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Realms Converge	By : Candice Category: +G through L > Legacy of Kain Views: 3562 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Legacy of Kain, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.Don't get to Nosgoth itself til chap 5

Chapter List
- 32
- 33
- 34
Edits as of 06/2016

Chapter Thirty-Three: We believe our Divinity

*-*/-Katrina POV-**-*

The rest of that new moon night went well as we came down from the rush of the battle-high and the hunts that had followed. I had managed to briefly catch Kain unawares by using my Gift in my attempt to turn the second hunt around, turning the hunter into the hunted. I had managed to tackle him to the ground and had made sure that the movement caused his head to crack against a tree in order to daze him. As I had mantled my wings around him and leaned in to sink fangs into his throat, he had recovered swiftly and wrapped his magic around the both of us. He had then Teleported us directly back to our new bed chambers and we had landed heavily on the large bed.

The unusual sensation caused by the sudden Teleportation had been... well, disconcerting would have been putting it mildly to be honest. As a result of said transportation spell, Kain had been able to easily pin me down on my stomach whilst I struggled to fight down the nausea and dizziness that affected me. He wrapped my hair around his right hand in order to gather it up and bare my neck to him and he pressed his lips against the nape of my neck. He did nothing more then nip and suckle at the nape of my neck whilst I recovered my bearings. I let out a strained sound as my stomach finally settled and I raised my head enough so that I could look at him over my shoulder.

"When in the nine hell's did you gain that ability?" I asked weakly and then swallowed with a grimace.

"Around the same time that I regained my Bat Form," he responded with a low growl that held a hint of annoyance as he nuzzled my neck. I noticed that his own pale skin seemed a shade paler despite how much he had fed from me earlier in the evening. "Vorador has said that the more the ability is used, the less the effects of transportation will affect myself and any passengers I may have with me at the time."

"Ugh," I groaned softly. I let my head fall back against the bed and closed my eyes. "His way of saying 'buck up and get used to it' then."

"In essence," he murmured softly. He leaned closer and nipped lightly at the shell of my ear. "Now then, what precisely did you have in mind when you tackled me so, hmm my Little One?"

He abruptly tried to sink his fangs into my throat and I bucked violently beneath him in an effort to throw him off. The resultant struggle left the room in a state of disarray and, whilst I managed to nearly gain the upper hand a number of times, in the end I found myself pinned hard against the wall as he laid claim to me once more.

Kain called up Alma to deliver a crate of blood vials around an hour or so later and the next several days were spent in pleasant isolation. Whilst we were... occupied... Vorador, Janos and Kain's Captain's worked to set up a strong presence in the two cities we had just claimed. When we finally 'came up for air' as Vorador termed it, we found that we had a handful of new fledglings as a result of the injuries taken during the battle. On top of the fledglings that Vorador already had to contend with, additional humans had needed to be turned due to their injuries, most by Vorador himself. This brought the total number of 'youngsters' to bakers dozen. Janos seemed pleased as punch at being able to help Vorador teach and tend so many, yet Vorador himself looked to be a little bit annoyed at the prospect. He was already stuck dealing with a large number of unruly male Childe. In fact, there was only one female amongst the lot of new fledglings and she had been turned by one of the Bride's. Though he was an equal opportunity pervert, he did seem to prefer to be surrounded by females most of the time and thus Janos and Vorador's Bride's were oft the one's left dealing with the male fledglings that Vorador had turned.

Kain was both pleased and displeased with the news that we had received once we left our rooms. We would have new warriors amongst the Vampiric ranks of our army once they had better control over their new instincts yes, but they were not of his vampiric blood-line and that seemed to rile him more and more as of late. I could tell that he itched to find a way to get the tomes that he needed so that he could make his own brood. Yet, even a stealth mission into Mortanius' Cathedral would be impossible at this point, what with how deep into enemy territory the structure was. He did not dare risk a mission because, if it failed, the humans might simply put torch to all of the tomes and scrolls within the Cathedral in an effort to deny any knowledge within to our side, even if they did not know exactly what it was we were after.

After having received the initial report of what had been happening during our seclusion and we were left alone, I reached out to bump one of my wings against him in a light shove. He raised his hand to brush claws through the feathers of my wing in response even as he continued to glare down at the map. He raised his head and looked up at me with a raised brow a few moments later, his gaze thoughtful.

"You said before that my necromatic origins will allow me the ability to raise corpses long dead," he said thoughtfully. "Do you know how many Childe will I have?"

"Six," I responded readily. "From them you will have a legion to claim all. I... only know the basics about most of them. Do... you want me to try to recall what I can of them?"

"No," he answered with a firm shake of his head. "I have an idea of whom I will raise and I will learn of their natures and personalities in time. Too much information too soon may well affect things negatively, which is why I have not pressed you over much regarding what you can recall of Nosgoth and her history. Some things must be learned for one's self and even then the information you recall may not be entirely accurate. You thought Umah's fate different then what it was, did you not? What else then might have been skewed by the Dreamers who saw this world through the Veil of Dreams? Not only that, but how long has it been since you heard your world's version of my life's story? Even you are not sure of how long you were held captive. No, what you have already recalled has already aided me greatly and there is time enough to find out the rest of the information that I need to know. As Vorador oft says, time is the one thing we have the most of given our darkly divine natures."

He tilted his head and reached out to trail a claw up along the line of my jaw until his hand came to a rest against my neck under my left ear. I leaned into the touch and kissed the palm of his hand. He chuckled and then pulled his hand back a moment later as he turned his attention back to the map. He moved one of the markers over Vorador's mansion and then used a handful of others to mark off a line of defense that crossed the swamp to meet at the mountains to the South and North. The only problem I could see was that the Great South Lake left us open to attack from the water if we focused our attentions on reclaiming Vorador's land. It seemed he saw that liability as well as he shook his head and moved the bulk of the markers in a line near the lake and only a few markers were left to make a line straight North from the Pillars toward the Lake of the Dead in a defensive line. It seemed like Vorador would have to do without his mansion for a while longer. He turned to look at me a moment later and tilted his head.

"Go and check in with Alma," he ordered in a soft but firm tone. "As Cillian will be tending to the whims of Vorador's Brides for the next three months, his troops are to be divided up amongst my other Captains... and yourself. Alma will act as your second in all things."

