Hi! This might be a long note and I'm sorry about that! I originally posted a story with this title back in 2009, when I was around 17-18. I actually first started this story around 13 years old, I believe. I so enjoyed writing it, but it was very poorly planned out with no ending. I really wanted to try my hand at rewriting it 10+ years later, as this character and story have a special place in my heart. I'm so scared to post, as I feel like I could edit this 500 more times and it still not seem good enough, but I figured I needed to bite the bullet and go for it! PLEASE write a review if you have the time. It would mean so much to me.

If you have read the old version, please know that it will be different. I would like to think I have improved as a writer since I posted my original story. The plot twists will be different (and hopefully better), as I really dove into LoK lore this time around. I also made sure I have a general timeline with an actual ending planned out this time. What a concept!

If you haven't read my work before, I really hope you enjoy this piece. You will notice the Point of View shift between characters, namely Vera and Raziel. NO, my Raziel isn't nearly as beautiful or poetic as the game dialogue, I'll tell you that right now, but there was an attempt!

I have to thank BuritsuFemShep (who created the amazing cover art for this story!), Voysey, and Venus Persephone who have all become dear friends of mine outside of FF. I am so lucky to have had them in my life throughout the years and I appreciate the support I've had from them from the very beginning. They are all epic artists and great people, and you should check out their work.

Finally, I have to thank LuminiaAravis who has been my writing buddy since middle school. She was the first person to "meet" Vera. We would laugh ourselves silly working on stories together then. She has always had a tremendous talent for writing, and still does. This story would not be possible without her, nor would it be half as fleshed out. She has been a superb editor. Please check her writing out here as well as at AO3.

Here we go!

Vera I

It was less than ONE WEEK until my Birthday. FIVE days. That's it. But I guess my plans for sneaking into an R-rated movie, eating ten pounds of frozen yogurt, and attempting backflips at the giant trampoline park (IN that order, since I was feeling daring in my soon-to-be old age) weren't going to happen.

Judge me all you want for that being my first thought when I woke up in a foreign place and realized I'd been kidnapped but turning EIGHTEEN was a big deal and I'd had PLANS.

I'd been super offended when the only person who seemed excited for my big day was a creepy old "Uncle" I saw once a year. He wasn't my REAL Uncle, just, you know, the kind of person that your parents make you call Uncle so that it's not TOTALLY weird when they want to spend alone time with you (even though it SO is).

Any time "Uncle" Moebius would come to town, I would have to do my community service for the year and indulge him by listening to his reject fairytales about a depressing, made-up place called Nosgoth. Stupid sounding name, right? In these stories, he was always the star — an epic sorcerer who was way smarter and stronger than anyone else. His stories were no Lord of the Rings, I'll tell you that much.

The two of us would always go to the downstairs den, me dragging my feet with a plate of gross tea that my mom had shoved into my hands. My parents and the undefeated winner of the Worst Sister of The Year Award, Lily, got to stay upstairs and watch TV. Not that I cared to Keep Up With The Kardashians, but it was better than Keeping Up With the Crazy, Cataract-Eyed Baldy.

He wasn't just the worst to be around because he was boring. He was also SUPER creepy-looking. I mean, most old people are with their wrinkly raisin skin, but he took the cake…and not JUST because of the cataracts and liver-spotted, hairless head I mentioned before…but they didn't help anything. His cheeks were all sunken in and he had what looked like a prison tattoo of an eight on his forehead. In fact, his ugly hooked nose was probably the LEAST offensive looking part of his face. The most was definitely his smile, which just looked off somehow, like some cartoon evil villain grin. Maybe he had cheap dentures or something.

That cheap theory held up — he definitely didn't like spending money on clothes, because he wore the same Renaissance Faire get up every. Single. Year. With the tackiest-looking cane known to man. I figured his outfit came from Party City and he just wore it for Vera's Birthday Boring Story Time to make things seem more interesting. It never did.

He would always come over with the same violet pants and shirt, with a gold sash around his waist to break up the purple on purple. It seemed like a LOT when he could've just…worn different pants? Over top of the purples was a dark blue cloak with gold trim that matched the sash. When he came to the door, he always had the hood pulled up like HE was embarrassed to be seen hanging out with ME.

Now, let me talk about that cane for a second. Like, I know he needed it to walk, but had he HEARD of the ones with tennis balls at the end that most old people use?! His was tall and thin and made of metal, but on top of it was some cheesy crystal ball-looking thing with — get THIS — a damn SNAKE twisted around the metal, biting the orb at the top. WHO THE HELL TOLD HIM THAT LOOKED GOOD?

