Provincial Mines

The Provincial Mines
Locations article
The interior of the Provincial Mines as they appear in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain.
Introduced in	Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (1996)
Appearance(s)	Blood Omen

Template:Qlisten The Provincial Mines were a set of underground caverns that were owned and mined by the Lion Throne of Willendorf. Positioned in the hillsides to the west of Willendorf town, the Provincial Mines were featured in the Blood Omen era of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain where they were visited by Kain in the chapter Ottmar's Daughter and acted as something of an ability dungeon for the Beguile form.

Profile

The Provincial Mines were a set of underground caverns and mines visited by Kain in the Blood Omen era of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain that effectively served as the ability dungeon for the Beguile form. The mines were visited by Kain in the chapter Ottmar's Daughter as he traveled to Willendorf to seek an audience with King Ottmar on the advice of Ariel that he must rally the forces of Willendorf to oppose the Legions of the Nemesis. Travelling southward from Avernus to Willendorf, Kain discovered that only those of noble blood could enter Willendorf Castle, with his Disguise Form insufficient to project this image.

As Kain approached Willendorf he recalled the mineral wealth of the city from its mining operations, and the location of the mines: which also contained the tomb of one of Ottmar's ancestors and a blood fountain that could allow him to reassume the visage of nobility. Travelling east from Willendorf to the mines, Kain discovered a cave entrance leading to a series of caverns containing various mining operations. At the heart of the underground complex, Kain discovered the blood fountain which bestowed on him the Beguile form.

Kain was subsequently able to use the ability to enter Willendorf castle and meet with Ottmar and in addition he could converse with ordinary citizens and gain extra information.

Design and Layout

The Provincial mines (entrance top right cave, exit top middle cave) on the East Willendorf map area

Externally the Provincial mines resembled an ordinary cave on a muddy canyon trail trail off to the east of the town area of Willendorf, its entrance protected by white paladins and boulders - ultimately requiring Kain to enter another cave nearby to use a blood fountain to increase his strength before he could enter the mines. Aesthetically the interior of the mines was a regular cavernous rocky interior, generally consisting of that of a set of natural caverns, with rocky brown walls and brown, grey and green rocky floors, although uniquely the caves also contained a large amount of mine-related machinery such as rails, minecarts and buffers.

The interior of the dungeon was divided into seven distinct map areas:

The first save altar area

• The first area consisted of a wide cavern, with the entrance opening to the south and the passage leading to the next area in the north with a floor mural of the Beguile form between them. On the eastern aide of the room, it opened out into a large square chamber containing a save altar.

The first minecart area

• The second area consisted of a wide roughly '+' shaped cavern with a minecart on a rail than ran horizontally across the room, with a buffer at the mid way point. Kain entered from a door on the southern side of the eastern fork where he would be confronted by a single white paladin and could push the minecart along to the center to move around it and reach the other forks of the room. In the southern fork a paladin was positioned along with a flay and a putresce, while two protected a set of the same artifacts in the northern fork. The western fork contained the exit door on its northern side.

The third area of the mines

• The third area consisted of a number of interlocking railway lines in a basic zig zag pattern, with the occasional stalagmite now visible in the tileset. Kain arrived in a doorway in the south of the area where a horizontal rail led east to an intersection guarded by a Paladin, gravedigger and a Miner. At the intersection another rail led north - with a minecart shortly along the way that could be pushed out of the way - to another intersection where a rail led east with a pair of buffers beyond it to the north and the east, guarded by a gravedigger and a miner, and with an alcove behind the northern buffer containing three Flays and a Heart of Darkness artifact. The eastern rail from the intersection led to a track partially blocked by a stalagmite with another minecart to be pushed eastward down the passage populated by a Paladin, Miner and a Gravedigger. The door to the next area was in the northern wall of this passage.

The fourth map area

• The fourth map area was a set of passages in a wide reversed 'c' or ']'shape, with a single vertical rail running down the east of the area. Initially Kain entered from a door in the south west and could follow the passage east where he would be confronted by a Paladin and a Miner. From there the passage narrowed and turned north joining a rail that led northward with a minecart requiring pushing part way along. A stalagmite alongside the rail marked its end and a wide passage led west passing a Paladin and a Miner before reaching the exit door in the northern side of the passage.

The fifth map area and last of the minecart sections

• The fifth map area was the last of the minecart sections and contained a considerably more complex arrangement of zig-zagging rails. The entry door was in the southeast of the area where a rail led west along a narrow passage populated by two paladins, a gravedigger and a miner, with a minecart placed part way along and an alcove on the south allowing Kain to overtake the cart shortly after - an intersection had a rail heading north , although continuing west to the end of the rail led to a Flay artifact. Following the northern rail from the intersection and pushing the next minecart upwards led to a slightly wider square area in the east marked with a couple of stalagmites where the rail intersected with another heading east and a paladin, miner and gravedigger attacked. A buffer on the eastern track id an alcove in the north where a miner awaited with a rune triangle. The rail led eastward to another narrow section where a minecart blocked the passage before opening out into another square section marked by a stalagmite where a miner paladin and gravedigger awaited and the track hit another intersection, with the track now heading north into a narrow section (with a buffer positioned at the southern end). Following the northern track led to an area where the room once again widened to reveal paladin, miner and gravedigger enemies and another intersection marked by a stalagmite. Continuing along the northern track led to an alcove with a blood vial, whereas following the new track east led to another narrow area blocked by a minecart. Pushing the cart to its eastern end at a buffer opened into a small alcove to the south with a stalagmite where a miner and a gravedigger waited. At the end of the track was a floor mural of the Beguile form and a purple magic sphere, with the doorway to the next area in the southern wall.

