Disclaimer: I do not own Kain. Nor do I particularly like the way I wrote this chapter.
With the Hylden Lord defeated, there was little to stand in the way of his future, yet Kain found his mind lingering on the past. He had tracked his family line up until his defeat two centuries ago, even though very few of them were aware of his existence. Now Kain was unsure if any of his family still survived.
As irritating as it was to not know, Kain could not depart for Coorhagen immediately. Vorador had not survived his encounter with the Reaver, to Kain's disappointment, but many of his fledglings were still alive to pose a threat. The remains of the Seraphan also needed to be dealt with.
It was several years until Kain could get away.
l
It sickened Kain to see his childhood home in ruin. The boards on the windows were silver with age, and the entire structure radiated the oppressive stillness of a building that had not been entered in years.
Kain turned away in disappointment, but then he noticed a light in an outbuilding that had once been the servant's quarters. He approached cautiously, and noticed that the structure had been remodeled to accommodate the modern conveniences.
Kain's ability to disguise his vampiric traits had not diminished during his long slumber, and so he called upon it as he rang the bell. An elderly woman cautiously opened the door, a small chain preventing it from opening more than a crack.
Kain had all but forgotten how to speak to someone without sounding authoritative, but he managed some measure of humility now. "My lady, you do not know me, but I am looking for someone from the Stewart family."
"Who wants to know?" she asked guardedly.
He decided that the truth would be easiest. "I am Kain."
She raised her eyebrows at the singular name, but she said, "I am Emily Markstrom. My Grandmother was the last Stewart that I know of."
"I believe we may be related," Kain said. "May I come in?"
Emily unlatched the chain and stepped back so Kain could enter. Kain walked slowly, taking in the modest furnishings of the small but comfortable cottage. He momentarily froze as he saw his own portrait, amazingly intact after all this time, hanging among other family pictures on the wall.
"I've been researching the family history," Emily explained as she noticed Kain staring at the pictures. "Unfortunately, the records are incomplete. I don't even know the names of half of these people."
Kain thought for a moment that he could identify some of the portraits, but then he realized that the faces belonged to people of different generations, and so he remained silent.
"I've always been curious about what ever happened to the ones that had the wanderlust," Emily said, opening a chest set against the wall. "I've only found one that settled elsewhere and started a family." She pulled out an envelope and showed it to Kain. The ink was faded over time, and the letter was barely readable through the layer of vellum, but Kain recognized the birth announcement.
It had always concerned Kain whenever any of his family decided to leave Coorhagen. He was sure that, like himself, their lives would be cut short. It had come as a complete surprise the first time he was shown this letter. Oddly enough, curiosity had never driven Kain to seek out this branch of his family.
Emily pulled out a large piece of cloth and began unfolding it on the table. It was the family tree. Many of the entries were embroidered in black thread, but a few were in blue ink. It was obviously a work-in-progress. "I've been gathering my research and doing whatever I could to preserve it. Where do you fit in this chart?"
Kain could see how lying to Emily would be nearly impossible, she simply was too knowledgeable. Besides which, he could see no reason why he should. He tracked back to the beginning, and was mildly surprised that the record reached back to even before his time. Some of his ancestors and siblings were missing, but there were more recent gaps as well.
"I am here," Kain stated confidently, pointing out his entry.
"But that was centuries ago," Emily argued.
"I know," Kain answered, staring her in the eye.
"No one lives that long," Emily insisted.
"Do not be afraid," Kain instructed, letting his true features show through.
Emily gasped. She nervously remarked. "My Great-uncle Davis said that he knew a vampire. We all thought that age had addled his mind."
"That does happen," Kain sighed. Watching some of his own descendants slowly lose their ability to think clearly had pained him greatly. Now being reminded of how many descendants he had outlived was making Kain despondent.
Kain pointed out a gap in the family tree. "Elizabeth had two children with a man by the name of Randall."
Some of Emily's fear dissipated as her life's passion was fed. "There aren't any records past her childhood. What else do you know?"
Kain spent the next few hours filling the gaps in Emily's research. He didn't mind indulging her, though Kain would hope that he and his memories would outlast any chronicle that Emily could create. Nor was this a one-sided exchange, as Kain discovered what he had not been able to witness firsthand.
"So Bertram did survive," Kain remarked. "I did not see him after I taught him the meaning of fear."
"He was a cautious man. He left to join a monestary as soon as he was old enough," Emily said. "Actually, I'm surprised that no one ever mentioned you, even in their journals."
"There were only a few who knew, and I preferred that it be kept that way," Kain admitted.
"It is a rather odd secret," Emily mused, "And there were times when we might have been in danger if anyone else discovered it."
"What of yourself?" Kain asked. "Why are you living here, alone in the groundsman's shack? Where is everyone else?"
"I live here because I can't maintain the house. There's just too much of it." Emily sighed sadly. "There might be others that I do not know about, but I thought that I was the last. Due to various circumstances, each generation just kept getting smaller. My brother and one of my cousins both drowned; my other cousin died in childbirth. I tried to have children, but they were born too soon and died. I gave up after I lost the third one."
Kain sat in silence as misery overtook him. He knew he should count himself lucky that his line had lasted this long, but he could only focus on how it was being taken from him.
"I must leave soon," Kain finally said. "Is there anything more that you wish to know?"
Emily heard the finality in Kain's voice. "Won't I ever see you again?"
"I do not intend to return," Kain insisted as he stood to walk out the door. Though he knew it was inevitable, he could not bear to return here only to discover Emily's demise.
Even before Kain had discovered that he couldn't sire vampires, he had sworn to himself that none of his descendants would share in his darkness. Faced with the certainty that there were going to be no more descendants, Kain still would not choose to break that ancient oath.
Kain stopped at the sound of his name, turning on the threshold to face Emily.
"Remember me," she said.
"I shall," Kain promised.
As Kain walked away from the last of his bloodline, he could not help but reflect on the irony. Both of them had slowly lost their family over the course of their lifetimes, helpless to do anything but watch. Now both of them were losing that last tie. Kain refused to stay simply to delay that. Emily would die first, and his own pain was not worth sparing it for her.
Especially when faced with a new possibility.
Over the last month, Kain had become aware of the necromantic spells that granted him unlife. They were twined with his soul, but distinct. Kain could now see how to unravel those spells to create new vampires like himself. They would become his new family, and they would never leave him.