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"That's impossible - these foul, scuttling beasts could not be kin of our high blood."
―Raziel[src]

The vampires of the events of Soul Reaver were the generation of vampires created during the rise of Kain's empire, all of whom are descended from Kain himself.

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Proceeding the Collapse of the Pillars, Kain spent five centuries as the sole remaining Vampire in Nosgoth before finally discovering a way to create vampires himself: by snaring a Soul and using it to reanimate a corpse. Subsequently, Kain, in an act of ironic blasphemy, broke into the Tomb of the Sarafan and breathed part of his Soul into the corpses of six sanctified Sarafan commanders: in order, Raziel, Turel, Dumah, Rahab, Zephon and Melchiah. Thus, a new generation of vampires was born.

As Kain's vampire "sons" raised their own vampire clans (the Razelim, Turelim, Dumahim, Rahabim, Zephonim and Melchahim), the vampire race quickly repopulated, and within a few centuries, the Humans were "thoroughly domesticated," with a few groups of vampire hunters kept around to entertain and provide some challenge. Kain was soon deified amongst the lesser vampires, with his exploits as a fledgling becoming the stuff of legends while few people in Nosgoth, human or vampire, were aware that he was once human.

However, like their progenitor Kain, all vampires inherited the Corruption of the Pillars, which Kain had had from birth. Thus, over the centuries, all vampires in Nosgoth mutated into various beasts.

Nosgoth (icon)Apocrypha[]

The background materials for the multiplayer spin-off Nosgoth elaborate on the history of the events of Soul Reaver and vampires of that age, showing that in the wake of Raziel's execution Kain disappeared, abandoning his empire and using the Chronoplast to search for a way to restore the pillars.[NOS][1][2][3]

The resulting power vacuum sparked infighting and mistrust among among the lieutenants and their clans - which devolved into open conflict, the near extermination of the Razelim and ultimately led to a bloody civil war.[NOS][1][2][3]

With the vampires distracted by their own affairs the formerly subjugated humans were allowed the chance to rebuild and rise to present a credible threat to the vampires.A particularly devastating attack awakened the vampires to the renewed threat posed by humanity and the clans reunited in an uneasy alliance aiming to put down the resistance of humanity once and for all in the War for Nosgoth.[NOS][1][2][3]

Traits[]

Differing from the Vampires of earlier time, each Clan inherited a particular form of mutation and degeneration from their sire, who in turn inherited this corruption from Kain. The Clan heads mutated to a greater degree than their vampiric offspring, often devolving into grotesque monsters, but with abilites far superior than common vampires. To enable these drastic changes from their human selves, the Vampires of Kains Empire underwent a process called Pupating, that marked a time of rapid mutation and accelerated growth. While most adult Vampires where unaffected by the feeble rays of Nosgoth´s sun, blocked by the articial cloud cover provided by the Smokestack, Fledglings were still vulnerable to even this level of sunlight.

The Vampires of Kains Empire showed a higher degree of specialization in contrast to the earlier Vampires and the original Ancient Vampires, owing to their unique corruption. While their arcane powers seem weakened after the full corruption set in, each clans mutation enhanced their physical abilities to an extreme, and often horrifying degree:

The Melchahim were the weakest of the six clans, resulting in constant rotting of their flesh after their clans mutation exceeded a certain point. In the later ages of Nosgoth, their putresence enabled them to graft bodyparts onto themselves, staving of their decay. They nonetheless remained far closer to animated corpses than true vampiric unlife, with their bodies continually decaying and often even consuming the flesh of their prey. At the time of the events of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver the decay had overtaken all efforts to combat it, and the Melchahim even turned the corpses in the Necropolis into vampires.

The Zephonim were slightly stronger then their putrid brethren, and their mutation molded them into spider-like ambush hunters, able to scale almost any surface. They also gained the ability to secrete a spider-like silk to cocoon their prey for later consumption. Entrenched in the Silenced Cathedral the Zephonim created a hive-like sanctuary for their sire, Zephon.

The Rahabim were even weaker to sunlight than the average vampire, but were able to overcome their weakness to water, adopting an amphibian form, with gapings maws and fins for swimming and diving. Members of their Clan would even pupate underwater and were able to spit liquid from their mouths over large distances.

The Dumahim, the most numerous of vampires amongst Kains empire, devolved in a more generic direction, adopting a form more suited to hunting and mauling their prey, likened to scuttling beasts. After the destruction of their clans territory, their scattered members lived like feral beasts. Their tongues were elongated to an extreme degree, allowing fledglings to attack with them.

The Turelim devolved into hulking forms with beast-like heads, broad shoulders and unnaturaly extended ears, similiart to bats. They gained telekinetic abilites in addition to their greatly enhanced strength. Even a single Turelim is a daunting opponent, dwarfing most other Clans members in mass and ferocity.

The Razelim were mostly purged before the full corruption set in, but survivors of the purge showed the same bat-like wings that Raziel gained right before his execution. By the time the events of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver take place, the Razelim are presumed dead, so their further mutations are unknown.

Behind the scenes[]

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Preceded by:
Vampires (era following Blood Omen)
Vampire sub-races
Vampires (Soul Reaver era)
Followed by:
None
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