Yup, another chapter. Trying to make a recovery from the dismal previous two. Please review.

Turel

Turel stirred. He got up, before a fresh wave of attack unseated him from his own mind. He tried to strike back, instinctively, but halted as an unusually coherent thought said Striking back will only endanger you. Shield yourself. Memories. Diving back into his own mind, he searched desperately for a memory he hadn't already fed the creature. There were not many, he had been doing this for centuries. A string of thoughts, he had kept, all centering on Raziel. Raziel? Who was she? No matter. They would do. He crept inside them, and hid.

----

Turel waited impatiently. Raziel had not appeared at the clan meetings for three months now. Perhaps that had not been surprising, given his departure, but Melchiah could hardly be blamed. When the heralds had announced his coming, Kain had assembled a court, to reprimand him for neglecting his duties. Not that he would be punished beyond a sharp note, of course, since Kain respected the right of his lieutenants to govern their own affairs, short of rebellion. And now Raziel had committed a further insult by arriving late. You never delayed the court without a good reason. Perhaps he had one, but Turel privately thought it more likely he was merely unwilling to return. He had always been too arrogant for his own good. Take his departure three months earlier, for example...

Kain made one of his rare contributions. "Why use all our forces? It's a tiny cluster of renegade vampires. They are beside a lake, true, but that's as much a danger to them as us. Normally I'd send Dumah, but his clan are still recovering from those flame elementals. It's unfair to give one clan all the military assignments." They were sitting around a table, goblets of blood treated with anti-congealant in their hands. Except for Rahab, who had a whiskey glass of water. The other clan leaders had some doubts about his sanity, on account of him being convinced that he could overcome the weakness. He took a sip now, wincing as it burned his throat, before being diluted by the walls of blood lining his stomach. He was convinced he was becoming acclimatized, and continued the experiment through all dissuading. Waiting for his tongue to heal before speaking, he said, "Why not the Melchahim? They have had less military assignments than the others, and it would do wonders for their confidence. Melchiah shot him a grateful glance; he was sick of his label as the weakest clan, the weakest target. There were some Razelim in the cluster, he could show his clan could beat the others. Then Raziel said " The melchahim? Hah! The numbers in the cluster are less than a quarter of Melchiah's. There are Razelim in that group, Melchiah would have to take his entire clan to deal with them, with the loss of half."

Kain was amused at his son's obvious contempt, but also enraged beyond belief. "They are a better choice than the Razelim" He said mildly. That was a sign of rage to those who knew him well.

"Oh? What have the Melchahim that the Razelim have not."

"Melchiah?"

Melchiah swallowed, then said " Restraint, Raziel. It would not do for your entire clan to be taunted into a trap because –" He cut off because Raziel had leapt across the table at him. Ducking away, startled, he caught Raziel's foot as it was coming down and pulled, sending Raziel sprawling on the table, which snapped. Raziel, with his usual agility, pushed down on the splintering table and propelled himself into a dive, which quite possibly would have connected if he hadn't been telekinetically flung into the wall in mid-air. "Brawling in a council meeting is unacceptable. Melchiah, gather your clan to attack the rebels. Raziel, get out of here now. The rest of you, continue."

"But-"

Kain drew the reaver. Everyone obeyed.

Yes, Raziel's arrogance was a hindrance. Melchiah had been insulted that he hadn't turned up for his victorious return. And now he was late. Kain was looking noticeably bored. Turel finally heard the trumpets playing Raziel's clan anthem. He straightened. No one had bothered to replace the table, so they had stood for the last few clan meetings. Raziel strode in and knelt. He spread a pair of white, leathery wings. Kain looked surprised. He walked arounde Raziel, examining his new gift. Turel tried his budding telepathic abilities, and was surprised to find he could enter his lord's mind. They were intriguing thoughts. Why now? My empire is at its peak. Why not wait, at least until it had begun to decay. Curse you- and Turel was expelled from His mind with enough force to make him stagger. He recovered in time to see the wings ripped from Raziel's back, with Kain's face contorted with rage. Raziel collapsed in pure agony. Then his head rose. And he was moving.

Turel couldn't disguise that he was impressed. He didn't think he could have recovered so quickly. And he would have probably fatally attempted a blow to Kain, whereas Raziel was heading for the reaver, which Kain had left on his throne. When Kain realized what was happening, he ran, but Raziel had a few seconds head start. He reached the reaver first, kain two steps behind. When Raziel turned, the bone structure of his left wing tangled in his feet while his right struck him across the forearms. But Raziel didn't let go of the sword, and even now retained enough agility to turn his stagger into a somersault away. Kain had to duplicate it to retain his grip on the reaver, but he was not as agile as his son, and lost out on the second leap. Spinning away, raziel began to charge a reaver projectile. Kain stood stock still, hands by his sides. Raziel continued to charge it, well beyond the point where it could be released. Kain began to advance. Raziel began to sweat. He had realized he didn't know how to launch a projectile, and his hands were glued to the hilt. Kain reached him, and there were a few seconds of amazing agility too fast for even vampire vision to follow, before Kain got a grip on a wing and yanked. Raziel screamed and went limp. Kain picked him up, carrying him as far as the abyss and flinging him across to his own territory. Two razielim attendants came to him, but Kain would not let them bring him away. When he regained consciousness, Kain Whispered across his sentence, not deigning to shout over the water sounds.

