Kain (Legacy of Kain)

"VAE VICTIS!"

- Kain

Kain is the main character and anti-hero of the Legacy of Kain series, taking the role of villain in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and slowly changing back to hero of the series.

Blood Omen
Kain was a nobleman from the city of Coorhagen. He fled his city due to a plague that was killing everyone. After being refused in a tavern in Ziegsturl, he is murdered by a group of brigands and impaled in their sword. He awakes in the underworld, deeply angered and hungry for vengeance. The necromancer Mortanius offers him a chance to take his vengeance, which he foolishly accepts without considering the costs.

He wakes up in his mausoleum and notices he had been turned into a vampire, though he couldn't care less. Leaving his mausoleum, he finds the brigands and kills them one by one, satisfying his vengeance. But Mortanius reminds him that they were merely the instruments, and not the cause of his assassination, leading him to the Pillars of Nosgoth for answers. There, he finds the ghost of Ariel, who claims his curse will end only after he kills all of the corrupted guardians of the pillars and restore the balance of the land. Without much choice he follows her advice, going after Nupraptor the Mentalist, who was the one poisoning the Circle. After killing Nupraptor, he goes after Malek the Paladin, but is unable to defeat him. He then seeks the advice of the Oracle of Nosgoth, who leads him after the vampire Vorador and also advises him about the King Ottmar and the Legions of Nemesis. He meets with Vorador in his mansion, who gives him a ring in case he ever needs help. He then goes to the Dark Eden, where the guardians Bane, DeJoule and Anacrothe are.

Anacrothe flees at the sight of Kain and summons Malek. Kain then summons Vorador, who fights Malek while Kain goes after Bane and DeJoule. After defeating the two, Kain finds Malek's armor scattered in the ground, signing that Vorador killed him. Next, Kain travels to the city of Avernus, where Azimuth the Planer is summoning beasts from other dimensions to destroy everything. In the large Avernus Cathedral, he finds the legendary Soul Reaver, using it to kill Azimuth and picking a Time Streaming Device that was in her possession. Following the advice of the Oracle of Nosgoth, Kain goes to Willendorf after the King Ottmar to get help to fight the Nemesis, but discovers that the king is mourning for his princess, whose soul had been stole by Elzevir the Dollmaker. Kain then finds and kill Elzevir, retrieving the doll that contained the princess's soul. Ottmar then gathers his army to fight the Legions of Nemesis in the Battle of Last Stand, with Kain helping in the battle. However, Ottmar is killed during the battle, as his army is overwhelmed by the invaders, forcing Kain to use the Time Streaming Device to escape.

Kain ends somewhere in the past and after killing a peasant, he finds out that he was sent fifty years back, also noticing that Moebius the Time-Streamer was after the king William the Just. Deducing Moebius had a hand in turning William into the Nemesis, he decides to slay William. He enters his stronghold and finds the king, who is also wielding the Soul Reaver. Kain slays him and, after dispatching of his soldiers, he conveniently finds another Time Streaming Device, using it to go back to his own era. Once there, he finds no traces of the Nemesis and his legions, but hears the noise of a large crowd and smells the blood of vampires. He finds the crowd, and watches as Vorador is being executed by Moebius, who then sends the mob after Kain, claiming he is the last vampire in the land. Just then Kain realizes he's being playing for a fool all along, as Moebius manipulated him to exterminate all vampires. He kills the mob and defeats the warriors Moebius summons, killing Moebius shortly after.

Mortanius congratulates him and summons him to the Pillars, where the grand finale will be set. Once there, Kain finds Anacrothe and Mortanius arguing, then discovering that it was Mortanius himself who ordered his death so he could kill all the corrupted sorcerers. After Mortanius kills Anacrothe, Kain promises Mortanius he won't escape his fate, but Mortanius had already accepted it, claiming that there's still one more guardian to kill. After killing Mortanius, his body starts to mutate, revealing the true enemy. The Hylden Lord, who had possessed Mortanius, mocks Kain for being his pawn all along. Kain kills him, and just then realizes he is the last guardian of the pillars.

