… For that would be like the Beast who makes its footsteps in the melting snow, or the dirt as the rains begin to fall, or the sand as the winds pick up a bluster, and then declares to all: 

“Behold, here lieth my mark! 

“A mark that abounds o’er my domain.” 

“And the domain of all.”

“And so tell me whence you look upon it, what other mark can you say, is better than mine own?” 

“None!” 

“None, I tell thee!”

“And you now witness that henceforth here my mark shall remain, unchanged and masterful, for all to gaze upon, and to worship, and wonder at my own greatness.”

“And whence whosoever sees it, or hears of it, or tells of it, all will know that it was I, and I alone, that made a mark of such might and strength over this mortal dominion, and the dominion of others.”

“And all will envy, and jealousy, and bow down at the power of mine own mark, for ever, and further, and to the ends of time.”

“For behold, here lieth my mark!” 

“A mark that abounds o’er my domain.” 

“And the domain of all.”

•

Allestree Park, Derby, England, U.K. ~ 9 March 2023