"Pretty soul…yes… a fine replacement." Elzevir began, a sadistic and unholy hunger filling his eyes as he laid the rag doll on a side podium next to the table. "Why couldn't you have let me have the original? The original princess Alicia… she was an air head. Your kingdom was better off without her. But you send that filthy undead to reclaim her… SHE WAS MINE!!!"
The doll maker was frothing at the mouth and once he'd finished ranting, he wiped it away from the side of his mouth. There was no doubt left now. The king could see that he was insane.
"Why…why did Sabre betray me…" He breathed, unable to comprehend why the Sarafan leader would deliver the royal family into the hands of its greatest enemy; a legendary evil which had pursued them for hundreds of years.
"I don't care." Elzevir replied indifferently. "Apparently he wants your bloodline dead. Perhaps he wants the throne himself. As long as I get what I want, it matters little to me."
"Now…father… now do you see?" Alicia asked. "Please… please listen to me. I know you love your god but the Sarafan do not. They only pretend to."
"Shut up!" One of the guards told her sharply, spitting each word.
"Please, father, see them for the monsters they are." The Princess carried on anyway, ignoring him even as a sword was sharply drawn. "See the injustices they've committed on our people."
"I said, shut up!"
Looking up, Elzevir could see a sword blade about to plunge into the princess' exposed stomach. He held up his hand quickly, drawing runes in the air with his forefinger. There was a sharp discharge of elemental magic, a bolt of lightning coursed through the air. It smacked into the guard with a tremendous clap, electricity roasting the man inside his own armour.
Trailing smoke, the blackened carcass collapsed to the floor.
"I need her alive, you idiots!" The doll maker snapped. "The two of you left, just keep that cretin in a crown from interfering." Elzevir moved closer to the princess and took a hold of one of the locks of long hair.
"NO! Stop it!" The king carried out, struggling against those holding him. A fist encased in chain-mail smashed itself into his stomach, the blow winding him. The king doubled over, saliva and blood flying from his mouth.
"Why don't we just kill him?" One of them asked, grabbing the king by his hair.
"No, I want him to witness this." Elzevir told them without looking back. "But once I'm finished, feel free."
The two guards chuckled and one of then punched the king again for good measure.
Elzevir snipped the scissors once in the air before bringing them down and removing a small lock of chestnut hair from the princess.
There was something special about the scissors and when they cut the hair, Alicia gasped as she felt the anchors that held her soul in place loosen. It felt like dying… she felt cold, displaced and tired.
"Stop it… stop…" The king was silenced by another blow to the stomach.
Elzevir brought the hair in his grasp over to the doll, preparing to nail it in place. Before he could, the door to the chamber burst inward; flying forth until it smashed against the large collection of alchemical equipment against the far wall.
Elzevir glanced up in alarm as the shape of an angel was silhouetted against the light pouring in. A pair of glowing, golden eyes stared him down and in utter alarm; the doll maker dropped the pair of scissors he was holding.
The spell was interrupted and the anchoring keeping Alicia's soul in place reasserted itself.
"William…" She breathed, looking up. Despite the change of skin colour, the wings and cloven hands; she knew it was him. She could feel it, like a faint tingle at the back of her mind.
"What…what are you?" Elzevir asked, trembling as he backed away. The angel moved into the room, the raven black feathers of his wings trailing softly on the floor. With a furrowed brow, William glanced at the shackles keeping the princess in place. One by one they broke open in a sharp spray of magic particles.
Alicia sat back up and looked directly at him. While it was William, she could also sense a change beyond the physical. William had been so unsure of himself, so insecure and timid. This William was different. The way he stood there, unblinking… he was so confident.
"Its quite simple who I am."
He walked purposely past both Alicia and Elzevir, steadily up to the two men holding the king. The Sarafan guards were staring at him with wide eyes and stunned expression adorned their faces.
"I am the Nemesis."
His moves lightening fast, his fists smashed into their faces. Their helmets were thrown clear as the two of them collapsed to the ground.
"Are you alright?" William asked, helping the king up. The old man simply stared at him with clear awe.
"William!" Alicia declared sharply from behind him. Glancing back, the angelic being could see another figure in the doorway.
"The Nemesis? So you realized you're potential and across the depths of time. Interesting."
Sabre, leader of the Sarafan Order, was clad in full white armour and in one hand he was holding his pure, double edged sword.
