KAIN

CHAPTER 13

I was left, perhaps for the first time in my entire life, stunned into a vegetable state. My entire world collapsed around me, and all that was left was me and the female vampire lying asleep before me. No, this wasn't possible. It couldn't be, Impossible. Some trick, someone was trying to deceive me, manipulate me. Angrily, I drew the Soul Reaver. This illusion would not influence me. I would suffer it no longer. Brining the sword down, I prepared to decapitate this lie.

As if it had it's own mind, my hands forced the blade to stop just before it nit her neck and I froze again. I…I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill her, not again. Even if it was an illusion, I just could not repeat that sin again. A feeling of nausea filling me nearly completely, I re-sheathed the blade across my back; involuntary tears wheeling up in the corners of my eyes. Here, personified was everything I had sacrificed; a grisly reminder of my idiocy.

In this sleeping form I could see Ariel's pain, the torment of all the people I had trodden over and even the lament of the land itself.

It too much, I had to look away.

Isn't easy is it? Looking at yourself from the outside?- Raziel asked, with an irritatingly humoured tone. For an instant, I was half convicted to throw the Reaver out the window in temper. -Don't you dare.- My first born added dryly.

At the moment I had more important things to concern myself with then the comical quips Raziel could come up with. One thing stuck out in my mind like a hot iron.

Vorador had wanted me to see this. But why? If it was indeed an illusion, then what did he hope to gain by upsetting me. If it was true, if this was indeed the real Umah…no, I wasn't prepared to imagine that just yet.

Either way still, Vorador had some answers for me. Answers he was going to give, whether he was inclined to or not.

I could sense that he had returned to the mansion, presumably after collecting his sire. Presently, he was on his way to the library, along with several other people; most likely Janos and his companions. Setting my face into the best scowl I could manage, I marched out of the room, emotional pain unlike anything I'd ever experienced burning through me as I proceeded down the empty and derelict corridors of Vorador's ruin.

"Vorador!" I almost shouted after kicking the door to the library open before leaping down the stairs to the ground level standing before the ancient vampire. He had indeed returned and stood there with Janos and his two other friends. A smug smile had crossed his face. "Explain yourself!" Vorador's expression was nearly unreadable. I had drawn the Reaver in utter rage without even realizing it. "Explain this at once!"

"I thought she might get your undivided attention Kain, good to see that you aren't the one who holds all of the cards." He replied flatly. I barred his fangs, my grip on the hilt of the Reaver tightening.

"And what Ace is this! Explain!" Vorador said nothing for a moment, looking amused at my distress.

"I think we should leave them alone to argue about this." Janos suggested, seeing me clench and unclench the hand I held the Reaver in. A hostile twitch in my eyes. "We'll be around the manor if you need us." Quickly, with Ewoden helping Sally up; the three of them left closing the door behind them.

The slamming or the door resonated through the ruins of the library and Vorador remained silent for as long as it remained. When it finally did stop, he sighed out load.

"What you saw in that bed chamber was no illusion Kain." He assured me. "That was Umah, and she is; in the physical sense, alive."

"You lie." I told him cut with uncertainty in my eyes all the same. "I'm not proud of it, but Umah is dead; that I know to be an absolute fact." I strode forward, violating Vorador's personal space. "I watched her die at my own hand." Fury suddenly burning the ancient eyes, he struck me across the cheek with his talons, forcing me to stagger backwards. Snapping back, I hissed at him angrily. A hostile silence endured for a moment, the distant roll of thunder from far away hanging in the air like the blade of a guillotine.

"You believe you killed her Kain." Vorador continued. "And indeed you nearly did. What you knocked Umah into was not death, but rather a coma like state. Very similar to the condition you were in after your defeat by the Sarafan Lord." I bared my fangs. Every word hitting away at me like a war hammer. "After the conflict at the Hylden gate, I returned to Meridian to retrieve her body. I found her, incredible week but alive. Using my magic to keep her from desecrating any further, I took her back here to my mansion to recover."

"You righteous bastard." I confronted him, pushing all of this out of my head. "You really think I'll be fooled by this story, made to feel any worse than I already do?" I turned away from him. "Umah is dead Vorador, that illusion you created can not take her place." The green vampire hissed out through his nostrils.

"Whether you accept it or not Kain, the fact remains that is Umah." I did no reply to that. Vorador was obviously trying to sway me. His mind games were not as advanced as Moebius' had been, but still they had a unique sting of their own that I was determined to keep clear of.

