Warning: This story will contain violence, language, and you will notice the extremely convenient situations that will most likely be confusing at first.
Disclaimer: I don't own any idea or character from the Drakengard franchise. Those rights are reserved to the creators and distributors to a lesser extent.
In summary I'm sorry if this has been ultimately confusing and futile it's just, by experience, I've found that if I give any clues at all this early in the game (hey, a pun) then ultimately it becomes REALLY obvious what I'm up to so sorry to keep readers in the dark. Oh yeah and I'm physically incapable of writing anything short (or well for that matter) so this may take awhile. Hmm sounds just like I'm whining. Well I'm writing this out of love so take it with a grain of salt. Drakengard plushies for everyone.
Vein of Grief
Chapter 3
"I heard a dragon too," Nowe said. It was pitch black but he still raised his eyes to the sky in search of it. The voice was far off but the desert was so silent that it had carried on the winds. There was no sign of a dragon from where he stood. The blind man fidgeted and tapped his guide stick on the stone.
"If she doesn't know where he is…" Leonard started. Nowe looked back at him curiously.
"…This Caim you spoke of, is he connected to the dragon somehow?" Nowe asked.
"Yes. They are deeply connected though not by choice. It is a pact that binds them," Verdelet explained.
"A pact? With a human? That's quite unusual," Nowe started. He turned as he suddenly could hear the beating of wings from behind. His eyes widened as he saw the dragon. She was smaller then Legna but her crimson scales seemed to light up the very night. She landed just outside of the dais.
"Humans. Do you know where my pact partner is?"
Verdelet shook his head. "We have not seen him since you went out to try and protect the desert seal. We only found young Nowe here at the center and he claims to been the only one around."
"How does one human just suddenly disappear?"
Nowe took in his breath sharply when her yellow eyes came to rest upon him. He saw her slit-like pupils dilate and she let out a subtle laugh. If he hadn't been around Legna for so many years then it would have been impossible to discern it from any other sound that a dragon could make.
"How fascinating. What exactly are you?"
Nowe stepped back. It just got odder and odder. "I don't understand what you mean."
"You are free to say that, child."
Verdelet cleared his throat; it had been a whole two seconds since he had said something cryptic after all.
"Mighty dragon, I ask for your assistance. We will search for Caim but the important thing is protecting the other seals."
"I will stay. My fate is too mingled with you humans to try and separate now. I must find Caim."
Nowe felt his body relax as he realized that the dragon wasn't hostile. He half-expected her to question him more thoroughly but to the contrary she seemed…amused at just seeing him. He smiled and moved closer toward her.
"I know he mentioned me by name but I'm Nowe."
"Yes. You may call me what you will."
Nowe jerked as he saw all three of the others present sway in place. It was so oddly in unison, almost comical. Verdelet put his hand to his head.
"I heard a voice from afar… from the Imperial Gaol, asking for help."
"That is no concern of ours."
Nowe looked from the humans to the Dragon. "Tell me, are you all involved in a pact?"
Leonard nodded.
So if Nowe's knowledge of history was to be believed then a group of pact partners were responsible for the world not slipping into total chaos. He smiled to himself. To think it's still looked on as an entirely depraved act.
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The Grand Shrine was truly a monument to the power that mankind thought he had. As soon as the night sky cleared and the first orange rays of dawn were visible on the horizon he could see the complex rising near the edge of the sea. The fields and grass were a lively green as opposed to the dead area he had been witness to at the start of this strange journey.
Since leaving the house of the poor couple, Caim had run into a few of these 'Knights of the Seal'. Not only was he vastly unimpressed, he was willing to fight but for some reason they thought he was some sort of recruit. They didn't hesitate in giving him directions to this Grand Shrine.
It sounded like a good enough invitation to him.
Through the long night and the short morning, Caim tried to think of his situation. He had agonized as much as he was capable as to what his plan of action was. Nothing made any sense yet. To be honest, he didn't have a clue where exactly he was and what he was doing, apparently eighteen years in the future. His mind constantly went back to the war that he was supposed to be participating in not to mention his sister and Inuart. The man was lost to battle without Caim and his unit, the castle could fall at any time…oh wait it probably had.
The soldier paused before the large portcullis to the Grand Shrine, the only way in on foot. Everything was closed but there were four men on duty, presumably to let in anyone they deemed worthy. Caim felt his nonexistent patience wane so he went on his instincts when the front guard addressed him. He glared. The man didn't look fazed.
"State you business here. You don't look like the right sort to approach the Grand Shrine in broad daylight."
Caim didn't even try and think about what he meant by that. He reached back and gripped the hilt of his sword before nodding toward the gates. The man's expression didn't alter in the slightest.
"What, can't you talk? You want to break down the gate?"
Caim shook his head. At both.
"So what, you mute? How'd that happen?"
To this he rolled his eyes and shrugged. A second guard came up and nudged his comrade's armored shoulder with his spear.
"Say how are we supposed to figure out what he wants if he can't talk?"
