#the fane

“ Where is Raziel? Why have the Turelim and Dumahim come here with such ego and confidence? “ The stern voice echoed in the dome like room. Five of Raziels strongest brood stood in a circle within the room, arms folded as they looked between one another. The other clans had yet to destroy the gates that shielded them from outside attacks, however considering the Turelim and their strength and abilities, it was only a matter of time.

“ There is no need to bicker, we need to assemble the others and prepare for a possible attack! “ Another one of the five shouted back.

“ Without Raziel? We could be killed on the spot for such a thought let alone to speak it out loud! Have you lost your mind Brother? “

“ No! No I have not! What I find odd is that while the council was called and hours have now passed, we have not seen our Sire and suddenly Turelim and Dumahim stand outside our Sires gates? Does this not alarm you? “

Turmoil took hold of the five as they shouted back and forth at one another, their words seeming to almost blur into one anothers. A single sentence was almost impossible to make out. Panic took hold of them, they were the strongest and yet they were now utterly defenseless. Caught off by surprise by the Sires absence and without knowing of what had come to take place, the Razielim only had their pride and bickering to save them. If that.

When a loud bang emitted through the air, shacking the cavernous walls around the Fane causing small rocks to fall to the ground, the Five Razielim took to the large and beautiful balcony their sire once would stand at. From there they could gaze out towards the Gates, the only entrance and exit.

Yet what they could see was only smoke and a hint of flame that was ever so slowly fading. From bellow they saw their fellow comrades take to the sky, as some of them did they could see a few begin to ‘fall’.

“ What is going on?! “ One of the five yelled in panic.

“ Is it not obvious? We are under attack! “ The fifth said, he was shorter then the others as he drew a horn from his side and blew into it.

A call to arms, the other Razielim within the Fane knew the meaning of such a horn. It was loud, deep but it had a sound to it that was chilling and unearthly like. It was enough to make other Vampires shiver in fright as the Razielim took to arms, grabbing nearby weapons and screaming loudly with pride as they took to fighting.

As the smoke began to clear it was already too late to see what had happened. Turelim had stormed into the Fane, slamming their ugly large weapons about and destroying their homes and any that got in their way. Like tiny ants to be squished. Then there was the Dumahim. They were fast and agile, leaping into the air and tearing at the wings of Razielim, injuring many in their attack.

“ Too arms! “ The First yelled as he drew out a long sword and took flight. Like a fool rushing into battle to where the smoke lay heaviest.

“ Too Arms! “ The second yelled out, she was fine and agile, a deadly weapon she withdrew from behind her back, like that of a scythe it posed a threat to any that was caught in its wake.

“ Too Arms! “ The Third one bellowed, the largest of them, he with drew a sword and busted into the sky, high above before changing course and slamming himself into the grounds below. Creating a shock wave like attack that caused Dumahim to fall to their knees but the Turelim only merely shocked for a few seconds. Enough for nearby Razielim to attack.

“ Too Arms!” The Fourth called, following her sister she too had a similar weapon as to the Second.

“...Too death...” The Fifth finally said as he put away his horn and sighed.

He had been by Raziels side from what felt like the start of Kains empire. Although not considered the first in the five, what he lacked in strength he compensated for in brains.

Making a signal in the air he gestured for nearby Razielims to gather together and perform a single blow attack. Yet it was not enough. Turelim where already too powerful as it was, and any that managed to remain in the sky where quickly pulled down by Turelim. Dumahim were warriors by nature, like predators they worked both by themselves and together. They were strong in their own ways, sometimes able to reach those that took to the air, but they still were not strong enough to hold out against winged enemies.

The Fifth attempted to assist a small group of young Razilim Fledglings that had been cornered, but by the time he flew close enough, it was too late. Witnessing the death of Fledglings was not something he had signed up for.

It was at that moment the Fifth could see this was a loosing battle and even if they did win, what would come of it? Their home was destroyed and many where injured with only a few humans to feed off, it wasn’t enough. They were caught red handed by the enemy.

“ Fall back! “ The Fifth yelled but his brothers and sisters in arms did not listen, too fixed on the fight, too prideful to give up.

Only a handful of Razielim had heard the Fifth call out and they followed. For the Turelim and Dumahim did not know of the secret tunnels below that Raziel himself had made sure were constructed. Only a few selected knew of this, the Fifth being one of them. Through the tunnels he asked them to follow him, those that did follow where already badly injured and unable to fight anymore. Those that still could were already on their limits.

“ Where are we going? “ A Razielim called out to which the Fifth was quick to answer.

“ A cave to the south, there we can regroup, feed and become strong.”

What the Fifth lacked to mention was the fact they would never be able to fight back ever again, their forces were depleted and without their Sire they had no right to fight back. Only the fifth remained unscathed minus a few scratches. He should have ensured that the tunnel was lost, but he assumed the Turelim where too dense to realize it and probably destroy it by accident.

Back within the Fane remained one of the sisters. She had watched, one by one, each of the others fall. The Fifth she assumed had already died beneath the rubble as the Turelim began to use explosives to toss into the air and injure any that could still fly away. With a broken leg and no humans nearby to feed off, the Razielim fell to the ground helpless as she looked up at her approaching enemies. Out of breath and exhausted, her wings torn by scratches from Dumahim, there was no point in escaping and even if she could she would rather die here on the spot.

“ When Raziel returns, you shall suffer his wrath! “ She spat at the ground at the approaching Turelim, to which could only bellow a deep laughter.

