Chapter 47

The narration frames a contested family history: the dom Braga household insists Sixt-General Migaéd commanded brilliantly at the Horn of Haros, denying rumors that Nouva Livias Monçera took charge or that Migaéd withdrew with the Scarlet Company before contact. Despite this, the account proceeds to the battle itself.

Manreach conceals forces off the bridge and springs an ambush as goblins begin to cross. Heavy knights smash the trapped vanguard, then hold the span while Coldfoot guards execute flanking rushes, spearing crossbowmen and retreating along the margins. Early success raises hope, but prolonged crossbow volleys grind down shields and armor, forcing archers to stand down and knights to rotate through punishing charges through the night.

Near dawn, goblin ballistas arrive. Their first salvos tear into the defense and compel a pullback on the bridge. Nouva orders the corvid lanza to neutralize the engines. Under birdscream, knights and corvids drive across, briefly overwhelming one ballista and clearing space, but the melee on the far side becomes chaotic and brutal.

Ghalls enter on wider ground, aided by goblins who resist birdscream through sheer numbers and will. Corvids are hooked from the air; knights and dams are crushed. Moth Knights approach to exploit the collapse. Amid the carnage, Nouva is struck in the head and falls asking, “Is it bad?” Inocenta is last seen fighting; Alisenne dies with her throat cut. The First Lanza is effectively destroyed holding the line.

As Galva battles near the ravine, a ballista bolt veers at the last instant—perhaps by chance, perhaps by the “Mouth of the Storm”—and impales a pursuing ghall instead. The falling monster drags Galva over the edge; she slams off rock and plunges into the Coufre’s cold, rushing water, injured and sinking as the moonlit battle rages above.