Chapter One
Raziel rested on the floor of the Chapter House, not yet willing to move. He contemplated the orboros etched into the floor. Despair and rage suffused his being. The Wraithblade, still bound to his arm, glowed mockingly. Raziel could feel its disappointment, but underneath was a sense of manic patience. The mind of the Wraithblade retreated with its lingering promise. Raziel despaired with the knowledge of his destiny.
The world suddenly shifted and swirled around him. Raziel shut his eyes against the overwhelming sense of vertigo. Unsure of what was now happening, Raziel lay still long after the shifting had receded. He chanced opening his eyes on the bright colors of the material world.
"Welcome, Raziel," a woman's voice said kindly.
Raziel stood and whirled to the source of the voice, brandishing the Wraithblade. "Who are you? Why have you brought me here?" he demanded.
"Please, do not do anything hasty, Raziel," the woman said calmly, "I am Lady Gonawae. I have brought you to my home because it is outside of Nosgoth's history. There is nothing for you to fear here."
Raziel banished the Wraithblade, but narrowed his eyes skeptically. "What makes you think I have anything to fear?"
Lady Gonawae motioned to a dark mirror on the wall. As Raziel stared at it, he saw in a brief flash of light the Wraithblade turning the Reaver on him. Mercifully, the image went dark again before Raziel had to witness himself being impaled by the blade.
"Kain was right when he warned you about the dangers of creating a paradox," Lady Gonawae said. "History will not allow you to escape the Reaver."
"You sound so sure," Raziel said.
Lady Gonawae sighed, "As I said before, History does not exist here. It cannot destroy you for your paradoxes. This is the last place where you are truly safe."
"Safe," Raziel spat the word. "I suspect your motives in bringing me here. I especially doubt that you brought me here just so I could remain safe."
Raziel stormed out of Lady Gonawae's keep. It was not the defendable fortress that Raziel had imagined. It was stone, built to last, but it would not have survived any sort of attack. Raziel did not puzzle on this; he was determined to take action. He considered for a moment, take what sort of action? Frustrated, Raziel growled. His instincts usually drew his eye straight to the correct course, but this time, he was at a complete loss. He resolved to explore this new land he was in, perhaps that would give him a clue as to the lady Gonawae's true intentions.
Raziel found out rather quickly that the keep was surrounded on all sides by impassible mountains. He even doubted that functioning wings would've allowed him to escape. Dejected, Raziel plopped down on the ground to think. His escape was thwarted, and there seemed to be no enemies here, save for perhaps his most recent acquaintance. He certainly was not ready to go to /her/ for answers.
Raziel contemplated the lengthening shadows. How long had it been since he'd had a quiet moment; a day, a week, thousands of years? It didn't matter, it had been too long, too much had happened.
It didn't matter right now that he didn't have lungs, or a throat for his breath to catch in. Raziel's body shook with choking sobs. He let the misery flow through him. "My clan," he groaned. It wasn't just his clan that he was mourning, Raziel realized, but himself as well.
Raziel was exhausted, but he felt a slight weight drop from his heart. It still hurt to dwell on the fate of his clan, but Raziel knew he could now continue without the burning heat of his rage.
A faint tingling warned Raziel that he was slowing becoming energy starved. As he had not yet found any living being in this world, he knew that he must shift to the spectral realm. As Raziel cast off his physical form, his mind was fraught with a slight hesitation. Hopefully he would be able to find a shift glyph somewhere in this valley, or a way to escape into the world beyond.
There was no time to figure that out, however, as Raziel was gripped by some unseen force and dragged swiftly through the twilight of the spectral realm. He landed unceremoniously on Gonawae's intricately woven rug. Raziel fought to maintain his physical form as sparks of energy leaped off his body.
Lady Gonawae knelt at his side. "If you kill me, you'll be trapped here alone," she affirmed.
Raziel tugged at his cowl and drank in Gonawae's spirit. He felt her slowly weakening. Raziel mastered his self-control and released her, still hungry but surprised at how much she had re-energized him. Gonawae collapsed on the rug, dizzily trying to regain control of her senses.
Raziel cast his gaze around the room. He had been so infuriated earlier that he hadn't noticed much about his surroundings. The room was richly appointed with rugs and wall hangings in garish colors. Some of the hangings were familiar to Raziel; there was one that he could identify as coming from the human city in his own era. He wondered about the origins of the ones that he didn't recognize. A table near the hearth gave evidence that Raziel had interrupted Gonawae's dinner. He took a goblet of what he guessed to be wine and brought it to the still swooning lady. She accepted it and drank slowly.
"Why was I brought back here against my will?" Raziel asked.
Gonawae seemed to recover slightly, and she set the glass down on the floor. "I am unsure about the nature of the spectral realm here, or of the creature that was helping you. Without that knowledge, I could not put you to the risk of becoming trapped. Whenever you try to shift to the spectral realm, you will be instantly drawn back here."
"You seemed to have forgotten something," Raziel accused.
"I hadn't counted on you being so difficult," Gonawae said gently, rising to her feet.
"Enough of this, release me," Raziel growled. "I have no wish to remain here with you in this deserted place."
