"What is good? What is evil?

Many scholars argued the definition of those two words, men of learning and affluent nature wax poetic about their meanings, attempting to place a rule to define the nature of one's being, for either good, or evil.

Most of them also know little of the true nature of men, as isolated as they are in their comfortable lives, where they have the luxury to debate the likes of morality, because they had the free time to do so.

They do not have to struggle every day, in and out, morning to night, merely to survive another day. Nor have these affluent "philosophers" likely ever tasted the meaning of poverty, the pains of hunger as it gnaws upon your empty, bloated stomach, full of putrefied gas from your own decomposing insides, or the suffering of parents who had to watch powerless, as their offspring perished before them.

Meanwhile, the mighty and powerful, safe and secure in their gilded palaces, define and twist the meanings of the words, the term 'good' used for those that pleased them, those to their liking. Whereas those they dislike, those that went against them, they merrily decried as 'evil', and those beneath them, often just blindly followed their lead.

So if you were to ask me, what is good, and what is evil? I can only answer with a question of my own. Who decides?

In this world, more often than not? Those with the strongest fists, get to decide." - Nec Aarin, The Bone Lord.

Palace of Bones, Tohrmutgent, Ptolodecca, Winter Solstice, year 37 VA.

"Oh, hi there, little Aideen. What brought you over?" Asked grandpa Aarin, no, the Bone Lord when he saw Aideen enter the kitchen after a couple polite knocks on the door. "The cookies will still need a while more to bake, I'm afraid."

The sight before Aideen… was quite a dissonant one. The Bone Lord, the only known and confirmed lich in the world, was in his adorable mortal guise, and wore a neat, light red apron over his black robes, as he busied himself mixing some eggs with flour and sugar in a bowl, while standing atop a tall stool.

A well-kept secret only known to those who served the Bone Lord personally, as well as his personal disciples and their children, was that the undead overlord had a massive sweet tooth, and especially loved to spoil his "children" and "grandchildren" with baked goods, made by his own hands.

Nobody would have imagined the dreaded Bone Lord, the ancient necromancer from a long bygone age who had the blood of only god knows how many on his hands, to be wearing a frilly apron, and baking cookies in the kitchen.

Yet that was the exact sight that welcomed Aideen.

Over the last month or so, she had struggled in her mind, attempting to reconcile the image of her kind, doting, adorable grandpa Aarin who liked to spoil her and her brother, with the image of the the dreaded Bone Lord, who slaughters entire cities, tens of thousands of souls, innocent or otherwise, in utter nonchalance.

"You did not come for cookies, did you not, my child?" Said the Bone Lord as he chittered lightly. As she had expected, one look on her face and he had seen through the inner turmoil that troubled her. "Tell your grandpa what troubles your heart, child. I might have a solution for it."

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"Please tell me then, grandpa," said Aideen as she gathered her courage to ask her question straight to the source of her turmoil. "Is it really worth it to pursue a goal, regardless of the costs to be paid for it?"

"You must be referring to what happened at Danna, are you not?" Answered the Bone Lord, to which Aideen nodded nervously. His furry little hands kept beating the dough he was preparing while another hand slowly poured milk into the bowl.

"Most people would say that to murder tens of thousands, many of them likely innocent people who just had the misfortune to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time, to be unquestionably evil, beyond all redemption," ruminated the Bone Lord as he cracked a couple of chicken eggs, freshly laid this morning, and added them into the doughy mixture. "I do not disagree with them."

"And yet you… eradicated every living thing in Danna," replied Aideen to the Bone Lord's words.

"That I did, and would admit to it proudly should anyone ask, my child," answered the Bone Lord with a slight, melancholic smile. With one hand he poured chunks of chopped nuts into the thickened dough, and his other hand gently mixed them into it. "I sense that this matter has troubled your mind for quite a while, has it not, Aideen, child?"

"Yes, grandpa," admitted Aideen up front when her grandpa went straight to the heart of the matter. "I just cannot reconcile within my mind… the contrast between how you doted on us… and how you butchered thousands. As if they were insects beneath your feet."

"The answer to that… is simpler than you think, child. Both are me. I am your grandpa Aarin. I am also The Bone Lord," replied the Bone Lord, both his paws gloved as he kneaded the dough gently. It had only taken one attempt to do it barehanded in the past before he had started using gloves, as fur did not make a good addition to cookies. "I care for my disciples as if they were my own children, and their children I consider grandchildren of mine. For my people, I cannot claim the same depth of care, yet I do wish them good, happy lives as long as they live within my domain."

"This same care - some might call it love instead - is also what drives me to be ruthless should anyone dare to harm those I cared for. In truth, when you died two years ago, I had contemplated going over to Junora and Antemeia and making my displeasure known by eradicating their capitals. But your revival changed my mind," continued the Bone Lord as he kneaded the cookie dough in his hand until it reached his desired consistency, after which he smiled, and grabbed a flat, rectangular tin pan from the side. "I will never claim myself to be a good person, my child. I am simply me. Whether I am good or evil, usually depends on who you ask. Ask most anyone living here, and they would sing you my praises, while ask an Antemeian the same and they'd probably describe a monster straight out from a children's fairy tale."

"I can actually picture that myself," said Aideen with a snicker as she pictured it in her mind. She did her best imitation of an irritated matron as she mimed; "Oh you will eat your porridge, young man! Lest the Bone Lord fetch you from bed and turn you into a skeleton for his horde!"

"Exactly! You do see my point, child," replied the Bone Lord as he too, chittered at her jest. His hands had not paused at all during their talk, and now busied themselves dividing the dough into small round portions, which he flattened on the tin pan with his palm. "Some said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, while others would do literally anything to gain their desires. Morality is always a subjective matter, and one's own take on it often changes along with time's passage."

"I… am old, my child. Very old," said the Bone Lord as he opened the oven's door and placed the tin pan with the cookie dough inside. At the same time he opened the door, a sweet, buttery fragrance filled the room. The aroma of freshly baked cookies. "In my millenia of life - or unlife as many would have called it - I have seen many things. I have seen kingdoms rise and fall, some of them either my own, or done in by my very hands. What I have learned from those, is that eternity is just a torment, and no amount of worldly riches would help, when you have no one to share happiness and sadness with."

"These could be people you love, friends you care for, family, even people who live under your domain, all those helped me find fulfillment in my existence. So I answer you child, that yes, what I did in Danna is an abhorrent act, even by my own morals. And I would do it all over again over risking the life of even a single person I care for, if that is what it takes," elaborated the Bone Lord as he pulled out a tin pan with brown, freshly baked cookies out of the oven. Their buttery fragrance teased Aideen's appetite. Despite technically no longer needing to eat, she still thoroughly enjoyed good food. Maybe more than when she lived, ironically enough. "Does all that help calm the turmoil in your heart, child?"

"Yes, grandpa Aarin," said Aideen with a smile on her lips. The words grandpa Aarin said had indeed calmed her inner struggle quite a bit, and she could once again, accept her grandpa Aarin as what he was. He was grandpa Aarin. He was also The Bone Lord. "It helped. Tremendously."

"That's good to hear, child," said the Bone Lord as he nodded. "Now… want a cookie? They're fresh from the oven~"

"Certainly, grandpa. And… Thank you. For everything."