"Ah," I said as my eyes widened in surprise. My wings twitched outward from my shoulders with my nervous shock. "Are... you... certain? I have been here for only a little over two years now. You... you want me to be one of your Captains? Truly?"

"I wanted them to see you fight for a reason, my Katrina," he responded with a soothing, sub-harmonic rumble of sound. He looked back at the map and moved another marker. "They know your strength and will follow you now that they understand that there is indeed steel hidden beneath your kind-hearted nature. All they knew of you previously was that you were helping the humans and quite adeptly, too. If it eases your mind any, it will only be a contingent of five vampires, including Alma, and twenty humans. You have kept more then that in line by tending to the humans of the Cabal healthy and also with your efforts in maintaining your little 'railroad' operation."

"That is... different," I murmured with a blush and I glanced away from him briefly. "I am not leading them into battle like you do with your troops."

"But you are," he said firmly and he looked back up at me, his eyes stern enough to make me freeze beneath his gaze. "It may not be like the bloody battles that we were recently in, but all missions require the same level of planning and careful consideration, even your little rescue missions."

He tilted his head at me and I shifted nervously under his gaze, uneasy with the sudden calculating look that had filled his eyes. He pushed away from the table and started to circle me slowly. I gulped and drew my wings in close to my body as he circled me, made tense and nervous by the odd-seeming change in his mood. His claws traced over my spine in a light touch and I remained perfectly still as he circled back 'round to where we were once more face-to-face.

"Tell me," he said after several minutes of tense silence. His voice was like the crack of a whip. "Why did I order the push to Coorhagen without allowing you the time to set up one of your railroads there?"

"It wouldn't have been a viable option," I responded with a small shrug of my right shoulder and wing. "The moment they realized Vasserbunde had fallen, they would have started to bunker down more then they already had. They would have used the time that I needed to set up a railroad to knock trees down in order to build impromptu walls and set up pitfalls and traps designed to stop human and vampire alike. We would have lost the element of surprise, as well as risked greater losses to our army. Time was of the essence."

He held his hand up in a 'There, you see?' gesture and I shook my head at him as a small frown curled my lips downward. He had made a small point but honestly... I still was uncertain why he would choose to do such a thing. Especially when I had not been on Nosgoth overlong. To make me a commander in his armies so swiftly, even if it was a small group...

"Most of those that I've worked with have been volunteers... people off the street like the Urchins and Night Ladies or the disgruntled merchants and displaced nobles," I said to him in an earnest voice as I tried to understand his reasoning. "Not hardened soldiers!"

"And that is exactly why you are ready to lead your own contingent," he said firmly and he tapped a clawed finger against my chest. "That you could keep such a rabble in line as a functioning unit for even for something as simple as your little rescue missions shows skill Katrina. You have the capability to handle more."

"But Alma..." I started weakly. He was truly serious about this.

"Alma has done barely a single thing to help you manage your 'railroads'," he purred low and there was dark satisfaction in his tone. "She has reported directly to me concerning your railroad efforts from the very beginning. Even your Nikolai has followed at your heels and obeyed your commands when you issued orders to him. The pair of you may have shared the creation of the process, but he has always deferred to you for any final decisions that have needed to be made. The few times that Alma has had to step in have merely been when you were lacking valuable information needed in order to make a proper decision. Nothing more. You may hide it all you like behind kind words and a smile my Little One, but you are a born leader and a skilled tactician. As you say, you have been here just over two years and yet you have still learned swiftly what needs be done during your lessons and you have also applied those lessons practically."

"I... have always had to adapt quickly," I muttered softly, shyly. "To learn rapidly."

"You have indeed," he responded with a soothing growl as he moved back toward the table. "Tell me, my Katrina; did you ever use the same tactics twice when trying to escape your tormentor?"

"Not really," I answered with a shake of my head. "Not unless it was a situation that called for a similar attempt at an escape method. Even then I tried to think of a different way to escape in order to see if I could to take him off guard and hurt him. To think outside the box if you will. He... got rather repetitious after a while."

"Not surprising given what you have told me. He seems single-minded in his pursuits. However, you were able to recall what traps had been set before enough to recognize them, even as time began to blur for you?" Kain pressed in a tone that was equally gentle and firm. He crossed his arms and leaned his hip against the table as he spoke.

"I... yes," I responded hesitantly.

"And you would be able to think of ways to escape even now were you caught again?" he asked.

I shuddered at the thought of such a thing and then shrugged. "I... am not sure... maybe, probably?"

"You got away from him and the Lordling on your own," Kain pointed out with a wave of his hand.

"Only because of the explosions that drew his attention away from me," I said with another shiver and I rubbed at my wrists where the shackles had dug into my flesh during my capture. The wounds had healed but I could still remember the pain clearly... "I can deal with torture Kain, I can just... partition my mind when the pain gets to be too much for me. Now though, now he actively wants to rape me, not just torture me. As far as he is concerned, I am no longer a 'pure' creature to him and that means he will no longer be... 'pulling his punches'. My mind was in such a wild jumble that... I cannot even properly recall how I got free save that I was trying to force the shackles open by using sharp edges and weakened strength."

"Exactly my point," he said and he abruptly reached to catch my wrists in his hands to still my movements. "Mindless as you had to have been in such a state, you still looked around yourself and used what was available to you to your advantage in your efforts to free yourself from captivity. You have a skilled mind my Katrina. If fact, I would not be surprised to find out that it runs in your blood."

"I..." I looked down at his hands and felt my cheeks heat up. "It... it's not a big deal..."

"Such a shy thing you can be when it comes to praise," he said softly as he tilted my head up so that I had to look at him. "Vorador has been alive for centuries upon centuries and yet you saw through the tactical error that he would have made regarding the attack on Vasserbunde. It is no small thing to see what an has Eldar missed, my Dear Katrina. You were made for this. You are immortal. Transcendent. A Goddess made flesh and given form. You were born to be a Leader, a Queen. Stop hiding from your true nature and embrace it mine own."

"How?" I asked him softly. I looked down and to the side a moment later.

