Neva Starling and the kingdom's generals watched in dread as the giant trolls advanced. Thousands of goblins and smaller trolls rushed ahead of them, but beside those colossal figures they seemed almost insignificant. The giants' guttural war cries reverberated across the battlefield, filling the air with a suffocating sense of doom.
Behind the advancing horde, the Troll King sat upon a lavish throne borne on the shoulders of hundreds of trolls. Raised above the battlefield, he was visible from every direction. He wore no crown, yet the absence only made his massive, grotesque head appear more monstrous. His thick arms rested lazily on the throne's armrests. His enormous body was nearly naked save for his waist, and brightly coloured stones dangled from his ears and nose, giving him a menacing, almost ceremonial air. He watched the carnage with cold disinterest, as if the slaughter before him were nothing more than a dull spectacle. The lives lost meant nothing.
