Llars began walking down what appeared to be a cobble stone laid road... the condition of which was extraordinary. The cave seemed to extend miles ahead of them, but large amounts of rubble and cave rock littered the ground. The blue light was only so revealing. The city fell into a blurry blue haze far in front of them. The air here was so thick it was like fog. It was cold, too. Not terribly so, but enough to keep a chill in the spine of anyone within the city.
"Rasmus told me that alot of the cave was open when he found it... there were picks, buckets and even trolleys leading out of it. There wasn't anyone here, though. We don't know what happened to them..."
On their right a towering building stood remarkably intact. Statues of warriors, sages and demons lined the terrace leading inside the building. Llars pointed towards the building.
"He found books inside there. We think it might have been the city's library... apparently this place was once a thriving city of merchants. A lot of really rich people lived here... and some of the strongest warriors of the time I'm guessing. Rasmus has a book listing many mercenaries who lived here. Men who stood ten feet tall and could crush a horse's skull in their hands... two guys in particular."
He traveled the road a little farther, coming to what could only be the remains of a cathedral. Some structure of great religious importance.
"They called this place The Gate in their books... there is some -really- ******** up stuff in their. Rasmus said that from what he could read in the books it was a place where prophets met. They would do terrible things to their bodies and minds in an attempt to see the future. People cut off their fingers and burned off their lips. One slit his own throat so that another could drink his blood. Man... and I thought people today are messed up."
Farther down the road was a small, unassuming house. Its roof had long since been eaten away, leaving only the blackened stonework of the walls and the doorway. He stood there, staring at the house like a man would watch a rabid dog.
"...There was a day about a year back when none of us could find Rasmus. We thought the Vampires had abducted him. Nelson and Red came down here because the entrance to the den and the back gate weren't open. They found him here, in this house... howling and beating his fists against the floor. He kept saying this was the home of the Great Betrayer! This was his home...." His body shivered involuntarily.
"Those guys I was talking about earlier... apparently there were two men who lived in this city that held a great power. Something that everyone feared. We've never found a book in here past a certain time... after an event that Rasmus calls 'The Dividing.' Apparently one of these friends betrayed the other.... I don't know why. Maybe Rasmus does, though. Some of this s**t scares the Hell out of me... I guess this is that man's house. Whoever he was."
Shii stared at the house as she listened to him, "I don't know about you.... But I'm going inside...." She spoke as she quickly made her way into the structure, looking around she inhaled deeply, then exhaled. Closing her eyes she let her mind leave her. Opening up her body for any spirit that wanted to to posses it, she wanted to know about it. And she was damn sure she was going to find out.
Llars folded his arms across his chest, rubbing his hands over his biceps for warmth. He had forgotten how ominous this place was, and Rasmus' most important teaching. "Digging open ancient graves unleashes the fiercest of monsters..." He whispered, and looked to the house. He looked back at th entrance to the city too, almost wishing he had never come down here. He was brave... but he had a frightening feeling in his gut. His instincts were never wrong. Not since he had been changed.
As they approached the rotted half hinged door an unseen wind blew. The door creaked open by itself, inviting them inside. The hairs on Llars' neck were standing straight up. He was covered in goose bumps. As he passed into the house after Shii he made sure to not shut the door... just in case they had to run. Run from what? Llars didn't know but at the same time he did...
In the roofless building there were many things. Tables, chairs. The common oddities of any household, past and present. The building was a single floor, and while the roof was no longer over their heads the walls were still too tall to see over.
Vermillion... the color of love...
Llars nearly jumped out of his shoes. He spun around, back towards the door. It had shut and was fully hinged. The wood was not rotten. The stones were a clean and pure white. His shadow flickered across the door, cast across by a lit fire behind him.
"Shii. Shii, we need to go. Let's go."
Llars took a step towards the door and pushed it open. As he began to walk out to the street he froze in his tracks.
"Jesus... Christ."
There were people in the city. Everywhere. Everything was as it once had been. Peddlers pushed their carts down the streets, calling for people to purchase their trinkets. Children clung to the hands of their mothers and soldiers patrolled the streets. This was unlike anything Llars had ever seen. He was standing in a dead city that refused to still its heart beat...
"Shii. Shii, I-"
There were two figures beside the fire. One, a mother. The other a child who despite his youth gave off such an aura of power that it made Llars' eyes water. The woman was lacing up the child's shirt, humming a soothing tune. The young boy was trying not to cry. After a moment it became clear that the woman was crying despite the smile on her face. As she knotted the lace at his neck, she spoke with a voice so tragic and frail it would make God weep.
"Your father would be very proud, Kain... he would be so very proud."
As the first tear sprang from his eye and slid down his cheek the boy turned. He looked directly at Shii. His body convulsed in a flash of darkness, becoming something that could not be described. It happened so fast it was as if it had not happened at all.
The boy was gone. As was the mother and the fire. The walls were black again, and the door off its hinges. The dead no longer walked the streets.
"Shii..."
What did he intend to say? We need to get the ******** out of here.... that was what he meant to say. But he couldn't. He needed to know, like the father who sees a trail of blood leading into his only child's room. He had to know, and he knew it would destroy him.
"Let's go... There is a lot to see."
Shii walked out of the house as she looked around, "So many lives..." she mumbled as she jumped down into the streets, "So many stories..." She smirked darkly, not like herself. Something about this place... Made her want to do anything to learn about it. "I want to know." she repeated that sentence again, "I must know."
Llars's eyes drifted out, the sickening feeling in his gut growing with every passing moment. It was to soon to tell what horrors there were in store for them... but it did not take much of an imagination to realize what might be in store.
He began to walk slowly back towards the library. Maybe there would be-
Gray... the color of Despair....
It was as if a pebble had been tossed into a pond. Suddenly the city began to change again, buildings growing out of ruin and people stepping into existence from outside the ripple. He took a step back, his bodily instincts urging him to run. He did not for his bravery was stronger than his fear... or perhaps he was simply too great a fool to take the mercy offered to him.
A ghost brushed passed him, her arms clutched over her chest. She walked with great intention and speed but not towards the Library. She was rushing towards The Gate.