A part of me was happy with the praise, but the rest? I had lost so much time while in Auron's hell hole that I still felt mentally younger then my true age on occasion. Then there were the times that I felt so much older and... then I just felt tired. Sometimes, I wanted to let my instincts lead, to be as confident in myself as Alma and her Sister Bride's were in themselves. Other times I felt hesitant, unsure of what to do next when I had nothing to do to busy myself, nothing to distract myself from the past. Sometimes the memories began to bubble up unexpectedly when I was doing simple tasks or when I caught certain scents in the air. When that happened, I was left struggling with myself until I could force the memories back under control and recall where I was.

As Kain had said, some things came easily and readily to me during my lessons. I especially enjoyed, thrived even, on the nights that he spent teaching me using tactical games. While it was never easy to win against him when we played such games, I had still learned how to win on occasion. Patterns were relatively easy for me to spot, weak points were ferreted out carefully and tenaciously. I might not know how to block or halt a new attack method at first, but I did learn how to spot the early signs of a seemingly random attack. I then learned swiftly how to counter said attack after it had been used against my mock troops. I'd had to learn to think on the fly whilst trapped by Auron, if only to avoid major injuries to my person, and sometimes it was hard to still my thoughts. I constantly tried to figure out what could happen next during a fight, what could be done to counter attacks or preempt them. There was a reason why Kain oft had to tell me to still my mind.

Kain tilted my head up and forced me to look at up him once more. The movement brought my thoughts back to the present and I blinked at him rapidly. He rubbed a claw lightly against my lower lip and let out a soothing rumble as I focused again on the now.

"Start by creating a Symbol for yourself," he said firmly in response to my question as if I had not briefly lost myself. "You are old enough, and have been through enough, to make your own. What you design will then be worked into the standards of your contingent and placed beneath my own Symbol."

"I... that's," I blinked at him in surprise and tilted my head. "That is... a pretty big step for a vampire from what I have learned from Janos. You have to have magical abilities to cast the spell or else have someone that you trust somehow help you to cast the spell meant to imbue the Symbol with Power, right? Janos also told me that that not every vampire can make one either, only the strong willed are able to imbue a Symbol."

"Correct. The Symbol that you create will then stand with you throughout the centuries in all that you do," he said and he tapped my neck where his Mark lay hidden in the shape of his own Symbol. The touch caused me to shiver. I let out a soft sound as a result and leaned into his touch. "The Symbol should speak to your soul, as the magic involved with the final steps will Seal it to you forevermore. I have spoken with the others and they are all in agreement. As your Chosen Sire, Janos will be the one to help you with the casting that is needed. You can have the rest of your Chosen Clan assist as well, if you wish it."

I reached up and brushed my fingers through my hair with a small frown at the thought of making my own Symbol as he suggested. And yet there was the simple thought that... I did not need to make a new design. I could not draw like Nikolai could, but I could draw symbols, stylisations of words, calligraphy and Celtic knots. I reached up to clench the edge of one of my wings and then moved over to the table to pick up a piece of parchment, a quill and the ink-pot that sat nearby. I carefully started to draw a simple, small Celtic triquetra with the quill. Once done, I layered in a second within the first and then a third triquetra within the second. In the end, all three were entwined together in a delicate weave.

I carefully looped a circle within the three triquetra's and then used the entire thing as a kind of base for a stylized and extended wing made of three parts. The tip of said wing pointed away from the top point of the triquetra. Kain watched my movements silently, head tilted as he watched me work on something that had long been a part of me. Only once I had set aside the quill did he carefully shift the parchment so that he could look over the symbol.

"Interesting. What does this mean to you?" he asked curiously.

"It is a... um... a self-stylized triquetra, a.. ah... you might find it amusing actually but the symbol represents a sort of triumvirate balance from Gaia. It can actually be a balance of... many different things really. It depends on the person in question and how they interpret it," I tapped a claw lightly against the inner triquetra. "For me, the inner one represents the balance of 'Creation, Preservation and Destruction'. The middle one represents 'Wisdom, Courage and Power' and the outer 'Strength, Speed and Skill'," I then tapped each one in turn, inner to outer, "Balance of Spirit, Balance of Mind, Balance of Body. The circle looped within represents Infinity and the Wing for me means..."

"'Freedom'," Kain finished for me. I nodded shyly and smiled at him.

"Freedom of Thought, Freedom of Voice, Freedom of Action," I said softly and I tugged at my wing again. "This... has been my version of it since I was a teenager."

"And you chose this 'triquetra' design as a base for what reason?" he asked as he carefully poured a little of the fine sand from a small jar over the ink to help it dry faster.

"Well... a part of it ties back to my Father and the rest of it has to do with how I was raised," I responded with a small frown as I trailed a claw along the edge of the design, careful not to damage the fine parchment with the sharp point of said claw. "My Father always wore an odd curved sword pendant that had a stylized triquetra worked into the small hilt. I started working on this design shortly after he died as a... kind of memento of him. It wasn't until my mid-teens that I started to add things to the regular triquetra design. As for how I was raised, well, Mother always told me that I should be the one to choose what I wanted to believe in once I was old enough to really understand the concept behind religion and the beliefs therein. There are actually so very many different kinds of religions and even sub-divisions of said religions on Gaia that it's... rather hard to keep them all straight. I studied up on a large number of them when I was a teen to try to figure out what I wanted to believe in, if anything. In all my studies, I found one constant truth that stood out amongst all the different beliefs on my home world..."

"Balance," he concluded. I nodded and I let out a small laugh as I spread out my hands.

"Balance of the mind, the body, the spirit. Balance of the elements. Balance of the stars, the planets and the sun. Of good and evil. Of creation and destruction. Male and female," I shrugged and leaned against the table. "It was easy to see the similarities between it all and that's when I started to work in the additional two triquetra's, the circle and then the wing. If I used anything as my Symbol, it would be this."

"You are certain?" he asked and he raised a brow at me as his own finger idly trailed along the edge of the wing pattern of the design. "This is not something that can be changed later on."

I frowned at him and then pointed at the drawn Symbol as I pushed away from the table.

"This is mine, Kain," I said firmly. "It's something that is already a part of me. In fact, a friend of mine was actually going to pay for me to get this as a tattoo on my arm for... for my name day the same year that I was taken."

"Your world celebrates name days?" he asked in amusement, having accepted my surety regarding the design.

