Conquest, war, famine and death usually pop up in epic fantasies at an alarming rate but rarely are they personified. In fact, more often then not these signs of impending doom serve as vehicles for character development and absolute necessities to plot. I know I know.... obvious right? The point I'm getting to is that I've been admiring the IDEA of the four horsemen rather than what they foreshadow, of the four physical entities that serve as a final battalion themselves. Because, in truth, thats what they are - the final wave of cavalry.
This whole business of the four riders translates, as far as Hierarchy is concerned, into a band of enforcers. Thomas Hobbes wrote about the "leviathan" in 1651 and used this idea to illustrate social contract theory - a theory which I am too lazy to fully explain. In short, Hobbes stated that chaos and civil wars could only be avoided by a strong central government or some sort of enforcer - a leviathan.
The Hierarchy needs a leviathan, and its looking like there will be four of them.
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