AN UPSTART INHERITANCE: XI -- THE LORD
Night had fallen slowly and heavily. The days were stifling and the nights were warm, even now, in the late summer. Over the crest of the hill in the distance a dark carpet advanced slowly, a carpet of men and spears and banners. There seemed to be no end to them, the dark mass spotted with torches, the flanks spreading out and around. They were moving to surround the keep. Harald arrived on the wall and took in the view with a grim expression on his face. Suddenly, there was a heavy grinding sound from below.
"Did you order the gate to be closed?" Harald asked his younger brother, Anders.
"I'm sorry? Did you somehow miss that army on the horizon, Harald?"
"Open the gate," Harald bellowed to the watch below. "You should have come to me before you decided to ignore my order," he told Anders. "If it pleases Lord Kain to visit us we will not greet him with a closed gate!"
"If Lord Kain was here to visit," Anders shouted, equally angered, "why would he bring enough men to take us all down?"
"To make certain his words would be heard, Anders," Harald snarled. "To quell any budding insubordination."
Anders glowered at him, and they stood square opposite each other for a moment, trying to stare each other down. Below them, the gate ground open again. "Raise the portcullis," a far voice shouted.
"I backed you, brother," Anders said slowly, "because I trusted you to make the right call when it came down to it. Don't make me regret my decision."
Harald sighed, but held Ander's gaze. He was tired of this constant battle. If it wasn't Marius gently picking at the painful spots in his plans, it was Cermak's loud-voiced doubt. And now Anders... "Anders," he said, unashamed to let the weariness slip into his voice, "our clan will survive by the grace of Kain, or not at all. Surely you can see that?"
Anders looked away, at the encroaching mass of armed men.
"I need you at my shoulder, brother," Harald said. "We cannot allow ourselves to panic now. We have to trust our Lord, or else, where will we be?"
Anders nodded briefly.
"Gather everyone inside the courtyard. Everyone. I want every soul down there, no exceptions, and keep the gate clear."
Anders smiled grimly. "Yes, sir."
...
And so they were all there, the entire clan, fledglings and elders pressed together in the courtyard, gathered on the stairs and the raised dais, up in the high arched alcoves, all facing the open gate, and the darkness that lay beyond it. Adoile was among them, hidden in the crowd behind a tall, armed warrior. She felt sickened and afraid; something was very wrong.
On the platform between the floor and the stage was Harald, flanked by Sophia, Anders, Marius and Cermak. They waited. When Kain strode through the gate a silence descended that was almost tangible. Four of the clan leaders, dressed in their ceremonial armour, followed in his wake, and behind them were their warriors, armed, their eyes menacing and alert. Only Melchiah, who everyone knew to be wounded, was missing. Harald started down the stairs as soon as Kain appeared, and stopped at a respectful distance from their Lord. For a heartbeat, they stood still opposite each other, then Harald knelt, his head bowed, his hands on the floor. The captains copied him, and then there was a low rumble as the entire clan sank to its knees.
Kain looked around. Not a single man was standing, not a single man looked up to meet his eyes. The corners of his mouth twisted in disgust.
"You hypocrites!" he growled. "How can you kneel to me when I know you all wish me dead!"
Harald got to his feet, his head still bowed.
"You are wise to avert your eyes," Kain said, a touch of irony in his voice, "for I would see the hatred that lies within them."
The four flanking Harald slowly got up too, all avoided looking up. There was a click, and an indefinable hum as Kain drew the Soul Reaver. Harald reminded himself to breathe. Dumah and Turel, standing behind Kain on either side, exchanged a glance. Zephon grinned widely, nervously.
But Kain turned the sword around and offered it, hilt first, to the new leader of the Razelim.
"Here," he said, "take it. This is your chance to avenge you master. I know it is what you want. I can hear your very soul cry out for retribution."
Harald's eyes fell on the small skull fixed into the guard. He stared right into the black, empty hollows of its eyes. He did not stir. He would not fall for this trick.
"No?" Kain asked, almost amused. "You then, you will not refuse this opportunity?" He offered the blade to Marius, stood on Harald's left. "Take it," Kain insisted. "Strike me down!"
Marius did not move.
