The Vampires of the era following Blood Omen were the third generation of Nosgoth's Vampires. Preceded by the Ancient vampires and the formerly-Human Vampires sired by them, this generation traced its entire lineage back to Vorador and presumably did not exist before the fourth timeline, which included Vorador's resurrection.
History[]
With the Vampire hunting crusades of Vampire hunters in the Pre and events of Blood Omens, the second generation of Vampires was reduced to a single Vampire and apparently eliminated when Vorador was killed at the climax of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, leaving Kain as the last surviving Vampire in Nosgoth . Though Kain held ambitions of ruling Nosgoth, he was as yet unable to raise Vampires himself.[1] This situation changed with the (as yet unexplained) resurrection of Vorador,[2] who allied himself with Kain and agreed to assist in the revival of the Vampire race, personally siring the first of a new race of vampires.[1]
Many of these Vampires would join with Kain's vampire army as it rose and attempted to conquer Nosgoth, clashing with the new Sarafan in the process. After claiming the cities of Ziegsturhl, Provance and Freeport, the Vampire Army was utterly defeated by the Sarafan in a battle outside the city of Meridian, and Kain was left for dead[Blood Omen 2] (Though Vorador did reclaim and hide Kain's unresponsive body[3]). With the victory of the Sarafan a few Vampires pledged themselves to the Sarafan Lord, while the rest of the race was ruthlessly hunted down.
For the next two centuries, under Vorador's command, the remains of the vampires organised into an underground resistance movement, the Cabal, which secretly opposed the Sarafan rule of Nosgoth. The resistance did not appear to fare well against the Sarafan's Glyph magic [4] and by the time of Kain's revival, the Vampire race had once again been reduced to a handful of individuals. After his revival, Kain found and met with the Cabal Vampires in their headquarters at Sanctuary and Kain allied with the Cabal, despite fully intending to follow his own ambitions.
Kain's brazen approach, though risky, uncovered many secrets and resulted in the deaths of many 'traitor' vampires, the recovery of the Nexus Stone, the destruction of the Device and the Hylden Gate and ultimately the death of the Sarafan Lord and Kain's recovery of the Soul Reaver. The Cabal Vampires however largely absent from Kain's final victory[Blood Omen 2]; Kain had killed Umah for her betrayal in the Wharves [5] and of the other Cabal Vampires, only Janos and Vorador (both Vampires of earlier generations) joined the final assault on the Hylden City [Blood Omen 2].
Ultimately the fate of this generation of Vampires remains unclear; its only remaining living representatives at the end of Blood Omen 2 were the five unnamed Cabal Vampires, none of whom joined the attack on the Hylden City[Blood Omen 2]. If Umah's suspicions were correct then Kain may have chosen to eliminate this generation of Vampires before raising his own[6]; though the possibility remains that they and Vorador survived in some form into Kain's empire.
Notes[]
- This generation of Vampires presumably did not exist prior to the sparing of Raziel by Kain, caused at the end of Soul Reaver 2, which facilitated Vorador's resurrection sometime shortly after the collapse of the Pillars of Nosgoth.[2] In prior timelines, the third known generation were the Vampires of the Soul Reaver era, whose progenitor was Kain.[7]
- Though other vampire generations had unique methods of creating vampires, it is unclear if this is true of this generation of vampires. All that is known about their method is that it takes "time and energy"; though the process is presumably little different to the (similarly unknown) method used by the previous generation of Vampires. Thus their status as a 'new race' is based entirely on their descent from a single patriarch, Vorador.[1]
- In Blood Omen 2 (produced by a separate team from the rest of the series), a number of concepts related to vampirism were introduced, named or subtly redefined: including "dark gifts" as a term for specific Vampire Abilities;[8] "Lore" as a term for a vampire gaining increased blood capacity from consuming blood;[9] "Absorbing veins" as a means of 'stealing' anothers Dark Gifts (apparently also related to Blood consumption),[10] "Floating" as a means of slowing descent;[11] and "the Whisper" as a form of telepathy.[12] Many of these concepts (with the exception of Floating[13]) have not been seen or referred to as such before or since and it is unclear if these are universal vampire traits (or even the 'proper' vampire names for them) or unique to the Blood Omen 2 era Vampires. Many of these concepts are related to other similar, but differently named concepts throughout the series.
