No copyright infringements intended
No major spoilers.
Rated NC-17 for violence - some mild, some extreme - and some bad language.
Dedicated to Crunchbucket.
Crunchbucket on being the first person to expose me to Raziel: "I have created a monster!"

Onto the story (at last)...

One thing I have often heard mortals cry before I kill them is this question; "Why me?" In the last struggling seconds of life, it is natural for any creature to become selfish, willing to do anything in order to survive. The mortals genuinely believe that random killing is impossible - that there *must* be a reason, there *must* be a motive.

To some extent, this is true. But for me, my motive extends to all humans, not just one or two.

No, my motive is not simply hunger - though hunger is often what drives me to start hunting. More commonly though, I start hunting almost without thinking, wandering through a forest seemingly without purpose until I find a mortal to sink my teeth into. Then, and only then, do I feel fulfilled. The clean slicing of fangs into flesh, a muffled cry, and the taste of blood, polluted and yet sweetened somehow by the decay of Nosgoth's non-vampiric inhabitants. I often believe that in the end, unless there is some sort of freak accident, only scavengers will inhabit the land; vampires, vultures, crows and wolves - all those who can feed off the dead.

Sorry, I digress. It is a bad habit of mine. As I was saying, it is not hunger that motivates my killing, but something that reaches deeper. Something that rips open my chest every night and pulls out my still beating heart, compressing and crushing, then lets go suddenly, leaving a void inside of me.

Melodramatic? I think not. If you could experience for one minute... strike that, one second, the pain I have to live with, then you would plunge a dagger straight into your stomach. You, a mere mortal yourself, could *never* comprehend what it is to be a vampire. You could not begin to imagine what I have been through.

And I am not the only one.

Melchiah. 'Little brother'. And my favourite blood relative.

Melchiah made up for his physical weakness with a strength of mind possessed by few. He had a sense of humour too, something that most of my relatives severely lacked. But what held Melchiah above the similarly endowed and stronger Turel, was his calming aura. Tempers rarely frayed if Melchiah was around. And his loyalty to Kain bordered on the obsessive.

Many vampires had enjoyed the war between the humans and ourselves, and I often found myself sharing this view; the thrill of killing a warrior, plucked from the world in the prime of his life; the celebrations after winning a battle; and my already keen hatred of humans spurring me on. It had been a time of revelry and rough justice. Melchiah, however, had never been one of these vampires. His ties to the mortal world were the strongest, but more importantly, the wars caused him a great loss.

Melchiah had, like many of us, a favourite fledgling. The bond between him and his Azazel was quite an incredible thing to see; the fatherly pride whenever the child came back from a battle with evidence of a kill, the contented smile whenever Azazel was at his side. And always, the sparkle of lust for un-life in his eyes.

And so, Melchiah had been quite content to continue fighting alongside his son, endowed with the knowledge that he had something to protect. Until, that is, the day Azazel did not come back.

One day passed. Melchiah did not worry. Two days passed. Melchiah grew concerned, but we soothed his fears. *I* soothed his fears. Five days passed. Melchiah was frantic, as were all the Melchahim, for Azazel was a great warrior. Finally, a week after Azazel had first been reported missing, a Dumahim sent on a reconnaissance mission brought home the corpse of the young fledgling.

Taking it upon myself to see how Melchiah was coping, I made my way to the abyss. I knew Melchiah well enough to realise he would be mourning his son there. And still, nothing could have prepared me for the next few hours.

Melchiah was leaning against a stone near the edge of the abyss, and did not hear me approaching over the roar of the waters. Those waters held such mystery, such beauty, and such unimaginable torture.
"Melchiah?" I asked, and still he did not move.
"Go away, Raziel."
"If you will not speak to me as a lieutenant..." I softened my voice, unclasped my shoulder armour and clan symbol, placed them on the ground.
"Will you speak to me as a brother?" He turned his head at last, gestured for me to come closer. At first I felt slightly offended at this order from a lower ranking vampire, but then honour gave way to conscience and I remembered the wording of my speech.

Sitting down at his side, I allowed him to rest his head on my shoulder.
"He's dead, Raziel. My son is dead." I nodded, unable to think of comforting words."
"I know, Melchiah. I imagine..." A silence fell as I tried to contemplate the true results of vampiric death.
"I hope that his soul will have moved on. I imagine that wherever he is now, he is better off than he was here."
"Why is that?" I looked Melchiah in the eyes, then hugged myself, said,
"Because oblivion would be better than this imbalanced world."
"Raziel, I... I think you're right." He sighed, stood up, and looked down at the ever swirling waters.
"I think you're right."

I allowed Melchiah another hour at the abyss before I picked up my armour and clan symbol, dusted off the coarse flag material as I dressed again. "The sun is almost rising, brother. And I have orders to make sure you return home alive." A bitter smile graced Melchiah's features, and when he turned around, I saw that the sparkle in his eyes had disappeared.

That was the first change no one wanted.

As a vampire, I had often been famed for having no heart towards mortals. I could detach myself from humanity with ease, and my devotion to the clans earned me great respect. No one had ever expected me to show weakness, ever. But during the wars with the mortals, I had been sent to burn a large section of a village called Guiko by Lord Kain, and for the first time I felt emotion towards a human.

Walking around the village I was satisfied that my men were doing their jobs until I came across one house where the offspring of one of my fledglings lay beheaded. I pulled out my sword and looked for the killer, only for a blade to cut across my cheek from behind on a slant. Turning around, I could not see anything, then felt a sharp kick in my shins and looked down to see a small human male wielding a sword several sizes too big for him.
"I won't let you hurt my parents!" yelled the child in a voice that revealed he had not even reached puberty. Laughing, I gripped the sword and asked,
"Where are your parents?"
"I won't tell you! I won't let a vampire hurt my parents!" A shocked gasp from inside the hut revealed the answer.
"Is it just your parents?" The boy bit his lip and did not answer. I smiled. I had never met a human child like this! They either screamed and ran, or hit someone, screamed and ran. This boy was truly standing his ground!

A Razelim interrupted me to ask,
"Shall I burn this one too, master?" I turned around and the fledgling hissed, said,
"That looks a painful cut, you should get it seen to. Master." I nodded, said, 
"In time. When we return. As for this hut, I want you to leave it. Burn the town jail instead. Make sure the village elders suffer as well. I saw what they did to that fledgling. They are going to pay for their crimes."
"But master..."
"Do not *dare* 'but master' me, fledgling. Kain ordered us to burn the major part of this village, not all of it. Besides..." I stroked the cheek of the young boy, said,
"I like this one." Kneeling in front of the mortal I pulled the sword from his hands and said,
"No fledgling of mine will hurt your family. That is my promise to you, if you stay in this house. Fortune favours the brave." Standing up I gestured for my men to leave the house alone and they obeyed my orders, rushing out to enjoy the carnage.

I remained in the boy's house, surveying the burning of Guiko, making sure that no one tried to pillage this home. One thing I pride myself upon is being a man of my word. I heard quiet sobbing from the woman of the household, and curses from the father, as they sat powerless while their village went up in flames. I could have pitied them - were it not for the fact that I had witnessed the execution of one of my favoured fledglings in this very place. Turning away from the door, I walked over to the father and took his hand, said,
"Anyone who raises a boy with spirit such as this deserves to live. Tell me. What is his name?" He glared at me without words, then the mother quietly said,
"Seth Klasan... we... we haven't christened him yet..." I laughed quietly.
"I am hardly in a position to damn you for that madam, if you will excuse my language."

The woman smiled briefly before she began her sniffling again, and I returned to the door, noticed that a Zephonim who had somehow ended up mixed in our work had set aflame a section of the roof. I called for the insolent vampire and wrung his head from his body in one swift movement, before yelling to one of my fledglings,
"This house was specifically pointed out as protected! Put out the fire immediately!" After looking at me with curiosity, and getting a low-pitched growl in return, the fledgling set to work and successfully removed the problem within seconds. When the task was completed, he asked me,
"What about the Zephonim?"
"Take him back, declare him a casualty of war."
"But... the head..."
"If Zephon finds any discrepancies, he can talk to me. Now carry out my order."

The vampire grumbled quietly before dragging away the body, carry the head underneath his arm. The Zephonim must have been very young when I decapitated him, for the trail of blood dried up very quickly. It was rumoured that if someone was to slit Kain's throat, the font would pour for a century. I, however, doubted the rumour.

Not out of any disrespect for my master, you must understand. I did not doubt his strength. I simply knew for a fact that the flow of blood slowed down in aged vampires. My blood had already gone dark; Kain's was probably solid. I had not seen him feed in at least a century. One of the easiest ways to tell a vampire's age is to look at his veins; the darker and more prominent the veins, the more years that vampire owns. I was the oldest vampire known to be alive second to Kain, whose age was a mystery to all but himself. He was also the only vampire known to be aware of his past. We all knew we had once been mortal; but only Kain still had memories of that time. He had hinted that my brethren and I had lived unpleasant lives, but he never said what we had done. It seemed important to him that it remained secret, and I had learned very early on not to question my Lord's judgement.

We usually gave a vampire about six months before we told them that they were once human. Any earlier and they might go mad. Any later and they *would* go mad, or refuse to believe what we told them. At six months though, they almost invariably accepted the excuse for vampirism; "But you're not one of their species anymore." The relationship between vampires and humans was always a strange one; both sides were prey and predator. Our bodies relied on human blood for sustenance, and mortals had their crusade against our control of Nosgoth.

Eventually I returned to the camp, and life returned to a settled pace for a while.

Sorry, I forget the time scale difference between mortals and vampires. Life returned to a settled pace for a decade. Either way, ten years had passed since the burning of Guiko, and finally our race was gaining the upper hand in the war. I had received news of one battle in particular that we had lost, and found myself interested in one of the mortal warriors. A distance fighter, adept with throwing knives and various bows. Deciding to steal the warrior for our own side, I sought his whereabouts and discovered him to be a resident of the city Klesan Thaio. Many a vampire had fallen prey to the warriors of this almost mythical walled kingdom, and everyone with common sense knew that there was no hope of gaining entry to the city.

Disappointed at first, I discussed my idea with the tactician Tybiaz. He warned me of the dangers involved, but after a while admitted that I might have a chance of catching him if he went to hunt for food - quite likely, considering he was an archer.

