Razial1/2
Chapter 2- Discoveries and Vengeance
There was no warm water in sight. Where some local pervert would consider my newly acquired curse as a beautiful thing, I considered it nothing more than a burden. On the plus side, however, it DID have a few conveniences. Though weaker, and not even half as durable as my vampiric form, and despite the fact I couldn't fly, it did give me an advantage or two. Humans simply thought I was nothing more than a drifter, or some random woman on her way to a store of some sort. Not a single soul in Nosgoth suspected I was actually a vampire. And frankly, that was a good thing what with the sarafan brotherhood having a field day with it's merciless vampire killing sprees. Funny I should mention the sarafan. For my drifting ways had brought me to a couple of soldiers of the sarafan currently on their way back to their headquarters. In vampire form, I would've had to kill them, but in my human form (the form I was currently in), I had nothing to worry about. They eventually spotted me, and as you would guess, they had no clue I was actually a vampire. "You there!" One shouted. "I'd leave these parts if I were you. A nice woman like you shouldn't be wandering around here." "Is that so?" I asked. "Yes. It is said a vampire by the name of Shargein has been wandering around here lately. I doubt I have to explain how vampires seem to be the only predator human kind has to worry about." I never heard of this Shargein person, but at the same time, this gave me an idea. I could use the sarafan to my advantage in my crusade against Kain! Funny how the natural enemy of vampires would be aiding that which they hate to kill his arch rival. "Shargain you say?" I asked. "That's his name." The soldier said. "I've heard of him. He's nothing to concern yourself with. His master is a different story." "Master you say?" "Yes. He works for a vampire by the name of Kain." Those words seemed to make chills go up and down their spines. "Kain? One of the most wanted vampires of Nosgoth next to Vorador?" "Ah yes." The man said. "I hear they're offering quite a reward to the one who brings him and his clan in." "I know that, dimwit, but they say he's impossible to find. You have a better chance of finding a needle in a hay stack." "That's what you think." I said. "I happen to know where Kain's been hiding out." "Get lost woman. We don't have time for." "Whoa, hold on a minute." His comrade said. "Let's hear her out." "Oh don't tell me your buying this." "No human would lie about a vampire like Kain." The first soldier let out a frustrated sigh as he admitted defeat. Apparently, this female body of mine had more power than I thought. I may not've been able to fight anyone in this form, but I could certainly get these two to cooperate. I just wished the second one would quit eye balling my chest. "Very well." He said. "But if we are to fight the likes of Kain and his clan, we might as well go back to the sarafan stronghold for more weaponry. You might as well follow along."
They took me to the Sarafan stronghold. As the one who was known as Damien went in search of weaponry, the one named Isaac showed me around the stronghold. At first, I was borred out of my mind. The fact I was already behind enemy lines was disgraceful enough to vampire kind, but the fact this guy couldn't keep his eyes off me for more than a second was a very uncomforting thought. Of course, I quickly gained interest in the matter the instant he showed me the crypt. In this crypt was the most noble of the sarafan brotherhood. I looked at the statues, and recognized them right off the bat. For they looked just like my brethren! Actually, they were more human than my clan was today, but I still managed to pick up the old gang right away. "Who are these people?" I asked, playing dumb. "Ah yes." He said. "These were some of the most noble warriors the sarafan has offered. Sadly, the vampire Kain drained their blood, and gave them the gift of vampiric unlife." I wasn't listening to a single word he said, for at that moment, I saw a statue that I recognized right away. It was a statue of me! To be more exact, it was myself in my human form, let alone the fact it was my human MALE form. I was more interested now than I was quite a while ago. "Who's that?" I asked, pointing at the statue of myself. "Ah, that was a priest by the name of Razial." He said. "He and Moebius were the best of friends. Or so they say. Sadly, Kain gave him the gift he gave every single priest honored in this part of the crypt." About that time, Damien reminded us both he still existed basically by screaming, "IF YOU'RE DONE TRYING TO GET A DATE FOR SATURDAY, LET'S GET THIS OVER WITH!" As we left the stronghold, he gave Isaac a sword, and gave me a dirty look. "Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" I asked. He didn't even bother to respond. He simply led the way while I gave him directions to Kain's hideout.
