The Emperor’s New Map

From my dark fantasy world.

Emperor Bastian looked at his new map. It was made of the finest vellum, detailed to the point of obsession, and richly decorated with colours as bright as a summer morning. An Emperor needed a map to work with, and for Emperor Bastian " known as The Conqueror " a map would be vital in his plans for war. This map would be his sword and shield, and soon the world would know just how ambitious he was. As he leaned over his new chart, a cold wind swept towards his face. The Emperor looked up to see what it was. It came from an open window. As he looked at it however, something else caught his attention and he did not close it. The window faced east and with it, the Empire of Czetastan, their long-time rival. The Emperor looked back down at the map. The red ink that spelled the word “Czetastan” flared up like wildfire, an uncontrollable flame of desire. The map itself whispered to him.
‘You know what you must do.’
‘Yes’ he replied, ‘I do.’
It’s demonic call pulled him into the maelstrom of temptation. That was the day he decided. The day he decided to invade.