Why?

Tatyana strode through the corridors with Tyros quick on her heels. She listened to him step softly behind her both comforted and annoyed by his presence. Annoyed because he was always there hoping for some scrap of attention or affection she would give, as if she could love a monster like him. Comforted because he always protected her and made her feel safe, even, if it were possible, when she spoke to her husband. She swept her cape back to reveal her bare shoulders exposed by the tight black corset with gold trim and laces. She hoped her appearance was enough to draw his gaze from the fire to look upon her.

A raise of his index finger on his left hand was all that indicated he acknowledged their presence, and a sign she should approach. Gracefully she glided to his side and to her dismay he stood turning from the fire to glare at her. The firelight illuminated only half of his face and his eyes shot like arrows of ice through her. They did not always look upon her so, often it was with burning lust. The type of lust she could use to control all other men, but that was only because she could refuse them and drive them to her bidding-- there was no refusing Derrick. He owned her through and through. Though in that passion and lust there was never affection, she often wondered if he was even still capable or if relationships had only became a means to manipulate others to his will. If that were true she could only pity him.

"The staff will soon be mine, with or with out if my opportunity comes too close. I can not risk your new lover interfering. Make sure he is occupied. I task you with this, my strongest and most capable because it must be done. You have stood by my side long enough, I need not explain to you the results of failure."

He moved to return to his chair and she did something which would have killed anyone else. "Why, my Lord?" The question stunned him so much he did not immediately respond. She spoke quickly as if her life depended on it because it did. "Why execute your plan? I know your goal but why pursue it? When you have it what is left to gain? Butcher the whole world and be king of a graveyard? Do you feel when you have usurped the will of all living you will then find joy?" She was foolish to question him or speak out of turn, but Nathan had stood against him and prevailed, the same Nathan who loved her even more than Lana. Not for thousands of years had she felt the need to look out for anyone but Nathan had showed her a small truth in asking her the same question. Why do you do what you do? She could not answer it, she had hoped Derrick's answer would have meaning for her to.

In slow cold hard words he clearly spoke, "Joy? I have no use for it nor desire to pursue it. Only mortals need such emotion. I am beyond immortal, I am eternal. The first of our kind, its creature, its god. And as such I have seen men born live fight and die for nothing, gaining nothing and leaving nothing. In just our time together we saw kingdoms rise and fall. I have witnessed entire empires have been swallowed by the sea (*see fall of Kale), monuments built over generations crumble and burn to dust (*see Khan's destruction of Tower of Babel), lands and realms erased reborn and destroyed (*see Cyrodil history), even men become gods and gods die (*see the slaying of Sabel), things that are forever become broken like Red Prison Doors and the Black Raven splintering under the control of a fox. All of this has taught me one solid undeniable truth, a truth that must be exercised. In all of creation there is but one thing meant to be eternal."

He left the word hanging in the air like a morning fog that could not be swept away. With fear delicately lining each word, she asked, "What is that, my lord?".

He turned to her, a whisper escaping as the shadows on his face grew and stretched.

"Darkness."