How did I know what human to look for? Simple. Physical description. It was well known that long hair was a rarity amongst human males, and the warrior I was after wore his not only long, but plaited. Rumours had spread to the effect that he was not entirely human because of the ethereal looks he was said to have; slanted brown eyes, long lashes and dark eyebrows, contrasting with very pale skin. I did not know his name, but was soon to find out.

I watched and waited in the forest as the mortal hunters left the walled city, spreading out into the woods. My eyes skimmed over four of the seven archers, all blondes, then another two with short hair, until I saw the last one with long dark hair, plaited. I smiled.

Following the young warrior, making very little noise, I waited until he spotted a young stag. As he turned to aim, I took a closer look at what I could see of his face, and got quite surprised. If the bone structure of his face spoke true, then this young man was the very child that had gained my interest several years before. Seth Klasan.

Looking at his clothes, I spotted his family's distinctive coat of arms on his shirt. Two stags fighting with their antlers on top of a crossbow and crucifix. If I was successful, that coat of arms would soon be replaced by the simpler but far more elegant mark of the Razelim burnt into his shoulder. I loved the contrast between the dark marking and the fair skin of my offspring, although I knew how painful the creation of the mark was to a fledgling. The skin on my shoulder baring the now rather faded mark of Kain's clan had been tender for three days after I first received it. I have to admit though, that I did not appreciate the mark solely for aesthetic reasons; it was also a declaration of ownership. If a fledgling bore his master's symbol, it was a way for the master to proclaim, 'this is my fledgling, you can't touch him,' to all the other masters.

Lying down full length on the tree branch, I watched the mortal below me as he readied to shoot the deer in the distance. As he brought the bow and arrow up to his face I became aware of the muscles in his arm, slender, but as firm as coiled steel. I leapt down behind him, said,
"Careful, that arrow could take your eye out." The misfire scared off the stag when his arm jerked in surprise. He whirled around, obviously about to hit me for ruining his hunt, then his eyes widened.
"You're one of the damned!" I grinned mischievously.
"I prefer the term 'vampire'." He reached into his pocket for a dagger but I took hold of his hand and pulled away the knife, saying,
"I doubt you will be needing that, either. By the way, where are your parents?" The boy prepared to speak, then furrowed his eyebrows.
"I know you, don't I?" I smiled again.
"Long time no see, Seth Klasan." He mouthed my first words, then said,
"You're the one who spared my parents, aren't you?" I nodded, but told him honestly,
"Only because you defended them. You were incredibly brave for your age." He shrugged, then his eyes darkened.
"I wasn't much good when we fought the Zephonim and I let my father die."
"And your mother?" Angry tears threatened to surface.
"Raped and killed. Again by the Zephonim." I nodded sadly. My brother's spawn was notorious for war crimes. Seth managed to catch me by surprise and snatched back the knife, slashing me across the chest before starting to run.

"You sly little bastard," I laughed to myself before running after Seth, leaping on his back and knocking him to the floor.
"You should try to stay on my good side in future," I told him before pinning his throat to the floor with one hand and snapping his neck. Quickly I muttered the incantation to separate my soul from my body and rose from the material confines, connecting with his own soul before it faded to the spectral realm. Before my own soul had a chance to weaken I shoved his spirit back into his corpse along with some of mine, then returned to my body.

"What happened?" whispered the new fledgling as I wrapped my arms around my knees, taking a few deep breaths. Detachment of the soul is very tiring.
"You are a vampire. I am your master. You are my fledgling. You serve only Lord Kain and myself. Understand?" He nodded then shook his head, hopelessly disoriented. I noticed him staring at my chest, and remembered that I was bleeding.
"There are no mortals around, so yes you may."
"May what?" I laughed.
"You are a vampire. You are staring at my cut. There are no mortals to feed off. I think you know what to do." He paused, then moved closer and looked at the wound again.
"You're certain?" I sighed aloud.
"Yes!" Finally he pressed his mouth against the knife wound and sucked at the blood that had escaped the now almost fully closed cut. Every so often he paused for breath, or made slight moaning sounds. As I watched him I remembered my first taste of blood - Kain's - and how he had almost been forced to rip me away from his neck. But vampiric blood is mere foreplay. It takes the richness of mortal blood to steal someone's virginity. Eventually the wound closed and Seth had completely cleaned my chest of spilt blood, but he remained pressed against my torso for a while longer, and I knew why.

Becoming a vampire is like being born again. The maker is exhausted by the process, and the fledgling feels confused by the sensations that feel so alien, next to what they were in humanity, even the body reads them as new. Right now, with his face resting on my chest, Seth's senses were being bombarded. The cold of the air, the warmth of my skin, the freshness of the forest, the musk of my blood. I wrapped my arms around him while he adjusted, and smiled. This one was bright, handsome, and strong. He was going to be the son I should have had as a mortal. And he was not going to have the cruel memories of his parent's demise hurting him. I could already see that the dull pain in his eyes had disappeared with the loss of his memory.

After soothing my new child, I stood up with him and placed my cloak around his shoulders, keeping him warm while he tried to adjust his temperature to suit his surroundings. Finally, once I convinced that he was ready, I placed an arm around his shoulders and guided him with me back to the camp.

I received many curious looks from my fledglings as I brought Seth into my tent. In particular, I noticed the fledgling Tliam give my new son an appreciative look before returning to his attempted seduction of a female Turelim with the most bored expression possible. I was positive that Tliam only swung one way - the wrong way - but I did not broach the subject with him. He seemed somewhat peculiar, and I did *not* wish to attract his attention any more than necessary. In fact, I had barely spoken to him since the week I had made him.

Seth had been silent all the way along our journey, distracted by the crawling of the smallest insect, the slightest rustle of the leaves in the dying trees, and only now did I realise I had not even told him his name.
"Young one, I almost forgot to tell you. Your name is..."
"Seth Klasan, I know, I overheard you." Definitely a bright fledgling, even in his distraction. He slumped down in a chair.
"So, Seth. What do you wish to know?"
"What happens now?"
"You get taken along with a group of new fledglings for your first hunt, and assigned a hunting partner who you will work with for the first two months of your existence. But only after you have received your marking." He looked confused.
"What marking?"
"All vampires have a clan mark burnt into their shoulder. It basically tells people who you are." He nodded, asked,
"Can I see yours?" I smiled and nodded, unclasped my clan symbol and showed him the mark.

Unaware of the unwritten social rules regarding vampiric hierarchy, Seth reached out and traced the mark with his fingers.
"Hold on a moment," he said after a while, his eyes widening.
"My hands aren't like yours. Why?" I smiled, said,
"It will take you a few months to develop properly. Your veins will darken, you will find breathing less and less necessary, and your hands and feet will alter to be like mine."
"How long did it take you to develop these hands?"
"A few years. But you as you will inherit them rather than Change to accommodate them, it will take you a much shorter time to do so." He nodded before a large yawn escaped him, and I grew aware of how late at night it was.
"You are a new fledgling, so you will be sleeping with me tonight. Tomorrow you will get your own bed, and you will be introduced to some other fledglings so that daytime will be safer for you." Seth nodded and I left the tent to let him prepare for bed alone. He would want to explore changes in his physique out of the sight of others, and besides, I would need to inform Tybiaz of my success and whereabouts.

After receiving a peculiar mixture of scolding - "You shouldn't put your life in danger like that," and praise - "This archer will be so useful in the back flanks, they've been particularly thin," from Tybiaz, I returned to the tent. After making sure that my fledgling knew I was about to walk in, saving him embarrassment, I sat down in a chair and propped up my feet on the nearby table.
"Aren't you going to sleep yet?"
"No. I wait for my fledglings to fall asleep before I get into bed with them. It saves them the bother of worrying about discomforting me." He nodded, then gestured to my feet.
"I thought that a master would be expected to set an example?" I narrowed my eyes at him, then started laughing.
"I get enough of that nonsense about politeness from my second-in-command. He will be sleeping in the same tent as us, by the way." Seth nodded, then closed his eyes. Every so often he would open them briefly, on hearing a noise that seemed unfamiliar to his vampiric ears, before settling down again after realising he recognised whatever was disturbing him.

An hour or so passed before Seth fell asleep, and I removed my armour for bed before climbing in alongside my fledgling. I was about to doze off when Zaliph finally stumbled into the tent, shoved inside by several of his friends who were obviously drunk.
"You showed up late," I told him while forcing back a smile.
"You realise how angry Marianne is that you missed your anniversary?" Zaliph paled.
"I didn't did I? Ah shit, she's gonna kill me!" The laughter finally escaped and he narrowed his eyes at me.
"You're lying aren't you?" I nodded, pressed my hand over my mouth so that my laughter would not wake Seth.
"Bastard!" I held my other hand up, lowering the other once I had stopped laughing enough.
"Don't make too much noise. Seth is asleep."
"Seth? Who is...?" I peeled back the covers that Seth had wrapped so tightly around himself, and Zaliph jerked slightly in shock.

"Raziel? I didn't know you swung that way?"
"I don't. He's my latest fledgling, and I was a little late getting him back to the camp. We were very busy." Zaliph's expression said everything he was thinking.
"I can see this is going to be a big problem. I do *not* find this boy... sexually attractive. I wanted a son, really. And this child is not only very talented, but he is brave. I met him once when he was only about nine." Zaliph smiled.
"You know, next time you're feeling broody, will you let the rest of us know? We can't have you breeding like a rabbit." I gave him a dark look.
"Nice kid anyway. Marianne could do with someone to look after herself, she's been clucking like a pregnant chicken recently."
"Zaliph, has anyone ever told you how bad your analogies are?" He nodded, grinned, then got into his bed. I considered briefly telling him he would need his clothes again in the morning, but decided against it. He deserved it for getting drunk anyway.

When I awoke in the morning, I noticed Zaliph still snoring away, sleeping off the alcohol he had consumed the previous night, and Seth had curled up like a prodded woodlouse on the very edge of the bed. Deciding to get dressed before I awoke either of the others, I climbed out quietly and only put on the basics, deciding to put on my armour later.