"Yes," I shrugged and shook my head with a chuckle. "I was born on the seventh day of the seventh month of the year, not that the years mean anything at this point to me."

"True enough. Vampires only mark time in centuries from the day of ones' turning here on Nosgoth. I doubt that it is much different on your own world," he held out the now dried parchment to me. "Go to see Alma and then take this to Janos. He will tell you what will need to be done next to perform the Sealing of the Symbol."

I took the parchment in my hand and then shifted my feet nervously as I looked over the design. My design. My... Symbol. Such a strange thing to think that he wanted me to do this so soon after my arrival here. But he was correct. I had been through, and had survived, much over the years.

"Can... you be there? Or will you be busy?" I asked softly.

"I will have Janos Whisper me when he has everything prepared," Kain said with a small shrug of his shoulder. "If I am not busy at the time then I will be there to witness the Sealing."

"Alright," I gave him a small, hesitant smile. "Kain... I..."

Still I couldn't say it. Two years on Nosgoth. Two years in a relationship with him and there was every sign that we would likely be together for centuries, good times and bad. He had comforted me after my capture instead of turning me away. He had given me the space that I had needed to heal and recover. He had even stated that I was to be his Queen. He was very much invested in me and yet... I closed my mouth with a sharp click of my teeth. My wings twitched and ruffled outward and I let out a faint sigh. He reached out with his hand and brushed his fingers against my wing in a gentle caress that made me shiver.

"I know," he purred in a soft, fond tone. "Off with you now, my Little One."

I nodded and turned to leave the room. I carefully folded the parchment up in a way that left the design with out a crease and tucked it away in one of the pockets of my usual cargo-styled pants. I walked down the main stairs and started to reach out with my Aura as I walked in order to get a bead on Alma. Before I could pinpoint her location though, Cillian found and stopped me with his head bowed low. I growled at him and he dropped to one knee as soon as the noise started to rumble in my chest. He bared his throat to me and held out his hands, claws curled inward in a show that he meant to be no threat to me.

"My Lady," he started softly. "Please. I would request a word with you if you would be willing to give me the time."

"Does this have anything to do with our troops?" I asked with another low growl that thrummed through the air.

"No, My Lady. My request does not pertain to our troops," he responded with a hesitant shake of his head.

"I told you that I did not wish to hear you speak to me concerning anything other then that which is related to the army," I hissed softly and I started past him, intent on leaving him kneeling where he was.

"My Lady please! I beg of you!" he held out his hands in a gesture of entreaty with his claws yet pointed downwards and his head still bowed as he continued to speak. "Please intercede on my behalf! I would do anything that you would demand of me, only please intercede!"

"I was not the one to issue your punishment," I snarled at him in sudden, instinct driven anger as I rounded on his kneeling form. "You would have me contradict Kain's order? Your Lord's order? You would have me oppose him on your behalf? Do you take me for a fool?!"

"No My Lady!" Cillian cried out and he bowed his head lower still. "Not that! I would not dare to ask you to go against My Lord Kain! What I ask is for you to intercede on my behalf regarding Lord Vorador!"

"Vorador?" I asked with a confused twitch of my wings and my instinctual anger wavered at the odd request.

"My Lady please," he eased a touch closer to me and I snarled in warning. He froze once more but continued to speak. "I will do aught what the Bride's wish of me as I was commanded by My Lord, but Lord Vorador intends to join them. I do not wish to be a sacrifice upon his alter! Please, I beg of you to intercede!"

My wings twitched again as I recalled Vorador's acceptance of Alma's offer to join her and her Sister Bride's in 'breaking in their new toy'. I winced faintly as the human part of my mind tried to push up, tried to think of a way to possibly help him out of his current predicament where my Chosen Brother was concerned. Only... my vampiric instincts roared to the forefront of my mind and flooded over me in a wave of intuitive knowledge.

Any intercession on my part at this point would be seen as weakness in the eyes of my Chosen Clan. If I was to be Kain's Queen, his Alpha Female if you will, then there would be times that I could not show any weakness nor even a hint of kindness.

My instincts screamed that this was one of those times.

Vorador was... scarily sized to be sure. I knew that after having stumbled upon him and one of his Bride's a while back in the kitchens of the Meridian Sanctuary, as I'd gotten more than an eye-full of his, and his Bride's, 'assets' in the process. How it had even all fit within her had been mind boggling and would have sent me flying with that thought alone chasing me, but in adding the fact that Vorador was now my 'Brother'... A shudder of disgust ran through me at the remembered incident. Vorador was quite firmly camped into the 'sibling' section of my mind and that particular incident fell into the 'I can't believe I just walked in on my brother having sex! Oh gods, my eyes!' category of events that needed to have a damned 'delete' button attached to it. Ick.

But... even with the human part of my mind trying to push back against vampiric instinct, trying to argue that there had to be something that could be done... Vampiric instinct won out easily.

Kain, Cillian's Lord, his Alpha, had given him his current orders and those orders were for Cillian to obey and follow any and all of the whims of Vorador's Bride's. If it was their desire to have their Lord Husband join them in any activities they might think of that involved Cillian and what services he could provide to them, then that was their choice, not his. It was Cillian's duty to obey his Lord's commands and thus he had to obey the orders any order that the Brides might issue to him whilst he was in their 'care'. To even try to countermand the order in the way Cillian wanted me to...

It would undermine every single step that I, and Kain, had taken thus far to show that I was growing to be a capable co-leader.

"Do you know what I am?" I asked him in a soft voice that hissed through the air.

"Yes My Lady," he responded. "A Half-Blood. A rare and beautiful impossibility."

"True," I said and a sub-harmonic growl of sound rumbled in my chest. "But that was not what I wanted to hear from you."

"My Lady?" he asked and he raised his head just enough that he could see my face.

"The correct answer was 'Not A Fool'," I snarled in a vicious tone.

I then lashed out and kicked him hard enough to send him flying back several feet. He hit the wall with a pained grunt and made no move to get up as I approached his prone form. I glared down at him and spoke in a low, dangerous voice that... actually surprised me a bit with how cold I sounded. And yet I could not be bothered to think long on it, what with the rage that currently filled me.

