Warning: This story will contain a shortage of females (aka chicklessness), violence, language, and you will notice the extremely convenient situations and deviations from the original games this fic is based on.

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.

Vein of Grief

Chapter 4

Nowe shielded his eyes as he glanced up where the red dragon flew above their three-man line of horses. They were in route to where Caim and the dragon had left the Goddess when they had to fly to the desert to save Verdelet and watch the seal be destroyed. The group was currently still debating the voice that he heard. Nowe couldn't hear it but the other two complained about someone calling out for help.

He actually hadn't said much since he procured a horse from the desert prison and rode the night out behind the other two. His mind was currently embroiled in vast speculation as to his companions and current situation. The only good thing was that the Knights of the Seal didn't exist yet. That knowledge, while somewhat comforting, didn't really help ease his worry. After all, what good would it do for him to be in the past?

"We should search for the source of that voice, I hear it again," Leonard said.

"It is currently more important to protect the Goddess," Verdelet explained.

They continued on this line of conversation for some time. Nowe finally found it tiresome and he spoke up.

"You said that the voice was coming from an Imperial gaol?" Nowe asked.

Verdelet turned his head to take in the young man through one of his unsettlingly milky eyes. He had almost forgotten that Nowe was even there.

"Yes. It is obviously another pact partner. The fact that it carried to all three of us means that this person must be quite powerful…perhaps it is the will of the Gods that we help."

The corners of Nowe's mouth twitched upward. "Then why don't you do both? We could always split our forces…we do have the red dragon in our company."

He couldn't tell from the distance if Verdelet's eyes went toward the sky or not.

"Her main objective is to find Caim. I'm not certain if she would help us."

"Yes, dragons have an…innate sort of hatred for humans. Still…"

Nowe cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled up to her, just to make sure she could hear him.

"Red Dragon, would you be willing to assist us in finding the source of the voice you keep hearing? The Hierarch seems to think it is important that we find it."

Her wings flapped rapidly and Nowe clearly saw her head swivel over to point directly at him.

"I'm impressed that you can speak our language…"

"I was raised by a dragon, I knew it before I understood the language of man," Nowe explained.

Meanwhile, Leonard and Verdelet both turned their horses his way. Nowe could clearly see the expression of surprise on the hierarch's face.

"…Fine. The two of us shall go on ahead and the humans can follow when they have secured the Goddess."

"Thank you."

Nowe stopped his horse and leapt off. He tied the reins to Verdelet's saddle and smiled easily at the man.

"We'll go on ahead and find the source of the voice. You help the Goddess and follow," Nowe relayed.

"You mean that she is actually going to let you ride her?"

Nowe nodded and waved as the other two galloped on through the sand. They didn't have time for further questions.

The young man looked up and saw the Dragon change trajectory when they were completely out of sight. She flew toward the ground. Nowe started running when he judged she was ready and he allowed the wind to rush through him. He ignored the strain on his legs and leapt up when the sound of her wings was right by his ear. Nowe sailed free through the air, defying gravity for a long second before he landed right behind her head. The red dragon's wings skimmed the sand but she was soon separated from the ground and sailing into the mercifully cooler air. Nowe held on with one hand and had to smile at the weightless, almost insecure sensation of flying.

"You do seem used to riding on a Dragon's back, child."

"Did you think I was insincere?"

He heard that same laugh as before, much lighter then anything he ever heard from Legna. "No, but then I can only speculate as to what you are."

"There you go again. What do you know that I don't?"

"If your dragon did not say then it is not my place to tell you. All things come in their own time Just know that I would not let some foolish human ride me like a mindless beast."

"What about the person you made a pact with?" Nowe asked, switching back to the human's language. He unknowingly hit a sore spot and the red dragon suddenly did a complicated series of turns, most of them upside down. Nowe yelped and grabbed onto her neck with both hands to secure himself.

"That was a different matter entirely. The only reason I made a pact with that man was because he and I both were dying. He is a frighteningly strong human…if he can be called that."

"What do you mean?" Nowe pushed his hair back, his head still spun from the unwarranted movement but he had to be proud of the fact that he didn't panic, or fall off.

"His bloodlust is something to behold. He shows no mercy and only lives for revenge."

Somehow Nowe couldn't imagine the hero that he heard about from the Knights as a bloodthirsty monster. It just didn't seem…ideal. Then again they weren't either.

"You're serious? So you pact was just an act of desperation?"

"Perhaps defiance would be a better word."

"…How far off is the Gaol?"

"The voice grows stronger as we near it. It will not be long now"

"I hope that the hierarch was correct about this being important."