Once dressed in a white shirt, pair of black pants, and my clan-symbol cloak, I shook Seth until he awoke, then walked across to Zaliph's bed and did the same.
"Mari.. Raziel? Wha..? Oh shoot, I've done it again! Raziel, for god's sake tell me *before* I fall asleep that I forgot to change? These are gonna stink now, they were gonna last until..." I clamped my hand over his mouth.
"Zaliph, stop ranting. Get changed and take those to get cleaned." Zaliph nodded and I released my grip, returned to Seth.
"You had better go with Zaliph, he can give you a run-over of how the camp works, and trust me, you will need it."
"I'm going to what?" I shot Zaliph a look that could have pinned him to the wall were it more stable.
"Oh, alright. But we're taking a break at the women's quarters, I have some clothes need washing, and there's someone I intend to visit."
"Sure," said Seth before he started walking out the tent. As he went past me I suddenly realised he did not have any clothes save what he was wearing.
"Zaliph, make sure Seth gets measured up for some new clothing while you are out. And avoid any Zephonim like the plague for now." Zaliph gave me a half-smile before walking on with my fledgling.

Just as I finished dressing in my full armour, another of my sons - Thamais - stormed in. He had never been famed for disguising his feelings.
"Raziel!" I allowed a tired smile to fall across my face.
"Yes, Thamais?"
"What is all this about a new fledgling?" I sighed.
"Would I be correct to assume you're talking about Seth Klasan, the latest Razelim if he succeeds in next week's trials, and my new son?"
"Damn sure you'd be right! A son?! Raziel, don't you remember the last time you made a fledgling because of your emotions?" I was quickly growing tired of our conversation.
"If you mean that harlot traitoress Shiva, that was physical need, not emotional. Besides, this child is a fantastic archer and fighter. I have seen him at work." Thamais looked suspicious, but then, he had sired a traitorous fledgling himself, and had every right not to trust people easily.
"Thamais, stop sulking,"
"I'm not sulking!"
"And understand this; son or not, I will allow the trials to determine his worthiness. I have not pulled any strings to get a fledgling through the trials yet, and I doubt I ever will."

Eventually, a voice came from outside the tent.
"Am I disturbing anything?" Giving Thamais a warning frown, I answered,
"Nothing of importance, Seth. Come on in." He walked in and I caught Thamais giving my fledgling a dirty look as he left, followed him out with a glare.
"What is he angry about?"

"A small disagreement over my tactics. As I said. Nothing of importance." Seth nodded before sighing and slumping down in a chair, burying his face in his hands.
"And what is distressing you?" He looked up, sighed again before saying,
"It's just the way the others act. They give me dirty looks and treat me like I'm below them." I nodded.
"You forget, Seth. You have not proved yourself either on the practice fields or in battle. As soon as they see your skill with daggers and arrows, they will leave you alone. They may even admire you." He looked up, disbelief in his eyes disappearing as he grew aware of my sincerity.
"Alright."
"Is that all you came here for?" He looked at me for a few seconds without speaking, then smiled, said,
"Yes," and left the tent. Strange boy. Talented, but strange.

After checking my appearance in the tent's full-length mirror, I went outside to mix with my men, grew aware of a forthcoming storm from the damp in the air. I never failed to appreciate the furnaces our kind had constructed years ago whenever rain threatened; the sulphuric fumes in the air had rendered the clouds acidic enough to be safe to our kind. Unfortunately, rainfall was not yet acidic enough to pose a threat to the mortals - but at the rate the furnaces worked, that would only be for another decade, at the most. The clouds, always present but not always supplying rain to the earth below, did not seem to be brewing properly yet, but common sense made me go back into the tent for a cloak and lantern just in case.

As I emerged, Zaliph almost knocked me over while running inside with his wife Marianne. On spotting me, he bowed his head.
"Before you say anything, yes, I did cut Seth's tour of the camp short. I'll do it properly later. It's just that..."
"Zaliph, as long as you eventually take Seth around the camp, and as long as you do *not* use my bed, I am quite happy for you to take time off." I might have gone on for longer, but I had no wish to reduce the time they had together before the other women noticed Marianne was skipping her shift.

I made my way to the hospital tent of the camp, heard laughter coming from inside, and entered. I realised very quickly exactly what had happened, and made a mental note to find out the perpetrator of the crime. Somebody had spiked the blood for the invalids with alcohol - and a lot of it. One thing of good came from this at least; the majority of the tent occupants were so intoxicated that it took their mind off the pain they would otherwise be in.

I decided to leave the tent and headed towards the weapons supplies to check that everything there was in order. On entering I noticed a distinct quickening of movement amongst the workers, and smiled to myself. It never ceased to amuse me that vampires regarded me with an almost fearful amount of respect. I was not given to shouting or violence, but I admit to being stubborn to the core. If I decide something will happen, then it will happen. There are no 'might's or 'maybe's.

Looking through the racks of swords and arrows being made, cleaned, or fixed for my fledglings, I pulled out the odd few that didn't come up to the normal high standards, noticed there were far more mistakes than normal. On inquiring about this, I discovered that the main blacksmith had burned himself rather badly several days before, and the others had rushed their work to make up for his absence. He was fully healed now, and back at work, but I gave him a quick warning not to burn himself again. I dislike having to discipline my men, but I do what is necessary when I have to, unlike Zephon whose men either cower in fear or run riot.

After being assured that the mistakes would be corrected in the forge, I left the weapons with the blacksmith and walked out to the tavern. This was not actually part of the camp, but a human building that we had seized on our arrival. Though I did not approve at first, I am weak to the charms of the mistress alcohol. And what a mistress she was, keeping an incredible number of vampires in high spirits, including those not of my clan. I tried to avoid discrimination against all but the Zephonim, who I remained neutral with.

Making a mental note not to have too many drinks, I kept an eye on proceedings in the camp through one of the windows, heard rumbling in the skies above. Thunder. As if on cue, the rain began to pour down immediately. There was no light beginning to this storm; it was heavy from the start. I grew thankful that I had brought the cloak and the lantern, gave my fourth beer to the Rahabim next to me before pulling on the cloak, putting the hood up. I used one of the tavern candles to light the lantern, then fixed the windshield tight and walked out, getting back to my own tent.

On my way I bumped into Seth, realised he was with a group of other new fledglings, mostly Dumahim I noticed. Dumah must have gone into his slave camp when drunk again, I decided before saying goodnight to my fledgling as he went off with the other newcomers to his tent. I almost pitied him, he looked completely bedraggled from the storm, but a crueller part of me actually found it very amusing.

Once inside the tent I found a fledgling taking cover from the rain and surprised him. He offered to leave immediately, but as I hung up my cloak I told him that I was not bothered by his presence if he left once the rain relented. Some fledglings were still nervous around rain, as the acidity had only become properly safe in the past few years. I myself always exercised caution around fire despite my invulnerability to it, so I could not blame the child.

The storm seasons for Nosgoth had always been blissfully short, although they were rather frequent. A fortnight was the usual duration, and thus the trials for the new fledglings were held two weeks after the first storm.

The fledgling trials, a national event for vampires despite the painful death given to those who failed, was basically a test for fledglings,
"To prove their usefulness or be thrown into the abyss, as it the destiny of weaklings to be punished. Archers, select your weapons." I watched Seth take the bow and quiver of arrows, slinging the latter over his arm in preparation.
"Bring out the targets!" Kain himself held a disguised interest in the proceedings, and I caught him leaning forward slightly as the fledglings supposedly skilled in archery stepped up to their marks. I marked this discovery with a half-smile, but forced it back when my Lord gave me a warning frown of disapproval.

"Aim!" My gaze returned to Seth who took a small breath before holding up his bow, aiming with one hand, resting his other on the quiver. I noticed a few of my fledglings nudging each other and whispering amongst themselves as he readied himself.
"Fire!" Seth whipped up the arrow, pulled back the string, and fired, hitting the ring outside the bull’s-eye.
"Aim!" Tilting his head slightly, Seth noted the slight incline of the ground, adjusted his bow accordingly.
"Fire!" This time he hit the bull’s-eye, and some quiet applause came from my men.
"Aim!" A wicked grin appeared on Seth's face, and I could not for the life of me figure out why.
"Fire!" Seth whipped his bow right up into the air, fired, and shot down a crow. Laughter and a roar of applause came from all around this time, though I suspected Kain would not approve of my son's actions. Turning to look at my master, I noticed a smile of amusement flicker on his face before he replaced it with his normal regal expression. He also applauded.

It was time for the close-up combat now, but I no longer desired to watch the proceedings. I knew from experience how fatal to a mortal Seth would be with his knives. Walking back to the camp, I felt a roughened hand close on my shoulder.
"Raziel?" I stopped momentarily, allowed Thamais to walk at my side.
"Raziel, I underestimated you as always. That Seth child is a true warrior."
"Takes one to know one, Thamais." He looked at me with curiosity, then realised I had complimented him.
"Thank you," Thamais replied as he began to return to the trials. The precise opposite of Tybiaz, Thamais had brawn but very little brain. He was also my second closest friend amongst the vampires, Melchiah being the closest and Seth being my son. And one of the only fledglings I permitted to neglect calling me master, mostly because he found it a habit impossible to get into.

Back at the camp I sensed a disturbance, sniffed the air. A mortal was nearby, his blood leaving a strong trail of scent that I followed back to the tent I shared with my second-in-command, Zaliph.
"You bast..." was all my fledgling made out before the human ignited his flesh. To his credit, Zaliph did not say anything cowardly as he died, only screamed before his vocal chords burnt out and the tent was filled with silence, interrupted only briefly by the snap of a mortal neck.

Eager to keep up the morale of the legions, only the necessary people were informed of Zaliph's death, and the funeral was kept private to all except his fledglings and myself. I admit to informing Seth, but I had needed to make sure someone knew of my whereabouts in case of emergency. Kain had also been informed, but he was too busy to attend.

The ceremony was rather pleasant next to the last funeral I had been to, but then again, that had been more publicised than this. Privacy can be comforting in mournful circumstances. Looking around the other mourners, I saw Zaliph's widow, Marianne, a Turelim of considerable talent in the manufacture of clothing and armour. She was not particularly beautiful, but she was a strongly muscled woman - especially in her arms - and Zaliph had indeed loved her. They had been a popular couple because they did not have the star-crossed lovers attitude of many married vampires; they treated their love as something to laugh about, and kept the romantic side private.

