Nosgoth (cancelled game)/characters

Characters

Established Characters

Kain

The emperor of Nosgoth, treated with god-like reverence among the vampires. Nosgoth suggested that Kain had vanished in the wake of Raziel's execution, implying that he had travelled forward in time to meet with Raziel upon his resurrection.^[NOS] Despite not appearing Kain's influence was felt heavily through the game with his symbol and visage appearing in several map areas, and it was noted that a colossus of Kain stood in his former home Coorhagen.^[NOS]

Raziel

Like Kain, Raziel loomed large in the backstory of Nosgoth but he was not present during the main events of the game. Raziel's evolution and subsequent execution formed the backbone of the Nosgoth story, with Kain disappearing - presumably to meet up with wraith Raziel far in the future - and the remaining clans descending into bloody civil war and virtually wiping out Raziel's clan - the Razielim - as a result.^[NOS]

Much like Kain, Raziel was represented through murals and statues - particularly in the Fane map which was territory of the Razielim. Here a giant statue of Raziel in his vampire form stood, holding a skull and stamping on a downed opponent. The statue appeared to be based on the BBI Lieutenant Raziel figure and bore the same distinctive sword.^[NOS]

Turel

In the aftermath of Raziel's execution and Kain's disappearance, Turel saw himself as the heir to Kain's throne. He was also one of the loudest voices calling for the extermination of the Razielim and the division of their assets. When the other clans disputed his decision, Turel considered it an unforgivable offence and this led to the outbreak of the Vampire Civil War.

Dumah

In the aftermath of Raziel's execution, Dumah was noted to have opposed Turel's claims to the throne. He went along with the extermination of the Razielim, but as the Turelim claimed doominance, Dumah reacted violently and began to seize Razielim assets and their territories for himself - ultimately setting off a conflict with the Turelim that grew to include the other clans in a bloody civil war.

Dumah was also noted to have been a major driving force behind the truce that reunited the vampires for the 'War for Nosgoth' - with the unexpectedly surviving Razielim returning to their former territory which was inhabited by Dumahim and bringin word of the human rebellion. Dumah was credited as shrewd enough to recognise the threat posed by the resurgent humans and the value that the Razielim could add to their cause. Ultimately it was implied that Dumah's staking by human vampire hunters may have taken place during the conflict.

Bane

Bane is mentioned in the background to Nosgoth in the backstory of the alchemists and the red sisters of Avernus - where he and the rest of the Dark Eden triad are cited as an example of the elemental knowledge that was lost and became legend to the Humans under the rule of Kain's empire in the events of Soul Reaver.

From the scant details that survived from the time of the Pillar Guardians, Bane was worshipped as a diety as Bane the Lord of Life. He is also heavily associated with the Scourge of the Wild faction of the Beastmasters who appear to follow a corrupted version of his principles.

DeJoule

DeJoule is mentioned in the background to Nosgoth in the backstory of the alchemists and the red sisters of Avernus - where she and the rest of the Dark Eden triad are cited as an example of the elemental knowledge that was lost and became legend to the Humans under the rule of Kain's empire in the events of Soul Reaver.

From the scant details that survived from the time of the Pillar Guardians, DeJoule was worshipped as a diety as Dejoule of the Holy Light. She is also associated with the Scourge of the Wild faction of the Beastmasters who appear to follow a corrupted version of her principles.

Anarcrothe

Development

Anacrothe was referenced in background to Nosgoth via the red sisters of Anacrothe/Alchemists class. Here he was initially cited along with the other members of the Dark Eden triad as an example of the elemental knowledge that was lost and became legend to the Humans under the rule of Kain's empire in the events of Soul Reaver. After Elustra's destruction of her vampire alchemist masters and subsequent return of the knowledge to humans, she named her order the "red sistes of Anacrothe", honoring the last human known to have possessed knowledge of alchemy.

From the scant details that survived from the time of the Pillar Guardians, Anarcrothe was worshipped as a diety as Anarcrothe the Wise.

Etymology

Prior to 2013, the most recent nomenclature publicly utilized by a Crystal Dynamics employee was "Anarcrothe", by Amy Hennig, which was since been deemed the primary spelling by several fansites. However, promotional material for Nosgoth utilized "Anacrothe" instead - although the variance would return, with some later blogs using the "Anarcrothe" variation.

