Bloody Dawn, Chapter 4: They Return| A millennium has passed. Kain, now ruler of all Nosgoth, has resurrected six Sarafan warriors as his favored vampiric sons. Raziel, Turel, Dumah, Rahab, Zephon, and Melchiah; all vampires resurrected to serve Kain. Each had their own clan, each with their own attributes. Kain sat upon his throne, Reaver by his side. He began to muse about the signs, what he would do when the time came, and gained an aloof, far-off expression in his eyes as he pondered. At that moment, Raziel burst into the Sanctuary of the Clans. He was panting, obviously having run in. His cape, which had marked him as a clan leader, was shifted out of place and his hair was a royal mess. He bowed before Kain, half in an effort to show respect, and half in an effort to rest and catch his breath, and said reverently, "My lord, the Lake of the Dead. it is shifting, warping. and demons are approaching." Kain's eyes widened with surprise; this had not been foretold to him. "So- they've returned, have they? Hmm, I was wondering when they'd get here." "Sire, what do you mean?" Kain stood up slowly and said to his lieutenant Raziel, "My son. I have been expecting this- and I have come here prepared, with your future self. Show yourself, Soul Reaver." There was a slight disturbance ion the room, and the Soul Reaver Raziel shifted in from the Spectral realm. Vampire looked at Wraith Vampire, each Raziel looking at each other; Wraith Raziel, with a look of longing and pity at once, and Vampire Raziel with a look of confusion and curiosity. Kain turned to Vampire Raziel and said, "Raziel, I am afraid I must send you to safety. You will not remember any of this after you return." Kain worked an enchantment and bound each of his unchanged vampiric sons to the Pillars. They shifted out of sight and out of being temporarily as they were placed in safety. Kain gave a nod to Raziel and they each armed themselves- Raziel with the Soul Reaver and Kain with the Blood Reaver; yes, it had been the Blood Reaver at his side the whole time, Janos Audron's vampire blade that drank of the blood of the fallen. They burst out into the open, in the canyon leading to the Lake of the Dead. But what met them there were not the horrible demons of old, but rather, the Hylden. These foul beasts, with their chitinous hides and glowing green eyes, servants of the Sarafan Lord. Kain sent an energy bolt into their ranks and several fell in an instant, smoldering holes having been burned into their bodies. Raziel leapt between canyon walls into their ranks, leaping down and reaving their souls. Hylden exploded in an instant with the Reaver's caress, their souls becoming devoured with each shrieking swing. Kain was meanwhile locked in melee combat with several of the monsters, attacking with claw and blade. He managed to grab one by the throat and throw him into the others while impaling another on the tip of the Blood Reaver; it is an awesome sight indeed to see the Reaver in action- a horrible sucking sound, followed by streams of blood flowing down the sword and into the fanged hilt. He swung the blade, causing it to sever the side of the Hylden and fling his entrails across the ground. The Reaver connected with another Hylden and drained him of blood; the last thing that foul demon saw was Kain's snarling face with fangs bore, the face of the Reaper himself. Meanwhile, Raziel had his hands full, throwing telekinetic force projectiles at Hylden and dissolving them with the Wraith Blade; he cast glyph magic occasionally, a wave of repelling force or a wave of fire, eradicating any nearby Hylden warriors. "Kain!" he shouted; "To the Lake of the Dead!" Kain nodded his assent and finished off the last of his surrounding Hylden with a quick lightning bolt spell; bolts of electricity burst down from Nosgoth's smoggy cloud layer, electrocuting Hylden and allowing Kain passage. They rushed on to the lake where Raziel had been damned ages ago, and had ironically not yet been damned. Not in this point in Nosgothic history, anyway. Anyways, what awaited them was not the black gate of before, but rather, a swirling vortex of floating energy that rivaled the Abyss in its intensity. A gigantic red arm, wreathed in flame, protruded from the gateway. Kain said, almost to himself, "A Balrog." This got him an extremely odd look from Raziel, who responded with a befuddled "What?" Kain waved him off and added, "Nothing, nothing; just a movie I saw once. It's a fire demon, no biggie." The fire demon emerged, and was felled quickly before the Reavers. But the center of gravity around the gate seemed to be increasing, and Raziel and Kain were pulled in before they could catch hold of something. The gate phased out behind them as they plunged through, and they found themselves in a brand new realm. :::Woo! That was a good one! Anyway, what will become of Kain and Raziel? Where have they gone now? What are the demons planning with the assistance of the Hylden? Why do I keep talking like this? Find out in Chapter 5!:::