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Dark Chronicle - Chapter Thirteen - The Ruined Aerie

Exploring the blasted landscape of Nosgoth's future, Raziel discovers the ruins of an ancient cliff-dwelling civilization. The majestic facades are collapsed and toppled as though some great upheaval occurred here ages ago.
Raziel stands on a terrace beneath the cliffs, surveying the devastated architecture.

Raziel: V.O.:
This edifice was clearly not crafted by human architects. As the figure beneath the balcony silently attested, these were the aeries of winged beings.
Undoubtedly, I stood before the mountain refuge of the legendary Janos Audron - but the entire sanctuary lay in ruin, collapsed under the force of some ancient cataclysm.
As I suspected, the Time Streamer's deception ensured that I was centuries too late to unearth anything of consequence here.

Raziel scans the ruined canyon, and sees a narrow pass leading off to the west.

Raziel V.O.:
With nothing behind me but the wasteland I had traversed, I resolved to press on and explore these canyons further.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Raziel turns to see Kain approaching.
He acknowledges Kain wryly -

Raziel:
Oh no. Every time you turn up something monumental and terrible happens.
I don't think I have the stomach for it.

Kain: (laughs softly)
No drama this time, Raziel.

Raziel:
You are persistent, crossing time like this to follow me.
Still waiting for that coin of yours to land on its edge?

Kain joins Raziel on the terrace overlooking the canyon.

Kain:
I'm biding my time.

He glances up at the ruined balcony above -

Kain:
I see that Moebius has played a little trick on you.

Raziel:
Yes - he clearly doesn't want me to meet this 'Janos Audron'.

Kain looks away thoughtfully -

Kain:
Perhaps...
(then, with sarcasm -)
Or maybe he merely hoped that it would harden your heart against me to see this wasteland which I single-handedly authored.

Raziel:
My heart doesn't need hardening, Kain.
If I even suspected that destroying you would make any difference, I would do it this instant.

Kain: (laughs approvingly)
I knew you'd see through them, Raziel.
Janos is indeed the key to your destiny, but you'll need to find your own way back into Nosgoth's past.
Make no mistake though, Raziel - you and I are now in great danger.
We are irritants here - malevolent forces are being marshalled to eliminate us.

Raziel:
You talk as though we're allies.

Kain:
Regardless of your sentiments, Raziel, in their eyes - we are.

Raziel:
Well, they're certainly trying to eliminate you, Kain, there can be no doubt of that. I am assaulted relentlessly with demands for your demise.
As for me, I suspect they made a grave error when they allowed my unique resurrection.
I don't think they know how to destroy me.

Kain:
You mustn't underestimate them, Raziel.

Raziel:
And who exactly is this diabolical 'they' to which we keep referring? If there's some grand conspiracy going on, the right hand doesn't appear to know what the left is doing.
Even Moebius seems to be caught out at every turn.

Kain:
Moebius is a puppet, Raziel - haven't you realized that yet?
That's the sweetest irony in all of this - Nosgoth's 'great manipulator' is their plaything. But the ones pulling the strings haven't shown their faces, yet.

Raziel:
They don't like us unwriting their carefully choreographed history though, do they?

Kain corrects Raziel -

Kain:
You must understand, Raziel - we haven't unwritten history, we've merely rewritten it.
The future flows around our petty actions, finding the path of least resistance while admitting only the slightest alterations.
This is the reshuffling you felt, when you refused to kill me.
And remember, Raziel, we are irritants in this regard, as well - history will not allow the introduction of a paradox.

Raziel:
And if events cannot be reshuffled to accommodate the change?

Kain:
It is the irritant who's expelled.
Bear in mind that this may be exactly the outcome our enemies are trying to provoke.
We must tread very carefully.

With this admonition, Kain vanishes.

Air Forge

In the Air Forge, Raziel discovers yet more murals depicting the winged race.

Raziel V.O.:
The scenes I discovered here were unambiguous.
This race of winged beings, the architects of the Pillars and the creators of the Reaver, were Nosgoth's first vampires. Their blood thirst appeared to be a curse inflicted upon them by their vanquished enemies.
These images confirmed the truths that Kain had divulged to me, but I had been too incredulous to accept.
I struggled in vain to see how the pieces fit together, how Kain intended to escape the dilemma of his destiny, and what role he had plotted for me, and why Moebius and the dark powers with which he seemed to be allied were so desperate to see Kain dead, and so intent on me being the instrument of his execution.

When the Air Forge is activated, Raziel forges the Reaver.

