Chapter 34: Kain

The infamous' provincial mines were a place of continued almost ritualistic death. Slaves working there over the centuries had been killed by the score, either by rock falls or under the near perverse whip of their overseers. Now that the Sarafan gave the orders amongst the humans, the slaves were being forced to work throughout the day and night to produce tones of ore to be refined into metals for use in the Orders' army.

I had possessed human slaves himself, but the sight of these mines sickened even me. Corpses, old and fresh, lay everywhere without any thought given for burial or sanitation. From the wounds on the bodies it was clear most of them had been whipped, one poor wretch had had his entire back caved in. I had not treated my slaves well, I can not deny that, but even I showed them dignity.

"Come to Midguard." I repeated, finding the image of a wolf still haunting my mind. Why I obeyed its summons I didn't know, considering I had far more important matters to attend to, but something told me that it was vitally important I go. Still, this seemed like time I could not afford to waste.

"I suppose you could put it down to sabotage of Sarafan supplies." Raziel suggest, sensing my uneasiness. A grin spread across my face. I could live with 'sabotage'.

The residual image felt by that strange link showed me the mines entrance and a tunnel within that I must find within. It would take me to where I was being summoned. I had been to the mines before. As a fledgling vampire, my quest had drawn me down into it and to the tomb of Ottmar's ancestor. I had never taken the opportunity to explore the mines completely.

Crouching behind a rocky outcrop on the outskirts of the mines entrance, I watched and waited. The slaves and workers were switching shifts now, a steady line of exhausted looking men, woman and even children marching out. The way they dragged their shovels and picks showed they were close to collapsing. In the opposite direction, fresher looking people went in. All of it was being overseen by several large fat men armed with whips to keep the lines moving. Several ordinary Sarafan guards stood around the perimeter and one of them was taking a leak behind a dead tree. Most of them were ordinary foot soldiers but by the watch towers were several archers.

"There are no garrisons nearby." Raziel's form whispered, shimmering into translucent form beside me. "We do not have to rely on stealth anymore." I counted the guards and including the slave drivers they numbered twenty in all. Nodding once, I slowly drew the Soul Reaver and held it at arms length. Raziel disappeared, his attention focused back into the sword.

The first guard didn't even see his death coming. The tip of the Reaver smashed through the front of his chest, tearing out bone and armour as it went. Falling limp he crashed to the ground. Before the others could react I was charging at them, the Reaver swinging around in an arch. Two of them were sliced in half, their top halves flying into the air.

"Vampire!" The cry went up and the archers began to draw their bows. Grabbing one of them telekinetically, I tore him off the ground and using him as a weapon; I smashed through the wooden legs of the watch tower. With no support it began to swing to the side.

Then it fell, landing on top of the archers as they loosed their arrows. Dodging the projectiles with ease, I ran forward at the remaining guards.

Before any of them could so much as draw their swords, heads started rolling. Their blood flowed from their bodies as they ruptured open and its sweet taste restored me, fending the hunger off.

Seeing this, the slavers dropper their whips and a made a run for it. Before they were out of range, I took hold of them with telekinesis and threw them forced with such force that went they smashed into the trees their necks were instantly broken.

The human slaves watched in fear as I straightened up and with one swift motion, slid the Soul Reaver back into place.

"Be gone." I told them without looking back. They needed no further encouragement. They dropped their picks and ran, almost scrabbling over each other for the now unguarded exit.

"I thought you might arrive before myself." Glancing up, I saw the Hylden Seer crouched on an overhanging branch. "Destiny will always make you the fastest Kain."

"Seer, I have done as you asked. I have resurrected William." I called up as she slid over the side and fell to the ground with acrobatic grace. "Now, tell me what I want to know." She shook her head.

"All will be revealed at Midguard Kain, it is, after all, why we have been summoned here."

"Summoned?"

"We have a purpose Kain, all nine of us. The time of election draws near." Again there was that phrase, 'the time of Election'. The Druid Aurora had used it before and seemed surprised that I was not familiar with it. "We are already here; we should wait for the other seven to arrive before we can begin."

"I grow tired to these games Seer; I want to know precisely what is going on."

"Patience is a virtue Kain, one I suggest you adopt." With that, she turned away and crossed her arms. Instead of pressing the issue, knowing full well I would never get a straight answer I decided to let it drop for now. Answers had been promised and all I had to do was wait.

Raziel's projected form manifested itself nearby and the Seer gave him a glance. She smiled, before turning away again. Hours began to melt away and the night encroached, one by one the stars opening across the sky.

It was the Seer who first noticed company. She turned her head and gazed off towards the south, down the long stretch of road that lead down towards the city Province. Then I heard it, the loud clattering of horse's hooves and the churning of wheels. Out of the nights gloom came a horse drawn carriage. The man driver the two horses on was dressed in black with upturned collars and a top hat, as if afraid to show his face.

