[SPOILERS] Some official answers from Amy

[blincoln]

Amy was kind enough to pass on some answers to questions she's seen about the game on the forums. All answers have been paraphrased.

Edit: Corrected and clarified the first and last answers.

spoiler:

Q: How does the Hash'ak'gik/Turel/Hylden relationship work?

A: "Hash'ak'gik" is the name the human worshippers use for their god. The actual Hash entity is a leader among the Hylden, who has his own
agenda. In Defiance, he possesses Janos. In Blood Omen, he uses the transformed body of Mortanius as a vessel. In Blood Omen
2, he appears as the Hylden Lord (AKA Sarafan Lord). When Raziel meets Turel, Turel is actually being possessed by a number of other Hylden (not the Hylden Lord). Many different Hylden did so in order to command their disciples.

Q: Why does Mortanius have a different voice actor than in Blood Omen?

A: To avoid confusion with Tony Jay's voice acting as The Elder God. Tony has a great voice, but it's always clear that it's him, and the
intention was not to make The Elder God and Mortanius sound the same. Alastair Duncan is actually married to Anna Gunn (Ariel), but Amy
didn't realize that when she was casting him.

Q: Does the young Kain still kill Moebius?

A: Yes. When Moebius is summoned to the Citadel at the end of the game, the Elder God has resurrected him from dying at the hands of Blood Omen-era
Kain.

Q: How does Defiance relate to the events of Blood Omen 2?

A: The events of Defiance cause Blood Omen 2 to be possible. During the rift when the Pillars collapse, the Hylden Lord/Hash is able to escape his imprisonment and possess Janos. This means that not only does he have an indestructible vessel for himself, but once he gets another body in BO2, he has Janos prison to use to power The Device. Vorador's appearance in that game was going to be explained a little bit in
the original Defiance design, but this part was trimmed down.

[Umah Bloodomen]

Very cool. Thanks for sharing Blinc. (And my thanks again to Amy).

[RGRX]

Thanks to you and Amy, that explains most of my questions. Though it still doesn't explain

spoiler:

why it was Turel that was chosen to be possessed by Hash. Seems like an awful lot of work to rip him out of the future when I'm sure a suitable substitute could have been found in the present.

[Kain's Ancient Blade]

cool. thanks B. thanks Amy.

[Ken Cow!]

Thank you very much Ben and Amy.

Things are starting to fall into place. . .

Who would have thought that Blood Omen 2 would start to make sense!

[blincoln]

Here's part II =).

spoiler:

Q: Why does Janos recognize Raziel in Soul Reaver 2 if they've never met?

A: The ancient vampires' prophecy foretold Raziel's coming. Janos was expecting the hero depicted in the murals, and was surprised to see
Raziel's true appearance.

Q: How can Kain survive without the Heart of Darkness?

A: His nature as the Scion of Balance allows him to survive.

Q: How could the young Kain collect Hearts of Darkness in Blood Omen if he had it inside of his chest all along?

A: The Heart of Darkness cards are representations of the relic, not the real thing. Janos didn't have 99 hearts anyway =).

Q: Which figure is Raziel in the murals?

A: He is both. His free will results in a hybrid destiny, where he is both redeemer and destroyer.
As Amy put it, "he does triumph, and paradoxically he does destroy himself at the same time."

Q: How did Turel come to be in Avernus?

A: This was left deliberately vague so that a future game could cover it if desired. The implication based on the story
of Blood Omen is that the circle used their dimensional- and time-travelling powers to bring him to them. Amy says that
casting him as Hash wasn't a recent decision, but was made shortly after he was cut from Soul Reaver.

Q: Why does Raziel need to re-imbue the Reavers he already gained in Soul Reaver 2?

A: He needed fonts to imbue the Reaver that way, and the fonts were no longer available in Defiance. Amy wanted to include a
cutscene or artwork indicating that the fonts had been destroyed, implying that the Elder God had pulled them under or caused
them to be destroyed in some other way, but it didn't fit in the final game (see below).

Q: Why were some changed aspects of the game left unexplained?

A: There were a number of changes (e.g. imbuing the Reaver) that needed to be made to make the game a better finished product.
Many of these are explained in the game, and there is a logical explanation for 90% of them even if it wasn't explicitly revealed.
Defiance needed to appeal to both the hardcore fans and newcomers, and explaining all of the changes wouldn't have worked for both
groups.

[MajinVejitaXV]

spoiler:

Which incarnation of Ariel is summoned forth to baptise the Reaver at the end of the game? Is it Ariel from the distant future where SR1 took place? Seems to be the only way it could make sense...

And also, is Kain now uncorrupted? Does this mean the pillars of Nosgoth's future are now restored? I'm guessing it's possible, or that Kain has now truly assumed his role as Balance Guardian, since Ariel has been released from the pillars...

