Chapter 13: Interview with a Soul Reaver
Ponyville's Library
As the night was coming close, Twilight started to prepare her notes, quills and feathers to write what, she was sure, was going to be one of the most important moments in Equestrian History. She was about to interview a never before seen creature and she was going to be sure that she would get as much information as possible, she could feel the anxiety going through her as she breathed with anticipation to the moment to come, nothing would ruin this.
"Hum, Twilight?"
Granted, Spike was an asset she couldn't control, but that doesn't mean that she wouldn't do her best to make sure nothing wrong would happen.
"Yes Spike?"
She looked at Spike as he was sitting on the most comfortable sofa avaiable for him, surely, this would help him to feel safe enough for the time Raziel would come to her house and he wouldn't scream as he was looking at her with a weird look.
"Twilight, are you sure that this 'precautions' are a good idea to begin with?"
Twilight looked at Spike's belt, holding him tight into the chair, just to make sure that he wouldn't try something funny once Raziel comes.
"What are you talking about? After seeing how my friends reacted to Raziel, I realized that it would be better for you to keep you with this belt to make sure you wouldn't try anything peculiar when he appears, after all, I don't want you trying to attack him or screaming once you see him."
Spike looked at his claws being restrained by the belts and remembered how Twilight decided to close the Library earlier today so the chances of Raziel stumbling upon somepony would lessen, understandable after hearing Rainbow's description of him.
"Alright, sounds fair. Would you let me go if I promise that I'll behave and I won't scream at him? I'll even help to give a better impression of you."
Twilight decided to give this a thought, thinking about how important were presentations and Spike would surely help on that regard when receiving Raziel. Yeah, he could be helpful if he were allowed to move freely, but, Twilight thought, an incentive would surely help on that.
"You got a very good point in there Spike, so I'll let you go and, if you help me well enough, I'll let you eat two gems of your own picking for tomorrow that aren't the usual amount of gems I tend to let you eat, does that sound good for you?"
Spike's tongue started to salivate at the idea of eating two more gems than usual and decided to agree on this, quickly starting to put back the books on their shelves and moving the furniture so both Twilight and Raziel could have a good moment together.
Twilight's decision to interview Raziel was considered weird by her friends, but she always justified it by establishing that it was the best way to know him better. Granted, her desires to know more about him and his mysterious origins were beyond obvious but nobody could provide a better idea of how to ask him about his life considering how hard it already was to talk to him.
At the same time, it wasn't as if Twilight's friends weren't curious about him either, Rarity was curious to know what kind of fashion existed on his place of origin, Applejack wanted to know more about how he met Applebloom and Rainbow Dash wanted to know how strong he was, if he could fly, how fast he was, how he defeated the dragon, etc. All Twilight could promise was that she would ask what she could and try to not make him feel cornered.
After a few hours of preparation, the Library had a very comfy chair for Twilight to seat while she was interviewing Raziel. Spike did his best to make the meeting good by providing treats, like cookies, so both her best friend and her guest could have a good night, although, when he asked about what Raziel would like to eat, all Twilight said only made him feel creeped out.
"Huh, Spike, I don't think you can serve anything that could sate Raziel's apetite and, even if you could, I really don't want you to. His hunger isn't one that can be satisfied through... normal means..."
He preferred to not ask again after hearing that.
And, as the night was taking over Ponyville and its citizens were leaving the streets, both the scholar and her loyal assistant were just waiting for the guest to appear, bringing an unavoidable feeling of dread, for the unknown it's always a creator of the intangible feeling of fear towards the worst possible escenarios.
Thankfully, the dragon decided to use the power of words to stop that unsatisfying feeling that loved to invade the mind of sapient beings.
"So" -. He started. - "What do you think you can get from this?"
The question created some uncertainty on the unicorn, which she tried to dispel.
"Well, I actually don't know" -. Before Spike could even ask what she meant with that, she went further on with her explanation. - "You see, there's nothing in Equestria that's remotely like him. His magic, his form, his way of treating others, his feeding practices" -. She took a moment to shudder at the memory of Raziel eating that thing in the Spectral Realm of the Everfree Forest before continuing. - "They're not normal for any pony standards and I'm sure that, if we don't try to meet him better, all we might get is another case like Zecora, where all Ponyville will be scared of him but on a grander scale and I will not let that happen."
