Sacrifice

Novanus and Lessa galloped back towards the temple astride the demonic horse. The Vampire had been troubled since Gadorian and Izael had left to rescue Lent. Although he considered Lent a valuable asset to the group, risking the life of the only possible savior of Nosgoth was foolish. Too much depended on him. Novanus looked up as he felt a spell of the ancients being worked. The power behind the spell was such that it could only be cast by one of his ancient Masters. Novanus' connection with the temple told him that the spell was being cast there. He called out to Lessa through the noise of the air rushing past their faces. "Hurry, Lessa. There is something at the temple. Something which couldn't possibly be there."
Lessa spurred the horse onwards and the landscapes below them began to blur past at great speed. Novanus began to feel alive with new hope. With one of his masters still alive, the scales which had for so long hung in the balance had now shifted significantly in the small party's favor. Seth entered the Temple at full gallop. Lessa reigned him in and sparks flew from his hooves at the deceleration. Novanus did not wait for the great beast to stop. He jumped off, pulling Lessa with him. They ran up the flight of stairs to the main room. In the room were Gadorian, Lent, and a very weak Izael. Also, there was one Lessa had not seen before. He must have been one of the Ancients, but how could that be? The last had been Janos but he had died centuries ago, so who was this vampire?
Gadorian was looking very concerned. "He is dying, and I know not what will save him," said the worried vampire. Lessa could feel Novanus' rage, he had predicted this would happen and looked fully ready to shout at Gadorian. Lessa laid a restraining hand on Novanus. "Not now, he is punishing himself more than you could ever do, let's see what we can do for Izael before we lay blame." Lessa walked forward and laid a hand on Gadorian's arm to comfort him, then looked at Izael. He was in a bad way. Someone had healed his mind and soul but not his body, he had internal bleeding from what she could tell. She might have a way she could save him, but could she give it up? She had had it since she was a child and now it was the only thing of Vorador's she had left. Would he approve of this?...Yes, he would, to save his kind, and from what Novanus had said this boy was the only way.
The others had begun to argue, so when she came to her decision, she let out an ear-splitting whistle at which they all turned to her. From below, the sound of hooves could be heard and Seth trotted into the chamber. He walked over to Lessa and she went to the saddle bag. A second later she withdrew an object wrapped in cloth. The cloth had Vorador's and Janos' symbols on it. Lessa walked back to Izael and unfolded the object inside. It was a necklace, the chain was gold, and on the end was a piece of green stone carved in the shape of a dragon. She held it in her hand a moment, then, sighing, she put it around Izael's neck, placing the stone over his heart. Then withdrawing her blade, she cut her palm and dripped the blood on the stone, which drank it hungrily. "By this pact of Ancient blood that flows, make that which is hurt healed, and forever the promise made, has been repaid." The stone glowed red, then the red glow spread to Izael, he began to breath normally and his wounds disappeared. Then the stone turned to ash and the shape of a dragon emerged, looked at Lessa, nodded, then disappeared in a wisp of smoke.
Lessa turned with the cloth and walked out of the room. She felt such pain; Vorador had given that to her when she had first met him and she had worn it always, until the time she had slept and it was no longer safe to be seen wearing it. Seth was following her, so she went to her room which she and Seth had made theirs. She walked to the balcony and sat on the edge, looking at the moon. Seth came up behind her and placed his head over her shoulder. She turned and clung to it tightly, hugging and stroking his long nose. There she sat in her sorrow, thinking that now she had no way of finding and resurrecting Vorador. That pendant had been the only way. She had betrayed Vorador, her teacher, her sire and, more importantly, her father. She clung to Seth and cried...

Izael opened his eyes. He felt he was in perfect shape, the feeling of weakness was gone. He felt a new kind of determination. The man he had once worshipped as the savior of humankind had nearly killed him, and, stranger still, he had been saved by a vampire. Without even thinking twice, Izael stood up. He ignored the vampires who had now turned to look at him. He thanked the strange vampire who had healed him. But he was told it had been Lessa who had saved him from certain death. So, Izael walked into Lessa's quarters. "Thank you m'lady, without you I would've surely died. I owe you much and if there is anything I can... M'lady, why are you crying?"

Seth ran towards Izael and growled at him, threatening him. Lessa turned and talked to Seth. "Leave him be, old friend, he has no way of knowing." She beckoned Seth to come and he lay down at her feet with his head on her lap, growling comfort to her. "It is nothing you would understand, Izael, it is a thing centuries old, a promise I made which I have broken and betrayed," replied Lessa, still crying. "Leave me be, mortal, meaning no disrespect. Besides, I think Gad wants to make sure you're ok, you'll never be out of his sight now." She flashed him a quick smile and then turned back to her thoughts and the moon.

