Fan Fiction ❯ The Soul Reaver and The Spirit Shield ❯ Old Rivals ( Chapter 14 )

Chapter Forteen

"No, Raziel. I don't think we should attack him," the priestess halted her partner from ambushing the unsuspecting Sarafan. She took a moment to think quietly to herself, then suddenly announced, "I have a plan."

Raziel responded with quiet curiosity. He wanted to know what Jenise's reasoning was behind her sudden refrain from confrontation. An amateur Sarafan warrior could be taken by surprise and eliminated before he even realized it. Jenise finally answered his silent ponderings.

"Because he was only recently recruited, he won't recognize me. And my high rank is more than enough than to intimidate a low rank such as he. I can make him tell me everything he knows without even having to try. Now we won't have to go searching through every single chamber in this place to find Mobius. We'll just go straight to him and take him by surprise," Jenise plotted, a crazed devious look seemed to glow in her eyes.

"And what am I to do?" inquired the reaver of souls.

"You'll be my back up. Just in case a high ranking Sarafan should decide to meet his untimely fate. That's what you'll be there for."

Raziel sighed, rolling his eyes. Since when did he become somebody's body guard, and of a Sarafan no less? Jenise calmly walked over to a rack containing some armor and selected a helmet. The helm completely covered her head, except for the face, which was open, minus the bridge plate extending from the top of the piece of armor. Raziel raised his eyebrow as if to say `What is that for?'

Jenise answered without him having to voice his question. "It's so that he won't be able to give his superiors my description when he reports my appearance here to them."

Raziel nodded in agreement. Placing the helmet on securely, Jenise took up a dominant poise and confidently strode out from behind the corner. The Sarafan guard immediately noticed Jenise's arrival and stood at attention.

"Why are you the only one at this post, guardsman?" the priestess sternly demanded of the Sarafan.

"The Lord has gathered the Sarafan army together," answered the guard nervously.

"And where have they gone?"

"T-to the city of Meridian. They departed just over a week ago."

"That's quite the journey," Jenise commented to herself before turning back to the guard. "And how many has he left here to guard the stronghold?"

"About thirty or so," the guard replied timidly, afraid for taking flack for the orders of his superior. "Are…are you here to take command of our forces here?"

Jenise was shocked at the sudden question, but hid it well. "Wasn't Lord Mobius left in command of the stronghold?"

"Yes, milady. But Lord Mobius, he…he disappeared two days ago. He was last seen entering his chambers for the evening. No one has seen him since. We are unable to summon him from his chamber. Not even a word escapes that room."

Jenise turned her back to the guard. Was no one in charge of the stronghold? Why would the Sarafan Lord sacrifice the sanctity of the stronghold in an effort to overtake Meridian, the city with the strongest loyalty to the Sarafan cause? And why would Mobius choose to abandon the Sarafan of this time when their forces seemed to be dominating Nosgoth? Nothing was adding up. Jenise turned back to the guard to continue her interrogation.

"Why has the Lord seen fit to relocate our base of operation to the city of Meridian? Last I knew, Meridian was more than capable of defending themselves from vampires."

"He dost not say, milady," answered the guard, his tone turning towards the suspicious side. "Why so many questions? Surely, you should know what the Lord has planned, given your high rank."

Jenise narrowed her eyes at the guard in a threatening glare. She instantly conjured up a believable excuse. "I, soldier, have been following my orders, as my Lord has commanded me. I was assigned to the outpost in Coorhagen. My orders were to evaluate our forces in the far north and then return to the stronghold. I had hoped to give my report to the Lord personally. Now I see I shall have to pursue him to Meridian."

"And why is it that I did not hear of a post in Coorhagen?" the guard boldly countered.

"You are treading on very thin ice, guardsman," warned Jenise with a low toned growl. The guard was not so much the push over she had assumed. His intuitiveness should have earned him a few ranks by now, but the Sarafan Lord's interest in other areas had caused an oversight, unfortunately for this guard.

"I was sent to Coorhagen a year ago. And the reason you have never heard of the post there is because the vampires have decimated our armies there. Very few of our men were left when I arrived. My stay was prolonged so that I could salvage what we had of our forces. When I felt the Sarafan numbers were replenished sufficiently with new recruits, I immediately departed to give my report to our Lord," the priestess lied convincingly. To further her legitimacy, she called a bluff, one she would later regret calling.

"Do you always question your superiors with such lack of respect, guardsman?" she demanded, emphasizing the word guardsman, reminding the Sarafan of his rank. "I shall wish to see the Priest acting in Mobius's place. I shall inform him of my arrival here…and your lack of respect for authority."

The guard seemed almost unfazed. "Why of course, milady. High Priest Stephin is expected at this post any moment for my status report. You are invited to stay whilst I await his arrival."

Jenise's eyes almost widened in shock. Stephin? He's here? High Priest Stephin? Jenise had risen through the ranks of the Sarafan side by side with Stephin, much to their displeasure. The two warriors had been very competitive with one another. Their rivalry only grew worse and worse throughout the years. Added to that was the jealously each held for one another. Stephin was jealous that Jenise was the Lord's obvious favorite. Jenise's jealously was over the fact that Stephin mastered the one Sarafan technique she could not: Glyph manipulation.

