Legacy of Kain
The True Destiny
Chapter 3
Meetings
Corruption
A Surprising Conference
Derek felt an odd disorientation come over him, as if the very universe was spinning around him. He felt a loss of control, a vulnerability that he had never felt before. Doubts began to spring up in his mind as he hurtled through this odd, spinning universe of possibilities. What if he came out in the middle of space? What if this wasn't the right kind of portal? What if the thing those men had stepped into WASN'T a portal? What if he came out in the wrong place? What if he was in the right place in a planetary sense, but not the regional sense? What if the first thing he did upon landing was fudge up some custom and get killed? What if he had dressed incorrectly and was immediately spotted as an outsider? What if this was the same way demons from their world dressed?
Even with those doubts swimming around in his head, Derek knew that they would only remain there as long as he let them do so. He took a deep breath and cleared his mind, knowing full well that doubts would get him killed. Of course, he couldn't help but have doubts about certain things, such as not knowing the territory, but they were colder things, not doubts about one's ability. He hoped he wouldn't need to do much fighting, but he somehow doubted that such would be the case.
There was a swooshing sound, as if he was breaking the seal on some overgrown tupperwear container, and then he was standing on a field, looking at large white pillars. He remembered this place from the Dark Chronicle, and knew that if he went in the wrong direction, he'd wind up finding an unfriendly village. While he wasn't a vampire, he bore some of the traits of vampires, thus if he were to find a village swarming with vampire hunters, he would be hard pressed to find a way to explain them. All that became moot, however, when he realized something.
The pillars were WHITE.
It was a simple enough observation, one he had merely noted the first time he registered that fact. Now he realized that the pillars were not SUPPOSED to be white, not if this was the right time period. He still could not deny the facts before his eyes. He stood before the Pillars of Nosgoth, BEFORE their corruption. A malignant force had not possessed Mortanius, Vorador had not assassinated any of the Nine, and Nosgoth still bore its beauty. Another thought rode in almost on top of the previous one. Ariel was still alive! The specter that would later help both his father and Kain on their quests, was still flesh and blood! 'Maybe I can give her a message to give to my fath. . . .' His inner monologue trailed off for a moment, and when it picked up, it sounded harder, colder, to his mind. 'No. I'm not here to do that, and I don't know how it would affect history. I will not make Kain's mistake, whether it was truly his choosing to do so or not. I have to find out whether this is the correct time period or not, and if it isn't, I have to find a way to get to the right one.' He cautiously crept toward the pillar nearest him, noting with irony that it was the Balance Pillar, and peered around to make sure no one was looking. He doubted anyone would truly care, but he didn't want to take any chances. Certain that no one was watching him, he moved swiftly across the open grass and began to retrace the same steps that his father had once taken to get to this same spot, intending to fight and destroy Kain as he stood, apparently completely unaware of Raziel's presence. What Derek didn't know was how close he would come to fudging up the history of his father's adventure.
He had an uneventful time moving through the path, though he became further and further disgusted by the Sarafan with every vampiric corpse passed. He had never known such persecution, and suddenly the social weeding out that the "popular" kids did at school seemed like an ant to a giant. Here he was faced with true persecution, the brutality of which was still quite evident. Perhaps some of these vampires hadn't done a thing to the Sarafan. That was unlikely given that they were lined along the road that headed towards the Sarafan stronghold, but it was still possible. He moved along, feeling fairly sure of himself and his sense of direction. That was nearly his downfall.
He came out of the path at a spot he truly did not want to be. He was looking at the Sarafan stronghold, and for a moment, he found himself thinking that it looked quite beautiful. That thought was interrupted by two others that were of higher priority. First, he realized that as beautiful as the building itself looked from the outside, there were most likely several vampiric corpses and prizes stored within as trophies.
Second, his father had just jumped out of the water.