"And you, will you try me?" he said, moving down the line to Sophia. "Will any of you try? Do any of you mongrels have the heart?" he thundered. But Sophia would not touch the blade either, and Kain lowered it, a disappointed snarl on his face. There was a flash of motion and a sudden shriek, and in the next instant, Sophia was skewered on the waved blade of the Soul Reaver. A soul-wrenching screech rang out as he pulled it out, and the blade now glowed with an unnatural, blue aura. Sophia lay on the floor, her body broken and bloodless. Kain stalked back, past Marius. Harald now met his eye, but said nothing, gave no protest. He had known Kain would demand offers. Another unholy scream resounded as the blade sought Marius' beating heart and destroyed it, Marius' age-old soul ripped from its moorings and consumed by the blade.
There was a disturbance to Harald's right, voices called their captain's name, and the zing of a sword sliding free from its scabbard. Harald turned his head and barked, "Gareth!" Marius' deputy halted, his arms were grabbed by hands from the crowd. Kain turned to look as well. The man's mouth was set firmly, his sword as drawn, but lowered. Kain turned back to Harald.
"You make this too easy, Razelim," Kain growled, and with a devilishly quick swipe he took off Cermak's head. Anders jumped back from the second half of the swing, but was not in time to put up a defence for the follow-through, and Kain impaled him effortlessly, his body momentarily shaking with pain and shock, and then slipping lifelessly to the floor.
Kain turned back to Harald, slowly, and only now could Harald read those impassive, yellow eyes. Only now did he realise how they had all been betrayed. Kain had come here to slaughter them, he had never meant to do anything less. And he had received him with open arms. His mouth opened wide and the call "Fight!" just made it out of his lungs before he, too, felt the Reaver's voracious appetite, and his soulless body slapped to the floor at Kain's feet.
Author's Notes:
What to say, really. It doesn't get better from now on. Please let me know:
1) if the Reaver is scary enough,
2) if the motivation of ANY of these characters confuses you. ie. do you get why they do what they do? This of course, is crucial, and if there's a problem I need to know.
Reviewer replies:
Schuldig: yes, Zephon's there. Got a fairly big part, actually. Comparatively. Please note, the ending of The Temptation of Sonny was changed some days after I first put it up, because I figured it would be more interesting if he did turn sides. Reread the ending if you wanna see how he comes to his decision.
Ardeth Silvereni: I'm glad you're enjoying it. I can safely say, without 'spoiling' anything, that neither Adoile nor Sanchenna will fare very well. Indeed, Sanchenna would fail to fit in with the Zephonim, eventually.
Varyssa: You, too, reread the ending of temptation to see why he chose to serve Zephon. Git? Well, I guess so. Raziel was the bigger git though, by far!
ANNOUNCEMENT:
The reason my update speed has slowed somewhat is that a new project is seeping my time. I'm very exited about it, it's not to do with Legacy of Kain, but I wanted to share anyway.
It's a comic, called Amaranth. I've kept a webcomic for a few years called GothBoy, but since that ended, I've been looking for something new. Amaranth is the story of a young woman in our age, who finds herself drawn into a sinister and magical world, presided over by a cruel and beautiful creature who holds the key to her very soul.
Wow, fear the sales pitch! I just made that up on the fly as well. Anyway, I'm not ashamed to admit to you that Lord Rosa, main antagonist extra-ordinaire, is basically Raziel. He's a different type of creature and it's a different world, but I think you'll recognise him none the less. I fear neither Eidos nor their lawyers though, as he's nothing like the Raziel from the games, just everything like my Lieutenant Raziel, so I'm plagiarising no one but myself.
Er, so yeah. If you enjoyed reading this lot, I think you will enjoy 'Amaranth' when I get it out (drawing a comic is a lot more work than writing a story, so it will take a while). See what's going on at the Amaranth webpage, reached through www.williehewes.tk. If you want an email when I get the first issue up, let me know, because, as a warning, that will be some time!
I apologise for this blatant plug. But as I said, I'm very exited. I really enjoyed writing fanfic, and in a way I think I needed it to kick my muse into gear again, but it feels good to work with my own characters again, and let my imagination soar unfettered. See, it gets me all poetic! Next update hopefully soon, but not making promises. My life is very hectic at the moment. I do however, solemnly swear that I will finish this story, unless death takes me first. Don't worry, I'm not leaving this one hanging.