Spike looked at her eyes, filled with that same determination she had when trying to find out more about Nightmare Moon, when she tried to take out the dragon, when she tried to figure out the problem in the Everfree regarding the 'Everfree Beast'. He was sure that she wouldn't rest until achieving this, but there was something else he needed to know.
"But why? Twilight, if at least half of the stuff I've heard about him is true, then why do you want to help him? He has done stuff multiple times worst than what we thought Zecora could do. Why do you want to help him so much?"
Twilight took a moment to look at the window, the moon already up and even less ponies going on around the streets, he would be coming very soon and she knew it.
"Because he saved me" -. It was this simple answer what caught Spike into Twilight's line of reasoning. - "When I faced Nightmare Moon, I thought that he was a monster just by his appearance but then I saw him trying to help me defeat her. Granted, now I know his tactic would have been a bit more... crude... but I know that he's not bad. I don't like to see him living that way, I don't like to see him living as a creature forced to feed in such a foul way when he clearly doesn't like it either. So I'll try to understand him, I want to know him and see if I can help him in some way."
In that moment she turned her eyes on Spike and gave her last retort, hoping for him to understand.
"I do not approve of his ways, but I cannot force him to change when it looks like he has no other choice. So I'll help him. I'll help him so he no longer needs to live in that way and for that, I have to know him more."
Spike gave this a thought, that did sound like Twilight after all, and decided to respond.
"Well, I cannot argue against that. Do you think he'll like me?"
Twilight simply smiled and nudged him on his neck.
"Sure, I see why he wouldn't like you. After all, you must be one of the bravest and kindest dragons I've ever known about."
And, with that, they waited a bit more on their frightful coming guest. As the hours passed and the clock finally hit the eighth hour, they saw how the streets in Ponyville were getting deserted, with only an ocasional pony passing through, and only the wind passing through the window was heard. As the wind entered the library, sending a chill into the pony and the young dragon, they heard a big stomp in the upper floor, signifying who had finally come to their presence.
While Twilight was both glad and relieved to see that Raziel decided to fulfill his part, Spike was only concerned because he heard a big sound but saw nothing.
"Uhm, Twilight? Can he turn invisible?"
His answer came in the form of another stomp landing in the middle of the library, just a few inches away from where Spike was, and a ghastly being appearing out of nowhere, looking as if he has always been there. This sudden apparition made Spike stutter back and quickly run behind Twilight, fear controlling his body at the creature whose appearance went beyond anything he was described about.
For all of this, Twilight simply smiled, already used to his figure, and tried to calm Spike.
"Spike, you have nothing to worry about, this is Raziel, who I talked you about" -. Spike decided to move his head out and give a better look at Raziel, fear and disgust going through his head and stomach for his awful form. - "Spike, I know he looks dreadful but, you can trust me, he can be very nice in the inside."
The corpse like figure got closer to Spike, knelt down, and showed his three digit claw at him before speaking.
"My apologies for the sudden appearance, young Spike, but had I been capable of improving my looks, I would have turned myself into what I used to look like before being transformed into this cursed being."
The elected words made by Raziel got both Spike and Twilight's attention and made the former to decide to take a risk and get closer to the dreadful creature in front of him. Taking a look at his claws, and noticing that he was actually looking directly at his bones, Spike decided to take the chance and gave Raziel his own claw to salute him.
"Hi Raziel sir, I'm Spike, Twilight's number 1 assistant and the only dragon in all of Ponyville. Glad to meet you sir."
Spike felt Raziel's scrutinizing gaze, even though he had no irises that could be seen on them, just those two deep blue glowing eyes. Still, he felt a shuddering warmth as he took his claws and shook them with his own, doing it softly and with care.
"Greetings young Spike, I'm glad to finally meet you in person" -. He then looked at Twilight and, after releasing Spike's claws, he extended his claws at her. - "And I'm glad to see you again, Twilight Sparkle."
