Legacy of Kain: Defiance transcript/Story

Profile

Infiltrate the Stronghold

Prologue

A shot of Kain in all his glory, sitting on his throne in the ruined hall of Pillars, his lieutenants around him. This segues to Kain overseeing throwing Raziel into the abyss, followed by a shot of the fall of the Pillars.

KAIN V.O. Given the choice - whether to rule a corrupt and failing empire or to challenge the Fates for another throw, a better throw, against one's destiny - what was a king to do? But does one ever truly have a choice? One can only match, move by move, the machinations of Fate, and thus defy the tyrannous stars.

Shot - the night sky, and the tyrannous stars as the first logo appears on screen: Eidos Interactive present."

We transition directly from the final shot of the Prologue sequence -- across the cloudy night sky, the first logo appears: "Eidos Interactive presents."

The camera tilts/pans down from the sky, and we see that it is snowing. It is just before dawn -- the moon is still visible, hanging low over the horizon. The battlements of the Sarafan fortress are silhouetted in the foreground.

The camera comes to a rest as a flock of bats swarms in, framed by the full moon. They coalesce to form the dark shape of a heroically-proportioned man -- this is KAIN, not yet fully visible as he's backlit by the moon. He drops down from the battlements, out of the shot. The camera tilts/pans with him into darkness, as the second title is displayed: "a Crystal Dynamics production"

Motion-wipe from darkness reveals Kain moving steadily and soundlessly through a stone tunnel, still lit from behind. His voice-over begins --

KAIN V.O. And so I returned to the sanctuary of my enemy - the fortress of the Sarafan brotherhood, deemed impossible for any man to penetrate.

The camera dollies back as Kain advances, until we see in the foreground a flickering shadow cast by a heavy portcullis. Cut to a reverse shot as Kain approaches the portcullis and pool of light. Kain adopts a more stealthy posture, and we see a lone Sarafan guard standing on the other side of the gate.

Cut to a shot from the other side of the portcullis --

KAIN V.O. ...impossible for any man.

-- as Kain mists smoothly and silently through the gate, just behind the unsuspecting guard. As he emerges into the pool of light, we see his features for the first time.

Kain effortlessly snaps the sentry's neck, and bites greedily into his throat, holding the sagging body. The guard doesn't even know what hit him. Kain drains the victim, and lets the body fall to the ground as he wipes his mouth and looks offscreen toward his next goal.

As the music swells, the title logo appears: "Legacy of Kain: Defiance" -- the background fades to black during the title transition.

The scene fades up as we see Kain moving stealthily along a narrow walkway. His VO continues --

KAIN V.O. Deep within these walls, my prey awaited: Moebius the Time Streamer, deceiver and eternal gamester, using living beings as his pawns.

As Kain nears a corner, we hear the footsteps and voices of Sarafan warriors, approaching along an adjacent bridge. Kain leans into the wall for cover, reaches tentatively for the Reaver blade, and turns his head to listen. We overhear a conversation between two Sarafan guards returning from patrol --

SARAFAN GUARD 1 In the end, we rooted out an entire nest of the fiends.

SARAFAN GUARD 2 But we had swept that area already.

SARAFAN GUARD 1 Not well enough. But no matter - we purged every last one of that brood with fire. May their souls now rest.

In the foreground, Kain sneers in disgust. The guards pass, while their VO continues off-screen.

SARAFAN GUARD 2 O.S. Lord Moebius will be pleased.

Still on Kain ­-- in the distance, we hear a heavy door open and close. Kain moves from the shadows and surveys his surroundings -- the bridge above, and alley below.

KAIN V.O. It was time for Moebius to answer a few questions. I hoped, for his sake, to find him in a forthcoming mood.

Kain to drops agilely to the alley level as gameplay begins.

The Sarafan Stronghold

Kain mists through the upper dungeon window, and surveys the scene below him. A number of prisoners are chained to walls, their plaintive cries echoing in the grim chamber. Use the generic Captive VO here.

Near Kain, and below the ledge, a chained prisoner male moans --

MALE CAPTIVE moaning

Kain looks down at him, then drops quietly to the floor below. As he approaches, the prisoner sees him and begins to panic --

MALE CAPTIVE Help me! Help me!

As his voice rises in volume, the other prisoners begin to MOAN and cry out in the background. Use the generic Captive VO here.

Kain approaches the terrified prisoner and gently passes his hand before the man's face --

KAIN Shhh...

The prisoner begins to quiet, becoming somewhat hypnotized, or paralyzed, by Kain's power.

MALE CAPTIVE Oh please, no...

Kain leans toward the prisoner almost intimately, anticipating the meal --

KAIN V.O. From time to time it is necessary to feed.

The prisoner looks up at Kain, completely hypnotized and compliant.

KAIN V.O. And the unusual event of a feast prepared by the Sarafan must be savored.

Kain shatters a crumbling wall with the Reaver and steps through the new passage.

SARAFAN What was that?

Kain pulls the man off of the bridge above him using telekinesis, and flings him upon a metal spike jutting out of the wall. He then walks out into the room.

KAIN V.O. The touch of water was like acid to a vampire. I had to find another way to pass.

Kain approaches a magical barrier.

KAIN V.O. This passage undoubtedly led to the Time Streamer. My prey was nearly in my grasp. But the door had been sealed by a blessed barrier. As I approached, the Reaver resonated in response. Perhaps its dark sorcery could dispel these holy barriers.

Kain takes a swipe at the barrier with his sword, only to be repelled.

KAIN V.O. As I suspected, the Reaver was not yet powerful enough to shatter these barriers. But there was something to this…

As Kain enters the stronghold’s chapel, a portcullis slams down. He pushes against it with his foot.

KAIN V.O. Locked. What a love of doors these pathetic humans have.

He nears an artifact on a pedestal that is suspiciously unguarded. Heeding the signs of a trap, he dematerializes into his mist form, jumps back, and draws the Reaver. A Sarafan archer on a balcony above him takes notice.

SARAFAN Huh? Vampire!

Kain defeats the Sarafan, and returns his attention to the artifact.

KAIN V.O. This emblem was unmistakably of vampire origin, and designed to enhance the Reaver’s power. But this coincidence seemed too convenient; Moebius clearly meant for me to find it.

Within the Stronghold Sanctuary, Kain recovers the Balance Emblem that will enable him to access Moebius' chamber.

KAIN V.O. This relic was attuned to the Reaver, enhancing the blade's power. Thus armed, I now had the means to dispel the blessed barriers that had hindered my progress.

Just as Kain recovers the hub of the Balance Emblem from the Sanctuary chapel, he hears doors open, and armored footsteps rapidly approaching. A number of Sarafan clamor into the Sanctuary to surround him, shouting threats and orders.

[You can use the following Sarafan Misc. VO lines here: 01 "There he is, get him!"; 02 "Get him!"; 03 "Don't let him escape!"; 05 "Die, vampire!"; and 08 "Attack!". There are multiple variations of each.]

SARAFAN 2 Sound the alarm!

SARAFAN 3 Vampire!

SARAFAN 4 Don't let him escape!

Kain walks calmly into their midst as they close in to surround him. He regards them coolly, without even drawing his weapon yet.

SARAFAN 1 Surround him!

SARAFAN 2 Surrender, fiend, and we will promise you an easy death.

KAIN I could promise you the same, but it would be a lie.

As Kain speaks, he draws the Reaver menacingly, and readies for battle. Gameplay resumes.

After defeating the Sarafan, Kain approaches another magical barrier.

KAIN V.O. This barrier had a curious resonating effect n the Reaver.

Approaching a door that is of a different design than the others in the Stronghold:

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

Moebius gains the upper hand

The scene begins as Kain advances toward Moebius' subterranean chamber. As he nears the chamber's entrance, we begin to hear Moebius' voice, indistinctly. Kain silently draws the Reaver, and moves toward the chamber.

Moebius' dialogue is fragmented, as though we're hearing only one side of a conversation.

MOEBIUS O.S. Yes... I understand...

We cut to the inside of the chamber, dollying in roughly from Kain's POV -- we see Moebius, his back to the camera, as he stands before a shimmering, mysterious pool at the center of the room. Moebius holds an arcane staff in one hand.

It's not clear that Moebius is speaking to anyone; it sounds as though he could be talking to himself.

It's been a long time since these two have come face to face. Their dialogue should reflect this. They despise and distrust each other. The last time they met face to face, Kain lopped Moebius' head off.

MOEBIUS ...it will be done... the stage is set...

Cut to a close reverse shot of Moebius, with Kain visible in the background. We can see that Moebius is looking down into the pool; reflections from the water's surface illuminate his face. Then, with a satisfied expression, he cuts his eyes in Kain's direction.

MOEBIUS You needn't linger in the shadows, Kain.

Cut to a reverse shot as he turns and regards Kain malevolently.

MOEBIUS with hostilityIt has been a long time, hasn't it?

KAIN No banter, Moebius. You know why I'm here.

MOEBIUS Yes... Raziel. You sought to introduce your own pawn into this game, and now he's been swept from the board.

KAIN By your hand, I suspect. Where is he?

MOEBIUS Perhaps you should ask "when"?chuckles darklyHow humiliating it must be for you to come begging at my doorstep for answers.

Kain narrows his eyes and advances on Moebius angrily --

KAIN Enough wordplay -

MOEBIUS Don't threaten me, Kain --

Moebius calmly summons his scepter's power, and the globe flares with menacing light. Kain collapses in shock, clutching at his chest. We hear his heart pounding arrhythmically as the Reaver slips from his fingers and he sinks to the floor, incapacitated.

KAIN gasping in agony

MOEBIUS -- you see, I have the upper hand.he regards Kain with amusementHow remarkable that the great Kain should succumb to the scepter's power like any common vampire.

Moebius crouches next to Kain to address him more directly.

MOEBIUS Still so arrogant after all these years - thinking you've devised some brilliant plan. You know nothing. You have read the signs but missed their meaning. You believe you are that myth of Vampire prophecy - the Scion of Balance - and that Raziel holds the key to fulfilling your destiny.

Helpless, Kain glares furiously at Moebius.

KAIN fighting to overcome this paralysis

MOEBIUS But your messianic delusions have blinded you to Raziel's true nature. You have no idea what you've unleashed.

Moebius straightens up and looks down at Kain. Kain reaches uselessly for the Reaver.

MOEBIUS There was a time when you might have heeded wise counsel when it was offered. Now, your vanity has made you witless. You will have to learn the truth for yourself.

He shoves the Reaver back toward Kain with his foot.

MOEBIUS meaningfullyYou'll be needing this.

Moebius moves unhurriedly toward the exit while he speaks, and opens the door.

MOEBIUS Your strength will return after I have departed. But by then, you will have more urgent concerns than pursuing me. Perhaps, when we next meet, you will have learned a little humility.

Moebius deactivates the scepter and exits, closing the door behind him. Shadowy barriers immediately coalesce over both the entrance and exit.

As the scepter's power wanes, Kain grasps the Reaver and rises unsteadily to his feet. As he stands, we see a number of Shades peel out of the shadows of the chamber, and surround Kain.

KAIN V.O. These strange creatures seemed to manifest from the very shadows…

The Sarafan Stronghold

Kain defeats the shades and leaves the chamber, proceeding relentlessly with his search for Moebius.

KAIN V.O. Moebius' attempt at stopping me was not one of his better efforts. When I found him it would be my turn to offer a few surprises.

SCENE 1.0 -- Prologue

A shot of Kain in all his glory, sitting on his throne in the ruined hall of Pillars, his lieutenants around him. This segues to Kain overseeing throwing Raziel into the abyss, followed by a shot of the fall of the Pillars.

KAIN V.O. Given the choice - whether to rule a corrupt and failing empire or to challenge the Fates for another throw, a better throw, against one's destiny - what was a king to do? But does one ever truly have a choice? One can only match, move by move, the machinations of Fate, and thus defy the tyrannous stars.

Shot - the night sky, and the tyrannous stars as the first logo appears on screen: Eidos Interactive present."

We transition directly from the final shot of the Prologue sequence -- across the cloudy night sky, the first logo appears: "Eidos Interactive presents."

The camera tilts/pans down from the sky, and we see that it is snowing. It is just before dawn -- the moon is still visible, hanging low over the horizon. The battlements of the Sarafan fortress are silhouetted in the foreground.

The camera comes to a rest as a flock of bats swarms in, framed by the full moon. They coalesce to form the dark shape of a heroically-proportioned man -- this is KAIN, not yet fully visible as he's backlit by the moon. He drops down from the battlements, out of the shot. The camera tilts/pans with him into darkness, as the second title is displayed: "a Crystal Dynamics production"

Motion-wipe from darkness reveals Kain moving steadily and soundlessly through a stone tunnel, still lit from behind. His voice-over begins --

KAIN V.O. And so I returned to the sanctuary of my enemy - the fortress of the Sarafan brotherhood, deemed impossible for any man to penetrate.

The camera dollies back as Kain advances, until we see in the foreground a flickering shadow cast by a heavy portcullis. Cut to a reverse shot as Kain approaches the portcullis and pool of light. Kain adopts a more stealthy posture, and we see a lone Sarafan guard standing on the other side of the gate.

Cut to a shot from the other side of the portcullis --

KAIN V.O. ...impossible for any man.

-- as Kain mists smoothly and silently through the gate, just behind the unsuspecting guard. As he emerges into the pool of light, we see his features for the first time.

Kain effortlessly snaps the sentry's neck, and bites greedily into his throat, holding the sagging body. The guard doesn't even know what hit him. Kain drains the victim, and lets the body fall to the ground as he wipes his mouth and looks offscreen toward his next goal.

As the music swells, the title logo appears: "Legacy of Kain: Defiance" -- the background fades to black during the title transition.

The scene fades up as we see Kain moving stealthily along a narrow walkway. His VO continues --

KAIN V.O. Deep within these walls, my prey awaited: Moebius the Time Streamer, deceiver and eternal gamester, using living beings as his pawns.

As Kain nears a corner, we hear the footsteps and voices of Sarafan warriors, approaching along an adjacent bridge. Kain leans into the wall for cover, reaches tentatively for the Reaver blade, and turns his head to listen. We overhear a conversation between two Sarafan guards returning from patrol --

SARAFAN GUARD 1 In the end, we rooted out an entire nest of the fiends.

SARAFAN GUARD 2 But we had swept that area already.

SARAFAN GUARD 1 Not well enough. But no matter - we purged every last one of that brood with fire. May their souls now rest.

In the foreground, Kain sneers in disgust. The guards pass, while their VO continues off-screen.

SARAFAN GUARD 2 O.S. Lord Moebius will be pleased.

Still on Kain ­-- in the distance, we hear a heavy door open and close. Kain moves from the shadows and surveys his surroundings -- the bridge above, and alley below.

KAIN V.O. It was time for Moebius to answer a few questions. I hoped, for his sake, to find him in a forthcoming mood.

Kain to drops agilely to the alley level as gameplay begins.

SCENE 1.2 -- Chained victim in dungeon

Kain mists through the upper dungeon window, and surveys the scene below him. A number of prisoners are chained to walls, their plaintive cries echoing in the grim chamber. Use the generic Captive VO here.

Near Kain, and below the ledge, a chained prisoner male moans --

MALE CAPTIVE moaning

Kain looks down at him, then drops quietly to the floor below. As he approaches, the prisoner sees him and begins to panic --

MALE CAPTIVE Help me! Help me!

As his voice rises in volume, the other prisoners begin to MOAN and cry out in the background. Use the generic Captive VO here.

Kain approaches the terrified prisoner and gently passes his hand before the man's face --

KAIN Shhh...

The prisoner begins to quiet, becoming somewhat hypnotized, or paralyzed, by Kain's power.

MALE CAPTIVE Oh please, no...

Kain leans toward the prisoner almost intimately, anticipating the meal --

KAIN V.O. From time to time it is necessary to feed.

The prisoner looks up at Kain, completely hypnotized and compliant.

KAIN V.O. And the unusual event of a feast prepared by the Sarafan must be savored.

[MISSING WATER DESCRIPTION SCENE]

Kain shatters a crumbling wall with the Reaver and steps through the new passage.

SARAFAN What was that?

Kain pulls the man off of the bridge above him using telekinesis, and flings him upon a metal spike jutting out of the wall. He then walks out into the room.

KAIN V.O. The touch of water was like acid to a vampire. I had to find another way to pass.

[MISSING DESCRIPTION OF "BLESSED BARRIER"]

Kain approaches a magical barrier.

KAIN V.O. This passage undoubtedly led to the Time Streamer. My prey was nearly in my grasp. But the door had been sealed by a blessed barrier. As I approached, the Reaver resonated in response. Perhaps its dark sorcery could dispel these holy barriers.

Kain takes a swipe at the barrier with his sword, only to be repelled.

KAIN V.O. As I suspected, the Reaver was not yet powerful enough to shatter these barriers. But there was something to this…

SCENE 1.3 -- Kain recovers Balance Emblem

As Kain enters the stronghold’s chapel, a portcullis slams down. He pushes against it with his foot.

KAIN V.O. Locked. What a love of doors these pathetic humans have.

He nears an artifact on a pedestal that is suspiciously unguarded. Heeding the signs of a trap, he dematerializes into his mist form, jumps back, and draws the Reaver. A Sarafan archer on a balcony above him takes notice.

SARAFAN Huh? Vampire!

Kain defeats the Sarafan, and returns his attention to the artifact.

KAIN V.O. This emblem was unmistakably of vampire origin, and designed to enhance the Reaver’s power. But this coincidence seemed too convenient; Moebius clearly meant for me to find it.

Within the Stronghold Sanctuary, Kain recovers the Balance Emblem that will enable him to access Moebius' chamber.

KAIN V.O. This relic was attuned to the Reaver, enhancing the blade's power. Thus armed, I now had the means to dispel the blessed barriers that had hindered my progress.

SCENE 1.4 -- Kain is ambushed by the Sarafan

Just as Kain recovers the hub of the Balance Emblem from the Sanctuary chapel, he hears doors open, and armored footsteps rapidly approaching. A number of Sarafan clamor into the Sanctuary to surround him, shouting threats and orders.

[You can use the following Sarafan Misc. VO lines here: 01 "There he is, get him!"; 02 "Get him!"; 03 "Don't let him escape!"; 05 "Die, vampire!"; and 08 "Attack!". There are multiple variations of each.]

SARAFAN 2 Sound the alarm!

SARAFAN 3 Vampire!

SARAFAN 4 Don't let him escape!

Kain walks calmly into their midst as they close in to surround him. He regards them coolly, without even drawing his weapon yet.

SARAFAN 1 Surround him!

SARAFAN 2 Surrender, fiend, and we will promise you an easy death.

KAIN I could promise you the same, but it would be a lie.

As Kain speaks, he draws the Reaver menacingly, and readies for battle. Gameplay resumes.

After defeating the Sarafan, Kain approaches another magical barrier.

KAIN V.O. This barrier had a curious resonating effect n the Reaver.

Approaching a door that is of a different design than the others in the Stronghold:

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

SCENE 1.5 -- Kain confronts Moebius in his hidden chamber

The scene begins as Kain advances toward Moebius' subterranean chamber. As he nears the chamber's entrance, we begin to hear Moebius' voice, indistinctly. Kain silently draws the Reaver, and moves toward the chamber.

Moebius' dialogue is fragmented, as though we're hearing only one side of a conversation.

MOEBIUS O.S. Yes... I understand...

We cut to the inside of the chamber, dollying in roughly from Kain's POV -- we see Moebius, his back to the camera, as he stands before a shimmering, mysterious pool at the center of the room. Moebius holds an arcane staff in one hand.

It's not clear that Moebius is speaking to anyone; it sounds as though he could be talking to himself.

It's been a long time since these two have come face to face. Their dialogue should reflect this. They despise and distrust each other. The last time they met face to face, Kain lopped Moebius' head off.

MOEBIUS ...it will be done... the stage is set...

Cut to a close reverse shot of Moebius, with Kain visible in the background. We can see that Moebius is looking down into the pool; reflections from the water's surface illuminate his face. Then, with a satisfied expression, he cuts his eyes in Kain's direction.

MOEBIUS You needn't linger in the shadows, Kain.

Cut to a reverse shot as he turns and regards Kain malevolently.

MOEBIUS with hostilityIt has been a long time, hasn't it?

KAIN No banter, Moebius. You know why I'm here.

MOEBIUS Yes... Raziel. You sought to introduce your own pawn into this game, and now he's been swept from the board.

KAIN By your hand, I suspect. Where is he?

MOEBIUS Perhaps you should ask "when"?chuckles darklyHow humiliating it must be for you to come begging at my doorstep for answers.

Kain narrows his eyes and advances on Moebius angrily --

KAIN Enough wordplay -

MOEBIUS Don't threaten me, Kain --

Moebius calmly summons his scepter's power, and the globe flares with menacing light. Kain collapses in shock, clutching at his chest. We hear his heart pounding arrhythmically as the Reaver slips from his fingers and he sinks to the floor, incapacitated.

KAIN gasping in agony

MOEBIUS -- you see, I have the upper hand.he regards Kain with amusementHow remarkable that the great Kain should succumb to the scepter's power like any common vampire.

Moebius crouches next to Kain to address him more directly.

MOEBIUS Still so arrogant after all these years - thinking you've devised some brilliant plan. You know nothing. You have read the signs but missed their meaning. You believe you are that myth of Vampire prophecy - the Scion of Balance - and that Raziel holds the key to fulfilling your destiny.

Helpless, Kain glares furiously at Moebius.

KAIN fighting to overcome this paralysis

MOEBIUS But your messianic delusions have blinded you to Raziel's true nature. You have no idea what you've unleashed.

Moebius straightens up and looks down at Kain. Kain reaches uselessly for the Reaver.

MOEBIUS There was a time when you might have heeded wise counsel when it was offered. Now, your vanity has made you witless. You will have to learn the truth for yourself.

He shoves the Reaver back toward Kain with his foot.

MOEBIUS meaningfullyYou'll be needing this.

Moebius moves unhurriedly toward the exit while he speaks, and opens the door.

MOEBIUS Your strength will return after I have departed. But by then, you will have more urgent concerns than pursuing me. Perhaps, when we next meet, you will have learned a little humility.

Moebius deactivates the scepter and exits, closing the door behind him. Shadowy barriers immediately coalesce over both the entrance and exit.

As the scepter's power wanes, Kain grasps the Reaver and rises unsteadily to his feet. As he stands, we see a number of Shades peel out of the shadows of the chamber, and surround Kain.

KAIN V.O. These strange creatures seemed to manifest from the very shadows…

SCENE 1.6 -- Kain defeats shades, pursues Moebius

Kain defeats the shades and leaves the chamber, proceeding relentlessly with his search for Moebius.

KAIN V.O. Moebius' attempt at stopping me was not one of his better efforts. When I found him it would be my turn to offer a few surprises.

Escape from the Elder God Chamber

Raziel in the Underworld

Transition from 1.6: Kain exits Moebius' chamber. The CAMERA descends into Moebius' mysterious pool, with a sort of action-wipe to convey the passage of time, depth and distance darkness, rushing water and bubbles.

As the scene clears, the camera continues to descend -- and Raziel is revealed in the depths of the Underworld, kneeling before the Elder God. Not worshipfully, but in defeat and exhaustion. Raziel is starving, suffering. But he won't submit.

The disembodied voice of the Elder God fills the chamber -- his tone is paternalistic and patronizing, with an underlying threat. Didactic and patient, but with wrath just beneath the surface. We get the feeling that he's been drilling these ideas into Raziel's captive mind for a long time.

ELDER GOD Surrender, Raziel. Abandon this petty rebellion. It was I who made you. Your life had played out, and in my grace, I spared you. You are my reaper of souls. You have no other purpose, no higher destiny - just this. Accept your calling, Raziel. Let go of these vain hopes. Relinquish your will, and feed.

From his kneeling position, Raziel glares up at the Elder God, his eyes flashing defiantly. This is our first close shot of Raziel.

RAZIEL No.

We can tell from his tone that he's been denying the Elder God for a long time.

ELDER GOD What do you profit from this defiance?

RAZIEL There's some grim satisfaction in infuriating you.

ELDER GOD My patience is eternal, Raziel. How many eons can you bear to languish here?

Raziel bows his head, exhausted and weak from hunger. The Elder God resumes his sermon --

ELDER GOD The Wheel of Fate must turn; all are redeemed in the cleansing agony of birth, death and rebirth. This is the Engine of life - the purifying rhythm of the universe - to which all souls are irresistibly drawn. Yours is a necessary and noble function, Raziel.

RAZIEL Enough of your sermonizing - are you trying to bore me into submission? Why must this game go on? We both know what you are. You're no better than the vampires you so despise -- a voracious parasite cloaking its appetite in a shroud of righteousness. I refuse to do your will.

The Elder God changes his tactic --

ELDER GOD I can see into your heart, Raziel. It is not your will, but cowardice that keeps you here.

RAZIEL steely, almost a statementHow so?

ELDER GOD You know what fate awaits you when you leave the underworld. That phantom weapon you bear is a constant reminder, isn't it? The Sword is waiting for you out there somewhere, and you tarry so as not to meet it.

The Elder God knows he has struck a nerve.

RAZIEL I could not deny it. As long as I lingered here, defying my captor, I was able to postpone what I feared was my inevitable doom: to become the ravenous spirit imprisoned in the Reaver blade. But that sentence was no worse than the stalemate I now endured. Better to face one's destiny than cower from it.

The Elder God continues his sermonizing --

ELDER GOD Harvester of souls I created you, and to this function, my angel of death, you will return.

Raziel interrupts, frustrated and disillusioned --

RAZIEL Enough. Yes. I submit.

ELDER GOD Very good. Indulge your hunger.

A soul materializes in front of the kneeling Raziel, looking frightened and lost. Weakly, Raziel opens his cowl and draws the soul in..

Raziel gasps in satisfaction as the soul is devoured --

RAZIEL gasping in satisfaction

-- it has a joltingly powerful affect on him. At the same time, the Elder God too responds with great satisfaction. The souls Raziel devours are clearly siphoned to sustain him.

ELDER GOD Yes... embrace your calling, Raziel. You will find that, just as defiance has its price, so obedience has its rewards.

Raziel stands slowly to his feet, finally regaining his strength after so long. He looks hatefully up at the mass of the Elder God.

RAZIEL V.O. And submission is not always what it seems.

The Underworld

Raziel reaches a cavernous chamber with treacherous drops -- the exit is on the other side of the room. When Raziel approaches the exit, the passage closes off, becoming clogged with the Elder God's tentacles. The Elder God speaks --

ELDER GOD Do you believe your worthiness is so easily proved? Your way is sealed until you have offered further evidence of your obedience.

As the passage seals off, six blazing eyes appear over the barrier, and six souls manifest throughout the cavern. Raziel looks around, seeing the set-up. Disgusted, he acknowledges that he understands --

RAZIEL disgustedI must feed you before I depart this place.

ELDER GOD You must feed yourself, Raziel.

RAZIEL mocking"The Wheel must turn..."

ELDER GOD patronizingAh - now you understand.