Ariel then gives him the two choices: either he sacrifices himself, ending his curse and restoring Nosgoth but ensuring the vampires's extinction, or he doesn't sacrifices himself, damning Nosgoth forever but allowing the vampires to recover. Out of pure selfishness and angered by the fact that everyone manipulated him all the time, Kain chooses to not sacrifice himself. The pillars immediately shatter, and Nosgoth slowly starts to decay.

Blood Omen 2
Note: these events only happen after the timeline is altered in Soul Reaver 2

After condemning Nosgoth to ruin, Kain builds an army of vampires to start to take over Nosgoth and become it's ruler. However, a mysterious warlord, who actually was the Hylden Lord, recreated the Sarafan Order and started a quest of his own to rule Nosgoth, calling himself the Sarafan Lord. Kain proceeds to Meridian, where he finds the Sarafan Lord and engages him in battle. However, Kain was betrayed by his most trusted lieutenants and felt in an ambush. He is defeated, and the Sarafan Lord claims the Soul Reaver for himself. Kain is thought to be dead, so the Sarafan Lord conquers Nosgoth. After 400 years, Kain awakes on a strange room and is greeted by Umah. She explains that she is a member of the Cabal, a resistance group of vampires, and he were being secured all this time.

Kain immediately resumes his quest to kill the Sarafan Lord, but is forced to take Umah's advice due to his weakened state. Kain finds Faustus, one of the vampires who betrayed him and after killing him, he finds the leader of the Cabal, who is none other than a resurrected Vorador. Vorador tells him to look after the Nexus Stone, the artifact that the Sarafan Lord used to defeat him, if he was to defeat the Sarafan Lord. On his way to the stone, he finds Marcus and Sebastian, two other traitors, and kills them. Sebastian tells him about The Device, an ancient weapon that the Sarafan Lord plans to use to kill all humans and vampires of Nosgoth. He then goes after the Seer to find the location of the Device, and is teleported by her while her house is attacked. Once in the location of the Device, Kain finds an ugly beast who recognizes Kain, telling him that he must find the Builder, the one who created the Device and the only one who knows how to destroy it, leading him to the Eternal Prison.

Once in the prison, he finds the builder who reveals that the Device channels the power of a creature known as The Mass, and only the blood of a Hylden can kill it. The Builder then offers his own blood to Kain. Kain is assaulted by a crazy vampire in the Prison, and after fighting him continuously, the vampire recovers his consciousness, revealing that he is Magnus, one of Kain's lieutenants, that was put in that place by the Sarafan Lord. Kain kills him as a way of mercy, and goes after the Device. He poisons the Mass, killing it and rendering the Device useless. Looking for the beast who led him, he finds that it was Janos Audron, who was mutated due to the Mass's influence.

Janos had been trapped there to feed the Mass. Janos teleports Kain and himself to where Vorador is, and Kain goes to the Hylden city to exact his revenge. He faces the Sarafan Lord and throws the Nexus Stone in the Hylden Gate, which starts to close. Janos appears to help Kain, but is thrown into the gate by the Sarafan Lord. This allows Kain to recover the Soul Reaver, killing the Sarafan Lord and reclaiming Nosgoth for himself.

Soul Reaver
Kain takes over Nosgoth and recreates the vampires. He erects the Sanctuary of the Clans around the collapsed Pillars of Nosgoth, placing his throne in the Pillar of Balance, his pillar. He resurrects the Sarafan Inquisitors as vampires, giving each of them a portion of his soul. Each of his newborn lieutenants create their own clans, which spread throughout Nosgoth. Kain orders the sky to be covered with smoke and all bodies of water to be drought, except the Lake of the Dead, which is a large vortex that Kain used to throw all traitors and weaklings. Most of the humans were wiped out, and few were kept alive just for amusement.

When Kain started to grow bored, he would pit the warriors of each clan into fighting just to keep him entertained. During some centuries, Kain would lay dormant and awake with some kind of evolution, with all of his lieutenants following shortly after. However, one day, his first-born lieutenant Raziel came to his master to show his evolution, a pair of bat-like wings. Raziel couldn't anticipate Kain's reaction: he simply ripped his wings, apparently out of jealously. Raziel was labeled a traitor, and ordered to be thrown into the Lake of the Dead. There, Raziel slowly sank for centuries while being corroded by the acidic water. Strangely, Raziel awoke at the bottom of the Abyss, completely disfigured. He is greeted by The Elder God, who tells him that Kain's abominations were keeping the souls from completing their cycle and spun the Wheel of Fate. He tells Raziel to go after Kain and exact his revenge.

