The march of the homunculi was steadily thrumming vibration that sent rocks rolling down the side of the mountain with its intensity. Raziel sank his talons into the cliff-face harder, digging them in as far as they would go. It was all he could do to hang on, buffeted by the wind and the tremors of the earth as he was. Grimly though he set himself and climbed, scaling the mountain towards its top; inch by agonising inch.
The base of the mountain lay perhaps two hundred feet below but it loomed further up for thousands more. Perhaps another fifty feet and he would pass through a thin layer of cloud. From this vantage point however he could already see the legions marching up the gentler slope towards the plateau high aloft.
-
“The scene before me was the prelude to a war. My past incarnation was throwing all of his military might at this castle above. There could only be one reason such a desperate move. Kain must lie within.”
-
It was hardly a confirmation beyond all doubt of Kain’s location of course but it was a good indication of it. This many homunculi would not come out of their garrison for anything less then to wage war on the primary enemy of the Divus.
There was a sudden flap of wings from somewhere high above and turning sharply Raziel saw something flying overhead. It took only a minute to discern what it was. The angelic form of one of the ancient vampires was unmistakable with those large spread black wings. Even from this distance however Raziel could see it wasn’t his past incarnation, but was rather another Divus. It was bulkier and carried in one hand a huge black hammer that he could see even from down here.
Then the Divus were not just sending their homunculi to attack on their behalf. They were coming themselves in force.
-
“Time was of the essence now. If he were to stand a chance against Raziel-Divus and the armies of city of terracotta abominations, he would need the Reaver restored to his hand.”
-
The physical blade in question was poking him between his shoulder blades uncomfortably but he ignored it and continued to scale, climbing upwards with as much speed as was possible on this wind ravaged cliff.
Reaching the top seemed to take forever as some parts of the cliff were slick with ice making it hard to find a good grip but eventually the blue wraith heaved himself up over the edge of a precipice.
Malek’s bastion lay atop this plateau, high black stone walls leaving only a thin stretch of ground outside the fortress itself. From the north and east, up the only slightly less steep a slope came the armies of the Divus. They were approaching rapidly now towards the unguarded gates of the castle on the northern side. They would be marching unchallenged into the fort within a few minutes. Circling above were the Divus, three of them in all and one of them was his past incarnation. None of them seemed to have spotted him yet though. Stealth would not be possible for long in such an atmosphere with literally thousands of enemies approach but it might be enough to get him inside and find Kain.
Raziel did not even need to scale the wall of the fortress. Over time it had been worn down by the elements and in places the outer fortifications had crumbled away. On the western side there was a large hole in the wall where rubble had collapsed and been buried in ice and snow.
Almost immediately in the courtyard beyond Raziel ran into a small group of homunculi, an advance party perhaps sent ahead to scout. He fell on them instinctively and quickly so they did not have time to raise their weapons to keep him off them. The wraith blade sang its ghostly song as it sliced through the terracotta soldiers and laid them low; slicing their bodies to pieces.
One of them actually tried to bolt, not to save its life Raziel imagined, but rather to alert its fellows or the Divus themselves of the presence of enemies. Raziel ran after it quickly and easily outpaced it. He slashed across its midsection with the wraith blade and it collapsed, its top half clattered to the ground and the bottom continuing to run for another two steps before it smashed into the side of a broken pillar.
Not waiting time on dawdling Raziel ran between a black stone archway and into the main courtyard before what he suspected as the keep’s main doorway. It stood there open and unguarded and the blue wraith bolted for it as fast as he could go. If he could make it there and into the fortress itself he would stand better odds.
Before he was halfway across the courtyard however, a blurring blue and black shape came down directly in front of him with a tremendous speed. Something whistled, the only warning Kain had of the incoming attack.
At the least second he jumped back out of the way as a morning star came crashing down into the ground where he had stood not so much as a moment ago.
The weapon was a spiked ball on the chain, the spikes curly curved and hooked. Holding the weapon was one of the Divus, one of the ancient vampires. He was thin and had slicked back black hair. He wore silver armour across his shins and forearms and a simple white toga. Spreading out from around his right eye was a spidery set of dark markings that covered almost one entire half of his face.
With a negligent tug he pulled the morning star out of the giant hole it had made in the stones and held it effortless despite how much it might have weighed.