"Do not think that because I am a half-blood that I am like some weak human woman to be manipulated by a sob story of fear," I said and issued another sub-harmonic growl that made him shudder and his scent spiked with the fear of another blow. "I have all of my vampiric instincts, same as you. I know the truth of what you just suggested. You would have had me appear weak to my Chosen Clan by asking me to do such a thing. You would have me appear weak to Kain. You would have me show Mercy to you when you knowingly took a risk in challenging me as you did. You lost and thus brought this upon yourself."

"Why did you not issue the punishment yourself!?" he shouted and looked up at me with rage in his eyes.

I kicked him as harshly across the jaw as I could. My vampiric instincts roared in my ears and my Aura flared at his rage, his daring in looking at me when I had given him specific orders to keep his gaze down. The blow was strong enough to split his lip open with a wide spray of blood and also sent a tooth flying down the hall. Several servants that had been nearby watching the confrontation from behind the edges of the door frames suddenly bolted with startled sounds and my hands clenched into fists as the scent of their fear filled the air. I focused solely on Cillian and dismissed the others from my mind lest their fear-scent distract me from the male in front of me.

"Know your place!" I roared at him. He recovered enough to move back into to where he was kneeling with his head bowed low enough that his long hair brushed the ground. "I want nothing to do with your body. Your form interests me not a bit, be it to cause you pain or take my pleasure of you. You are nothing to me. Now, go and obey the order given to you by your Lord and add another month of time to your punishment for your damned audacity to beg me to intercede and for also disobeying my command when it comes to speaking to me!"

"My Lady...!" he cried out in frantic sounding surprise at the added time frame to his punishment.

"Do I need to make it six months?! Begone from my sight!" I snapped out.

He scrambled from my sight swiftly at the threat of yet more time being added to his current punishment and he bolted down the now empty hall. I took several slow breaths in order to calm myself and I struggled to still the racing, gibbering, human portion of my mind. I rubbed at my forehead and let out another low growl of sound as I reined in my temper. The sound of slow clapping suddenly registered to my mind and my head jerked up toward the origin of the sound. I felt my eyes widen in surprise. Vorador stood in the doorway of a room connected to the hall I was in. Alma held onto one of his arms and one of her Sister Bride's held the other. All three of them were smiling hunter's smiles at me and I could not help the faint blush that suddenly started to stain my cheeks due to their combined, proud seeming, stares.

"Very well handled Little Sister," Vorador said with a throaty purr.

"I... umm. How... long... have you three been there?" I asked and I coughed nervously into my hand.

"Long enough deary," Alma purred and she smirked at me.

"The blatant, fawning praise was most amusing," her Sister Bride, Tara, said as she looked me over. She then flashed me a sultry wink. "'A rare and beautiful impossibility' indeed. You are a darling little angel, but that was the most nauseating attempt at kowtowing that I have seen in the past fifty years."

"Indeed. A pitiful performance from him overall," Vorador agreed with a malicious laugh.

I shifted nervously at his tone and my wings furled close to my back. I glanced at Alma and frowned. Even with my vampiric instinct having overridden my human half... I needed to know.

~What... exactly... will you and the others do to him?~ I asked her in a carefully focused Whisper.

What with her acting as my teacher in all aspects of vampiric culture, it would be safe to ask her such a question. Asking Vorador or Tara such a thing... no... my instincts warned against bringing the subject up with either of them. Even though they would understand why I might ask such a thing, it would still undermine what had been achieved thus far for me to ask such a question of anyone other then Alma, Kain or Janos. My teacher, my Mate and my Chosen Sire respectively. Even then, such questions needed to be asked via the privacy of the Whisper, or in the case of asking such a question of Kain, the privacy of our rooms.

~We will take our pleasure of him whilst denying him release unless we wish for him to find completion for one. Which will not be often if at all to be honest. If he does find release without permission he will of course be punished,~ she purred in my mind. ~There will be a bit of blood play as well, but nothing that could be considered true torture for a vampire deary. You need not worry about that and given what you've survived I can understand your concern even for one such as he. Understand that he has yet to earn that level of punishment... for the moment. If he is extremely disobedient then there may be further punishments applied to ensure good behavior from him.~

~I.. understand now...~ I said slowly as I shifted in place and looked away from the trio.

~I know your main concern is for when Vorador joins us,~ Alma continued in a gentle tone. ~The fight with your human instincts was plain upon your face before your vampiric instinct won out, as it should. Cillian will be suitably prepared for such activities, you do not need to be concerned. There are so very many toys of various sizes that we can use in order to prepare the young fool for my Lord Husband when he finally joins us.~

~I... did not need that image in my head Alma,~ I responded with a dry tone and I rubbed at my forehead again. ~I really, really didn't.~

~Ah, but you can be such an adorable little thing deary,~ she purred with a mental laugh.

I glared at her and shook my head. I stretched out my wings and then settled them so they lay cloak-like on my shoulders. I let out a faint sigh of exasperation at her sudden grin and she did something that made Vorador issue a low, purring growl. He looked down at her with a hungry fondness.

"Alma," I said with a whine in my voice. I face-palmed and did my best not to breathe in through my nose lest I catch their scent. "Enough. I need to talk to you about the troops. If you have the time now that is?"

"I know deary and I do have time enough at the moment," she said as she stepped away from Vorador. "Tara, do take care of our Lord Husband, yes?"

"I will Sister dear," Tara purred and she started to tug a very willing Vorador down the hall.

I couldn't help it, I felt my expression twist into a small disgusted frown and Alma laughed aloud in amusement. She gave my arm a small pat, mindful of my wing. She then led me further down the hall and outside into the night air.

"The expression on your face deary," she cooed after her chuckles had abated. "Ah, it is so much fun to tease you at times."

"So happy to be a source of amusement for you," I said in a droll tone and I rolled my eyes at her. "So what am I to work with?"

Alma let me out to meet the men and women that were to be under my command. After being introduced as their new commander, I took my time to look over the human warriors in order to check on their health. It was habit for me to check over any new members who joins my railroad project and I routinely checked on said members to make sure they remained healthy. Several of the men looked overtired, drained and one looked outright anemic despite continued posturing that he was fine. I tugged down the collar of that particular male and found a recent and slowly healing bite mark. I frowned and looked over at the four vampires now under my command; two male, two female.

"Who fed from this one?" I asked, a low growl in my tone.

