Hey, peoples! Finally got the update! This one's much longer than the rest.
Raziel: 0.o Took you long enough…
Oh well. This chapter has many time periods in it—
Kain: That's flashbacks…
(ahem) Present thought and activities are normal text, past are in italic. Paragraph-wise of course.
Raziel: Of course.
This is mostly a glimpse in the past of Kain and his sons.
People, this is going to deal with subjects that may be a little hard to understand for some, but please just bear with me. I don't want any flames about this! It is clear my how women reacted and how he was rendered that he was intended to be a bishonen (pretty boy). Plus, I believe in artistic beauty, and if you can't get it … yeah.
Meanwhile, I trust this will be my last update for a long while; I am leaving soon, and I know for certain I won't be able to do anything for two months, but after that, if I am, 'twill be far in between, I assure you.
Kain: Oh yes. The Navy.
Yep. But enough of this!
The Revolution of the Reaver
Chapter vi: Reminiscent Revelry
It was night in Mournfair and all were happy. Moths flew gaily around street lanterns, bats merrily hunted them; even the frail people who lived here had no worries of the dark. This night was special. This night, there was to be celebrations. The lord of Nosgoth had found the commiseration to visit this small city and grace it with his continual presence until morning. Of course, he would expect a lively reaction to such an honor. The city commons was ornate with paper lanterns and banners, game and gambling stands lining the lanes. Humans packed into this large arboreal acreage, bringing gifts for their masters and money for their own entertainment.
At the center of this large festival sat Kain and his six lieutenants. Once more, they sat on large lavished chairs, Kain having the largest, and once again, the seven vampires found themselves addressing the same younglings as earlier. "I hope we have made your stay a pleasant one, masters," Leylane bowed. Kain nodded once in response. Seven human women, all beautiful in their own accord, made a line behind the younglings, each of them holding majestic goblets. "Of course, you must thirst by now," the vampiress leered. The women stepped forward and shakily handed the goblets to waiting clawed hands. The tall blonde, pale with fear, nearly dropped her offering into Raziel's lap. He caught it with ease while regarding the bumbling human with a raised eyebrow.
The lieutenants waited patiently for their sire's word to start drinking as Kain stared at his cup, gazing curiously into its liquid depths. He glanced to Leylane inquiringly, and she nodded in assurance. "I made sure your blood was made as you wished, sire." With that in mind, Kain gave the gesture for he and his sons to begin enjoying their drink. A great cry of elation sounded, and the festival finally begun.
After a few sips, Turel turned to the vampire lord. "Sire, what is it that you ordered to be different from our blood?" His brothers looked towards Kain in anticipation.
He leaned back into his throne, grateful for his beverage. "I ordered mine to be alcoholic." They blinked in surprise. Alcoholic? Kain stared at his sons incredulously. "They said they were organizing a party. Did you actually believe I would not participate at all?" They nodded, and mentioned he never drank at their social gatherings. "You do not serve alcohol," he growled. "I am not about to bring my own, and risk portraying myself as a drunk!"
After some time and some goblets later, Kain stood up and popped his neck. Raziel stared; he usually does such acts when he is about to engage in battle. Did he plan to slaughter these humans? "You people stay here," Kain ordered, his words slightly slurred. "I am going … over there. Hold the stronghold whilst I depart." And he was gone, lost in the crowds of humans.
"What is he doing? Where is he going?" asked a confused Melchiah. Raziel just shrugged. "You were staring right at him!" he angrily huffed. "How can you not know where he went?"
