My longwinded ideas for the next LoK game's story... (spoilers for all games?)

[Thryhring]

Hi, first post here, but I've been lurking for a while. I had posted this[very long] kinda summary on GameFAQs and www.nosgoth.net forums, to see what others thought -- I wanted to post it here, too, but I could never get the registration thing worked out no matter what I tried(even e-mails to the admins! !_!), but I finally got it, so I'm going to post it here after all ^^ IP problems prevented me from returning to the Nosgothic Realm forums, so I hope a discussion can get going here.

If any of you had read it over on the other forums, there are a few changes; I fixed an error or two I made in the overall continuity of the story in relation to the rest of the series, and a couple changes to make things overall better. It's still kind of sloppily written though, I didn't put all that much thought into making it perfect -- but it's not fan fiction, just kind of a collection of ideas of how I might like to see the story go, or somethin' like that. Anyway, here it is -- the title, btw, is "Legacy of Kain: Dereliction".

After Defiance, Kain realizes he needs to learn more of his destiny; or, more specifically, what he needs to do to restore the pillars the vampire guardianship. The easiest person, he deduces, would be Vorador. Being dead, Kain decides to head to the palace of William the Just(north of Stahlberg; don't think the name was ever said), where Vorador was executed by Moebius. He passes through Nachtholm(ithink?), the swamps and Vorador's abandoned mansion, commenting on Vorador's history with the reaver and the ancients on the way, and finally passing north of the destroyed city of Avernus, where he comments briefly on Raziel's sacrifice. Before leaving, his struggles briefly -- the voice of his ancient nemesis, The Unspoken, Hash'ak'gik, The Hylden Lord, speaks to him, mocking him -- Kain shrugs the thoughts off as memories, the timeline still shuttering, before leaving for William's palace. There, he locates Vorador's head and body, and using Vorador's ring(his earring,) he resurrects the ancient vampire and very vaguely explains the reason for his rebirth after death, not explicity stating that he is Kain. Vorador tells him of the Seer. He confesses, though, that he hasn't had contact with her in some time, and must locate her. The only other person who would have specific knowledge of the reaver and the prophecy of the Scion of Balance is the first Time Guardian who made the original prophecy, an ancient who killed herself thousands of years ago. Kain accepts this knowledge and departs, leaving Vorador to aid young Kain in his conquest of Nosgoth. Meanwhile, Elder Kain returns to the Chronoplast in Nosgoth's central mountains, returning to the era of his empire in Nosgoth's far future to plan his next move.

(SR1 Era, only days after Kain and Raziel departed through the Chronoplast)

From the Chronoplast in the SR1 era, Kain returns to the Sanctuary of the Clans. There, he procures some older artifacts of his(the chaos or flesh armor, possibly the axes?) to use when he returns to the past, and also the Timesteaming Device he procured from William the Just's castle after the "assassination" of the young king. Departing from the Sanctuary of the Clans, Kain encounters a curious sight -- Turelim vampire, enmass, and Turel himself, retaining as much of his humanity as he can. Turel tells Kain that, just as Kain asked, Turel scattered his clan across Nosgoth; but for nothing. Kain simply disappeared, Turel claims, and abandoned them and all Nosgoth to the decay Kain himself had damned it to. Turel lunges at Kain before a rift in space and time occurs -- Azimuth the Planar herself appearing, with two masked acolytes, glowing green eyes beneath their hoods. Azimuth speaks with a deep male's voice before seizing Turel with Glyph magic and forcing him back through the time portal. Kain, reorganizing himself, focuses on the timesteaming device.

(The Catalyst War Era)
Using this, he instantly transports himself to the far past, during the war between the Ancients and the Hylden. He appears in the midst of a large, chaotic battle overhead, ancients flinging spears and riding gryphon-like beasts at Hylden below on the ground, who are launching Glyph-green magic spells at the ancients above. Kain watches briefly, before heading towards the glade which would eventually become the resting place of his throne -- a hill called Golgotha, where the Binding is placed, and the Pillars are established.

