[REPOST] Warp's answers from Amy

[blincoln]

[ Reposted from the old SR2 forum, original post by Warpsavant ]

I got these answers from Amy and she said some other cool stuff, and she said I could share the answers with everyone at the forum, so I can post it here so you can all see. I included the intro too, as I thought it was really good.

Another side note -- I do read all the LoK message boards and forums as regularly as possible, so people should understand that we do see and consider all of their feedback, even if we don't participate openly on the boards. They should know that the forums are a "direct line" to us, and we consider everyone's questions, concerns, frustrations, etc. as we develop the SR games.

I see on some boards (particularly the GameFAQs board) some longtime fans noting perceived inconsistencies in the LoK fiction, and questioning our research and familiarity with BO:LoK's story.
I don't know if you've encountered this, but I'd want to assure those people that I do in fact know the LoK history/mythology inside and out, having worked on it since mid-'95. I also have a lot of unique information that none of the fans are privy to -- including a year of collaboration with SK on BO:LoK, and all the original BO:LoK design documents that were created over that game's 3.5-year development (including a lot of cut or altered material).
So many things were left vague and open to interpretation in BO:LoK, that generally these "inconsistencies" are simply a matter of my interpretation of the material not matching a fan's interpretation. And of course there are those elements which are inconsistent or illogical within the BO:LoK story itself (or between the various LoK sources, including the FAQ and the strategy guide), which I've done my best to re-frame or clarify within the sequels.

And a final note -- we do in fact make mistakes sometimes. Or more often there are times when an artist might misinterpret or misrepresent something, and we have no time to go back and fix it, because it's considered a minor ("C") bug and there are more important things to address before the game is released. With all our care and desire for depth and consistency, in the end this is a business and we're constantly under pressure from the publisher. As a result, certain things that we -- as artists -- think are important still get left on the cutting room floor, or go unfixed, because there's simply no time.

Okay, after that long-winded introduction, on to the questions --

Bo/Sr2

Q: What was Voradoor before Janos made him a vampire?
A: Vorador was a human being. In the eras depicted in BO:LoK, Vorador was already an ancient, highly-evolved vampire (which is why his appearance is so "inhuman"). So the human Vorador was born in a much earlier, more "primitive" period within Nosgoth's history.

Q: How did Janos make Voradoor-like Kain made Raziel and his sons, or like
Mortanius made Kain? Was the way Kain made and the way Kain created his
brethren the same? Howd Voradoor make his children?
A: Without going into too much detail, there are various ways a vampire can be born/created.
The ancient/original Vampires (like Janos) had one method, by which Vorador was raised, and by which Vorador would also raise his vampire offspring. This would be a more "traditional" method, where the vampiric curse is passed from one vampire to a human.
Mortanius raised Kain by necromancy -- this gives Kain a unique vampiric heritage.
Because of this unique heritage, Kain's method of creating his vampire "sons" is also unique -- rather than using the traditional "blood" gift to create a vampire, Kain must donate a portion of his spirit. By breathing a portion of his soul into a corpse, that creature's soul is drawn back into the body and the creature is resurrected as a vampire. This is how Kain raised his six lieutenants in the Tomb of Sarafan.

Q: The blue ancients, reproduce like humans, until they get the Blood Curse,
then they are infertile for whatever reason, thus they die out. This is why
they are extinct right?
Except for Janos and maybe Raz
A: That's partially right. Before the blood curse, the ancient Vampires could reproduce; following the curse, they became immortal but could no longer reproduce offspring. They could only pass on their vampiric gift/curse to human "offspring" (as Janos did to Vorador).
But this isn't necessarily why they were extinct.

Q: Why was the Circle defenseless? Their magic fails in the cut scene, Moebius
even says they are defensless in Sr2. Is it becasue Malek was not there, or
their magic failed? What were they doing in there? And where was Mortanius
all this time? Off getting possessed??
A: This has not yet been revealed.
At the time (as represented in BO:LoK's FMA), certain members of the Circle were watching and guiding the movements of the Sarafan via the "viewing basin" in the chamber.
Mortanius' whereabouts have not been revealed.

Q: Did Voradoor follow raziel to the Stronghold, or the Sarafan, or is just a
giant coincedence that V shows up, when the Circles magic fails, and Moebius
and Raziel are distractng Malek?
A: This is intentionally unexplained. It's not exactly a giant coincidence, when you consider the event which precipitated both Raziel's and Vorador's infiltration of the Stronghold...

Q: What exactly is the meaning of the Lost City? I know its just a place for
secrets, but who made it? The fact that this city appears to be UNDER the
Lake of the Dead, and the Lake of the Dead is where the Abyss is, always made
me think there was some connection. I know this oe may be a gameplay issue,
but thats why I asked like who made the place? Like who lived there?
A: This has not been revealed. There is a connection, though.