Nowe referred to the bat-like monsters and the ships that rose out from the distance as the dragon approached. He still only held on with one hand, but Nowe drew closer to her red scales to decrease his visibility.

"Hang on, child. We're going to scour the sky."

Nowe nodded but another question occurred to him as she sent out a blazing fireball at the approaching enemy.

"So are you worried about Caim at all?" he asked.

"If I were to show concern it would be for whoever found him."

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Caim was so eager to continue the battle that he was the one who pushed forward against the enemy lines and into the courtyard of the Grand Shrine. It was a more appropriate place to fight as there seemed an endless quantity of soldiers inside and plenty of room for movement He grinned in pure mirth as his blade took life after life. It was a rhythm; if he stopped then his fleeting mind might talk him out of it.

His head ached still from the voice that had called out to him. Caim had long since pushed it back with blood and screams but he could almost feel something still in his mind, foreign and desperate.

The soldier paused in his tracks when the battle created a natural lull. The knights wise enough to be observant seemed daunted by Caim's sheer bloodlust. His body, at least, was partially glad for the drop in activity as he had a chance to catch his breath. Caim kicked away one of the fallen bodies and he scraped his sword against the ground before bringing it up to urge more enemies on.

"This is ridiculous. What has happened?"

Caim focused his eyes where the remaining sea of knights parted to reveal a petite woman in white. His eyes didn't remain on her for long. He focused instead on the long, silver spear she wielded.

"He attacked us, Eris," said one of the men closest to her. The young woman's eyes moved in horror over the exceedingly bloody battlefield. She clenched her jaw as she calculated the sheer number of men done in by Caim.

"I will not stand for this. How can you come in and massacre my men? Have you no humanity?"

Caim's smile widened as her words washed over him. He leapt over the last line of bodies just as she raised her spear. Eris visibly seemed taken aback by his lack of response but she appeared willing enough to fight.

"Fine, demon. We shall battle."

That was enough of an invitation. Caim's mouth opened in a silent sort of battle cry as his sword swung to meet her spear. She was stronger then he would have expected but her fingers slipped on the silver weapon and she trembled with the effort of keeping him off.

Caim withdrew his sword suddenly and he grabbed her spear with his free had before delivering a swift kick to her stomach. Eris coughed and tried to stab him with her weapon but Caim easily dodged it and he used his blade to knock her weapon away.

It was at this time that several of her men darted forward. Eris danced under his swing and dove to reclaim her weapon.

"Don't interrupt us. This will be a fair fight," she screamed as she lunged at him again, bringing the blade up to try and catch him in the leg. Caim blocked the spear with his sword again and he returned with a fireball.

"Augh!" Eris ducked and immediately felt a pain in her side as the heavy blade slid over her skin. She twisted away from it but ended up back on her knees. Caim stepped on her hand to prevent her from using her weapon and raised his sword to strike.

He didn't complete this move but it wasn't for lack of trying. This break in action was only due to the fact that a large, coarse hand grabbed him hard around the waist. His sword fell unintentionally from his hand. Caim dug his nails into whatever lifted him off the ground but he only drew his own blood as it was rough stone.

"I don't believe it," said a small voice from behind him. Eris struggled to her feet and she looked past Caim toward whoever was speaking. She gripped her waist but it was obvious that she was trying to act like the wound didn't bother her.

"Hierarch Seere…do you know this, this monster?" she asked.

The Golem turned around and held up Caim, shaking him back and forth, to indicate whether or not this was what the hierarch wanted. Caim was a little disoriented as his bloodlust gave way to confusion. The rattled parts of his mind snapped into place and he had a small moment of 'what the hell was I doing' as he glanced around his self-made battlefield. There was a boy, maybe five or six, standing on a higher platform above the courtyard. Though it was baffling, he did wear the robes marking him as a hierarch.

"I thought I did…Caim is that you?" the boy asked.

Putting thoughts of the validity of a child as hierarch aside, Caim couldn't recall ever laying eyes on him before. He did know his name, though. Caim jerked his head up and down.

"Did you say Caim?" Eris queried.

"Yes. He looks just as when I first met him. How is this possible?" Seere put his small hand to his chin as he appeared to want to think on it right then and there. Caim pounded on the Golem's hand to get his attention. His head felt very light indeed due to the monster's uncannily strong grip. Caim felt as though he would be squeezed in two if he stayed any longer. Seere looked up in curiosity then beckoned at his pact partner.

"Oh, sorry. Golem put him down here."

