Creative Writing 'Submission'

I wrote this as part of the Tyranny of King Washington creative writing contest. I'm not actually eligible since I'm not a U.S. citizen but saw it as a chance to hone my creative writing skills a little bit.

I really liked this submission. What I appreciated most was the warped sense of justice that Washington shows throughout the piece, about how he's twisting his perception of the ends justifying the means, and how his questions are answered by putting the "blame" for his own actions on the natives. All of the questions we might ask of Washington, he is asking about those he fights and rationalizes that HE is in the right, especially with God:

That heavenly sight that had greeted me had given way to a window of Hell. It was a mere glimpse of the vengeance that might befall us should I fail to raise this country up. I knew then that even those who claim to fight under God do things that he himself would never conceive. But he would conceive a fitting punishment for us all.

I feel like the "for us all" is a foreshadowing of his collapsing confidence, and that's a really nice touch!

What confused me a little bit is how the "foul" crows' feasting on the remains of the conspirators would be seens as God being against Washington:

If God was truly with me, why would he send such foul animals to feast on the remains of one of his houses and its children?

I would have thought that this would reinforce Washington's actions, that the fitting punishment to these who do NOT follow God's true intent would be devoured by vermin. Perhaps this is another way in which you are trying to show his waning confidence, but I guess I would like it to be led a bit more down this path if that is the intent.

Lastly, I'm not sure if, again, you are trying to show his internal conflict, but I was getting the impression from most of the rest of the piece that he is continually justifying the attrocities he is commanding, and while initially he may not have full confidence in his methods, that he really isn't allowing himself to honestly consider that he may be wrong. Again, I feel like i want a little more to point me in that direction, if that is the intent:

As I left the site that day, I had been filled with that same confliction that had torn my head to pieces before arriving. It wasnt a sense of doubt but only a fear of questions I could not find the answers to. The word tyrant had been on my mind for some time now. But before I retired that evening, I made a vow to not be driven by simple fear or uncertainty. Perhaps the key is to put my faith in this strange sceptre itself. Maybe it will guide me to these answers if I only let it.

I very much enjoyed the descriptive imagery you used in several places, such as:

The white light became low, dull orange as I neared before being punctured by suffocating clouds of thick, black dust.

Very well-written.  I look forward to reading future contributions! I was also really tired when I read it, and I tried to read it several times so please feel free to correct me where I'm wrong or perhaps misread something.