She was not large, but she occupied space as a black hole occupies a galaxy. Valdris the Imperious. Her hair was a cascade of silver chains, her gown a simple, severe black dress. She wore no crown; her glare was coronation enough.
She tilted her head, genuinely curious. "You endured all of that… for others ?"
You closed your eyes.
But the Orb of Atonement sat at the summit, and the plague in your homeland would not wait for honor or dignity.
"The Orb is not an object," she said. "It is an act."
The heel descended.