Making his way there, Kain watches on the hill from a distance -- the newly erected pillars are watched over by the ancients' citadel, to the west, and on the Pillars' platform stands a Hylden commander and several soldiers. He watches as the Hylden commander, the seer Delphiel herself, sees in horror as a great beam of light shoots from the Pillars and the Citadel -- and her kind, one by one, are whisked away to some terrible place. She curses them and their god, screaming as she does, before launching her own terrible curse, an ethereal, skull-shaped and chained form manifest from her hands, fired towards the vampire citadel. Delphiel's curse is not entirely successful, however; the spell wreaks havoc on her own form, causing her to thirst for blood as she caused the ancients to, cursing her with the same immortality. She falls to her knees, weeping at her own misfortunate and that of her race, realizing her own spell saved her from the damn that betrayed her kin. Before Kain steps in and whisks her away to the forests surrounding the Pillars.

The younger Delphiel is confused, but Kain vaguely explain that he is here to help, vampire or not; and she agrees to help him. Kain says he know of the weapon the Hylden were planning to build, called The Device, to the south, near the coast of the Great Southern Sea. Kain promises if Delphiel leads him there, she will be kept safe. Nervous and confused, Delphiel complies and leads him to the unfinished weapon.

Arriving at the Device, Kain wanders through the alien halls and vaults of the Hylden along with Delphiel, musing over the murals and tomes kept therein. He discovers that the Hylden were able to escape the Elder God's wheel of fate by simply refusing his service; at this point in history, the Elder God had not warped the lost souls of the ancients into the Archons and Arbiters of the Blood Omen era, and the souls of the dead had to willingly enter the maw of the ancient god, which the Hylden refused. These Hylden specters informed the living Hylden, as well as ghosts could, through the possession of humans in Nosgoth, and when the Hylden refused to the submit to the god of the ancients, the war began.

Deeper in The Device, Kain encounters The Mass itself; the hulking, tentacled beast he destroyed so many centuries ago, in his youth. The murals around The Mass explained more of its nature, and Kain learns that The Mass is only one of six creatures that have plagued Nosgoth -- called "The Elohim" by both the Ancients and the Hylden. Beaten and subdued by the cryptic glyph sorceries of the Hylden, The Mass degraded into nothing more than a hungry beast, ready for use in the Hylden's ultimate weapon. There, Kain also learns the name of his true enemy -- a mural of the Elder God himself is depicted, swalling Hylden, Human and Vampire alike, with the shadowy depiction of three weeping entities above him. Below is written, as translated by Delphiel, "Deep in the earth does The Metatron sleep -- he who rests at God's right hand." Metatron, "he who sits at God's right hand," Delphiel explains, is the name of the god of the winged ancients, who the Hylden refused to accept or submit to. She explains the Hylden worshipped a great Triumvirate of deities who ruled Nosgoth, and that Metatron and the Elohim were a plague upon it -- but the Ancients, too zealous and gullible, destroyed much of the Hylden race in Metatron's name. Kain ponders on this, and how the Pillars play into Metatron(the Elder God) and the Elohim, and the reaver itself, before departing

During their depature, The Elder God speaks to Kain, complimenting his discoveries thus far, much to the terror of Delphiel. He begins to collapse The Device on itself and around his own kind, The Mass, in an effort to stall Kain's revelations of Nosgoth's origins, but ultimately leaves only a buried husk for the Hylden Lord, Hash'ak'gik, to rebuild thousands of years later, before Kain and Delphiel escape. Outside, Kain tells Delphiel of how he plans to infiltrate the Vampire city, sunken into the Lake of the Dead just years later -- a fortress of pyramids and ziggurats. He tells Delphiel she cannot come, and she is left behind as she departs -- the only Hylden left remaining in Nosgoth after the Binding. She wanders alone, before being found years later by a young, recently turned vampire named Vorador, who instead of attacking, shields his sword and stows her away in pity...