Raziel stood and adjusted his clan throe. Melchiah had always been skittish without his sire, and somehow, the condition of his voice alerted his intuition of trouble. "We should find him." The others glared at him suspiciously. "To make sure he does not find himself in a battle," he quickly added. They merely scoffed. Raziel proceeded to look for his master, not bothering to wait for his brothers who were now scrambling to their feet. As Raziel disappeared into the crowd, the others decided to divide and search for their sire, and meet back here when he is found. Raziel hated how they teased and slighted him; even if it was true that he indeed held the favor of his master, he was not at fault, now was he? Raziel had always been better at following Kain's orders, and that of course made him more reliable. He knew they were just jealous. They all started out equal, in the beginning, all those centuries ago …
The Sarafan encampment lie ahead, and Kain intended for it not to remain there. He had brought his six fledglings, knowing of all things, they needed the training and experience. The seven vampires spied the meager human camp from atop a great rock cliff, and from there, Kain gave orders to his awaiting sons. "Our enemy is below," he intoned, "yet do not underestimate these mortals. You may have every advantage over them, but that does not mean they will not try something foolish and surprise you." The elder vampire drew the serpentine blade of the Reaver.
At this time, Kain had not evolved greatly; he still had the countenance of a mortal, yet strange and powerful talons had replaced his hands and feet. Raziel was the only one of his brothers to fully remember how Kain originally appeared before evolution's hand. His strong slender body, his high cheekbones, his sleek hair. The eldest lieutenant was in no way attracted to him, yet he could not deny the physical splendor of that man. He almost never wore a shirt, which only made watching him easier. Even now, changed as he had become, the way each muscle moved over and around each other seemed like an elegant ballet of tension and release. No matter how fast or erratic Kain moved, his muscles were always controlled and leveled. It was as if he had been born to be beyond all others, as if the fates had something special in mind for his master.
The battle with the mortals raged and all was fine, yet Kain was not particularly pleased. Yes, they were all operating as according to his battle plan, but not in the way he wanted. He had hoped his younger fledglings had remembered something about fighting as Raziel appeared to do, but as the third hour of combat ensued, he knew it was merely the natural ability of his eldest. Now Kain had only the time to kill the Sarafan that his new sons either did not see or could not handle. He hated this; his whole unlife, he had always been on the offensive. Always. Yet now if he decided to execute anything of that sort, surely he would lose one of his sons. How much he hated this! He knew he had to think, had to conjure something to get them out of this predicament.
Young Raziel, being the eldest and most experienced, quickly felled most Sarafan that approached him, Kain killing the ones he did not see. Yet even he knew they were going to be here quite a while if something is not done. They had battled their way past the gates, past the main buildings and were currently working their way through the supply houses toward the barracks. In the fray, many of the extra weapons and barrels full of oils and liquids of all sorts were spilt, making it slippery and easy to trip. The oils ran out under the walls and doors of the building and without doubt, into the streets and around nearby structures. He had an idea.
Raziel dropped his sword to the ground, and upon hearing the splash of metal hitting oil, Kain rushed to his eldest's side, defending him from all attack. The other sons drew close to their sire to receive benefit from his killing blows as well. Raziel grabbed a nearby bow and quickly snatched an arrow volleyed at them not too long ago from the floor. His eyes darted around the room and finally found for what he was looking. A large rock used as an anvil squat in the far corner of the room. Raziel knew the most abundant strong rock in this area was flint, so humans here made everything out of it, from that makeshift anvil to arrowheads. He quickly launched his one chance at drastically turning the tides.
It hit and the collision caused a great spark, which ignited the oil, the flames quickly rushing to all. Kain's golden eyes went wide. He threw the Reaver on his back and exploded into hundreds of bats, all of them ramming into the fledglings, pushing and lifting them. The great doors of the entrance burst open as the brothers were flung quite a distance from the building. As the flames completely engulfed the supply house and began to work on the nearby buildings, Kain materialized from his bat-form. Clearly,as from what they could see from their vantage point on the ground, their master was not in such a good mood. He grabbed Raziel by the shirt and hoisted him into the air, holding him eye to eye.
"That was reckless," he growled. "You endangered us all with your suicidal plan!" Much to the trembling fledgling's awe, Kain then gave a broad smile. "Yet it was a good plan. You just have to make sure to tell us all what you intend to do." They all stared wide-eyed to their sire, surprised that Raziel was not going to die. The Sarafan had completely stopped fighting and were fleeing, many trapped or burning by the great raging fire. Kain furrowed his brow. "Truly you do not think me foolish enough to not adjust my plan as needed? Even if the adjustments are not exactly from me, if they are needed, they are needed."