And my parents would just let this dude stroll (ok, shuffle those arthritic feet) down into MY downstairs den where MY room was feet away ON MY BIRTHDAY EVERY YEAR. WHAT IF HE DIED ON MY RECLINER?

I'd roll my eyes while he went off about how vampires were a plague to society (as if they were real) and I always ended up falling asleep within half an hour of his visit. I mean, could you blame me? Old people stories go on FOREVER. Uncle Moe never seemed offended when I would wake myself up from my nap with a loud snore hours later. Weirdly, he seemed happier than ever, smiling that smile I hated so much. I'd guessed that he had just been glad for the captive audience.

Like I said, he usually showed up ON my actual birthday which was a TOTAL downer, but last year he'd gotten VERY excited and said that he had a special surprise for me THIS year that would happen before the big day.

Fast forward to said day, and I was just putting down my empty teacup. He was finishing up a story about how serving his God was the greatest honor anyone could have and blah blah blah — then he was oddly quiet. The rounded ball on the top of his walking stick suddenly lit up. He must've installed LED lights into that thing. I didn't think it could get uglier, but I guess I was wrong.

"Almost 18," he said in a sing-song voice, his milky-eyed stare on me. "I so look forward to our adventure together. No need to pack a bag — I have just the outfit for you here." He reached down beside him and put a brown sack on the ring-stained coffee table in front of us. "And everything else you could ever want, or need will be at the Stronghold."

Uh...What? He must've traded what was left of his sanity for those lightbulbs inside that dumb walking stick.

I scrunched my face up, eyeing the dirtied brown sack. Hope that thing came with a gift receipt. It smelled like dust and moth balls, which I definitely should've expected since Moebius smelled the same way.

"Uh, I'm all for you boring me to sleep with your stories, but smelly costumes and make-believe places that involve me doing ACTUAL physical activity to 'travel to' are where I draw the line. I know you're probably out of touch, 'cuz you're an Old or whatever, but I'm going to be 18, not 12." I crossed my arms over my chest, refusing to touch the bag.

"You drank that tea, then?" he asked, ignoring me, getting up slowly with the help of his flickering cane. He dropped the sack in my lap as I rolled my eyes again and nodded. Yeah, I had choked the disgusting tea down — he always pressured me to before he began his stories. From the bag, I pulled out an outfit that was almost exactly the same as the one he was wearing now, though his color scheme was different. The pants were dark brown, the shirt was dark green, and the jacket over top of it was a darker purple than his and without the gold trim.

"Yikes. What do you want me to do next? Shave all my hair off and tattoo an 8 on my head so we match even more?" I scowled, dropping the hooded jacket on the ground. My Mom always told me to be nice to Uncle Moe, but I was about to be 18 which meant I was an ADULT and adults could do whatever they wanted.

His horrible smile dropped at my sick burn, but then picked back up in less than a second, his voice suddenly deeper and less frail. "That would be your choice. One of the few you'll have."

Was he…taller all of the sudden? He definitely didn't have that old person hunch thing going on anymore. Even though I was sitting down, I could tell he was at least a few inches taller than me. He also didn't seem to NEED that cane at all anymore, which was glowing brighter and brighter every second.

What a creep. I tried to stand up off the couch to go tell my Mom I was done playing this game when I fell back into the sofa. I felt my eyes get super heavy and the room spin, like the time I drank a 12 pack of White Claws not realizing they were alcoholic.

There was no puke THIS time, but last time, at least I got to wake up in my own room.

THIS time, I sat up in a rock-hard bed. Where the hell was I? I was supposed to be at school in a few hours, guilting my cousin Ayla into driving me around all week for my birthday in just…four short days. That didn't seem like it was going to happen.

I jumped off of the uncomfortable mattress, hurting my neck from whipping it around to try to figure out where I was and what was going on. Stone floors, walls, and ceiling? Whoever owned this place needed to watch more HGTV.

I couldn't find a light switch and the torches on the wall made me feel like I was in a place that hadn't even heard of electricity yet. It had to be the middle of the night, but it must've been a full moon, because the blue light coming in from the huge window made it so I could see everything…not that there was much to look at.

The room was super small, with the bed pushed against the wall and a desk at the end of it with candles, a couple of books, and a bowl of the worst type of food imaginable — fruit — on it. I hated fruit almost as much as I hated Moe. That was about it besides the window.

