Cain grew sad at that, for once again he was alone. He stood from the table and walked towards the great balcony that had a view over the entire land. And he saw the barren wasteland of Nod, and the sun sinking behind the mountains. And he heard the howling wind speeding through and watched the foundations of the great palace he lived in. And watching the barren land with the sinking sun behind the mountains and the cold, grey stones of the palace, and hearing the howling wind speed through, Cain was reminded of how lonely he truly was. He turned to go back inside and as he reached the door there was a sudden burst of light. Cain turned and he saw, floating at the arch of the balcony, a great figure. He had golden wings and the sun seemed to shine even brighter behind him, and his eyes seemed as if made from gold. And turning on Cain he spoke. “Son of Adam, son of Eve, your brother has forgiven you for your crime. Will you repent to our Lord and let me guide you to your just reward?”
And Cain knew the angel for who he was, and he knew he offered him penitence to have a place in heaven. But Cain didn’t repent. He had grown angry and bitter for the injustice he had seen. So, looking at the angel in the eyes he spoke with a voice as cold as stone. “I am who I am, and I did what I did, and never shall I repent. Go back to our Lord and tell him that Ill be judged by my actions, as he once said.”
And turning, Raphael left.
The next evening, while Cain dined alone, another angel appeared. He had wings grey as stone, and was covered in a white mantle and his eyes seemed as if made of silver. He walked towards Cain and embraced him. And looking at him, spoke. “Son of Adam, son of Eve, your Father has forgiven you for your crime. Will you repent to our Lord and let me guide you to your just reward?”
And Cain knew the angel for who he was, and he knew he offered him to kill him to have a place in heaven. But Cain didn’t repent. He had grown angry and bitter for the injustice he had seen. So, coming out of the angels embrace he spoke with a voice as if fuelled by all the anger in the world. “Go back to our Lord and tell him that Ill not repent for what I have done. I did what I did and never shall I bow to any for forgiveness.”
And turning, Uriel left.
The third night, while Cain ate watching the dying light behind the mountains, he thought about the words of the angels that had visited him. He had been offered a place in heaven, next to his brother, and had refused it. He began to cry at that, for he had been offered what he had wanted. But Cain vowed that he would never repent. And that until the day his Lord came at him for forgiveness he wouldn’t go back to his family as an equal. And just as he stood to leave, the room seemed to get quieter. And in the distance Cain heard as if a million trumpets were blown. And Cain saw the sun come back from behind the mountains and shine stronger than before. And standing in front of it, Cain saw an angel. He had brown wings, and his eyes were black, and his body was as the body of a soldier. And his voice was calm, but it resonated as if the entire earth spoke through him. “Son of Adam, son of Eve, our Lord has forgiven you for your crimes. Will you repent to Him and let me guide you to your just reward?”
And Cain knew the angel for who he was, and knew he offered to take his soul to its rightful place. But Cain didn’t repent. He felt betrayed at how everyone had treated him and, although he craved to be with them, he wouldn’t until they asked him for forgiveness. So, taking a step back from the angel he spoke with a voice as convicted as any angel. “Go back to our Lord and tell him that I'll not return to my brother nor Father, nor to Him as an equal until the day they come to me for forgiveness. For it is them and not I who have done wrong, and they who must seek penitence.”
And turning, Cain expected the angel to leave, but he didn’t.
“Son of Adam, son of Eve, your words are filled with rage, and it saddens our Lord to hear them. But as you asked, by your actions shall you be judged.” Cain turned when he heard these words, and looking at the angel he waited.
“I come before you,” continued Michael, “sent by my father to tell you His will.”
With this, Michael unflunged his wings and hovered up to the air, and his next words were not calmed as the previous ones, but strong and deep. And they resonated across the wide chamber, and all the other noises seemed to silent themselves to let this new voice speak.
