Titanion Realm: Soaring Bird City
The first warning was a tremor in the earth. It was followed by the discordant symphony of hooves and the heavy, rhythmic clatter of bells hanging from the necks of beast-blood mounts.
Standing atop the battlements, the sentries watched a massive dust cloud resolve into a caravan. It was colossal, a serpentine line of wagons and riders winding its way toward the gates of Soaring Bird City.
Even from this distance, the exhaustion was palpable. The mounts hung their heads, lathered in sweat; the wheels creaked under the strain of a forced march. But to the veteran soldiers on the wall, it wasn't just fatigue radiating from the column.
It was fear.
"Does that look like a trade mission to you?" one sentry muttered, shielding his eyes against the harsh sun. "They look like refugees running from a wildfire."