"Hey. That woman..." Llars trailed off. No one seemed to notice him. The phantoms around them traveled onward. Forever blessed in their own world. He followed after the woman, as if he were in a trance.
Upon entering The Gate, the unfolding scene became a nightmare. Men and women lay sprawled on the floor, convulsing and moaning. The stones of this massive cathedralesque structure's floor were stained an eerie shade of brown and red. Blood stains.
As the woman entered The Gate she immediately lost heart. Her hands were trembling and her eyes were wide open in terror. "What is... She shrieked beside herself, stumbling back towards the door. "WHAT IS THAT!" The people of this city were long used to the dark secrets that The Gate held, and knew full well that it would be madness to intervene. This was beyond understanding.
Two elderly men were strung up above the floor, naked and eviscerated. Their mouths had been cut off, and their lower jaws removed. Their twitching bodies were suspended by two riggings of rope and they swayed with no pattern. Their rib cages had been split open under their belly, and blood flowed freely from them, splattering the ground in the form of an image. Two forms -misshapen and grotesque- were being painted on the floor. Two monsters locked in a gory battle.
One of the women swooning on the floor turned to look at the woman at the door. Llars realized only now that it was not Kain's mother. It was someone else. The prophet that spoke to her had her eyes sown shut. Tears of blood were dried on her cheeks.
"The Fates are speaking! The Beast is your son!"
As Llars looked down at the horrific painting on the floor, there was another indescribable flash of light. It was dark within The Gate, now. While it still looked in tact the back wall looked as though it had been blown away. Before them in fire and sparks were two silhouettes. Both beyond any humanity that had once been inside them. They towered over Llars and Shii, and as they drew their blades back to clash again their was a baleful howl. So great was the sound of thunder and the crash of storms that it shook the ground.
A bolt of lightning struck the earth outside. The Gate went silent. As quickly as the vision came it was gone.
Llars was sweating profusely. His hands were as cold and clammy as those of a dead man. He could barely raise his hand to wipe the perspiration from his forehead.
Llars looked to the door, and walked. They had seen the beginning. They had seen the end... but without knowing what happened in between it was useless. A great battle, one which shook the very earth on which they lived, had taken place... but why? What was the Great Betrayal? Who were they? Why the ******** was the city speaking to them?
He didn't know, but he had to find out. He walked down the street, away from The Betrayer's house and away from The Gate.
As he wandered through the streets the air grew warmer. Sweeter too, as if some ancient bed of flowers had yet to die and filled the city with their scent. He followed the smell like a moth to a flame, not knowing why he pursued it but doing so regardless. He was no longer in control. Now he was Rasmus, the old Lycan wandering these streets six months ago just as Llars was now. The truth would break him, that much was certain. The urge to vomit welled in his gut.
He crossed a bridge across a long dry river, its bed now filled with ash and rock. The scent was as overpowering as the perfumes of the warehouse. There was grass under his feet, so rich and thick and green that it was like walking across an ocean of living color. It swayed in a sudden breeze. The overbearing blue light of the moss around him was beginning to fade, turning into the purple twilight of the night sky. The cave vanished revealing the brilliant star studded sky like a black satin cloth spotted with diamonds. The moon was full. Even in this hallucination, Llars body called to him to change. He beat back the urge.
White... the color of faith...
It was snowing now, a blizzard of unheard of proportions. Where Llars stood was now a forest. There was no entering the forest. It simply came to be around him. Before him was a young man who exuded such power that Llars fell to his knees at the sight of him.
He was a beautiful creature, so perfectly shaped that only the Gods this city worshiped were capable of crafting him. He was without a shirt, sitting atop a large outcropping of rock with a sword balanced over his lap. He was looking far into the distance, an implacable look in his eyes.
Llars felt something pass through his body. For a single moment he felt as if his heart would simply explode from his chest. It began to snow around him, and out of Llars came a wolf so large that it blocked the man from Llars' view. Its coat was the purest white, so clean and glistening that even the veil of snow around it seemed dingy and dull. The huge beast was slowly stalking towards the man and though Llars could not see its eyes he knew that they were glowing with hunger. This would be a battle to the death.
The man looked down at the wolf, his expression unchanged. In his eyes was something noble. A fire that had long since vanished from the face of the earth.
"I ask for your strength, Canis. Share your spirit with me." The man's voice shook the trees and he rose from the rock on which he sat, taking the blade from his lap and leaving it behind him. The behemoth stood before the man, equal to the giant's size if not larger. Llars knew this was the father of all canines. He did not know how. He could feel it.
The creature leapt towards the man who would best it in combat. The giants clashed, and the percussion of their blows knocked the snow from the trees. Blood splattered the downy snow, steaming in the frozen air.
Llars was without words. His body was trembling with fear and the sheer force of the battle before him. It was not an event for mortal eyes. It was an exchange that would change the way the very earth grew. Finally, the battle ended. The man held the king of beast's neck in his hands, hoisting the beast off of the ground. Its pure white fur soaked crimson by blood both his own and his opponent's. They stared into each other's eyes, speaking a language that was never written. The man released the beast and it tumbled to the snow, struggling to rise to its feet. Finally, the creature spoke. A howl which echoed across the planet, an acceptance of its defeat. As he made his final call, his body began to lose focus. The wind flawyed apart its flesh and bone and they faded into nothingness. All that remained was a soul. A being with no comprehensible shape, but a color. A white beyond white.
The man shut his eyes, and extended his arms. The soul rushed to meet him, and melted into his being. He was suddenly changed. It was not physical, but it was simply known. He was no longer human. He had transcended that life, and every breath he took swayed the trees before him. It was a strength that could shatter mountains and route the oceans. No Demon -not Shii, not Acantha, not Samael- could even stand before him. He walked towards Llars, his blood painted across his chest and arms -bite marks gouged into his hands and neck.
This was the father of his race. The beginning of the age of Lycans.
The forest changed again. It was day now, and the snow was gone. There were two figures now, neither of which were the man from before. One was Kain, the child from before. No longer was he a child but a young man. He radiated the same power as the other, but it was somehow different. He was beautiful too, and also in a different manner. He was not so massive and muscled. He was lean and pale, his skin the color of alabaster and his eyes greener than green. He was the Adonis of his age.