“ Raziel is dead. Taken by the Lake of Death, like any other traitor! “ The Turelim spoke with an odd cheer in their voice.

“ Unlike your sire, I shall spare you the pain and suffering of burning in water. Think of this as a mercy killing! “ It was clear from the start there was no escaping this as the Turelim spoke. Perhaps the Fifth was right, if only they had of acted faster.

She watched with yellow hued eyes as the hammer was raised high above her and then like a flash of lighting there was darkness. No more pain, no more screams of her fellow Razielim that had fallen. Nothing. Nothing but the faint glow of something different, the spectral realm were her soul and other Razielim souls shall forevermore be lost.

While the battle came to a short end, the Turelim where prideful in their own way, claiming victory to the lands as their own. The Dumahim were not pleased with this and a ravenous battle began. The fight between the Turelim and Dumahim lasted for almost a decade before it was flooded by water. The leaking source was never found, but it only left the ruins of Nosgoths once beautiful land, the Fane, in ruin. Like a sunken treasure lost to those that could not venture there.

Only one such Vampire had the delight, it had taken almost 1 hundred years, just a few years before the war between the humans and Vampires took place. For Rahab floated in the water, gazing at the statue that was now broken and destroyed during the fight. The statue of Raziel. Raziels head was the only thing that was still able to be made out among the pile of rubble. He’d been so prideful. Too Prideful. His ego lead to one thing, and then to another. Rahab though couldn’t care much for it anymore. He always despised Raziel to some point, while Raziel was given the beautiful lands and divine like beauty, Rahab had been given cursed lands that took him hundred of years to properly claim for himself and not to mention his own features.

There was power in silence. Power in waiting and power in pain.

“ Did you finally get to see it? “ a voice echoed in his head as Rahab rolled his eyes.

It was a Whisper, a Dark gift that Kain had given to them after Raziels fall. a Dark gift that only Rahab made good use of.

“ There is nothing left, Zephon. It is nothing but a mere pile of rubble. “ The vampire responded in a short kind of tone. His lips never truly moving.

“ Then so be it. Let us scheme against Turel and claim what is rightfully mine! “ Scheming, always scheming. Zephon had no end, but Rahab could play it to his cord.

“ Then so be it, let our gift that Kain has given us prove useful. Let us take back what is ‘yours’ and Usurp Turel “

Calm and collect Rahab was, unlike Zephon who was far too eager to find any leaver to pull just to make ends meet. Rahab on the other hand was calculated and cold like his amphibious like features, he seemed to have little heart or care for others. All he wanted was Kains favor and he knew from the start that it would be a long process. Raziels ‘departure’ though was an unexpected one, one that came with an advantage.

The reason for the Abbey being abandoned was due to a rapid build up of water in the Lake of Tears and with the Abbey being in a flood zone due to it being built lower to the ground in a cave like area, it created issues such as constant water coming through and damage being done to the Abbey over time. For Humans it was a death situation as many could not swim properly, alongside various health issues and the humans were forced to flee.

When Rahab was given the land, most of the floor was either overflowing with water from the Lake and its rivers that attached to it, or completely damaged by water with various waterfalls cascading over certain areas and flooding through certain rooms. Rahab eventually constructed the place to be better built and able to withstand years of water damage, however due to the need to become immune to water and its lingering possibilities of floods, Rahab constructed rooms to be used as flood rooms and others as pools or a collective area of water that ran into the lake itself. This would later on enhance himself and his brood to be able to feed on humans while also submerge in water until they became immune.

There is always a constant flow of water from the ground and the sky as its always raining in this area. It became hard for humans to penetrate the abbey and its vampire lord due to these wet environments making knights and other soldiers unable to keep stable footing while engaged in combat. It also gave Rahab piece of mind knowing his other brothers were unable to visit the Abbey and therefore limited the risk of an attack, inside or out.

Overtime the Abbey was highly decorated, the inside with fine gold plating and gems in the walls to represents Rahabs taste in wealth and richness while showing his supremacy over others. His personal chambers where at the center of the Abbey. The chambers themselves had arches and a large bed of water that ran around the outside of the stone floor as it was a ‘vampire’ made water feature of sorts. Thus allowed Rahab a dry and perfectly clean bed and room where he would also have a personal feed bag room nearby. Water would pour from above the arches and into the flowing river, this gave a waterfall like appearance and gave Rahab a sense of privacy and protection from any light that might possibly come through. There were also various secret tunnels and passages built into the abbey, some of these had been deliberately flooded again to make it impossible for enemies of both kinds to be able to attack Rahab or his brood.

Rahabim also built outside the Abbey area to create small cave like houses that would be used to protect them in case any sun came through. It also worked out well for ambushes too.

When the Civil war Started, it was hinted that Turelim had attempted to seize the Abbey due to the various glyph’s of Turel being in number outside the Abbey area. Although still being affected by water, it limited how much they could take over.

It was at this point Rahab had come up with the idea to begin flooding certain areas that would push back Turel and his forces as a Brotherly rivalry started and the two would eventually engage in a battle for lands, to which Rahab won easily but did not carry on his vendetta to overtake Turel of his status as Emperor. The proof in this is throughout the Abbey there are various glyphs of Turel on the outside and inside as well as Turelim being found around the Abbey area.

Rahab flooded most of the abbey by this point and let it remain as such making it impossible by this point for anyone to penetrate his stronghold and enable his brood to become stronger and much more protected.