Fan Fiction ❯ The Soul Reaver and The Spirit Shield ❯ Plans for the Future ( Chapter 27 )

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Sitting at the edge of the balcony to Janos's retreat, overlooking the lake below, Jenise sat alone allowing the ancient vampire's tale to sink into her mind. Her shield lay across her lap. Half of her heritage had been revealed to her and the destiny she should have had. However, these revelations left her with even more questions than she had started with.

"What ails you my child?" the comforting voice of Janos interrupted Jenise's thoughts.

Jenise sighed heavily before answering. "I'm confused. I know I was destined to protect the guardians, but during my time, there are none. The only guardian remaining is the vampire Kain, and Vorador insists that we protect him, as he is the only one Vorador depends on to rid us of the Sarafan Lord."

"Do not fret child," Janos consoled as he took a seat next to the priestess. "You shall not be cheated of your duties." The vampire gently brushed a strand of hair from Jenise's solemn face, as a father would his daughter. "You remind me so much of her."

"Who?" Jenise's head snapped up with attention at Janos's unintentional reminiscence.

"Jenesca, the lieutenant of the human army. You look remarkably like her, aside from your vampiric characteristics and the much longer hair."

"That's what I also don't understand!" outburst the anguished young woman. "My ancestors where human! Why do I resemble a vampire! Why do I have some of their abilities?"

The vampire rested his hands gently on the priestess's arms to try to calm her down. "Easy Jenise. I shall tell you. Yes, Jenesca was human, but the father of her child was not. Her beloved, the commander of the vampire army, is from whom you inherit your vampire traits. His name was Lord Rahzel."

"The similarities in our names seem to be quite the coincidence. Wouldn't you agree, Janos?" Raziel inquired from the doorway behind the seated pair. He had been listening to the conversation, unnoticed by Janos and Jenise.

Janos grinned all too knowingly. "Indeed it is, Raziel. Indeed it is. You, Raziel, are the reincarnation of the first Reaver bearer, Rahzel. And as such, you are its rightful owner. And just as Raziel has inherited his name from his predecessor, so have you Jenise."

"I see. How convenient."

"This is really starting to get complicated," Jenise wearily replied. "Not only do I have to protect you now, Raziel, but you are also my great, great, great, great-"

"Tell me this Janos, how is it possible for a human and a vampire to produce offspring? During my days as a vampire, we created more vampires. Vampires were not born," questioned the reaver of souls.

"Yes, you're race of vampires could not. But the ancient race is different from that of the new, undead race. The ancient vampires were living, breathing beings like humans are. We are mortal, as they are, though our lives are much longer. We are not so dissimilar to them," explained Janos.

"-great, great, great, great, great-"

Raziel pondered this tidbit of information. "So it was possible then. That means in my past life I really was Jenise's…"

"-great, great, granddad," the priestess finally finished, having not really been paying attention to the latest part of the conversation. Raziel looked sternly down upon her.

"You are such a child," he scolded her.

"It's my way of coping," she chided back. Irritated by Raziel's comment, she decided to harass him. "So does this mean I can call you `Daddy' now?"

"No!"

"Okay, how about `Gramps'?"

"NO!"

"Then how about-"

"How about I call you `lunch' if you don't knock it off!" warned the devourer of souls as he slightly tugged at his cowl.

Janos sighed deeply with mild frustration. Children… Wanting to push the conversation onward, and to prevent the argument from escalating further, Janos continued his lecture.

"Jenise, though the shield you hold may seem to be the strongest shield you have ever come across, it is not in its strongest form."

"What do you mean?" she inquired, her curiosity piqued.

"That shield is intended to be a shield of the spirit. The forged metal you hold now is only the conduit for which to channel the spirit through. But the shield also has a spirit of its own, and its purpose is to help aid and protect the bearer during battle. However, the spirit must be freed of its confinements, before it will be able to fulfill its destiny," answered the ancient vampire.

"So that mean the shield has to be broken?" Raziel wondered aloud.

"That presumption is correct, Raziel."