The Elder God

Although it is not directly named, the Elder God appears to inspre some degree of worship among the humans of the events of Soul Reaver, with few having a clear or unified understanding of what they worship. Shrines often show many-eyed faces and amalgamations of tentacles and marine creatures. Dieties that appear to be inspired by the Elder God include "the Eaters of the Dead", "the Seagrave", "the Salt Lord", "the Saint of Dark Waters" and "the Drowning God" worshipped by the Drowning Men - which is illustrated as a tentacled skull on cosmetic items and other icons.^[NOS]

New Characters

Ancellas

Ancellas was a character mentioned in the backstory of the Drowning Men and Shield Bearers of Nosgoth. Patriarch of the Waters and thus head of the Isle of the Dead and responsible for the death rituals of the city of Meridian and overseeing of the prisoner population of the isle, Ancellas was in charge of the fortress-church when the War For Nosgoth reached Meridian. He was among the first casualties of the Razielim attack on the island.

Elustra

Elustra was a human who came to prominence during the War for Nosgoth in the mid-events of Soul Reaver. Originally a slave to the Melchahim vampire alchemist Laderic, Elustra destroyed his facility and stole the secret of "liquid fire" Naphtha for the humans. Venerated for her actions and her discovery, Elustra became the creator and leader of the red sisters of Anacrothe.

Profile

Abducted from her human kin by Melchahim vampire alchemist Laderic, Elustra was known to have served as a personal slave to Laderic for over two decades whilst he researched and experimented in the production of Naphtha.

For several years, Elustra feigned madness in a bid to increase her chances of survival whilst getting closer to Laderic and his potent new weapon. Thinking Elustra incapable of rational thought, Laderic underestimated her ability to understand his experiments and left vials of Naphtha too close to the her cage.

In an act of suicidal depression, Elustra was able to escape her cage and murder her captor and turning her attention to rest of the facility, she burnt the laboratory to the ground; massacring vampires and human slaves alike and incurring herself massive injures.

Found some time after by nomadic humans, Elustra was cared for and healed by the humans, who began to venerate the woman who had escaped from decades of torture and apparently taken revenge on her former vampire masters for human deaths, unaware that she was responsible for the human deaths.

As she recovered, Elustra donned a mask to hide her injuries and dedicated her life and that of her followers to the last human alchemist known before the vampire rule, long-dead former States Guardian Anarcrothe. Deciding to use the rediscovered alchemical knowledge in her vengeance against the vampires, Elustra followers became the pyrotechnic Alchemists of the newly christened red sisters of Anacrothe, with Elustra as their leader venerated as a prophet of Anacrothe.

Notes

The veneration of Elustra hinges somewhat on a mis-representation of Elustra's actions. The humans who discovered her assumed she had taken revenge on the vampires of Laderic's facility for their massacre of human prisoners and slaves, when in fact these were victims of Elustra's Naphtha fueled rage. Similarly, her veneration of Anarcrothe as the last human alchemist before the vampire rule may also be somewhat mistaken as few records survived from the time of the events of Blood Omen. Notably the spelling of Anacrothe has varied once again.

Eskandor

Eskandor was a Vampire who rose to prominence during the War for Nosgoth in the mid-events of Soul Reaver and came to lead the remains of the Razielim clan.

Profile

As one of the younger vampires of the Razielim clan, Eskandor was due to join the ranks of the clan elders after his pupation began. However, after the outbreak of the Vampire civil war and the destruction of the Razielim elders, Eskandor was among the unknowing Razielim that emerged from the Razielim's final underground city, and he became de facto leader of the remnants of the Razielim.

Eskandor took charge as the Razielim vampires desperately searched for a food source after their hibernation, and it was their discovery of Melchahim and Dumahim vampire corpses at Coorhagen that first alerted the vampires to the human rebellion and growing War for Nosgoth. Eventually Eskandor led the Razielim to their abandoned former territory and discovered it occupied by Dumahim, including Dumah himself.

Ignorant of the conflict that had broken out between the clans, Eskandor was taken for a private audience with Dumah upon his arrival, and it was only then that he realized the true peril facing the remnants of the Razielim: desperate for blood and unable to defend themselves, they would be in great danger of being wiped out at the hands of their brethren unless they proved their worth.

