Recluse Hold

The Thoughts of Avaric Keda

“Oh, I've always envisioned myself having a greater purpose, larger than dreams could ever manifest. They called me mad, a bandit, a King of Bandits. The Mad Bandit King! But my mind was yearning, oh, it was searching for something more. The power to shape fate, to control and manipulate! Yet, I always wanted more, needed more, craved the resources necessary for more! Those resources were beyond my grasp at the time; I was unsure what I needed, what would grant me more.

"Then, amidst the cacophony of disaster, I beheld a sight that exhilarated my very soul—a spectacle of the tides brutally crashing, turning once-majestic ships into mere playthings of the sea's ruthless wrath, descending into oblivion. It was a scene of sudden, violent, inevitable death, and yet, it sang to me a song of opportunity. The air was thick, not just with despair, but with the ripe aroma of unbridled fear as they drowned, desperately fighting against the relentless waves. In their struggle for survival, humanity's true face was unmasked, revealing a dark, twisted ballet of primal instincts. Brothers, mothers, even their own children were cast into the merciless depths, sacrificed in their frantic scrabble to rise above the all-consuming tide. In that stretched moment of horror and revelation, time seemed to bow to the grim spectacle, and a profound realization ignited within me. The raw, visceral fear in their eyes, the chaos of their betrayal, it unveiled to me an undeniable truth — the greatest resource of all lay in commanding such fear, in harnessing the depths of desperation and despair. For in their darkest hour, in their most wretched state, they would be most malleable, most vulnerable to the allure of a savior, however diabolical.

“They were scared. The world beyond, the cold, dark seas below, and the devils within were an imagination, a self-actualizing reality conjured in their minds. They wanted, like all creatures, to feel safe, away from that world. A home. A tribe. A sanctuary to feel strong. And all one must do, all I had to do, was provide the most basic of luxuries and a promise, a promise of grand designs, and into my arms they swam! “Oh! Promise someone safety, the strength to conquer, to conquer their fears, to fight what plagues their heart. They will come running, tripping, and murdering one another for the opportunity to be enslaved. Whether your intentions are pure or not, the weak will succumb. They will bend their knees, bow their heads, obey! Oh, and once they do, fill them with lies. But be sure, when the fear threatens to engulf them, to fill them with pride! Fill them with dreams of becoming as great as you yourself portray, and they will flock around you, to fight like murderous beasts intent on seeking pleasures only the dreams of devils could rival. Oh, alas! That is how I amassed my army of servants, how I became a King.

“And yet, with oh so much authority and power, I felt a void, an emptiness yearning for pursuits far greater than anyone before me. I wanted to create, to dominate, for I am better. I want them to know it, to fear it. They call me Mad. They assigned villainous caricatures to my name, and so the caricature is what I became. I will embody what they mock and I will turn it into what they dread.

Oh, for I am better.

I am Avaric Keda.”