When someone asked me why I have such a dark opinion, I just smile and say, “You wouldn’t understand.” And it would be true. They would not understand why I hate the world and everything about it. To understand what I am trying to say, you would have to become me, and I would not allow that fate to fall on anyone. Sometimes I wonder why I have not taken my own life, to be done with everything. The truth is, I can’t, not until my mission is truly done. I travel over Nosgoth and the surrounding regions, always hunting and killing those people that make this world already unbearable to live in.

Creatures of the Night. Blood Drinkers. Vampires.

I hunt them. Through both darkness and light, in rain or thunder, in graves and catacombs and even in ruined castles. I have made it my life’s work to dispose of such things that are a mockery of life itself. People always say to me, “Why don’t you settle down and have children? You aren’t that old yet, and what you are doing is useless.” Useless! Useless they say, that what I am doing is only postponing the inevitable? They are the ones who are useless. People who have sunk into fear and depression, mindless cattle who run when the vampires take more land from them and more corpses to fill their unholy ranks. But one day they will have nowhere to run, with the vampires knocking on their doors and craving blood. I have taken up the sword and given up my own mortality for the strength to beat these beasts. I will not lose to them.

My name is whispered by other vampire hunters in taverns, inns, and cities and has even once or twice fallen in the ears of rulers who require my service. I do not boast when I say that I am the best; I am better than anyone else and can prove it. I am called Sapphon, Huntress of the Dead and as some even dub me the “Bringer of Light.” But I have also a personal quest, one that I tell no one of. Long ago, and that was a very long time in as humans measure time, I began this quest to find a person who was dear to me, and taken from our village by vampires in the middle of the night. I am looking for my little brother, a light in the darkness.

Raziel, I am coming to find you, Raziel.
 

Raziel stood on the edge of a cliff, his clawed hands rubbing together. Beside him was Zephon, who looked with equal hunger in his eyes at the village at the base of the cliffs. How delightful this would be, attacking these people and drinking their fresh blood, to see the screams of pain and anguish on their faces before their life is taken, how they raced around in a panic. The stars had begun to come out over Nosgoth’s sky and dark fell very quickly now that it was winter. Pulling his cape up to cover his face save his eyes, Raziel turned to his friend.

“Brother, are we ready to attack?”

“Blood calls to me, Brother Raziel. Fresh, young and rejuvenating.”

“Then let us go.” 

The two vampires made their way quickly and silently down the cliffs, dashed along the edges of the village, then parted their own ways to feast. They would find each other after they had destroyed the village. Raziel crept along to the front of a wooden door in the small hovel and saw light seeping from underneath. He could hear voices inside: a man, a woman’s and two children. He licked his fangs, stood, and brought the door down with one swift kick. The children screamed at the vampire, covering their faces and crying. The mother threw herself in front of them while the husband, a big and meaty man, grabbed a scythe from the fields to use against the creature.

Raziel knocked the weapon from the man’s grasp, grabbed him by his throat and broke the human’s neck. The mother screamed again and pleaded with Raziel to take her but save her children. He backslapped the woman in her face, knocking her to the floor weeping as he grabbed the first child, a young boy. He kicked and squirmed, but holding him down with his strength, Raziel pulled back his cowl and drank from the young throat. Soon the boy stopped kicking altogether and Raziel dropped him to the ground. The other child, a young girl who was curled up in a ball, was more difficult but he took her life’s essence as well. With the wife on the ground, staring in shock at her dead family, all the vampire had to do was stamp her neck with his foot, and she went to the Afterlife.

Stepping outside, the village was already in flames, no doubt the work of Zephon. People were running about madly, some fleeing to the hills while others tried to put out the flames. Raziel stalked into the swirl, sword drawn and began his own merry dance of destruction. How he loved this, destroying human life that dared try to kill his own kind. An old man fell down under his blade, a woman with a baby had her face carved in half, two men tried to fight against the vampire with pikes, but without training they were no match. Soon there were no people left other than bodies, and the flames in the village leapt higher and higher.

And that was when Raziel saw her. Standing at the entrance to the village with a look of determination on her pale face, her golden hair whipping about behind her in the breezes. She wore gray armour on her shoulders, chest, arms and legs, and a long flowing tunic outlined in gold. On the chest plate she held a rose for some odd reason. In her hands a sword that glowed a faint green made Raziel step back for a moment. But she had seen him, and with a battle cry the warrior charged.

Her sword swung in a wide arc; Raziel sidestepped and swung his own blade upwards, she parried then jumped back. Both looked at each other, Raziel had never seen eyes like that, eyes that had seen the entire world and didn’t like any of it anymore. “You’re quite the expert swordswoman.”

She growled in her throat and dashed forwards, striking fast and then pivoted on the ball of her left foot and hitting Raziel with her armored leg. That sent him flying into a haystack that was only beginning to burn. “You are a weak vampire,” she spat. “Well, at least tell me your name so that I can etch it into your forehead when you die.” 

Raziel leapt forwards, wings spread as he knocked the woman down, claws tearing at the armour on her. He expected her to cry, to scream out, but all she did was grit her teeth and punch him full in the face. She then followed up with her sword striking Raziel through his left arm. The vampire screamed as he felt his skin burn and fall away from his body; sinking down to the ground, Raziel kept a wary eye on her. She maintained her distance but her sword was still at the ready. How could it be, that he was beaten by this human vampire hunter?

“I am called Sapphon the Vampire Slayer, the best in all of Nosgoth. Your name, vampire. Your kind took away everything I ever had, destroyed my home and my family. You all took away the one ray of light I eve had and I swore to kill you all long ago. A name!”

Raziel chuckled as he slowly got to his feet. “I am called Raziel, hunter. Do you really think that I would die so easily like this?” But the whole speech that Raziel was about to say never came. The Hunter Sapphon looked at him with pure shock with her mouth opened and trying to form words, but none came. Zephon chose at that moment to appear beside his brother.

