The dream began not with a sound, but with a taste, a metallic and bitter residue on the tongue that had been sealed shut for forty years, the ghost of a meal eaten in a cellar that no longer existed, a flavor so specific and so violently alive that it forced the old man’s eyes to open in the dark of the small, stone-walled kitchen, where the only light was the gray, pre-dawn mist pressing its face against the single, unglazed window, a light that did not warm, a light that only revealed the shape of his own withered hands resting on the rough-hewn table, hands that had once held a sword, now held only the memory of a sword, hands that trembled with a vibration that seemed to come from the earth itself, a tremor that was not fear, but the exhaustion of a body that had carried too much weight for too long, a weight that was not just physical, but moral, a weight that had settled into the marrow of his bones until he was nothing more than a vessel for the burden of what he had done, and what he had failed to do, and what he had sacrificed, all of it distilled into that single, lingering taste of ash and iron, a taste that told him that the world was still hungry, that the world was still waiting for him to feed it, to feed it with something other than grain, something other than blood, something that he no longer possessed, something that had been taken from him by the very system that had made him, a system that spoke of honor and duty and the greater good, but which, in the end, had only consumed him, piece by piece, until there was nothing left but the shell of a man who could no longer remember his own name, only the names of the men he had killed, and the names of the men he had let die, and the name of the woman who had loved him with a love so fierce and so destructive that it had burned through his soul like a fire through dry grass, leaving behind only the scent of smoke and the memory of warmth, a warmth that was now a cold, a cold that was deeper than the winter wind, a cold that lived inside him, a cold that he could not shake, no matter how many years passed, no matter how many battles were fought, no matter how many treaties were signed, the cold remained, a constant companion, a silent witness to his failures, a reminder that he was not a hero, but a tool, a tool that had been used until it broke, a tool that had been discarded, a tool that was now waiting to be buried, waiting to be forgotten, waiting to be nothing more than a name in a history book, a name that no one would remember, a name that would fade into the obscurity of time, a name that would be lost, a name that would be erased, a name that would be forgotten, a name that would be gone, a name that would be nothing, a name that would be silence, a name that would be the void, a name that would be the end, a name that would be the beginning, a name that would be the middle, a name that would be the whole, a name that would be the nothing, a name that would be the everything, a name that would be the truth, a name that would be the lie, a name that would be the reality, a name that would be the illusion, a name that would be the life, a name that would be the death, a name that would be the breath, a name that would be the silence, a name that would be the voice, a name that would be the cry, a name that would be the scream, a name that would be the whisper, a name that would be the shout, a name that would be the song, a name that would be the dance, a name that would be the step, a name that would be the fall, a name that would be the rise, a name that would be the climb, a name that would be the descent, a name that would be the journey, a name that would be the destination, a name that would be the road, a name that would be the path, a name that would be the way, a name that would be the direction, a name that would be the compass, a name that would be the map, a name that would be the chart, a name that would be the guide, a name that would be the leader, a name that would be the follower, a name that would be the master, a name that would be the servant, a name that would be the king, a name that would be the peasant, a name that would be the lord, a name that would be the vassal, a name that would be the father, a name that would be the son, a name that would be the mother, a name that would be the daughter, a name that would be the husband, a name that would be the wife, a name that would be the lover, a name that would be the friend, a name that would be the enemy, a name that would be the stranger, a name that would be the neighbor, a name that would be the citizen, a name that would be the subject, a name that would be the ruler, a name that would be the ruled, a name that would be the free, a name that would be the slave, a name that would be the rich, a name that would be the poor, a name that would be the young, a name that would be the old, a name that would be the strong, a name that would be the weak, a name that would be the brave, a name that would be the coward, a name that would be the wise, a name that would be the foolish, a name that would be the good, a name that would be the evil, a name that would be the light, a name that would be the dark, a name that would be the sun, a name that would be the moon, a name that would be the star, a name that would be the sky, a name that would be the earth, a name that would be the sea, a name that would be the land, a name that would be the air, a name that would be the fire, a name that would be the water, a name that would be the wood, a name that would be the stone, a name that would be the metal, a name that would be the glass, a name that would be the cloth, a name that would be the skin, a name that would be the bone, a name that would be the blood, a name that would be the breath, a name that would be the soul, a name that would be the spirit, a name that would be the ghost, a name that would be the demon, a name that would be the angel, a name that would be the god, a name that would be the devil, a name that would be the saint, a name that would be the sinner, a name that would be the hero, a name that would be the villain, a name that would be the protagonist, a name that would be the antagonist, a name that would be the narrator, a name that would be the reader, a name that would be the writer, a name that would be the book, a name that would be the page, a name that would be the word, a name that would be the sentence, a name that would be the paragraph, a name that would be the chapter, a name that would be the story, a name that would be the tale, a name that would be the myth, a name that would be the legend, a name that would be the history, a name that would be the memory, a name that would be the dream, a name that would be the nightmare, a name that would be the vision, a name that would