When Raziel has reaped all six souls, the tentacles loosen, and the passage opens. The Elder God speaks once again --

ELDER GOD You may go, but remember - you are mine. You can no more escape from me than you can escape yourself.

Raziel departs the chamber.

As Raziel approaches the exit door, the Elder God's tentacles again reach out and seal off the passage.

ELDER GOD laughter

Raziel stops, and from behind him we hear a slithering, hissing sound the Sluagh; he turns.

We see the Sluagh begin to peel out of the cracks of the room, advancing on Raziel. Raziel addresses the Elder God:

RAZIEL You want this room cleared of its vermin.

ELDER GOD If you wish to leave it.

Raziel summons the Reaver and drops into his combat stance, ready to face the Sluagh.

ELDER GOD sarcasticallyYour will be done.

ELDER GOD My good servant.

The Sluagh bound toward Raziel, and combat begins. Resume gameplay.

When all the Sluagh are destroyed, the doorway opens once more.

ELDER GOD You see? Obedience brings prompt rewards.

Amy: I wrote the capper as well just to save time in case it's wanted.

ELDER GOD Where do you think you’re going, little soul?

The lethal mist below glows brightly, and begins to rise.

Raziel races up a vertical shaft out of the underworld, pursued by the Elder God, who calls out the various lines below.

ELDER GOD You can’t escape!

ELDER GOD Run faster!

ELDER GOD Raziel…

ELDER GOD Embrace your destiny.

ELDER GOD You will never escape.

ELDER GOD Clever, Raziel. Clever, indeed.

ELDER GOD laughter

ELDER GOD I’ve endured you game long enough.

ELDER GOD I grow tired of this, Raziel.

As the terrain crumbles around him, he makes a last desperate leap for an overhang, and pulls himself up out of the shaft. And just in time -- as Raziel leaps into the chamber above, the Elder God's tentacles grasp for him and topple a massive slab of masonry. Amidst the chaos, Elder God cries out as he strains to stop Raziel --

ELDER GOD No!

The slab falls, sealing off the opening to the lower shaft. Raziel stops and regains his composure --

RAZIEL V.O. Clearly my escape had not been anticipated, or my benevolent master would not have expended such efforts to prevent me from going.
And if my departure displeased him, then that was a victory, however small, for me.

Approaching the bottom of a shaft leading up to the surface of the ethereal water:

RAZIEL V.O. In the spectral realm, water is as thin as air, putting this opening far beyond my reach. But once I found my way into the material world, I might to able to swim up there…

The Cemetery

Raziel climbs up onto the platform and see the door for the first time.

RAZIEL V.O. This door would only open when fitted with an appropriate artifact. But to use such an object, I would first have to find my way back into the material realm.

RAZIEL V.O. While I remained in the spirit world, physical objects were immovable. This door was intriguing, however. When I found a way back into the material realm, I would return and see what lay beyond it.

Raziel enters the upper tomb chamber CEM02 and ­-- finally -- discovers a planar portal in the center of the room. Raziel stops at first, then approaches the portal as he speaks --

RAZIEL V.O. At last, I discovered a conduit into the material realm. I would finally escape the spirit world, and take one step farther from my tormentor...

As Raziel nears it, the planar portal vanishes, and we hear the Elder God's laughter as the conduit dissipates --

ELDER GOD laughterDid you think to receive the same favors after your rebellion as before? No, Raziel. I have no need for you to enter the physical world, so no conduit will be granted. You serve me adequately as a wraith, and a wraith you will remain.

Raziel stands before the dissipating portal as it vanishes completely, and looks around the room in anger as he hears the Elder God speak.

RAZIEL V.O. So my restraints had not been removed, only loosened. I would not be held prisoner in the spectral realm - there had to be another way.

Raziel phases through the gated window between Cem02 and 03, and drops down into the open courtyard. There are graves and memorials here, and the main cemetery is visible beyond the ruined walls of the courtyard. As Raziel watches, first one soul and then another begins to transform -- the divine spark within the soul brightens and begins to flare, and the sky opens up as the soul starts to ascend.

Before the souls can escape, nightmarish figures swoop in like sharks from outside the courtyard, homing in on the fleeing souls like blood in the water. They devour the souls, whose light is extinguished.

RAZIEL V.O. As I emerged, I was granted a vision of what I would become, if I did not escape the spectral realm. For these too were agents of my master, hunting the lost souls that struggled to escape the endless twilight of the underworld.

Amy: Does Raziel know the name of these critters? If so, "creatures" in Pp2 can be substituted for "archons." I thought, while Raziel was watching this, he would of course wonder where the souls were trying to escape to. This is the first hint that there is something beyond the wheel the EG talks of; that there is another possible way of life and death. So I thought this belonged here. See what you think.-C

When Raziel defeats the Archons, the combat barriers are dissolved.

RAZIEL V.O. My master's plan for me was ominously clear. Like these mindless hunters, I existed only to fuel him with souls, siphoning their energy to feed him and his Wheel of Fate. I had to break these bonds, while I still possessed my own will.

SCENE 2.1-- Raziel in the lair of the Elder God

Transition from 1.6: Kain exits Moebius' chamber. The CAMERA descends into Moebius' mysterious pool, with a sort of action-wipe to convey the passage of time, depth and distance darkness, rushing water and bubbles.

As the scene clears, the camera continues to descend -- and Raziel is revealed in the depths of the Underworld, kneeling before the Elder God. Not worshipfully, but in defeat and exhaustion. Raziel is starving, suffering. But he won't submit.

The disembodied voice of the Elder God fills the chamber -- his tone is paternalistic and patronizing, with an underlying threat. Didactic and patient, but with wrath just beneath the surface. We get the feeling that he's been drilling these ideas into Raziel's captive mind for a long time.

ELDER GOD Surrender, Raziel. Abandon this petty rebellion. It was I who made you. Your life had played out, and in my grace, I spared you. You are my reaper of souls. You have no other purpose, no higher destiny - just this. Accept your calling, Raziel. Let go of these vain hopes. Relinquish your will, and feed.

From his kneeling position, Raziel glares up at the Elder God, his eyes flashing defiantly. This is our first close shot of Raziel.

RAZIEL No.

We can tell from his tone that he's been denying the Elder God for a long time.

ELDER GOD What do you profit from this defiance?

RAZIEL There's some grim satisfaction in infuriating you.

ELDER GOD My patience is eternal, Raziel. How many eons can you bear to languish here?

Raziel bows his head, exhausted and weak from hunger. The Elder God resumes his sermon --

ELDER GOD The Wheel of Fate must turn; all are redeemed in the cleansing agony of birth, death and rebirth. This is the Engine of life - the purifying rhythm of the universe - to which all souls are irresistibly drawn. Yours is a necessary and noble function, Raziel.

RAZIEL Enough of your sermonizing - are you trying to bore me into submission? Why must this game go on? We both know what you are. You're no better than the vampires you so despise -- a voracious parasite cloaking its appetite in a shroud of righteousness. I refuse to do your will.

The Elder God changes his tactic --

ELDER GOD I can see into your heart, Raziel. It is not your will, but cowardice that keeps you here.

RAZIEL steely, almost a statementHow so?

ELDER GOD You know what fate awaits you when you leave the underworld. That phantom weapon you bear is a constant reminder, isn't it? The Sword is waiting for you out there somewhere, and you tarry so as not to meet it.

The Elder God knows he has struck a nerve.

RAZIEL I could not deny it. As long as I lingered here, defying my captor, I was able to postpone what I feared was my inevitable doom: to become the ravenous spirit imprisoned in the Reaver blade. But that sentence was no worse than the stalemate I now endured. Better to face one's destiny than cower from it.

The Elder God continues his sermonizing --

ELDER GOD Harvester of souls I created you, and to this function, my angel of death, you will return.

Raziel interrupts, frustrated and disillusioned --

RAZIEL Enough. Yes. I submit.

ELDER GOD Very good. Indulge your hunger.

A soul materializes in front of the kneeling Raziel, looking frightened and lost. Weakly, Raziel opens his cowl and draws the soul in..

Raziel gasps in satisfaction as the soul is devoured --

RAZIEL gasping in satisfaction

-- it has a joltingly powerful affect on him. At the same time, the Elder God too responds with great satisfaction. The souls Raziel devours are clearly siphoned to sustain him.

ELDER GOD Yes... embrace your calling, Raziel. You will find that, just as defiance has its price, so obedience has its rewards.

Raziel stands slowly to his feet, finally regaining his strength after so long. He looks hatefully up at the mass of the Elder God.

RAZIEL V.O. And submission is not always what it seems.

SCENE 2.2a -- Raziel must gather souls

Raziel reaches a cavernous chamber with treacherous drops -- the exit is on the other side of the room. When Raziel approaches the exit, the passage closes off, becoming clogged with the Elder God's tentacles. The Elder God speaks --

ELDER GOD Do you believe your worthiness is so easily proved? Your way is sealed until you have offered further evidence of your obedience.

As the passage seals off, six blazing eyes appear over the barrier, and six souls manifest throughout the cavern. Raziel looks around, seeing the set-up. Disgusted, he acknowledges that he understands --

RAZIEL disgustedI must feed you before I depart this place.

ELDER GOD You must feed yourself, Raziel.

RAZIEL mocking"The Wheel must turn..."

ELDER GOD patronizingAh - now you understand.

SCENE 2.2b -- the door is opened

When Raziel has reaped all six souls, the tentacles loosen, and the passage opens. The Elder God speaks once again --

ELDER GOD You may go, but remember - you are mine. You can no more escape from me than you can escape yourself.

Raziel departs the chamber.

SCENE 2.3a -- Raziel encounters the Sluagh - Elder God

As Raziel approaches the exit door, the Elder God's tentacles again reach out and seal off the passage.

ELDER GOD laughter

Raziel stops, and from behind him we hear a slithering, hissing sound the Sluagh; he turns.

We see the Sluagh begin to peel out of the cracks of the room, advancing on Raziel. Raziel addresses the Elder God:

RAZIEL You want this room cleared of its vermin.

ELDER GOD If you wish to leave it.

Raziel summons the Reaver and drops into his combat stance, ready to face the Sluagh.

ELDER GOD sarcasticallyYour will be done.

ELDER GOD My good servant.

The Sluagh bound toward Raziel, and combat begins. Resume gameplay.

When all the Sluagh are destroyed, the doorway opens once more.

ELDER GOD You see? Obedience brings prompt rewards.

Amy: I wrote the capper as well just to save time in case it's wanted.

ELDER GOD Where do you think you’re going, little soul?

The lethal mist below glows brightly, and begins to rise.

SCENE 2.4 -- Raziel narrowly escapes the Underworld

Raziel races up a vertical shaft out of the underworld, pursued by the Elder God, who calls out the various lines below.

ELDER GOD You can’t escape!

ELDER GOD Run faster!

ELDER GOD Raziel…

ELDER GOD Embrace your destiny.

ELDER GOD You will never escape.

ELDER GOD Clever, Raziel. Clever, indeed.

ELDER GOD laughter

ELDER GOD I’ve endured you game long enough.

ELDER GOD I grow tired of this, Raziel.

As the terrain crumbles around him, he makes a last desperate leap for an overhang, and pulls himself up out of the shaft. And just in time -- as Raziel leaps into the chamber above, the Elder God's tentacles grasp for him and topple a massive slab of masonry. Amidst the chaos, Elder God cries out as he strains to stop Raziel --

ELDER GOD No!

The slab falls, sealing off the opening to the lower shaft. Raziel stops and regains his composure --

RAZIEL V.O. Clearly my escape had not been anticipated, or my benevolent master would not have expended such efforts to prevent me from going.
And if my departure displeased him, then that was a victory, however small, for me.

Approaching the bottom of a shaft leading up to the surface of the ethereal water:

RAZIEL V.O. In the spectral realm, water is as thin as air, putting this opening far beyond my reach. But once I found my way into the material world, I might to able to swim up there…

Event 2.1 -- Foreshadowing Door to Cem05

Raziel climbs up onto the platform and see the door for the first time.

RAZIEL V.O. This door would only open when fitted with an appropriate artifact. But to use such an object, I would first have to find my way back into the material realm.

RAZIEL V.O. While I remained in the spirit world, physical objects were immovable. This door was intriguing, however. When I found a way back into the material realm, I would return and see what lay beyond it.

SCENE 2.5 -- Raziel discovers a planar portal

Raziel enters the upper tomb chamber CEM02 and ­-- finally -- discovers a planar portal in the center of the room. Raziel stops at first, then approaches the portal as he speaks --

RAZIEL V.O. At last, I discovered a conduit into the material realm. I would finally escape the spirit world, and take one step farther from my tormentor...

As Raziel nears it, the planar portal vanishes, and we hear the Elder God's laughter as the conduit dissipates --

ELDER GOD laughterDid you think to receive the same favors after your rebellion as before? No, Raziel. I have no need for you to enter the physical world, so no conduit will be granted. You serve me adequately as a wraith, and a wraith you will remain.

Raziel stands before the dissipating portal as it vanishes completely, and looks around the room in anger as he hears the Elder God speak.

RAZIEL V.O. So my restraints had not been removed, only loosened. I would not be held prisoner in the spectral realm - there had to be another way.

SCENE 2.6 -- Raziel is confronted by Archons for the first time

Raziel phases through the gated window between Cem02 and 03, and drops down into the open courtyard. There are graves and memorials here, and the main cemetery is visible beyond the ruined walls of the courtyard. As Raziel watches, first one soul and then another begins to transform -- the divine spark within the soul brightens and begins to flare, and the sky opens up as the soul starts to ascend.

Before the souls can escape, nightmarish figures swoop in like sharks from outside the courtyard, homing in on the fleeing souls like blood in the water. They devour the souls, whose light is extinguished.

RAZIEL V.O. As I emerged, I was granted a vision of what I would become, if I did not escape the spectral realm. For these too were agents of my master, hunting the lost souls that struggled to escape the endless twilight of the underworld.

Amy: Does Raziel know the name of these critters? If so, "creatures" in Pp2 can be substituted for "archons." I thought, while Raziel was watching this, he would of course wonder where the souls were trying to escape to. This is the first hint that there is something beyond the wheel the EG talks of; that there is another possible way of life and death. So I thought this belonged here. See what you think.-C

SCENE 2.7 -- Raziel defeats the Archons

When Raziel defeats the Archons, the combat barriers are dissolved.

RAZIEL V.O. My master's plan for me was ominously clear. Like these mindless hunters, I existed only to fuel him with souls, siphoning their energy to feed him and his Wheel of Fate. I had to break these bonds, while I still possessed my own will.

Pursue Moebius

The Sarafan Stronghold

Approaching the door through which Moebius exited, Kain discovers an emblem embedded in its surface.

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

Approaching the statue of Malek in the courtyard:

KAIN V.O. snidelyMalek, the great Sarafan warrior. I had met him before. His sword and shield seemed to have gone astray.

Kain approaches a portcullis -- on the other side, a Sarafan guard stands with his back to the gate, unaware that Kain is behind him.

Misting silently through the portcullis, Kain grabs the guard from behind -- his arm around the guard's throat, and his head over the guard's shoulder. The soldier freezes as Kain asks in hypnotic intimacy --

SARAFAN GUARD 1 gasps when grabbed

KAIN Tell me - where can I find your master?

SARAFAN GUARD 1 struggling and whimpering in terror

KAIN Quickly -- Moebius is -- ?

SARAFAN GUARD 1 ...in the tower...

The guard looks toward his left and raises a shaking hand to indicate the tower visible just beyond the battlements. Kain looks up to see what he's indicating.

KAIN Good.

Satisfied, Kain breaks the guard's neck and lets the body fall.

SARAFAN GUARD 1 grunts as his neck is snapped

Gameplay resumes.

KAIN V.O. Malek's missing sheild. I hated to restore his dignity, but I would need to return this to his monument before I could progress.

KAIN V.O. Malek's sword belonged in his right hand. However distasteful this errand was, I would return it to its proper place.

KAIN V.O. The way to the tower now lay open before me. I looked forward to finding Moebius, and resumng our conversation.

Kain acquires Reaver artifact.

KAIN V.O. Curious. This artifact joined with the relic I discovered earlier, appeared to be but one fragment of a larger emblem. This shard was endowed with elemental Fire, enhancing both the Reaver and my telekinetic powers.

Kain settles the score

Kain pauses at the tower door and leans in to it, as though listening -- or sensing -- to see if Moebius is inside. Satisfied, he steps back and effortlessly kicks the door in. Significantly, he's chosen not to have the Reaver drawn this time.

MOEBIUS Here you are at last. I see you found a fragment of the Balance Emblem. This will be of even further use to you - if you can find the other three. Now, shall we - ?

Moebius raises his staff, but Kain's ready this time. He uses his telekinetic powers to rip the staff from Moebius' hand and send it flying harmlessly into a corner of the room. Moebius doesn't look especially surprised.

KAIN Yes. Let us continue our conversation --

With another gesture, he fluidly lifts Moebius telekinetically off his feet, "holding" him by the throat.

KAIN -- but on a somewhat different footing.
Now - what do you have to tell me, Moebius?

MOEBIUS a little strangledYou cannot kill me. ­We both know that this is not how - or when - I die.

KAIN Death is not the only possible outcome.

Kain flexes his hand slightly, and Moebius' body contorts. He is clearly in pain; we can hear his bones and joints straining as he is squeezed.

MOEBIUS in pain

His point established, Kain relents.

MOEBIUS Your delusions of fulfilling the Vampires' foolish prophecies have badly distorted your judgment. And Raziel is not what you think.

KAIN You dare imagine what I think?

Still using telekinesis, Kain throws Moebius roughly against the wall.

MOEBIUS impacts wallSo you prevented Raziel's soul from entering the Reaver. Do you believe for a moment that by this you have averted your fate? Or his? Or that of Nosgoth itself? Your manipulations are pathetic.

Kain calmly walks closer to Moebius, as he keeps him pinned against the wall.

MOEBIUS Yet Raziel retains his free will. And that's what frightens you, isn't it, Moebius. ­You cannot see his path, and so you cannot control it.

MOEBIUS --And neither can you. Yes, Raziel is shrouded from us, but we see the ripples of his potential actions. And every path he might choose leads to the same outcome: he will kill you, Kain. In sparing Raziel, you have written your own death sentence.

Kain gives Moebius a final shove against the wall for good measure, and releases him. Moebius regains his footing, and rubs his throat.

KAIN You still have not answered the question I came to ask -- where is Raziel?

MOEBIUS He is not, in a true sense, here. Not now.

KAIN Don't try my patience, Moebius. What have you done with him?

MOEBIUS He is contained. In time, it may be safe to release him.
His destiny must be completed - he will enter the sword. But until that time he is dangerous -- far more dangerous than you could understand.

KAIN And your incontrovertible evidence?

MOEBIUS The answers are plain if you know where to look. Go west of the Pillars - there you will find a testament written in stone.

Moebius vanishes.

KAIN V.O. But stones, too, can lie.

The Sarafan Stronghold

Kain goes out onto the balcony. The Pillar vista is before him.

KAIN V.O. The Pillars of Nosgoth stood pristine against the horizon. To the west I would find the enlightenment Moebius felt I lacked.

Approaching the door through which Moebius exited, Kain discovers an emblem embedded in its surface.

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

Approaching the statue of Malek in the courtyard:

KAIN V.O. snidelyMalek, the great Sarafan warrior. I had met him before. His sword and shield seemed to have gone astray.

SCENE 3.1.1 -- Chapter opening - Kain ambushes guard to get information

Kain approaches a portcullis -- on the other side, a Sarafan guard stands with his back to the gate, unaware that Kain is behind him.

Misting silently through the portcullis, Kain grabs the guard from behind -- his arm around the guard's throat, and his head over the guard's shoulder. The soldier freezes as Kain asks in hypnotic intimacy --

SARAFAN GUARD 1 gasps when grabbed

KAIN Tell me - where can I find your master?

SARAFAN GUARD 1 struggling and whimpering in terror

KAIN Quickly -- Moebius is -- ?

SARAFAN GUARD 1 ...in the tower...

The guard looks toward his left and raises a shaking hand to indicate the tower visible just beyond the battlements. Kain looks up to see what he's indicating.

KAIN Good.

Satisfied, Kain breaks the guard's neck and lets the body fall.

SARAFAN GUARD 1 grunts as his neck is snapped

Gameplay resumes.

KAIN V.O. Malek's missing sheild. I hated to restore his dignity, but I would need to return this to his monument before I could progress.

KAIN V.O. Malek's sword belonged in his right hand. However distasteful this errand was, I would return it to its proper place.

KAIN V.O. The way to the tower now lay open before me. I looked forward to finding Moebius, and resumng our conversation.

SCENE 3.2 -- Kain acquires Reaver enhancement

Kain acquires Reaver artifact.

KAIN V.O. Curious. This artifact joined with the relic I discovered earlier, appeared to be but one fragment of a larger emblem. This shard was endowed with elemental Fire, enhancing both the Reaver and my telekinetic powers.

SCENE 3.3 -- Kain confronts Moebius in the Tower

Kain pauses at the tower door and leans in to it, as though listening -- or sensing -- to see if Moebius is inside. Satisfied, he steps back and effortlessly kicks the door in. Significantly, he's chosen not to have the Reaver drawn this time.

MOEBIUS Here you are at last. I see you found a fragment of the Balance Emblem. This will be of even further use to you - if you can find the other three. Now, shall we - ?

Moebius raises his staff, but Kain's ready this time. He uses his telekinetic powers to rip the staff from Moebius' hand and send it flying harmlessly into a corner of the room. Moebius doesn't look especially surprised.

KAIN Yes. Let us continue our conversation --

With another gesture, he fluidly lifts Moebius telekinetically off his feet, "holding" him by the throat.

KAIN -- but on a somewhat different footing.
Now - what do you have to tell me, Moebius?

MOEBIUS a little strangledYou cannot kill me. ­We both know that this is not how - or when - I die.

KAIN Death is not the only possible outcome.

Kain flexes his hand slightly, and Moebius' body contorts. He is clearly in pain; we can hear his bones and joints straining as he is squeezed.

MOEBIUS in pain

His point established, Kain relents.

MOEBIUS Your delusions of fulfilling the Vampires' foolish prophecies have badly distorted your judgment. And Raziel is not what you think.

KAIN You dare imagine what I think?

Still using telekinesis, Kain throws Moebius roughly against the wall.

MOEBIUS impacts wallSo you prevented Raziel's soul from entering the Reaver. Do you believe for a moment that by this you have averted your fate? Or his? Or that of Nosgoth itself? Your manipulations are pathetic.

Kain calmly walks closer to Moebius, as he keeps him pinned against the wall.

MOEBIUS Yet Raziel retains his free will. And that's what frightens you, isn't it, Moebius. ­You cannot see his path, and so you cannot control it.

MOEBIUS --And neither can you. Yes, Raziel is shrouded from us, but we see the ripples of his potential actions. And every path he might choose leads to the same outcome: he will kill you, Kain. In sparing Raziel, you have written your own death sentence.

Kain gives Moebius a final shove against the wall for good measure, and releases him. Moebius regains his footing, and rubs his throat.

KAIN You still have not answered the question I came to ask -- where is Raziel?

MOEBIUS He is not, in a true sense, here. Not now.

KAIN Don't try my patience, Moebius. What have you done with him?

MOEBIUS He is contained. In time, it may be safe to release him.
His destiny must be completed - he will enter the sword. But until that time he is dangerous -- far more dangerous than you could understand.

KAIN And your incontrovertible evidence?

MOEBIUS The answers are plain if you know where to look. Go west of the Pillars - there you will find a testament written in stone.

Moebius vanishes.

KAIN V.O. But stones, too, can lie.

SCENE 3.4 -- Bat-flight segue to Pillars

Kain goes out onto the balcony. The Pillar vista is before him.

KAIN V.O. The Pillars of Nosgoth stood pristine against the horizon. To the west I would find the enlightenment Moebius felt I lacked.

Find the Path to the Pillars

The Cemetery

Raziel enters the Cemetery.

RAZIEL V.O. There had to be a way to escape the spirit world, without the help my master was pleased to deny me. Only in the material realm would I have a chance to seek my destiny -- or change it.

Raziel comes upon the sealed gate to the Pillars vista.

RAZIEL V.O. An ancient gate, sealed by the powers of Light and Darkness, barred the way to the Pillars beyond. To depart this place and continue my journey, I would have to find the means to open it.

Raziel, after visiting the Citadel, finds the sealed gate to the Pillars vista.

RAZIEL V.O. Here a gate barred the way to the Pillars, sealed by the elemental powers of Darkness and Light. Beyond the Pillars lay the path to Vorador's Mansion, and the answers to my questions. Somehow I had to find the means to open it.

Raziel drops down into the mausoleum's entrance chamber. He approaches one of the central caskets.

RAZIEL V.O. In this crypt, I discovered ethereal gases rising from the moldering corpse within. As I neared, I felt a distinct spiritual pull - and the closer I approached, the more that pull intensified...

Amy: In the bible you indicate Elder God - Raziel dialogue may be included here; I went ahead and wrote it, as it can be easily cut if this doesn't work for you. -C

Raziel gathers himself and becomes dissolute, projecting his energy down into the site where the corpse-gasses are rising. This first attempt is tentative and awkward.

RAZIEL V.O. In the end, it was not difficult. I projected myself down into that tomb and found myself reborn into the material world. It was a loathsome vessel - but with an effort of will, that too could change.

CUT TO:

A long shot of the room morphing from spectral to material.

CUT TO:

A closer shot as we see the lid of the tomb slab broken out from the inside, and the animated corpse rise grotesquely from the grave, its eyes glowing with white-hot energy.

Raziel staggers for a moment; he doesn't know how to transform the corpse's flesh into his own yet. Through force of will, he gathers himself and we see the corpse slowly transform into Raziel's image.

Raziel approaches a doorway with gargoyle heads mounted on both sides of it.

RAZIEL V.O. These gargoyles quickened as I drew near, triggering the door to close. I would need to find some means of approaching the door without being observed.

As Raziel exits the mausoleum through the material-doorway, he is immediately confronted with the material reality of the cemetery -- it is populated with vampire hunters, their flags and banners, and the sickening trophies of their successful hunting. There are vampire hunters gathered around a campfire. Raziel approaches close enough to overhear their discussion.

MALE VAMPIRE HUNTER -- she says she won't go near the place.

FEMALE VAMPIRE HUNTER I tell you the Pillars are haunted --

MALE VAMPIRE HUNTER Haunted!

FEMALE VAMPIRE HUNTER I heard a woman's voice, talking and moaning -- and there was no one there.

MALE VAMPIRE HUNTER How many vampires have you killed? And you can't face down one ghost?

RAZIEL V.O. I knew who these were: vampire hunters, scouring the countryside, destroying what had once been my kind.

He steps out of hiding. The vampire hunters see him. One scrambles to her feet.

FEMALE VAMPIRE HUNTER My god -- what is that? A vampire? Or a demon?

MALE VAMPIRE HUNTER Where?

Raziel steps closer.

RAZIEL Here.

The others get up.

FEMALE VAMPIRE HUNTER Get him!

