Of Gods and Monsters

I am to be been reborn. A Monster. I serve the Dark. I am the Dark.

It was a bit of a shock to me as well, when I was plucked from... wherever I was, and brought before two goddesses of Dark. They said I was worthy. They... approved of me. Of my various lusts and desires. All of me.

I don't have many memories if my prior life. I am not even sure anymore if I was male or female. But I do know this. I struggled with a darkness inside me my entire life and was made to feel like shit for it. I suppressed as much of my darkness as I could. I kept my head down, played by all the rules, played the part, towed the line. Feared God. All of it.

I know I ached to embrace that darkness. To step out of line, flex my muscles a little, satisfy urges, exert dominance. To take advantage, exact vengeance, or misbehave in any way on purpose. Because I could, and because I wanted to. Something I'd only ever done in scattered "moments of weakness." I was always made to feel guilty for doing it.

Now I see they were moments of strength. My real strength. I'd only been weak when I'd let the world tell me what to be—what not to be. They hated me not because I was bad, but because I was meant to be better than them and they didn't like it. Well, I've served my time in sheep's clothing and I am done denying myself. Now I choose what to be, and I want to eat.

That's why, when they presented me with an opportunity to recreate myself and serve as a champion in opposition to the Light, I didn't pull any punches. I didn't shy away from the tools that would aid me. I wanted power. I wanted ****. I chose to be male. That part was obvious. I wanted to leave my mark on everyone I met, to leave them without any opportunity to doubt my total superiority. I am a being of Darkness. A proper Monster.

I will conquer this land, or burn it to ashes. They're not ready for me. I am the first of what I am, and the first of many to come. The children of the gods, but we will not forget them. One will become many. Many will become more. I will show them the way. Pain and terror will be our banner, blood and ash our legacy.

I am ready. I've already waited far too long.

The goddesses seemed not to care how I chose to go about my business as long as I struck against the Light. They offered to send me anywhere in the world. At my request they filled my head with images of lush forests and rolling hills. Of plains, deserts, rivers, and mountains. They showed me maps marked with cities, villages, landmarks, and bastions of Light and Dark.

As I demanded more and more information, however, they began to grow bored with humoring me. They stuffed my mind full of cultural, economic, and historical details of every corner of the world and threw me at the world, telling me not to land on my big head. As reality shifted around me, I saw everything. All of it at once, and I made a choice.

I chose to spawn into the wooded hills on the outskirts of one of the smaller kingdoms. The region had been a relative power long ago, but fell to ruin after the king ruined the economy with reckless edicts and selfish indulgence in frivolities. Now it's mostly loosely connected backwater mining and farming towns , governed by an installed regent from a neighboring kingdom.

Its reputation for poverty and its defensible location at the foot of the mountains makes it a poor target for any attack from outside. But the land is not being used to its potential. The massive veins of ores and metals hidden in the long-forgotten labyrinth of mines contains unimaginable value. It would catapult anyone to claim it and work it properly into a place of military and economic superiority.

It would serve as a fantastic place to test my new powers while avoiding Heroes and armies.