Vorador's sword

Vorador's Hybrid Sword was a blade wielded by the vampire Vorador across several of Nosgoth's eras. It appeared in both Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Legacy of Kain: Defiance, and was depicted in a Soul Reaver 2 mural.

Profile[]

During the slaughter of the Circle in Nosgoth's early history, Vorador's first victim was the active Martyred Guardian of the Mind.^{[Blood Omen/1]}^[1] He powerfully "[ripped] through" the Guardian with his sword, immediately killing him before confronting the other Guardians, and Malek.^{[Blood Omen/1]} The sword was powerful enough to disorient Malek and withstand blows from his pike, and Vorador used it again in the events of Blood Omen to lay his old adversary to rest.^{[Blood Omen/7]}

When Raziel time-traveled from the events of Soul Reaver to the history preceding Blood Omen in pursuit of Kain, he emerged in the Sarafan Stronghold, just next to the Circle's gathering-room (where Vorador's attack had taken place). Moebius relayed the story of the massacre of the Circle of Nine, and showed him murals commemmorating each Guardian's death. The tribute to the deceased Balance Guardian depicted Vorador with the blade.^{[Soul Reaver 2/1]}^[2]

In the fourth timeline, Raziel discovered Vorador in his mansion, equipped with the sword.^[Defiance/8] Vorador initially threatened Raziel with it, moving at a "supernaturally swift" pace to bring the blade to his throat; this confirmed that he was a "master swordsman", corroborating evidence that he had forged the Soul Reaver.^[Defiance/8]^[Defiance/6] He was not given cause to use it in combat, however; he relented when Raziel expressed his plight.^[Defiance/8]

Later, after ostensibly killing Kain and retrieving the Heart of Darkness, Raziel returned to the mansion to find Moebius and his mercenary army, having recently captured Vorador. Moebius had the sword on his person, and threw it at Raziel's feet as proof of his triumph. He conceded, though, that Vorador had exacted "a considerable price in Blood" before his defeat.^{[Defiance/12]}

Behind the scenes[]

For its debut in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, Silicon Knights designed Vorador's weapon by hybridizing the hilt of the Bone Sword (a weapon which was cut from the game during production) with a shorter version of the Soul Reaver's blade.^[3]^[4]

Vorador's sword made a return to the series in Legacy of Kain: Defiance.^[Defiance/8]^{[Defiance/12]} It was not made explicitly clear in the game that this was the sword he possessed in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, but series artist (and Legacy of Kain: Defiance art director) Daniel Cabuco has confirmed that they are one and the same, and that Vorador himself forged it: "The original Vorador weapon was way too close to the reaver, so we sort of retconned it with the sword you see him carrying. It made more sense since he's a blacksmith that he'd make a more signature looking weapon. It makes much more sense this way.. I think of BO1 as the TV version and Defiance as the Movie version in terms of interpretation."^[1]

The Hybrid Sword is not given a formal name in the games. The script for Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain calls it a "jagged sword", and Silicon Knights simply referred to it as "Vorador's sword" in The Complete Guide To Legacy of Kain, their Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain guide and FAQ.^[3]^[5] Legacy of Kain: Defiance's script also refers to it under this name, and describes it as a "sword of unique design".^[Defiance/8]^{[Defiance/12]}

Notes[]

The Hybrid Sword is not seen with Vorador in Blood Omen 2, and it is unclear what became of it after his mansion was ransacked in Legacy of Kain: Defiance.^{[Blood Omen 2]}

The Sarafan Stronghold mural of Vorador's attack on the Balance Guardian depicts him with his Hybrid Sword as it appears in Legacy of Kain: Defiance, but he was not actually seen using the sword against her in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain; it was the Dimension Guardian he killed with the blade. The Balance Guardian was instead slain with a Flay artifact.^[1]^{[Blood Omen/1]}^[2]