[ WP ] The straw that broke the Grimm Reaper 's back

Maximilien de Robespierre was a man of great convictions and great intentions. I still remember the whispered praises of French men and women on their death beds. With but a few remaining mortal breaths they reveled in the hope that'The Incorruptible' had given their lives. No man was more of a hero of the people than he. 
 
 During this time I admit shame, for I yearned to visit France and discover what new battles he waged. The equality of vote brought him deserved renown. His opposition to slavery displayed chivalry. When he turned to abolish the death penalty I could only feel admiration. That may seem odd to you, but it was originally death by natural cause that gave my birth my predecessors and I. Death by man is an abomination, and I cheered for his cause from the shadows. 
 
 At some point, a gray haired, ill-groomed man called me as he clutched at his heart amidst a crowd gathered for Robespierre. The Incorruptible's eloquent speech energized my soul in a way no mortal had done before. And so it was through others' misfortune, through eavesdropping in on the final conversations of French lives that I gradually witnessed Robespierre's corruption of spirit. 
 
 Some say power perverted his integrity. Others believe he simply sacrificed for a greater good. But the dying have no need to lie, and so I can say with certainty that neither party was wrong. So dedicated to his cause, he fully relinquished his moral compass. He rescinded his opposition to the death penalty and executed former friends and allies as readily as Louis XVI. 
 
 Tens of thousands died by his direction. He demanded citizens be given democracy, but could not abide those who would not embrace their despot's views. From time to time, I can still hear the guillotine working tirelessly to still the surviving opposition in Vendee. Heads filled baskets meant for flowers and fruit. But it was a final pair of brown eyes I would remember best. Robespierre's lifeless stare showed regret, but I know not if for his failures to realize his dream or for the cruelty he enacted to achieve it. 
 
 After, as has been done many times before and will be done many times after, death took a new face. My retired colleagues thought me brave to handle such massacre. My retired colleagues thought me resolute to see the Reign of Terror to its end. My retired colleagues thought me foolish when I predicted these deaths would be a blip on the radar of human persecution. 
 
 I admit it was a horrific time, but I am only glad my calling came when it did and not a century and a half later. Nightmares still haunt Tomas in a manner that no angel deserves. And the worst is still yet to come.