“Who is she?” The vampire licked his lips and began to advance. Raziel stopped him, gripping on to Zephon’s wrist. Although the vampire would never show it, he was thinking back on memories that were better buried. He needed time to think on everything that had happened here.

“We are leaving, Zephon.” Raziel turned his attention to his vampire brethren to give him a blow if he did not listen to him, but there was no need. Turning back to look at Sapphon, she had already vanished to somewhere and the vampires didn’t even notice. Raziel would really need to look into this. As the two vampires made their way back up to Kain’s Chapel, Zephon looked at Raziel who was deep in thought. Now that was something new. 

Raziel didn’t even look back at the village as it burned.
 

“Alright, now you’re getting the hang of it! Sword raised over your head, blade down. Okay, now attack me!” The young boy, dressed in Sarafan clothing like his older sister, charged forwards with his wooden sword and was promptly knocked down by the blow he received over his head. “Protect your head on both sides. Don’t just look in one direction, little brother.”

Raziel slowly got to his feet, dark hair falling in front of his face as he wobbled from side to side. “You don’t have to hit so hard, Sapphon.”

The girl dressed in red robes as Raziel looked down at him, her face showing displeasure. Her hair was tied back into a tight braid, and the scar on the left side of her forehead showed. “Well a wooden blade is different from a real one and if it had been a real sword, then you would have had your head split open like a watermelon. Sometimes I wonder where I get an idiot of a brother.”

“And I wonder how I got such an ugly sister.” Raziel held the practice sword in both hands. Sapphon laughed even if she had a dangerous look in her eyes now, and once again they sparred. Raziel dodged to the left, narrowly avoiding falling off the edge of the cliff they were on and thrust forwards. Sapphon stepped back easily and whirled behind him, poking Raziel on his left shoulder. The young boy turned around with a growl in his throat and attacked again, this time using his full strength. Sapphon defended easily, then swiped out again; Raziel parried then dodged forwards once more. He cried out and found an opening in his older sister’s defense and brought his sword down.

A snap filled the air and both tumbled down. Panting for breath, Raziel looked over at Sapphon and found that her own practice sword was broken as was his, but he had managed to finally bring her down. “Not bad, little brother,” Sapphon muttered as she got up. Looking at the stump of her wooden sword, she tossed it over the edge of the cliff.

“Look at that,” Raziel pointed towards the setting sun that seemed to set the whole of Nosgoth on fire. Moving over to the rim of the cliff, he sat down and swung his legs back and forth. Sapphon sat down beside him and wiped the dirt from his face with tenderness like his mother, now dead. “So how many vampires are out there?”

“No one knows exactly. Even the king and all his advisors can’t be sure.”

“But they have us to help them, to make sure that we keep the peace in Nosgoth by ridding the world of them, right?”

“Yes, that is the truth.”

“Have you ever been to the king’s court, or vampire hunting? I bet all the monsters run from you Sapphon, because if they don’t they’re gonna get a thrashing.” The older girl laughed out loud and waved a hand in the air.

“I can only hope so, Raziel. I’ve never been to court but I will after I have come of age. As for slaying, when the Brotherhood goes out again I will go with them, bodyguard for Sorceress Aline. I will bring home a few trinkets for you and one or two heads just to show you how good I am.”

Raziel whooped and nearly in his exuberance went over the edge, but managed to right himself in time. “Rahab and Turel said that you couldn’t do anything big, but I’ll show him that I was right and you can do anything.”

Sapphon’s eye twitched as she looked into the sunset. “Oh, they said that, did they?” Raziel nodded but didn’t say anything else, just looked into the distance. He hugged Sapphon.

“I love you, older sister.”

“And I love you, my little brother.”

“Why do you wear a rose all the time?” He looked at the red flower hanging in his sister’s hair.

“To remember important things that might be forgotten, Raziel. I remember things that I don’t want to forget, and that is why I wear this flower.”

“Will you remember me?”

“Well, of course.”
 
 

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” Raziel woke up from his dream in a sweat, eyes darting from side to side as he looked about his crypt. Nothing, no one in sight. Just a dream, he thought as he lay back down. All a dream and nothing more than that. But he knew that no matter how much he tried to say it was something else, the vampire knew it was a distant memory, one from his childhood and mortality in an age past. Sapphon, his older sister, alive and well and running about Nosgoth. The last thing he remembered of her was in the Sarafan fortress, screaming as she tried to run towards him but was held back, blood slowly pumping away from his body. Then nothing. Funny how memories had a way of making themselves known when no one wanted them around.

Maybe it was all a dream, Raziel thought as he swung his legs over the hole of his crypt. But if it wasn’t…. I’ll go and see Rahab and Turel. They were there with me in the Fortress before we became vampires, and if everything were a dream then they would know no Sapphon.

With that plan in mind, Raziel made his was quickly to the Sanctuary of the Clans and sought out his two brothers. They were sitting in one of the many dusty rooms, looking out at Nosgoth’s many black forests from a section of the room destroyed. They both looked up at him but didn’t offer a seat or a word.

“Brothers, I have need to talk with you,” Raziel stood in front of them, effectively blocking the nice view.

“Move before I push you out,” Turel said softly. Rahab didn’t say anything but his face conveyed annoyance. A stiff wind began to blow and Raziel felt that it was an omen of some sort.

“I need to speak of you about our past lives, when we were Sarafan warriors.”

“Why? That was so long ago, Raziel. We have no need to look at the past. What happened happened and it is as simple as that. Don’t go bringing things up.” Rahab tried to look around the vampire but couldn’t see anything. Raziel stamped his foot and felt himself begin to slide towards anger.

