New Purpose

Lessa rode hard. She was truly sorry for what she had done to Lent but the anger in her was too great, that he actually thought she would steal from Kain that which was given to him by Vorador…Gadorian had been sweet to try and stop the pain she was feeling with that trinket, but it was Kain's and she was Loyal to him. Lessa worried for Gadorian as she rode, he seemed almost as lost as she, would he know that she considered that he was not worthless, and that he had not failed in his task? 'W e are not gods as the cattle see us, we are just as capable of making mistakes as them, just look at Kain who trusted Sebastian, and look what that got him. No, we are not gods,' she thought, and she hoped Gadorian would realize his worth one day.
Lessa headed to her home, well, her old home of Vorador's mansion. Maybe she would find were she belonged when she put her past to rest. Vorador was gone, but in a way he was not. She began to realize what Lent had meant - Vorador lived on in her, so he was never truly gone. She found she was at the trail of Ignis Fatuus and soon at the mansion. It was a fallen in ruin now, full of mold and ghosts. She dismounted and made her way inside. She continued until she came to the main chamber, Vorador's room. She could still see flashes of the past, Novanus arguing with Vorador, and at the oak table Vorador and Kain talking, and Vorador giving Kain the ring. She went through the doors to Vorador's bedroom and sat remembering her past, memories of calling Vorador "father" and him hugging a small girl of five as a mortal father would, with love.
"Oh father, I need your guidance, now more than ever. But why would you answer? I have betrayed you," Lessa said sadly while staring at the moon. "You have not betrayed me, child, for I live," the voice of Vorador came into her mind. Could this be? He was alive. "Father?...But how can this be, Novanus said you were dead." "Yes, my child, I was, but I have come back, but will not go into details now - there is no time. You have met my servant Lent, have you not?" "Yes, father, I have," replied Lessa, full of joy. Vorador continued, "Then you know what he protects -Kain. You must make sure Lent brings Kain to us, my daughter. He will be safe with us. Then you and Lent must stay with Gadorian and Novanus." "But father, I want to be by your side." "You will, child, but you are the only one I trust to do this, none of my followers can leave Meridian, but you are already outside. Bring Kain by sea. I will have one of my followers named Umah collect Kain from you there, that is the only way to get Kain into Meridian. Whisper me when you get near so I can send Umah. Go, child, quickly and know my love goes with you." Lessa ran for Seth and set off and a fast pace. She had a purpose and, more importantly, Vorador was alive.

Novanus flew as high in the air as he dared, enjoying the feel of the wind on his face. He loop-de-looped and somersaulted, twisted and turned until any mortal observer would have become dizzy. This was what he had missed, fun. The weight of his responsibilities had begun to turn Novanus into the thing he hated most. He had become so involved, so single minded that his eyes had been blinkered to anything outside of his mission. On the horizon, Meridian became apparent. Novanus flew towards it, relishing the mayhem to the Sarafan that he might perpetrate.

It was almost dawn by the time Lent reached Meridian. He could have stayed and served, but Novanus' actions convinced him otherwise. He hated that arrogant prick of a vampire. "What business is it of him if I leave? He is not my master. Kain was not entrusted to him." None of them really noticed that he left, except for Gadorian. "Why do you look at me with those painful eyes, Gadorian?" Lent said to himself while recollecting the last glance Gadorian gave. "Do you think me a traitor? You should know better by now." He had no intention of becoming a traitor, but with so much mistrust, he felt Kain would be safer somewhere else. Lent continued to ride and thought of Lessa.
"Here is your blood offering," she said to him. "I know that's what you wanted."
"Poor Lessa," Lent spoke to himself. "All I ever wanted was to be close to you. You are my blood, we are kin."
Lent stopped at a shop and dismounted the wagon. Getting out of Meridian with Kain would be no easy task, better to keep him in the city. Approaching the curious shop, Lent felt weak. If Novanus spoke the truth, and the vampire resistance was finished, there would be no answer. Lent knocked on the door, and there was no reply. He had nowhere else to go, and knocked again. "We're closed," a voice from inside said. This only encourage Lent, who started to beat on the door. The door swung open and a human merchant looked at him. "You're not Sarafan." "They say the plague of Coorhagen killed all but one," Lent said. The merchant looked at him as if he couldn't believe what he had heard. "Well then, let me give you a hand!"

