KAEL POINT OF VIEW.

War is never loud at first.

It begins in silence, sharp, deliberate silence, when the night itself seems to hold its breath. When every step is placed with care, when steel is kept from clinking, when even thought feels too noisy. It is the kind of silence born when men have already decided that mercy has run its course and restraint has become a weakness.

I stood at the edge of the ridge overlooking Red Hollow and let that silence settle into my bones.

Below us, the pack ...