I crossed the room to sit at Marianne's side, took her hand in mine and lightly squeezed it.
"Lord Raziel?" She said as she turned to look at me, acidic tears streaming from her eyes. I allowed a small smile to warm my face.
"There is no need to address me as 'Lord' under these circumstances, Marianne." I looked at his body on the funeral pyre, being prepared for proper cremation so that his corpse would not get possessed by a wraith.
"Do you think he is happy now?" Asked Marianne, and I sighed.
"I have never been certain about an afterlife, but if there is one, I am certain it will be a pleasanter existence than this." She smiled slightly, then stood up to place her gift to him on the pyre. I felt tightness in my chest when I realised what the gift was; the shirt he had worn on their wedding day. She paused at the pyre, fingered the material of the shirt lightly while whispering something obviously intended for Zaliph's hearing, then laid it on the wood.

Stepping forward, I laid my own sacrifice - a toy that had belonged to his child as a mortal - on the funeral pyre, then stepped back and pressed my lips together firmly, fighting sorrow. Not crushing pain, but unpleasant sadness nonetheless. Zaliph had been a good fighter, and an even better friend. I was going to miss him.

I waited out the entire fire with Zaliph's fledglings out of tradition, but once the flames had died out I returned to the tent where Seth was lying asleep on my bed.
"Seth?" I inquired as I gently shook him awake.
"Seth, what are you doing here?" He yawned before replying drowsily,
"...was gonna 'umfort ya." Translating his speech I said,
"You did a good job of that." Smiling, he muttered,
"Sarcasm doesn't suit you."
"Are you going to go to your own quarters?"
"No." He yawned again and closed his eyes, shifting up the bed.
"I'm not gonna leave you alone. Get in." Amused by my fledgling's orders, I obeyed him as a novelty and climbed underneath the sheets. He was such a wonderful child; I only wished I could claim him to be my own through impregnation of his mother. Well, maker was as good as father. I placed one arm around his chest to hold him to me before I fell asleep listening to his soft breathing.

Seth woke up before me, but a shocked gasp and jump made me wake up only a split second later.
"Where am I?" He asked, confused, and I smiled.
"You do not remember last night?"
"I didn't... oh god... did I..." I suppressed laughter.
"No, you did not. We slept together but not in a sexual sense. You must have been sleeping really deeply before I woke you last night." He looked even more confused.
"Last night you waited to comfort me after the funeral. I appreciate the gesture, by the way. I was back late, though, and by the time I arrived you had fallen asleep. And then you told me to sleep with you, because you were not 'gonna leave me alone'." I mimicked his tone the previous night and he blushed again.
"Sorry master."
"No need to apologise."

A few weeks passed before the legion was called together for the trials to replace Zaliph.
"All those who wish to apply for the post of second-in-command, step forward now." I watched a line of about forty men form in front of the legion, saw Seth amongst them, which surprised me considering his youth.
"Test for mental capability will commence in five minutes." I noticed two fledglings chicken out early, suppressed a chuckle.

I watched the fledglings walk into the tent, for the test that had been specifically designed by Tybiaz to determine whether or not the fledglings could make tactical decisions, plans for battle, and arrange transport of various goods. I had read through the test myself, and joked that I would probably fail it myself. At least, I hope it was a joke. After a while, the line left the tent and eleven names were called out. My men had always been selected for strength and obedience rather than their mental talents, apart from Tybiaz obviously. He had been quite a jewel amongst mortals for his intelligence, and now he was a diamond amongst vampires.

The vampires who had passed the test were told to prepare for the physical test and I watched as much of the crowd dispersed.
"This test," Tybiaz had earlier told me,
"Will determine their strength, endurance, and ability to use various weapons. Sinead will be the judge." Sinead was a Turelim, and the female equivalent of Thamais. If the two of them ever met, one of two things would happen; they would try to kill each other, or they would start going through two beds a month from overactivity.

I felt myself getting rather anxious for the fledglings myself as time passed, and eventually they returned from the trials, some exhausted, some exhilarated, and all red-faced. Sinead walked to the front of them, patted several hard on the back in an attempt to act sympathetic, before taking a deep breath.
"The new second-in-command is Seth Klasan." From the few people who had remained, there was a comical moment of silence followed by nearly everyone saying,
"*What*?!"

Tybiaz and Sinead read out Seth's statistics and I noticed him blushing as though unused to praise. After the dull traditional speeches from Tybiaz and Sinead, Seth was made to sit still while the mark of second-in-command was burnt next to the clan mark on his shoulder. I winced in sympathy for him, my own shoulder tingling in remembrance of my being marked with Kain's symbol, followed by a lieutenant symbol. It was a very simple system to learn; a half crescent around the clan symbol meant second-in-command, a full crescent meant lieutenant. Fledglings bore only the clan symbol, and Kain did not require any markings as the lord; his signet ring proved his identity, and he had no master in the sense of our vampire hierarchy.

For many years Seth proved himself a worthy second-in-command, though he sired no fledglings. He seemed almost unreasonably afraid of detaching his soul from his body, even after he was told of his mortal origins - a fact he took surprisingly well, for someone who seemed to rely on stability in his beliefs. I cared for him as a father should, and he received the treatment well, though he often reminded me not to favour him above my other fledglings - a fact I did not really need reminding of. Ever since I last favoured a fledgling, it had almost destroyed my trust in people, and left me wary.

Seth had been a vampire for fifteen years when I first noticed that there had been no lost battles for a long time; a conspicuously long time. Easily six months. Possibly a year or more. On asking Tybiaz, he smiled and took out a map of Nosgoth from the beginning of the vampiric empire, then took a piece of charcoal and marked out everywhere that was vampiric empire. Only then did I grow aware of how many successes we had experienced. We had almost won. After near a century of battling, we had almost won.

I admit that I was tempted to be more careless than usual when planning our next battle thanks to this news, but Tybiaz reminded me that there is nothing more dangerous than a desperate man; and the humans were desperate.

We were attacking a region far away from our normal camp, and had set up a temporary one in preparation for the battle. The town was larger than Seth's home village, Guiko, had been, so the battle was much easier than some. The town name was Reifeil, and to be honest, the attack was more to keep the men's morale and strength up than for tactical or territorial purposes.

We set out early in the night so that we could attack and take the camp back to the main site within the same day. I was at the front of the troops that had been sent in, desiring the chance to feed as well as fight. Normally I only needed a victim once a month, but I had a minor wound from a human slicing into my leg in a previous battle, and the blood loss increased my thirst.

Having fed upon my first victim, I was busy using a sword borrowed from the weapon stores to attack the mortals attempting to counter-attack. I disliked the weapon, found it clumsy next to my normal blade, but I didn't have rights to complain as it was my fault the sword had not been brought from my tent in the main camp to the temporary camp.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a clang of metal hitting the floor before a human male fell upon my back. I was about to slash him with my sword when I noticed he was already dead from an arrow through his heart, realised he would otherwise have impaled me on the long sword he had dropped. I backed up against the wooden wall of one of the human huts and looked around, saw Seth fire another arrow into a nearby human before giving me a wave and pointing out another mortal about to attack me. I continued to fight as I had before, though this time I did make the point of checking my back every-so-often, until I realised that the village was more or less defeated.
"Are the torches ready?" I shouted to my signallers, and a few seconds later they yelled back,
"Affirmative! Requesting permission to attack, master! Your orders?"
"Permission granted," I replied and slowed down my attacking, conserving energy in case humans began fleeing their burning houses.

Once the first barn had been torched I looked back for Seth to warn him that the burning was beginning, but noticed he was no longer at his position. I ran over to the building he had been on top of and scaled the walls, saw him lying against the chimney with one hand pressed over a wound that was bleeding rapidly. I lifted him onto his feet and, when he stumbled, threw one of his arms across my shoulder, supporting him as we jumped off the building. He grunted aloud when we hit the floor, but fortunately shock was preventing the wound from getting too painful yet.

I found the town cemetery and carried Seth inside, propped him up against one of the slabs of stone. The damp of the grass soaked through my armour but I ignored the chill, encouraged Seth to move his hand away from the wound.
"Seth, the arrowhead has become embedded. Hold still." I ripped off the base of my cloak and gave it to him to bite, so that he wouldn't attract human attention by crying out. The warm wetness of blood running over my hand made it difficult to keep a grip on the metal, but I managed to take hold of it eventually, pulling at it rather roughly. Seth growled and cursed through the material in his mouth but it was necessary for me to tear the flesh that had begun to heal around the arrowhead. Once the flesh tore, it was easy to take out the metal and I hissed when I saw it, the barbed shape of it. This had been designed specifically to torture vampires.

Throwing aside the piece of metal I took the piece of cloak from Seth's mouth and pressed it over the wound to help still the bleeding. Seth was hyperventilating slightly, but I knew that he would be alright now, turned my attention to licking off the blood covering my hand. Seth gave me a rather peculiar look and I asked him,
"Want some?" An offer which he declined. When I finished, I realised almost with a jolt that I had been neglecting my duties, gave Seth instructions to hold the piece of cloak in place with his own hand before leading him with me to the town centre. The human females and children had been rounded up here but I took control of the situation, making certain that the mortals did not attack, and preventing any Zephonim or drunk vampires from threatening sexual violence. I have always been fastidious that slaves should be treated fairly - food, water, decent accommodation, and protection from further pain. One little boy stood up and started threatening me, causing me to make a point of smiling with my fang teeth visible, saying,
"The last time I met someone brave, this is how he ended up," Before gesturing to Seth. The little boy's courage was only temporary however, unlike Seth's had been, and he sat down shivering.

After gathering the soldiers together and preparing our captives for travel, we quickly made our way back to the camp, remembering that the last time vampires had lingered in an area that they had attacked, the armies of Klesan Thaio had time to mobilise. The vampires had been wiped out in one go, save about three survivors who lived to tell the tale.

Once we had returned to the camp, I visited the hospital tent to see how Seth was healing. I found the bed they had given him temporarily, and tapped him on the shoulder, making him jump and turn around.
"Seth, I warned you to be more careful when you fight!" Seth nodded, pouting very slightly like a child that knew it was in trouble. I moment later though, and I relented, embraced him.
"You had me so worried for a while. Thank you anyway, for saving my life." Seth started blushing and I smiled, said,
"Don't even try to say it was nothing."
"It was..." I clamped my hand over his mouth then kissed his forehead gently.
"You get some rest. When the surface of the wound is closed you can come with me and prepare the men for travelling back to our main camp tomorrow. But no more fighting for a month. You know the rules." Seth nodded before I released him and made sure his blankets were warm around his shoulders, as the weather was getting quite bitter.

