Fan Fiction ❯ The Soul Reaver and The Spirit Shield ❯ Secrets of Nosgoth: Part Two ( Chapter 25 )

Chapter Twenty-Five

"That same shield is the one in your very possession, Jenise," Janos enlightened his awestruck guests. Jenise removed the shield from her back, staring at it in amazement.

"I knew this shield was old, but I never imagined it was nearly this old," she muttered to herself. After a moment, her head snapped up as a realization hit her. "This shield has been in my family's heritage for centuries, passed down from mother to daughter. Does that mean that the lieutenant was…?"

"Yes, it does," Janos nodded a confirmation. "The lieutenant is your great ancestor."

The priestess took a seat in a nearby chair, her head dizzy with revelations. Raziel looked on, slightly concerned. He knew the overwhelming experience of learning part of one's history and destiny.

"Wait a second," Jenise blurted with revelation. "If that's true, then my purpose is to protect you, Raziel," she stated, looking up at the reaver of souls. "I'm the wielder of the shield, and you're the bearer of the Soul Reaver. That means I'm also supposed to protect the pillar guardians…but there are no guardians…" the priestess trailed off.

"Please, Janos. Continue your story," Raziel politely asked of the vampire, who wore a toothy grin at Jenise's insight.

"The pillars had been completed and the Reaver had been forged. Now all that was left was to activate the pillars and rid Nosgoth of the Hilden. The guardians all assembled themselves at the pillars and began to pour their energy into the artifacts. As the energy escalated, the pillar symbols pulsed with power.

"Suddenly, an electric arch of energy shot out from each of the outer eight pillars and into the center pillar of balance. From the balance pillar, another, much greater arch of energy shot out from the balance symbol and met with the center of the pillar platform. There, the `keyhole' for the Reaver revealed itself, as a small ripple of energy large enough to fit the blade within.

"Just as the vampire commander was about to thrust the Reaver into its `keyhole,' the act which would free Nosgoth, the sound of war horns filled the air. The Hilden had breached the vampire and human army and were just beyond the gates surrounding the pillars. The Hilden ruler was at the front of the attack, attempting to breach the wall separating his army from the pillars.

"The defending armies outside were dwindling, the results of being at the disadvantage of a surprise attack. The Hilden were attempting to break down the gateway. Everyone looked on with horror as the last barrier of the gate doors were broken off their hinges. They swarmed the premises. What few warriors we had within immediately attacked the trespassers. The lieutenant of the human army, sworn to protect the pillars and their guardians, leapt into battle with unfettered determination.

"The vampire bearer of the Reaver stood guard at the center of the platform, watching should any Hilden try to approach the circle. Out of the fray and chaos, emerged the Hilden lord, his eyes set of the pray that shouldn't have eluded him a few weeks beforehand. With hate-filled vengeance, the Hilden lord attacked the vampire.

"A bloody battle ensued. Both the vampire and Hilden ruler dealt many critical blows, but neither were showing any signs of backing down. But the vampire had a plan. The Hilden lord attacked again, and the vampire let the attack nick him, but allowed the lord to believe he had crippled him. Overconfident, the Hilden lord strode over the vampire, gloating of his victory. When he let his guard down, the vampire attacked.

"The Hilden lord suffered a vital blow. Helpless to defend himself, the vampire moved in for the kill, determined to end the struggle once and for all. But he had been distracted. He turned his head in the direction of the balance guardian, who was calling out to him, warning him of the short amount of time left before the guardians lost their energy. With this distraction, the Hilden lord leapt at the vampire, and thrust his sword through the vampire's stomach.

"The human lieutenant had just slain a Hilden in time to witness the devastating act upon her beloved. Enraged, she charged to his protection. The Hilden lord was preparing the killing blow, when the human's shield came into the path of his sword. He looked down at the human, puzzled for a moment, before recognizing her as the wench who interfered a few weeks prior.

"The Hilden lord prepared another attack, this one aimed for the lieutenant. As he did so, a flurry of emotions swarmed the lieutenant. Rage at the Hilden, guilt for failing her beloved, sorrow for his eminent death, and finally, duty to protect the circle. The Hilden lord had summoned up a strange energy to aid him in his attack. As he swung his weapon down upon the lieutenant, she raised her shield defiantly against him, pouring her energy into the object of protection.

"The shield glowed with power. As the blade came near, a barrier of energy manifested in front of the shield. The Hilden's attack never came near to the shield. The lieutenant continued to pour her energy into the shield. The magnitude of her energy thrust the Hilden lord back, through the air and into the battleground. The lieutenant did not refrain, for she knew the Hilden lord would attempt retaliation.

"She pushed all her energy into the shield. As she did so, the shield increased the energy barrier that had been created, causing it to surround the pillar circle. With the barrier in place, the lieutenant glanced over her shoulder to assess the condition of her love. She knew he would not survive, but she refused to think about that. He was able to rise to one knee, so she encouraged him to fulfill his role in the liberation of Nosgoth.

"The vampire commander took up the Soul Reaver, and limped to the energy ripple at the center of the circle. With a great effort, he thrust the blade downwards into the `keyhole.' A flash of energy filled the circle, and the blinding light knocked the vampire back. A large beam of energy shot straight up into the air, opening a portal in the night sky. All that were present stopped to stare; some in awe, some in fear.