"Captain Cillian, My Lady," one of the four, a male, said after they had all glanced at each other warily. The growl in my voice had set them immediately on edge. "He often feeds from the troops after a battle. The rush of victory leaves a tang of sweetness to a human's blood that can be very enjoyable."

"Why...? Wait, the adrenaline rush. Of course," I murmured thoughtfully. By the expressions on the four vampires faces I had only further confused them. I pushed the tired human down to sit on his cot.

"Alma, see to it that these men get rest, several high-iron meals and plenty of fluids," I ordered. She nodded in response to my words and I turned back to the pale human. "No alcohol for you for a while do you understand? Not until your pallor improves."

"Yes M'lady," the human responded and he rubbed at his face. "I ca' still fight though."

"None of you will be fighting until I find you fit for duty," I said firmly as I shook my head. The men all did their best to look disappointed at the order but they could not hide the relief that filled their eyes and scents. "None of you should be in such a state without outright injuries. You've all been run ragged and need to rest or you will be useless in any upcoming battles."

I looked them over once more and frowned to myself. It would take time to get the group of humans back into shape. Cillian had obviously fed from the lot of them far more often then what I considered healthy for a human. Despite their physical fitness, I did not believe that they would be fit to fight again for one to two months. I left them to their rest and went to talk to Leon, Emrys and Stefon. I found that many of the men that had been added to their own groups were in the same shape and I had not been pleased. It was one thing to feed from the men on occasion but from their pallor and the way they acted the feedings were regular and... perhaps not entirely willing.

I would have to bring that up to Kain later on... we did not need our troops collapsing during the middle of battle due to blood-loss caused by an overzealous feeding.

I worked with the Captain's to set up a strict regiment in order to both get the weakened humans on the diets they needed to recover whilst also keeping them in physical shape and their fighting skills sharp. Once everyone was on the same page, I left Alma to keep an eye on things and went to find Janos.

I found him with Nikolai in a clearing just outside Steinchencroe and had to stifle a chuckle at the sight the pair made. They had obviously been sparring, working to help Nikolai get used to the new vampiric speed and strength. Janos had easily caught and pinned Nikolai down into an arm hold at some point during their scuffle shortly before my arrival. The younger vampire squirmed in place for several moments as he tried to work out a way to get free, though it was rather obvious that he would not be able to free himself. Janos' Aura pulsed through the clearing a moment later and caused him to go still. When Janos started to lean in toward Nikolai's neck with a soft, hungry sounding growl, I cleared my throat softly to catch their attention.

"Ah, Childe," Janos said.

He shifted to look in my direction, though he made no move to release the now very flustered looking Nikolai. Janos' wings twitched outwards, mantling over Nikolai's form briefly before they tucked in again at his back. A gesture that could either be taken as a protective gesture or as a warning that signaled 'my prey, not yours' to other predators. Considering what I had likely just interrupted, the gesture... probably meant both.

"Did you need either of us for something?" he asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about something, yes," I responded with a small smile. "But... I can find you later Sire, if you'd prefer me to leave the pair of you alone?"

"Plea-!" Nikolai started, only to have a claw flick over his ear in a correcting cut that rapidly healed. He fell silent with a sullen growl and I found myself rather thankful that I was currently upwind from the pair.

"Of course I have time for you, my Childe," Janos answered. He stood and he easily drew Nikolai to his feet as he did so.

Nikolai brushed his leather pants off once he was released from Janos' grip and he flashed me a mild glare at my interruption. I gave him an apologetic smile as I walked closer to them and I pulled free the carefully folded parchment that had my Symbol design upon it. Janos took the parchment delicately in his claws and opened it. His wings twitched open with a surprised jerk and Nikolai moved to where he could see what I had drawn even as he started to tease his fingers through Janos' pinion feathers.

"I see that Kain has already spoken to you regarding creating and imbuing your own Symbol," Janos said thoughtfully. "Normally it does not take one so little time to decide upon a fitting design."

"It is an intricate thing," Nikolai said as he looked over the drawing. "The weave of the lines is cleverly done. I didn't know that you drew."

"I can't draw like you can," I said with a shrug of wing and shoulder. "And this isn't a new design. It's something I made a long time ago and it's still important to me even now."

I explained to the pair just what the symbol meant for me as I had to Kain. Janos nodded his head thoughtfully once I had finished speaking and then flashed a kindly smile at me.

"It is good that you worked a memory of your Father into this," he said softly. "Many Childeren work in something of their creator's Symbol if they are able to."

"Even Vorador?" I asked with a thoughtful twitch of my wings. "His symbol is a dragon though."

"It is indeed," Janos said with a nod of his head. "But he did manage to work in a portion of my own Symbol into his design. The flame tipped tail of his draconic Symbol is a reverted part of my own."

"So your symbol..." I tilted my head. "A flame then...? And something else?"

"A flame with wings furled round it to protect it," he responded with another nod of his head.

"Ah! So it's a flame of hope being protected from the winds by wings! " I exclaimed as I snapped my fingers. Janos smiled wide and Nikolai let out a soft laugh. I blushed and felt my wings droop a bit. "Ah... maybe?"

"You are correct in your guess my Childe," Janos said. He reached out to pat my shoulder and handed the parchment back to me. "I had to be a Guardian in my own right for a long time, keeping the flame of hope alive for this world. I may not yet know what will happen in the future. The Pillars are damaged and yet the Soul Reaver is in the hands of the current Balance Guardian and Kain has also prevented the Hylden from invading our world. Even though things yet seem somewhat bleak, I still have hope and faith in the Wheel."

I had to look down at that and used my hair, currently hanging loose, to hide my face from him. Janos still did not know that his 'God' was a parasite that had set itself the gluttonous task of consuming all of the souls on Nosgoth. I wasn't sure if I should even hint at the truth, as it would likely not be taken well, not with how long he had believed in that false 'God'. I idly wondered if it might be best in the end for Janos, and possibly Nikolai if they remained a couple, to join me on my eventual, forced the trip back to Gaia and have them remain there. Janos could then be freed from the illusion that the parasite had wrapped 'round his eyes. He would also be around other winged vampires. It all depended on if my Birth Clan proved to be trustworthy or not. Janos continued to speak, unaware of my dark train of thought. I trailed a claw lightly over the parchment in my hands and kept my silence.

