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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
- 46
- 47
- 48
To Proofreader-1962; Thank you for the kind and helpful reviews! I am actually trying to go through the story to fix a few things, up to and including the 'then' vs 'than' placements. Right now edits and flushing out details are, should be, completed up to Chapter Twenty-three as I write this little a/n. I do appreciate the feedback and am trying to catch all of the little things just like the then/than issues.

Thanks as well for spotting the glutinous/gluttonous error. I'll be sure to fix that when I get to that during my editing. Computer spell checker is normally my friend... .

I am so glad that you have enjoyed the story thus far and left me such a thoughtful review. I don't have anyone who can read my story out loud for me, but I have started to try to read it aloud to myself and have already realized that a few things just sound wrong here and there while I have been going through additional edits. Thank you for the advice, it is helping me out.

Though... Kain (Eldar and Younger) has a habit of tapping me on the shoulder and being scary when I forget something important and then I have to make additional edits here and there to the chapters I have finished but not yet flushed out in full.

The new job is also taking up a lot of my time as I go through the training, but yay I am employed again! Woohoo!

-A voice snarls in the distance.- 'Woman! You are rambling! Get on with it!'

...Speaking of Kain... hehe... heh... ahem. -coughs into hand-

X.x

Thank you again and I hope you have enjoyed the story despite the small hiccups in spelling and grammar which I hope to have fixed once I go back through things!

To Strife VII - Thank you again for the review and kind words. I hope you enjoy Kain's reaction to Sigrun's attack this chapter!

To Light1 - Thank you for reading my works and I am glad you have enjoyed it.

If peeps haven't already checked out Light1's 'Lessons about water' and 'Night Watch' on FFnet and Archiveofourown I would suggest doing so. They are very fun reads!

New chap up folks!

Chapter Forty-seven: Familial Bonding

I couldn't help the startled sound that escaped me when Sigrun's sucker-punch landed and the resultant challenge that she had issued to Kain. Brice swiftly placed a hand upon my shoulder to halt me from moving forward, but it was Kain's Aura pushing outwards in a testing pulse towards Sigrun and her own counter-shove of power that stilled me more then the other male's hand. I recalled what Brice had said about how my Father would have likely issued a single, testing challenge to Kain had he still been alive.

I realized with a rapid flash of insight that Sigrun was likely doing just that; challenging him outright in Father's place. I let out a huff of breath and eased back to lean against the wall with my arms crossed. I watched the pair closely as I tilted my head at them. Lucius' eyes had gone wide and Brice simply mirrored me against the wall when he realized that I would not interfere.

Kain could handle this on his own easily enough.

Kain began to stalk to one side and Sigrun mirrored him as they started to circle one another. He frowned and growled low as he came to an abrupt halt. He tilted his head and his eyes narrowed on the female in front of him. I could not see Sigrun's face from the angle that she stood at but her wings were flared in a clear threat-display which easily gave away her current mood.

"Do you have a sudden death wish woman?" Kain asked in a dry tone that only hinted at the anger that currently pulsed through his Aura. The talons of his hands scratched together in an idle, sharpening gesture. "I would hate to deprive mine own of a Sibling within bare minutes of you being reunited with each other."

"Godt," Sigrun snorted softly and her voice was tinged with both threat and amusement. "You are one who likes lyden av sin egen stemme, ja?"

His eyes narrowed on her and he started to circle her again. Once more she mirrored his movements with a panther-like grace.

"Would you be kind enough to repeat that in a language that I can understand?" he asked in a dry yet biting tone. "I am quite certain that you have just insulted me, but I would like to know the extent of the insult you've put to me before I beat some sense into your thick skull."

She laughed and, now that I could see her expression, I watched on as she flashed him a cocky smile.

"I say 'the sound of his own voice'," she repeated in English with a chuckle. "In other words, du snakker for mye; 'You talk too much'."

