Vae victis

"Vae victis", often misspelled "Vae Victus", was uttered in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Legacy of Kain: Defiance. It was an ancient tongue (Latin) phrase alternately translated as "suffering to the conquered" or "woe to the conquered", and the battle cry of the vampire Kain.

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 * Introduced in: Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (1996)
 * Appearances:
 * Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
 * Legacy of Kain: Defiance

Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain


In Blood Omen, Kain typically cried "Vae victis" when delivering maximum damage with his combo attacks – for instance, his "triple-swing combo" with the Iron Sword.

Kain also invoked the phrase at the beginning and the end of his odyssey to restore the Pillars of Nosgoth. Painfully transfixed in the Underworld after his assassination, he explained that it meant "suffering to the conquered". Here, he acknowledged the irony that his favored motto now applied to him, suffering and conquered alike. Later, when confronting the Dark Entity, he screamed the phrase in anger as he attacked.

Legacy of Kain: Defiance
"Vae victis" made an eventual return in Defiance, again featuring as Kain's battle cry. He occasionally spoke the phrase while feeding the Reaver, punctuating his victories in combat.

When Kain encountered and fought Raziel in Avernus Cathedral, Raziel ironically turned the old idiom against Kain at the climax of their battle. He uttered "Vae victis" as he tore the Heart of Darkness from Kain's chest, crying "woe to the conquered" in triumph over his defeated foe.