"Suddenly, the portal began to create a vacuum, ripping the Hilden warriors from the ground, and greedily swallowing them. The Hilden Lord watched on helplessly. Vengeance for his people filled him, and he resorted to an ancient Hilden spell to extract his revenge. As he was pulled from the ground by the portal, he recited the spell, finishing it as he neared the portal barrier.

"With a flash of energy, the Hilden lord was gone. But the aftermath of his presence had not. The spell had taken immediate effect and all the vampires began to writhe in pain. With their concentration broken by their agony, the pillar guardians abruptly stopped channeling their energy into the pillars, and the portal closed. With the Hilden gone, the human lieutenant withdrew the barrier she had erected. She went to her beloved's side, afraid of what was happening to him and the other vampires.

"The pain eventually subsided, and the vampires slowly rose to their feet, one by one. All except for the Reaver bearer, that is. He was suffering from his fatal wounds, dying in the lieutenant's arms. We all felt the sorrow she felt that day, for he had been one of the noblest of our kind. But in the long run, it was for the better of them both. For we soon discovered what the Hilden lord's spell had wrought upon us: the need for blood.

"It was a cruel joke played upon both humans and vampires. The curse was a revenge against the alliance between the two species, sparked by the undying love between a vampire commander and a human lieutenant. The vampires were now forced by the curse to feed on the humans who for centuries they had sworn to protect. And the humans found themselves in fear of the beings they had so entrusted with their lives.

"At first, many vampires tried to refuse the call of the blood thirst. They would not commit the blasphemy of breaking their sworn oath to protect the humans. Their beliefs and morals were so great, that their refusal sent them to their deaths. Realizing the tragic outcome of refusal, the vampires gave in to the thirst. Their argument being, that if there were no vampires to protect Nosgoth and its inhabitants, then who would?

"After the Hilden wars, the vampire population of Nosgoth had dwindled from several thousands to a mere seven hundred thirty-two. Almost half died at the refusal to drink blood. The remaining vampires accepted the curse and began to feed upon the humans. The humans eventually forgot the Hilden wars and the fear of Nosgoth's vampires developed.

"The humans began to create hunting parties for which to destroy `the vampire menace'. We were not easy to kill, but often times, carelessness on the vampire's part led to his death. Over the next few centuries, our numbers were drastically thinned. Even the vampire guardians had fallen at the hands of vampire hunters.

"Before I knew it, I was the sole survivor of the vampires. It pained me that the very people we had protected so long ago had driven our race to extinction. I knew that with my death, there would be no more protectors of Nosgoth, despite the fact that the pillars had chosen new guardians. It was then that I decided to attempt a feat that would have been heavily frowned upon during the time before the Hilden wars. It was a feat that had never been attempted beforehand.

"Among the humans, there was a small cult of humans who were still loyal to vampires. They were the few who still knew the stories of the `great war between the demons.' These humans, for generations, would aid a vampire in a time of need. I took interest in these outcasts and their current leader did not escape my attention. He was a strong warrior and a great leader, so I chose him to be the first of the next generation of vampires.

"I approached him alone one night, and proposed my offer to him. I did not accept an answer from him right away. I wanted him to think about it carefully. I wanted it to be the right decision for himself. The next night, I encountered him again, and he had decided to accept my offer. And so was born my first vampire son, Vorador."

"He was the first vampire you created?" Raziel interrupted, astonished by the newfound knowledge. "How old does that make him then?"

Janos answered Raziel's question and continued. "That day was over three hundred years ago, but it didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped. As Vorador transformed to a vampire, his human body could not sustain the changes. He suffered a painful and horrific death. As his body lie still, his skin cooling, I felt a wave of utter nausea and despair. But then, Vorador rose, awoken as a new specie of vampire. He was alive, but at the same time he wasn't. Undead was the term eventually applied to his state of being. Vampires were now truly the demons of Nosgoth.

"From me, Vorador had acquired vampiric characteristics; pale complexion, pointed ears, brute strength, and even the thirst. However, his unnatural resurrection prevented him from the abilities of withstanding sunlight and water. He also did not inherit the wings that enable a vampire to fly. Despite these changes, an even greater one took place. He inherited a `dark gift', an ability none of the ancient vampires possessed: accelerated regeneration. It was a result of his undead transformation.

"For several years, I trained Vorador on the teachings of our once magnificent race. He became stronger over those years. He learned to control his thirst for blood and eventually grew a tolerance to sunlight and water, though he is not entirely immune to them. Overall, the successes of Vorador's change overrode the unexpected side effects and I created three more like Vorador. I trained those three as well, with Vorador's assistance.

"After a century's time, my four children underwent a strange turn of events. They went into a comatose state, secluding themselves for several months. When they emerged, they were transformed. Their almost entirely human appearances had changed to resemble more of a vampiric one. Their hands and feet had become cloven, as mine are. They also developed the ability to make more vampires of their own.

"My children began to create small groups of their own vampire children. To the horror of the humans, the vampire population began to thrive once again. They had believed vampires to be extinct, but found themselves arming themselves once again in the hunt for vampires. But I noticed the struggle to be terribly different this second time around. The vampire thirst for blood, had been changed from a simple requirement to live into a sadistic act of joy. And the human perjury of vampires became a bloodlust massacre. And so it has been, for the past two hundred years."