Kain sneaks through the vampire city, much of which has been temporarily emptied due to a large portion having left to watch The Binding and the Calling of the Nine at the Vampire Citadel, and those same now frightened and confused of the curse that has befallen them. Making his way to a lone tower, he confronts the first Guardian of Time, who though assumed her position days ago(the original nine guardians not being born to serve pillars) when the Pillars were completed, has already greatly explored her unique powers and foresight into the timestream of Nosgoth and seen it's fate. She is macabre and grim; claiming that the vampires' own god is the betrayer, but her blind faith to Metatron mixed with her visions of Nosgoth's terrible future have driven her to the point of suicide. She tells Kain that she has seen a savior in Nosgoth's history, named Raziel -- who she has only told Janos Audron of. She tells Kain that the key to the pillars that has not yet been forged, called the Reaver Blade, will be pivotal to Raziel's journey -- but rippled and shrouds and obscurity stop her from seeing Raziel's exact future, or anything further. She tells Kain there is no true hope for Nosgoth, and she expects Raziel to also be deceived by Metatron, and destroy their only chance at salvation. The only gift she offers is transportation again to Kain's own time, far in the future, which he accepts, again to plot his next move.

(SR1 Era, two years are Kain and Raziel departed through the Chronoplast)

Arriving on the jagged cliffs of what was once the Lake of Tears in the era of Kain's empire, Kain ponders shortly again on Raziel's fate and that of Nosgoth's, and the doubt of the first Time Guardian, before being interrupted. From the sky, tears in reality occur, as bolts of glyph energy launch from the sky to the ground -- Kain glares solemnly at them before realizing, just as promised by Hash'ak'gik, the Hylden have returned to Nosgoth, to reclaim it. The sounds of the scattered vampire clans of Kain's empire battling against the Hylden invaders can be heard across Nosgoth.

In order to solve both dilemnas -- that of Nosgoth's possible destruction and the problem of saving it -- Kain deduces the best possible solution is to find Janos Audron himself. Cast into the Hylden Gate and into the Demon Realm, much like the Hylden, Kain remembers the events of Blood Omen II and the Hylden Lord -- but the way to the ancient Hylden City across the sea was destroyed by centuries of Nosgoth's decay. Having no other options, Kain heads south, again towards the remains of The Device, to learn more of the Elohim and Metatron.

Finding no evidence, and the Device and Meridian completely destroyed by Nosgoth's descent into chaos, Kain looks further to the south, to the Eternal Prison. Again, no options presenting themselves, Kain crosses the sea in batform to the natural land-platforms that support the Eternal Prison, and possibly give answers within.

Inside, Kain comes across an alarming discovery; fleeing from their destroyers, the Razielim fled to the Eternal Prison, seeking refuge from the Clans loyal to Kain who sought to destroy them. With the "death" of their father Raziel, the Razieliem were led by their three eldest -- Atel, Corat and Glauron, Raziel's first three children. The Razieliem, Kain discovers, have been slowly twisted by the madness of the Eternal Prison, and Metatron himself has begun twisting them into Reapers and Archons to chain souls to the Wheel of Fate. Before 'saving' them from the madness of the Elohim Metatron, Kain discovers the history of the Eternal Prison.

The Prison, originally, served as a center for the Inquisition of the Ancient Vampires during the Catalyst War; where the ancients attempted to torture and wear down captured Hylden into giving their souls up to the Wheel of Fate. When the ancients began committing mass suicide from Metatron's silence, the Prison became abandoned; few willing to keep up the righteous crusade. It would later be rebuilt and reused by the timestreamer Moebius and an assistant of his, the alchemist Anacrothe, guardian of the pillar of states, and also a secretice follower of Metatron. They would use it to torture souls of those unfortunate enough to discover Nosgoth's history or the truth of the Elohim, through the Hylden's writings, or Hylden stories passed down to humans during the Catalyst War.

