Kain

"I could restore the world, perhaps. But never again could I give Nosgoth back her innocence."

- Kain

Kain is the eponymous lead character of the Legacy of Kain series, who serves as the protagonist of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2 and Legacy of Kain: Defiance, and the main antagonist of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. He is the Scion of Balance, and the last Guardian of the Pillar of Balance. Born into the privileged life of nobility, he was transformed into a Vampire by the necromancer Mortanius.

Transcending political manipulation and supernatural assailment, Kain would rise to become the de facto monarch of Nosgoth. Upon destroying the corrupted Circle of Nine and claiming the legendary Soul Reaver blade, Kain, as Nosgoth's last surviving Vampire, was presented with a fatal dilemma; sacrifice himself to restore the world, or refuse the sacrifice to topple the Pillars of Nosgoth but ensure the survival of the Vampire race. He spurned the former option, instead choosing to rule Nosgoth in its miasmatic state. When his first-born lieutenant, Raziel, transgressed against Kain, Kain reacted violently, ordering Raziel to be cast into the Lake of the Dead.

Unbeknownst to Raziel, Kain was dealing one last hand to play against his fate; in executing Raziel and ensuring his unique resurrection, he created a creature with free will. By manipulating Raziel, he sought to alter history and redraw the map of Nosgoth's destiny, hoping to see the Pillars both restored and ruled by their rightful, Vampire inheritors. Kain has been voiced in all of his appearances by Simon Templeman.

Blood Omen era
Kain's birth was preceded by the Dark Entity's calculated murder of Ariel and Kain was born as her replacement in the Circle of Guardians. But as Kain took his first breath, he was struck by the Corruption of the Pillars and Nupraptor's psychic attack on the Circle. Kain grew up oblivious of his greater destiny within Nosgoth but as the ambitious nobleman matured, he lived in the shadow of a dying world (and the rise of the Legions of the Nemesis in the First paradox timeline).

Sometime after his thirtieth birthday, Kain traveled to Ziegsturhl (presumably fleeing the plague in his home town of Coorhagen), but he was unable to secure a place to stay for the night, as a Tavern Keeper threw him out of a bar, Kain was ambushed by a gang of brigands and killed, impaled on (what is probably) his own sword. Kain awoke in the Underworld, where the Necromancer Mortanius offered Kain a chance of vengeance; Kain accepted the offer and awoke is his tomb in his Mausoleum as a Vampire (four days after his death). At first Kain sought revenge(along with a cure for his curse) and hunted his murderers down from the Cemetery back to Ziegsturhl, where he found and killed the gang, sating himself on their blood. But Mortanius warned Kain that the brigands were sent by someone within the circle and told him to seek the Pillars.

When Kain arrived at the Pillars, he found the Spirit of Ariel, bound to the Pillars by their corruption, who promised Nosgoth would be restored and Kain would find "release" once all of the guardians in turn were killed and their Pillar Tokens returned; restoring each pillar in turn (starting with the source of the corruption - Mind Guardian Nupraptor ). Kain thus began his quest as the 'scourge of the circle'.

Seeking to eliminate Mind Guardian Nupraptor, Kain travelled to Nupraptor's Retreat, above Vasserbunde and confronted the mentalist, still deep in his grief. Malek appeared to defend him, but Nupraptor dismissed the Paladin (angry at Malek's failure to act to defend Ariel ) and accepted his fate. After a battle (see Nupraptor (boss)), Kain was able to decapitate Nupraptor and take his pillar token (his head), back to the Pillars, restoring the Pillar of the Mind.

Kain next targeted Conflict Guardian and protector of the Circle, former Sarafan leader Malek, travelling to Malek's Bastion in snowy mountains. Kain found little respite (or indeed blood) in the harsh environment and after a brief conflict with Malek (see Malek (boss)), the paladin unleashed an impenetrable spell and Kain was forced to retreat.

