Barid paused, at the top step, gazing down imperiously at Draiss. "You've found something that upsets you," he said; not a question, a fact. "My plan, my goal, is simple: The freedom for<em>our</em>people to choose their own paths, their own destinies. Guided, yes, but guided to the point where they are ready to seize the universe, not be forced along a path, by gods, or fate, or beings from beyond. I will give them the tools to become their own gods, to forge their own fate, and to claim the destiny that is rightfully ours." His words were steady and calm, but his eyes blazed with passion.