We, The Fallen Children of Light

For you. Everything I have done, for you. I have destroyed the families of those who slew you, hunted down the instigator of the chaos, come to conquer the entire world in my quest for revenge. They worship me now, as their Emperor, their God in the flesh. My reign shall last until the moon falls to earth, until the sun burns itself out, until the stars themselves explode in violent cacophony.

All of it, for you and no one else.

Would you recognize me, brother? Would you recognize your fallen, blackened brother? The blood that stains my hands is all in your name, brother!

I mounted armies in your name, brother. I conquered cities, nations, continents. I plotted every move for decades, brother, placed my pawns with care, let no piece escape me. I took your desires to heart, dearest brother, I permitted the peasants to keep their family, permitted the merchants to keep their stock, permitted the craftsmen to practice as they would. I swept through the nobles like a gale, pruning each tree with care, permitting them no moment to ponder what I'd done.

Because you wouldn't want a world destroyed. You always loved the world, the people, the places. I remember your laughter at the first snow, your smile as the birds took wing, as the wind caressed your skin and tossed your hair about, as the rain bathed your face with gentle drops. I remember your joy at meeting strangers, at spending time with friends, at learning from master and apprentice alike. I remember your wonder at the sights, the awe at the hand crafted stone tower that soared hundreds of feet above the flat plain, the excitement at discovering that a warren of streets led somewhere you never knew existed, the breathless joy at the windswept ranges, tiny villages perched precariously on slopes most would consider suicidal.

I kept them all alive for you, brother!

But I cannot love a world that took you from me. I cannot love the race that betrayed me in this way of ways. The peasants may have their family, the merchants their stock, the craftsmen their practice, but never will they know a world without me! The towers and villages and mountains may yet remain, but only for you, and this they know! The families of my betrayers are centuries dead and burned, but still I hunt, still I watch, still I seek.

For you, if nothing else, brother. We are tied, you realize. You will be reborn one day, into this world of unification, and I will be there for you!

Will you accept me back, brother? Will you accept your blackened, blood stained brother back into your heart, dearest brother?

I fear the world will burn if you do not.

But see, I keep it safe. War is an unknown, the people are blessed with plentiful crops and well maintained roads, the nobles have been put in their places, made to play nice with each other.

I put my armies to work, building roads, improving villages, clearing out bandits. I put my armies to work, and the people rejoice because they have never known such prosperity in their grandparents' or great-grandparents' lives.

They said it could never be done, brother. They said that ruling more than a continent was infeasible, that the lag between information would encourage the outlying states to split once more.

They said this, and they died for their insolence. I promised you the world, brother, and you shall have it! No childhood fancy this, dearest brother, the world is ours!

I exploited magic, sought knowledge from the Unborn, bent the Deathless to my will, learned the secrets of the very universe itself! I will never die!

And I have done this, brother, all for you.

Always for you and only you.

My dearest brother.