Kain's eyes narrowed on her once more. Though his face did not show it, I knew that he was both angered and bemused by both her words and her audacity. My King did oft wax poetic when he got the chance and I also encouraged it in order to indulge in the dulcet sounds of his voice. In fact...

"Rather that you could say that I enjoy the sound of his voice," I interjected with a smirk of my own.

Sigrun's head twitched in my direction though her gaze did not leave Kain's despite the distraction of my own voice. Kain's lips twisted to take on a very self-satisfied look at my words. She issued a low growl at the sudden, proprietary look that he shot my way as he pretended to pay her no mind. In looking away from her as he had, he had made it clear that he thought her no threat to his person.

An outright snarl of rage escape her as she darted forward with a speed that I had not quite expected, even for a vampire. She was fast, perhaps faster than even Alma. Kain was ready for her however and easily knocked aside her testing strike. He countered with an equally testing blow that was designed to disable her extended arm at the elbow. Sigrun twisted out of range of the blow and they started to circle each other once more at a sedate pace that belied their previous speeds.

"You are faster then I thought," Sigrun said. "Perhaps you are more than just a pen gutt."

"Again you speak in such a manner?" Kain's expression switched to one of smug superiority. "Is your mental acumen so poor that you cannot manage the simple nuances of the common tongue?"

Sigrun laughed at his words, though her wings twitched with her annoyance at his barb.

"I call you a 'pretty boy'," she said with a sneer in her voice and on her lips. "And so far you prove to be just that; a pretty boy who likes sound of his own voice. Fight me pen gutt, or are you worried that you'll scuff those pretty little talons of yours?"

My brows flew up and I glanced over at Brice and Lucius where they stood beside me. Lucius' jaw had dropped at some point and he shot me a wide-eyed look. Because of our shared knowledge of Kain's history via the games, well... he wasn't wrong to assume that fireworks were potentially imminent with that latest little insult that my 'Sister' had thrown Kain's way. I waved his attention back to the fighting pair and then turned my own attention back to them.

Kain could have a wild-fire temper, it was true, but normally his was a controlled fire that burned only what he wanted to burn. He had also gotten better at controlling said temper over the centuries. Sigrun had only managed to push a few minor buttons thus far and I only hoped she did not hit one of the serious ones as they traded words and blows.

"I assure you madame," Kain drawled with a cold smile. "It is not I that should be worried about scuffing my... 'pretty little talons'."

With that he darted forward swift as lightning. He launched a right-handed punch for her chest with his taloned fist. When she moved to block the blow and grab his wrist, he twisted his body and arm and caught her own wrist in his hand instead. He used the momentum meant for his punch to instead force her arm backwards. This left her side open for a blow from his other fist meant for her kidneys.

To her credit, Sigrun did little more then let out a grunt as the harsh blow landed and she swiftly twisted her wrist free of his grasp a moment later. She launched a kick for his groin and even though it was an obvious feint Kain still moved to block the blow. Any male would react to such an attack defensively but the truly wise warriors knew to be ready to either block or dodge other attacks even as they protected that particular weak spot, just in case it was a false feint and the groin really was their opponents intended target.

Her true attack was actually a strike with her right heel for his left knee. A human would have lost momentum and power behind such a move. Hell, a human might not even have been able to pull it off as swiftly as she did. As Kain dodged the disabling strike for his knee, her cloven foot hit the stone path as it impacted instead with said stone. A loud crack filled the air as the stone cracked and chips of stone flew wide. It was quite plain that she had lost no power behind such an attack.

I raised a brow as I eyed the combatants in front of us. They leapt away from each other and started to circle one another yet again as they took each other's measure. Kain had yet to attempt an attack on her wings, an obvious weakness, mainly because they were an obvious weakness and Sigrun was showing enough skill to easily be ready for such an attack from him. Kain let out a hum of breath as he looked his opponent over.

