Force Glyph (chapter)

Force Glyph is an optional chapter of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver which deals with Raziel's discovery of the Force Glyph Altar and gaining of the Force Glyph spell. Exploration and discovery of the area is entirely up to the player and is not required to progress the story.

Plot[]

At some point after defeating Melchiah and gaining the Phasing through gates ability, Raziel returns to the Necropolis and uses the new ability to pass a grate in the underwater area beneath the cove. In the passage beyond he discovers the Force Glyph Altar and after completing its puzzle he gains the Force Glyph.^{[Soul Reaver]}^{[Soul Reaver/Force]}

Walkthrough[]

The Necropolis[]

Accessing the small cove area of the Necropolis - either by following the sloping passage back down from the main descending crypt, by using the high curving passages from the main lake, or even by following the underwater passage from beneath the lake - Raziel could discover two grates in the area below the waterline of the cove. One in the west covered a small alcove containing a health upgrade, but the one in the north led further on and by using the Phasing through gates ability, Raziel could pass through the northern grate and into the Force Glyph Altar.^{[Soul Reaver]}^{[Soul Reaver/Force]}

The Force Glyph Altar[]

The passage beyond the northern grate led up a slope and above the waterline to a small chamber within with a distinctive shape and a prominent stone face embedded in the wall flanked by Force symbols. Three obelisks stood in the center of the room in triangular formation with a brain mural on the floor between them and each pillar was topped by a part of the force symbol.^{[Soul Reaver]}^{[Soul Reaver/Force]}

By pushing each obelisk in turn they would topple over and their symbols aligned over the brain pattern to create the full Force symbol on the floor. This caused the eyes of the stone face to open and a beam of bright light shot out and hit the force symbol, manifesting the Force Glyph.^{[Soul Reaver]}^{[Soul Reaver/Force]}

The Force Glyph: "Waves of telekinetic force stream from Raziel, throwing enemies backward. Telekinetically flung enemies may end up damaged or destroyed, depending on what they impact."^{[Soul Reaver manual (US)]}^{[Soul Reaver]}

Following completion of the altar an Eldritch recharge will appear in front of the altar and if this is Raziel's first Glyph, Eldritch energy will begin to appear in the environment.^{[Soul Reaver]}^{[Soul Reaver/Force]}

Conclusions[]

Raziel could potentially have gained access to the Force Glyph for the duration of the game. However the ability does not carry over to Soul Reaver 2, which may indicate that he loses them or never canonically obtains them.^{[Soul Reaver]}^{[Soul Reaver/Force]}^{[Soul Reaver 2]}

Behind the scenes[]

In the Soul Reaver alphas, the Force Glyph altar is positioned in a different location with the glyph appearing to be gained much later in the game. Rather than being found beneath the cove in the Necropolis, the Force glyph altar is instead positioned in a passage at the end of the boat area of the Drowned Abbey. The altar is notably underwater meaning that projectiles are required to complete the puzzle - this functionality is missing from the retail version where projectiles are ineffective.^[1]^[2]^[3]^{[Soul Reaver]}^{[Soul Reaver/Force]}

Notes[]

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver is not formally divided into chapters or levels in-game.^{[Soul Reaver]} The chapter names and definitions used at the Legacy of Kain Wiki originate from the supplementary Prima Guide, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver: Prima's Official Strategy Guide.^{[Soul Reaver strategy guide (Prima)]}
- Despite the optional nature of the Glyphs and other bonuses, the Prima guide positions the Force Glyph chapter as immediately following Raziel's confrontation with Melchiah. This is the earliest the Glyph could be gained and corresponds to the progression order indicated by the Ring menu. The guide also suggests the gaining of the Health power-ups next to the Force Glyph altar and under the archway of Raziel's Clan Territory in the same chapter before progressing to face Kain at the Pillars in the following chapter, with both bonuses relying upon using Phasing through gates to bypass Permeable barriers.^{[Soul Reaver strategy guide (Prima)]}^{[Soul Reaver]}
Due to the optional nature of this chapter no dialogue is necessarily associated with it. However if this is the first glyph Raziel has obtained he will be given the explanation of Glyphs and may also be given the following explanation of Eldritch energy upon discovering the first energy token appearing in the environment. Following the progression suggested in the official guide would also result in the first encounter with Health power-ups and their explanation dialogue.^{[Soul Reaver strategy guide (Prima)]}^{[Soul Reaver]}
Though not formally discussed in the game the face presented in the Force Glyph altar is that Nupraptor - the last guardian of the Pillar of the Mind who appeared as the first boss of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and was last seen in chapter "Nupraptor" which showed his death at Kain's hands. The bulbous head and sewn eyes both relate to the old guardian, as does the relative proximity of the ruined Nupraptor's Retreat to the Necropolis and the Force Glyph altar. The powers of the Force Glyph could also be considered to be related to the telekinetic abilities associated with the Mind Guardian.^[4]^{[Blood Omen/2]}^{[Blood Omen/3]}