Raziel V.O.:
As the Reaver drained the forge of its vital energy, the tempest receded. I recovered myself, and paused to admire my newly-forged weapon, now imbued with the elemental power of air.
Thus armed, I hoped that I now possessed the means to escape this wasted land.

Using an Air Reaver projectile, Raziel destroys a seal blocking his exit.

Raziel V.O.:
This elemental Reaver, I discovered, had the power to obliterate barriers that were cracked or compromised. At last I had the means to open that ruined Time Streaming chamber I discovered so long ago in the swamp.
Now perhaps, I could leave this wasteland and return to an era when Janos Audron still lived.

Abandoned Time Streaming Device

Raziel uses the Air Reaver's power to destroy the device's seal. He goes down into the chamber and prepares to activate it.

Raziel V.O.:
I had no choice but to act purely on blind faith. There was no way to tell what era the device was tuned to, and I had neither the knowledge, nor the means to set the machine myself.
I hesitated only briefly, then, throwing the switch, I hurled myself into oblivion, and relinquished my will to the hand of fate.

Termogent Forest Swamp

Raziel emerges from the device to a scene similar to that seen in the time of Moebius's persecution of the vampires.

Raziel V.O.:
Beyond all hope, and against all probability, it seemed that the device had unerringly delivered me to the era I sought. For these were Sarafan banners, and these vampires apparently the victims of their crusade.
The coincidence seemed too convenient to naively ascribe to fate, but whether my opportune arrival had been orchestrated by Moebius or some other influence, I didn't know. If Janos Audron still lived, I would find him.
I was wary of further deception and resolved to tread carefully.

The Pillars Of Nosgoth

If Raziel heads in the direction of the Stronghold, he first stumbles upon the Sarafan kills at the Pillars.

Raziel V.O.:
For all the butchery of Moebius's crusade, this massacre was somehow more chilling.
The killing fields of the Sarafan betrayed a kind of orderly ruthlessness, the cold-blooded righteousness of the true believer.

Raziel exits the Pillars clearing through the huge doors -

Sarafan Warrior-Priest:
There's another one!

Raziel V.O.:
Here at last in the flesh, I beheld my former brothers-in-arms, the warrior-priests of the Sarafan order; their lives devoted solely to the annihilation of the vampire plague.
And while I confess I felt a twinge of longing, a pang of grief for what I had believed was my lost virtue, I regarded them now with none of the reverence I formally felt.
For I had seen the human face of the vampires, and now I beheld the monstrousness of these men.

The Lake

If Raziel ventures as far as the lake, he sees it is frozen over.

Raziel V.O.:
The frozen surface of the lake had bound the gates of the Stronghold shut. The Sarafan surely had some other means of entry, but this was the only one known to me.
To infiltrate the fortress, I would need to find some way to release these gates from their icy bonds.

Termogent Forest Swamp (Continued)

If Raziel did not return to the Pillars, he regards the Sarafan's kills here in the same fashion as he would have there.

Raziel continues into the canyons and arrives at a Sarafan camp. If he did not encounter the Sarafan near the Pillars, he reflects on their presence here as he would have there.

Sarafan Warrior-Priest:
By all that is holy!

Janos's Retreat

Raziel reaches the abode of Janos Audron, still intact in this time.

Raziel V.O.:
After my long journey, I finally stood on the threshold of enlightenment. For here was Janos Audron's mountain retreat, intact and unblemished. The upheaval that would one day topple this ancient edifice had not yet occurred, and while I had no certainty that Janos still lived, this scene boded well, for I presumed that the collapse of the retreat must have followed the ancient vampire's demise.
There was only one obstacle, how to reach the balcony suspended at that maddening height, so far beyond my reach? For this was the architecture of winged creatures. The tattered ruins of my wings were of no use. I would need to devise some other means into that mountain.

Entering a large area within the mountain, Raziel observes his surroundings.

Raziel V.O.:
The mountain's interior was hollow, I discovered, and graced with soaring architecture unique to its creators. As with the outer façade, these balconies and galleries could only be reached by those gifted with flight. With only my ruined wings to carry me, this towering labyrinth seemed impassable.
The object of my quest lay just beyond my grasp, for here, suspended at the apex of the chamber, was the threshold that surely led to the great vampire himself. I didn't know whether Janos Audron was the monster depicted in the Stronghold, or one of the noble creatures memorialized among the ruins of the ancient vampires, and I didn't care.
Demon or angel, he alone held the key to my destiny.

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