Twilight extended her hoof and greeted him as well.
"I'm glad to see you again Raziel, I hope we can have a better opportunity to meet each other now".
Raziel nodded and agreed with her, they both then went into the chairs, seated in them, and started to talk with Spike writing all of it on a scroll.
"Alright" -. Started the insightful unicorn scholar who, with a very inviting smile, said to her number 1 assistant. - "Spike, start to get notes".
Interview between Twilight Sparkle and Raziel.
I, Twilight Sparkle, am going to interview my friend Raziel, as a mean to know him better and have an improved understanding of him. Before this interview, it should be noted that Raziel has already helped me before; first when he helped me in defeating Nightmare Moon and then by rescuing me from the evil spirits in the Everfree Forest, so this interview isn't only to know him better, is also to leave a record of Raziel's achievements and to show them as an evidence towards the ponies of what good has Raziel done for society.
Question 1: Raziel, I have already seen you in action and I've talked to you, but I still don't know you well enough, in example, you once said to me that you were forced to feed on... a very morbid diet to live, which implies that you don't like it, so I ask: Who are you? What can you tell us about your life and how it took you into what you are right now? Do you suffer from a curse that gives you those powers in exchange of having that form of life that you so much dread?
Raziel looked at the floor, thinking on what to say, he was wondering how much he should say, what kind of information he could deliver that wouldn't compromise his position with the ponies neither his objective. Should he tell her of his previous lives or just the parts that show his suffering? He looked at the fire and remembered his two encounters with Janos Audron, how he managed to tell him about his position as the Tenth Guardian and how he had to discover his dark secrets on his own. He knew Janos wasn't proud of those misdeeds but he still felt compeled to do them for the benefit of the greater, which caused a lot of harm but, in the end, they worked. He thought once more in the question and decided to answer.
Answer: My name is Raziel, today I may be known as the Soul Reaver but I used to be known by other names. When I was a human, I was known as the Sarafan Raziel, knight dedicated to fight the evil I once knew as the vampire race. After losing my life fighting them, I was then turned into a vampire and served under the vampire emperor Kain, under who I served for over a millennium. After serving Kain for so long, I was cast aside by both him and my brothers when I evolved beyond the emperor, with the punishment being sent into a living hell. After suffering there for an eternity, all that was left of me was this horrible figure you see right now.
As for my powers, those tend to change. As a former human, I held no powers, as it should since only wizards and those who held magic weapons can have any type of semblance of power; but once I was given the dark gift of vampirism, my body developed increased strength, higher hearing, superior sight, the ability to form personal powers over the course of time, my destroyed wings being a prime example of it, and all of that under the cost of being weak to sunlight, water was like acid to my skin and I developed a dark hunger for the vital force dwelling within those blessed to live under the sun.
After I was cast into into the worst punishment and my body was cursed into this, the only powers that remained within me were my superior strength, sight and hearing. Everything else was removed, including my hunger for blood which was replaced for a much darker hunger, while I used to eat the vital force of the living, now I require their prime life source, what makes them who they are, also known as their souls. With the benefits of being able to live between the planes of the living and the death and copying the abilities from those beings whose souls I devour but at the cost of never being able to go to the afterlife, I'll remain stuck in here until the end of times.
As Twilight heard those words, she already started to feel as if this was a bad idea. She knew that Raziel's story was something beyond what Equestria would consider normal, but he had a much darker backstory than Princess Luna. It didn't take too much thinking to realize that he must have killed under his two previous lives, especially as a vampire, but she now had to live with the idea that most, if not all, the power he showed while fighting against Nightmare Moon were from his previous victims.
Does that meant he would have absorbed Luna's powers had he gotten the chance to take her life? She shuddered at the idea of having an immortal being with the powers of an alicorn when said immortal already had enough power to fight one.
She wanted time to think, but she already started this and she wasn't going to back down from it.
