Little Brother
Disclaimer: Legacy of
Kain belongs to Edios and
Rating: PG-13 – For mild references to violence and Yaoi.
Part: One of One
Set: Post Raziel being thrown in the
abyss, pre Raziel’s return as the reaver Blade.
Authoress note: it’s been
a long time since I wrote a short fic-let. This is short, a bit dark/sad and
rather pointless but I liked it anyway.
For all my
reviewers, who without I would have surely given up a long time
ago.
Little Brother
No one
knew why.
No one had
ever known why, and no one had ever asked why. It simply wasn’t done, no one
questioned anything Kain said or did, at least not any more. Not since his
father had become so dangerously unpredictable.
There had
been a time once when he had been very young, that he had been able to simply
ask why. None of the others had been able to ask Kain why save for him and
Raziel. It was something they had shared the slightly stronger relationship
with their father. Although Melchiah was certain that Raziel’s relationship
with his father was somewhat . . . more involved than that of his own but still
Kain had always seemed to have what Raziel called a ‘soft spot’ for him.
Perhaps it had been because he was the youngest; the infant of the clan lords
but maybe it had been something else. Raziel had said it was something to with
balance, even Kain had said he kept him balanced, he had a gentleness that the
others lacked, a sympathy that no one else had. It was something even Raziel
didn’t have, Raziel did not feel guilt, did not question his own worth, and did
not care if people suffered for his gain.
Melchiah
remembered simple times, during the building of the clan grounds when they had
all lived together in the sanctuary and times before then when they had lived,
hiding amongst humans in houses barely big enough for them. Times of quiet were
few and far between but they had existed, times when they would simply sit, his
father and himself, just sit and simply be together. Raziel would join them
often usually strategically placing himself somewhere where he was in easy
reach of his father who had the habit of petting his eldest whenever they sat
still long enough. Melchiah had to admit it was a pleasant sensation, even
although he had had no hair for claws to run through it was still pleasant,
such a simple thing and yet he had known that it was something that would only
be shared between the three of them. There had always been a front put on for
the others, Kain had always been the God while Raziel had always been the
eldest, the fastest, strongest and most deserving. Melchiah knew he was the
only other person who ever saw just the men they were.
It was
their secret.
But now
even Melchiah would not ask why Kain had done what he had done, why Raziel had
to die, why his entire clan had had to die. It was the event that had separated
the clans, sent the clan lords running scared from their Master. In centuries
since that event the communication between the clans had stopped, everyone had
hidden themselves and Melchiah had changed. He had become in his own eyes
grotesque, his children called him God but he knew he was still just the man he
had been before, he had not changed on the inside, not like his father seemed
to have; Kain had changed even before Raziel’s demise he had begun to change.
His words had become vague, his actions brash. He had been dubbed angered God
and people had been afraid but not Raziel and not Melchiah they had seen past
the anger and into the nameless grief. Melchiah had no clue as to why his
father had changed but he knew now not to press him with questions about it.
After
Raziel had left . . . everything changed.
He hadn’t
heard from any of the other clans in years, occasionally a devoted fledgling
would bring him news from the world above, but mostly he was left alone now.
The last he had heard was that all the brothers had begun to change as he had,
all had receded into their clan holdings and the land itself had truly begun to
die. Kain had spoken of the wind to him, Melchiah hadn’t really understood hat
he had meant but he had the feeling that Kain had been rambling and hadn’t
known himself what he had been saying. Kain had spoke
of Rivers, of the wind and time, he had spoken of things that made him happy
and his grief that they would fade. Melchiah had not understood and that was
the last time he had seen his father.
He hadn’t
seen any of them in longer than he could remember, he couldn’t remember what
most of them looked like, but that didn’t really matter any more any way; Kain
had said that there was to be much change and if his own form was anything to
go by then the others would have been unrecognisable even if he could remember
what they had looked like. He couldn’t remember what his clan holdings looked
like, what the outside looked like, what the sky had looked like before they
had filled it with smoke to protect the young. He sighed a deep rumbling sound,
even if he could get outside there would be nothing he could do, he couldn’t
hunt any more.
