Soul Reaver

"Time fades even legend and the origin of Soul Reaver has been lost long ago. But its purpose remains; to feed on the souls of any creature it strikes. Kindred, this blade and I."

- Kain

The Reaver, later known as The Soul Reaver (and sometimes known informally by fans as "The Blood Reaver" in its initial state), is a weapon appearing in every title in the Legacy of Kain series. It is a flamberge-class sword with a broad, serpentine blade forged from unknown materials (perhaps bone, carbon, or iron).

The Reaver is a physical weapon which can drain victims' blood, later absorbing the wraith Raziel, a reaver of souls. Trapped within the blade, they become one and the blade inherited Raziel's soul hunger and the sword was renamed the Soul Reaver. Through most of the series, the sword has the ability to devour the souls of its victims and its physical manifestation's power can only be quelled by an artifact known as The Nexus Stone, while it's energy manifestation (the Wraith-blade) in the Material Realm can be suppressed by Moebius' staff although the effects of both are only temporary. It plays a key role throughout the series, serving as far more than just a weapon for Kain and later/earlier Raziel.

Appearances and usage in-game


The Soul Reaver first appeared as a weapon in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, where the fledgling Kain found the Reaver for the first time in the depths of Avernus Cathedral. In that game, the Reaver was a two-handed weapon, meaning that whilst wielding it, Kain was unable to cast any spells or use any items. The Reaver was incredibly powerful in game and when fully charged, it could kill (non-boss) enemies in a single strike but also drained Kain's magical energy and was only as powerful as his Iron Sword when his magical energy was fully depleted. Though the plot implications of the Soul Reavers usage were only discussed in later games, it is necessary to use it to kill both Azimuth and William in their boss battles.

The Soul Reaver blade returned in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver where the blade was observed in the opening cutscene and during Raziel's confrontation with Kain at the Sanctuary of the Clans. After the destruction of the physical blade in that battle, Raziel gained a version of the blade as his symbiotic weapon, the Wraith Blade. The Wraith Blade, much like the physical Soul Reaver in Blood Omen, was the most powerful weapon in the game and was able to dispatch most enemies with a small number of strikes and a finishing move (Spears were the only other weapon that allowed the use of a finishing move).Once gained, the Wraith Blade could be used at any time in the Spectral Realm, though it could not be used in the Material Realm when Raziel's Soul Spiral was completely filled. Once manifest in the Material Realm it would sustain Raziel's form, preventing the usual drain on his health, however a single strike from an enemy would disperse the blade until Raziel topped up his Soul Spiral. After Raziel gained the Telekinetic Force Projectile, he was able to use the Wraith Blade to fire Reaver Bolts and the Wraith Blade could also (optionally) be ugraded with the Fire Reaver enhancement.

Raziel's use of the Wraith Blade continued into Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 with much of the same game mechanics as its predecessor (though Raziel did not initially have the Fire Reaver). After Raziel's first meeting with the physical Soul Reaver blade the Wraith Blade was 'upgraded', allowing Raziel to summon it at will, regardless of his health; this had a cost however, as using the Wraith Blade quickly filled the Reaver Bar 'over-arousing' the Reaver and causing it to turn it's hunger on Raziel. Throughout the game Raziel was able to imbue the Reaver with various enhancements (Dark, Light, Air and Fire) and in the final stages Raziel gained the physical (Blood) Reaver which along with being the most supposed most powerful weapon in the game (it could only be tested on the elite Sarafan Inquisitors) also temporarily made him invincible.



In Blood Omen 2 the Soul Reaver was stolen from Kain by the Sarafan Lord and it would be seen throughout the game in the hands of the Sarafan Lord, though in the storyline it could only be used by Kain in the final boss battle against the Sarafan Lord. The Soul Reaver could be unlocked earlier by using cheats or other methods such as Bonus Mode - upon starting a new game, Kain would be attired in the Iron Armor and armed with the the Soul Reaver (this combination is also visible in the first cutscene at the intro which glazes over the Collapse of the Pillars) when used, the Reaver was immensely powerful allowing Kain to easily defeat all non-boss enemies with approximately three slashes. The Reaver's moveset makes it effectively a Long Sword variant; with the same pommel/impale grabs (the power of the impale grab upgrades it to 'instant kill' status) and decapitation/downward smash(in the case of the Reaver a jumping downward smash, as with the other 'instant kill' weapons) stealth kills. Although unlike other weapons, Kain is unable to drop the Reaver and it is unbreakable.

