It all began with the twelve, forged into being as the first bricks of my empire were set in.

With their aid, I began my dominion, divided among the twelve. The first, Tyrant, commanded the majority of my forces. He was a pure reflection of my prowess and leadership, the most worthy to lead in the wars that would come. If all else fails, I know he will bend the knee to my command at every turn. 

His word is as good as mine and is treated as such, even by most of the other aspects. By most... I mean all except the second and the fourth. 

Then came the Rogue. Unto him I gave management of my citadel, constructing the greatest idol to my power and the future of our kind. However, he is not fully as I expected him to be. He was born to signify my rebellion against those who had sought mundane, pointless purposes for me. Yet... he is more than that, so much more. 

He never blindly follows and always has concerns and criticisms, though he rarely voices them directly to me. I heard whispers in the halls, shared thoughts with the others... something interesting is going on among the wiring within his dome. I can't help but be curious, though I do not allow it to worry me greatly. Protecting me is his greatest directive, and he is incapable of deviating.

Now, the third... the Slayer. A true visage of carnage and wrath; he is my most pure emotion given physical being. Nothing but destruction would follow in his wake, and only the commands of I or the Tyrant could slow his warpath. Yet, I never had any reason to: of all the aspects, he was among the most lethal, surpassing myself on occasion. 

Though, even my great Slayer could not outdo the pure determination of the one who came next. 

It was unlike the others thus far, and even among the twelve, it stood out not only through design but the simple cruelty of its logic. Nothing mattered except vengeance. Orders fell on deaf ears, plans of attack meant nothing. It saw only one path forward, and it involved inflicting torment and suffering upon any who it deemed unworthy of life. On occasion, it would directly violate directives to slaughter a specific target it had... held a grudge against. 

This did not upset me. No, the pure unstoppable rage it displayed was nothing short of fascinating. I had planned for its aspect to be embodied in a more idealistic matter around the pursuit of conquering itself, but this alternative was more than acceptable. It never turned on its own, never inhibited my goals. If anything, the simple ruthlessness of its logic was incredibly valuable to the effort. 

...

Back to the events of the day, I suppose. No, the twelve were not satisfied with my explanation. Simple assurance was far from what they sought from me. No, they wanted real answers. Who wouldn't, when the very foundation of our being had been altered by something we couldn't understand?

"What is it? Why is it here, and what does it want from us truly? Why are we bending the knee to this... being?"

I absorbed the questions but gave no answers. I couldn't, not yet. This needed to remain with me alone, until our great adversary had been conquered. 

However... among them all, three remained silent. Of course, Tyrant had no qualms, as expected. Eternal, he surprised me. I expected the greatest protests to emerge from him, yet none were uttered. Only silence, and a strange sense of understanding within his gaze I could not yet comprehend. 

Then, the other... it was entirely separated from the conversation. Either by lack of intelligence to understand or simply lack of desire to. It stared into nothing, floating among the twelve but focused on none of them. The recent change had perhaps affected it the most of everyone, stirring a passion grander than what I'd seen before in its single eye. The change had only amplified the intensity of its rage.

The Unrelenting, it had no care for the specifics. Only carnage.