And so the journey began. While Damien complained constantly about how I was either going to die once Kain showed up or betray them and kill them instantly, Isaac tried to convince him that I wouldn't betray them. Then they continued arguing, and acting like all hell was going to break loose if I went with them or not. And to think Zefonne and I acted the same way around women. It was absolutely embarrassing! I thought we'd never get to Kain's layer. "Well, here you are." I said. "Great." Damien said. "Now scram. This isn't the job for a woman." "Ah, come on, let her stay." Isaac pleaded. "Yeah," a familiar voice added. "Female blood tastes better than yours anyway." Then, out of nowhere, Isaac was taken down! I recognized his attacker in an instant. It was none other than Malkia himself! And Zefonne and Rahab weren't too far behind. "Stay here!" Damien ordered. "We're going in!" He drew his sword, and attempted to do battle. Isaac eventually broke free, drew his sword, and did the same. The rest of the clan eventually joined in, and they did battle with them all. However, I proceeded into the cronniplis chamber to encounter Kain.
I opened the door, only to trigger a booby trap I forgot was there. Over the doors of the chamber was scolding hot water. It was so hot, in fact, they said that most of the dimwitted humans who fell for it were boiled alive. Though I was spared such torment, I was burned beyond belief. However, since it was hot water, I was no longer in my cursed form (though cold water DID sound pretty good right now). To be honest, it was a wonder how I escaped serious injury, but I managed to pull it off. "Ah Razial." A voice said. I looked around, and saw Kain standing there pulling levers and turning knobs. I had no clue what he was up to, and to be honest, the scolding hot water and the thought of ripping him in half were more important to me right now. "I was expecting a meal," Kain commented, "But sadly, it's just you. That other form of yours was much more interesting. Tell me, how humiliating was it when you realized a simple cup of ice water made you the girliest man alive?" "Was it humiliating when you realized you threw me in the wrong lake?" I replied. I lunged at him, and once I was within striking distance, I reached out and punched him in the face. But even though the punch connected, he stillmanaged to strike me down. He jumped from one side of the chamber to the other like he only could, and simply pulled another lever like I was no big deal. "Not only do you hit like a girl," he commented, "But you're becoming a pest. Luckily, I won't have to worry about you. I've done what I could for this nearly dead world. Now I must venture onward. And with the machinery I have developed in this chamber, I can create a gateway to do just that." "I suppose you'll travel back to the past, and warn yourself that the lake of the dead simply turns people into women, right?" He laughed maniacally. "Razial, you always were a comedian. Frankly, you're the last thing I'm worried about. This chamber has done much more for me than allow me the ability to time travel. It's allowed me to see the future. I've seen everything that happens here. Your making friends with the sarafan was a very clever idea. Being a woman must have more power over humans than it does for vampires, or those two are just stupid." He made his way to the next lever as he spoke. "However, I also saw our little conflict. It doesn't end here my dear boy. Oh excuse me, girl. I forgot all about your little curse now." With that comment, I made another lunge for his throat. What occurred once I was close enough was a very fast paced fist fight. Sadly, I wasn't the victor, but I managed to get in my fair share of damage on Kain. "Your attempts are so futile." He commented. "Don't you see? Destiny is like a game of chess. One player makes the wrong move, and it's checkmate. However, I have an advantage over my opponent. I can see what he's thinking. I know every move he'll ever make in the game, and I know exactly what he expects me to do. Your god, and the god of the sarafan expect the same thing out of everyone they've conceived. They simply want us to play out the roles they assigned us like we were in a play. Unfortunately, I plan on making some last minute changes to the script." "I can see a millennium in this chamber hasn't done wonders for your fatalistic attitude towards life." "Do what you may, my friend. All you're doing is simply what destiny predicts. Everything you do, everything you say is predetermined." He pulled what would appear to be the last lever as the chamber filled with orange light. "Free will is merely an illusion." As that statement came to an end, I saw a panel in the wall open, and a spiral of orange light inside of it. Obviously, this was a portal of some sort. The only problem now was where did it go? What point in history did Kain want to change? One thing was for sure. I had to keep him from accomplishing it. "You've apparently learned a lot." I said, distracting him. "I've learned quite a bit myself. I learned how stupid we look when in the presence of a female, but that's a minor lesson compared to my discoveries. I found out about my past." I had apparently intrigued him with those words. "How could you profane a priest by making him into a VAMPIRE?!" I made another lunge at him, but he side stepped m. I managed to regain my balance, and face him once again. "So you figured out where you came from." He said. "You may know of your past, but you no nothing about it. You actually think the sarafan are noble?" "Even cold blooded killers like the sarafan are more noble than a jealous coward like you!" With that, he tried to strike me down! I avoided his punch, smacked him right in the jaw, and another brutal fist fight occurred. This time, I let my cloven hands rip through his shirt, and leave cuts across his chest. Unfortunately, I only got one slash in before he knocked me down with one fierce blow to the chest. He clutched his wounded chest as he made his way to the portal. "You almost had me." He commented. "But this isn't how, or where it ends." With that, he jumped through the portal. All I could do now was jump in after him, and hope I wasn't jumping head on into a trap.
