Role

Chapter 12

Gaspare has apparently retained the Throne, for now, after an attempted coup.
He pinpointed the fears of certain members of the Council and played two
adversarial sects against one another, using his own vote strategically to
cement his victory. And yet it isnt a relief or a thrill for him - just
another pointless obstacle placed in his path by the pettiness of men.

Since his departure from Raltevio, the closest thing to family that he had
left, Gaspare has become more aloof and short-tempered. His sanity is slowly
crumbling, along with his patience for most mortal affairs and sentiment. His
thoughts have turned to other planes, the Inferno and the Shadow Plane among
them, as well as the Negative Plane, where a significant portion of his soul
now resides. In these places, he is able to experience new sensations that
cut through the numbness that at times drives him mad.

His addiction, once to liquor, now lies in the intoxicating power of his
terrible sorcery. He yearns to plumb the depths of his victims souls and
toy with forbidden powers, for these experiences are the only ones that
stimulate him any longer.

He gets a strange sort of pleasure from tormenting his wife, perhaps with the
expectation that shell toughen up over time and become a more suitable
eternal travelling companion.

In terms of artistry, Gaspare has retained an aesthetic sense and poetic wit.
However, his tastes have changed.

Every artist wishes to reveal something to the world. The man Gaspare
believed that through his undeath, he would show the world the preciousness
and fragility of life. In a way, he did. The Lich Gaspare, however, is
beginning to see mortal life quite a bit differently. Its not half as
important as he had believed it was, and mortals of this world are mere
cattle for a higher order of beings - arch-devils, unfathomable creatures of
the Shadow - which Gaspare now studies in search of greater meaning.

Thus, artistry for the common man no longer appeals to him. His tastes grow
ever more niche and bizarre, and his future poems will reflect that. He has
begun searching for an entertaining mortal, or one who could meet his new
artistic standards, but has yet to find one.

To Gaspare, the conquest that many past emperors have spent their lives
struggling to achieve seems rather silly and mundane. His reign has been long
and faced no serious challenge. But it appears unlikely that it will last
much longer.