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"We are the Cabal, the Vampire resistance. We work to undermine the Sarafan at every turn. But we are losing. With the new magic they employ, the Glyph magic, they are able to find us and kill us. Our numbers are dwindling. Without help, we will not survive. We need you, Kain."
―Umah[src]

The Cabal was a vampire resistance group to the rule of the Sarafan in the era following Blood Omen. The group was based in and around Meridian in Blood Omen 2 and was ultimately responsible for the revival of Kain and his quest to kill the Sarafan Lord and overthrow the Sarafan control of Nosgoth.[1][2] The Cabal were part of the altered history created by the paradox at the end of Soul Reaver 2.

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After Kain and his army were defeated, the Sarafan Lord and the Sarafan took control of Meridian and started conquering Nosgoth. Part of the Sarafan agenda was the extermination of all vampires and they carried it out unflinchingly in Blood Omen 2.[1] The surviving vampires decided that it was easier to survive and fight back as a group than as individuals.[2] Thus, the Cabal were formed under Vorador, the first human vampire [3] and one of their first tasks was the recovery of Kain's body.[4] Although they operated in and around Meridian and possibly even Nosgoth in general, their base of operations - Sanctuary - remained located in Lower City of Meridian in the basement of a shop called the Blue Lady Curios.[2][5]

Two hundred years after Kain's defeat, with vampire numbers dwindling, the Cabal was forced to revive Kain seeing him as a perfect agent against the Sarafan.[1][2][4] After being revived and trained by Cabal Vampire Umah, Kain followed a trail of clues to uncover the location of Sanctuary [5] and discovered that his former ally Vorador was its leader.[6]

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Throughout Blood Omen 2, Kain reluctantly worked with the Cabal to undermine and overthrow the Sarafan; planning ultimately to kill the Sarafan Lord and recapture the Soul Reaver and Nosgoth for himself.[7][8] On Vorador's orders, Kain would rescue the captured Umah from the Sarafan Keep (after meeting the Cabal Contact Bishop in the Upper City),[9] recover the Nexus Stone from the Industrial Quarter[10] and find and destroy the Device (after seeking the advice of the Seer in the Canyons and the Builder in the Eternal Prison).[11]

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After destroying the Device, Kain returned to Sanctuary with Janos Audron; who explained to Vorador and the Cabal the risk posed by the Hylden threat. Once again on Vorador's orders, Kain was sent (along with Umah ) to the Wharves to board a ship to the Hylden City and deactivate its Shield Generator;[12] allowing the Vampires of the Cabal to teleport there to mount a final assault against the Hylden Lord.[13] On his way through the Wharves a major conflict would develop between Kain and Umah regarding the future of the Cabal Vampires following the Sarafan Lord's defeat and Kain would murder her to recover the Nexus Stone she had briefly stolen from him.

When Kain had travelled to the Hylden City and deactivated the Shield, only Janos and Vorador teleported across and Kain and Vorador soon argued about the fate of Umah, allowing the Sarafan Lord to attack, temporarily injuring both Janos and Vorador. Kain would largely face the Hylden Lord alone above the Hylden Gate (though interference from Janos would result in him being thrown through the closing gate) and was successful in destroying it and defeating the Hylden invasion.

With the notable absence of many Cabal Vampires from the 'final assault',[13] the death of Umah, and the ambiguous fates of Janos and Vorador, the ultimate end of the Cabal remains unknown, though Umah believed that Kain would have hunted them down as the only ones who could oppose him and his dreams of empire.[14] It seems likely that shortly into the Soul Reaver era, Kain would have eliminated the remains of the Sarafan Order [15] but it is unclear if he followed the same path with the remaining Cabal Vampires. What is known is by the events of Soul Reaver, the only vampires remaining were Kain and his descendants, suggesting that the Cabal was defunct as an organization and it's members dead. It's possible that Umah's decision to steal the Nexus Stone from Kain, out of fear that he would turn on the Cabal out of ambition to rule Nosgoth, became a reality.

Members[]

The Cabal had members and contacts spread throughout Meridian. Vorador and Umah (and a human cabal contact named Dimitri in some sources[16]) are the only ones addressed by name in Blood Omen 2. However, at least four other vampires are seen during Kain's visits to the Sanctuary (with only the Injured Cabal Vampire speaking any lines). Since the Cabal epitomized the anti-Sarafan movement in the Blood Omen 2 era, many humans who despised the Sarafan rule were Cabal sympathizers or members. Often referred to as "contacts " by Umah, Kain meets several of these in Blood Omen 2. The most notable one is the Bishop of Meridian who helps Kain infiltrate the Sarafan Keep at the cost of having his manor raided and being under Marcus' control temporarily. Vorador had apparently offered membership to Marcus "many times", but he had refused to join.[17]

