A Change of Pace
Disclaimer: Legacy of Kain belongs to Edios and Crystal dynamics, they are not me. I am making £0.00 out of this fic; it is written purely because I have a burning need to create.
Rating: PG
Part: One of One
Set: Post BO2 Pre SR1.
Authoress Note: Raziel is impressed by magic.
A Change of Pace
I stopped when I spotted the opening in the cliff face and waited for my infant brood to catch up.
"Another cave!" Melchiah said stopping beside me. He glanced up at me, his expression open and excited. "Do you think this one will have a big cavern like the last one?" I shrugged. My lackluster answer didn't faze him or diminish his sudden excitement, he bolted forward, running towards the cave mouth.
"Stop," I snapped, my claws sinking into his tattered collar putting a very abrupt end to his run forwards. He managing to keep his balance at his sudden forced stop, though only barely. He looked at me over his shoulder, frowning, clearly confused. I pinched the bridge of my nose, the near constant headache I had developed since raising my "children" intensifying. "Don't just go running into places." I was getting used to my infant brood being foolish but at times the level of foolishness still caught me off guard, I had not expected him to go running into the damn cave.
"But…" Melchiah said. I clipped him on the back of his head.
"You don't know what's in there," I said firmly, ignoring the pathetic look he gave me. "Perhaps there is nothing, perhaps a band of vagabonds, perhaps a demon."
"Oh," Melchiah looked at the ground, he did not look up again. I sighed loudly and walked towards the cave.
"Trying to get us killed?" Turel hissed at Melchiah as he followed behind me.
"No!" Melchiah snapped turning to follow his older brother. "I just… well."
"You were being foolish," I said reaching the edge of the cave. I stopped at the entrance and turned to face my small brood. "We might as well make a lesson if this, tell me what you think is in the cave, if anything."
My small band stood at the entrance and stared into the darkness. Raziel came to stand beside me, as was his growing habit, frowning at the darkness as if giving it a firm look would force it to reveal its secrets to him. He took a step forward into the cave, I put my arm in front of him, preventing his advancement.
"Your eyes aren't what they will hopefully one day be," I said with forced patience. "You have more than one sense, use all of them." I watched as one by one they all closed their eyes and were still, listening and taking deep breaths of the damp air trying to discern what I had sensed from the tree edge.
"I can't hear anything," Rahab said eventually.
"Yes," I said. "Odd, no?"
"Well, I suppose," Rahab said slowly. "I should be able to hear something then?"
"Yes," I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. "You should, this is a living forest, while not as abundant as it was in years past it is still mostly untouched by Nosgoth's corruption you should hear something living."
"You think there's something in the cave scaring the animals away?" Raziel said.
"I know there's something in the cave," I said firmly. "And so, should you." Losing patience, I held up my right arm and called light. A simple spell and one of the first that I had learned in the first few days since my death. I scoffed quietly to myself, days dead and I was throwing complex magic around, my own brood was now two months old and couldn't even be trusted to walk through the forest safely.
The cave was bathed in light, exposing the hulking form of a black demon. My brood wisely took a few steps back putting me between them and the creature. At least they knew that much. I frowned for a moment, distracted when I realized Raziel had not taken a step back, his expression was clearly afraid, but he didn't back down, didn't hide behind me like his brothers. It was foolish but also spoke of his character, either he was frozen in fear or he refused to hide. He must have felt me watching him, he looked at me, and underneath the fear, I could see determination, he wasn't going to run.
He was brave, stupid but brave. I nodded at him once, letting him see my approval. Stupid, I could fix, I could attempt to educate, bravery was something I could not teach.
The demon screeched, turning its focus on to us quickly enough. I was not in the mood to draw this out so calling another spell I focused for a moment, foreseeing the outcome I wished and hurled the small bolt of magic at the demon. The small bolt hit the creature and knocked it back a step. The demon fell to the ground, dead, and for a moment a transparent image of the creature hung in the air before fading. It was comically befuddled, clearing not registering its own demise. I snorted and walked forward as the image faded, not waiting for my children to follow me. After a few paces, I heard Raziel run up behind me.
