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Mar 22, 2023Liked by Tim Osner

Great chapter!

Amazing description of the treasure chests and all of the riches bestowed upon them.

"'Glory to God,' Alexius pronounced. Money solves everything."

So DISCONCERTING to read about all of this money and food - after the descriptions of the massacre that just took place.

Was THIS what it was all for? To swear allegiance to corrupt men?

Was THIS what it was all for? Murder for Profit?

The complete disappearance from the face of the earth of ALL of these individual souls. Scenes that will haunt you for the rest of your life.

Because of the Anubis reference (in another chapter) - I was thinking about the scale from The Egyptian Book of The Dead.

Anubis measures the hearts of the dead on the Scale of Justice and weighs it against the feather of Ma'at, the God of justice. This process is said to determine whether or not the person to whom the heart belongs is worthy to enter the realm of the dead. Your soul needs to be lighter than a feather to ascend to heaven.

In the battle described in the last chapter - some WEIGHT was definitely added to the souls who participated in the slaughter. Regardless of the "noble" reason. War crimes were committed.

"Tìbald shoved food in his mouth without tasting. Before him the sack of coins the size of a head. He pressed his hand to his gut as if it might burst. He pushed his plate away. Yet he took a piece of meat and once again began eating."

I'm moved by this description. It is like Tìbald is living but he is numb. Food has lost its taste. A sack of coins the size of a head is meaningless - will he even live long enough to spend it? What kind of a life is ahead for him?

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That is so interesting about the looting. I never knew this aspect of it.

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