And then Michael, hovering in the air, threw his finger at the first-born, and with this the fires went wild, as his hair did, and the sun behind him seemed to intensify, sending it’s rays so strongly that Cain would have been blinded if it weren’t for Michael, who blocked them, making his silhouette contrast against the bright of the day. Then Michael, with his sword in one hand and his other hand aiming at Cain, spoke. “Cain, son of Adam. Your sins weight heavy upon your soul. Of your crimes, God finds you guilty. He offered you atonement, yet you refused it. He asked you to honor Him, yet you refused Him. He asked you to turn from your wrong ways, yet you refused it. For these sins, Cain son of Adam, God condemns you. From this day forward you shall be known as the Traitor, the one who brings ill. From this day forward you are exiled from Heaven, and cast away from the light of your Father, as Adam was before you. Death will never find you, and you will never find it, but sadness will always be by your side. From this day forward, as long as you walk this earth, you and your kin will know no love, no satisfaction. You will eat only ashes, you will drink only blood. You will stay as you are now, never dying, living on. You may find riches inside the earth, yet you’ll always remain poor. Your house will always walk in shadows, and all you and they touch will crumble to dust, and it will weight upon your hearts. This is the will of our Father, and so you shall follow it.”
Said this, Michael disappeared with a flash, and the noises returned, and the fires calmed down, and the rays of the sun returned to their normal bright. But Cain wasn’t calmed. His heart hurt, and confusion crept over him. For he did not understand. His Lord had asked him to sacrifice that which he loved the most, and so he had done, yet now he was punished. Abandoned by his Lord and by Lilith, Cain sat alone in that big chamber in the empty land of Nod.
****
In these part of the story we see Cain grow blind out of his pain. His focus on the injustice God commited upon him blinds him to the fact that he also erred in killing Abel. In the end, Gods seeks to unite everyone, but Cain refuses him the three times. We must try to remain calm in life, only that way can we truly think. If Cain had stopped to reason, he would have seen the folly of his stand. But he let himself be guided by his emotions instead of his mind, and that was his fall.
Note: Some of you may see similarities between this part of the story and the vampiric mythology of Vampire: The Masquerade. This is, of course, entirely on purpose. This story wasn't written all at once, I first wrote the part were Michael curses Cain as my own interpretation of the story that appears in the chronicles of the Book of Nod. I made some changes from the official story. In the narration of the Book of Nod, each angel throws a part of the curse of vampirism at Cain when it is turned down (Michael the vampiric vulnerability to fire; Uriel the "eat only ashes, drink only blood" and "never dying, living on"; and Raphael the "stick to shadows because the sun will bite you". Gabriel, a fourth one I don't mention, offers Cain the path of Golconda, which allows a moment of peace from the curse).
Years later I wrote the first part and the visit of Raphael and Uriel (which happened in a different order in the Book of Nod. There Michael visits first, Raphael second, and Uriel third). This first part wasn't made to continue the story, but to write a new one; an alternate story of the one told in the Genesis of the Bible, where Cain kills Abel out of love (which is what happens in the Book of Nod, but I didn't do it with Vampire: The Masquerade or Requiem in mind). The original part was added because I liked it and didn't want to discard it, and it gave a dramatic end to the tale.
And Cain knew the angel for who he was, and he knew he offered him penitence to have a place in heaven. But Cain didn’t repent. He had grown angry and bitter for the injustice he had seen. So, looking at the angel in the eyes he spoke with a voice as cold as stone. “I am who I am, and I did what I did, and never shall I repent. Go back to our Lord and tell him that Ill be judged by my actions, as he once said.”
And turning, Raphael left.
The next evening, while Cain dined alone, another angel appeared. He had wings grey as stone, and was covered in a white mantle and his eyes seemed as if made of silver. He walked towards Cain and embraced him. And looking at him, spoke. “Son of Adam, son of Eve, your Father has forgiven you for your crime. Will you repent to our Lord and let me guide you to your just reward?”
And Cain knew the angel for who he was, and he knew he offered him to kill him to have a place in heaven. But Cain didn’t repent. He had grown angry and bitter for the injustice he had seen. So, coming out of the angels embrace he spoke with a voice as if fuelled by all the anger in the world. “Go back to our Lord and tell him that Ill not repent for what I have done. I did what I did and never shall I bow to any for forgiveness.”
And turning, Uriel left.
The third night, while Cain ate watching the dying light behind the mountains, he thought about the words of the angels that had visited him. He had been offered a place in heaven, next to his brother, and had refused it. He began to cry at that, for he had been offered what he had wanted. But Cain vowed that he would never repent. And that until the day his Lord came at him for forgiveness he wouldn’t go back to his family as an equal. And just as he stood to leave, the room seemed to get quieter. And in the distance Cain heard as if a million trumpets were blown. And Cain saw the sun come back from behind the mountains and shine stronger than before. And standing in front of it, Cain saw an angel. He had brown wings, and his eyes were black, and his body was as the body of a soldier. And his voice was calm, but it resonated as if the entire earth spoke through him. “Son of Adam, son of Eve, our Lord has forgiven you for your crimes. Will you repent to Him and let me guide you to your just reward?”
