Decision at the Pillars

Chapter 2: Decision at the Pillars is the second 'level', or chapter, of Soul Reaver 2. It followed Raziel in the Pre-Blood Omen era as he pursued Kain to the Pillars of Nosgoth and explored the Subterranean Ruins beneath, unexpectedly encountering the Elder God along the way. The chapter opened as Raziel progressed along the trail to the Shrine and Pillars, and concluded as Raziel entered the Swamp.

Profile

 * Name: Chapter 2 - Decision at the Pillars
 * Classification: Soul Reaver 2 chapters
 * Game: Soul Reaver 2
 * Protagonist • Raziel
 * Objectives: • Confront Kain at the Pillars •Explore the Subterranean Ruins •Reach the Swamp
 * Setpieces: • The Pillars of Nosgoth (The Shrine • The Pillars) • The Subterranean Ruins (The Subterranean Pillars Chamber) • The Swamp
 * Era: • The pre-Blood Omen era
 * Timeline: • The second timeline
 * Preceded by: A Reaver in Time
 * Followed by: Through the Swamp

Plot
Departing the Great Southern Lake for the Pillars of Nosgoth Raziel ventured down a series of grassy and lightly wooded canyons to an open area where a notable scaled shrine could be identified and discovered the impaled bodies of several of the victims of the humans crusade against the vampires of this era. These vampires, he mused, were humanoid and genuinely persecuted, unlike the deranged monsters he faced in the Soul Reaver era. Passing beyond this, Raziel was able to follow the canyons as they twisted upwards to a battlement and a set of giant double-doors which marked the entrance to the clearing of the Pillars of Nosgoth.



As Moebius had previously indicated, here Raziel found Kain awaiting him at the heart of the Pillars, themselves pristine and whole in the era. However instead of the expected battle, Kain began to reveal a greater quest, picking apart Raziel's vengeful motivation by revealing that he had actively encouraged Raziel's outrage to draw him into following and countering by unexpectedly agreeing that the health and restoration of the Pillars were of paramount importance. As Kain recounted the stories of his youth and the tale of his birth and the Corruption of the Pillars, Raziel watched in horror as the events unfolded before him and off-screen Ariel's death and Nupraptor's madness led to the corruption of the ancient edifices. Finally Kain discussed his fateful dilemma as Balance Guardian thirty years later as he was presented with a choice to sacrifice himself to restore the pillars or rule them in their damnation – analogizing the choice to a coin toss. Kain recounted how by choosing to preserve the vampire race the pillars had collapsed, but either way the game was rigged. Most shockingly of all, Kain hinted that the Pillars actually belonged to the vampire race and when Raziel countered that for the pillars to be restored Kain must die for new guardians to be born, Kain mysteriously hinted at a third choice – a way out of his dilemma, hidden in Raziel's presence – before teleporting away.



Intrigued by Kain's words Raziel pushed onwards, noticing that several crows appeared to be watching him. Soon he found a passage hidden on a ledge high above the pillars which led downwards into an underground cavern - its main door marked by a huge mural of a blue skinned and winged figure with cloven hands, notably reminiscent of Raziel himself. Passing through into the Subterranean Ruins beyond, Raziel discovered a number of ancient ruins in the caverns before he emerged in a chamber beneath the pillars where the pillars descended below ground level, which was undoubtedly constructed along with the Pillars. On the walls were several murals depicting an ancient war between two unknown species, the raising of the pillars by the blue winged race, an apparent curse causing blood-thirst inflicted on them and the forging of the Soul Reaver as a prophetic weapon. As Raziel studied the room he discovered the Elder God in the Water beneath the pillars platform, wrapped around the Pillars. With the earlier revelation that Moebius was a servant of the Elder God, Raziel was far more suspicious of his former benefactor and much less polite. The Elder denounced the murals as "lies" and chastised Raziel for letting Kain "slip through [his] grasp". Parting on a distinctly sour note, The Elder encouraged Raziel to remember his rage and let it guide him before Raziel left and, passing through several further caverns, soon arrived in a dense forest area.

