Advancing inside the structure, the light of the stars and moon dimmed away and all but a few feet beyond the doorway was engulfed in darkness. Kain held out his hand to the shadows and banished it with the illumination of magical light, one of his oldest powers acquired when he had been just a fledgling. The interior of a large arched roof antechamber revealed itself to the two vampires as they advanced cautiously inside.
“Not many cities of the Unspoken were left when the Pillars were raised.” Vorador said in a low voice as they looked around the ruins. The architecture was fused metal and stone, a union that produced many odd shapes and patterns to be seen.
“This one survived intact because of this hidden place and the illusionary defence.” The ancient added, looking up at the ceiling that had an aged and rusted collection of spikes dangling from its apex.
“But that did not save its occupants from the Binding.” Kain remarked with a raised eyebrow.
“Apparently not.” His companion agreed morbidly.
Kain advanced in a few more feet, his steps kicking up clouds of dust from the floor which must have been previously undisturbed for centuries.
“And so where is the Seer?” He asked, looking back.  “This complex must stretch on for miles into the cliff.”
Vorador simply shrugged.
“She’ll be here somewhere.” He said somewhat vaguely. “She may already know of our presence.”
The Scion of Balance looked forward again, studying the darkness where the range of his spell did not reach. Indeed there could be much lurking in the darkness, stealthily moving around to find better places for ambush.
“Our only recourse therefore is to look around and wait for her to come to us.” Vorador added. That particular course of action did not entirely appeal to Kain, but still in present circumstances what choice did he have?
“And will she?” He asked without looking back.
“She and I have a history.” Vorador said. With one wave of his hand he conjured his own magical illumination, adding his own light to reveal the way. “She will come… if only perhaps to pay her respects to me.”
Kain rolled his eyes and began walking off
“Oh how clever.” He muttered.
“These ancient corridors have half a mountain on top of them.” Vorador added quickly, making Kain stop.  “It is best to stay away from unstable looking places and if you must speak then communicate through the Whisper.” He emphasised he words by tapping the side of his head. “We must not risk a collapse while we are here.”
Kain nodded once and then carried on towards the end of the chamber and another large door leading further in, leaving Vorador to explore through a side corridor that opened out to the right.
Deeper inside, the dust was nearly ankle deep and climbing over fallen debris and broken floor tiles Kain began his exploration of the forgotten keep.
The buildings of this Hylden city were stacked on atop the other with suspended walkways all connecting them to large plazas also suspended one above the other. The style seemed almost to copy that of the ancient Vampires to a certain extent, although there were stairs leading up to the higher to reach platforms.  
Here Kain saw his first example of Hylden everyday life. From the crumbling remains of their personal affects Kain could see that they were a people who did not live simply. They had had a great many complex utensils and tools, some for tasks that Kain could identify and others guess at.
Rising through the city moving up the various levels he discovered a sort of social structure. The dwellings for the masses were at the bottom. Just above them were rooms that looked reserved for the use of healers and doctors.  Above them were clear workshops where there were many more tools all laid out in dust covered rows on shelves and work surfaces.
There were also a few papers lying on these desks, probably work notes from whatever Hylden Alchemist or Chemist worked here once, but they crumbled into useless fragments as soon as he touched them.
All of this showed him that at one time the Hylden culture had been just as rich and vibrate as that of the Ancients. But perhaps sadly it might have all been lost upon their imprisonment in the demon realm.
Then rising above this level he came across something quite surprising. One entire level had been given over to what could only be a temple. Its religious importance was all to clear from the symbolism of a circular icon above the entrance.
It would seem the Hylden were far from the godless heathens the vampire murals had made them out to be. Grimly he advanced inside.
The temple itself was large with a high walls running down either side to the alter on a raised dais in the middle of the room.
There were many stone benches facing towards that alter; mostly intact but for a few with cracked surfaces due to the ravages of time.
Kain was far less interested in the room itself than at what he saw on the walls.

“And here I discovered something that I thought I would never see. Something the Hylden and the Ancient Vampires had in common. These murals, just like those in the ruins of my ancestors, depicted the events, achievements and culture of the Hylden who lived here.”

Like many a ruin of his ancestors he had visited before, the walls were decorated with pictures. While the ancient vampires mostly painted their imagery, the Hylden used a curious sort of artwork created by the use of various types of ink sunk into the stone itself.
The imagery was a bit hard to understand, with many straight lines shooting off in a dozen directions all at once and only vaguely resembling the objects they were depicting.
Then he saw a figure with cloven hands and feathered wings and using that familiar icon as a Rosetta stone, he began to translate the rest.

“In these ancient pictures I had the unique opportunity to see the conflict that ripped apart the old world from the other side. The Hylden’s perception of my ancestors was that of a ravaging force of black winged terror that descended upon them from the skies, carrying away the innocent to be sacrificed to their god.”

