Raziel hastily changed his clothes. Trust Zephon? No further than he could throw him, which was probably a considerable distance, to be honest, as Zephon was a scrawny little bastard made out of chicken bones. Still, it seemed safer to call on the general himself. Perhaps he would find him in a favourable mood, or if not, he might be able to improve his mood somewhat. He doffed his grey city-drab in favour of a more stately pair of black trousers and a soft woollen, sleeveless shirt of blood red. He pulled the cord that tied it at the front a little looser, to show just a little more chest. After a moment of deliberation, he strapped on a black double belt around it with an ornate buckle. It was Dumah's, but Dumah wouldn't mind, he decided. It looked better on him anyway. He snapped a polished, copper bracelet around his wrist and put on a pair of proper, heavy boots. He cast a glance into the narrow, damaged mirror on the wall, combing his hair with his fingers and gathering it up into a loose ponytail. There. Much better.
He climbed the roughly hacked steps up to Kain's quarters and silently slipped through the door. Kain was stood at the wide, high window, looking out over the grounds surrounding the ruined keep he had claimed for himself. He did not turn, or acknowledge Raziel in any way, but he knew Raziel was there. Raziel carefully closed the door behind him, and perched in a narrow alcove that still held the remains of a stone angel. He waited patiently; there was no need to speak.
The room was better furnished than the former chapel he and his brothers inhabited, but still sparse by human standards. A simple wooden table, a few oil lamps, a chair. The bed was pushed into a deep alcove, away from the window. They had hung heavy velvet curtains around it, to shield it from the light. Kain sighed.
"Strange, how the mind plays tricks on you, is it not?"
Raziel slipped from his seat and joined his general at the high, gothic window.
"Looking out over these land, mine now, covered by the purple velvet of night... It makes me think of her."
Raziel's breath caught, he felt suddenly wary. "Her?" he asked gently.
"Umah," Kain said, a faint longing in his voice. Raziel breathed more easily. "I must have told you about her," Kain asked.
"Yes, she was the one that betrayed you," Raziel remembered. It was rare to catch Kain in a nostalgic mood, but it was a better kind of mood than most. Kain sighed again.
"Things could have been so different," he said, "if she'd only understood. If she could only have seen... You would have had a mother then." He glanced at Raziel, who raised his eyebrows and smiled, as if the suggestion was faintly ridiculous. "You would have liked her," Kain said with a broad, sensuous grin. "A lithe young woman. Fine little face. Ripe." He chucked, greedily. "Perhaps a little too ripe for your tastes," he added thoughtfully. He leaned on the balustrade and gazed off into the distance. The horizon was slowly starting to pale. "Not that it matters. I would never have shared her with you."
There was a moment of silence before he added, "Or you with her, for that matter." He drew himself up again and turned to Raziel, who gave him a wanton smile. Kain smiled back, then grabbed him by the chin and turned his face to the light. His touch was gentle, but insistent. Raziel did not resist for a moment.
"You look deceptively healthy tonight. What have you been eating?" He let go again, and turned his back, walking over to the table, and the pitcher of blood that was on it.
"I've been hunting in Vennstein," Raziel answered truthfully. Kain took up the pitcher and poured himself a cup.
"Vennstein, hm? Found something to your liking?"
Raziel laughed guiltily. "Oh yes," he said, avoiding Kain's eyes like a shy virgin.
The hint was not lost on Kain. He took a sip, frowning. "Who?" he asked, sharply.
"Valent's daughter," Raziel admitted with a guilty smile.
"Valent?" Kain repeated, his anger suppressed but palpable. "Not Valent, the fabric merchant? Not Valent, one of the richest men in Vennstein? Member of the council of patriarchs, not that Valent?"
"Ah, yes, that one," Raziel breathed. He dodged just in time to avoid the metal cup thrown at his head. The blood in it splashed against the wall in a crimson streak.
"Damn you, Raziel!" Kain thundered. "If I can not guarantee the safety of the elite, Vennstein will turn against me! Our alliance is crucial at this stage, I thought I had made that clear! You..." He suddenly halted his tirade; something had struck him. "She was pretty, wasn't she?" he asked with a disgusted snarl.
"Oh, so beautiful, father, it was painful to look on her," Raziel gushed. "I saw her a few nights ago, in the marketplace, and my heart bled. She had long hair, black as the blessed night itself, eyes like dark, glistening jewels, and her blushing lips... So sweet... I couldn't resist. I had to have her!"