Derek quickly slid down into the water, taking a deep breath and plunging himself to the bottom. He grabbed hold of a rock to keep him there. His father COULD NOT see him, it could be disastrous to the timeline. With any luck, no one from his father's adventures would see him, and thus he would do no damage to the timeline. 'But if Sizzle's master is really that strong. . .how can I go WITHOUT asking for help? There are only two people I truly trust to help me here. . .and they are my father and his "father" Kain. My father may in fact help me out of some fatherly instinct, and Kain. . .as long as I hold something he wants in my hands, I feel fairly certain he will help.' He did not need to wonder at what Kain would want. 'I have the spirit of his sword, my father. If I threaten to tell him that no matter what is said, Kain is merely orchestrating his final demise, then Kain will more than likely try to kill me. If I can fend him off and defeat him, then maybe he'll help me.' Just then, unfortunately, he was jarred from behind and lifted up out of the water. He knew he was done for when he saw the three talons holding the bottom of his cape. Looking up, he saw quite plainly that his father had yanked him up out of the water. "I can explain," he uttered quickly, perhaps too quickly.
"WHO are you," Raziel growled at him, "and why were you hiding from me?"
"My name is Derek," he stuttered quickly, and then silently cursed himself for giving his father his true name. Raziel didn't say a word, merely waiting for the second part of his question to be answered. "I wasn't hiding from you, in fact I didn't even notice you were standing there." Raziel looked like he wasn't buying the story in the slightest. "You see, I'm a treasure hunter. . .well, a thief, and I saw that crystal there and thought to steal it. Now that I've been brought into the open, however," Derek stated, sounding irritated towards the end, "I won't be stealing anything. I wouldn't dare risk it now, thank you very mu. . .hey, are you listening to me?" Raziel was no longer paying attention, instead looking at Derek's hands.
"You have claws. They are smaller and thinner, yet. . .there bare some resemblance to the talons that are shared by myself and the vampire race." His glowing eyes bore down on Derek's face yet again. "Are you a vampire?! Were you sent by Kain to try and destroy me before I could get to him?!"
"Kain?" Derek paused in thought, and then silently cursed himself again. He remembered seeing in his father's journal that Kain had been standing at the pillars since Raziel had come out of the Chronoplast chamber, which meant that Kain HAD been watching Derek. "You mean that vampire at the pillars? He looked far too dangerous, I avoided him at all costs." Now for a little motivation, and Derek could be on his way. "I heard him mumbling something about not teaching his lieutenants to be incompetent and tardy, and then-" He didn't get to finish his sentence, as Raziel dropped him immediately, turned, and darted down the path. A hunter had been hiding behind a bush the entire time, but now he rose, and Derek saw that it was a cannoneer. His father would be taken completely by surprise if the cannoneer got a shot off. Without thinking, Derek hefted his axe and sent it soaring, splitting the cannoneer's head open. Raziel heard the sickening wail that the cannoneer made and turned to see Derek collecting his axe. The "treasure hunter" was obviously unaware that Raziel had turned. Noting it in the back of his head, Raziel turned and continued down the path towards the pillars, and to Kain. Derek yanked his axe out of the back of the hunter, only to turn and find two sword carrying men and one halberd equipped female glaring at him. "Oh. Well, ah. . .I guess telling you the Goodyear blimp is behind you is out of the question, right?" The two sword carrying hunters noticed his claws and shouted battle cries.
"Vampire! We will not fall for your disguise!"
"We will wipe thee clean of the earth!" The woman rolled her eyes at her male companions' dramatics.
"Well, uh. . .I'd like to see you try," was Derek's reply. Apparently, this wasn't as lame a comeback as it was on Earth, because the two sword carrying men growled and the first lunged at him. It was sloppy and easy to dodge. "No wonder you guys looked like cannon fodder in the book, you really are." Derek brought his axe up and down swiftly, and the head of the first swordsman rolled across the ground, stopping next to the body of the cannoneer. "Next?" The woman cut in next, hoping to save her inept friend from a similar fate as the other two. She was tougher, as she actually seemed to know what she was doing. Several swipes were exchanged, each one blocked by the opponent, until finally Derek managed to get in a good low swing, hacking off the woman's left leg at the knee. "Geez. . .I didn't realize how gruesome that looked in real life. Sorry 'bout that. Here, let me fix it for you." He brought his axe up and down yet again, and it thunked into the woman's chest. Her body gave a brief spasm and then moved no more. He yanked it out of her chest and looked up at the final member of the crew, waiting for him to make his move. Instead what he saw was a trail of liquid gradually making it's way down the man's pants and forming into a puddle on the ground. ". . .That's disgusting, you know." The man turned and fled, mumbling something about sounding an alarm. "Great, now I've just got to avoid a puddle of piss and hope this leather dries before it begins to chafe." ............................................................................ ................................