Raziel rested on the floor of the Chapter House, not yet willing to move. He contemplated the orboros etched into the floor. Despair and rage suffused his being. The Wraithblade, still bound to his arm, glowed mockingly. Raziel could feel its disappointment, but underneath was a sense of manic patience. The mind of the Wraithblade retreated with its lingering promise. Raziel despaired with the knowledge of his destiny.
The world suddenly shifted and swirled around him. Raziel shut his eyes against the overwhelming sense of vertigo. Unsure of what was now happening, Raziel lay still long after the shifting had receded. He chanced opening his eyes on the bright colors of the material world.
"Welcome, Raziel," a woman's voice said kindly.
Raziel stood and whirled to the source of the voice, brandishing the Wraithblade. "Who are you? Why have you brought me here?" he demanded.
"Please, do not do anything hasty, Raziel," the woman said calmly, "I am Lady Gonawae. I have brought you to my home because it is outside of Nosgoth's history. There is nothing for you to fear here."
Raziel banished the Wraithblade, but narrowed his eyes skeptically. "What makes you think I have anything to fear?"
Lady Gonawae motioned to a dark mirror on the wall. As Raziel stared at it, he saw in a brief flash of light the Wraithblade turning the Reaver on him. Mercifully, the image went dark again before Raziel had to witness himself being impaled by the blade.
"Kain was right when he warned you about the dangers of creating a paradox," Lady Gonawae said. "History will not allow you to escape the Reaver."
"You sound so sure," Raziel said.
Lady Gonawae sighed, "As I said before, History does not exist here. It cannot destroy you for your paradoxes. This is the last place where you are truly safe."
"Safe," Raziel spat the word. "I suspect your motives in bringing me here. I especially doubt that you brought me here just so I could remain safe."
Raziel stormed out of Lady Gonawae's keep. It was not the defendable fortress that Raziel had imagined. It was stone, built to last, but it would not have survived any sort of attack. Raziel did not puzzle on this; he was determined to take action. He considered for a moment, take what sort of action? Frustrated, Raziel growled. His instincts usually drew his eye straight to the correct course, but this time, he was at a complete loss. He resolved to explore this new land he was in, perhaps that would give him a clue as to the lady Gonawae's true intentions.
Raziel found out rather quickly that the keep was surrounded on all sides by impassible mountains. He even doubted that functioning wings would've allowed him to escape. Dejected, Raziel plopped down on the ground to think. His escape was thwarted, and there seemed to be no enemies here, save for perhaps his most recent acquaintance. He certainly was not ready to go to /her/ for answers.
Raziel contemplated the lengthening shadows. How long had it been since he'd had a quiet moment; a day, a week, thousands of years? It didn't matter, it had been too long, too much had happened.
It didn't matter right now that he didn't have lungs, or a throat for his breath to catch in. Raziel's body shook with choking sobs. He let the misery flow through him. "My clan," he groaned. It wasn't just his clan that he was mourning, Raziel realized, but himself as well.
Raziel was exhausted, but he felt a slight weight drop from his heart. It still hurt to dwell on the fate of his clan, but Raziel knew he could now continue without the burning heat of his rage.
A faint tingling warned Raziel that he was slowing becoming energy starved. As he had not yet found any living being in this world, he knew that he must shift to the spectral realm. As Raziel cast off his physical form, his mind was fraught with a slight hesitation. Hopefully he would be able to find a shift glyph somewhere in this valley, or a way to escape into the world beyond.
There was no time to figure that out, however, as Raziel was gripped by some unseen force and dragged swiftly through the twilight of the spectral realm. He landed unceremoniously on Gonawae's intricately woven rug. Raziel fought to maintain his physical form as sparks of energy leaped off his body.
Lady Gonawae knelt at his side. "If you kill me, you'll be trapped here alone," she affirmed.
Raziel tugged at his cowl and drank in Gonawae's spirit. He felt her slowly weakening. Raziel mastered his self-control and released her, still hungry but surprised at how much she had re-energized him. Gonawae collapsed on the rug, dizzily trying to regain control of her senses.
Raziel cast his gaze around the room. He had been so infuriated earlier that he hadn't noticed much about his surroundings. The room was richly appointed with rugs and wall hangings in garish colors. Some of the hangings were familiar to Raziel; there was one that he could identify as coming from the human city in his own era. He wondered about the origins of the ones that he didn't recognize. A table near the hearth gave evidence that Raziel had interrupted Gonawae's dinner. He took a goblet of what he guessed to be wine and brought it to the still swooning lady. She accepted it and drank slowly.
"Why was I brought back here against my will?" Raziel asked.
Gonawae seemed to recover slightly, and she set the glass down on the floor. "I am unsure about the nature of the spectral realm here, or of the creature that was helping you. Without that knowledge, I could not put you to the risk of becoming trapped. Whenever you try to shift to the spectral realm, you will be instantly drawn back here."
"You seemed to have forgotten something," Raziel accused.
"I hadn't counted on you being so difficult," Gonawae said gently, rising to her feet.
"Enough of this, release me," Raziel growled. "I have no wish to remain here with you in this deserted place."