"You should have been a poet, Raziel," Kain said coldly, slowly approaching his eldest son. "But this is no game we're playing, this is a war. A war I intend to win, either with or without you. You know my word is law. Don't assume you're exempt from the rules simply because you're my firstborn."
Raziel grinned cheekily, and inclined his head, tracing a finger down his neckline. "No," he said in a husky voice, "there's very different reasons for that, aren't there?"
Kain flashed a greedy, fanged grin. "Ah," he chuckled. "My handsome Raziel..." Suddenly, he smacked him across the face. Four bright, crimson lines of pain opened up on Raziel's cheek. "Don't play with me," Kain raged. "I've been betrayed too many times, if I cannot rely on you, Raziel, if I cannot trust you completely..."
"You can trust me," Raziel cried, cradling his wounded cheek. Kain grabbed hold of his hair and pulled his head back, far back, straining his neck and exposing his throat completely. Raziel groaned slightly, fighting his instinctive urge to resist.
"I should kill you now," Kain mused. "For your transgression. I could drain your blood and toss you into the river." His voice bespoke a dark amusement, and Raziel trembled with anticipation, and more than a little fear. "It would do very well to set an example, I think. To make clear to the troops that my will is their law. That to disobey my order is to forfeit your life..."
Raziel tried to swallow. His hands fluttered in the air, as Kain pulled his head ever further back.
"I think your brethren would take very well to that lesson, don't you?"
Raziel moaned softly. Kain brushed his lips over his exposed throat.
"Yes, I could tear out your throat right now..." he whispered, his cool lips brushing against Raziel's skin. "Or would you prefer this?"
The Soul Reaver. Raziel's eyes went wide in fear when Kain pulled the ancient sword forth and held the edge of its blade a thumb from Raziel's face. It took all his strength of mind not to resist, not to bring his hands up and struggle with his sire. It all came down to trust, but was this still a game? Could Kain be serious?
"Please, no," he whispered, staring at the waved blade in front of him. It seemed enveloped in a blue glow, and Raziel had seen enough to know that it would devour his soul if Kain allowed it to. "Don't kill me," he begged, "I'm your son! Please, my lord..."
Kain lowered the blade. "Lord," he repeated, and pressed his lips against the sharp line of Raziel's jaw. "Yes, that's right..."
Raziel closed his eyes. His fear stirred his passion even higher, and he hissed to feel Kain's fangs against his throat.
Kain growled, a rumbling sound from deep within his throat, and pushed Raziel away with such force that he crashed into the wall next to the bed. He struggled to regain his feet, untangling himself from the chair with a pained grin. Kain had turned away from him, to the window.
"Oh, Raziel," Kain sighed. He brought a hand to his face. "How could I? Your sweet blood, the way you yield to me... How can I resist?" He set his sword onto his back once more, and Raziel caught himself breathing a little sigh of relief. Kain turned to him, a weary look in his eyes. "You make me weak," he accused.
Raziel smiled sweetly, and shook his head. "None could make you weak, my lord," he said, approaching carefully. "Certainly not I; I am your servant." Kain put a hand on his chest, as if to stop him from coming closer, but he gave way as Raziel leant in for a kiss. Their lips met, briefly, then Kain grinned and suddenly grabbed hold of Raziel's shirt, tossing him onto the bed. Raziel disappeared between the black curtains, and there was a grunt as he landed against a rough stone wall, cushioned only by a layer of black velvet. Kain followed him, slipping into the darkness like a predator stalking his prey.
Raziel stripped off his shirt and stretched out luxuriously among the pillows and blankets. In the pitch-black of the curtained bed, they could only see the dull gleam of each other's eyes, but it was all they needed. Kain's eager claws found the exposed skin of Raziel's chest, and scratched over the powerful plains of his muscles.
"You can see me ruling Nosgoth, can't you, Raziel?" he asked.
"Yes," Raziel answered, and drew in his breath sharply when his sire's claws drew blood. "I can see it. All will fear you, Kain, and all will bow to you. Knights, patriarchs, kings..."
The soft gleam of Kain's eyes blinked our of existence for a moment as he laughed softly.
"I can see you on a throne, built out of the skulls of your fallen enemies, and king Oswald on his knees before you, trembling, begging for mercy..." His whisper had a haunting quality, seemingly coming from the darkness itself. "They will whisper your name in fear: 'Lord Kain', 'Lord Kain'. All the world will be at your feet, and I will be there at your side, as your right hand, forever..."