"Tell me, why do the Sarafan gain more power?" I asked, violently forcing the conversation away from what the ancient intended. "You told me their influence would dissipate as soon as their lord was dead. And the history that I know proved tha theory right." Vorador obtained a small grin, as if celebrating some victory he had. Perhaps he found satisfaction in having left me sour after his tricks.

"As I told you, these new Sarafan are under the jurisdiction of that cult; the eye of god." He began, deciding to humour me for a while. "They wield a magic just as potent as the ward gates, sunlight itself. How they do this, I do not know. No vampire has gotten close enough to see and returned alive." If what Vorador said was true, there was only two ways humans would master a weapon as potent as sunlight to use against us. One, the Hylden showed them. Although that was unlikely, without the gate they could not operate in this era. Or two, which seemed more probably, it was him.

-What do you know of this?- I asked Raziel inwardly. My first born was silent for a moment.

-It's possible.- He admitted, contemplating. - The Elder has access to many magic's. Harnessing sunlight as weapon might be within his power.- Raziel mused.

"And what of this cult?" I asked, anticipating my eldest's next inquiry. "Tell me, who are they?"

"Druids." Vorador replied flatly. "An order just as fanatical as the Sarafan in their dealings. They claim to be descendants of the original students of Bane." I remembered that name. Bane, the Druid; a member of the Circle of Nine. After the corruption set upon the pillars by Nupraptor the Mentalist, three of the guardians travelled to the foot of the northern mountains to begin work on their warped creation; Dark Eden. They were Dejoule the Energist, Anracothe the Alchemist and Bane the Druid. Combining their powers, they sent out a power wave of corruption that mutated everything it touched into a hideous parody of it's former self. I remember I had had to travel there to put a stop to that madness during my original quest. I had never heard of any human members of the circle having taken students though. I assumed that it had been an ancient practice. "Their fortress lies to the east, in the rich province of Willendorf. Their sway over the Ottmar line there is great." Vorador continued. "Using what remained of the Sarafan resources after the defeat of their lord, they quickly set themselves up as the new leaders of the crusade."

"Pah, humans and their politics." I sneered in contempt. Only a human could pathetic enough as to allow such things. In his empire, he had been the lord; the one commander above all. That had remained constant and as such, it had lasted for eons. "If…" I continued realizing something. "They are doing so well on the battlefield, then pray tell what happened to my army?" Vorador sank into one of the fe chairs that had not rotted away over time.

"After you killed the Sarafan lord, you went to the pillars to set up your new base of power." At least that part of history had not changed. "But the Sarafan Druids drove you out with sheer force and you were forced to retreat northwards, all the way to the ruins of Dark Eden itself." There could be no doubt in my mind now after that had been revealed. The time line had been altered. The only question that stuck in my mind was, if it had been changed; then why had my memories not changed along with it? Why could I not recall any of this ever happening? Had either myself or Raziel inadvertently done something to trigger this outcome, or perhaps it was the work of our enemies?

Well, no matter; right now I had more important things to think of. The Sarafan and their new sunlight magic would not be a problem once I restored the ancient vampires. Daylight could not hurt an ancient.

"Now, about our little deal." Vorador simply smiled smugly and held up the canister that Janos had brought with him.

"I can see why you need assistance." The ancient continued flatly. "This is a Hylden containment module. They use it to keep dangerous or potent substances from injecting those around it." He looked the canister over briefly. "Apparently they thought it best to keep whatever this thing is in something not even you could open." My patience was beginning to wane on this topic.

"Well, can you open it or not?"

"No." Was his prompt reply. "But…" Vorador quickly continued. "I know how you can."

"I'm listening."

He rose from his seat and crossed over to one of the book shelves. By now all the literature was gone, but instead of going for a non existent book he reached between the shelves to a small hidden panel. There was a sudden soft click and the shelves swung aside to reveal a metal panel. It was clearly of Hylden design, but I was unfamiliar with the technology used in it.

"Tell Me Vorador." I began as he read the directions on the runes. "During our battle, why did you cast the Reaver aside? Why did you not use it against me?" It was one of the many questions dogging me I wanted answered.

"While I created it, to me it is still your sword." He replied without looking back. "I would not degrade myself by using the blade you nearly destroyed Umah to win back." I scowled angrily at him. "The canister can not be opened by brute strength." He added getting back to the subject retracing a talon along the curved metal runes engraved in the surface. "It will only yield to the device used to put it together." Now we were getting somewhere.

