Legacy of Kain
Nosgothica

A/N: So here we are again, it's always such a pleasure…Here we go again with a new fanfic, inspired by Dragonaia's Mirrors of Balance (which hasn't been updated since 2008), with references to Kojiokida2's canon from their continuation of the games, since that's the only canon I can probably go off of at the moment. Seriously, go read both of their fics, it's good stuff. Here's hoping you guys like this as much as the last one.

It was quiet on that one rainy night. A tap came at the window, and Thea had gotten up to see who it was, dragging herself reluctantly from a good night's sleep, but she had an idea who would be bothering her at this time of night. She opened the window, and looked down at the figure below, soaking wet and wearing a hoodie.

"Nysa." She sighed. "Did you get kicked out again?"

From under the hood of the figure's jacket, a pale face stared back up at her, violet eyes and an earnest smile. "Something like that."

Thea invited her friend inside, letting her borrow a pair of pyjamas and setting up a spare mattress for her to sleep on. "So, what'd you do?"

"There was an argument. I wouldn't roll over, so I ran off." Nysa laid back on the mattress and stretched out. "I'll just deal with it later, I guess."

"Your arguments seem to end in you getting dragged out of my house at unholy hours by suspicious individuals." Thea sat down next to her. "They know you by name- my folks think you're a bad influence." Nysa didn't seem to care much, having dropped off to sleep like she usually did whenever she visited, so Thea pulled the blankets over her and went back to bed.

The rain let up an hour later, and with the clear skies came a firm knock at the door. Thea's parents answered the door to find a tall woman with grey hair waiting on the other side of it, and a taller man behind her, a sword at his hip. "Take me to Nysa." The short command didn't seem like much, but the golden eyes of this stern woman held an ages-old power, mastered over a century, and Thea's parents were helpless to resist. The man opened the door, and Thea and Nysa were on their feet immediately. The woman walked in, looking less than pleased, but Nysa didn't seem fazed.

"Lycella. Charon." Her curt greeting was met with silence.

The tall woman, Lycella, crossed her arms. "You're coming home, Nysa. Now."

––
Our tale does not begin there, however. First we must look back into Nosgoth's past, back to when the vampire lord, Kain, took his victory over the parasitic Elder God and once more banished the Hylden to the Demon Dimension. He let the humans have their kingdoms, bringing their Kings to understand the significance of vampires to this land, and how the turning of the Pillar Guardians preserved the Binding that held back their enemies.

It was agreed then, that the guardians would be in the care of a handler until they came of age. Nosgoth prospered ever since then, the land growing abundant with life once more. But one day, some centuries ago, Kain disappeared, and a new Balance guardian was born. Responsibility of the fledglings went to Vorador from there, and the Circle continued to serve Nosgoth ever since.

Some guardians, however, didn't take well to it. There was a certain age for how old a guardian could be before they were turned, and in modern times that age had come to thirty, but some were turned sooner. The ones who were turned early for misbehaving or because they needed to be taught proper obedience that came with being a fledgling were usually the problem, abusing their position or causing too many problems. As the world progressed, outside countries expressed their distaste for how the Guardians were treated. The Vatican attempted to intervene and put an end to the tradition, but it was so deeply ingrained that they could not drive it out.

Another part of Nosgothic culture involved a government agency known as the Department for Vampiric Control, who despite the name, kept the peace when it came to the vampire population of Nosgoth. Vampires who were too dangerous or powerful were executed by hunters, but only with enough reported evidence.

However, investigating a case where a vampire is the apparent culprit is often affected by bias. Though they are part of Nosgoth's unique culture, there are still prejudices against them, and lesser Hunter families try to get termination orders for many high-profile vampires just to look like professionals. Elite families are often called in to terminate much stronger, older vampires, but sometimes the small fry get a good catch, if they're lucky enough.

Our story starts on a cold night, on the streets of Avernus. Avernus had retained many of its medieval structures, but after the second world war they had been rebuilt with modern fittings. Once a strictly religious city had become one of the most popular shopping districts in all of Nosgoth, with its fair share of ghost stories to entertain the tourists with. It also had the largest and oldest cemetery next to that of Willendorf or Meridian, and it was the number one place for a specific group of vampires at night. It ever so happened that this was Nysa's favourite stomping ground. She sat around a fire with these vamps, Avernusites every one. Well, except Pard. The kid was kind of a mutt, a Meridian street rat and not the brightest bulb of the bunch, but at least he was loyal to Nysa as both an informant and friend- she loved him like a brother.