Manipulated by Dumah into believing that Raziel and his clan had betrayed Kain, Eskandor swore an oath to the service of Dumah and persuaded him that his clan could be of great use in putting down the human uprising by relaying information of the human victories at Coorhagen. The emergence of Eskandor and the Razielim ultimately convinced the members of the Council of the threat posed by the humans and ended the Vampire Civil War, encouraging the clans to call a truce in the face of the human opposition and kicked off the human and vampire conflict in the War for Nosgoth. Further council meetings and the backing of both Turel and Dumah against the opposition of their brothers resulted in the solidification of the Razielim's role as aerial tacticians in the vampire armies and Eskandor's role as Razielim sergeant in exchange for their loyalty to the other clans.

When the Razielim underground city and Fane was discovered by Watcher Tychard and assaulted by the Humans, it was at Eskandor's urging that the vampires defended the Razielim stronghold.

Notes

"Eskandor" is the Arabic form of the name "Alexander," meaning "defender of men" in Greek.

Gerik

Gerik was a character mentioned in the backstory of the Drowning Men and Shield Bearers of Nosgoth. A former mass-murderer and prisoner at the Isle of the Dead Gerik was present when the War For Nosgoth reached Meridian and the Razielim attacked the island. Led by Torstein to bind together with his former captors against the vampire threat, Gerik was one of the Shield Bearers that emerged victorious, building the renewed Drowning Men.

Jehoel

Jehoel was a Zephonim commander in the early stages of the Vampire civil war preceding the War for Nosgoth in the mid-events of Soul Reaver. He was mentioned in the background story of Nosgoth's Fane map.

Profile

Jehoel was a commander of the Zephonim clan at the start of the Vampire civil war in the events of Soul Reaver. As Razielim elder Lailah sought to re-inhabit the Fane in the Erebus Mountains she was ambushed by a force of Dumahim and Zephonim commanded by Jehoel. After interrogation, Jehoel tore her head from her shoulders and kept it as a trophy, while her body was reduced to ashes.

Notes

• Jehoel is a hebrew name meaning "Angel of presence". Continuing the naming conventions established in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, "Jehoel" is the name of a biblical angel associated with archangel Michael, who is occasionally referenced as the "chief angel of the Seraphim".

Laderic

Laderic is a vampire belonging to the Melchahim clan. He is an alchemist responsible for the discovery of Naphtha, a liquid fire.

Profile

After poisoning several humans by accident, rendering the humans unusable, Laderic with his fellow vampire associates fled across the Great Southern Sea to avoid confrontation and wrath of their leader, Melchiah. The exiled Melchahim established a settlement and gathered human slaves to perform alchemical tests on them and for their precious skin.

They have continued their experiments and Laderic successfully concocted the naphtha substance, capable of being used equally against humans or vampires. By an act of carelessness, Laderic left few vials of naphtha unguarded and too close to the cage of one his human captives, Elustra. She used the vials to burn through the cage and in her rage killed all of the vampires and slaves alike, including Laderic.

Notes

Eventhough the Nupraptor´s curse didn´t fully develop at this point in time, skins of Melchahim are already beginning to show signs of decay, requiring a supply of humans in order to maintain the composure of their bodies.

Lailah

Lailah was a Razielim clan elder in the early stages of the Vampire civil war preceding the War for Nosgoth in the mid-events of Soul Reaver. She was mentioned in the background story of Nosgoth's Fane map.

Profile

Lailah was an elder of the Razielim clan at the start of the Vampire civil war in the events of Soul Reaver. In the early Soul Reaver era during the fall of the Major human kingdoms, she had been a resident of the Razielim underground city and Fane and served as "matriarch of the Blood bringers" and had overseen the pupation and initial Feeding of the fledgling vampires of the clan. She was one of the last of the clan to leave the Fane on the order of Raziel.

When the Vampire civil war broke out in the wake of Raziel's execution, Lailah recognised the threat to their clan and conspired with fellow elder Sarakiel to secretly move their pupating siblings the underground city. Following the disappearance of Kain, Lailah was convinced the danger had increased and she led a convoy into the Erebus Mountains seeking to re-inhabit the Fane and take up her former role, however she was ambushed by a force of Dumahim and Zephonim commanded by Jehoel. After an interrogation in which she swore that she and her kin were headed to Coorhagen instead, she was beheaded by Jehoel who kept her head as a trophy, while her body was reduced to ashes.

Notes

• Lailah is a hebrew name meaning "night", "born at night" or "dark beauty". Continuing the naming conventions established in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, "Lailah" is the name of a biblical angel associated with reproductive conception. Modern equivalents of the name include "Leila" and "Layla".
• Lailah is the first vampire of the events of Soul Reaver to be confirmed to be female, solidifying that Kain's empire did include female vampires and was not a male-only society. Up until the début of Lailah the gender of devolved vampires had been ambiguous.