"It will take me just over a fortnight to gather the supplies that we will need as you cannot cast the Sealing spell yourself," Janos said and he tapped one claw against his chin. "I would normally grab the supplies from my own retreat or Vorador's Mansion but both locations are currently unsafe. As such, I will have to gather fresh ingredients. One item can only be gathered properly on the night of the full moon however."

"The full moon?" I said with a weak laugh and I raised my head back up to look at him. "You're not going hunting for were-wolf fur are you?"

"Not quite," Janos responded with a chuckle. "I will need the petals of a Cheza, the wolf lily, which only blooms on the nights of the full moon."

"What does it do?" Nikolai asked as he leaned against Janos' side. "And might I help you?"

"Of course you may help me, my Nikolai. As for what it does, the Cheza flower will be critical for the process since Katrina has no magic outside of her Gifts," Janos said as he glanced down at Nikolai with a fond expression. "I will have to make a tea with the flower and then instill some of my magic and blood into the mixture for her to drink. This will temporarily allow her to have access to a fraction of my own magic and allow her to cast the Sealing spell. It will last for all of five minutes, so the casting must be precise and swift."

He said the last as he looked up at me and I let out a faint sigh.

"I need to memorize something, don't I?" I asked with a hint of dry amusement.

"You do. It is not hard thing to commit to memory though and you will have the time to practice the proper pronunciation of the spell," Janos tapped the parchment. "Make any adjustments you wish now, my Childe. Beyond that..."

A small wave of his hand and he opened up a 'pocket' in the air much as Kain could and he reached into it in order to pull out a small tome. He flipped it open to a particular page and then handed me the book as he tapped at a small passage. The book was in Latin, another language that held similarities to my home world. Magic users still used Latin here on Nosgoth and, all things considered, it was likely still used by the vampiric community of Gaia. I would not know for certain until I returned though.

"Memorize this passage," Janos said in his 'teachers' tone. "If you need help with pronunciation then seek out myself, Vorador or Kain for assistance."

"Alright," I said as I looked over the words. "I will be on my way then."

"'Bout damned time," Nikolai murmured softly under his breath.

It was soft enough that, had I a humans hearing, I would not have heard him. I flashed a mock pout his way even as my Aura gave a small, gentle pulse of warning. An instinctual reaction at having a fledgling, or any younger vampire, mouth off to me.

"I'm hurt 'nephew'," I said in a teasing tone. "You become a vampire and now no longer wish to spend time with me. I see how it is."

"'Nephew!?'" Nikolai sputtered in mock outrage and he tilted his head to bare his throat due to that slight warning pressure of my Aura.

"You are Vorador's get, are you not?" I smirked at him. "And is he not my 'big brother' now?"

I saw what remained of the human part of his mind stutter to a stop. He rubbed at his forehead and let out a soft groan of exasperation. Janos watched the pair of us with fond amusement in his eyes and then furled a wing around Nikolai.

"Ugh, considering the relationship that I have with Janos, can we please refrain from using human relationship norms?" Nikolai whined. "Otherwise this is going to give me a headache, considering if we used them... then I'd be in a relationship with my 'grandfather'."

"If it helps, just remember that Janos can be quite firmly considered a 'cradle-robber'. You are just a baby fwedge," I said in a teasing tone.

Janos let out an amused sigh. He shook his head and face-palmed at my words. He was swift to grab Nikolai by the back of the neck, without looking, when my friend made to lunge at me with a playful growl. Nikolai let out a soft whine that echoed from the back of his throat at being restrained so and, even though Janos had a firm hold of him, I still jumped back a few feet so I would be out of range of Nikolai's claws if he decided to swipe them at me. I tucked the parchment into the book that I now held in my hand.

"Don't be too rough with him now, Sire," I called out over my shoulder as I turned and darted back down the path for the city. "Baby boys tire quickly you know!"

"My stamina is just fine, thank you very much!" Nikolai shouted after me, though further words of upset were clearly cut off with a yelp of noise from the younger male.

I laughed and flew up to land on one of the cities stone walls. I sat down and started to study the passage that Janos had pointed out to me. It took a few days for me to translate the words, but essentially the passage read 'Magic within, imbue this Symbol to my Soul. Magic within, with this Symbol I am made whole. Magic within, let all know me by this Sign. Magic within, let this Symbol act as my Blood-Line.' Translating the passage into what I knew to be English was one thing, what with all the tomes Vorador and Janos had accumulated, pronunciation of the passage... was another matter entirely.

Kain was... kind enough to assist me with learning how to properly pronounce the passage. Though his methods of assisting me with it was a type of punishment/reward system that left me painfully frustrated the first few nights where I could not say even part of the passage correctly.

"You are a gods-be-damned tease!" I'd snarled at him weakly the third night that he left me in a bound, drained and helpless state when I had failed to pronounce the passage properly yet again that eve.

"Think of it as positive reinforcement," he'd purred as he got dressed. "You say the passage correctly and thus you are rewarded. Fail and in turn you are punished."

"Untie me you son of a bitch! Bastard!" I'd growled out as I tugged at the ropes.

"My human breeding was impeccable, I'll have you know," he'd responded with a smirk and he had trailed a claw down my chest to leave a slow to heal cut behind. "I will leave you to calm down now, my Dear Katrina and will return within the hour where we will begin again. Remember, it is pronounced 'sanguinem'."

My frustrated roar had followed him out of the room and he had merely laughed as he left.

Suffice to say, I learned how to properly say the required passage well before Janos had collected all the supplies, if only to finally receive relief.

Vorador and Alma were both able to join us for the process of setting up the Sealing ritual in a small and isolated portion of the underground passages beneath Steinchencroe. Janos first had me draw my Symbol again using my own blood, a quill made from a raven's feather and small piece of parchment that was made out of rare dragon skin. It had been a bit of a surprise to find out that Nosgoth actually had dragons, small dog-sized, serpentine-like creatures without wings that had been the basis of Vorador's own Symbol. They were tenacious and hard to find creatures that were difficult to catch even by vampiric standards. The skin had been prized by the Ancients for its' ability to withstand time to a greater extent compared to more fragile calf, goat or sheep skin that humans used to make parchment. An appropriate Symbol for the stubborn and equally hard to kill Eldar vampire. Janos advised me as he made the tea, that one could still find small caches of said skin if one checked around the many blood fountains that still remained untouched.