[blincoln]

Q: Did Kain ever get a token (binding item) When he finally made his way to the
pillars they were corrupt and incapable of giving him a binding item I would
think. But this was interesting question I had to put it down. =)
A: This is an important question (and brings up the major "inconsistency" complaint of the fans on the GameFAQs board).
The Balance Guardian is different from the other Guardians -- he/she is the hub, the still point around which all the other Pillars principles turn. As such, the Balance Guardian does not have a traditional binding item. The Balance Guardian's very soul is the thing which binds him/her to the Pillar.
Q: When did Malek gets fused? Right after the circle was killed, or shortly
after? When Morty fuses him he says serve US for eternity. But its only him
and Moebius left. Or are the other circle members allready choosen at this
point?
A: Malek gets fused to his armor not long after the slaughter of the Circle (though it hasn't been explicitly mentioned yet exactly how much time passed). When Mortanius says "US" he means the Circle as an entity. Remember that following the murder of the six Guardians, six new Guardians would born already destined to take their place -- they may not have been discovered or adopted into the Circle yet, but their destinies would already be unfolding.

Q: Same with Anacrothe, he says serve us Morti or die. Morti then kills him.
When Anacrothe said this, he had just called Kain a monster, and everyone
else in the Circle is dead. So who is the US Anacrothe means?
A: Actually, Anarcrothe says "Stand with us, Mortanius, or die" (which is a little different than "serve us")
When he says "us," Anarcrothe also means the Circle as an entity -- but there's a deeper meaning, too, which hasn't been revealed.

Q: THEN LOL the Dark Entity emerges, and is like my silencing of Ariel...I was
like that means murder, but in Sr2 Raz says the gaurdians invited the dark
Forces themselves, and Ariel knew! She was like Kain handed them their
victory. So did Ariel know something? Alot of people say they want more
Ariel, too. I thought her scene was very important, but other people wanted
more Ariel.
A: Ariel knows more than she's ever let on. There's a lot more to the Circle's corruption than was revealed in BO:LoK.
Ariel is a significant character, and plays a pivotal role in Nosgoth's destiny (which is why she was included in SR2, even though she only got one scene).

Q: And now, is Hash the demon at the end!? It says no where that he is or isnt.
In fact, only time Hash is mentioned is under Avernus. But nothing directly
states that demon is in fact Hashakgik, its only the Dark Entity. Thats why
he is the Unspoken, everyone fears his wrath if they say his name.
A: hehe, I just wrote Chris a response to this question, so he could post it on the forum.
Here's what I told him: The entity who confronts and speaks to Kain at the end of BO:LoK is indeed the being alternately known as "the Unspoken," the "Dark Entity" and "Hash'ak'gik". But does the deformation of Mortanius' flesh that it uses to manifest represent its true form ? ... that question is still open to speculation...

I also included the following info:
To clarify, the being referred to as the "Dark Entity", the "Unspoken" and "Hash'ak'gik" are all the same entity. This was left very vague in BO:LoK, but clarified in SK's FAQ and in the dialogue scripts themselves.

Just so you know -- the being is never called "the Dark Entity" in the game; this is just what the being is called in the stage directions of the dialogue scripts, and this is what SK calls it in their FAQ.
When Ariel tells Kain to "beware the Unspoken", she's talking about the Dark Entity. (The "Unspoken" name is also referenced in SK's FAQ).

The name "Hash'ak'gik" is only used once in the game -- when Kain finds the secret, bloody altar in the depths of the catacombs beneath Avernus Cathedral. There's passage of "scripture" found here, which reads:

And Hash’ak’gik spoke unto the world, and all who heard trembled. “Bring me your first born, and shed their blood upon the altar of the world, so I might take nourishment from them. Do this without question, or suffer my wrath for eternity.” And its will was done.

Thus the game sort of left it open to interpretation whether the Dark Entity Kain confronts at the end of BO:LoK was this Hash'ak'gik character...
but it was clarified in SK's FAQ, where they did state that the Dark Entity possessing Mortanius is, in fact, Hash'ak'gik.


Q: Is Moebius staff the same? This is now another reason Voradoor was helpless
at his execution. as Moebius had the staff. And the new and improved vampire
hunters as well as noted on SK FAq's. (not the staff just the hunters, thats
why we want to know if the staff is the same)

A: I'm not sure what you mean by this question... the same as what?
The staff you see Moebius carrying is always the same staff (there's not more than one). When the Sarafan ambush Janos in the Retreat, they are carrying Moebius' staff. And yes, this helps explain why Vorador was helpless during his capture and execution.

Q: Can Moebius shift thru time at will? Or does he use device? And Kain? How
does he move around thru time? Is Turel manning the Chronoplast or something?
Can the time devices/chambers be used only once? The chronoplast?
A: None of this has been revealed yet.

Q: What happend to Elzevir and Ottmar and the Princess? LOL Did they get lost in
the time shuffle? Keep in mind not all these are my questions I picked some
ones I thought otther people had were good too. LOL Elzevir trpas souls in
effigys he is scary. LOL
A: hehe -- they're not lost in the time shuffle, they just don't have much to do with Raziel's and Kain's journeys in SR.

