Snippet #2415755

Kain was already regretting his chosen course of action. Of course, he was regretting his earlier carelessness - when he ignored the two people, assuming they were bandits and of absolutely no interest to him - even more. He should have been the one to confront them, to hold the meeting on his own terms. Instead he allowed himself to be consumed by emotions, mostly frustration, and chose inaction. This was far from the first time he made this mistake, supposedly saving time on a pointless action only to end up in worse circumstances because of it. When was he going to finally learn?

What he said was partially true. The heated words about the Triumvirate and elvenkind were what any sufficiently brave elf would say. That is, provided his people didn't do a face-heel turn sometime during the two or so centuries he avoided all contact with them. Dwellers of the woods, elves did value any life more than humans, especially the brainwashed servants of three 'true' gods. But they valued it differently from said humans, as well, possibly appearing strange or even cruel at times. Nevertheless, they never got to the point of waging 'holy' wars against others.

Except none of that really mattered to Kain, it hadn't for a long time. Unfortunately, he would now have to pretend it did, since he pretended to be a normal elf. Which was, once again, the fault of his carelessness. The knight caught him by surprise, in a way, and he hadn't had the time to think of anything better. Of course, he instantly found another fault with this excuse: he didn't actually have to answer quickly. It was him who rushed with a response where it might have been better to stall for time and devise a different plan. He made some mistakes, but nothing would change from regretting it now. He could always reconsider his decision, but revealing anything about his true self at this point would lead to the worst possible outcome.

"Truly you are a man of virtue, sir knight." Kain smirked. He didn't actually need the knight unharmed to have him 'share' his knowledge. "You threaten to kill an unarmed woman for dressing athwart to your convictions, yet you make merry with an assassin. Who, apparently, talks people to death." He had almost forgotten how annoying mortals could be, with all their self-importance and petty troubles. While he lacked information, the group beside him was completely ignorant of the importance of what happened in Bergstadt. To them, it was just a slaughter of innocents, but he had seen it was much more than that.

The blond considered himself to be a very patient individual. He had to be, or he would have grown tired of life long ago. The question whether he was actually alive or not didn't matter at the time; he moved of his own will and was capable of rational thought, and if that didn't mean he was alive, then nothing would. Of course, he had quite a few interesting things to occupy himself with. He learned everything he could get his hands on. History, languages, other sciences. He lacked the aptitude to succeed in some of them, but he made sure to record everything in his head. What interested him the most were ancient and forbidden magicks. Unfortunately, those were not many.

Even with free access to limitless information, he would have given up on life if he had no patience. He would have fallen into an eternal slumber somewhere he wouldn't be disturbed. But he did no such thing; he tolerated people, the world and his own shortcomings, persevering in his goal. He considered himself very patient, and level-headed. Not fearing death, he was automatically freed of many instincts and emotions that polluted the minds of mortals. Having nobody but himself to care for, he couldn't be pressured. He was not born with a lot of talent, but no mortal could compare to him simply due to his massive experience and knowledge. But even being superior, he could be overwhelmed with sheer numbers. What allowed him to prevail so far were clear judgment and patience.

Then another elf appeared, interfering with arrogance and ignorance that rivaled that of the knight. His boastful gesture was cut short by the assassin, and for a moment Kain thought he would have loved to see the throat of his former kinsman sliced open. But a dwarf interfered, the assassin growled back, someone else started lurking nearby and the walking tin can spouted off some more self-righteous nonsense. The elf considered himself a very patient person, but even he had his limits.

"Enough!" He said, his voice booming and reverberating around the area akin to thunder. "Do you mortals ever cease your senseless bickering?! Here you are, each seeing yourself as this world's future savior, but all of you are completely ignorant of what's really going on here!" He looked around at every other person present. What possible reason could they have to visit this cursed place if not to seek the truth? The alternative was to plunder, but even a blind man could see there was nothing left.

"The creatures responsible for this are completely alien to what we know." He continued in a loud but no longer magically enhanced voice. "Their origin is a mystery, but they defy everything you recognize as natural. Even the laws of magic bend to their will." He made a tiny pause, watching how everyone reacted to his words. "You act so arrogantly when you might not even be capable of understanding just what you are dealing with. You, unthinking zealot, what will you do when a ravine suddenly opens up beneath your feet? And what good will your sniveling do, assassin, when the very air in your lungs turns to flame?" He had intended to point out a glaring fault in Valeria, as well, but so far, she was actually acting rather humbly.