Chapter 2- Discoveries and Vengeance
There was no warm water in sight. Where some local pervert would consider my newly acquired curse as a beautiful thing, I considered it nothing more than a burden. On the plus side, however, it DID have a few conveniences. Though weaker, and not even half as durable as my vampiric form, and despite the fact I couldn't fly, it did give me an advantage or two. Humans simply thought I was nothing more than a drifter, or some random woman on her way to a store of some sort. Not a single soul in Nosgoth suspected I was actually a vampire. And frankly, that was a good thing what with the sarafan brotherhood having a field day with it's merciless vampire killing sprees. Funny I should mention the sarafan. For my drifting ways had brought me to a couple of soldiers of the sarafan currently on their way back to their headquarters. In vampire form, I would've had to kill them, but in my human form (the form I was currently in), I had nothing to worry about. They eventually spotted me, and as you would guess, they had no clue I was actually a vampire. "You there!" One shouted. "I'd leave these parts if I were you. A nice woman like you shouldn't be wandering around here." "Is that so?" I asked. "Yes. It is said a vampire by the name of Shargein has been wandering around here lately. I doubt I have to explain how vampires seem to be the only predator human kind has to worry about." I never heard of this Shargein person, but at the same time, this gave me an idea. I could use the sarafan to my advantage in my crusade against Kain! Funny how the natural enemy of vampires would be aiding that which they hate to kill his arch rival. "Shargain you say?" I asked. "That's his name." The soldier said. "I've heard of him. He's nothing to concern yourself with. His master is a different story." "Master you say?" "Yes. He works for a vampire by the name of Kain." Those words seemed to make chills go up and down their spines. "Kain? One of the most wanted vampires of Nosgoth next to Vorador?" "Ah yes." The man said. "I hear they're offering quite a reward to the one who brings him and his clan in." "I know that, dimwit, but they say he's impossible to find. You have a better chance of finding a needle in a hay stack." "That's what you think." I said. "I happen to know where Kain's been hiding out." "Get lost woman. We don't have time for." "Whoa, hold on a minute." His comrade said. "Let's hear her out." "Oh don't tell me your buying this." "No human would lie about a vampire like Kain." The first soldier let out a frustrated sigh as he admitted defeat. Apparently, this female body of mine had more power than I thought. I may not've been able to fight anyone in this form, but I could certainly get these two to cooperate. I just wished the second one would quit eye balling my chest. "Very well." He said. "But if we are to fight the likes of Kain and his clan, we might as well go back to the sarafan stronghold for more weaponry. You might as well follow along."
They took me to the Sarafan stronghold. As the one who was known as Damien went in search of weaponry, the one named Isaac showed me around the stronghold. At first, I was borred out of my mind. The fact I was already behind enemy lines was disgraceful enough to vampire kind, but the fact this guy couldn't keep his eyes off me for more than a second was a very uncomforting thought. Of course, I quickly gained interest in the matter the instant he showed me the crypt. In this crypt was the most noble of the sarafan brotherhood. I looked at the statues, and recognized them right off the bat. For they looked just like my brethren! Actually, they were more human than my clan was today, but I still managed to pick up the old gang right away. "Who are these people?" I asked, playing dumb. "Ah yes." He said. "These were some of the most noble warriors the sarafan has offered. Sadly, the vampire Kain drained their blood, and gave them the gift of vampiric unlife." I wasn't listening to a single word he said, for at that moment, I saw a statue that I recognized right away. It was a statue of me! To be more exact, it was myself in my human form, let alone the fact it was my human MALE form. I was more interested now than I was quite a while ago. "Who's that?" I asked, pointing at the statue of myself. "Ah, that was a priest by the name of Razial." He said. "He and Moebius were the best of friends. Or so they say. Sadly, Kain gave him the gift he gave every single priest honored in this part of the crypt." About that time, Damien reminded us both he still existed basically by screaming, "IF YOU'RE DONE TRYING TO GET A DATE FOR SATURDAY, LET'S GET THIS OVER WITH!" As we left the stronghold, he gave Isaac a sword, and gave me a dirty look. "Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" I asked. He didn't even bother to respond. He simply led the way while I gave him directions to Kain's hideout.