His impression of the Knights diminished by the second. Caim was already suffering from battle withdrawal and these morons weren't helping.
"Oi, maybe he's too dumb to talk!" chimed the third. Caim's eyes flitted to him.
"Don't crowd me, I'm trying to figure this out," snapped the first. He rubbed the upturned visor of his helmet and looked Caim up and down again.
"Say you wouldn't happen to be one of the bounty hunters that General Gismor hired to take care of that Dragonboy?"
Sounded like a good enough excuse. Caim nodded and grabbed his sword hilt again to reaffirm this. That and if they decided to not let him in then he could always work off some of his excess frustration. The men nodded and the other two guards backed up in preparation.
"Raise the gate!"
The earth shook as the men on the other side of the gate strained and turned the crank. It slowly rose. Caim crossed his arms and observed, unimpressed. It was clearly just a show of the Grand Shrine's arrogance that the entryway was so large. He ignored the guards and moved right through to get his first look at the interior.
There was more green vegetation on the inside and buildings clustered together in well spaced clumps. The main part of the Grand Shrine took the form of a sort of castle, obviously where the Knights made their headquarters.
Caim walked on the makeshift road toward this central area. He and a small, marching teams of Knights were the only ones out. It was deafeningly quiet, even nature itself seemed to diminish inside the gates.
Unfortunately, the silence only ceased to annoy Caim further as all he had to do was think. For the first time he could remember he was utterly clueless. He didn't have a purpose or a battle. The only reason to travel this road was just to be in search of another one. He allowed himself a mirthful smile. Well, a soldier's life suited him just fine. He met the eyes of the knights as he drew level with them. The man in the lead, who wore a blue sort of cape over his gleaming silver armor, held the young man's eyes for a time as they passed. He was the first to look away though and Caim felt baleful happiness in this small victory.
"Halt. What business do you have at the Grand Shrine?" Asked a black-armored man. Caim had arrived at the front of two larger then life wooden doors, the entrance to the Knight's castle or as Caim thought of it, more showing off.
Caim didn't directly pay him any mind. He turned his attention past what was before him. He could hear the clash of steel against steel from inside and the scent of sweat and blood emitted clearly from inside this additional gate.
"Bastard."
The mute soldier put his hand up to block the black guard's sword as it came crashing down toward him. It clashed against his armor and Caim easily threw the broadsword off.
"Tell me what you're doing here," he demanded, harsher then before. You would think that he'd have more faith in the first line of guards. They were the ones who let him in in the first place. Caim shook his head and pointed to his throat.
"Can't talk, eh? How am I supposed to believe you? If you're mute then you should have some papers declaring where you come from and why you're here."
Caim shrugged. It appeared that this was the end of the line for him. He turned to leave but as he did there came the swift sound of something heavy flying through the air. Caim leapt forward and drew his sword, allowing it to make a fine whistle on the air as it swiftly met the black soldier's blade. The only visible part of his opponent, the eyes, widened in shock.
Caim rolled away and sprung back to his feet. He held his sword out with a look that clearly said 'just try it and you're dead'. The soldier drew back and sheathed his sword.
"Get out of here before I have you shot."
How brave. Caim's twisted smile was the last thing the guard saw before the young soldier turned his back and started to walk back the way he came. Needless to say, it unnerved the man. Caim heard his breath quicken and he turned to quietly knock on the metal doors three times in a row.
His smile didn't falter. Perhaps he made a good decision in coming to the Grand Shrine after all. An arrow sailed over his head and the young man turned to see that the gates were already open. A regiment of knights and archers poured out from the interior, stone courtyard.
He drew his sword again and turned to face his attackers. Caim's mind became simpler when he was in battle, all excess buzzing of the small amount of humanity left within him faded.
Perhaps it was this odd clarity that created the correct conditions. As the first soldier fell to his blade, Caim felt a sharp pain in his head, like there was something inside that was trying to claw its way out. He put his free hand to his forehead, just to make sure that he wasn't bleeding. His vision blurred for half a second and Caim writhed with pain. The pain rose in a crescendo, such that he didn't feel the arrow that reopened the wound in his shoulder.
"Caim. Ca-im."
There was another voice in his head but this was far more real and substantial then the woman's voice from before. Caim gripped his scalp harder and screamed soundlessly as he tore through the ranks of the soldiers with the combination of force and fire.
His eyes shifted from one side to the other like he was a cornered animal. He spun to see additional soldiers coming up from behind as well. He drew his sword in a circle around his body and launched himself at the new line. He tried to push the harsh voice back. His entire body ached but there was no way he could rest.
"Caim. Ca-im."
I've modified parts of the story for convenience so it makes more sense as I go along. Besides they've been displaced so who's to say that everything would be the same at all, right? I'm going on themapsfor each game and ignoring the fact that they're bizarrely inconsistent.Oh FYI, this is a little confusing but Caim got taken from the far past and Nowe was shifted to a point quite a bit later then that. Caim was pushed to pretty much when Nowe left so that's an easy exchange to remember. Thanks so much for reading and I'll try to update as regularly as I can.