After a few hours of sleep, Seth returned to the camp and helped me make arrangements for transporting the human captives. The movement of tents and workshops was already in order, and the remaining work, with Seth's help, was only a minor irritation. After finishing the work inside our tent I noticed a distinct drop in temperature, took Seth's hand and felt his wrist. His circulation was indeed beginning to worsen, and I looked outside, noticed many vampires fidgeting or pulling on extra layers of clothes in the main sleeping quarters.

After giving the matter a little thought, I turned to my fledgling, said,
"Seth, nobody in my clan will be sleeping alone tonight. There is danger that the sheer cold will cause physical damage, and sleeping in groups makes it more difficult for stray humans to pick us off separately." He nodded and went out to tell the other members of my clan about the night's sleeping arrangements. There was some laughter and some quiet acceptance as the message went out, until one voice yelled,
"There is no way in HELL I'm sleeping with anyone!" I considered the situation briefly then walked out of my section, drew aside the curtains.
"I see your success with partners in humanity is determined to spread into your vampiric life, Damiel." Laughter erupted in the camp and my insolent fledgling soon backed down.

Turning back to Seth I smiled and said,
"Just tonight, to keep morale up, I shall be sleeping with the troops. You had better do so too." Giving my men a chance to relax I offered up my pride for a brief sacrifice.
"So, who will be sleeping with me?" Not a single hand went up and the laughter already incited by my earlier comments turned into hysterics. I felt a little spark of joy in my heart, a strange calm between dusk's violence and tomorrow's war, brought on by the cheer my children showed. Seth tapped my shoulder gently and showed me a spare set of sheets he had found, began preparing himself for rest.

Not desiring to sleep just yet, I continued to pace the camp, asking randomly how people had fared in the day's battles, before I walked over to the casualties section of the camp. My loyal mathematician, Tybiaz, handed me the list of figures, and I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the worst; only to get pleasantly surprised.

3 deaths.
5 seriously wounded, poor or fair chance of survival.
7 seriously wounded, good chance of survival.
23 general wounded.
174 human deaths at last count for today.
287 captured humans
11566 human deaths at last count for this month.
20000+ human captures for this month

Smiling, I handed back the list and patted Tybiaz lightly on the back. Frail of bone structure, but brilliant of mind. Despite Zephon and Dumah's original predictions, Tybiaz had been positively vital to me in the battles, allowing my plans to be that crucial bit more organized than the others, and reducing my mistakes considerably. Numbers never were my strongpoint.

Finally, satisfied that the days work was done, I returned to my designated place of rest and peeled off my heavy armour, leaving only my mythril mail trousers and a now rather tattered shirt on. Making a mental note to replace the shirt - a lieutenant must always set an example to his charge - I pushed Seth gently aside and got underneath the sheets with him. Unfortunately, Seth's hand fell in a rather uncompromising position and it took a fair amount of effort to move his hand further up where it would not be so... discomforting.

The next morning I awoke and realised Seth was still asleep, started stroking the ebony hair that spilt over the floor loosely beneath my hand. A quick snore escaped him as a result and I suppressed the urge to laugh, then he turned over and snuggled into my chest, opening his eyes slowly.
"Good evening, Seth." He looked confused for a second then blushed and appeared to try and burrow further into my torso to disguise his red cheeks.
"You can't hide forever. I will need to feed." Eventually the blushing receded and a grumpy voice muttered,
"Evening, master."
"Raziel," I corrected.
"You're my second-in-command. That means we're on a first name basis. Understand?"
"Yes ma... Raziel." I smiled.
"That's better." Seth paused a while longer then got out of the makeshift bed, started to dress.

After getting up and putting on my full armour and clan drape again, I walked into my tent section and found the papers with details of travel arrangements, double checked a few figures before heading outside. Tybiaz was waiting with the closed-top wagons, Thamais with the open-tops, and both were impatient in their own way to set off for home. I quickly gave both of them the signals to begin loading the wagons, and they in turn gave signals to the fledglings I had assigned to them. Because this battle had been much easier to win than the last, loading was easier. Whenever morale was good, the rate of work seemed to increase enormously, and a victorious battle that had not caused too many deaths was guaranteed to cheer up the men.

The journey was a long one, to the point where fledglings grew nervous that we would not get back before dawn. However, using the sky as a sundial, I managed to give my men time for a break, released several of the human slaves for the fledglings to feed upon. The adults could cope without blood for much longer, despite some protests from vampires who wanted feeding. Besides, if they had not fed during the battle, it was their own fault. Regardless of age, everyone was relieved when we finally reached home about nine hours later. Packing away most of the mobile camps inside the main one and setting up the important tents took less than an hour, and then everyone was free to do as they pleased within the camp's boundaries.

"Lord, it's good to be home," said Seth as he headed straight for the tavern that we had captured. I laughed quietly to myself as he joined the party that the men had arranged themselves. I briefly considered following him, but decided not to; if there was an emergency, and both of the camp leaders were inebriated, there would be a lot of trouble. I entered my tent and found my favourite weapons, left behind by accident on our latest travels. An Aquitanian dagger, as owned by every lieutenant, and an ornate blade whose origins I no longer remembered. The sword had probably belonged to me as a mortal, for I felt a great attachment to it, but could not for the life of me think what the attachment was. Both were items of beauty - the dagger, though of a simple design, was made of a strong blue steel. The sword had a plain steel blade, with a blue stone embedded in the base, while the hilt was turquoise with a silver guard.

I busied myself polishing the blades, but quickly grew bored. Fortunately, before the irritation of boredom turned into anger, Seth stumbled into the tent, a huge drunken grin on his face.
"Hey Raz," He managed before hiccupping.
"Wass bin goin' on?"
"Very little." He grinned, then grimaced.
"You c'n tell ah'm bladdered, can't ya?" I nodded and he groaned, then shrugged, and collapsed onto his bed.
"G'night Raz," He muttered before falling asleep. I smiled and began clearing away my papers for the night, before placing a bucket at Seth's bedside. I knew his drinking habits well enough to know that the first thing he would do in the morning was vomit. After that, he always seemed to be fine. Either that or he hid his hangover extremely well. All things in order, I undressed and climbed into my own bed, falling asleep quickly despite the drunken shouting outside. Thamais could cope if any arguments got out of hand.

The camp was rather noisy the next day from people still celebrating the victory, and those who had celebrated the previous night yelling at the new revellers to shut up while they nursed their hangovers. The noise meant that when silence did finally fall on the camp I distinctly noticed the absence of sound. When I left my tent I quickly discovered why the din had stopped.

Kain had arrived in the camp.

It was as well known to my fledglings as to myself that Kain *never* left sanctuary unless something of extreme importance forced him to. Gesturing for me to follow him, Kain started leaving the camp, and I quickly handed over command to Seth before joining my master at his side.
"What do you require me for, my Lord?" I asked once we were out of the camp's hearing, to which Kain replied,
"If the vampire clans are to enjoy further success, our tactics are to be altered slightly. We will be meeting the major part of the humans away from their own grounds. To attack the human army on their own grounds would be suicide. A messenger has been prepared to deliver the confrontation to the mortals. Follow me." I would have inquired more, but Kain raised a hand to silence me before I could, and I did not dare anger my lord.

Kain lead me over several hills quietly, not saying anything, until we reached a large cave and he paused.
"Raziel, do you ever think that some of the old rumours may have been true?"
"No," I replied honestly.
"Are you prepared to challenge your belief that rumours are lies?" I nodded, and Kain chuckled quietly before walking into the cavern, the torch flickering slightly as a breeze from inside disrupted the flames. We continued in silence again until we reached the opposite side of the cavern what seemed like an hour later, a hill preventing our view of the horizon.
"Raziel, you will have to prepare your men for the same sight when they make their way through here." I nodded, wondered where we were being sent, then scaled the hill with Kain, heard him chuckling again, unnervingly. On reaching the top I jumped and held my breath.
"You have not ever been here before, have you Raziel?" asked Kain.
"The petrified forest..." I whispered despite myself. I had been told about this forest before - but only as a legend. Gazing out at the naked, grey branches as they reached up into the sky, grasping for a sunrise that would never come, I became aware that I could never take the old legends for granted ever again.
"Memorise this landscape, Raziel. It will become very important soon. In the final battle."
"What do you mean, my lord?"
"I mean that the time has come to battle Klesan Thaio."

I never really found out how much Kain knew about the battle with Klesan Thaio. Or even if he did know anything. But something in his manner spoke of knowledge that anyone below his status could not grasp, or live with. Some days I was actually glad to be a lieutenant, rather than the Lord.

When I returned to sanctuary, Kain gave me the order to mobilise my legion, and upon reaching my camp I called together the generals and gave them the news. The message spread like wildfire, and I found Tybiaz, began planning our attack as carefully as we could.

The next week passed with the pace of a snail, as people prepared their weapons, vampiric families said their goodbyes to each other, and plans were checked and triple checked between generals and their superiors. I felt myself caught up in the atmosphere at times, and no matter how hard I attempted to detach myself from emotion, depression threatened constantly. At last the day came for the battle, and the legions were silent except for the occasional sobbing female, or whispered comforts between couples.

Inside the tent, I prepared my armour, spent most of my time checking that my weapons were in good shape. I had never forgotten the advice given to me as a fledgling - a sharp blade could mean the difference between victory and defeat. Every so often I turned to look at Seth who was beginning to unnerve me, silent and staring. He kept looking as if he wished to speak, but stopped each time before anything could be said. Standing up eventually I turned to walk out, and he finally cried aloud,
"Raziel, don't go!" I whirled around and Seth clasped his hands, bowed his head, obviously angry with himself for allowing his emotions to take control.
"I apologise, master, I have no authority to challenge your decision..." Ignoring his attempt to gloss over the comment, I inquired,
"Why are you worried?"
"It does not matter how I feel. I am only the second in command."
"Second in command, and my fledgling. Do not refuse to answer a question from your elder." He paused, hands clasping and unclasping before he looked up at last, tears streaming from his eyes.
"Because I'm afraid that you won't come back. There has never been a more dangerous battle." I walked over and pulled him out of his chair, stood face to face with him.
"I will come back to you. I promise." The tears did not stop and he looked away, trying to still them. I paused, took hold of his left arm, and held him awkwardly. Comforting people was not something I was used to.