As Derek left the area, making various tough climbs to avoid being forced to go too near the Sarafan stronghold, he turned to look at the pillars, having truthfully found them perhaps the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen. As he stood, taking in the splendor of them, Kain was telling Raziel to watch what was about to occur, wholly unaware of Derek's presence.
Derek had to force himself not to shout in fury as the pillars were corrupted. 'Vampires. . .how could they do that to such beauty? How could they. . .no. If I were to finish that thought process, I might as well just go and join Moebius' little bunch. Not all vampires are the same. Some deserve to die, while others are merely doing what they must. . .just like me.' At which point, another thought occurred to him. 'Just what am I willing to do to save Shia? Anything would be the obvious answer, and the one I want to say, but. . .I have a feeling. . .a horrible feeling. . .what if my mission forces me to make some hard choices? Moreover, my instincts. . .I must get them from my father. I didn't think anything of killing those three back there. Yet if I were back home, if circumstances were different. . .would I kill?' He let out a mental sigh and shook his head. 'I see why my father used a journal to chronicle his adventures. I need to get one before I go mad from keeping my thoughts in.' With another, this time audible, sigh, Derek turned and began his journey towards the first Nosgothic town he planned to visit: Willendorf. ............................................................................ ................................
"You say you faced a vampire that was helping the creature that escaped the stronghold? What did this vampire look like," Moebius asked, sounding concerned. If Kain had come back, something had happened that Moebius had not anticipated, and given that he was the Guardian of Time, that was quite worrying. After hearing the description of the vampire in question, however, he was both worried and perplexed. "Leave me. Say not a word to anyone of this encounter. Forget that it happened, if you can." The hunter did as commanded, leaving Moebius to ponder this news. "I know not of this vampire that he faced. . .nor have I ever seen or heard of him before. This cannot be right. . .nothing is unforeseen to the Guardian of Time, and yet. . .and yet, this is. I have to confer. . .yes, yes, this is a necessity." ............................................................................ ................................
Moebius stood in conference with his God, having felt the need to do so upon hearing the news of this strange vampire. The Elder was not revealing anything, and was in fact artfully dodging several questions. Finally, Moebius was forced to bring up something he'd done that, more than likely, the Elder would not like. "I have. . .I have looked a bit into the future as concerned to this vampire. . .it is puzzling. He is the cause of several possible divergent timelines, several "coins landing on their edges" as Kain would put it. There is no possible way that this could happen, unless he is present when two Reavers are brought together. . .or unless he is an-" Suddenly the ground shook, and the Elder's voice boomed throughout the chamber.
"SPEAK NO MORE OF THIS, AND LOOK NO MORE INTO THE FUTURE OF THIS CREATURE!!! I AM WELL AWARE OF THE ANOMALOUS NATURE OF. . .THIS ABERRATION! YOU ARE NOT TO CONCERN YOURSELF WITH THIS UNLESS IT THROWS ITSELF UPON YOUR DOORSTEP!!" Moebius issued several swift apologies and claims of obedience to his God. He quickly excused himself, saying he had business to attend to with his men, and slipped out of the chamber, amazed at such a violent reaction from his God.
'An anomaly. . .one so powerful. . .could be disastrous' were his last thoughts before the door to the chamber slid shut behind him. ............................................................................ ................................
Notey notey: Short chapter, yes, but don't worry, there will be more soon. I know what I said about time travel earlier. . .but just forget that, as I've figured out how to include it fairly easily, and it yields far better story possibilities than I had planned to have without it. And don't worry, you WILL get to read about the futures that Moebius saw, but not until later. Oh, and theorize all you like on the "anomaly" business. . .if you can guess the whole of what I mean by it, you get a prize! What is it? Well. . .hmm. . .perhaps you should look to where I have the secret to the meaning of life in a box. Yep, that's it; you'll get the meaning of life if you get it right. Have fun theorizing! Oh, and I'll throw in a keychain of your choice, complete with a. . .MYSTERY KEY! Bum-bum-bum! Teaser for the next chapter: Derek meets Moebius. . .and someone else, as well.
