"Please," the old man wheezed, clutching at Emperor Zelkov's cape. "You must stop this madness!"
Lady Ferrun stalked forward from the back of the procession, eyes blazing with fury. "Insolent cur, you dare to lay a hand on your Emperor?" She drew her sword with a harsh rasp of metal. "I'll have your head for that!"
She drew the blade back, but paused and lowered it as Zelkov raised a hand. He looked down at the old man with cold detachment. "And what is this madness of which you speak?"
"No one man can claim to rule over all of Gelura," the old man said, hands trembling. "That is the domain of the gods! To do so is to declare yourself their equal, and invite their wrath upon the world!"
"I make no claim to being an equal to the gods." Zelkov lashed out with a vicious backhand, striking the old man cleanly in the face and sending him toppling to the cobblestones with a cry of pain. "For there is no being in all of existence that is an equal to me. No man, no monster, and no god." His lip curled up in a sneer. "If you're so concerned about what the gods think, then you can tell them that yourself."
He nodded to Ferrun, who raised her blade high, then turned and continues along the procession as she brought it down.