Falcon Insignia

The Falcon Insignia
Items article
The Falcon Insignia in Defiance.
Introduced in	File:Wiki-Icon-DEF.png Legacy of Kain: Defiance (2003)
Appearance(s)	File:Wiki-Icon-DEF.png Defiance

"This artifact seemed as though it was made for that unusual lock. Now the door could be opened."

―Kain

The Falcon Insignia was an artifact used by Kain in Defiance. It was the first quest-related item encountered by Kain and could be found in the Sarafan Stronghold in the chapter Pursue Moebius.

Profile

"This door had been equipped with a singular lock, requiring an unusual key. Somehow I would find it"

―Kain

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When Kain returned to the Sarafan Stronghold in the first chapter of Defiance, he noted a door with an unusually shaped locking mechanism in the 'chapter house' area of the stronghold and he resolved to find the key. By the conclusion of the chapter, Kain had confronted Moebius beneath the stronghold and discovered the unusually shaped Falcon Insignia embedded in a door in Moebius' chamber.^{[Defiance][Defiance/1]}

The artifact itself consisted of a golden falcon looking left with wings outstretched. A second bird in a darker shade of brown or grey was positioned behind the first, giving a border around the golden bird. Above the head of the golden bird, the second bird's neck was raised looking upward, giving the impression of it rising above the first.^{[Defiance][Defiance/1][Defiance/3]}

The Falcon Insignia in the inventory

In the third chapter Pursue Moebius, Kain's initial objectives revolved around the recovery and return of the Falcon Insignia and his first task involved collecting it from Moebius' chamber to open the door and allow him passage to exit the room. Upon returning to the chapter house Kain could place the item in the unusual lock he had seen earlier. This unlocked the Sealed Door behind and allowed him to ascend to the upper levels of the 'chapter house' and 'Sanctuary' areas of the stronghold - ultimately opening the way to the 'relic room' where Kain collected Malek's Shield.^{[Defiance][Defiance/3][Defiance strategy guide]}

Notes

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• The Falcon Insignia is explicitly named as such in the inventory and its name is reiterated in objectives, and the official guide.^{[Defiance][Defiance/1][Defiance/3][Defiance strategy guide]} The artifact is not directly named in dialogue where it is simply referred to as an "unusual key" or an "artifact" - stage directions vaguely refer to the item as an "emblem".^{[Defiance][Defiance/1][Defiance/3]} Game files list the item as "shold_artifact_one" and its lock as "shold_lock_one". A duplicate of the item also appear under "shold_artifact_one_dupe" - possibly intended for use in cutscenes. The door where Kain initially gains the insignia is listed as "shold_secretdoorsmoebius".^[Defiance]
• Like all the quest items seen in Defiance, the Falcon Insignia is never seen being carried. The item disappears once taken from its original position and can only be seen in the inventory screen. It reappears on screen when placed in it's final position.^{[Defiance][Defiance/1][Defiance/3]}

The Falcon Insignia in the artifact room

• The Falcon Insignia bears a striking resemblance to the falcon symbols on the banners of the Legions of the Nemesis seen in the First timeline of the events of Blood Omen in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain - set several centuries after Kain's exploit in the stronghold - and may have been deliberately designed as such.^{[Blood Omen][Blood Omen/9][Blood Omen/10][Blood Omen strategy guide]} Moebius is presumably responsible for its placement and even indirectly comments on the fate of the legions in his chambers before Kain collects the insignia.^{[Defiance][Defiance/1]} The symbols were originally designed in Blood Omen to be evocative Nazi Germany and Silicon Knights' developer diary, The Complete Guide To Legacy of Kain, confirms that Adolf Hitler and the Nuremberg rallies influenced Moebius's character and the scene where he rallies William's peasants respectively. Nazism was later drawn upon again to inspire the creation of the revived Sarafan of Blood Omen 2.^{[Blood Omen 2/3]}
• Like the other quest items in Defiance, the Falcon Insignia appears in the secret "artifact1a" room.^[Defiance]

Gallery

The Falcon Insignia in it's original place

The Falcon Insignia in the inventory

The Falcon shaped lock with the Chapter House

The Falcon lock texture

The Falcon Insignia texture

Moebius' Falcon door texture