Seeking a way to defeat Malek, Kain followed Ariel's direction to find the Oracle of Nosgoth in the Oracle's Caves. The Oracle (after hinting several times about Ottmar, Willendorf and the Legions of the Nemesis) finally tells Kain that the only person ever to defeat Malek in battle was the Vampire Vorador. Utilising the Oracle's suggestion of following the Ignis Fatuus through the Termogent Forest Swamp, Kain found himself in Vorador's Mansion and was able to meet the Vampire himself, who advised Kain "not to meddle in the affairs of men" but also gave him a signet ring to summon him if he required aid.

Upon leaving the dark canopies of the forest, Kain was able to spot the dome of energy spewing from Dark Eden and sensing guardians involvement, he travelled there and found that the guardians of Nature, Energy and States (Bane, Dejoule and Anarcrothe respectively) had combined their powers to create hideous mutations of nature. After Kain showed himself, Anarcrothe summoned Malek and fled, but in retaliation Kain used the signet ring to summon Vorador, who happily fought his old enemy again. As Bane and Dejoule attempted to escape, Kain fought the two outside the fortress (see Bane and Dejoule) and Kain was able to kill the two gaining their pillar tokens (Bane's Antler Headdress and Dejoule's Insulating Cloak respectively), returning inside he found Vorador had killed Malek, and Kain took his Pillar Token (Malek's Helmet), along with the others to restore the pillars of Nature, Energy and Conflict.

Next Kain travelled to Avernus to confront the Guardian of Dimension, Lady Azimuth the planar; Kain found the city ablaze and under attack by Demons summoned from other dimensions (by Azimuth) and entering the Cathedral he found it split into three 'dimensions'. Traversing the Cathedral he found and claimed the legendary Soul Reaver blade (and also uncovered his first hints as to the parties responsible for the Corruption). When he confronted Azimuth she was felled by a single blow of the Soul Reaver and Kain recovered from her possession a small portable time streaming device (which Azimuth had been intending to use to summon demons from other times, as well as dimensions). Kain returned Azimuth's Third Eye to the pillars and the Pillar of Dimension was restored.

Ariel soon diverted Kain's attentions to the Legions of the Nemesis and the plight of Ottmar, King of Willendorf who, in grief for his daughter's lost soul, had sent his army (the last army capable of stopping the Nemesis) out to search for the being responsible for the Princess' situation - Elzevir the Dollmaker. Travelling to his Mansion, Kain killed Elzevir and returned the doll containing the Princess' Soul to Ottmar. Offered the kingdom of Willendorf, Kain refused and asked only that Ottmar rally his troops to defend Nosgoth against the Legions of the Nemesis. In the hopeless Battle of the Last Stand Ottmar was killed and the Army of Hope defeated, Kain however was able to escape the battle when the Time Streaming Device activated, propelling him fifty years into Nosgoth's past.

Finding himself in a time where the tyrant known as the Nemesis was still the benevolent boy-king William the Just, Kain travelled to William's Keep to attempt to assassinate him and change history preventing the rise of the Nemsis. As he moves through the keep, Kain overhears a conversation between William and Time Guardian Moebius; who gives William a shipment of weapons and encourages William to strike out against his enemies (Moebius also warns William of a "Vampire assassin"). Soon after Kain is able to approach and battle William, who is unexpectedly armed with a Soul Reaver of his own. As the two battle, Kain is able to overwhelm William, breaking his Soul Reaver and succeeding in changing history (from the First to Second Paradox timelines). As William's guards rush into the room, Kain recovers another Time Streaming Device from William's corpse and it activates, which sends Kain back to the present.

Kain emerged in the ruined Keep and assailed by Mercenaries, he realises something is wrong. Following shouting noises and the scent of blood, Kain finds that Moebius (who Kain now recognises as the Oracle of Nosgoth) has manipulated him all along and taken advantage of the fear generated by Kain's assassination of William to build his own Mercenary Army dedicated to the extermination of the Vampires. As Kain arrives at the scene, the last of the eras vampires, Vorador, is guillotined before a bloodthirsty mob, with Moebius identifying Kain as the last Vampire in Nosgoth. Kain fights of the mob and battle Moebius himself, eventually managing to get the timestreamer to admit to altering history by creating the Nemesis before beheading him and taking his Hourglass to restore the pillar of time.

