The Unused Artifact was an item that was cut from Legacy of Kain: Defiance. The role of the item in the final product is unclear. In the finished game it can be found in the secret debugging room "artifact1a".
Profile[]
The unused artifact is an item that was originally intended for use as a puzzle item in Legacy of Kain: Defiance. The item was ultimately cut from the final game and can only be found in the retail version of the game using Debug menus, where the item can be found among the menagerie of items in the secret debugging room "artifact1a". The item can be picked up and placed in the inventory but not selected or used.[Defiance][1][2]
Other unused placeholder items can be found in the artifact room such as the Crimson Chalice of Evisceration, the Mystical Gold Chalice and the Blue Chalice - however the design of unused artifact suggests that it was intended for use and the symbology of the crow and dragon implies that it would have been related to Vorador and his mansion - possibly appearing in the chapters Find Vorador or Battle Kain. [Defiance][1][2]
The Unused item in the small window of the inventory
Visually, the item appears as circular grey shield-like item with four bronze or golden prongs extending from the outer layer and each one bending in a clockwise direction. On the face of the item a circular design was inscribed, with the head of a dragon curving around and eating its own tail - resembling the symbolic ouroboros sign. On the inside of the dragon insignia was a golden disc bearing a crow design - this featured an impression of the bird facing the mouth of the dragon with wings by its side and claws raised in front of it, with its tail curving back along the inner circle toward the dragon.[Defiance]
Notes[]
- The unused artifact is not named in game and its intended name is unknown. Any attempt to select the item in the inventory causes the game to crash - so it cannot even be highlighted in the screen. Texture files refer to the object as "vd_key_cd", suggesting the item could be related to Vorador's Crest and the two pieces of the crest discovered in his mansion in the chapter Find Vorador - which are labelled as "vd_key_a" and "vd_key_b" respectively.[Defiance][Defiance/8][1]. The title "Unused artifact" originates at The Lost Worlds which used the description in its page on the "artifact1a" room.[1]
The texture of the Unused artifact
- Bearing a notably shield-like design, the unused artifact may bear a design associated with the cut Raziel's shield, however its file designation clearly associates it as a key item rather than a weapon or power-up.[Defiance][1][3]
- The Unused artifact notably contains an Ouroboros design, albeit using a dragon rather than the snake design typically used in the series - although dragon versions are often found in real-world ouroboros designs.[4] The sign usually symbolizes an eternally repeating cycle and is seen throughout Soul Reaver 2 and Legacy of Kain: Defiance.[4][Soul Reaver 2][Defiance] Similar designs can be seen in the Chapter House of the Sarafan Stronghold,[Soul Reaver 2/1][Defiance/1] in the Air Forge of Soul Reaver 2[Soul Reaver 2/6] and in the designs of the Vampire Citadel in Defiance among others.[Defiance/7] Another ouroboros-like artifact would feature later in Defiance in the shape of the Golden Ouroboros held by Janos Audron which was used to open the Spirit Forge.[Defiance/12]
- The unused artifact uses animal symbols of the dragon and the crow or raven - both frequently associated with Vorador.[Blood Omen/6][Soul Reaver 2/3][Defiance][5][6] Along with the texture designations, these also suggest that the item may be related to Vorador's Mansion - with other collectibles found in the mansion also using similar animal symbols such as the Silver Half of Vorador's Crest containing a crow and the Gold Half of Vorador's Crest containing a dragon. When fully assembled Vorador's Crest, somewhat resembles the design of the unused artifact, with a virtually identical crow component although a more traditional 'oriental' arrangement is seen for the dragon than the ouroboros of the shield.[Defiance][Defiance/8][Defiance/12]
See also[]
The Artifact 1a Room at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln)- "artifact1a"
- Blue Chalice
- Mystical Gold Chalice
- Crimson Chalice of Evisceration
- Vorador's Crest
- Gold Half of Vorador's Crest
- Silver Half of Vorador's Crest
- Vorador
- Vorador's crows
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The Artifact 1a Room at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Debug Menu (Defiance) at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln, Andrew Fradley and CMX)
- ↑ A Shield for Raziel at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ouroboros at Wikipedia
- ↑ A few questions at DCabDesign (by Paradoks), post #9 (by Daniel Cabuco)
- ↑ Vorador's symbol at DCabDesign (by Voradors), post #2 (by Daniel Cabuco)
