"What madness is this!? Where am I? How is it that I have come to be here?"
-- Soul Of Exceptional Will and Vigilance, having died in combat against Vampires.
        I know you, troubled soul. You are worthy. Where to begin? Alas, this is your first meeting.
       "I know you not, being of swirling light. Where am I?"
        You are in the spirit world. You retain your measure of thought only because I will it to be so. Your life as it once was, has ceased. The only remaining element is the purity of your consciousness, that powerful cohesive substance of energy and logic which draws its strength from the spectral realm, your soul.
       "Impossible! God would not reduce me to this capture! I demand in the name of God that you release me at once!"
        I do not hold you here, lost soul. I have merely spared you from total dissolution.  It is by your own will that you retain yourself, but it is by my will that you are not dissolved within the currents of the spectral realm; floating about and traveling without direction.
       "I demand an audience with my Maker, the allmighty God!"
        You are not in a position to demand anything.  And I know not of the God of which you speak. You are within the spectral realm, and I alone serve as your impeadence; or if you prefer, your protection from the forces that would otherwise consume you.
       "Who are you?"
        I am the guardian. I am the weaver of balance. I spin the wheel of fate, and determine the destinies of all.
       "I do not comprehend..."
       Endowed with the knowledge of all that has been, I shall attempt my utmost effort to unveil my origin.  Many Millenia ago, before the dawn of the Vampire race, I was.  Before the dawn of those who would hunt the Vampire, I was.  Before the dawn of the Human empire, I was.  Before the dawn of the Pillers Of Nosgoth, I was.  However, it was not always so.   In the days before recorded time, there existed a people who flouished within Nosgoth.  These people had no name. They had no culture. They had no history that has remained to be told. But of these people, the spectral realm was born.
       Gifted with the power to mold reality with a concentrated effort of will, these people created the spirit world. Within it, they forged a power greater than Man, greater than Vampire, equal only to Gods: They forged I, The Elder.
       I, The Elder, consumate of the pure energy of thought in motion, was brought into being.  Much like most Humans, I knew not what I was, nor what was my intended purpose. However, those responsible for my creation, also created thought and will within me, originating that purpose, which became more and more clear throughout the decades, centuries, and millenia that have unfolded. My creators, the "9 Archons" as I prefer to call them, were a people unlike any in all of Nosgoth. Fueled with a new essence, I molded the spirit world throughout the lands of Nosgoth, melding its primordial substance between both planes, and drawing strength from the cycle of birth and death. In time, all things living became a simbiotic coexistence between the energy of the spectral realm, and the matter of the Material realm.
       "Nonsense! There is no such thing as a spirit world! There is only heaven and hell, and I must be in hell."
        Foolish soul, heaven hell are subjetive. Here within the spectral realm, there is no discrimination between good and evil. There is only balance or lack thereof. You are here because of your will. You did not survive your injuries. You were maimed in battle, and your enemy was none other than the Vampire nemesis you held prejudice against. Although your wounds were fatal, your mind refused to give into the clutches of death, and through sheer force of will, you have retained yourself. Had it not been for my intervention, you would have been hunted down and consumed by the Sluah.
       "Then I am damned! Trapped within an eternal hell!"
        You are reborn. Unlike the Vampires whom you sought to exterminate, they possesed "Unlife" and were hence, "Unliving" creatures. You however, are of a different race. Endowed with my influence, you have become a memeber of the "Undying". Much like a troubled soul that I once assisted in revenge and the restoration of balance within Nosgoth, you have become a devourer of souls.
       "I would choose oblivion over this existence."
        So too, another once said. And as I once told another, The choice is not yours.
       "How many centuries will I be trapped within your clutches, Elder?"
        You are not trapped, lost soul. You are free of the bonds of pain and agony that would have haunted you in life. You are my agent now, my emmisary of balance, one of many whom have come before you.
       "What would you make of me? A slave? A servant? Damned to this hell for all eternity?"
        Know you not of what you are? Have you not taken heed of my words? Without my intervention, you would have become dissolved within the belly of a Sluah, or worse, the source of power for a Wraith. In either case, your existence would have completely ceased, and the "God" of which you speak, would have never granted you audience.
       But the past is over. And although the future may be predestined, we who stand outside of time dwell not in past of future ages. There is only the now.
       I, The Elder, have taken it upon myself to endow you with the ability to manipulate reality, to bring an end to the imbalance that is Nosgoth. And that, poor soul is I, The Elder.
       "What are you saying? That you yourself are the imbalance? Did you not speak of yourself as the spinner of fate?"
       Of these things, I have been.  Of true balance, I must return.  Those whom bore me into these realms, knew not of their actions, nor where they would lead.  And now, of my own volition, I must bring balance to both worlds...both spectral and material.
       As my agent, you will be endowed with the ability to gather matter, and will yourself to manifest in the physical world. You need not worry about maintaining your strength, as mine shall become yours. Once I am dissolved, you will retain the pure elements of the spectral realm, and the power that once belonged to the 9 Archons whose will decreed my existence, and ultimately, the demise of Nosgoth itself. I, The Elder, shall cease.
       "And what of me? What will become of me?"
        You may continue as you wish, but beware. Even though the spectral realm is fueled by and ultimately under my control, once I am vanquished it will slowly collapse upon itself.  All Souls everywhere will fade, and if not forced into transition, will spread massive death across all of Nosgoth. The Vampire menace will continue to feed, in order to sustain themselves. Although their powers stem from the underworld, and ultimately from me, they do not need the spectral realm in order to survive. They will spread themselves across Nosgoth like a plague of locusts in a desperate but futile attempt to survive. All life will be thrust into the clutches of change itself, left either to continue, or to cease.
       "What shall I do?"
        Do as you wish. For a time, you will be invincible. After I have ceased, you will once again be free to seek out whatever "God" you accept. You will be beyond my influence.  I, The Elder, will dissapear forever.  I, The Elder, will save Nosgoth.