The Hylden Nation, that had been the term Marduk had used when he had spoken of the kingdom their people were trying to create in the east of Nosgoth. Until now Raziel had not quite understood what he had meant by that. Now he stood looking at a land where green lights twinkled from distant glowing settlements on the misty horizon.  
The eastern half of Nosgoth were a low flat plane that was prone to flooding in bad winters and before the fall of the pillars and the corruption of the land it had been some of the most fertile farming land in the world.
Avernus lay before him, utterly changed from the human settlement of wood and stone had seen before. Rebuilt with Hylden science it was a sprawling metropolis far enlarged than the humans had built it. The buildings were all stone and metal, just like those he had seen in the ruins on the isles but in far better shape having been constructed recently, all unusual angles and shapes designed not to please the eye but to be efficient in their tasks. Spotlights, tinted green, lanced up from the circling streets to pierce the night sky.
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“Avernus in the time I had seen it last was a simple human settlement, albeit on fire. Now, rebuilt entirely with Hylden design and science, it was a parody of its former self.”
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Where the city itself had once been was visible surrounded by the rest of the growing city, a suggestion of more recognisable shapes directly in the centre. In the very heart of the metropolis, lancing higher than any of the buildings around it; was the Ziggurat.
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“Rising high above the rebuilt Cathedral was a twisting spire of pipes and metal. This had to be the Tower of Ishtar, the Ziggurat, where Janos was being held.”
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It was a spike like tower, built out of the ruins of the cathedral itself, a spike that jutted high and was trailing clouds from its tip. It seemed, at least from this distance, to be composed entirely of pipes that wound and interwove up a central pillar of stone all the way to the top. The construction and pattern reminded Raziel of bunched muscle underneath skin, culminating in a top that widened out like the end of a trumpet. Lights blinked from that wide rim and all down its sides, spots for windows to let out inner light perhaps.
Since all Hylden buildings, no mater the size, were shaped to entirely benefit their function it had to be significant but its purpose eluded him at first glance. Strangely though the building seemed somehow familiar. He could not immediately place where but he had definitely seen a building like it somewhere before.
The entire structure brooded with a sense of great impatience, as if it was waiting for something to happen soon that it had been waiting a long time for already. It seemed poised on the brink, just waiting for the word to begin its task.
This was the home of Ishtar, the leader of the Hylden house of faith, the one who had the Nexus Stone; the only artefact Raziel knew of which had the power to kill him.
The Ziggurat was taller than he had imaged it could be and if Janos was indeed being held prisoner it would take a great time in deed to search the entire structure room by room.
Marduk has said he was being used like a jester, something for the Hylden to amuse themselves with. Jesters were always used in a central chamber or hall where as many people could see them as possible. It was a rough guess but that might be where they would hold him.
Far in the distance, to the four points of the compass, there were smaller Hylden settlements pushing the frontier of their fledgling society out. This was the new Hylden colony, land they had claimed and were continuing to annex as they expanded their domain. Raziel’s own experience in politics and land acquisition from when he had ruled his clan told him that if they were not at least slowed, without any organised army to stop them, they would take control of all of Nosgoth within a year.
Raziel stiffened, taking several deep preparatory breaths to calm himself and clear his mind.
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“My encounter with my first incarnation made me re-think my purpose. I was rescuing Janos because it was I who had placed him in such terrible danger and misery to begin with. But the consequences for my sins went much further than him. Divus had shown me that much.”
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Everything was clear to him now, the nature of his existence as the wraith and what it truly meant. It was not to right any wrong others had done, nor to strike down those who caused injustice to happen.
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“I would right all I wrong I and any of my past selves had committed. I would right the scales of my existence and I would start here.”
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Briefly he paused to push his awareness out towards the city below. As he had expected he could feel the presence of a great many souls, thousands of Hylden, the majority of their entire race perhaps. Fighting through so many was out of the question.
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“I did not sense Vorador or Sally nearby. Perhaps they were already inside.”
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Vorador had said he could aid him and promised support for rescuing Janos and Raziel believed he could take the ancient vampire at his word. Together, he and his ward, Sally, possessed great skills of stealth and might easily be able to infiltrate a metropolis such as this without being detected.
Given that Vorador could do translocation and Raziel could not, it was also safe to assume that if he was coming he would have gotten ahead of him easily.
Suddenly there was a loud air splitting shriek, a piercing alarm, and the spotlights illuminating the city began to turn back and forth wildly. In their light Raziel could see that flying over the city, soaring back and forth in menacing formation were winged creatures of some kind. Raziel could only make out the considerable wing span from this distance.
The city below began to buzz with activity, shuts and yells and screamed orders filled the air as the Hylden scrambled to the defence of their settlement.
Some of the flying creatures dropped down low to the city, diving in formation and dropping objects onto the battlements as they flew. Whatever these things were burst open with explosive force on impact, throwing stonework and Hylden soldiers out in all directions. Fires began to burn whenever these explosive devices hit anything flammable, orange light clashing with the green of the spotlights in the chaos.