“No, you two will shut the hell up and listen to me! I need to ask you, in all your years, if I ever had an older sister by the name of Sapphon?” Both vampires looked at each other, then back at Raziel. “Well, I’m waiting here.”

Turel was the first to speak and when he did it was softly. “ Yes, you did…I remember that. Sapphon, a rising star in the Brotherhood. She was quite close to you, almost as a mother and we teased her for that. But we thought that after we died and you, well it was almost rumors but rumors can be true as well—“

“There were people saying that Sapphon killed herself because she could not live if her brother had died. She truly loved you Raziel, but you didn’t remember her when you became a vampire, so we decided it was better left alone. But why do you want to know this now after all this time?” Rahab looked at the young man with a raised eyebrow.

“Because-“ Raziel looked at the two. He couldn’t drag them into this. If he did, who knows what would happen and they might report him to Kain. The last thing Raziel wanted was for the Master to know, and this was his own personal life. “Nothing really, guys. I just have dreams and all that. Just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t going crazy and as you said Rahab, if Sapphon is dead then it is better to forget everything. Sorry to disturb you guys.” Raziel walked from the room quietly. The two exchanged once more glance of meaning, and then went back to their viewing.

“Damn,” Turel spoke. “The hunter chasing that deer got away. We’ll have to find something new to look at.”
 
 

Sapphon sat in a small bar in a small town in a small province of Nosgoth, drinking a terrible drink. But she needed it; just to make sure she was still alive and not dead. The place was filled with other hunters like herself, pointing at Sapphon in her shiny armour and her sword.

Raziel.

Raziel was alive. He was a vampire. But he was alive. Sapphon took another swallow, trying to make her brain stop working and get drunk, but it wasn’t working. Truly, after all her travels and adventures, did she really expect to see her brother alive? The answer was always no. She had sunk into a depression and only hunted for vampires in the end to simply kill them all; all murderers of her brother, she blamed them all with his death. But now that he was alive, she had a purpose. She needed to see him again. She needed to find out how he had become the thing he was, how everything had been for him, if he was okay. 

What a joke, Sapphon chuckled as she swallowed another draft. The best vampire killer in the whole world, and her brother was a vampire! God, if anyone found that out she would never live it down.

A man dressed in leather armour stood up on a table at the end of the tavern and placed his hands to his mouth. “Hear all hunters in this tavern. I and my small band of the Red Dragons will be heading towards the Sanctuary of the Clans to wipe out those vampires once and for all. Those who rally to freedom’s flag come with me!” Thumping off the table, the ‘illustrious’ Red Dragons made their way out of the bar with others following behind them.

Sapphon smiled at them. Idiots, all of them, but she would go with them. Not to kill, but to find a certain vampire. Shaking off the effects of the alcohol easily, she rose and placed a coin on the table to pay for her purchase. Just wait Raziel, she thought darkly as she left, pulling on her gauntlets. I’ll find out why you’re like this, and free you from it. Just wait for me a little longer.
 
 

The Sanctuary was a long march in all directions, going to and from. But Sapphon made her way with the rest of the mob, if staying to the back. A couple of times people looked over at her, then whispered up to their leader that the Great Vampire Hunter was with them. So how could they lose with a person like Sapphon on their side? They did not know that she would be leaving them once they got to the Clan Holdings? She checked her sword, water, her three daggers and her whip. On sudden impulse, Sapphon clutched the pendant she kept under her armour and looked it over. A single ruby set in a disc of silver on a fine chain. She cupped it protectively and hid the glow it was shedding. It glowed when enemies were near and Sapphon placed the necklace back safely while at the same time taking out her blade.

They were walking in the middle of a narrow and high canyon. Darkness was now complete, the stars showing above with the moon and a cold wind blowing. It was an omen, and Sapphon fell back just a bit from the group. That was when the attack came. Vampire fledglings, disgusting as they were, leapt down from the canyon walls and shrieked as they tore into the crowd. People yelled, blades rang against one another, and battle was joined. Sapphon had chosen wisely to stay behind; with everyone bunched together like that the fledglings had cut through them easily. The hunters were fighting back, but she gave them not hope. 

Walking back slowly, Sapphon kept one eye on the vampires while looking for a way to get through. She needed to find Raziel. A hiss came from behind, and the vampire hunter turned to see a vampiress stalk towards her. Without even thinking and acting on reflex, Sapphon slashed her blade across the monster’s chest, and then punched the being in the nose. Before the vampiress could do anything else, her head was cut cleanly from her shoulders. Jumping up on a rocky ledge of the canyon and then grabbing a thick vine trailing down, Sapphon made her way up to the top of the canyon where in the darkness she was concealed. The vampire hunter force had been defeated, and they hadn’t even truly step foot inside of vampire territory. As curses followed her Sapphon merged with the night and raced to the Clan Sanctuary.
 
 

Raziel was sitting down on a dilapidated pillar from an old castle, musing quietly when one of his fledglings appeared from nowhere and bowed to him. “Master, the attack worked. The vampire hunters decided that coming in great numbers would help them; we taught them a thing or two. A few escaped, but all will feed well tonight.” Raziel dismissed the underling with a wave of his clawed hand, and then went back to staring off into space. He knew that Sapphon, from old memories and feelings, was a stubborn woman who never strayed from the path when she got an idea in her head. He knew she would come to the Clans, but the only question was when.

Jumping off the pillar easily, the Lieutenant wandered aimlessly, humming a tune to himself; a lullaby of sorts that he only had remembered of late. With some surprise Raziel found himself overlooking the main canyon that lead up to the Sanctuary and a route the vampires used when they went to hunt and feed. But something else told him that he should be there, something deeper and more meaningful then….