MALE VAMPIRE HUNTER Quickly! No mercy!

Vampire hunters converge on Raziel.

EXT. CEMETERY - COURTYARD AREA - NIGHT

RAZIEL V.O. These were Moebius's hunters - mercenaries enlisted in his crusade to exterminate the vampires. His insignia was unmistakable. ...but this meant I'd been captive in the underworld for centuries. I had lost five hundred years.

Raziel turns and looks up at the Pillars, visible above the horizon.

RAZIEL V.O. Then I knew what ghost it was that haunted the Pillars -- Ariel, the specter of the murdered Balance Guardian. Perhaps she could provide the answers I sought. But first I would have to find a way out of this cemetery...

As Raziel returns from Kain's mausoleum in either material or spectral there is a cinematic pause.

RAZIEL V.O. This temple's facade hinted at some ancient Vampire origin - for it bore the sign of the Reaver, and was marked with the elemental symbol of Darkness. The mystery of the Reaver might be answered within... but this edifice was too high for me to reach.

RAZIEL V.O. This temple's facade hinted at some ancient Vampire origin - for it bore the sign of the Reaver, and was marked with the elemental symbol of Light. The mystery of the Reaver might be answered within... but this edifice was too high for me to reach.

RAZIEL V.O. Another temple, this one marked with the elemental symbol of Light. This edifice, like the other one, was too high for me to reach.

RAZIEL V.O. Another temple, this one marked with the elemental symbol of Darkness. This edifice, like the other one, was too high for me to reach.

RAZIEL V.O. An ancient gate, sealed by the powers of Light and Darkness, barred the way to the Pillars, beyond. To depart this place and continue my journey, I would have to find the means to open it.

Raziel re-enters the crypt where he discovered the phantom planar portal. As Raziel moves to the center of the room, a number of animated corpses begin bursting out of the floor and walls, their eyes burning with green fire. Simultaneously, magical green barriers appear over Raziel's exits, trapping him within the room.

HYLDEN 1 Raziel...

HYLDEN 2 Raziel...

HYLDEN 1 Fallen hero...

HYLDEN 3 Renegade and traitor...

RAZIEL What is this? How do you know me?

HYLDEN 1 Raziel, what are you?

HYLDEN 4 Why should any know your name?

HYLDEN 2 You are nothing...

They attack; resume gameplay.

As Raziel finishes off the last of the Revenants, he concludes --

RAZIEL V.O. It seemed my method of entering the physical realm was not altogether original. But where had these beings come from?

Approaching a door sealed with the Darkness glyph:

RAZIEL V.O. The Reaver did not seem to activate this orb. I had to find the means to enhance the blade further.

Raziel sees the Light Forge facade

RAZIEL V.O. This edifice, marked with the elemental Light symbol, was clearly much older than the ruins in the rest of the cemetery. The door was far too high to reach. And to open it, it seemed the Reaver would need to be imbued with the power of Darkness. Clearly I had more to accomplish before I could discover what lay within.

Approaching stone monument that must be climbed to reach the cliff above:

RAZIEL V.O. Perhaps in the spectral realm this would no longer prove an obstacle.

The Dark Forge

Raziel steps through the portal.

RAZIEL V.O. As I stepped through, I felt a sense of displacement, as some arcane sorcery transported me away.

Raziel arrives in the Dark-themed area of the Guardian Citadel.

RAZIEL V.O. This was clearly some ancient ruin of the Vampire civilization. Perhaps here I would finally decipher the riddle of my destiny.

Amy: Hard work trying to get critters to sound mad in a short time. I resorted to irrational wordplay. Hope this works for you. I added a pass at Raziel's VO, but it may go at the end, after he kills these guys, and so have to be changed, or it may be cut. -C

Mural: The raising of the Pillars

INT. CITADEL DARK AREA

Raziel discovers another set of murals.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

Mural: The Vampires' prophesied hero

Mural: The summoning of the Guardians

The Dark Forge

INT. CITADEL DARK AREA

Raziel earns the Dark Reaver enhancement.

RAZIEL V.O. At last it was done: the Reaver was forged with Darkness. As I felt this new power coursing within the wraith blade, I knew that now the Light temple would open to me.

The Light Forge

Raziel steps through the portal.

RAZIEL V.O. Again I experienced that odd sense of displacement, as I was transported to the Vampire ruin once more. ...but this chamber was different than the first.

Mural: The blood curse

Raziel examines wall murals depicting the banishment of the Hylden, and the curse of vampirism.

Raziel examines another mural, depicting the vampires responding to the curse with madness and suicide.

Raziel examines another mural, depicting the Reaver, and the Reaver-bearer.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

INT. CITADEL "LIGHT" AREA

Raziel discovers more wall murals, depicting wheel of fate imagery, and vampires committing suicide.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

The Light Forge

INT. CITADEL "LIGHT" AREA

Raziel earns the second Reaver enhancement.

RAZIEL V.O. I had succeeded - the Reaver was forged with the power of Light. And now my way was clear: I would seek out Ariel at the Pillars and see if she could enlighten me.

The Cemetery

Raziel successfully uses the Dark and Light Reavers to open the ancient Vampire gate leading to the Pillars segue path.

RAZIEL V.O. At last, the gate yielded to the powers of Light and Darkness, with which the Reaver had been forged. The way to the Pillars was open.

SCENE 4.1 -- Raziel in the Cemetery

Raziel enters the Cemetery.

RAZIEL V.O. There had to be a way to escape the spirit world, without the help my master was pleased to deny me. Only in the material realm would I have a chance to seek my destiny -- or change it.

SCENE 4.2 -- Raziel discovers sealed gate to Pillars

Raziel comes upon the sealed gate to the Pillars vista.

RAZIEL V.O. An ancient gate, sealed by the powers of Light and Darkness, barred the way to the Pillars beyond. To depart this place and continue my journey, I would have to find the means to open it.

SCENE 4.3 -- Raziel discovers sealed door to Pillars - Version 2

Raziel, after visiting the Citadel, finds the sealed gate to the Pillars vista.

RAZIEL V.O. Here a gate barred the way to the Pillars, sealed by the elemental powers of Darkness and Light. Beyond the Pillars lay the path to Vorador's Mansion, and the answers to my questions. Somehow I had to find the means to open it.

SCENE 4.4 -- Raziel discovers corpse-gases - Elder God

Raziel drops down into the mausoleum's entrance chamber. He approaches one of the central caskets.

RAZIEL V.O. In this crypt, I discovered ethereal gases rising from the moldering corpse within. As I neared, I felt a distinct spiritual pull - and the closer I approached, the more that pull intensified...

Amy: In the bible you indicate Elder God - Raziel dialogue may be included here; I went ahead and wrote it, as it can be easily cut if this doesn't work for you. -C

SCENE 4.5 -- Raziel's first shift to material

Raziel gathers himself and becomes dissolute, projecting his energy down into the site where the corpse-gasses are rising. This first attempt is tentative and awkward.

RAZIEL V.O. In the end, it was not difficult. I projected myself down into that tomb and found myself reborn into the material world. It was a loathsome vessel - but with an effort of will, that too could change.

CUT TO:

A long shot of the room morphing from spectral to material.

CUT TO:

A closer shot as we see the lid of the tomb slab broken out from the inside, and the animated corpse rise grotesquely from the grave, its eyes glowing with white-hot energy.

Raziel staggers for a moment; he doesn't know how to transform the corpse's flesh into his own yet. Through force of will, he gathers himself and we see the corpse slowly transform into Raziel's image.

Raziel approaches a doorway with gargoyle heads mounted on both sides of it.

RAZIEL V.O. These gargoyles quickened as I drew near, triggering the door to close. I would need to find some means of approaching the door without being observed.

SCENE 4.6 -- Raziel encounters vampire hunters

As Raziel exits the mausoleum through the material-doorway, he is immediately confronted with the material reality of the cemetery -- it is populated with vampire hunters, their flags and banners, and the sickening trophies of their successful hunting. There are vampire hunters gathered around a campfire. Raziel approaches close enough to overhear their discussion.

MALE VAMPIRE HUNTER -- she says she won't go near the place.

FEMALE VAMPIRE HUNTER I tell you the Pillars are haunted --

MALE VAMPIRE HUNTER Haunted!

FEMALE VAMPIRE HUNTER I heard a woman's voice, talking and moaning -- and there was no one there.

MALE VAMPIRE HUNTER How many vampires have you killed? And you can't face down one ghost?

RAZIEL V.O. I knew who these were: vampire hunters, scouring the countryside, destroying what had once been my kind.

He steps out of hiding. The vampire hunters see him. One scrambles to her feet.

FEMALE VAMPIRE HUNTER My god -- what is that? A vampire? Or a demon?

MALE VAMPIRE HUNTER Where?

Raziel steps closer.

RAZIEL Here.

The others get up.

FEMALE VAMPIRE HUNTER Get him!

MALE VAMPIRE HUNTER Quickly! No mercy!

Vampire hunters converge on Raziel.

Scene 4.7 -- Raziel defeats the vampire hunters

EXT. CEMETERY - COURTYARD AREA - NIGHT

RAZIEL V.O. These were Moebius's hunters - mercenaries enlisted in his crusade to exterminate the vampires. His insignia was unmistakable. ...but this meant I'd been captive in the underworld for centuries. I had lost five hundred years.

Raziel turns and looks up at the Pillars, visible above the horizon.

RAZIEL V.O. Then I knew what ghost it was that haunted the Pillars -- Ariel, the specter of the murdered Balance Guardian. Perhaps she could provide the answers I sought. But first I would have to find a way out of this cemetery...

EVENT 4.1/4.2 -- Foreshadowing high Dark & Light Temples

As Raziel returns from Kain's mausoleum in either material or spectral there is a cinematic pause.

RAZIEL V.O. This temple's facade hinted at some ancient Vampire origin - for it bore the sign of the Reaver, and was marked with the elemental symbol of Darkness. The mystery of the Reaver might be answered within... but this edifice was too high for me to reach.

RAZIEL V.O. This temple's facade hinted at some ancient Vampire origin - for it bore the sign of the Reaver, and was marked with the elemental symbol of Light. The mystery of the Reaver might be answered within... but this edifice was too high for me to reach.

RAZIEL V.O. Another temple, this one marked with the elemental symbol of Light. This edifice, like the other one, was too high for me to reach.

RAZIEL V.O. Another temple, this one marked with the elemental symbol of Darkness. This edifice, like the other one, was too high for me to reach.

RAZIEL V.O. An ancient gate, sealed by the powers of Light and Darkness, barred the way to the Pillars, beyond. To depart this place and continue my journey, I would have to find the means to open it.

SCENE 4.8a -- Raziel is ambushed by Revenants

Raziel re-enters the crypt where he discovered the phantom planar portal. As Raziel moves to the center of the room, a number of animated corpses begin bursting out of the floor and walls, their eyes burning with green fire. Simultaneously, magical green barriers appear over Raziel's exits, trapping him within the room.

HYLDEN 1 Raziel...

HYLDEN 2 Raziel...

HYLDEN 1 Fallen hero...

HYLDEN 3 Renegade and traitor...

RAZIEL What is this? How do you know me?

HYLDEN 1 Raziel, what are you?

HYLDEN 4 Why should any know your name?

HYLDEN 2 You are nothing...

They attack; resume gameplay.

SCENE 4.8b -- Raziel defeats the Revenants

As Raziel finishes off the last of the Revenants, he concludes --

RAZIEL V.O. It seemed my method of entering the physical realm was not altogether original. But where had these beings come from?

Approaching a door sealed with the Darkness glyph:

RAZIEL V.O. The Reaver did not seem to activate this orb. I had to find the means to enhance the blade further.

SCENE 4.9 -- Foreshadowing the Light Forge Door

Raziel sees the Light Forge facade

RAZIEL V.O. This edifice, marked with the elemental Light symbol, was clearly much older than the ruins in the rest of the cemetery. The door was far too high to reach. And to open it, it seemed the Reaver would need to be imbued with the power of Darkness. Clearly I had more to accomplish before I could discover what lay within.

Approaching stone monument that must be climbed to reach the cliff above:

RAZIEL V.O. Perhaps in the spectral realm this would no longer prove an obstacle.

Scene 4.10 -- Raziel is teleported to Guardian Citadel first time

Raziel steps through the portal.

RAZIEL V.O. As I stepped through, I felt a sense of displacement, as some arcane sorcery transported me away.

Raziel arrives in the Dark-themed area of the Guardian Citadel.

RAZIEL V.O. This was clearly some ancient ruin of the Vampire civilization. Perhaps here I would finally decipher the riddle of my destiny.

Amy: Hard work trying to get critters to sound mad in a short time. I resorted to irrational wordplay. Hope this works for you. I added a pass at Raziel's VO, but it may go at the end, after he kills these guys, and so have to be changed, or it may be cut. -C

Scene 4.11 -- Citadel Unearthing Vampire history

INT. CITADEL DARK AREA

Raziel discovers another set of murals.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

SCENE 4.13 -- Citadel Raziel acquires the Dark Reaver enhancement

INT. CITADEL DARK AREA

Raziel earns the Dark Reaver enhancement.

RAZIEL V.O. At last it was done: the Reaver was forged with Darkness. As I felt this new power coursing within the wraith blade, I knew that now the Light temple would open to me.

Event 4.4 -- Citadel Raziel is teleported to the Citadel Again Light Area

Raziel steps through the portal.

RAZIEL V.O. Again I experienced that odd sense of displacement, as I was transported to the Vampire ruin once more. ...but this chamber was different than the first.

SCENE 4.14 -- Citadel Unearthing Vampire History

Raziel examines wall murals depicting the banishment of the Hylden, and the curse of vampirism.

Raziel examines another mural, depicting the vampires responding to the curse with madness and suicide.

Raziel examines another mural, depicting the Reaver, and the Reaver-bearer.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

SCENE 4.16 -- Citadel Optional Vampire History

INT. CITADEL "LIGHT" AREA

Raziel discovers more wall murals, depicting wheel of fate imagery, and vampires committing suicide.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

SCENE 4.17 -- Citadel Raziel acquires Light Reaver enhancement

INT. CITADEL "LIGHT" AREA

Raziel earns the second Reaver enhancement.

RAZIEL V.O. I had succeeded - the Reaver was forged with the power of Light. And now my way was clear: I would seek out Ariel at the Pillars and see if she could enlighten me.

EVENT 4.5 -- Raziel unlocks the ancient gate to Pillars vista

Raziel successfully uses the Dark and Light Reavers to open the ancient Vampire gate leading to the Pillars segue path.

RAZIEL V.O. At last, the gate yielded to the powers of Light and Darkness, with which the Reaver had been forged. The way to the Pillars was open.

Reveal the Guardian Citadel

The Pillars of Nosgoth (Nosgoth's early history)

Kain arrives at the Pillars.

KAIN V.O. How strange to see this place long before my birth... centuries before the corruption set in that would poison the land, and put me on the treacherous path I still followed. In the future, these edifices would be condemned to darkness and decay. I would cause their fall, and build my empire upon their ruins. Was it still possible that with the right knowledge, the right moves, I might one day see Nosgoth restored, the Pillars pure once more? My answer - according to Moebius - lay somewhere to the west of this place. I could restore the world, perhaps. But never again could I give Nosgoth back her innocence.

Kain arrives at the dead-end that currently lies west of the Pillars.

KAIN V.O. My path ended here, offering only this empty vista. Was this another of Moebius's little jokes? ...or a puzzle for which I had not yet found the answer?

Kain acquires Space/Dimension-themed shard of the Balance Element.

KAIN V.O. Another fragment of the Balance Emblem, this one endowed with the properties of Dimension. Perhaps this would reveal the mystery that lay west of the Pillars... if Moebius spoke the truth, and there was indeed something there to find.

Using the second shard of the Balance Emblem, Kain is able to open the path to, and reveal, the Guardian Citadel.

KAIN V.O. The mists that shrouded this lake miraculously now cleared away, revealing an ancient citadel. So Moebius had not lied. Or perhaps this was simply another of the Time Streamer's illusions, meant to slow my true endeavor.

SCENE 5.1 -- Kain arrives at the Pillars.

Kain arrives at the Pillars.

KAIN V.O. How strange to see this place long before my birth... centuries before the corruption set in that would poison the land, and put me on the treacherous path I still followed. In the future, these edifices would be condemned to darkness and decay. I would cause their fall, and build my empire upon their ruins. Was it still possible that with the right knowledge, the right moves, I might one day see Nosgoth restored, the Pillars pure once more? My answer - according to Moebius - lay somewhere to the west of this place. I could restore the world, perhaps. But never again could I give Nosgoth back her innocence.

SCENE 5.2 -- Foreshadowing "dead end" where the Citadel will be revealed.

Kain arrives at the dead-end that currently lies west of the Pillars.

KAIN V.O. My path ended here, offering only this empty vista. Was this another of Moebius's little jokes? ...or a puzzle for which I had not yet found the answer?

SCENE 5.3 -- Kain acquires 2nd Reaver Enhancement.

Kain acquires Space/Dimension-themed shard of the Balance Element.

KAIN V.O. Another fragment of the Balance Emblem, this one endowed with the properties of Dimension. Perhaps this would reveal the mystery that lay west of the Pillars... if Moebius spoke the truth, and there was indeed something there to find.

SCENE 5.4 -- The Guardian Citadel is revealed

Using the second shard of the Balance Emblem, Kain is able to open the path to, and reveal, the Guardian Citadel.

KAIN V.O. The mists that shrouded this lake miraculously now cleared away, revealing an ancient citadel. So Moebius had not lied. Or perhaps this was simply another of the Time Streamer's illusions, meant to slow my true endeavor.

Find the Location of Vorador's Mansion

The Pillars of Nosgoth

RAZIEL V.O. The vampire hunters - brazen as they were - feared to walk these paths. I knew one spirit haunted this place... perhaps there were others, as well.

Raziel approaches the sconces that trigger the gate to the Pillars to open.

RAZIEL V.O. These smoldering sconces seemed as though they would ignite, if only I had a fire source.

Mural: The Forging of the Reaver

RAZIEL V.O. I sought to unravel the mystery of my fate, and in this image lay my first clue. For this scene depicted the forging of the Reaver- the weapon destined to become my prison - and I recognized its maker. The years had changed him, but this was unmistakably the vampire, Vorador – and in this era, he still lived. If I could reach him before Moebius’ mob hunted him down, he would provide the answers I sought.

Mural: The Dark Gift is Passed

RAZIEL V.O. 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. This was the Vampires’ desperate bid to preserve their bloodline…for their enemies had cursed them not only with blood-thirst, but with sterility as well.

The Fire Forge

Raziel enters the portal and is transported to the Fire-themed Area of the Guardian Citadel

RAZIEL V.O. The brief sense of displacement was becoming familiar to me, and tinged with a sense of anticipation. What else would these ancient ruins reveal to me?

SCENE 6.0.4 -- Raziel discovers that Vorador forged the Reaver

Raziel sees murals of the Reaver being forged -- by Vorador.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

SCENE 6.0.5 -- Raziel unearths more Vampire history

INT. CITADEL FIRE AREA - DAY

Raziel finds murals depicting the creation of the vampire Vorador.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

Raziel discovers a vessel, like the one from which he imbued the Reaver with Light and Darkness, but lacking a magical flame.

RAZIEL V.O. This spirit vessel was not yet activated. Perhaps there was some means for me to awaken it…

SCENE 6.0.6.1 -- Raziel discovers the tomb of the original Nature Guardian

INT. CITADEL FIRE AREA - DAY

Raziel discovers the tomb, illustrated by decorations that show how the Nature Guardian had chosen to end her life.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

SCENE 6.0.6.2 -- Raziel discovers the tomb of the original Conflict Guardian

INT. CITADEL FIRE AREA - DAY

Approaching the tomb, Raziel discovers illustrations of how the Conflict Guardian had chosen to die.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

SCENE 6.0.7.0 -- Raziel confronts the spirit of the Nature Guardian

Raziel enters a chamber of the citadel containing a sarcophagus, and adorned with the symbol for Nature.

RAZIEL V.O. I was met by the specter of the Nature Guardian, monstrously deformed since its death centuries ago.

GUARDIAN C Rejoice, creature, for today your spirit will return to the One...

The battle begins.

RAZIEL V.O. Apparently a single soul was not enough to activate this spirit vessel. Perhaps another specter was lurking around here somewhere…

SCENE 6.0.7.1 -- Raziel confronts the specter of the Conflict Guardian

RAZIEL V.O. Approaching the tomb, I was met by the specter of the Guardian himself.

GUARDIAN A Eternity weighs heavily...

RAZIEL I have a solution.

GUARDIAN A I bear it in atonement... but your moment of existence has passed. Come - and be released...

The battle begins.

Raziel heads for the spirit vessel after both Guardian spirits have been defeated and trapped within it.

RAZIEL V.O. The spirit vessel would not respond in the spectral realm. I had to return to the physical world to use it.

SCENE 6.0.8 -- Raziel acquires the Fire Reaver

When Raziel has killed the specters of the Conflict and Nature Guardians, their spirits are absorbed by the Reaver.

RAZIEL V.O. As the Reaver absorbed the souls of the Nature and Conflict Guardians, it was imbued with the elemental power of Fire with which their principles were aligned. I was now equipped to reach the Pillars.

SCENE 6.1 -- Raziel encounters Ariel in the Pillars clearing

Approaching an air plinth:

RAZIEL V.O. This seemed to be attuned to the elemental principal of air.

EVENT 6.2 -- Raziel is transported back into the Citadel's Air-themed area.

RAZIEL V.O. I was transported to yet another ancient Vampire chamber - this one apparently aligned with the elemental power of Air.

SCENE 6.9 -- Unearthing Vampire History - two heroes

INT. CITADEL AIR AREA - DAY

Raziel finds a set of murals, several panels of which have been destroyed.

Raziel examines another panel of the mural.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

Mural: The Champion of the Adversary Race

RAZIEL V.O. These murals had suffered some damage. Once again I recognized the Vampires’ hero, but this scene revealed something new… For here they had also depicted his destined adversary, now partially obscured, who seemed to bear a flaming sword.

SCENE 6.10.1.0 -- Raziel discovers the tomb of the Mind Guardian

INT. CITADEL FIRE AREA - DAY

Raziel approaches the tomb, which bears an illustration of the method of suicide this vampire chose.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

SCENE 6.10.1.1 -- Raziel discovers the tomb of the Dimension Guardian

INT. CITADEL FIRE AREA - DAY

Raziel approaches the tomb, which bears an illustration of the method of suicide this vampire chose.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

SCENE 6.10.1.2 -- Raziel confronts spirit of the Dimension Guardian

INT. CITADEL AIR AREA - DAY

As Raziel enters the chamber, he is confronted by the specter of the Dimension Guardian

GUARDIAN B You too share the curse -- submit and be released...

RAZIEL Never.

They launch into battle.

SCENE 6.10.2.0 -- Raziel confronts the specter of the Mind Guardian

Raziel is confronted by the specter of the Mind Guardian.

GUARDIAN C In winning all, we lost all... In winning what we thought mattered, we lost what truly mattered... But for you, there is a chance.

RAZIEL What chance is that?

GUARDIAN C The bliss of death. I offer it.

RAZIEL But I do not accept.

They launch into battle.

SCENE 6.11 -- Raziel acquires the Air Reaver

When Raziel has struck down the specters of the Mind and Dimension Guardians, their souls are drawn into the Reaver.

RAZIEL V.O. As the Reaver absorbed the souls of the Mind and Dimension Guardians, it was imbued with the elemental power of Air with which their principles were aligned.

SCENE 6.12 -- Raziel reaches the vista leading to Vorador's mansion

Raziel successfully reaches/opens the Mansion vista.

RAZIEL V.O. With the Reaver endowed with the elemental power of Air, the way to Vorador's refuge lay open at last. If the old vampire still lived, he alone could tell me how to escape the terrible destiny charted for me when the Reaver was forged.

SCENE 6.13 -- Chapter Ending - Raziel departs for Vorador's Mansion

RAZIEL V.O. Vorador's refuge was hidden deep within the black forest. I hoped to find him before Moebius's cutthroats did.

Hm. Raziel started being awfully sweet to her. If this doesn't work for her, I'll take another pass. Might be a nice contrast with striking her down -- for her own good -- at Spirit Forge. If it doesn't work for you, I'll try another tack, of course.

SCENE 6.0.1 -- Chapter opening - Raziel arrives on the Pillars path

RAZIEL V.O. The vampire hunters - brazen as they were - feared to walk these paths. I knew one spirit haunted this place... perhaps there were others, as well.

Raziel approaches the sconces that trigger the gate to the Pillars to open.

RAZIEL V.O. These smoldering sconces seemed as though they would ignite, if only I had a fire source.

Mural: The Forging of the Reaver

RAZIEL V.O. I sought to unravel the mystery of my fate, and in this image lay my first clue. For this scene depicted the forging of the Reaver- the weapon destined to become my prison - and I recognized its maker. The years had changed him, but this was unmistakably the vampire, Vorador – and in this era, he still lived. If I could reach him before Moebius’ mob hunted him down, he would provide the answers I sought.

Mural: The Dark Gift is Passed

RAZIEL V.O. 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. This was the Vampires’ desperate bid to preserve their bloodline…for their enemies had cursed them not only with blood-thirst, but with sterility as well.

Event 6.1 -- Raziel is transported into the Guardian Citadel's Fire-themed Area

Raziel enters the portal and is transported to the Fire-themed Area of the Guardian Citadel

RAZIEL V.O. The brief sense of displacement was becoming familiar to me, and tinged with a sense of anticipation. What else would these ancient ruins reveal to me?

SCENE 6.0.4 -- Raziel discovers that Vorador forged the Reaver

Raziel sees murals of the Reaver being forged -- by Vorador.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

SCENE 6.0.5 -- Raziel unearths more Vampire history

INT. CITADEL FIRE AREA - DAY

Raziel finds murals depicting the creation of the vampire Vorador.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

Raziel discovers a vessel, like the one from which he imbued the Reaver with Light and Darkness, but lacking a magical flame.

RAZIEL V.O. This spirit vessel was not yet activated. Perhaps there was some means for me to awaken it…

SCENE 6.0.6.1 -- Raziel discovers the tomb of the original Nature Guardian

INT. CITADEL FIRE AREA - DAY

Raziel discovers the tomb, illustrated by decorations that show how the Nature Guardian had chosen to end her life.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

SCENE 6.0.6.2 -- Raziel discovers the tomb of the original Conflict Guardian

INT. CITADEL FIRE AREA - DAY

Approaching the tomb, Raziel discovers illustrations of how the Conflict Guardian had chosen to die.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

SCENE 6.0.7.0 -- Raziel confronts the spirit of the Nature Guardian

Raziel enters a chamber of the citadel containing a sarcophagus, and adorned with the symbol for Nature.

RAZIEL V.O. I was met by the specter of the Nature Guardian, monstrously deformed since its death centuries ago.

GUARDIAN C Rejoice, creature, for today your spirit will return to the One...

The battle begins.