"Brice advised us that you were skilled woman," Kain purred out in a dark tone. "Thus far I do not find myself greatly impressed. You seem not but a simple song-bird that should return to her no doubt pretty little nest."

"And you still talk too much pen gutt," she responded with a smirk even as her wings flared in a threat-display. "Altair did not tell me all regarding where my soster has been these long years, but he told me enough that I will not press her for too many answers. What he was able to tell me, was that you are a Konge, a King, in your own right. I find I believe it, even though I have never heard of you before now."

Kain raised a wary brow at her mocking words and tone.

"You are a spoilt little Konge that cannot fight his own battles, aren't you?" she purred out in a dark tone. "Did you Mark my soster just so you could cling to her skjorts? Do you claim her victories as your own, lite pen gutt konge?"

"Oh shit," Lucius breathed with wide eyes.

I stayed silent, but I very much agreed with Lucius' reaction. Sigrun had just pressed the wrong fucking button. No one accused Kain of being weak without getting a thorough lessoning as a result of their foolishness.

Kain's expression went blank even as his Aura flared with his rage. Sigrun's own Aura rose in response and I could feel that her power was almost on par with Kain's own, but whatever power she had was nothing compared to his ruthless efficiency. When she launched another attack, thinking that he would be blinded by his rage, he Misted and then reformed behind her a bare second later. He used that opportunity to launch a solid punch to the base of her spine even as she tried to spin around to protect her back. Kain was too fast though and had used his Gift with perfectly timed precision.

Sigrun's legs collapsed beneath her due to the force behind that blow. She snarled as she fell and yet she managed to roll to the side to avoid a crushing stomp from his cloven foot. Stone fragments flew into the air and Kain was swift to follow her with a low, sub-harmonic snarl of sound as his hands clenched into fists. Lucius tried to move forward to intervene but both Brice and I grabbed onto his shoulders to stop him in his tracks.

"Jesus fuck!" Lucius snarled. "Why aren't we separating them? He'll kill her!"

"No, he wont," I snarled as I shook Lucius by the shoulder. "Sense his Aura! He is angry, yes and this fight has turned into a matter of pride for him, but sense his Aura boy! There is no killing intent behind it!"

"She's right lad," Brice said in a firm tone. "He'll likely whoop her good but there is no killin' intent behind his power. Calm yerself down."

"But he is Kain of all people!" Lucius said as he looked at me with wide eyes.

"I know who he is far better then you Lucius. I have been at his side for just over four hundred years," I growled with a low, sub-harmonic threat as I endeavored to keep my voice low enough so that Sigrun did not hear me. "He does not kill someone simply because of an insult to his pride. He knows that she is testing him, just as much as he is now testing her. Wait and watch Lucius! Wait and watch."

It took a few more moments to keep Lucius from interfering in a fit of near-suicidal desire to help his Clan-mate and in that span of time the fountain was damaged when Kain threw Sigrun at the fountain's statue. Her healing powers were quite good and she was back on her feet within moments despite the water-burns that now marred her skin. A burst of telekinetic energy from her sent a wave of water flying Kain's way and he Misted to avoid the wide arch of fluid.

Sigrun was swift to follow that attack up with a burst of fire magic and Kain was swift to both return to his normal form and to dodge to the side to avoid the flames that could damage his Mist form. He countered with his own fire and telekinetic magics in order to launch a fireball her way and, when she went to dodge the flames, he wrenched her form back into the path of said fireball.

She roared more in anger than in pain as the flames hit, and then licked, over her back and wings. Lucius started to struggle free of our hands again but Brice and I kept a firm grip on the boy's shoulders. He relaxed a moment later when Sigrun launched herself at Kain with a snarl, obviously fine. The fireball that Kain had sent at her had been one of the more mild ones that he normally used when he was training to improve his accuracy or used with recruits when he deigned to work with them directly. As such, Sigrun's minor wounds were able to heal rapidly even as she launched a rapid-fire series of cutting slashes and jabs at Kain's chest.

