Sarafan

"Here at last, in the flesh, I beheld my former brothers-in-arms – the warrior-priests of the Sarafan order, their lives devoted solely to the annihilation of the "vampire plague". And while I confess I felt a twinge of longing, a pang of grief for what I had believed was my lost virtue, I regarded them now with none of the reverence I formerly felt. For I had seen the human face of the vampires - and now I beheld the monstrousness of these men."

- Raziel

The Sarafan Brotherhood, also known as the Sarafan Priesthood, the Sarafan Order, the Angels of Light, or more frequently simply the Sarafan, were a legendary Vampire hunting faction operating in Nosgoth's early history. The Sarafan Brotherhood were the first known vampire purgers in Nosgoth's history and the original order to bear the name "Sarafan" (inspiring the name of the later Sarafan Order). The Vampire hunting crusades of the Sarafan Brotherhood were led by Warrior Inquisitor Malek.

Forces

 * Sarafan Warrior Inquisitor (SR2)
 * Sarafan Warrior Pikemen
 * Sarafan Warrior Swordsmen
 * Sarafan Warrior Sorceresses
 * Sarafan Crusader
 * Sarafan Templar
 * Sarafan Inquisitors (Defiance)
 * Sarafan Archer (Defiance)
 * Sarafan Zealot

History
''"It was during these dark times infested with the plague of the undead, that the Circle brought the Sarafan to existence. Trained to be devoutly loyal to the Circle, and the perfect exterminators of the undead scourge, they were led to many victories by the righteous paladin, Malek. They cleansed the vampires with fire, and released their souls to more blessed realms. There is no wrath as terrible as that of the righteous." - ancient chronicle in Oracle's Cave.

Beginnings
The Sarafan brotherhood was formed some time after humans took the pillars for themselves. Vampires started to rise in numbers and expand over all of Nosgoth, bringing pain and suffering to humans and their settlements. The main goal of the Sarafan was dealing with this danger, eliminating vampires once and for all. Moebius had a great role in forming the order as the spiritual leader who led the humans to rebel against the Ancients in the first place. The main leader of the Sarafan brotherhood was the guardian of conflict, Malek the paladin. The Sarafan's holy crusade was sponsored by the Circle of the Nine.

Nosgoth's early history
Malek proved to be a capable leader and guardian, leading the brotherhood to many victories. They eradicated the Ancients, leaving Janos Audron as the last living winged vampire. The Sarafan desired to kill especially him and his "son" Vorador, who lived deep in Termogent Forest. The Brotherhood probably didnt find Vorador's Mansion, well hidden in Forest. Another possibility is that Vorador's reputation of sado-hedonist butcher of Humans was enough to scare any vampire hunters away. In some years before -500 (taking year 0 as time of Blood Omen 1, when Pillars collapsed), Raziel with his comrades: Turel, Dumah, Rahab, Zephon and Melchiah joined the Sarafan Brotherhood. In the following years they were promoted to ranks of the elite Sarafan Warriors Inquisitors with Raziel as their leader. They performed many dangerous missions, most famous of all was an attack on Janos Audron's Retreat. For some unknown reason Rahab wasnt involved in the attack. The deed was done by Raziel and four other Sarafan warriors. They were given Moebius's Staff to aid and protect them. After a long battle, Janos finally succumbed to his injuries and the power of the Staff. Raziel used his blade to rip the Heart of Darkness from the Ancient's chest. The inquisitors took the Blood Reaver and the heart to their stronghold.

Soon after the assasination, the stronghold was attacked by Wraith Raziel and the vampire Vorador. Raziel encountered Malek and Moebius in the Blood Reaver's temporary chamber. Moebius's Staff disabled Raziel's wraith wlade, forcing him to use the blood reaver against any enemies he would encounter later. In the meantime, six members of the Circle of Nine were slaughtered by Vorador while screaming for Malek's help. However, Moebius kept Malek with him for too long, causing him to arrive too late to save the circle, which would also mark the end of Malek's life later.

Wraith Raziel was left alone with the Blood Reaver in his hand. He chose to pursue the Sarafan Inquisitors, slaying all six, providing future corpses for Kain to raise later as Vampire Lieutenants. Raziel fought his brothers, Melchiah, Zephon, Rahab, Dumah and Turel. Wraith Raziel finally came to confront his Sarafan self, killing him after long and vicious duel, thus making circle of his life complete.

This attack proved fatal to the Sarafan brotherhood, six highly ranked Warrior Inqusitors had died, Malek the Paladin had been left disgraced and humiliated from failing to protect the circle and from being defeated in combat by Vorador, six members of the Circle of the Nine had died. The Sarafan would never fully recover from this.

Later history
An unknown amount of time passed after year -500. Kain returned to the stronghold after saving Raziel from the Blood Reaver. Moebius was the only one who could give the answers Kain was looking for - about his role as the Scion of Balance and the location of Raziel. This was the third known attack on the Stronghold. Kain killed many Sarafan warriors to find Moebius.

The Sarafan Brotherhood held many artifacts of Vampiric origins, like fragments of the Balance Emblem, left in convenient places so Kain could find them. The Sarafan also learned to enchant doors with holy barriers, which only the Reaver upgraded with the balance emblem could destroy, allowing Kain to pass through.

Inspiration for New Order
"The Sarafan, an army of fanatical humans sworn to eradicate all vampires from the world. A new leader brought them together and, wielding a new kind of magic, deadly to our kind, was able to destroy your army and kill most of the vampires. You were defeated in mortal combat by this leader, the Sarafan Lord." - Umah

The tales of the Sarafan brotherhood would much later become inspiration for the Hylden leader, posing as a regular human, in reviving the name of the Sarafan and create a new order, intent on once again destroying the vampire race

Appearances

 * Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
 * Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
 * Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2
 * Legacy of Kain: Defiance comic
 * Legacy of Kain: Defiance