RAZIEL V.O. Apparently a single soul was not enough to activate this spirit vessel. Perhaps another specter was lurking around here somewhere…

SCENE 6.0.7.1 -- Raziel confronts the specter of the Conflict Guardian

RAZIEL V.O. Approaching the tomb, I was met by the specter of the Guardian himself.

GUARDIAN A Eternity weighs heavily...

RAZIEL I have a solution.

GUARDIAN A I bear it in atonement... but your moment of existence has passed. Come - and be released...

The battle begins.

Raziel heads for the spirit vessel after both Guardian spirits have been defeated and trapped within it.

RAZIEL V.O. The spirit vessel would not respond in the spectral realm. I had to return to the physical world to use it.

SCENE 6.0.8 -- Raziel acquires the Fire Reaver

When Raziel has killed the specters of the Conflict and Nature Guardians, their spirits are absorbed by the Reaver.

RAZIEL V.O. As the Reaver absorbed the souls of the Nature and Conflict Guardians, it was imbued with the elemental power of Fire with which their principles were aligned. I was now equipped to reach the Pillars.

SCENE 6.1 -- Raziel encounters Ariel in the Pillars clearing

Approaching an air plinth:

RAZIEL V.O. This seemed to be attuned to the elemental principal of air.

EVENT 6.2 -- Raziel is transported back into the Citadel's Air-themed area.

RAZIEL V.O. I was transported to yet another ancient Vampire chamber - this one apparently aligned with the elemental power of Air.

SCENE 6.9 -- Unearthing Vampire History - two heroes

INT. CITADEL AIR AREA - DAY

Raziel finds a set of murals, several panels of which have been destroyed.

Raziel examines another panel of the mural.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

Mural: The Champion of the Adversary Race

RAZIEL V.O. These murals had suffered some damage. Once again I recognized the Vampires’ hero, but this scene revealed something new… For here they had also depicted his destined adversary, now partially obscured, who seemed to bear a flaming sword.

SCENE 6.10.1.0 -- Raziel discovers the tomb of the Mind Guardian

INT. CITADEL FIRE AREA - DAY

Raziel approaches the tomb, which bears an illustration of the method of suicide this vampire chose.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

SCENE 6.10.1.1 -- Raziel discovers the tomb of the Dimension Guardian

INT. CITADEL FIRE AREA - DAY

Raziel approaches the tomb, which bears an illustration of the method of suicide this vampire chose.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

SCENE 6.10.1.2 -- Raziel confronts spirit of the Dimension Guardian

INT. CITADEL AIR AREA - DAY

As Raziel enters the chamber, he is confronted by the specter of the Dimension Guardian

GUARDIAN B You too share the curse -- submit and be released...

RAZIEL Never.

They launch into battle.

SCENE 6.10.2.0 -- Raziel confronts the specter of the Mind Guardian

Raziel is confronted by the specter of the Mind Guardian.

GUARDIAN C In winning all, we lost all... In winning what we thought mattered, we lost what truly mattered... But for you, there is a chance.

RAZIEL What chance is that?

GUARDIAN C The bliss of death. I offer it.

RAZIEL But I do not accept.

They launch into battle.

SCENE 6.11 -- Raziel acquires the Air Reaver

When Raziel has struck down the specters of the Mind and Dimension Guardians, their souls are drawn into the Reaver.

RAZIEL V.O. As the Reaver absorbed the souls of the Mind and Dimension Guardians, it was imbued with the elemental power of Air with which their principles were aligned.

SCENE 6.12 -- Raziel reaches the vista leading to Vorador's mansion

Raziel successfully reaches/opens the Mansion vista.

RAZIEL V.O. With the Reaver endowed with the elemental power of Air, the way to Vorador's refuge lay open at last. If the old vampire still lived, he alone could tell me how to escape the terrible destiny charted for me when the Reaver was forged.

SCENE 6.13 -- Chapter Ending - Raziel departs for Vorador's Mansion

RAZIEL V.O. Vorador's refuge was hidden deep within the black forest. I hoped to find him before Moebius's cutthroats did.

Hm. Raziel started being awfully sweet to her. If this doesn't work for her, I'll take another pass. Might be a nice contrast with striking her down -- for her own good -- at Spirit Forge. If it doesn't work for you, I'll try another tack, of course.

Explore the Citadel

The Vampire Citadel

Kain arrives in the Citadel Council Chamber via bat-flight. He manifests, and looks about him.

KAIN V.O. And so I arrived at the citadel of my Vampire ancestors, long abandoned since their extinction eons ago. Perhaps it still held the wisdom of its creators. Here Moebius said I would find proof that Raziel was not what I thought he was -- or hoped he would be. But in sending me here Moebius had done me an unexpected -- or perhaps an unwitting -- service. For it was my destiny, not Raziel's - my role as Scion of Balance - whose secrets I was here to discover.

Mural: The fall of the Vampire hero

Kain discovers the complete mural of the two heroes, that Raziel saw in a damaged and incomplete state in Scene 6.9. Here is the vampire hero, bearing the Soul Reaver, and his adversary with flaming eyes, bearing a flaming sword.

There is a panel of the two fighting, and the missing panel: the two heroes locked in combat, the vampire hero pierced by the flaming sword, the other impaled by the Soul Reaver.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

KAIN V.O. Here, no doubt, was the evidence Moebius wished me to have… For the Vampires had prophesied not one, but two champions – one destined to be Nosgoth’s redeemer, the other, its destroyer. The Vampires’ hero wielded the Reaver, forged for this very purpose. His opponent was clearly the hero of their adversaries – the Hylden – and brandished a flaming sword. The foretold outcome was unambiguous: the Vampire hero would fall.

The Vampire Citadel

KAIN V.O. This door was clearly significant; the answers I sought surely lay within. But to unlock the chamber, the Balance Emblem had to be fully restored.

KAIN V.O. The Reaver required some additional enhancement before this door could be opened.

Kain enters a room housing large statues, similar to one that had come to life, and attacked him earlier.

KAIN V.O. These statues were singularly inanimate. I knew better than to assume they would always remain so.

KAIN V.O. The third fragment of the Balance Emblem endowed the Reaver with the elemental power of Lightning.

KAIN V.O. A new area of the Vampire citadel lay open to me. I still had much to discover.

SCENE 7.1 -- Chapter Opening - Kain arrives at the Citadel via bat-flight

Kain arrives in the Citadel Council Chamber via bat-flight. He manifests, and looks about him.

KAIN V.O. And so I arrived at the citadel of my Vampire ancestors, long abandoned since their extinction eons ago. Perhaps it still held the wisdom of its creators. Here Moebius said I would find proof that Raziel was not what I thought he was -- or hoped he would be. But in sending me here Moebius had done me an unexpected -- or perhaps an unwitting -- service. For it was my destiny, not Raziel's - my role as Scion of Balance - whose secrets I was here to discover.

SCENE 7.3 -- Kain discovers complete hero-mural

Kain discovers the complete mural of the two heroes, that Raziel saw in a damaged and incomplete state in Scene 6.9. Here is the vampire hero, bearing the Soul Reaver, and his adversary with flaming eyes, bearing a flaming sword.

There is a panel of the two fighting, and the missing panel: the two heroes locked in combat, the vampire hero pierced by the flaming sword, the other impaled by the Soul Reaver.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

KAIN V.O. Here, no doubt, was the evidence Moebius wished me to have… For the Vampires had prophesied not one, but two champions – one destined to be Nosgoth’s redeemer, the other, its destroyer. The Vampires’ hero wielded the Reaver, forged for this very purpose. His opponent was clearly the hero of their adversaries – the Hylden – and brandished a flaming sword. The foretold outcome was unambiguous: the Vampire hero would fall.

SCENE 7.2 -- Kain discovers sealed entrance to Balance Chamber

KAIN V.O. This door was clearly significant; the answers I sought surely lay within. But to unlock the chamber, the Balance Emblem had to be fully restored.

KAIN V.O. The Reaver required some additional enhancement before this door could be opened.

Kain enters a room housing large statues, similar to one that had come to life, and attacked him earlier.

KAIN V.O. These statues were singularly inanimate. I knew better than to assume they would always remain so.

SCENE 7.x -- Kain discovers the third shard of the Balance Emblem

KAIN V.O. The third fragment of the Balance Emblem endowed the Reaver with the elemental power of Lightning.

SCENE 7.5 -- Chapter Ending - Kain uses 3rd shard to progress

KAIN V.O. A new area of the Vampire citadel lay open to me. I still had much to discover.

Find Vorador

Vorador's Mansion

RAZIEL V.O. Nestled deep in the black forest, Vorador had once held court over a private kingdom, as decadent as it was depraved. Now, all was still. I hoped I had not arrived too late...

Raziel enters a room occupied by a large fountain.

RAZIEL V.O. 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 V.O. 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 discovers another mural in an adjacent passage.

RAZIEL V.O. This mural was similar to one I had seen before in the fountain room.

Raziel approaches a tomb in the graveyard behind the mansion.

RAZIEL V.O. This mysterious chamber was clearly significant. Perhaps I would find the elusive Vorador within.

Raziel attempt to light the smoldering braziers that stand before the tomb.

RAZIEL V.O. The braziers were all lit, but still the door remained sealed. Perhaps I had ignited too many…

Raziel finds statues of Ancient Vampires in Vorador’s living room and dining room.

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

Raziel solves a puzzle.

RAZIEL V.O. 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 comes across a sealed door, on which is painted a winged, blue-skinned Vampire whose face is a skull.

RAZIEL V.O. This door clearly required some artifact before it would open.

Raziel returns to the mural in the passage adjacent to the fountain room.

RAZIEL V.O. These murals were attuned somehow to those in the fountain room – for this wall too had shattered.

Raziel discovers a new passage behind one of the shattered murals. It leads to an artifact.

RAZIEL V.O. Perhaps this arcane emblem would unlock the sealed door in the crypt.

Raziel returns the artifact to the sealed door.

RAZIEL V.O. Hm. The artifact I had was not sufficient. There clearly still a missing piece of this puzzle.

Raziel follows another new passage created by a shattered mural and finds another artifact.

RAZIEL V.O. Ah, here was the second piece of the emblem. Now undoubtedly the crypt door could be opened.

The crypt door leads to another statue of an Ancient Vampire holding a spear.

RAZIEL V.O. With this third and final weapon, the mystery of the fountain would be solved.

The Water Forge

Raziel discovers more murals depicting the vampire hero, and his enemy adversary, who looks a lot like...Raziel.

Mural: Raziel Recognizes the Adversary Hero

RAZIEL V.O. Here the images unadulterated, and their meaning ominously clear… The Vampire hero, the bearer of the Reaver blade, was confronted by an adversary worthy of his powers. The enemy race, long banished, had an adversary of their own – with flaming eyes and a fiery sword.

Raziel manifests the wraith-blade, and his eyes flame.

RAZIEL V.O. The resemblance I bore to the adversary mocked all my hopes. Had Kain been the Vampire hero of prophecy all along? Did he suspect what I was? For if I was this foretold adversary, then Moebius was right, and had always been right – I was destined to fight Kain and destroy him…or be destroyed. What part did free will play in any of this?…

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

The Water Forge

GUARDIAN OF DEATH Your deliverance is at hand -- in Death is your release.

GUARDIAN OF STATE This state is merely atonement...

They launch into battle.

After killing the vampire guardian spirits, they are absorbed into the Reaver.

RAZIEL V.O. Once more the Reaver absorbed the spirits of the former vampire Guardians, and thus was imbued with the elemental power of Water. Perhaps now I could enter that mysterious crypt at the end of the garden.

The vampire Vorador

Raziel opens the sealed entrance of the crypt and enters cautiously. He finds Vorador waiting for him inside, slouched upon the ruins of some sepulchral throne, and lit only by the dim candlelight of this dark tomb. Vorador regards Raziel without surprise, as though he's been waiting for Raziel here. He has a sword of unique design in his hand ­-- and although his posture is relaxed, he looks as though he could spring into action at any moment.

As Raziel steps forward, Vorador eyes him with steely suspicion.

VORADOR So... our wretched little savior returns... Come to join the last pathetic battle of the vampire race? But on which side, I wonder...

RAZIEL I've not come to fight you, Vorador.

When Raziel approaches, Vorador -- still sitting -- brings the point of the sword up to his throat. The move is supernaturally swift, and reveals that Vorador is a master swordsman.

VORADOR coldly; correcting himYou don't know why you're here.

RAZIEL I know this much: that you are the author of my fate - and as such, only you can rewrite it.

VORADOR laughs mirthlesslyYou give me too much credit.

RAZIEL You forged the Reaver - I have seen the evidence.

VORADOR suspiciouslyI was its maker, yes.

RAZIEL Then you know its purpose.

VORADOR No - only the scraps of prophecy my master shared with me.

RAZIEL And do these scraps explain why you would forge a weapon to imprison your savior?

Vorador stands now, and brings the sword back up to Raziel's chest.

VORADOR Ah, well then... it seems we have our answer. You've chosen your path.

RAZIEL angryI have chosen nothing. I've been deceived at every turn.

Vorador looks at him thoughtfully, but says nothing.

RAZIEL You seem to know what I am. Tell me.

VORADOR I thought I did, once. But now all the prophecies have failed. The Pillars are corrupted... I am the last of my kind... and when Moebius's hunters find me, it will have all been for nothing.

RAZIEL You've forgotten about Kain.

VORADOR contemplatingAh yes, Kain... I fear he shoulders a greater burden than he realizes.then, to RazielI cannot help you - even if I was inclined to. I crafted the Reaver blade, but only at the behest of my sire, Janos Audron. What sorcery he and the others laid upon the sword afterward, I cannot say.

RAZIEL Janos tried to give me the Reaver before he died. He said that it was forged for me... but what did he mean? As my weapon, or my prison?

Vorador regards Raziel intently, an idea forming. After a pause, he sheathes his sword and says --

VORADOR Perhaps you should ask him yourself.

RAZIEL Janos is here?

VORADOR In a manner of speaking.

Vorador presses a series of panels, which opens a secret door in the crypt, revealing a staircase that descends into darkness. He takes a candle to show Raziel the way.

At the bottom of the staircase, Vorador ushers Raziel into a small chamber, and steps aside as Raziel realizes what's ensconced here. An elaborate bier stands in the center of the room, surrounded by flickering candles ­-- upon the bier lays the body of Janos Audron.

As Raziel approaches the body, Vorador stands back and speaks.

VORADOR The greatest of us all - the father of our race. The Sarafan tore the heart from his living body five centuries ago.

Raziel steps up to the dais to see the body more closely.

RAZIEL But there's no sign of decay - how is this possible after all these years?

VORADOR Somewhere, the Heart still beats. And while it does, the body will remain preserved. If his Heart could be restored, Janos might yet be raised.

RAZIEL And you haven't tried to recover it, in all these years?

VORADOR Many times... but our enemies hid the Heart too well. It was taken as a trophy to Avernus Cathedral centuries ago, where they christened it 'the Heart of Darkness.' Believing that it embodies the essence of our dark gift, they hid the Heart away, lest it fall into the wrong hands. Our hands.

Raziel steps back down from the dais to face Vorador.

VORADOR Redeem yourself - you may be our last hope. Perhaps you alone can find the Heart, if it is meant to be found. If Janos can be resurrected, he will have all the answers you require.

Vorador reaches into his robe and withdraws the key to the library exit, offering it to Raziel.

VORADOR This key will open your way to Avernus. But be advised, there are dark sorceries at work in the cathedral. You must be on your guard.

Vorador then vanishes in a cloud of mist, leaving Raziel standing alone in the chamber.

Vorador's last counsel

INT. LIBRARY OF VORADOR'S MANSION

Raziel enters the library, and finds Vorador already at the eastern end of the room, looking out the window. As soon as the player approaches, we transition to cinematic.

Vorador turns to Raziel --

VORADOR Avernus is in flames... and with it, our hopes may evaporate.

RAZIEL How can I find the Heart in the midst of such chaos?

VORADOR You must act quickly. But beware - an ancient evil dwells within, long Unspoken among our kind. Undoubtedly this is the source of the corruption that infects the Circle. If you are to succeed, you must resist its influence.

Vorador dissipates into mist, once more leaving Raziel alone in the room.

Amy, well the question of why Vorador would leave the crypt answered itself in the course of these two scenes. Pretty neat, don't you think?

SCENE 8.1 -- Chapter Opening - Raziel arrives at the Mansion

RAZIEL V.O. Nestled deep in the black forest, Vorador had once held court over a private kingdom, as decadent as it was depraved. Now, all was still. I hoped I had not arrived too late...

Raziel enters a room occupied by a large fountain.

RAZIEL V.O. 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 V.O. 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 discovers another mural in an adjacent passage.

RAZIEL V.O. This mural was similar to one I had seen before in the fountain room.

Raziel approaches a tomb in the graveyard behind the mansion.

RAZIEL V.O. This mysterious chamber was clearly significant. Perhaps I would find the elusive Vorador within.

Raziel attempt to light the smoldering braziers that stand before the tomb.

RAZIEL V.O. The braziers were all lit, but still the door remained sealed. Perhaps I had ignited too many…

Raziel finds statues of Ancient Vampires in Vorador’s living room and dining room.

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

Raziel solves a puzzle.

RAZIEL V.O. 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 comes across a sealed door, on which is painted a winged, blue-skinned Vampire whose face is a skull.

RAZIEL V.O. This door clearly required some artifact before it would open.

Raziel returns to the mural in the passage adjacent to the fountain room.

RAZIEL V.O. These murals were attuned somehow to those in the fountain room – for this wall too had shattered.

Raziel discovers a new passage behind one of the shattered murals. It leads to an artifact.

RAZIEL V.O. Perhaps this arcane emblem would unlock the sealed door in the crypt.

Raziel returns the artifact to the sealed door.

RAZIEL V.O. Hm. The artifact I had was not sufficient. There clearly still a missing piece of this puzzle.

Raziel follows another new passage created by a shattered mural and finds another artifact.

RAZIEL V.O. Ah, here was the second piece of the emblem. Now undoubtedly the crypt door could be opened.

The crypt door leads to another statue of an Ancient Vampire holding a spear.

RAZIEL V.O. With this third and final weapon, the mystery of the fountain would be solved.

SCENE 8.2 -- Raziel begins to believe he might not be the vampire hero

Raziel discovers more murals depicting the vampire hero, and his enemy adversary, who looks a lot like...Raziel.

Mural: Raziel Recognizes the Adversary Hero

RAZIEL V.O. Here the images unadulterated, and their meaning ominously clear… The Vampire hero, the bearer of the Reaver blade, was confronted by an adversary worthy of his powers. The enemy race, long banished, had an adversary of their own – with flaming eyes and a fiery sword.

Raziel manifests the wraith-blade, and his eyes flame.

RAZIEL V.O. The resemblance I bore to the adversary mocked all my hopes. Had Kain been the Vampire hero of prophecy all along? Did he suspect what I was? For if I was this foretold adversary, then Moebius was right, and had always been right – I was destined to fight Kain and destroy him…or be destroyed. What part did free will play in any of this?…

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

SCENE 8.3.4 -- Raziel confronts the States and Death Guardians

GUARDIAN OF DEATH Your deliverance is at hand -- in Death is your release.

GUARDIAN OF STATE This state is merely atonement...

They launch into battle.

SCENE 8.3 -- Raziel acquires the Water Reaver enhancement

After killing the vampire guardian spirits, they are absorbed into the Reaver.

RAZIEL V.O. Once more the Reaver absorbed the spirits of the former vampire Guardians, and thus was imbued with the elemental power of Water. Perhaps now I could enter that mysterious crypt at the end of the garden.

SCENE 8.4 -- Raziel confronts Vorador in the garden crypt

Raziel opens the sealed entrance of the crypt and enters cautiously. He finds Vorador waiting for him inside, slouched upon the ruins of some sepulchral throne, and lit only by the dim candlelight of this dark tomb. Vorador regards Raziel without surprise, as though he's been waiting for Raziel here. He has a sword of unique design in his hand ­-- and although his posture is relaxed, he looks as though he could spring into action at any moment.

As Raziel steps forward, Vorador eyes him with steely suspicion.

VORADOR So... our wretched little savior returns... Come to join the last pathetic battle of the vampire race? But on which side, I wonder...

RAZIEL I've not come to fight you, Vorador.

When Raziel approaches, Vorador -- still sitting -- brings the point of the sword up to his throat. The move is supernaturally swift, and reveals that Vorador is a master swordsman.

VORADOR coldly; correcting himYou don't know why you're here.

RAZIEL I know this much: that you are the author of my fate - and as such, only you can rewrite it.

VORADOR laughs mirthlesslyYou give me too much credit.

RAZIEL You forged the Reaver - I have seen the evidence.

VORADOR suspiciouslyI was its maker, yes.

RAZIEL Then you know its purpose.

VORADOR No - only the scraps of prophecy my master shared with me.

RAZIEL And do these scraps explain why you would forge a weapon to imprison your savior?

Vorador stands now, and brings the sword back up to Raziel's chest.

VORADOR Ah, well then... it seems we have our answer. You've chosen your path.

RAZIEL angryI have chosen nothing. I've been deceived at every turn.

Vorador looks at him thoughtfully, but says nothing.

RAZIEL You seem to know what I am. Tell me.

VORADOR I thought I did, once. But now all the prophecies have failed. The Pillars are corrupted... I am the last of my kind... and when Moebius's hunters find me, it will have all been for nothing.

RAZIEL You've forgotten about Kain.

VORADOR contemplatingAh yes, Kain... I fear he shoulders a greater burden than he realizes.then, to RazielI cannot help you - even if I was inclined to. I crafted the Reaver blade, but only at the behest of my sire, Janos Audron. What sorcery he and the others laid upon the sword afterward, I cannot say.

RAZIEL Janos tried to give me the Reaver before he died. He said that it was forged for me... but what did he mean? As my weapon, or my prison?

Vorador regards Raziel intently, an idea forming. After a pause, he sheathes his sword and says --

VORADOR Perhaps you should ask him yourself.

RAZIEL Janos is here?

VORADOR In a manner of speaking.

Vorador presses a series of panels, which opens a secret door in the crypt, revealing a staircase that descends into darkness. He takes a candle to show Raziel the way.

At the bottom of the staircase, Vorador ushers Raziel into a small chamber, and steps aside as Raziel realizes what's ensconced here. An elaborate bier stands in the center of the room, surrounded by flickering candles ­-- upon the bier lays the body of Janos Audron.

As Raziel approaches the body, Vorador stands back and speaks.

VORADOR The greatest of us all - the father of our race. The Sarafan tore the heart from his living body five centuries ago.

Raziel steps up to the dais to see the body more closely.

RAZIEL But there's no sign of decay - how is this possible after all these years?

VORADOR Somewhere, the Heart still beats. And while it does, the body will remain preserved. If his Heart could be restored, Janos might yet be raised.

RAZIEL And you haven't tried to recover it, in all these years?

VORADOR Many times... but our enemies hid the Heart too well. It was taken as a trophy to Avernus Cathedral centuries ago, where they christened it 'the Heart of Darkness.' Believing that it embodies the essence of our dark gift, they hid the Heart away, lest it fall into the wrong hands. Our hands.

Raziel steps back down from the dais to face Vorador.

VORADOR Redeem yourself - you may be our last hope. Perhaps you alone can find the Heart, if it is meant to be found. If Janos can be resurrected, he will have all the answers you require.

Vorador reaches into his robe and withdraws the key to the library exit, offering it to Raziel.

VORADOR This key will open your way to Avernus. But be advised, there are dark sorceries at work in the cathedral. You must be on your guard.

Vorador then vanishes in a cloud of mist, leaving Raziel standing alone in the chamber.

SCENE 8.5 -- Raziel departs for Avernus Vorador

INT. LIBRARY OF VORADOR'S MANSION

Raziel enters the library, and finds Vorador already at the eastern end of the room, looking out the window. As soon as the player approaches, we transition to cinematic.

Vorador turns to Raziel --

VORADOR Avernus is in flames... and with it, our hopes may evaporate.

RAZIEL How can I find the Heart in the midst of such chaos?

VORADOR You must act quickly. But beware - an ancient evil dwells within, long Unspoken among our kind. Undoubtedly this is the source of the corruption that infects the Circle. If you are to succeed, you must resist its influence.

Vorador dissipates into mist, once more leaving Raziel alone in the room.

Amy, well the question of why Vorador would leave the crypt answered itself in the course of these two scenes. Pretty neat, don't you think?

Open the Spirit Forge Chamber

The Earth Forge

Kain finds a panel of three murals, one showing the summoning of human Guardians, and their care by vampires. The second is unfinished, as though it was the last mural ever made, and its maker died before it was finished, showing the human revolt against the vampires. In the third, Moebius and Mortanius are clearly rendered as the leaders of the revolt which is only in its beginning stages, like that portrait of the Founding Fathers with the rest not filled in.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

Mural: The Human Guardians Revolt

KAIN V.O. This history, in part, I knew already… How, as the Vampires began to die out, the Pillars summoned human Guardians to fulfill their roles. It seemed the ancient Vampires had adopted – and, when necessary, abducted – the human Guardians, and made vampires of them when they came of age. Until the humand rebelled against their masters… And here I made a surprising discovery: it was Moebius the Time Streamer, and Mortanius, Guardian of Death, who led the bloody revolt. Now I understood why Moebius hated me so intensely. I was the first vampire Guardian in all these centuries – and he knew what my coming signified…or perhaps I reminded him of all he had forsaken.

The Air Forge

Kain finds a damaged teleportation portal.

KAIN V.O. The orb that once opened this portal had been destroyed. To power it, I would need to find a substitute.

Mural: Redeemer and Destroyer

KAIN V.O. I was confronted again with depictions of the Vampires’ champion, the bearer of the Reaver blade. And here too was his Hylden adversary, with blazing eyes, brandishing a flaming sword. Two heroes locked in combat which only one would survive. But which one? These murals prophesied two possible outcomes. I didn’t know what Moebius was trying to concoct, but this all seemed too convenient…

The Light Forge

KAIN V.O. With this fourth and final fragment, the Balance Emblem was complete. I now had the means to unseal the mysterious chamber at the heart of the Citadel.

The Oracle of the ancient vampires

Using the Balance Emblem, Kain is finally able to open the mysterious chamber at the heart of the Citadel. As he steps inside, it's clear that this room has been sealed for centuries. He squints into the darkness as his eyes adjust, and uses his TK powers to ignite a sconce or two. Flickering firelight now illuminates the long-sealed room.

A still pool dominates the center of the room -- Kain glances into it, as he walks slowly around the room, surveying the architecture. Murals cover the walls, depicting the Vampires' fall from grace.

KAIN V.O. For my ancient ancestors, the dark gift was clearly a curse, damning them to a kind of spiritual purgatory. But why were they compelled to seal this chamber so securely? Perhaps the lock was not meant to keep intruders out, but to imprison something within...

As Kain inspects the chamber, we see the oracular pool slowly coming to life. The surface begins to undulate, and the symbols surrounding the pool begin to glow. Kain notices this as he speaks his final line, and draws the Reaver defensively.