"That's impossible!" exclaimed the priestess. "This shield cannot be broken! It's lasted centuries without wear! Until I was killed, there weren't even any signs of aging! And even still, this shield will not break!"

"That is almost true, Jenise. Though the shield has not been broken, as of yet, that does not make it invincible. There is a way to break the bonds that conceal the spirit of the shield, but those methods, I do not know. You will have to discover this on your own."

"I hope that I figure it out before it's too late," commented Jenise, disappointed with not knowing how she is going to unlock the shield's true power.

The trio had eventually moved back inside Janos's mansion. The ancient vampire had left Raziel and Jenise for the time being so that they would be able to reflect upon the mountain of revelations that had recently been bestowed upon them.

"So the pillars were built to protect Nosgoth from evil and corruption," Raziel thought out loud, "but with Ariel's murder, the pillars themselves become corrupted."

"To purify the pillars, new guardians were required. However, new guardians would not be born unless the tainted ones were to die," replied Jenise.

"And so Kain, after his resurrection as a vampire, was instructed to murder the guardians so that balance would return to Nosgoth and that his vampiric curse would be lifted. But when he discovered that he was the guardian of balance, and being the sole surviving vampire, he opted to refuse sacrificing himself, having developed a contempt for humanity," continued the reaver of souls.

"Because the pillars are tied directly to Nosgoth, the land has become corrupt as well, thus allowing the Hilden to reemerge in this world. And unless new guardians are born, we cannot cure Nosgoth of its curse and rid ourselves of the Hilden race," the priestess proclaimed.

"Which means Kain must die," Raziel replied, though he did not sound overjoyed at the prospect. "But I don't think it would work if we killed the Kain of my time. Nosgoth would only heal itself in the far future. And even still, after the millenniums of corruption, it may be too far gone to recover."

"So you're saying we have to kill Kain at an earlier time," inquired Jenise.

"Unfortunately. If we were to do that, Nosgoth may be saved, but this would alter future events."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, for starters, I would cease to exist. Kain resurrected my brethren and myself. If he were to be killed before that…" the former vampire began to explain before trailing off.

"What if we were to kill him after he resurrects you?"

"That might not be a good idea. By then, the Hilden will have ample time for a full scale invasion on Nosgoth," Raziel declined the notion. The pair sat in silent concentration, attempting to find an alternate solution to their predicament.

"Wait! I think I've come up with an idea!" Jenise cheered as she jumped out of her seat with excitement. Raziel stared at her with anticipation. "You said you were in search of the Heart of Darkness, right?"

Raziel nodded his confirmation.

"But you said you were unsure if you were to use it to restore Janos or not, correct?"

"Yes, get to the point," the reaver of souls replied slightly annoyed. His irritation did not alter Jenise's high spirits, though.

"What if you were never meant to use it on Janos? What if you were to use it on someone else?"

Raziel sat up suddenly as he realized what Jenise's implication was. "I think that's a great idea. Though I'm not sure it will work. If not, the worst that will happen is that we'd just end up where we started."

"Now all we need to do is find the Heart," Jenise devised a plan. "No one knows what happened to it. The Heart disappeared one day several centuries ago. For the longest time, vampire hunters guarded it, concealing it within the Stronghold. That is, until Moebius joined their crusade. He insisted on protecting it until he was murdered. It was discovered missing shortly thereafter."

"Then we go after Moebius. We will travel to his time and confront him where he cannot escape," proclaimed Raziel with renewed vigor, rising to his feet in determination.

"Leaving so soon?" Janos's deeply accented voice interjected. Jenise rose to her feet, a slightly sheepish look on her face.

"We're terribly sorry to leave you so soon. We would have loved to stay longer, but we've just come up with an idea that may save Nosgoth."

"It's quite alright. I understand," Janos replied as he eyed Jenise. "I was just hoping you would stay long enough to be fitted in better attire."

Jenise's eyes lit up. "Do you mean new armor?" she excitedly inquired, suddenly feeling very inadequate in the torn pieces of chain mail hanging off her body.