Night had fallen slowly and heavily. The days were stifling and the nights were warm, even now, in the late summer. Over the crest of the hill in the distance a dark carpet advanced slowly, a carpet of men and spears and banners. There seemed to be no end to them, the dark mass spotted with torches, the flanks spreading out and around. They were moving to surround the keep. Harald arrived on the wall and took in the view with a grim expression on his face. Suddenly, there was a heavy grinding sound from below.
"Did you order the gate to be closed?" Harald asked his younger brother, Anders.
"I'm sorry? Did you somehow miss that army on the horizon, Harald?"
"Open the gate," Harald bellowed to the watch below. "You should have come to me before you decided to ignore my order," he told Anders. "If it pleases Lord Kain to visit us we will not greet him with a closed gate!"
"If Lord Kain was here to visit," Anders shouted, equally angered, "why would he bring enough men to take us all down?"
"To make certain his words would be heard, Anders," Harald snarled. "To quell any budding insubordination."
Anders glowered at him, and they stood square opposite each other for a moment, trying to stare each other down. Below them, the gate ground open again. "Raise the portcullis," a far voice shouted.
"I backed you, brother," Anders said slowly, "because I trusted you to make the right call when it came down to it. Don't make me regret my decision."
Harald sighed, but held Ander's gaze. He was tired of this constant battle. If it wasn't Marius gently picking at the painful spots in his plans, it was Cermak's loud-voiced doubt. And now Anders... "Anders," he said, unashamed to let the weariness slip into his voice, "our clan will survive by the grace of Kain, or not at all. Surely you can see that?"
Anders looked away, at the encroaching mass of armed men.
"I need you at my shoulder, brother," Harald said. "We cannot allow ourselves to panic now. We have to trust our Lord, or else, where will we be?"
Anders nodded briefly.
"Gather everyone inside the courtyard. Everyone. I want every soul down there, no exceptions, and keep the gate clear."
Anders smiled grimly. "Yes, sir."
And so they were all there, the entire clan, fledglings and elders pressed together in the courtyard, gathered on the stairs and the raised dais, up in the high arched alcoves, all facing the open gate, and the darkness that lay beyond it. Adoile was among them, hidden in the crowd behind a tall, armed warrior. She felt sickened and afraid; something was very wrong.
On the platform between the floor and the stage was Harald, flanked by Sophia, Anders, Marius and Cermak. They waited. When Kain strode through the gate a silence descended that was almost tangible. Four of the clan leaders, dressed in their ceremonial armour, followed in his wake, and behind them were their warriors, armed, their eyes menacing and alert. Only Melchiah, who everyone knew to be wounded, was missing. Harald started down the stairs as soon as Kain appeared, and stopped at a respectful distance from their Lord. For a heartbeat, they stood still opposite each other, then Harald knelt, his head bowed, his hands on the floor. The captains copied him, and then there was a low rumble as the entire clan sank to its knees.
Kain looked around. Not a single man was standing, not a single man looked up to meet his eyes. The corners of his mouth twisted in disgust.
"You hypocrites!" he growled. "How can you kneel to me when I know you all wish me dead!"
Harald got to his feet, his head still bowed.
"You are wise to avert your eyes," Kain said, a touch of irony in his voice, "for I would see the hatred that lies within them."
The four flanking Harald slowly got up too, all avoided looking up. There was a click, and an indefinable hum as Kain drew the Soul Reaver. Harald reminded himself to breathe. Dumah and Turel, standing behind Kain on either side, exchanged a glance. Zephon grinned widely, nervously.
But Kain turned the sword around and offered it, hilt first, to the new leader of the Razelim.
"Here," he said, "take it. This is your chance to avenge you master. I know it is what you want. I can hear your very soul cry out for retribution."
Harald's eyes fell on the small skull fixed into the guard. He stared right into the black, empty hollows of its eyes. He did not stir. He would not fall for this trick.
"No?" Kain asked, almost amused. "You then, you will not refuse this opportunity?" He offered the blade to Marius, stood on Harald's left. "Take it," Kain insisted. "Strike me down!"
Marius did not move.