The two lifted the coffin from the wagon and into the shop where a female vampire greeted them. "You're late, Loki." "Got side-tracked. This isn't some package you can just throw a crate around." "We where supposed to meet at the docks, what happened?" "Ward Gates, so I went around the sea. Good thing too, I heard that ship sank into the ocean." "It did," the female vampire said, "and we had lost hope. But now your task is complete. You may go on your way." "Not so fast," Lent surprisingly said while noting her boots. "I will not hand this package over to a vampire who has marks of Sarafan on her." "You pathetic human!" "Umah!" a somewhat familiar voice said below, "Let him come."
Lent was led downstairs. There must have been a dozen vampires around him as Lent carried the wooden coffin in. They looked at him with suspicious and almost hungry eyes. And there, standing before him, was Vorador. Lent dropped the coffin and fell to his knees. "You know me, my son?" asked Vorador. "Yes, father, I know you." "You have done well, son. You have kept the honor of your family name." Lent took a deep breath and felt relieved of the insults that were given to him earlier. "Thank you, father."
"And yet, you still have another task. You must carry on and pass what you know to another. Once you've accomplished this, you may return to serve." Lent said, "I had a wife and child once. They were taken from me by the Sarafan." Vorador knowingly replied, "You have suffered much, my son. Come here, let me bless you."
Vorador handed Lent a golden cup. Lent knew what this meant - he was to be blessed by the blood of his ancestor. Lent filled the cup with water from his canteen and drank from it. He then touched the cup to his forehead; the water inside churned and turned to blood. "May the source of my life nourish yours, father." Vorador drank from the cup, blessed it, and the blood inside turned dark. It was now the blood of a vampire. "And may the source of my life aid you in yours," Vorador said while handing the cup back. Lent drank the blood from the cup, and was thus blessed. "Rise, my son, for you are no longer a Loki Warrior, but a Warrior Priest. The blessed spells of the Loki are now yours to invoke." Lent stood up. "Go forth and multiply, Lent. Let neither Vampire nor Sarafan stand in your way. You know where to find your fate. And remember, no one must know I'm alive," Vorador said to him, and Lent left with great haste. He knew what he had to do.

Novanus sat huddled atop the peak of the mountain upon which the temple was situated. His reverie had faded quickly. He seemed to find no joy in the killing of ignorant Sarafan, nor in slaughtering the inhabitants of Nosgoth. He felt empty, as if he had lost part of himself. The feeling had been growing in him for days as he had become more and more obsessed with defeating the Wraithen. But now there was something else, an insatiable urge to fill the gap which he felt was appearing in his soul. He had never felt like this before, and it troubled him deeply. The depression weighed heavily on Novanus, and it was only through a conscious effort that he left the summit of the mountain and entered the temple, just as dawn was breaking.

"We shall make you our conduit. We shall make you, our voice." Novanus awoke from his slumber with a start, his mind haunted by the words which he had heard in his dreams.

Abel grew tired of sitting with no company. If he found Novanus he would answer the questions he had asked later, but for now he wished to mingle with his new companions. He grasped the white ash staff, standing to wander in the direction of open air, the sounds of whipping winds luring him toward the balcony. However, his path was deterred by the sound of someone passing him. For a brief moment they connected, shoulder just slipping past shoulder with the barest touch. Abel turned, reaching out to stop the passing man, but in his absence of sight held a clawful of air. "Gadorian, yes?" he asked, knowing by the sounds of steps that the one who passed him was within earshot for his normal voice, the Romanian nativity playing on the words as it had before; the quietness of the hall letting the accent follow through without the unneeded ambiance. "I have a question, about the vampire I overheard being mentioned before... about Kain."

Gadorian turned to face Abel, and for the first time took in the true majesty of this newcomer. Something about him seemed eerily familiar, both in his face and voice. His dialect was clearly from some Nosgothian town, long since lost...but which one?
"Ask away. The Loki, Lent, would know the most about him, for Kain is the master which he serves. I will, however, do my best to sate your curiosity." Abel placed both claws upon the staff, drumming the three hardened fingers against each other, while he responded, "Well, I don't quite feel comfortable about him as of yet, with what happened before. I seemed to have gotten ahead of myself, though. This place, where are we exactly? It seems vaguely familiar to me." "Ha, I can't believe Novanus spared you the grand tour. He would have loved to show you this whole place, though I'm sure by the end of it he would have you convinced that he built it all single-handedly. This place was built back before the war between the ancients and hylden, and served many purposes. As you can see, it easily serves as a place of housing, a temple, and in times of crisis, a fortress. Whatever its name is, if it has one, I don't personally know it. It's come to serve as our sanctuary, and headquarters, really. You'll probably get to know it rather intimately in no time at all." "A sanctuary, and so close to chaos," Abel thought aloud, looking just past Gadorian as he thought. "Reminds me of the cathedral back home in Coorhagen, the feel of it. Mmm, though I doubt that it still stands."
Abel paused, turning his head slightly to look him in the eyes again. There was an eerie yellow gold solid over what would have been the most deep and beautiful eyes. "You mentioned the boy, the Loki, was a servant of Kain? Would that mean…he is near?" Abel asked with great interest, oddly great for a cleric, despite his race. Why would a cleric, the givers and preservers of life (although ironically this one was undead), wish to see a killer?

