The following evening, two figures appeared from seemingly nowhere in the darkness of the night. Hooded and cloaked, they stole across a rope bridge, one carrying a large sack that was seeping with blood. They seemed to be in a great hurry, as was noticed by Kain, who stood hundreds of metres above them, secretly spying on the suspicious pair.

'Painfully obvious, their intrusion into the Abyss, wouldn't you agree, Raziel?'

Raziel stepped out of the shadows and approached the edge of the cliff that they stood on.

'Does it matter? Nosgoth is yours, few venture to these parts,'

'You flatter me. But it matters not. I sent them on this errand,'

Raziel glanced over at his master.

'You know of this, take me with you, and do not inform me of the allegiance?'

Kain chuckled, and his voice caught the wind, which carried over to a flock of crows that flew away in terror.

'Out two intruders are Turel and Zephon,'

'I see. What do they carry?'

'I cannot tell you at this moment in time, Raziel, but rest assured the contents of that sack are an asset, namely your asset,'

Meanwhile, Turel and Zephon reached the end of the bridge and were about to leave before Turel raised a hand.

'Hold,' He whispered. 'Did you hear that?'

'I thought for a moment that I heard laughter on the wind, but such tricks are common by the Abyss. It may well have been a human's soul.'

Zephon looked over at the bag.

'Could it have come from in there?'

Turel shook his head. 'No. This one remains human, and therefore remains dead,' He cocked his head to one side. 'Shall we?'

Turel shouldered the sack, and led Zephon through a small path in the mountains, out of Raziel's line of sight.

'It is done,' Kain murmured quietly.

'You speak as if against yourself, Kain. What resides in that sack?'

Kain grinned. 'All will be revealed, Raziel…'

Three hours later, Raziel was called to the Pillars of Nosgoth, along with his brethren. They assembled under each broken pillar, standing beneath the flag that bore the sign of their clan. Kain stood at the centre, the Soul Reaver close to hand, as always.

'Brothers!' Kain bellowed. Silence ensued. 'Brothers, I bring you here to witness a new addition to our ranks, but do not be deceived; this is no fledgling..'

The vampire snapped his fingers, and the entrance doors were flung open. Accompanied by two guards, a hooded man stepped out into the room. He strode confidently to Kain, and bowed.

'The second in command, under Raziel, is none other than Santarinus Octavius! The very man whom was slain by Raziel, is now under his firm command,'

Raziel was standing under the fourth pillar, and had known who the new addition was the moment he stepped through the doors. He looked down at his hand, and clenched the fingers into a tight, trembling fist. This was madness.

'Kain!' He called to his master. 'You confuse me. I do not question your wisdom in this matter, but who is to say that this one will follow under my will? I murdered his brother, and him too. Out of the millions of souls that float in the Abyss, why bring back this one?'

Kain smiled. 'You will accept this vampire, mark my words,' he turned to Santarinus, 'now, join Raziel, take place under his pillar,'

Santarinus reached up to the hood and pulled it away from his face to reveal his bald head, and a pair of eyes that seemed to have turned red in the process of resurrection.

Is there some devilry at work here? Raziel thought to himself, what kind of man willingly accepts vampirism, furthermore, to serve at the hands of his slayer…

'I will join with Raziel,' Santarinus rasped, and began to walk towards the fourth pillar of Nosgoth…

The following evening, Raziel entered his masters' chambers with caution and guile, leaving a trail of subdued anger in his wake…

'Kain, this is madness!'

'Be still, Raziel. All is not as it seems,'

Raziel held his head in his hands. He snarled and looked up from the broken pillar he sat on.

'Why, Kain? You knew this would only provoke strife amongst the clan!'

Kain grinned, showing a row of razor sharp teeth, results of his first Change.

'When Turel and Zephon found Santarinus' soul, they also discovered a vial of purple liquid, someone had appeared to have cast it into the abyss in an attempt to rid themselves of it,'

'So?'

'So, I had Zephon take it with him, and examine it. It is an interesting concoction, one that bends the wills of others in a way far more powerful than out telekinesis,'

'So you administered some to Santarinus? How much?'

Kain leapt up onto a nearby pillar, and scraped his claws along the stone columns of the ceiling.

'Enough. A few years, perhaps. It is powerful magic. But I wager that there will be great strife amongst the clan when he awakes from the trance. For until then, he will be unawares of the being he has become,'

'A brother of the slayer of his brother…' Raziel mused as he dropped down from his pillar and began to make his way to the entrance doors.

'Very well, master,' he called over his shoulder, 'but when those years have passed, and he awakes, I will not hesitate to finish the job. Mark my words, Kain!'

Raziel left the hall, slamming the doors shut behind him. Once again, Kain grinned like a shark.

'Yes…' he murmured, 'I know you will. I'm counting on it…'