Neither of them were holding back in terms of speed by this point. Blows were still designed to disable, magic still reduced to recruit levels, but their movements were fast enough now that no human eye would have been able to properly follow the flow of combat. There was only one real fault that I could find with Sigrun's fighting prowess as I watched the pair continue to fight...

She fought like one who was no longer used to the battlefield, whilst Kain and I both yet had that hardened, ready edge.

Gaia was a world at peace with itself, for the most part. Certainly, country A might be at war with country B and country C might well be facing upheaval due to a successful, or unsuccessful as the case may be, coupe. But the major countries of Gaia were not at war the way that Nosgoth was. Our world, Kain's home world, was split clean into two clear factions; those on the side of the Vampire's and those on the side of the Sarafan. Nosgoth only had the one major super-continent in the way that the landmasses of Gaia were once believed to have been a single super-continent called 'Pangaea'. There were smaller islands that dotted the large ocean of Nosgoth. Islands that only had animals as inhabitants. I knew that personally after having taken an extended flight around the Nosgoth one month to sate my curiosity.

With all the combatants on one large continent, there was no real escape from that division, especially as those who followed the Sarafan way believed that the vampires needed to be eradicated down to the last. They wanted the complete annihilation of the vampiric species and their genocidal war with the vampires was not just a fight of ideals, but of the survival of an entire species. They would not have that victory against us whilst Kain lived.

That actively volatile environment meant that Kain and I both were battle-honed and ready to react at any moment to potential danger around us. Sigrun however, reacted just that hairs-breath slower than she should have to one of Kain's strikes and she was forced to her knees by a heavy handed blow to the back of her neck. She shook her head and tried to stand but he was upon her less than a second later, hands gripped tight around the base of her wings and fangs sunk deep into the back of her neck in a punishing bite meant to subdue. His Aura flared to fill the area and Sigrun struggled briefly, but an increase in pressure to the base of her wings resulted in her letting out a reluctant, growling keen of submission as she let her own Aura withdraw and calm.

Kain released her with a growl and stood. When she tried to stand as well, his cloven foot slammed into her back between her wings and he held her pinned down against the ground. He looked at his talons and spoke in a near to idle tone despite the anger that still clearly laced his Aura.

"I will say this plainly and only the once; Katrina is mine equal, mine Queen," Kain purred out in a deadly tone. "Her victories are not only acknowledged, but rewarded publicly in her name and her honor. Do not make such an erroneous assumption regarding our relationship again, woman."

"You say that so seriously pen gutt," Sigrun growled out in a low tone. She let out a grunt as Kain increased the pressure on her back but continued to speak despite the obvious pain she was in. "Yet how can you call her equal when Altair says you intend to leave her here with us like sheltered bird?"

"Is that why you attacked me?" Kain asked with a snort. "Woman, you know nothing of our reasons for her remaining here."

"Is that so?" Sigrun growled at him over her shoulder. "Pah, I also attack because if you cannot defeat me, then you do not deserve to have Marked her. My soster is worth much and deserves more then a pen gutt konge who abandons her or fool of a prins, a prince, who cannot manage himself."

"Lass," Brice suddenly growled from beside me. Lucius flinched at his Eldar's tone. "Watch yourself."

"Pah," she waved her hand dismissively despite still being pinned by Kain's foot. "Boy prince is fool and needs strong female to keep him band, leashed. Seeing my soster and sensing her Aura tells me the pairing Pappa and our Konge had hoped for would not have worked. She would not have put up with his foolishness. Deserves best my soster does and that is not the boy prins nor a pen gutt that abandons her side at moments notice."

I let out a soft, bemused chuckle that drew everyone's attention to me. I walked over to where Kain had Sigrun pinned with a dark expression on his face and stopped a few feet from them. Sigrun looked up at me with a raised brow from he pinned position.

"You say that I 'deserve the best', yes?" I asked with a tilt of my head and a small wave of one hand.

