"They will know," Maximus assured him, as if assuring that the sun would rise in the morning. "They will know, and they will wait."
The idea of Nasir being taken as a child, however, caused him to frown. He'd known slaves all his life, of course, though the ones on his own lands had lived there as long as he had, born and raised to the earth. The ones he'd known as Gladiators had all been acquired as men. That children were taken was something he had known on a vague level, but had never thought about. Now, however, he imagined Nasir as a boy of eight, and he imagined him looking like his son.
The thought unsettled him deeply.
"My son was eight. When he was slain," He said suddenly, his voice almost cracking. "He waits, also."
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The idea of Nasir being taken as a child, however, caused him to frown. He'd known slaves all his life, of course, though the ones on his own lands had lived there as long as he had, born and raised to the earth. The ones he'd known as Gladiators had all been acquired as men. That children were taken was something he had known on a vague level, but had never thought about. Now, however, he imagined Nasir as a boy of eight, and he imagined him looking like his son.
The thought unsettled him deeply.
"My son was eight. When he was slain," He said suddenly, his voice almost cracking. "He waits, also."