“Blackened earth and the charred skeletons of trees had stretched as far as the eye could see, and the smell of stale smoke and burned flesh had hung heavy in the humid summer air. Now that same landscape was a brilliant and colorful thing, with a lush carpet of fresh grass underfoot—so new it had not yet had a chance to scatter its first seed—and a veritable metropolis of colorful tents and pavilions staked out upon every available inch of solid ground. A channel had been established to bring i...n fresh-flowing water from a nearby river, with several pools providing focal points for the encampments surrounding them. And perhaps even more important, large refuse pits had been provided at the far end of the estate, with servants waiting to shovel a layer of dirt over each new offering, to keep the air smelling sweet throughout the festivities. All in all, Colivar mused, it was quite an impressive transformation. If it had been the intent of the Aurelius family to erase all memory of the land’s former devastation, they had done so admirably.MoreLessRead More Read Less
User Reviews: