I awoke at the sound of a deep gruff voice. Upon opening my eyes I saw I was being held up by two Clan Leaders, each holding one of my arms. My eyes focused and came face to face with the worst of my nightmares.
"Kain," I stuttered struggling to escape the grasp of the two vampires. Kain smiled with a glint of pleasure in his eye.
"How did you come to fall through my portal little girl? I see you've met Turel and Rahab, my sons," he motioned his clawed hand and they dropped me on the crystal floor. I tried to stand up, but my strength was close to none. I sat down and subtly started to regain my power.
"Your blind ambition has caused the near destruction of Nosgoth, Kain. You must realize that your foolishness can only lead to death," I said glowering at the powerful vampire.
"Brave words for such a young girl. Your speech however, has allowed me to discover more about your identity," he grabbed my jaw and forced it open.
"Your teeth are too small to be a true vampire's yet they are too large to be a human's I tried to bite him with little luck. "Who were your parent's little girl?" My head was clouded. I couldn't remember anything past my awakening in this room.
"He asked you a question!" growled Rahab and stepped forward aiming to hit me. Kain stopped him with a sharp force push.
"Now, we wouldn't want to kill our little friend would we?" he examined my face closer with his clawed fingers. "Your face, it seems familiar, like I've seen it before," he stood up straight just as I felt the power surge through my veins.
I jumped to my feet and grabbed a staff from the wall, prepared to take on the fledglings that ran to assist their masters. I easily defeated them and faced Malek, who was raging. He charged me, but only hit my staff and was thrown off balance. I got into a ready stance and he stared at me, not moving at all with a look of deep thought on his face.
"Raziel...?" he muttered and attacked me again. I was unfortunately distracted by his comment. This time he nailed me in the stomach. I doubled over coughing blood all over the crystal floor. The cape that had been wrapped around my waist had been knocked off. Kain scooped it up, unfolded it, and stared at the symbol.
"Raziel's sign. The betrayer. How did you come to have this in your possession?" he shoved it back at me and I held it in my arms protecting it from the blood that spilled on the floor from my mouth every few minutes. I couldn't remember anything, it wouldn't help me to answer, besides, I couldn't talk with a mouthful of blood. Kain was not pleased with my lack of an answer.
"Through her in the cage in Malek's room, and make sure she doesn't die. I want to further investigate you, little girl," he said smiling evilly, and I swear I saw a glimmer of satisfaction in his eye. Malek and Zephon dragged me by my arms into a large room and threw me into the cage. There was a coppery taste in my mouth from the blood which was not at all appetizing. There was a bed on a stone in the corner and, to my great surprise, was reasonably comfortable. It was cold in the room and I wrapped the cape around me. Upon laying down on the bed, I shut my eyes and dozed off.
I awakened to a completely dark room. My eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly and I examined my surroundings. I had to escape somehow... I examined the stone walls and, to my surprise, realized that one of the blocks pushed inward. making sure that Malek was dead asleep, I dug my claw-fingered gloves into the stone and pushed it forward as quietly as I could. I found myself outside, right behind to vampire fledglings. I tried not to panic and crept along the outer wall. I spotted a staff and pulled it off. Once I gathered my courage, I threw it at the fledgling, and immediately destroyed it.
His partner wasn't as stupid as I had originally thought and attacked me. I dodged, swiping him with my clawed gloves. After I successfully paralyzed him, I got my staff and destroyed him also. I saw a door to the east and I ran inside it.
Once I was sure I was safe, I ran down the hall and jumped over the water. I went through the door in front of me and followed the hall to an area with several pillars. In the middle was a glyph. Something in my dead memory was being resurfaced. I touched the glyph and it fused into my body. I was shocked from the sudden surge of energy.
"Rachel..." a deep voice sounded. I looked around, yet I was alone. "Use the glyph Rachel." Unable to speak, I did as I was told. The Spirit Realm appeared before my very eyes! I gathered my thoughts and found the courage to walked down the passageway that had appeared. It looked like in the Material Realm it would be submerged in water. Maybe it connected to a lake, or worse, the Abyss. I sneaked into a room with a portal, and enabled it. Further on was a room that seemed... alive.
"So, you've arrived at last. I know you Rachel, and you have gotten yourself into a lot of trouble," Elder spoke in a deep echoing voice.
"It was not my own will that got me into this," I replied. "It was just a coincidence. I would like to go home thank you very much."
"Ah, but you do not know where home is do you?" he said. I looked at my feet, which were covered in protective shoes made of armor. The shin armor went up to my knees and my pants were a little baggy as well as my shirt. Draped across my shoulders was a cloak that had my symbol on it, and of coarse the cape that wrapped around my waist, which had Raziel's symbol on it. My forearms and wrists were covered in armor and I was wearing clawed gloves that made me look less human. I began to wonder why I possessed Raziel's cloak...
"If I am to help you, you must help me. I know exactly who you are, and I can tell you many things." I thought about his offer. I considered the options and made up my mind.
"Alright, what do I have to do?"
****
I walked across the creaky bridge that lead to the Abyss. I felt the weakened wood under my feet. My stomach was in my throat from the thought of plummeting into the vortex below and suffering an eternal damnation. The spinning vortex of the Abyss remains constant, despite the many centuries that pass. Kain would throw anyone he saw as a traitor or a weakling into the water. Water reacts like acid on a vampire's skin, and any vampire who falls into water is instantly incinerated. I stood on the rock that overlooked the Abyss and gathered my courage to look over the edge. It was an amazing site, the bluish colored water that turned for some unknown reason.
" This is a place that your blood-line fears most," Elder told me, his voice seeming to flow from the very air of Nosgoth.
"Why would my family fear this hellish place anymore than the rest of the clans?" I asked looking away from the vortex.
"To understand the present, you must understand the past. First, you must find out who you really are, and who your parents are," he didn't answer my question.
"If you know who I am, then why don't you tell me?" I asked, hoping for a straight answer.
"If you want to know more, you must defeat the clan leaders and get the truth from them. They were the ones who inflicted pain and suffering to your ancestors, and even now they are trying to defeat your clan. If they continue, they will succeed... eventually. Your destiny is to defeat them and to avenge your ancestors," his voice echoed loudly over the sound of the rushing water from the waterfalls that flowed into the Abyss.
"Who are my ancestors?" I was getting tired of going in circles.
"That is to be revealed in time."
I walked to the edge of the rock and jumped over to the next one, still nervous about falling in. To the left of me was a passageway that lead into the rock. Water ran down it. I looked closer and saw that it dipped down a bit back. I wondered where it went...
"That passageway will take you to the city of the humans, Mystic. It has been renamed many times, but it's purpose has remained constant. Humans can live there safely and do not need to fear the vampire menaces. That would be a good place to start your quest," Elder said. I hesitated when I saw the water, being half-Vampiric myself.
"Do not worry Rachel. Being half human, you don't possess very many of the Vampiric weaknesses. Water will not hurt you, so you can swim like a normal human." reassured by Elder's advice, I jumped into the water and climbed up on the edge after reaching the top of it. I stared down at the deep water that lead down a tunnel, and most likely into the city.
"There is still one weakness to water you have Rachel. Not being completely a vampire, the ones that can swim that is, you can't breathe underwater. You can only go so long before you will start losing energy. Make sure you come up for air once in a while, and you'll be just fine," he gave me on last piece of advice and I dived under water. I swam up a narrow channel and surfaced inside the city. I hopped out of the water and was confronted by two humans. Both were holding cross-bows, and immediately I had them pointed at my head and heart.
****
"How'd you get in here?!" one yelled at me pushing the end of the cross-bow to my neck. My heart was hammering in my ears. When I wasn't immediately shot dead, my thoughts overrode the sound of my pounding heart and started working as hard as it could to find a way out of the situation.
"Don't shoot, I'm human!" I yelled. Both guards lowered their cross-bows slightly in consideration. They seemed to be thinking about whether to not believe me and shoot, or let me by. They finally lowered their crossbows to my relief.
"We're sorry miss, we thought you were a vampire," he apologized, but it didn't sound as sincere as it should have. The two of them opened the gate and I walked in. The city was, in a word, breath-taking. My head shot in all directions, admiring the crystal statues and the fountains that were all over the city. The deep moats and high walls would easily keep the vampires at bay, but it appeared that something else entirely had made it in. I took notice to the claw marks on a particular wall with a waterfall coming down it. It didn't look like a vampire's claws, perhaps some other creature... I turned around and there was a magnificent statue of a handsome, human-like creature. He must have been someone important.
"Elder, do you know who this is?" I asked pointing to the shockingly detailed, full colored statue.
"Of course Rachel. Yet, his identity is yet to be revealed," he answered and, as usual, left me in the fog. I walked past it and up the wall with the waterfall. I made it to the top and walked down the hallway. There was a portal room, a eldrich energy fountain, an energy fountain, and an emblem piece. I picked up the emblem piece and healed myself, then enabled the warp gate.
"These power restorers and emblems are critical to your existence in the Material Realm. The emblems are rare, but when you collect one, your health is increased. There are fifteen in all. Do not forget to restore your eldrich energy as well. Return here when you are in need of healing," Elder said. Remembering his advice, I set off down the wall and landed on my feet silently. I ran down the stairs, taking two at a time. I jumped back into the water and saw a different exit than the one I came through. After exploring the tunnel, I shoved a rock out of the way to reveal another emblem piece. I picked it up, swam down the narrow channel to the left, and popped up in what looked like a castle with flags everywhere.
"Malek..." I said to myself looking up at the flags. Statues and paintings of him were everywhere. He must be completely conceited. I saw an adult vampire, red eyes glowing in the dark. Picking up a staff off the wall I attacked him and then destroyed him. His soul was released and it shot into my body. I was shocked by the event. Why did it do that, and why do I feel... restored...?
"I see you've discovered your specialized ability. While you eat and drink like a normal human, your special ability, inherited from a particular ancestor, is the ability to devour souls. You can restore your energy by absorbing the souls of your enemies," I raised an eyebrow at Elder's comment. Can I really do that? Why could my ancestors? Maybe I could get the answer from Malek... that determined me to find him I entered through the wooden entrance doors of the amazing castle.
I spotted a human and walked up to her. It was a little girl, apparently frightened and undoubtedly lost. I kneeled next to the bawling little girl.
"Hey little girl, are you lost?" I said soothingly. She looked up, her eyes were red and her face tear-streaked.
"My brother Jonathan went in to kill a vampire and he hasn't come back. He promised to come back," she sniffled. I was wasting precious time, but I couldn't just leave her here alone...
"If you want me to, I'll go find him, what's your name?" I inquired.
"You will? Oh thank you, thank you! My name is Sarah," she smiled and hid behind a large statue near a wall. "I'll stay here until he come back." I set off towards a low wall and made it to the top. I saw a vampire that had a blue aura surrounding him. He must have been revived. I attacked him, but he was obviously stronger. I finally gained the upper-hand by backing him up against a wall and impaling him. I was weak and his soul restored my health significantly. I continued down the hall and a young man, sixteen perhaps, was crouching with a cross-bow.
"Thank you miss. I could have got him though," he said somewhat gratefully.
"Your sister Sarah is waiting by the door. You should go get her," I said pointing down the hall.
"Why are you here miss? It's awfully dangerous for a girl."
"Do I look like a pushover? I'm here to kill Malek, but I don't know where he is."
"I do. It's quite simple to find his chamber, if you can solve the block puzzles. Now, excuse me miss, but I must go home with my sister," he headed for the wall.
"One more thing," I said. "Drop the 'miss' stuff. My name is Rachel."
"I'm Jonathan. I'll be going now." He started for the exit. "Oh! Take this, I don't have a use for it," he threw his cross bow at me and I caught it in my right hand. He climbed down the wall and I proceeded into the next room.
