GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

The questions shifted to areas of his goal. What he hoped to achieve. Where he has been these past few years. Who he spoke to. How he knew where to go. What he felt when he approached this settlement. How sure he is that it is an Emperor that he is sensing. Where he is heading next. Lamplard answered every question and Desmond relayed the answers to his superior. 

Desmond said to him after the peaceful interrogation. "Thank you Lamplard. You have been very helpful."

"It is my pleasure to serve." He replied with a sincere smile.

He is not pretending. It truly is a pleasure to serve. His mind is no longer burdened by any other thoughts. He is carefree now since he has to focus on just one thing. And that's answering the questions of a fair maiden. Who wouldn't want that for themselves?

Desmond nodded. "Good. Now turn your head to the side and expose your neck to me."

A sharp spike of resistance swept up in Lamplard's mind. To expose his neck is a sign of submission and willingness to accept death. He is not willing to accept death. His dampened emotions surged then. He realized that he has so much he still wants to do and people he wants to avenge. All of that will go up in flames if he dies now and all his efforts will be for nothing. 

He tried to speak, "Tesrat..."

He could only say one word because while admirable that he could resist at all, unfortunately for him, the spike of resistance was too weak to be of significant help. He is a mana entity. There is no way he can resist the mental manipulation of a count. 

It doesn't matter how powerful his determination is, how strong his will is, or how strong his obsessions are. Power is ultimate and he is lacking in power to resist the mental influence of an entity the equivalent of a king of law. He is weak. The weak are to be prey to the strong. So he turned his neck after hesitating briefly. 

Desmond's eyes shone brightly in elation when he saw the hesitation. "This is going to be good." He said in anticipation. 

He bit down and drained him of all his life. He was not disappointed. Resistance made his meal more enjoyable. Something about the flare of the preservation instincts of the prey makes the blood of the prey richer and more vibrant. 

Lamplard died that night. He died as a bloodsucker complimented his blood. His hopes and dreams died with him too. He will not be remembered for what he has done. It is because he is weak and insignificant. Even if he was remembered, he would only be remembered as a fool who went in search of a fairy tale. 

Lamplard failed. He was a weak pawn that has outlived his usefulness so he is not needed anymore. His death didn't occur in obscurity though. There are several individuals who noticed it. Some of them overlooked it but one couldn't.

----

Fenrir was staying in a cave on a mountain. He was using his connection with his race to monitor them. It is one of the perks of being an Emperor. The connections to those who believe him in are especially strong. After all, he was the greatest emperor. He has been elevated to a godlike figure in their minds. This ability made sure that he was never bored in prison. 

He saw Lamplard's moments. He could have helped the poor Warrog resist the compelling of the Count but he didn't. It wouldn't have changed anything either way. Lamplard was too weak and Fenrir was too far away to help. But that doesn't mean he will take the death of such an honorable Warrog lying down. Especially since this has been happening for quite a while now. Many Warrogs have died unjustly and he has been made to witness their deaths.

"This can't go on." He said with irritation and anger. 

He stood up from his crouching position. Then he left the cave. He appeared outside and was hit with a flood of bright light. It is currently night time but it is as bright as the day here. He felt the heat as the light shone on him. It looks and feels like he is underneath the glare of a particularly bright summer sun. 

Any vampire that comes close to this area will meet their end. It is a good protective measure against the invasion of the bloodsuckers. Wood elves use sun crystals to create this kind of situation but the Warrogs don't have sun crystals. They had to find their own way to produce sunlight in this forsaken plane. Only this settlement was able to achieve it. The other settlements are not so lucky.

Fenrir looked toward the source of light and sighed. He doesn't want to do what he is about to do but he feels that he must. He feels he must take a stand after what he just witnessed. So he ascended the mountain. 

He said to himself, "Honor is not tested when it is easy. Honor is displayed when there is resistance. Honor is glorified in the presence of fear."

Only warriors that remain brave and honorable when they should be afraid are glorified. He is afraid but he will go. His form expanded rapidly to his full size as he climbed the mountain. It took him a much shorter time to reach the mountain top because of the increase in his stride. His cave is also high up into the mountain so the distance he has to cover is short. 

He reached the mountaintop in less than a minute to find a familiar scene. The mountain top has been shaved off into a flat and smooth surface. Floating some distance above the flat surface is a bright star. It is a small yellow star and it will be considered microscopic when compared to normal stars in the void but this star is big for a source of light in this plane.