A sharp canine caught the light. "I'll drink to that..." Kain's deep voice rumbled, and he leaned over Raziel, his presence palpable and strong, yet somehow featherlight. In the darkness, his lips searched Raziel's throat for a moment, looking for that magic spot where the skin throbbed with the rhythm of his heart. He waited. Raziel raked his hand through Kain's soft, white hair, his frame tight with anticipation and desire. A small, keening noise escaped his lips. He whispered,
"Please..."
It was what Kain had been waiting for. He plunged his fangs into the subdermal river of blood and Raziel cried out, with pain, and shock, and joy. He did not try to resist, there was no need. He surrendered easily and completely to Kain's will. Kain drew it out gently, slowly drinking his full, the blood in Raziel's veins under his total command, and his very heart... Raziel closed his eyes. This was bliss, this pain, the rapture of this moment with Kain in this private darkness... He felt his life seeping away, flowing into his sire. To feed him, to strengthen him, to bring him life, it was pure pleasure. His fingers twitched as the strength fled from his limbs and he almost welcomed the bright burn of the hunger, warming him, stirring him into action.
He grabbed a handful of long soft hair and wrenched Kain's greedy mouth away from his neck. Kain slurped up a final draft, and relinquished his hold on his son's lifeblood. Raziel let him drop back. He licked the wound, allowing it to close, and Raziel sighed deeply. He was far from drained, just on the edge of comfortable, actually, and he lazily combed Kain's silken hair back with his fingers.
"You're a veritable feast, as always," Kain mumbled approvingly. He sat up, and put a possessive hand around Raziel's throat, a little too tight for comfort. "What am I to do with you, Raziel?" his voice rumbled in the darkness.
"Do?" Raziel asked. "What you just did suited me fine, actually." It was too dark to see his impish little smile, but it slipped into his voice like a secret creature of the night.
"Know that I will not hesitate to kill you, Raziel, if it becomes necessary," Kain said sternly. "If you stand in my way, or betray my trust, or become a threat to my ambition..." His hand twitched a little tighter still. "I will skewer you on the Soul Reaver and not think twice about it."
Raziel felt a shiver run through him at the thought. He could imagine it so precisely, the waved blade penetrating his body, running him through, lifting him slightly, and the look on Kain's face, enraged, demonic. I renounce you. He shrugged off the dreadful fantasy with some difficulty.
"I have never doubted that, Kain," he whispered softly. "And I will take great pains to avoid giving you reason to." Kain's hand left his throat. Raziel's heart halted for a second when there was a click, and the almost imperceptible glow of the Reaver cut through the velveteen darkness like a slow and silent flash of lightning. But Kain merely put it down on the mattress beside him, and leaned back on the pillows and blankets. Raziel sat by his side.
"Your ambition is my ambition," he continued, reassured. "I only seek to serve you, and share in your glorious victories."
"Good boy." Kain reached out with a lazy hand and stroked his face. "And do you also wish to spend the day here?"
"Yes," Raziel breathed, and lay down close, resting his head on Kain's chest. He could hear the dark, powerful rhythm of his heart, so loud it seemed to make Kain's entire body throb. Nonetheless, it was the most relaxing rhythm he knew. He closed his eyes; the morning had already broken. He was grateful that he could spend the day here -- in spite of Kain's rough treatment and his endless threats, there was nowhere in the world he felt safer than in his sire's arms.
Author's notes:
Oh, golly, aren't I clever? I disgust myself sometimes. I renounce you indeed. Anyway, hope you enjoyed that, I sure enjoyed writing it. :)
O.O Did I actually allow Umah into my universe though? Am I accepting Blood Omen 2 into the storyline? Somebody STOP me!
Schuldig, thank you very much for your help in improving this, I hope it was everything you desired. If you have any other remarks, please let me know.
Soul of Ashes, a drunken whore, yes, a bit too much of one, so I decided to tone it down. Hope you approve.
Varyssa, you think Raz is getting a bit cocky? gasp No! ahem You don't like Zephon though? I love Zephon! If I wasn't such a Raziel junkie I'd write about him much more! Though he deserves to get his ass kicked. Without a doubt.
All: thanks for reviewing!
Added: More reviewer Responses:
Smoke: this is set in the history as it is after Defiance. You see, even though the Hylden Lord has returned, and was defeated again, Kain still needs to raise his sons and rule for a thousand years and toss Raz into the Abyss and all that. Blood Omen 2 is set both after Soul Reaver and before. For the Hylden Lord to return, Raziel must exist. For Raziel to exist, the empire must exist, and in that empire, Kain has already dealt with the Hylden Lord, and with Umah. Get it now? I love paradoxes.