And so the journey began. While Damien complained constantly about how I was either going to die once Kain showed up or betray them and kill them instantly, Isaac tried to convince him that I wouldn't betray them. Then they continued arguing, and acting like all hell was going to break loose if I went with them or not. And to think Zefonne and I acted the same way around women. It was absolutely embarrassing! I thought we'd never get to Kain's layer. "Well, here you are." I said. "Great." Damien said. "Now scram. This isn't the job for a woman." "Ah, come on, let her stay." Isaac pleaded. "Yeah," a familiar voice added. "Female blood tastes better than yours anyway." Then, out of nowhere, Isaac was taken down! I recognized his attacker in an instant. It was none other than Malkia himself! And Zefonne and Rahab weren't too far behind. "Stay here!" Damien ordered. "We're going in!" He drew his sword, and attempted to do battle. Isaac eventually broke free, drew his sword, and did the same. The rest of the clan eventually joined in, and they did battle with them all. However, I proceeded into the cronniplis chamber to encounter Kain.
I opened the door, only to trigger a booby trap I forgot was there. Over the doors of the chamber was scolding hot water. It was so hot, in fact, they said that most of the dimwitted humans who fell for it were boiled alive. Though I was spared such torment, I was burned beyond belief. However, since it was hot water, I was no longer in my cursed form (though cold water DID sound pretty good right now). To be honest, it was a wonder how I escaped serious injury, but I managed to pull it off. "Ah Razial." A voice said. I looked around, and saw Kain standing there pulling levers and turning knobs. I had no clue what he was up to, and to be honest, the scolding hot water and the thought of ripping him in half were more important to me right now. "I was expecting a meal," Kain commented, "But sadly, it's just you. That other form of yours was much more interesting. Tell me, how humiliating was it when you realized a simple cup of ice water made you the girliest man alive?" "Was it humiliating when you realized you threw me in the wrong lake?" I replied. I lunged at him, and once I was within striking distance, I reached out and punched him in the face. But even though the punch connected, he stillmanaged to strike me down. He jumped from one side of the chamber to the other like he only could, and simply pulled another lever like I was no big deal. "Not only do you hit like a girl," he commented, "But you're becoming a pest. Luckily, I won't have to worry about you. I've done what I could for this nearly dead world. Now I must venture onward. And with the machinery I have developed in this chamber, I can create a gateway to do just that." "I suppose you'll travel back to the past, and warn yourself that the lake of the dead simply turns people into women, right?" He laughed maniacally. "Razial, you always were a comedian. Frankly, you're the last thing I'm worried about. This chamber has done much more for me than allow me the ability to time travel. It's allowed me to see the future. I've seen everything that happens here. Your making friends with the sarafan was a very clever idea. Being a woman must have more power over humans than it does for vampires, or those two are just stupid." He made his way to the next lever as he spoke. "However, I also saw our little conflict. It doesn't end here my dear boy. Oh excuse me, girl. I forgot all about your little curse now." With that comment, I made another lunge for his throat. What occurred once I was close enough was a very fast paced fist fight. Sadly, I wasn't the victor, but I managed to get in my fair share of damage on Kain. "Your attempts are so futile." He commented. "Don't you see? Destiny is like a game of chess. One player makes the wrong move, and it's checkmate. However, I have an advantage over my opponent. I can see what he's thinking. I know every move he'll ever make in the game, and I know exactly what he expects me to do. Your god, and the god of the sarafan expect the same thing out of everyone they've conceived. They simply want us to play out the roles they assigned us like we were in a play. Unfortunately, I plan on making some last minute changes to the script." "I can see a millennium in this chamber hasn't done wonders for your fatalistic attitude towards life." "Do what you may, my friend. All you're doing is simply what destiny predicts. Everything you do, everything you say is predetermined." He pulled what would appear to be the last lever as the chamber filled with orange light. "Free will is merely an illusion." As that statement came to an end, I saw a panel in the wall open, and a spiral of orange light inside of it. Obviously, this was a portal of some sort. The only problem now was where did it go? What point in history did Kain want to change? One thing was for sure. I had to keep him from accomplishing it. "You've apparently learned a lot." I said, distracting him. "I've learned quite a bit myself. I learned how stupid we look when in the presence of a female, but that's a minor lesson compared to my discoveries. I found out about my past." I had apparently intrigued him with those words. "How could you profane a priest by making him into a VAMPIRE?!" I made another lunge at him, but he side stepped m. I managed to regain my balance, and face him once again. "So you figured out where you came from." He said. "You may know of your past, but you no nothing about it. You actually think the sarafan are noble?" "Even cold blooded killers like the sarafan are more noble than a jealous coward like you!" With that, he tried to strike me down! I avoided his punch, smacked him right in the jaw, and another brutal fist fight occurred. This time, I let my cloven hands rip through his shirt, and leave cuts across his chest. Unfortunately, I only got one slash in before he knocked me down with one fierce blow to the chest. He clutched his wounded chest as he made his way to the portal. "You almost had me." He commented. "But this isn't how, or where it ends." With that, he jumped through the portal. All I could do now was jump in after him, and hope I wasn't jumping head on into a trap.