Legacy of Kain: Torments from the Abyss

[Iamnotasquid]

I am the Elder God.
I rule Nosgoth, below its surface in an dimension that many do not reach until their time has come. I take their souls and feed from them. These souls empower me to turn the wheel of fate. These souls are then born anew. After a while people became aware of my presence and worshiped me. I approved this and gave excellent lives to those who did. Then one group that worshiped me, the vampires, took war against the Hylden. As punishment, the Hylden cursed the vampires to sterility. The vampires were removed from me. Many committed suicide to rejoin me.

Some did not. I did not approve and sought to go against him. I sent a puppet, Moebius, to cause them trouble. I possessed Mortanius and poisoned the vampires' pillars. From this a powerful vampire arose and created an empire. I struggled against him too, but it was difficult from my location. In defiance, he mutilated one of his lieutenants and cast him into my Abyss in order to alter prophecies I made. I was irked and sought to console the poor wretch, to put him on my side. The wretch, Raziel, is no longer very interested in me.

After his last meeting with Kain, Raziel lingered here in the spectral realm. He would not feed. He would not leave. I sent out a more loyal minion, one that I had informally adopted as a child, to persuade him.

I requested that she give me periodic updates on his behavior. I hope that she can accomplish this task; Raziel is a powerful, but stubborn servant.  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Raziel laid on the cold ground, staring at nothing in particular, maybe flicking away a nearby pebble or two when the mood struck him. He had just finished having one of many arguments with Elder God. He figured the other had gotten impatient with him as he had now gone silent, leaving Raziel alone to his thoughts. It was a nice reprieve, although it was too bad his own thoughts made him just as miserable as Elder God's words. He couldn't stop thinking of the fate that lay ahead of him, to be trapped eternally inside the soul reaver. With that knowledge, Raziel could take comfort in nothing anymore, he felt as if he had lost the will to go on.

A shaky sigh escaped him and he closed his eyes, trying to block everything out. He just wanted peace. He was hoping that if he denied himself of souls long enough, he would become so weak that he would eventually cease to be. Or if if it didn't kill him, maybe the next time he closed his eyes, he would fall into a deep sleep, never to awaken again.  

[Scrab Demon]

Plodding through the twisted halls, Anima searched for her newest objective. She didn't quite appreciate having to rip herself from the physical realm so abruptly, especially when doing so painlessly was difficult. She unconciously rubbed her neck, cringing at the memory of the sharpened protrusions at the foot of the cliffs rushing up to meet her.

Pausing in one of the warped stone archways, she spotted a group of sluagh. Something was...off. They weren't skittering about, devouring everything in sight, or even squabblling amongst themselves. They merely stood, as if afraid to move, casting eachother wary glances, tensely fidgeting as if a greater archon would stampede through at any minute.

Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, she approached. Rather than trying to corner her and attempt to devour her, they merely scattered back into the shadows. Warily, she glanced about.

Laying there in the center of the room, a disfigured cadaver was sprawled on the stone floor.

It radiated the essence of a higher spectral creature. Yes, this was him. The stubborn wretch that constantly defied the master.

She honestly couldn't blame him though. The master had piss poor working conditions.

But then again, obediance did have it's rewards.

Anima stood back in the shadows, observing him. He blankly stared at the ceiling a few moments more, before closing his eyes and releasing a small sigh.

He was weak. But by no means defenceless.

Why would he not just feed?

Even she knew he was acting like a stubborn child. She sighed heavily in mild irritation, crossing the floor to stand over him.  

[Celeste Tsuchi]

((I take it, this is in the non-physical realm? If so, I shall abstain at least until someone surfaces...))  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

((Yeah, we''ll try to get out of the spectral realm as soon as possible ^^ If you want, you can make a post, explaining what your character is doing at the time, therefore we have a point where we can meet her))

Raziel almost hoped that the Sluagh would take him for food, end his suffering, but he wasn't so lucky. Elder God's stink was all over him, and while these creatures might have been brainless scavengers, they knew well enough not to touch one of the Master's toys without permission.

When Raziel next opened his eyes, he saw what appeared to be a young girl standing over him. He gazed up at her with dim, confused eyes, his brow furrowing as he wondered if he was merely hallucinating from hunger; how could a little girl be down here of all places?  