With him was woman, the Eve to this Adam. She did not bear the power of either man. She held something else: Love. Brilliant, beautiful and glorious. It was shelled inside of her, ready to burst to the surface.
Shii... where... Llars took his eyes from the couple for only a second, trying to find the woman he came with. Trying to hold onto the reality of which he was a part.
The silhouette of his companion came into view, running to and fro between the trees. He reached out towards her to pull himself away from this unfolding prophecy. He could not, but he knew that she was there experiencing it all the same as he was.
His trembling lungs surged with breath, and he yelled out to her. "SHII!! I'M HE--" His call was overpowered by a blood chilling scream at his back. Shadowy figures moved through the woods towards Kain and his ward... creatures neither human nor monster. They were of another race, long forgotten by the Earth and the likes of which had been extinct for many millenia.
Kain thrust himself in front of the terrified woman, so flooded with fear she could not move. The man known as The Betrayer drew his steel, a thin sword of little luxury. No matter its look, it was a weapon. His glittering eyes focused on the beasts before they. They smiled like sharks, glowing yellowed eyes dancing back and forth in the shadow. One thing was certain from their wide and drooling maws. They hungered. Two of eight bounded out from the trees, jaws unhinged to reveal their many rows of fangs. From the woods came the howling of another human, caught in the tide of their terrible feasting. The poor soul would not survive the night.
Kain and the woman were another matter. His blade flashed in the dim forest light, and the swiftness of his strike cut both the beasts in two. They garbled hysterically as their twitching bodies hit the floor, their legs still standing upright before the one who ended them.
These monsters were no fools. Seeing their kin fall before the man they lunged out from the trees at once. A unified front of slobbering mouths and gouging claws. Kain fell before them, torn to the ground as their teeth ripped into his arms and his legs and his chest. The woman screamed as if it would be her last breath and the creatures turned their fire filled eyes towards her.
Would she taste sweeter than this one did? Teeth chattered together, and the darklings addressed her like a curious dog. Their bodies shuddered back and forth like the puppets of a morbid player.
Yes, they decided. Yes, she would. They lurched up from Kain’s bloody and mutilated body and stalked towards the woman. The Betrayer’s body twitched, his hand still on his sword. They clawed at the dirt. While his mouth was unseen the desperate panting of a man without words could be heard. The sounds of a pleading animal. Leave her alone. For the love of God don’t hurt her. The creatures did not understand him. They raised their gangly misshapen limbs, long claws gleaming in the faint forest light.
They had nearly begun their feast when their came a roar from behind them. Kain was charging towards them, his torn and ravaged legs barely able to support him as he screamed across the soil. His blade lunged out before him and as the first darkling turned to regard him with its wide infernal eyes his blade caught the creature’s throat. Its head spun from its body like a bowing actor as black ichor spewed from its neck.
The others turned and chirped at him, leaping back from the woman to remove this sudden threat. They came at him all at once as they had before. This time he did not fall. As they lept he dove beneath them, thirsting blade liberating the legs of many of the creatures. They hit the ground shrieking, babbling in their guttural language. Three still fought. He ducked under their slashing claws and their blood clouded the air as their arms were sliced from their bodies. One remained.
He caught the last creature by the throat, snapping its neck in his bare hand. His blade plunged into the creatures filthy bowels at the same time, spilling its steaming innards across his feet. The creature spasmed like a dying roach. Blood belched from its mouth and fell silent.
As Kain fell back to the ground his companion rushed to meet him, throwing her arms around him. He was bleeding profusely but there was great madness in his eyes. For that singular moment of battle he had become something beyond a monster. He looked up at the woman and smiled. It was obvious that the woman was as frightened by his expression as she was by his dire condition.
”Blood is the gift I give unto you… take my life and my heart for it is yours.”
Kain fell silent and the woman wept. There was another flash of light.
The Betrayer was back on his feet, fighting as he had fought the beasts before. Only this time it was people he was butchering. Children fled screaming from his hungry sword as their fathers fell before him.
The vision ended and as it did Llars lurched forward. The stench of vomit and bile flowed from his mouth as he wretched on the ground. He was beginning to understand. The omens in the air began to stir, and once again a voice spoke out.
Trust is the color of a red rose withered…
"LLARS!!" Shii called out as she ran over to him, skiting to her knees she was instantly by him, "Are you ok? Why are you puking? What happened?" She instantly shot a round of questions at him, curious and worried as hell.
Llars brought a hand to his mouth, wiping away the vomit that clung to him. He felt sick. This whole event terrified him. With every step he took, Rasmus' words fell on him with greater weight. What the ******** had he been thinking? Why was he continuing? All it took was him standing up and leaving to end this.
"I'm okay. I'm okay... yeah." He coughed, burying his face in the sleeve of his jacket. His throat burned with the taste of bile. When the coughing subsided he took a tremulous breath, and looked at Shii. He was a mess. Nearing the point of breaking down.
"Tell me you saw that. Tell me I'm not ******** insane..." His eyes strayed from Shii, falling heavily to the ground.
"We shouldn't be here. Why did Rasmus tell us to do... this." He looked back up at Shii and a thought struck him. No one else had experienced this. No one except Rasmus, maybe... but why? Was Shii's presence inciting some unseen force? He looked at her in silence.
Shii looked at him and shook her head, "All I saw was the sky..." She trailed off as he looked at her, "...What is it?" She asked as she tilted her head.
Llars looked at Shii long and hard and for a brief moment there was the unmistakable flash of suspicion in his eyes. He shook his head though, pushing himself to his feet with some effort. He looked back to where the forest was. Nothing but ash remained. A bitter remnant of the life that once thrived here. Soon they would know just how cataclysmic The Beast and The Betrayer's battle was... and when that moment came who was to say that the world not collapse once again? So real were the things that he saw that such fears were very present in his mind.
"...It's nothing. I don't know... Kain is the father of the Vampire race. That is what I think... and I think that we are about to discover the truth."