The True Destiny
Chapter 3
Meetings
Corruption
A Surprising Conference
Derek felt an odd disorientation come over him, as if the very universe was spinning around him. He felt a loss of control, a vulnerability that he had never felt before. Doubts began to spring up in his mind as he hurtled through this odd, spinning universe of possibilities. What if he came out in the middle of space? What if this wasn't the right kind of portal? What if the thing those men had stepped into WASN'T a portal? What if he came out in the wrong place? What if he was in the right place in a planetary sense, but not the regional sense? What if the first thing he did upon landing was fudge up some custom and get killed? What if he had dressed incorrectly and was immediately spotted as an outsider? What if this was the same way demons from their world dressed?
Even with those doubts swimming around in his head, Derek knew that they would only remain there as long as he let them do so. He took a deep breath and cleared his mind, knowing full well that doubts would get him killed. Of course, he couldn't help but have doubts about certain things, such as not knowing the territory, but they were colder things, not doubts about one's ability. He hoped he wouldn't need to do much fighting, but he somehow doubted that such would be the case.
There was a swooshing sound, as if he was breaking the seal on some overgrown tupperwear container, and then he was standing on a field, looking at large white pillars. He remembered this place from the Dark Chronicle, and knew that if he went in the wrong direction, he'd wind up finding an unfriendly village. While he wasn't a vampire, he bore some of the traits of vampires, thus if he were to find a village swarming with vampire hunters, he would be hard pressed to find a way to explain them. All that became moot, however, when he realized something.
The pillars were WHITE.
It was a simple enough observation, one he had merely noted the first time he registered that fact. Now he realized that the pillars were not SUPPOSED to be white, not if this was the right time period. He still could not deny the facts before his eyes. He stood before the Pillars of Nosgoth, BEFORE their corruption. A malignant force had not possessed Mortanius, Vorador had not assassinated any of the Nine, and Nosgoth still bore its beauty. Another thought rode in almost on top of the previous one. Ariel was still alive! The specter that would later help both his father and Kain on their quests, was still flesh and blood! 'Maybe I can give her a message to give to my fath. . . .' His inner monologue trailed off for a moment, and when it picked up, it sounded harder, colder, to his mind. 'No. I'm not here to do that, and I don't know how it would affect history. I will not make Kain's mistake, whether it was truly his choosing to do so or not. I have to find out whether this is the correct time period or not, and if it isn't, I have to find a way to get to the right one.' He cautiously crept toward the pillar nearest him, noting with irony that it was the Balance Pillar, and peered around to make sure no one was looking. He doubted anyone would truly care, but he didn't want to take any chances. Certain that no one was watching him, he moved swiftly across the open grass and began to retrace the same steps that his father had once taken to get to this same spot, intending to fight and destroy Kain as he stood, apparently completely unaware of Raziel's presence. What Derek didn't know was how close he would come to fudging up the history of his father's adventure.
He had an uneventful time moving through the path, though he became further and further disgusted by the Sarafan with every vampiric corpse passed. He had never known such persecution, and suddenly the social weeding out that the "popular" kids did at school seemed like an ant to a giant. Here he was faced with true persecution, the brutality of which was still quite evident. Perhaps some of these vampires hadn't done a thing to the Sarafan. That was unlikely given that they were lined along the road that headed towards the Sarafan stronghold, but it was still possible. He moved along, feeling fairly sure of himself and his sense of direction. That was nearly his downfall.
He came out of the path at a spot he truly did not want to be. He was looking at the Sarafan stronghold, and for a moment, he found himself thinking that it looked quite beautiful. That thought was interrupted by two others that were of higher priority. First, he realized that as beautiful as the building itself looked from the outside, there were most likely several vampiric corpses and prizes stored within as trophies.
Second, his father had just jumped out of the water.