"What happened?" he asked. I glanced at him, for a moment not sure what he was asking me.
"I killed it," I said.
"But how?" he pushed. "It was one of the huge ones, like from last week, it took multiple blows from your blade last time. How did you do it so easily this time?"
"Oh," I said. He was confused about the magic. I supposed that I shouldn't be surprised, I generally preferred to use the Reaver as of late, it was an inexhaustible resource after all and took little of my energy. Magic took a great deal of concentration, was physically draining and was limited in how much I could throw around at any given time. Since raising my idiotic brood I had found myself feeling almost constantly exhausted, so magic had not been my preferred means of self-protection lately.
"You threw something at it," Raziel pressed me as we clambered further into the cave. The uneven ground taking some of my focus.
"Yes," I said. "It was a spell, one that physically tears a creature's soul from its body, it's a powerful if draining spell."
"You tore it's soul out?" Raziel's eyes went wide. I nodded.
"To be honest I could not be bothered with a more intricate battle," I muttered trying to decipher his strange expression and not trip on the increasingly troublesome cave floor.
"You tore it's soul out because you couldn't be bothered to fight it with your sword," he said slowly.
"The ground is treacherous," I muttered and stopped myself, why was I making excuses?
"That's amazing," Raziel said, smiling widely. His open and genuine admiration gave me pause, I had been praised for my destructive capabilities in the past but never with such childlike wonder. I raised an eyebrow at him before turning my focus back to navigating our way through the cave.
Eventually, I found a place, deep in the cave where we could stop. I could sense nothing else living here, the black demon must have driven everything else out. We would be safe here for a while. Perhaps I would keep us here for a few days, the forest outside contained a popular road which would provide ample food and there was plenty of opportunities here to educate my children about the hazards Nosgoth held for our kind. Yes, this was a good place, provided that the death of the black demon did not cause an influx of other nuisances, housekeeping was both troublesome and boring.
"We'll stay here," I announced. "Try not to wander much further in until I've checked it."
"I could check it for you, father," Rahab spoke up. I frowned at him.
"You couldn't sense one of the more powerful demons when it was less than eight feet away from you," I said firmly. Rahab opened his mouth but obviously thought better of arguing and closed it.
"There could be more demons here?" Zephon said. I shook my head.
"No," I said. "But that's not to say there are no dangers further in." I could smell water and hadn't decided if it meant there was a subterranean river further in or if the cave was just damp. Either way, I'd rather not have to stage a sudden rescue because Melchiah or Rahab couldn't keep their curiosity in check.
I settled myself on the ground, letting the wall take my weight as I leaned back. Absently I pulled the Reaver free of its holster and laid it across my legs. Letting the cool of the stone behind me ease the tension in my shoulders. After a moment I felt myself start to doze and had to concentrate on staying awake and keeping half an eye on my brood as they clambered around the cave, exploring in the limited space I had allowed them. I had learned early on that no matter how 'safe' a place seemed if there was something that could hurt or kill them they would find it. Not watching them was not an option.
"Father?" Raziel said coming to sit next to me. I grunted, acknowledging him and his question. "Can you tell me about the spell?"
"There's not much to tell," I frowned at him, not certain what he wanted to know. "It is a form of magic, one of many I can employ."
"You can do other kinds of magic?" he said, I nodded. He looked at me eagerly, and with such earnest interest that before I had considered what I was doing I was holding out my hand and summoning lightning. I kept the amount very small, just a little power to arch and flash across my palm. You would have thought I had summoned God by his reaction, he jerked backward, eyes wide before coming in close, his nose brushed my fingertips and I sent a spark at him, chuckling when he jerked back again.
"Do you often put your face into lighting storms," I closed my hand snuffing out the small show of power. His expression changed from wonder to disappointment and I couldn't help the small swell of pride in my chest at just how impressed he seemed to be. I concentrated a bolt of energy in my hand, letting the power swell, then flicked it across the cave towards a stalagmite. It exploded, sending a flurry of tiny rocks in all directions. Raziel howled with laughter.