"Ja," came the firm answer.

"Then I also deserve what I want, yes?" I crossed my arms as I asked the question.

"...ja," she said slowly.

I started to stalk around the pair and reached out to trail my claws over Kain's bared spine as I did so. He'd been going shirtless on the days in which we had no plans to explore the sights that the nearby cities had to offers. It was a look that I preferred in truth, shirts just did not suit him and the thought of getting him in a tux was outright laughable. That the planned event was a masquerade meant that he could wear one of his ceremonial armor sets and not seem out of place.

I trailed my hand a little lower along his backside and just bared nicked his skin with my claws in order to let a hint of his power-filled blood perfume the air. His scent spiked with a flash of lust and he raised a brow at me over his shoulder, though he did not let up on the pressure that kept Sigrun trapped nor did his expression change overmuch. Her wings flared as his scent spiked and she eyed the pair of us warily as I moved back into her range of vision.

"Then I have what I want and what I need in Kain," I said with a low, dangerous purr. "That should be all that matters to you."

I had hoped to quell what objections Sigrun had with that action alone. Willingly having another vampire at your back in such a manner, claws or talons poised in a threatening yet gentle caress. That sweet, inherent danger of another predator at your back? It was an immense sign of trust. There was more then one reason that Raziel had felt... would feel...? so betrayed when he gained his wings... and then lost them. In fact... I needed to remember to have a vague seeming talk with Kain at some point before he left. I needed to ask him something.

Sigrun drew my attention back to her with a vicious sounding hiss.

"He does not bare your Mark and I can tell by your Aura that you have one! Not only that, but why leave you here with us if he says you are his Queen?" Sigrun snarled out, though the anger in her words did not fully reach her eyes. She was testing, watching, trying to figure out the 'why'. "If he does not trust you at his side, then he does not deserve you!"

I knelt down and grabbed her chin harshly in my hand. I pulled her head up so that the pressure of Kain's foot along her back was increased and pain flickered briefly in her eyes as a result. My voice was still pitched at a low, dangerous purr as I spoke.

"For him to have even offered me his Mark when I could have rejected it was a gift indeed," I said in a careful tone. "Especially from one who does not readily nor easily make such promises. He gave me his promised protection, helped me to grow stronger and more skilled and even helped me surpass what had been done to me. I am content. More than content. When I ended up in his care, I had merely hoped to find a small niche for myself so that I could survive and maybe help those who had taken me in, tended to my wounds and offered me safety from my tormentor. I have so much more than that now."

She was silent for several long moments and she frowned up at me from her trapped position. Kain watched silently with his arms crossed and he was more than ready to apply more pressure to the pinned form beneath his foot if there proved a need.

"You do not expect it of him?" she asked in an odd tone.

"No," I responded with a shrug. "I did not even expect to have been named his Queen. I had merely hoped to be treated with the respect of an equal once I had gained in strength. The respect of a fellow warrior. Instead, I found a home and I have thrived."

"Ah. That is different then. Trust can be shown in different ways even if only one of pairing bares Mark," she said as finally seemed to relax. "Hmph. Lenge leve Kongen og Dronningen, ja? I yield to you and my soster pen gutt."

"Still you persist in calling me that?" Kain asked dryly.

He moved his foot so that Sigrun could stand despite his annoyance. I straightened and moved to stand beside him even as my Sister pushed herself to her feet.

"I may yield, but you are not my Konge," Sigrun responded as she tugged a few damaged feathers free from her wings. She flashed a smirk at him that showed no hint of fang. "I will retract my assumption that you are a spoilt konge, but I still say you are a pen gutt. At least you can fight and hold your own, ja? Though perhaps... are you a gigantiske katt that enjoys being riper bak ørene and strikes out when attention is no longer wanted?"

I coughed into my hand and raised a brow at Sigrun. I heard the clear impact as Brice face-palmed behind us.