Seth began to sob into my chest, folding his arms around my waist so tightly that had I been human I would have been crushed.
"Please don't go," he whispered brokenly and I reminded him rather sternly,
"Kain ordered me to. I would not hurt you like this needlessly."
"How can you care for someone below you?" I sighed.
"Because in my eyes, you are my equal. More so than any other Razelim, or even some of the lieutenants." The tears began to slow, but he did not smile, saying at last,
"Raziel, I think... I think I've fallen in love with you," He whispered and I pulled back in shock, causing him to draw back also and hug himself.
"Sorry master, I should not have..." Interrupting his apology, I said honestly,
"I do not love you that way. You are my child, by blood if not by body. And I have no preference for men." I paused before gripping his shoulder, continued,
"You must not shed tears for me. I made a promise to return, and I am a man of my word." I turned, repressing the urge to stay and comfort my child, heading out for the battlefield. I did not look back in case I was tempted to stay, but I was later told by Tybiaz - ordered to stay behind because of his weakness - that Seth followed me to the tent entrance and did not leave it until dawn.

Leading my men to the battlefield, I was somewhat relieved by whispers and quiet laughter amongst them, the noise of armour clicking and clanging driving out the demon fear from all of them. The noise increased somewhat when they saw the Petrified Forest, a legend to them as it had been to me. I myself knew much of the folklore about devils, daemons and spirits residing in the frozen wood. Walking past the forest I noted that my men quietened, perhaps out of a secret respect for whatever really lay within the forest.

Only when the troops stopped at their destination and silence properly surrounded us, did my nerves have a chance to take hold of my heart. This was 'the final battle', as Kain had put it. This was the strike that meant either failure or victory. Failure, and we would become no more than scavengers, reduced to guerrilla warfare - if any - our wives and fledglings forced to rely on human charity to survive when they attacked the camps. The ever true saying, passed from generation to generation during the terrifying years of the Serafan - those who die are the lucky ones - the only way to describe what would happen. Victory, and the vampiric empire could reduce humanity once and for all to prey, rather than a threat.

I frowned slightly when a messenger tapped me on the shoulder, interrupting my thoughts, but knew that I would not be warned unless it was important.
"What do you want?" I asked, irritable with fatigue, nerves, and impatience.
"They're early, Lord Raziel. Someone must have tipped them off. Bastard traitors..." My frown increased as I considered the new situation, trying to think of a new strategy and cursing myself for not bringing my tactician Tybiaz with me. Looking around the landscape, I remembered a little of the tips he had given me just in case such an event arose.
"We can still win this battle. Order our men to regroup at the hills. Humans are weak at travelling over inclines, they are not made for endurance." The messenger nodded and ran down to my commanders. As my orders were spread I looked at the human army in the distance, attempted to estimate the number of opponents we had to strike down.
"Damn." We had never been outnumbered like this before, there were at least three humans for every vampire. They must have been tipped off as to which clan we were. Hell and damnation! I swore to myself that if I ever got hold of the traitor, I would do things to him that not even Zephon could dream of.

I walked up to the hill, pointed out where the troops were to be deployed, and stood at the very front, the generals just behind me. I noted that there were very few human archers, then remembered a mortal had been manipulated by the Zephonim with the promise of wealth to infiltrate Klesan Thaio and destroy their stock of arrows. I disapproved of such underhand tactics, but had to admit that archers would have been a deadly threat to our attack.

Eyes burning in their sockets from the sting of smoke - the concentration was higher here than in most places due to changes in air pressure - I raised my sword, listening for my men's own weapons being unsheathed, and waited. God, how long those minutes lasted, watching the humans approach, while keeping my most basic fears under control. If I could not stand strong, how could I expect my men to? Finally the mortals reached halfway up the hill, and I pointed my sword at them, bellowing,
"Attack!"

Running, overtaken by athletes such as Thamais and his children, I lunged for my first victim. Too busy concentrating on survival to savour the kill, I withdrew my sword from the corpse and whirled around, raising the blade high and slicing clean through the nearest human's neck. "Weakling," I growled and spat upon the dead body, wiping my hand across my forehead and lifting my sword just in time to catch a blow from a mortal weapon. Narrowing my eyes at the human I smiled, taking out a dagger and slicing open his abdomen. My opponent coughed up blood once, looked down in time to see his intestines spilling out, and collapsed. Too easy.

Stamping my foot down on the mortal's skull I watched my men swarm ahead of me, slicing through humans like hot knives through butter. I looked at the hand that had wielded the dagger and licked off the spilt blood, before walking over to a petrified tree and climbing it, gaining sight of the battlefield. Our men had worked fast and efficiently, as normal. The Zephonim, gifted with speed, had rushed ahead to tackle the problem of humans attempting to retreat. Weaker Melchahim worked at the back, dragging human bodies off to be stored. I knew that even as I watched, the Rahabim were travelling through the forest rivers to help surround the city, making certain that escape across the waters was impossible. The rest of the legions would be battling their way through the other corners of the forest.

Ahead of us lay the greatest moment of vampiric history. The fall of the last human city, save the pitiful but impenetrable citadel by the abyss. The fall of Klesan Thaio. I doubt the existence of a single vampire who did not find himself awed by the sheer significance of his actions on this day.

Surrounding the moat around the castle, our archers busied themselves tackling the humans who fired upon the weakest of us, sent ahead to pile soil and dirt into the water. Another period of waiting passed until we could scale the walls, trying not to be disheartened as the mortals shot several of us down. We began to scale the walls in a mass, thanks to the Zephonim's ability to climb without help, and the ladders that had been built before the battle. Eventually it was my turn to climb a ladder, and I rushed up as quickly as I could, smashing my fist into the face of a human preparing to push the ladder down. It had already happened with two ladders, it was not going to happen to mine.

"Keep the ladders safe and steady!" I warned my men before leaping down into the courtyard below. I had always been able to survive falling from great heights, and as I landed on my feet, I became aware of a mortal rushing at me wielding a torch, and I laughed as the blow glanced off my skin. There had been a time when fire could burn me, but I had been second only to Kain in developing the ability to survive flames. The mortal seemed taken back and I tapped my clan symbol lightly, laughing,
"Be more careful who you choose to fight," before stabbing him in the neck with my dagger and dragging it down, splitting his entire chest cavity into two. I knew the human's scent as one of those who had killed the Melchahim Azazel so long ago, and gained a rather morbid amount of pleasure taking revenge for my brother.

Stalking behind the tower carefully I managed to sneak up on the mortal guarding the tower door, slitting his throat quickly. His death was quick and painless, as he had not done anything to spite me.

I ran up inside the tower, eventually reaching the top. At first I was suspicious, accessing the room had seemed too easy, but the scent of the air told me that no humans were within a close distance. Grabbing hold of the lever for the drawbridge, I pulled it back allowing my men to gain entry at ground level; and got soaked promptly by water jets from the ceiling. I screeched aloud in agony and ran down the staircase, almost tripping several times due to the speed of my descent, warning my men not to go upstairs as I ripped off my chest armour and damp shirt. One of my fledglings had the decency to offer me their cloak as I shivered, part in shock, part in pain, part from the cold.

I tried to ignore the burning of the water as I unsheathed my sword again, fully aware that the sooner the battle was over, the sooner the pain would end; either by treatment at the camp, or by my death. At the time, I honestly did not care which method was going to stop the hurt.

The battle went on long into the night, so late in fact that retreating for the safety of the fledglings was considered. However, all our worries were soon dispelled by the victory call of a Razelim. Recognising the gruff tones, and the direction from where the voice came, I turned to see Thamais holding the severed head of the human leader by the hair. All the other vampires soon joined him in their victory cries, and only moments after seeing their dead leader, the mortals surrendered.

Returning home victorious was incredible, and many vampires flocked around Thamais. I wish I could describe more of the journey, but my burns caused me to black out less than fifty meters from the fallen city. My fledglings, attentive as ever, carried me the rest of the way to the camp, where I regained consciousness in the hospital tent.

"Awake at last?" I opened my eyes, realised I was face down on a pillow. I turned my head to the side and attempted to roll off my stomach onto my back, cried out in pain. However, I had recognised the voice, and I could see much of him even despite my lying on a slant.
"Why are you here, Seth?"
"I've been waiting for you to wake up. You kept your promise."
"Only just," I laughed bitterly, then flinched as he pressed a warm cloth on my back.
"How did you get so covered in water, by the way? You were not very clear before, apparently." I paused, my memory slightly faulty, then said,
"The humans had made the drawbridge tower into a trap. When I pulled the lever, water sprayed down from the ceiling. Thank goodness I did not send a fledgling to do the job."
"Quite clever of the mortals, to do that."
"Obviously. We are related to them after all. They are not brainless."
"No, I suppose not." I noticed his manner was a little cold and asked him,
"Is anything wrong?" He sighed before leaning down and resting his head on my shoulder.
"No. I'm just tired. I was so afraid that you wouldn't wake up." A smile flickered briefly across my face of contentment. I had never known anyone so loyal.
"Well, I did. And now things can return to normal." It was Seth's turn to smile.
"Not completely. The war is over. No more battles." He placed a gentle kiss on my shoulder before leaving the tent quickly enough to prevent me commenting.

A day passed and I was fit enough to move back to my tent. Another few hours and I was fit enough to walk around freely. When I emerged from my tent one of my first realisations was that Thamais was definitely taking advantage of his new-found heroic status. The three giggling females draped around him as he made his way to his tent proved it. On spotting me he lowered his head a little, then stood straight. I gave him a smile and a nod to show him that I was not bothered by his actions, then started chuckling as he continued into the tent, making a mental note not to interrupt him anytime soon.