Izael tried to sleep, but he simply could find no rest. Lessa troubled him too much. Because of his stupidity, Lessa had lost something very valuable to her. "Why didn't they just let me die?" Izael asked in his mind, even though he knew the answer, knew it too well. "Dammit, this is all my fault. I gotta find her. Find her and make her change her mind." He knew where Lessa probably was. Izael had heard many strange things regarding that old mansion in the woods. Silently, he stood up from his dusty bed and walked to his armor. It took him two hours to wear it, but finally he was ready. Izael knew Gadorian would blame himself because of this, and felt sorry for the vampire. However, he couldn't simply leave Lessa. He opened the door quietly. He knew how to get to the stables to get a horse. With that, Izael sprinted off from the temple in his full plate, ensuring everyone noticed him leaving, whether he wanted it or not. But before anyone could react, Izael was gone in a bright flash. He was suddenly near the old mansion, which looked quite scary in moonlight.
"It shouldn't have happened that fast. Now I'm here even before Lessa is." He decided to walk around a bit, sure that Lessa would arrive in few hours. Suddenly a hand came over his mouth, preventing him from shouting. Then Izael was dragged into the shadows. A soft voice spoke into his ear, "Not someone I'd expected. Well, your being here shows that my target is to arrive. Riding on a magical beast through the woods. How careless. Mortals might not realize anything, but it is so easy for a vampire of my age to see through the masquerade. You are probably the Loki who ran away from us before, are you not? Hmmh, now I will be greatly rewarded." And as Izael watched, Lessa arrived. She went through the rooms, looking sad. She was so in her memories that she didn't notice them as she passed near. Suddenly she started talking to herself about her father and such things. Then she fell silent, and concentrated hard. Suddenly she ran off, looking very excited. The vampire who held Izael said only, "Oh, looks like she came here to mourn but was whispered by a vampire. From the look on her face I'd say someone dear to her. Good, good...she will lead us to its hiding place." Izael tried to shout and struggled to get free. He had to warn Lessa!

Lessa was riding past Meridian when Vorador whispered her again. "No need to worry, child, the Loki has made it safely to us." Lessa sighed with relief, "That is welcome news, father, I knew I had missed him, and I saw a ship sink over the water, I thought all was lost. Is he well?" "Yes. Are you showing concern, my daughter? The years seemed to have mellowed you," Vorador said with a laugh. Lessa smiled, she had missed that laugh. "What would you have me do now, father?" "You must return to the temple, the Sarafan know where the others are and are going to strike, you must warn them." "As you wish, father, I shall go...Oh and father, tell Lent that I am sorry for how I treated him before, and I love you father." Vorador laughed and whispered back, "I will, child, and my love goes with you, now fly."
Lessa turned Seth north and as she did, she could see a large contingent of the Sarafan heading north too, there wasn't much time. "Run Seth, faster than you ever have." Seth growled in compliance and started to run. Lessa only hoped she was in time to give them enough warning...
She got a few miles down the road when she heard something behind her, a rustle. She stopped Seth. She had a feeling someone was near...a vampire and a human. Sarafan?...no this human seemed familiar, but the Vampire did not... "Come out. I'm not so young that I can't tell you are skulking in the shadows..." No reply or movement came. "Very well, you have just proved you're a Sarafan traitor, as only the cowards that went to his side would hide like the weaklings they are..." Lessa was rewarded by this with a growl. She smiled as the vampire walked out and threw a bound and gagged person to the ground. 'Izael?' she thought. 'Oh great, Gad is probably going nuts about now and Novanus is shouting at him.' Lessa challenged the vampire, "Well, well...so, is there something you wanted or do you like hiding?"