The carriage stopped a short distance away and the door opened. Two knights of the Willdendorf Militia came out, clad in their white armour with the red lion of the king on their breast plate. Even in centuries their armour design had not changed. It was men wearing armour such as this that had made up the army of hope in the battle of the last stand.

After them came Princess Alicia Ottmar, descendant of King Ottmar; the man I had returned the soul of his daughter to after it had been confiscated by the mad toy maker Elzevir. She had changed from elegant gowns expected from a princess into something more fitting for travel outside the palace. Simple clothes made from common materials.

"So you were summoned as well?" The Seer asked. "I had a feeling you might be one of the nine, you had all the deserving qualities of the candidate."

"I left my kingdom at a most inopportune time." She replied as the carriage door shut behind her. "The Sarafan's political power is beginning to wane, but if they triumph in the battle against the clans in the northern mountains then their hold becomes absolute. It is becoming harder for my resistance movement to counter them." She gestured to the two knights at her side. They descended to one knee and removed their helms to reveal their faces. "These are my body guards." Alicia explained. "Fitzroy…" My sight was drawn to the man at her left. He was young, barely out of his twenties with short chestnut brown hair. "And Jessup." The other was considerably older with a thick grey bread and moustache but not a wrinkle on his face. "They are loyal to me and my cause. They will not betray us."

"It would be of little consequence if they did." I replied. It was not as if either of them could do anything to hurt me. It was about then that the Princess caught sight of the now ghostly Raziel. She said nothing but her eyes looked the image over in apartment distress.

"I will not harm you." Raziel assured her. "But keep in mind, that you can not harm me." That next statement seemed to be addressed to the two knights who had their hands on the hilt of their swords. Seemingly satisfied with this, the Princess waved to her coach man; who nodded once and turned the carriage around. It made a retreat back down to the road and vanished into the night.

"So Seer, what is this Midguard?" She asked addressing the Hylden.

"You will not get an answer out of her." I replied instead. "Better to wait and see for yourself." Time began to slip by as we waited. Patience's were wearing thin, mostly my own; but I could see that Alicia did not like waiting outside in the cold.

The air seemed to open up suddenly and two figures leapt out of the darkness, landing with acrobatic ease on the ground nearby. Fitzroy and Jessup drew their blades as they sensed an enemy. The scent that reached my nostrils was that of a wild animal, but intermixed was a familiar smell.

"Hold, we mean no harm." One of them said in a familiar voice. Now they were in the light I could see one of them to be the former Sarafan Knight Ewoden. His silver armour had been dented and torn in places and now it was mostly insulating furs. Two axes, Havoc and Malice were strapped in an 'X' across his back and a Sarafan style longbow was at his side. He seemed more weathered than the last time I laid eyes on him, several new scars lancing down across his cheek.

His companion was a larger man wearing the same style armour. His hair was a plume arching up over his head. "Kain? What are you doing here?"

"Like you I was summoned." I replied to his startled question. "Don't ask me why, talk to the Hylden over there. That's if of course you can pry anything from between her lips."

"Hylden?" The former knight repeated. He glanced the Seer over before apparently growing disinterested. "Where is Sally? I felt her through the link. She was summoned here too."

"She had yet to arrive." The Seer replied. "She and Vorador will not be long; they'll be bringing most of the others with them." Her gaze wandered to Ewoden's companion.

"Friend of yours?" I asked giving the man a similar glance.

"This is Obelisk, member of the Seroli smiths." He replied. "He's been helping me with a…er little problem." I decided not to press into the topic and let my gaze wander off.

Suddenly the light from the half moon above was eclipsed and this caught all our attention. Glancing up, we saw a form silhouetted by the moon. A pair of wide feathered and dark wings spread wide from the shoulders. Then it plummeted to the ground, cascading down until he was only a few feet from the ground. It tried to slow its descent but its landing was rough. It tumbled down across the ground until it rolled to a stop nearby.

"William?" I asked glaring down as the fledgling vampire picked himself up. When his eyes met mine I could tell that the emotionally immature being I had revived barely a night before was gone. His flaxen yellow eyes burning into me, filled with intense anger; but confusion and fear lurking behind it like a shadow.

"Kain." He replied, his new wings folding themselves behind him. His coat had been torn and all that remained of it hung around his waist, tied back by a leather belt. "Why didn't you tell me?" I didn't reply to that. "I was human…and then you killed me. Why?"

"I don't know what you mean." I told him trying to maintain a straight face but by then it was too late to bluff it out.

"I was a king… the memories are still blurred and all I can make out are hazy images of a cherished life of nobility; but the one thing I do recall all too clearly is you taking my life." His confrontation tone set my nerves on edge.

