Dear Moon,

My apologies for having *abandoned* this. I like it a lot now when I have found it again. It is both ominous and interesting. Cleitus' and Hephaestion's man to man talk is filled with angst and also common sense, provided by the older man. He has not that much education, but he sure knows about the world and of War. His descriptions of Thanatos are truly chilling.

Sadly Alexander and Hephaestion met Him far too early.

All the best wishes and many thanks for sharing,

/ NorthernLight

BTW: Many thanks for all the book recommendations. "The theatre of the world" by C Benjamin Tracy I have never hear of but it looks promising. I agree with you about Cameron. I ordered it because I like the Tyrant series, but God of War is not a very sympathetic Alexander novel. I got stuck in the part where Ptolemy tells so long and most boring about campaign logistics. I will return, though. I have to finish that brick of a book.
Efremov's Thais Of Athens is another matter. That one is very good, I liked it a lot. :)

So glad you're still writing!

I like how Hephaestion's mature – as in politically and socially sensible – view startles Cleitos' expectations – really, compared to the Pausanias boys he was just thinking of, what a responsible and mature young man! But of course, I like even more that Cleitos' "simple soldier" pov triumphs – they lived so close to death all the time, to Hades indeed with social niceties!

What a tone of loss and change overall – Cleitos' own love story is what I like here most. Despite his persistent bashing of romantic foolishness, it's so obvious he loved Philip, in every sense, and feels this loss deeply. Even little things like Philip's observation "I wouldn't put it past the wretched child to break it off out of simple contrariness" added to the overall emotional thread. Another great supporting-character POV from you.

Book recs! As we say in anime, om nom nom!

It is so awesome to see you back again! You are absolutely the best writer of Alexander fiction that I have found. I love this story. Cleitos has so much depth, he is beautifully written on the line between gruff and philosophical drunk. I really love the backstory, the contrasts one can see between Philip and what Alex will become. Well done! :D

I have recently been re-reading your stories, and its a very nice surprise to see a new one.

I really liked to read a story from Cleitos' perspective, there aren't many of those (that I'm aware of), and something about him has always intrigued me.

I especially liked the part about Cleitos' and Philips amusement over Alexander.. Very touching in an odd way.

Great story! I hope more is coming..

Welcome back. I bought The Gods of War last week, haven't had a chance to read it yet. My biggest beef with this book is to me the guy on the cover doesn't look in proportion

I like Cleitos' 180 change in attitude. His theory that Alexander would get distracted by another before spear throwing distance of Troy sure didn't pan out. :)

Nice story. Good to see another one from you.

I am so happy to read a new story from you.

In the beginning I didn't realize the events took place in Pella. I thought it was in Marakanda, just before Kleitos murder. His story, indeed, so similar to Hephaistion's and yet so different. I think he was the best person to understand Hephaistion's position - maybe give advice, maybe tell about his own experience, and most probably envy; Alexander's passion for Hephaistion wasn't as fleeting as Philip's for Kleitos. It's not surprising that Kleitos misinterpreted Alexander's & Hephaistion's interaction. Yet he was able to rise above his envy and give Hephaistion a very sound advice.

Thanks also for book recommendations. I've heard before about "The Curse of Ezekiel" but didn't have chance to read it yet. It sounds very interesting; not only because there is more Hephaistion than Alexander but also because it's written from original, Middle Eastern POV. No surprise about Christian Cameron's book.

Thanks again for sharing and hope you'll write another story soon.

Gosh, SO GLAD to see a new story from you! I love all your ale/ Tion stories, In fact I started reading fics from this community from them.

This one is fab as well, keep it up! :)

I am really pleased to see you active again and I am saying so even before reading your story!

I really, really loved this! It was so interesting to look at that moment in time from Cleitos' POV, and I really loved his conversation with Hephaestion. Wonderful!

(also, thanks so much for the book recs!)

Your story is a wonderful read and I enjoy the conversation between these two. I always thought that these two more than anyone else, had a lot in common.

I have always enjoyed your stories. Before I started writing myself, you were one of the people I would look forward to reading and still do.

Thank you for sharing again.

Sandy

It was really good. Thanks for sharing!