Varyssa: that was the last of it, sorry!
Ekobean: Yaoi out of place in the Legacy of Kain universe? Dude, what else are we going to do? There are exactly TWO female characters of any importance! Yaoi is pretty much obligatory.
He climbed the roughly hacked steps up to Kain's quarters and silently slipped through the door. Kain was stood at the wide, high window, looking out over the grounds surrounding the ruined keep he had claimed for himself. He did not turn, or acknowledge Raziel in any way, but he knew Raziel was there. Raziel carefully closed the door behind him, and perched in a narrow alcove that still held the remains of a stone angel. He waited patiently; there was no need to speak.
The room was better furnished than the former chapel he and his brothers inhabited, but still sparse by human standards. A simple wooden table, a few oil lamps, a chair. The bed was pushed into a deep alcove, away from the window. They had hung heavy velvet curtains around it, to shield it from the light. Kain sighed.
"Strange, how the mind plays tricks on you, is it not?"
Raziel slipped from his seat and joined his general at the high, gothic window.
"Looking out over these land, mine now, covered by the purple velvet of night... It makes me think of her."
Raziel's breath caught, he felt suddenly wary. "Her?" he asked gently.
"Umah," Kain said, a faint longing in his voice. Raziel breathed more easily. "I must have told you about her," Kain asked.
"Yes, she was the one that betrayed you," Raziel remembered. It was rare to catch Kain in a nostalgic mood, but it was a better kind of mood than most. Kain sighed again.
"Things could have been so different," he said, "if she'd only understood. If she could only have seen... You would have had a mother then." He glanced at Raziel, who raised his eyebrows and smiled, as if the suggestion was faintly ridiculous. "You would have liked her," Kain said with a broad, sensuous grin. "A lithe young woman. Fine little face. Ripe." He chucked, greedily. "Perhaps a little too ripe for your tastes," he added thoughtfully. He leaned on the balustrade and gazed off into the distance. The horizon was slowly starting to pale. "Not that it matters. I would never have shared her with you."
There was a moment of silence before he added, "Or you with her, for that matter." He drew himself up again and turned to Raziel, who gave him a wanton smile. Kain smiled back, then grabbed him by the chin and turned his face to the light. His touch was gentle, but insistent. Raziel did not resist for a moment.
"You look deceptively healthy tonight. What have you been eating?" He let go again, and turned his back, walking over to the table, and the pitcher of blood that was on it.
"I've been hunting in Vennstein," Raziel answered truthfully. Kain took up the pitcher and poured himself a cup.
"Vennstein, hm? Found something to your liking?"
Raziel laughed guiltily. "Oh yes," he said, avoiding Kain's eyes like a shy virgin.
The hint was not lost on Kain. He took a sip, frowning. "Who?" he asked, sharply.
"Valent's daughter," Raziel admitted with a guilty smile.
"Valent?" Kain repeated, his anger suppressed but palpable. "Not Valent, the fabric merchant? Not Valent, one of the richest men in Vennstein? Member of the council of patriarchs, not that Valent?"
"Ah, yes, that one," Raziel breathed. He dodged just in time to avoid the metal cup thrown at his head. The blood in it splashed against the wall in a crimson streak.
"Damn you, Raziel!" Kain thundered. "If I can not guarantee the safety of the elite, Vennstein will turn against me! Our alliance is crucial at this stage, I thought I had made that clear! You..." He suddenly halted his tirade; something had struck him. "She was pretty, wasn't she?" he asked with a disgusted snarl.
"Oh, so beautiful, father, it was painful to look on her," Raziel gushed. "I saw her a few nights ago, in the marketplace, and my heart bled. She had long hair, black as the blessed night itself, eyes like dark, glistening jewels, and her blushing lips... So sweet... I couldn't resist. I had to have her!"
"You should have been a poet, Raziel," Kain said coldly, slowly approaching his eldest son. "But this is no game we're playing, this is a war. A war I intend to win, either with or without you. You know my word is law. Don't assume you're exempt from the rules simply because you're my firstborn."
Raziel grinned cheekily, and inclined his head, tracing a finger down his neckline. "No," he said in a husky voice, "there's very different reasons for that, aren't there?"