"That was wonderful," Raziel said, grinning at me. "Do it again!" and I did. By the third stalagmite, the rest of my fledglings were starting to get nervous. They edged away, concern clear in their faces. This was the reaction I was used to, fear and worry, certainly not the delighted appreciation Raziel was still displaying. "Smash that one next!" Raziel pointed to the largest stalagmite in the cave. I was tempted but considering the destruction I had already wrought, it was probably best not to completely ruin the place I hoped to have us stay for a time. Instead, I stood, gesturing Raziel to follow.
"Turel," I said glancing at my second eldest. "Look after your brothers, keep them in here. We won't be long."
"Are you hunting!" Dumah said, already his fear at my display gone with the possibility of food.
"Perhaps," I said and started out of the cave. It would not be wise to be gone for long, but Dumah had a point, they hadn't eaten since the early evening and fledglings took a lot of feeding. I picked up the pace, Raziel following at my heals. Once outside I paused for a moment, judging which direction would be best to take us back to the road.
"Does magic only destroy?" Raziel asked, snapping me from my thoughts. I picked a direction and headed off, we would go along the river.
"No," I said as he followed. Why was I bringing him? I hadn't gotten up with the intention of hunting, I had meant to bring him outside, but to do what, show off some more? I frowned again, what was I doing? I had sworn to myself that when I raised them I would not make the same mistakes that I had with Magnus and Sebastian and to a lesser extent Marcus and Faustus. I would not let them get close, I would not make myself vulnerable to them, yet here I was dragging my eldest away so that I could boast of my power and lap up his blind admiration, for what purpose?
"Father?" Raziel said. "What else can it do?"
"It can protect," I slowed my pace. I was educating him, I decided. I wasn't showing off, and I wasn't enjoying myself. I did not appreciate his company or the fact that he seemed to like mine, I was simply educating my fledgling so that he wouldn't die and the only reason I didn't want him to die was because of the effort I had already put into keeping him alive. He was here to serve a purpose; my purpose and I was making it so that he could.
"Protect," Raziel repeated. I nodded turning my focus away from my own inner musings and onto educating my fledgling.
"Yes," I held my hand up, palm facing away from us and focusing, pushed my power out and around us both. It shone in the air, glimmering for a moment before becoming invisible. Shield in place I sent an energy bolt into the river. The resulting splash was loud and the water rose up, it came towards us and Raziel coward, pressing himself against my side as he saw his death come towards us. "Watch," I said, he looked up in time to see the water hit the shield I had erected and runoff, leaving us unharmed. He looked at me silently, his eyes wide again. "I cloaked us under a protective aegis," I said explaining. "There is little that can get through, but it only lasts for a short time." He reached out to touch the shield and frowned when his hand went through where the shield was without any resistance.
"I can pass through," he said. I nodded.
"It is imperfect," I admitted, disliking the stab of embarrassment that pierced me at admitting a weakness.
"So, magic can destroy and protect," Raziel said seemingly giving this a great deal of thought. I continued walking in the direction of the road.
"It can do a great many things, it just depends on the wielders preference," I said. "My defensive magic is not my strongest suit as I prefer offensive magic. But I am not limited just too offense and defense."
I looked around the forest and spotted a hawk in the trees. Concentrating I hurled a spell up through the branches, seizing control of the bird. There was a moment of disorientation as my vision weakened to that of the predator bird. I opened the creature's wings and had it glide down to us. I had it land on Raziel's head, careful of its talons. He laughed again.
"Is that you?" he asked. I nodded, feeling nauseous when I tried to control both the bird's body and my own. Taking full control of the bird again, I had it peck him out of spite, but he only laughed. Again, I found myself wondering what I thought I was doing. I was supposed to be educating him on the abilities of magic, not amusing him with the local wildlife. I let go of the bird and it fell from him, dead before it hit the ground. He looked oddly upset. "You killed it," he said. I shrugged.
"It is the spell, what of it," I said turning from him and walking forward.