Eventually I successfully made my way to the dormant volcano near to the frozen wastelands, found the cave that humans had cut through to the underground springs millennia ago. Unfortunately for the mortals, as if in anticipation of the forthcoming vampiric empire, the volcano erupted once more before returning to dormancy, the eruption 'poisoning' the streams by turning them to acid. Fortunately for us, vampires suffer an interesting reversal of nature; water burns like acid, and acid soothes like water. Why, I do not know. And I have no time for listening to the mindless theories given by alchemists.

The acid was incredibly hot and would have killed a mortal, but I genuinely did not mind the heat; indeed I was glad for it. The frozen wastelands had proved themselves to be aptly named, by chilling me to the bone. Now it was time for my bones to defrost. It felt so incredibly good after all the aches, pains, wounds I had suffered over the last few days to actually get a chance to relax. I briefly dipped below the surface of the acid to soak my hair, and to get out any dried blood that remained in it. As I felt a cool breeze rush over me I realised that someone else must have entered the catacombs of sulphuric pools. Quickly I climbed out of the water and grabbed my dagger from my clothes, but it was only Melchiah.
"Raziel? Am I... interrupting anything?" I laughed and shook my head before getting back into the pool.
"God, that looks a painful burn," he muttered on seeing my back, and I replied,
"It hurts like hell, but the warmth really helps. What is it that you want anyway, brother?"
"Nothing. I was going to bathe myself."
"Go ahead." He looked rather awkward and confirmed it, saying,
"No offence Raziel, but... I feel uncomfortable in front of other males. I think something must have happened to me as a mortal." I nodded, advised him,
"In that case, just be thankful that you can no longer remember the incident." He smiled.
"I am."

I only remained in the water for a brief while longer before getting out properly and dressing. Melchiah seemed preoccupied with my lower body, and after a while said,
"I can see why Klasan admires your legs, Raziel." I ruffled my hair to help it dry, and gave him a curious look, which sent him into apologies.
"Sorry. It's just one of the untrue stories, I suppose." Reality dawned.
"You mean Seth? I am fully aware of his admiration. He told me."
"Oh! Good."
"Why?"
"He knows we are close, and told me about his feelings before he told you. I'm glad you two have sorted things out. Are you... well..." I shook my head.
"No. As far as I am concerned, he is my son. And incest is something I doubt even Zephon would stoop to." Melchiah grinned wickedly, said,
"I wouldn't know about that!" Promptly sending us both into hysterics.
"I had better calm down. Shall I make sure no-one intrudes on your bath?"
"Really? Thank you so much!" I nodded, grinned, then left the catacombs and stood at the entrance, keeping my promise.

When Melchiah emerged, I fussed over him as usual. People rarely complimented my brother, so I took the job of giving him at least a limited confidence in his appearance. He always took the compliments from me quite well because, if public opinion was to be believed, I was rather good-looking myself. It was often a source of much amusement to everyone that my fledgling Thamais was such a success with women, because even though he had a decent amount of riches and a decent position in the hierarchy, he was *not* a good-looking person. It was not jealousy that led to the curiosity - certainly not in the case of the married Turel, Dumah, and Rahab. Rahab probably could not cope with attention from women anyway - his wife was rumoured to be a bit of a battleaxe, which was an amusing thought considering how quiet my brother was.

I apologise, I have been digressing again. Anyway, when Melchiah and I had both bathed and dressed, we returned to our camps to lead our men to sanctuary for a public address by Kain. Everyone was edgy, but we were nervous in a peculiarly happy sort of way, because we knew that we had been victorious over Klesan Thaio, and we knew that the message was going to be important; public addresses were never frivolous matters. Kain stepped forward at last onto the balcony and I found myself holding my breath slightly as I awaited the message, even though my Lord's smile had already given it to me.
"Lieutenants, fledglings, all those from my bloodline, I now have the official message for you..." I saw in the corner of my eye Melchiah crossing himself.
"The war is OVER!" The cheers from my men were deafening, and while allowing them to start celebrating I found Seth, asked him,
"What music would you like?" He paused for thought then laughed,
"I don't care as long as that screecher Rachel doesn't get to sing!" I grinned back at him then went off to gather together the musicians.

Eventually a pyre had been set up in the centre of the otherwise frozen wastelands, and the musicians started playing one of my favourite tunes. Knowing my fledgling's feelings for me, I allowed him to dance with me for the first song, and I felt a slight lump in my throat as he rested his head on my chest in the middle of our dance. I held Seth a little tighter myself - not out of love, but simply because I needed the warmth of his embrace around me. I had not truly been comforted physically as far back as I could remember, unless Seth's light kiss to my shoulder after I had been wounded could be counted. I did push him away lightly though when I felt him nuzzle my chest lightly, making it clear that I did not feel for him in a sexual way. He did have the common sense not to touch my back yet, and I could feel the warm glow of the repairing burns even as I tried not to concentrate on them.

When the song ended, leading onto the next tune, I stopped and looked Seth in the eyes.
"I promised you I would return, did I not?" He smiled and I kissed his forehead gently.
"My wonderful son, I am so sorry for hurting you. I never hurt my children deliberately. Never will." He nodded before laughing quietly,
"I think we might be giving fuel to the rumours if we continue like this."
"I understand." Looking aside, I smiled, watching the vampiress Rachel dancing in the distance. Regardless of her singing talents (nonexistent) she was a beautiful woman, and a superb dancer. Seth was fully aware of my appreciation, but I ignored his jealousy, actually amused by his outrage. She became aware of my eyes upon her and blushed, giggling. I smiled back, nodded, and turned back to Seth, who was pouting slightly.
"Seth, I do believe you are sulking. We are meant to be hiding this jealous streak of yours. Besides, this is a time for celebration!" He frowned and I leant in closer.
"Besides, you know I would never try to seduce her. She is pleasant, but... I do not agree with falling in love. It is a weakness I could do without. And she's lower than me in rank." He looked into my eyes, raising an eyebrow.
"Alright then," He said at last, before he returned to the party mood, a small smile on his face. He was never much for grinning.

I left Seth alone for a while, made my way through to the table that had been reserved for lieutenants alone, sat at Melchiah's side.
"How have things been for you, brother?" He smiled a little, answered,
"Better than they were. Thank god it's all over I say." Turel laughed from the other side of the table,
"God's not exactly the person we should be thanking for our victory! And how have you fared, Raziel?"
"I have been very well, thank you Turel. My men are in high spirits, and the number of deaths have been miniscule considering what I predicted." Now it was Zephon's turn to interrupt.
"What about your fledgling, that Seth boy? Are the rumours true?" I fixed him with a cold stare and noticed his hand shaking slightly as I replied irritably,
"There is nothing going on between Seth and I. I am his master, and he understands that there can be no romantic relationship between higher and lower ranking vampires." Turel made to speak and I sighed, growled,
"In *my* opinion. I mean no offence." The others were quiet for a while, then Melchiah broke the silence, asked,
"Anyone want more wine?" There was a murmur of approval all around and my youngest brother left the table, returned laden down with tankards. I downed mine quickly, waited a moment to see if the others had any more questions, before I closed my eyes and dozed lightly between refilling the tankard.

After my eleventh or twelfth mug, I began to grow seriously drowsy, and I opened my eyes properly, realised that Zephon had already passed out on the table. In the distance I made out Dumah picking a fight. Rahab had only attended the party very briefly, paranoid about getting home before dawn despite the fact it was very early in the night when he left. Melchiah had long since returned home, and Turel was nowhere to be seen. Probably left for his home as well. Standing up, stumbling, and regaining my balance with the help of the table, I made my way through the rapidly thinning crowd, careful not to step on any passed out vampires. Finally I found a group of my fledglings.
"Any of you seen... seen..." I found myself thinking deeply as to what my favourite fledgling's name actually was.
"Seth! That's it, Seth! Have you seen Seth?" The fledglings looked at one another, before one of them said,
"Lord Raziel, I know I shouldn't really ask, but, have you been drinking?"
"You're suggesting I'm drunk?" They became rather awkward.
"Well..." I grimaced slightly as a headache began to throb in my temples, told them,
"I'm not drunk. I'm nearly unconscious." They began to laugh, and said,
"Well, we last saw him... god, where was it? Oh yeah, he was talking to a Zephonim over by one of the petrified trees." I pressed one of my hands to my face.
"Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit! I hope he hasn't hurt anyone too badly..." Even though drunk, I still knew how much Seth hated the Zephonim. One thing that had continued into his vampiric life from humanity.

"If I was sober enough I'd rip off your fucking head and spit down your fucking neck!" My fledgling was atop one of the Zephonim and throttling him as best as he could with limited grip.
"Seth?"
"What the... oh. Raziel. I... er..." I gripped him at the neck and lifted him up off the Zephonim, gestured for it to leave.
"Raziel! I wanted to kill him!"
"I noticed."
"But he'd said the only way I got to be second in command was by sleeping with you!" I nodded and suppressed laughter.
"You know, he's only going to believe this rumour more if you get angry." Seth glared, before I asked - though to this day I am not sure why -
"Are you drunk?" He did not answer. Obviously.
"Well, you're coming home with me whether you like it or not." After much arguing I slung him over my shoulder - the sudden pressure on his stomach making him vomit, only just missing my back by an inch or two - and I proceeded to carry him back to the tent.

Once inside the tent there was the problem of what I was going to do with him. All the other Razelim were sleeping, or passed out, or back at the party, or a mixture. Eventually I decided I was going to have to put him to bed myself and I peeled off the clothing he was wearing, dragged back the covers on his bed, and pushed him onto it. He still did not want to sleep, so after pulling the covers up over him, I knelt on top of him, pinning him there while I waited for him to pass out. I shall not even *begin* to tell you some of the things he said to me.

Eventually he fell unconscious and I got up off him, turned to get undressed... and became aware of one of my fledglings at the door, looking completely and utterly shocked.
"Oh hell," I sighed before walking up to the stunned child, gripping him by the shoulder and bringing him inside the tent, sitting him down on the chair.
"Let me make this plain. If you say a word about this, I will personally rip you open from neck to abdomen. And it will hurt. I am *not* involved sexually with Seth."
"But... he was saying..."
"Seth is very, very, very drunk. Yes, he is attracted to me. But I am *not*. Understand?"
"Why were you on top of him?"
"Because he would *not* fucking sleep, and there was no one to help me!" The fledgling nodded slowly, promised he would not say anything on pain of a second death, then left the tent and laughed all the way back to his quarters. I shook my head and collapsed on top of my bed, kicking off my boots before falling asleep.

