The Knight Captain spread a worn map across the supply cart, then pinned its corners beneath a canteen and his whetstone.
Thirty knights gathered around the cart while horses shifted behind them, filling the cold morning with bit chains and impatient breath.
Hajin took the rear of the semicircle with Juna beside his right shoulder, where her silver eyes tracked every marked route.
Loccy tested the fingers of her new gloves behind him, while Vella studied the armored formation with open interest.
"The Gate appeared just under two weeks ago," the Captain said as one finger touched a mark northeast of the capital. "Outpost scouts found the first visible tear shortly after dawn."
He traced the maintenance road leaving the eastern wall, then stopped several miles beyond the final farm.
"The manifestation looked ordinary," he continued while nearby officers leaned closer. "Nothing separated it from dozens our kingdom records every year."
