Moebius

Moebius is an antagonist character introduced in Blood Omen; one of the insane sorcerers whom the main character must kill in order to progress in the game. Moebius is one of only three characters who makes at least a cameo appearance in every game in the series (the others being Kain and Raziel), and serves as a major antagonist. He is used as a boss character in Blood Omen, but is more frequently used to advance the plot of the games in which he appears. Within the context of the story he has power over time, and his foreknowledge of events allows him to interact with the main characters in a consistent manner despite his chronologically inconsistent appearances. Throughout the series he has been voiced by Richard Doyle. According to bonus features in the games, Moebius was known as "Bridenal" in the early development of the series.

Blood Omen era
Moebius, the Guardian of the Pillar of Time, originally appeared in Blood Omen. His role as Time Guardian gave him control over time travel (he owned devices that made time travel possible) and this gave him the ability to forecast Nosgoth's history. The Players section of the Silicon Knights Blood Omen FAQ described Moebius as: 'an intensely devious and conniving sorceror'. He was one of the longest-serving members of the Circle of Nine, but, because of his nature, not many of his fellow Guardians trusted him.

When Kain first met him, the Time Streamer was in the guise of the Oracle of Nosgoth. As the Oracle, Moebius offered valuable information about the future to his visitors - those pilgrims fortunate enough to survive the journey through the labyrinthine Oracle's Cave, and pick a time when he would actually be there. He was thought to be 'a wise and benevolent man, proficient in the arts of divination and prophecy'.¹ Presumably - to gain that pleasant reputation - some things he said in the past must have had a positive outcome for the inquirer.

Following Nupraptor's mental attack on the Circle, the Oracle was apparently less helpful. He caused 'trouble and torment by predicting omens and horrific events, exploiting them to his own ends'.¹ Based on the later games in the Legacy of Kain series, we know that Moebius did not require insanity to become a manipulative troublemaker: he had been that way for centuries. Perhaps Nupraptor's assault had simply caused Moebius to be less discriminating; he started to exploit everyone, whether they were important to Nosgoth's fate or not.

At Ariel's suggestion, Kain sought the Oracle for advice on how to defeat Malek. Kain found the old man standing beside a large cauldron, and the Oracle conjured up visions from it to answer Kain's questions. Moebius/The Oracle told Kain about the plight of King Ottmar of Willendorf. When Kain pressed him about the Paladin, he also spoke of Malek's failure to protect the Circle from Vorador, five centuries earlier. He gave Kain directions to the vampire's mansion. Kain accepted Moebius' guidance, never suspecting his true identity or intentions.

Kain fell into Moebius' carefully-constructed trap. As Moebius intended, Kain found a Time Streaming device in Avernus Cathedral, and traveled back in time to escape the Battle of the Last Stand. Kain was transported fifty years into Nosgoth's past. There, he foolishly took it upon himself to murder William the Just - the boy king who would become the Nemesis - not appreciating the full consequences of his actions.

Moebius had been giving grand public speeches, inciting William's subjects against Nosgoth's vampires. He had also been acting as an advisor to the boy king. He warned William of Kain's impending arrival, and provided him with weapons - one of which was likely the Soul Reaver. Regardless of how he got it, when Kain fought the king, both of them were armed with the legendary blade. A paradox was caused during the battle, and the path of history shifted to allow William to die before his destined time.

This was the outcome Moebius had planned for. William had been killed by a vampire, so he was able to mobilize William's grief-stricken and vengeful subjects against the 'unholy scourge'. When Kain returned to the time period of Nosgoth he was familiar with, he found that Moebius' citizen army had hunted the vampires to near-extinction. He witnessed the execution of Vorador, then Moebius set the spectators on Kain, the last survivor of the vampire race.

Kain finally recognized who Moebius was, and how the Guardian had used him. Kain fought off the humans, and then confronted the Time Streamer. Moebius summoned up apparitions from the past, present and future to fight Kain, including a future version of Kain. The latter was clearly an illusion, as Kain would not fight himself. Soul Reaver 2 showed us another occasion when Moebius used an illusion, attempting to turn a situation to his advantage.² Moebius' minions were eventually exhausted, and Kain beheaded him, claiming his hourglass token to repair the Pillar of Time.