And Cain knew the angel for who he was, and knew he offered to take his soul to its rightful place. But Cain didn’t repent. He felt betrayed at how everyone had treated him and, although he craved to be with them, he wouldn’t until they asked him for forgiveness. So, taking a step back from the angel he spoke with a voice as convicted as any angel. “Go back to our Lord and tell him that I'll not return to my brother nor Father, nor to Him as an equal until the day they come to me for forgiveness. For it is them and not I who have done wrong, and they who must seek penitence.”
And turning, Cain expected the angel to leave, but he didn’t.
“Son of Adam, son of Eve, your words are filled with rage, and it saddens our Lord to hear them. But as you asked, by your actions shall you be judged.” Cain turned when he heard these words, and looking at the angel he waited.
“I come before you,” continued Michael, “sent by my father to tell you His will.”
With this, Michael unflunged his wings and hovered up to the air, and his next words were not calmed as the previous ones, but strong and deep. And they resonated across the wide chamber, and all the other noises seemed to silent themselves to let this new voice speak.
And then Michael, hovering in the air, threw his finger at the first-born, and with this the fires went wild, as his hair did, and the sun behind him seemed to intensify, sending it’s rays so strongly that Cain would have been blinded if it weren’t for Michael, who blocked them, making his silhouette contrast against the bright of the day. Then Michael, with his sword in one hand and his other hand aiming at Cain, spoke. “Cain, son of Adam. Your sins weight heavy upon your soul. Of your crimes, God finds you guilty. He offered you atonement, yet you refused it. He asked you to honor Him, yet you refused Him. He asked you to turn from your wrong ways, yet you refused it. For these sins, Cain son of Adam, God condemns you. From this day forward you shall be known as the Traitor, the one who brings ill. From this day forward you are exiled from Heaven, and cast away from the light of your Father, as Adam was before you. Death will never find you, and you will never find it, but sadness will always be by your side. From this day forward, as long as you walk this earth, you and your kin will know no love, no satisfaction. You will eat only ashes, you will drink only blood. You will stay as you are now, never dying, living on. You may find riches inside the earth, yet you’ll always remain poor. Your house will always walk in shadows, and all you and they touch will crumble to dust, and it will weight upon your hearts. This is the will of our Father, and so you shall follow it.”
Said this, Michael disappeared with a flash, and the noises returned, and the fires calmed down, and the rays of the sun returned to their normal bright. But Cain wasn’t calmed. His heart hurt, and confusion crept over him. For he did not understand. His Lord had asked him to sacrifice that which he loved the most, and so he had done, yet now he was punished. Abandoned by his Lord and by Lilith, Cain sat alone in that big chamber in the empty land of Nod.
****
In these part of the story we see Cain grow blind out of his pain. His focus on the injustice God commited upon him blinds him to the fact that he also erred in killing Abel. In the end, Gods seeks to unite everyone, but Cain refuses him the three times. We must try to remain calm in life, only that way can we truly think. If Cain had stopped to reason, he would have seen the folly of his stand. But he let himself be guided by his emotions instead of his mind, and that was his fall.
Note: Some of you may see similarities between this part of the story and the vampiric mythology of Vampire: The Masquerade. This is, of course, entirely on purpose. This story wasn't written all at once, I first wrote the part were Michael curses Cain as my own interpretation of the story that appears in the chronicles of the Book of Nod. I made some changes from the official story. In the narration of the Book of Nod, each angel throws a part of the curse of vampirism at Cain when it is turned down (Michael the vampiric vulnerability to fire; Uriel the "eat only ashes, drink only blood" and "never dying, living on"; and Raphael the "stick to shadows because the sun will bite you". Gabriel, a fourth one I don't mention, offers Cain the path of Golconda, which allows a moment of peace from the curse).
Years later I wrote the first part and the visit of Raphael and Uriel (which happened in a different order in the Book of Nod. There Michael visits first, Raphael second, and Uriel third). This first part wasn't made to continue the story, but to write a new one; an alternate story of the one told in the Genesis of the Bible, where Cain kills Abel out of love (which is what happens in the Book of Nod, but I didn't do it with Vampire: The Masquerade or Requiem in mind). The original part was added because I liked it and didn't want to discard it, and it gave a dramatic end to the tale.
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