"Did you just...? You know, I do not believe that I need you to translate that one Sigrun," I said as I fought back a laugh.

"Indeed..." Kain said in a dry tone as he eyed my full-blooded Sister. "'Gigantiske katt' sounds too much like 'giant cat'..."

"Ja," Sigrun laughed. "I ask if you enjoy are giant cat that enjoys ear scratches and then lashes out once sated."

"Truly?" Kain asked with a sigh that sounded borderline frustrated. I had to fight back a fit of laughter as I had oft had such thoughts concerning his personality over the long years. "Must I issue a second lessoning to your thick hide?"

"Nei, nei," she said with another laugh and she held out her hands with her talons pointed down in deference to him. "I will cease, for now. Though you must expect some jeering in future... Brother."

Kain raised a brow at her and let out an annoyed seeming huff of breath. I let out a soft chuckle and relaxed a little further next to his side at Sigrun's words. Her calling him 'Brother' meant that she had accepted him as my lover if not also as part of those that she considered Clan. I let my hand extend out to brush against Kain and he reached out to idly brush his talons over my wrist.

"She likes pushing buttons," Brice said in a jokingly warning tone as he approached. Lucius followed on his heels with a still slightly worried expression on his face. "It has gotten her into trouble more then a few times."

"Pah, if people cannot find humor in dark times then they are not worth following," Sigrun said with a huff. "I can be serious, ja, but even I know that darkness needs be fought with humor, even if is just gallows humor."

"Sometimes a genial yet firm attitude can keep the men going through a hard campaign," I said with a knowing nod.

"I would have said you were too soft on your men had your efforts not brought about such successful results mine own," Kain said with an amused shake of his head.

"And those results do speak for themselves do they not?" I asked with a smirk and a small sniff.

"They do," Kain acknowledged.

Sigrun eyed the pair of us as we spoke and then nodded her head with a small smile. She turned to me and let out a satisfied hum of breath.

"Your pen gutt fights well and has good humor, even if I have never heard of him before now," she said with another nod of her head. "I think Pappa would have approved of him, this pen gutt Konge of yours."

"Would you kindly cease calling me a 'pen gutt', woman?" Kain growled out with a huff.

"Hmm, for now," Sigrun said with a bow of her head. "Shall we go inside? I had word from Konge Altair as to where masquerade will be held and would like to go over details given."

"That would be acceptable," Kain said and we headed back inside.

We moved into the main library and each took a seat. Brice was kind enough to offer the two combatants chilled blood and Sigrun was swift do down the contents of her own goblet before she pulled out a mid-sized crystal-stylized tablet. She pulled up the image of the MGM Grand, changed yet still recognizable, and I grimaced.

"Oh by the... truly?" I groaned as I sat back against the couch. Kain tilted his head at the image of the hotel and resort before he looked at me.

"You have issue with the location?" he asked in an idle tone.

"The MGM was one of the larger casino resorts in my youth," I said as I rubbed the bridge of my nose.

"Still is," Brice pipped up with a grin. "The owners bought out a few smaller casinos around it and others still moved to more prime locations. They expanded fifty years ago."

"Oh, how wonderful," I responded sarcastically. "Did he invite everyone and their Mother then?"

"Ah," Kain rumbled in sudden understanding of my upset.

I may have gotten used to the occasional large event whenever we had people swearing new oaths or celebratory parties to commemorate particularly successful ventures, but I did not really enjoy the large crowds. It was especially annoying whenever we were invited to the 'parties' that Vorador liked to host at his large mansion. I had used the 'everyone and their mother' phrase the first time we had gone to one such party as I had been dismayed by the fact that Vorador had invited everyone he possibly could to fill the large mansion. I let out another sigh as I looked at the image of the MGM and wondered at just how many people had been invited to this 'private' celebration regarding my return.

"How many people did he invite?" I asked with a sense of foreboding.

Brice coughed into his hand, "Altair bought out the MGM for the week. Maximum capacity used to be listed at sixteen-thousand eight hundred..."