Kain slipped into the small chamber just as Janos finished adding a few drops of his blood into the odd tea that he was making. I started to smile at him but my attention was rapidly drawn back to the tea when the concoction flashed bright white. The bright glow then settled into a soft blue color that was nearly the same shade as Janos' skin. I raised a brow at Janos as he held out the small cup.

"Drink it all. Quickly now, my Childe," Janos ordered with an encouraging smile.

I nodded as I took the cup in hand and I downed the fluid in a few gulps. Nothing happened at first, and then my body twitched violently. I wrapped my arms around my stomach with a startled gasp and my wings flared out wide. Both Kain and Vorador had to jerk back in order to avoid my now wildly twitching appendages. They reached out together to steady my wings and kept me from knocking any of the many candles in the room over. Memories shifted and unlocked for me as I was suddenly reminded of the electric, biting-into-a-power-line sensation of feeding on Eldar Kain's blood during his visit with me at the Pillars. This was a... lesser... extent to that feeling, but it was no less jarring to my senses. My entire body felt near to electrified with energy. It wasn't like I'd bitten into a power-line... more that it was as if I had somehow become the power-line and the energy was using me as a conduit. I gasped for breath and found myself grateful that I had already been sitting down, else I would have collapsed.

"Holy..." I laughed softly and I felt somewhat... giddy under that rush of energy. "Is this what magic feels like to you lot all the time?"

"When one can call on it as readily as we can, yes," Vorador said in an amused tone of voice. "Though one learns swiftly to control the effects of the magic's flow through one's body."

"I do recall the sweet rush of power the first time I cast a spell," Alma said with a soft chuckle. "It is a heady thing having such power at one's fingertips, deary."

"Focus Katrina, recall that this will not last long," Kain's voice was a steadying rumble at my side and he soothed his claws through the feathers of my wings whilst they trembled.

I nodded my head and swallowed as I tried to push back the odd giddiness. Janos guided my hands to the blood-drawn Symbol.

"Trace the Symbol the same as when you drew it whilst you speak," Janos directed me in a soothing voice that helped center me and I felt my hands begin to steady. "Pour your Will and Power into the Symbol whilst you do so."

I nodded my head firmly and started to trace the design. I spoke slowly with a shaky, trembly tone but with each word my voice gained in strength. I felt the magic that danced within me push forward and out of my fingertips as the Symbol started to glow with power where I traced it with the tip of my claw. I felt the Aura's of the others begin to thrum around me and my eyes fell half shut. I fell into the rhythm of the words as I traced my Symbol, my Mark. Once, twice, three times I spoke the passage as required. The tip of my claw came to rest on the end of the wing and the blood flared searingly bright in the candle-lit room. Bright enough that I had to close my eyes against the glare.

I felt my body arch as energy suddenly pulsed through me and a surprised shout was forced from my lips. Even with my eyes shut, my Symbol seemed to be burned into my eyelids, my mind, my soul. For a moment it was if I had risen through the sun itself and was being carried somehow upon winds made out of star dust. Kain had said I was immortal, transcendent and for just an instant I believed with every fiber of my being that he was right. That I could do this. That I could easily claim my throne at his side. There was no room for doubt with such power flooding through my very soul.

Everything tilted a moment later and I realized as arms closed around me that I had started to fall over. Hands shifted me around until I lay curled in someones lap with my head resting upon their shoulder. I let out a contented purr of noise as those hands started to gently preen my feathers. I took in a slow breath of air to catch the scent of whom I was leaning against. Kain. I nuzzled into the curve of his neck a moment later. A second, third and then fourth set of hands started to trail over my wings, back and sides. I felt the Aura's of the other's pulse around my own and I found that the light touches upon my wings no longer bothered me. Instead I felt my wings twitch and arch outward into the claws and talons when they started to scratch at a particularly good spot. A powerful sense of 'Home' and 'Clan' poured through me. I yawned widely and tucked myself further into Kain's lap as a sense of satisfied languor suffused my mind.

~Katrina?~ Kain's voice was a soft caress along my mind as he turned to nuzzle at my exposed neck. ~How do you feel?~

~Amazing,~ I responded sleepily. I found that I did not care if I was projecting my thoughts to the others. ~Everything feels... boundless. Eternal.~

~The Sealing of the Symbol can be a spirituous event,~ Janos' said in a soothing timbre. ~You will likely feel inebriated over the next few days.~

I couldn't help the sudden, wild giggle that escaped me at his words.

~S-seriously?~ I asked. ~I'm going to be drunk? As if I'd had too much Blood-wine?~

~Likely worse, considering that you are already giggly and it has barely been ten minutes since the spell's completion,~ came Vorador's amused voice. ~You do not imbibe much, nor often, do you?~

I shook my head with another giggle and then let out a soft purr when claws delicately started to scratch over the back of my neck. I leaned back into that touch and Alma's voice purred teasingly through my mind.

~Regardless of all that my dear, let me say congratulations,~ she said.

She leaned forward to plant a light but firm kiss on my lips. A kiss that I half responded to before I could think. I pulled back from her and blinked my eyes open as I licked my lips. I raised a brow at her even as I felt the blush begin to stain my cheeks. Kain let out an amused hum of noise at my reaction to her kiss, though he did not comment upon it. He continued to nuzzle and nip at my neck instead.

~Such a lovely little darling,~ Alma said and she dropped her hand down along my spine. ~With your own Symbol, all will know you.~

Kain rested a claw under my chin and I turned to look up at him in response to that light touch. His eyes filled with a darksome light and he leaned in to kiss me. The kiss started off soft and then deepened, though he did not draw blood. His mind brushed against mine in a private caress of thought.

~My Katrina,~ he purred as his tongue danced over my own. ~Alma is correct. All shall know you. You cannot deny the power within you now my Little One. Accept your dark divinity, my Queen.~

It took a bit of effort to make sure that my thoughts stayed linked to his mind alone. I pushed up into his kiss and reached up to caress his cheek in my hand.

~Yes, my King~ I Whispered to him as I broke the kiss and let my head fall back against his shoulder. I settled into his arms and sunk into the warm energy that surrounded me on all sides.

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