[Newbeing]

Who came up with this whole story line. I know they based some of it off of paradise Lost, but my God this storyline far surpases even the so-called complexities of Matrix or any other storyline I have ever heard. It is freaking genius!
*just beat the game today and now I am in awe at this incredible series* (hopes he can make the movie some day...)

[blincoln]

Originally posted by MajinVejitaXV

spoiler:

Which incarnation of Ariel is summoned forth to baptise the Reaver at the end of the game? Is it Ariel from the distant future where SR1 took place? Seems to be the only way it could make sense...

And also, is Kain now uncorrupted? Does this mean the pillars of Nosgoth's future are now restored? I'm guessing it's possible, or that Kain has now truly assumed his role as Balance Guardian, since Ariel has been released from the pillars...

I guess we'll have to wait for a future game to see how that question plays out =).

Regarding Ariel. I suspect your assumption is correct.

Newbeing: the storyline of SR, SR2, and Defiance is mainly the work of writer/director Amy Hennig, who kindly provided these answers.

[blincoln]

One more:

spoiler:

Q: What is the difference between the Scion of Balance and the Balance Guardian?

A: The Scion of Balance is the figure who is destined to return the Pillars to vampiric rule, the one who was prophesied by the ancient Vampires. Kain is both, whereas the other Balance Guardians were not.

[Sarah]

Blinc: Has Amy mentioned at all if they plan on releasing a large, glossy coffee table book detailing all these little odds and ends of LoK? There's just so much information about the LoK world, and no one place that sets it all down.
Hee-do a giftset of the book and complete music collections.

Thanks for passing on everything, blincon! And thank you for revealing it all, Amy!

[blincoln]

I wish. I'd love to see a coffee table book.

Here's the last set for now:

spoiler:

Q: There has been speculation in the past that both Lady Azimuth and Moebius were devout followers of Hash'ak'gik.
Would it be safe to say that this is indeed the case? Azimuth alone wouldn't be able to summon Hash, but could with Moebius' help.

A: Azimuth and Mortanius served the Hylden, who they knew as "Hash'ak'gik." They were seduced away from their service of the Pillars by the power they unearthed beneath Avernus.

Moebius didn't serve Hash'ak'gik, though. He's always been a servant of the Elder God.

The means of summoning Turel was left deliberately vague, so that a future game might be able to cover it.

Q: When did Moebius begin worshipping the Elder God? Was it during the SR2 (Sarafan) era? Or was this something he did later?

A: Moebius was introduced to the Elder God when he lived among the Vampires of the Citadel. The Elder God spoke to him
even after he stopped communicating with the Vampires. The human revolt was orchestrated through Moebius by The Elder God.

Q: What is meant by Janos being "the uncorruptable vessel?"

A: Possession by a Hylden "uses up" regular hosts. Mortanius lasted longer because he was the Death Guardian, but eventually
succumbed. Janos and Turel - as immortal Vampires - could last forever, but Turel was trapped in the Catacombs. Janos also
was able to power the Device because he was the last of the Ancients. The Hylden can be gentle with their possession, which makes the host last longer, or they can fully possess them, which transforms the body - this is what has happened to the Revenants later in the game, as well as what happens to Mortanius at the end of Blood Omen.

[Umah Bloodomen]

Does anyone else have the urge to watch Dogma? **shrugs**

This is great stuff, Blinc.

Remind me to archive this later.

[Morcilla]

Good stuff.

spoiler:

Here's an insignificant question - Moebius got reaved back into the wheel right after his second death, not even an hour after the collapse of the pillars, so how does he end up haunting the Sarafan Stronghold when Raziel visits it 70-100 years after the collapse of the pillars?

And so the collapse of the pillars allowed Hash to escape the wheel? Since BO1 Kain did fight him at the pillars with the Soul Reaver.

I noticed in one of the trailers that at least in earlier builds of the game, Kain played through Vorador's Mansion and the cemetary also. I wonder if that might've been where we'd have found out something about Vorador's aparrent resurrection after his beheading.

And if you're passing stuff along to Ms. Hennig, ask her to do something with the Seer from BO2. I know she didn't write the story for that game and a lot of people had problems with it, but that was a character with potential IMO.

[Kazael]

spoiler:

And also, is Kain now uncorrupted? Does this mean the pillars of Nosgoth's future are now restored? I'm guessing it's possible, or that Kain has now truly assumed his role as Balance Guardian, since Ariel has been released from the pillars...

spoiler:

At the end of the game, I got the impression that the Spirit Reaver had the power to purify. Moebius was cleansed when Raziel ran him through with it, and I think the implication is that Kain was also somehow purified when Raziel sacrificed himself to the blade. Maybe I'm misinterpreting things, but that's what I thought was going on there.

[Morcilla]

And another question...

spoiler:

Who in the bloody hell were those ridiculously costumed Humans in the Vampire Citadel at the time of the Sarafan??? For his part, Kain wasn't even suprised to find these nutcases lurking all over those "Long abandoned ruins"

.

