“Is this how you honor Allah’s gift of command?” his superior continued, the disappointment heavy in his tone. “You claim devotion, but you fail even in the simplest task of vigilance.”

The words were a humiliation Tariq could hardly bear. When the reprimand ended, he gave a curt bow, muttering, “Yes, sir. It won’t happen again.” But his mind seethed, filled with dark thoughts as he strode back to his tent, fury mounting with each step.

When he entered his tent, the rage inside him was near the boiling point, like a beast scratching at the edges of his control. His dog, a small desert hound, lay curled in the corner, its ears perking up at his arrival, its tail thumping softly against the ground in eager welcome.

But Tariq’s expression remained hard, his hand twitching with unresolved fury. The sight of the hound’s innocent, expectant face—so unaware of his shame, so content in its simple existence—only fueled his anger. He kicked the dog, the impact sending it yelping into the corner. The creature cowered, whining in pain, but Tariq’s rage was a fire that wouldn’t be quenched. He struck the dog again, each hit a twisted attempt to release the fury that clawed at his insides.

The hound whimpered, curling up in a tight ball as it tried to escape his blows, but Tariq’s anger was relentless, his mind blind to its innocence, his hands numb to its suffering.

“Enough!” A voice broke the tension, and Tariq paused, breathing hard, his hands still clenched. He looked up to see Omar, a close friend and fellow officer, standing in the tent’s entrance, his face a mixture of shock and anger.

“Tariq, control yourself!” Omar’s voice was low but firm. “The defeat was hard on all of us, but you’re losing yourself in this rage.”

The words struck Tariq like a slap, cutting through the haze of anger. But instead of calming him, they reignited his fury, this time directed at Omar. “Don’t tell me to control myself!” he snarled, advancing on his friend, his fists trembling. “You have no idea what it’s like to bear this burden, to face the shame I’ve faced!”

The atmosphere in the Seljuk camp was thick with tension and humiliation. Word of the Byzantine ambush had spread quickly, and whispers of failure hung in the air like smoke from a smothered fire. The men were shaken, but none more so than Tariq ibn Sahl, who stood with his fists clenched at his sides as his superior officer tore into him with a fury reserved only for the gravest mistakes.

“Do you understand the shame you’ve brought upon us, Commander?” His superior’s voice was sharp, each word a lash across Tariq’s pride. “They attacked us during our worship, and you were unprepared! You, who were entrusted with the safety of these men!”

Tariq kept his head bowed, jaw clenched so tight he could feel the ache in his teeth. Inside, his heart boiled with a mixture of shame and rage. He had miscalculated; he had let his guard down at the worst possible moment, and now he bore the brunt of his failure. Each scathing word was like salt in a wound he couldn’t ignore.

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In the Shadows of the Mountains - Chapter Four: The Breaking of Restraint

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Image uploaded by user

אני אוהב ים

Get well soon

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Me too. One reason I kept it so long without deleting it 

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ברקים

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Masterpiece Monday

Winter Village

Can be bought alternately on Zazzle  https://www.zazzle.com/collections/christmas-119093737070628713

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