"It did," Teja says. "He was the one to finally conquer us, where the great hero Belisarius had failed! But it was not our way; and while it may have worked not to risk his life in battle, it did not make us respect him."

Pause.

"Which probably interested him less than a fly in wine. I never saw him, as I said; he saw my corpse being borne by on a bier."