The Baru took a deep breath and stepped into the glare. "The city falls tonight!" he bellowed, with absolute and terrifying conviction. "Ashur commands it! Their old men shall give up their heads, their young men’s severed limbs shall be cast into fire! The women shall be taken away, the granaries thrown open to our soldiery! The skins of their priesthood shall cover the battlements; the holy places shall be sacked, and their mysteries exposed to the sun! The fields shall be sown with salt, for the rage of Ashur falls heavily upon this place ..." A crowd of excited soldiery gathered rapidly around him. He turned toward the city wall, raising one clawlike hand in malediction.