In Defiance, both Raziel and Kain were armed with different versions of the Reaver as their only weapon (Raziel armed with the Wraith Blade and Kain with the physical 'Blood' Reaver blade). As the only weapon available, the Reaver was a vital part of combat technique, with both Raziel and Kain able to Feed The Reaver, thereby filling Reaver Charge, which enabled the use of Charged Attacks and Reaver Spells (see also Combat (Defiance)). The Reaver could also be upgraded with several enhancements (with Dark, Light, Fire, Air, Water, Earth and Spirit for Raziel; and Balance, Flame, Dimension, Lightning and Time for Kain) which could be imbued by forging the blade in a particular forge within the Vampire Citadel, or by collecting fragments of the Balance Emblem. Each collected enhancement had specific applications for combat or puzzles and these often changed the Charged Attacks and Reaver Spells. In the final part of the game, Raziel's sacrifice created the final enhancement; the Soul Reaver blade, supposedly the most powerful weapon in the game (though as in other games; it can only be used in the final boss battle).

Ancient History
The Reaver was forged in Nosgoth's ancient past by the Human swordsmith Vorador, at the behest of Janos Audron (as a reward for this action, Vorador would become the first 'turned' vampire). After its forging, Janos endowed the Reaver with the power to drain its victims of their blood, as well as to transform using the energies of the elemental fonts. At that point, the sword was known as "The Reaver", (though some fans have taken to calling the blade the "Blood Reaver" after its vampiric abilities). At the time of the binding, when the first Guardians were called to serve the Pillars; Janos was also called as a 'tenth guardian' to serve as guardian of the Reaver blade, keeping the sword (explicitly the weapon of the vampires salvation) safe until the Vampire Champion of prophecy came to claim it.



Sarafan era
Centuries later at the time of the human Sarafan crusades against the Vampires, the Sarafan Inquisitors Raziel, Turel, Dumah, Zephon and Melchiah stormed Janos' Retreat, where they murdered Janos and stole the Reaver blade. The wraith Raziel, who had traveled back in time from the future and spoken with Janos, sought to avenge Janos and chased the Sarafan down to the Sarafan Stronghold. After a confrontation with Moebius and Malek, Raziel was able to reclaim the Reaver and with his Wraith Blade disabled by Moebius' Staff, Raziel was left with the Reaver as his only choice of weapon. As the Vampire Champion of prophecy, the Reaver bound itself to Raziel making him invincible and unable to drop the blade; and when Raziel was confronted by the Sarafan Inquisitors he was easily able to dispatch them, including his former human self. But as the human Raziel died, the Wraith Blade manifested and turned the Reaver on Raziel, absorbing him into the blade and temporarily creating the Soul devouring Soul Reaver blade. However, with interference from the time traveling Kain a Soul Reaver paradox was created, with Raziel's fate postponed and a new timeline of history created.

With Raziel lost to the Spectral Realm, Kain collected the vacant Reaver blade and kept possession of it as he investigated the late Sarafan era in Legacy of Kain: Defiance. During his search throughout Nosgoth for the answers to his destiny and the whereabouts of Raziel, Kain found fragments of the Balance Emblem to augment the powers of the Reaver and when completed, the Balance Emblem consisted of the Balance Hub along with the Flame, Dimension, Lightning, and Time fragments; which each allowed a specific enhancement for the blade based upon the Pillars of Nosgoth. During the events of Defiance, Kain was able to use the completed Balance Emblem to enter the inner sanctum of the Vampire Citadel; where the "Oracle of the Ancient Vampires" (the Elder God) sent him forwards in time to the Blood Omen era to prevent Raziel's attempts to restore Janos Audron.

