GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

This star is the source of light that brightens the surroundings for kilometers. It is the bane of Vampires. Its light secures this mountain range from the plague that is the bloodsuckers. It is the aim of Fenrir's visit.

He said to himself again, "Honor is glorified in the presence of fear."

Fenrir summed up his courage to get closer to the star. The star is not hot. It is just bright and difficult to look at. Its most intimidating feature is its size. Fenrir is already a great beast that stands at a height of 20 meters from his shoulder to his paws. But even he looks small compared to this star. This star is also stronger than him so he has more cogent reasons to be careful of his words other than a difference in size.

He started, "Greetings, Emperor..."

He was interrupted immediately. "Are you here about the death of Lamplard?"

The Emperor's voice was calm. It was smooth and without pressure. It is also feminine. 

"Yes." He replied carefully. "I am here about his death. I am also here about the death of his group and the settlement he..."

He was cut off again. 

"Do you think my methods unsavory?" The Emperor asked with the same calmness.

That question gave Fenrir pause. He does think her methods are unsavory. He thinks her methods are treacherous. He thinks she is dishonorable for what she did. He clearly has a lot to say about what she did but saying it out loud like that can be offensive so he restrained himself.

A smile tugged at his lips. "Look at me being all careful and cautious." He thought to himself. 

He chuckled inwardly when he realized that he had paused for quite a while now. He has been silent while reviewing his options. It amused him that he could be so cautious because he was never one for being tactful and careful. 

He has always been boisterous and outspoken, but his years in imprisonment have sobered him. It is not the years of imprisonment that did most of the work in tempering his temper. He is mostly careful now because he went through his imprisonment and the suffering of it because he was boisterous and incautious enough to open a gate that he was ignorant of its destination. 

He, the greatest emperor of Warrogs, brought upon the Warrogs the calamity that almost wiped them out and relegated them to being a subdued race. That fact will always haunt him. Now he thinks things through before saying them. 

He is also not the strongest Warrog anymore and he is nowhere close to being the strongest being in the plane so it is best to be humble. Hence his hesitation.

The star got impatient. He has been silent for too long so the Star said, "Don't mince your words with me Fenrir. Say whatever you want to say. I know what you think of me. You think that I am a disgrace to the race. You think that I have forsaken the interests of my people for the other races. You think I have no morals and that I am unscrupulous like an Executioner. Say your thoughts or be gone from me."

Fenrir sighed instead of lashing out. He felt a twinge of anger for being spoken to like that. But he reined it back. He would have certainly created a scene were he a young pompous Emperor. 

Instead, he spoke calmly, "You know my thoughts on the matter. I don't think you should have done what you did. You are an Emperor. Your duty is to protect your people and make them prosper. But you're using them as bait and disposable pawn."

The star retorted, "You are wrong, old Fenrir. My duty is to the plane."

Fenrir finally snapped. He yelled at the star, "What about your people?"

His voice didn't calm down. He was still shouting as he spoke, "They suffer all over the plane but here you are doing nothing. Instead, you use people looking for salvation as bait. They had faith in you. They searched for you for over a hundred years but you led them on. Have you no pity? Have you no mercy? They suffered for you but you just discarded them like chewed-up bone."

The star didn't get angry because of his outburst. 

She stated without remorse. "What I do, I do for the good of the plane. You can not understand. Your vision is limited and your perspective is skewed. I am the child of the plane and not just the Emperor of Warrogs. Everyone in the plane is my subject including the wood elves. I have to consider everyone equal."

"But," Fenrir tried to speak.

"I am not done." The Star interrupted him with a raised voice.

Her voice is raised but it is still delicate. It is like raising the loudness of a musical note. It is still pleasant on the ears and not grating to listen to. She said in that pleasing voice, "The fate of the many is greater than the fate of the few so I sacrificed the few to buy more time for the many. It is something that I must do in the face of the calamitous threat that we face. Even your patron, the fountain of life cannot hope to match the Supreme of Carnage. I do what must be done so that the entire plane can survive."

Fenrir finally got to say what he wanted to say, "But there is more to life than survival. There is honor and respect. Without those, then we are no different from rabid beasts."

The star retorted calmly, "All is fair in war, and make no mistake of it, we are at war."

That didn't sit right with Fenrir. It didn't sit right with him at all. It rubbed him in a very wrong way. So he started, "You are not worthy of..."

"SILENCE!" The star roared at him in anger.