"I took your life because if I did not you would have raped all of Nosgoth." I finally replied. "You may have been loved by your people then, but in time that would changed. People would curse you as their Nemesis, the bringer of death and destruction to the land.

You were young and only just starting out, completely inexperienced as a leader. You were vulnerable then and only then." Silence endured between the two of us.

"Then why did bring me back?" He asked after that moment had endured.

"Because without you I can not accomplish my own goals." I told out straight. "I made a mistake in killing you. Because of your sainted death, the people cursed the vampires instead of the Nemesis as their enemy and now this blood stained history is the result.

I'm still trying to figure out which was has been worse; the wrath of the Nemesis' horde or Moebius' vampire hunters."

"It matters not." The seer announced before either of us could argue any further. "William was summoned here because his destiny stretches beyond the need we have for him. Whether for good or ill, you revived him because it was meant to be Kain. He is your son."

"He is not my father." William spat and turned away.

"And he is not my son." I added in spite at his back. The fledgling shuddered before he continued on. I had not enjoyed that exchange. It had felt like I had been saying the same words to any of my other offspring.

"Are we all on the same side?" Ewoden asked out load looking confused.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Raziel replied with a shrug. William wandered off and sat himself down on a rocky slab, his head hung low and his wings folded around him protectively. I stood away from him, by back to them all and my arms folded.

William glanced up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. His eyes met the smile of Alicia. Not a word passed between them; they each recognised the soul of the other through the link they had all briefly shared.

"Vorador and Janos are the last to arrive." The seer announced. "They should be bringing the remaining two with them as well. Only once we are all here can we get started." Even as she spoke the beginnings of a translocation spell began to gather nearby, the air twitching and bubbling with magic. Then the physical manifestation took place and four figures began to emerge. Even before the spell was complete one of them hurled itself out of the midst and tackled Ewoden to the ground.

"Your alive, you're alive!" Sally nearly wept into his shoulder, her arms wrapped around his shoulder. "I thought the Sarafan… oh you're alive!" My eyes wandered away from the pathetic romantic scene to those who had just come along with her.

Janos was the first to arrive, stepping out of the spells depths and spreading his wings into the night. He looked like he was about to say something but it was then he sighted the Hylden seer and the words died in his throat. Vorador came next, but my eyes were not drawn to him; they were instantly captivated by who he was helping steady herself.

I shut out my eyes at the sight, unable to accept it.

"Do not be a coward. If you truly feel remorse Kain, then open your eyes." Vorador told me sharply and I found myself obeying. In his arms was Umah.

Her hair was out of its ponytail, falling like running away across her shoulders. Her eyes were half open and fixed directly on me.

"Kain." Even the sound of her voice was like a war hammer to my soul. Once more the image of that night where I took her life, putting my ambition before my heart; replayed in my mind. "Kain… please, talk to me."

"And say what?" I asked. "For me it's been over a thousand years and I can still recall our last meeting with crystal clarity. I killed you…" I looked her directly into the face. "What could you possibly have to say to your murderer?" She gently slipped out of Vorador's arm and tried to steady herself on her own two feet.

"Only that I understand." She replied. "You are not the monster you once where. You have changed."

"Have I?" I asked. "You were only one in a line of many people who have had their blood spilled by my hands."

"I can vouch for that." William added with a hint of venom in his voice. I ignored him; I was too preoccupied with this moment than with his quips.

"What would you prefer Kain?" She asked. "That I harbour hatred against you? That I would try to exact vengeance and hunt you mercilessly to that end?"

"I'm so used to that it would be far more comfortable."

"Well I will not. We were both in the wrong. We both should have had more faith."

"Faith?" I asked. "Just what does the word 'faith' mean to me?" Unable to take anymore I turned away. "Until I know for myself what it means you are dead to me." I walked off leaving Umah in the arms of her sire.

"You go to far Kain." Vorador began angrily, but was silenced when she held out an arm to stop him.

"Let him do what he must." She glanced up at my retreating back. "But regardless of his decision I am not leaving his side."

"As entertaining as this is, we have more pressing issues." The seer reminded us all. "Time is not a resource we can afford to loose."

"Indeed." Vorador replied regaining his composure. "We left the Cabal at a very bad time. The battle between the clans and the Order is almost about to begin. I hope this trip will not take much time."

"It will take as much time as it needs to." The seer stated. "Midguard is the place I went to escape when the pillars banished my people. It exists beyond borders of the known world and is a place of destiny.

It was there I learned all I know and from which place I learned what path I would take, if I was deemed worthy by fate; true fate and not the manipulations of the Elder. But I will explain more on the way. Come, Midguard beckons."