Janos Audron

Janos Audron is a major supporting character in the Legacy of Kain series, appearing in Soul Reaver 2, Blood Omen 2 and Defiance. Janos is the Reaver Guardian, the last of the Ancients, and the progenitor of Nosgoth's modern Vampire race. Janos was originally mentioned in legends in Blood Omen and he finally appeared in Soul Reaver 2, with much of Raziel's quest devoted to finding him. Unfortunately Raziel was powerless to prevent Janos' murder (by having his heart ripped out) at the hands of the Sarafan Brotherhood and their theft of the Reaver Blade.

Defiance would reveal that Janos was eventually raised by Raziel, but he would be unable to dispense much information before the Hylden Lord Possessed him and took the Ancient Vampire to begin the Hylden's plan to retake Nosgoth. As Kain fought the plans of the Sarafan Order in Blood Omen 2, he discovered Janos imprisoned to feed the Device and Janos revealed how the Hylden had re-inhabited the Material Realm and now pulled the strings of the Sarafan Order. Janos directed Kain and the Cabal to the Hylden City and Hylden Gate and attempted to assist Kain in his fight against the Sarafan Lord, but he was dropped through the closing Hylden Gate and sealed in the Demon Realm by the Sarafan Lord. Throughout his appearances, Janos is voiced by René Auberjonois

Ancient History
Janos was an Ancient Vampire, presumably born at some point in the millenium long Ancient-Hylden War, Janos seems to have been one of the more senior (or educated) Ancients that participated in the War. Though little is known about his exact role in wartime, he is certainly considered to be involved in the events that led to the end of the War, probably involved in the creation of the Binding, the Raising of the Pillars and the Forging of the Reaver (or more accurately it's enchantments). After the conclusion of the war, with the Hylden banished to the Demon Realm, Janos was, like the other ancients, was affected by the Blood Curse and it's consequences; unlike many other Ancients however, Janos (to a certain extent) accepted the curse, viewing it as "the price we pay to keep the Hylden banished".

Janos seems to have been heavily involved with the ancient prophecies foretelling the coming of the Vampire and Hylden Champions and the Scion of Balance; and he may have been primarily responsible for their 'dual champion' interpretation (it is also implied that many other Nosgothic individuals may have been taught about the prophecies by, or otherwise followed Janos' interpretations). At the time of the binding, Janos was called as a 'guardian', but not as a Pillar Guardian; Janos was instead a secret tenth guardian, who was charged with guarding the Reaver blade (and whose title was likely honorary) until the Vampire Champion (who was destined to be armed with the blade for his battle against the Hylden Champion) arrived to collect it.

After the War, Janos worked to rebuild the Vampire race and eventually he found a way to pass the curse on to humans; ensuring that the Vampire Race could survive in some form, despite the likely extinction of the Ancients as a species. Vorador would be the first human turned (by Janos himself - possibly because of previous service 'forging' the Reaver blade) and a new race of Vampires was begun - one that owed it's existence to Janos; Vorador would eventually refer to Janos as his "sire" and the "father of our race". In trying to ensure that the Pillar Guardians would be Vampires, Janos was also likely responsible for the policy of adopting/abducting and 'turning' human guardians. Eventually the Humans (led by 'un-turned' Human Pillar Guardians Mortanius and Moebius ; who were acting under instruction of the Elder God) would rebel against their Vampire masters, likely massacring Ancients and Turned Vampires alike and 'defiling' the Vampire Citadel. It is unknown whether Janos played any signinificant part in the Human Rebellion, but following the conflict the Vampires would abandon the Citadel and retreat to a variety of secluded locations; with humanity claiming the Pillars as their own, demonizing the Vampires and removing all traces of Ancient vampire history.

As human history moved on, Janos himself would retire to his own retreat in the Mountains nearby Uschtenheim, where he would eventually become the last of the Ancient Vampires, sustained solely by his obligation to the Vampire Champion. Over time, Janos became more secluded, seeming to become estranged from even Vorador (through some unknown conflicts - possibly due to Vorador's abandonment of the prophecies). Janos would continue to guard the Reaver for centuries, into the Sarafan era, patiently awaiting the arrival of the Vampire Champion.

Sarafan era (Soul Reaver 2)
The rise of the Sarafan Brotherhood presumably eliminated many vampires known to Janos but he seems to have suffered less than Vorador. With the Sarafan seeing Janos as the "origin of the vampire plague" and believing that killing him would "topple [their] entire bloodline", the death of Janos Audron became a major goal of the Sarafan Brotherhood and they began to mass their forces in Uschtenheim. On his own time travelling quest to locate Janos, Wraith Raziel (the Vampire Champion) would emerge in the Sarafan era and make his way to Janos' retreat (passing through the massing Sarafan forces in Uschtenheim). Desperate to reach Janos before the Sarafan did, Raziel blazed his way through the retreat, activating several Bloodstone Bridges to reach Janos' chambers.