I was immediately overwhelmed by two vampires and had a hard time taking them down, not because they were strong, but because of their appearance. Malek received one of the smallest portion of Kain's gift, making him one of the weakest. He was so weak he could not hold his flesh onto his body, like Melchiah, who was unable to be resurrected. His new form no longer plagued him with this problem, but his children still suffer from it. They skin their victims and use it to keep their rotting carcasses together. It was a revolting site, watching them stagger about. I looked around and saw the block puzzles Jonathan had mentioned. The wall had a picture of a sun on it. After some turning and placing, I put the blocks together in the middle of the floor. The gate opened and I ran through.
In the next room I noticed that one of the holes in the wall went all the way through. I crawled down it and found a Emblem piece. I picked it up and returned to the block puzzle. The picture was a moon this time. It was a harder puzzle than before, but I got it. The gate opened as before and I ran through. The next puzzle was the symbol of Malek. I must be close. When I put the blocks in place, one was missing... there! I spotted a ledge and jumped on to it grabbing it with my gloves. I climbed up and there was the missing block. I shoved it over and moved it into place. The gate swung open and I approached the room slowly. As soon as I entered the door slammed shut! I crept slowly forward to the middle of the room.
"So, it is you again," a very deep, gravely, voice sounded from the front of the room. "Pitiful half-breed, I expected you to be... stronger now, more like your Vampiric ancestors." My fists clenched.
"What do you know Malek? Tell me now Or I'll beat it out of you!" I said forcefully.
"You dare challenge me?" he started to laugh, loud and deep. "You, a young girl barely thirteen, without any abilities of any kind? You have your ancestor's determination."
"What do you know Malek?! You are the youngest of the Brethren, therefore the weakest!"
"I know more than you. You are now, the last, to die!" he ran at me and I jumped out of the way, dodging as he fired force projectiles. I shot back with the crossbow, but the arrows did little damage. I noticed a button on the wall, maybe it will unlock that trap door in the floor... I jumped in front of it and waited for him to shoot at me. He did, and I jumped over the shot which struck the button, opening the trap door underneath him. He caught himself from falling into the grinding gears and I placed a foot on his hand.
"What do you know?" I asked again. "What do you know about my ancestors and Kain?"
"Kain is beyond your reach weakling." his hand slipped on that instant without me stepping on it and he fell down into the gears. His soul came to me and I felt it fuse into my body.
"Why am I doing this? Is killing the answer?" I said quietly.
"You are doing this to find your real identity Rachel. You are doing this to save Nosgoth's balance. Now, you have a better chance of doing so. Malek's soul has given you the ability to phase through walls in the Spectrial Realm. Just push against the gate and you will go through it as if it were nothing. You should search out Zephon's cathedral, for Zephon my have more information," Elder, once again, tried to hide what he knew by giving me more logic puzzles and some advice. Nevertheless, I decided to head for Zephon's cathedral. Maybe Zephon can tell me something. Using the portal near Malek's chamber, I teleported to Elder's chamber to get some advice before taking on the massive building.
Elder was glad to help. "When you enter, you must be very cautious. Zephon's children are spider-like and will prey on you from the walls if you are not careful. Find Zephon and destroy him as you did Malek."
I phased through the gate in the pillar room, where this all started. I ran down the hallway and was cut off by Kain! I panicked, but I couldn't move I was so scared. I thought it was all over.
"Ah, half-breed, you've come. Allow me... to kill you!" he charged at me with a blade that was transparent. It seemed familiar, in a strange way. I Braced myself for what death feels like... but the blade shattered on my back!
"Raziel... I did not see her as who she is, until now," Kain said and disappeared. I was confused. I saw the blade in front of me, only it was like an energy sword. I touched it and it fused into my hand. The Soul Reaver, the mystical sword said to slay vampires at one touch. It truly existed...
After I was sure my legs would support my weight, I continued down the hallway. The cathedral loomed infront of me. Creepy. Something about the building was disturbing... it was way to quiet. The door had the Soul Reaver printed on it, so I touched the door with my left hand, the one holding the Soul Reaver. The door shot open with a loud screeching noise that sent shivers down my spine. I walked in and was jumped by a Zephonim vampire. I took him out with the Soul Reaver, but got a good look at him first.
While not cute, they're better looking than Malek's group. They can scale walls and have very spider-like features. They spin webs and capture their prey, whether it be human or a fellow vampire. Atleast they can keep they're flesh on their bones. I noticed that the clan leaders have taken on their past, more human forms rather than the unnaturally enhanced ones. However, they're all around seven to eight feet tall and they still possess their original abilities. Damn, and I thought this would be easy, Ha!
I jumped across several different round, house-things and made it to a huge room with pipes. They looked like they carried sound waves... why did I guess that? I think someone told me that before... ah, hell, it doesn't matter.
I looked down the large hole and felt a very strong updraft of air, maybe I can float up it... That's it! I took off my cape, the one with Raziel's symbol on it, and held it so it caught the air. I soared upward and landed on a ledge. The entire cathedral was covered in dust and webs, and the switches appeared to not have been touched in years.
I found a staff and tucked the crossbow in the back of my belt. there were three bells and a locked door. The lock looked like it could be shattered. I tapped the bells lightly with the staff, and then I smacked the biggest one as hard as I could. The sound was deafening, and I held my hands over my ears until the sound died down. My ears seemed to ring, or maybe that was still the bell.
I walked through the door and, surprise, surprise, found yet another puzzle. The door was air pressurized, but the pipes had been move out of place. The room was way to quiet, so I crept along the outer wall in the shadows. Sure enough, a worshipper was waiting for a foolish human to pass by. I climbed onto the ledge above him and jumped down off the ledge, cleaving him with the Soul Reaver. The blow killed him instantly, but he probably deserved it for how many innocent humans he killed for Vampiric sacrifices. I moved the pipes into place and the door shot open, knocking me over with the backlash of air. I entered the door into a gigantic hallway with marble pillars, with Zephon's flags flying overhead. When I spotted a statue of him, I knew I must be close.
After lots of walking, and destroying many of the god-ugly Zephonim fledglings, I came to a hallway with a portal that was absolutely covered in spider-webs. I looked up and saw a ledge. I jumped on it and retrieved an emblem piece. I jumped back down and continued down the hallway. The little blonde hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I entered a small room, and there was Zephon.
"So, you've come little morsel," he said in a raspy voice. "I will enjoy killing you and, unlike my brother, I will succeed." A smile crept across my face.
"Dream on, old geezer," I scoffed in reference of his rough voice. He raised his arm and the room closed completely.
"You my be strong, but you're not strong enough to defeat me," he answered. The room shook and it seemed... alive. The floor moved with Zephon's breath and I realized he must have some connection with it. I was snapped out of my thoughts just in time to dodge one of many extending arms from the ceiling. I kept jumping out of the way of several extending arms and tried attacking Zephon with the crossbow shafts. No use, he was invincible to it. He did however, loose his balance for a few seconds to reveal a drained victim, flame-thrower still blasting. If I could find something to light on fire...
I clawed the wall in frustration.. Zephon screeched in rage, a sound that sent chills down my back. That's it! I lit the crossbow shafts on fire and shot them at Zephon in a flurry of flaming arrows. He didn't expect it and he lit up like a torch, causing a huge explosion. I was flung back against the wall and Zephon fell to the floor, severely burned.
"I'll ask you this once," I said firmly. "Who is my ancestor you keep mentioning!?"
"Heh, heh heh. Your ancestor is dead. He have been for a long time. You have his gifts, and his audacity," he said, his voice as raspy as ever. His skin was slimy and blood-covered from the severe burns. The flame-thrower finally lit up the rest of the room and caused a huge explosion. I was shot out of the cathedral like a bolt from a crossbow. I landed on the center rock of the Abyss about two-hundred yards away and could view the explosion reasonably well. It completely demolished the cathedral.
I could barely support my weight on my hands and I collapsed on the rock in exhaustion. I dragged myself across the rock to the middle of it, tired and hurting from the burns on my arms, legs, and chest. My clothes were ripped from the explosion, and I was bleeding. I made and effort to turn myself over, and as soon as I did so I was face to face with another girl. I jumped in shock, and her jaw dropped, revealing two normal, for vampires at least, white, gleaming, razor-sharp fangs. The girl hoisted me up on her shoulders and I passed out.
"Hello? Can you hear me? Hello?" I opened my eyes to the sound of another female voice. It was the same girl.
"I can hear you," I mumbled, still weak from my injuries. I sat up in the soft bed. "Who are you?"
"I'm Torrance, a vampire, as you've probably guessed. If you're wondering why I rescued you, let's just say vampires help fellow vampires." she smiled again and I took note of her attire. Her symbol was similar to Rahab's, why I knew that was beyond me, and her clothes were tight fitting, showing off her very female body. Her eyes were the glowing yellow, color typical with vampires, but they were softer than the usual male's. Her wrists, ankles, and neck were covered in silver rings and jewlery. Torrance examined me.
"You're a half-breed," she said, almost disappointed.
"How did you know?" I asked, noticing that the majority of my injuries were now covered in bandages.
"Your eyes, they glow but they're blue. Vampire's eyes are black, red, or yellow. Besides, a normal vampire wouldn't have been so severely injured and would have healed already, but a normal human would have been killed instantly. Still, you must be very powerful to have defeated Zephon and Malek. You haven't told me your name..."
"Rachel. I'm trying to defeat all the clan leaders and put Kain to rest once and for all."
"Your not alone. Many vampires, including myself, want him dead but are to afraid to stand up to the clan leaders, let alone Kain himself. Only once has Kain fallen, and it was at the hands of an undead soul-eater who didn't even have a lower jaw. Once Kain was defeated, the vampire who defeated him regained human form, and he was quite handsome too. Raziel, I think. His legends are more popular among the humans," she very gently picked up my arm and started wrapping it in bandages. Her hands were normal, but on the table next to mine were a pair of clawed gloves. Maybe all female vampires have human-like hands.
"There's a statue of him in the human's city right?" I asked. She nodded, finishing with the bandages. My shirt had been removed, but the white bandages covered my whole chest so it didn't matter much. My armor was taken off as well, and all I was wearing were my pants. Torrance motioned for my to lay down and I did so. She left the room.
Well done Rachel," Elder's voice sounded. "By getting Zephon's soul, you can now scale walls much like Zephon's like. You need to heal. I will give you further instructions later." I fell asleep almost instantly.
****
"Are you sure we have to go there?" whined Torrance staring at the tunnel north of the Abyss.
"Yes, now just cross the bridge," I said walking across to the entrance tunnel leading to Dumah's domain. Torrance swallowed hard and slowly walked across the bridge behind me. She had more to fear, after all, she was a vampire and there was water underneath us. We made it to the side and she took a few deep breaths. I sighed and we continued down the hallway. The two of us overwhelmed a Dumahim vampire, but looked at him first.
Still as ugly as ever, the Dumahim vampire are larger in stature and have small mouths. They're bulky and slow, but they love to dodge attacks. We continued down the hallway and then we came to a lake. Torrance whimpered.
"Oh, come on, are you sure you can't swim?" I asked.
"No. I mean, I am a Rahabim vampire but-"
"Your a Rahabim vampire and you can't swim?!" I started laughing so hard I couldn't stop. Rahabim vampires live in an ancient abby, and all Rahabim vampires have the ability to swim because of this. "Well, hee hee, there's only, hahaha, one way to find out for sure, hee hee hahahaha!" As soon as I got a hold of myself I grabbed her hand and put in the water, scaring her half to death in the process. Nothing, Not even a fizzle.
"You're immune, so you have nothing to worry about. Grab on to my back," I said and she did so. I swam across the water and climbed up on the other side. Torrance rang out her light brown hair and tried to shake off the water, much like a dog would. I sighed again and we walked out of the tunnel into a large snow-capped area.
"Up that wall," I said pointing to the climbing wall into the fortress. Torrance ran over to the portal and enabled it while I went up the wall and made sure no one was waiting to jump us. She ran back and I motioned for her to follow. Coast clear. We jumped down the wall and through the wooden doors infront of us.