A short while later, when Kain realized that he was the Balance Guardian, he understood how clever Moebius had been. Killing himself would eliminate the vampire race, but living on would damn the Pillars to eternal decay. Kain probably made his decision to survive though blind stubbornness, but, as he later claimed, it was actually the better course of action out of the two choices. It left him the possibility of finding a third option - a better way out of the Time Streamer's rigged game.

Soul Reaver era
Moebius' story did not end with his death in Blood Omen. As Raziel explored the cauldron room of the Oracle's Cave, he reflected on what he knew about the Time Streamer from Kain's "boasted exploits": Moebius was "a ruthless manipulator with the power to bend time". Raziel found a life-sized statue of Moebius, but "he seemed not at all the impressive figure [Raziel] had imagined".

When Raziel pursued Kain through the Chronoplast's portal at the end of Soul Reaver, he met the Time Streamer on the other side.

Soul Reaver 2 era
In Soul Reaver 2, Raziel learned he had emerged into a time where Moebius still lived, thirty years before Kain would decapitate him. They were in the Sarafan Stronghold, although in this era - twenty years after the murder of King William - it was inhabited by Moebius' army of vampire-hunters.

Moebius was quick to send Raziel after Kain, manipulating him as easily as he had manipulated Kain in Blood Omen. He witnessed Raziel repair the broken Soul Reaver on William's sarcophagus, taking a calculated, but very real risk by being there. Moebius was a worshipper of the Elder God, and although Raziel was on the verge of rejecting his ancient benefactor, Moebius used that link to save his life when Raziel threatened him. Moebius knew Raziel could have chosen to kill him there - understanding Raziel's free will - but said it would be Raziel's "only chance" to do so.

Raziel met Kain at the Pillars, and visited the Dark and Light forges before returning to the Sarafan Stronghold. He encountered Kain again in the stronghold's main hall, and spared Kain's life, despite the pull of history. This caused history to reshuffle around the changed event.

Raziel intended to use the stronghold's second Time Streaming device to go back to the an era before the Sarafan's Vampire Purge. Moebius appeared as Raziel opened it. This appeared to be the one occasion in Soul Reaver 2 when Moebius was truly caught off guard. Presumably, when history was changed by Raziel refusing to kill Kain, it altered what Moebius knew, and undermined his foresight. Moebius was 'genuinely shocked and distressed', and trying 'to regain control of the situation'.³

Moebius tried to reason with Raziel regarding Kain, but Raziel was uncooperative. Moebius operated the Time Streaming device as he was told, but he stranded Raziel in the future, some one hundred years after Kain refused to sacrifice himself for Nosgoth. There, Raziel encountered and dismissed Moebius' martyred spirit (Crystal Dynamics have since confirmed the 'ghost' was an illusion constructed to influence Raziel).²

Raziel had to find another way back into Nosgoth's early history. He used a third Time Streaming device in the Termogent swamp, but although it was suspiciously set, Raziel had started to underestimate Moebius. That was a huge mistake. Five hundred years before the events of Blood Omen, Moebius of that era used Raziel to lead the Sarafan Inquisitors to Janos Audron. He also detained Malek to trap Raziel, so the Paladin could not protect the Circle from Vorador's attack. He arranged the ambush to get Raziel to take up the stolen Reaver, knowing what it would eventually do to him.

Defiance era
Moebius appeared again in Defiance. Kain saved Raziel from the Reaver, but Raziel disappeared into the Spectral Realm immediately afterwards. Kain found Moebius within the Sarafan Stronghold, hoping to learn Raziel's whereabouts from him.

As Kain approached the Time Streamer, Moebius was talking to a standing stone (marked with his infinity sigil), presumably conversing with the Elder God. Although Kain stalked forward cautiously, Moebius knew he was there and welcomed him. He knew Kain was going to ask about Raziel, and he took the opportunity to mock Kain's need to "come begging at [Moebius'] doorstep for answers". When Kain started to get angry, Moebius used his staff to incapacitate Kain. Moebius claimed that Kain's "messianic delusions" - his belief that he was the 'Scion of Balance' mentioned in the Ancient Vampires' prophecies - had blinded him to "Raziel's true nature".