- The appearance and clothing of the Vampires in Blood Omen 2 was designed to be "otherworldy yet elegant". The clothing style was supposedly dictated by Kain during his rule and was inspired by the "old nobility" of Nosgoth.[14]
- The relatively young vampires of this generation were all depicted with human-like hands and feet, as opposed to the cloven hooves seen in older vampires (Kain is also depicted in the same way, himself still quite young at this stage)[Blood Omen 2]. Many of the vampires of this generation were mature enough to have begun to develop formidable claws[Blood Omen 2].[15]
Gallery[]
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Vorador: "It serves. But time is short. The Sarafan's power grows by the day. Soon our every haven will be destroyed. We are facing extinction once again."//Kain: "They thought once before they had destroyed us. Yet you proved them wrong. You created a new race, something I could never do, and from that race, I had my army."//Vorador: "Now we are divided, and dying."//Kain "Then rouse yourself – make more of our kind."//Vorador: "It takes time and energy to create a vampire. I have not the strength. No, as Umah told you, we must kill the Sarafan Lord. When he is dead, their power will crumble. You have come far already, Kain, and proven to be our greatest ally. We must plan our attack." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Resurrection of Vorador at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln)
- ↑ Umah: "That you awoke at all is a miracle. When we found you, there was but the barest thread of life left in you. We nurtured it, fed it, and now you rise and walk again."//Kain: "And what is this place?"//Umah: "You are in the city of Meridian, capital of the Land of Nosgoth, the land you once sought to conquer and rule. Tell me, since you remember your name, do you also remember your nature?"//Kain: "Of course." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
- ↑ Kain: "They have not succeeded, however."//Umah: "Not yet, and now, with your help, it is our hope to crush the Sarafan, and restore order to the city."//Kain: "The natural order? Vampires preying upon humans?"//Umah: "Naturally."//Kain: "You said "our hope." Who are you?"//Umah: "We are the Cabal, the vampire resistance. We work to undermine the Sarafan at every turn. But we are losing. With the new magic they employ, the Glyph Magic, they are able to find us and kill us. Our numbers are dwindling. Without help, we will not survive. We need you, Kain." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
- ↑ (~Kain rounds a corner and sees Umah, bleeding and backed to the edge of the water. A Sarafan Knight is closing slowly in on her, his sword in front of him. Two other Knights are lying dead on the ground. From Umah's point of view, we see Kain appear from the shadows behind the Knight and kill him. Umah's wounds are dire.~)Kain: "We meet again, Umah."//Umah: "Kain…"//Kain: "Yes, Kain. I thought you were to bring the Sarafan Lord to his knees?"//Umah: (~coughs blood~) "I thought…"//Kain: "I know."//Umah: "It seems….I was wrong. I could not carry the fight…alone"//Kain: "You were brave to try."//Umah: "Kain….I'm dying…"//Kain: "Yes. You are."///Umah: "I need your blood…please….you can save me…"//Kain: "I know."(~He reaches down and takes back the Nexus Stone, kneeling down beside her.~)"Tell me, child. Do you see me ruling Nosgoth?"//Umah: "Yes…yes, I see it now…"//Kain: "And do you believe that Nosgoth rightly belongs to me?"//Umah: "…I do….I do believe it, Kain. Please…"//Kain: "Then you may die, knowing the truth."(~Kain rears his claws back, and plunges them into her chest.~)//Umah: "No!!!!"//Kain: "You should never have betrayed me. You could have been my queen."//Umah: "Kain…"(~Umah falls back, dead.~)//Kain: "Now you have left me alone." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