Raziel emerges from the Abyss, only to discover that the vampires had become monstrous beasts during the time he was gone. He goes after his clan's territory, but finds the place desolated. Kain had wiped out all of his clan, which made Raziel even more angry. Raziel finds his brother Melchiah, who tells him Kain only appears where and when he wants. After killing Melchiah, Raziel goes to the Sanctuary of the Clans, where Kain appears, apparently unsurprised by Raziel's miraculous resurrection, but rather expecting him to appear. After some arguing, the two fight, but Kain easily stuns Raziel and attacks him with the Soul Reaver. However, the sword shatters when entering in contact with Raziel.

Kain flees, but Raziel is left intrigued by the fact that Kain was actually satisfied with that outcome. The spirit of the sword fuses with Raziel, becoming a wraith blade. Raziel goes after his other brothers, Zephon, Rahab and Dumah, kills them and follows to the Oracle's Cave, where he senses Kain is hiding. This cave, which was used by Moebius, contained many devices that showed Raziel his future. He then enters the Chronoplast Chamber, where Kain was waiting for him. Kain tells him that he had foreseen all of Nosgoth's history thanks to Moebius's devices, and after a brief fight, invites Raziel into a time portal. Cautiously, Raziel steps on it, and finds himself in front of Moebius.

Soul Reaver 2
Raziel finds himself thirty years before Kain's decision at the pillars, when the circle was corrupted. He is greeted by Moebius, who apparently was expecting him, but Raziel attacks him, knowing his true nature. Moebius reasons with him, telling that he didn't needed to trust him, but since they had a common enemy, Kain, he should follow his advice. Raziel meets Kain at the pillars, who warns him to stay away from Moebius. Raziel is eager to kill Kain, who simply asks Raziel to see what was about to happen. Suddenly, a large shockwave bursts in the sky, and the pillars crack, showing their corruption. This was the moment of Ariel's assassination and Kain's birth, also the moment when Nupraptor corrupts the circle.

Kain metaphorically explains to Raziel about his decision at the pillars, comparing it to a coin tossed. If it falls on one side, he sacrifice himself, but ensure the vampires extinction, thus damning Nosgoth. If it falls on the other side, he doesn't sacrifice himself, ensuring the vampires won't be extincted but damning Nosgoth. Either way, Nosgoth was already condemned, thanks to Moebius's genocidal war against the vampires. But Kain tells about a third option: if the coin is tossed too many times, and falls on it's edge. This is what Kain was seeking all along, and Raziel was the key. Kain vanishes, leaving Raziel wondering. They meet again in the Sarafan Stronghold, where Kain explains that history is already written, and everyone just carry out their predestined paths. Yet, he was able to alter history by killing William the Just, so he explains that Moebius made sure both would be armed with the Soul Reaver. This created a paradox that enabled him to rewrite history, due to the nature of the sword.

He tells Raziel he is the only being who truly have free will, and thus is able to rewrite history. Kain gives Raziel the Reaver blade, because this was the moment when Kain was fated to be killed by him. Raziel's hands are pulled, as the sword draws near Kain to kill him. Kain sits to the floor, waiting for Raziel to Kill him. Raziel uses all his strength and strikes the blade on William's sarcophagus. Soon, everything starts to shake. Kain explains that history abhorred a paradox, and is reshuffling itself to accommodate the changes caused by Raziel's decision. Kain tells Raziel he must seek his own answers and leaves. Raziel decides to go to the past to meet Janos Audron, the one who created the Reaver. He finds Moebius and orders him to operate the Time Streaming Device to take him to the past, but Moebius sends him to the future, one-hundred years after Kain's decision. Raziel travels in the wasteland trying to find a way back to past, and once again meets Kain, who were following him. Kain tells him Janos holds the answers he seek, but dark forces are trying to stop both of them from fulfilling their destinies.