Malus

Malus was a member of the Lost Seers of Avernus who discovered Blood fountains for the Humans.

Roxen

Roxen was a member of the Lost Seers of Avernus who first wrought the Prophets signature Revolver weapons.

Notes

• Roxen's new armaments bring with them "whispered tales of a connection between the new armaments and a great Oracle whom Roxen suspected might be another of her own kind". These may reference Moebius the timestreamer and his disguise as the "Oracle of Nosgoth" when Kain first met him in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, and Moebius's museum in the Oracle's Cave - which contained the first appearance of a firearm in the Legacy of Kain series. Alternatively the oracle reference could refer to the Elder God as "the oracle" of the Ancient vampires, or the Seer.

Sarakiel

Sarakiel was a Razielim clan elder in the early stages of the Vampire civil war preceding the War for Nosgoth in the mid-events of Soul Reaver. He was mentioned in the background story of Nosgoth's Fane map.

Profile

Sarakiel was an elder of the Razielim clan at the start of the Vampire civil war in the events of Soul Reaver. In the early Soul Reaver era during the fall of the Major human kingdoms, he had been a resident of the Razielim underground city and Fane and served as "prime custodian of the Eternal Shrine" - presumably responsible for the feeding of the fledgling vampires of the clan. At the orders of Raziel, he left the Fane for the world above ground.

When the Vampire civil war broke out in the wake of Raziel's execution, Sarakiel recognised the threat to their clan and conspired with fellow elder Lailah to secretly move their pupating siblings the underground city. Following the disappearance of Kain, Sarakiel began to have his doubts on their course of action but was arguably convinced by the fate of Lailah - slain by a force of Dumahim and Zephonim commanded by Jehoel as she led a convoy into the Erebus Mountains seeking to re-inhabit the Fane and take up her former role.

As the Razielim became the target of the other clans, the evolved and fully winged Sarakiel took to the skies and abandoned the overrun Razielim clan territory above ground leading a convoy of elders north to the underground city and the fane, but they were soon discovered and assaulted from all sides by their brethren. Deliberately avoiding giving away the position of the underground city, Sarakiel and his followers fled further beyond Dark Eden, but could not find respite and one by one the company perished. Sarakiel's corpse was never recovered.

Notes

• Sarakiel (alternatively Sariel and several other variants) is a hebrew name meaning "command of god". Continuing the naming conventions established in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, "Sariel" is the name of a biblical angel associated with the earth, primordial power or "eternity and tremblimg".

Speyr

Speyr was a human who held authority over the city of Meridian as Chancellor of Meridian in the mid events of Soul Reaver seen in Nosgoth.

Speyr was responsible for finding a solution to the criminal problem of the city by sending undesirables to the Patriarch of the Waters in the Isle of the Dead to work off their debt to society. Ultimately this led to the creation of the Shield Bearers of the Drowning Men.

Torstein

Torstein was a character mentioned in the backstory of the Drowning Men and Shield Bearers of Nosgoth. A Marshall-in-arms, Torstein was responsible for overseeing the prisoners of the Isle of the Dead and presumably reported to Patriarch of the Waters Ancellas. Torstein was present when the War For Nosgoth reached Meridian and the Razielim attacked the island. Torstein led the former overseers and prisoners to fight together to overcome the force of the Razielim and emerge victorious, building the renewed Drowning Men.

Tychard

Tychard was a veteran Scout of the Watchers in the War for Nosgoth in the mid-events of Soul Reaver who dicovered the location of the Razielim underground city for the Humans. He was mentioned in the background story of Nosgoth's Fane map.

Profile

Tychard was an experienced veteran Scout of the Watchers of Dark Eden in the mid-events of Soul Reaver of the War for Nosgoth. After the emergence of the fledgling Razielim led by Eskandor from the Razielim underground city and the Fane, Tychard was one of the humans sent to scour the Erebus Mountains between Dark Eden and Coorhagen in search of their lair.

Along with two others Tychard was caught in an avalanche which claimed the lives of his comrades. However Tychard survived and discovered the Snow drift had exposed a cave in the mountains which led down into the now deserted Fane. Soon after Tychard returned with an army of men to occupy this remote fortress.