The Builder was a character featured in Blood Omen 2. The Builder was an ancient Hylden who was responsible for the creation of the Device, because of this transgression he was imprisoned in the 'timeless' Eternal Prison where Kain met him in "Bad Blood".
"Drink from me, vampire, and use my life’s blood to kill that which I created, out of arrogance and pride. Kill me so that the Mass will die, and the Device will be destroyed!"
The Builder was an Ancient Hylden, presumably born (or possibly created) at some point in the Vampire-Hylden war era. During the latter stages of the millennium long war, the Builder was apparently in charge of a project to create a weapon intended to end the conflict by destroying all creatures not of the Hylden race. He created the Device[1] and captured or created the Mass (a creature capable of killing with its thoughts),[1][2] but needed a network to transmit the thoughts of the Mass onto[1][3] to finish the weapon. Before it was completed however, the Builder was imprisoned in the Eternal Prison and the rest of the Hylden were banished to the Demon Realm.[1]
The Builder languished in the Eternal Prison for eons until the Era following Blood Omen, when Kain discovered that the Device was being used by the Sarafan Lord. Investigating the Device at the end of Chapter 7:The Canyons, Kain found The Beast (who unbeknownst to Kain is actually Janos Audron) contained behind Ward Gate in an upper chamber[Blood Omen 2] and The Beast was able to advise Kain that the Device was too massive to destroy on his own and he would require the help of the Builder - the ancient creature who had created the Device who was imprisoned in the timeless Eternal Prison.[4][5][6]
Following The Beast's directions, Kain arrived at the Eternal Prison in "Bad Blood",[7][8] where he fought his way to reach the Builder's cell in the heart of the prison[Blood Omen 2]. Lowering the cell, Kain was able to free the Builder, who crawled from the cell.[2] When informed that Kain was seeking to destroy the Device, the Builder was eager to help.[9] The Builder explained that the Device was a weapon constructed for use in the Elder Wars[1] and that it functioned by channelling the mental energy of the Mass (a creature powerful enough to kill with a single thought),[2][10] but it required a network onto which the energy could be transmitted which was never completed.[1][3] Kain realised that the Sarafan (more specifically, the glyph wrights) had completed the network in the guise of providing Glyph magic to Meridian's (and Nosgoth's) population.[2][3]
The Builder informed Kain his only hope now was to destroy the Mass itself and revealed that the creature suffered from a simple weakness; the Blood of the Elder Races was poisonous to it and would kill the creature.[11] Granting the Builder the 'release' he desired, Kain killed the Builder and drank his Blood,[2][12][13] later using it in "Into the Depths" to poison the Mass[Blood Omen 2].[14]
Notes[]
The Builder is the first 'uncovered' Hylden revealed in Blood Omen 2 . Dialogue implies the Builder is an ancient (pre-banishment)Hylden,[1] however he shares a character model similar to the more bedraggled appearance of the (post-banishment)Hylden Scientists. There are however some subtle differences; the Builder's skin and clothing colours appear to be slightly different to those of the scientists and the Builder has some markings on his suit[Blood Omen 2]. It is unknown why the Builder imprisonment would have caused the same appearance of the Hylden banished to the Demon Realm (Though it is possible that the torture of thousands of years made him look like the other Hylden).[15]
It is not certain whether the Builder's blood was necessarily needed to poison the Mass ; the rate he consumed HyldenBlood in Chapter 9:theDevice may have meant that it was ordinary (post-banishment) HyldenBlood that Kain used, rather than the specified "pure blood from the Elder Races",[15] indeed Ancient VampireJanos Audron was imprisoned as The Beast in the upper chambers of the Device, being drained to feed the Mass[Blood Omen 2].
The exact circumstances surrounding the creation of the Device are unclear, The Builder is credited by Janos as the being that built the Device,[4] and the Builder confirms this.[1][9][11] However, the Builder's use of the word "we" in his conversation with Kain could imply that many other Hylden worked on the Device and that the Builder was merely 'head' of the project.[10]
The imprisonment of the Mass within the Device is similarly unexplained, though it was likely the Builder that was responsible for this. The Mass could presumably have been captured or created and the Builder may imply that latter when he tells Kain to "use my life’s blood to kill that which I created, out of arrogance and pride".[11]
The Builder's incarceration in the Eternal Prison is also left unexplained (much like the circumstances surrounding Magnus' imprisonment there). With many of the Eternal Prisons residents supposedly there because they had "transgressed the laws of the gods and man",[16] the Builder seems to have been punished for his creation of the Device.
As with other Hylden in Blood Omen 2, the Builder seems to be referred to by a 'title' as opposed to a name.
