Confrontation/Chapter 21

The assault on the temple led to the death of many. I should have expected that my lord would be pleasured with it, but when I reported the success to him, he seemed almost saddened.

"My lord," I questioned, "should you not rejoice in the success of my efforts?"

"Have you given up your humanity entirely, Xilar?" the voice responded, cold in my mind, and for a moment I felt a great deal of dread, for I could not help but know that the voice that spoke had done just that. In some strange way, however, there was doubt. He had given up humanity in all sense of the word as I understood it, but there was an aspect of him that was still inevitably tied to that creation from whence he was drawn. The evil that he represented and the manipulation he engaged in were challenged countless times by his reticence.

He never asked us to stop, oh no, he would not tolerate hesitation. Yet he seemed to regret not his action, but his action's success.

"I am what you demand, Lord," I responded carefully. "If you are asking if the actions we undertake sadden me, I can honestly say they do not, for I have seen what creation does."

"Careful you do not become what I detest, Xilar. Many of mine have long ago done that."

"Are you are asking if I regret the ease with which we accomplish our goals, Lord?"

"Something of that sort. I still hope to be shown my folly. I am certain it shall be proven to me in measure after measure. I depend on it."

"Are you saying you hope to fail, Lord?" I asked, baffled.

"It is my heart's deepest wish, Xilar. It is only by failure that I shall know I have succeeded."