William turned to face him completely.
"You bested Swift. Congratulations." Sabre continued but there was clearly an underlying note of disaffection. "I'm actually impressed with you're sides candidates. Now… the only candidates for election I have left are Anubis, myself and that snivelling weasel over there."
"Master Sabre, protect me please!" Elzevir begged.
"Why?" Sabre asked indifferently. "You've already failed. Malek betrayed us, Archon betrayed us and you are a miserable failure. I leave you now to your fate. The Lord will deal with you soon."
He flicked his sword blade up towards William.
"Kain is on his way here. I will hunt himsoon enough but I do believe I'll warm up by killing you."
William just managed a grin.
"You're a sore looser." He commented dryly.
"Looser? Not yet. As long as I win the election for the Pillar of Balance, I will prevail regardless of other elections. Even by combining with his younger self, Kain is still no match for me. But I believe I've said all I need to."
There was a short moment of silence.
Sabre leapt at William, sword drawn back ready to stab forward. William flew back against the wall, darting out of the way as the blade sank into the stone where he had so recently been.
"Why Lord Sabre…why?" The king asked, staring up as the Sarafan leader withdrew his sword; a thick sadistic grin on his face. Sabre ignored him and ran at William, attempting to run the vampire through. Flying back out the door, William drew him away.
The fight exploded through a window and the two of them burst out onto a rooftop. In the courtyard of the fort below, the peasantry had overpowered the guards on the front gates and were now storming into the fortress. There was no stopping them now. They'd be taking control of this stronghold within the hour.
The other garrisons around the city had already been taken down and only this one remained. With the Sarafan army in the north crushed as well, this meant, for the first time in history that mankind was now free from Sarafan control.
The order, the original order, had been created by Moebius in the days of the Ancient Vampires. They had been an honourable vanguard of knights, refusing to allow the Ancients to kidnap their children.
Over the years their objectives changed, probably due to Moebius' shining influence, and they became the tyrannical rulers they were today.
Kain emerged out of the translocation spell with Umah wrapped in his arms, landing softly on the edge of the battlements the two of them had a perfect view of the swarm of people moving across the bridge.
"Have we won?" Umah asked.
"Against the Sarafan puppets? Yes." He replied, setting her down. "But not against the ultimate player."
This… new existence… was something Kain was going to have to get used to. It was so very odd. He had deliberately created a paradox not once by twice. First by running his former self through and then by merging with his former self, right before he died.
In doing so, at least according to the Midgard wolf, Kain now occupied the position his former self had held in this timeline.
The act reformed the very nature of history… and that reforming was still in flux. What history became; the behaviour of destiny; now depended on the outcome of the Election. So far things were going in their favour. Vorador, Janos, Ewoden, William and Sally had won their elections. Five of the Pillars of Nosgoth had been restored. Four more remained.
But Kain was distracted. Ever since he had joined with his younger self, Kain had been aware of a buzzing. It was like many people where whispering to him in his ear. The sound, at the moment, was so small that it could be ignored but slowly its volume was beginning to increase.
At this rate it would become deafening before too long.
Perhaps this was the price for having the power necessary to accomplish this mission.
"Take this." He stated, handing the vial containing the cure to Umah. "Go find the Princess. I believe she will be nearby and the Seer will meet you there."
Kain turned his head sharply to the left.
"Ah. William is here as well." Suddenly Kain's expression became angered. "And so is Sabre." He spread his wings out wide and took hold of the Reaver in both hands, its elemental energy sparking to life.
"What about Vorador and the Cabal?" She asked, looking up at him.
"They'll catch up soon. We have to move now, quickly!" Without another word he took to the air.
--
"You're mine yet!" Elzevir snarled, facing the princess, snatching up the scissors from the floor. "I'll remake my love with your soul… you see… I will… I WILL!" Alicia slid off the table and took out a sword from one of the unconscious guards on the floor. She held the weapon clumsily before her.
"Stay away from my daughter you fiend!" The king called out, struggling to get back to his feet but after being hit so many times he couldn't get up.
Something within Alicia told her that this was a special moment. Something would be decided here. Something very important.
She dodged Elzevir's lunge and rolled, coming to a stop by the bottles of alchemic equipment nearby. Desperately, her free hand searched for something that could help her.
It was then she picked up the bottle and without hesitating, she flung it right at the doll maker.