Despite meeting Raziel for the first time, Janos was already aware of his name and was somewhat surprised by his ragged appearance. Janos told Raziel that he had been called along with the other guardians as a tenth guardian -"the keeper of the Reaver, the weapon of [their] salvation", guarding the blade until the Vampire Champion came to claim it. He explained how he had watched through the centuries as the humans gained control of the Pillars and vampire history "faded into myth, and finally receeded altogether", eventually leading to the "wholly ignorant" humans attacking the demonized Vampires, unknowingly "slitting their own throats". Janos informed Raziel that the 'Vampiric' Reaver blade was the key to securing the binding and revealing the location of the blade he offered it to Raziel, but Raziel, "horribly repelled" by the sword refused.

At that moment, the Human Sarafan Inquisitors (who had breezed through the retreat in Raziel's wake) breached Janos' Chambers and, trying to defend Raziel from their attack, Janos teleported him away to the sealed Fire Forge and battled the Sarafan alone. Janos would eventually be incapacitated by Moebius' Staff (wielded by Turel) and his heart would be ripped out by the Human Sarafan Inquisitor Raziel (with Vampire Champion Wraith Raziel forging the Fire Reaver and returning just in time to witness the grisly deed). As the Sarafan Inquisitors retreated, taking with them Janos' Heart and the Reaver Blade, Janos' Aerie began to collapse and as he died, Janos affirmed Raziel's messianic status; believing that saving Raziel may have been his own "true purpose" and advising Raziel to reclaim the Reaver blade; forged for him alone. Janos died in Raziel's arms, but Raziel had also realised that by restoring Janos' legendary heart, he could perhaps restore Janos. Both Raziel and Vorador took revenge for Janos' murder by attacking the Sarafan Stronghold (killing six Sarafan Inquisitors and six Pillar Guardians respectively) and at some point, Vorador would visit the collapsed retreat and retrieve Janos' corpse, taking the body and interring in a crypt in the garden of his own Mansion.

The Legend of Janos Audron
In the centuries after his death, the story of Janos and his death would take on a legendary status, and as the 'father of vampires' he would be appropriately demonized as a "diabolical vampire" that "preyed mercilessly" on the villagers of Uschtenheim, with the Sarafan lionized as defenders of the humans. Janos' grisly death would make it into the legends, which attributed to Janos heart (named "The Heart of Darkness" by the Sarafan) the ability to retore "Vampiric Unlife" and so the heart was guarded carefully "lest it fall into the wrong hands". The Heart would eventually be used by Mortanius in the Blood Omen era, to revive Kain as a Vampire; creating the prophecied Scion of Balance.



Janos' murder at the hands of the Sarafan would be commemorated In the Pre-Blood Omen era, where there was a large stained glass window in the 'Sanctuary' area of the Sarafan Stronghold; Raziel commented on it recalling the legend - perhaps indicating that the legend would survive into the Soul Reaver era - and after encountering traces of Vampire prophecy and meeting Vorador, Raziel would resolve to find Janos and uncover his role in history. Kain also knew of the legend in the Blood Omen era, recounting the story shortly after his vampire revival and as he entered Uschtenheim on the path to Dark Eden, he also used 'relics' of the Heart of Darkness to refill his blood vial (unaware that the real Heart of Darkness had been used to recreate him as a vampire by Mortanius and had been hidden in his chest).

Blood Omen era (Defiance)
As the fledgeling Kain was eliminating the circle of guardians in the Blood Omen era, Raziel was searching for clues about his own fate and when Raziel  met Vorador in his mansion, Vorador  showed Raziel Janos' Crypt, revealing that he had recovered Janos' corpse. Offering Raziel a chance to redeem himself, Vorador sent Raziel to Avernus seeking the Heart of Darkness. Uncovering much of the Hylden side of history and learning from Mortanius himself where he had hidden the heart (and also believing himself to be Hylden Champion), Raziel had a fateful confrontation with the elder Kain in Avernus Cathedral, ripping the Heart of Darkness from his chest and blasting him through a portal to his apparent death. Raziel had recovered the Heart of Darkness, but at the cost of the Scion of Balance.



Returning to Vorador's Mansion and Janos' Crypt, Raziel restored the Heart of Darkness to Janos and (with a little help from the Wraith Blade), Janos was indeed restored. Raziel informed Janos that five centuries had passed since his death and that with the death of Vorador his "bloodline [was] erased. Janos tried to hurry Raziel into action, but Raziel demanded answers as to why he was fated to be imprisoned in the Reaver; initially Janos believed Raziel had been misled, but Raziel's manifestation of the Wraith Blade caused Janos to fundamentally re-assess the complexity of the ancient prophecies (probably realising that Raziel was in fact both Vampire and Hylden Champions). Telling Raziel that time was short, Janos teleported them both to the Vampire Citadel.



At Raziel's insistance, Janos clarified some of the events of Ancient Vampire history to him, before persuading him that he would find the answers he sought in the Spirit Forge, giving Raziel the Golden Ouroboros key to provide him access. When Raziel returned after imbuing the Spirit Reaver, he found Janos staring at the Pillars, obviously anxious and aware that "the binding [was] failing". With the arrival of the time of the younger Kain's fateful decision, the Pillars collapsed (in an 'explosive' manner) sending out a shockwave which knocked both Raziel and Janos clean across the room and when Raziel regained his footing, he found that the Hylden Lord was now in Possession of Janos.