Summoned by Mortanius, Kain returned to the Pillars and witnesses a confrontation between the last guardians; Death Guardian Mortanius and States Guardian Anarcrothe, in which it is revealed that it was Mortanius who ordered Kain's death (to bring him back as a Vampire) Mortanius kills Anarcrothe and Kain confronts the necromancer battling him until, when defeated Mortanius' flesh is fully taken over and Transformed by the Dark Entity (who, in possession of Mortanius had murdered Ariel and was responsible for the Corruption of the Pillars). Kain battled and apparently defeated the Dark Entity. But as he collected Anarcrothe's Scales and Mortanius' Death Orb to restore their pillars, he realised that the Balance Pillar was



still corrupted and Ariel revealed to him that he was the Balance Guardian; born to replace her in the circle and instantly corrupted by Nupraptor's madness. Ariel presented Kain with a Fateful Decision; Sacrifice himself to restore Nosgoth (exterminating the Vampire race); or likely rule the land in it's damnation. Repulsed by the anipulations of the guardians. Kain chose to damn Nosgoth and the Pillars Collapsed.

Blood Omen 2 era
'The following events take place only in the Fourth Paradox timeline (created by the Soul Reaver paradox at the climax of Soul Reaver 2). '

In the centuries following the destruction of the pillars, Kain sought to gain control of Nosgoth, but found that he did not (yet) possess the means to raise his own vampires. At some point Kain met and allied with the mysteriously revived Vorador (an event that still remains unexplained) who was able to create vampires and provide Kain with an army.

By two centuries after the collapse of the pillars, Kain's army had begun it's path of conquest leaving their headquarters and taking the Pillars, Ziegsturhl, Freeport and Provance in quick succession. As the army travelled towards Meridian, the Sarafan Order rallied to defend the city. Kain's army met with the Sarafan Order in the battle of Meridian, where an ambush arranged by Kain's lieutenant Sebastian (and the 'desertion' of others, including Magnus) cost Kain's force heavily. Kain's army was defeated and Kain himself was locked in combat with the Sarafan Lord, unable to use the power of the Soul Reaver (because of the Sarafan Lord's use of the Nexus Stone) the Sarafan Lord defeated Kain, knocking him off a cliff to his apparent demise. The Sarafan Lord, confident of Kain's death, claimed the Soul Reaver for himself.

But (not for the first or last time) Kain was not dead; his unconscious body was recovered by agents working for Vorador and with the "barest thread of life" remaining they set about "nurturing" * it. Nevertheless, it would take two centuries before Kain was recovered enough to be conscious again. In the Interim the Sarafan Order (who had recruited some of Kain's former lieutenants) conquered Nosgoth and set upon a purge to eliminate the vampires of the land, succeeding in reducing the vampire population to a small resistance movement, the Cabal, based in Meridian.



Two hundred years after the battle of Meridian, the Cabal chose (perhaps through necessity) to revive Kain and when he awoke he first met Umah who took him to feed and then sought to re-train Kain to recover some of his abilities; many of which had been 'lost' in his long slumber. As Umah tried to take Kain to Sanctuary to meet the leader of the Cabal in the Lower City, they were spotted by a Glyph Guard, who raised a Ward Gate, separating the pair. Umah instructed Kain to follow a trail of Cabal contacts (starting with a meeting at the Grand Hotel) to discover the whereabouts of Sanctuary before running off to deal with the Sarafan guard.

As Kain made his way through the Slums and the Smuggler's Den  meeting Cabal agents, he was being followed by Faustus, a former legionnaire in Kain's army  turned traitor and as Kain neared the Smuggler's Tunnel entrance to the Lower City, Faustus confronted him. Kain was easily able to kill the traitor vampire and gain entry to the Lower City where Umah again told him to follow a trail of Cabal agents to Sanctuary (before leaving on her own mission to the Industrial Quarter). Following the directions of the Cabal Contacts (and briefly meeting, but not identifying, Sebastian) Kain finally reached Sanctuary, hidden under the Blue Lady Curios shop, where he found that Vorador was "the leader" in charge of the Cabal;



and also learnt of the dire situation facing the vampire race. Before Kain and Vorador could discuss much (beyond the death of the Sarafan Lord being a major objective) however, an injured Cabal Vampire burst in and announced that Umah had been discovered some vital information in the Industrial Quarter, but had been captured by the Sarafan and taken to the Sarafan Keep, facing a public execution.

