Water

"Though it is life-giving to humans, water is deadly to vampires. Its touch burns our skin, immersion in water can kill us. Avoid it at all costs."

- Umah

Water is a natural liquid that is a constant feature of the environment in Nosgoth. Water is seen as "life-giving" and beneficial if not necessary to Humans and presumably most other life in Nosgoth, except for Vampires, to whom it was deadly. As such, Water has been a hazard to Kain in Blood Omen, Blood Omen 2 and Defiance; but it is a weakness which Wraith Raziel had largely overcome when he learnt the ability to swim in  Soul Reaver.

Role
Water is a constant feature of the Nosgothic landscape, presumably just as vital to life and geology as in the real world, it is seen throughout the series, both on and beneath the surface of Nosgoth, generally collected in large bodies of water as 'Lakes' and 'Seas' (any 'Rivers' are as yet unnamed).

Primarily in the series, Water has been significant for its ability to cause injury and death to vampires. The effects of being exposed to water are described as being burned as by acid or fire and immersion in water is considered fatal. Thus for Vampires, Water was a potent natural danger to be avoided and this vulnerability was often exploited by enemies of the vampires. In this capacity, Water was frequently featured within the games as a hazard, primarily to Vampire Kain in Blood Omen, Blood Omen 2 and Defiance.

In Blood Omen, contact with water would cause damage, depleting Kain's Blood Vial and w hen Kain emerged from his Mausoleum after being resurrected as Vampire, the damage caused by rainfall was one of his first experiences of his changed existence and the damage caused by water. Through his journey, Kain would also be harmed by snowfall and crossing 'bodies of water' and the swamp. Kain was however able to use several methods to avoid injury; as the damage caused by rain and snowfall was negated by powers obtained at Blood Fountains (with a similar 'swamp-immunity' Blood Fountain planned but cut from the final game). For larger bodies of water, these enhancements were not powerful enough and it was only through Kain's shapeshifting abilities that Kain was able to directly cross water, with Kain's Wolf Form allowing small streams to be jumped and Bat Form allowing Kain to cross water at long-range whilst in flight. The most useful method of crossing water however was Mist Form which effectively allowed Kain to float as a vapor above the surface of the water to avoid injury.

The implications of Kain's water weaknesses continued on through the rest of the Blood Omen arc in Blood Omen 2 and Defiance. However, with Mist no longer able to cross water, Kain was forced to use more mundane methods, such as ordinary jumping (occsasionally combined with Floating) and the Jump and Superhuman Leap abilities to avoid water damage. When it returned in Defiance, Bat Form once again allowed water to be crossed at long-range in flight and Kain would actively use it to escape damage if he fell into water.

Water would also be an important environmental feature of the Soul Reaver arc and it was vital in the backstory to Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver as Kain's water vulnerability was passed on to the Vampires in his empire, including Kain's first-born lieutenant Raziel. Kain would take advantage of this weakness, using a large whirlpool The Abyss (formally the Lake of the Dead ) as his execution ground for traitors and weaklings. When Raziel evolved before his master, Kain ordered Raziel be cast into the Abyss. Raziel's torment in the Abyss lasted for centuries until the Soul Reaver era, when he was spared total dissolution and resurrected by the Elder God as a Soul-devouring Wraith. Beginning his journey in the (apparently underwater and in the Spectral Realm) Underworld, Raziel soon discovered that whilst he no longer suffered from many of his old vampiric weaknesses, he was still vulnerable to water immersion in the Material Realm, which would dissolve his manifestation sending him back to the Spectral Realm, where water was as "thin as air".

When Raziel traveled to his brother Rahab's territory in the flooded Drowned Abbey, he discovered that the Rahabim Vampires, usually damaged by even the fragile sunlight in the wasteland Nosgoth had managed to overcome traditional Vampires weaknesses to water and had retreated from the surface to the dark corners of the Drowned Abbey, becoming aquatic creatures. Defeating Rahab and consuming his soul, Raziel gained the ability to swim; maintaining his physical manifestation when immersed in water and also allowing him to take advantage of its bouyancy (initially allowing him to gain passage to the Ruined City of the Dumahim). Raziel's ability to swim would remain throughout Soul Reaver 2 and Defiance and in the latter Raziel would gain two Reaver enhancements that involved had applications with or involved the use of water; the first, the Water Reaver, enabled Raziel to douse Fire Plinths and was able to freeze Waterfalls allowing them to be climbed; the second enhancement, the Earth Reaver, allowed Raziel to sink to the bottom of water filled areas in the Material Realm, allowing him to manipulate objects there. (see Water Related Items)