Derek quickly slid down into the water, taking a deep breath and plunging himself to the bottom. He grabbed hold of a rock to keep him there. His father COULD NOT see him, it could be disastrous to the timeline. With any luck, no one from his father's adventures would see him, and thus he would do no damage to the timeline. 'But if Sizzle's master is really that strong. . .how can I go WITHOUT asking for help? There are only two people I truly trust to help me here. . .and they are my father and his "father" Kain. My father may in fact help me out of some fatherly instinct, and Kain. . .as long as I hold something he wants in my hands, I feel fairly certain he will help.' He did not need to wonder at what Kain would want. 'I have the spirit of his sword, my father. If I threaten to tell him that no matter what is said, Kain is merely orchestrating his final demise, then Kain will more than likely try to kill me. If I can fend him off and defeat him, then maybe he'll help me.' Just then, unfortunately, he was jarred from behind and lifted up out of the water. He knew he was done for when he saw the three talons holding the bottom of his cape. Looking up, he saw quite plainly that his father had yanked him up out of the water. "I can explain," he uttered quickly, perhaps too quickly.
"WHO are you," Raziel growled at him, "and why were you hiding from me?"
"My name is Derek," he stuttered quickly, and then silently cursed himself for giving his father his true name. Raziel didn't say a word, merely waiting for the second part of his question to be answered. "I wasn't hiding from you, in fact I didn't even notice you were standing there." Raziel looked like he wasn't buying the story in the slightest. "You see, I'm a treasure hunter. . .well, a thief, and I saw that crystal there and thought to steal it. Now that I've been brought into the open, however," Derek stated, sounding irritated towards the end, "I won't be stealing anything. I wouldn't dare risk it now, thank you very mu. . .hey, are you listening to me?" Raziel was no longer paying attention, instead looking at Derek's hands.
"You have claws. They are smaller and thinner, yet. . .there bare some resemblance to the talons that are shared by myself and the vampire race." His glowing eyes bore down on Derek's face yet again. "Are you a vampire?! Were you sent by Kain to try and destroy me before I could get to him?!"
"Kain?" Derek paused in thought, and then silently cursed himself again. He remembered seeing in his father's journal that Kain had been standing at the pillars since Raziel had come out of the Chronoplast chamber, which meant that Kain HAD been watching Derek. "You mean that vampire at the pillars? He looked far too dangerous, I avoided him at all costs." Now for a little motivation, and Derek could be on his way. "I heard him mumbling something about not teaching his lieutenants to be incompetent and tardy, and then-" He didn't get to finish his sentence, as Raziel dropped him immediately, turned, and darted down the path. A hunter had been hiding behind a bush the entire time, but now he rose, and Derek saw that it was a cannoneer. His father would be taken completely by surprise if the cannoneer got a shot off. Without thinking, Derek hefted his axe and sent it soaring, splitting the cannoneer's head open. Raziel heard the sickening wail that the cannoneer made and turned to see Derek collecting his axe. The "treasure hunter" was obviously unaware that Raziel had turned. Noting it in the back of his head, Raziel turned and continued down the path towards the pillars, and to Kain. Derek yanked his axe out of the back of the hunter, only to turn and find two sword carrying men and one halberd equipped female glaring at him. "Oh. Well, ah. . .I guess telling you the Goodyear blimp is behind you is out of the question, right?" The two sword carrying hunters noticed his claws and shouted battle cries.
"Vampire! We will not fall for your disguise!"
"We will wipe thee clean of the earth!" The woman rolled her eyes at her male companions' dramatics.
"Well, uh. . .I'd like to see you try," was Derek's reply. Apparently, this wasn't as lame a comeback as it was on Earth, because the two sword carrying men growled and the first lunged at him. It was sloppy and easy to dodge. "No wonder you guys looked like cannon fodder in the book, you really are." Derek brought his axe up and down swiftly, and the head of the first swordsman rolled across the ground, stopping next to the body of the cannoneer. "Next?" The woman cut in next, hoping to save her inept friend from a similar fate as the other two. She was tougher, as she actually seemed to know what she was doing. Several swipes were exchanged, each one blocked by the opponent, until finally Derek managed to get in a good low swing, hacking off the woman's left leg at the knee. "Geez. . .I didn't realize how gruesome that looked in real life. Sorry 'bout that. Here, let me fix it for you." He brought his axe up and down yet again, and it thunked into the woman's chest. Her body gave a brief spasm and then moved no more. He yanked it out of her chest and looked up at the final member of the crew, waiting for him to make his move. Instead what he saw was a trail of liquid gradually making it's way down the man's pants and forming into a puddle on the ground. ". . .That's disgusting, you know." The man turned and fled, mumbling something about sounding an alarm. "Great, now I've just got to avoid a puddle of piss and hope this leather dries before it begins to chafe." ............................................................................ ................................