A disembodied voice fills the chamber. We recognize this as the Elder God's voice though with a more benevolent tone, but Kain has never heard this voice before. The voice sounds thin at first, as though it hasn't spoken for a very long time.

ELDER GOD Kain... Scion of Balance. Savior of Nosgoth.

KAIN ominouslyWhat is this?

ELDER GOD Your arrival is foretold... The Fates have willed it.

KAIN distrustfullyIs that so.

ELDER GOD I am the Oracle of your ancestors. I can provide the answers you require...

Kain doesn't respond. He paces distrustfully around the perimeter of the pool. The oracle continues --

ELDER GOD You needn't speak; I know your mind. You seek knowledge of your creature, Raziel... this I can offer, if you will look.

The surface of the pool ripples and then stills, showing an image of Raziel standing over Janos Audron's body. Kain stops reluctantly, and looks skeptically into the pool.

ELDER GOD He has found the body of Janos Audron...

The pool ripples again to show an image of Avernus Cathedral in flames.

ELDER GOD He journeys now to Avernus Cathedral to seek the Heart of Darkness. You know what this means...

Kain looks concerned. This is exactly what he feared, but he doesn't believe he can trust this entity.

KAIN And why would I trust your prophecies?

ELDER GOD These events are already written, just as you feared. But there is still time; he can be stopped.

Kain shakes his head --

KAIN If Avernus is in flames, Raziel is five centuries beyond my reach.

ELDER GOD I may aid you in this regard as well...

The surface of the pool transforms into a portal.

ELDER GOD This portal will transport you in time to the very hour that Raziel arrives in Avernus.

Kain hesitates -- he doesn't trust this mysterious benefactor.

ELDER GOD This task is yours to carry out... since it was you who made him what he is.
When you are ready, you may pass through.

KAIN V.O. I knew of course that this 'oracle' was not to be trusted. But in the end, what choice did I have?

Gameplay resumes -- the player may now use the portal if desired.

The final admonition of the Oracle

Kain steps through the portal, which swallows him up -- when he steps back out the other side, it is 500 years in the future. The portal returns to its previous state.

KAIN V.O. This peculiar sensation was familiar to me, and the chamber did indeed appear altered by time... In this regard, at least, the oracle seemed to have been truthful.

As if reading his mind, the Oracle responds --

ELDER GOD I have delivered you faithfully to the very hour you desire. You know what must be done, Kain. There is only one way to prevent Raziel from doing great harm.

KAIN He is not my enemy.

ELDER GOD ominouslyBut you are his...

The pool goes still and returns to its previous state. The Oracle has left the building.

Gameplay resumes.

SCENE 9.6 -- Kain learns that Raziel is dangerous

Kain discovers additional murals of the Reaver-bearer, the Hylden hero, and one of the two of them annihilating one another: the Reaver impaling the Hylden hero, the wraithblade entering the vampire hero.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

The Vampire Citadel

KAIN V.O. From this vantage point I could see the city of Avernus in flames. The oracle had indeed brought me to the time it promised. It might also be true, then, that Raziel was already there, seeking the Heart of Darkness. If so, he had to be stopped. I could not allow Janos to be raised.

SCENE 9.1 -- Kain unearths vampire history of the human revolt

Kain finds a panel of three murals, one showing the summoning of human Guardians, and their care by vampires. The second is unfinished, as though it was the last mural ever made, and its maker died before it was finished, showing the human revolt against the vampires. In the third, Moebius and Mortanius are clearly rendered as the leaders of the revolt which is only in its beginning stages, like that portrait of the Founding Fathers with the rest not filled in.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

Mural: The Human Guardians Revolt

KAIN V.O. This history, in part, I knew already… How, as the Vampires began to die out, the Pillars summoned human Guardians to fulfill their roles. It seemed the ancient Vampires had adopted – and, when necessary, abducted – the human Guardians, and made vampires of them when they came of age. Until the humand rebelled against their masters… And here I made a surprising discovery: it was Moebius the Time Streamer, and Mortanius, Guardian of Death, who led the bloody revolt. Now I understood why Moebius hated me so intensely. I was the first vampire Guardian in all these centuries – and he knew what my coming signified…or perhaps I reminded him of all he had forsaken.

Kain finds a damaged teleportation portal.

KAIN V.O. The orb that once opened this portal had been destroyed. To power it, I would need to find a substitute.

Mural: Redeemer and Destroyer

KAIN V.O. I was confronted again with depictions of the Vampires’ champion, the bearer of the Reaver blade. And here too was his Hylden adversary, with blazing eyes, brandishing a flaming sword. Two heroes locked in combat which only one would survive. But which one? These murals prophesied two possible outcomes. I didn’t know what Moebius was trying to concoct, but this all seemed too convenient…

SCENE 9.2 -- Kain acquires 4th Reaver enhancement

KAIN V.O. With this fourth and final fragment, the Balance Emblem was complete. I now had the means to unseal the mysterious chamber at the heart of the Citadel.

SCENE 9.4 -- Kain discovers the ancient Oracle from which the Elder God speaks

Using the Balance Emblem, Kain is finally able to open the mysterious chamber at the heart of the Citadel. As he steps inside, it's clear that this room has been sealed for centuries. He squints into the darkness as his eyes adjust, and uses his TK powers to ignite a sconce or two. Flickering firelight now illuminates the long-sealed room.

A still pool dominates the center of the room -- Kain glances into it, as he walks slowly around the room, surveying the architecture. Murals cover the walls, depicting the Vampires' fall from grace.

KAIN V.O. For my ancient ancestors, the dark gift was clearly a curse, damning them to a kind of spiritual purgatory. But why were they compelled to seal this chamber so securely? Perhaps the lock was not meant to keep intruders out, but to imprison something within...

As Kain inspects the chamber, we see the oracular pool slowly coming to life. The surface begins to undulate, and the symbols surrounding the pool begin to glow. Kain notices this as he speaks his final line, and draws the Reaver defensively.

A disembodied voice fills the chamber. We recognize this as the Elder God's voice though with a more benevolent tone, but Kain has never heard this voice before. The voice sounds thin at first, as though it hasn't spoken for a very long time.

ELDER GOD Kain... Scion of Balance. Savior of Nosgoth.

KAIN ominouslyWhat is this?

ELDER GOD Your arrival is foretold... The Fates have willed it.

KAIN distrustfullyIs that so.

ELDER GOD I am the Oracle of your ancestors. I can provide the answers you require...

Kain doesn't respond. He paces distrustfully around the perimeter of the pool. The oracle continues --

ELDER GOD You needn't speak; I know your mind. You seek knowledge of your creature, Raziel... this I can offer, if you will look.

The surface of the pool ripples and then stills, showing an image of Raziel standing over Janos Audron's body. Kain stops reluctantly, and looks skeptically into the pool.

ELDER GOD He has found the body of Janos Audron...

The pool ripples again to show an image of Avernus Cathedral in flames.

ELDER GOD He journeys now to Avernus Cathedral to seek the Heart of Darkness. You know what this means...

Kain looks concerned. This is exactly what he feared, but he doesn't believe he can trust this entity.

KAIN And why would I trust your prophecies?

ELDER GOD These events are already written, just as you feared. But there is still time; he can be stopped.

Kain shakes his head --

KAIN If Avernus is in flames, Raziel is five centuries beyond my reach.

ELDER GOD I may aid you in this regard as well...

The surface of the pool transforms into a portal.

ELDER GOD This portal will transport you in time to the very hour that Raziel arrives in Avernus.

Kain hesitates -- he doesn't trust this mysterious benefactor.

ELDER GOD This task is yours to carry out... since it was you who made him what he is.
When you are ready, you may pass through.

KAIN V.O. I knew of course that this 'oracle' was not to be trusted. But in the end, what choice did I have?

Gameplay resumes -- the player may now use the portal if desired.

SCENE 9.5 -- Kain uses the oracular portal to travel forward in time

Kain steps through the portal, which swallows him up -- when he steps back out the other side, it is 500 years in the future. The portal returns to its previous state.

KAIN V.O. This peculiar sensation was familiar to me, and the chamber did indeed appear altered by time... In this regard, at least, the oracle seemed to have been truthful.

As if reading his mind, the Oracle responds --

ELDER GOD I have delivered you faithfully to the very hour you desire. You know what must be done, Kain. There is only one way to prevent Raziel from doing great harm.

KAIN He is not my enemy.

ELDER GOD ominouslyBut you are his...

The pool goes still and returns to its previous state. The Oracle has left the building.

Gameplay resumes.

SCENE 9.6 -- Kain learns that Raziel is dangerous

Kain discovers additional murals of the Reaver-bearer, the Hylden hero, and one of the two of them annihilating one another: the Reaver impaling the Hylden hero, the wraithblade entering the vampire hero.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

SCENE 9.7 -- Kain discovers the Avernus vista

KAIN V.O. From this vantage point I could see the city of Avernus in flames. The oracle had indeed brought me to the time it promised. It might also be true, then, that Raziel was already there, seeking the Heart of Darkness. If so, he had to be stopped. I could not allow Janos to be raised.

Seek Mortanius

Avernus Cathedral

RAZIEL V.O. Somewhere in this great Cathedral, the Heart of Darkness lay concealed. The city outside was in chaos, and the Cathedral would not be immune for long. During such times, buried secrets were often suddenly revealed -- or lost forever.

The Earth Forge

Raziel sees images of the wheel of fate, and of the oracle pool

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

Mural: The Wheel of Fate

RAZIEL V.O. I had seen this symbol throughout these ruins. I should have realized what it was they worshipped. Now there was no question. For this scene depicted the ancient Vampires’ torment and despair as their curse cast them from the Wheel of Fate. So this was the god whose abandonment had driven them to madness and suicide. Finally I understood – it was not their blood-thirst, but their immortality that was the true nature of their enemies’ curse. The wisest, strongest, most noble race – gulled by the voice of that old parasite. But I had seen him – and whatever he was, he was no god.

The Earth Forge

INT. CITADEL EARTH AREA - DAY

GUARDIAN OF ENERGY All upon the Wheel are blessed...

GUARDIAN OF TIME Rejoice in the turning of the Wheel...

GUARDIAN OF ENERGY It does turn, though we cannot see it...

RAZIEL Your Wheel is a lie.

GUARDIAN OF ENERGY You will turn the Wheel...

GUARDIAN OF TIME Come...

GUARDIAN OF ENERGY Die...

They launch into battle.

Raziel defeats the Guardians and returns to the material realm.

RAZIEL V.O. This spirit vessel was shielded by layers of occult energy. There had to be some means to dispel this barrier…

RAZIEL V.O. As the Reaver absorbed the souls of the original Energy and Time Guardians, it was imbued with the elemental power of Earth with which their principles were aligned.

Avernus Cathedral

Raziel finds a tome of Dark Scripture within the Cathedral. Upon returning it to the cathedral’s main alter, the building physically begins to warp, becoming dark and malevolent. A portal manifests in the center of the room.

RAZIEL V.O. 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.

The Avernus Catacombs

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

Mural: History is written by the victors

RAZIEL V.O. History is written by the victors. Beneath the vaults of Avernus I discovered scenes that told a familiar story, but from a very different point of view. This was the work of the enemy race, and revealed what the Vampire histories had conveniently omitted – how the noble Vampires, god-ridden and righteous, had started the wars that would destroy both races – victor and vanquished alike. Their adversaries opposed the Vampires’ god, and refused to submit to the Wheel of Fate. For this they were banished. I now understood the poetic irony of their curse. And my resemblance to the Vampires’ enemy no longer seemed so accidental.

The Avernus Catacombs

Raziel finds bits and pieces of bas-relief sculpture visible only in spectral. They show little scenes of what happened to them in the demon dimension; the Pillars as their prison bars, and -- the hero that will deliver them. These have a feeling of graffiti, more than of planned and considered artwork.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

Mural: The Hylden messiah

The banished race foretold a hero who would deliver them from their oppressors, and destroy the shackles of the Vampires’ tyrannous god. The same hero that bore the flaming sword. What game was this, where every player on the board claimed the same pawn?

Dark rites in the Avernus catacombs

As Raziel descends into the catacombs, he begins to hear chanting and liturgy -- not so far from here, a dark ritual is taking place.

WORSHIPERS Hash'ak'gik! Hash'ak'gik! Hash'ak'gik!

MORTANIUS Great Hash'ak'gik, we hear you.

WORSHIPERS We tremble and we obey.

MORTANIUS We offer this sacrifice upon the altar of the world.

WORSHIPERS The blood of our first born do we sacrifice to you.

There is a pause while the officiant performs the sacrifice off-screen. Raziel moves from the darkness of the passage into the open altar area of the Avernus catacombs.

RAZIEL In the depths of Avernus Cathedral I stumbled upon a bloody ritual. Was this the source of the corruption that had overtaken the city?

He sees Mortanius officiating at the sacrifice. Some worshipers are visible, but most of the crowd is hidden from sight. We see that a sacrifice has indeed been recently made -- the altar is covered in fresh blood, which runs into the pit.

MORTANIUS May this blood nourish you for all eternity.

WORSHIPERS Avert your wrath from us, great God.

MORTANIUS The wrath of Hash'ak'gik has once more been averted. Depart now, as ever, in his service.

WORSHIPERS We tremble, and we obey. Praise to Hash'ak'gik, and ever praise!

WORSHIPERS Hash'ak'gik! Hash'ak'gik! Hash'ak'gik!

Reunion

This is actually a continuation of Scene 10.9, where Raziel discovers the altar of the worshipers, and witnesses Mortanius leading a ceremony. At the end of the scene, we cut back to a full shot of Raziel watching unseen from the sidelines.

From his position near the edge of the pit, Raziel glances down to see if he can see what's below.

RAZIEL V.O. __What was it that these deluded humans worshipped with such fervor? Was this the dreaded 'Unspoken' that Vorador had warned me about?

Suddenly, Raziel is seized by some invisible force, as Turel in the pit below pulls him with his telekinesis. Raziel tries to resist, but he is pulled inescapably to the edge, and down into the pit.

Raziel lands in the nightmarish darkness of the pit below -- even in the gloom he can see that the pit is littered with the bones of hundreds of sacrifices, and encrusted with their blood. As he recovers himself, and his eyes adjust to the darkness, we hear the heavy footsteps of some large beast moving closer.

RAZIEL V.O. Whatever so-called god inhabited this hideous pit -- I was about to meet it.

A large shape begins to shuffle out of the darkness toward Raziel -- he cannot yet make out its form or features. As the god of the pit moves into the light, we see its horrible features for the first time. It is massive and monstrous, moving slowly toward Raziel on disturbingly-jointed limbs, and smelling the air with its horrible snout.

TUREL inhales deeply to smell the air

At the edge of the pit, Raziel sidesteps stealthily, to move away from the creature's path. Turel's ears twitch in response, as if he hears even this small sound, and he adjusts to track Raziel. Raziel stops when he realizes the creature can hear him.

Turel continues to speak as he approaches. With every booming step, the floor shakes.

TUREL I smell no blood... Throat cut first, blood gouting, then it falls into the pit... The sacrifice is rejected. You will know my wrath --

After "I smell no blood...", Turel is addressing his worshipers in anger, looking up out of the pit toward the altar and walkways above.

It's apparent that the beast is almost completely blind, relying almost solely on its acute hearing and sense of smell. The monster approaches Raziel until they are face to face, Raziel dwarfed by its massive size. The beast sniffs at Raziel curiously --

TUREL smelling Raziel

TUREL Not possible. No. It could not be --

Raziel summons the wraith blade.

RAZIEL Stand away, monster.

TUREL No. That voice -- not possible. I know that voice... but he fell. The abyss, he ended there.

Raziel grows increasingly suspicious --

RAZIEL I did not fall into the abyss.

TUREL Oh, it remembers that, does it?

RAZIEL I was thrown into the abyss, by my own brethren.

RAZIEL I was thrown in, by my own brethren.

TUREL I heard what you did to them... And now you have found me at last.

Raziel has been surmising throughout the previous exchange that this might be his final brother, inexplicably here, in this pit. Still, he can hardly believe it when Turel reveals himself --

RAZIEL ...Turel.

TUREL Turel. Yes. That was my name then.

RAZIEL The others were grotesque, but--

TUREL proudlyYes - I am changed. I have become a god. Greater than you ever were, Raziel. You were never a god. Greater even than Kain!

RAZIEL It is to you that these humans offer their blood sacrifices?

TUREL imitating/mocking the worshipers"Hash'ak'gik...Hash'ak'gik..." Yes.

RAZIEL But how did this happen?...

TUREL I was summoned. There was darkness, and great hunger. And then I was... found.

RAZIEL Why do you stay in this terrible place?

TUREL Why stay? Would I remain if I could get out? While they hound me and tear at me and --

Turel suddenly convulses, and Raziel recognizes the familiar behavior of a creature possessed by the unseen enemies that have been hounding his every step.

Raziel raises the wraith blade as Turel becomes possessed.

POSSESSED TUREL 3 The hour is at hand.

POSSESSED TUREL 2 As it was foretold.

RAZIEL Turel?

POSSESSED TUREL 1 We use his voice to command the disciples above.

POSSESSED TUREL 2 We demand offerings to keep the host alive.

POSSESSED TUREL 3 He has been a durable vessel, but he can take us no further.

TUREL strains to fight possession

And then more urgently they're losing control of Turel --

POSSESSED TUREL 1 You must prevail. The champion of our enemy draws near.

Turel fights off his possessors.

TUREL No! I must have blood -- Bring me blood, or feel the wrath of your god. You -- yours -- yes -- it will strengthen me against them --

TUREL steelyWhat are you doing?

TUREL No -- no more questions. No more worship. Time to run - time to scream - time to die...

The death of Turel

The climax of the battle -- Raziel defeats Turel, and approaches him for the coup de grace.

When the player has triggered the fatal event within the boss battle, transition to cinematic -- Turel flails in agony, and then collapses, dying. Raziel approaches and stands before him. Turel "looks" at Raziel almost with satisfaction, urging him --

TUREL Yes, now...

The climax of the battle -- Raziel defeats Turel, and approaches him for the coup de grace.

POSSESSED TUREL 1 Go - speed your endeavor -

POSSESSED TUREL 2 Face him - and kill him -

POSSESSED TUREL 1 Destroy the Binding at last...

POSSESSED TUREL 3 We shall all be...

The Hylden appear to lose their grip on Turel as he dies; the green fire fades from his eyes, and he reaches out toward Raziel --

TUREL Free...

Turel dies, and his soul energy flies out of him and into Raziel.

Raziel is blasted by the energy as it streams into him -- and then we see some additional Hylden energy come out of Turel and flow into Raziel as well. This energy hits Raziel differently, and he reacts as he absorbs it, doubling over -- as he straightens up, we briefly see his eyes burning with green fire, and then it fades back to normal.

Mortanius' redemption

Mortanius stands in the center of an arcane magical circle, similar to the one at the Pillars, but darker in intention. His back is to Raziel. He speaks as though addressing someone far away, through telepathic sorcery. The symbols of the circle glow as he speaks.

MORTANIUS Come to me, my undead son. Make haste to the Pillars - the stage is set for the grand finale. You will have your vengeance.

The symbols fade, and Mortanius crumples slightly, as though exhausted.

RAZIEL Mortanius.

Mortanius turns, removing the deaths-head mask he wears as the Guardian of Death, and confronts Raziel. He looks at Raziel with suspicious interest. Strangely, he has a satisfied smile on his face.

MORTANIUS So you have come out into the open, at last - the Binding must be fragile indeed. But you will find you are too late.

RAZIEL sarcasticWhat am I too late for this time?

Mortanius convulses as he feels himself becoming possessed. He fights it --

MORTANIUS as though speaking to the entityNo. No -- not now --

Mortanius recovers himself. His cynical smile returns.

MORTANIUS You are too late for the victory you sought. I have beaten you after all.

RAZIEL You have mistaken my identity.

MORTANIUS Have I? You forget who schooled me in the ancient prophecies--

Mortanius is possessed again suddenly. He fights it, but this time he loses.

POSSESSED MORTANIUS convulses, then speaksThis vessel speaks truly - you are indeed overdue. But it no longer matters in the least. With or without you - we will prevail.

RAZIEL So I finally meet the 'Unspoken' - nestled in the heart of the Circle itself. Ironic.

POSSESSED MORTANIUS laughs softlyPoetic justice, to topple the foundations of the Pillars from within. We shall have our revenge, in full measure, and for all time.

Mortanius fights back, almost dislodging him. The Possessed Mortanius pauses.

MORTANIUS Ah... this one has little strength left. One must not break him --

Mortanius returns to himself, and staggers backward onto a seat. Breathing hard, he smiles grimly at Raziel.

MORTANIUS short, grim laughYour kind does not like to lose.

Raziel presses on with some urgency given Mortanius' current condition.

RAZIEL I seek the Heart of Darkness.

MORTANIUS Ah, now you think of that. But as I told you, you are too late. The Heart has served its function. I have used it to set prophecy in motion. I created the champion foretold by my masters, who is destined to be your destroyer. The Scion of Balance will save Nosgoth -- the Pillars will return to vampire guardianship as intended, and your race will be cast down forever.

RAZIEL Kain. You used the Heart of Darkness to create Kain.

MORTANIUS How else? I refused at first to believe the ancient myths. I thought the vampires were simply a plague upon mankind, a pestilence we had to control. But they were right, and we were wrong to overthrow them - Moebius and I. We didn't understand what it was the Pillars were holding back. I have made my atonement. I will continue to make it to the end, which will be soon, now. But I know - Kain will set it right, he will restore Balance --

He fights against possession again.

MORTANIUS And none too soon. My enemy is growing stronger.

RAZIEL Where is the Heart of Darkness now? Did you destroy it?

MORTANIUS laughs softlyYou still don't understand, do you. You cannot make use of it as long as Kain guards it with his life.

RAZIEL confusedKain -- has it?then, realizingIt is in Kain?

MORTANIUS Check and mate. This deed will redeem first me and then all Nosgoth. It must, it -- unh --

He is possessed again.

POSSESSED MORTANIUS This one grows weak. But we will soon have a stronger vessel. The long-awaited hour approaches - our release is at hand --

Mortanius returns with a groan.

MORTANIUS Ah... I must -- finish it. Now --

Mortanius resumes his death-mask and employs the magic of the circle to teleport away to the Pillars, where he will meet the young Kain, and die.

Raziel is left alone in the chamber, in shock at what he's just discovered. End of chapter.

Amy: Sometimes "ah" is a groan in this one, like a kiyi to fight possession, and sometimes it is an expletive. Is it clear? -C

SCENE 10.1 -- Raziel arrives at Avernus Cathedral

RAZIEL V.O. Somewhere in this great Cathedral, the Heart of Darkness lay concealed. The city outside was in chaos, and the Cathedral would not be immune for long. During such times, buried secrets were often suddenly revealed -- or lost forever.

SCENE 10.3 -- Raziel realizes the vampires worshiped the Elder God

Raziel sees images of the wheel of fate, and of the oracle pool

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

Mural: The Wheel of Fate

RAZIEL V.O. I had seen this symbol throughout these ruins. I should have realized what it was they worshipped. Now there was no question. For this scene depicted the ancient Vampires’ torment and despair as their curse cast them from the Wheel of Fate. So this was the god whose abandonment had driven them to madness and suicide. Finally I understood – it was not their blood-thirst, but their immortality that was the true nature of their enemies’ curse. The wisest, strongest, most noble race – gulled by the voice of that old parasite. But I had seen him – and whatever he was, he was no god.

SCENE 10.4.1 -- Raziel confronts the Energy and Time Guardians

INT. CITADEL EARTH AREA - DAY

GUARDIAN OF ENERGY All upon the Wheel are blessed...

GUARDIAN OF TIME Rejoice in the turning of the Wheel...

GUARDIAN OF ENERGY It does turn, though we cannot see it...

RAZIEL Your Wheel is a lie.

GUARDIAN OF ENERGY You will turn the Wheel...

GUARDIAN OF TIME Come...

GUARDIAN OF ENERGY Die...

They launch into battle.

Raziel defeats the Guardians and returns to the material realm.

RAZIEL V.O. This spirit vessel was shielded by layers of occult energy. There had to be some means to dispel this barrier…

SCENE 10.4 -- Raziel acquires the Earth Reaver

RAZIEL V.O. As the Reaver absorbed the souls of the original Energy and Time Guardians, it was imbued with the elemental power of Earth with which their principles were aligned.

Raziel finds a tome of Dark Scripture within the Cathedral. Upon returning it to the cathedral’s main alter, the building physically begins to warp, becoming dark and malevolent. A portal manifests in the center of the room.

RAZIEL V.O. 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.

SCENE 10.5 -- Raziel discovers the Hylden point of view, and that the vampires started the wars, for their god

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

Mural: History is Written by the Victors

RAZIEL V.O. History is written by the victors. Beneath the vaults of Avernus I discovered scenes that told a familiar story, but from a very different point of view. This was the work of the enemy race, and revealed what the Vampire histories had conveniently omitted – how the noble Vampires, god-ridden and righteous, had started the wars that would destroy both races – victor and vanquished alike. Their adversaries opposed the Vampires’ god, and refused to submit to the Wheel of Fate. For this they were banished. I now understood the poetic irony of their curse. And my resemblance to the Vampires’ enemy no longer seemed so accidental.

SCENE 10.6 -- Raziel learns he may be the enemy's hero.

Raziel finds bits and pieces of bas-relief sculpture visible only in spectral. They show little scenes of what happened to them in the demon dimension; the Pillars as their prison bars, and -- the hero that will deliver them. These have a feeling of graffiti, more than of planned and considered artwork.

SEE MURAL MONOLOGUES DOCUMENT

Mural: The Hylden Messiah

The banished race foretold a hero who would deliver them from their oppressors, and destroy the shackles of the Vampires’ tyrannous god. The same hero that bore the flaming sword. What game was this, where every player on the board claimed the same pawn?

SCENE 10.9 -- Raziel discovers altar of the Avernus cultists

As Raziel descends into the catacombs, he begins to hear chanting and liturgy -- not so far from here, a dark ritual is taking place.

WORSHIPERS Hash'ak'gik! Hash'ak'gik! Hash'ak'gik!

MORTANIUS Great Hash'ak'gik, we hear you.

WORSHIPERS We tremble and we obey.

MORTANIUS We offer this sacrifice upon the altar of the world.

WORSHIPERS The blood of our first born do we sacrifice to you.

There is a pause while the officiant performs the sacrifice off-screen. Raziel moves from the darkness of the passage into the open altar area of the Avernus catacombs.

RAZIEL In the depths of Avernus Cathedral I stumbled upon a bloody ritual. Was this the source of the corruption that had overtaken the city?

He sees Mortanius officiating at the sacrifice. Some worshipers are visible, but most of the crowd is hidden from sight. We see that a sacrifice has indeed been recently made -- the altar is covered in fresh blood, which runs into the pit.

MORTANIUS May this blood nourish you for all eternity.

WORSHIPERS Avert your wrath from us, great God.

MORTANIUS The wrath of Hash'ak'gik has once more been averted. Depart now, as ever, in his service.