He looked back towards the petrified city. It was no longer a city to him. It was a tomb. A tomb of thousands of people destroyed by the rage of two mortals.
"Stay with me, Shii. Please. If you leave I will become part of this illusion... I'll vanish like it does." He hid his face in his hands and felt the wetness of tears at his eyes. He took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind. He could not. His hands were shaking.
"Jesus Christ... Jesus ******** Christ..."
He did his best to maintain his composure. It was the hardest thing he had ever done. He held his hands out towards Shii, his eyes ever fixed on that dark, dark city.
"It's not over... and I think I know what we need to find."
Their journey had begun in the house of The Betrayer. It would surely end at the house of The Beast.
"We have to find his home. The home of my ancestor. I don't know where it is. It can't be far. We just need to..."
Green... the color of envy...
While their eyes were turned towards the city it changed again. They stood in a wide green field, the smell of grass and flowers floating on the wind. Llars' brain wept. It needed more time to comprehend the things he saw. He was exhausted, and his handsome features suddenly revealed unseen age inside of him. He felt as old as this city, this cave.
His eyes caught sight of three figures. Each were familiar. Kain, the woman, and The Beast. They were walking slowly through the fields, laughter warming the air around them. Despite the bright and sunny day that had wrapped them in its arms, Llars felt cold. The path was clear.
"We don't have to find it... they will show us."
He began walking after the trio, sucked back into this dream which appeared so beautiful but he knew could only be a nightmare. It was the End of Times. The death of the Earth's first age would be tonight, and if the sun rose tomorrow nothing would remain untouched.
As they got closer voices began to shape out of the laughter. The walked together, the three of them, with little space between them. Kain stood at left, while The Beast stood at the right. The woman walked between them. Kain bore many scars on his arms and face. It appeared that this event took place after both Kain's fight with the darklings and The Beast besting Canis.
"What a life this is! What opportunity!" Kain looked to the woman and smiled. "This -is- the age of prosperity. See how our city has bloomed? For us, anything is possible." The woman looked at Kain slyly, amused by his grand and optimistic statement. "Oh? Anything? So say I might wish to fly. May I?
"I said age of prosperity... not the age of transformation! We have always been without wings, but that is the way we have been created. The moment that changes, by all means let me know. I would love to fly beside you." She smiled at his comment, reaching her hand up to pat Kain's cheek. Llars could feel The Betrayer's heart skip a beat. "Ever the dreamer, Kain." He smirked, and nudged the woman in the ribs. "I, the dreamer? You forget that -you- are the one wishing to fly!"
The Beast chuckled. His hands were at his sides and his eyes were shut. As they walked he let the tall grass of the field dance under his finger tips. "He's right. You've been had, Lexi." Lexi looked to The Beast incredulously and laughed.
"Oh? We shall see! Who is the biggest dreamer of us all... let's begin with you, Kain. What do you desire in life?"
"It is hard to say what it is I want." Kain was standing slightly closer to the woman than The Beast was. His love of the woman was obvious. "I wish for a family. A line of noble blood. To see my children live forever and come to lord over these lands." The Beast laughed aloud, and both Kain and the woman looked to him. "Kain, Your kin would be the finest of kings. I eagerly await the day in which they will rule over this city." Kain smiled broadly. "Roland, of all my friends you are my closest. You are wise and strong. Like me!"
They shared a laugh over that remark. Seeing the two together Llars could not help but note how perfectly they complimented one another. Kain seemed wise beyond his years, a philosopher and a man of great vision, while Roland was a man of unconquerable strength and humility. A being who lived his life in the servitude of others and at the end of each day thanked the Gods for his ability to serve those he loved. "Should that day ever come, and my son sits on the throne, I would wish you to counsel him. It would be only right that after all you have done for me."
Roland smiled at Lexi before turning his gaze towards Kain. "You flatter me, but I have done nothing but serve you as my brother." "And that is more than enough, my friend!
"Yes, yes. Enough gawping, boys!" She looked at Roland, sharing with him a look of great familiarity. She touched him on the shoulder as Kain looked across the field towards the city, her fingers running over his skin to graze the tips of his fingers. Roland's eyes met Lexi's, and their shared a gaze of fire.
"Well, Roland? What of you, what is it you desire?"
Before Kain turned his gaze back to the two, Roland mouthed a single world to Lexi.
You.
Llars felt like screaming until his lungs exploded inside him.
"I admit. I am a dreamer too. I wish for a son and a daughter. A farm, so I can feed my family even in hard times. To spend cold winters in warm arms of a mate... and I wish for peace. We have suffered through so much, Kain. Both of us. I lost my brother to the war. You your father... Kain's smile wilted as Roland mentioned his father. There was great sorrow in his eyes. "I wish for a world without greed."
The trio had stopped in the field, both Kain and Lexi watching Roland in silence. Kain's eyes were wet. "Hearing your dream.... I feel like such a fool to desire what I do. You are selfless." Roland laughed. His voice was distant, in a world that would never exist for him.
"I am not selfless, Kain... I'm simply tired of having my things taken from me!"
Lexi tittered, and cupped a hand over her mouth. Kain smiled too. "When you put it that way we have much more in common." The two men shared a look and started laughing. "Well, I'm surprised. Roland, you ARE a far more hopeless dreamer than Kain!" He smirked at Lexi. "That I am"
As they made their way back into the city Kain broke apart from the other two. "I must tend to my mother. She has been feeling ill as of late. Lexi... might I speak with you tonight?" The woman smiled kindly at Kain, her eyes shining with happiness.
"Of course, sir. I will be at my home. When may I greet you?"
"Not until this evening. I must help mother tend to dinner."
Lexi pecked Kain on the cheek, and cupped his hands in hers. "Be safe, Kain. I will try to be patient."
"As will I..."my love. He did not say the word, but he might as well. It was clear in everything he did. That is when Llars say the subtlest of sorrows in Lexi's eyes.
Kain clasped fore-arms with Roland, sharing a brief embrace. He smiled at Lexi, then went on his way. As Kain turned the corner and vanished out of sight Lexi rounded on Roland, curling her hands around his neck and kissing him deeply. They held hands, and she purred into his ear. "Take me home, my love..."