Wham!!! Sapphon crashed into Raziel, spilling both to the ground. Her eyes looked at him quickly and she rolled off quickly and onto her feet, sword raised at him. Raziel, just as surprised at this sudden appearance, raised his own claws in defense. It took a few moments for them to look at each other and make sure neither was going to attack, and then walked towards each other.

“Sapphon, older sister….”

“Raziel, my little brother….” Both stopped just short of hugging each other, and Sapphon looked at Raziel once again. Yes, he was a vampire and from the looks of it he had been one for quite a while. His eyes were different though; replaced by something darker and not as light and carefree as he once was. He was taller than she was, and muscular. Now it was the time to ask questions. But Raziel beat her to the punch.

“What are you doing here? It is not safe for you.” Sapphon shrugged her shoulders but did not put her sword away.

“I am here to save you, Raziel. Come with me, and we can make you a normal human again, just like before. Oh, it has been so long since I have not seen you, over five hundred years. When I last saw you my dear brother, you were dead in the Sarafan HQ because of a demon of prodigious strength. After that we all had to flee and go elsewhere. But I hoped that maybe you weren’t dead, that something had indeed happened to you. And now here you are. You are a vampire, but we can change all of that.” Sapphon grabbed his right hand and began to pull him towards the canyon so they could leave, but he stopped her.

“We have much to talk about, and the night will soon fade. Come with me, I have a place where you’ll be safe.” Leading his older sister, Raziel used the words with the glee of a child after knowing he had one know, and they went deeper into the canyons and crags of Nosgoth. Combing his way down caves with Sapphon all so trusting, they finally came to a small chamber that was filled with fireflies and a dead fire. Over on one side there was niche in the wall; most likely this was Raziel’s cave.

“These are my own personal caves, so no one will disturb us. Sit down there and we’ll talk.” Both looked at each other for a while, not believing what was happening but not wanting to pinch themselves to make sure it was all a dream. “So, five hundred years have past without us seeing each other. Forgive me, but in my lifetime so far and with everything I have seen, I have problems remembering certain things. Answer this question Sapphon. Why have you not aged in all that time?”

Sapphon pulled out the necklace she wore and showed it to Raziel. “With this pendant, given to me by a very important person, I was able to thwart time itself and I will never age as long as it is with me. I bargained for it three years after you disappeared and began to quest the world for you. See Raziel, I knew you had been killed by vampires and such, so I would have to stop my own time to find you and kill the unholy creatures of the night. Now that I have found you, I did not expect this at all. I thought you had become a ghoul of some sort.”

Raziel shifted uncomfortable and cleared his throat. “My story is a long one, so I can have no interruptions.” Sapphon nodded. Raziel stared into the distance and began to speak. “I was indeed killed in the Sarafan stronghold. I remember that much and Rahab, Turel, Dumah, Zephon, and Melchaih had already been killed. The next thing I knew, I was awake with an urge for blood, a terrible thing to feel and witness. I had been resurrected, set above everyone else by Kain, the Master vampire I pledged allegiance to for eternal life. I was his firstborn, his Lieutenant, and my Brothers came after me. Over time, as we became more accustomed to our powers, the people held us up as gods. Every decade or so, we would undergo a change, an evolution. The people think of us as gods, but Kain is the ultimate god and every vampire serves under him. I even have my own fledglings and am at the highest pinnacle of my power.”

“I have heard of Kain,” Sapphon muttered. “He doomed all of Nosgoth with his avarice after he destroyed the Pillars that hold a balance in this world. I found out all of this while I was traveling. But now it doesn’t matter, Raziel. I can change you back into a human; all we have to do is destroy the master vampire, which is Kain as you said. Everyone has a weakness, and he must have his.”

Raziel looked his sister in the eye. “Now look, I like who I am Sapphon. You may not understand that, but I have power now, everything I need. Mankind is becoming a doomed race, and I want to be on the winning side. Even if you do go up against Kain you cannot hope to win. Everyone who has tried is thrown into the Abyss and I don’t want that to happen to you. I’ve just met you after all this time, and now you want to go and toss your life away foolishly. Get some sense into your brain for once, even after five hundred years you’re exactly the same!”

Sapphon stood and went over to the opening of the cave, arms crossed. “I have spent my whole life looking for you Raziel, and I know this is not the person you really want to be. I can help change you back to the way you were; Mankind is not doomed for the night but for the day. We will triumph over your kind eventually. I think you have been brainwashed, Raziel. That would be the only explanation. I know that my brother, the one who use to sneak onto the highest towers of the fortress and rain down rocks and sticks on the sorceresses is still in there somewhere, and I will not be denied the right, no, THE duty of saving you.”

“Some things you cannot change. You should know that too, after all this time.” Raziel sighed. “I’m just glad to know that you are alive, and that you are safe. Go back to the fortress, or what is left of it, and then go far beyond Nosgoth. This land will tumble and I do not want you to see it happen.” Torchlight flickered suddenly from one of the caves and voices echoed. Sapphon pulled out her sword and whip as figures emerged from one of the tunnels. Raziel stood protectively in front of his sister as Kain, followed by Turel and Zephon, came out and looked at them.

“I thought there was something happening with you, Raziel. And now I see it was because of this woman, or as your Brothers called her, your sister.” Kain looked over at Sapphon, and she growled at him. Raziel turned his gaze on his Brother Lieutenants; they did not look back at him.

“Don’t do anything to her, Kain. She’s nothing, she’s worthless.”

“I will be the judge of that. Tie her up and throw her into the dungeons. At the next Clan meeting, everything will be decided.” Turel stepped forwards with a rope in his hands while Zephon circled the vampire hunter. Raziel was thrown aside by Kain, and all he heard was kicking and the sound of a blade through the air; Zephon screamed. Then punches fell and as Raziel got to his feet, he saw Sapphon was knocked out and already tied. At least he could take some pleasure in knowing that with the wound Turel had, it would leave a scar.