Since that day, Kain always at least listened to any suggestion Raziel had concerning his attack plans. He knew, now especially, how dangerous and impulsive that move was, but Kain seemed to like it for that. Raziel always figured he appreciated impromptu thinking.
A tall man walked by, awaking Raziel from his memory. A tall man, yes, and thick with muscle, but not disgustingly so, with skin a different color than all the mortals here. He followed where the man had gone, increasing his pace. For a moment, he was back within sight, his stride purposeful yet silent. Suddenly Raziel descended into another memory.
The two men moved silently through the brush, the smaller clinging to the other's arm. It was a journey across one of the last veldts left in Nosgoth. A dangerous place to be, especially at night, yet Raziel had no worries; Kain was right beside him.
He was young then, only a few days, but Kain figured it was time for them to leave the tomb and return to the mansion his sire had in Meridian. It was on this journey he saw a creature he will never forget.
Something rustled the brush to the left of the two men. To the fledgling Raziel's surprise and fear, his sire stopped. Kain halting within the path of anything could not forebode good for their well-being. He tightened his grip around his master's moon pale arm and shuddered. Raziel felt a heavy slap on his shoulder and nearly jumped into his sire's arms. The elder vampire chuckled; it was just Kain's hand in a failed attempt to soothe. He looked questionably into the taller one's golden eyes, and received a smile in response.
Some twenty yards, a sort of deer grazed lightly on the scraggily grass. Then, Raziel noticed it. Moving silently through the noisy brush, it stalked the deer with a resolve of the likes of which he had never seen. Crouching not ten feet away from its prey, it awaited the opportune moment to strike. Then it exploded into action, the large predatory cat flinging itself on top of the deer with teeth bared, driving its claws deep into its back.
He remembered it so well, even after all these centuries. The power. The grace. The resolve. Muscles gliding over and around each other. The beauty.
Kain.
Bt the time Raziel fully snapped back into reality, the vampire lord had already disappeared into the crowd again. He sighed in frustration; when his master did not want to be found, he always knew how to make himself scarce. He raised a brow as he mused; it seemed to him, his master was like that lone hunter. The years changed him more and more into that predator. His fangs and claws had become stronger, his build bigger, his golden eyes more intense and enigmatic, and his hair, despite how his master pinned it back in a futile attempt of civility, still seemed to be a great silvery mane. He shook his head; he really needed to pay attention to what he was doing. Once again, he walked through the multitude in hopes of finding Kain.
He found no such luck, and after some hours as the party began to die, he decided to return to the seats the locals had so graciously assembled for his master and brothers. Raziel met with Turel and Zephon along the way, and fortunately all the lieutenants thought the same and arrived at the same time to the languished chairs, only to find Kain lounging sideways in his, drinking from what seemed a wine bottle, with a vampiress sitting on the left arm of the seat!
"Oh, returning lieutenants, loyal and wayward!" he chimed, lifting the bottle into the air. Raziel aridly crossed his arms. "And for what do you grace me with this intrusion?"
Melchiah nervously shifted his weight, knowing they had all interrupted him. "Ah, sire," he stuttered, "we were just looking for you."
Kain blinked. "Oh? Think you not that I can fend myself?" The vampiress giggled.
Rahab furrowed his brow. Truly, no leader has ever been as well spoken as Kain, yet it had never been like this. He was now employing little used and known sentence structures and, dare he say, being poetic! Meter-wise! The older texts he had read in the great library had examples of such, however he had never heard anyone actually use it. Even Dumah noticed Kain was no longer all that sober. However, Zephon was amused; he had always loved how his sire put together sentences, and knowing he does better when he is drunk, just made him smile. Meanwhile, Raziel noted that the liquid Kain drank from the bottle was not sanguine, but clear. He was drinking alcohol straight, with no blood or anything! He shook his head; this can't be good.