Llars did not follow as they walked off. He could not. He watched them walk down the greater part of the street before entering a small house along the way, but his eyes were so flooded with tears that it became difficult to see where they went.
Now they knew the cause... and Llars found himself in a hell without escape. The worst was yet to come, and yet he was already a broken being. His head dropped to the ground and he wept bitterly into the palms of his hands. He knew who would be the victor in the final battle. He knew what the betrayal was.
Despite all this, he was not allowed to leave. He was not allowed to guess. Fate would tear his eyelids from his face and force him to watch the end of the world.
Above them the sun raced across the sky. The people on the streets blurred past Llars and Shii, suddenly accelerated beyond human speeds as time was pulled towards the fateful time of night. When the sun stopped and the people around them began walking at an ordinary pace again, the sun had not even begun to set. Llars looked up from his wet hands, his bleary eyes watching this phenomenon unfold. Why had the sun stopped? It wasn't time.
"No..." Llars looked down the road with panic in his voice.
Kain had turned the corner. A smile beaming across his face an in his arms a large cloth wrapped bundle. A gift for Lexi, no doubt. He walked with great purpose, obviously excited to surprise Lexi at such an early hour. There was some uncertainty in his eyes. Perhaps Lexi had left her home and taken a walk. No matter, he grinned. He would sit at her door and greet her when she returned.
When the day blurred by, Roland had not left the house.
He was still inside.
"No. NO!" The illusion was Llars' reality. In his hands he held the fate of millions of lives. Vampires, Lycans and humans all of whom would die in the genocides and wars that followed. He was now a prisoner of his delusion. As would anyone be... when faced with the knowledge that they were watching the prelude to the war to end all wars.
He stumbled to his feet, his legs bursting aflame with adrenaline. The shoes on his feet pistoned against the ground, propelling him towards Kain. His arms were outstretched before him, to tackled The Betrayer to the ground. Llars' hatred of Vampires may be great, but his love of all life was greater. He would spare Kain the pain of heart break, and save the world from darkness.
How he wanted to believe that... oh, how he wanted to.
Llars was travelling forward at speeds nearing forty miles an hour. As his fingertips touched Kain Llars thrust his body forward and into the air. His arms wrapped around Kain as he dove to the ground. All he felt was a brief ripple of cold before his face smashed into the stones below him. He tumbled over the ground, feeling his fingers crack and his shoulders pop from their places.
Kain continued walking, and briefly tugged back the piece of cloth over the bundle. In it were two swords, elegant and masterfully crafted. They gave off a shine like no other metal Shii had seen. Kain ran his fingers over the flat of both blades, his eyes singing with pride. The Betrayer's thoughts slipped inside Shii and Llars' head.
When I give you this blade, our fate will surely be sealed... Roland, my friend.
THE CURSED IRONY! Llars groaned, thrashing his limbs across the ground. His body screamed in pain, and as he raised his face from the stone it became apparent that half the skin on his face was shredded by contact with the floor. There were tears in his eyes, and he howled balefully. His sanity was dangling by a frayed thread.
Before he could get up, Kain had already made it to Lexi's house. His smile slowly weathered, and he looked through the window in what was confusion. He could see something through the window. As Kain's heart stopped, so did Llars'.
Roland and Lexi were wrapped in each others arms, naked and passionate against the wall. Her fingers were tangled in his beautiful hair. Her lips were pressed against his muscular neck.
Llars made no further attempt to rise. He fell to the ground, his eyes now tracing the passage of the clouds and the birds that sang above them. He was lost. Just like The Betrayer.
Kain opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head. It was some sort of trick of the eyes, he figured. This wasn't happening. As the finality of his loss set in, he took a step backwards. One hand shaded his eyes from the horrible sight. He turned and ran.
The Betrayer ran from the road, and didn't look back.
As he rounded the corner, pressing through a small group of men on their way to market, that voice spoke out again. The voice that had led them here, there, and everywhere. The voice of inevitability.
Trust is the color of a dark seed growing
trust is the color of a hearts blood flowing
Trust is the color of a Souls last breath
trust is the color of Death
Kain stopped abruptly, stumbling on the road. He looked back down the road, towards Lexi's house.
The cloth covering the swords slipped to the ground and in the high noon sun their blades glistened with light. In the metal Kain saw his reflection. Hideous and malformed by the anger that was building in his heart. He couldn't breath.
"I gave you my blood... my life..." His hands tightened on the swords. Each found a place in his hands. "My LOVE..." His mood had changed as quickly as time had before. There was murder in his eyes as he turned. He stalked back down the road and the crowds of late afternoon drew away from him as though he were a plague. They saw what Shii saw. The birth of a monster.
He broke into a run and by the time he had reached Lexi's house he moved with inhuman speed. He moved as a blur. The frail door exploded into splinters as he burst through it, bee lining directly for Roland and Lexi. Both swords were high above his head as he screamed "MONSTER! FILTHY TRAITOROUS BEAST! DIE! DIE!!!"
"Kain!" Lexi's yelp of surprise made Roland turn. The moment he saw Kain and the swords he knew what was about to happen and he threw -quite literally- Lexi away from them. She hit the wall with all the gentleness of a flying brick, gasping from the force as she tried to cover her nakedness. Roland made no such attempt, his arms were out in front of him to plead with Kain.
Kain heard no such plea, and as both swords descended they caught themselves in the muscle of Roland's shoulders. The Beast howled in pain, but as Kain tried to pull the blades free he stood his ground. The man's enormous hands seized Kain by his throat and his shirt, surprising Kain as he lost grip on both of the swords. He spat at Roland, fury so hot in Kain's eyes that he could feel them burning.
"filthy rat I'll kill you your family you will know how it feels and I will kill your b***h of -NGAKH!" Roland's hand clenched down on Kain's throat. His eyes shared Kain's fury. The two swords hung in his flesh like a wretched form of piercing. "You have gone mad, Kain... calm yourself. Please." Kain responded by thrusting one arm forward and jerking one of the swords from Roland's arm.