As Derek left the area, making various tough climbs to avoid being forced to go too near the Sarafan stronghold, he turned to look at the pillars, having truthfully found them perhaps the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen. As he stood, taking in the splendor of them, Kain was telling Raziel to watch what was about to occur, wholly unaware of Derek's presence.
Derek had to force himself not to shout in fury as the pillars were corrupted. 'Vampires. . .how could they do that to such beauty? How could they. . .no. If I were to finish that thought process, I might as well just go and join Moebius' little bunch. Not all vampires are the same. Some deserve to die, while others are merely doing what they must. . .just like me.' At which point, another thought occurred to him. 'Just what am I willing to do to save Shia? Anything would be the obvious answer, and the one I want to say, but. . .I have a feeling. . .a horrible feeling. . .what if my mission forces me to make some hard choices? Moreover, my instincts. . .I must get them from my father. I didn't think anything of killing those three back there. Yet if I were back home, if circumstances were different. . .would I kill?' He let out a mental sigh and shook his head. 'I see why my father used a journal to chronicle his adventures. I need to get one before I go mad from keeping my thoughts in.' With another, this time audible, sigh, Derek turned and began his journey towards the first Nosgothic town he planned to visit: Willendorf. ............................................................................ ................................
"You say you faced a vampire that was helping the creature that escaped the stronghold? What did this vampire look like," Moebius asked, sounding concerned. If Kain had come back, something had happened that Moebius had not anticipated, and given that he was the Guardian of Time, that was quite worrying. After hearing the description of the vampire in question, however, he was both worried and perplexed. "Leave me. Say not a word to anyone of this encounter. Forget that it happened, if you can." The hunter did as commanded, leaving Moebius to ponder this news. "I know not of this vampire that he faced. . .nor have I ever seen or heard of him before. This cannot be right. . .nothing is unforeseen to the Guardian of Time, and yet. . .and yet, this is. I have to confer. . .yes, yes, this is a necessity." ............................................................................ ................................
Moebius stood in conference with his God, having felt the need to do so upon hearing the news of this strange vampire. The Elder was not revealing anything, and was in fact artfully dodging several questions. Finally, Moebius was forced to bring up something he'd done that, more than likely, the Elder would not like. "I have. . .I have looked a bit into the future as concerned to this vampire. . .it is puzzling. He is the cause of several possible divergent timelines, several "coins landing on their edges" as Kain would put it. There is no possible way that this could happen, unless he is present when two Reavers are brought together. . .or unless he is an-" Suddenly the ground shook, and the Elder's voice boomed throughout the chamber.
"SPEAK NO MORE OF THIS, AND LOOK NO MORE INTO THE FUTURE OF THIS CREATURE!!! I AM WELL AWARE OF THE ANOMALOUS NATURE OF. . .THIS ABERRATION! YOU ARE NOT TO CONCERN YOURSELF WITH THIS UNLESS IT THROWS ITSELF UPON YOUR DOORSTEP!!" Moebius issued several swift apologies and claims of obedience to his God. He quickly excused himself, saying he had business to attend to with his men, and slipped out of the chamber, amazed at such a violent reaction from his God.
'An anomaly. . .one so powerful. . .could be disastrous' were his last thoughts before the door to the chamber slid shut behind him. ............................................................................ ................................
Notey notey: Short chapter, yes, but don't worry, there will be more soon. I know what I said about time travel earlier. . .but just forget that, as I've figured out how to include it fairly easily, and it yields far better story possibilities than I had planned to have without it. And don't worry, you WILL get to read about the futures that Moebius saw, but not until later. Oh, and theorize all you like on the "anomaly" business. . .if you can guess the whole of what I mean by it, you get a prize! What is it? Well. . .hmm. . .perhaps you should look to where I have the secret to the meaning of life in a box. Yep, that's it; you'll get the meaning of life if you get it right. Have fun theorizing! Oh, and I'll throw in a keychain of your choice, complete with a. . .MYSTERY KEY! Bum-bum-bum! Teaser for the next chapter: Derek meets Moebius. . .and someone else, as well.