"And you, will you try me?" he said, moving down the line to Sophia. "Will any of you try? Do any of you mongrels have the heart?" he thundered. But Sophia would not touch the blade either, and Kain lowered it, a disappointed snarl on his face. There was a flash of motion and a sudden shriek, and in the next instant, Sophia was skewered on the waved blade of the Soul Reaver. A soul-wrenching screech rang out as he pulled it out, and the blade now glowed with an unnatural, blue aura. Sophia lay on the floor, her body broken and bloodless. Kain stalked back, past Marius. Harald now met his eye, but said nothing, gave no protest. He had known Kain would demand offers. Another unholy scream resounded as the blade sought Marius' beating heart and destroyed it, Marius' age-old soul ripped from its moorings and consumed by the blade.
There was a disturbance to Harald's right, voices called their captain's name, and the zing of a sword sliding free from its scabbard. Harald turned his head and barked, "Gareth!" Marius' deputy halted, his arms were grabbed by hands from the crowd. Kain turned to look as well. The man's mouth was set firmly, his sword as drawn, but lowered. Kain turned back to Harald.
"You make this too easy, Razelim," Kain growled, and with a devilishly quick swipe he took off Cermak's head. Anders jumped back from the second half of the swing, but was not in time to put up a defence for the follow-through, and Kain impaled him effortlessly, his body momentarily shaking with pain and shock, and then slipping lifelessly to the floor.
Kain turned back to Harald, slowly, and only now could Harald read those impassive, yellow eyes. Only now did he realise how they had all been betrayed. Kain had come here to slaughter them, he had never meant to do anything less. And he had received him with open arms. His mouth opened wide and the call "Fight!" just made it out of his lungs before he, too, felt the Reaver's voracious appetite, and his soulless body slapped to the floor at Kain's feet.
Author's Notes:
What to say, really. It doesn't get better from now on. Please let me know:
1) if the Reaver is scary enough,
2) if the motivation of ANY of these characters confuses you. ie. do you get why they do what they do? This of course, is crucial, and if there's a problem I need to know.
Reviewer replies:
Schuldig: yes, Zephon's there. Got a fairly big part, actually. Comparatively. Please note, the ending of The Temptation of Sonny was changed some days after I first put it up, because I figured it would be more interesting if he did turn sides. Reread the ending if you wanna see how he comes to his decision.
Ardeth Silvereni: I'm glad you're enjoying it. I can safely say, without 'spoiling' anything, that neither Adoile nor Sanchenna will fare very well. Indeed, Sanchenna would fail to fit in with the Zephonim, eventually.
Varyssa: You, too, reread the ending of temptation to see why he chose to serve Zephon. Git? Well, I guess so. Raziel was the bigger git though, by far!
ANNOUNCEMENT:
The reason my update speed has slowed somewhat is that a new project is seeping my time. I'm very exited about it, it's not to do with Legacy of Kain, but I wanted to share anyway.
It's a comic, called Amaranth. I've kept a webcomic for a few years called GothBoy, but since that ended, I've been looking for something new. Amaranth is the story of a young woman in our age, who finds herself drawn into a sinister and magical world, presided over by a cruel and beautiful creature who holds the key to her very soul.
Wow, fear the sales pitch! I just made that up on the fly as well. Anyway, I'm not ashamed to admit to you that Lord Rosa, main antagonist extra-ordinaire, is basically Raziel. He's a different type of creature and it's a different world, but I think you'll recognise him none the less. I fear neither Eidos nor their lawyers though, as he's nothing like the Raziel from the games, just everything like my Lieutenant Raziel, so I'm plagiarising no one but myself.
Er, so yeah. If you enjoyed reading this lot, I think you will enjoy 'Amaranth' when I get it out (drawing a comic is a lot more work than writing a story, so it will take a while). See what's going on at the Amaranth webpage, reached through www.williehewes.tk. If you want an email when I get the first issue up, let me know, because, as a warning, that will be some time!
I apologise for this blatant plug. But as I said, I'm very exited. I really enjoyed writing fanfic, and in a way I think I needed it to kick my muse into gear again, but it feels good to work with my own characters again, and let my imagination soar unfettered. See, it gets me all poetic! Next update hopefully soon, but not making promises. My life is very hectic at the moment. I do however, solemnly swear that I will finish this story, unless death takes me first. Don't worry, I'm not leaving this one hanging.