WORSHIPERS We tremble, and we obey. Praise to Hash'ak'gik, and ever praise!

WORSHIPERS Hash'ak'gik! Hash'ak'gik! Hash'ak'gik!

SCENE 10.10 -- Raziel confronts Turel in the altar pit

This is actually a continuation of Scene 10.9, where Raziel discovers the altar of the worshipers, and witnesses Mortanius leading a ceremony. At the end of the scene, we cut back to a full shot of Raziel watching unseen from the sidelines.

From his position near the edge of the pit, Raziel glances down to see if he can see what's below.

RAZIEL V.O. __What was it that these deluded humans worshipped with such fervor? Was this the dreaded 'Unspoken' that Vorador had warned me about?

Suddenly, Raziel is seized by some invisible force, as Turel in the pit below pulls him with his telekinesis. Raziel tries to resist, but he is pulled inescapably to the edge, and down into the pit.

Raziel lands in the nightmarish darkness of the pit below -- even in the gloom he can see that the pit is littered with the bones of hundreds of sacrifices, and encrusted with their blood. As he recovers himself, and his eyes adjust to the darkness, we hear the heavy footsteps of some large beast moving closer.

RAZIEL V.O. Whatever so-called god inhabited this hideous pit -- I was about to meet it.

A large shape begins to shuffle out of the darkness toward Raziel -- he cannot yet make out its form or features. As the god of the pit moves into the light, we see its horrible features for the first time. It is massive and monstrous, moving slowly toward Raziel on disturbingly-jointed limbs, and smelling the air with its horrible snout.

TUREL inhales deeply to smell the air

At the edge of the pit, Raziel sidesteps stealthily, to move away from the creature's path. Turel's ears twitch in response, as if he hears even this small sound, and he adjusts to track Raziel. Raziel stops when he realizes the creature can hear him.

Turel continues to speak as he approaches. With every booming step, the floor shakes.

TUREL I smell no blood... Throat cut first, blood gouting, then it falls into the pit... The sacrifice is rejected. You will know my wrath --

After "I smell no blood...", Turel is addressing his worshipers in anger, looking up out of the pit toward the altar and walkways above.

It's apparent that the beast is almost completely blind, relying almost solely on its acute hearing and sense of smell. The monster approaches Raziel until they are face to face, Raziel dwarfed by its massive size. The beast sniffs at Raziel curiously --

TUREL smelling Raziel

TUREL Not possible. No. It could not be --

Raziel summons the wraith blade.

RAZIEL Stand away, monster.

TUREL No. That voice -- not possible. I know that voice... but he fell. The abyss, he ended there.

Raziel grows increasingly suspicious --

RAZIEL I did not fall into the abyss.

TUREL Oh, it remembers that, does it?

RAZIEL I was thrown into the abyss, by my own brethren.

RAZIEL I was thrown in, by my own brethren.

TUREL I heard what you did to them... And now you have found me at last.

Raziel has been surmising throughout the previous exchange that this might be his final brother, inexplicably here, in this pit. Still, he can hardly believe it when Turel reveals himself --

RAZIEL ...Turel.

TUREL Turel. Yes. That was my name then.

RAZIEL The others were grotesque, but--

TUREL proudlyYes - I am changed. I have become a god. Greater than you ever were, Raziel. You were never a god. Greater even than Kain!

RAZIEL It is to you that these humans offer their blood sacrifices?

TUREL imitating/mocking the worshipers"Hash'ak'gik...Hash'ak'gik..." Yes.

RAZIEL But how did this happen?...

TUREL I was summoned. There was darkness, and great hunger. And then I was... found.

RAZIEL Why do you stay in this terrible place?

TUREL Why stay? Would I remain if I could get out? While they hound me and tear at me and --

Turel suddenly convulses, and Raziel recognizes the familiar behavior of a creature possessed by the unseen enemies that have been hounding his every step.

Raziel raises the wraith blade as Turel becomes possessed.

POSSESSED TUREL 3 The hour is at hand.

POSSESSED TUREL 2 As it was foretold.

RAZIEL Turel?

POSSESSED TUREL 1 We use his voice to command the disciples above.

POSSESSED TUREL 2 We demand offerings to keep the host alive.

POSSESSED TUREL 3 He has been a durable vessel, but he can take us no further.

TUREL strains to fight possession

And then more urgently they're losing control of Turel --

POSSESSED TUREL 1 You must prevail. The champion of our enemy draws near.

Turel fights off his possessors.

TUREL No! I must have blood -- Bring me blood, or feel the wrath of your god. You -- yours -- yes -- it will strengthen me against them --

TUREL steelyWhat are you doing?

TUREL No -- no more questions. No more worship. Time to run - time to scream - time to die...

SCENE 10.11 -- Raziel defeats Turel

The climax of the battle -- Raziel defeats Turel, and approaches him for the coup de grace.

When the player has triggered the fatal event within the boss battle, transition to cinematic -- Turel flails in agony, and then collapses, dying. Raziel approaches and stands before him. Turel "looks" at Raziel almost with satisfaction, urging him --

TUREL Yes, now...

The climax of the battle -- Raziel defeats Turel, and approaches him for the coup de grace.

POSSESSED TUREL 1 Go - speed your endeavor -

POSSESSED TUREL 2 Face him - and kill him -

POSSESSED TUREL 1 Destroy the Binding at last...

POSSESSED TUREL 3 We shall all be...

The Hylden appear to lose their grip on Turel as he dies; the green fire fades from his eyes, and he reaches out toward Raziel --

TUREL Free...

Turel dies, and his soul energy flies out of him and into Raziel.

Raziel is blasted by the energy as it streams into him -- and then we see some additional Hylden energy come out of Turel and flow into Raziel as well. This energy hits Raziel differently, and he reacts as he absorbs it, doubling over -- as he straightens up, we briefly see his eyes burning with green fire, and then it fades back to normal.

SCENE 10.12 -- Raziel confronts Mortanius in his chamber

Mortanius stands in the center of an arcane magical circle, similar to the one at the Pillars, but darker in intention. His back is to Raziel. He speaks as though addressing someone far away, through telepathic sorcery. The symbols of the circle glow as he speaks.

MORTANIUS Come to me, my undead son. Make haste to the Pillars - the stage is set for the grand finale. You will have your vengeance.

The symbols fade, and Mortanius crumples slightly, as though exhausted.

RAZIEL Mortanius.

Mortanius turns, removing the deaths-head mask he wears as the Guardian of Death, and confronts Raziel. He looks at Raziel with suspicious interest. Strangely, he has a satisfied smile on his face.

MORTANIUS So you have come out into the open, at last - the Binding must be fragile indeed. But you will find you are too late.

RAZIEL sarcasticWhat am I too late for this time?

Mortanius convulses as he feels himself becoming possessed. He fights it --

MORTANIUS as though speaking to the entityNo. No -- not now --

Mortanius recovers himself. His cynical smile returns.

MORTANIUS You are too late for the victory you sought. I have beaten you after all.

RAZIEL You have mistaken my identity.

MORTANIUS Have I? You forget who schooled me in the ancient prophecies--

Mortanius is possessed again suddenly. He fights it, but this time he loses.

POSSESSED MORTANIUS convulses, then speaksThis vessel speaks truly - you are indeed overdue. But it no longer matters in the least. With or without you - we will prevail.

RAZIEL So I finally meet the 'Unspoken' - nestled in the heart of the Circle itself. Ironic.

POSSESSED MORTANIUS laughs softlyPoetic justice, to topple the foundations of the Pillars from within. We shall have our revenge, in full measure, and for all time.

Mortanius fights back, almost dislodging him. The Possessed Mortanius pauses.

MORTANIUS Ah... this one has little strength left. One must not break him --

Mortanius returns to himself, and staggers backward onto a seat. Breathing hard, he smiles grimly at Raziel.

MORTANIUS short, grim laughYour kind does not like to lose.

Raziel presses on with some urgency given Mortanius' current condition.

RAZIEL I seek the Heart of Darkness.

MORTANIUS Ah, now you think of that. But as I told you, you are too late. The Heart has served its function. I have used it to set prophecy in motion. I created the champion foretold by my masters, who is destined to be your destroyer. The Scion of Balance will save Nosgoth -- the Pillars will return to vampire guardianship as intended, and your race will be cast down forever.

RAZIEL Kain. You used the Heart of Darkness to create Kain.

MORTANIUS How else? I refused at first to believe the ancient myths. I thought the vampires were simply a plague upon mankind, a pestilence we had to control. But they were right, and we were wrong to overthrow them - Moebius and I. We didn't understand what it was the Pillars were holding back. I have made my atonement. I will continue to make it to the end, which will be soon, now. But I know - Kain will set it right, he will restore Balance --

He fights against possession again.

MORTANIUS And none too soon. My enemy is growing stronger.

RAZIEL Where is the Heart of Darkness now? Did you destroy it?

MORTANIUS laughs softlyYou still don't understand, do you. You cannot make use of it as long as Kain guards it with his life.

RAZIEL confusedKain -- has it?then, realizingIt is in Kain?

MORTANIUS Check and mate. This deed will redeem first me and then all Nosgoth. It must, it -- unh --

He is possessed again.

POSSESSED MORTANIUS This one grows weak. But we will soon have a stronger vessel. The long-awaited hour approaches - our release is at hand --

Mortanius returns with a groan.

MORTANIUS Ah... I must -- finish it. Now --

Mortanius resumes his death-mask and employs the magic of the circle to teleport away to the Pillars, where he will meet the young Kain, and die.

Raziel is left alone in the chamber, in shock at what he's just discovered. End of chapter.

Amy: Sometimes "ah" is a groan in this one, like a kiyi to fight possession, and sometimes it is an expletive. Is it clear? -C

Stop Raziel

Two heroes collide

Kain enters Mortanius' chamber.

RAZIEL Kain. Why is this no surprise?

KAIN Because our destinies run together, Raziel, like two rivers that have met and can never be distinct again. At your every fatal turn, you will find me.

RAZIEL And the free will you said was mine, what has become of that?

KAIN You still have it. And that has everything to do with my presence here now.

RAZIEL It was your machinations that set my destiny in motion. The coin you tossed has struck the earth. Now you must abide by its outcome.

KAIN The coin is still turning, Raziel. To reach the resolution we both can live with, that will best serve our futures, Janos Audron must not be raised.

RAZIEL Because you do not wish it? Is my free will to be exercised only when it accords with your whim?

KAIN There is much more at stake in this than you know.

RAZIEL Yes, and it is Janos who has the answers I desire.

KAIN You must trust me, Raziel. Our intentions - for Nosgoth, for our futures - are not so diverse.

RAZIEL I must trust you -- or?

KAIN I have not come here to threaten you, Raziel.

RAZIEL You say that, while you hold in your hand the instrument of my doom?

KAIN I saved you from the Reaver once. I have no intention of imprisoning you within the blade.

RAZIEL At least not until the moment it serves your plans to do so.

KAIN You are not the only one at risk. I may carry the instrument of your destruction, but I, too, have taken a chance in coming here. Or haven't you realized -- you bear the only weapon that can kill me.

Raziel summons the wraith blade.

RAZIEL Then you know what I am -- and who you are?

KAIN I believe I do.

RAZIEL And still you think you can move me about like your pawn. Think again, Kain.

Raziel feints at him. Kain dodges.

KAIN Take heed, Raziel.

RAZIEL Why? If we are who we are, then are we not destined to fight to the death, to decide the fate of Nosgoth?

KAIN Don't be a fool. I will not fight you.

RAZIEL And that will be the prophesied heroes' battle? I win, because you will not fight me?

Raziel feints at him again, a little more seriously this time.

RAZIEL The mighty Kain, Scion of Balance, would-be savior of Nosgoth, surrenders before the final battle even begins --

He goes to strike again, but Kain pushes him off.

KAIN Very well, if this will make you see reason --

They fight.

Amy: the last line's optional, if you think at this point Kain still needs to justify why he would fight at this moment. -C

SCENE 11.1 -- Kain arrives at Avernus Cathedral

KAIN V.O. I arrived at Avernus Cathedral, the seemingly peaceful heart of a city in chaos. I would find Raziel somewhere within - and force him to see reason.

SCENE 11.2 -- Kain confronts Raziel in Mortanius' chamber

Kain enters Mortanius' chamber.

RAZIEL Kain. Why is this no surprise?

KAIN Because our destinies run together, Raziel, like two rivers that have met and can never be distinct again. At your every fatal turn, you will find me.

RAZIEL And the free will you said was mine, what has become of that?

KAIN You still have it. And that has everything to do with my presence here now.

RAZIEL It was your machinations that set my destiny in motion. The coin you tossed has struck the earth. Now you must abide by its outcome.

KAIN The coin is still turning, Raziel. To reach the resolution we both can live with, that will best serve our futures, Janos Audron must not be raised.

RAZIEL Because you do not wish it? Is my free will to be exercised only when it accords with your whim?

KAIN There is much more at stake in this than you know.

RAZIEL Yes, and it is Janos who has the answers I desire.

KAIN You must trust me, Raziel. Our intentions - for Nosgoth, for our futures - are not so diverse.

RAZIEL I must trust you -- or?

KAIN I have not come here to threaten you, Raziel.

RAZIEL You say that, while you hold in your hand the instrument of my doom?

KAIN I saved you from the Reaver once. I have no intention of imprisoning you within the blade.

RAZIEL At least not until the moment it serves your plans to do so.

KAIN You are not the only one at risk. I may carry the instrument of your destruction, but I, too, have taken a chance in coming here. Or haven't you realized -- you bear the only weapon that can kill me.

Raziel summons the wraith blade.

RAZIEL Then you know what I am -- and who you are?

KAIN I believe I do.

RAZIEL And still you think you can move me about like your pawn. Think again, Kain.

Raziel feints at him. Kain dodges.

KAIN Take heed, Raziel.

RAZIEL Why? If we are who we are, then are we not destined to fight to the death, to decide the fate of Nosgoth?

KAIN Don't be a fool. I will not fight you.

RAZIEL And that will be the prophesied heroes' battle? I win, because you will not fight me?

Raziel feints at him again, a little more seriously this time.

RAZIEL The mighty Kain, Scion of Balance, would-be savior of Nosgoth, surrenders before the final battle even begins --

He goes to strike again, but Kain pushes him off.

KAIN Very well, if this will make you see reason --

They fight.

Amy: the last line's optional, if you think at this point Kain still needs to justify why he would fight at this moment. -C

Battle Kain

A deadly confrontation

Kain beats Raziel to a point where he is at a momentary disadvantage, and Kain has a chance to reason with him. Kain holds the Reaver on him, to keep him still.

KAIN angrilyNow - you will listen to me. The Heart of Darkness must remain undiscovered. Great harm will come of its use.

RAZIEL realizingYou don't know where it is, do you?

KAIN No -

RAZIEL -- you never looked for it.

KAIN growing impatientIt doesn't matter, Raziel. Listen to me - you must understand that every creature is bound to one predestined path. We are all shackled--

RAZIEL --to the Wheel of Fate. Believe me, I know that even better than you do.

Kain ignores Raziel's interruption and continues his thought --

KAIN All but one. Because of your re-making, you are the one unbound creature, the one among us all that truly has free will. You have a choice, Raziel --

RAZIEL Which I'm sure I must make at your direction. Your pawn has reached the end of the board, Kain. And now my powers may even surpass yours. How ironic if the creature that you made should prove your own undoing. Now - we finish this. Once and for all.

Raziel attacks Kain.

RAZIEL attack sound

The Heart of Darkness

Raziel gets Kain at a disadvantage. Backed against the wall, sword lowered, Kain reaches up to grasp Raziel's arm to prevent the blow of his sword. Holding on to Raziel's arm, Raziel's soul begins to drain out of him and into Kain, and through Kain, to reach the Reaver. They are both astonished.

RAZIEL sustained gasp of pain and horror

RAZIEL You ...

KAIN No - Raziel--

RAZIEL in horror and rageVae victis--

KAIN I didn't--

His words are cut off, as Raziel plunges his left hand into Kain's chest -- breaking Kain's grasp, and aborting his soul's absorption into the Reaver -- and pulls out Kain's heart: the Heart of Darkness. He holds it up to Kain.

KAIN his heart is torn out

RAZIEL 'Woe to the conquered' - I have found the Heart of Darkness. And you - go to oblivion.

With his new telekinetic powers, Raziel blasts Kain backward -- he is swallowed up into a dimensional rift, and disappears.

Raziel staggers backward, the Heart in one hand, the wraith-blade in the other. This was a reflexive act -- even he can't quite believe what he's just done.

RAZIEL breathing heavily as the rush of adrenaline fades

RAZIEL V.O. Kain was gone. The madness of this place had somehow fueled my rage, and as it subsided I felt no elation, no sense of victory. Only a calm certainty that we had once again walked blindly into our enemies' trap. I couldn't be sure whether Kain had truly intended to destroy me - and now it appeared I would never know.

Moebius gloats over his triumph

The cinematic begins as Raziel enters the library from the eastern door.

Moebius enters the library, surrounded by his mercenaries. He addresses Raziel from the balcony.

RAZIEL In my absence, the estate had been overrun by Moebius's soldiers. I hoped that they had not yet found the entrance to the crypt, or discovered the body of Janos. Of Vorador, there was not sign.

MOEBIUS Raziel - the conquering hero. I understand we are to offer congratulations. Kain, at last, is dead.

RAZIEL I suppose you expect similar congratulations on the death of Vorador? Or has he eluded you?

Moebius throws Vorador's broken sword at Raziel's feet.

MOEBIUS We have him. But not without a considerable price in blood.

RAZIEL That will have pleased him.

MOEBIUS Let it sustain him until his head is off, and every vampire in Nosgoth at last is dead.

RAZIEL And will that knowledge sustain you? You too are going to your death.

RAZIEL For a true servant of the one God, death is never bitter. I will go - again at peace with the knowledge that I have played my small part in our master's plans. Kain is at last destroyed, and you have carried out the deed. Which hero do you think you are now? The vampire savior? Or the other one? Have you realized yet that it didn't matter to us which one either of you thought you were, so long as the result was the same in the end? And now, Kain is dead. Really, I cannot thank you enough.

RAZIEL So this has all been arranged, every step of the way. And Kain thought I truly had free will.

MOEBIUS Oh, but you do. And there's the greatest triumph of all, to have compelled the one player who could choose into doing exactly what we required. Well done, faithful servant. And now - I have an execution to see to.

With a gesture, Moebius unleashes his vampire hunters upon Raziel, and exits.

The resurrection of Janos Audron

The cinematic is triggered when the player presses [Square] while standing before Janos' body in material, with the Heart in Raziel's possession.

Standing once again before Janos' lifeless body, Raziel produces the Heart of Darkness and contemplates a moment --

RAZIEL V.O. This relic had come at so high a cost -- my blood offering for the answers I sought from this enigmatic corpse. It was the price of my freedom, for which Kain had paid with his life.

Raziel places the Heart of Darkness into Janos' chest cavity. Nothing happens.

RAZIEL V.O. Had I journeyed so far, and forsaken so much, only to have it end like this?

Raziel places his right hand over Janos' heart -- instantly, a jolt of energy passes through Raziel into the body. The Reaver's power flows down Raziel's arm into Janos' chest.

Janos' eyes fly open and flare with light, as his body buckles and comes to life. We can hear the heart quickening, a sudden rapid pounding. Janos' hands grasp at Raziel, clutching his arm as Raziel's energy is leeched into Janos -- the wound in Janos' chest begins to heal.

JANOS gasping into life

Janos fights back into life, as though surfacing from a very deep and terrifying place. Raziel breaks away from Janos, clutching his right hand and backing up apprehensively.

Janos rises suddenly as if from a nightmare, looking down at his chest and clasping his heart.

JANOS hoarselyI remember --

Janos looks intensely at Raziel as he slides off of the burial slab and stands unsteadily.

JANOS remembering-- Raziel, the heir of prophecy... You came for the Reaver - just before the Sarafan found me...

Janos touches his chest at the memory of his murder. Raziel regards him with suspicion. His tone here is flat, deadened -- after killing Kain, and realizing the Hylden prophecy, Raziel is empty and disillusioned.

RAZIEL You've been entombed here for five centuries. Your murderers are long dead.

JANOS in disbeliefFive hundred years? And Vorador--

RAZIEL interrupting--also dead.

Janos looks stricken.

RAZIEL Your bloodline is erased. The age of the vampires is coming to an end.

Janos is alarmed, trying to take all this in.

JANOS Then we must waste no time -

Janos begins to step forward. Raziel interrupts again --

RAZIEL I'm not who you think I am. Nor is this a benevolent act. I have questions that apparently you alone can answer.

JANOS growing concernedRaziel, there are forces in this world that will strive to deceive you and pervert your destiny. But you must believe - your arrival foretells the salvation of the Vampire race.

Impatiently, Raziel cuts right to the heart of the question --

RAZIEL Why then would the Vampires devise a weapon to consume and imprison their savior?

Janos is taken aback, confused by this revelation --

JANOS No - that cannot be...

Raziel continues, with controlled hostility --

JANOS While the blade yet exists, I am drawn inexorably toward my doom. It was you who bound me to this fate. Only you can release me.

JANOS Raziel, you have been misled - you are ordained by prophecy to wield the Reaver.

RAZIEL And so I do - though not quite as you'd envisioned.

Raziel summons the wraith-blade and brandishes it before Janos, who regards this new revelation with astonishment. Janos gasps softly --

JANOS soft gasp

-- and studies Raziel intently, as if seeing him for the first time. Standing there, he does appear to be the Hylden hero, with his blazing eyes and fiery sword.

Janos appears to be approaching a kind of epiphany. He thinks aloud, as though repeating an ominous scrap of prophecy --

JANOS Redeemer and destroyer...

This is not the first time Raziel has heard these words -- his eyes flare with distrust. Janos continues, thinking aloud --

JANOS ...is it possible? Did I misread all the signs?

Janos addresses him with a new urgency --

JANOS It seems your destiny is more labyrinthian than I had imagined. You must trust me, Raziel - we may have very little time. I will convey you to the place where your answers lie.

Janos reaches one hand out toward Raziel's face. Raziel draws back slightly, suspicious. Janos persists, touching his hand to Raziel's forehead, and closes his eyes in concentration.

The room seems to whirl and fade around them, as they are transported into the heart of the Vampire Citadel. They arrive in the ruins of the Guardians' council chamber -- the remains of its windows look out onto the Nosgoth landscape, and the Pillars beyond.

Return to the Vampire Citadel

As they materialize in the council chamber, Raziel breaks from Janos' grip and takes a distrustful step backward, looking around the room. He hasn't been here before, but he recognizes this as ancient Vampire architecture.

RAZIEL Where have you brought me?

JANOS We are within the ancient citadel of the Vampire race, long ago defiled and abandoned. This fortress endured through centuries of war against our great enemy -

RAZIEL - the Hylden.

Janos is a little surprised to hear Raziel speak the forbidden name, but he continues.

JANOS Yes. From this chamber we witnessed the summoning of the Pillars, and the banishment of our adversaries from the land.

Janos turns toward the ruined windows, and sees the corrupted Pillars for the first time.

JANOS gasps softlyThis is a dire omen... The Binding is in peril - the hour of prophecy is at hand.

RAZIEL It's too late. The Pillars are already damned.

JANOS As long as a single one of us stands, there is still hope.
The Pillars must not remain under human guardianship. They are not competent to serve.

RAZIEL Why then did you allow the Pillars to fall into human hands?

JANOS Raziel, there is no time--

RAZIEL --I want answers. The world can end this instant, for all I care.

Janos acquiesces.

JANOS Very well. The Hylden cursed us as they fell, afflicting our race with a predatory blood-thirst. But with this transformation came our enemies' true revenge: immortality.

RAZIEL They liberated you from the Wheel of Fate.

Janos corrects him --

JANOS They imprisoned our souls in this flesh, expelling us from the purifying cycle of death and rebirth.

Raziel reacts in disgust -- this sounds a bit too familiar.

RAZIEL And yet you passed the curse on.

JANOS It was a necessary evil. Our immortality banished us from God's grace - He turned His sight from us, and fell silent. Many took their own lives, unable to bear the separation from our God.

RAZIEL distrustfullyNot you, though.

JANOS Curse or blessing, it is the price we pay to keep the Hylden banished from the land. To sustain the Binding, we had to preserve our bloodline. And so we passed the dark gift to the human successors of our fallen Guardians. They rebelled, inevitably, refusing the curse and seizing the Pillars as their own.
And so we come to our present dilemma. While mankind governs the Pillars, the Binding decays.
The Hylden strain against the barriers of their prison, scratching to gain a foothold back into this world.

RAZIEL And what does all this mean to me?

JANOS We stand at the threshold of a new aeon, Raziel, and you are the fulcrum upon which our destiny turns. Beneath this room lies our innermost sanctum -

Janos gazes blankly for a moment, as if sensing something.

JANOS concerned- the outer chamber has been opened. It appears events are already in motion.

Janos removes a golden torque from around his neck, and gives it to Raziel. We see that the ring forms the symbol of the ouroboros -- the head of the golden snake devouring its own tail.

JANOS This token is the key to the mysteries you seek. I cannot accompany you; you must face this trial alone. If you prevail, you will have your answers.

RAZIEL And if I fail the test?

JANOS forebodinglyThen you will not return.

Janos takes a step backward and dematerializes, teleporting himself out of the room.

The Spirit Forge

Using the ouroboros key Janos gave him, Raziel has entered the Spirit Forge an arcane, ancient chamber beneath the Citadel. To his dismay, he finds the entire chamber infested with the mass of the Elder God.

ELDER GOD nasty; sarcasticAh, my good servant... returned to me at last.

RAZIEL I should have known I'd find you here.

ELDER GOD Here and everywhere... Now and always. I am the Wheel and its turning; I am the Circle of life and death.

RAZIEL - and I am beginning to think the Vampires committed suicide only to escape your voice.

ELDER GOD Do not forego my favor with your impertinence, Raziel. You have finally fulfilled your purpose. I am pleased.

RAZIEL What are you trying to obliterate here, then? What is it about me that has you so afraid?

ELDER GOD dark laughterYour fate is trivial, Raziel.

The Elder God releases some of his tentacles to reveal an image of the Scion of Balance ­-- an image unmistakably representing Kain as the Vampires' savior figure.

ELDER GOD It was Kain's destiny that mattered all along.

Gameplay resumes.

The transformation of the Reaver

Raziel solves the Spirit Forge. We hear RUMBLING, and the Citadel trembles. Somewhere in the distance, Kain's younger self has just made his fateful decision at the Pillars.

ARIEL O.S. It is accomplished. The Forge summons the spirit of every Balance Guardian to itself, for this final purpose.

Raziel solves the Spirit Forge. We hear RUMBLING, and the Citadel trembles. Somewhere in the distance, Kain's younger self has just made his fateful decision at the Pillars.

RAZIEL Ariel? You?

ARIEL Yes, Raziel - yet I am much more than I was. The veil is lifted from my sight. My spirit, united with the souls of my predecessors, is drawn here now for the final baptism of the blade. To restore Balance, the sword must be rendered pure by Spirit. Release me, Raziel - the Soul Reaver has the power. Release us all. For this we were called.