"None of you could hope to slay any of these creatures even if you were to sacrifice yourselves in the process. What if you had to face three at once?" Kain was nearing the end of his speech. He had actually calmed down on the inside soon after he started berating this group, but he was only now lowering his voice to normal. "I loathe to admit it, but even I could only face one of them. Frankly, as it is now, our world is doomed." He decided it was time for a little honesty and despair.

"But it is not exceptional agility, strength or savagery that allowed sentient life to survive and multiply for centuries. Our greatest asset is our ability to adapt. Right now, adapting would be uniting against a common threat that appears set on eradicating all life." Kain said that sentence in a completely calm voice. They needed harsh words and despair to shake them free of their foolishness, and now they needed hope and inspiration in order to do the right thing. "I do not believe us meeting here - all of us - is a mere coincidence. We have all been guided here together, at the same time. Call it divine providence, fate or whatever you want; it matters not. We are all very different, but all of us are rather exceptional." He gave them a few moments to let all that sink in, smiling on the inside. All the talent in the world had nothing on his experience.

"What say you? Will you unite your strength, despite your differences, in hopes of saving all life? Or will you drown in arrogance and die in vain?" Those words, the choice, the final ultimatum was the perfect finishing touch to his previous words. He had gotten their attention, crushed their hopes and lifted their spirits. His words would leave them in a state of confusion, where they wouldn't be able to methodically analyze them all. At that point, were they to be presented with some form of choice, with no hints at a third option, they would be inclined to make it. Kain didn't take any of these people for saints - except maybe Valeria in her childish innocence - but it appeared all of them were driven by good intentions, if misguided. The assassin was the exception, but even he couldn't ignore a threat to his own life.

Almost as soon as he was done talking, the elf's senses alerted him to two new presences in the area. Their appearance was absolutely without warning, much worse than the assassin's. The cloaked man could obscure his position somehow, moving erratically from spot to spot, but his presence was constant. These two simply materialized in that very spot. Ordinary magic was out of the question: even a weak teleportation spell could be felt rather far from the destination, at least by a mage as proficient as himself.

"Make your decisions quickly." He said. "They're here." He saw clearly the red-haired man with twin blades going for the knight first. He didn't look that frightening to a normal person, being neither very tall nor outstandingly muscular. But what Kain felt would throw anyone who still feared death in a stupor. The man's power was enormous, violent, destructive... magnificent. If only he could consume his life, to take this power for himself... then even calling himself a god wouldn't be too arrogant. What if he could consume three of them? Or all of them, if there are more? Three times this much power, coupled with his vast knowledge and experience, and all of Drevair could become his toy to do with as he pleased.

But of course, if he hoped to make this power his own, he could not act carelessly. He needed to watch these beings carefully, learn their abilities, behavior and the best way to dispose of them. And he would certainly need to make use of his potential allies, at least to distract the other creature, if nothing more. His speech earlier may have shaken them up, but it wouldn't earn him their trust. There was only one way to do so, unfortunately, even if it held certain danger. Under different circumstances, he wouldn't permit himself such actions, but in this case, he felt the risk was justified.

As the 'man of crimson' dashed for Valeria, Kain could see him rather clearly. This was no god, only a man imbued with unique power. He was still largely a mystery, but his face betrayed very ordinary, if rather perverse, emotions. And if he was no god, then he could be killed. That was all he needed to know, really. The fake god's main abilities appeared rather straightforward as well; control over fire and martial prowess. He needed no genius strategy to be defeated. The blond stepped forth, conjuring a stream of water to knock back the assailant. Before he could continue, however, the dwarf interfered. It was just as well; the other 'god' appeared more troublesome anyhow.

A magic of different kind caused heat to rise in the area. Kain wouldn't be bothered just as long as it wasn't enough to set him on fire, but he didn't want to reveal his hand just yet. That and he needed to consider the well-being of his 'friends' - it would be pointless to let them die so soon. However, devising a counter-spell for this rather unusual magic would take time he didn't have; someone had to buy some.

"Elf, shoot the other one!" He shouted to the archer, who, during his long introduction, forgot to mention his name. His 'order' would obviously be heard by the red-haired being, and that meant one of four things. He might rush back to protect his comrade; this was unlikely. He might attempt to remove the threat; this was most likely. He might grow angry at the 'leader' and assault Kain himself; this was also likely. Or he could ignore that completely and attack them seemingly at random as before. The blond was prepared to act in the case of the more likely options, while the first was preferable since it would remove the immediate threat for a short time. The last possibility was a bit problematic, but he hoped the people chosen by their respective societies for this mission would be capable enough to not die right away.