Okay! Thats all from Sr2BO1, there were some others but I was like she cant
answer what is the binding thats not good to ask, so questions like what are
the Binding will be on the list I post at the forum as we cant know about
that yet!
A: Yeah, I won't explicitly answer what "the Binding" is, but I think you can figure it out from SR2's dialogue...

***Here is Sr1

Q: Is that Turels concept picture on page 27 of the PSX manual? I know this is
gameplay but I had to ask, Ive been wondering who that guy is. LOL
A: Yes, that was the original concept sketch for Turel. But that doesn't mean much anymore; it was drawn so long ago, that it's not really relevant anymore.

Q: People want Turel, they think becasue SR2 says "eluded" or escaped my
vengeance, i forget, that Raz actually met him. I was like no, he wasnt
there. But alot of people want a Vampire Turel and more Malek.
A: No, Raziel never met Turel -- he means that Turel eluded him by his absence.
I know people are anxious to (finally) meet Turel, and hope he's in SR3.
Let's put it this way... we absolutely have not forgotten about Turel; he's a critical piece of the puzzle.

Q: Did raziel just fall into the Elders Lair? And like adapt somehow to his
surroundings?
A: Do you mean was Raziel correct in his accusations in his final confrontation with the Elder God?
When people hear the dialogue, it's important to remember that just because a character says something, it isn't necessarily correct. What you're hearing is that character's opinion and subjective interpretation.
So if you mean: "did Raziel just drop into the EG's lap by coincidence, or did the EG have something to do with his resurrection?" Let's just say Raziel doesn't know everything yet, and neither do we.

Q: Why is the Underworld not in the Spectral Realm? Does it not exist? Is it
another plane/dimension? Is it just the "deep spectral" realm and doesnt
come in contact with the material plane? I dont know what this one falls
under.
A: The Underworld is in the spectral realm... I'm not sure what this question means.

Q: Kain says he destoryed what he created. Did he destory Raziels clan, or did
they die out like the ancients, being they are similiar?
A: This is currently unrevealed.

Q: Why did he break the wings??
A: Also unrevealed at this point. Your answers below are all partially correct. Like many things in LoK, there isn't one simple answer.
On the basic level -- yes, he broke his wings so he couldn't escape being thrown into the Abyss. But there's more to it than that.

Okay thats it!

[Embla]

This is definitely something that deserves reposting!

[KainSyndrome101]

Man, this is awesome! Thanks a lot.

[KainSyndrome101]

blincoln, do you know how warpsavent got to talk to Amy?

[-drain wraith-]

(phew!) That was a lot of reading. Thanks for reposting that. I missed it the first time.

[willow]

Originally posted by KainSyndrome101
blincoln, do you know how warpsavent got to talk to Amy?

magic... that's all you need to know

good one blinc, we need this one to be saved.

[Mallinger]

Yes, this must be saved indeed. This is very valuble info for us LOKaholics.

[warpsavant]

this thread got 5 stars!

[A-Bomber]

lol warp and you have 5 posts!

[KainSyndrome101]

warp, how do you get to talk to her? That's like, so freakin' cool.

[royalmarine1980]

Uhmm, he's her bit on the side ::wink wink, nudge nudge::

[blincoln]

Warp just has mad skills =).

[dago]

he stood in line for hours, then begged her for an interview...she eventually gave in to his charm and wisdom...

[royalmarine1980]

LOL

[Iron Head]

I can't wait to see Turel!

[Time Streamer]

Great job blinc, for recovering this valuable piece of LoK information.

[L_Master562]

So I'm gunna be now. Great info that yeah, should be saved. Warp, still thatnking you for this. I'm finnaly over here. After fixing my keyboard, I can post. Copying and pasting letters with my mouse IS OVER. Thats why I didn't post for a while. Keyboard went crazy and wasn't working right.

[Vampmaster]

I sent her some questions as well. I just emailed Chris and he passed it on. He said she got it but that was months ago. I might ask him if she's had chance to reply yet, but I won't ask too often so I can't be accused of delaying SR3!

[blincoln]

The whole team is really busy right now, I can imagine.

[Time Streamer]

I agree. I hope we can control ourselves so we don't start nagging them about the release date of SR3 so they can finish it properly, this time.

[L_Master562]

It would be a first though for CD. It would be a grand event and all would rejoice at the great accomplishment. I hope.......but they are forced by others and not really us. So it is very plausable it would happen again. I hope not....but it might.

[Sarxis]

The Balance Guardian is different from the other Guardians -- he/she is the hub, the still point around which all the other Pillars principles turn...

Hmm.. now where have I heard something like THAT before?

[warpsavant]

The still center of the turning whell, the hub of this worlds destiny

[Vampmaster]

" ...the fulcrum on which that balance turns." I wasn't talking about nagging about the release date before, just my letter to Amy. But yeah, that too.