Elzevir knew what bottle it was and staggered back, desperately trying to avoid it.
"NO!!" He screamed but his protests could not prevent the bottle breaking open on him. The glass contained a spell, one he had bottled himself, for bottled spells were easier to use than convention ones. The user need only remove the cork for it to work. The label on the top read 'Font of Putresce'.
The affects were so horrible that the king emptied his stomach on the spot. Giant leeches, gold instead of black, emerged out of the doll maker's skin and they began to eat him from the inside out. His screams of pain were cut short as his throat was infested with leeches, dozens of them dropping out of his mouth. His eyes dissolved in their seconds, devoured by the leeches and a few even began dropping out his ears.
Slowly but surely they dissolved his entire body, even his clothes broke down as he sank down becoming a thick red puddle of skin, blood and internal organs.
As Elzevir died, Alicia felt a sudden surge and a connection within herself. She felt the presence of a few of the others she had met at Midgard and what they were doing right now. William was fighting with Sabre. Sally and Ewoden were charging through the chaotic streets of the city in search of a friend. Vorador and Janos Audron were accompanying an army of Cabal and Clan vampires on their way to Willendorf, perusing the remnants of the Sarafan force as they went.
Far away in the south west of Nosgoth, another of the broken and grey pillars was empowered with new life. The Pillar of States glowed brightly once before its pieces started fitting back together; reforming themselves back into their original undefiled state.
Thus was the Election for the Pillar of States decided and Elzevir, the mad doll maker and his ages old anonymity for the Ottmar family finally put to rest.
"What….what kind of world is this?" The kind asked, dragging his daughter away from the slathering leeches as they finished their meal. "Why is this happening?"
"I can answer that for you, your majesty."
The king whirled around. Standing there in the doorway were four figures. One was Umah, the second was the Hylden Seer and the third was Archon. The forth one was a Hylden Alicia had never seen before, male by appearance and quite skinny compared to the Seer.
"Lord Archon, what is happening? I don't understand." The king asked, moving towards the well dressed man.
"Its time you know the truth, my liege." Archon told him. "And Umah here…I believe that's your task isn't it?"
Umah blinked and then she realized why Kain had taken her along with him when they teleported ahead of the army. Somehow, he knew what she was supposed to do here.
The king of Willendorf was her opponent for the Pillar of Death. But to claim it, she did not have to kill him.
Umah led the king out onto the battlements. From there they could see beyond the thin stretch of water that separated the fort from the rest of the city. Willendorf was fraught with chaos. There were dozens of fires and the streets were clogged with people.
"It's a revolution!" The king cried in dismay.
"Yes it is." Umah agreed. "But this is long overdue. Your people have been crying out for help, crying to you to save them. The Sarafan have brutalised them, forced them to submit. And they cried to you for help… but the Sarafan had you wrapped around their little finger."
The king stood there on the battlements, beholding the city and province in ruled, perhaps for the first time in the light of truth.
"I'm sorry father…" Alicia told him a bare whisper.
"It was all…it was all for the glory of god…" The king began weakly.
"A fine excuse." Umah replied. "It sounds good and moral but look out upon this city… see the results of the Sarafan brutality and then tell us again… that this for the glory of god."
The king broke down into tears and when the first one struck the ground, he had lost the election for he, unknowingly, had been Sabre's candidate for the Pillar of Death.
The guardianship past to Umah and miles away, alongside the newly restored Pillar of States, the pillar of Death restored itself.
Only two pillars were left. The Pillar of Time and the Pillar of Balance. With the mass majority of the Pillars restored, life within Nosgoth was almost at the point of regeneration. There was new grass growing around the base of the pillars the leaves on the dead trees were sudden return; growing greener and more full almost with every passing minute.
Without warning, with wings of light protruding from his back, Sabre came flying up directly in front of the startled group. Grinning sadistically, he tossed the limp body of William at them by the ankle; knocking them all over.
"William!" Alicia scrambled to the winged vampire. He was alive, but just barely. His arms and legs were covered in deep slash marks. His feathers and hair matted by blood. One of his arms was broken.
"You can keep him for now." Sabre laughed, turning about to face his next opponent. "But for this moment, let the hunt begin!"
Kain came flying out of the darkness and brought the Reaver crashing down. With a clash of elemental forces, their swords clashed.