be the hallucination, a name that would be the delusion, a name that would be the madness, a name that would be the sanity, a name that would be the reason, a name that would be the emotion, a name that would be the logic, a name that would be the intuition, a name that would be the mind, a name that would be the heart, a name that would be the body, a name that would be the self, a name that would be the other, a name that would be the world, a name that would be the universe, a name that would be the cosmos, a name that would be the infinity, a name that would be the eternity, a name that would be the forever, a name that would be the always, a name that would be the never, a name that would be the soon, a name that would be the late, a name that would be the early, a name that would be the fast, a name that would be the slow, a name that would be the quick, a name that would be the gradual, a name that would be the sudden, a name that would be the gradual, a name that would be the immediate, a name that would be the delayed, a name that would be the prompt, a name that would be the hesitant, a name that would be the decisive, a name that would be the indecisive, a name that would be the certain, a name that would be the uncertain, a name that would be the sure, a name that would be the doubtful, a name that would be the confident, a name that would be the insecure, a name that would be the proud, a name that would be the humble, a name that would be the arrogant, a name that would be the modest, a name that would be the vain, a name that would be the modest, a name that would be the ego, a name that would be the self, a name that would be the identity, a name that would be the character, a name that would be the personality, a name that would be the temperament, a name that would be the nature, a name that would be the nurture, a name that would be the birth, a name that would be the death, a name that would be the life, a name that would be the existence, a name that would be the being, a name that would be the nothing, a name that would be the everything, a name that would be the truth, a name that would be the lie, a name that would be the reality, a name that would be the illusion, a name that would be the life, a name that would be the death, a name that would be the breath, a name that would be the silence, a name that would be the voice, a name that would be the cry, a name that would be the scream, a name that would be the whisper, a name that would be the shout, a name that would be the song, a name that would be the dance, a name that would be the step, a name that would be the fall, a name that would be the rise, a name that would be the climb, a name that would be the descent, a name that would be the journey, a name that would be the destination, a name that would be the road, a name that would be the path, a name that would be the way, a name that would be the direction, a name that would be the compass, a name that would be the map, a name that would be the chart, a name that would be the guide, a name that would be the leader, a name that would be the follower, a name that would be the master, a name that would be the servant, a name that would be the king, a name that would be the peasant, a name that would be the lord, a name that would be the vassal, a name that would be the father, a name that would be the son, a name that would be the mother, a name that would be the daughter, a name that would be the husband, a name that would be the wife, a name that would be the lover, a name that would be the friend, a name that would be the enemy, a name that would be the stranger, a name that would be the neighbor, a name that would be the citizen, a name that would be the subject, a name that would be the ruler, a name that would be the ruled, a name that would be the free, a name that would be the slave, a name that would be the rich, a name that would be the poor, a name that would be the young, a name that would be the old, a name that would be the strong, a name that would be the weak, a name that would be the brave, a name that would be the coward, a name that would be the wise, a name that would be the foolish, a name that would be the good, a name that would be the evil, a name that would be the light, a name that would be the dark, a name that would be the sun, a name that would be the moon, a name that would be the star, a name that would be the sky, a name that would be the earth, a name that would be the sea, a name that would be the land, a name that would be the air, a name that would be the fire, a name that would be the water, a name that would be the wood, a name that would be the stone, a name that would be the metal, a name that would be the glass, a name that would be the cloth, a name that would be the skin, a name that would be the bone, a name that would be the blood, a name that would be the breath, a name that would be the soul, a name that would be the spirit, a name that would be the ghost, a name that would be the demon, a name that would be the angel, a name that would be the god, a name that would be the devil, a name that would be the saint, a name that would be the sinner, a name that would be the hero, a name that would be the villain, a name that would be the protagonist, a name that would be the antagonist, a name that would be the narrator, a name that would be the reader, a name that would be the writer, a name that would be the book, a name that would be the page, a name that would be the word, a name that would be the sentence, a name that would be the paragraph, a name that would be the chapter, a name that would be the story, a name that would be the tale, a name that would be the myth, a name that would be the legend, a name that would be the history, a name that would be the memory, a name that would be the dream, a name that would be the nightmare, a name that would be the vision, a name that would be the hallucination, a name that would be the delusion, a name that would be the madness, a name that would be the sanity, a name that would be the reason, a name that would be the emotion, a name that would be the logic, a name that would be the intuition, a name that would be the mind, a name that would be the heart, a name that would be the body, a name that would be the self, a name that would be the other, a name that would be the world, a name that would be the universe, a name that would be the cosmos, a name that would be the infinity, a name that would be the eternity, a name that would be the forever, a name that would be the always, a name that would be the never, a name that would be the soon, a name that would be the late, a name that would be the early, a name that would be the fast, a name that would be the slow, a name that would be the quick, a name that would be the gradual, a