The Beast grimaced, but did not budge. "You are no friend! A traitor! THIEF! THIEF!" Kain was spitting out words so violently it was difficult to understand him. He swung the sword wildly at Roland but found himself heaved across the room. His head connected with the wall very solidly, and he slumped down to the floor.
Then Kain said something that Llars could hear through the walls. It made him open his eyes. "You are The Betrayer of my love... filthy vermin." Roland's hands found their place on Kain's shirt. "Don't listen to the men of The Gate! They know nothing of us! I have not betrayer you. I LOVE HER!"
Kain howled at the words, and thrust his sword forward again. It slashed open Roland's thigh and The Beast tore Kain from his feet and into the air. He threw his old friend as if he were no more than a tiny doll, his limp frame crashing through the very window through which he had seen Roland and Lexi.
Kain's body hit the ground next to Llars. His eyes were vacant now, in shock from the pain he was in and the trauma to his skull. He still held his sword as he crawled forward down the street. A large crowd had gathered before Lexi's house, but once again as Kain approached them they put distance between them. They feared him, as they would fear every child he would sire from the darkness of his tomb. The tomb he would prepare for Lexi.
Lexi ran to Roland, both still naked. Adrenaline coursed through both of them for many reasons... but the first and foremost was because they had witnessed the end of Kain. Roland had watched his friend's mind snap like a brittle twig, and as he held his lover in his bloody and slick arms he shut his eyes. He said nothing, and just held her. They would be there to comfort and love one another for many days to follow... but what they thought was the end of this madness was only the beginning.
Llars' dialated eyes found themselves immersed in that grainy blue light once again. The vision had faded away except for Kain. He continued to crawl away towards the mountains and mutter to himself through wide smiling teeth. "She is mine.... she is mine... I will kill you... I WILL kill you..."
Llars watched Kain crawl off into the distance from where he was on the road. He pushed himself up on his hands and grimaced. One of them felt broken. He lowered himself onto his elbows.
"I don't know. I feel like Lexi never loved Kain... always cared for him as kin, but never like a mate." He got up gingerly, flexing his injured wrist. Based on the popping sounds coming from it he decided it was sprained over broken. That was alot better. His face was a mess, though. Blood flowed freely from it, dribbling over his mouth and chin. He wiped some of the blood away from his eye so he could see, but it didn't help much.
Something about Llars seemed different. Healthier in a way. Maybe the pain he had felt as he hit the ground snapped him out of this illusion. Allowed him to get a grip on what was real. He smiled absently at Shii, and looked towards where the mountains were. Far in the distance was the cave wall, not mountains. "I guess that means we've hit the end. No way we can get through the mountains." He looked back at Lexi's house.
"We've been to Kain's house, Lexi's house... wonder where Roland lived. Somewhere around here, I bet." He looked around, and something suddenly caught his eye. The ghostly silhouette of a figure kneeling over the ground. A hole. The glint of a sword. Llars' eyes widened, and he tapped on Shii's shoulder.
"Hey, hey. Look over..." It was gone, whatever it was. But where the silhouette had been the ground seemed slightly different. Looser, maybe? "Something's over there. Someone, maybe. I think they buried something."
He looked back at Lexi's house. It called to them, too.... it looked like their paths were finally starting to widen. They had a choice.
Shii looked at the two choices, "Maybe..... One of us should go to one... and one should go to the other..." She spoke, "That way... We won't miss anything..." She offered as she looked at him. "I'll go to Lexis' house...." She spoke as she turned and faced it, then looked back at him, "Ok..?"
Llars nodded, and started to walk off towards where he saw the figure. He stopped and turned back to look at Shii. "Hey! ...Be careful, okay?" He waved at her, wiping the blood from his eyes a third time before turning back to investigate the shaded piece of ground.
The doorway to Lexi's house yawned open and waiting. There was no longer a door attached to the front of the house. Perhaps it had simply decayed with time. Perhaps Lexi never had time to attach a second one... The answers waited inside. Whatever they might be.
Llars nodded, and started to walk off towards where he saw the figure. He stopped and turned back to look at Shii. "Hey! ...Be careful, okay?" He waved at her, wiping the blood from his eyes a third time before turning back to investigate the shaded piece of ground.
The doorway to Lexi's house yawned open and waiting. There was no longer a door attached to the front of the house. Perhaps it had simply decayed with time. Perhaps Lexi never had time to attach a second one... The answers waited inside. Whatever they might be.
My Greatest Sin Greed
Shii nodded slightly as she headed over to Lexi's house, looking inside the house she placed her hand on the frame. Taking in a quick breath she walked in and looked around.
The house was of a simple design, much like Kain's. The major difference was that there was a flight of stairs running through the center of the house up to the second floor. What was up there, she could only guess.
Around here were several rooms. The kitchen and leisure area, where she had seen Roland and Lexi partake in... certain... things... just moment before. To her left was a small study and what seemed to be a spinster's wheel. What was truly eerie about this house was that it seemed more intact than any other place in the city. Paintings hung framed on the walls. In the kitchen, decaying plates and tableware was stacked on an old wooden counter.
The visions weren't returning... instead, a sudden storm of voices. Disembodied and hollow as the skin of a snake.
...name the child?
I-
So long... has
I do not know I hope
Peace...
Rol-
Lexi...
Fragments of time which were in no order or made any sense... this place was a fragmented world of events. Each side of the house beckoned her, as did the stairs.
What waited for her in either direction would reveal itself only with her decision.
A bone-chilling scream echoed through Shii's ears. From where it came she could not tell.
Shii gasped as she flinched from the sudden scream, looking around she tried to figure out where it came from, but with no luck. Shii held her hands close to her chest as she looked to the stairs. Taking one step forward she then began to grow confidence with each step she took, eventually she reached the beginning of the stairs, looking up she gulped, all confidence now gone. Taking in a shaky breath she then began her journey up the creaky steps. Getting to the top she looked around with her maroon eyes glowing slightly, as any demons would in suck a dank and dark place. "Now what...?" She seemed to question the house as she took a step away from the stairs to get a better look at where she was...
The stairs moaned from Shii's weight as she began to climb them. Around her, a strange smell was beginning to grow around her. She couldn't quite place it... like the taste of copper. As she reached the top of the stairs a young child ra down the hall and out of sight. When she looked in its direction it was gone.