He was
starving, but it was all in his head, or so he told himself. Since he had aged
passed eight hundred he didn’t really need to feed unless he used his power,
feeble as it was. He could remain down
here in the dark and stay ‘alive’. The skins he wore wrapped around his own
were already dead when he got them. He was beginning to contemplate sleep once
more when something made him jerk awake.
Something
had changed, something in the land, a tension that had always been there had
suddenly become stronger. It was to quiet, he had always been able to hear his
children, moving slowly over the ground and through it. The sound had always
given him some small measure of comfort, but now . . . now there was nothing.
Raising his head the youngest of the clan lords frowned something was defiantly
wrong. When had the sound stopped? He wasn’t sure. The smell of blood was
seeping down through the soil, something was up there killing, but killing what
he wasn’t sure. The humans had always stalked his clan grounds more so than any
of the others and it was not uncommon for them to kill fledglings or be killed
themselves, but this was different.
A power
echoed through the soil, seeping down filling the circular room. The air was
thick all of a sudden and for the first time in centuries Melchiah felt fear,
he had always been the weakest of the clan lords but even he had little to fear
in this land now, the humans were as weak and half alive as the land itself,
there was no way they could make it down here. The machinery blocking the way
down to his sanctuary creaked sending rumbles through the ground and Melchiah
braced himself as it crashed down, opening the way.
Melchiah
reached out trying to get a sense of what was coming for him and got a sense of
fear, death and a feeling of such wretchedness that it hurt to be alive, it
terrified him. This was it, he was going to die, this thing that was heading
towards him now with an almost deliberate slowness was going to be his end, he
couldn’t work against something like that, something that could feel the way
this thing felt and still be walking would not be stopped by him. Yet he could
feel something else emanating from the creature heading down, the fear and
death had suddenly faded from it and had simply left the feeling of
wretchedness.
He felt it
reach the doorway and he raised himself up, if this thing was going to be his
end he would face it like what he was. He was a son of Kain, a clan lord of
Nosgoth and he would not die cowering in some cellar. He opened his mouth to
speak and stopped dead when his father turned to mist and shifted through the
gate, turning to face him.
He had not
recognised his father.
Kain had
indeed changed; Melchiah squinted through the darkness at his father. His
appearance was much the same, his hair perhaps was a little longer than when he
had last seen him, the tip of the tail now touching his waist band. But he had
changed, even his scent was different, he smelt of blood and death, the old
scent was still there but it was buried under this new one that seemed to cling
to his father like old blood to torn cloth.
“Child.”
Kain spoke, looking up at his youngest son, and to Melchiah he seemed tired.
“Father,”
Melchiah answered, the small feeling of smugness that had always sparked when
he called Kain father, besides Raziel he was the only one who would still use
the title.
“It will
happen soon now.” Kain seemed distracted as he spoke looking around the room as
if he had never seen it before. “You must be ready.”
“Father?”
Melchiah spoke again, feeling his voice crack; it had been years since he had
last used it. “Your words . . . they confuse me.” Kain who had been looking
down at the floor looked up and smiled.
“They
confuse me also.” Kain answered “he is coming back to us, and he will kill us
if we let him.” Melchiah frowned at his father, “but do not fear we shall not
let him.” Kain turned as if to leave, and Melchiah lunged forwards
“father!”
he wanted to say more but the words died in his throat, he wanted to ask why he
had not seen him in so many years, why now and why for such a short time, what
did he mean, why did he reek of such wretchedness. “What . . . what do I do?”
Kain stopped in the entrance way and turned, for a brief moment Melchiah swore
he could see a look of grief but it was gone to fast and the strange empty
looking smirk came back.
“Why not
use that?” Kain gestured up to the huge grinding wheel suspended from the ceiling
and then cool magic filled the room as Kain teleported from his Childs sight.
Melchiah
looked up at the great grinder and sighed what a wretched way to die.
End Fic
Authoress Note: Short, Sweet and pointless, but
twas fun.
Please Review.