As they left, Kain looked at Raziel. “You will be dealt with later, upstart. Don’t worry; no harm will come to your dear sister. Guards have been posted and I will only send for you when ready.” Raziel roared and raced towards the master vampire. And hit an invisible barrier. As he crumpled to the ground, all Raziel could do was softly call his sister’s name and hope she wouldn’t be hurt. But he needed to get out of here.
 

The moon had long since set, and it was late morning in the Clan holdings when Sapphon awoke. She had curled up in one of the far corners, straw packed underneath her for a scratchy yet useful bed. Opening her eyes was just pain enough; stars exploded in her field of vision and she closed them again, groaning. Yes, they had certainly punched and bruised her quite well. A bruise over her left eye made itself known, and a cut on her right cheek hurt whenever she moved her mouth, but at least the blood had dried and it looked like there would be no infection. Pushing herself up, the vampire hunter wobbled for a few moments and grasped the stone wall for support. Oh, she had such a headache and it wasn’t because she had been drinking at all. Her armour had been removed; she felt naked without it, even without her sword by her waist. Her concealed dagger had been found, as well as the small poison ring she always kept on her left pinky. Her hand quickly went for the pendant around her neck, relieved when she felt the weight. Thank the Gods they had not taken it from her.

“Well, I actually thought for a moment that it wasn’t you.” The voice set off another flare of pain in Sapphon’s head, but she looked up and through the bars of her cell to see one of the vampires staring back at her. An eager smile played across his pale face. “What, you really don’t recognize me? Well, it has been a while since you have last seen me Sapphon, so I won’t hold it against you. Come on, try to guess who I am. It makes everything more interesting.”

That voice, it was familiar and annoying…she couldn’t place it, but memories stirred from long ago…”Melchaih.” 

The vampire clapped loudly, only to annoy Sapphon and she dropped down on the floor while giving him a look of pure malice. She saw skin hanging off his withered form, human skin sewn together by the looks of it. She silently retched but since she had not eaten, nothing came out. 

“How does it go, Sapphon? For a woman of five hundred years, you look quite well. I heard that little piece of information from Turel when I met up with him, and I must say I am intrigued to know how you’ve done something like that. You aren’t even a vampire but you still look exactly the same when I first met you.”

Sapphon made a very rude gesture with her hand and turned to look up at the sunlight that came through the small window. Melchaih looked at her back for a few more moments before speaking. “You will most likely be sacrificed. I mean, that’s all very boring, but it will be interesting to see how long you hold out. And your brother Raziel, heh, I can say that I never expected him to try and protect you. I guess he doesn’t follow Kain with all his heart and soul; perhaps even a bit of his humanity remains. But you know, I really can’t remember you in my old life. I guess you just weren’t all that important to me or to anyone else. In fact, I think what you were trying to do to Raziel was rather stupid. He likes being a vampire and he likes being with us. If you knew what it was like to be a God, then you would never want to leave.”

Silence.

The young Lieutenant stomped his feet, growled once, then walked off as she wasn’t taking the bait. Sapphon had closed her eyes during Melchaih’s ranting and was meditating, even if she was in the vampires hold. All she could do was pray that Raziel would come and save her since she couldn’t do that, or failing that he did not find her, Sapphon hoped her death would be quick and painless.
 
 

Raziel threw himself against the barrier with all of his strength, but once again he was denied and thrown against the far wall, nursing a bruised shoulder. He punched the wall in anger, feeling the pain from his broken fingers. They mended quickly, but the pain helped him to think. He just couldn’t keep bashing himself into the barrier and asking one of his Brothers to let him free was out of the question. He would be severely punished after this, most likely thrown into the Abyss along with Sapphon. But at least they would be together in the end; that he had family loyal to him. 

A wind blew by slightly and Raziel’s head snapped up to look in the direction; one of the caves to his right that went down had been the source. Kain had told him that all exits were covered and it was futile to try anything, but Raziel wondered if the older vampire was lying. Well, there was only one way to find out and he’d be damned to sit here while his sister was possibly being tortured. Raziel made his way to the opening.

The way down was uneven, rocks slipped loose and threatened to throw Raziel head over heels; it was so dark that if it weren’t for his night vision then he would have been crashing into everything in front of him. The wind blew through the caverns, cool and inviting. Placing a clawed hand on the rocky wall, Raziel came down to the end of the tunnel and looked at two openings, one at his right and other at his left.

The Lieutenant closed his eyes and frowned in concentration. “Let’s see, if I was Kain, the dungeons and cells would be to the right near the Abyss so it’ll be easier to drag them out. So I guess I’ll go right.” The young Lieutenant breathed swear words as he came across a running stream after a few minutes of running. It wasn’t very deep or all that wide, but Raziel had no intention of touching it. On the other side the path sloped upwards and disappeared. “When I get Sapphon out, I am sending her so far away no one will know where she is, even me.” Backing up, Raziel made a running leap, his powerful leg muscles sending him across the stream and landing him on the other side. Without even breaking stride he began to run, now sure of where the dungeons were. As for breaking Sapphon out, Raziel decided that the old way was the best: Come in, bash a few heads, break the bars, sling her over his shoulder and leave as fast as possible. But if she wasn’t there…. shaking his head, Raziel decided he would deal with things when they came.

Just wait, Kain. I’ll make you sorry if you hurt her.
 

The cell door opened, the rusty hinges screaming in protest. Sapphon could feel a presence behind her, but she didn’t look, still enclosed in her meditation. A powerful clawed hand yanked her up by her hair and turned her around until she faced a vampire with a sneer that could of cut a sword and skin that seemed as hard as rock and scaled like a lizard’s. His eyes were bloodshot, but filled with anger and malice that Sapphon hadn’t seen in many people. So, this was the Master Vampire Kain. The one who had damned her brother.