- ↑ Umah: "Vorador has told me all your stories, Kain. He said that you would stop at nothing to achieve your great ambition: absolute power. And when you control Nosgoth, are we to believe that you would let us vampires live, and "do what we wish?" We are the only ones who could stand in your way. No, you will have to hunt us down and kill us, and how is that different from the rule of the Sarafan Lord?"//Kain: "I will not defend or explain my actions to you, Umah. No one, not even you, will stand in my way."//Umah: "I thank you, Kain, for giving us this chance to defeat the Hylden for all time. But you have done enough. I shall be the one to find and kill the Sarafan Lord, and Nosgoth shall belong to the vampires once again."//Kain: "You fool, you have not the smallest chance of surviving such a battle. Now give me the Nexus Stone, or I shall pry it from your thieving fingers as you convulse in death."//Umah: "Now the beast shows his true nature, and so quickly, too. I wish it had been otherwise for us, Kain. Farewell." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
- ↑ ~A millennium has passed since Lord Kain set his capital in the ruins of the Pillars of Nosgoth and began his conquest of the world. His first act was to recruit a cadre. Dipping into the underworld, Kain snared six souls and thus birthed his lieutenants, of which I, Raziel, was one. We, in turn prowled the twilight of purgatory building six legions of vampires to pillage Nosgoth.~ Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver manual. (Eidos Interactive). (August 16, 1999) Download.
- ↑ Umah: "In addition to our physical superiority, vampires also possess Dark Gifts. These are our supernatural abilities. Our curse develops differently in each of us, giving us unique powers. Much of your former power, Kain, has been weakened during your long hibernation. But you yet retain a single Dark Gift." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2 (Eidos Interactive). (2002) Transcript.
- ↑ Umah: "Blood is your life. Without it, you will die. If you are wounded, seek out blood to restore your vitality. You must know, too, that by drinking the blood of others, you will gradually become stronger, and harder to kill. We call this a vampire’s Lore. The more creatures you drink from, the more Lore you will gain, and the greater your health will become. Leave no enemy alive, Kain. You will need their blood and their Lore to survive. Now, let us continue." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
- ↑ Umah: "You would be lucky to survive one such encounter, until you grow stronger. But should you prevail, then you will be able to absorb their veins, and thus gain new abilities." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
- ↑ Umah: "Excellent. Know that you also have the ability to float. When you are on a ledge, such as this one, you may land silently and carefully by floating down. This will be important when I train you to kill. Now, follow me." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
- ↑ Umah: "Kain – do not be afraid."//Kain: "Hah – what magic is this?"//Umah: "I am using the Whisper, Kain, a natural ability of vampires. In this way, we can keep in contact even over great distances."//Kain: "Yes, I remember now."//Kain (V/O): "She had been in my thoughts. I almost believed I had called her myself."//Umah: "Never fear, I cannot read your thoughts, but only speak into your mind, and hear you in return. Now, proceed down this street. I shall be waiting." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
- ↑ "Floating Descent: When Jumping or falling, Kain can slow his descent to land silently and with greater accuracy. *While in mid air hold down the X button to slow your descent./ *Release the X button to resume your normal descent." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Defiance manual.pg 17. (Eidos Interactive). (November 11, 2003) Download.
- ↑ GS Blood Omen 2 Designer Diary #1(Page 2) at GameSpot (by Steve Ross)
- ↑ Umah: "We are all armed with a natural weapon: our claws. Use them to kill your enemies. You can practice by attacking me." Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
Browse[]
This article is about the generation of Vampires which existed in the post-Blood Omen era, in the fourth timeline; for other Vampire generations, see Vampires.
Preceded by: Vampires (second generation) |
Vampire sub-races Vampires (post-Blood Omen era) |
Followed by: Vampires (events of Soul Reaver) |