---

Book 1, Chapter Seven: The Ascent, Pages 181 and 182

This he poured all away to the ground,
to the shock of all in the camp. Zephyrus, Hephaestion, Ptolemy, Seleucus, and all of the others whose names we will never know.

Prizely water disappeared before their very eyes, back to the earth it once came.

Alexander returned the helmet to Zephyrus, solemn in light of his drastic act.

“Thank you, Zephyrus, truly.
But as your king, it’s not fair for me to drink alone
when I cannot share what little I have in my cup with all of you.”

He settled deeper into his chair, and nods in understanding —
just as he had shared the scars and spoils with his army, from Macedon to India, so too will he share death and despair on their way back home.

“Until we see the other side, let me suffer as you do.

Man with man.”