“Your dear brother escaped, human. I’m going to enjoy breaking him when the time comes, and I have special plans for you.” Snapping his fingers, Melchaih and Zephon walked in. They tied her hands in front of her and gagged her mouth, then shoved her out of the cell and down one of the Sanctuary halls. Kain led the way, never looking at the captive behind him. Had Sapphon’s hands been unbound, then she would have snapped his neck, but Kain knew this as well. So all she could do was stare daggers at him. At times like this, Sapphon wished she had practiced sorcery when she was younger.

The Clan holdings were large and Sapphon soon lost all sense of direction as she walked down halls, up stairs and down again and through towers. Along the way curious fledglings from all the Clans looked at her, some snickered, others pointed, and one or two tried to hit her if the Master wasn’t looking. Finally the small procession came to an opened atrium filled with sunlight and sound of rushing water. The room was wide, but at the end Kain sat down on his throne, with a reconstruction of the Pillars behind him. Sapphon was pushed to her knees, head to the floor. She kicked out with one leg, getting the vampire to her right, then pushed herself up and clumsily lunged at the other. No Sarafan warrior would be a captive of such creatures, and she rather die than become a pawn in their games. She had managed to work the gag from her mouth and breathed in the cool air to her burning lungs.

A vicious kick to the back of her right knee made her collapse, then she felt a foot press down on her back, holding her in place. Sapphon turned her head enough to see who had downed her. “Turel.”

“I would be rather honoured, Sapphon, at that attack used against you. After all, you taught me that move if my memory serves correctly. That was a long time ago, but how could someone forget a person like you. Ugly, stubborn and stupid!” Sapphon pushed Turel off of her in a feat of strength and charged him, all sense of tactics gone. Zephon stepped in front of her and flipped Sapphon over on her back. Every Lieutenant inside the atrium started laughing, even Kain.

“Gods damn you all!!!!” Sapphon screamed and tried to rise, but found she was pinned once again.

“We will wait here until your brother Raziel turns up. I placed him in a prison that he will escape shortly and when he makes his way here, I will break him as a Lieutenant of mine should have been from the beginning.” Sapphon lowered her head and chewed on her lip, looking into the vampire lord who was filled with anger, rage and hate. But then, she was feeling the same about him; oh how she wished she could kill him. And looking around at her former Sarafan Brethren, the young hunter sunk further into a silent depression. She had thought them dead, but it seemed life in the last two weeks was full of surprises. Now she knew what it was like to feel alone and without anyone to rely on.
 
 

Raziel made good time on the path heading up to the dungeons, no one challenging him, as they knew it would be certain death. They also had their own orders from Kain. Ghosting past one dark cell after the other, Raziel’s breath caught in his throat when he couldn’t find Sapphon. He searched again, then once more. 

Nothing.

She had already been taken, taken to be sacrificed or worse…the Lieutenant shook his head. That would never happen, Kain would never bestow a hunter the gift of Immortality. Then there was only one other place that he would take her. His feet slamming down on the stone floor, breath coming in short gasps, Raziel raced from the cell block and to the upper levels of the Sanctuary. Never in his life before had he felt such panic, such fear, such hopelessness. He turned a corner too quickly and smashed into a small group of acolytes. They panicked and while Raziel was trying to get past them all they did was bow at his feet and beg for mercy or others grabbing him to make sure he was not injured. Finally shouldering them off and with a few kicks, Raziel was dodging past other figures down the halls, their forms nothing more than blurs. He had to save Sapphon; he could not let her die.

The great doors to Kain’s throne room came into Raziel’s vision and instead of slowing down he sped up. Raziel crashed through and nearly stumbled onto the floor, but he held himself upright. “Kain!” His scream ripped across the room and the master vampire looked at his first-born with a bemused look. His Brothers stood in a circle with Sapphon in the middle; she was huddled over as if in pain. Knowing them, the Lieutenants had a great deal of fun breaking her.

“Well Raziel,” Kain’s voice boomed across the room as he stood, the Soul Reaver in his left hand, “how nice for you to finally join us.”

“Let her go,” the first-born vampire said as he walked forwards, towards Sapphon. His Brothers parted and disbursed themselves about the chamber but still kept watchful eyes on Raziel. He helped Sapphon to her feet and slashed the ropes that had binded her with ease. Kain walked forward as if he was taking a stroll through a park; he stopped just a few feet in front of the siblings.

Kain pointed the Soul Reaver forwards and Raziel, acting on impulse more than anything else, stepped in front of Sapphon. “Why do you wish to protect her? She is only a human, a dead link to your other life before I took you and raised you up onto this pedestal, where people worship us as gods. You are one of us, yet you continue to protect her for some reason, some misguided notion.”

“She is my family in flesh and blood. I did not know of Sapphon until recently, but I can assure you right now Kain, that if you will grant me leave, then I will take her far away and she won’t bother the Clans or anyone else again. You have my word on that.” Sapphon’s face grew a bright red as she listened to her brother defend her, bargain for her life against this monster. For a moment, Kain actually seemed to give the idea thought and Raziel felt he had found an opening, a way to save his sister’s life.

What happened next Raziel would always remember, even if other memories over the centuries and millennia were forgotten. Sapphon lunged past him, her stubborn streak taking over in her idea that if she killed Kain then her brother would be saved. The master grabbed her by the hair and threw her to the floor. Raziel saw the necklace, the jewel that sustained Sapphon’s life, snap and roll across the floor to be crushed under Dumah’s foot. And then Raziel found himself running at Kain, claws extended forwards to rip at the master’s flesh. And everything seemed to happen slowly, as if time itself had stopped to view the scene being played out. What Raziel received was a swift punch in his right eye, then a kick in his gut. He felt bones snap as Kain hurled him against the far wall; Raziel saw his sister being picked up by Kain through a haze of red.