They were all drinking with blood being passed around and Nysa herself was nursing a brew while they sang, danced, talked and laughed in celebration- one among the group, Roman, had just come out of the state of change after spending a hundred years as a fledgling, and everyone was excited to see his new gift. This was the first time Nysa had met him, but she'd been told by the others that he was a good kid and they'd all gotten along well through the night so far.

"I'll be honest with you, Roman," Laughed Nysa. "I didn't think you'd make it through with the bullshit the DVC's been giving your sire." She reached into her bag and tossed him a bottle, filled with blood. "Here- from Vorador's private stash. Consider it a gift."

Roman pulled out the cork and breathed in the scent. He exhaled in a shaking sigh. "Oh yeah, that's the good shit." He took a sip. "I owe you one- they say the Serioli method was the best way to preserve the flavour."

Nysa chuckled and knocked back the last of her beer. "Yeah, well. I wouldn't know for sure. It all smells the same to me."

Another among the group, Tallie, spoke up. "Is Lycella still bugging you about being turned?" She asked.

"Yep." Nysa pulled out another ale and uncapped the bottle. "But hey, we're not here to talk about the jerks I'll be calling my nestmates. C'mon, Roman, give us a show."

Roman set the bottle down and stood in front of the fire. "Okay- watch this." He rolled back his sleeve, then stuck his hand into the flames, but it didn't burn him. Everyone cheered and clapped.

"Damn!" Laughed Tallie. "Immunity on the first change! The DVC's gonna hate you for that!"

"Why do you think they use bullets now, mate?" Piped up another, an older vampire that everyone just called Tibs. "You know, unless you get immunity to that on your next change."

Roman laughed at that, and so did the others. Well, save for Pard. He looked nervous again, like he'd said something he wasn't supposed to that would warrant a beating as he stared into the woods. Nysa noticed this- she usually noticed when people weren't talking when they should be.

"What do you see, Pard?" She asked, finishing off her beer. "Ferals? Hunters?"

Pard just shook his head. "You're in trouble, m'lady. Charon. And Atticus."

"Fuck." She tossed the bottle aside. "Scatter, I got this covered."

"You're sure you wanna face this alone?" Tibs asked.

"You're not as old as they are. Atticus will probably mess up your brains and Charon's a walking tank." Nysa gestured, and a small gang of ghouls dragged themselves out of the ground. "I'll handle this. Scram." They all ran off into the thick of the woods, back towards town, and Nysa hopped off the headstone she'd been sitting on as her two colleagues showed up. "Good evening, gentlemen," She greeted casually.

"No games, girl," Snapped Atticus. "Ullara's asking for you."

"Look, I know you're Ullara's bitch and everything, but if Madame Night-Of-The-Living-Mummy wants me, she can come and get me." Nysa picked up another beer, then cracked it open and took a swig. "Besides, it's a nice night and I'd like to drink this in peace."

"Impudent girl," The Mind Guardian growled. "You think that your inherited wealth means you are above the Circle's summons"?

"On the contrary, yes." She dug out a pendant from under her top and held it up, smirking as the jagged piece of crystal that hung from it glowed.

Both guardians were suddenly on their knees, Atticus' face twisting painfully. "Where did you get that?!" He spat.

"I'm sure you'd like to know. Look, Tick- don't be cute." She shoved her hand in her pocket and tossed back another swig of her beer. "Threatening me ain't gonna fly. I do whatever I want until I'm old enough to be turned, and I sure as shit won't stop then." She walked past them, digging her phone out of her pocket to check the time. "You know how this works? Radius of about a kilometre, you'll be fine when you're out of range of me." She looked to the ghouls. "Make sure they don't follow." They gave no indication that they understood, but they stayed anyway.

With Atticus spitting livid behind her, Nysa put her headphones on and started blasting heavy metal while texting Thea. It was usually like this whenever someone amongst the Circle wanted something. Usually it was just Charon, but to have both the Conflict guardian and Atticus usually meant that Ullara, the Time guardian, was up to something and was trying to get Nysa to collude with her on it. Time guardians typically were sneaky and manipulative, with the occasional good egg too few and far between. If Nysa knew her history right, Ullara was right up there with Mobius, a Timestreamer who was famous for pulling everyone's strings to enact the will of a parasitic entity named the Elder God who lived deep beneath the very stone of Nosgoth for countless millennia until it was defeated by Kain some thousands of years ago with the help of Vorador.

