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.They d seen the main force of their army, too.***In another hour, the battle was over.A few Moranists had managed to climb out of thefray to apparent safety on one of the two hillsides, but men were waiting for them there.Only asingle enemy fighter seemed to have escaped.Jon watched him making his way from rock torock up the southern slope. I think you ll have a chance to take part in the battle, he said to the soldier. Lookbelow us there, by that boulder. Don t worry, Sir.I ll take care of him. The soldier drew his dagger and crept down the hillside, like his adversary using therocks for cover.Then he waited.The fleeing figure came closer.He was trying to move withoutanyone seeing him from below.It didn t occur to him to fear danger from above.For a moment itappeared he d turn in a different direction, but then he darted for shelter behind the rock whereJon s companion was hiding.A dagger flashed and he was lying on the ground in a pool ofblood.Curious to see who this enemy actually was, Jon climbed down the hillside. I got him, the soldier announced excitedly. Did you see me get him? Yes, I saw you, Jon said. I wanted to take something he s the first man I ever killed but he had nothing but theclothes he was wearing no sword, no dagger nothing.But I have an idea.I could take his ear.Do you think that would be wrong? He s dead, isn t he? The soldier took that as permission to cut off the ear of his victim, which he did with asmall knife he drew from his belt, looking carefully before he cut to make sure he made nomistake.When he was done, he waved the severed ear at Jon. You see, I wasn t afraid, he said proudly.Jon looked down at the man the soldier had killed and discovered he wasn t a man at all.He was no more than a boy little more than a child, in fact twelve years old at the most. Let s go back and get the horses, Jon told the soldier It s time for us to join theothers. The soldier ran on ahead, still holding the boy s ear between the thumb and forefinger ofhis raised hand.When Jon reached the ridge and looked down, he saw his victorious friendproudly showing the ear to his comrade.5The High Commander had lost seventy-three men, and three times that number had beenseriously wounded. Half, perhaps three quarters of the wounded will die before we reach Kar, but even thenthe loss is less than I expected, he explained to Jon. If anyone asks, I think we can call this aglorious victory. The Commander had given orders for their dead to be buried in a single grave near themouth of the valley and covered with a mound of rock.The enemy dead were allowed to liewhere they fell, except for those on the road itself.Those bodies were dragged beyond the edgeof the highway so that they won t interfere with traffic. But it was clearly the intention of theHigh Commander that this site be left a place of horror or, as he put it, a sign of the will ofHeaven. It s dry here, he explained. There won t be much of a smell especially after thejackals finish with them. This work was completed by the end of the afternoon, and, as the long summer twilightfell, they marched slowly from the valley.No one wished to spend the night there.Weary as theywere, they d go at least a mile further before making camp.For men who d won a glorious victory, they were strangely silent as they plodded towardthe setting sun.The war was over, and now they d go back to the world they d left four monthsearlier.Although first they d all go to Kar for a victory celebration.Only then would they returnhome.And that meant that the army had a reason for staying together until it reached theImperial City.Jon kept thinking about the soldier with his ear one moment so gentle, but another nobetter than a savage
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