"Indeed," answered the vampire with a slight nod. A small grin painted on his face. "The offer extends to you as well Raziel." The ancient turned his attention to the reaver of souls, his only `protection' being tattered remnants of cloth over his forearms and shins, and the ever-present cowl bearing his insignia.

"Though your intentions mean well, I unfortunately must decline," responded Raziel. "They would be of no use to me should I need to shift to the spectral realm. The physical limitations armor possesses would only cause them to remain behind while I crossed planes."

Janos gave an understanding nod. "Jenise, you will find that I left armor of various sizes in your bedchamber. Feel free to try them on."

At the dismissal, Jenise quickly headed towards the room Janos had provided for her the night before. Sprawled out on the bed before her, her many different pieces of armor and equipment. Taking a moment to take in the sight, Jenise began to dig through the assortment.

After Jenise had disappeared from sight, Janos turned his full attention to Raziel. "The battles you are about to face are going to be far more difficult than any you have ever fought before."

"What do you mean?"

"The enemies you are about to encounter. If it is true, that the Hilden have returned to Nosgoth, then there are many difficult battles ahead of you. Especially more so now, considering humans have fallen under their guise," explained Janos.

The vampire's forewarning was interrupted as Jenise returned from her bedchamber, donning new equipment. Janos and Raziel turned to her direction, inspecting her choice of armor. Though she had replaced every other piece of attire she had previously wore, she chose to keep her original chest plate. Janos noticed this immediately.

"Did you not find a chest plate to your liking, Jenise?" he inquired.

Jenise looked up to him with her answer. "Not at all. The choices you gave me were excellent in craftsmanship and durability. I just prefer this one. It's my lucky chest plate. It's protected me in many battles."

Janos nodded his head with approval as he took a better look at Jenise's new armor. She had replaced the tattered cotton and torn chain mail with leather, a much higher quality material. The leather was nearly impossible to cut through. The leather covered her from shoulder to shin, and was form-fitting. Not to tight to restrict movement, but not too loose to get in the way. Matching the leather suit were leather gloves that stopped at the elbow. Her elbow and upper arms were protected by high quality plate mail.

Jenise had chosen a new pair of boots to wear as well. Like her previous pair, they were crafted of metal, but the new pair was of a better quality metal. There were also more joints in these boots to allow for better movement. This pair also went up higher, protecting Jenise's shins as well, behind a think double layer of metal. Knee guards and more plate mail protected the rest of her legs.

Janos smiled with approval. "That is much better. Your old armor left you vulnerable to attack." The ancient vampire replied as he turned away from Jenise. "I have one more gift for you," he informed as he crossed the room. He opened a large wooden chest at the opposite side of the room. From it, he removed Jenise's shield. As he brought it to her, she noticed that the areas of corrosion and rust had disappeared without a trace.

As Janos handed Jenise her shield, her eyes widened as she realized she was not seeing things. "But how…" she stuttered to ask how he repaired her shield, but the words never came. Without saying a word, Janos simply winked a response, as if to say it was his own little secret. Raziel approached the pair, his interest also on the shield.

"I was wondering Janos, the inscriptions on the shield. Are you able to read them?"

The ancient vampire glanced at Raziel, before turning his attention back at the shield. The reaver of souls waited patiently. Jenise's curiosity had also been piqued, and she too waited silently for the vampire to speak.

"Yes. I can read this. It was written in the language of the ancient vampires."

"What does it say?" Jenise urged the vampire. For the longest time she had wondered what the inscription meant, but could find no one who could decipher it until now.

"These two symbols on the front, though similar, represent different words. The one on the left means `of the spirit' and the one on the right means `of the soul'." Janos stated as he turned the shield over to the back, studying the inscription on the attached gauntlet. After a moment, the vampire translated the inscription.

"The Power of Spirit

And the Power of Soul

United Together

Brings Power Untold"

Raziel and Jenise remained quiet for a few moments, contemplating the enigmatic words. Unable to discover the caption's meaning on her own, the priestess let out a frustrated sigh.

"But what does it mean?" she demanded.