When the two met at Avernus Cathedral (at this time believing themselves to be opposing champions of prophecy), they were both armed with their respective versions of the blade and with the Hylden fueling Raziel's rage (and with Raziel once again narrowly averting being absorbed by the vacant Reaver blade), Kain was defeated and apparently killed by Raziel, having his heart ripped out and being blasted into the Demon Realm. But Kain was able to survive and brought the Reaver back with him into the Material Realm and feeling the pull of the Spirit Forge activated by Raziel, returned to the Vampire Citadel where Kain killed a resurrected Moebius and Raziel sacrificed himself to create the Soul Reaver; whilst simultaneously healing Kain of his corruption and enabling him to see the Elder God ("the true enemy"). Raziel was then drawn into the blade, transforming it into a soul-devouring weapon. Hereafter the blade was known as the Soul Reaver. After a short battle demonstrating the effectiveness of the Soul Reaver against the Elder God (see also Elder God (boss)), Kain retired with the newly created Soul Reaver blade. The exact chronology of the blade following this point is uncertain (see Notes).

William's Reaver
As 'The Soul Reaver', the sword would become known as a legendary blade and it already had quite a reputation by the Blood Omen era (suggesting some time travel since the newly created Soul Reaver was first seen in the hands of the elder Kain); though it's origins had been all but forgotten. The first currently known appearance of the Soul Reaver blade occured in the Pre-Blood Omen era, where the boy-king William the Just was in possession of the blade and had been warned about the coming of a vampire assassin (it is pehaps hinted that this was due to the manipulations of Moebius the Timestreamer). When confronted by the assassin (the fledgling Kain, out of time) William was armed with the Soul Reaver blade, but so was the assassin. With the two blades meeting, a Soul Reaver paradox was instigated which changed history, allowing William (once destined to become the tyrant 'the Nemesis') to die before his time and with William dead, Moebius was able to manipulate William's subjects to ignite a genocidal war against the vampire race. The Soul Reaver used by William was ultimately broken in the battle with Kain, but would continue to be used as a symbol for Moebius' crusade against the vampires.



Twenty years later, the fragments of the Soul Reaver would be kept in a special chapel dedicated to William in Sanctuary, at the heart of the Sarafan Stronghold (a base for Moebius' Mercenary Army) and would be laid out on William's sarcophagus as a holy icon. When out-of-time Wraith Raziel (armed with the Wraith Blade, a future version of the Soul Reaver) found himself exploring the stronghold in this time, he found William's Chapel and investigated the strange sense of displacement he experienced from William's Reaver blade. Meeting with its fromer self, the Wraith Blade leeched Raziel's soul to restore William's Reaver, but this also allowed Raziel to recognize the parasitic nature of the Wraith Blade. After threatening Moebius with the conjoined Reaver blades (and only narrowly averting a Soul Reaver paradox that could have removed Moebius from history after Moebius' revelation that he worked for the Elder God), Raziel threw away the physical Reaver to pursue Kain.

A short time later Raziel would return to the stronghold after uncovering part of the history behind the Pillars and the Reaver. In William's Chapel, he would be confronted by the elder Kain, who attempted to explain the true nature of free-will and destiny within Nosgoth to Raziel, eventually revealing that two versions of the Soul Reaver meeting could cause a paradox, powerful enough to alter the flow of history. As Kain presented Raziel with William's Reaver hilt-first, Raziel's Wraith Blade manifested and attempted to strike Kain down, however the paradoxical nature of the situation meant that Raziel was able to fight the pull of history and spare Kain when history dictated that he should have died. Left by Raziel once again, William's Reaver remained impaled in William's sarcophagus and it is unclear what happens to the blade following this point.

Kain's Reaver
Some thirty years later in the Blood Omen era, when the fledgling Kain traveled to Avernus on his quest to cleanse the Pillar of Dimension, he was given cryptic advice by Ariel that he would need to "rise and ...fall and find [his] salvation in between". Once Kain entered Avernus Cathedral, he found that it was split into different 'dimensions', with a Heavenly Realm and Hellish Realm in addition to the usual reality of the cathedral. Negociating the realms using teleport pads, Kain was able to 'rise' into the heavenly realm, where he discovered and claimed the powerful Soul Reaver blade. After collecting the Wraith Armor from the 'hellish realm' (actually the Avernus Catacombs) Kain was able to confront Azimuth, The Dimension Guardian. Azimuth claimed to be unaware that the Reaver and the armor were hidden in her Cathedral (suggesting someone else had placed them there for Kain to find) and accordingly the combination of the Wraith Armor and Soul Reaver was greatly effective in the battle against her and a single hit from the Reaver blade was enough to kill her. After dispatching her, Kain found a Time Streaming Device which Azimuth had been intending to use to summon demons from other ages.

