The Path Covered in Blood and Coin

A man walks a determined path, passing by many bodies, all with mouths agape in silent screams of torture. Nothing can really be seen further under the cloudy night sky. Looking into the man's eyes, an unnatural teal glow comes from them. He continues his walk as now coin bags and treasures line up in front of the bodies.

The Mark: For every step I take, every slice of flesh, bone, and sinew; for every soul, innocent and fowl, I become greater.

The small treasures continue to rise alongside the bodies as the path starts to steep upward.

The Mark: Man, woman, child, beast, demon, it matters not to me. If I am to be a slave, then I shall be slave to the coin.

At the top of this path, a belt and throne sit, shining gold and silver surrounding it.

The Mark: Because power is respected; power is paid.

The man approaches the throne and picks up the title belt that sits on it.

The Mark: And power is recognized with whomever is at the top.

The clouds part in the night, moonlight now shows the visage of what this man has 'walked' through. His path was covered in bones and flesh, the hill he now sits atop, a pile of corpses.

The Mark: If no one will have me, then all will fall under my cloak and dagger, just like the many that I step over each night as I shut my eyes to sleep. They cry out in anger, woe, and disappointment, but I remain vigilant.

The corpses now begin to move, following a new person that now rushes toward the man on his throne.

The Mark: Poor fool. Even the corpses warn him not to approach, yet he continues.

The man leaps from the path at The Mark, sitting at the throne. The Mark throws his open hand out and the man goes stiff and hits the ground.

The Mark: Another victim, writhing in pain as his blood now cuts from within, his own heart now pumping harder, louder, desperate for relief.

The Mark closes his hand into a fist as the man lets out his last breath of air and falls to the ground, dead.

The Mark: He is not the last. And I continue to wait on top of my legacy for someone to knock me off, to relieve me of my duties. Only one truly can do this, and she will come when I am weakest. Truly, Lady Death is the greatest ally to me, and my greatest threat.