"Let me guess... double the capacity and that's the guest list?" I asked with a growling sigh.

"Not quite lass," Brice said with clear amusement in his eyes. "The resort can hold up to twenty thousand now with the expansions it's true, but the guest list only numbers around a thousand, with a majority of the people numbering amongst our own Clan. Keep in mind that our Clan numbers total over one-hundred thousand."

"We are the largest and strongest of the Clans," Lucius said with a note of pride in his voice.

"Only a thousand he says," I said with a sigh.

That more than surpassed one of Vorador's parties when counting the green-skinned Eldar's human and vampire guests. Kain twitched beside me, just the smallest of movements and one that only I noticed because my arm lay against the line of his side. I took the goblet that Brice held out to me and sipped at the blood-wine as I brushed my mind against Kain's.

~Is something wrong?~ I asked carefully.

~Over a hundred thousand strong for a single Clan?~ his tone held a note of incredulity to it.

~I did tell you that I confirmed the human population at roughly seven and a half billion,~ I responded with a raised brow. ~You weren't really surprised with how prolific humans proved to be. Why the surprise with the numbers counted amongst my Birth Clan?~

~Humans breed like rabbits. The sheer number that can be counted amongst one Clan however,~ came the thoughtful response. ~It is a staggering thought when our own vampiric numbers on Nosgoth are barely even a thousand strong to this day.~

He looked thoughtful for a moment before a satisfied expression flickered across his face.

~Nosgoth is vast though and a vampires speed allows us to traverse in a day what it would take a week or month for a normal human to travel, less of course for those used to a long march. There is a plethora of untouched land available that would also be difficult for humans to traverse at all...~ his voice fairly purred in my mind. ~To imagine so many of us across all the lands of Nosgoth from the highest mountain to the lowest valley... all of them under my banner?~

A familiar look of hungry greed flitted across his face for an instant. I felt a small flash of amusement fill me at that hungry look.

Most of Nosgoth's cities were packed close enough for humans to reach within a week or a month at a travelers pace on foot, Coorhagen to Vasserbunde for example could be a three hour journey at such a pace and had taken less the half of that for our soldiers moving at a swift and forced march which was why we had been able to take Vasserbunde and Coorhagen within the same night. A human merchant travelling from Coorhagen to Meridian however, could be on the road for a month or more depending on how many goods, mounts, wagons and guards they had for the trip. Merchants these days oft paid mightily to have even one vampire guard amongst their retinue. Between Stenchencrowe and Vorador's mansion alone was a huge swath of untouched land. Not to mention those lands that lay untouched to the north, east and west beyond the mountain ranges that surrounded the lands known to the humans.

What that all meant was that there was plenty of room and land available for the vampires to build upon and shape Kain's budding empire. Homes and towns and vast city-states. I had no true knowledge of just how many would number amongst the various Clans that his Childe would form, but I knew that their numbers would be unstoppable both before and after the Decline.

I looked at him with a dry sort of amusement. Kain was fueled by a lust for power that would only be tempered by time, not lessened, and he was proving to be a King that was equally loved and feared due to his harsh, yet just, rule. Vampire and human alike knew plain the lines that they were not allowed to cross without incurring his wrath.

Amusement dulled to sorrow as I once again thought about the heavy task of restoring Nosgoth. I glanced down with a small frown. My younger version of Kain still thought that there would be a way to halt the eventual decline and I was... unsure of the Eldar's viewpoint on the matter as I had not been able to speak with that version of him often, for good reason.

Personally... I did not believe that aught could be done until after that point in time in which Eldar Kain had dove into the time stream, Raziel upon his heels. Indeed, my younger King was not even aware yet that Raziel was the 'blue demon' that he had seen in his glimpses of the possible timelines, as he had not spent much time using the Chronoplast beyond trying to figure out a way to keep me safe outside of sending me to Gaia.