With a frown he ran his hand over the image of a Hylden child being slaughtered by a Vampire lynching party all armed with spears. The artist had left very little to the imagination with the liberal use of blood and gore.

“As much as I wanted not to I could not help but realise that, even if these images were exaggerated, there was more than a grain of truth to them.”

With a shake of his head he moved on, crossing the temple to examine more of the murals. With a start he recognised a figure displayed proudly just behind the alter; a titanic being with fiery eyes and a sword of flame.

“Ah yes…The Hylden’s own grain of hope. Janos would perhaps have been chagrined to know that he was not the only one awaiting the messiah Raziel might be.”

The murals all told more or less the same story but after studying them further, he began to notice a recurring theme.
In each depicted scene there were two circles superimposed. One circle on the bottom and another circle at the top, elliptical and each with a unique artistic look to them.
The circle at the bottom was surrounded by many smaller circles and within the centre it connected to a central point.
After staring at it a moment Kain realised it to be a warped version of the same icon he had seen in the Ancient Citadel of Tears, the symbol of the Wheel of Fate.
The upper circle was quite different, with angular fin like appendages lancing out along the outside turning clockwise. Within was a simple spiral, circling down to the central point.
The bottom circle was darkened while the one above was highlighted in white. This seemed significant yet Kain could not immediately fathom why.
=Kain… I have found evidence of recent occupation here.= Vorador’s voice Whispered to him, a soft voice in the vault of his mind.
= Good, then she is still here. I will join you shortly.= Kain replied and turned to make use of a door at the far side of the temple.
He could sense where Vorador vaguely was in the structure and began to make his way down the mass of walkways and dusty corridors in that direction.
As he made his way down he entered another chamber on the healer’s level. This room had a large selection of tools laid out and upon the walls were similar murals as in the temple above, only with far different subject matter.

“This image left me baffled as to its meaning. It showed a Hylden warrior standing atop a cliff, arms outstretched. The bony structures sprouting from his back appeared enlarged and distended outward. It almost seemed as if he were preparing himself for flight.”

Kain glanced up along the walls to see more of the images which he began to understand were some type of record, equivalent to the notes made by doctors and healers. The language and runic form of script however was unfamiliar to him. Still puzzled, he carried on and it was not long before he found Vorador again.
The ancient vampire was waiting for him in a large chamber deeper within the complex. The room was so large that the light of their combined spells did not fully illuminate it.
= Ah good you are here.= Vorador began, still whispering when Kain approached. Kain could see instantly why he chose to keep their conversation silent. The side support columns around the outside of the chamber were compromised.
On several of the broken columns were left the remains of pieces of Hylden pottery, newly brushed for
=As you can see the dust here has been moved recently and here look, a trail.=
He gestured down at the ground before him and following his gaze Kain could see disturbances in the dust up ahead, foot prints to be sure but to slender a size to belong to either Vorador or himself.
= And fairly recent disturbances by the look of it= He replied, gently following the footprints and taking special care not to disturb the evidence of the trail. =She can not be far away.=
Kain took several cautious steps with Vorador following behind him. Suddenly the Reaver across his blade hummed and almost vibrated against his skin; the eyes of the skull hilt glowing brightly in warning.
Kain straightened in alarm, preparing to jump back but his reflexes were not quick enough. A circle of light surrounded him on the floor, cutting him off from Vorador who stumbled back as if pushed by some invisible force. As the ancient vampire fell to the floor, Kain turned back but even as he did everything turned to white.

“My surroundings whirled and Vorador disappeared into the sudden white haze that surrounded me. Too late did I realise what had happened. I had set foot upon a transportation platform, an ancient device that moved physical objects from one location to another.”

As Kain recovered himself, he found that as he had thought he had indeed been moved. The dead and dusty interior of the Forgotten Keep was gone and he was in some round antechamber, far cleaner although still of Ancient Hylden construction. The walls of this new place were lined with well preserved murals of Hylden warriors, each of them carrying a unique trophy in one hand. The head of an ancient vampire, the eyes of another and the even the wing bones of yet another.
At the far side of the chamber a set of spiral stairs led up to a doorway suspended a good twenty feet into the wall.
Taking a moment to survey his surroundings, Kain frowned. He could not contact Vorador using the whisper. Some outside force in this place was blocking him.
“Oh how suitably inviting.”
Suddenly, in the air before him dust began to swirl. Four vortexes of particles spinning around faster and faster, their substance apparently appearing directly out of thin air.
Kain instinctively drew the Reaver in one fluid motion as these foul winds began to culminate, growing together and forming each in turn a figure clad in archaic armour.
The Homunculi had returned and now there could be no question in Kain’s mind that these mindless beings were agents of his enemy.
Their apparent leader in the ragged plumed helmet and eyes glowing lurched forward, raising one hand to point at him.
“Mors mortuibus!” It declared and in unison the others formed close ranks, swords drawn.
Kain set his claymore at eye level, muscles tensed.
“Come then... and let us see the dead die.”