See also[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Icon Blood Omen 2 Umah: "We are the Cabal, the vampire resistance. We work to undermine the Sarafan at every turn. But we are losing. With the new magic they employ, the Glyph Magic, they are able to find us and kill us. Our numbers are dwindling. Without help, we will not survive. We need you, Kain." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Cabal-Kain" defined multiple times with different content
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Umah explains that Nosgoth is ruled by the Sarafan and the vampire race is all but extinct. A few survivors have joined together to form the Cabal: the vampire resistance, operating from a hidden Sanctuary. They are in need of Kain's abilities" Prima Games. Prima's Official Strategy Guide to Blood Omen 2(2002). Page 8. ISBN 0-7615-3774-0
  3. Icon Defiance Raziel: "These images chronicled Vorador’s creation. As I already knew, he had not been born a vampire, but had been turned by the infamous Janos Audron. But this mural suggested that Vorador’s origins were even more significant – apparently, he was the first human to whom the dark gift had been passed." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Defiance. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (November 11, 2003) Transcript.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Icon Blood Omen 2 Umah: "That you awoke at all is a miracle. When we found you, there was but the barest thread of life left in you. We nurtured it, fed it, and now you rise and walk again."//Kain: "And what is this place?"//Umah: "You are in the city of Meridian, capital of the Land of Nosgoth, the land you once sought to conquer and rule. Tell me, since you remember your name, do you also remember your nature?"//Kain: "Of course." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Icon Blood Omen 2 Vendor: "You’re looking for Sanctuary, then?"//Kain: "Correct"//Vendor: "It’s hidden under the Blue Lady shop in the eastern part of the district." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
  6. Icon Blood Omen 2 Kain: "Ah, yes. Who but the father of vampires would lead the resistance? I am honored, Vorador." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
  7. Icon Blood Omen 2 Umah: "Have you changed so much? The Sarafan Lord defeated you. Don't you want to kill him? When you have destroyed him, you can continue your ascent to power, restore your army, rule the land at last. Does the lust for vengeance and power no longer stir you? Are you so dead?" Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
  8. Icon Blood Omen 2 Kain: "Then I shall take the stone, and use it to kill him. But know this: when I recover it, I will also claim ownership of it. I trust that is understood."//Vorador: "Then you commit yourself to fighting the Sarafan Lord. There can be no turning back."//Kain: "I was committed to that from the moment you revived me. Nothing will turn me away." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript
  9. Icon Blood Omen 2 Kain: "We need her information"//Vorador: "We need to save her life, Kain."//Kain: "Yes, of course. So I am to rescue her, "Sire?""//Vorador: "Our kind cannot approach the Keep; we would be instantly discovered. You have the power to disguise your presence. But the chief entrance to the Keep is far too heavily guarded. You must speak with the Bishop of Meridian." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
  10. Icon Blood Omen 2 Vorador: "So be it. You must use the subway to reach the Industrial Quarter, which lies in the northeastern part of the city. Find your way past the gate that blocks the townspeople from entering, but perhaps we may leave that to your invention. Umah?"//Umah: "Once in the quarter, look for the main factory complex. It is there that the stone is held."//Kain: "I will return with the Nexus Stone, and the Sarafan Lord's head." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
  11. Icon Blood Omen 2 Kain: "Before I killed him, he told me something…unsettling.He spoke of an ancient Device underground that will bring about victory for the Sarafan Lord. What do you know of this, Vorador?"//Vorador: "I have heard tell of strange discoveries deep underground. Ancient legends speak of huge machines deep in the earth, left by the gods in eons past. And I know of one who can tell us the truth of this matter. She is a Seer, a being said to be older even than I. We are fortunate in that she owes me a favor. Go to her, Kain, and learn what she knows." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
  12. Icon Blood Omen 2 Umah: "There has been, in the past months, enormous activity at the Wharves. Warships and freighters, loading and unloading in great secrecy. The few of our people who have infiltrated the area, and returned alive, have told me that the ships all seem to take the same course out of the harbor, but we do not know their destination."//Janos: "It must be the Hylden City. Why else would there be such interest at this time? You must take a ship to the city at once. There, you must find and deactivate the shield, so whatever forces we can bring may come to your aid, and close the Gate for all time." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
  13. 13.0 13.1 Icon Blood Omen 2 Janos: "He has created a base in this world, the Hylden City, across the sea. There he has opened a Gate to bring his kind into our world. My plan was to teleport us to the Hylden City, and launch a final assault on the Sarafan Lord, but now I find there is some kind of shield of magic that prevents me. If we are to fight them, that shield must be destroyed." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
  14. Icon Blood Omen 2 Umah: "Vorador has told me all your stories, Kain. He said that you would stop at nothing to achieve your great ambition: absolute power. And when you control Nosgoth, are we to believe that you would let us vampires live, and "do what we wish?" We are the only ones who could stand in your way. No, you will have to hunt us down and kill us, and how is that different from the rule of the Sarafan Lord?" Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
  15. Icon Blood Omen 2 Kain: "Umah… What was it she said to me in that fatal moment when she took from me the Nexus Stone. How would my rule differ from that of the Sarafan Lord? If you had lived Umah, you would have learned the difference. You should have trusted me.The war was over. And yet there was another still to be fought. The cruel masters of Nosgoth, the Sarafan, now leaderless, still had to be put down. There were cities to be rebuilt, and order be restored. And a new rule, my rule, would then begin. To the victor go the spoils. At last, Nosgoth would be mine." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
  16. Icon Nosgothic Realm Dimitri: "Wait – tell Umah that I helped you. Please. She promised me the Dark Gift, if I did as she asked. You'll tell her, won't you?" Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
  17. Icon Blood Omen 2 Vorador: "Many times I attempted to persuade Marcus to join with us. But he would not heed me." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.

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