On the advice of Vorador, Kain travelled to the Upper City, seeking to meet with the Bishop of Meridian who knew a secret entrance to the Sarafan Keep, but as Kain entered the Upper City he was confronted by Marcus who used his Dark Gift Charm to discover Kain's goals. Kain was forced to chase Marcus across the Upper City to reach the Bishop, eventually killing Marcus and discovering the Bishop's information. Using the secret entrance, Kain was able to infiltrate the Sarafan Keep and rescue Umah. Back at Sanctuary she revealed to Vorador that the Sarafan  were using the Nexus Stone in the Industrial Quarter. Finally learning of the power of the Nexus Stone (and how it had aided his defeat at the Battle of Meridian) Kain resolved to steal the stone and he travelled to the Industrial Quarter. In the Main Factory, Kain found the Nexus Stone and killing it's guard Sebastian, he was able to recover the artefact.

But Sebastian's dying words warned Kain of a Device buried beneath Meridian that would spell the doom of the vampires. Unable to assist him, Vorador sent Kain into the Canyons to find The Seer. The Seer was initially reluctant to help Kain, but eventually she teleported him to the Device. As Kain entered he was greeted by a monstrous devolved and imprisoned Beast who told him that the only way to destroy the Device was to find the being that created it - The Builder. Kain visited the 'timeless' Eternal Prison and met the Builder who told Kain that the creature at it's heart, The Mass, could be killed by the blood of the ancient Elder Races -his blood. The Builder also affirmed that the Ancient Hylden could not complete the Device because they needed a network; realising that Meridian's Glyph Magic system had provided just such a network, Kain killed the Builder and drank his blood. (He also had to kill Magnus to escape the Prison).

As Kain returned the Beast warned him that the Hylden, who long ago had been banished to a Demon Realm, were attempting to return to Nosgoth; these creatures ruled Nosgoth using the Sarafan as a cover; and their leader, the Sarafan Lord was in fact a Hylden General. Descending into the Device, Kain was able to use the Builder's blood to poison the Mass and destroy the Device and when he returned he found that the Beast had regained his true form; that of Janos Audron. Returning to Sanctuary, Janos urged Vorador that they had to mount a final assault to prevent a full scale Hylden invasion using the Hylden Gate. Unable to teleport through a Hylden "magic shield" Janos sent Kain to the Wharves accompanied by Umah, to board a ship bound for the Hylden City. As Kain and Umah arrived in the Wharves however, Umah voiced her doubts over Kain's potential empire and stole the Nexus Stone. Outraged, Kain pursued and finally killed Umah for her betrayal; taking back the Nexus Stone and travelling alone to the Hylden City.

Once at the Hylden City, Kain was able to deactivate the Shield Generator allowing Janos and Vorador to teleport in and, as an argument developed between Vorador and Kain regarding Umah's fate, the Sarafan Lord attacked, hitting Janos and Vorador with Reaver Bolts and forcing Kain to face him alone. When Kain reached the Hylden Gate he confronted the Sarafan Lord and finding himself unable to send the Hylden general back into the Demon Realm, he decided to drop the Nexus Stone into the gate; giving up his protection against the Soul Reaver, but ensuring that the Hylden Gate would be closed and all Hylden in the Material Realm would perish. Kain continued to fight the Sarafan Lord as the structure collapsed and some timely intervention by Janos allowed Kain to recover the Soul Reaver (but at the cost of Janos himself, who was dropped through the Hylden Gate). Finally in possession of the legendary blade once again, Kain was easily able to dispatch the Sarafan Lord and as the Hylden Gate exploded, killing all of the Hylden, Kain contemplated Umah's distrust and his plans for empire.