The Pillars of Nosgoth
Raziel begins on a trail heading away from the Great Southern Lake and towards the Pillars of Nosgoth at a point where a small stream is crossed by a bridge. Raziel must initially continue on up the stream and over the bridge where an attack dog will soon pursue followed by a Vampire hunter swordsman. Killing or evading them, Raziel could continue on to the shrine area in front of a small waterfall. Passing the shrine and heading to the west, Raziel was able to follow a trail that curved upwards around the nearby large rock formation, encountering another swordsman on the way.

At the top the trail opened out into a wider area atop the waterfall where a cannoneer, attack dog and a checkpoint awaited across the other side of the river. After dispatching or evading them Raziel could follow the river north into a cavern area and ascend the stairs in the west to reach the bridge crossing the top of the room heading east. Dispatching the cannoneer at the end of the bridge, Raziel would comment on the Vampires of this era before continuing to follow the path as it curved in an arc back towards the west before switching north to a wide avenue in front of a battlement. Defeating the two hunters and attack dog here allowed him to use the nearby lever freely and hold it down to open the way to the pillars.

The Subterranean Ruins
After the meeting with Kain it was necessary for Raziel to head to the north of the pillars clearing where two of the standing stones were marked with spectral symbols. Shifting into the Spectral Realm here and the cliff between them would morph into a stairway upwards, enabling Raziel to progress beyond. Following the narrow twisting path revealed and dispatching or evading Sluagh until he reached the planar portal as the path widened, Raziel was able to restore his health from Souls or Sluagh and return to the Material Realm to activate the next checkpoint. Proceeding to the large mural-decorated double doors passing through after the cutscene allowed Raziel to enter the Subterranean Ruins.

Entering the narrow corridor revealed led Raziel into the first underground caverns of the ruins and following as it curved east, he could discover several ruined arch structures, defeating or avoiding several Shades (or Greater Sluagh in the Spectral Realm) along the way. Passing through the first archway and following the passage as it turned south/southwest then sharply east again led Raziel into a more architecturally structured area with paved floors and walls. Continuing east, the passage led down a stairway where Raziel would encounter several aggressive Shades before the path turned north into the Subterranean Pillars Chamber.



After the cutscene, Raziel could activate the nearby Save altar then jump into the waters beneath the platform, swimming to the opening in the east marked by glowing stones. Following the submerged passages northeast - using the glowing stones to guide him in the darkness or switching to spectral if necessary to make out the darkened surroundings - Raziel was able to progress further through the ruins before surfacing in a chamber with three shades. Defeating the shades and following the ramp upwards led him to a gap which could be jumped and the trail then continued across a bridge as the path twisted towards the northeast to a high cliff-like ledge. Defeating or evading the shades at the top, Raziel could jump down to encounter another shade and then into the water, proceeding northeast through the flooded room with a notable statue at the center. Again following the glowing stones or switching to spectral to aid navigation through the darkened passages, Raziel was able to head northeast and ascend through a series of flooded caverns, passing two inactive plinth symbols before finally following a passage directly upward to surface in the Swamp.

Players (in order of appearance)

 * Raziel (voiced by Michael Bell) and Raziel in Voiceover/Soliloquy
 * Kain (voiced by Simon Templeman)
 * The Elder God (voiced by Tony Jay)

Conclusions

 * Raziel has met with Kain at the Pillars but instead of conflict Kain was able to persuade Raziel that he may not be completely culpable for the fate of the pillars; his choice was rigged either way. Kain has also deliberately antagonized Raziel up to this point to make sure he recklessly followed and draw him backwards in time. Ultimately Kain believes that there is a third way out of his dilemma regarding the pillars that is hidden in Raziel's presence which means he does not need to sacrifice himself for their restoration. He also believes that the pillars themselves actually belong to the vampires.
 * The Elder God has a presence underground beneath the Pillars; he continues to hold the vampires and Kain responsible for Nosgoth's fate and appears to be somewhat atemporal, able to resume conversation with Raziel even though it is several centuries earlier than their last meeting.
 * Murals indicate that an unidentified blue skinned, cloven handed and winged race appears to have been involved in a war with a green crested race in the time Before Nosgoth's recorded history; with the blue-skinned race appearing to erect the pillars to defeat their adversaries, being cursed with blood-thirst as a result - these beings were also responsible for the Forging of the Reaver. The Elder denounces these images as "lies" however.
 * Raziel believes he is being watched by an as yet unrevealed observer, manifested through several strange crows that disappear when approached.