The Emperor (4)

"Move along now, slave! Your flesh is not fit for even the lowliest of hounds to chew!"
The slave was whipped and struggled to redouble its pace. It carried a jug, seemingly heavy and filled to its brim with something. The slave's hands were blistering and were a bright, sore red. The jug must obviously have been extremely hot, and the slave trudged towards a fountain filled not with water, but blazing, boiling blood. As it poured the blood into the fountain, a thing appeared from the fountain. Something horrific. It's features were vaguely amphibian, and was reminiscent of fishes. It's face was pointed, with no nose and its mouth opened to reveal impossibly sharp teeth in its dreadful visage. Its body was hidden under the blood, to the relief of the slave. The slave, recognising it, quickly bowed down and kowtowed to it.
"Begone, vermin." The creature hissed, spitting scalding blood at the slave. The slave hurriedly scuttered away, leaving the creature behind with a stranger whom he had never seen before. The stranger seemed covered in bandages, yet did not seem wholly real.
"See, power is to be taken and not given. If you move along blindly, someone else will lead. If you lead, the rest will blindly follow. Power is what matters here on Arcaz Du, not money, not looks, not anything else."
The stranger kept quiet, content to listen to the creature's ramblings.