User:Lord Aevum/Article extracts

Development
Anacrothe was referenced in background to Nosgoth via the red sisters of Anacrothe/alchemists class. Here he was initially cited along with the other members of the Dark Eden triad as an example of the elemental knowledge that was lost and became legend to the Humans under the rule of Kain's empire in the Soul Reaver era. After Elustra's destruction of her vampire alchemist masters and subsequent return of the knowledge to humans, she named her order the "red sistes of Anacothe", honoring the last human known to have possessed knowledge of alchemy.

Etymology
Prior to 2013, the most recent nomenclature publicly utilized by a Crystal Dynamics employee was "Anarcrothe", by Amy Hennig, which was since been deemed the primary spelling by several fansites. However, promotional material for Nosgoth utilizes "Anacrothe" instead, and in light of this, the Legacy of Kain Wiki defaults to this variation.

Lede
The destruction of Avernus was mentioned in the backstory to Nosgoth with the background of the Lost Seers of Avernus revealing them as descendants of the Cenobites known as the Prophets who had fled Avernus in shock at Azimuth's actions.

Lede
Nosgoth materials suggested that the town continued to exist into the Soul Reaver era and that in the early years of Kain's empire, the town was controlled by the Vampires and was home to a number of human blood-farms and breeding-pens, beneath a colossus in the form of Kain himself. As such a strategic target, the town was among the first areas attacked by humans in the War for Nosgoth.

Role
After the fall of the Major human kingdoms and the rise of Kain's empire in the Soul Reaver era, Dark Eden became a designated hunting ground for fledgling vampires. The humans born and raised in Dark Eden became "cold hearted", "shrewd and opportunistic", setting up the faction known as the Watchers which was imitated in other corners of the land. It was the Watchers who first spotted the pursuit of Sarakiel and the evolved Razielim over the skies of Dark Eden, which signalled the start of the Vampire civil war and they duly sent word to the other humans, kicking off the human revival.

Location and Layout

 * Sommerdamm - The southern-most of four fort-settlements protecting the bridges to Meridian, Sommerdamm appeared in Nosgoth as a playable location and was the site of the vampires first incursion into the revived Meridian.

History
Meridian was still a major city and human capital into the Soul Reaver era, where it continued to boast advanced infrastructure and technology: "fresh running water, gilded monuments and numerous columned bridges were alien to visitors more accustomed to Humanity’s isolated towns built of straw and wood. More than just a living space, the city of Meridian cultivated learning at its universities, training philosophers and architects, alchemists and generals to shape the world in their image." However Meridian's comfort also bred an ideal of wiping the vampires from the face of Nosgoth - a dream which was crushed when the hordes of Kain's empire descended on the city at the fall of the Major human kingdoms and Meridian was virtually destroyed becoming a "a scar on the landscape" - its inhabitants rounded up into Blood farms and slavery.

Over the years Meridian's "legendary splendour" attracted the few humans who escaped the Blood farms and slowly the city grew again, out of sight and unknown to the vampires. By the time the vampires realized, the walls of the city were rebuilt and it was just barely defensible again. With the disappearance of Kain and the Vampire civil war internal squabbles meant that the vampires were unable to raise an army and mount a serious attempt to retake the city, leaving the humans to rebuild further and almost recapture its past glories. As the vampires fell into an uneasy truce and the War for Nosgoth began, the last of Meridian's fort-settlement defenses to be rebuilt, Sommerdamm, was targeted by the vampire forces and breached.

Role
Nosgoth would subsequently detail more about the history of the location, revealing that Raziel had ordered his clan to abandon their underground city and the Fane beneath the Erebus Mountains to move here in the early years of Kain's empire. After Raziel's execution and Kain's disappearance the other clans, believing they were doing Kain's will, had turned on the Razielim and invaded their territory - dividing the spoils of their conquest ultimately led to conflict and the beginning of the Vampire civil war.

Some time later a group of fledgling Razielim led by Eskandor, who had been covertly stored in the abandoned Fane, returned to the Razielim territory to find it occupied by the Dumahim. Revealing the human victories at Coorhagen seen from the skies on his journey, Eskandor and his brood were spared and the clans called a truce to put down the human resistance and begin the War for Nosgoth.

Role
The "Clan territory of the Dumahim" was briefly mentioned in the Nosgoth background story for the Dumahim Reavers, explaining that in the early Soul Reaver era the area was home to the "eternal forges, where their blacksmiths specialise in crafting the finest armour in Nosgoth."

Role
Turel's clan territory was briefly mentioned in the background story for the Turelim Tyrants - explaining that in the early Soul Reaver era, shortly after the fall of the Major human kingdoms, the territory was chosen as the location to build the first Smokestacks - huge volcanic furnaces designed to blot out Sunlight.

Lede
Vasserbünde was briefly mentioned in the background story to Nosgoth, suggesting that in the Soul Reaver era the town still stood, while presumably conquered by the vampires at the fall of the Major human kingdoms and held by the vampires since.

Role
Willendorf was mentioned in the background lore of Nosgoth, presumably like other settlements it was conquered by the vampires of Kain's empire at the fall of the Major human kingdoms. The absence of reports by the Dumahim Reavers stationed in Willendorf suggested that a human uprising had indeed taken place there and this combined with the news of the human victories at Coorhagen brought the enormity of the human revolt to the attention of the vampires and caused the cessation of hostilities within the vampire ranks as the War for Nosgoth began. It was noted that in the wake of the Vampire civil war, Willendorf had rebuilt but did not have a population to rival Meridian.

Willendorf was also close to the site where Malus of the Prophets of the Lost Seers of Avernus discovered the first blood fountain for the humans; presumably indicating the fountain discovered by Kain in the nearby Provincial Mines.