[Scrab Demon]

She'd be damned if she was going to fail at something so simple. The Elder God might have been an innefficient mastermind, unable to control even his own creations. But if she was ever going to gain anything, she would do what she was told, like a good little girl.

She just had to get this one to cooperate.

"You won't get very far doing that." She said matter-of-factly, looking down on him with a slightly annoyed expression. "Quit laying around and eat something. You've got work to do."  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Raziel blinked slowly, his eyes remaining closed for a moment as if the act of opening them took effort and energy that he had very little of. He continued to look up at the child with a bemused expression.

"Who are you... how did you get here...?" Raziel asked, still too astonished by the fact that there was a child down here to realize she was ordering him around.  

[Celeste Tsuchi]

Above the chaotic nether realms where the Elder God and his minions resided, the world went about as usual. Demons of all shapes and sizes lay waste to the earth, while those that bore the emblem of the Sarafan Brotherhood saw fit to rid the world of such foul beasts. From the high towers of the Sarafan stronghold, a few of the priests and priestesses watched as swords glinted in what little light that pierced through the thick clouds to cleave a swatch of death upon the battlefields, every so often crying out words to one arcane spell or another to either singe, freeze, or blind their foes or to heal their allies.

But one such woman was not doing any of these. Instead, apart from the others and unknown to all, this priestess drew a circle in the ground with the end of her staff before kneeling down within it, smoothing out the skirts of her dress in the process. From a small satchel at her side, the woman took out a vial of holy water and sprinkled the contents around the circle, creating an invisible holy barrier of sorts as she began to pray. Why do the others have to act in such a foul manner? Each day, it seems that no matter how many lives are destroyed with the sword or with flame, more take their place, yet our numbers dwindle...is this some cruel penance that we mortals have to pay? The woman thought sorrowfully as she remained there for some time, hoping that her petition to any deity that was still existing to protect her holy brothers and sisters, and to somehow redeem the world...if there was still a way.  

[Scrab Demon]

"Hmph. That's a rather stupid question." She sighed. "But I suppose your current state makes it hard to sense me."

She crossed her arms in a relaxed manner. "I am Anima, childe of the Elder God. And you're the stubborn git I'm going to kick into gear." She smirked down at him with a faint sense of superiority.  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Raziel's brow furrowed in a frown at her explanation, at this arrogant brat who acted like she held dominion over him. He closed his eyes again. "Go away... I'm not in the mood to entertain children." He breathed, having a feeling that it would take more than that to get rid of her, but he figured that just like Elder God, she would become impatient and leave him; she was right about him being stubborn.

... Is this some cruel penance we mortals have to pay?

Little did that woman know, her prays did reach someone... although it wasn't who she had in mind...

While in the spectral realm, Raziel often heard the cries of the dead all around him, he thought he would be use to it by now, but that was certainly unlike any voice he had ever heard down here.

He opened his eyes, frowning up at Anima once more. "Did you say something just now...?"  

[Celeste Tsuchi]

((i'm gonna go to bed now...so I'll continue this tomorrow. smile ))  

[Scrab Demon]

"No." Anima raised an eyebrow. "I'm not going to leave you like that if you can't distinguish the mutterings of lost souls from someone speaking right next to you." she insisted.

A sudden wave of frightened chattering filled the room, the noise distorted in the warped space of the spectral plane.

Whipping her head around to face the sounds, she spotted several newly dead spirits, aimlessly floating about in confusion.

Some sluagh who had decided to linger were rewarded for thier patience, briefly leaving the shadows to snatch up the souls closest to them. Several more souls materialized to take thier place, one of them screaming about demons.

"It looks like there might be a bit of a fight going on upstairs. Perfect." She smirked turning back to Raziel. "Now's your chance."  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

((See ya~ heart ))  

[Scrab Demon]

((M'kay. Catch you later. ^_^))  

[Reaver Of Souls Raziel]

Raziel chuffed. He really must have been going crazy from hunger...

Although slightly curious about the sudden influx of souls, his eyes once again closed and he chest lowered with an exhale. "So tired..." Raziel muttered to no one in particular, not caring if Anima heard him or not. All he wanted was to rest in peace, when did it get so noisy in here?

"If Elder God himself couldn't move me, what makes you think your efforts will prove any better?" Raziel thought he might as well ask, since it didn't look like he'd be getting back to sleep anytime soon.