The window! I ran to it, hoping I'd be able to dive out of it and get far away from this nightmare of a place. I quickly saw that I was on the 3rd or 4th floor, so that dream was crushed pretty fast, but maybe I could recognize where I was.

There were a few houses I could see in the distance, but they all looked like they were made out of stone too. No paved roads, no cars, no nothing. Okay, I might be bad with directions, but this place couldn't have been anywhere CLOSE to my house. It was like I had travelled back in time or something!

I suddenly got a big whiff of that mothball-y stank and looked down.

"I'm wearing the ugly clothes from the potato sack?! WAIT! UNCLE MOE UNDRESSED ME?!" I screeched in horror, clutching at the itchy fabric. "I ALWAYS KNEW HE WAS A PERV!"

I'd been right all along about my parents' weirdo friend! I wish I could rub it in their faces! But oh yeah, I couldn't because he KIDNAPPED ME, UNDRESSED ME, AND TOOK ME TO THE MIDDLE AGES! I didn't care if I didn't know where I was — I just needed OUT of this room ASAP.

The beaten-up bag that these clothes had come in was on the floor next to the desk. I dove for it, actually excited to see it this time. Maybe it had my old outfit in it.

The only thing in the sack were the boots that finished off this crappy ensemble, so I quickly put them on. My dark blue jeans and "Go Step on a Lego" shirt were nowhere to be found.

As much as it pained me to do it, I dumped the apples and oranges that had been left on the desk into the bag and threw it over my shoulders. It wasn't like I saw a 7-Eleven out there and I needed to bring SOMETHING to eat with me if I was gonna make a break for it…even if fruit barely counted as food.

I ran for the doorknob with both hands, hoping it wasn't locked. It wouldn't turn, and I started to panic until the knob broke right off the hinges with a weird green spark. I knew that guy was cheap. He couldn't even spring for good doorknobs.

I took a deep breath, realizing I had to do one of the things I hated most of all, but I was desperate. I had to run. Outside of the tiny room was a spiral staircase, so narrow I kept bumping into the walls on my way down. I must have been straight-up locked in a tower Rapunzel-style based off of all these stupid stairs. I was sure Rapunzel didn't have to worry about her hair catching on fire from the torches that lit up the staircase like I did, but I would take being my own savior over some guy climbing my ponytail any day — I did NOT look good with an updo.

I was wheezing by the time I made it down, but I was determined to keep going until I made it outside.

FINALLY, I busted out of the staircase into a huge wide-open room with stained glass in the high windows. The glass had pictures of men stabbing at what looked like demon-y monster things. I wasn't exactly interested in seeing the details. It was just one more unsettling thing I couldn't wait to leave behind when I got the HECK out of this place. I couldn't believe my luck that there wasn't anyone else to stop me, but if everyone Moe hung out with here was as old as him, they probably wouldn't be able to catch me leaving without hearing aids.

I suddenly felt a little draft, rounding one last corner before seeing a double door. YES! I may not have been a fan of my outfit, but at least I had a hood to put up against the cold before I burst out of the stone building, determined never to look back.

Being eye-level with all the old timey stuff I saw from my window was just as much of a shock as it was the first time around. Even the TREES looked different. And I had never seen the moon as bright as it was here, even when it wasn't full.

It helped me actually see what I was working with, so I couldn't complain, and I booked it to the left, not sure where I was heading but sure that I was going to get as far away from Moebius and the horrible castle thing as I could.

"Side stitch!" I gasped, hunching over and grabbing at my ribs. I really, really hated running. In a few minutes, I could start old lady power walking, but I needed a second to stop and take a breather.

Suddenly, I could hear more than just my heartbeat and heavy breathing. I felt someone or something whizz by me and…was that…barking? I straightened up and looked toward the animal sounds.

I THINK they were some type of dog — someone had covered their heads in helmets, so it was hard to tell. If they were dogs, they were dogs on steroids. They got more terrifying the closer they got. I could see they were JACKED, foaming out of the mouth and through the metal, and that the sides of the helmet had straight up BLADES attached to them.

At first, they were distracted, chasing whatever it was that had passed me first, but then they stopped and began to circle me.

"The ONE part of this awful outfit Moebius couldn't give me was the giant stick?!" I screamed, looking around for a branch or tennis ball or something to throw and distract the dogs. Of course, there wasn't a single thing around this cruddy place that could help me. I was done for.