He also tells that Moebius was just a puppet of “them”. Raziel manages to go back to the Age of Sarafan, fifty years before Kain's decision, and finally meets with Janos, who explains that he is destined to save Nosgoth and the Reaver was forged to be his weapon. They are interrupted by the Sarafan Inquisitors, who capture Janos and take Janos's heart. Raziel then sees his human self, swearing to retrieve the heart and kill them all. On the Sarafan Stronghold, he finds the Reaver but is held back by Moebius and Malek, who leave him to confront the Inquisitors. Raziel, armed with the Reaver, kills the Inquisitors and his human self, but then the Reaver turn on him and starts absorbing his soul. Just then he realizes he is the soul-devouring entity inside the Soul Reaver.

Kain appears, and tells Raziel to give on to the blade. When his soul become one with the blade, the space-distortion occurs, signing a paradox is in motion. Kain then takes the blade out of Raziel, creating a paradox. As history reshuffles, new memories start to bloom on Kain's mind, who is horrified by it, telling they had just fallen in the trap of the Hylden. Kain warns Raziel to not resurrect Janos, but Raziel goes back to the spectral realm, very weakened by the sword.

Defiance
Kain, stranded in the Age of Sarafan, goes to the Sarafan Stronghold, expecting to find Moebius to learn where Raziel is. He finds Moebius in an underground chamber. Moebius uses his staff to paralyze Kain and threatens him, telling him his messianic delusions had blinded him to Raziel's true nature. He leaves Kain behind, but Kain goes after him, finding him again in the tower of the stronghold. Before Moebius can do anything, he telekinetically removes Moebius's Staff and demands to know where Raziel is. Moebius claims that Raziel was not in that era, and that he was not what Kain thought he was. After Kain asks for proof, Moebius tells him to go west to the Pillars and vanishes.

Without much choice, Kain goes there, but finds only an empty vista. He initially believes this was just a bad joke by the time-streamer, but he sees a stone tablet with the carving of the Balance Emblem. Kain collects all fragments of the emblem and fits them on the tablet. As the fog disappears, he finally sees the ancient Vampire Citadel. Kain goes to the citadel and breaks on the inner chamber, where a voice calls him. Claiming to be the oracle of Kain's ancestors, this voice tells Kain he can read on his mind and knows he is after Raziel. The voice shows an image of Raziel in the pool, telling Raziel is fifty years in the future, looking for Janos's heart. The voice creates a portal and tells Kain to step on it if he wants to stop Raziel. Kain obviously doesn't trust this so-called oracle, but since he had no choice he goes into the portal, arriving in Avernus in the Blood Omen era. He meets with Raziel, who is under the influence of the Hylden in the place. Raziel is infuriated and wants to kill Kain there and now, but Kain tries to reason with him, telling him he is once again being manipulated. Kain is forced to fight with Raziel, and after a big struggle, he knocks Raziel.

Raziel, in a swift attack, takes out Kain's heart, which is actually the heart of Janos Audron that he had been looking for. He pushes Kain, who falls into a portal and disappears. Just then Raziel snaps back and notices he had being manipulated again. Kain awakes in a strange place, where voices threaten him. He notices that he is in the Demon Dimension, and manages to escape. Kain feels compelled to go to the Vampire Citadel, going there unaware of what had happened there. Kain enters the inner chamber, and finds Moebius, who were apparently resurrected, talking with someone. Kain impales him, but Moebius claims that he serves one who has power over death. Kain examines Moebius's Staff, but Moebius rises again. Kain instinctively impales him, but then his looks change into Raziel. He tries to take out the blade, but Raziel impedes him, telling him he will need the Soul Reaver to fight the "True Enemy".

Raziel uses his spirit-imbued wraith blade to purify Kain from his corruption, as his soul becomes one with the Reaver. Just then, Kain is able to see The Elder God for the first time. Kain then understands that he is the true enemy and engages the large creature in combat, slicing his tentacles and attacking his eye. The Elder God tries to bury Kain under the rubble, but Kain teleports himself out of the place. The true villain had been exposed, and for the first time in his entire life, Kain senses a bit of hope for Nosgoth.