Pasha listened to the dying embers of the campfire slowly hiss and pop their way towards silence.  Very few men stirred at this late hour.  Only an occasional sentry disturbed the careful balance of the shadows, and Pasha hovered close to sleep while counting the stars high above.  At first he had not understood why several men remained awake while the others slept.  He had been certain that an attack was imminent, and had spent several sleepless nights at the beginning of the march waiting in dread for a night assault that never came.  He now understood that it was simply part of protocol, an exercise that the military required even if the column had been only a few miles from Constantinople. In the past he had often daydreamed of being a soldier as he watched them make their way through the cro...

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