But his army reached the limit of its endurance, and the cost of triumph had been high -- in blood, betrayal, and tragedy. Alexander lost Barsine, his first beloved; Bucephalus, a steed unequaled; Peritas, his loyal hound; and Hephaestion, the closest companion of his youth. Still he sought the wisdom and might to transform the empire he had claimed into the one of which he dreamed, no longer divided into victors and vanquished, but a unified people under his rule. For Alexander was destined for timeless glory in the domain of heroes and gods -- both in his lifetime and in the realm of eternal legend.