He strode out of the castle together with his knights, the last remaining members of his family and the one Lord who had not yet succumbed to the Slumber, Zahir Park. He was faced by proud faces, both old and young. He could see where battles of old had put their marks on the men's faces by the scars they had developed. If this was the end, he would gladly die in their company.
"Men. The first siege of Arescod was your greatest triumph. All the honour with that lies in your hands, not mine. Outside these walls lies the same enemy who has regrouped, and is ready for more." He saw the men take this news with pride, as but a pickling of them consisted of new men. Almost every man had seen what blood tasted like.
"I won't lie. They outnumber us almost 10 to 1. Even my kind fear those odds. Yet I have confidence that whoever shall be standing after today, they will have proven one thing: Ascalon used to rule here, and it will have caused havoc to those that wish to extinguish it." He was silent for a while, letting the finality push through.
"Ever if we shall all fall in this battle, let it be known that Ascalon's final fire was here and now." He nodded to his knights, each given a section on the walls to command.
"To the walls then, and may the Trinity give us glory: both in life and in death."