The waves of creatures rushing toward the Wall ended abruptly during the night. After weeks of constant assault, the sudden peace was even more disturbing than the constant battle. For a precious handful of hours, there was silence and serenity. And then the sound had begun. Akodo Shigetoshi knew the sound, of course, and he wished for the blissful ignorance of those who knew not what it was. Hida Kuon shook his head. "There has never been anything like this." "That is not the Lost," Kuon said. "That is no force spawned within the Empire, nor the Shadowlands." Shigetoshi nodded. "Gaijin, then."