Unfortunately, Vorador had died six years ago when a termination order was posted for him based on completely false allegations, and he left his vast wealth and possessions to Nysa, effective immediately upon the will being read. The other guardians had been livid that their sire would leave all his wealth to her. She wasn't very popular, which was why she had Thea and the gaggle of Avernusite vampires she'd been hanging with earlier. The money had gone to her staying in school and, more recently, university, making her better educated than those she would have called her nestmates, had the old vampire still lived. She would have gladly let him turn her, too- he'd basically raised her, better than her handlers ever could have.

The mansion was humongous, still as grandiose and well-hidden in the Termogent Forest that linked Avernus to Natchtholm to the east, and Uschtenheim to the North, through a long dirt road that hadn't been used in a long time. It had been built in the early days of Nosgoth's history, almost like a private kingdom. Once, it had been a citadel for the Ancient Vampires, complete with elegant architecture and beautiful stone statues and frescoes that decorated the courtyards. The Nature guardian, Eire, tended the gardens jealously and would snap at anyone who so much as slightly disturbed a single leaf. Nysa would spend hours here when she was younger, when Eire could still stand her. But then she accidentally trampled a tulip and it was never the same.

She pushed the wrought-iron gate open and slipped through, not really bothering to close it behind her as she walked through the gardens and towards the front door. She was sure that, the moment she walked in, it would be the usual scathing looks from everyone that she was getting a little sick of. Seven years and these idiots couldn't get over the fact that the entirety of Vorador's estate was hers now. You'd think that, as vampires, they'd let go of this stuff, but considering she was about eleven years off being turned there was a slim chance she'd ever stop waving that in their faces. Eire passed her as she walked through the door, giving a sneer as the Nature guardian walked by her, but Nysa just rolled her eyes and walked on, receiving similar glances- how predictable.

It didn't break her stride as she walked up the steps. All things considered, she was a bit of a rock star among this lot. She'd heard in passing, that she was like Kain's firstborn, Raziel, before his fall- too arrogant, too comfortable in being the favourite. From what Nysa had heard of his exploits, she was proud of that allusion. She walked into Vorador's study to find Ullara sitting in his chair, a poisoned smile on her lips. Compared to her sister Lycella, Ullara was definitely not as easy on the eyes- she looked about as inviting as a snake, just as Mobius had been, thin-lipped and sharp-featured, while Lycella was far more fair of form, even after the evolutions she had endured. The only thing Ullara had going for her was her wit and her power, and of that she had plenty.

"My dear Nysa," She said, smiling in a way that almost made the Death guardian want to gag. "I'm glad to see you home safe."

"Yeah, the fuck you are," Nysa snapped. "Get out of his chair before I feed you to the ferals."

Ullara stood, putting her bony hand to her breast with a pout that would have been pitiful had it not been forced. "You wound me, dear girl. Out of everyone here, have I not been a good friend to you? How can you treat your nestmate so cruelly?"

Nysa eyed her as she crossed around to sit in Vorador's chair. "You're about as jealous as the rest of 'em- at least Lycella doesn't send her pets to fetch me if she has need of me." She leaned back with her arms on the armrests like some sort of princess. "Now, what do you want?"

The pout dropped, but it was replaced by another fake smile. "I have some information on what our dearly departed sire was researching before his untimely death," She explained, putting her fingertips together as she paced slowly back and forth in front of the desk. "As we all know, Kain simply disappeared some thousands of years ago, and no one seems to know why." She gestured to the maps and notes laid out on the desk. "From this, it appears that Vorador was attempting to recover the Soul Reaver."

Nysa looked at the papers in front of her, various pages documenting Vorador's findings- it was definitely the old vampire's handwriting. "So what do you want me to do about it?" She asked. "And what would you want with the Soul Reaver, Ullara? Your arms would snap off if you tried to lift it."

Ullara looked about ready to snap at her- she was so easy to mess with. "I want nothing with the sword, per se, I merely thought it would be of some importance to you." She tilted her head inquisitively. "Were you not his favourite? The one he treated as if you were his own?" Her long fingers tapped together. "Umah would have wanted to finish what he started- who says you should not do the same?" From the purr in her voice, Nysa could only guess two things- she expected her to die trying and was appealing to sentiment to make her go marching off to her doom, or she genuinely wanted to finish what Vorador started but thought it was easier to send the Death guardian to do it for her and then take the spoils for herself afterwards.