The truth was, Jenise was never able to harness glyph energy. She never needed to rely upon it. Her physical strength was superior to the average Sarafan's strength. Therefore, it did not bother her that many of the knights, who were of lower rank than her, were able to use glyph energy. However, when her rival Stephin was able to master the most difficult of glyph energy.

Under normal use of glyph energy, the Sarafan would conjure the needed energy into the weapon they were wielding called glyph manifestation. Glyph energy is normally too strong for a Sarafan to contain without a physical conduit. The added boost of power would only last long enough to attack an opponent with a single blow.

Unlike glyph manifestation, glyph manipulation did not require a weapon host. The energy could be summoned and controlled by the Sarafan directly. The energy would enhance the Sarafan's strength and speed, rather than the strength and dexterity of the weapon. Only a highly skilled Sarafan priest could master manipulation after many years of extreme training. Stephin had achieved this technique only a few weeks before Jenise's uncovering of the Sarafan Lord's hidden truths.

"No. I believe I shall seek out Priest Stephin myself. I would like to speak to him in private," Jenise declined the guardsman offer to wait for the priest's arrival. She did not want to alert Stephin to her existence. His loyalty to the Sarafan Lord would immediately cause Stephin to send a messenger to deliver the news of Jenise's survival to the Lord. As she spoke, Jenise turned away from the guardsman and began to head back towards Raziel's hidden location.

"Milady, you are headed the wrong way. High Priest Stephin is beyond this gate," the guardsman halted Jenise while pointing towards the aforementioned gate. Jenise stopped in her tracks. Her plan was quickly falling to pieces. She turned back towards the guardsman, trying to think up an excuse for her error.

Before Jenise could answer the guardsman's questioning glare, the sound of the solid iron gate sliding upwards interrupted the silent interrogation. From behind the gate, three Sarafan warriors revealed themselves. Two of them were high-ranking knights, near priest level. The third was unmistakably High Priest Stephin. Jenise composed herself, preparing for the inevitable encounter.

"Milord, we have an unexpected guest," the guardsman informed Stephin immediately upon his arrival. The priest turned his attention to Jenise as the guardsman continued. "She has come with news for the Sarafan Lord from Coorhagen in the far north," he retold. Stephin studied Jenise with suspicion.

"And what news dost thou bring from Coorhagen, priestess?" Stephin inquired.

"At my Lord's request, my information is for his ears only," answered Jenise, attempting to avoid a lengthy confrontation. "I was preparing to depart to Meridian where I hope to catch up to my Lord."

Stephin slowly approached Jenise, rubbing his chin in thought. "Interesting. I do not recall my Lord having sent anyone to Coorhagen," he smugly replied. "Your presence is quite intriguing. I knew of only one Sarafan Priestess, and I'm afraid she had become half-crazed with madness. She openly defied our Lord, making absurd accusations.

"Our Lord had sent Sarafan to her village in an attempt to find her, to help her. When we arrived at her village, we found that they were planning a rebellion. It appeared that the priestess had infected her village with the same madness that haunted her. We had no choice but to defend ourselves against rioting villagers.

"The Lord went on ahead of us while we…dealt…with the situation. He was determined to find the missing priestess before she infected more. When he returned the following day, he had informed us of the priestess's demise. She had been attacked by a demon of fire. In her senile state of mind, she foolishly believed she could defeat the demon. Despite my Lord's attempts to save her from the hands of the beast, she still perished.

"I'm certain you must have heard of this priestess. She was of the same rank you now hold when she was slain," Stephin told the altered tale of Jenise's fall. The priestess's blood boiled with his false allegations. The three other Sarafan, of course, believed Stephin's story.

"Yes. I am familiar with the story of that priestess," Jenise replied calmly, but her voice was laced with contempt. "However, the version I know was much different than the one you dictated. The story I was told was that the priestess was a very powerful warrior and was very headstrong. Her loyalty to the Sarafan and to our Lord was matched by no other."

"Those opinions contradict her treacherous actions. She was a warrior with few morals and no honor. Surely, you are not defending that traitor?" Stephin bated the priestess. Unable to contain her anger any longer, Jenise unsheathed her sword in a blind rage.

"I am no traitor! And I have more honor and better morals than that coward of a Lord will ever have!" she screamed, forgetting that she was trying to hide her identity. A malicious grin spread across Stephin's face. A glint of joy filled his eye.

"So, Jenise. I never would have imagined that I would encounter you face to face ever again. I don't know how you managed to survive, but it was a fatal mistake on your part to have come here. I will take great pleasure in taking your life with my own hands," the high priest snickered as he slowly unsheathed his sword, seeming to savor every second of the upcoming fight.

The priest and priestess raised both their weapons in preparation for battle. The knights who had accompanied Stephin into the corridor drew their weapons. Stephin raised his left hand to them, wordlessly calling them off. They understood perfectly that this was a battle he wished to fight alone in. Stephin and Jenise slowly circled each other, sizing each other up. For once, Jenise was actually questioning whether or not she would win this battle. Suddenly, without warning, the two warriors simultaneously charged at each other.