“I will break you right here and right now, Raziel. This will teach you to not to hold allegiance to anyone or anything save your father and Master.” 

Raziel tried to stand but a swift pain blossomed in his legs and he collapsed. Kain dropped Sapphon to the ground beside him, grabbed her hair and jerked her head back, then placed Soul Reaver against her unprotected neck. With one swift stroke, Kain cut Sapphon’s neck. 

Raziel screamed. 

His scream was like the sound of a wounded animal, of someone having their heart, no matter how black or twisted, ripped into pieces. Kain kicked Sapphon’s body forwards as the blood, thick and a deep red, pool around her body. Her face was peaceful; eyes closed, lips almost in a secret smile. Raziel dragged himself towards her as his Brothers looked on without a shred of emotion within them.

“Let us go. You will be punished tomorrow,” Kain glanced once more at Raziel, then he and the other Lieutenants left. 

Silence filled the air, save for the weeping of the young vampire. He pushed himself up and stumbled the last few steps to Sapphon, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. Raziel brushed the hair from her face and held her close as his body was wracked by great sobs. His breaths came in shallow, his body trembling, arms and legs cold. More blood pooled about him from Sapphon’s fatal wound, but he didn’t care if the blood soaked into him, turned him red for the rest of his miserable existence. The last of the Sarafan warriors was dead. 

His sister was dead, limp and cold and unmoving in his arms. Tears flowed easily, damping his Clan flag. Everything, everything that was important to him gone in an instant. What could he do now? What could he possibly do? No thoughts of revenge filled his mind, no inkling to kill Kain and his Brothers. He cursed Kain and his Brothers, but Raziel didn’t have the strength to do anything else but hold his sister’s body. The rays of the setting sun washed over Raziel and Sapphon, the shadows melded together as one.

What would he do now?
 
 

Raziel did not move for a long time. After he had cried all his tears, he sat in silence, the shock still too great to bear. 

How could this of happened? 

Why did it happen to him? 

He should have died, not Sapphon. It was only after the moon had risen into the sky that he moved and carried Sapphon’s body in his arms back to his Clan holdings. Setting her down on a slab of marble in his inner chambers, Raziel traced lines in the air; magic he had been taught when he was younger. Light shimmered over Sapphon; the spell was cast. Now she was locked in a sort of field where time would not touch her while Raziel carried out his plans. Raziel looked over in one corner of the room and found that someone had given him Sapphon’s armour and sword, the remains of a person who would now never live again. The Lieutenant had decided that he, even with his powers, could not take Sapphon’s soul back from the Netherworlds, then he would posses the thing that would be able to do what he could not.

The Soul Reaver.

Kain had once told him that everyone person killed by the blade had their essence locked within. The souls could be freed, but Raziel would have to sacrifice his own. An exchange, for lack of a better word. Well, he did not care. He did not care for much now and that would be just one more hurdle to jump over. Glancing once again at his sister’s body, Raziel left with determination set on his face. He would either get the Soul Reaver, or die in the attempt and at least said he tried.
 

The Clan Sanctuary was silent. Kain had summoned all the vampires to a meeting to discuss on Raziel’s punishment and walking quickly down the silent halls unnerved the Lieutenant. Kain’s own chambers were huge, but Raziel had walked every hall, every stair and every corner. He could of done thing in his sleep. The only thing he was worried about was that Kain had taken the Reaver with him or that it was under heavy guard, as it was most of the time. As Raziel rounded the last corner of the westernmost tower where the sword was kept, he stopped short when he saw Dumah sitting nearby, head bowed and shoulders shaking. Hearing Raziel’s footsteps, the younger brother looked up.

“I was right to suspect that you would come for the sword.” Dumah got up quickly and looked Raziel over. “A stupid move, dear Brother, but one that I wouldn’t of put past you. I understand what you are going through.”

“No you don’t,” Raziel spoke, his throat clenched tight to stop the emotions from coming out. “You know nothing of what I feel. You are no longer a brother to me, Dumah. You knew Sapphon, we all did, in our past lives, but you did nothing to help her. She was family to me, a friend to you! Get out of my way, I am taking the Soul Reaver.” Dumah laughed quickly, fangs exposed and a jaunty look in his eyes.

“You will die when Kain finds out that you’ve taken his sword.”

“I am already going to die anyway, tomorrow most likely. It doesn’t matter to me anymore, my own life. I only care to try and bring Sapphon back and if even I can’t do that, then death will be a release for me. I know you don’t like me and wish for me to fall and that will all happen tomorrow, so what does it matter to you with what I do?” 

The two looked at each other with barely contained animosity, but neither made a move to attack. Dumah, for one of those very few times in his life, actually pondered the meaning of Raziel’s words. He began walking towards Raziel and the vampire pulled his hands into fists.

“It seems, dear Brother,” Dumah looked out of the corner of his eyes as he past Raziel, “That you have caused a disturbance over in Kain’s throne room. You’re quite berserk and you’ve killed a few initiates as well. I will have to go and stop you and then report everything to Kain. You’ll be back in your quarters before the night is out, sleeping peacefully after you’ve taken all of that pent up anguish out. It seemed to you that if you had the Soul Reaver then you could beat Kain when he returned.” The vampire walked down the tower stairs with a deliberate slowness. All Raziel could do was breath a small note of thanks, then pushed open the heavy latticed doors and entered into the sanctum of the Soul Reaver.

The blade, twisted and curved with malice, glowed with an unnatural life. Placed on a black altar with candles burning around it, Raziel could not help by feel awed by its presence. It seemed to speak to him, begging him to hold it. He ignored the calling, grabbed the evil sword by its hilt and placed it underneath his cloak to hide it as best as he could. As he walked back quickly to his Hold without trying to break into a run, Raziel could not believe that it had been that easy. Well, that was usually when the ground fell out from under him, but then it already had and he was FAR from caring. The moon was already halfway along its preordained path; Dumah must already be destroying parts of the throne room to cover for him. Raziel did not have much time.