"Raziel?" I became aware of someone shaking me awake and smacked them across what I presumed to be their face, growled,
"Fuck off!" Before returning to resting.
"Raziel?"
"WHAT?!" The other voice grew a little quieter.
"I... er... I think I need to apologise."
"Leave me alone, I've got a headache..."
"Okay, maybe later." I heard a dejected sigh. Followed by a louder dejected sigh.
"It won't work," I muttered, then felt hands gripping my feet, followed by my being tugged off the bed.
"What the..?!" I made out before hitting my head on the hard floor.
"Alright! I get the point! *I* *am* *awake*!" I stood up and dusted myself off, became aware I had slept in my clothes.
"I want to apologise for last night."
"No need, everyone was drunk anyway."
"Raziel, I basically tried to rape you!" I placed my hands on my hips, then realised how effeminate the gesture looked, and stopped promptly.
"If you remember, I was the one on top."
"You mean we..?" Seth's horrified expression helped me understand how badly I had worded my answer.
"No, I mean I was pinning you down while you tried to stay awake."
"Oh. Phew."
"Is that all?" Silence, then a nod.
"Good. Then I'm going back to bed."

When I finally awoke, I found some clothes to dress in and cursed myself for sleeping in my best suit. Looking in the room mirror, I cursed aloud again as I fixed my hair, incapable of doing anything about the dark circles under my eyes. Walking outside I grew aware that I was only one of several hundred who had all got intoxicated the previous night.

I soon came across Tybiaz, looking particularly flustered, and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.
"Why are you so distressed?" He jumped and turned around. I found myself repressing the urge to laugh; alcohol always made the old-looking vampire edgy.
"Master Raziel! Oh thank god, everyone's drunk! If the humans mobilise..." I gripped him by both shoulders and pressed my forehead against his.
"Tybiaz. We won." He looked confused, mouthing my words, then I watched reality dawn.
"Oh! I forgot. I must have drunk several tankards to forget something like that..."
"Twelve."
"I drank *twelve* tankards?"
"No. I did." I breathed on him to prove it, and laughed when he started coughing. The laughter soon stopped when my headache worsened.
"I'm going off to hunt now. Okay?" Tybiaz nodded in reply, then tottered off to his tent.

Searching for someone to hunt with, I walked into Thamais' tent and became aware only too late of the giggling coming from beneath his sheets. I coughed politely, heard muffled cursing, before Thamais rolled off the top of his female companion and sat up in the bed. I corrected myself. Two female companions.
"Raziel?"
"Well, I was going to ask you if you wanted to come hunting, but you already seem to have made an interesting catch." Thamais laughed.
"If you want to see an interesting catch, look over there." He gestured to Tliam's bed.
"Thamais, that is not very funny." I laughed nonetheless on recognising the form curved around the sleeping Tliam as a male one.
"Did they..?" Thamais nodded, eyes twinkling away with mischief.
"They're naked, that's a bit of a clue! He actually surprised me, though. For once, he didn't get stage-fright."
"And the other? I do not recognise him."
"You wouldn't. He's a Rahabim. And he is going to have one hell of a shock when he wakes up." I raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"I'll give you a clue. He muttered 'oh Rachel' in his sleep." I suppressed laughter, started out of the tent.
"Raziel? Won't you join us?" Came the voice of one of the women.
"I think Thamais is enough of a man for both of you," I told her with a grin, before heading out to my own tent.

On returning to the tent, I became aware that Seth was not wearing anything, caught in the middle of getting dressed, and completely unaware of my presence.
"Ahem." Seth whirled around, blushing furiously.
"You could have said it was you!"
"Fine. 'It was you'." His eyes narrowed in a mock-glare, and I asked him,
"I was wondering if you wanted to hunt? I have a crippling pain in my stomach but I wanted to ask you first." Seth shook his head gently, replied,
"I would rather hunt later, I do not like going near human grounds this early in the night. I take it I'm forgiven?"
"For what?"
"For waking you up." I laughed and answered,
"Of course."

I easily found a mortal near the cavern under the mountain who had got lost during the battle several days ago, put an end to his misery. Hunger and cold make a painful combination, but what really made him desperate was dehydration. If he had not found a river soon, his lifespan would have been reduced from a possible fortnight without food, to twenty-four or less hours.

The hunt was pleasing. Its outcome was not.

I returned to the camp after about an hour, saw that Seth had left to hunt. I felt rather irritated that he had not come with me to feed, but no matter, even I sometimes avoided certain people for whatever reason. Of course, this thought led me to wonder what I might have done to anger or upset him.

Another few minutes and I started pacing the room, the tedium of peace already beginning to irritate me. It was strange, not having any battles to plan, my duties limited considerably. No more regular weapons checks, for a start. And there was the question of how Tybiaz was going to be of any use now that his skills as a tactician were no longer required. A lot of changes and adaptations would have to be made.

When three hours had passed, I gave up waiting and went off to search for Seth despite the warnings of some of my men, following the trail of his scent. He had gone beyond sanctuary, and I began to get nervous. The abyss was dangerously near to where his scent began to get strong, and when I finally found his body, I wished I had not.

"God... GOD!" I could not think of anything coherent to say as I flung my torch aside and rushed over to the rocks, taking hold of the boulder crushing my fledgling under its weight, heaving it off finally with a great effort.
"Seth?" I growled, shaking his body roughly, trying to wake him.
"Seth?!" His eyelids flickered slightly and opened at last.
"Master?" he managed to croak, and I lifted his head gently into my lap.
"Raziel... a human... tricked me... I knew that you'd be..." He vomited blood over my abdomen, coughed violently.
"...that you'd be here... with me..." He vomited again and I shivered, my chest aching with inner pain as I whispered,
"I love you Seth, please, please just live! Please!" He smiled weakly and growled,
"I'm afraid..." I wrapped my arms around his chest and held him to me, ignoring the blood from his broken lower body seeping into my clothes. I heard a sharp intake of breath from him, then he cried out,
"Father!"

I felt emptiness suddenly and looked aside, tilted back his head.
"Seth?" I whispered quietly. No movement this time. I looked into his eyes, but they held no colour, and their life had disappeared. Holding the corpse in my arms still, I lifted him up gently and cradled him to my chest as a mother would with her child. Because he *was* my child. My friend. My second in command. My fledgling. As I stroked his hair beneath my fingers, I felt nothing but silence. All around us, there was no sound save the swirling waters of the abyss in the distance, but even they sounded hollow now. What more was there to say? Seth was dead.

I carried Seth's body quietly to Zephon's cathedral, and I believe that even my brother's children, not known for tact or grace, fell silent as I passed. All I heard from them was the sound of scuttling as they went on about their business, informing their master of my arrival, or friends further inside of what had happened. Finding my way alone to a chapel, I laid his broken body down on the stone altar and kissed his unaging face goodnight, before finding myself a seat on one of the old stone pews, watching quietly over his body. 
This was wrong. I knew it was wrong. Seth was too young, he had barely seen the end of the war. He deserved to know what peace was like. He deserved to know what *innocence* was like. The one thing he had not even experienced in humanity. And it was not fair for the gods to separate my son from *me*. I had worked so hard to keep my men happy, I had been fair even to the mortals, I had never tortured a single human being. I had not done anything wrong. And neither had Seth.

Minutes passed. Then hours. Finally my hands began to shake, making their way to covering my face, and I sobbed.

I had never known true pain until that hour. Never. I had never coughed up blood before out of sheer agony. I had never stayed in one position for more than twenty-four waking hours. I did that day, and many of the following, varying between utter despair, and utter apathy.

It is the latter that I settled on finally, and I am glad, for sorrow is one thing that I find impossible to admire. I remained in the chapel for over a week, and when I finally allowed my fledglings to take away Seth's body to prepare it for burning, I cloaked my presence, making certain that no-one could predict my movements as I made my way to Melchiah's lair.

My brother did not hear me coming in his sleep, but he was alone, and that was good enough for me.
"Melchiah," I said quietly, shaking him gently until he woke up with a jolt.
"Raziel? What are you doing here?"
"Many years ago you lost your own fledgling, and I comforted you. I think you should..."
"Return the favour," he finished with a smile, gesturing for me to sit down on the bed. I did so.
"Shall I rest my head on your shoulder, then?" He laughed a little.
"Whatever you wish."

I soon found that the aforesaid action was uncomfortable on my spine, being taller than my brother, and chose instead to lie down fully as a sign of equality in spirit with someone lower in status.
"I never stopped thinking about Azazel. But you should concentrate on the good things. Despite the way things feel now, they always outweigh the bad." I nodded, said,
"I doubt he will mind sharing his secrets now that he is gone. Do you mind hearing them?" Melchiah shook his head, and I started talking.
"He never liked Kain much, thought that I was always being placed in too much danger when we were at war. He used to have a nickname for him..."

I talked, and Melchiah listened, for many an hour, until the tears came again and my brother wrapped his arms around me.
"Seth, I miss you so much," I cried out between sobbing into Melchiah's shirt. He stroked my lower back gently beneath his claws, and I felt my mouth fill with saliva from my coughing, kept swallowing. I found myself muttering nonsense to him in my sorrow, about human cruelty and suchlike.
"You'd think that they'd stop when they won, but they won't, they won't... they rape your women, kill your children, and they never stop until they break you..." I was physically shaking from the force of the sobs, but there was an end to the sorrow. Even tears cannot fall forever. Even the most crushing pain is followed by emptiness.

Melchiah held me for a while longer, but I pulled out of his embrace eventually, sat with one leg crooked.
"I apologise for intruding on your time like this," I said before uncloaking my presence, and Melchiah smiled, replied,
"No need. I have never seen you as distraught as this before." I nodded.
"Probably because I never have been. Same with you and Azazel." Melchiah's eyes saddened at the mention of his child's name, but our moment of empathy ended as one of Melchiah's fledglings ran in, saying,
"Master, the lieutenant Raziel is wanted by his fledglings to watch over the trials for a new second-in-command." I sighed then gave Melchiah a brief embrace before getting up.
"I suppose I need to get back to routine, then." Melchiah smiled.
"Work is always the best solace."

And I smiled back.

The End