Kain flashed a greedy, fanged grin. "Ah," he chuckled. "My handsome Raziel..." Suddenly, he smacked him across the face. Four bright, crimson lines of pain opened up on Raziel's cheek. "Don't play with me," Kain raged. "I've been betrayed too many times, if I cannot rely on you, Raziel, if I cannot trust you completely..."
"You can trust me," Raziel cried, cradling his wounded cheek. Kain grabbed hold of his hair and pulled his head back, far back, straining his neck and exposing his throat completely. Raziel groaned slightly, fighting his instinctive urge to resist.
"I should kill you now," Kain mused. "For your transgression. I could drain your blood and toss you into the river." His voice bespoke a dark amusement, and Raziel trembled with anticipation, and more than a little fear. "It would do very well to set an example, I think. To make clear to the troops that my will is their law. That to disobey my order is to forfeit your life..."
Raziel tried to swallow. His hands fluttered in the air, as Kain pulled his head ever further back.
"I think your brethren would take very well to that lesson, don't you?"
Raziel moaned softly. Kain brushed his lips over his exposed throat.
"Yes, I could tear out your throat right now..." he whispered, his cool lips brushing against Raziel's skin. "Or would you prefer this?"
The Soul Reaver. Raziel's eyes went wide in fear when Kain pulled the ancient sword forth and held the edge of its blade a thumb from Raziel's face. It took all his strength of mind not to resist, not to bring his hands up and struggle with his sire. It all came down to trust, but was this still a game? Could Kain be serious?
"Please, no," he whispered, staring at the waved blade in front of him. It seemed enveloped in a blue glow, and Raziel had seen enough to know that it would devour his soul if Kain allowed it to. "Don't kill me," he begged, "I'm your son! Please, my lord..."
Kain lowered the blade. "Lord," he repeated, and pressed his lips against the sharp line of Raziel's jaw. "Yes, that's right..."
Raziel closed his eyes. His fear stirred his passion even higher, and he hissed to feel Kain's fangs against his throat.
Kain growled, a rumbling sound from deep within his throat, and pushed Raziel away with such force that he crashed into the wall next to the bed. He struggled to regain his feet, untangling himself from the chair with a pained grin. Kain had turned away from him, to the window.
"Oh, Raziel," Kain sighed. He brought a hand to his face. "How could I? Your sweet blood, the way you yield to me... How can I resist?" He set his sword onto his back once more, and Raziel caught himself breathing a little sigh of relief. Kain turned to him, a weary look in his eyes. "You make me weak," he accused.
Raziel smiled sweetly, and shook his head. "None could make you weak, my lord," he said, approaching carefully. "Certainly not I; I am your servant." Kain put a hand on his chest, as if to stop him from coming closer, but he gave way as Raziel leant in for a kiss. Their lips met, briefly, then Kain grinned and suddenly grabbed hold of Raziel's shirt, tossing him onto the bed. Raziel disappeared between the black curtains, and there was a grunt as he landed against a rough stone wall, cushioned only by a layer of black velvet. Kain followed him, slipping into the darkness like a predator stalking his prey.
Raziel stripped off his shirt and stretched out luxuriously among the pillows and blankets. In the pitch-black of the curtained bed, they could only see the dull gleam of each other's eyes, but it was all they needed. Kain's eager claws found the exposed skin of Raziel's chest, and scratched over the powerful plains of his muscles.
"You can see me ruling Nosgoth, can't you, Raziel?" he asked.
"Yes," Raziel answered, and drew in his breath sharply when his sire's claws drew blood. "I can see it. All will fear you, Kain, and all will bow to you. Knights, patriarchs, kings..."
The soft gleam of Kain's eyes blinked our of existence for a moment as he laughed softly.
"I can see you on a throne, built out of the skulls of your fallen enemies, and king Oswald on his knees before you, trembling, begging for mercy..." His whisper had a haunting quality, seemingly coming from the darkness itself. "They will whisper your name in fear: 'Lord Kain', 'Lord Kain'. All the world will be at your feet, and I will be there at your side, as your right hand, forever..."
A sharp canine caught the light. "I'll drink to that..." Kain's deep voice rumbled, and he leaned over Raziel, his presence palpable and strong, yet somehow featherlight. In the darkness, his lips searched Raziel's throat for a moment, looking for that magic spot where the skin throbbed with the rhythm of his heart. He waited. Raziel raked his hand through Kain's soft, white hair, his frame tight with anticipation and desire. A small, keening noise escaped his lips. He whispered,
"Please..."
