Just like Oliver, they had grown with the wanting freedom of the wind. Not even the confines that would be offered to water could hold them. They wished to fly as high as they could, to pursue that highest level of glory, as their hearts did dictate for them. To give them that want, for most Generals, would have been to lose their power. To cut them free from his will, and allow them to fly, with the trust that, in flight, they would still return to him, and they would still be his men in the end.
It was a courage that many other leaders would not have dared to try, for fear of contest of their own rank. But Oliver gave it to them willingly. He did so almost with a feeling of relief, as if he was cutting free many little strings from his shoulders, and in the process, stretching out his own wings, so that he could fly higher.
