Sarafan zealots

Sarafan zealots
Enemies article
Sarafan zealots in Defiance.
Introduced in	Legacy of Kain: Defiance (2003)
Appearance(s)	Defiance

Sarafan Zealots were a Sarafan variant enemy class that were encountered by Kain in Legacy of Kain: Defiance. They were a "highly skilled" Sarafan class who distinctly wielded twin weapons and were seen in Kain's early Defiance chapters at the Sarafan Stronghold and the Pillars of Nosgoth.

Profile

Sarafan Zealots were troops of the Sarafan faction, encountered by Kain in Nosgoth's early history at the start of Defiance. Sarafan Zealots notably wielded a weapon in each hand - usually twin blades or axes - and could also throw extra blades at Kain from a distance. Their uniform consisted of metallic looking armor with green clothing underneath. Sarafan Zealots were described as "highly skilled ambidextrous warriors" and in addition to their skill, the Zealots were able to take advantage of a "righteous fury" to effectively go into a rage, wildly attacking and becoming "nearly unstoppable". They were of a mid priority in combat - best confronted after the spell casting Inquisitors and ranged attacking Archers, but before the Templars and Crusaders.^{[Defiance][Defiance/3][Defiance/5][Defiance strategy guide]}

Sarafan Zealots armed with different weapons

The Zealots were first encountered in the the third chapter of Defiance Pursue Moebius as Kain explored the Sarafan Stronghold in Nosgoth's early history and could thereafter be encountered throughout the Stronghold areas in that chapter and the Pillars in the following Kain centred chapter Reveal the Guardian Citadel.^{[Defiance][Defiance/3][Defiance/5][Defiance strategy guide]}

Like many of the Sarafan classes in Defiance, Zealots could be 'enhanced' by the spells of Sarafan Inquisitors.^{[Defiance][Defiance/3][Defiance/5][Defiance strategy guide][Defiance manual]}

Notes

• A Knife thrown by a Sarafan Zealot
• The Bone Rain attack of the Feral humans

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• Sarafan Zealots are not named in game. They are however titled as such in Legacy of Kain: Defiance: Prima's Official Strategy Guide where they are classified and grouped along with other Sarafan enemy types.^{[Defiance strategy guide]} Scripts refer to the Sarafan in cutscenes alternatively as "Sarafan Guard" or simply "Sarafan".^{[Defiance][Defiance/3]} The Sarafan Zealots are labelled as "sarafandual" in game files and their weapons as "saraduala", "saradualb" and "saradualc".^[Defiance]
• Like many of the Defiance Sarafan ranks, the design and role of the Zealot Sarafan does not match with the roles seen previous in Nosgoth's early history in Soul Reaver 2. Developer comments revealed that much of Kain's Defiance journey in Nosgoth's early history actually takes place 'some years' after the conclusion of Soul Reaver 2 and the ranks and organisation of the Sarafan may have changed in the interim.^[Defiance] Interestingly the Sarafan Zealots do somewhat match the Sarafan classes seen in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, with classes wielding twin blades and twin axes observed, although they all dressed in the purples shades associated with Malek.^{[Blood Omen]}
  • The Sarafan crusaders artwork with zealot weaponry
  • Twin bladed Sarafan (Blood Omen)
  • Twin axe wielding Sarafan (Blood Omen)

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• Early Sarafan designs resembling for Sarafan crusaders can be seen in artwork for Defiance fan kit, Bonus materials and the former online profile of artist Daniel Cabuco where they can be seen utilizing twin swords - despite this crusaders in the game only wield staff-like weapons and it is the Sarafan zealots that use twin blades.^[Defiance] Ultimately it's probable that the troops colors and weaponry varied through the development of the title and the artwork was produced before the final distinctions were put in place. The accompanying annotation on Cabuco's website also provided some background to the Defiance Sarafan design:

" For Defiance we added Aikido style pants and color coding for the Sarafan.
It supposed to be a few years after SR2, so I evolved the armor from Roman to Crusader style armor"

―Daniel Cabuco

• Many of Defiance Sarafan units bear similar color schemes to the former Sarafan commanders.^{[Defiance][Defiance/1][Defiance/3][Defiance/5]} The uniform of the Sarafan Zealots is a similar color to those worn by the Sarafan lieutenant Turel - who wore similarly green clothing underneath his armor.^{[Soul Reaver 2][Soul Reaver 2/8][Soul Reaver 2/9]} It is possible these colors were intended as a deliberate callback or the Sarafan using the martyred lieutenants as inspiration.^{[Soul Reaver 2][Soul Reaver 2/8][Soul Reaver 2/9]} Turel's green shade was also used for the Turelim banners in the events of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver^{[Soul Reaver][Soul Reaver/2][Soul Reaver/6]}

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• Sarafan Zealots have their own seldom seen ranged attack which involves throwing a dagger at Kain. Although the move is not specifically named or identified as a separate enemy ability it is virtually identical to the Bone Rain ability used by the Feral humans - which despite its name is a thrown dagger rather than a bone.^{[Defiance][Defiance/7][Defiance/9][Defiance strategy guide]}

See also

• Sarafan
• Sarafan crusaders
• Sarafan archers (Defiance)
• Sarafan templars
• Sarafan inquisitors