I had only gone a few paces when I heard people. I let out a breath, at least now I could concentrate on something productive as opposed to the appropriate way to behave with my fledgling. The mortals had camped by the river as I had hoped they would, some were already up and about, reminding me that it was getting to be very late for us to be out. The sun would rise soon and Raziel was still too weak to stand to be out in it.
"Shouldn't have brought him," I muttered to myself.
"Father?" Raziel said. I turned to face him.
"The last lesson for today," I said firmly. "Magic can also extend into exotic realms, such as the manipulation of time."
"You can alter time!" he said, his melancholy at my treatment of the bird was suddenly forgotten in wake of this new information. I nodded and smirked. Facing the camp, I held my hand out again and with a focus that was becoming more exhausting to maintain I pushed out a wave of power. It tore through the camp like wind, and those pottering about were suddenly frozen.
"Come," I said pulling Raziel into the camp with me. I went about snapping the necks of those I came across. "Make yourself useful," I told him offering him a body. In the end, I managed to load him up with two bodies and took a further three myself. We left the rest to rot and started back towards the cave.
"So, you said your specialty was destruction," Raziel said after a time. I snorted.
"I didn't put it quite like that, but yes that seems fair," I said.
"Is that limited to the energy bolt thing from the cave?" he said.
"Not at all," I smiled, changing my grip to better hold the bodies I was carrying. "There's a spell, Implode, that causes the body to shrink on itself, it ruptures organs, crushes bones until the pressure is so great that the body …"
"You can make people burst!" Raziel interrupted. "That sounds very … violent."
"It is perhaps one of my crueler spells," I said, enjoying his amusement.
"What else?" he demanded as we reached the cave mouth.
"Font of putrescence," I said.
"A mouthful," he muttered struggling to navigate the uneven ground under his burden.
"Certainly," I agreed. "It causes rot and decay to spread very quickly. The targets effectively decompose in moments."
"That one sounds disgusting," Raziel stumbled and fell, dropping the bodies he was carrying. I waited for him to pick himself back up.
"It smells," I said. "It is also contagious." We reached the chamber where my brood waited, I was pleased to note that none of them had become injured in my absence and that they had the decency to wait for me to put the bodies down before falling on them like ravenous beasts. I watched them eat, making no effort to make sure it was fair as to who got what. Life was difficult here and the sooner they learned that the better. I ordered the bodies removed when they were done, decomposition would stink out the cave and attract beasts. Turel and Dumah took the bodies outside and using my gift from Magnus, I set them ablaze. A normal flame would not have disintegrated them so thoroughly but Magnus' gift was impressive and did the job well. Back inside I encouraged my fledglings to settle down for the day. As was his habit, Raziel settled close to me.
"Contagious," Raziel said after a moment. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Earlier you said that one of the spells was contagious."
"Yes, font of putrescence, the potency remains for some time, so if another touches a previous victim they too will rot. It's a handy spell when there is a bottleneck."
"What's that?" Raziel asked.
"A narrow opening or pathway through which an opposing force has to come. A tactic I have used before was to create a bottleneck and drop a single spell inside. It was an easy way to take out a large number of enemies."
"But it smells?"
"Terribly," I couldn't help matching his grin with one of my own.
"What about…" he started but stopped when I held up my hand.
"Go to sleep, pest," I reached out and ruffled his hair. He looked for a moment like he might argue with me, but he was obedient by nature and did as he was told, settling down quietly.
I stayed awake for a time trying to quash the growing feeling of dread in my gut. I had promised myself that when I raised fledglings that they would be tools, objects to be used as I saw fit. Creations made for a sole purpose of helping me take Nosgoth as my own. They were not companions, or friends, or family. I would not open myself up to betrayal as I had before. But sitting here watching over them while they slept, I couldn't help but think how pleasant the night had been. It had been enjoyable to speak with Raziel about magic, his curiosity was entertaining and I couldn't deny that I was looking forward to showing him more. Hell, I was already thinking of ways to find an excuse to form a bottleneck just to see his reaction.
"This is going to be harder than I thought," I muttered to myself.
The End
Authoress Note: Authoress note: Thank you for reading, please comment/review, I'd love to hear what you think.
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