With his left hand, Raziel reaches out toward the pure white fire that surrounds Ariel's spirit. The energy flows to him and through his body, into the wraith blade in his right hand. The Soul Reaver is imbued with splendid, transfiguring flames, as Ariel's spirit is consumed.

ARIEL V.O. You have done well, Raziel. But there is one more trial for you to bear. You must unite that which has been set asunder... only then will the Scion of Balance be armed for his true endeavor. Only then...

Ariel's voice fades, and the Citadel is rocked again, with an even louder RUMBLE.

RAZIEL V.O. The Reaver now blazed with purifying flame. But far from being enlightened, I found myself entangled in an even greater web of mysteries. What had Janos expected me to learn? And what of Ariel's cryptic message? If the sword was endowed for the Scion of Balance - for Kain - and he was now dead, what hope remained? I needed to find Janos, and soon. I dreaded to think what these ominous rumblings might portend.

The Pillars topple

The earth trembles once more, as Raziel races into the Council Chamber to find Janos. Janos stands by the ruined windows, looking anxiously out at the vista of the Pillars.

The sky has darkened, as though a storm is gathering with the Pillars as its epicenter. The Pillars appear dark and ominous in the gloom.

RAZIEL Janos! What is this?!

JANOS alarmedThe Binding is failing - all is lost.

The Citadel trembles again as the catastrophe approaches. Raziel looks out upon this portentous scene.

RAZIEL V.O. We had arrived at that cataclysmic moment, when a younger Kain faced his fateful dilemma as Balance Guardian. Choosing self-preservation over sacrifice, he doomed the Pillars to eternal ruin.

Hurriedly, Janos turns to Raziel --

JANOS Raziel, there may yet be hope. There is One who will be called; you must seek the Scion of Balance--

Janos' words are cut off as a huge tremor blasts the Citadel. Janos turns back to the Pillars, and we see them begin to shatter and fall --

JANOS Dear god...

-- followed by another, massive blast. The scene is apocalyptic.

The collapse of the Pillars creates a dimensional rift that spreads across the land. A blast wave radiates out from the falling Pillars, tearing across the landscape. Raziel recoils, and Janos stiffens as the blast strikes the Citadel --

JANOS struggling in agony as he is possessed

-- as Janos recovers, he is changed. His body is now inhabited by a different entity -- this is the same being Raziel encountered before, when Mortanius was possessed. Physically, this is still Janos -- but because his body is being controlled by the Hylden Lord, the attitude, mannerisms, cadences and accent are no longer Janos'.

The Hylden Lord turns to Raziel, grinning.

POSSESSED JANOS Ah, Raziel, we meet again. You have played your part flawlessly. It is gratifying to attain both freedom and vengeance in a single stroke.

The Hylden Lord convulses slightly, and Janos struggles to resist and break through --

JANOS with an effortNo - you can not...

His head jerks, and the Hylden Lord is back in control.

JANOS struggling against his possessor

Then, with satisfaction --

POSSESSED JANOS This one is strong... good. My next move requires a more durable host. Mortals are such fragile vessels. Willing or not, you have provided the instrument of our victory.

Raziel summons the wraith blade, now blazing with power after its baptism in the Spirit Forge.

RAZIEL threateningI wouldn't celebrate just yet.

HYLDEN LORD You pathetic creature - you haven't got a clue. The seduction of the Circle and possession of Mortanius; Ariel's murder; the corruption and collapse of the Pillars: all orchestrated as a prelude to this moment. We sought an incorruptible vessel, and you provided one. We required the blood of our ancient enemy, and you delivered Janos Audron - having first been lured to the Heart of Darkness. Best of all, you murdered the Scion of Balance to get it.darklyWe've already won.

The Hylden Lord convulses again, and Janos breaks through, fighting for control --

JANOS urgentlyRaziel, you must not allow them to carry out their plan. Kill me, and you end it now.

Another spasm --

JANOS struggling against his possessor

-- and the Hylden Lord is back in command.

HYLDEN LORD disgustedSuicidal, like the rest of them. Know your place, Raziel. The true hero plays his role, and then steps aside.

The Hylden Lord makes to leave the chamber, but Raziel blocks him, flourishing the wraith blade.

HYLDEN LORD laughterYou deluded ghoul. Do you so wish to die a martyr for the Vampires' lost cause?

RAZIEL You're not leaving this chamber. I will destroy Janos if I have to.

HYLDEN LORD Very well then, I'll indulge you...

Transition back to gameplay as the battle begins.

The triumph of the Hylden Lord

Raziel delivers what appears to be a killing blow, sending the Hylden Lord in Janos' body to the ground. Raziel stands over the broken body, and for a moment, Janos' eyes clear --

JANOS Raziel... Finish it - before he returns...

Raziel hesitates, unwilling to destroy Janos. The Hylden Lord, not fully dispelled, uses this brief moment of weakness to regain possession of Janos.

JANOS agony as the Hylden Lord possesses him again

Possessed Janos gets rapidly to his feet, blazing with fury over his near-defeat.

POSSESSED JANOS You should have listened to him.

Enraged, the Hylden Lord unleashes a barrage of electrifying energy from his fingertips, blasting Raziel helplessly backward. Raziel crumples, and the Hylden Lord advances, redoubling his attack.

RAZIEL cries in agony

RAZIEL cries in agony - short scream see .wav file

RAZIEL cries in agony - short scream see .wav file

RAZIEL cries in agony - short scream see .wav file

When the Hylden Lord finally relents, Raziel lies helpless, nearly destroyed. The Hylden Lord steps back, recovering his breath as he regains his composure.

POSSESSED JANOS Now it is finished. And thus a new epoch has its beginning.

The Hylden Lord departs, using Janos' body as his vehicle. His health completely depleted, Raziel sinks into the spectral realm -- the scenery bleeds and whirls around him, and he finds himself back in the Spirit Forge, once more at the foot of the Elder God.

No escape

ELDER GOD Do you see? However far you stray, you will always return to me. Surrender, Raziel.

RAZIEL furious, defiantNever.

In fury and frustration, Raziel strikes out at the Elder God with the wraith blade, again and again.

ELDER GOD laughing with satisfactionYour efforts are wasted, Raziel. That weapon you bear, however endowed, remains only a wraith blade. It cannot touch me.

Raziel relents, exhausted. He scans the chamber, looking for a way out, but finding none.

RAZIEL I will not be your prisoner -

ELDER GOD You have no choice. Your task is fulfilled. Kain has been cleared from the board, and this chamber made ready for my more malleable servants. There is nothing more for you to do.

RAZIEL I refuse to bend my will -

ELDER GOD - it has always been my will you satisfy, never your own.

RAZIEL with controlled rageYou parasitic fraud - you're forced to imprison me because I possess free will--

ELDER GOD --you possess nothing.

The Elder God dismisses Raziel's tirade, and continues with his pronouncement.

ELDER GOD As you are undying, your soul cannot be returned to the Wheel - but it may console you to abide here in eternity with me.

The Elder God's tone then changes; he's no longer addressing Raziel. He appears to be calling Moebius telepathically, but there's also a liturgical quality to his voice.

ELDER GOD Moebius, my good servant, I call you to the place of our first meeting. Return to me here...

The scene fades with Raziel still trapped in the bowels of the Spirit Forge, at the mercy of the Elder God.

SCENE 12.1 -- Kain and Raziel - battle continues

Kain beats Raziel to a point where he is at a momentary disadvantage, and Kain has a chance to reason with him. Kain holds the Reaver on him, to keep him still.

KAIN angrilyNow - you will listen to me. The Heart of Darkness must remain undiscovered. Great harm will come of its use.

RAZIEL realizingYou don't know where it is, do you?

KAIN No -

RAZIEL -- you never looked for it.

KAIN growing impatientIt doesn't matter, Raziel. Listen to me - you must understand that every creature is bound to one predestined path. We are all shackled--

RAZIEL --to the Wheel of Fate. Believe me, I know that even better than you do.

Kain ignores Raziel's interruption and continues his thought --

KAIN All but one. Because of your re-making, you are the one unbound creature, the one among us all that truly has free will. You have a choice, Raziel --

RAZIEL Which I'm sure I must make at your direction. Your pawn has reached the end of the board, Kain. And now my powers may even surpass yours. How ironic if the creature that you made should prove your own undoing. Now - we finish this. Once and for all.

Raziel attacks Kain.

RAZIEL attack sound

SCENE 12.2 -- Raziel tears out Kain's Heart

Raziel gets Kain at a disadvantage. Backed against the wall, sword lowered, Kain reaches up to grasp Raziel's arm to prevent the blow of his sword. Holding on to Raziel's arm, Raziel's soul begins to drain out of him and into Kain, and through Kain, to reach the Reaver. They are both astonished.

RAZIEL sustained gasp of pain and horror

RAZIEL You ...

KAIN No - Raziel--

RAZIEL in horror and rageVae victis--

KAIN I didn't--

His words are cut off, as Raziel plunges his left hand into Kain's chest -- breaking Kain's grasp, and aborting his soul's absorption into the Reaver -- and pulls out Kain's heart: the Heart of Darkness. He holds it up to Kain.

KAIN his heart is torn out

RAZIEL 'Woe to the conquered' - I have found the Heart of Darkness. And you - go to oblivion.

With his new telekinetic powers, Raziel blasts Kain backward -- he is swallowed up into a dimensional rift, and disappears.

Raziel staggers backward, the Heart in one hand, the wraith-blade in the other. This was a reflexive act -- even he can't quite believe what he's just done.

RAZIEL breathing heavily as the rush of adrenaline fades

RAZIEL V.O. Kain was gone. The madness of this place had somehow fueled my rage, and as it subsided I felt no elation, no sense of victory. Only a calm certainty that we had once again walked blindly into our enemies' trap. I couldn't be sure whether Kain had truly intended to destroy me - and now it appeared I would never know.

SCENE 12.3 -- Raziel returns to the Mansion and is confronted by Moebius

The cinematic begins as Raziel enters the library from the eastern door.

Moebius enters the library, surrounded by his mercenaries. He addresses Raziel from the balcony.

RAZIEL In my absence, the estate had been overrun by Moebius's soldiers. I hoped that they had not yet found the entrance to the crypt, or discovered the body of Janos. Of Vorador, there was not sign.

MOEBIUS Raziel - the conquering hero. I understand we are to offer congratulations. Kain, at last, is dead.

RAZIEL I suppose you expect similar congratulations on the death of Vorador? Or has he eluded you?

Moebius throws Vorador's broken sword at Raziel's feet.

MOEBIUS We have him. But not without a considerable price in blood.

RAZIEL That will have pleased him.

MOEBIUS Let it sustain him until his head is off, and every vampire in Nosgoth at last is dead.

RAZIEL And will that knowledge sustain you? You too are going to your death.

RAZIEL For a true servant of the one God, death is never bitter. I will go - again at peace with the knowledge that I have played my small part in our master's plans. Kain is at last destroyed, and you have carried out the deed. Which hero do you think you are now? The vampire savior? Or the other one? Have you realized yet that it didn't matter to us which one either of you thought you were, so long as the result was the same in the end? And now, Kain is dead. Really, I cannot thank you enough.

RAZIEL So this has all been arranged, every step of the way. And Kain thought I truly had free will.

MOEBIUS Oh, but you do. And there's the greatest triumph of all, to have compelled the one player who could choose into doing exactly what we required. Well done, faithful servant. And now - I have an execution to see to.

With a gesture, Moebius unleashes his vampire hunters upon Raziel, and exits.

SCENE 12.4a -- Raziel resurrects Janos Audron

The cinematic is triggered when the player presses [Square] while standing before Janos' body in material, with the Heart in Raziel's possession.

Standing once again before Janos' lifeless body, Raziel produces the Heart of Darkness and contemplates a moment --

RAZIEL V.O. This relic had come at so high a cost -- my blood offering for the answers I sought from this enigmatic corpse. It was the price of my freedom, for which Kain had paid with his life.

Raziel places the Heart of Darkness into Janos' chest cavity. Nothing happens.

RAZIEL V.O. Had I journeyed so far, and forsaken so much, only to have it end like this?

Raziel places his right hand over Janos' heart -- instantly, a jolt of energy passes through Raziel into the body. The Reaver's power flows down Raziel's arm into Janos' chest.

Janos' eyes fly open and flare with light, as his body buckles and comes to life. We can hear the heart quickening, a sudden rapid pounding. Janos' hands grasp at Raziel, clutching his arm as Raziel's energy is leeched into Janos -- the wound in Janos' chest begins to heal.

JANOS gasping into life

Janos fights back into life, as though surfacing from a very deep and terrifying place. Raziel breaks away from Janos, clutching his right hand and backing up apprehensively.

Janos rises suddenly as if from a nightmare, looking down at his chest and clasping his heart.

JANOS hoarselyI remember --

Janos looks intensely at Raziel as he slides off of the burial slab and stands unsteadily.

JANOS remembering-- Raziel, the heir of prophecy... You came for the Reaver - just before the Sarafan found me...

Janos touches his chest at the memory of his murder. Raziel regards him with suspicion. His tone here is flat, deadened -- after killing Kain, and realizing the Hylden prophecy, Raziel is empty and disillusioned.

RAZIEL You've been entombed here for five centuries. Your murderers are long dead.

JANOS in disbeliefFive hundred years? And Vorador--

RAZIEL interrupting--also dead.

Janos looks stricken.

RAZIEL Your bloodline is erased. The age of the vampires is coming to an end.

Janos is alarmed, trying to take all this in.

JANOS Then we must waste no time -

Janos begins to step forward. Raziel interrupts again --

RAZIEL I'm not who you think I am. Nor is this a benevolent act. I have questions that apparently you alone can answer.

JANOS growing concernedRaziel, there are forces in this world that will strive to deceive you and pervert your destiny. But you must believe - your arrival foretells the salvation of the Vampire race.

Impatiently, Raziel cuts right to the heart of the question --

RAZIEL Why then would the Vampires devise a weapon to consume and imprison their savior?

Janos is taken aback, confused by this revelation --

JANOS No - that cannot be...

Raziel continues, with controlled hostility --

JANOS While the blade yet exists, I am drawn inexorably toward my doom. It was you who bound me to this fate. Only you can release me.

JANOS Raziel, you have been misled - you are ordained by prophecy to wield the Reaver.

RAZIEL And so I do - though not quite as you'd envisioned.

Raziel summons the wraith-blade and brandishes it before Janos, who regards this new revelation with astonishment. Janos gasps softly --

JANOS soft gasp

-- and studies Raziel intently, as if seeing him for the first time. Standing there, he does appear to be the Hylden hero, with his blazing eyes and fiery sword.

Janos appears to be approaching a kind of epiphany. He thinks aloud, as though repeating an ominous scrap of prophecy --

JANOS Redeemer and destroyer...

This is not the first time Raziel has heard these words -- his eyes flare with distrust. Janos continues, thinking aloud --

JANOS ...is it possible? Did I misread all the signs?

Janos addresses him with a new urgency --

JANOS It seems your destiny is more labyrinthian than I had imagined. You must trust me, Raziel - we may have very little time. I will convey you to the place where your answers lie.

Janos reaches one hand out toward Raziel's face. Raziel draws back slightly, suspicious. Janos persists, touching his hand to Raziel's forehead, and closes his eyes in concentration.

The room seems to whirl and fade around them, as they are transported into the heart of the Vampire Citadel. They arrive in the ruins of the Guardians' council chamber -- the remains of its windows look out onto the Nosgoth landscape, and the Pillars beyond.

SCENE 12.4b -- Janos and Raziel arrive at the Guardian Citadel

As they materialize in the council chamber, Raziel breaks from Janos' grip and takes a distrustful step backward, looking around the room. He hasn't been here before, but he recognizes this as ancient Vampire architecture.

RAZIEL Where have you brought me?

JANOS We are within the ancient citadel of the Vampire race, long ago defiled and abandoned. This fortress endured through centuries of war against our great enemy -

RAZIEL - the Hylden.

Janos is a little surprised to hear Raziel speak the forbidden name, but he continues.

JANOS Yes. From this chamber we witnessed the summoning of the Pillars, and the banishment of our adversaries from the land.

Janos turns toward the ruined windows, and sees the corrupted Pillars for the first time.

JANOS gasps softlyThis is a dire omen... The Binding is in peril - the hour of prophecy is at hand.

RAZIEL It's too late. The Pillars are already damned.

JANOS As long as a single one of us stands, there is still hope.
The Pillars must not remain under human guardianship. They are not competent to serve.

RAZIEL Why then did you allow the Pillars to fall into human hands?

JANOS Raziel, there is no time--

RAZIEL --I want answers. The world can end this instant, for all I care.

Janos acquiesces.

JANOS Very well. The Hylden cursed us as they fell, afflicting our race with a predatory blood-thirst. But with this transformation came our enemies' true revenge: immortality.

RAZIEL They liberated you from the Wheel of Fate.

Janos corrects him --

JANOS They imprisoned our souls in this flesh, expelling us from the purifying cycle of death and rebirth.

Raziel reacts in disgust -- this sounds a bit too familiar.

RAZIEL And yet you passed the curse on.

JANOS It was a necessary evil. Our immortality banished us from God's grace - He turned His sight from us, and fell silent. Many took their own lives, unable to bear the separation from our God.

RAZIEL distrustfullyNot you, though.

JANOS Curse or blessing, it is the price we pay to keep the Hylden banished from the land. To sustain the Binding, we had to preserve our bloodline. And so we passed the dark gift to the human successors of our fallen Guardians. They rebelled, inevitably, refusing the curse and seizing the Pillars as their own.
And so we come to our present dilemma. While mankind governs the Pillars, the Binding decays.
The Hylden strain against the barriers of their prison, scratching to gain a foothold back into this world.

RAZIEL And what does all this mean to me?

JANOS We stand at the threshold of a new aeon, Raziel, and you are the fulcrum upon which our destiny turns. Beneath this room lies our innermost sanctum -

Janos gazes blankly for a moment, as if sensing something.

JANOS concerned- the outer chamber has been opened. It appears events are already in motion.

Janos removes a golden torque from around his neck, and gives it to Raziel. We see that the ring forms the symbol of the ouroboros -- the head of the golden snake devouring its own tail.

JANOS This token is the key to the mysteries you seek. I cannot accompany you; you must face this trial alone. If you prevail, you will have your answers.

RAZIEL And if I fail the test?

JANOS forebodinglyThen you will not return.

Janos takes a step backward and dematerializes, teleporting himself out of the room.

SCENE 12.5 -- Raziel enters the Spirit Forge, and meets the Elder God once again

Using the ouroboros key Janos gave him, Raziel has entered the Spirit Forge an arcane, ancient chamber beneath the Citadel. To his dismay, he finds the entire chamber infested with the mass of the Elder God.

ELDER GOD nasty; sarcasticAh, my good servant... returned to me at last.

RAZIEL I should have known I'd find you here.

ELDER GOD Here and everywhere... Now and always. I am the Wheel and its turning; I am the Circle of life and death.

RAZIEL - and I am beginning to think the Vampires committed suicide only to escape your voice.

ELDER GOD Do not forego my favor with your impertinence, Raziel. You have finally fulfilled your purpose. I am pleased.

RAZIEL What are you trying to obliterate here, then? What is it about me that has you so afraid?

ELDER GOD dark laughterYour fate is trivial, Raziel.

The Elder God releases some of his tentacles to reveal an image of the Scion of Balance ­-- an image unmistakably representing Kain as the Vampires' savior figure.

ELDER GOD It was Kain's destiny that mattered all along.

Gameplay resumes.

SCENE 12.6 -- Raziel solves the Spirit Forge; Ariel is summoned

Raziel solves the Spirit Forge. We hear RUMBLING, and the Citadel trembles. Somewhere in the distance, Kain's younger self has just made his fateful decision at the Pillars.

ARIEL O.S. It is accomplished. The Forge summons the spirit of every Balance Guardian to itself, for this final purpose.

Raziel solves the Spirit Forge. We hear RUMBLING, and the Citadel trembles. Somewhere in the distance, Kain's younger self has just made his fateful decision at the Pillars.

RAZIEL Ariel? You?

ARIEL Yes, Raziel - yet I am much more than I was. The veil is lifted from my sight. My spirit, united with the souls of my predecessors, is drawn here now for the final baptism of the blade. To restore Balance, the sword must be rendered pure by Spirit. Release me, Raziel - the Soul Reaver has the power. Release us all. For this we were called.

With his left hand, Raziel reaches out toward the pure white fire that surrounds Ariel's spirit. The energy flows to him and through his body, into the wraith blade in his right hand. The Soul Reaver is imbued with splendid, transfiguring flames, as Ariel's spirit is consumed.

ARIEL V.O. You have done well, Raziel. But there is one more trial for you to bear. You must unite that which has been set asunder... only then will the Scion of Balance be armed for his true endeavor. Only then...

Ariel's voice fades, and the Citadel is rocked again, with an even louder RUMBLE.

RAZIEL V.O. The Reaver now blazed with purifying flame. But far from being enlightened, I found myself entangled in an even greater web of mysteries. What had Janos expected me to learn? And what of Ariel's cryptic message? If the sword was endowed for the Scion of Balance - for Kain - and he was now dead, what hope remained? I needed to find Janos, and soon. I dreaded to think what these ominous rumblings might portend.

SCENE 12.7 -- Raziel returns to Janos in the Council Chamber

The earth trembles once more, as Raziel races into the Council Chamber to find Janos. Janos stands by the ruined windows, looking anxiously out at the vista of the Pillars.

The sky has darkened, as though a storm is gathering with the Pillars as its epicenter. The Pillars appear dark and ominous in the gloom.

RAZIEL Janos! What is this?!

JANOS alarmedThe Binding is failing - all is lost.

The Citadel trembles again as the catastrophe approaches. Raziel looks out upon this portentous scene.

RAZIEL V.O. We had arrived at that cataclysmic moment, when a younger Kain faced his fateful dilemma as Balance Guardian. Choosing self-preservation over sacrifice, he doomed the Pillars to eternal ruin.

Hurriedly, Janos turns to Raziel --

JANOS Raziel, there may yet be hope. There is One who will be called; you must seek the Scion of Balance--

Janos' words are cut off as a huge tremor blasts the Citadel. Janos turns back to the Pillars, and we see them begin to shatter and fall --

JANOS Dear god...

-- followed by another, massive blast. The scene is apocalyptic.

The collapse of the Pillars creates a dimensional rift that spreads across the land. A blast wave radiates out from the falling Pillars, tearing across the landscape. Raziel recoils, and Janos stiffens as the blast strikes the Citadel --

JANOS struggling in agony as he is possessed

-- as Janos recovers, he is changed. His body is now inhabited by a different entity -- this is the same being Raziel encountered before, when Mortanius was possessed. Physically, this is still Janos -- but because his body is being controlled by the Hylden Lord, the attitude, mannerisms, cadences and accent are no longer Janos'.

The Hylden Lord turns to Raziel, grinning.

POSSESSED JANOS Ah, Raziel, we meet again. You have played your part flawlessly. It is gratifying to attain both freedom and vengeance in a single stroke.

The Hylden Lord convulses slightly, and Janos struggles to resist and break through --

JANOS with an effortNo - you can not...

His head jerks, and the Hylden Lord is back in control.

JANOS struggling against his possessor

Then, with satisfaction --

POSSESSED JANOS This one is strong... good. My next move requires a more durable host. Mortals are such fragile vessels. Willing or not, you have provided the instrument of our victory.

Raziel summons the wraith blade, now blazing with power after its baptism in the Spirit Forge.

RAZIEL threateningI wouldn't celebrate just yet.

HYLDEN LORD You pathetic creature - you haven't got a clue. The seduction of the Circle and possession of Mortanius; Ariel's murder; the corruption and collapse of the Pillars: all orchestrated as a prelude to this moment. We sought an incorruptible vessel, and you provided one. We required the blood of our ancient enemy, and you delivered Janos Audron - having first been lured to the Heart of Darkness. Best of all, you murdered the Scion of Balance to get it.darklyWe've already won.

The Hylden Lord convulses again, and Janos breaks through, fighting for control --

JANOS urgentlyRaziel, you must not allow them to carry out their plan. Kill me, and you end it now.

Another spasm --

JANOS struggling against his possessor

-- and the Hylden Lord is back in command.

HYLDEN LORD disgustedSuicidal, like the rest of them. Know your place, Raziel. The true hero plays his role, and then steps aside.

The Hylden Lord makes to leave the chamber, but Raziel blocks him, flourishing the wraith blade.

HYLDEN LORD laughterYou deluded ghoul. Do you so wish to die a martyr for the Vampires' lost cause?

RAZIEL You're not leaving this chamber. I will destroy Janos if I have to.

HYLDEN LORD Very well then, I'll indulge you...

Transition back to gameplay as the battle begins.

SCENE 12.8a -- Raziel is defeated by the Hylden Lord Possessed Janos

Raziel delivers what appears to be a killing blow, sending the Hylden Lord in Janos' body to the ground. Raziel stands over the broken body, and for a moment, Janos' eyes clear --

JANOS Raziel... Finish it - before he returns...

Raziel hesitates, unwilling to destroy Janos. The Hylden Lord, not fully dispelled, uses this brief moment of weakness to regain possession of Janos.

JANOS agony as the Hylden Lord possesses him again

Possessed Janos gets rapidly to his feet, blazing with fury over his near-defeat.

POSSESSED JANOS You should have listened to him.

Enraged, the Hylden Lord unleashes a barrage of electrifying energy from his fingertips, blasting Raziel helplessly backward. Raziel crumples, and the Hylden Lord advances, redoubling his attack.

RAZIEL cries in agony

RAZIEL cries in agony - short scream see .wav file

RAZIEL cries in agony - short scream see .wav file

RAZIEL cries in agony - short scream see .wav file

When the Hylden Lord finally relents, Raziel lies helpless, nearly destroyed. The Hylden Lord steps back, recovering his breath as he regains his composure.

POSSESSED JANOS Now it is finished. And thus a new epoch has its beginning.

The Hylden Lord departs, using Janos' body as his vehicle. His health completely depleted, Raziel sinks into the spectral realm -- the scenery bleeds and whirls around him, and he finds himself back in the Spirit Forge, once more at the foot of the Elder God.

SCENE 12.8b -- Raziel is shunted back to the Elder God

ELDER GOD Do you see? However far you stray, you will always return to me. Surrender, Raziel.

RAZIEL furious, defiantNever.

In fury and frustration, Raziel strikes out at the Elder God with the wraith blade, again and again.

ELDER GOD laughing with satisfactionYour efforts are wasted, Raziel. That weapon you bear, however endowed, remains only a wraith blade. It cannot touch me.

Raziel relents, exhausted. He scans the chamber, looking for a way out, but finding none.

RAZIEL I will not be your prisoner -

ELDER GOD You have no choice. Your task is fulfilled. Kain has been cleared from the board, and this chamber made ready for my more malleable servants. There is nothing more for you to do.

RAZIEL I refuse to bend my will -

ELDER GOD - it has always been my will you satisfy, never your own.