The vampire lord turned his attentions to the scantily clad vampiress and stared at her blankly. She noticed this and decided to make a strategic move on her behalf, if he had not gotten the hint already. "Dear sire," she cooed, "how I do love to spend time close to you." She leaned closer with a sly expression. "Can it be possible to get any closer?"
Kain still just blankly regarded her. "Who are you?"
She scoffed at this. "I had told you my name not ten minutes ago!" she huffed. "And ten minutes before that!"
Kain snapped his talons. "That is right! You are Phillis!" he announced happily.
"That's a man's name!" she screamed, waving her arms in the air. Raziel snickered. "I am Liza! Look, Lord Kain, are we going to be together for this night or not!"
A deep shock the likes of which even his lieutenants had never seen surged through the elder vampire's face as he leaned back away from her. "You with me!" he asked, stunned. "I don't even know who you are!"
She was nearly tearing out her hair. "You do too!" The others were shuddering with suppressed laughter, even Turel who seemed to never do such a thing, now could barely contain himself.
Kain thought for a moment and cautiously asked, "Are you … Phillis?"
That was the last straw. The party over and her hopes now dashed upon the rocks, he hopped off the arm of his chair and roughly pushed through the cackling brothers. Luckily, they decided she had enough suffering at the hands of their master.
"Oi, my sons!" Kain called overly loud to his nearby lieutenants as if he never noticed them there. "How goes you? Did you find anything out about Lenny?"
Rahab placed his claws on his hips. "I asked about if anyone has heard of Henry James," he began, fairly certain that is who he meant, "and amazingly—"
"—they have," continued Melchiah. "He is actually a resident of one of this city's suburbs, the one name Fangoria. We could be at his domicile within the hour if you pleased, my lord."
He stood from his seat and nearly fell. Laughing after catching himself, he announced, "No. Deff-ff-inately not. Must go to bed first." He motioned with his arm for one of them to come to his aid. Raziel gladly positioned himself under his sire's arm and helped him walk towards their rooms. While they slowly made their way to the building in which they were staying, Raziel looked down into the face of his slouching lord. The anxious expression caused him some alarm.
"Sire, what is wrong?" This caught the attentions of the other lieutenants.
Kain grabbed his eldest's shoulder tightly and looked into his eyes, still distressed. "Somewhere, in some unseen time," he began, "there is a dead man and a squid arguing, and it is because of me." He gripped his silvery locks in distraught. "And the squid is winning!" Raziel increased his pace towards their rooms, regarding his sire with a raised brow. He definitely needed to go to bed.
Eventually the seven vampires arrived at their rooms, and all opted to sleep.
Raziel: Wow. That was a long one.
Yeah. I was like in the zone!
Kain: Thanks for making me look like an ass…
Just doing my job! Thought the sequence with you predicting the stress between the Elder God and Wraith Razzy was cute! And how did you like my poetry? On the hailing comment ('Oh ... intrusion?-Kain) I used elegaic couplet! That means it's poetic by meter; it's a Latin style, but that's what I know, so I used it! The second line is a palindrone in the terms of feet!
Kain: That is soooooo coooooool!
Raziel: You made me seem homosexual…
That is not my intention.
Kain: Uh oh! Here it comes…
I believe it is possible to believe someone from the same sex is beautiful without being sexually attracted. The whole muscle thing came from me watching my cat run by as I wrote this. I love how each muscle works together to send him flying down my hallways. It is so wonderful to watch. But I am in no way attracted to my cat!
Bane: I'm attracted to your cat.
0.o Anyways, it just got me an idea how to portray what I have been meaning to do since I first heard of yaoi. Just because Kain can have anyone does not mean he does—
Kain: Who do you think I am, Vorador?
--and just because Raziel is loyal to his master, doesn't mean he is willing to become his plaything! If that was true, wouldn't he also behave that way with his other master, the Elder God!
Raziel: 0.o (shiver) Trauma!
Well, enough of my rants. I hope to see you all again someday. Until then …
