BOOK I: HOPE

Chapter 1: Kainim

It was a bright, clear morning in Nosgoth. A gentle breeze cooled Kain's parched, ancient face as he looked out upon the broken pillars under a cloudless sky. This day was not made for undead shadows and dæmonic interlopers, Kain thought. It is a day of the living. A day for sweat and toil, growth and death, joy and sorrow. All the things, thought Kain, that I despised as petty and beneath me, even in the days when blood coursed through my veins and breath was in my lungs. Why then do I smile now, to think of the mortals out there, tilling their fields and wiping their brows? What is this that I feel?

Kain thought of Raziel. Like them, he had found something to give himself for. For the first time in his long years, Kain was aware of a sense of responsibility. Raziel has entrusted me with his sacrifice. A sacrifice, Kain thought with bitterness as he looked upon the crumbled pillars, that I was unwilling to make. Another unfamiliar feeling gnawed at the vampire: unworthiness. But he did not despair – in fact, he felt light, as if a great burden upon him had been lifted. He laughed, and he marveled at the sound of it, for his laugh was high and clear, and as gay as the laugh of a carefree child. Kain searched his memory in vain for a time he had ever laughed such a laugh before, and he wondered greatly.

Kain was astonished to discover, too, that he had been holding the Reaver, which seemed to gently glow with a tranquil light. To clutch the hilt of the Reaver had always rendered difficult the thinking of anything but dark and scattered thoughts. But Kain now felt clarity such that he had not known before, which he turned to the consideration of his enemies' plots. The Hylden lord certainly has a plan, Kain thought, probably involving the return of his people to Nosgoth. That hour may be close at hand, for he has no doubt prepared for this day. To stop him, I shall need to find him and thwart his efforts to release his people from their captivity, or send them back if I am too late. I should seek his city, there to find him or at least, hopefully, some clues.

The hideous monster that Moebius served will seek a new servant. And who better to choose? Kain thought with a grimace, looking upon the pillars where his younger self would, at this very moment, be erecting his throne. That whelp down there is so blind, so easily manipulated, and so very well-positioned. The monster has suffered a blow this day. I should have some time before he regroups and makes contact with the Scion of Balance and prince of this world. I will go to him, Kain thought, this day, and warn him against the treachery of the false god. He may prove a powerful ally against my two enemies, Kain dared to hope. At any rate, his doom and mine is at the heart of this world's story. Such was Raziel's sure hope, for which he gave his life. If I would respect his sacrifice and fulfil my appointed destiny, I must begin at the foot of that young vampire's infant throne. He is the central knot of this tangled web.

Kain hurtled through the air toward the pillars and their ruler, and two of the bats which carried his essence were pure white.


Returning to himself not far from the pillars, Kain looked at the sight before him with grim nostalgia. Construction of Kain's palace upon the pillars was beginning, and wretched undead things and bewitched mortals laboured cruelly, cutting and piling great stones for the walls and the foundation. My first subjects, Kain thought with no happiness. My reign begins, and what a glorious reign it will be, Kain thought and shook his head, recalling the utter desolation that awaited Nosgoth under his kingship. All my long years of rule, and what did I achieve but to turn this edifice into that rubble? All the mountains of skulls and rivers of blood, and for what? Did I ever think there would be an end to the destruction? What did I hope for? Holding the Reaver in his hand, Kain looked back on his centuries of rule with a sense of loss. There was always something, Kain decided, some new conquest, some new threat, to keep me occupied. But what was I building? Why did that never enter my mind? Kain laughed to realize that whoever wins in this coming conflict, the monster-god or the Hylden lord, he can hardly do a worse job of ruling this world than I did. That lightened Kain's spirits, and he walked past the thralls and their walls with confidence, to the throne at the centre of the pillars.

"Hail, Scion of Balance and King of Nosgoth by right and by conquest," Kain said, doing homage on bended knee and adoring him who sat on the throne.

"Who goes there?" said the King, and Kain quickly found himself surrounded by ghouls.

"A humble vassal who pledges himself to your service, O King," said Kain.

"It is a bold act to approach the King expected and undisguised," said the enthroned one. "Show yourself or be destroyed."

"Not long ago you said, O King, that you seek only a cure. After long years of searching, I believe I may have found it," said the elder Kain, and he threw off his hood.

The King was unimpressed. "Another of Moebius's phantasms? Away with you."

"Moebius is no more, as you well know, my liege. He died alone and miserable, in much confusion and despair."

"A fitting end for that fox."

"Perhaps," Kain said reflectively. "It was not so different from your own death, was it, O King? But there will be no second chance for Moebius. I guess that he has had his share of those already."

The young Kain's countenance remained stony, but his hesitation betrayed that he was considering something. "What is your business here?" he asked at last.

"A warning. And counsel, if you will hear."

"Speak," said the King. His thralls were abandoning their threatening posture, and beginning to return to their tasks.

"You must decide now," said Kain thoughtfully, "what kind of king you are to be. For what reason do you rule? I ask this because soon one will come, full of flattery and deceit, who seeks to make a pawn of you. If you start your reign by following his counsel, you will never be free from him. You will be his slave forever. Refusing him will not be easy, O King, for he will make doing his will appear as a small thing to you, and unavoidable, for he will tell you of a great power that opposes you, and he will teach a true way to combat it. His solution will seem to be the only way. When you meet this figure, you must have no parley with him at all, but reject him entirely."

"Fine words from one who comes to me in lying form. You I should trust, and not another?"

"I do not ask you to trust me, O King. I ask only that you consider the word I have spoken. You are the King of Nosgoth. It is yours to do what seems good to you. But that you may know who I am, I offer this token," said the elder Kain, and he drew the Reaver and presented it to the King.

"What devilry..." said the King in astonishment, handling the sword and comparing it to his own.

"The same sword, and not the same. In truth I would be happier to see you wield this one, and such may yet be your doom, O King."

The young Kain had holstered his own Reaver and was slashing their air with this new one, and much wonder and astonishment was upon his face. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Call me Kainim, for truly are you my sire."

The King did not entirely believe, but the saying pleased him. "Your sword has a good feel, Kainim," said the King earnestly. "But I shall keep my own." He returned the sword to its master, but his gaze lingered after it.

"As you wish," said the elder Kain, and began to walk away. At the foot of the pillars, he turned as if a new thought had occurred to him. "Your subjects?" he asked the King, gesturing at the shambling corpses and ensorcelled men.

"That's right," said the King, his eyes narrowing.

"Good workers," said Kain with a smile. "But not much for company, are they? What honour, what glory comes from lording it over such as these?"

"Someday I will lord it over many," said the King, but already he felt uneasy at this new line of conversation.

"To what end, my King? When every knee shall bow before you: what then?"

The King looked unsure. "I... I did not choose this doom..." he said somewhat angrily. He felt off-guard, and was all the angrier at himself for showing weakness before a subject who had earned some respect.

"It is before you nonetheless. The fate of this world is in your hands. The path you have started upon is not the only path. You can walk another path, a better and harder path." Kain lightly touched on the shoulder a bewitched man carrying stone. "Instead of compelling him to do your bidding, why not convince him?"

The King scoffed. "I can command. Why should I woo? Why waste my time on his like?"

"Is that the legacy you wish to leave, my King? Here lies Lord Kain, may his memory be eternal: He did things the easy way. The choice is before you. You can build an empire. Or you can build a tomb." With that, the old vampire burst into a flock of bats in the sight of the King, and disappeared on the wings of the wind. And the King was greatly astonished at the word he had spoken, for his counsel was unlike any he had heard before.