You have one month to set your affairs in order, then you will return here to be executed. Any razielim who grow wings are allowed to keep them.

This last was mortifying, and deliberately so, to add insult to injury, for now, at leasthis injuries wouldn't trouble him for long.

It was interesting to watch Kains reaction. He largely left the clan leaders to their own clans, and each had their own punishment for over ambitious pupations. Melchiah sent them off to dangerous posts in wars. Zephon starved them for weeks, then set a pack of hunting dogs on them. Rahab manipulated them into fighting each other. Dumah had them fight him in the arena. Turel had them demoted for 200 years to scavenger dutythe worst task in the empire. Raziel executed them and duplicated their gift, being fiercely proud of his position as second most powerful vampire in nosgoth. But no one had ever dared to surpass Kain. Until now. He had not been pleased. The months grace was for his empires benefit, not Raziels. If he was executed immediately, his entire clan would die of shock. Most clan grunts thought of themselves as 'son of' whoever turned them, not by their names. Never 'daughter of' even when they were women. In order to ensure your fledglings survived you, you had to give them names, identity, or they would lose their reference points when you died, go insane or die. That was the purpose of the months grace. If Raziel fled, Kain would know, and repeal the time. Turel shivered, and wondered how he would end.

------

No use! The creatures had eaten through his memory, and now it was fading. He would break soon, and then the creatures would consume him. But not without a fight...

------

Turel stood beside his brethren, bored out of his mind. The last of Melchiah's prisoners fell screaming into the abyss. It was a Razielim. He looked towards the territory of Raziel, and saw him standing there, watching. His wings were carefully folded and strapped to his back. He had finished preserving his clan, and his month was nearly up. He had been coming here a lot recently, making his peace with the waters. And he watched every execution, resignation clearly on his face. Sometimes he dipped his feet into the water, trying to become accustomed to the stinging pain. Raziel was a broken man. Man? Hardly.

Turel was drawn from his thoughts by a large fireball hitting off the sides of the crag. Glancing around wildly, he located the source of it. A large catapult situated above the cliffs around the abyss. The humans wished to make a last stand? Very well. But as he prepared to launch his spear, his sharp hearing picked up the sound of footsteps. A woman had mysteriously appeared on the crag opposite the one they were standing on, and where she pointed, fire blossomed. Ducking a stream of flame, he heard more footsteps and turned. Along each bridge approaching where he was standing, two women were walking behind two vampires from each clan, all of which had the blank stares of the possessed. The brethren severed all the bridges except the one to the sanctuary. They'd need that. Kain had leapt forward to the crag facing the woman, so that was one less threat. When they'd cut the bridges, the vampires had been able to dig their claws into the sleats, but the women had fallen to their deaths. That left fourteen attackers plus the catapult crews. The brethren were in genuine mortal peril. Turel glanced around. Their eyes were shining. They hadn't had the chance for this much fun in over a millennium. Their clans had begun throwing spears at the women, but a claw gesture stopped them. They were going to fight for their lives if it killed them. And they knew it could. Not permitted to help, the clans began an encouraging chant. The brethren dropped into fighting stances. Turel dimly heard Raziel cheering, which was completely out of character.

Dumahim were the first in line. The others allowed him to deal with them. He took a gash to the kneecap, but a blow to the side of the head knocked one Dumahim out cold and the other was flung back across the bridge.

The melchahim were next. Melchiah stepped forward and flung his spear. The Melchahim ducked, but Melchiah hadn't been aiming for them and one of the women went down with a spear to the throat. The Dumahim that had been flung backwards ran over and began to devour her. The two melchahim stepped back uncertainly, then charged. They got in one rabbit punch between them before the first went down to a kick in the stomach and the second tripped over his prone comrade. Melchiah caught him before he fell to the abyss and rammed his skull into the stone crag. One of the catapult crews found the range and sweet, blissful pain washed over the brethren. One of the zephonim was caught in it and was consumed. Angrily Zephon pushed forward and attacked the remaining zephonim as he charged with a razielim. Dumah caught the Razielim and pitched him over to Raziel, ripping off his wings in the process, to much cheering from the Razielim. Raziel got up, grinning, and proceeded to attack his gift, nodding his thanks. The zephonim reeled, clutching his eye socket, but before Zephon could deliver a finishing blow Rahab picked him up and drew him back as a fireball hit where he had been standing.