The hall was of simple construction. In front of her on the opposite wall was a door. To her left and right were also doors. Each was shut.
With sudden horror the smell -stench- was recognizable. Blood. Hot, fresh blood. There was screaming around her, but despite her proximity she could not tell where it came from. A song was being whispered, a lullaby. To her left were glowing yellow eyes and a lolling tongue. A split mouth of grinning teeth the size of a bear trap.
The sounds of celebration surrounded her. A party of some sorts, then the weeping of a woman. The sound of a door being smashed off its hinges.
The Darkling continued towards Shii, tapping its long claws against its gaping walls of fangs. It hobbled towards her and froze as a sound unlike anything Shii had ever heard exploded through the room. It was a scream, a howl and a roar all in one. A millennium of fury and hatred compounded into a single sound. The walls shuddered and splintered apart around her and the roof collapsed above her. The darkling cocked its head and vanished.
The house fell silent, and the walls and roof remained in tact. For that brief moment the vision had returned. Now it was gone.
In the hall was very little. A single framed picture of amateur skill. A tall, heroic looking figure. A beautiful woman, and two little boys. They looked no older than three years of age.
As Shii was looking at the picture, she heard the sound of a door opening. The door in front of her had opened, and from inside peered the eyes of a child. He quickly shut the door and the scurrying of feet could be heard behind it.
The whispers were starting again, and one voice in particular rose out among them.
"I gave you my blood... now you'll give me yours..."
The child was huddled in the corner, poorly hidden behind a thread-bare blanket next to a bed. He made eye contact with Shii and his face screwed up into a visage of complete terror. The child screamed as if he was staring into the face of a man covered in the blood of his mother.
To Shii's horror, that was exactly what he was staring at. Kain stepped through the Demon's body, sending through her a wave of such malice and insanity that it violated every inch of her body. He was nothing like the man she had seen before. He was frighteningly thin, almost a corpse. His skin was so pale that it was translucent, revealing the was of veins that wove together underneath it. He was clad in armor, black as the night that was outside. Everything was beginning to come together again. Piece by piece, the vision began to return.
"SHhhh...." Kain hissed at the child who was weeping at the foot of the bed. His mouth and neck were soaked with blood, as were his hands. It trailed in after him on his boots. The Betrayer smiled, revealing a mouthful of teeth that had not been there before. Fangs sharpened and filed to look like a darklings, the very creatures that tried to bleed him out the day he offered Lexi his love.
"You will see your mother, s-soon." As he knelt down by the child the clattering sound of those vile creatures filled the doorway behind Shii. Their oblong and misshapen heads peered through the door on their craning neck, tongues licking at their teeth as they waited for leftovers.
Kain's right hand slid over the child's smooth head, running his blood slicked fingers through the boy's fine brown hair. The child only whimpered, shaking in a pool of his own urine. "Daddy won't save you.... he is a traitor." Before the child could cry out Kain had torn his hand backward, ripping the child's head from his shoulders. The hot blood surged over Kain's lap as he lifted the child's body to his mouth, letting the blood flow into him as if he were drinking from some ghastly cup.
As the darklings scuttled inside and began to fight over the child's head, a shout was heard.
"LUCAS!" Kain looked backwards, his eyes locking with Shii. Suddenly this vision was real. He smiled at her, running his gore crusted tongue over his teeth. "I know you..."
The images vanished like smoke on the wind. She was alone. Alone with the nightmare she had just witnessed, and the knowledge that there was no doubt who The Betrayer was. The bane of life.
The Vampire.
If she had the courage there were two more rooms to enter. Two more pieces to this terrible puzzle that would lead to the inevitable battle.
Shii stood there, her eyes wide and her mouth open, ever so slightly. "H-He spoke to me..." She managed to get out as she sunk down to her knees. "How.... How could he have...." She held onto her arms as she sat there, staring at the ground, the image of that poor child, being killed like that. "Why?" She choked out as tears came to her eyes, but she couldn't stop here, she had gotten in to far to stop. Quickly getting up shakily she turned and ran out of the door, looking to the other two, "It's ok...." She whispered to herself as she went to the one closest to herself, "Nothing bad will happen... Nothing bad...." She still tried to keep herself from breaking down again as she grasped onto the knob and opened the door....
The door squealed in protest as Shii pushed on it, revealing a room with a single decayed bed. It was large enough for two adults, so it was safe to assume that this was Roland and Lexi's room. In the corner was the shattered remains of a cabinet, and the outer wall of the room had been blown out some time ago. There were deep gashes across every surface, and it appeared that the bed had been thrashed apart some time ago.
She had only a moment to take in the room. The whispers began again, malicious and persistent in their breaking of Shii's mind. The whispers were no longer the sounds of human voices... they were the chattering of Darklings. The howl of wind on a high mountain peak, and distant laughter... these sounds were not of this house. Were they foreshadowing a later event? Fragments of the future of the past, and they were somehow... familiar to Shii.
Everything began to move backwards. Centuries flew by in the blink of an eye as the decay of the room was reversed, a massive beast was visible for no longer than a flash of light as it rebuilt the bed, the cabinet and the wall. The gashes were filled and suddenly it was peaceful. Lexi sat atop her bed, folding an infants clothes. The boy who Shii saw decapitated no more than two minutes ago sat beside her, his head nestled against her lap. She sang a gentle song.
When will papa and Rasmus be home? The little boy looked up at his mother. She silenced her song and stroked the beautiful child's hair. "Soon, love. They are exploring, as our kind often do." The boy smiled and shut his eyes.
The sound of footsteps could be heard as the front door was opened. Lexi's face shone with joy. "There is your father now, Lucas. Go to your room and fold your linens as I taught you. He will be very proud." The boy smiled, and slid from the bed and out the door.
Lexi's joy was slowly overtaken by confusion. There were more than two pairs of feet climbing the stairs as well as a strange clacking noise. Perhaps Roland and Rasmus had found something on their adventure? She looked to the door and smiled, folding the shirt she had in front of her as she waited for her husband to find her.