↑ 1.01.11.21.31.41.51.61.7Builder:"Yes, yes… The Device was built as a weapon, eons ago when two races warred with each other for dominance of Nosgoth. It houses an ancient creature, who’s very mind is capable of killing any living thing with but a thought. The Device was to channel the mental energy of this creature, and direct it onto Nosgoth. It would attune the creature’s mind to kill all living creatures except for my race. Before it could be completed, however, I was imprisoned here, and the rest of my race was banished to another, far more terrible, realm." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
↑ 2.02.12.22.32.4"As you approach the container, the prisoner crawls free. This creature is part of the race that built the machine lying beneath Meridian. It was intended to harness the power of an eternal creature called "the Mass," which is capable of killing with a single thought.//Kain realizes that the network of Glyphs installed throughout Meridian are meant to channel the 'Mass' power. The creature explains that the only way to destroy the machine is to kill the Mass by using his blood. He offers his blood to Kain in exchange for a release from his suffering." Prima Games. Prima's Official Strategy Guide to Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2 (2002). Page 68. ISBN 0-7615-3774-0
↑ 3.03.13.2Kain:"You say a network? Placed like a web throughout a city?"//Builder:"We never completed the network. We never used the Device."//Kain:"But the Sarafan Lord will. The Glyphs! He is using the Glyphs to channel the Mass, to wipe out the city, humans and vampires alike! That must be his plan!"Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
↑ 4.04.1Kain:"I am here to destroy the device."//Beast:"Yes. Yes, I can help you, then.That which you seek is too great for you to destroy alone. It descends far underground, it rivals a city in its size. To destroy the device, you must seek out the being that built it."//Kain:"The Sarafan Lord?"//Beast:"No, no, it is older, far older. Those who dwelt in Nosgoth eons ago left some structures in their passing. The device is one. The Sarafan Lord discovered how to use it. Only the Builder can make it stop."//Kain:"Do you mean to tell me that this being still lives? Impossible."//Beast:"He is…listen to me. There is a place in Nosgoth, far to the north, where time means nothing, where hours and years are frozen for eternity. The Eternal Prison. The wretches imprisoned there pay for their crimes for eternity. The builder is there."Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
↑"Kain:"And if this builder refuses my help?"//Beast:"Tell him you wish to destroy the device. Believe me, he will aid you."//Kain:"I hope, for your sake, that what you have told me is true."//Beast:"You may believe me. Destroying the device…will free me…at last. I will be in your debt, Kain" Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
↑"Enter the building and follow the path to an elevator that will lower you to the center of a large vault. You'll lose control of Kain as he converses with the demon being held prisoner. It tells you to seek out the ancient race who built the device: one of them is being held in the Eternal Prison to the far north. Pack your bags!" Prima Games. Prima's Official Strategy Guide to Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2 (2002). Page 60. ISBN 0-7615-3774-0
↑"Far to the North there exists a place where time is frozen. Inside the prison, tortured souls spend eternity contemplating the evil deeds they have done. Kain must enter and reach one special inmate; a member of the species that built the Device the Sarafan Lord is trying to activate.He won't be a welcome guest, however. Not only are the Prison wardens hostile to visitors, but there is a mad vampire trapped within the walls." Prima Games. Prima's Official Strategy Guide to Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2 (2002). Page 61. ISBN 0-7615-3774-0
↑Objective 1: Find the Prisoner"Kain needs to learn more about the device resurrected by the Sarafan Lord. The
prisoner from the ancient species should know how it works and how it can be destroyed." Prima Games. Prima's Official Strategy Guide to Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2 (2002). Page 61. ISBN 0-7615-3774-0
↑ 9.09.1Kain:"I seek a prisoner in this place, a builder. He created a large Device that lies below the city of Meridian."//Builder:"Seek no further. I am he."//Kain:"How fortunate. I intend to destroy this Device. I was told only you can tell me how."//Builder:"I can indeed help you, but in return I need an end to my suffering."//Kain:"Tell me of the Device and I will grant you any request within my power."Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
↑ 10.010.1Kain:"So this Device was never finished. And yet the creature still lives within it?"//Builder:"It was dubbed “The Mass.” It is eternal and deadly, yet harmless without a channel for it’s mind. We never completed the weapon. We needed a way to send its energy out of the Device and into the land itself. We needed a conduit spread all throughout the cities, a network, if you will. Once this network was created, the Device would channel the mental energy of the Mass, and send death upon our enemies."Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
↑ 11.011.111.2Builder:"If this is indeed true, you must act quickly. It would be too large a task to destroy the Device itself. You must kill The Mass itself."//Kain:"You said this creature was eternal."//Builder:"It has a simple weakness. Blood is like poison to its system. And not any blood, but pure blood from the Elder races. My blood. My blood will poison and kill the creature. Drink from me, vampire, and use my life’s blood to kill that which I created, out of arrogance and pride. Kill me so that the Mass will die, and the Device will be destroyed!"Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
↑Kain:"You have suffered here an eternity, poor wretch. I will grant you release from your prison, I will carry your blood in my veins, and I will bring the Sarafan Lord’s plans tumbling before him." (~Kain tears into the Builder's throat. The Builder collapses, dead.~) Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
↑"Beast:"I sense…a change in you. You found the Builder."//Kain:"You are perceptive. He gave me his blood as a gift. I gave in return the gift he most wanted; death." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
↑Kain:"At last, I had found it; the foul Mass, hidden within the bowls of the Device. Here was the Sarafan Lord’s ultimate weapon – his trump card, to be played against human and vampire alike. But I had my own weapon. I could feel the Builder’s blood course coldly through my veins. If I could use it to poison this creature, the Sarafan Lord’s plans would be ruined." (~Kain takes a series of lifts up to a platform overhanging the mouth of the creature and cuts his wrist. After shedding only a few drops of blood, the whole chamber begins to tremble violently, and the Mass begins to rupture.~) Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
↑Prison Guardian:"You there! I don’t know you. Are you a guest? A visitor? An intruder? We do not permit guests to disturb our routine. We are involved in important work here, and nothing – nothing – must be allowed to interfere. This is a place where those who have transgressed the laws of the gods and man, and so have created a dangerous imbalance within themselves, contemplate the wrongs that they have done, through peaceful, uninterrupted meditation, until they have regained the balance of their true, perfect inner nature. This process must not be interrupted for any reason, until a spiritual transformation has been achieved, however long that may take. Thus, no guests, no visitors, are allowed. And intruders, we know how to deal with. Go. Now." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.