Raziel remembered him with a start. This was one of the Divus he had seen talking with his past incarnation back in the impossible city of Fanum-Divus. Raziel-Divus had called him, Asmodeus.
The Divus before him looked at him with little to no evident surprise, only an amused sort of disgust.
“Aren’t you an ugly one?” He remarked in an almost effeminate voice. He made to raise the weapon again but suddenly another blur came at him from behind. A streaking reddish mass bounded out of the darkness of the fortress. It slammed into the back of the un-alerted Divus, knocking him to the ground in a tangle of arms, wing and chain.
Pinning him to the ground was a large lupine shape covered in thick reddish fur. Instantly Raziel recognised the feral form of the lycanthrope emissary Ewoden.
With a snarl the werewolf raise his left forelimb prepared to bite and slash down at the Divus he had pinned beneath him. With only a mildly irritated expression Asmodeus flexed his wings and spread them out wide with quick quickness there was the snap of clicking bone. The wings slapped Ewoden directly across his front and sent him flying with the strength of the impact. He flew several feet before he hit the ground, rolling a short distance before scrapping his claws across the stone to stop himself.
Asmodeus was back on his feet in an instant, his large black wings flapping several times before he launched himself back into the air. Raziel tried to follow him with his eyes but in the air the Divus was a fast blur. Flying at such speed Asmodeus was circling the courtyard so quickly the morning star he used as a weapon made a loud whooshing sound as it travelled.
With a loud crack and boom the Divus smashed his weapon into the side of a wall and the impact shattered the stone right down to the ground. The wall almost seemed to explode, falling forward towards them in large jagged pieces.
Raziel rolled out of the way of one and then turned to blast another incoming piece of rubble with a telekinetic bolt that sent it spinning away. Ewoden scrambled up and the large dog like animal form dodged left and right to escape, skipping and almost dancing around the rubble.
Asmodeus paused to hover high above them as if contemplating when next to attack, his morning star ready by his side. Then quite unexpectedly he turned his head to look off towards his left. A large triumphant sneer crossed his face and his eyes were alert with a barley restrained glee. Quickly he took off in the opposite direction, vanishing from side almost immediately.
Raziel didn’t have time to wonder at this strange behaviour as barely a moment later homunculi came marching in tightly held rows down the snow slick path from the gate towards the fortress. The army had reached the castle and they were marching in with an unstoppable and mindless determination. Those carrying shields marched in front forming a thick unbroken barrier that moved in front of the advancing terracotta troops. Those with spears marched just behind their weapons levelled through the gaps.
More homunculi were coming in through side archways to join up with the main column. The armies of Fanum-Divus advanced quickly and without pause.
Raziel was on the verge of running. He was a match for a dozen homunculi all by himself but an army of that magnitude would simply overwhelm him by sheer force of numbers. For Ewoden it seemed that was not even a small consideration. With a snarl of hatred the Lycanthrope emissary tore past the blue wraith apparently without even noticing him and ploughed head first directly into the teeth of his ancient enemies.
The shield wall of the homunculi could have taken the broad attack of another army in combat. But against the precise lunge of an enraged werewolf it broke and Ewoden was amongst them. His claws tore through the terracotta skin and slashed deep inside to let the stinking liquid interior poor out.
Perhaps seven homunculi had fallen before the others had had a chance to even raise the weapons in defence.
Raziel paused, his gaze moving back and forth between the battle and the open and still accessible doorway into the fortress interior.
His decision was not hard to make.
Flourishing his arm he called forth the wraith blade again and leapt into the fray at Ewoden’s side, spinning around in a fast arch. He cut down two that were trying to stab the lycanthrope emissary from behind, carving them from their right shoulders to their waists. Ewoden responded by leaping over the blue wraith and landing on one of the terracotta warriors approaching from behind him with an axe.
The army of homunculi converged on them both and attacked in waves and Raziel had to use every ounce of supernatural agility in his ghoulish body to evade the multitude.
Rather quickly the two of them found themselves back to back, hacking and slashing at any homunculus that came nearby. Terracotta warriors fell by the dozens but there were always fifty more to take their place.