Wait a minute — maybe that fruit was good for something! I desperately took off my bag and started whipping apples and oranges. When I realized they weren't going to play fetch, I started throwing the produce AT them, missing every single time. I couldn't believe I was going to die dressed like the lamest dude ever, with the last thing I ever touch being my one true nemesis — fruit. I squeezed my eyes shut tight, ready for it to be over.

I heard one of the dogs whine and risked taking a peek.

Woah.

There was a blue skeleton wearing a scarf, taking a flaming sword out of one of the three dogs' bodies. I blinked a few times to make sure what I was seeing was real. Yep. Still a skeleton man in front of me. Still blue. Still naked except for the scarf.

I couldn't stop staring at his ribcage, his white eyes, his flaming sword, his perfectly-styled black hair. After he killed the dogs, he turned back around to face me. I picked my jaw up off the floor.

"I almost had 'em there, but I appreciate you finishing them off for me. I...OW!" As I went to talk to the blue nudist, he charged me, grabbing me by the throat with one hand and lifting me into the air.

"I heard you call to your leader. Did Moebius send you here as a spy when he figured out I outsmarted him? Answer me, boy!" he demanded, bringing the flaming sword to my face and shaking me so that my hood fell off. He drew his head back, eyes narrowing, "Girl?" It must not have mattered what I was, because he still wouldn't let me breathe.

"L-let me GO, crazy! I can't breathe!" I flailed, choking while his clawed hands squeezed my windpipe. I wasn't going to answer ANY questions until he learned some manners. I hope he learned them quick, because I was about to pass out.

He dropped me hard, so that I fell flat on my butt into the dust. "Thanks." I said, voice dripping with sarcasm as I started to get up, but he pointed the flaming blade back at me. I glowered up at him. "I don't work for ANYONE... Well, okay, I worked a summer at Wendy's before I got fired for making too many fart noises through the drive thru speaker, but NOW I don't work for ANYONE. ESPECIALLY not Moebius. He drugged me, took me to this gross place and LOCKED me in there," I pointed my thumb back at the castle thingy, "Also he definitely changed my clothes when I was knocked out, which is all sorts of wrong. It's almost my Birthday, and THIS is the present I get?! Can you believe him?! Turning 18 is, like, a HUGE deal! I could vote if I wanted to, or buy cigarettes! Not that I'd ever be dumb enough to give myself cancer, but I'm just saying I COULD if I REALLY wanted to!"

The skeleton's sword disappeared as his eyes seemed to dart from me to the castle, his head tilting. "Your speech pattern is quite unusual. I've never heard it from any region of Nosgoth." He paused. "If your story is to be believed, perhaps Moebius took you from another time."

Did he say Nosgoth?! Was I dead? Did Uncle Moe's stories finally bore me to death? Nosgoth couldn't have been REAL, right? I pinched myself to see if maybe I was having the worst dream ever, but nothing happened.

So, I guess this was Nosgoth. I wish I'd listened to even HALF of Moebius's stories, but in my defense, I didn't think any of it was REAL, let alone useful. Yet here I was, watching a naked dead dude kill demon dogs. Woulda been great to know literally anything else.

"I'm not from Nosgoth. I don't even know if Nosgoth is on EARTH. And even if it was, I stink at geography so it's not like it'd even help." I stood up. My butt had fallen asleep and I didn't like this guy towering over me. "Either way, where I'm from, we start by introducing ourselves, NOT choking someone out." I rubbed at my throat with a scowl, "I'm Vera."

"What could he be orchestrating? Moebius must be absolutely desperate if his plan involves a weak, useless human girl..." The skeleton guy turned away from me entirely at this point, lost in his super-rude thoughts. WOW.

"Useless?! I have a number of participation trophies that say otherwise," I huffed. He still wouldn't turn back to me. "Hey, I introduced myself! I think I should get to know the name of the rude guy who saved me and then almost killed me right after!"

"I am Raziel," he said flatly, like the conversation was over. He finally turned around to face me. "If you are of use to Moebius, perhaps I should just leave you here for another pack of beasts to find. That will disrupt his scheme and in no way complicate mine."

It wasn't that I WANTED to spend more time with Raziel the Living Dead Doll, but I also didn't exactly WANT to die, and he seemed like good protection, even if he wasn't good company, "Uh, OR, OR! I could come with you! Because..."

I had nothing.

"Because... Uhh... It'd...be a great Birthday present?" I shrugged, hopefully.