[warpsavant]

spoiler:

What effect (if any) does Kain being tossed into the Demon Realm have on him? Did Raziel cure this, too? Im not sure it matters the rift is still gonna open. I actually thought that was why he came back to life. lol

oops

[David A Turel]

Good question Morcilla!!! he hehe


MAN.... this woman is an absolute mad GENIOUS... thank you to whoever posted the Q&As originally, it was VERY satisfying to finally discover HOW IN THE WORLD the events in BO2 came to be.... I suspected that Raziel being allowed to live might have caused those events to happen and now I fully understand it, though I had wished that she had decided to leave the explanation for Vorador's apparent ressurection in the game... I hope she decides to make that information clear some where. I really enjoy the way it was brought together, how you played through BO2 having almost absolutely no idea how any of it came to be, and how Defiance makes almost everything clear. Absolutely brilliant.

[Morcilla]

spoiler:

HOD is still in ol Janos, no? Actually funny now since that HOD was pulled out of future Kain, so now there are 2 HODs, one in young Kain and the other in Janos, who if you've played BO2, you know he ends up in Hylden land as well. Hey, maybe Janos died there and that somehow plays a part in Kain's revival there. Who knows? I'll bet the Legacy will continue for at least one more game. So long as the Pillars aren't restored, there'll still be work for Kain, hopefully beyond just putting back the Soul Reaver.

[Duckman Drake]

spoiler:

Let's play a little game of logical deduction. Janos is possessed by the Hylden known to us as the Sarafan Lord from BO2. At some point, he abandons Janos's body and uses it to fuel the Device with his blood. From all of this, are we to conclude that Janos's current location is the abyss the Sarafan Lord threw him into at the end of BO2?

[Vampmaster]

This isn't really a question for Amy, but it was mentioned in this thread and I didn't think it was worth starting a new one for. Are the Elemental Reavers imbued in a different way in Defiance than SR2? Are there Nature, Death and Balance Reavers, because I've only seen the other ones mentioned.

[Kazael]

Are the Elemental Reavers imbued in a different way in Defiance than SR2? Are there Nature, Death and Balance Reavers, because I've only seen the other ones mentioned.

spoiler:

Yes, it does work a little differently. As explained earlier in this thread in an answer from Amy, the Elder God destroyed all the elemental fonts, so Raziel had to find a new way to imbue the Reaver. What he finds are various temples that forge the Reaver anew with elemental power. Unlike SR2, in Defiance Raziel can switch between the various elemental reavers at will. There's no need to find a font somewhere and bathe the Reaver in it's elemental power anymore. The elemental Reavers that Raziel finds are: Darkness, Light, Fire, Air, Water, Earth, and Spirit.

Kain also gets to imbue the Blood Reaver with elemental powers. He does this by finding pieces of the Emblem of Balance, which I believe is the token that binds him to the Pillar of Balance. With each piece he finds, the reaver blade is empowered. Kain's blade gets the powers of Fire, Dimension, Lightning, and Time.

[Kain The Ancient]

I have a question , one that's been confusing me for some time. Beware , they are pretty massive spoilers in that question.

spoiler:

Moebius says to Raziel in Vorador's mansion that with Elder Kain dead finally, his total vampire annhilation will be over when he finally executes Vorador , but isn't that innacurate ? In all the history of nosgoth , there would still be at least one vampire remaining. In the past there is Vorador , in the BO1 era then there's young Kain , and If Elder Kain were to die, there would still have been quite alot of mutated fledglings in Future Nosgoth?

spoiler:

"Who in the bloody hell were those ridiculously costumed Humans in the Vampire Citadel at the time of the Sarafan??? For his part, Kain wasn't even suprised to find these nutcases lurking all over those "Long abandoned ruins""

I think they are the descendants of the humans being snatched away by ancients to become Guardians. When the Ancients mass-suicided , and later when Moebius and Mortanius finished the remaining ancient guardians , it left the Vampire citadel vacant from authority , and since the place is only accessible by air , these humans never were able to escape. They cross-bred for generations , and seem to cling to rather pagan beliefs of what they remember from the ancients . If you put the subtitles on , you can hear them say something like "?????? Vampiri" , which might be latin or another language (The 2nd world clearly is Vampire).

[Morcilla]

spoiler:

Put on the subtitles. They say something like Vempari. Still definately seems like they mean vampire. Anyway, nice theory, but that wouldn't explain their hostility towards Kain (although it does seem like everyone in Nosgoth is hostile towards Kain.) Still, I'm curious for an official response.

Oh, and the revenants in the cemetary - are they then the same as those exploding skeletons from BO1 that wander Kain's crypt and the surrounding tombs and catacombs?

[Dace]

spoiler:

I don't think the demon world had any effect on Kain. He survives because of what he is. The Scion of Balance. Overall the realm didn't have any effect on him. And if it did it was likely purged when Raziel purified him and the blades.