(19) Chapter I0.

At the end of Volume 1, the war in Greece returns one character to Windsor, and takes two more away.

Raphael, The Massacre of the Innocents, c.1515; Royal Collection Trust

This chapter visits many places and ends with a voyage. The book is restless to get on with itself. Of the many locales mentioned by name, from Loch Lomand to the river Hebrus, an anonymous town stands out most vividly–the place where Adrian, trying to prevent a rape during a massacre of a Turkish population, is bayoneted by a soldier from his own side. His words will haunt the chapters to come:

I have learnt in Greece that one person, more or less, is of small importance, while enough living bodies remain to fill up the ranks of the soldiery when they get thin. An individual’s identity may be overlooked, so long as the muster roll maintains its numbers.

For now, it’s southward by sail:

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