The Dark Scripture

The Dark Scripture was an item used by Raziel in Legacy of Kain: Defiance. Discovered in the balconies above Avernus Cathedral, the scripture was a book collected by Raziel in the chapter Seek Mortanius. Ultimately it was placed on the main altar of the Cathedral where it opened a portal leading to the Avernus Catacombs.

Profile[]

When Raziel proceeded to Avernus Cathedral in the chapter Seek Mortanius of Defiance he was soon able to discover a warp to the Earth forge where he could forge the Earth Reaver. This enhancement allowed Raziel to summon Earth platforms from an Earth plinth in the center of the Cathedral, allowing him to jump upwards to reach the balcony level above Avernus Cathedral where Raziel found the Dark Scripture held by two statues.^[Defiance]^{[Defiance/10]}^{[Defiance strategy guide]}

Visually the dark scripture was a book bound in a maroon leathery material scripture with a golden rune symbol on the cover and golden spiked corner bindings.^[Defiance]^{[Defiance/10]}

Taking the Dark Scripture back down to the to the main altar of the cathedral below and placing it there, Raziel was able to open a portal that led to the Avernus Catacombs.^[Defiance]^{[Defiance/10]}^{[Defiance strategy guide]} The Scripture remained in place for the duration of the game, visible on Raziel's return, throughout Raziel and Kain's battle and upon Kain's return in Return to the Guardian Citadel.^[Defiance]^{[Defiance/10]}^{[Defiance/11]}^{[Defiance/12]}^{[Defiance/13]}^{[Defiance strategy guide]}

Notes[]

"As the handsome coffin hides the putrefying corpse within, the great Cathedral of Avernus seemed to hold its own secrets, hidden in the catacombs beneath its vaulted chambers. Was this the source of the corruption that infected Nosgoth? Vorador had hinted at something more."

―Raziel^[src]

The Dark Scripture is explicitly named as such in the inventory and its name is reiterated in the official guide. In game files the Dark Scripture is labelled as "av_altarkey". A corresponding 'lock' texture labelled as "av_altarlock" is included in files but consists mainly of effects and does not include the altar itself which is counted as part of the environment. Curiously the 'lock' textures also include an image which appears to be the cut Blue Chalice.^[Defiance]^{[Defiance/10]}^{[Defiance/11]}^{[Defiance/12]}

The Lovecraft's Diary message
The Lovecraft's Diary message

The Dark Scripture has much in common with the Bloodstained Book that Kain found in the Secret Altar to Hash'ak'gik in Avernus Cathedral in Blood Omen. Both are apparently involved with the Hash'ak'gik Cult - with the Scripture opening the way to the catacombs where Turel was worshipped as Hash'ak'gik. Notably the contents of the Dark Scripture are not revealed unlike its predecessor, with the inner pages of the book merely represented by a series of indecipherable symbols.^[Defiance]^{[Defiance/10]}^{[Blood Omen]}^{[Blood Omen/8]}
A Lovecraft's Diary inscription can be found on the floor of Avernus Cathedral which reads "The book is the key to ultimate knowledge" - apparently in reference to the Dark scripture and pointing to the activities of the Hash'ak'gik cult.^[Defiance]^{[Defiance/10]}^{[Defiance/11]}^{[Defiance/12]}^{[Defiance/13]}^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

The statues behind the main altar of the Cathedral where the scripture is ultimately placed are identical to a set of statues seen in the garden of Vorador's Mansion in Find Vorador and Battle Kain.^[Defiance]^[Defiance/8]^{[Defiance/10]}^{[Defiance/11]}^{[Defiance/12]}^{[Defiance/13]}

Like the other quest items in Defiance, the Dark Scripture appears in the secret "artifact1a" room.^[Defiance]^[5]
The Dark Scripture and its cover rune are the inspiration for the symbology of the Legacy of Kain Wiki.