The Heart Seeker

"This was indeed the Vampire warrior depicted in the fountain room - for here was the hero’s weapon. This could be the key to solving the riddle of the fountain…"

―Raziel^[src]

The Heart Seeker was an item used by Raziel in Legacy of Kain: Defiance. One of three spear-like items collected by Raziel in Vorador's Mansion in the chapter Find Vorador, the spear was ultimately used to open the way to the Water forge.

Profile[]

"This pool seemed related to the portals which had transported me into the Vampire ruins – but its surface was disturbed by the spouting of these gargoyles."

―Raziel^[src]

"These gargoyles were effigies of the Vampires' enemies. In the corresponding murals they were impaled by heroic Vampire warriors. Perhaps this was a clue..."

―Raziel^[src]

The Heart Seeker was a quest item in Legacy of Kain: Defiance that was used by Raziel in the chapter Find Vorador as he ventured into Vorador's Mansion in the events of Blood Omen.^[Defiance]^[Defiance/8]^{[Defiance strategy guide]}

As Raziel entered and explored the mansion he soon found an unusual chamber with a distinctive fountain at its heart. Above the fountain three Hylden gargoyles were positioned on the balcony, each channelling water into the pool below. Around the edges of the chamber several frescoes and murals were positioned depicting three Ancient Vampire champions impaling Hylden adversaries with unique spear weapons - with finding the three spears being a main objective to Raziel in that chapter.^[Defiance]^[Defiance/8]^{[Defiance strategy guide]}

Progressing further into the mansion, Raziel soon found a statue of one of the champions in the Great Hall of the mansion. Activating several nearby Light Orbs with the Dark Reaver caused the Heart Seeker spear to appear in the hands of the statue, where Raziel could recover it.^[Defiance]^[Defiance/8]^{[Defiance strategy guide]}

The item itself was a distinctive spear weapon made of a golden metallic material with a set of three curved spikes facing upward, while a larger set of three curved spikes faced downward on the hilt. Both spikes were usually curved as small 'bumps' against the spear but could be extended outward to form more formidable spiked areas.^[Defiance]^[Defiance/8]

Returning the spear to the fountain room Raziel could use it to impale the appropriate Hylden statue, causing blood to flow into the pool rather than water. This in turn cracked the murals featuring the same spear changing them into breakable barriers that could be smashed open, enabling Raziel to access further into the mansion. When all three spears were collected and used to impale the Hylden statues, a warp to the Water Forge was created in the still pool.^[Defiance]^[Defiance/8]^{[Defiance strategy guide]}

"These murals were attuned somehow to those in the fountain room - for this wall too had shattered."

―Raziel^[src]

Notes[]

"This statue appeared to be the same hero I had seen depicted in the fountain room. This had to be significant."

―Raziel^[src]

The Heart Seeker is explicitly named as such in the inventory and its name is reiterated in the official guide.^[Defiance]^[Defiance/8]^{[Defiance strategy guide]} Pre-release concepts in Bonus materials and game files label the item as the "Heart Puller Artifact" or "Heart Puller" and note other features of its design.^[Defiance] This alternate title is also referred to by lead artist Daniel Cabuco in his website.^[1]
The spear in listed in game files with the label "heart_puller". Another identical variant - possibly used in cutscenes is listed under "dupe_heart_puller". The actual target of the Spear and its accompanying icon are listed as part of the textures of the background environment and labelled as "vorador5a-0008"/"vorador_ruin5a-0007" and as "vorador5a-0044"/"vorador_ruin5a-0048" respectively - with the Hylden statue appearing as texture "vorador5a-0046"/"vorador_ruin5a-0051". In addition to the object itself images of the Heart Seeker can be seen in a number of other environmental background murals and textures.^[Defiance]^[Defiance/8]

The Male Heart Seeker champion

Like its fellow spears the Heart Seeker also appears in the background environment of Vorador's Mansion in murals presumably depicting the Vampire-Hylden war, where it is associated with an ancient vampire champion - a male vampire in a toga marked with a Water symbol - the same champion depicted in the statue where the spear is gained. Most notably it is seen on stained glass above both the Grand Entry area and the Water Forge fountain room and he can also be seen on murals on the door to the great hall where the Heart Seeker is gained and within the great hall itself. Many of the murals featuring the vampire show him in flight impaling and apparently ripping out the heart of a Hylden with the spear - this action is ultimately copied by Raziel on the Hylden statues in the fountain room.^[Defiance]^[Defiance/8]
- Along with being associated with a unique vampire champion and mural, each spear is also associated with a unique icon which represents the spear - in the case of the Heart Seeker a golden leaf shaped spear tip is seen surrounded by three silver curved 'claws' in a representation of the head of the spear, which is also seen on the platform where the champion statue is found. Each spear also has a unique target 'stab wound' in the back of the Hylden statue - in the case of the Heart Seeker a faintly golden almost 'T' shape - these are also depicted in the planning document in Bonus materials^[Defiance]^[Defiance/8]
- Depictions of the Heart Seeker champion notably feature the symbol for elemental Water beneath the mural and on the clasp of the toga of the champion himself - presumably relating to the nearby Water forge warp and the Water Reaver gained within.^[Defiance]^[Defiance/8] Despite all three spears being required to access the forge only the Heart Seeker mural features the symbol, although murals of the Soul Stealer do feature representations of the Gold and Silver halves of Vorador's Crest.^[Defiance]^[Defiance/8]^{[Defiance strategy guide]} Vampires vulnerability to water makes this an unusual association, but it is not the first time such an association has been observed with Kain commenting in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain about Vorador's unusual choice of situating his mansion in Swampy terrain.^{[Blood Omen]}^{[Blood Omen/6]}

Defiance-BonusMaterial-EnvironmentArt-VoradorMansion-10 — Concepts of the three spears with early names

The Heart Seeker is listed in Legacy of Kain: Defiance: Prima's Official Strategy Guide as the second spear to be gained in Vorador's Mansion - with the Blood Drinker gained first.^{[Defiance strategy guide]} Despite this either can be gained first depending upon the door entered in the fountain room. The same monologue is played regardless of which spear is picked up first, but it is only played for the first spear and not the second. The Soul Stealer is always the last of the spears to be gained and thus has a unique monologue associated with it.^[Defiance]^[Defiance/8]
Like its fellow spears the Heart Seeker spear represents an aspect of the lives of Raziel - in this case the human aspect of Raziel and his life as a Sarafan commander in his search of Janos Audron and the Heart of Darkness. Likewise the Blood Drinker represents the vampire Raziel and the Soul Stealer represents the wraith Raziel.^[2]^[3]
Like the other quest items in Defiance, the Heart Seeker appears in the secret "artifact1a" room.^[Defiance]^[4]
Daniel Cabuco added more on the subject of the three spears their champions: "She was would have similar magic to Mortanius’ death mask, but wasn’t a necromancer. She ripped out souls with the crystal added to hear spear". "The three were arbiters; Judge, Jury, and Executioner in the Hylden war. Heart, Blood, and Soul were recurring themes we wrapped throughout the series. Whenever I made anything for the game I always thought through the design and looked for themes to reinforce. These three worked perfectly for both keys and a really interesting part of the lore. "^[5]