This was exactly the moment Izael had been waiting for. A vampire was too mighty for him to defeat alone, but together with Lessa they could succeed. However, the traitor needed to be silenced quickly, for they had to make it to warn others. Izael kneeled, as if bowing to the traitor. With that, he touched the sword the vampire had taken from him with his head. He concentrated for a while, and the sword started to glow with white light that burned away the ropes the vampire had used to tie Izael up. The vampire drew the Sword of the Serioli in amazement, only to find the sword burn him. Izael smiled as he heard the vampire scream. With that, Izael called the Sword and it flew to him. Izael swung it in the air lovingly for a while.
"Now, you shall find me much more than a vampire worshipper. A former Sarafan vampire worshipper!" The traitor hissed and showed its fangs at Izael, then attacked. Izael parried easily the first few strikes. However, the vampire was much better and managed to hit Izael in the head. Izael flew a few meters back, but with the sword's help, landed on his feet, his head ringing. "Now, Lessa!" Izael hoped this would buy him enough time to heal, as he started to mutter the words his father had taught...

Lessa rushed forward, pulling forth her blade as she did so. The Vampire was swinging at Izael. Lessa stopped the blade with hers just in time. Grinning, she said, "Ah ah ahh! Temper, temper." The Vampire snarled and swung the blade at her. She parried and swung back, so the dance began. They were both as good as each other and seemed about the same age, but Lessa didn't seem to be worried. The vampire swung at Lessa again, but this time she ducked and swung back the flame sword one-handed, slicing the Vampire across the leg. The Vampire hissed and quickly stepped out of range, snarling. "Not as easy as you thought, hmm? You honestly think a vampire trained by the coward your lord is, could match one taught by Vorador himself?" Lessa laughed. "But enough of this distraction. Izael, would you like to join me in this and test your skills?"

Novanus walked out of his chamber feeling absolutely awful. He mind felt as if it had been violated and beaten. He sat down in a chez-long and cupped his head in his hands. "Are you alright, my lord? I have to say you're looking a little worse for wear."
"I'm fine Admar," replied Novanus, "I just have a little bit of a head ache. It's nothing."
"If you say so sir." Novanus looked up at Admar. "Oh for god sake, Admar. Call me by my first name. I do so hate all of nonsense." "So be it, Novanus. If you're interested, Gadorian and that Abel fellow are in the adjacent chamber, if you wish to be with them."
Novanus sighed, "Thank you, old friend, I believe I will." Novanus rose from the chair and walked over to Abel and Gadorian.

Izael felt all the pain melt away as healing magic flowed through him, curing his wounds. His head stopped banging. The two small dots on his neck that indicated the vampire had used him to gain more strength were gone. Cuts on his face, that were made only to amuse his captor, closed. Izael opened his eyes when he heard Lessa yell his name. He saw her locked in fierce combat with the traitor. "Lessa, this traitor has followed you all the way! He knows where the others are! We cannot waste time in pointless fight, we MUST warn them!" Izael knew he could teleport back to the temple with his sword, but he didn't know how, and that irritated him much. He had to think about something else. Of course, the whisper! He had to learn more about the advantages vampires had. Izael attacked the traitor, swinging his blade furiously. The vampire, caught off guard, took many nasty cuts on its back before it was able to turn to face Izael. Izael looked at the vampire, his heart full of rage, and yelled, "Lessa, whisper the others! Now!" With that, Izael struck the vampire with all his force, The Sword of the Serioli glowing brightly. The vampire yelled as it was engulfed in white hot flames. The Sword multiplied Izael's strength and his next hit sent the vampire flying through the air. Izael knew that even though he had struck first, he couldn't stand against the vampire on his own for long, and he prayed Lessa could manage to contact the others.

"Novanus. NOVANUS!" Lessa screamed with her mind. She felt she had his attention. "There isn't much time, the Sarafan know where you are. They know about the temple. You must run. There's a whole contingent of them on their way. I have to go. Have to stop Izael getting himself killed." Lessa cut off and joined the fray. This was going to be hard; she would have to fight this vampire while watching out for Novanus. Then she had an idea - there was a river nearby, if they could just get there...She whispered to Izael, "Izael, run to Seth and ride to the river. I'll distract him and come after you. I have a plan." She saw Izael nod and mount Seth.
"And where do you think you're going?" the Vampire lunged at Izael but met Lessa instead. They clashed hard and came up rolling. She could see Izael was almost at the river. She used the flame sword to push the vampire back, then she willed the blade to flash bright. Blinded, the Vampire snarled and jumped back. Lessa ran, hoping her plan would work.

Orugarde took a deep breath and emerged from the silence of his quieted mind. Eyes open, he turned towards Kour only to see his master already up, eyes fixated on the near emberless coals. "My Lord, we must warn the Priestess," he said. Kour replied, "The Priestess already knows, Orugarde. And the Order is safe, for now. But as with all things, the time we've been given is temporary and the Pillars impermanent. The spell will fade and this world will succumb to the other. It is just a matter of time."