"And just where is this device?" I asked. Vorador simply chuckled, turning back to face me.

"I have no idea. But…" He added quickly, reading my expression ."I should be able to find out, given enough time to research." Vorador paused for a moment, smiled and looked over towards the door. "You can stop eavesdropping now Ewoden, we aren't going to kill each other." He cast me a side glance. "Yet." I looked up as the former member of the Sarafan order poked his head through a crack in the large double door that served as the main entrance.

"Sorry, but I must inform you both of something." He began, stepped through the doorway completely.

"And what could a human tell me that could be of any worth?" I asked him contemptuously.

"Details about the Scion of Balance that perhaps even you may not know." Was the reply, without even so much as the slightest hint of fear I usually detected from those of his kind in my presence. In truth, I was mutely surprised he even knew of the title.

Briefly, he summed up a tale of an encounter with a werewolf; who in fact turned out to be Seroli smith, who gave him the Axes Havoc and Malice. At some point in my journey, I had used these axes myself. I was unsure of whether these weapons had already been used by me, or were destined to be. But what was more important was that this Seroli had predicted that the Scion of Balance was not the intended saviour of the vampires, but rather the liberator of all races. The question that stung me was, if the vampires themselves could not have foreseen my true purpose, then why had the Seroli?

"You!" Vorador exclaimed looked stunned. "You are the Scion of Balance?" I said nothing to him, instead I turned fully towards the human.

"If you are lying to me human…" He didn't reply. He simply countered my stare with one of his own, his green eyes as hard as emeralds behind the mess of red hair.

"Of all the people in the world." Vorador continued, narrowing his eyes at me. "You are the last person I ever expected to be Scion of Balance."

"You were Seroli once Vorador." I began, turning back to him. "What do you know of these tales they told?" The ancient was silent for a moment.

"The Seroli seers were never taken seriously, by any race." He admitted. "Neither Hylden nor Vampire would believe anything they predicted, even when so many times it proved true."

"Well they have my part in destiny correct." This perhaps might be a lead as to what I needed to do. If the Seroli seers did truly predict the Scion's true purpose, then perhaps a little bit of a research was in order. Vorador stood silently for a moment, his yellow eyes doing some calculating as in his mind he hurried to assemble some thoughts.

"Very well Kain, I'll make you another deal." He announced looking up. I narrowed an eye sceptically at him. "I'll see if I can find the location of the device needed to open the canister, and Ewoden here can see what he can dig up on the Seroli Seers." I failed to see what use this human could be off, but I didn't say anything. "In return, I need you to go to Willendorf and investigate this Druid Cult for me."

"You know I don't like doing peoples errands for them." I warned him, reminding him of my distaste for fetch and carry quests. Vorador just shrugged.

"You're getting something in return aren't you?"

It would be in our best interests to investigate these Druids anyway- Raziel told me. He was right. Perhaps if I paid them a visit, I could learn exactly what had happened to change the timeline so much.

"Very well."

Vorador and I had made an agreement. Tomorrow I would set out to the east, to the mining province of Willendorf. Until that time, I was free to use the manor to pass the time. However, there was one thing I knew had to be done here that could not avoided.

It was later that night when I summoned Janos Audron to me. I stood on the edge of a balcony overlooking Vorador's garden at the back of the estate when the ancient finally answered my call. He had had time to dress himself in something far more fitting then the rags I had found him in, a black and golden robe with two drapes running down the side of each shoulder over his chest.

"You wish to speak to me Kain?" He asked, folding his wings as he landed nearby. He had also had time to feed more on the blood he had summoned through magic. He no longer gave over the impression of weakness. Now he seemed to have some of his age old power back.

"Yes." I replied simply turning to face him.

-Go easy on him Kain- Raziel requested of me. –You are about to shatter some of his most deep rooted beliefs.- I ignored his sentimentally and approached the ancient vampire.

"Janos, you have certain misconceptions that have to be removed." If I was going to use his help in the future, then he had to know the truth; which for him was not going to be easy.

"Misconceptions?" Janos repeated, looking surprised. "What sort of misconceptions?" I was silent for a moment as I thought up a decent way reply.

"Let me ask you this…" I continued raising a talon. "Who are our true enemies?" The winged ancient actually looked confused that I should ask such question.