It was what Kain had been waiting for. He plunged his fangs into the subdermal river of blood and Raziel cried out, with pain, and shock, and joy. He did not try to resist, there was no need. He surrendered easily and completely to Kain's will. Kain drew it out gently, slowly drinking his full, the blood in Raziel's veins under his total command, and his very heart... Raziel closed his eyes. This was bliss, this pain, the rapture of this moment with Kain in this private darkness... He felt his life seeping away, flowing into his sire. To feed him, to strengthen him, to bring him life, it was pure pleasure. His fingers twitched as the strength fled from his limbs and he almost welcomed the bright burn of the hunger, warming him, stirring him into action.
He grabbed a handful of long soft hair and wrenched Kain's greedy mouth away from his neck. Kain slurped up a final draft, and relinquished his hold on his son's lifeblood. Raziel let him drop back. He licked the wound, allowing it to close, and Raziel sighed deeply. He was far from drained, just on the edge of comfortable, actually, and he lazily combed Kain's silken hair back with his fingers.
"You're a veritable feast, as always," Kain mumbled approvingly. He sat up, and put a possessive hand around Raziel's throat, a little too tight for comfort. "What am I to do with you, Raziel?" his voice rumbled in the darkness.
"Do?" Raziel asked. "What you just did suited me fine, actually." It was too dark to see his impish little smile, but it slipped into his voice like a secret creature of the night.
"Know that I will not hesitate to kill you, Raziel, if it becomes necessary," Kain said sternly. "If you stand in my way, or betray my trust, or become a threat to my ambition..." His hand twitched a little tighter still. "I will skewer you on the Soul Reaver and not think twice about it."
Raziel felt a shiver run through him at the thought. He could imagine it so precisely, the waved blade penetrating his body, running him through, lifting him slightly, and the look on Kain's face, enraged, demonic. I renounce you. He shrugged off the dreadful fantasy with some difficulty.
"I have never doubted that, Kain," he whispered softly. "And I will take great pains to avoid giving you reason to." Kain's hand left his throat. Raziel's heart halted for a second when there was a click, and the almost imperceptible glow of the Reaver cut through the velveteen darkness like a slow and silent flash of lightning. But Kain merely put it down on the mattress beside him, and leaned back on the pillows and blankets. Raziel sat by his side.
"Your ambition is my ambition," he continued, reassured. "I only seek to serve you, and share in your glorious victories."
"Good boy." Kain reached out with a lazy hand and stroked his face. "And do you also wish to spend the day here?"
"Yes," Raziel breathed, and lay down close, resting his head on Kain's chest. He could hear the dark, powerful rhythm of his heart, so loud it seemed to make Kain's entire body throb. Nonetheless, it was the most relaxing rhythm he knew. He closed his eyes; the morning had already broken. He was grateful that he could spend the day here -- in spite of Kain's rough treatment and his endless threats, there was nowhere in the world he felt safer than in his sire's arms.
Author's notes:
Oh, golly, aren't I clever? I disgust myself sometimes. I renounce you indeed. Anyway, hope you enjoyed that, I sure enjoyed writing it. :)
O.O Did I actually allow Umah into my universe though? Am I accepting Blood Omen 2 into the storyline? Somebody STOP me!
Schuldig, thank you very much for your help in improving this, I hope it was everything you desired. If you have any other remarks, please let me know.
Soul of Ashes, a drunken whore, yes, a bit too much of one, so I decided to tone it down. Hope you approve.
Varyssa, you think Raz is getting a bit cocky? gasp No! ahem You don't like Zephon though? I love Zephon! If I wasn't such a Raziel junkie I'd write about him much more! Though he deserves to get his ass kicked. Without a doubt.
All: thanks for reviewing!
Added: More reviewer Responses:
Smoke: this is set in the history as it is after Defiance. You see, even though the Hylden Lord has returned, and was defeated again, Kain still needs to raise his sons and rule for a thousand years and toss Raz into the Abyss and all that. Blood Omen 2 is set both after Soul Reaver and before. For the Hylden Lord to return, Raziel must exist. For Raziel to exist, the empire must exist, and in that empire, Kain has already dealt with the Hylden Lord, and with Umah. Get it now? I love paradoxes.
Varyssa: that was the last of it, sorry!
Ekobean: Yaoi out of place in the Legacy of Kain universe? Dude, what else are we going to do? There are exactly TWO female characters of any importance! Yaoi is pretty much obligatory.