Nysa decided she wasn't going to play this game- she would make her move at her own leisure. "I'm not Umah," She said firmly. "But I'll consider it." She narrowed her eyes at the Timestreamer. "Now get out, you reek of mothballs and I don't want you stinking up the place."

"Why are we not friends, dear Nysa?" Ullara circled around and put a hand on her shoulder, gripping it slightly. "As tarnished as their reputations were, Mobius and Mortanius were good friends while leading the Sarafan."

"Mobius was a fucking traitor. Mortanius at least had the dignity to try and fix the mess he made." Nysa's tone was cold, as if preparing to fight. "Unless you're trying to imply something? I wouldn't put it past you to do something equally as stupid as the shit Mobius pulled."

Ullara released her, then crossed around to the door with an equally cold look. "I do hope you'll consider what I've told you." Her golden eyes narrowed at her. "Goodnight."

With that, she shut the door behind her, leaving Nysa to her thoughts as she looked over the maps again. She'd have to ask Thea for help at university tomorrow- she was useless reading them, and she was better at history. It was probably one of the reasons the young Death Guardian got along so well with her. Thea was Irish-American, her parents having moved to Nosgoth with her when she was a baby, and probably the only person in her immediate circle of friends who didn't know she was a Pillar Guardian- it was for the best. Pillar Guardians weren't thought of very highly despite their position in Nosgothic society, and Nysa couldn't bear the thought of her best friend thinking so lowly of her.

The next day came, and Nysa managed to leave early for university. She would have driven there, but Wattz, the Energy guardian, had blown up her car a few months ago for an 'experiment' and she hadn't bothered wasting money on a new one. Student debt was not something she wanted to deal with after she'd been turned, so Nysa had been using the money she'd been left to pay for course fees. Besides, the journey to her campus consisted of a long walk through a nice, quiet part of the woods that ended in the cafe strip of Avernus' city centre, which was often crowded in the morning by coffee-cup zombies making their way to the train station for work, and the occasional sire come to pick up a foolish fledgling that had stayed out too late. Tallie had recalled fondly how her sire had to come and pick up three of her nestmates during the twenties when they'd gone out to a social party and forgot the time.

As usual, Nysa would find Thea sitting in the outdoor seating area of their favourite coffee shop, a cute little Austrian place with more coffee choices than anyone could count on their fingers and toes, so of course it was popular. Thea waved her over when she saw her. "Hey! How was last night?" She chirruped, kissing Nysa on both cheeks. "What's Roman like? Hope he's nice, I hear his sire's a pompous little so-and-so."

"He's great, Tallie described him pretty well." Nysa sat down across from her.

"No ferals?" Thea asked again.

"No, no ferals. They've been quiet lately, that's what I hear." Nysa ran a hand through her dark hair, hastily straightened in the rush to get out the door that morning and sticking out in some places.

"Ugh, thank God. I couldn't bear to see you turn into one." Thea reached over and held her hand. "What could make a fledgling go that bad?"

Nysa sighed. "Wish I knew." Oh, she did know- fledglings go into a feeding frenzy after their first awakening. If not sated, they slowly go mad from hunger and go on the hunt for victims. Vorador had told her that a long time ago. "Anyways, I have some stuff I dug up that I think you're gonna love."

Thea's keen blue eyes locked on her. "Tell me."

"Later." Nysa looked around. Some older vampires knew Vorador and who she was, so she had to make sure none of them were around while she was talking to Thea, lest they blow her cover. "Let's just say it's sensitive information- look, we'll handle this after history- we'll go to the library and talk about it there."

"By 'sensitive information', I hope that doesn't mean you stole it." The other girl crossed her arms.

Nysa held up her hands. "I am not a crook, okay? I have my sources."

"Your 'sources' seem to be the reason you get in trouble so much, though." Thea finished off her coffee. "Look, Nysa- your little escapades usually end with us both getting in trouble. Remember the time you tried to get us into the catacombs under the Cathedral? We got arrested for trespassing until that Lycella lady posted the bail."

"Yeah, and? We didn't really get charged with anything. The priest just thought we were there to graffiti stuff or whatever." Nysa leaned forward. "Look, Thea. I just need your help decoding this stuff. You don't have to come with me. Promise."

Thea stared at her long and hard, and eventually gave a long sigh. "Okay. What do you need?"