Torrance almost fell backwards as the two of us looked around the gigantic complex. The remains of many dead warriors laid in pools of dried blood, undisturbed for centuries. The flags were torn and burned and were strewn across the area like the bodies of the dead. At first glance I thought they were humans who foolishly wandered into the threshold of a powerful Vampiric empire, but upon closer examination I discovered that they were vampires themselves. Torrance looked closely at each of the bodies as a look of disbelief played across her pale face.
"Dumahim, they're all Dumahim," she whispered. I looked up at the remaining flags, all of them showed their age, and confirmed the symbol as Dumah's.
"This is an example of Dumah's foolish ambitions. He was so concerned with expanding his power that he was oblivious to the human's powerful alliance. The humans attacked Dumah and caught him by surprise, easily overwhelming the high-born Vampire and his clan, wiping them out in a matter of hours. Dumah was defeated more than once. He thought his intelligence was unmatched," Elder explained the massacre before our eyes.
"There is a fine line between ingenious and stupidity," Torrance commented. I nodded subtly. Instead of a powerful leader ruling an empire, Dumah was more like the blind leading the blind. We slowly approached the entrance to the next room and opened the giant wooden doors slowly.
The two of us sneaked down the hallway and into a huge flame room.
"Cool! Here's the gas starter," she said turning a small button. I pulled the lever on the other side and flames shot through the doorway. I remembered a certain unpleasant experience I had not too long ago...
"Now that's an explosion," Torrance said her face paler than ever. I nodded and we ventured into the next room.
This is cool," commented Torrance as the two of us entered a large open area. In the middle was a statue of Dumah holing a staff which pointed to the open doorway. The three other doors were shut tight.
"If we turn the statue so the staff points to the other doors, I 'll bet they'll open," I said as Torrance and I took our positions next to the statue. We pushed as hard as we could, but the statue didn't budge an inch. Maybe there's another way to turn it...
We went back the way we came in and down the other hallway to the right. It was gigantic, with two gigantic statues of Dumah that stared down at you intently with their red crystal eyes. Our footsteps, which normally made a clinking sound because of our metal shoes, were silenced on the soft red carpet leading to the giant vampire's throne. He sat there slouching to one side, impaled with three staffs like a roasted pig on skewers. The weapons used to impale him were obviously human-made. A magnificent stained glass window towered over Dumah's throne. It let in some sunlight, but not enough to damage a fledgling's skin. Dumah's body was scarred, and it looked like he had been severely burned before.
"What are you doing?" Torrance said in a worried tone as I hopped up to the top of Dumah's throne right above his head.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" I answered, pulling out one of the staffs that kept him at bay. Vampires only need to fear wounds that impale or inflame, and sunlight as well as water are also deadly in nature to a vampire. Torrance started to panic.
"Wait! What do we do when he wakes up!?"
"Guess we'll find out!" I grunted pulling out the last staff. He stirred and I jumped down off the throne onto the carpet infront of him.
"Why did you come half-breed?" he growled. Why does everyone know that?
"I came to ask you who my ancestors are, Dumah."
"Why should I take orders from a half-breed?" he laughed, shaking the ground slightly.
"Tell me or I'll beat it out of you!" I yelled at him, bravery flowing through my veins. Torrance gave me a very frightened glance and Dumah roared in rage. He charged and we ran out of the room as fast as we could. I spotted a ledge and we scrambled up it. Torrance was furious and scared to death at the same time.
"Are you out of you're half-breed mind!? " she screamed at me in frustration. I thought about how to trap Dumah. Yes!
"Torrance, in that flame room, did you leave the gas on?" I asked excitedly.
"Yeah, but I don't see how-"
"We jump on my word and run into that room. Follow me!"
"Wait I-"
"Jump!" I grabbed her hand and leaped off the ledge, running for the furnace room as soon as my feet touched the ground closely followed by Torrance. I jumped up on the ledge with the trigger switch and Torrance tripped on the way up. She jumped up the wall a second time and managed to reach the top. The room smelled of gas, but then I didn't realize how heavily that would effect the explosion. as soon as Dumah ran in I pulled the lever.
We were shot out of the fortress like I was shot out of the cathedral. We were falling, and when I looked down we were heading right into the Abyss! We were too far from the rock to catch ourselves.... No! I refused to die this way! I felt a surge of energy flow through my body I felt like I was sprouting wings, which was exactly what happened. Torrance grabbed my hand and I stopped us from falling six inches from the water of the Abyss. I flew back up, landing swiftly on the rock. Torrance stumbled to keep her balance when her feet touched.
"Rachel, you have... angel's wings!" she said, shocked. I turned my head and saw she was right. I reached behind my back to make sure they were real. I recalled them and they disappeared from my back.
"I see you have discovered your unique ability," Elder said, pleased. "You can travel throughout Nosgoth with ease now. You absorbed Dumah's soul on the way down from the explosion, but you were to occupied to notice." I didn't find that wisecrack funny at all, we were really scared. He continued. "You now can constrict objects and manipulate things in a way that was impossible just minutes before. You're next Clan Leader to defeat is Turel. Defeat him in his threshold and I will give you important information on how to find your ancestors." Now that interested me.
"You'll tell me where to find my ancestors?" I asked optimistically.
"Yes, but that is only the first of the two parts of the puzzle. I will tell you where to find the second part after Turel has fallen."
"Alright, but I'm holding you to that promise," I said and let my wings out again. Torrance grabbed on to my shoulders.
" Let's go back to that open area and try to move that statue!"
Torrance said. I nodded and took off, with a good idea how I would work it.
I landed and recalled my wings inside the open courtyard. The door inside Dumah's chamber was blocked by giant blocks of debris, eliminating any chances of use being able to explore it further. I felt completely stupid, but I started running circles around the statue. A trail of blue light followed me and the statue turned with a loud screeching noise in the same direction I was running in. The door the staff pointed to shot open, and inside I found another emblem piece. I turned the statue again and it opened the door to reveal a huge body of water in a large pipe! Torrance sat down stubbornly and I knew I couldn't make her come with me. I jumped down the pipe and swam through a smaller one close to the bottom. I popped up and climbed onto the ledge on the side.
"Wow," I said, stunned. There was a gigantic statue of the water goddess. I could hear running water elsewhere in the area. I ran down the hallway to a large waterfall that was behind the magnificent statue. The water flowed quickly, but drained out just as fast. I decided to plug the drain to see what would happen, but what could I us? I felt the walls and found a block that pulled out. I pushed it all the way to the drain and covered it. The water filled the room and I ran back out to see what happened to the statue.
The water goddess' arms rose and after a blinding flash filled the room the water glyph appeared! I picked it up and it fused into my body just like the shift glyph did. I saw a gate and used it to warp to the gate by Dumah's fortress. I flew up and over the wall and landed next to Torrance.
"What did you find?" she asked. I showed her the glyph by casting it. I noticed that the last door was opened and went inside. An Eldrich Energy fountain was there and I filled up my magic supply.
"Good news Rachel. I know where Turel's home base is. It's entrance is near Zephon's cathedral," Torrance said, pointing in it's general direction. "So, let's go girl!"
We landed in front of the towering and completely char-broiled cathedral that Zephon once called home. I looked down into the moat and saw a passageway leading somewhere behind the gigantic building.
"It's down there," Torrance said jumping into the water.
"I thought you were afraid to go into water!"
"Elder told me I could breath underwater, so I have nothing to fear!" she dived under and I followed. We popped up in a gigantic pond and crawled out of the water. I enabled the warp gate while Torrance looked for any vampires ready to attack us. We rounded the corner and attacked a Turelim vampire from behind. I killed him with the Soul Reaver.
The Turelim vampires have huge ears, which was surprising since he didn't hear us coming up behind him. They're tall, muscular, and they don't stay paralyzed long. They wore some body armor, unlike their relatives. We walked down the hallway and through the door. A huge lighthouse was there, but I couldn't reach it because a waterfall was blocking my path. The water was too powerful to cross so we went through the doorway on the other side, while being sprayed with the mist that the falling water gave off.
"Wow," Torrance said as we examined the main room. Statues and paintings covered the floor and walls, along with large, flowing flags that flew overhead. Yet another conceited clan leader. There were gigantic twin doors with Turel's symbol written on them, so we assumed that the doors would lead us directly to him. As he approached the door, a very human-like vampire jumped infront of us.
'Relic!" Torrance hissed. The teen-age man smiled to reveal two gleaming fangs. His eyes glowed a fiery red.
"Ah, Torrance and Rachel. Normally, I would challenge you to a fight, but for you two, Miss Torrance and Miss Rachel, I'll make it easier for you to gain passage through the gates, and I'll give you an emblem as well. You must solve riddle."
"Cut the crap Relic! " yelled Torrance. I was able to keep a cool head, however. What did he mean by 'clan leader's daughters?'
"What's the riddle?" I asked coolly.
"You will never solve this," he said arrogantly.
"My first is foremost legally,
My second circles outwardly,
My third leads all in victory,
My fourth twice ends in nominee,
My whole is this gate's only key."
Torrance and I pondered the riddle. I thought about the words. Wait! My first is foremost legally... maybe it's talking about letters. So, the foremost is an L. My second circles outwardly, so it must be O. My third leads all in victory, so that's V, and my fourth twice ends in nominee, so that's E. My whole is the gate's only key. The hole is...
"Love. The answer is love," I said proudly. A frown came upon the clan leader's arrogant son's face.
"No! How did you get that? Love is unknown among the undead! Well, a passage I must grant you," he sighed and opened the doors. on the way in he handed me the emblem.
"You knew that because you're a half-breed," commented Torrance. I nodded, because it was probably true. We walked up to the center of the room, stepping over a chain lying on the ground. Turel's massive, muscular form loomed in the darkness.
"So, you have arrived at last," he said, his voice strong and deep.
"Turel, tell me about Kain," I asked, hoping that he wouldn't take it as a challenge.
"Why? In order for me to tell you anything half-blood, you must defeat me," he growled, long and deep. His big ears moved slightly to the sound of Torrance's heavy breathing. I got ready to fight him and Torrance did too. She showed a big jump in courage since our battle with Dumah. He jumped at me, but I was quicker and dodged his attacks. Suddenly, the floor collapsed leaving only a half-dozen pillars in the area. Below us was boiling hot water, enough to kill even a rahabim vampire. We hopped across them trying to hit each other without falling in. I saw the chain and looked towards Torrance, who knew immediately what I was thinking.
"Die, half-blood!" Turel yelled lunging at me. Torrance and I were in position. We pulled the chain tight and it caught Turel's foot in mid-air. He fell into the water below and burned to a crisp instantly from the water's deadly touch. I absorbed his soul and waited for Elder's next advice.
"Excellent Rachel. Now, the information I promised. Your ancestor is in his domain, along with the rest of his clan, minus you. Yet, you need the key to get into his threshold. Rahab should have it for you, assuming you can defeat him, but I don't doubt you at all. You also have the ability to shoot projectiles from your Soul Reaver and your bare hands," Elder reassured me and at least gave me some more information about my father. Torrance looked concerned.
"Rachel, can we hold off going after Rahab?" she asked with a look of restlessness in her eyes.
"Alright, but why?"
"No reason."
She was lying, but why?
"Let's get some rest. Take me to wherever you took me when I was shot out of the cathedral," I said. She lead the way and we arrived in no time. I was able to get some fruits and vegetables, after all, I have to eat sometime. I didn't realize it until now, but I was exhausted. I took off my armor and examined my arms. The wounds completely healed and there wasn't a scar on my body. I laid down on the bed and was asleep almost instantly.
****
""It's past the Sanctuary of the Clans," Torrance said as we walked up to the intimidating building where my adventure started .
"How are we going to sneak past all those vampires?" Torrance asked me. I thought about it and the answer hit me like a brick. It would only work if Torrance could do it as well...
"Can you appear in the Spectrial Realm?" I asked. She nodded and I switched planes. This world is darker and much more twisty. We phased through the front gate and were attacked by a group of sluagh, on of the only two enemies that can appear on the Spectrial Realm. We fought back. Torrance used her claws while I used the Soul Reaver in close range and the projectile attacks at long range. You can't manipulate any objects or weapons in this realm, so Torrance was technically unarmed. The Soul Reaver is the only weapon that appears in this realm.
We traveled further into the fortress, and finally found the pillar room. We attacked a wraith that was floating just above the blue ring I needed to use to switch back to the Material Realm. Wraiths are the other enemies that appear in the Spectrial Realm. We defeated it and switched back to the Material Realm. We climbed up the wall and down the hallway above the pillars. We entered a wooden doors and ended up outside.
"There's a lot of vampires," I commented. Torrance nodded.
"Use the Water Glyph Rachel, that'll take them out," Torrance said throwing a fake punch for emphasis. We jumped down right in the middle of them and I casted the spell. They all instantly burned from the water's touch and I absorbed their souls. We continued until we reached a giant building.
"This is the Tomb of the Seraphans. Be warned, this place holds secrets that are better left be," Elder's voice appeared in it's usual flowing, echoing pattern. We walked in and attacked a revived vampire surrounded by the blue aura. We attacked from two sides, quickly overwhelming him . There was a block keeping me from entering the next room. We pulled it out of the way and entered the room. Torrance dropped the staff she had picked up on the way in shock.
"What is this Elder, some kind of sick joke?" she yelled.
"What you see is real. Did you ever wonder where the ultra-powerful Clan Leaders first came from? Kain forced his Vampiric gifts into the unwilling corpses of the Seraphan warriors. The men who once defended Nosgoth from the vampire menace were now part of the cause they fought so hard to subdue. Ironic, isn't it?" Elder said. It looked like a robbed grave, and in a sense it was. The caskets had the names of their ex-occupants carved into the stone above their intended final resting place. The casket's lids were left askew, like they were opened from the inside.
I switched to the Spectrial Realm to see what would happen and Torrance and I found ourselves falling a good twenty feet. We landed in a circular area with a blue ring. I switched again and the two of us jumped across to a platform in the middle. I shot at a block in front of us and it pushed in, falling off a ledge behind the wall.
"That's the entrance to Rahab's domain," Torrance said nervously. I wondered why she was so afraid of Rahab... we went into the hole and dropped down onto a block on the other side. A Rahabim vampire was standing there with his front facing us, but we were to high above his head for him to notice us. I took note of his appearance.
Rahabim vampires have cobra-like heads and wear protective arm and leg armor. They have small facial features and they seem to move rather quickly. Rahabim vampires are known throughout Nosgoth for their natural immunity of water. He noticed us and to my surprise shot a force projectile at the block we were sitting on. It was shoved out from underneath our feet and we fell onto the hard floor. I shot back with my own projectile sending him flying. He hit a torch on the wall and burst into flames. I absorbed his soul and we went through a set of wooden doors.
"Looks like the pole has to do with the door," I said as we examined the next room. I did the constriction trick and the pole turned around along with the door. The door slid to one side and as soon as we ran through it slammed shut.
"That's amazing!" I shouted, staring down at the magnificent boat that stayed anchored in a huge body of water. I let out my wings, grabbed Torrance, and glided down to it. I opened the door inside and went down the staircase inside. In the center of a fountain was an emblem piece. I picked it up and I felt the final surge of energy flow through my body.
"Look well, for this vessel holds other treasures," Elder's voice sounded inside the boat. I searched every corner and I finally found a door. I went through and there was a huge alter with a flame burning brightly on top. I passed the Soul Reaver through the flame and the Fire Reaver was born. The Soul Reaver now glowed red. I ran back up the stairs and through the door to meet up with Torrance.
"Let's go, up ahead is a door that you have to hit with a force projectile to open it. It's a security thing," Torrance pointed to the hallway just above us. We ran down it enabling the portal along the way and I found the door. I shot at it and it opened with a screeching noise that made both of us flinch.
"Alright, we're getting closer," commented Torrance.
"Why are you so afraid of Rahab?" I asked bluntly. She took a quick step back in surprise.
"W-why shouldn't I? He's really s-sc- scary," she stuttered nervously. I gave her a skeptical look. Knowing that she didn't want to discuss it I refrained from pushing her. We jumped across several platforms and made it to a hall way with a staircase. A monstrously loud and frightening roar sounded from the depths of the watery fortress. We sneaked up the staircase and came to a small circular room that was quite far above the area we just were in. I pulled a large chain that hanged above our heads and a door opened underneath us. We walked down the staircase that was revealed by the moved door and were forced to swim the rest of the way. We popped out of the water and were amazed by what we saw.
A magnificent throne room stood before us with Rahab's flags flying high above our heads. Rahab himself was standing twenty feet in front of us, and his human-like form rather flattering to himself. For a vampire, he was rather good looking.
"So, my daughter, you have returned," he said. Torrance stepped forward timidly, her head hung.
"Hello father," she whispered. I stepped backwards. Torrance was Rahab's daughter!? Now I know why I recognized the symbol on her flag, because it looks like Rahab's! That also explains why she didn't want to confront him.
"Rahab, do you know who I am?" I asked bravely.
"Of course, the only half-breed ancestor of a clan leader. You are strong for only being half-blood," he said showing off his set of long, gleaming fangs. I was very intimidated by his presence.
"Defeat me to get the final piece to the puzzle," Rahab challenged.
"No! Why would you be so willing to die!?" Torrance yelled at him. He smiled.
"You have to defeat me, however, Torrance. You have proven your courage to be worthy, so it is you who must defeat me. If you do, you will have my throne. Fight me daughter!" he roared and attacked her. I tried to help, but Rahab swatted me away.
"Stay out of this Rachel!" Torrance yelled weakly while Rahab held her in a choke hold. I knew this was her fight, so I sat near the edge of the room to watch. Rahabim vampires had gathered around the edge to watch as well.
"Fight back!" Rahab yelled at Torrance. She suddenly found her courage.
"Fine!" She yelled, kicking him in the face with a round-house kick, forcing him to drop her. She used her momentum to do a backflip, landing on her feet in front of the throne.
"Impressive," commented Rahab, rubbing the red mark on the side of his face. Torrance looked up and saw a beam attached to a chain. If she could knock out the supports it would hit the window and surely shatter it.. she saw that solution too. Torrance shot at the beams with her own force projectiles and the beam shot at the window. It shattered and the sunlight was directly on Rahab. He was burned severely and staggered out of the sunlight.
"You defeated me, now I give you the throne," choked Rahab. He threw something at me and I caught it. It was a blue jewel that glowed softly.
"Rachel, that is the key to entering your ancestor's domain, call it a gift from your uncle," he walked back into the sunlight and disappeared. I absorbed his soul and put the key in my wrist-guard to keep it safe.
"I did it," Torrance whispered. She walked to the throne slowly and looked at all the vampires that stared at her in awe. Ever so slowly, the vampires started to bow to her. There was a solo shout of 'Hail Torrance, the new Clan Leader!' followed by a group yell. Everyone broke out in applause and cheered. I stood next to Torrance who was awestruck.
"I suppose you should find your ancestors," Torrance said to me. "Don't refrain from visiting though. I want to meet your fellow clansmen as well."
"Don't worry, I'll come back soon," I said, diving into the water and swimming back up the channel. I noticed another tunnel on the way back and detoured into it. After lots of swimming I came to a fork in the 'road'. I took the left tunnel and popped up in a room with a fire burning in a cup-thing.
"That will give you the Fire Reaver. Just put the Soul Reaver in it and you will gain this next powerful weapon," Elder told me about the fire fountain and I did as he told me to. The Soul Reaver turned a vibrant orange color. I dived back in the water, to my surprise the Fire Reaver still stayed lit, and I went down the tunnel to the right. After a very long swim, I came to another fork in the road. I went down the left path and came up in a cylinder area of water. On the way up I grabbed an unlit torch from the underwater wall. I jumped out of the water and looked around.
I took a wild guess and assumed that I would find the Fire Glyph here. Paintings and flags of the glyph were everywhere, so it was a good guess. I walked down a hallway and went through a door on the other side. I figured I'd need some fire to get the glyph and I could see a fire lit across the way. It was a long shot, but I knew I could make it. I got a running start and glided to the other side. I lit my torch and took notice to a painting of the fire god. I went back the way I came and back to the place with the water.
I dropped my torch infront of a gate that led to the statue of the fire god. I needed to open the gate before that would help me. I went through the other door and picked up a staff along the way. I attacked a vampire, absorbing his soul in the process. There was a stitch and a door and I turned the switch to see what would happen. The door opened, but not long enough to let me get through. I did the switch again and switched to the Spectrial Realm. The door froze in place, because on this realm time has no meaning, so doors will remain open, puzzles will remain done. I ran through and used the Shift Glyph again to get to the Material Realm.
The statue was stunning, and next to it was the mechanism for the door. I turned it and the gate I saw earlier opened. I picked up my torch, lit the torch in the fire god's hands, and watched the fireworks. After the light show settled, I picked up my new Glyph, the second to last one I need. I found a portal and left through it to Mystic.
"Rachel, go through the iron doors in this room and you will find your father's domain," Elder said. I ran through the doors and came to a second set. I placed the key in the door and it shot open. Inside was a vampire, a handsome one at that, who was sitting up on a throne. The room itself was magnificent, with crystal floors and statues, and to top it off was the throne itself, which was more elaborate than the Nosgoth Pillars themselves.
"So you have come at last daughter," the vampire stood up, his cape draped across his shoulder. On it was the symbol of Raziel. It hit me right then. How did I not see before that Raziel was my father? The pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together! He approached me, with his cape flowing fluidly behind him. He very gently touched the side of my face, but his expression was still a scowl. His eyes were a glowing yellow, like Torrance's but not as soft. His fangs were a glowing white, and razor sharp. I was atleast two feet shorter than him, and I'm a little over five feet tall. I smiled subtly and he returned the gesture.
"So sweet," Kain's voice rang out in the threshold. He appeared, holding another blade similar to the Soul Reaver. "Now, Raziel and Rachel, I settle my dispute with you two." M y teeth clenched along with my fists. I looked up at my father and he nodded sharply, his right hand engulfed in a Soul Reaver like mine. Kain had one too, but it was black. He smiled evily.
I took the first attack, my charge was blocked and parried, but I managed to block it. I struck again while Raziel hit from behind. Kain swung wild, hitting my right wrist. It stung, but it didn't break my skin. We jumped backwards and charged again, aiming to kill, Raziel missed, but I hit dead on. Kain stumbled, then used the Sunlight Glyph.
It didn't effect either of us at all, but it did damage the fledglings that were unfortunately watching. It was hot though and my skin tingled from the spell. I hit Kain, grabbing the Glyph in the process. It fused in my body and I attacked again.
"I will not lose!" Kain snarled, swinging at my head. I ducked, hitting his legs at the same time. He was paralyzed, and I needed a way to kill him...
"Use all your glyphs at the same time!" Raziel yelled to me. Kain looked scared and I decided to get rid of him quickly. I used all of my spells, lighting up the room like a torch. Yet again, I was shot out of the castle, and landed in the grassy side lands, the only ones, of Nosgoth along with my father. I was exhausted from my spells and Raziel helped me up.
"You are amazingly strong," he said, the typical scowl playing across his face. "I would like you to know Rachel, that I threw you into that portal to save you from Kain. I did not assume you would land right in his grasp." I nodded and remembered how I awoke in the beginning of my adventure. What an adventure it was!
"Do you think Kain is really dead?" I asked, my eyes shutting slightly. He looked upwards.
"I think he'll find a way to come back. Come on now. The adventure is over, for now."
"Were are we going?"
"Home, to Mystic."
THE END
"Kain," I stuttered struggling to escape the grasp of the two vampires. Kain smiled with a glint of pleasure in his eye.
"How did you come to fall through my portal little girl? I see you've met Turel and Rahab, my sons," he motioned his clawed hand and they dropped me on the crystal floor. I tried to stand up, but my strength was close to none. I sat down and subtly started to regain my power.
"Your blind ambition has caused the near destruction of Nosgoth, Kain. You must realize that your foolishness can only lead to death," I said glowering at the powerful vampire.
"Brave words for such a young girl. Your speech however, has allowed me to discover more about your identity," he grabbed my jaw and forced it open.
"Your teeth are too small to be a true vampire's yet they are too large to be a human's I tried to bite him with little luck. "Who were your parent's little girl?" My head was clouded. I couldn't remember anything past my awakening in this room.
"He asked you a question!" growled Rahab and stepped forward aiming to hit me. Kain stopped him with a sharp force push.
"Now, we wouldn't want to kill our little friend would we?" he examined my face closer with his clawed fingers. "Your face, it seems familiar, like I've seen it before," he stood up straight just as I felt the power surge through my veins.
I jumped to my feet and grabbed a staff from the wall, prepared to take on the fledglings that ran to assist their masters. I easily defeated them and faced Malek, who was raging. He charged me, but only hit my staff and was thrown off balance. I got into a ready stance and he stared at me, not moving at all with a look of deep thought on his face.
"Raziel...?" he muttered and attacked me again. I was unfortunately distracted by his comment. This time he nailed me in the stomach. I doubled over coughing blood all over the crystal floor. The cape that had been wrapped around my waist had been knocked off. Kain scooped it up, unfolded it, and stared at the symbol.
"Raziel's sign. The betrayer. How did you come to have this in your possession?" he shoved it back at me and I held it in my arms protecting it from the blood that spilled on the floor from my mouth every few minutes. I couldn't remember anything, it wouldn't help me to answer, besides, I couldn't talk with a mouthful of blood. Kain was not pleased with my lack of an answer.
"Through her in the cage in Malek's room, and make sure she doesn't die. I want to further investigate you, little girl," he said smiling evilly, and I swear I saw a glimmer of satisfaction in his eye. Malek and Zephon dragged me by my arms into a large room and threw me into the cage. There was a coppery taste in my mouth from the blood which was not at all appetizing. There was a bed on a stone in the corner and, to my great surprise, was reasonably comfortable. It was cold in the room and I wrapped the cape around me. Upon laying down on the bed, I shut my eyes and dozed off.
I awakened to a completely dark room. My eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly and I examined my surroundings. I had to escape somehow... I examined the stone walls and, to my surprise, realized that one of the blocks pushed inward. making sure that Malek was dead asleep, I dug my claw-fingered gloves into the stone and pushed it forward as quietly as I could. I found myself outside, right behind to vampire fledglings. I tried not to panic and crept along the outer wall. I spotted a staff and pulled it off. Once I gathered my courage, I threw it at the fledgling, and immediately destroyed it.
His partner wasn't as stupid as I had originally thought and attacked me. I dodged, swiping him with my clawed gloves. After I successfully paralyzed him, I got my staff and destroyed him also. I saw a door to the east and I ran inside it.
Once I was sure I was safe, I ran down the hall and jumped over the water. I went through the door in front of me and followed the hall to an area with several pillars. In the middle was a glyph. Something in my dead memory was being resurfaced. I touched the glyph and it fused into my body. I was shocked from the sudden surge of energy.
"Rachel..." a deep voice sounded. I looked around, yet I was alone. "Use the glyph Rachel." Unable to speak, I did as I was told. The Spirit Realm appeared before my very eyes! I gathered my thoughts and found the courage to walked down the passageway that had appeared. It looked like in the Material Realm it would be submerged in water. Maybe it connected to a lake, or worse, the Abyss. I sneaked into a room with a portal, and enabled it. Further on was a room that seemed... alive.
"So, you've arrived at last. I know you Rachel, and you have gotten yourself into a lot of trouble," Elder spoke in a deep echoing voice.
"It was not my own will that got me into this," I replied. "It was just a coincidence. I would like to go home thank you very much."
"Ah, but you do not know where home is do you?" he said. I looked at my feet, which were covered in protective shoes made of armor. The shin armor went up to my knees and my pants were a little baggy as well as my shirt. Draped across my shoulders was a cloak that had my symbol on it, and of coarse the cape that wrapped around my waist, which had Raziel's symbol on it. My forearms and wrists were covered in armor and I was wearing clawed gloves that made me look less human. I began to wonder why I possessed Raziel's cloak...
"If I am to help you, you must help me. I know exactly who you are, and I can tell you many things." I thought about his offer. I considered the options and made up my mind.
"Alright, what do I have to do?"
****
I walked across the creaky bridge that lead to the Abyss. I felt the weakened wood under my feet. My stomach was in my throat from the thought of plummeting into the vortex below and suffering an eternal damnation. The spinning vortex of the Abyss remains constant, despite the many centuries that pass. Kain would throw anyone he saw as a traitor or a weakling into the water. Water reacts like acid on a vampire's skin, and any vampire who falls into water is instantly incinerated. I stood on the rock that overlooked the Abyss and gathered my courage to look over the edge. It was an amazing site, the bluish colored water that turned for some unknown reason.
" This is a place that your blood-line fears most," Elder told me, his voice seeming to flow from the very air of Nosgoth.
"Why would my family fear this hellish place anymore than the rest of the clans?" I asked looking away from the vortex.
"To understand the present, you must understand the past. First, you must find out who you really are, and who your parents are," he didn't answer my question.
"If you know who I am, then why don't you tell me?" I asked, hoping for a straight answer.
"If you want to know more, you must defeat the clan leaders and get the truth from them. They were the ones who inflicted pain and suffering to your ancestors, and even now they are trying to defeat your clan. If they continue, they will succeed... eventually. Your destiny is to defeat them and to avenge your ancestors," his voice echoed loudly over the sound of the rushing water from the waterfalls that flowed into the Abyss.
"Who are my ancestors?" I was getting tired of going in circles.
"That is to be revealed in time."
I walked to the edge of the rock and jumped over to the next one, still nervous about falling in. To the left of me was a passageway that lead into the rock. Water ran down it. I looked closer and saw that it dipped down a bit back. I wondered where it went...
"That passageway will take you to the city of the humans, Mystic. It has been renamed many times, but it's purpose has remained constant. Humans can live there safely and do not need to fear the vampire menaces. That would be a good place to start your quest," Elder said. I hesitated when I saw the water, being half-Vampiric myself.
"Do not worry Rachel. Being half human, you don't possess very many of the Vampiric weaknesses. Water will not hurt you, so you can swim like a normal human." reassured by Elder's advice, I jumped into the water and climbed up on the edge after reaching the top of it. I stared down at the deep water that lead down a tunnel, and most likely into the city.
"There is still one weakness to water you have Rachel. Not being completely a vampire, the ones that can swim that is, you can't breathe underwater. You can only go so long before you will start losing energy. Make sure you come up for air once in a while, and you'll be just fine," he gave me on last piece of advice and I dived under water. I swam up a narrow channel and surfaced inside the city. I hopped out of the water and was confronted by two humans. Both were holding cross-bows, and immediately I had them pointed at my head and heart.
****
"How'd you get in here?!" one yelled at me pushing the end of the cross-bow to my neck. My heart was hammering in my ears. When I wasn't immediately shot dead, my thoughts overrode the sound of my pounding heart and started working as hard as it could to find a way out of the situation.
"Don't shoot, I'm human!" I yelled. Both guards lowered their cross-bows slightly in consideration. They seemed to be thinking about whether to not believe me and shoot, or let me by. They finally lowered their crossbows to my relief.
"We're sorry miss, we thought you were a vampire," he apologized, but it didn't sound as sincere as it should have. The two of them opened the gate and I walked in. The city was, in a word, breath-taking. My head shot in all directions, admiring the crystal statues and the fountains that were all over the city. The deep moats and high walls would easily keep the vampires at bay, but it appeared that something else entirely had made it in. I took notice to the claw marks on a particular wall with a waterfall coming down it. It didn't look like a vampire's claws, perhaps some other creature... I turned around and there was a magnificent statue of a handsome, human-like creature. He must have been someone important.
"Elder, do you know who this is?" I asked pointing to the shockingly detailed, full colored statue.
"Of course Rachel. Yet, his identity is yet to be revealed," he answered and, as usual, left me in the fog. I walked past it and up the wall with the waterfall. I made it to the top and walked down the hallway. There was a portal room, a eldrich energy fountain, an energy fountain, and an emblem piece. I picked up the emblem piece and healed myself, then enabled the warp gate.
"These power restorers and emblems are critical to your existence in the Material Realm. The emblems are rare, but when you collect one, your health is increased. There are fifteen in all. Do not forget to restore your eldrich energy as well. Return here when you are in need of healing," Elder said. Remembering his advice, I set off down the wall and landed on my feet silently. I ran down the stairs, taking two at a time. I jumped back into the water and saw a different exit than the one I came through. After exploring the tunnel, I shoved a rock out of the way to reveal another emblem piece. I picked it up, swam down the narrow channel to the left, and popped up in what looked like a castle with flags everywhere.
"Malek..." I said to myself looking up at the flags. Statues and paintings of him were everywhere. He must be completely conceited. I saw an adult vampire, red eyes glowing in the dark. Picking up a staff off the wall I attacked him and then destroyed him. His soul was released and it shot into my body. I was shocked by the event. Why did it do that, and why do I feel... restored...?
"I see you've discovered your specialized ability. While you eat and drink like a normal human, your special ability, inherited from a particular ancestor, is the ability to devour souls. You can restore your energy by absorbing the souls of your enemies," I raised an eyebrow at Elder's comment. Can I really do that? Why could my ancestors? Maybe I could get the answer from Malek... that determined me to find him I entered through the wooden entrance doors of the amazing castle.
I spotted a human and walked up to her. It was a little girl, apparently frightened and undoubtedly lost. I kneeled next to the bawling little girl.
"Hey little girl, are you lost?" I said soothingly. She looked up, her eyes were red and her face tear-streaked.
"My brother Jonathan went in to kill a vampire and he hasn't come back. He promised to come back," she sniffled. I was wasting precious time, but I couldn't just leave her here alone...
"If you want me to, I'll go find him, what's your name?" I inquired.
"You will? Oh thank you, thank you! My name is Sarah," she smiled and hid behind a large statue near a wall. "I'll stay here until he come back." I set off towards a low wall and made it to the top. I saw a vampire that had a blue aura surrounding him. He must have been revived. I attacked him, but he was obviously stronger. I finally gained the upper-hand by backing him up against a wall and impaling him. I was weak and his soul restored my health significantly. I continued down the hall and a young man, sixteen perhaps, was crouching with a cross-bow.
"Thank you miss. I could have got him though," he said somewhat gratefully.
"Your sister Sarah is waiting by the door. You should go get her," I said pointing down the hall.
"Why are you here miss? It's awfully dangerous for a girl."
"Do I look like a pushover? I'm here to kill Malek, but I don't know where he is."
"I do. It's quite simple to find his chamber, if you can solve the block puzzles. Now, excuse me miss, but I must go home with my sister," he headed for the wall.
"One more thing," I said. "Drop the 'miss' stuff. My name is Rachel."
"I'm Jonathan. I'll be going now." He started for the exit. "Oh! Take this, I don't have a use for it," he threw his cross bow at me and I caught it in my right hand. He climbed down the wall and I proceeded into the next room.
I was immediately overwhelmed by two vampires and had a hard time taking them down, not because they were strong, but because of their appearance. Malek received one of the smallest portion of Kain's gift, making him one of the weakest. He was so weak he could not hold his flesh onto his body, like Melchiah, who was unable to be resurrected. His new form no longer plagued him with this problem, but his children still suffer from it. They skin their victims and use it to keep their rotting carcasses together. It was a revolting site, watching them stagger about. I looked around and saw the block puzzles Jonathan had mentioned. The wall had a picture of a sun on it. After some turning and placing, I put the blocks together in the middle of the floor. The gate opened and I ran through.
In the next room I noticed that one of the holes in the wall went all the way through. I crawled down it and found a Emblem piece. I picked it up and returned to the block puzzle. The picture was a moon this time. It was a harder puzzle than before, but I got it. The gate opened as before and I ran through. The next puzzle was the symbol of Malek. I must be close. When I put the blocks in place, one was missing... there! I spotted a ledge and jumped on to it grabbing it with my gloves. I climbed up and there was the missing block. I shoved it over and moved it into place. The gate swung open and I approached the room slowly. As soon as I entered the door slammed shut! I crept slowly forward to the middle of the room.
"So, it is you again," a very deep, gravely, voice sounded from the front of the room. "Pitiful half-breed, I expected you to be... stronger now, more like your Vampiric ancestors." My fists clenched.
"What do you know Malek? Tell me now Or I'll beat it out of you!" I said forcefully.
"You dare challenge me?" he started to laugh, loud and deep. "You, a young girl barely thirteen, without any abilities of any kind? You have your ancestor's determination."
"What do you know Malek?! You are the youngest of the Brethren, therefore the weakest!"
"I know more than you. You are now, the last, to die!" he ran at me and I jumped out of the way, dodging as he fired force projectiles. I shot back with the crossbow, but the arrows did little damage. I noticed a button on the wall, maybe it will unlock that trap door in the floor... I jumped in front of it and waited for him to shoot at me. He did, and I jumped over the shot which struck the button, opening the trap door underneath him. He caught himself from falling into the grinding gears and I placed a foot on his hand.
"What do you know?" I asked again. "What do you know about my ancestors and Kain?"
"Kain is beyond your reach weakling." his hand slipped on that instant without me stepping on it and he fell down into the gears. His soul came to me and I felt it fuse into my body.
"Why am I doing this? Is killing the answer?" I said quietly.
"You are doing this to find your real identity Rachel. You are doing this to save Nosgoth's balance. Now, you have a better chance of doing so. Malek's soul has given you the ability to phase through walls in the Spectrial Realm. Just push against the gate and you will go through it as if it were nothing. You should search out Zephon's cathedral, for Zephon my have more information," Elder, once again, tried to hide what he knew by giving me more logic puzzles and some advice. Nevertheless, I decided to head for Zephon's cathedral. Maybe Zephon can tell me something. Using the portal near Malek's chamber, I teleported to Elder's chamber to get some advice before taking on the massive building.
Elder was glad to help. "When you enter, you must be very cautious. Zephon's children are spider-like and will prey on you from the walls if you are not careful. Find Zephon and destroy him as you did Malek."
I phased through the gate in the pillar room, where this all started. I ran down the hallway and was cut off by Kain! I panicked, but I couldn't move I was so scared. I thought it was all over.
"Ah, half-breed, you've come. Allow me... to kill you!" he charged at me with a blade that was transparent. It seemed familiar, in a strange way. I Braced myself for what death feels like... but the blade shattered on my back!
"Raziel... I did not see her as who she is, until now," Kain said and disappeared. I was confused. I saw the blade in front of me, only it was like an energy sword. I touched it and it fused into my hand. The Soul Reaver, the mystical sword said to slay vampires at one touch. It truly existed...
After I was sure my legs would support my weight, I continued down the hallway. The cathedral loomed infront of me. Creepy. Something about the building was disturbing... it was way to quiet. The door had the Soul Reaver printed on it, so I touched the door with my left hand, the one holding the Soul Reaver. The door shot open with a loud screeching noise that sent shivers down my spine. I walked in and was jumped by a Zephonim vampire. I took him out with the Soul Reaver, but got a good look at him first.
While not cute, they're better looking than Malek's group. They can scale walls and have very spider-like features. They spin webs and capture their prey, whether it be human or a fellow vampire. Atleast they can keep they're flesh on their bones. I noticed that the clan leaders have taken on their past, more human forms rather than the unnaturally enhanced ones. However, they're all around seven to eight feet tall and they still possess their original abilities. Damn, and I thought this would be easy, Ha!
I jumped across several different round, house-things and made it to a huge room with pipes. They looked like they carried sound waves... why did I guess that? I think someone told me that before... ah, hell, it doesn't matter.
I looked down the large hole and felt a very strong updraft of air, maybe I can float up it... That's it! I took off my cape, the one with Raziel's symbol on it, and held it so it caught the air. I soared upward and landed on a ledge. The entire cathedral was covered in dust and webs, and the switches appeared to not have been touched in years.
I found a staff and tucked the crossbow in the back of my belt. there were three bells and a locked door. The lock looked like it could be shattered. I tapped the bells lightly with the staff, and then I smacked the biggest one as hard as I could. The sound was deafening, and I held my hands over my ears until the sound died down. My ears seemed to ring, or maybe that was still the bell.
I walked through the door and, surprise, surprise, found yet another puzzle. The door was air pressurized, but the pipes had been move out of place. The room was way to quiet, so I crept along the outer wall in the shadows. Sure enough, a worshipper was waiting for a foolish human to pass by. I climbed onto the ledge above him and jumped down off the ledge, cleaving him with the Soul Reaver. The blow killed him instantly, but he probably deserved it for how many innocent humans he killed for Vampiric sacrifices. I moved the pipes into place and the door shot open, knocking me over with the backlash of air. I entered the door into a gigantic hallway with marble pillars, with Zephon's flags flying overhead. When I spotted a statue of him, I knew I must be close.
After lots of walking, and destroying many of the god-ugly Zephonim fledglings, I came to a hallway with a portal that was absolutely covered in spider-webs. I looked up and saw a ledge. I jumped on it and retrieved an emblem piece. I jumped back down and continued down the hallway. The little blonde hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I entered a small room, and there was Zephon.
"So, you've come little morsel," he said in a raspy voice. "I will enjoy killing you and, unlike my brother, I will succeed." A smile crept across my face.
"Dream on, old geezer," I scoffed in reference of his rough voice. He raised his arm and the room closed completely.
"You my be strong, but you're not strong enough to defeat me," he answered. The room shook and it seemed... alive. The floor moved with Zephon's breath and I realized he must have some connection with it. I was snapped out of my thoughts just in time to dodge one of many extending arms from the ceiling. I kept jumping out of the way of several extending arms and tried attacking Zephon with the crossbow shafts. No use, he was invincible to it. He did however, loose his balance for a few seconds to reveal a drained victim, flame-thrower still blasting. If I could find something to light on fire...
I clawed the wall in frustration.. Zephon screeched in rage, a sound that sent chills down my back. That's it! I lit the crossbow shafts on fire and shot them at Zephon in a flurry of flaming arrows. He didn't expect it and he lit up like a torch, causing a huge explosion. I was flung back against the wall and Zephon fell to the floor, severely burned.
"I'll ask you this once," I said firmly. "Who is my ancestor you keep mentioning!?"
"Heh, heh heh. Your ancestor is dead. He have been for a long time. You have his gifts, and his audacity," he said, his voice as raspy as ever. His skin was slimy and blood-covered from the severe burns. The flame-thrower finally lit up the rest of the room and caused a huge explosion. I was shot out of the cathedral like a bolt from a crossbow. I landed on the center rock of the Abyss about two-hundred yards away and could view the explosion reasonably well. It completely demolished the cathedral.
I could barely support my weight on my hands and I collapsed on the rock in exhaustion. I dragged myself across the rock to the middle of it, tired and hurting from the burns on my arms, legs, and chest. My clothes were ripped from the explosion, and I was bleeding. I made and effort to turn myself over, and as soon as I did so I was face to face with another girl. I jumped in shock, and her jaw dropped, revealing two normal, for vampires at least, white, gleaming, razor-sharp fangs. The girl hoisted me up on her shoulders and I passed out.
"Hello? Can you hear me? Hello?" I opened my eyes to the sound of another female voice. It was the same girl.
"I can hear you," I mumbled, still weak from my injuries. I sat up in the soft bed. "Who are you?"
"I'm Torrance, a vampire, as you've probably guessed. If you're wondering why I rescued you, let's just say vampires help fellow vampires." she smiled again and I took note of her attire. Her symbol was similar to Rahab's, why I knew that was beyond me, and her clothes were tight fitting, showing off her very female body. Her eyes were the glowing yellow, color typical with vampires, but they were softer than the usual male's. Her wrists, ankles, and neck were covered in silver rings and jewlery. Torrance examined me.
"You're a half-breed," she said, almost disappointed.
"How did you know?" I asked, noticing that the majority of my injuries were now covered in bandages.
"Your eyes, they glow but they're blue. Vampire's eyes are black, red, or yellow. Besides, a normal vampire wouldn't have been so severely injured and would have healed already, but a normal human would have been killed instantly. Still, you must be very powerful to have defeated Zephon and Malek. You haven't told me your name..."
"Rachel. I'm trying to defeat all the clan leaders and put Kain to rest once and for all."
"Your not alone. Many vampires, including myself, want him dead but are to afraid to stand up to the clan leaders, let alone Kain himself. Only once has Kain fallen, and it was at the hands of an undead soul-eater who didn't even have a lower jaw. Once Kain was defeated, the vampire who defeated him regained human form, and he was quite handsome too. Raziel, I think. His legends are more popular among the humans," she very gently picked up my arm and started wrapping it in bandages. Her hands were normal, but on the table next to mine were a pair of clawed gloves. Maybe all female vampires have human-like hands.
"There's a statue of him in the human's city right?" I asked. She nodded, finishing with the bandages. My shirt had been removed, but the white bandages covered my whole chest so it didn't matter much. My armor was taken off as well, and all I was wearing were my pants. Torrance motioned for my to lay down and I did so. She left the room.
Well done Rachel," Elder's voice sounded. "By getting Zephon's soul, you can now scale walls much like Zephon's like. You need to heal. I will give you further instructions later." I fell asleep almost instantly.
****
"Are you sure we have to go there?" whined Torrance staring at the tunnel north of the Abyss.
"Yes, now just cross the bridge," I said walking across to the entrance tunnel leading to Dumah's domain. Torrance swallowed hard and slowly walked across the bridge behind me. She had more to fear, after all, she was a vampire and there was water underneath us. We made it to the side and she took a few deep breaths. I sighed and we continued down the hallway. The two of us overwhelmed a Dumahim vampire, but looked at him first.
Still as ugly as ever, the Dumahim vampire are larger in stature and have small mouths. They're bulky and slow, but they love to dodge attacks. We continued down the hallway and then we came to a lake. Torrance whimpered.
"Oh, come on, are you sure you can't swim?" I asked.
"No. I mean, I am a Rahabim vampire but-"
"Your a Rahabim vampire and you can't swim?!" I started laughing so hard I couldn't stop. Rahabim vampires live in an ancient abby, and all Rahabim vampires have the ability to swim because of this. "Well, hee hee, there's only, hahaha, one way to find out for sure, hee hee hahahaha!" As soon as I got a hold of myself I grabbed her hand and put in the water, scaring her half to death in the process. Nothing, Not even a fizzle.
"You're immune, so you have nothing to worry about. Grab on to my back," I said and she did so. I swam across the water and climbed up on the other side. Torrance rang out her light brown hair and tried to shake off the water, much like a dog would. I sighed again and we walked out of the tunnel into a large snow-capped area.
"Up that wall," I said pointing to the climbing wall into the fortress. Torrance ran over to the portal and enabled it while I went up the wall and made sure no one was waiting to jump us. She ran back and I motioned for her to follow. Coast clear. We jumped down the wall and through the wooden doors infront of us.
Torrance almost fell backwards as the two of us looked around the gigantic complex. The remains of many dead warriors laid in pools of dried blood, undisturbed for centuries. The flags were torn and burned and were strewn across the area like the bodies of the dead. At first glance I thought they were humans who foolishly wandered into the threshold of a powerful Vampiric empire, but upon closer examination I discovered that they were vampires themselves. Torrance looked closely at each of the bodies as a look of disbelief played across her pale face.
"Dumahim, they're all Dumahim," she whispered. I looked up at the remaining flags, all of them showed their age, and confirmed the symbol as Dumah's.
"This is an example of Dumah's foolish ambitions. He was so concerned with expanding his power that he was oblivious to the human's powerful alliance. The humans attacked Dumah and caught him by surprise, easily overwhelming the high-born Vampire and his clan, wiping them out in a matter of hours. Dumah was defeated more than once. He thought his intelligence was unmatched," Elder explained the massacre before our eyes.
"There is a fine line between ingenious and stupidity," Torrance commented. I nodded subtly. Instead of a powerful leader ruling an empire, Dumah was more like the blind leading the blind. We slowly approached the entrance to the next room and opened the giant wooden doors slowly.
The two of us sneaked down the hallway and into a huge flame room.
"Cool! Here's the gas starter," she said turning a small button. I pulled the lever on the other side and flames shot through the doorway. I remembered a certain unpleasant experience I had not too long ago...
"Now that's an explosion," Torrance said her face paler than ever. I nodded and we ventured into the next room.
This is cool," commented Torrance as the two of us entered a large open area. In the middle was a statue of Dumah holing a staff which pointed to the open doorway. The three other doors were shut tight.
"If we turn the statue so the staff points to the other doors, I 'll bet they'll open," I said as Torrance and I took our positions next to the statue. We pushed as hard as we could, but the statue didn't budge an inch. Maybe there's another way to turn it...
We went back the way we came in and down the other hallway to the right. It was gigantic, with two gigantic statues of Dumah that stared down at you intently with their red crystal eyes. Our footsteps, which normally made a clinking sound because of our metal shoes, were silenced on the soft red carpet leading to the giant vampire's throne. He sat there slouching to one side, impaled with three staffs like a roasted pig on skewers. The weapons used to impale him were obviously human-made. A magnificent stained glass window towered over Dumah's throne. It let in some sunlight, but not enough to damage a fledgling's skin. Dumah's body was scarred, and it looked like he had been severely burned before.
"What are you doing?" Torrance said in a worried tone as I hopped up to the top of Dumah's throne right above his head.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" I answered, pulling out one of the staffs that kept him at bay. Vampires only need to fear wounds that impale or inflame, and sunlight as well as water are also deadly in nature to a vampire. Torrance started to panic.
"Wait! What do we do when he wakes up!?"
"Guess we'll find out!" I grunted pulling out the last staff. He stirred and I jumped down off the throne onto the carpet infront of him.
"Why did you come half-breed?" he growled. Why does everyone know that?
"I came to ask you who my ancestors are, Dumah."
"Why should I take orders from a half-breed?" he laughed, shaking the ground slightly.
"Tell me or I'll beat it out of you!" I yelled at him, bravery flowing through my veins. Torrance gave me a very frightened glance and Dumah roared in rage. He charged and we ran out of the room as fast as we could. I spotted a ledge and we scrambled up it. Torrance was furious and scared to death at the same time.
"Are you out of you're half-breed mind!? " she screamed at me in frustration. I thought about how to trap Dumah. Yes!
"Torrance, in that flame room, did you leave the gas on?" I asked excitedly.
"Yeah, but I don't see how-"
"We jump on my word and run into that room. Follow me!"
"Wait I-"
"Jump!" I grabbed her hand and leaped off the ledge, running for the furnace room as soon as my feet touched the ground closely followed by Torrance. I jumped up on the ledge with the trigger switch and Torrance tripped on the way up. She jumped up the wall a second time and managed to reach the top. The room smelled of gas, but then I didn't realize how heavily that would effect the explosion. as soon as Dumah ran in I pulled the lever.
We were shot out of the fortress like I was shot out of the cathedral. We were falling, and when I looked down we were heading right into the Abyss! We were too far from the rock to catch ourselves.... No! I refused to die this way! I felt a surge of energy flow through my body I felt like I was sprouting wings, which was exactly what happened. Torrance grabbed my hand and I stopped us from falling six inches from the water of the Abyss. I flew back up, landing swiftly on the rock. Torrance stumbled to keep her balance when her feet touched.
"Rachel, you have... angel's wings!" she said, shocked. I turned my head and saw she was right. I reached behind my back to make sure they were real. I recalled them and they disappeared from my back.
"I see you have discovered your unique ability," Elder said, pleased. "You can travel throughout Nosgoth with ease now. You absorbed Dumah's soul on the way down from the explosion, but you were to occupied to notice." I didn't find that wisecrack funny at all, we were really scared. He continued. "You now can constrict objects and manipulate things in a way that was impossible just minutes before. You're next Clan Leader to defeat is Turel. Defeat him in his threshold and I will give you important information on how to find your ancestors." Now that interested me.
"You'll tell me where to find my ancestors?" I asked optimistically.
"Yes, but that is only the first of the two parts of the puzzle. I will tell you where to find the second part after Turel has fallen."
"Alright, but I'm holding you to that promise," I said and let my wings out again. Torrance grabbed on to my shoulders.
" Let's go back to that open area and try to move that statue!"
Torrance said. I nodded and took off, with a good idea how I would work it.
I landed and recalled my wings inside the open courtyard. The door inside Dumah's chamber was blocked by giant blocks of debris, eliminating any chances of use being able to explore it further. I felt completely stupid, but I started running circles around the statue. A trail of blue light followed me and the statue turned with a loud screeching noise in the same direction I was running in. The door the staff pointed to shot open, and inside I found another emblem piece. I turned the statue again and it opened the door to reveal a huge body of water in a large pipe! Torrance sat down stubbornly and I knew I couldn't make her come with me. I jumped down the pipe and swam through a smaller one close to the bottom. I popped up and climbed onto the ledge on the side.
"Wow," I said, stunned. There was a gigantic statue of the water goddess. I could hear running water elsewhere in the area. I ran down the hallway to a large waterfall that was behind the magnificent statue. The water flowed quickly, but drained out just as fast. I decided to plug the drain to see what would happen, but what could I us? I felt the walls and found a block that pulled out. I pushed it all the way to the drain and covered it. The water filled the room and I ran back out to see what happened to the statue.
The water goddess' arms rose and after a blinding flash filled the room the water glyph appeared! I picked it up and it fused into my body just like the shift glyph did. I saw a gate and used it to warp to the gate by Dumah's fortress. I flew up and over the wall and landed next to Torrance.
"What did you find?" she asked. I showed her the glyph by casting it. I noticed that the last door was opened and went inside. An Eldrich Energy fountain was there and I filled up my magic supply.
"Good news Rachel. I know where Turel's home base is. It's entrance is near Zephon's cathedral," Torrance said, pointing in it's general direction. "So, let's go girl!"
We landed in front of the towering and completely char-broiled cathedral that Zephon once called home. I looked down into the moat and saw a passageway leading somewhere behind the gigantic building.
"It's down there," Torrance said jumping into the water.
"I thought you were afraid to go into water!"
"Elder told me I could breath underwater, so I have nothing to fear!" she dived under and I followed. We popped up in a gigantic pond and crawled out of the water. I enabled the warp gate while Torrance looked for any vampires ready to attack us. We rounded the corner and attacked a Turelim vampire from behind. I killed him with the Soul Reaver.
The Turelim vampires have huge ears, which was surprising since he didn't hear us coming up behind him. They're tall, muscular, and they don't stay paralyzed long. They wore some body armor, unlike their relatives. We walked down the hallway and through the door. A huge lighthouse was there, but I couldn't reach it because a waterfall was blocking my path. The water was too powerful to cross so we went through the doorway on the other side, while being sprayed with the mist that the falling water gave off.
"Wow," Torrance said as we examined the main room. Statues and paintings covered the floor and walls, along with large, flowing flags that flew overhead. Yet another conceited clan leader. There were gigantic twin doors with Turel's symbol written on them, so we assumed that the doors would lead us directly to him. As he approached the door, a very human-like vampire jumped infront of us.
'Relic!" Torrance hissed. The teen-age man smiled to reveal two gleaming fangs. His eyes glowed a fiery red.
"Ah, Torrance and Rachel. Normally, I would challenge you to a fight, but for you two, Miss Torrance and Miss Rachel, I'll make it easier for you to gain passage through the gates, and I'll give you an emblem as well. You must solve riddle."
"Cut the crap Relic! " yelled Torrance. I was able to keep a cool head, however. What did he mean by 'clan leader's daughters?'
"What's the riddle?" I asked coolly.
"You will never solve this," he said arrogantly.
"My first is foremost legally,
My second circles outwardly,
My third leads all in victory,
My fourth twice ends in nominee,
My whole is this gate's only key."
Torrance and I pondered the riddle. I thought about the words. Wait! My first is foremost legally... maybe it's talking about letters. So, the foremost is an L. My second circles outwardly, so it must be O. My third leads all in victory, so that's V, and my fourth twice ends in nominee, so that's E. My whole is the gate's only key. The hole is...
"Love. The answer is love," I said proudly. A frown came upon the clan leader's arrogant son's face.
"No! How did you get that? Love is unknown among the undead! Well, a passage I must grant you," he sighed and opened the doors. on the way in he handed me the emblem.
"You knew that because you're a half-breed," commented Torrance. I nodded, because it was probably true. We walked up to the center of the room, stepping over a chain lying on the ground. Turel's massive, muscular form loomed in the darkness.
"So, you have arrived at last," he said, his voice strong and deep.
"Turel, tell me about Kain," I asked, hoping that he wouldn't take it as a challenge.
"Why? In order for me to tell you anything half-blood, you must defeat me," he growled, long and deep. His big ears moved slightly to the sound of Torrance's heavy breathing. I got ready to fight him and Torrance did too. She showed a big jump in courage since our battle with Dumah. He jumped at me, but I was quicker and dodged his attacks. Suddenly, the floor collapsed leaving only a half-dozen pillars in the area. Below us was boiling hot water, enough to kill even a rahabim vampire. We hopped across them trying to hit each other without falling in. I saw the chain and looked towards Torrance, who knew immediately what I was thinking.
"Die, half-blood!" Turel yelled lunging at me. Torrance and I were in position. We pulled the chain tight and it caught Turel's foot in mid-air. He fell into the water below and burned to a crisp instantly from the water's deadly touch. I absorbed his soul and waited for Elder's next advice.
"Excellent Rachel. Now, the information I promised. Your ancestor is in his domain, along with the rest of his clan, minus you. Yet, you need the key to get into his threshold. Rahab should have it for you, assuming you can defeat him, but I don't doubt you at all. You also have the ability to shoot projectiles from your Soul Reaver and your bare hands," Elder reassured me and at least gave me some more information about my father. Torrance looked concerned.
"Rachel, can we hold off going after Rahab?" she asked with a look of restlessness in her eyes.
"Alright, but why?"
"No reason."
She was lying, but why?
"Let's get some rest. Take me to wherever you took me when I was shot out of the cathedral," I said. She lead the way and we arrived in no time. I was able to get some fruits and vegetables, after all, I have to eat sometime. I didn't realize it until now, but I was exhausted. I took off my armor and examined my arms. The wounds completely healed and there wasn't a scar on my body. I laid down on the bed and was asleep almost instantly.
****
""It's past the Sanctuary of the Clans," Torrance said as we walked up to the intimidating building where my adventure started .
"How are we going to sneak past all those vampires?" Torrance asked me. I thought about it and the answer hit me like a brick. It would only work if Torrance could do it as well...
"Can you appear in the Spectrial Realm?" I asked. She nodded and I switched planes. This world is darker and much more twisty. We phased through the front gate and were attacked by a group of sluagh, on of the only two enemies that can appear on the Spectrial Realm. We fought back. Torrance used her claws while I used the Soul Reaver in close range and the projectile attacks at long range. You can't manipulate any objects or weapons in this realm, so Torrance was technically unarmed. The Soul Reaver is the only weapon that appears in this realm.
We traveled further into the fortress, and finally found the pillar room. We attacked a wraith that was floating just above the blue ring I needed to use to switch back to the Material Realm. Wraiths are the other enemies that appear in the Spectrial Realm. We defeated it and switched back to the Material Realm. We climbed up the wall and down the hallway above the pillars. We entered a wooden doors and ended up outside.
"There's a lot of vampires," I commented. Torrance nodded.
"Use the Water Glyph Rachel, that'll take them out," Torrance said throwing a fake punch for emphasis. We jumped down right in the middle of them and I casted the spell. They all instantly burned from the water's touch and I absorbed their souls. We continued until we reached a giant building.
"This is the Tomb of the Seraphans. Be warned, this place holds secrets that are better left be," Elder's voice appeared in it's usual flowing, echoing pattern. We walked in and attacked a revived vampire surrounded by the blue aura. We attacked from two sides, quickly overwhelming him . There was a block keeping me from entering the next room. We pulled it out of the way and entered the room. Torrance dropped the staff she had picked up on the way in shock.
"What is this Elder, some kind of sick joke?" she yelled.
"What you see is real. Did you ever wonder where the ultra-powerful Clan Leaders first came from? Kain forced his Vampiric gifts into the unwilling corpses of the Seraphan warriors. The men who once defended Nosgoth from the vampire menace were now part of the cause they fought so hard to subdue. Ironic, isn't it?" Elder said. It looked like a robbed grave, and in a sense it was. The caskets had the names of their ex-occupants carved into the stone above their intended final resting place. The casket's lids were left askew, like they were opened from the inside.
I switched to the Spectrial Realm to see what would happen and Torrance and I found ourselves falling a good twenty feet. We landed in a circular area with a blue ring. I switched again and the two of us jumped across to a platform in the middle. I shot at a block in front of us and it pushed in, falling off a ledge behind the wall.
"That's the entrance to Rahab's domain," Torrance said nervously. I wondered why she was so afraid of Rahab... we went into the hole and dropped down onto a block on the other side. A Rahabim vampire was standing there with his front facing us, but we were to high above his head for him to notice us. I took note of his appearance.
Rahabim vampires have cobra-like heads and wear protective arm and leg armor. They have small facial features and they seem to move rather quickly. Rahabim vampires are known throughout Nosgoth for their natural immunity of water. He noticed us and to my surprise shot a force projectile at the block we were sitting on. It was shoved out from underneath our feet and we fell onto the hard floor. I shot back with my own projectile sending him flying. He hit a torch on the wall and burst into flames. I absorbed his soul and we went through a set of wooden doors.
"Looks like the pole has to do with the door," I said as we examined the next room. I did the constriction trick and the pole turned around along with the door. The door slid to one side and as soon as we ran through it slammed shut.
"That's amazing!" I shouted, staring down at the magnificent boat that stayed anchored in a huge body of water. I let out my wings, grabbed Torrance, and glided down to it. I opened the door inside and went down the staircase inside. In the center of a fountain was an emblem piece. I picked it up and I felt the final surge of energy flow through my body.
"Look well, for this vessel holds other treasures," Elder's voice sounded inside the boat. I searched every corner and I finally found a door. I went through and there was a huge alter with a flame burning brightly on top. I passed the Soul Reaver through the flame and the Fire Reaver was born. The Soul Reaver now glowed red. I ran back up the stairs and through the door to meet up with Torrance.
"Let's go, up ahead is a door that you have to hit with a force projectile to open it. It's a security thing," Torrance pointed to the hallway just above us. We ran down it enabling the portal along the way and I found the door. I shot at it and it opened with a screeching noise that made both of us flinch.
"Alright, we're getting closer," commented Torrance.
"Why are you so afraid of Rahab?" I asked bluntly. She took a quick step back in surprise.
"W-why shouldn't I? He's really s-sc- scary," she stuttered nervously. I gave her a skeptical look. Knowing that she didn't want to discuss it I refrained from pushing her. We jumped across several platforms and made it to a hall way with a staircase. A monstrously loud and frightening roar sounded from the depths of the watery fortress. We sneaked up the staircase and came to a small circular room that was quite far above the area we just were in. I pulled a large chain that hanged above our heads and a door opened underneath us. We walked down the staircase that was revealed by the moved door and were forced to swim the rest of the way. We popped out of the water and were amazed by what we saw.
A magnificent throne room stood before us with Rahab's flags flying high above our heads. Rahab himself was standing twenty feet in front of us, and his human-like form rather flattering to himself. For a vampire, he was rather good looking.
"So, my daughter, you have returned," he said. Torrance stepped forward timidly, her head hung.
"Hello father," she whispered. I stepped backwards. Torrance was Rahab's daughter!? Now I know why I recognized the symbol on her flag, because it looks like Rahab's! That also explains why she didn't want to confront him.
"Rahab, do you know who I am?" I asked bravely.
"Of course, the only half-breed ancestor of a clan leader. You are strong for only being half-blood," he said showing off his set of long, gleaming fangs. I was very intimidated by his presence.
"Defeat me to get the final piece to the puzzle," Rahab challenged.
"No! Why would you be so willing to die!?" Torrance yelled at him. He smiled.
"You have to defeat me, however, Torrance. You have proven your courage to be worthy, so it is you who must defeat me. If you do, you will have my throne. Fight me daughter!" he roared and attacked her. I tried to help, but Rahab swatted me away.
"Stay out of this Rachel!" Torrance yelled weakly while Rahab held her in a choke hold. I knew this was her fight, so I sat near the edge of the room to watch. Rahabim vampires had gathered around the edge to watch as well.
"Fight back!" Rahab yelled at Torrance. She suddenly found her courage.
"Fine!" She yelled, kicking him in the face with a round-house kick, forcing him to drop her. She used her momentum to do a backflip, landing on her feet in front of the throne.
"Impressive," commented Rahab, rubbing the red mark on the side of his face. Torrance looked up and saw a beam attached to a chain. If she could knock out the supports it would hit the window and surely shatter it.. she saw that solution too. Torrance shot at the beams with her own force projectiles and the beam shot at the window. It shattered and the sunlight was directly on Rahab. He was burned severely and staggered out of the sunlight.
"You defeated me, now I give you the throne," choked Rahab. He threw something at me and I caught it. It was a blue jewel that glowed softly.
"Rachel, that is the key to entering your ancestor's domain, call it a gift from your uncle," he walked back into the sunlight and disappeared. I absorbed his soul and put the key in my wrist-guard to keep it safe.
"I did it," Torrance whispered. She walked to the throne slowly and looked at all the vampires that stared at her in awe. Ever so slowly, the vampires started to bow to her. There was a solo shout of 'Hail Torrance, the new Clan Leader!' followed by a group yell. Everyone broke out in applause and cheered. I stood next to Torrance who was awestruck.
"I suppose you should find your ancestors," Torrance said to me. "Don't refrain from visiting though. I want to meet your fellow clansmen as well."
"Don't worry, I'll come back soon," I said, diving into the water and swimming back up the channel. I noticed another tunnel on the way back and detoured into it. After lots of swimming I came to a fork in the 'road'. I took the left tunnel and popped up in a room with a fire burning in a cup-thing.
"That will give you the Fire Reaver. Just put the Soul Reaver in it and you will gain this next powerful weapon," Elder told me about the fire fountain and I did as he told me to. The Soul Reaver turned a vibrant orange color. I dived back in the water, to my surprise the Fire Reaver still stayed lit, and I went down the tunnel to the right. After a very long swim, I came to another fork in the road. I went down the left path and came up in a cylinder area of water. On the way up I grabbed an unlit torch from the underwater wall. I jumped out of the water and looked around.
I took a wild guess and assumed that I would find the Fire Glyph here. Paintings and flags of the glyph were everywhere, so it was a good guess. I walked down a hallway and went through a door on the other side. I figured I'd need some fire to get the glyph and I could see a fire lit across the way. It was a long shot, but I knew I could make it. I got a running start and glided to the other side. I lit my torch and took notice to a painting of the fire god. I went back the way I came and back to the place with the water.
I dropped my torch infront of a gate that led to the statue of the fire god. I needed to open the gate before that would help me. I went through the other door and picked up a staff along the way. I attacked a vampire, absorbing his soul in the process. There was a stitch and a door and I turned the switch to see what would happen. The door opened, but not long enough to let me get through. I did the switch again and switched to the Spectrial Realm. The door froze in place, because on this realm time has no meaning, so doors will remain open, puzzles will remain done. I ran through and used the Shift Glyph again to get to the Material Realm.
The statue was stunning, and next to it was the mechanism for the door. I turned it and the gate I saw earlier opened. I picked up my torch, lit the torch in the fire god's hands, and watched the fireworks. After the light show settled, I picked up my new Glyph, the second to last one I need. I found a portal and left through it to Mystic.
"Rachel, go through the iron doors in this room and you will find your father's domain," Elder said. I ran through the doors and came to a second set. I placed the key in the door and it shot open. Inside was a vampire, a handsome one at that, who was sitting up on a throne. The room itself was magnificent, with crystal floors and statues, and to top it off was the throne itself, which was more elaborate than the Nosgoth Pillars themselves.
"So you have come at last daughter," the vampire stood up, his cape draped across his shoulder. On it was the symbol of Raziel. It hit me right then. How did I not see before that Raziel was my father? The pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together! He approached me, with his cape flowing fluidly behind him. He very gently touched the side of my face, but his expression was still a scowl. His eyes were a glowing yellow, like Torrance's but not as soft. His fangs were a glowing white, and razor sharp. I was atleast two feet shorter than him, and I'm a little over five feet tall. I smiled subtly and he returned the gesture.
"So sweet," Kain's voice rang out in the threshold. He appeared, holding another blade similar to the Soul Reaver. "Now, Raziel and Rachel, I settle my dispute with you two." M y teeth clenched along with my fists. I looked up at my father and he nodded sharply, his right hand engulfed in a Soul Reaver like mine. Kain had one too, but it was black. He smiled evily.
I took the first attack, my charge was blocked and parried, but I managed to block it. I struck again while Raziel hit from behind. Kain swung wild, hitting my right wrist. It stung, but it didn't break my skin. We jumped backwards and charged again, aiming to kill, Raziel missed, but I hit dead on. Kain stumbled, then used the Sunlight Glyph.
It didn't effect either of us at all, but it did damage the fledglings that were unfortunately watching. It was hot though and my skin tingled from the spell. I hit Kain, grabbing the Glyph in the process. It fused in my body and I attacked again.
"I will not lose!" Kain snarled, swinging at my head. I ducked, hitting his legs at the same time. He was paralyzed, and I needed a way to kill him...
"Use all your glyphs at the same time!" Raziel yelled to me. Kain looked scared and I decided to get rid of him quickly. I used all of my spells, lighting up the room like a torch. Yet again, I was shot out of the castle, and landed in the grassy side lands, the only ones, of Nosgoth along with my father. I was exhausted from my spells and Raziel helped me up.
"You are amazingly strong," he said, the typical scowl playing across his face. "I would like you to know Rachel, that I threw you into that portal to save you from Kain. I did not assume you would land right in his grasp." I nodded and remembered how I awoke in the beginning of my adventure. What an adventure it was!
"Do you think Kain is really dead?" I asked, my eyes shutting slightly. He looked upwards.
"I think he'll find a way to come back. Come on now. The adventure is over, for now."
"Were are we going?"
"Home, to Mystic."
THE END