As the door opened, Lexi stretched out across the bed and smiled slyly. "Hello love..." The color in Lexi's cheeks drained away and she found herself frozen to the bed.
"Hello love."
Lexi's mouth hung slack and she could not bring herself to speak. Darklings filed into the room behind Kain, looking at her in ecstasy as the smelled the sweetness of her flesh. Kain looked down at her hungrily. In his eyes was lust... but not a lust of flesh. A lust for murder.
"I smell children, love... does that mean you have been unfaithful?"
"Kain... Where have you been? Where did you- you..."
She found herself unable to speak to him. This was not the man she knew. The one who had once saved her life from the fetid creatures was now their leader. He took a single step forward, and tore open the top of the lace at the neck of his shirt. He sneered, revealing those teeth so akin to the darklings'. Teeth made to rip and to tear and to slice.
"You look like a whore on that bed, Lexi... a whore waiting for her patron to violate her . Where you waiting for him, whore? For the Traitor?"
Tears were beginning to swell on her eyes. It was not because of the hurtful things he said. It was the fear -the realization of her hopelessness. The end of her life. Shii heard her thoughts, desperate and pleading. Roland come home. Roland please come home come home now...
"You vile creature... murderous b***h. You killed me... I gave you my blood and my heart and you drank it like a greedy pig."
Lexi found the strength to push herself against the headboard of the bed, drawing her knees up to her chest. She wept quietly, petrified by the monster in front of her. "Your filthy husband threw me out of your life... but I forgive you. I love you. I know you'll give it back to me..."
"K-kain. Please. Please." He crossed the room in a single moment, seizing Lexi's throat in both of his hands. His eyes were red with hunger. He looked into her eyes, drawing two fingers across her soft golden hair. She finally screamed, a sound so filled with fear that any who heard it would know she was staring death in the face. The sound was cut off when Kain tightened his grip.
"I gave you my blood... now you'll give me yours... then your children's... I want it all back, you filthy slut. You disgusting little harpy." It was only at the mention of her children that Lexi tried to resist. She howled at the man, her voice hoarse and chocked as she hit him with her fists. "Don't you touch him! Don't you dare touch Lucas you monster!"
Kain had heard enough. He was no monster. She was. His teeth ripped into her neck to silence her.
Lexi did not scream. Her last act of defiance would not be to beg for her life. It would not be to fight Kain. It would be to refuse him the satisfaction of watching her suffer. As he tore her throat from her neck she tried to utter four secret words. Words she had told her husband for the four years they had held one another, and would have told him throughout the rest of her life. All that came out was gurgling.
He drained her of every last drop, and as he let her body fall to the floor the darklings bounded over him. Their claws did their ripping and their teeth did their gnashing. It was their sweetest meal.
Kain stood, blood dripping from his chin and from his mouth. In his eyes was a sudden look of triumph. The delusion that he had conquered the beast which had ended his life. All he had done was murdered an innocent woman. He turned to the door and hissed.
"Where are you, little Lucas..."
The cracking sound of Lexi's bones being snapped brought the world out of focus, and in the beat of a heart Kain and the Darklings were gone. All that remained was Lexi, sightless eyes staring off. Through the wall. To that picture painted for them. Her family.
My Greatest Sin Greed
Shii followed Lexi's blank gaze and spotted the picture, if her heart was a harp.... A string would have broken right then. "Oh..." She got out with an exhale of breath. She had no idea that one person could be so wronged, that they'd do this to their loved ones.... Well, the ones he use to love. Taking her gaze away from the picture she looked at Lexi, a frown formed as she stared at her. Eventually not being able to look at her anymore, she turned and headed for the last room.
((Hey, no worries! ^^; Glad you're back though. My time is short. In two days I leave for the Caribbean. I'll be gone for 8 days, so I really want to get this lore finished before I go. That way Shii isn't trapped with my characters. If you feel like you understand Llars, Rage and the rest enough, I can let you take control of them while I'm gone. I sure don't want the RP to slow down because I'm gone D smile )
As Shii walked down the hall, she found herself behind Kain as he returned to Lucas' room. The moment she had experienced before... the poor child was mere moments from death. The only comfort that could be given was that he would be joining his mother soon. But there was no comfort for Shii... in fact as Kain turned and stared into her eyes she knew that the visions were manifesting themselves again.
"Will you be there for me, when the time comes?" Kain was upon her without warning, his very real hands closed around Shii's throat. He looked at her with an untold amount of bloodlust, so eager was he to lure Roland from his home. To kill the man who destroyed his life.
"We made a deal, you and I... and you best keep it, or I'll--"
Down the stairs, what sounded like cannon fire exploded into the room. Shards of shattered planks of wood flew across the floor and into the bottom of the stairs. Roland barreled into his home, roaring.
"LEXI!!!" There was great fear in his voice. The fear of both a father and a husband. Kain looked down the stairs at Roland, then back to Shii. "Remember..." His body shuddered, and winked from existance. That vision was ended. Roland's was about to begin.
Shii grasped at where his hands had been around her neck, "I thought these were visions!" She whispered to herself as she looked down the stairs, "Remember what...?" She questioned as she let her hands drop down from where they had been. This was getting to real. If they could touch her, then they could kill her as well..... Thinking this Shii looked around, "Oh great...." She mumbled, what if that one Roland guy knew her too? And wanted her dead? This wasn't good.
Roland did not run up the stairs. He bounded over them, leaping the paltry ten steps with a single jump. He passed through Shii, reassuring her that is appeared only Kain knew of her existence... though that was troubling enough.
All of Rolands thoughts could be heard. Every single nerve in his body was aflame.
Blood He could smell it. Everywhere in his house... His son's room, his room... in the great distance, Shii heard a familiar voice, unweathered by millenias of age. "Papa! What is the matter! Why did you break the door? Papa!"
Let my wife be safe let my son be safe let my love be safe let this be a dream let this...
Roland all but tore the door to Lucas' room down. His eyes fell to his beautiful boy's skull, skin and flesh picked clean from the bloody white bone. His lovely blue eyes peered vacantly into his father's., and the remains of his frail body rested in the corner.