The Hylden revelled in his manipulation of Raziel; revealing that by resurrecting Janos, Raziel had provided the "durable vessel" that the Hylden required for their further plans; and that in resurrecting Janos Raziel had already been forced to murder the Vampires savior, the Scion of Balance (Kain), to retrieve the Heart of Darkness. Desperate to prevent the Hylden's further plans, Raziel battled the Hylden Lord Possessing Janos (see Hylden Lord (boss)) but was unable to bring himself to kill Janos. Taking advantage of Raziel's weakness, the Hylden Lord counter-attacked, dissolving Raziel's Material and Spectral manifestations and flew away with Janos' body - starting "a new epoch".

Post-Blood Omen era
With Janos under Hylden Possession, his body was used by the Hylden Lord to undermine the binding. Taking advantage of the weakened dimensional boundaries caused by the Collapse of the Pillars (and possibly using Janos' own sorecery), the Hylden Lord was able to use Janos's body to open the Hylden Gate - opening a passage between the Demon Realm and the Material Realms, allowing the Hylden to re-inhabit the Material Realm, though they would still be 'bound' to the Demon Realm. With the construction (or re-population) of the the Hylden City, the Hylden had a base in Nosgoth and they moved onto the next phase of their plans; activating the Ancient Hylden weapon - The Device - buried under Meridian.

With the Hylden plans in motion, Janos was imprisoned behind Ward Gates in the Device and his lifeblood was drained to feed the Mass leading to him (d)evolving in a monstrous "Beast" form. Continuing their plans, the Hylden excavated the Device and began to complete the network it required. The Hylden Lord (in the human disguise of "The Sarafan Lord") set up a new vampire hunting order - the Sarafan Order - and the Sarafan's tyrannical rule provided the perfect cover for the Glyphwrights (actually Hylden Scientists) to work completing a Glyph Magic network, that would enable the completion of the Device.

Blood Omen 2 era
After defeating Sebastian in the Industrial Quarter, Kain learnt of the Sarafan's plans with the Device and eventually he would be teleported to the Device by the Seer. When Kain entered the upper chambers of the Device he found Janos (devolved as "The Beast") imprisoned behind several Ward Gates. Janos (perhaps hinting at Vampire prophecy) recognised Kain and agreed to help him, telling him of the scale of the Device and that he would need the help of The Builder (imprisoned in the Eternal Prison) to destroy the Device. Kain travelled to the Eternal Prison, and after learning from the Builder that the Mass (the creature at the heart of the Device) could be killed by exposing it to the blood of the elder races, Kain killed the Builder and drank his blood  before returning to the Device.

When Kain returned "The Beast" warned Kain of the perils he would face descending into the Device -explaining that his captors (the ones who "pull[ed] the strings" of the Sarafan Order and had "enslaved" Meridian with Glyph magic) were the Hylden; and that the Sarafan Lord was a leader amongst them. After killing the Mass, Kain returned to The Beast's Chamber again and found that the Ward Gates had been deactivated and Janos had been restored. Though Kain did not recognise him, Janos' description of his legend (as "the oldest vampire") allowed Kain to work out his identity. Janos described to Kain the events of the Ancient-Hylden war and how they were banished to the Demon Realm, but then were able to use the Collapse of the Pillars to return to the Material Realm. Kain immediately recognized the implication that this had "all been a Hylden plot from the beginning". Advising Kain that the Hylden were still bound to the Demon Realm and would be killed if the Hylden Gate were closed, Janos teleported them both back to Sanctuary.

Surprising Vorador and the Cabal with his appearance, Janos explained the threat posed by the Sarafan Lord and the Hylden, telling Vorador that they had to find the Hylden City  and close the Hylden Gate; but he had found there was a 'magic shield' which prevented teleportation. As Umah told them of the "enormous activity" at the Wharves, Janos suggested that the destination of the ships leaving the Wharves was the Hylden City and Vorador sent Kain (along with the soon to be deceased Umah) to the Wharves to board a ship to the Hylden City and deactive the shield generator. When Kain finally reached the Hylden City and destroyed the Shield Generator, Janos and Vorador were able to teleport into the Hylden City but as Janos was attempting to detect the location of the Hylden Gate, the Sarafan Lord appeared and hit both Janos and Vorador with Reaver Bolts. Janos stayed to tend to the injured Vorador, advising Kain to drop the Nexus Stone into the Hylden Gate to close it before teleporting him nearby the Hylden Gate.

Kain confronted the Sarafan Lord above the Hylden Gate (see Sarafan Lord (boss)) and he was able to drop the Nexus Stone into the Hylden Gate - ensuring that the Hylden in the Material Realm would perish.As Kain and the Sarafan Lord continued to battle, the Sarafan Lord dropped the Soul Reaver and Janos intervened in the fight, distracting the Hylden and enabling Kain to recover the Reaver. As Janos and the Sarafan Lord faced each other (voicing their respective hatred of each other), the Hylden was easily able to overpower the weakened Janos and he dropped the Ancient Vampire into the closing Hylden Gate, presumably sealing him in the Demon Realm.