The Illusionist

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You seem pleased with yourself, master.

I am.  I've heard it said that it's lonely at the top, but the view is fantastic!

If I may be so bold, what are you going to do now?

For now?  I'm going to bask in this moment for a while.  Two decades of work have finally come to fruition.  I have to sit back at enjoy at this masterpiece.

Masterpiece?

This nation I've usurped and the ruin that I've heaped upon my enemies.  Not unlike a painting it required a delicate touch mixed with bold strokes.  The elves and the magi have all but annihilated each other, the mightiest beast of this land have been tamed, the subjects think I am king, and not the least of all I have managed to gain exclusive breeding rights with all the female lycans in three kingdoms.  All this I did with little more than shadow and lies.  A true work of art.

An impressive accomplishment, master.

Indeed.  Of course, it was not always easy.  In the days when I was an adventurer and still perfecting my craft I had been driven mad for a time.  I developed an appetite for pain, not only for others but for myself as well.  I experimented with pain like a pyromancer experiments with fire.  If it were not for my lycan regeneration I would have perished by my own doing.  Even with the blessing the scars remain.

I've always heard that lycanthropy was a curse, not a blessing.

For most people it is, you lose yourself to the monster, but I am no normal person.  With the additional power my shadow staff afforded me I was able to overcome the curse and bend it to my will.  I didn't fight what it was, I used it to became something new.  I am no longer burdened by the phases of the moon.

Is that why I have never seen your human form, master?

Psh! Lies are pointless if you use them on yourself.  This is what I am.

Do you not worry about the hunters?

I have outlawed lycan hunters, but some still abound.  I doubt any could pose a significant threat to me.  The few remaining magic users are what trouble me the most.

You fear the magi?

Heh!  Not so much fear as loth.  They care for nothing but power and have no appreciation for subtle arts such as mine.  Indeed, they look down upon it and scorn it as an inferior form.  Of course, if I had such lack of vision I might well come to the same conclusion.  Throw a ball of fire at your enemy and they die, right?  But a spell that cast a ball of fire only casts a ball of fire.  Very straightforward and boring.  My power isn't limited by the words on a scroll, it is limited by my imagination, and I assure you mine is boundless.  Alas, mages tend to have stronger minds than most and are better suited to see through the glamour.  Despite this, is it not I that is astride the crimson throne?

The kingdom is better for it, master.  There is relative peace and food is plentiful.  The coffers are overflowing with gold and your subjects have never had such an opportunity to live well.

Yes... yes.

Is something troubling you, master?

Do you know the problem with a masterpiece?

I assure you, I don't.

Once it's finished, it's finished.  All you can really do is gaze at it.  It's the creating that brings me joy.  A finished work does not need the hand of the artist anymore.

I don't understand.  Are you going to leave the kingdom?

No... I'm going to destroy it.

(I haven't done any art in a while.  I'm a little rusty)

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