The Beguile blood fountain

• The sixth map area was a large square chamber containing a blood fountain with a floor mural of the Beguile form in the southwestern corner and by drinking from the fountain Kain would be gifted with the Beguile form. Exiting by the southern door led to the next map area.

The last area of the Provincial mines

• The final map area was an arrangement of zig-zagging caverns, similar to fifth area but without the minecarts and related machinery. Several alcoves were positioned off the main trail but these were all empty and could be ignored; and in addition, Kain could use Beguile to avoid confrontations. Kain began in an opening in the northeast where a wide passage led westward but was blocked by two large boulders. Pushing these out of the way, Kain could continue along passing an alcove in the south and a gravedigger. At the end of the passage a wider clearing was guarded by three gravediggers and three miners, with the main passage narrowing and heading southward and passing another gravedigger before turning westward once again. Three miners and two gravedigger were positioned along the western passage before the trail turned south and passed another grave digger and an empty alcove to the west. The final stretch of the caves led back eastward and was guarded by three miners and two gravediggers before terminating in a small square chamber containing a save altar. The southern exit led to another cave opening just inside the Willendorf township.

Notes

• The Provincial mines are not directly named in dialogue, where they are only vaguely described as "a tomb that contained an ancient forefather of King Ottmar himself.". Both Silicon Knights Blood Omen FAQ The Complete Guide To Legacy of Kain and the official guide do however give the full "Provincial Mines" title.
• The name "Provincial mines" implies that the mines are situated outside of the central power of the Lion Throne and could literally be taken to describing their position outside the Willendorf capital city. The name also describes the heavy mining presence within and the flow of mineral wealth gained from this which supported the prosperous Willendorf.

• The regular Blood fountain design...
• ...and the unique fountain in the Provincial mines

1/2

• The Developers' level select uses the label "BEGL" (relating to the Beguile form) for the dungeon under the "OL8" and "PRES" designations that cover the areas of the Ottmar's Daughter chapter (and this area in general in the Blood Omen era of the First timeline). "OL8B" also leads to the trail between Avernus and Willendorf.
• The area outside the Provincial Mines is grouped in files with other 'overland' locations under the "Map 0001" designation as "Map 0001 Sect 68" (or "M000168). Most of the rest of the mines are counted in files under "Map 0040" (or "M0040") with "Sect20" relating to the initial save altar, "Sect21" relating to the '+' shaped area with a single rail, "Sect22" relating to the first area with zig-zag rails, "Sect23" relating to the ']' shaped area with a single rail, "Sect24" relating to the zig-zag railed area that ends with a beguile floor mural and "Sect26" relating to the final zig-zag rail area that ends with a Save altar. The blood fountain chamber where Kain gains the Beguile form is counted separately to the rest of the level, where it is classified under the "Map 0010" designation reserved for the various blood fountains and is labelled as "Map 0010 Sect 08".

• A minecart in the Provincial mines
• A Gondola in Blood Omen 2
• mining equipment and tracks in BO2
• BO2-TC-SettlementMinecart.png
  The sealed entrance to a mine in BO2

1/4

• Although the mines are initially described as containing "a tomb that contained an ancient forefather of King Ottmar himself", no such tomb is overtly seen in the area and it is unclear what area the 'tomb' would cover - Kain's description could imply the whole area as a tomb that was excavated or simply that the final blood fountain was within the tomb and the mining took place around it - either way no graves or monuments are seen and the murals of the Beguile form and the Blood fountain itself represent the only decoration of any kind within the dungeon.
• The Provincial Mines features a unique design of blood fountain for the gifting of the Beguile form. Every other blood fountain in the game has an identical appearance - a large rectangular chamber which is backed by several skulls on shelves. The Blood fountain in the Provincial mines however is different and is represented by a more cavernous environment with a floor mural of the Beguile ability. The area is still under the "Map0010" designation used for other Blood fountains, with this variant labelled as "Map 0010 Sect08" (or "M001008").
• The Provincial Mines prominently features the use of rail transport or 'locomotive' technologies. Although not featured in the Soul Reaver arc of the series the technology would return in Blood Omen 2, where it was seen used in the gondola technology of Meridian which was used for personal transportation. More similar mining, cart and locomotive machinery was seen and actively manipulated by Kain in the Industrial Quarter and the Canyons areas of Blood Omen 2.

Gallery

BO1-Tile-grp00063.png

"grp00063.ctm"

BO1-Tile-grp00064.png

"grp00064.ctm"

BO1-Tile-grp00164.png

"grp00164.ctm"

BO1-Tile-grp00168.png

"grp00168.ctm"

BO1-Tile-grp00169.png

"grp00169.ctm"

BO1-Tile-grp00170.png

"grp00170.ctm"

BO1-Tile-grp00187.png

"grp00187.ctm"

BO1-Tile-grp00264.png

"grp00264.ctm"

BO1-Tile-grp00273.png

"grp00273.ctm"

BO1-Tile-grp00387.png

"grp00387.ctm"

BO1-Tile-grp00410.png

"grp00410.ctm"

BO1-Tile-grp00438.png

"grp00438.ctm"

BO1-Tile-grp00463.png

"grp00463.ctm"

Appearances

• Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain

See also

• File:Wiki-Icon-DC.png The Provincial Mines at Dark Chronicle (by Marie Tryhorn).
• Beguile
• Ottmar's Daughter
• Willendorf
• Blood fountains