"The Hylden of course." Was his sure reply. Slowly I shook my head, folding my arms.

"I'm afraid not Audron." He stared at me with wide, utterly confused eyes. "The Hylden, while a threat, are not our immediate concern."

"What in Nosgoth are you taking about Kain?"

"You would make the Hylden out to be origin of all evil…" I began, realizing despite Raziel's protects that a soft hand would not be of any use here. If I was going to get the message across then I needed to hammer it into him. "Yet you; and your race were the ones who behaved like monsters in the wars between you." Janos opened his mouth to protest. "Don't argue with me Audron, I know full well it was the vampires who started the wars; not the Hylden."

"It was a crusade. Our faith told us what needed to be done. A holy war." He managed to reply, anger creeping onto his features.

"Not so different from the purges of the Sarafan I should imagine." I didn't let him get a word in. "The Hylden simply didn't follow the ways of your god and so you attacked, decimating their population simply because they did not believe in the wheel of fate."

"All are bound to the wheel Kain." Janos snapped. "Even those who do not wish to hear it."

"Oh I know that. All are prisoners of that lie, trapped in never ending circle."

"Lie!" Audron nearly burst out. "You dare profane our ancient faith with this blasphemy!"

"I dare because what you were taught, what all of your race where taught was a falsehood. A method of control created by a being who thrived on utter ignorance." In anger, Janos took a swing at me. I grabbed his fist before smashing me knee into his stomach. Crying out, he collapsed to his hands. "There you go Janos, with the branded emblem of all religion. Whenever someone questions your believes, your instinctive reaction is to try and hurt them." Slowly I drew the Reaver and placed the tip against his back, he froze, as if afraid I was about to impale him on it. However I had other ideas. The purifying energy of the Soul Reaver shot through his body, removing the veil that covered the sight of most other souls. The sudden rush through his body was unlike anything he had ever experienced before as Janos gasped out load. After a moment had passed, I put the Reaver back in its place.

What I had transferred to him was more than the purifying effect of the sword. I had also given him a glimpse at my memories, or more specifically; at my recollection of the Elder God. He saw the hideous, multi-tentacle form and the truth of the Wheel of Fate. He saw that destiny beheld those who worshiped it, their souls sucked down to sustain that monstrous creature. Then the beast had the audacity to claim god hood, controlling the vampires through his own religion. If anyone ever questioned the faith, they were dealt with harshly.

"No." He began, clutching the sides of his head. "No…it's a lie. God loves us….he does…!" I could now he was being shown my fight with the Elder God itself and now it had promised, like both the Sarafan and the Hylden to destroy all vampires in Nosgoth. Throughout everything, Janos had believed his god to be with them; helping their people, giving them strength. Yet all this time, it had been working with their enemies; trying to bring about their extinction. And all because their immortality stopped their souls from being absorbed into its body. Janos tried to force it back, but eventually the tears won out and he began to weep. The despair was almost too much for him to take in.

"Whether or not you choose to believe what you have seen is of little importance to me." I told him, purposely showing no remorse in my voice. "But if you want to keep your heart inside its chest, you need to know the truth."

"All is in darkness. God himself wants us dead." Janos wept. Muttering, I pulled him roughly to his feet.

"What you and your race worshipped was not God Audron, only a voice claiming to be it." I gestured to the Reaver on my back. "I've made it bleed Janos, it's a living creature; which means it can be killed. But first, I need to know; when did it first start talking to your people?" Janos remained silent, his tears flowing down his cheeks. "Tell me." Still he said nothing, a crumpled shell of his former self. Perhaps I had been just a little too direct. Right now, he probably ready to kill himself. "Janos, look at me." Slowly, he raised his eyes to look directly at me. "There's still hope. If I can get the canister open, if I can cure out people, then we can finally glide in the light again; wash in the seas and rivers and fly away from the Sarafan. We won't have to kill humans to stay alive anymore." Still he remained stationary. "Our females can have children again!" That caught his attention.

"What good is that?" Audron asked miserably. "Without immortally, we'd get dragged down to feed that liar sooner or later."

"Not if we kill him first."

"And how do you plan to kill something that runs from one tip of Nosgoth to the other?" That was a fair question. I had been able to injure it at one point, but since its body stretched through the underground of the land; it seemed like an impossible task to kill all of it.

"I'll find a way." I replied. "Somehow, I'll find a way."