From Introduction: The mood on the ship was dour on the way back. The wind was calm, almost too calm to coax the sails home. The skies were the colour of frozen ash. The salt water of the open waves stung cheeks; the grey skies cast a bitter mood across the deck. Below, the groans of the wounded were louder than the creaks of the battered timbers. Those that could caught scant hours of sleep. They tried to forget the ignominy of returning in defeat; the cries of their fellow kinsmen as they fell in battle; the blood, the mud, and the stink of sulphur over torrid jungle. They hoped they could find solace in their loved ones upon their return; that this care would not be outweighed by the shame and disgrace of their defeat. Some were more confident in this than others.