Kain's taloned hand moved to rest idly upon my knee and I turned my attention back to him with a small smile.

~Like yourself and Vorador have oft told me; time is our ally in this task,~ I told him. I then turned back to Sigrun and Brice. "You are certain that this will not be too large of a crowd for us to monitor?"

"We're sure lass," Brice said with a nod of his head. "Remember that a good number of the 'guests' will actually be our own warriors stationed at key points to best keep an eye out for danger. They know well how to play the part of both reveler and guard."

"Right," I let out another soft sigh and rubbed at the bridge of my nose.

I still had the strongest sense of reservation about this entire event despite the details that had been flushed out over the past several weeks to both mine and Kain's satisfaction. Something tugged at the edge of my mind and filled me with a certain level of dread regarding this whole plan of ours. Kain let out a soothing thrum of noise from beside me and his talons started to massage at the muscle just above my knee.

"What troubles you mine own?" he asked aloud with a tilt of his head. "We have a solid plan of attack and I can see no fault with it thus far."

"I am... not certain," I said with a small frown and a twitch of my wings. "I feel like I am forgetting something that may change the layout of the board if we are not careful."

"Like what?" Lucius as with a frown. "Brice and Altair have been working out the logistics of it all. We have multiple back-up plans in place too. Even if Auron manages to attack you outright, we will have countermeasures in place to defend you. We wont let him take you again."

I looked at the younger half-blood and felt a flash of dark amusement. Is youthful enthusiasm and blind faith in his Clan's capabilities was... almost cute. It was most certainly endearing. I chuckled softly and shook my head as I leaned back against the couch, free to do so without pinching a wing what with them put away. I waved one hand at him a moment later.

"Do not be overconfident Lucius," I said to him in a gentle yet firm tone. "Even the best laid plans can be laid to ruin. We have back up plans aplenty, yet there is still much that can go wrong. Potential traitors, knowing or not, amongst the Clan might well be the least of our worries."

"Mine soster has point," Sigrun said with a firm nod of her head. "We must be forsiktig, careful."

Lucius seemed to deflate a bit and his wings actually drooped. I fought back a laugh as Brice clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder reassuringly.

"Chin up lad," Brice said with a grin. "Just be mindful and pay attention like you've been taught. Without givin' away your cover mind."

Lucius flushed at his Eldar's words but nodded his understanding. He squared his shoulders as he flashed a look at me. I could easily see in his eyes that he wanted to impress both Kain and myself. His exuberance could become a strength if he could only temper it properly. He reminded me of many a human youth that had willingly been turned. That eagerness was near to infectious. I smiled softly as I glanced at Kain out of the corner of my eye. He too looked bemused with the boy's antics.

Sigrun derailed my thoughts when she opened up another series of screens on her tablet. Images of different styled masks, head dresses, armor and... dresses flashed across the screen. My lips curled into a brief sneer of distaste at the sight of the dresses and Sigrun laughed.

"You do not like kjoler, dresses, either do you?" she asked in a bemused tone.

"I most assuredly do not," I grumbled in a low tone. "Clear that last screen. I intend to wear my own ceremonial armor."

The others all shared a small chuckle of amusement at my discomfort. I ignored the lot of them and reached out to skim through the different masks shown on the screen. I let out a soft hum of satisfaction at the sight of a simple yet elegant design of a griffon's head.

"If needs must I would be willing to wear something similar to this griffon mask," I said as I continued to browse through the masks. I stopped on one image and looked at Kain. "This one for you?"

"Hnnn," he let out a dark thrum of noise.

He reached out and tapped on an icon below the image I stopped on and a holographic projection took shape above the tablet. Lucius had taught us about this particular feature weeks ago and once Kain knew how to do something, he did not forget how to do it. He flashed me a feral grin a moment later.

"A wise choice mine own," he purred. "A wise choice indeed."

Yay! chappie done! Next up, The Masquerade begins!
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