TOSKA

He looked as a hero should, tall and strong with a mane of hair that licked in the wind to the beat of the sea, he inspired with his presence and earned respect with his deeds. Yet with one well-placed shot from a cannon he and all of his men tumbled into the freezing water below, caught by the drowning flag of Russia, he seemed to float with it cloaked about his shoulders, a dying hero and hope.