protected but present, and snapped orders to the men when they seemed inclined to rush into a building for easy looting. They marched through the elven slums with military precision, and when they rode back out, the section claimed by the rebels was burning behind them. The lords and ladies of Halamshiral were assembled in the upper market square outside the gates that separated the nobles from the peasants, waiting in silence as Celene and her forces returned. The nobles stood in front, with their bodyguards. The merchants and tradesmen and servants stood off to the side, holding buckets. It was a wise precaution. The heat behind Celene was a blistering curtain that tried to steal the air from her lungs, and sparks and embers drifted freely over the stone walls that kept the nobles safe. Those stone walls, Celene thought, likely dated back to when the elves first built Halamshiral. She wondered if they ever imagined that one day,