Seere moved to the side and the creature made a groaning noise of assent as he took a few earth-shaking steps forward. If Caim weren't suffering from an uncomfortable lack of air he would have wondered how he didn't notice the thing till it was right behind him. He went into a small fit of coughing when the golem set him down and he grabbed the balcony for support. Caim took gasping breaths and then he lifted his head slowly to glare at the boy before him. Up close he looked even younger, if that was possible, and he regarded Caim with a look of perplexed concern.

"It is you, right? I don't understand. Why do you look the same?"

Caim shrugged. He nudged Seere with his leg before shaking his head exuberantly.

"You don't know me?"

Nod.

"I can't believe it. Why are you here?"

Shrug.

"You don't know? Then why did you kill all those soldiers?"

Kick.

"Fine. I'm Seere. We met on our journey when I was looking for my sister. Don't you remember Leonard or Arioch or hierarch Verdelet?"

The last name rang a bell but he had never met the man. Caim shook his head. He kicked Seere again as the apparently not-so-young boy heaved a sigh of exasperation.

The hierarch jumped as Caim straightened, eyes wide. If he really was in the future then the hierarch might know the reason he didn't have a voice. He nudged (kicked) Seere again and pointed to his throat.

"I know you can't speak."

Caim rolled his eyes. He nodded and then pointed to his throat again before shrugging. Seere reacted in obvious surprise.

"You don't know why it is you can't speak? Well…follow me."

Seere turned on his heel, intentionally causing his robes to billow out behind him. Caim picked himself up and glanced over the balcony at his sword, at least three stories below. He would have to get it later apparently. The soldier sighed soundlessly and turned to follow the boy.

Seere didn't make it very far before Eris was in the hall before him. She was disoriented and gasping. She obviously ran to cut them off.

"Hierarch. I believe that you are in danger."

"…Forgive me or perhaps I should say forgive Caim. This is a very unusual situation and I'm sure he didn't exactly intend to lose control."

Who was this kid to speak for him? Caim scowled but he couldn't say anything to oppose the boy. Eris stared, openmouthed as Seere passed her.

"I suggest that you go see that your wounds are taken care of…"

She stomped her foot and pointed to Caim as he passed her, projecting his own grimly dark aura.

"You mean that he killed a ton of my men and he's just going to be let off?"

"I believe that they all fought with him willingly. General Gismor himself has been throwing away the lives of young men left and right."

Eris swallowed and she looked as though she was trying to digest some sort of live insect but she didn't follow.

Seere led Caim into his personal library. It was a large, naturally lit space that was much longer then it was wide. The sheer number of books threw Caim for a loop as he crossed the threshold but Seere wasn't intending to sightsee. Where the bookcases ended there was a large mirror that reflected the balcony that it was directly across from. It gave the impression that the room was far more open and larger then it really was. Caim blinked as he stood next to Seere before it, bloodstained and disheveled while the hierarch acted like this was all perfectly normal.

"Stick out your tongue," Seere instructed. Caim glared down at his reflection.

"You'll understand if you see it."

Morbid curiosity alone drove Caim to do as he was told. He opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, feeling like some sort of disobedient child. All thoughts of absurdity were as hard to find as traces of his sanity when he saw there was a mark upon it. It was black and intricately designed, quite unsettling. Caim couldn't mistake it for anything other then a pact emblem. He had seen them only in books before but faced with it was something else entirely. His tongue burned, almost as if the mark was wickedly excited that its bearer was in the know. Caim put his hand over his mouth and turned away from the mirror.

That would explain where his voice went but what did he ever make a pact with? He certainly would have remembered that. Seere cocked his head to the side curiously.

"Wow, you certainly do seem shocked. I take it you don't even remember making a pact?"

Caim shook his head. Why would he ever want to?

"You did make one though, with a most powerful creature, a dragon."

Caim whipped his head around. He opened his mouth to scream at the boy but the words didn't come. He clenched his jaw and bit his tongue instead. That was even more preposterous. The Empire and dragons were nearly interchangeable as his objects of hatred. He clenched his fists and strode back toward the door.

"Caim. Where are you going?" Seere asked.

Caim shook his head and kept moving.

"I can help you! What can you do on your own? The dragon isn't even around for you."

That was fine by him.

Yeah, it's pretty darn improbable that Caim would be able to move as freely as he did after picking off so many of the Knights but hey, it's a time of war and they do know that they were the ones who started it after all. Anyway so ends another chapter and my angst-o-meter for Caim is through the roof. Thanks for reading and I hope you'll continue to at least find it morbidly fascinating.