Kane stood in the shadow of a tower doorway, watching as Ulrek rode to speak with his Dwarven gunners. The Vampire was armoured head to toe in silver, something worth noting when it came time to destroy him. It seemed the wily old Vampire had managed to conquer at least one of his races greatest weaknesses. No matter, they had more. 

A salvo crashed out from the hilltop and Kane watched the heavy stone balls hurtle through the air before slamming into the city. Two struck the walls but a third tore through a spire high above the citadel and Kane watched with interest as it collapsed, crashing into the main castle beneath. He felt a moment of anxiety as he thought it might finish off Edward but when the Vampires essence did not fade he smiled to himself. He would kill both Ulrek and Edward. His father had willed it.  

There was a short discussion between Ulrek the Dwarven commander that was clearly resolved in the Dwarves favour as the bearded gunner began to yell at his gunners. The cannons in the midst of loading were quickly unloaded and the guns levered back onto their wagons before oxen were harnessed to them. Scouts rode toward the walls and the hills were suddenly alive with Ulreks forces as they swarmed toward the wall. It was time for Kane to go.

He retreated into the city, sheltering with some of his people beneath a brewery. It should have been impossible to hide thousands of people within any city but God moved in mysterious ways and the prayers of Kanes Chosen did not go ignored. Ulreks men were blind to the presence of the survivors and rode through the streets seeing only what they expected to see, empty streets and abandoned homes.

Even Ulrek himself, determined to crush his brother, rode without seeing the true state of the city. The damage was extensive and bodies lay everywhere, but not nearly enough to mark the demise of the entire populace. 

"Father. I am your sword. Your shield. I serve you and your glory. Fill me with your fury. Let me be your weapon." Kane was praying out loud and the citizens who sheltered with him halted their own prayers to listen. 

"Send me fire. Bestow upon the faithful your strength and courage."

In the distance, beyond the hills from which Ulrek had come, the sky began to flicker and crackle with a unearthly energy. The black clouds that usually obscured the Empire Under Shadow began to shred as a warm wind whipped across the land. The flags on the citadel began to snap violently, several tearing from their mountings and vanishing into the moor beyond. Dust and debris swirled in small tornados and clouds throughout the city, the small stones making a gentle rattling sound against the armour of Ulreks men as they rode through the streets. Birds burst from a thousand hiding places and streamed skyward, circling briefly before streaming away toward the west, their wingbeats taking them toward the brightening day. 

The horizon appeared to burst into flame as sunlight tore through the cloud and illuminated the city in all of its shattered glory. The darkness, that had so long clung to the stones of the buildings and given the keep its sense of menace, was banished into memory. The shredding cloud rose in a great swirl, turning like a huge wheel above the city even as the red lightening snapped and roared above. The reddish sky turned the cloud the colour of fire until it appeared as though the entire city was crouched beneath a whirl pool of flame. 

Kane could feel the fear now, the fear that radiated out from the castle and from the Barons forces. He had made his way above ground and watched from a high window as an army marched beneath him. He could see hasty glances thrown skyward, the pale faces tinged red by sky above. There was so much fear. He would release them of their fear.

The cannons were hurried into place, the Dwarves arguing among themselves as to the wisdom of remaining in the city but the lust for gold proved greater than their common sense. The narrow streets only allowed two guns to be sighted but it did not take long for those weapons to reduce the citadels main gate to ruin, toppling its proud towers into the moat and providing a bridge of broken stone straight into the heart of Edwards keep.

Kane could no longer see Ulrek but he felt the Vampires presence. The reckoning was almost upon them.