Role

Chapter 14

Zanzar had finally done it. It had taken him most of his life, far past the
years of his prime, but he had become the undisputed and undeniable Emperor of
Thera. It had taken some promises, cost him a great deal of personal wealth,
and came with conditions that allowed him to keep his council satisfied, but
he was once again, Emperor of Thera. Twice Risen now, the Zanzar no longer
sees himself as a subtle Prophet tilting the scales of power in favor, but a
Herald of the days of the Imperial reign to come. He was still a master of
deception, but made sure to avoid using any in the days before the vote.
Zanzar desired to know if the Empire had lost faith in him, or if they still
saw the hope of a glorious reign to come. Now that questions had been laid
aside, Zanzar was focused on consolidating his forces and making them
stronger, while pushing out on a vast recruitment spree.

The Zanzar knew it was the Lord Rillan that had helped forge him into the man
he was today, rather than the man he was when he came to his shrine, the first
day he lay eyes on the massive statue in his temple. He had guided Zanzar, and
pushed him beyond expectations. Zanzar had often felt like an unwanted child,
but the Lord had never given up on him. Zanzar was beginning to think that the
Lord saw his potential, and pushed him to succeed and prove his skills harder
than he had ever had to do in his life. He had unlocked power inside Zanzar
not even he knew he had, an unbreakable will growing stronger each day. His
enemies only fueled his inner fire to build his forces into strong troops of
war, capable of mercilessly crushing the Empire's enemies that had pushed him
at all fronts. The Zanzar had lost many battles, but he saw an opportunity to
win the war if he was tactical and precise. The difficulty would be finding a
War Master to meet his standards. Zanzar was confident he would bolster the
ranks of the blade once more.

He awaited the Lord Rillan. What would he say of him? What would he do?
Failure had been met with severe punishment, Zanzar expected the Lord may
execute him should he fail again. One thing was for certain in all of this.
Zanzar had learned that it is not always just the rise, but how gracefully you
fall. Sometimes a man falls to rise even higher the next time. It is also hard
to fall, when you are standing on a mountain instead of a flimsy ladder.
Zanzar would do all he must to keep his mind sharp politically, his body ready
for war, and his tongue wet with ale to demoralize his foes as he gracefully
dismembers them. The time of the rising Empire had come.