RAZIEL with controlled rageYou parasitic fraud - you're forced to imprison me because I possess free will--

ELDER GOD --you possess nothing.

The Elder God dismisses Raziel's tirade, and continues with his pronouncement.

ELDER GOD As you are undying, your soul cannot be returned to the Wheel - but it may console you to abide here in eternity with me.

The Elder God's tone then changes; he's no longer addressing Raziel. He appears to be calling Moebius telepathically, but there's also a liturgical quality to his voice.

ELDER GOD Moebius, my good servant, I call you to the place of our first meeting. Return to me here...

The scene fades with Raziel still trapped in the bowels of the Spirit Forge, at the mercy of the Elder God.

Return to the Guardian Citadel

Kain awakes in the demon realm

Slow fade up to Kain sprawled on his back in an unfamiliar chamber, his chest bloodied, the Reaver fallen at his side. He appears to be dead.

Suddenly his eyes fly open and he gasps once more into life --

KAIN gasping into life

-- reflexively clutching at his heart. He sits up, holding his hand over the place where his heart used to be, feeling nothing. He brings his bloodied hand away, looks at it, and looks down at his chest. He then looks around at his surroundings.

KAIN V.O. I awoke to find myself in a shadowy realm. A disquieting stillness lay where my heart had been - the heart that had belonged to Janos Audron all along. How was it possible that I still lived?

Tentatively, he begins to rise, and then hears disembodied voices in the ether of the demon realm. Suspicious, he retrieves the Reaver from the ground and looks around his surroundings.

HYLDEN 1 You are still fair of form, vampire...

HYLDEN 2 That will go first...

HYLDEN 3 This realm will render you hideous...

HYLDEN 2 You will go mad, and will not know it...

KAIN What is this place?

HYLDEN 1 Do you not think of this place every day, vampire?

HYLDEN 3 Or are we truly forgotten.

HYLDEN 2 We were forgotten...

HYLDEN 1 This is the exile into which we were driven --

HYLDEN 3 But soon now, soon we will be free...

HYLDEN 2 We will be free.

Suddenly, a number of demons rip into the scene, and confront Kain. Resume gameplay, still in the demon realm.

The Avernus Catacombs

KAIN V.O. I felt strongly drawn - compelled, even - not to linger here, but to go to the Vampire Citadel, at once.

The Vampire Citadel

Kain departs from Avernus via bat-flight, and arrives at the Citadel. Here he sees that the Pillars have fallen.

KAIN V.O. I knew what ominous hour this was in Nosgoth's history. For here was the event that had shaped my entire existence... I had cast my fate, refusing the sacrifice, damning the Pillars, and founding my doomed empire upon their ruins. I would raise the Sarafan priests to be my closest lieutenants, and would one day cast the strongest of them, my servant Raziel, into the abyss - dealing one last hand to play against Fate. But in the end, had it made any difference? Had I misread the signs, as Moebius told me? In my arrogance, had I missed my cast at destiny?

Vengeance and sacrifice

Kain enters the Spirit Forge silently and finds Moebius there, his back to Kain, communing with the Elder God. He appears to be talking to himself, as the Elder God is not visible. For the first time, we are seeing this chamber from someone else's point-of-view -- clearly, Kain and Moebius cannot see the Elder God; the chamber appears empty.

MOEBIUS ... the Hylden are merely an inconvenient consequence. They will be dealt with in time. It's a small price to pay for Kain's death.

While Moebius has been speaking, Kain has slowly walked up behind him. Not sneaking, just moving silently. As he nears Moebius, he silently draws the Reaver from his back.

KAIN You're a bit premature.

At the sound of Kain's voice, Moebius whirls around -- this is the first time we've seen him genuinely frightened and surprised. He turns to see Kain standing before him, the wound in his chest still visible, and the Reaver in his hand.

MOEBIUS Kain!?

KAIN Is there a crack in your omniscience after all, Moebius?

Moebius flourishes his scepter at Kain, and the orb flashes as before. Kain hesitates, not sure himself what might happen next. The scepter has no effect on Kain this time. Moebius flourishes it again -- again with no effect.

Kain glances down at the wound in his chest, where the Heart used to be -- Moebius' eyes also go to Kain's chest, realizing now. Kain looks back up at Moebius with a grim smile --

KAIN First your omniscience, and now your powers. You are slipping badly.

Moebius takes a step back --

MOEBIUS This is not possible...

Kain steps forward, and grasps Moebius' free hand, pulling it into his bloodied chest.

KAIN The part of me that staff affected is no longer in its place.

The staff falls from Moebius' other hand.

KAIN But you already knew that, didn't you.

Moebius yanks his arm away, and takes a step back.

KAIN I always was considered heartless. And now, Moebius, it is time.

Moebius backs up, but he has nowhere to go.

MOEBIUS To kill me? Again? Your only solution, for every problem: kill -

KAIN This is not a debate. You see, this time, you have nothing that I want.

He impales Moebius with the Reaver.

KAIN impales Moebius

MOEBIUS impaled

MOEBIUS laughing, though clearly in painYou think this will matter?...

Moebius grasps Kain's arm and draws himself up the blade until they are face to face.

Moebius spits his words hatefully at Kain, triumphant and grinning despite his obvious agony.

MOEBIUS ...I serve One who has power over life and death.

KAIN Then go to him.

Kain withdraws the Reaver sharply with a small effort sound.

MOEBIUS gasp of pain

Moebius drops to his knees, and sinks to the floor, dying.

MOEBIUS I am his obedient... his devoted servant... Soon, all pain will fade, and my master will bring me life once more.

Moebius dies.

Amy, As you know, this is not a scene but a monologue, but I needed to write this in order to see how to get to the next scene, so I took a first pass at it.

Moebius arrives in the spectral realm. The terrain shifts slightly around him as he rises, a spirit now -- and we realize once again that this is not the chamber Raziel sees. There is no evidence of the infesting mass of the Elder God. Only Raziel can see it.

The spirit of Moebius stands and addresses the chamber --

MOEBIUS Master, my apologies, a momentary oversight. Somehow Kain still lives, and has unexpectedly dispatched me. Make use of your good servant, and --impaled

As Moebius speaks, we can see Raziel -- also in the spectral realm -- approaching from behind, armed with the newly-transformed wraith-blade. Moebius doesn't know he's there. Raziel impales him with the wraith-blade, cutting him off mid-sentence, and holds the blade there as he speaks in an intimate snarl over Moebius' shoulder.

RAZIEL Go to your master, then. I release you to the Wheel.

When the purified wraith-blade enters Moebius, it transforms him. We see the room change around them, as the veil is lifted from Moebius' sight. Moebius -- with the wraith-blade still in him -- sees the horror of the Elder God at last.

Moebius' expression changes from confidence to horror -- Raziel sees this transformation, and understands.

MOEBIUS horrifiedOhh... god - no ...

RAZIEL intimate menaceDo you see it now? The monster that you served? Is this what you imagined when you worshipped it?

MOEBIUS in horrorNo...

RAZIEL And in that knowledge, go - and feed it. I release you.

RAZIEL effort as he withdraws the Reaver

Mirroring Kain's recent act, Raziel pulls the wraith-blade from Moebius -- then, opening his cowl, he devours Moebius' soul, thus delivering him to the Elder God.

MOEBIUS prolonged gasp as his soul is devoured

RAZIEL gasping with satisfaction

Raziel looks defiantly up at the Elder God, having destroyed his long-lived and loyal servant.

ELDER GOD laughs menacinglyYour petty actions are irrelevant, Raziel. Moebius was a good servant, but he was of no further use. His long life had run its course. You see? - even when you rebel, you are doing my will.

RAZIEL Perhaps, but something has changed, hasn't it? You didn't foresee Kain's return.

The Elder God dismisses Raziel's statement --

ELDER GOD You have both traced your paths along the Wheel - this is where the journey ends.

RAZIEL You haven't the means to kill either one of us.

ELDER GOD Ah, but you can be stopped. And you will come to understand how oblivion can be a mercy.

The citadel trembles as the Elder God pulls at its very foundations.

ELDER GOD You and Kain will spend eternity buried here together, praying for the merciful release of a death that will never come.

The citadel trembles again, more violently this time, and even in the spectral realm, bits of rock and masonry begin to fall.

RAZIEL V.O. But I was armed with newfound knowledge, and it burned within me...

JANOS V.O. ....redeemer and destroyer...

RAZIEL V.O. Moebius had never seen his master until the Soul Reaver purified his sight. Even the ancient Vampires had no idea what it was they so righteously worshipped.

ARIEL V.O. ....you must unite what has been set asunder...

RAZIEL V.O. All the conflict and strife throughout history, all the fear and hatred, served but one purpose - to keep my master's Wheel turning. All souls were prisoners, trapped in the pointless round of existence, leading distracted, blunted lives until death returned them - always in ignorance - to the Wheel.

KAIN V.O. ...the coin is still turning...

RAZIEL V.O. But what hope had there been? One cannot fight the unseen.

ARIEL V.O. ...only then will the Scion of Balance be armed for his true endeavor...

RAZIEL V.O. It was then I knew what I had to do. I alone could end this.

Then, with ominous finality, the Elder God speaks to Raziel for the last time ­--

ELDER GOD Despair, Raziel. There is no escape.

Raziel glances down at Moebius' corpse, and then looks back up at the Elder God with defiant resolve, a victorious gleam in his eye.

Before the Elder God realizes his intentions, Raziel becomes dissolute and projects his soul energy into Moebius' corpse.

Transition directly into Scene 14.2.

Suddenly Moebius' corpse comes alive again -- Kain turns as he sees Moebius rising menacingly once more behind him.

MOEBIUS actually RazielKain...

Kain reflexively brings up the Reaver and impales Moebius through the chest once again.

KAIN Do you so enjoy death--

But this time, Moebius responds strangely, with a satisfied:

MOEBIUS actually RazielYes._.._

Then Moebius transforms, and Kain sees that it's Raziel impaled on the blade -- just as Raziel's soul begins to leech out through the sword and into Kain, through Kain, and into the Reaver.

KAIN Raziel? - No -

Kain tries to pull away, but Raziel takes hold of Kain's arm so that he can't.

RAZIEL Yes - this is how_..._

KAIN --No, Raziel!

Kain resists, but Raziel pulls himself farther onto the blade --

RAZIEL The Soul Reaver - pure of all corruption -- this is what it is for. This is what I am for --

-- and puts his right hand over Kain's wounded chest. We see the purifying energy of the Spirit Reaver pass through Raziel and into Kain at this point, and we see the wound heal.

RAZIEL The two become one - both Soul Reavers - together - and the Scion of Balance is healed. And I -- am not your enemy - not your destroyer - I am, as before, your right hand. Your sword.

Kain resists, but more weakly --

KAIN No, Raziel - this can't be the way...

RAZIEL And now you will see -- the true enemy --

Raziel fades as his soul is consumed completely, passing through Kain's body into what is now, finally, the Soul Reaver. Moebius's corpse strikes the floor, lifeless.

KAIN Raziel –

KAIN V.O. And it was then -- I saw.

Amy, is this a strange parallel of Moebius' gesture in the last scene? Does it matter?

Kain staggers backward, still shocked at Raziel's sacrifice, and trying to comprehend the monstrosity that has just been revealed to him. The citadel trembles, and the Elder God's voice booms within the chamber --

ELDER GOD So... I am revealed to you at last.

KAIN What in hell...

ELDER GOD a little stridentlyI am the origin of Life... the devourer of Death. I am the hub of the Wheel, the purifying cycle to which all souls must be drawn.

KAIN V.O. Had I condemned Raziel to this nightmare when I cast him into the abyss?

The Citadel quakes, causing architecture to topple, and rubble to fall into the pit.

ELDER GOD You may ponder the futility of your ambitions as you spend a deathless eternity beneath a mountain of rubble.

The Citadel rocks again, causing more debris to fall.

ELDER GOD You and your Soul Reaver will go equally mad as the eons pass. The Citadel of the apostates will become your living tomb.

The Elder God moves, and the Citadel trembles again. Stone and masonry begin to tumble down. Kain looks around the room, realizing what's going on, but stands his ground, flourishing the now-transformed Soul Reaver.

KAIN Your words are heartening -

He slashes at the Elder God with the Soul Reaver, causing spectacular damage. The Elder God shrieks as the spirit energy that is his lifeblood flows out. He has never been injured like this before.

KAIN - for you would not fear us unless we could truly do you harm.

Kain slashes again, severing the Elder God's nearest tentacle and causing him to recoil again in terror and pain.

ELDER GOD No! You are nothing!

KAIN False god--

Kain slashes again, severing the Elder God's nearest tentacle and causing him to recoil again in terror and pain.

KAIN --this is the end - the final turn of your Wheel.

Gameplay resumes as the battle begins.

[Note -- we should record the lines above both with and without attack-effort sounds.]

The fall of the ancient god

Kain defeats the Elder God, causing it to flail in fury and agony -- this sends more architecture toppling, which provides a means for Kain to leap out of the pit.

ELDER GOD You cannot destroy me, Kain - I am the Engine of Life itself. The Wheel will turn... The plague of your kind will be purged from this world... And on that inevitable day, your wretched, stagnant soul will finally be mine.

KAIN In the meantime, you'd best burrow deep.

Kain steps free from the chamber just as the walls around him begin to collapse.

Epilogue

Kain enters the Citadel Council Chamber, overlooking the Nosgoth landscape and the smoldering wreck of the Pillars in the distance.

KAIN V.O. Now, at last, the masks had fallen away. The strings of the puppets had become visible, and the hands of the prime mover exposed. Most ironic of all was the last gift that Raziel had given me, more powerful than the sword that now held his soul, more acute even than the vision his sacrifice had accorded me - the first bitter taste of that terrible illusion: Hope.

SCENE 13.1 -- Kain awakes in the Demon Realm

Slow fade up to Kain sprawled on his back in an unfamiliar chamber, his chest bloodied, the Reaver fallen at his side. He appears to be dead.

Suddenly his eyes fly open and he gasps once more into life --

KAIN gasping into life

-- reflexively clutching at his heart. He sits up, holding his hand over the place where his heart used to be, feeling nothing. He brings his bloodied hand away, looks at it, and looks down at his chest. He then looks around at his surroundings.

KAIN V.O. I awoke to find myself in a shadowy realm. A disquieting stillness lay where my heart had been - the heart that had belonged to Janos Audron all along. How was it possible that I still lived?

Tentatively, he begins to rise, and then hears disembodied voices in the ether of the demon realm. Suspicious, he retrieves the Reaver from the ground and looks around his surroundings.

HYLDEN 1 You are still fair of form, vampire...

HYLDEN 2 That will go first...

HYLDEN 3 This realm will render you hideous...

HYLDEN 2 You will go mad, and will not know it...

KAIN What is this place?

HYLDEN 1 Do you not think of this place every day, vampire?

HYLDEN 3 Or are we truly forgotten.

HYLDEN 2 We were forgotten...

HYLDEN 1 This is the exile into which we were driven --

HYLDEN 3 But soon now, soon we will be free...

HYLDEN 2 We will be free.

Suddenly, a number of demons rip into the scene, and confront Kain. Resume gameplay, still in the demon realm.

SCENE 13.X -- Kain escapes the Demon Realm VO

KAIN V.O. I felt strongly drawn - compelled, even - not to linger here, but to go to the Vampire Citadel, at once.

SCENE 13.2 -- Kain departs from Avernus and arrives in Citadel V.O.

Kain departs from Avernus via bat-flight, and arrives at the Citadel. Here he sees that the Pillars have fallen.

KAIN V.O. I knew what ominous hour this was in Nosgoth's history. For here was the event that had shaped my entire existence... I had cast my fate, refusing the sacrifice, damning the Pillars, and founding my doomed empire upon their ruins. I would raise the Sarafan priests to be my closest lieutenants, and would one day cast the strongest of them, my servant Raziel, into the abyss - dealing one last hand to play against Fate. But in the end, had it made any difference? Had I misread the signs, as Moebius told me? In my arrogance, had I missed my cast at destiny?

SCENE 13.3 -- Kain returns to the Spirit Forge and kills Moebius

Kain enters the Spirit Forge silently and finds Moebius there, his back to Kain, communing with the Elder God. He appears to be talking to himself, as the Elder God is not visible. For the first time, we are seeing this chamber from someone else's point-of-view -- clearly, Kain and Moebius cannot see the Elder God; the chamber appears empty.

MOEBIUS ... the Hylden are merely an inconvenient consequence. They will be dealt with in time. It's a small price to pay for Kain's death.

While Moebius has been speaking, Kain has slowly walked up behind him. Not sneaking, just moving silently. As he nears Moebius, he silently draws the Reaver from his back.

KAIN You're a bit premature.

At the sound of Kain's voice, Moebius whirls around -- this is the first time we've seen him genuinely frightened and surprised. He turns to see Kain standing before him, the wound in his chest still visible, and the Reaver in his hand.

MOEBIUS Kain!?

KAIN Is there a crack in your omniscience after all, Moebius?

Moebius flourishes his scepter at Kain, and the orb flashes as before. Kain hesitates, not sure himself what might happen next. The scepter has no effect on Kain this time. Moebius flourishes it again -- again with no effect.

Kain glances down at the wound in his chest, where the Heart used to be -- Moebius' eyes also go to Kain's chest, realizing now. Kain looks back up at Moebius with a grim smile --

KAIN First your omniscience, and now your powers. You are slipping badly.

Moebius takes a step back --

MOEBIUS This is not possible...

Kain steps forward, and grasps Moebius' free hand, pulling it into his bloodied chest.

KAIN The part of me that staff affected is no longer in its place.

The staff falls from Moebius' other hand.

KAIN But you already knew that, didn't you.

Moebius yanks his arm away, and takes a step back.

KAIN I always was considered heartless. And now, Moebius, it is time.

Moebius backs up, but he has nowhere to go.

MOEBIUS To kill me? Again? Your only solution, for every problem: kill -

KAIN This is not a debate. You see, this time, you have nothing that I want.

He impales Moebius with the Reaver.

KAIN impales Moebius

MOEBIUS impaled

MOEBIUS laughing, though clearly in painYou think this will matter?...

Moebius grasps Kain's arm and draws himself up the blade until they are face to face.

Moebius spits his words hatefully at Kain, triumphant and grinning despite his obvious agony.

MOEBIUS ...I serve One who has power over life and death.

KAIN Then go to him.

Kain withdraws the Reaver sharply with a small effort sound.

MOEBIUS gasp of pain

Moebius drops to his knees, and sinks to the floor, dying.

MOEBIUS I am his obedient... his devoted servant... Soon, all pain will fade, and my master will bring me life once more.

Moebius dies.

Amy, As you know, this is not a scene but a monologue, but I needed to write this in order to see how to get to the next scene, so I took a first pass at it.

Chapter 14

SCENE 14.1 -- Raziel finishes Moebius in Spectral

Moebius arrives in the spectral realm. The terrain shifts slightly around him as he rises, a spirit now -- and we realize once again that this is not the chamber Raziel sees. There is no evidence of the infesting mass of the Elder God. Only Raziel can see it.

The spirit of Moebius stands and addresses the chamber --

MOEBIUS Master, my apologies, a momentary oversight. Somehow Kain still lives, and has unexpectedly dispatched me. Make use of your good servant, and --impaled

As Moebius speaks, we can see Raziel -- also in the spectral realm -- approaching from behind, armed with the newly-transformed wraith-blade. Moebius doesn't know he's there. Raziel impales him with the wraith-blade, cutting him off mid-sentence, and holds the blade there as he speaks in an intimate snarl over Moebius' shoulder.

RAZIEL Go to your master, then. I release you to the Wheel.

When the purified wraith-blade enters Moebius, it transforms him. We see the room change around them, as the veil is lifted from Moebius' sight. Moebius -- with the wraith-blade still in him -- sees the horror of the Elder God at last.

Moebius' expression changes from confidence to horror -- Raziel sees this transformation, and understands.

MOEBIUS horrifiedOhh... god - no ...

RAZIEL intimate menaceDo you see it now? The monster that you served? Is this what you imagined when you worshipped it?

MOEBIUS in horrorNo...

RAZIEL And in that knowledge, go - and feed it. I release you.

RAZIEL effort as he withdraws the Reaver

Mirroring Kain's recent act, Raziel pulls the wraith-blade from Moebius -- then, opening his cowl, he devours Moebius' soul, thus delivering him to the Elder God.

MOEBIUS prolonged gasp as his soul is devoured

RAZIEL gasping with satisfaction

Raziel looks defiantly up at the Elder God, having destroyed his long-lived and loyal servant.

ELDER GOD laughs menacinglyYour petty actions are irrelevant, Raziel. Moebius was a good servant, but he was of no further use. His long life had run its course. You see? - even when you rebel, you are doing my will.

RAZIEL Perhaps, but something has changed, hasn't it? You didn't foresee Kain's return.

The Elder God dismisses Raziel's statement --

ELDER GOD You have both traced your paths along the Wheel - this is where the journey ends.

RAZIEL You haven't the means to kill either one of us.

ELDER GOD Ah, but you can be stopped. And you will come to understand how oblivion can be a mercy.

The citadel trembles as the Elder God pulls at its very foundations.

ELDER GOD You and Kain will spend eternity buried here together, praying for the merciful release of a death that will never come.

The citadel trembles again, more violently this time, and even in the spectral realm, bits of rock and masonry begin to fall.

RAZIEL V.O. But I was armed with newfound knowledge, and it burned within me...

JANOS V.O. ....redeemer and destroyer...

RAZIEL V.O. Moebius had never seen his master until the Soul Reaver purified his sight. Even the ancient Vampires had no idea what it was they so righteously worshipped.

ARIEL V.O. ....you must unite what has been set asunder...

RAZIEL V.O. All the conflict and strife throughout history, all the fear and hatred, served but one purpose - to keep my master's Wheel turning. All souls were prisoners, trapped in the pointless round of existence, leading distracted, blunted lives until death returned them - always in ignorance - to the Wheel.

KAIN V.O. ...the coin is still turning...

RAZIEL V.O. But what hope had there been? One cannot fight the unseen.

ARIEL V.O. ...only then will the Scion of Balance be armed for his true endeavor...

RAZIEL V.O. It was then I knew what I had to do. I alone could end this.

Then, with ominous finality, the Elder God speaks to Raziel for the last time ­--

ELDER GOD Despair, Raziel. There is no escape.

Raziel glances down at Moebius' corpse, and then looks back up at the Elder God with defiant resolve, a victorious gleam in his eye.

Before the Elder God realizes his intentions, Raziel becomes dissolute and projects his soul energy into Moebius' corpse.

Transition directly into Scene 14.2.

SCENE 14.2 -- Raziel's sacrifice

Suddenly Moebius' corpse comes alive again -- Kain turns as he sees Moebius rising menacingly once more behind him.

MOEBIUS actually RazielKain...

Kain reflexively brings up the Reaver and impales Moebius through the chest once again.

KAIN Do you so enjoy death--

But this time, Moebius responds strangely, with a satisfied:

MOEBIUS actually RazielYes._.._

Then Moebius transforms, and Kain sees that it's Raziel impaled on the blade -- just as Raziel's soul begins to leech out through the sword and into Kain, through Kain, and into the Reaver.

KAIN Raziel? - No -

Kain tries to pull away, but Raziel takes hold of Kain's arm so that he can't.

RAZIEL Yes - this is how_..._

KAIN --No, Raziel!

Kain resists, but Raziel pulls himself farther onto the blade --

RAZIEL The Soul Reaver - pure of all corruption -- this is what it is for. This is what I am for --

-- and puts his right hand over Kain's wounded chest. We see the purifying energy of the Spirit Reaver pass through Raziel and into Kain at this point, and we see the wound heal.

RAZIEL The two become one - both Soul Reavers - together - and the Scion of Balance is healed. And I -- am not your enemy - not your destroyer - I am, as before, your right hand. Your sword.

Kain resists, but more weakly --

KAIN No, Raziel - this can't be the way...

RAZIEL And now you will see -- the true enemy --

Raziel fades as his soul is consumed completely, passing through Kain's body into what is now, finally, the Soul Reaver. Moebius's corpse strikes the floor, lifeless.

KAIN Raziel –

KAIN V.O. And it was then -- I saw.

Amy, is this a strange parallel of Moebius' gesture in the last scene? Does it matter?

Chapter 15

SCENE 15.1 -- Kain battles Elder God

Kain staggers backward, still shocked at Raziel's sacrifice, and trying to comprehend the monstrosity that has just been revealed to him. The citadel trembles, and the Elder God's voice booms within the chamber --

ELDER GOD So... I am revealed to you at last.

KAIN What in hell...

ELDER GOD a little stridentlyI am the origin of Life... the devourer of Death. I am the hub of the Wheel, the purifying cycle to which all souls must be drawn.

KAIN V.O. Had I condemned Raziel to this nightmare when I cast him into the abyss?

The Citadel quakes, causing architecture to topple, and rubble to fall into the pit.

ELDER GOD You may ponder the futility of your ambitions as you spend a deathless eternity beneath a mountain of rubble.

The Citadel rocks again, causing more debris to fall.

ELDER GOD You and your Soul Reaver will go equally mad as the eons pass. The Citadel of the apostates will become your living tomb.

The Elder God moves, and the Citadel trembles again. Stone and masonry begin to tumble down. Kain looks around the room, realizing what's going on, but stands his ground, flourishing the now-transformed Soul Reaver.

KAIN Your words are heartening -

He slashes at the Elder God with the Soul Reaver, causing spectacular damage. The Elder God shrieks as the spirit energy that is his lifeblood flows out. He has never been injured like this before.

KAIN - for you would not fear us unless we could truly do you harm.

Kain slashes again, severing the Elder God's nearest tentacle and causing him to recoil again in terror and pain.

ELDER GOD No! You are nothing!

KAIN False god--

Kain slashes again, severing the Elder God's nearest tentacle and causing him to recoil again in terror and pain.

KAIN --this is the end - the final turn of your Wheel.

Gameplay resumes as the battle begins.

[Note -- we should record the lines above both with and without attack-effort sounds.]

SCENE 15.2 -- Kain defeats the Elder God

Kain defeats the Elder God, causing it to flail in fury and agony -- this sends more architecture toppling, which provides a means for Kain to leap out of the pit.

ELDER GOD You cannot destroy me, Kain - I am the Engine of Life itself. The Wheel will turn... The plague of your kind will be purged from this world... And on that inevitable day, your wretched, stagnant soul will finally be mine.

KAIN In the meantime, you'd best burrow deep.

Kain steps free from the chamber just as the walls around him begin to collapse.

SCENE 15.3 -- Epilogue

Kain enters the Citadel Council Chamber, overlooking the Nosgoth landscape and the smoldering wreck of the Pillars in the distance.

KAIN V.O. Now, at last, the masks had fallen away. The strings of the puppets had become visible, and the hands of the prime mover exposed. Most ironic of all was the last gift that Raziel had given me, more powerful than the sword that now held his soul, more acute even than the vision his sacrifice had accorded me - the first bitter taste of that terrible illusion: Hope.