Question 2: Now, thanks to your words, I can say, with a total guarantee, that you're not from Equestria, which begs the question, where are you from and why are you in Equestria? After all, I doubt that someone with a background like yours would be interested in a peaceful place like Equestria, which has no vampires and has never heard of something like a Sarafan.
Razeil gave this some thought, it look like as if it was simple to explain but he knew that this was the most dangerous to answer, he gave some contemplation to the answer and then continued.
Answer: I come from a land known as Nosgoth. A land that I sworn to protect as a human, I loved as a vampire and I would like to see once again on its old splendor in my current life. During my years in torture, the land of Nosgoth fell to the corruption and destruction brought by two figures; the first one being Kain, the vampire emperor, whose corruption brought decay to the land; the second figure was the one behind all of it, behind Kain's corruption, behind all the evil plunging Nosgoth through its history. A creature whose evil would make Kain look like a hero and actually convinced him to join forces with me to fight it and, while I'm not sure how effective was Kain in the fight, I was informed that said creature, close to be defeated by Kain, decided to run away into Equestria and send it into the same condition Nosgoth was in when I came out of my destructive cell. So, with that information, I decided to give it chase, find wherever its hiding in Equestria and vanquishing it from equestrian existence once and for all.
Twilight was slightly shivering at the idea of a far more dangerous than Nightmare Moon living in Equestria. She was sure that, no matter what could come out from this interview, she would have to inform Celestia about it, she had to know. But, first, she had to finish this interview.
Question 3: That was insightful, now, from all the powers you mentioned, the one that picked my interest the most, since I had a first pony experience with it, was your ability to shift between the mortal plain (known by you as the Physical Realm) and the spirit realm (known by you as the Spectral Realm) and I would like to know more about it. How does shifting works? Does the two realms interact between each other? If so, how?
For the first time Raziel felt a wave of comfort as she made a question he had no problem answering to and that he was sure she would love to know more about.
Answer: My ability to shift between planes is one I received for my current condition as a Soul Reaver, it allows me to change between dimensions, which grants me certain benefits, but this power holds rules that I must follow.
The first rule is that I can freely shift from the Physical Ream to the Spectral Realm without any problem whatsoever but I cannot shift freely from the Spectral Realm to the Physical Realm, I need something that could work as a conduit between those two planes. One way would be by using a special portal that I'm not aware of how to produce them and the other way is through the corpses of those who no longer lives. By possessing those bodies, I can force myself into this plane. While I'm aware of how crude it sounds like, I assure you that I would drop it as soon as I could if I ever find another method to shift.
Regarding the interactions, yes, there are some interaction between the planes, the first one being that the figures in the Physical Realm are shadows in the Spectral Realm, which means that you cannot interact with objects like books, rocks, houses, etc. Because they're just a reflection of where they are among the living. Granted, that means that you can leave a group of stairs in any position you want in the Physical Realm, shift, and use said stairs to climb the position they were located in. The same way, when shifting between planes, some things distort enough that allows to see the world in a... different perspective. But there are certain dangers to go into the Spectral Realm, in example, while time flows normally in the Physical Realm, in the Spectral Realm you can be between a second to more than a thousand years without even noticing it; at the same time, most, if not all, the powers you hold in the Physical Realm cannot work in the Spectral Realm, so I recommend to not toy around with it.
Twilight hoped Spike took good notes of it, she was definitely going to experiment more with this Spectral Realm if it meant that she could discover more about Equestria although she would make sure to do it under a safe environment. Now, with that covered, there were certain parts of his stay in Equestria that had to be understood.
Question: Well, that was certainly informative and I think that could be enough about your origins for now. Instead, let's ask about your coming to Equestria, I still remember when you came here and we met each other facing Nightmare Moon, a tale worth telling in another time, when I would like to know now is about what happened after that because, if I understand how your powers work, that means that you've probably been busy in Equestria between the incident with Nightmare Moon and our encounter in the Everfree Forest, so I'll ask: What happened after your encounter with Nightmare Moon? More specifically, what happened with your encounter with the Ursa Minor?, since it's the first documented moment you were started to be noticed in Equestria once again.
