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The Death of Janos Audron

Having imbued the Reaver with the elemental power of fire, Raziel is finally able to unlock the sealed door that separates him from Janos and his assassins.  Raziel rushes through the door as it slowly slides open, and races toward Janos' chamber like an avenging angel.

The Sarafan are clustered around Janos’ prostrate body, having rendered him helpless with the aid of Moebius’ staff.  They've pinned the ancient vampire on his back.  As Janos struggles against his captors, the head inquisitor commands his fellow Sarafan –

Sarafan Raziel
Hold him!

Savoring the moment, the inquisitor raises his cruel-looking blade – then bringing it down violently, he tears Janos’ chest open. 

Janos
(screams in agony)

Raziel reaches the threshold of the chamber too late.  He watches in horror as the inquisitor reaches into Janos' open chest cavity and rips out his living heart with his hand, raising it triumphantly for the other Sarafan to see –
 

Turel
Look at his black heart, how it still beats!

Raziel prepares to leap into the fray, and then is frozen – as the head inquisitor turns, raising the heart, Raziel gets a good look at his face.  And realizes that he has just watched himself – his former, Sarafan self – murder Janos.

The two incarnations of Raziel lock eyes on each other – blue Raziel gaping in horror at recognizing his former self, and Sarafan Raziel strangely haunted by something in this demonic figure, but not knowing what.

As Janos begins to die, a tremor shakes the Retreat. The chamber rocks with the impact, and begins to collapse under the strain.

Dumah
(alarmed)
The fiend intends to bury us alive!
Then, trying to snap their leader out of his trance –
Raziel, we must get out of here!

Sarafan-Raziel cannot tear his eyes from this demonic apparition.  With his gaze still locked on this Raziel, he commands his fellow Sarafan –

Sarafan Raziel
Remember the sword!

Dumah grabs up the Reaver.  With Moebius' staff still in Turel's possession and Janos' heart still in Raziel's, the Sarafan rush out of the chamber just as the entire Retreat threatens to collapse around them.


Heedless of the retreating Sarafan, Raziel leaps down to where Janos lies dying.  Incredibly, the ancient vampire is still alive, but only barely.  Raziel kneels disconsolately beside him and gently cradles Janos' head – bereft at the loss of his new-found mentor, and horrified at this latest epiphany: that he himself was Janos’ murderer.

Raziel
Forgive me; I’m sorry... I failed you.

Janos
(gently)
No, Raziel.
Perhaps this was my true purpose – simply to save your life this once.

Raziel
(distraught)
While I have taken yours...

Janos
(dying)
Embrace your destiny, Raziel...
You must reclaim the Reaver – it was forged for you and you alone...
Without it, there is no hope...

Janos dies, and the Retreat is rocked again by a massive tremor.   The chamber's vaults collapse as their support beams crumble, and the exits are filled by cascading rubble until the chamber is completely sealed off. 

Oblivious to the devastation around him, Raziel stays by the corpse of his would-be mentor.
As the tremors begin to subside, Raziel rises and steps slowly away from Janos' corpse, destroyed by these new revelations, and nursing a growing ember of hatred. 

Raziel V.O.
(disgusted, resolute)
As I backed away from Janos’s body, I was overwhelmed by a sense of self-loathing so deep, I could barely contain it.
In that instant, I rejected all that I ever was, and embraced the role Janos had safeguarded for me so patiently throughout the centuries.  I knew then what I had to do – the task for which I was uniquely prepared...

Walking slowly to the edge of the balcony, Raziel gazes out at Nosgoth's landscape.

Raziel V.O.
I would pursue the Sarafan dogs to their loathsome fortress, and avenge Janos Audron’s murder.
Moebius would pay dearly for his treachery, and my Sarafan brethren would reap the horrors they had sown.
I would retake the stolen Reaver, which was rightfully mine.
And finally, when all these debts had been paid, I would reclaim Janos Audron’s heart from their filthy, unworthy hands.
If the heart was truly imbued with the power to restore vampiric unlife, its highest purpose was clear to me...
I would restore the heart to Janos, and thus undo the vile crime committed by my abominable former self.

As Raziel stands on the balcony, the canyon is shaken by a final massive tremor.  He leaps clear of the tumbling wreckage just before the vaults of Janos' chamber collapse completely.
 

Raziel is trapped between two energy barriers.  Two purple demons teleport in and drop down before Raziel.

Purple Demon
We have been expecting you, little Raziel.

Raziel V.O.
So, these demonic pests were not merely the product of Nosgoth’s corrupted future – for here they were, hurdling back over five centuries to pursue me.  These creatures, I suspected, were minions of the unseen forces that had hoped to control me. This was the tangible expression of their displeasure – these demons were unleashed as the penalty for my disobedience.

Raziel’s path is once again blocked by energy barriers.  Two grey demons teleport in and drop down right beside Raziel.

Gray Demon 1
Do you really think you can save Nosgoth?

Gray Demon 2
Let me enlighten you, poor Raziel…

 
 
 
As Raziel passes through Uschtenheim, fire barriers seal off the town. 

Red Demon
There he is, the ‘savior of Nosgoth’.

More fire barriers seal Raziel within a passage through the canyons, and a huge black demon rises from the ground.

Black Demon
Come closer, Raziel.

Another black demon rises from the muck as Raziel passes through the swamp.

Black Demon
You shall not pass!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Raziel passes through the subterranean chamber for the final time, in pursuit of his former brethren. The Elder God greets him with ominous finality.

Elder God
You have failed me, Raziel.

Raziel
(rhetorical; cynical)
I wonder, Old One...
Did you truly resurrect me, or were you simply there when I awakened from my torment in the Abyss?  I suspect you found me merely convenient.  Dropped in your lair by Kain, indestructible for some reason.  A durable and gullible tool for you to manipulate.
This one thing I readily admit – I have been used by others time and again.  But always I seem to stray from their path... what is it about me, Demon, that makes me such an unreliable instrument?  Why do I survive one trial after another... on and on in an endless succession of humiliating deaths and resurrections?  It seems there is much more to my destiny, and my history, than I know.  Perhaps more than you know, as well...
 

As Raziel runs past the Pillars, and numerous corpses of the Sarafans' vampire victims, three black demons rise from the ground to surround him.

Black Demon 1
He thinks he can change his destiny.

Black Demon 2
What a fool.