Fire burned overhead. Ahead of Nemani the plains of Incendium stretched out to the horizon, a barren wasteland of rock and ash, halted only by seas of magma and the rare patches of verdant ground. This had been one such oasis, a dip in the ground filled with tough, hardy plants and spindly trees. Now it was a bowl of mud and gore, a feasting ground for the countless smaller scavengers of the fiery world. Ferals lay torn apart by spears and claws, the remains of two whole tribes who in their desperation had ground the very life they had sought to own with their boots in the battle. The husk of a lone ironborn lay broken at the centre, its strange wheeled innards exposed for all to see, obscured partly by the towering shadow.
The shadow was cast by a six-armed, six-winged statue, towering over the barren oasis. The statue held six blades and glared down upon the scene - upon Nemani - with unreserved wrath. The elf felt fear beyond measure at the sight, but for all his awe he could not bring himself to bend knee. His eye instead strayed to an animal resting by the statue's base. The creature was not one of the dinosaurs of Incendium but a fox with golden eyes. Nemani approached the fox and it burst into flight, leading the elven priest into chase.
Across the wastes of Incendium Nemani ran, scarcely noticing the thickening vegetation until it dawned upon him that now he chased the fox through a forest. Thick branches whipped and slashed him across his exposed skin, but he kept running in pursuit of the fox. The forest grew denser and denser, such that his pace slowed to a crawl as he fought through the ensnaring foliage, grabbing and tearing at branches trying to block his way. The canopy thickened until all light was gone and Nemani clawed through the woods in near-darkness.
He emerged suddenly into a clearing. Above shone a black sun, not in the red sky of Incendium but a blue one. At the far edge of the clearing stood a familiar, daunting structure; one of the great stone altars of the Plateworld. Its entrance was partially sealed by a great stone, such that only a small opening could be seen at its edge, unlit by the sun and tantalisingly dark beyond. In the centre of the glade was a statue of a suspiciously familiar elf with a staff and an orb, standing with one foot upon a rather miserable-looking human. Nearby was a silvered goblet and the fox, sat upon its hindquarters and watching Nemani intently.
"What's this all about?" Nemani asked of no-one in particular.
"Legacy," replied the fox. Nemani studied the cruel figure in stone.
"That's not me," he said.
"It's how you were remembered," said the fox.
"How I was remembered?"
"When you died."
Nemani gave the fox a long stare, then eyed the goblet instead.
"What's that?" he asked.
"Something to discuss later," said the fox. "Ask what you want to ask."
"Alright. Why am I here, and why am I remembered this way?"
"You are here because you asked to be remembered," said the fox, "and you did not say how you wished to be remembered. It was a selfish act, and a selfish life leads to consequences."
"I have not been selfish!" complained Nemani to the fox. "Since I have been here I have brought culture and prosperity to these people! I have provided them leadership and brought them together."
"Did they want to be brought together?" asked the fox. "Even now, there are those who plot against you, who curse your name."
"They needed to be brought together," said Nemani, "whether they realised it or not."
"Perhaps," said the fox, "but it is as much your motives as your deeds that are in question. You aided these people not for their sake, but your own. You sought, and achieved, self-aggrandisement. You have grown in power at every step, and you will bear the weight of it."
Nemani looked at the statue again, except now the triumphant elf was weighed down with a thousand stone chains, so heavy upon him that even his face was occluded by the restraints. Fear struck Nemani again, gripping his heart like a vice.
"This is the face of Power," explained the fox. "Power for its own sake, for the self, and not the many."
"You would not tell me these things if they could not be avoided, spirit," said Nemani, turning wrathfully to the fox. "So tell me! How can this fate be avoided?" The fox turned and pointed with a paw to the distant Altar.
"By walking through that door."
"What should I expect there?"
"Death," said the fox, fixing Nemani's eyes with his own. "Death and oblivion. When you enter that place you will be no more."
"Fie!" cried the elf, recoiling. "Do you seek to trick me, spirit? Away with you, then! I'll not kill myself over my conscience!"
"Then you must bear its weight," said the fox. "You will face trials, you will suffer."
"At the hands of the gods, then. Why have they involved themselves?"
"You accepted the aid of the one who is Knowledge, did you not?" said the fox. "Do not complain, then, when the others involve themselves. It is you who set the rules of your game. Now you must play by them."
"You mentioned trials. What trials must I face?" asked Nemani. The fox pointed to the goblet.
"Within that cup, you will find your answer."
Nemani picked up the goblet and shuddered at its contents. It appeared to be mere liquid, but its surface resembled that of a great, lidless eye. Possessed of a strange urge, Nemani reached into the goblet and pulled from it five snakes of different colours. He began to scream, and one of the snakes bit him in the hand and it turned to stone.
-----
Nemani awoke to a cold sweat. He looked quickly around himself - he was in his room, a small recess at the back of the temple. He ran his fingers over his face and tried to shake himself back to reality.
A knock came at the door. Nemani quickly pulled on his trousers, checking the dagger beneath his reed mattress.
"Enter," said the priest. Tasset entered and saluted. Nemani gave a short salute in response. "What is it, Tasset?"
"A murder in town, holiness," said the commander. "Looks like a robbery gone wrong."
"We seem to be having a lot of those lately," said Nemani. "What are the particulars?"
"Head caved in with a rock. Simple as that, really - we found the rock lying by the mattress. The thief may have gotten in through the window."
"Brilliant. Alright, well, now that we have these laws I'm trying to impose, we should enforce them. Keep your men especially on watch for thieves and suspicious strangers."
"Kill the perpetrator?" asked Tasset.
"Bring him to me. I'll judge and sentence him, then you kill him. We have to show justice being done, see? If we just kill people without approval, we're criminals ourselves." Tasset raised an eyebrow but saluted anyway.
"As you say, holiness." He turned to leave, but Nemani stopped him.
"Ah, Tasset? Have you heard anything about snakes lately?"
"Snakes, holiness? Can't say I have, no. Why?"
"Oh, nothing. Just bad dreams."