Moebius departed, insultingly leaving Kain armed with the Reaver, but unable to move until he was safely out of the way. Of course, Kain tracked Moebius down again, and in the Stronghold's tower, he telekinetically wrenched the staff away from the Time Streamer before it could be used against him. He used his telekinesis to half-throttle Moebius, and managed to learn about a place west of the Pillars - the Vampire Citadel - that would interest him. Moebius also said that Raziel was "contained", free-willed but certainly going to kill Kain, and far more dangerous than Kain realized.

In the Vampire Citadel, Kain learned something new about Moebius from one of the murals there. The Ancient Vampires - trying to maintain the integrity of the Pillars' sorcery - found and looked after the human successors of their own fallen Guardians, abducting them if necessary. When the successors came of age, they would be turned into vampires too. Apparently Moebius had been unwilling to submit to this fate. With Mortanius, he led a human revolt against the Ancient Vampires. Moebius was very old indeed, and it explained a bit why he hated Kain - a vampire Pillar Guardian - so much.

Moebius next appeared in Vorador's Mansion, after Kain and Raziel had fought in Avernus Cathedral. He congratulated Raziel on his victory over Kain. The Time Streamer said that it did not matter which hero - Vampire or Hylden - Kain and Raziel convinced themselves they were, as long as the outcome was the same: that they would fight and Kain would die. Kain's destruction was the only important thing, and Raziel had achieved that. Moebius gloated that Raziel had been successfully compelled into performing the task, despite having the free will to choose otherwise. Moebius departed to oversee Vorador's execution, leaving Raziel to battle the vampire hunters that blocked Raziel's route between the library and the garden crypt. Moebius didn't care that the fledgling vampire Kain would soon behead him, as he said: "For a true servant of the one God, death is never bitter. I will go - again at peace with the knowledge that I have played my small part in our master's plans." Moebius had faith that the Elder God would look after him, and reward him for his loyalty.

Sure enough, the Elder God resurrected Moebius. After Raziel was defeated by The Hylden Lord, and trapped in the Spectral Realm with the Elder, the Elder God summoned Moebius to the Spirit Forge. It was the place of their first meeting - the place where Moebius first heard the Elder speak to him (as he had never seen his god). Moebius arrived there, and was speaking to the (invisible) Elder God, when Kain floated down behind him.

When Moebius mentioned his death, Kain surprised him, saying the Time Streamer was a "bit premature" in believing he was gone for good. Moebius' staff no longer worked on Kain, now the Heart of Darkness had been removed. Kain impaled Moebius on the Reaver. He wasn't bothered when Moebius insisted that he served "One who has power over life and death" - the Elder God who had already restored him to life once, and could do so again.

Moebius died, and as a spirit, he humbly started to ask the Elder God to resurrect him again. He didn't get to finish his sentence, as Raziel, standing unnoticed behind Moebius, thrust the wraith-blade through him. A horrified Moebius finally saw the Elder God for what it was - as his sight was 'purified' by the Spirit-imbued wraith-blade - before Raziel consumed his old soul. The Elder God described this action as "petty" and "irrelevant"; "Moebius was a good servant, but he was of no further use".

Faced with an eternity trapped in the Spectral Realm, and now aware that Kain was alive with an important destiny to fulfill, Raziel made the choice required to arm the Scion of Balance for "his true endeavor" - he would sacrifice himself to the Reaver.

Kain was examining Moebius' staff when Raziel re-entered the Material Realm using Moebius' corpse as a host. Kain reacted instinctively, running 'Moebius' through with the Reaver. He did not realize his mistake until Raziel manifested fully, reshaping Moebius' dead flesh to approximate his own wraith appearance.

Dark Gifts

 * Moebius' staff - (Elder God, possibly)
 * Evocation - (???)
 * Time Portal - (???)
 * Teleport - (Original)
 * Clairvoyance - (Original)
 * Immortality - (Original)
 * Illusion - (Original)

items

 * Moebius' staff - (Elder God, possibly)

Trivia
Moebius' appearance and personality may be allusions to Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious of Star Wars as both had declared genocide against a race of ancient, but benevolent warriors for their own personal agendas and both have the appearances of elderly men dressed in black robes. Also, both characters had frequently manipulated the protagonists for their own agendas.