Eventually, The Prison would again become abandoned, with Moebius permanent death by Raziel. When the Hylden first invaded several hundred years after the Pillars' collapse, not all the Hylden were as adamant to conquer Nosgoth as others; some had been converted to the teaching of the Wheel of Fate, and were returned to the Demon Realm to spread those teachings. These Hylden then, also, escaped the Demon Realm through Hash'ak'gik's gate; and used the Eternal Prison as a means to convert other humans, vampire and Hylden to the Elohim faith. This, Kain realized, is why Hash'ak'gik sent Magnus to the Prison; because he knew he would suffer there for being vampiric and immortal, and Kain briefly regrets Magnus' fate before continuing on.

Overhearing Razielim overseers discussing Kain's infiltration, Kain learns that the Razielim are keeping in contact with their masters -- Hylden loyal to the Elohim, under the command of a Hylden Lord called Dun'dar'ak -- by using the now defunct Hylden Gate at the Hylden City in the Material Realm, called Lheth'uin, the city Kain himself infiltrated and destroyed the Hylden Lord, Hash'ak'gik, in. Realizing this, Kain again struggles as he hears the voice of the Hylden Lord taunting him...

Confronting and defeating Corat, Atel and Glauron, Kain learns that there is a way into Lheth'uin -- though no longer by sea. The chasms and mountains created by the decay inadvertantly created and undersea method and reaching the city, underground caverns and passages leading beneath the sea to the Hylden City. Kain departs, leaving few Razielim, locked in their madness, alive.

Crossing the caverns beneath the sea and arriving at the Hylden City, Kain learns slightly more of Hylden history in the deeper bowels of Lheth'uin. The Hylden, divided into a caste society, were separated into several classes: The warrior caste, the glyphwright caste, the priest caste, and the worker caste. Statues of the greatest of the Hylden Lords filled the lower halls of the city; and Kain learns that after the disappearance of Delphiel, a Hylden Lord(Lady?) and Tetrarch of the Priest Caste, the priests of the Hylden were thrown into disarray, made only worse by their banishmenst into the demon realm. The gods of the Hylden, Kain learns, were three goddesses, in fact -- representing a perfect, triangular balance in Nosgoth -- representing purity of form, spirit, and mind. Their faith was lost when their were cast into the demon dimension and their greatest Priestess lost, however. The Glyphwright and Warrior caste, on the other hand, suffered much; without the guidance of the Priests, the two castes waged great civil wars for dominance of their own race, before a young Hylden Lord named Hash'ak'gik, Lord of the Warrior Caste, took victory from the elder, more experienced Glyphwright Lord, Dun'dar'ak. This led to a temporary Golden Age for their race; with Hash'ak'gik leading an army of Warriors and Glyphwrights into Nosgoth to reclaim it, before being decimated by an upstart young vampire named Kain. From Hash'ak'gik's defeat and the Razielim's information, Kain deduces that the Glyphwright Caste has claimed control of the Hylden race, with Dun'dar'ak as the Hylden Lord, with Hash'ak'gik's presumed death. Delving deeper into Lheth'uin, Kain finds the openings of a new Hylden Gate, but this time created by none other than Metatron himself. Kain realizes the Hylden, too, have been greatly misled -- Hash'ak'gik was partly correct in fighting the vampires, as Metatron had to be stopped. But Dun'dar'ak is leading the Hylden down a dangerous path, the path of the Elohim, by siding with Metatron -- and in doing so is ensuring the destruction of all of Nosgoth. Kain realizes he has to be stopped, and heads toward the new Hylden Gate.

Kain arrives at the entrance to the Hylden Gate, being occassionally blocked by Hylden Glyphwrights(designated by their deep blue robes, as opposed to the violet robes of the warrior caste), only to find it also closed. Blocking it, however, is no ordinary Hylden; it is an Elohim himself, massive blue tentacles and a squid-like maw stretch over the entrance to the chamber that holds the core of the energies allowing the Hylden to break into Nosgoth. The maw contracts and extends, a beak protruding, speaking to Kain as Kain attempts to understands.