The strange Kindred Rose to his feet, pulling himself up with the aid of his sacred staff. As the others had thought, he did resemble the winged ancients of the past, but only resembled. His hands and feet were clearly claws, not cloven in the shapes of hands and such as the ancients had, neither was his flesh the hue of blue. Rather, it was a dull pale white. However, there was something distinctly familiar about the vampire's visage and, as one would think and sift through their mind to seek out just who that was, the familiarity became frighteningly apparent. This stranger's gentle facade mirrored that of a young, vampiric Kain. "If I may," he said, speaking generally in the direction of where the most voices sounded, "as much as I do not like to ask, I might need a favor asked of you, anyone?"

Lessa's grief sliced through Novanus' empathic mind like a hot knife. The female vampire's actions had caused her incredible pain. Novanus felt helpless, unable to help the vampire whom in a bizarre way, he felt responsible for. Knowing that her grief would need to take its own course before she would be willing to talk, Novanus turned to the new arrival to the Temple.
Now that he was in the presence of this vampire he could see the truth. His mental image of the Vampire had been blurred from far away and Novanus had been unable to differentiate this vampire from an Ancient. There were remarkable similarities between their physical forms, but the illusion was not perfect. Also, the subtle mental differences which marked the ancients' minds were not present. This was no ancient.
Novanus walked over to the blind but smiling vampire. "Welcome my friend, welcome. I suppose that in a bizarre way I am your host, seeing as this has been my home for the last two thousand years. There is a sofa behind you, please take a seat, tell me your problem. If it is within my power I'll see what I can do."

Admar walked out onto the balcony. Bathed in the light of the full moon, he walked over to Lessa. "Par'n me, milady, but can I help you in anyway?" Admar sat down next to Lessa. "Come now," he said, offering her a handkerchief. "Face as pretty as yours shouldn't be covered in nasty red stains, now should it?" Lessa gave a strangled laugh. "Do you know how annoying you can be Admar? But thank you." She took the handkerchief and wiped away the tears, but the grief still threatened to overwhelm her. She doubted even Novanus had known what the stone was, but she had been glad for a moment when she had seen the relief on his and Gadorian's face. "Has Novanus sent you to check on me, loyal Admar, or is this to see if vampires truly do cry?" she asked bitterly, be she regretted sounding like that to him - he had been nothing but kind. "Oh forgive me, Admar, and Izael…I was so harsh and he only came to thank me. What would Vorador think of me? Weak and a betrayer, that is what he thinks."
Lessa clutched at the cloth that had wrapped the necklace. She stared at it, and Vorador's sign shone in the moonlight. "Everything is undone, Admar. I am now worthless. I should just leave you all and jump off this balcony. .My purpose was to find Vorador alive. If not, then to find him using that stone and resurrect him, but now..." Lessa spread her hands in defeat. What would she do now? Whether she would go back to sleep and await Kain, or help Novanus in whatever may come, she knew not.
"So, Admar, who was that blind vampire? And what happened to Izael and Lent anyway, did they save him?" "No, ma'lady, Lent got out himself. They just fished him out of the moat." Admar looked at Lessa confused because she had begun to laugh. "What did I say?" asked Admar with a smile. Lessa answered, "Oh god, wait till Novanus hears that!" Lessa continued to laugh and soon Admar was joining her. "How is Gad, not being shouted at by Novanus is he?..."

Gadorian sat in the chamber where, only moments ago, Izael had been dying. He ran his fingers over the table the boy had been set upon, and touched the now drying blood. It had taken a centuries-old vampire weeks to recover from a shot to the shoulder from the Reaver; the boy had been impaled upon it and was up already. Whatever icon Lessa had used upon him, it was potent indeed.
Gadorian wanted to thank the newcomer; had he not arrived when he did, there may not have been anyone left to take back the wounded Izael. He felt unworthy to interrupt Novanus' elaborate introduction though. Novanus had been right, for the first time Gadorian could remember. And worse yet, he might end up having to admit that to him. The very thought made him cringe even more violently than when he saw the Sarafan Lord. Humble himself to Novanus? Ugh.
He then turned his attention to Lent, who had been nodding in and out of consciousness for the past hour. No one had paid him much attention in their concern for Izael, silently facing his torment in the corner. It was just as well; the damage to his pride that would come from his "gods" seeing him in so frail a state would be a much harsher blow than any physical weapon could inflict. He would feel better with his master.
Gadorian helped the groggy Lent to his feet, with only some mumbling in protest. He carried him back to Kain's chamber, and laid him down on a couch in the room. It was then that he first noticed an ebony chest filled with all sorts of items. Lent must have brought it in with Kain's coffin, for Gadorian recognized some of them to be the possessions of the legendary conqueror. Upon further inspection, his attention was drawn to one bauble in particular. Gadorian thought back to Lessa, and her sacrifice...
He found her out on the balcony with Admar, and without a word he dragged her back to Kain's chamber. Had she been a human, he may have ripped off her very arm.

