Engraved stone

The Engraved Stone was a unique object activated by the Light Reaver in Soul Reaver 2 and encountered only in the Air Forge.

Profile

 * Name: The Engraved Stone
 * Category: Soul Reaver 2 terms
 * Introduced: • Soul Reaver 2 (2001)
 * Appearances:
 * Related Articles: Light Reaver (SR2), Light (element), Light crystals, Cracked doors, Sentry eyes

Role
The Engraved Stone was a unique object and elemental application of the Light Reaver that was seen only once in Soul Reaver 2. The object was only encountered in Chapter 6: The Air Forge and could be found on the mezzanine level entrance mural chamber of the forge. Once he had viewed the murals in the chamber, it was necessary for Raziel to stand on the nearby Light symbol and fire a Light Reaver bolt at the stone. This caused the light to be projected onto a similarly shaped doorway, causing it to dissolve into a permeable barrier which could be Phased through.

The stone and its associated doorway would be revisited at the end of the level as Raziel passed back through the area, this time the door would be replaced by a cracked version vulnerable to the projectiles of the Air Reaver - the stone would not be used on this occasion and another similar application was not seen throughout the rest of the game.

Design and Usage
The setup surrounding the Engraved Stone consisted of four components: The platform, the ray trench, the stone and the door - all positioned in a straight line across the mezzanine level of the entrance chamber. Furthest back was the platform which consisted of a slightly raised semicircular brick platform bordered by grey fringes and completed by a golden light symbol at its center. At the top of the semicircle a small shallow brown trench led away from the platform. Inside the trench a small red triangle pointed away from the platform backed by a yellow decoration with two spiked 'prongs' either side and a longer one pointing directly down the trench and stretching the length of it - overall giving the impression of rays of Sunlight.

At the far end of the trench the engraved stone was positioned atop a stepped pyramid-like plinth, with the bottom step covered with grey Ancient runes and a sandstone top and the next level, extending slightly further in a trapezoid shape and containing a brick arch design with light grey stone. Atop the plinth the engraved stone itself was consisted of a yellow stone with an elliptical top and a square base. A series of grey markings similar to the light symbol decorated its faces, evocative of a sun with five light rays emanating from it and the top ray overlapped a thin grey border surrounding the piece. Behind the stone on the other side of a gap and a balcony, the door was positioned between two Reaver symbols. Effectively a scaled-up version of the stone, the door was the same shape and initially contained the same pattern and border overlaying sandstone colored brickwork, while the center circle of the 'sun' contained a complete light symbol.

To utilize the engraved stone, it was necessary for Raziel to stand on the platform, whcih would then cause the stone would emit subtle yellow sparkles. From here he could fire a Light Reaver bolt directly at the stone (passing directly above the long light ray in the trench). Upon impact the stone would emit light from behind in the 'shaded' area, which would be projected onto the door and cause the main brickwork to decay, leaving only a narrow golden support structure in the shape of the previously seen pattern, except with an Air symbol at the center, a small grid at the bottom and no border. This was used as a gates to phase through, however when Raziel returned, the gate was raised and replaced by a different doorway which descended from the top of the arch. Similar to the first decoration, this doorway had the same yellow brickwork and grey patterning, although of a slightly lighter shade and with an air symbol at the heart of the 'sun' circle. The most noticeable difference however was the frequent cracks throughout the door - using the powers of the Air Reaver Raziel was able to blast open this first cracked door and proceed to the exit of the forge.

Appearances

 * Soul Reaver 2