The Elohim, also apparently driven to madness by Nosgoth's destruction, explains how it was the second of six created -- Metatron being the first. The Elohim race, it describes(though perhaps muttering to itself more than explaining to Kain), was created by greater entities in Nosgoth to act as beacons of Balance. Their creators, it explains, could not create beings in Nosgoth with complete Balance; and so the Elohim were created, as means of forcing that Balance, by devouring souls and forcing them again into flesh until they attained Ultimate Balance and were set free. The creators of the Elohim, however, did not know that when they created Nosgoth, the Elohim, and the races that dwell in Nosgoth, that the Elohim themselves were without Balance -- and cataclysms occurred. One of the Elohim rebelled, the strongest of them, called Metatron, and that is where Nosgoth's destruction began. Kain realizes that there is much more to Nosgoth's history, but the azure Elohim, which the murals of the chamber call "He Who Strings the Prayers of the Damned -- Sandalphon, who is deafened to God" has been driven completely mad by Nosgoth's decay and natural lack of balance. He realizes, for now, the only way to cleanse Nosgoth is to eliminate all the Elohim from it, and to find its mysterious creators and confront them for answers. Using the Soul Reaver, Kain confronts and eliminates Sandalphon. Kain enters the chamber beyond, and plunges into the demon realm...

(The Demon Realm, SR1 Era, Two Years after Kain and Raziel departed through the Chronoplast)

Kain descends into the fiery demon realm, which appears much as the spectral realm does; but a smokey, fiery perversion as opposed to a ghostly, ethereal one. Cracks in the earth spew flame and ash, and dead trees and mountains more akin to a spined rib cage litter the landscape. Eerily, no sky is in sight; only the sight of an infinite number of eyes of all sizes, staring only on Kain as he wanders the Burning Wastelands.

Kain's notices the alternate Pillars of the Demon realm, stretching up into the sky, red, burning tentacles wrapped around them. Encircling the Pillars' Clearing, in the form of a star, are five great, black obelisks with green glowing glyphs; Kain recognizes the architecture as noticeable Hylden in origin, and investigates. In the first of the five Obelisks, Kain realizes that these Channeling Towers use Glyph energy, a strange magical source that floats natively in all three planes of Nosgoth, to force souls of those who use the Obelisk into the Material Realm. Using these Channelling Towers, the Hylden possessed the forms of vampire, human, and even wild beast, completely subverting them to their will, and that was how the Hylden had invaded Nosgoth this second time. Kain decides that in order to save time, the five Channelling Towers must be deactivates, and the Hylden inside, floating in tubes glowing green with glyph liquids, must be eliminated. When destroyed, Nosgoth would be safe, at least for a time.

After the destruction of the Channelling Towers, Kain heads towards where the Lake of the Dead is located in the Material Realm. There, he finds the Hylden Capital; an enormous city far surpassing any city of Nosgoth in technology and size; much like Lheth'uin, but a hundred times larger, but strangely quiet. The glyph barriers that protected the city, though easily penetratable by Kain, seemed to prevent a challenge for the demons native to the hellish realm, leaving the silence a curious phenomenon. Kain infiltrates the Hylden City, curious as to what secrets it holds.

Inside the city, Kain finds more scrolls and murals depicting recent Hylden history. The civil war that took place both before and after Hash'ak'gik's disappearance had apparently decimated the Hylden race; only Hash'ak'gik himself had the stength and wisdom to lead them out of those dark times, and his death led to a much greater strife. Since the Glyphwright Lord, Dun'dar'ak, had assumed control during Hash'ak'gik's absence by destroying the Warrior caste, many Hylden had died, especially those that were disloyal to the Glyphwrights, and several for discovering the secretive pact between Dun'dar'ak and Metatron. Thusly, much of the Hylden society remained hidden, for fear of the Hylden Lord Dun'dar'ak and his glyphwrights; though another terror lurked in the Demon Realm that also forced the Hylden to remain hidden. Both these causes, Kain realizes, is why the Hylden had not invaded Nosgoth sooner since Hash'ak'gik's disappearance; and inside the deepest depths of the Hylden's central complex, the lifeless, true body of Hash'ak'gik stands as a testimony to that. Remembering his goals, Kain departs the Chapel of Glyphs in the Hylden Capital, and heads north, to where Dark Eden is located in the Material Realm -- a place named in the Hylden city, "Tartarus," the demon city. Along the way, Kain suffers greatly again at Hash'ak'gik's pleasure, and Kain realizes now that the Hylden Lord had indeed simply disappeared, and not died to the Soul Reaver, as he hoped. But where, and what he was planning, Kain had yet to discover. Holding on to his sanity in the madness of the Demon Realm, Kain continues north, to Tartarus.

At the end of the Twisted Badlands of the Demon Realm, Kain finds the "Demon City" of Tartarus -- a place no Hylden had ever seen. They claimed, however, that it was a "glyphwell" -- that is, a fountain of purified glyph energy that is often harnessed by Hylden glyphwrights -- Kain realizes this to be true, having encountered several on the way to Tartarus, but comments on it being the largest he had seen -- possibly the largest in the Demon Realm. The bubbling green energies of the glyphwell could be felt as far away as the Hylden City itself. Kain enters the Glyphwell, unaware of what to expect, but determined to find Janos Audron. At the core of the Glyphwell called Tartarus, and having fought his way through the many demons that dwell there(all kinds -- the black horned demons, red fire demons, purple gas demons, green acid demons, grey lightning demons, and the white insect demons[bo2]), Kain discovers Janos Audron at last. The ancient vampire is not how Kain had last seem him, however; his angelic form was now twisted and demonic, his sapphire skin turned blood red and more like an armored carapace than skin, much like Kain's. His hair had grown long and ragged, his scalp growing into twisted, red, fleshy spikes, and his wings fiery and beaten. The white, priestly robes of the Reaver Guardian remained, however -- an ironic attire for the demonic visage that Kain now saw. Kain approaches him, seeking answers.

Janos explains, briefly, that Delphiel was correct. Before indulging Kain, Janos briefly reminisces of how glad he was Vorador brought the Hylden Priestess to him -- he would never have learned the truth, had he not heard from Delphiel. The Elohim are mechanisms of control by a higher, greater authority, Janos explains -- those gods, however, lost their hope in Nosgoth's future and fled themselves, leaving no hope for anyone. Janos claims there is no hope, but he can at least see the evils of Metatron, the other Elohim, and the deranged Hylden put to rest before he dies. Kain attempts to calm Janos, attempting to explain patience and a clearer mind would help solve Nosgoth's many problems -- but Janos refuses. Resolute, and pleased to see the Soul Reaver again, Janos shows Kain the thing the trapped him in the Demon Realm all these centures -- the Nexus Stone. Janos explains the Nexus Stone is no ordinary mystical gem or solidified piece of glyph sorcery, but is, in fact, a petrified eye of their greatest enemy -- Metatron himself. Only Metatron, the greatest of the Elohim, in rebelling, gained enough control over Nosgoth to manipulate time and space, forcing himself into all facets of Nosgoth and outside the Timestream; but in a battle with his youngest sibling, Metatron lost one of his many eyes, which fell to Nosgoth. This precious stone would later be found by a young Hylden glyphwright, Dun'dar'ak. Using its power, and learning from it, Dun'dar'ak would begin to construct a device that would allow him to see through all eras of Nosgoth's history, called the Chronoplast. Kain briefly comments how, though the Chronoplast was built by Moebius, several of its components, especially its central core, were Hylden in design. Dun'dar'ak and Delphiel together used the infant Chronoplast as well as they could to glimpse into the future, but had two different perspectives; Delphiel, Janos describes, saw the Ancients going to war with the Hylden over their beliefs, in the name of their God, and much death being caused in Metatron's name -- Dun'dar'ak, on the other hand, saw great power and strength, and possible deification in servitude in Metatron -- though Dun'dar'ak kept his opinions silent, until he took control of the Hylden race. No matter how pure the Hylden's intentions may be, Janos submits, they are corrupt and must be eliminated -- Kain disagrees, believing Delphiel holds an important key to saving Nosgoth. Janos retorts, saying only the goddessess worshipped before Metatron's rebellion could have such a key; but they are gone. Janos then, in his madness, tells Kain that he will single-handedly destroy the Hylden with the Soul Reaver, which he feels had been led to him by fate. They battle, and Janos finally wins a fight(maybe for the first time in his life :P), and siezes the reaver from Kain. Kain witnesses Janos don a pale hooded cloak and mount a large, pale demon, which promptly takes flight off towards the Hylden Capital, a host of demons following after him. Kain realizes the demons, for whatever reason, serve Janos -- but why, he did not know. Kain resolves to reclaim the Reaver from Janos, and then returning to Delphiel in this era, plans to find a way to reach the creators of Nosgoth itself.

As Kain arrives at the Hylden Capital in the demon realm, the city is in shambles; demons and hylden glyphwrights battle it out in the streets and the ward gates protecting the city collapse and deactivate, and Hylden even fight Hylden, as the Warrior Caste begins to fight back against the Hylden Lord Dun'dar'ak and the Glyphwrights, using Janos' invasion as a scapegoat to overthrow the Glyphwright Lord. Kain deduces Janos and Dun'dar'ak both would be in the central complex of the Hylden Capital, a black step pyramid protected by glowing green glyphs called "The Triune Icon." Descending into the temple and wielding Havoc and Malice, his ancient axes, Kain also discovers a Hylden armory, where he finds more tools to use along the way. At the bottom of the Triune Icon, Kain enters a large, circular chamber -- almost identical to the one beneath Avernus Cathedral, Kain remarks. On a throne at the back of the chamber is a lifeless body; the anatomy suggested Hylden, but it was different. It's skin was brick red, obviously decayed by the evil of the Demon Realm, but unlike the other Hylden, didn't glow green with glyph energy, as though this dead Hylden had shunned the Hylden sorcery in life. Approaching it, Kain realizes this is his greatest foe -- Hash'ak'gik, dead, his body remaining still on his own throne, no longer ruling from it. Almost pitiful, Kain thought. But Janos was nowhere to be found. Kain attempts to depart the chamber, only to be halted...

Marching in with his a group of glyph-enhanced Hylden warriors, the now Hylden Lord, Glyphwright Dun'dar'ak approached Kain, his membership and lordship of the Glyphwright caste made obvious by his deep, blue hooded robe, and the glowing glyphs almost the lining of it. He tells Kain with an arrogant tone how he had been expecting him, but not so soon; Kain can only scoff at his strange arrogance, before being interrupted, again, by the brooding voice of Hash'ak'gik himself. Kain falls to his knees, covering his ears as Hash'ak'gik speaks, the Hylden Lord's words causing great pain to the vampire lord. Dun'dar'ak speaks to the disembodied voice, cursing Hash'ak'gik, only to have Hash'ak'gik laugh at the Glyphwright and his guards. At that moment, Kain stands, looking with a maniacal smile at Dun'dar'ak. Dun'dar'ak snarls in a mixture of fear and anger, claiming how it was clever of Hash'ak'gik to choose such a powerful new host, but it would be his undoing; vampires being naturally weak to glyph magic. Kain's eyes flare with green fire as his hands ignite in glyph energy, and he laughs -- but his voice is not his own, but that of Hash'ak'gik's. Hash'ak'gik, having hidden his soul within Kain's own body for thousands of years, lets out a roar at Dun'dar'ak as he launches Glyph spells at him and his guards. A battle ensues, leaving Kain alone, and the dead bodies of Dun'dar'ak and his guards littering the floor. Meanwhile, the destruction outside in the city has quieted. Kain is alone to himself, speaking only to Hash'ak'gik. Hash'ak'gik briefly states how pleased he is to be home again, as a whir of green flame shoots from Kain's mouth and into the lifeless body on the Hylden Throne, the body creaking and croaking back to life. Hash'ak'gik blasts Kain with glyph magic, mocking Kain for thinking he could truly win in that battle at the Hylden Gate so long ago; that the body Hash'ak'gik then possessed was just a host, and the Hylden Throne, much like the Channelling Towers, allowed him to displace his soul and possess the bodies of others. The poor glyphwright who died at the Hylden Gate that day was not so fortunate, as shortly before the soul reaver plunged through his chest, Hash'ak'gik's nomad soul escaped and fled into the most unlikely place -- Kain's body. And there it hid, waiting for it's time to escape.

