Khador walked to the edge of the cliff and gazed down upon the scraggly line of soldiers returning from the jungle. Even from his perch high above the headwaters of the Qu River, Khador could sense the humiliation the defeated army carried with it. His eyes focused on the small group at the head of the procession as he tried to find his brothers among the survivors. The noise of the reinforcements Khador had brought with him temporarily distracted him and he had to refocus on the small figures below him. Unable to detect his brothers from such a great height, Khador turned and strode towards his army to get them camped for the night. He did not want the tens of thousands of fresh troops he led to be infected by the mental despair of the returning army, so he ordered them to make camp in the pass while he descended to meet his brothers’ armies.

It took several hours for Khador and his guards to reach the returning soldiers and when he saw the column approaching he halted. The men of his brothers’ armies marched with their heads down and appeared weary and exhausted. Khador again scanned the column and spied his brother Omung. Just behind Omung was the body of a soldier being carried by others. Khador felt his heart hesitate, as he quickly looked for his other brother, Fakar. Knowing that only the body of a high-ranking officer would be carried out of battle, Khador fought back his tears as his search for Fakar proved fruitless.

Khador stiffened himself as Omung raised his head and noticed the party waiting for him. Omung turned and shouted for his men to make camp as he shuffled forward to meet Khador. No words were exchanged when the brothers embraced each other in ritual greeting, but as soon as the embrace was broken, Omung tore off his helmet and flung it against the wall of the pass.