Investigating the manipulations of Time Guardian Moebius, Kain later found himself trapped in the Battle of the Last Stand between the Legions of the Nemesis and Willendorf's Army of Hope. As the army of hope was defeated, the time streaming device activated and propelled Kain fifty years into the past. Seizing the chance to alter the fate of Nosgoth, Kain travelled to the Land of the Nemesis, seeking to eliminate the boy-king William the Just, who would one day become the tyrant 'The Nemesis'. Kain infiltrated William's Keep and was able to overhear a conversation between Moebius and William, with the timestreamer and providing William with a shipment of weapons (possibly including the Soul Reaver itself). Shortly afterward Kain confronted William in battle and, as arranged by Moebius, both were armed with the Soul Reaver (indeed the Reaver is the only weapon that could be used to defeat William). The presence of two Soul Reavers created a Soul Reaver Paradox allowing history to be changed and William to be killed; igniting the Second Paradox timeline.

Ignorant of the scale of the changes he had made to history, Kain returned to the Blood Omen era to find that his actions had caused genocidal hatred of vampires amongst Nosgoth's human population and Moebius had taken advantage of this, creating a Mercenary Army that had destroyed the vampire race. Though he was able to defeat and kill Moebius, restoring the Pillar of Time, Moebius' manipulations had left Kain as the last vampire in Nosgoth. Kain retained possession of the Soul Reaver to the end of his quest in Blood Omen, but he would not be shown using the Soul Reaver after his encounter with William (though Blood Omen 2's dream recollection of the events would show Kain leaving the Collapsing Pillars with the Reaver).

The Sarafan Lord
For two centuries following the Collapse of the Pillars, Kain would retain possession of the Soul Reaver and he would be wield the blade throughout the rise of his vampire army and its conflict with the new Sarafan Order. Kain would wield the blade into the Battle of Meridian, unaware that the Sarafan Lord had in his possession the Nexus Stone, an artifact that was able to negate the power of the Soul Reaver. With Kain unable to use the power of the blade, he was defeated and apparently killed by the Sarafan Lord who took the Reaver and began his own conquest of Nosgoth. When Kain returned two centuries later, killing the Sarafan Lord and regaining the blade were his main objectives.

The Sarafan Lord was armed with the Soul Reaver when Kain infiltrated the Sarafan Keep to rescue Umah and he would again be armed with the blade when he interrupted Kain's meeting with the Seer at her cottage (where the Sarafan Lord also demonstrated his ability to use Reaver Bolts). When Kain travelled to the Hylden City, he was confronted by the Sarafan Lord with the Reaver and with Kain now in possession of the Nexus Stone, their roles from the Battle of Meridian were reversed and the Sarafan Lord was unable to harm Kain with the Reaver. The Sarafan Lord briefly retreated, reappearing shortly afterward with the Reaver, to fire Reaver Bolts at Janos and Vorador shortly after they teleported to the Hylden City. Kain finally confronted the Sarafan Lord above the Hylden Gate in the initial phases the Sarafan Lord fired Reaver Bolts at Kain, switching to direct attacks with the Reaver when Kain used the Nexus Stone to collapse the Hylden Gate.

Only in the final phase of the battle was Kain able to regain use the Soul Reaver, after interference from Janos. (it was however possible to access the Soul Reaver earlier using several methods - see 'Notes' below.). With Kain armed with the legendary blade once again, the Sarafan Lord was defeated and killed along with the remaining Hylden in Nosgoth.

Kain's Empire
The Soul Reaver would remain in Kain's hands for many centuries as Kain built his empire along with his vampire sons and in this time the blade would develop a fearsome reputation as being possessed and devouring the souls of its victims as well as often being drawn by Kain in anger. At the peak of Kain's Empire (1500 years after the Collapse of the Pillars), Kain would be armed with the Soul Reaver in the council meeting where Raziel revealed his wings. After Raziel's execution at the Abyss, Kain would continue to wield the blade until Raziel returned as a wraith five centuries later. When the two met at the Sanctuary of the Clans, Kain was armed with the Reaver and after a short battle, Kain drew the Reaver against Raziel preparing to strike Raziel down, but unexpectedly the blade shattered on Raziel (because the Soul Reaver was unable to consume its own soul). This returned the blade to its true state (a wraith) and in the Spectral Realm, Raziel was able to recover the blade which bound itself to him becoming his symbiotic weapon, the Wraith Blade.

