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He stood watching the holy man’s funeral pyre burn, his eyes never leaving the figure being consumed by the fire. It wasn’t until there was nothing left but the faint glow of embers that Darius managed to tear himself away, but even then he hadn’t really wanted to go. There were so many questions in his mind that remained unanswered, and the one person who might have been able to help him was now nothing but ash and a strange feeling that seemed to have taken over his very existence.
Still heavy with the burden of his thoughts, Darius made his way to the river, removing his shirt and tossing it aside as he knelt down beside the water. As he bent over to wash away the soot and dried blood that covered his hands and arms, he noticed his image in the water, and he paused for a moment.
There had been a few times in the past when Darius had seen his image reflected in water or in the shiny metal surface of a Roman shield. There had been fierceness about his eyes then, and a determined set to his mouth. A sense of violence and of power had seemed to simply show in his face and in the way that he had carried himself.
Now though, that man was not the person that he saw in the reflection. Now there was the slight furrowing of his brow that came with confusion and a yielding around the lines of his mouth. Perhaps the biggest change however, was the softening of his eyes, and a look that was much warmer than the coldness that had once resided there.
Darius could now see that he was not the man he once was, but he hoped that in that man’s place, there might now be one that was worth knowing.
Still heavy with the burden of his thoughts, Darius made his way to the river, removing his shirt and tossing it aside as he knelt down beside the water. As he bent over to wash away the soot and dried blood that covered his hands and arms, he noticed his image in the water, and he paused for a moment.
There had been a few times in the past when Darius had seen his image reflected in water or in the shiny metal surface of a Roman shield. There had been fierceness about his eyes then, and a determined set to his mouth. A sense of violence and of power had seemed to simply show in his face and in the way that he had carried himself.
Now though, that man was not the person that he saw in the reflection. Now there was the slight furrowing of his brow that came with confusion and a yielding around the lines of his mouth. Perhaps the biggest change however, was the softening of his eyes, and a look that was much warmer than the coldness that had once resided there.
Darius could now see that he was not the man he once was, but he hoped that in that man’s place, there might now be one that was worth knowing.