Raziel went into a deep thought, reflecting on that moment and wondering how far has it been since then. Who knows how things would've changed should he have tried to go back to Twilight but that was the past and this was the now, so he looked back at Twilight and answered.
Answer: The incident with the Ursa Minor isn't one I'm too comfortable with, after all, multiple lives were at risk there. The first life at risk was the magician's because she was very close to the fight, I won't dive too deep into how I ended up encountering the Ursa, all I'll say is that I was investigating something on a cave and I found it by accident. After some chase, I saw the mare in question passing through and I decided to fight the bear before she could get caught up between our fight. After that, I decided to leave the battle zone once it was safe for her to pass through.
What I didn't expect was that she would create a false narrative and claim that she survived an encounter against me. It's also because of her actions that more lives were put at risk, more specifically the two young colts that decided to enter into the forest. Once I found them, I figured out what she did and decided to give her the scare of her life, you probably saw her reaction to my presence. Anything between the Ursa encounter and Nightmare Moon can be simply be classified as filler for all I was doing was exploring the land for my search of that foul beast.
Twilight wasn't sure what to think of it. It wasn't exactly what she expected, nothing too dramatic neither boring either, although the idea that Raziel managed to bypass her and her friends so easily without any of them noticing it and making sure that only Trixie could see him sent shivers down her spine. He was much more crafty than she ever imagined him to be. That left another issue to discuss, one that Fluttershy was very fixated about and Raziel never answered when they made their first proper meeting on the Library.
Question: A very interesting tale, if you ask me, very useful should we want to scare the foals from entering into the Everfree. All that's left now is one more issue that I, and my friends, would really like to know more about. The dragon incident. My friend Fluttershy say that you were very unfair with the dragon and you never responded as to why did you felt justified to kill him. Don't misunderstand me, I'm aware that he must have been a problem for Ponyville should he have stayed any longer, but did it really have to end in such violent way?
Raziel's mind went back to the one issue that made his approach with the ponies so hard for him. He knew that the ponies would have tried, and probably succeed considering how they live, to get the dragon to move peacefully, but he would never back down from his approach. All he hoped is that the mare in front of him could, at least, understand his position.
Answer: The fight against the dragon was an unfortunate event that could have been handled on a different way, probably, but that it didn't go that way when I faced him. When I saw the smokes in the mountain, I knew what was going to happen, after all, I've seen firsthand how you can use smokestacks to block the sun. Granted, there are no dragons in Nosgoth, so finding one here was something I was not expecting at all. I will say that I first tried to peacefully talk to him, but the dragon not only refused to listen to me, but decided to attack me once he saw that threats weren't going to work as a mean to take me out of the mountain. So I fought back and decided to take him down, although not without giving him a last chance before the killing blow. I'm aware that my ways aren't what the ponies are used to, but I won't pretend to back down from this, I did what I thought was best after failing through what I considered to be your ways.
Twilight found interesting the lack of dragons on his homeland but she wasn't going to ignore what he did. Now, she wasn't sure what she could do about it, but she would try to think about it later that night. Now, she didn't have more questions for herself, but she did know her friends had some questions of their own, mainly Applejack.
Question: Well, you're right about my opinion of it. Now, with that, I have all I wanted to know about you but my friends had some questions of their own as well. Since you already answered Rainbow's and Fluttershy's, that only leaves Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie. In the case of Applejack, she wanted to both know more about your encounter with Applebloom and your family, since you mentioned that you had brothers, do you think you could talk more about them?
Raziel felt an unpleasant wave passing through him as he remembered his brothers. He didn't want to talk about them much, but he would concede a bit to please the Apple family a bit.
Answer: My encounter with the young Applebloom was a tale as interesting as the encounter with the Ursa Minor.I was passing through the Forest when I saw the young filly covering herself, probably due to fear of being attacked by a wooden wolf, so I decided to talk to her and protect her in her way towards the striped pony. After that, I have encountered her in other occasions either to protect her or because she wanted to know more about me.
Regarding my brothers, I only have grim memories of them, with the worst of it being helping Kain to throw me into my ultimate torment.
