The earth shook violently beneath me and I lost my train of thought. Something was happening to Nosgoth, it was inevitable. Strange rumblings had been occurring for weeks and I knew without a doubt that it did not bode well for any of us. Perhaps, whatever was causing the rift in Nosgoth was seeking revenge on Kain. I could only hope so. I had to face the fact that I would never be strong enough to face him alone, no matter how deep my hatred.

I got to my feet and left the Serafan tomb somewhat sorrowful. All that was left of Nosgoth's distinguished past lay behind the stone walls of the Tombs. Seven men renowned for their heroism and infallible bravery who had tried to rid the world of the wretched vampire commination had once been laid to rest within. But Lord Kain had desecrated these tombs in order to bring about the ultimate irony. Serafan priests made into the very things that they despised: vampires. To those of us that remembered our past, it was like a slap in the face.

These men had been my friends. I'd known them because they'd worked for my father and the Circle of Nine. I'd even idolized Ovelin, even though he'd never really known anyone existed beside himself. If it hadn't been for my lineage I was sure that I could have been a Serafan Warrior myself. However, that was not to be…

"Your father's letting you have one of those things?" the small brown haired boy punched my arm and glared at me. I shoved him roughly in return and scowled.

"Of course my father's letting me have one." I said indignantly. " I am the prince."

The brown haired boy snorted and turned away from me. "It's no wonder you don't have any friends, Gathonel." He ran to a group of young boys standing not far from me and after a bit of nasty whispering they all turned to look at me laughing. I raised a fist to challenge them, but a large hand grabbed mine and pulled it down. I turned to see Moebius glaring down at me…if that's what you could call it.

"A prince should not act the way you do, boy." He told me, his voice as always a high pitched whine.

"I did nothing wrong," I protested sneering back at him. I looked over my shoulder to see if the other boys had seen the Oracle, but they were already gone.

"Never mind." Moebius said, his voice a cackle. "I have a surprise for you…"

The ground beneath me shuddered again and I looked toward the sky wondering if a storm was headed our way. The sky, although gray, was free of black thunderheads. It rained so infrequently these days. Fires, like Ovelin's, burned for centuries without ceasing because there was nothing to interrupt them.

I decided it best to return to Melchiah's Bastion and wait out the remainder of the day. There was nothing else to do. That was another reason I was so disappointed in Kain. Because of his selfish desire to rule the world, Nosgoth's mortal population dwindled into extinction. The only animals I'd seen recently had been fat crows. I'd finally come to the conclusion that they were only plump because they fed off the corpses we vampires left behind…

Designed to keep out light and water, things deadly to a creature of its kind, the cage built for my pet was a stone building much like a mausoleum. My father had agreed to build it only with the assurance of the Oracle that all forms of magic would be used to guarantee that his only heir would remain safe.

Chains were fashioned into the walls to make certain the creature would not be able to attack me on sight. Moebius thought it best to feed the creature a diet of small animals rather than the food it usually dinned on. Although I disagreed, (because after all what was a creature without his natural food) my father vehemently agreed with the Oracle.

The only task left to accomplish was picking out a pet…