Two more Razielim ran from the sanctuary and spread their newly formed wings. They hovered just beyond spear range, firing crossbow bolts. Turel concentrated, and brought one down with telekinesis, pitching him over to Raziel when he fell. The second Razielim swooped and carried away Turel before he knew what was happening, and dropped him over the abyss. Turel broke his attackers leg before he fell, then floated down to his brethren. The Razielim screamed and tumbled into the water.

Back on the crag, the rahabim charged. Rahab ducked and rolled as another fireball swept past, then dived forward and hit one rahabim at chest height, punching him in the throat. The second one kicked him in the face as he rose, but Rahab smashed his kneecap, and flung him at the other woman, who conjured a shield, and the rahabim was flung back at Rahab, who caught him by the shoulders and pitched him at the dumahim who had finished his meal and was sneaking up behind the woman. The women, seeing her troops now consisted of two turelim and a razielim, the others slowly recovering from various wounds, sent them charging forward as she tried to flee. But the dumahim was standing in her way, and she possessed him into charging at the same time as the catapult crew fitted out the catapult to fire a sheaf of fireballs instead of one. The Razielim and dumahim burst into flames as they were hit squarely, but the turelim were in the front line and escaped the worst. The brethren dodged the flames, then Turel charged at his sons

And the others bypassed him to shove the flaming corpses from the bridge.

Turel hit his sons a series of blows to the face and chest, but the one on the left managed to nick his face. Angrily, he broke its neck with an uppercut and was abouyt to turn when a spearpoint buried itself in his shoulder. His arm went limp. He used the other arm to pull out the point and hurled it through the turelim and past his brethren to the other woman, who collapsed. A dumahim at his feet regained consciousness and he kicked it in the spine. He turned, and a fireball flew over his shoulder. The other brethren joined him on the crag. As various fledglings regained consciousness, they realized what was going on and fled as quickly as they could.

Without the distraction of being attacked, the fireballs were easily avoided, and the brethren turned to Kain, who had the original attacker down on one knee. She was a vampire: The assembled crowd got their first good look at her, to several gasps. She was a child of Vorador by the name of Driselle, who had been the 'companion' of many a vampire in the empire. Vorador himself, who had been watching the proceedings for some time, and with some amusement, was evidently shocked. This was not of his doings, or he had been practicing his acting skills for years previously. A fireball glanced off Kain's armour. He didn't move. Driselle had made some forays to Kain's rooms too. "Sword or water?" he asked quietly. "Combat!" she hissed, twisting free. Kain was left with a handful of hair as she whirled to face him. He sidestepped her first flame, and connected with a vicious kick to the throat. "Driselle!" shouted collective fledglings. A dozen Razielim, the only ones in a position to help, spread their wings, against the frantic shouts from Raziel "Stop, you idiots!" Kain looked up, stepped back, and was covered in enraged Razielim. Driselle pointed another immolate, but she only succeeded in frying three Razielim. Raziel screamed in rage and leapt from his territory boundary, an amazing leap even for him. He was in mid-air when Kain telekinetically blasted away the Razielim clinging to him, and saw Raziel bearing down on him. Startled, and sure raziel meant to kill him, he fired a reaver projectile. Racked with pain, Raziel collapsed onto the crag, paralysed. Turning back to Driselle, Kain was caught by a direct immolate. He was thrown backwards, but stopped short of the edge, shaking his head groggily.

"You may have the talent, child, but your strength is lacking. No more games."

He teleported behind her and removed her head, flinging head and body into the abyss. Some of the Razielim that had attacked him had fallen, some had not, but each pair of delicate, newly formed wings had been crushed. He cast the survivors into the abyss. Then he shouted across to the amassed Razielim "Leave nosgoth! Now! Any who remain will be hunted down." The Razielim spread their wings and departed, and Kain kept his word with the remnants. He Jumped back to the brethren, then turned, staring into the abyss. He turned away.

"Cast him in."

Turel and Dumah picked up Raziel and obliged, unwilling to challenge Kain when he was in this mood. Raziel broke his paralysis long enough to scream, and was sucked down into oblivion. Kain turned to go, ignoring the catapult crews. The brethren followed, stunned but exhilarated, not having fought for their lives in some time. But guilt wracked them for not intervening for years to come.

-------

Yes! They were tiring! One good memory might see him victory! Searching his mind, Turel came upon an interesting one. It would do.