Still not speaking, Gadorian simply pointed at what had drawn his attention. Inside the box was a small, dark, and bloodstained ring. In another age...it had belonged to Vorador.

"Oh, a place to sit would be nice, however my senses are still fogged from my slumber, could you give me a bit of a lead?" the mysterious vampire asked, staring just past Novanus as he gave the host his clawed hand. "Of course," Novanus accepted the claw with a nod, though the gesture would go unseen, "This way."
The two crossed the floor to the couch mentioned, the stranger finding the edge of it with his staff before taking his hand from the other kindred to feel for the cushion. Seating himself, he waited politely for his host to be seated before continuing. "I over heard a mixture of names, I have not yet begun to connect them with voices. Seeing that I am an unexpected guest, it would only be proper to introduce myself." He bowed his head as he spoke the following, placing his hand upon his chest humbly after setting down his staff against his thigh. "I am Abel, cleric of the Children of Janos."

Izael walked back to the main hall. There, he took himself a seat and joined Novanus and this new vampire, Abel. He listened to them while wondering where Gadorian was. And Lent, where was that "betrayer of humanity"? Izael would've gladly spoken to someone who could explain what had happened in the battle.

Lent was standing on the docks. He didn't remember how he got there, or what he was doing there. Still, he walked along the docks as if he knew where he was going. There was an eerie fog about, and no sign of Sarafan guards. "What are you looking for, little man?" said a mysterious voice. Lent stopped and looked around. There was no one there. He knew the voice, of course. It was the voice that haunted his dreams, and turned them into nightmares. He continued to the docks and entered a warehouse, taking note of the Sarafan symbol and the number on the door, 18:2. Lent turned behind him, the path he had taken was consumed by the fog, and all he could see was the faint light inside the warehouse.
Stepping in, Lent could make out cries. He looked around to see cages of people stacked one on top of another. The people were so tightly packed together that there was no room to move. Lent ran to the first cage, trying to open its lock. "Why are you trying to save them?" the mysterious voice asked. "They're only going to their death." Lent frantically tried harder to break the lock, and the more he tried, the more cries he heard. "I will not let these people die by Sarafan hands." "Would you prefer these hands?" the voice said as Lent's hands turned to claws right before his eyes. "No," he said, "I'm not a vampire." "Are your hands not just as bloody? Worse, you have slain your own brother." "No," Lent said, "I only want us all to be free." "Do you believe you'll be free under vampire rule? Do you believe for a moment your vampire companions won't turn on you the first moment it becomes convenient for them?"
The world spun around him, and Lent woke up in Kain's chamber. He didn't know how long he had been out, but he could hear the whispers of two people close by. He looked up to see Gadorian and Lessa rummaging through Kain's chest. The chest that Lent had kept for him since he was first entrusted. Lent grabbed a nearby sword.
"I had always known Lessa for a grave digger, trying to find whatever artifacts she could that would help her raise her lost sire, but you Gadorian? I had expected more respect from you. Is anything in this cursed world still sacred?"

Izael heard Lent shout, as did the others. They all ran to the room. Izael was first to talk. "Lent, put down that sword. We are not your enemies, or are we?" With this, he looked at the vampires, then again Lent. "Oh calm down, Lent. I'm not taking anything and Gad does have more respect than you allow him, he went to rescue you, didn't he? No. Gad was thinking he was doing me a favor, and seeing as you were out cold on the floor you have no idea of the sacrifice I have just made. Grave digger well..."
Lessa walked up to him, knocking the sword away and putting him up against the wall. "Let me add another name to your list, cousin, this should please you. You who have the mark of Vorador. I am a traitor to him for I have just used the Dragon stone to heal Izael. I have no delusions that you know what the stone was intended for but in case you do not, it was to raise Vorador. Yes, I had the power to bring Vorador back, but I have now betrayed that, so now, Lent, what will you do? Kill me as a traitor? Bah." Lessa let him go with a snarl and turned to leave.
"Don't worry, Lent, I will get out of your things and, maybe even better, out of here. Before I go, though, here." Lessa walked over to a chalice and cut her wrists, she let her blood fill the chalice, and then she turned back to him. "There, give that to Kain. It's the only thing you want." Lessa turned to Gadorian and said, "Goodbye, Gad, I don't think I'll be returning, only the grave holds any welcome now. Tell goodbye to Novanus for me, and don't let him push you around, you don't have to admit anything." Lessa bent forward and kissed the old vampire on the forehead, then walked out ...