The Wraith Blade
See Main Article : Wraith Blade 

The Soul Reaver era
When Raziel gained the Wraith Blade, it became bound to him as his symbiotic weapon. With Raziel being able to use the blade at any time in the Spectral Realm at any stage, the blade could only manifest in the Material Plane when Raziel's health was full and whilst armed with the blade, it would maintain Raziel's health unless he was injured. Raziel continued to use the Wraith Blade throughout Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, using the Wraith Blade to enter the Silenced Cathedral and later gaining the ability to fire Reaver Bolts and (optionally) enhance the Reaver with Fire. When Raziel confronted Kain at the Chronoplast he was armed with the Wraith Blade, but was largely unable to use the blade as Kain retreated into the past, with Raziel in pursuit.

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
Raziel continued to use the Wraith Blade after following Kain to the Pre-Blood Omen era in ''Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2. ''Initially, Raziel attempted to use the blade to threaten Moebius after his arrival at the Time Streaming Chamber but Moebius demonstrated the power of his staff to temporarily disable the Wraith Blade. After being left alone in the Sarafan Stronghold, Raziel found his way to Sanctuary and William's Chapel. Here the wraith form of the Soul Reaver met with its old physical form (the incarnation that had belonged to King William the Just and was broken in the battle  with Kain) and as the wraith blade manifested it took parasitic control of Raziel's actions; leeching his lifeforce to repair the broken physical blade. From this point onwards the wraith blade would increasingly manifest its own will, often forcing Raziel's hand and if it became over-aroused it would turn its hunger upon Raziel. After threatening Moebius (minus his staff) with the conjoined Reaver blades (and unknowingly narrowly averting a history-changing Soul Reaver paradox) Raziel left the stronghold, seeking to explore Nosgoth and confront Kain.

Soon after meeting Kain at the Pillars, Raziel found a large mural of an Ancient Vampire and using the wraith blade he was able to unlock a passage leading to the long-sealed Subterranean Pillars Chamber and locate his first clues about the history and prophecies of the ancients. Finding ancient vampire ruins throughout Nosgoth, Raziel uncovered several special forges where he was able to imbue the Reaver with elemental enhancements. Forging the Dark and Light Reavers Raziel was able to re-enter the Sarafan Stronghold and return to William's Chapel, where he met Kain. After Kain explained the nature of free will and destiny to Raziel and the significance of the paradoxes created by the presence of two Soul Reaver blades, Kain presented Raziel with the physical blade causing the wraith blade to manifest and attempt to strike Kain down, but Raziel was able to resist its influence and spare Kain, changing history. Threatening Moebius (once again without his staff) with the Light Reaver, Raziel got him to activate the Time Streaming Chamber intending to travel to the Sarafan era, but he was tricked by Moebius and sent to the demon infested Post-Blood Omen era. In this era Raziel discovered the forge for the Air Reaver and was able to use it to unseal an abandoned Time Streaming Chamber in the swamp and use it to travel back to the Sarafan era.

In the Sarafan era, Raziel infiltrated Janos' retreat and met the ancient vampire who attempted to give Raziel the original blood-devouring Reaver blade; but their meeting was interrupted by the Sarafan Inquisitors armed with Moebius' staff and Raziel was teleported to the nearby Fire Forge as the Inquisitors battled Janos. Imbuing the Fire Reaver, Raziel was able to return to the battle but was powerless to prevent the Sarafan killing Janos and taking the Heart of Darkness and the physical Reaver blade. Seeking revenge, Raziel returned to the Sarafan Stronghold and when the wraith blade's power was nullified by Moebius, Raziel used the (Blood) Reaver to kill the Sarafan Inquisitors, including his human self. Afterward, the wraith blade, which had acted as his symbiotic weapon left Raziel, entering the physical Reaver and then impaled him, absorbing his soul and creating the legendary Soul Reaver blade. However Kain saved Raziel from the reaver, taking advantage of a soul reaver paradox to change history and temporarily spare Raziel from his imprisonment within the blade; though as Raziel would quickly learn, the presence of the wraith blade in the Spectral Realm confirmed that Kain had only postponed Raziel's fate.