Raziel was so distracted in his attempt to ward off the enemies in front of him that he didn’t notice the fizzle and crack of energy until it was too late. An officer homunculus discarded a blast of energy directly at him and it took him full in the side with a deafening explosion. The blast through him across the courtyard to crash into a pile of rubble and disappear beneath it.
Ewoden half turned to watch him go and in that moment all of the homunculus backed off suddenly, as one moving away from the Lycanthrope.
It was then that Raziel-Divus slammed down out of the air, flying fast and quick and smashing himself straight into the werewolf. The impact knocked all the strength out of Ewoden and he collapsed like a rag doll, falling down his back and reverting with an exclamation of agony back into his human form.
Flapping his wings casting snowflakes everywhere, Raziel-Divus landed atop the emissary and pinned him to the ground with one foot. In his right hand he held a silver sword that sparked with ominous red lightning.
“Filthy, disgusting animal!” The king of Fanum-divus stated in a snarl, his face twisted wand filled with contempt. “Ambraxas erred when he created your kind!”
Ewoden looked up at him and snarled back grasping the talons on the Divus’ feet in both hands, struggling vainly to push him off.
“He didn’t create us!” The emissary hissed and his forearms began to revert back to their feral state in his fury. “He mutilated us! Changed us from what we were to what we are!” His eyes seemed to glow yellow as he changed back, face morphing and pushing out into a lupine muzzle.
“Apparently with your full consent!” The last words came out in a deepened and thickened voice and spat with implacable hatred.
Without changing expression Raziel-Divus drew his blade back preparing to stab the emissary through the chest with it.
Raziel acted a fraction of a second after the thought to do so registered in his mind. He exploded out of the rubble, running across the courtyard and throwing his hand forward. His palm jabbed out his past incarnation and from it erupted a concentrate burst of telekinetic force.
So concentrated on his intended victim, the king of Fanum-Divus failed to notice it until it smacked into his head. Toppled off balance he staggered back clutching at his face. His crown fell from his head, clinked on the ground and rolled off to one side.
Ewoden rolled free and came up to his feet, the rest of his body morphing back into the protection of his more versatile lupine form. He barred his fangs and raises his claws but he was still unsteady on his feet.
Snapping his head up to look, Raziel-Divus’ expression of hatred and rage evaporated in an instant as he once more faced his counterpart. All the colour drained from his face and his golden eyes bulged.
“You!? Here?!” He almost gargled.
Raziel stopped a few feet away from his past self and with one flick of his arm he summoned the wraith blade. The ghostly weapons screamed its ethereal hunger.
“Have you learned fear yet?” The blue wraith asked tauntingly.
Raziel-Divus’ eyes flicked to the glowing weapon and then up to his adversaries face and then they widened in additional shock.
“The Reaver!” He gasped and Raziel realised that he was looking past him to the physical sword itself strapped across his back, its hilt plainly visible over his shoulder. “How did you get that!?” The king of Faunm-Divus demanded, some of his anger returned in a snarl.
Raziel did not answer but simply adjusted his stance to keep himself between his former incarnation and the still unsteady Ewoden.
Raziel-Divus hissed like an affronted cat and then clamped his teeth tightly together.
“No matter!” He said from between them and his hand tightened on the hilt of his sparking blade. “Your hand is not the one that releases its full power” He raised his weapon and levelled it at his future self. “It is useless against me wielded by anyone else but Kain!”
Raziel regarded his opponent with a deepened sense of self disgust and scorn. Before him was the antithesis of the path of self improvement and development he had now set himself upon and it rankled intensely.
“It truly sickens me to see how low a level my soul started from.” He said in a low flat tone, eyes narrowing. “Even the Sarafan inquisitor, murderer of Janos, had more dignity then you.”
The remark seemed to enflame the king of Fanum-Divus afresh and his wings fluttered in his fury. He brought up his left arm and the strange shield attached to it, an odd mixture of clockwork and the arcane, sprang into life casting its protective barrier between the two Raziel’s.
“This time you will not escape from me!” Raziel-Divus said with a nervous twitch to his left cheek.
Raziel barked a derisive laugh and took a threatening step forward, adopting a unique fighting stance based on his own wiry and emasculated frame.
“Escaping is for weak minded cowards like yourself.” He said, holding up the wraith blade challengingly. “I’m here to see to it that Kain destroys you!”