In the brighter light, Raziel could see that the winged beings attacking the Hylden city were man sized with blue skin and had raven black wings on which they flew.
The Serioli, it could be no others.
“So strange one, we meet again.” A feminine voice declared directly from above. Starting, Raziel glanced up to see another of the ancient vampires dropping down out of the sky. She landed before him and straightened up, her black wings curving to fit behind her body.
It was Ajatar Cabre, the grandmaster of their order. She still wore the ancient style armour but since their last meeting it had been frayed and pitted. Deep scratch marks, probably made by claws, ran down her spin pads and arm bracers. Clearly their search for a new fortress had not been entirely without conflict.
At both sides of her hips were her preferred weapons, the two short bladed swords slide into sheaths.
“Vorador told me to expect you.” She said, sliding a hand back to brush her raven black hair out of her eyes. There was a wide, almost foolishly excited grin on her face and her eyes were alive with intensity.
“Then he contacted the Serioli?” Raziel asked, not overly surprised at her presence. In fact it made perfect sense. He knew from what he could piece together of Kain’s memories that Vorador had once been of the Serioli. Now that he knew they still lived he could recruit them to their cause.
The grandmaster nodded an affirmative.
“It took him thousands of years to do so but he did.” She said it without the least hint of rancour.
Instead she gestured with a talon down at the city where her vampires were performing their diving formations again and now that he had been observing for a few minutes Raziel could see it was not to cause damage but to spread confusion.
“We will provide you and Vorador with the distraction you require to ascend the Ziggurat.” She added and went on briefly to explain at Vorador was indeed already in the city, having given them the signal to begin their attack.
The Hylden however would not allow the vampires to continue his assault unopposed for long.
“The Hylden are heavily entrenched here.” Raziel warned her sharply. Eventually the vampires would be overwhelmed by the Hylden’s superior numbers or their advanced technology.
Once the defenders were able to organise themselves, this raid would easily be dealt with.
“I do not intend to attack them outright.” Ajatar said with a shake of her head but no diminishing of her excited manner. “That could be suicide.” She made a cutting gesture with her hands, indicating that she did not care to entertain that notion. Raziel would have smiled had he the bottom jaw to do so. An ancient vampire without a tendency to self destruction?
“No, we will simply get their attention and keep it for as long as we can.”  Ajatar glanced quickly at the city to see how the attack was going. “It will not give you a very large window of opportunity however. You will have to be quick.”
She moved to the edge of a rocky precipice, spreading her wings out again in preparation to take flight.
“Do not risk the lives of your soldiers on my account.” Raziel told her quickly. Even if it might help him he did not want to risk the lives of others for his own personal quest for redemption.
Ajatar stiffened as if he had struck her and whirled about, eyes flashing dangerously. Her face was fixed in a deep frown and her expression was one of indication.
“We are Serioli, the last guardians of the faith of the elements.” She said; her voice filled with pride and defiance.  “We are the heretic army! Merely existing we risk our lives.”
She turned back with a flourish and spread her wings, flapping them several times to gain lift.
“Go to the aid of Janos, strange one. We will do what we must.” With that she rose into the air with a spray of dust flying out beneath her and soared on, flying towards the city and the aid of her vampires. A battle cry left her hips, echoing on the night air.
“For Lord Kain!”
Her Serioli vampires took up the call and charged anew, spreading more confusion and chaos amongst the besieged Hylden.
Raziel frowned at their throwing themselves into danger on his behalf but decided if they were determined to do it anyway not to look a gift horse in the mouth.
With a leap he took himself into the air as well, grabbing his wings in both hands and reinforcing their strength with his new muscle and bone to augment his gliding. With the Hylden distracted fending off the attack by the Serioli, none of them noticed him gliding in towards the Ziggurat on silent wings.
He kept up high, riding the air currents and dodging around the spotlights to ensure that he was not spotted.
The Ziggurat loomed up higher and higher as he came towards it and as it neared, it became more and more familiar in Raziel’s mind. The similarity to something he had seen before nagged at him incessantly, even as he came right up to the stone and clutched onto it with his talons.
Once he was assured that he had a good grip, he glanced around to make sure that his arrival had not been detected. No sign of any pursuit. Ajatar’s distraction was working.
It was a long way down to the ground below and he was nowhere near the top of this impossibly high tower. Grimly he set his muscles and began to climb; sinking his talons into the stone as yard by yard he began to ascend.
Slowly, as he had to climb over the pipes that wove about the tower, the sense of knowing grew until it tipped over the edge of a vague feeling of familiarity to sudden and decisive recognition.
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“With sudden and terrible certainty I knew this construction work. Ishtar had not randomly chosen to build his tower thus.”
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He stopped dead, clutching to the Ziggurat’s side, sharply looking up and down to see the towers confirmation close up. It confirmed all his worst fears instantly. Of course he had seen this type of building before!
He had had to traverse a tower just like this in order to reach his deformed brother Zephon.
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“He had elaborated on the design and greatly improved it, but this was without a doubt a remake of the human’s once great weapon against Kain’s legions, the cathedral which could blast forth noise that destroyed armies.”