------

Turel came through the portal, thinking of Kain and Raziel. Perhaps he was safe in this era. A large demon disabused him of this notion. He killed it. A woman with three eyes summoned a dozen more, and Turel was driven into a corner as she considered the chronoplast. He killed four demons before she was satisfied with the setting, and the demons began pushing him towards the portal. He fought frantically, now covered in blood, and five more demons died. But they drove him through the portal, and his last sight was of the woman regarding a glowing disc she was carrying.

------

The entities broken, Turel felt memories flooding back. The woman had tormented him for decades, summoning demons at her whim. He used every small respite to pupate, and now he was monster like his brothers. She and another gave him blood, tauntingly too little to give him power, merely allowing him to survive. He had been subconsciously attacked for months now, but he'd finally broken his attackers. A sudden attack from three fresh entities caught him off guard, and his mind was locked away.

Centuries passed.

Hash'ak'gik lurked in his pit, devouring what was sacrificed to him, living at the whim of another. The Cenobites were devout, but their blood had little strength, and he was weak. He sensed hidden boundaries within his mind, but did not seek to unfold them, for the memories would only weaken him more. He had collapsed from hunger three times, and only the mercies of the death-faced sorcerer had spared him. His only conscious effort was to trap the parasites in his mind, preventing them from leaving him to languish in this hell. He glanced up as another sacrifice teetered on the edge of the pit. Part of him registered that this was strange, that the ceremony was over. But he gave in to his hunger. The sacrifice fell. He hid. But it was strange...he smelled no blood. Could they have given him a living victim? He had deliberately forbade that, for chasing a living victim would destroy all benefit from the blood. He expressed his displeasure in no uncertain terms. The victim was alive. Their scent was tantalizingly familiar. The fragment of him that remembered Turel began clamouring for his attention. Raziel? But he had fallen-hadn't he? Wait. Who was Raziel, and why did he fear the name? This was unfathomable. Then the creature spoke, and again, he knew the voice. What was happening? Then a memory surfaced, with great effort. Raziel, falling into the abyss by Hash'ak'gik's hand. No, Turel's hand. The creature remembered that. Lucky creature.

And he remembered the hands that bore him in. He had slain-who? Names flicked through his mind-Melchiah, Zephon, Rahab, Dumah...and Turel. All dead except the last. And he would soon die.

"I heard what you did to them...And now, you have found me at last."

"Turel?"

So it knew the useless vessel he existed in. He was beyond that now.

"Turel. Yes, that was my name then."

The creature backed away. It thought him grotesque? Perhaps it was right. Yet people worshipped him. "Yes-I am changed. I have become a god. Greater than you ever were, Raziel." How easily that name came to his lips. "Greater even than Kain."

Yet he wished release.

"It is to you these humans offer their blood sacrifices?" Not to me-no, yes, to me. I am Hash'ak'gik, not Turel. He is dead. Dead!

"Hash'ak'gik, Hash'ak'gik...Yes."

"But how did this happen?"

Turel did not remember this clearly. But he remembered... "I was summoned." By whom? "There was darkness, and great hunger. And then I was...found." By demons with poison blood.

"Why do you stay in this terrible place?"

"Why stay? Would I stay if I could get out?"

He lunged at the creature, then stopped. Perhaps he should explain himself, and enlist its aid in escaping. "While they hound at me and tear at me and-"

Aroused by his new defiance, the parasites grow in strength and use his voice to command the creature to leave. They say that he can take them no further. They would stop offering his the scanty blood that allowed them to survive? No! He escaped from their influence long enough to demand blood, or he would languish for years in this hateful pit, without even sustenance to maintain his fractured sanity!

He remembered the name of the creature again. He would have powerful blood, he could break free from the influence of the entities and demand gallons of blood, lakes. And when he could, he would break free! But he was weak. Either he would be killed, or he would escape the pit. Either was preferable. But this creature was durable, and the gongs that had been installed to torment him were too much. He crumpled, too weary to prevent the parasites seizing control again. After which, they departed. He was free.

"Free...?"

The world shifted...

He was still in the pit, but it had changed. He didn't remember fourteen giant tentacles, but he had been insane, so he could have missed them. Had been insane? He noticed he was thinking clearly. That was strange. Then the gongs rang. He flinched as the tentacles moved in. Telekinetically keeping them at bay, he fled to a far corner of the pit. The tentacles approached cautiously. Cautiously. That meant he could harm them. And he would not be controlled again. Caught by surprise by his sudden charge, three tentacles were absorbed before they could attack. He charged past the others, and bit to pieces the ones ringing the bells. The sounds fading, he could now destroy the others with ease. He advanced. They fled. He caught the last one before it fled and used it as a ramp to escape the pit. Free! The others wouldn't be ere for a couple of millennia, so in the meantime...

Long chapter. Was I too roundabout? I thought I had a decent excuse for the scenarios. Raziel wasn't demonized as much as I expected.one more meeting chapter after this.