Twilight understood that she wouldn't get much more than that, which saddened her in many more ways. She hoped she could know more in a later date. Now, her two last friends.
Question: Well, I hope we can get to know more about you later. That only leave my two last friends, Rarity knowing a bit more about your life when you were in the elite, things like the trends and how did the upper class went about while my friend Pinkie Pie would like to know how much do you want to be friends with us.
Raziel remained shocked. While he was expecting Rarity to make such question, he wasn't expecting the Element of Laughter to make the one question he himself was thinking the more about.
He raised from his seat and moved closer to the fire, looking how the flames moved from side to side, unable to remain stiff in one form. He wondered how real was his desire to befriend them, was it as pasional as the flame that would die once it had no more fuel or it would remain forever once his duty was done? He wasn't sure about it, but he knew that his duty would never be fulfilled as long as he didn't found the answer to that question.
He went back to his seat and, after regaining his focus, decided to answer.
Answer: My apologies for taking so long, I was not expecting a question like that. While I would rather speak about my previous life as a Vampire Liutenant with your friend on a more personal way, since I suppose only her would stand over a thousand years of upper class lifestyle talks, I will say that it was an interesting life.
Regarding your other friend's question, that's something I still need to know. My land wasn't known for being a harbor of friendship or trust, you couldn't expect the good out of anyone and the idea of opening yourself to others isn't something that the most brilliant figures would do, after all, those who did suffered consequences as bad as I did.
That doesn't mean I won't try though, I understand more than you think of how vacuous and useless my search would be without your help. That was one of the main reasons why I decided to get closer to you, but I cannot guarantee that friendship can be made if I don't have the right reasons and you don't know me well enough. I sincerely hope you had the questions you were searching for.
Twilight looked at Raziel for a while, thinking of what he just said, and tried to absorb his intentions. It was quite clear he needed her (which was a lot more progress than she ever developed when she first came to Ponyville) but he wasn't sure what kind of friendship would spawn from that.
"Yeah, I think this is the best we can make for now. Thank you for your time and I think it's too late to talk about me, but I hope we get another chance soon."
The two figures looked at each other, seeing the struggles they would have to face in the nearby future, they both shake their extremities, she opened the door and, while he was shifting once again, used her magic to detect the waves he was using for himself, after all, she was well aware of what she had to search for, and closed the door once she felt enough time passed for him to leave.
This time, there was no arrangement for a future interview. Twilight needed time to work on a new project of her own that she would make as she tried to think of how to approach him. It was quite clear he didn't reveal everything about his previous life but she wouldn't pressure on it, for it could distance them away.
It was quite funny though, here was Twilight trying to befriend a figure that was much more knowledgeable about friendship than her but that it was coming from a world much harsher than she could ever imagine. She wondered what kind of relationship they would develop, after all, it was quite clear he would keep her mind in the following months.
Meanwhile, the other entity that heard the interview, a young dragon, was having a different line of thinking. All he heard was the story of a warrior that fought the bad guys, became one and was now back to be the good guy, fighting evil as a cursed being. With powers that would only come out of one his comic books, he felt amazed at having a real life super hero helping Twilight Sparkle.
He was entranced at his new idol.
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Oh, Spike. If only you knew how hard it really is to live in Nosgoth.
This story get a definitive 'Like' from me.
Razeil gave this some thought, it look like as if it was simple to explain but he knew that this was the most dangerous to answer, he gave some contemplation to the answer and then continued.
Raziel
Answer: My apologies for taking so long, I was not expecting a question like that. While I would rather speak about my previous life as a Vampire Liutenant with your friend on a more personal way, since I suppose only her would stand over a thousand years of upper class lifestyle talks, I will say that it was an interesting life.
The rank is misstyped.
Wonder what Celestia will do when informed of the Elder, as what will be his excuses to:
- Not show himself
- Explain his servants
- Why Raziel is evil and not him
- Him planing not just to stay but continue his guidance and 'sacred duty'...
I guess the Elder will go trough the Leaders of the Nations to use them as Pawns to start wars and harvest the dead.
The Stitm King will be very open to it for a observer like the Elder...