He entered through his chamber door with a look in his eye of a man who had seen the light at the end of the tunnel, and nothing would stop him. Kneeling down by Sapphon, Raziel broke the barrier and looked at his sister. Her neck wound had been bandaged as best as it could be by him, and he knew that when the Soul Reaver touched her, it would not only return her soul but also heal all wounds. But only after Raziel had struck a pact with the sword. It was already whispering to him again, promising dreams of glory, of ruling all the Clans and throwing Kain into the Abyss. Raziel shook his head and concentrated on the task at hand.

“Soul Reaver, I wish to make a pact with you. An exchange of one soul for another.” Raziel didn’t know if the plan would work; he was a vampire and his soul already belonged to Kain. But if he gave it to the sword…then it would still belong to Kain either way, wouldn’t it? The blade hummed in his hands and bade Raziel to say what he wanted. “A soul of a vampire, a Lieutenant of Master Kain, would be a great prize for you. But I ask that in I giving you my soul, that you release one.”

The Soul Reaver laughed. Raziel did not like holding the blade and could not wonder how Kain managed. The sword mocked him, telling him it was impossible. Raziel sensed though a trace of doubt in the Reaver’s voice and pressed his hand. “Her soul is a human’s, bland and tasteless. Mine is the accumulation of centuries of knowledge and feelings. Mine is obviously the better of the two, and you can eat it at leisure for all of eternity. You would be passing up a deal that would never be struck again.”

The blade was silent. Raziel’s heart collapsed; his plan had not worked. And then the Soul Reaver began to hum with a green light. It accepted the proposition Raziel had given it, and with a lurch from inside of him that nearly made him sick, Raziel felt the last few shreds of his own black soul leave him and felt Sapphon’s, pure and uncorrupted, enter into her body. Raziel threw the blade across his chamber and turned to his older sister. Already the blood soaked bandages were turning a clean white. Raziel ripped them off and saw the horrible wound had disappeared, not even a scar had remained. He looked at her face, her pale face that was retuning with the colour that he had always seen in her. Suddenly Sapphon’s eyes snapped open, and she looked around her in bewilderment. 

“I-did I…die, Raziel?” All the vampire could do was nod, and then caught her in a fierce hug. Sapphon returned it and the two began to cry. Their pain was lifted and gone like a bad dream. Finally Raziel pulled away and stood, helping Sapphon to her feet.

“We need to leave right now. No time for explanations Sapphon, just for once listen to me. Put on your armour, get your sword.” When the hunter had done that, Raziel grabbed her hand, looked about the caverns and caves he called home, picked a tunnel and raced down it with Sapphon. They did not speak the whole time. Sapphon understood what her brother was doing and did not try to argue at all. The journey through the catacombs and underworld of Nosgoth was dark and dangerous but neither of the siblings complained. Raziel and Sapphon finally exited the underworld as the moon was beginning to set. They were far from the Clan Sanctuary, far from the land controlled by vampires.

“I guess we part from here,” Sapphon said quietly. “You will not come, will you?”

Raziel shook his head. “If I do, Kain will have us hunted down and I do not want you killed. My fate is sealed as it had been ever since I was made a vampire. My destiny is here, and yours is elsewhere. If you go beyond those mountains and cross the ocean, then you can start over again and far from Nosgoth, no more hunting and risking your life. You owe yourself that much Sapphon. This is your time; stop chasing the past and live for the future.”

“And I will age now since the amulet is broken. I didn’t think I would ever see you again Raziel, but now that we have to leave each other hurts me more than anything else.” She started crying, but at the same time smiled. Raziel also allowed a tear or two to spill, but that was all.

“Well, I know that I have a sister, and I love her even if she is a human. Look, if you’re ever lonely and afraid, just think of me and you’ll be alright.” Raziel tore off a piece of his Clan cloak and handed the cloth to her. “For strength.”

Sapphon took off the leader gauntlet she wore on her right hand and handed it to him. “This was given to me by the master when I truly entered the Sarafan Brotherhood. Take it to remember me by, since I am the last. I love you, little brother.”

“I love you, older sister.”

The two embraced. And then, without a backwards glance, Sapphon walked down the path that would lead her over the mountains and across the ocean to a new life. Raziel watched her go and smiled wistfully. “We will always be together. I know that already.” He turned and headed back to the Clan Sanctuary, to his destiny.
 

I look over the horizon, and wonder. I wonder how she is doing? I wonder if she’s all right?

Now more than ever I have a better look on life. Before I was jaded, cynical. Strange that after meeting someone, they can change you and you don’t even realize this. I received my punishment, but it did not matter to me. The wounds and bruises did not hurt me when I knew that Sapphon was doing well, that she was free from the prison she had placed herself in. Kain realized that I had saved Sapphon and that I had managed to dupe him. He was angry of course, but it left him after a time and he forgot it.

Sometimes when I travel through villages and towns, I look at the humans’ faces, wondering if I’ll see her. But it seemed Sapphon truly did take my advice and leave Nosgoth for good. I am sad, but in a good way. Funny how you can have two emotions mixed together like that. The next stage of my evolution is fast approaching and I wanted to fix the horizon in my mind, to keep it like a drawing but committed to memory. Who knows what it will look like when I awaken? I hold the glove that Sapphon gave me like a treasure; to me it is the most precious thing in the world. 

For the first time in my existence, I actually feel peace when I sleep. It is as if I have saved myself from something, redeemed myself. 

Goodnight Sapphon. I hope you are living a life of happiness. No, I know you are living a life of happiness.