Bloody Dawn, Chapter 5: The Demon Dimension| Kain and Raziel both looked around aimlessly. It was all new; the swirling, tumultuous darkness of the Demon Dimension, home plane of the Hylden for so long after their banishment, twisted and shifted around them. After a short while, they were able to discern simple landscape features. Rocks jutted up from seemingly random places; the terrain itself was completely uneven, and moving about it proved to be a challenge even for the vampires- this was a brand new area entirely. They wandered the landscape, exploring, seeking, for ages, but they found nothing that would help them return. "Kain," Raziel questioned. "Do you think anybody here might be able to help us out?" "No, Raziel, these are the Hylden; I myself defeated them single-handed over 1000 years ago. They wouldn't help me unless threatened." Kain mused for a second, reviewing old memories of his more glorious days- when he fought the Sarafan Lord at the gate to this very plane, Janos Audron had interrupted the fight and in the process gotten himself thrown into the gate. He had wings, there seemed to be wind here, and he was a powerful spell caster- he might have survived. The old vampire turned to Raziel and said, with a devilish smirk upon his face, "Let's get us some Hylden to interrogate." They crept about stealthily, not wanting to draw attention. After a while, they saw a Hylden scientist walking determinedly off somewhere- alone. They leapt upon him and beat him into submission. Raziel held the wraith-blade near the Hylden while Kain clutched his throat in a death grip. As the beast wheezed with the slight decrease in air supply, Kain shouted at him, "You! Hylden! Tell me, do you know who Janos Audron is?" "Of course I know who he is," the demon said in the characteristic raspy voice. "He banished our kind here! He has been here for over 1100 years, I believe." "Then he is still alive? Where is he- speak, and I may spare your life!" The scientist squirmed uncomfortably in Kain's grip briefly, then said, "He is far to the north, in a floating tower he constructed for his own safety. Seek him if you with." "My thanks." Kain said, then set him on the ground. "Raziel, destroy him." Kain leered at the Hylden, saying, "I said that I may spare your life- but I never said anything about him." With a look of horror and betrayal, the demon dissolved before the Reaver's eager coils. The duo exchanged glances- Raziel was used to his maker's betrayal, and Kain seemed to look for his vampiric son's approval. He cast a spell to propel them to Janos' floating tower, where they found out a sealed gate barred their entry. Raziel shifted to the Spectral realm to pass it, and saw something horrifying- it seemed like a twisted parody of Nosgoth, as if he were in the Elder God's chamber once more. He shook it off and phased through the pitiful barrier, casting green sparks about him, emerging in the Material realm on the other side. Kain, however, took a more. direct route. He let out a burst of black and red energy, searing the gate off its hinges. Raziel ducked just in time to avoid going immediately back to the Spectral realm. They proceeded onwards, taking the time to look at the surroundings as they did. Multiple murals of Ancients combating Hylden adorned the walls. Tapestries featuring images of the Blood Reaver abounded, and the odd chalice of blood lay here and there. When they reached the uppermost point of the tower, they saw Janos. His back was turned, and he appeared to be staring intently downwards. A most impressive pile of rubber ducks spanned to the ceiling next to him. He shouted in a heavy Romanian accent, "You foul Hylden! You and your demons shall not breach this place of safety, this holy spire!" He grabbed a duck and hurled it down to the ground. Kain and Raziel stared oddly at the tableau with confused expressions until the Wraith Vampire stepped forward and said, "Janos? Are you still. um. sane?" Janos wheeled around in place to face the newcomers. "Ah, Raziel, my child, and the vampire lord Kain, how pleasant it is to see you both. Why have you come?" Kain approached as well and replied with much dignity- or as much as one can muster while suppressing the giggles before a mountain of rubber ducks and a frazzle-minded vampire- "We have come to ask you if we could possibly escape." "Hmm, yes, I have something here. I just finished working on it right before those cursed Hylden tried to come up here again." He walked over to a mural that the two had just noticed, of the Sarafan Lord casting poor Janos into this dimension. Raziel whispered to Kain, "Boy, these Ancients *really* have a thing for murals, don't they?" Janos grabbed what appeared to be the Nexus Stone from the drawing of Kain on the mural. "The Nexus Stone?" Kain asked. "How will this aid us? It was only meant for holding the gate open and closing it." "This only used to be the Nexus Stone- darn thing hit me on the head right after I landed here. I spent the last millennium fixing it and changing it for a different purpose- it will now teleport us out of this dimension." Kain snatched the stone from him and said simply, "Thanks, Janos. We will remember you." Suddenly, the tower shook. "The Hylden!" Janos and Kain exclaimed in tandem. "They've broken inside with their demons!" Kain seized Raziel's arm and teleported back to Nosgoth. Meanwhile, back in the Hylden dimension, Janos was staring at about 4 fire demons and Hylden warriors- sweating profusely as well, I might add. Janos started throwing rubber ducks at them and then quickly bailed out the window, flying to relative safety, cursing Kain all the while. Back in Nosgoth, Kain was preparing to release the 5 vampires from the Pillars, when all of a sudden, a familiar voice emanated from behind. "Kain," it said. "Remember me?" ::: To be continued!:::