Legacy of Kain: Defiance


Raziel continued to use the wraith blade in the Blood Omen era seen in Legacy of Kain: Defiance, now aware that it was in actuality a future version of his own soul; and parallel to Kain's search for augmentations for the physical (Blood) Reaver, Raziel also advanced his own wraith version by entering ancient spiritual forges and imbuing more permanent elemental enhancements. At each forge entrance, Raziel would be teleported by a Warp Gate to sealed forge chambers within the Vampire Citadel, where he would be able to imbue the Reaver by allowing the wraith blade to consume the souls of the original ancient vampire pillars guardians. Forging the wraith blade with the Dark, Light, Fire, Air, Water and Earth, Raziel slowly discovered the ancient prophecy of the champion's battle and convinced once again that Janos held the key to Raziel's destiny, Raziel headed to Avernus to seek out the Heart of Darkness, where Raziel discovered that it had been hidden inside Kain. As Raziel left Avernus Cathedral, Kain entered the building armed with the physical Reaver; with the two believing that they were the opposing champions of ancient prophecy, they fought and Raziel was able to defeat Kain, recovering the Heart of Darkness.



After Raziel revived Janos, Janos gave Raziel access to the final ancient enhancement at the Spirit Forge, locked deep within the ancient Vampire Citadel. All six acquired elements of the sword were required to open the means of imbuing the final transformation and as the other elemental forges had their energies guarded by their original Pillar guardians, the Spirit Forge was operated by every balance guardian (represented by Ariel). After activating the forge and releasing Ariel, the final baptism of the blade cleansed the sword, gaining Raziel the powerful Spirit Reaver and giving Raziel a cryptic hint that he must "unite that which has been set asunder" for the Scion of Balance. Shortly afterward Raziel wielded the Spirit Reaver against the Hylden Lord when he possessed Janos at the Collapse of the Pillars, but was unable to prevent the Hylden Lord's escape. At the climax of Defiance, Kain was revived and returned to the Spirit Forge where Raziel tricked Kain into impaling him with the Reaver creating the Soul Reaver, but also dispersing the Spirit Reaver into Kain; healing his physical injuries, cleansing him of the corruption and enabling Kain to see the "true enemy", the Elder God (as well as freeing Raziel from centuries of imprisonment).

Enhancements
 (for complete list, including deleted Reaver enhancements, see Category:Reavers)

Balance Emblem
The Balance Emblem are pieces of a device used by Kain to enhance the physical (Blood) Reaver blade.
 * Balance Emblem - A blast that damages surrounding enemies and strengthens its wielder
 * Flame - Deals Fire Damage to attacked foes and causes its enemies to attack each other (also enhance Kain's own pyrokinesis)
 * Dimension - allows the wielder to move at the speed of light and make clones of themselves. Also allows the wielder to disperse damage done to one of the enemies in the area.
 * Lightning - allows its wielder to manipulate lightning
 * Time - all enemies are slowed down drastically

Reaver Elemental Enhancements
Enhancements used by Raziel on the Wraith Blade; typically these were imbued at Ancient Vampire 'forges'.


 * Spectral Reaver (the natural form of the Reaver manifested in the spectral realm)
 * Material Reaver (the natural form of the Reaver manifested in the material realm)
 * Light Reaver (blinds enemies, operates crystal oriented devices)
 * Dark Reaver (makes Raziel invisible, can create matter from darkness)
 * Fire Reaver (burns enemies)
 * Air Reaver (launches shockwave)
 * Water Reaver (can turn water into ice and vice-versa)
 * Earth Reaver (grants Raziel control over his own weight, used to create earth brigdes)
 * Spirit Reaver (the only Reaver attuned to the Balance element, can also manifest in the spectral realm)

Cut Reaver Enhancements

 * Stone Reaver
 * Sound Reaver
 * Sunlight Reaver
 * Ariel Reaver
 * Amplified Reaver