Kain, weakened by the glyph magic he himself casted under Hash'ak'gik's influences, is powerless to stop the Hylden Lord as he triumphantly marches out of The Triune Icon, commenting on how Kain's part in this is saga is complete -- the demons will likely finish him off. Hash'ak'gik escapes to find Janos Audron, and the Soul Reaver -- but underestimates Kain.

Kain stands moments later, removing his leather bracers. His right palm charred and burned by the glyphs he had summoned, a glyph insignia burned permanently into his flesh, which he looked at with disgust. These glyphs, Kain wondered, were important somehow -- to Nosgoth's future, but he could not figure would role they would play. Much of his leather armor burned by the glyph fire that had enveloped him, Kain wraps himself in the dark blue robes of one of Dun'dar'ak's guards, before leaving the Triune Icon, also to locate Janos Audron, Hash'ak'gik, and the Reaver. On his escape from the city, he encounters many demons and the remaining Hylden, though most are now dead -- either by the ongoing civil war, Janos and his demons, or Hash'ak'gik -- whose presence could be felt strongly. Kain ponders Hash'ak'gik must've killed most other Hylden he came across for being traitors to their cause, by serving one who serves the ancients' god, Metatron.

Kain flees back to where the portal to Lheth'uin was located to escape the Demon Realm, as the monstrosities that dwell therein begin to tear it apart. Several of the great, watchful eyes above are destroyed, falling and shattering around Kain as he makes his way -- the eyes that fall, shatter into fragments and solidify almost instantly into glowing blue shards, much akin to the nexus stone. The gate, Kain notices, is closed -- likely by Janos as he and Hash'ak'gik battled into the Material Realm. The shards that lay around Kain, however, glow with an energy similar to glyph energy, but not harmful to him -- Kain grabs a stone, thinking briefly on when he wore the Nexus Stone to battle Hash'ak'gik centuries ago. Holding it tightly, he envoked the power of the petrified eye of the Elohim, and creating a gate to the Material Realm, fled into it.

(The Material Realm, SR1 Era, Two Years After Kain and Raziel Departed Through the Chronoplast)

Kain emerges from Lheth'uin only to find Nosgoth in worse shape than when he departed to find the Reaver Guardian; bolts of green fire fell from the sky, as Hylden invaders battles the demons who could now freely escape from the demon realm due to the collapse of the Watchers in the skies of that god-forsaken place. And in the distance, he knew somewhere, Janos Audron bearing the Reaver Blade battled against Hash'ak'gik, the Hylden Lord, who wielded the glyph magics which seemed to quicken Nosgoth's decay. Delphiel, Kain realizes, had to be found -- and Nosgoth's creators -- if anything could be done. All this death, Kain knew, was only feeding Metatron, making him stronger, but for what had yet to be answered. Kain fled again across the Caverns beneath the Great Southern Sea, to the only place he knew to go, where Delphiel might be hiding -- The Traitor's Tomb, the resting place of Vorador.

Making his way to The Traitor's Tomb, Kain remembered briefly the fate of Vorador. Though his future self had brought him back to life to aid his younger self, Vorador would eventually betray Kain, and attempt to take Nosgoth for himself, very shortly after Hash'ak'gik's defeat -- Kain never truly understood why. Raziel's hope had made Kain partly understand Vorador's reasoning, though -- so much loss, Vorador suffered. And the loss of Umah, also by Kain's own hand, who he killed in his self-centered paranoia; if he knew now, he thought, maybe he would've done things differently. But Vorador had done what he had done, and in attempting to murder Kain at Lheth'uin after learning that Janos, too, had been destroyed possibly by Kain's own hand, could take no more, and tried to betray Kain. Kain did only what he could, and as he continued to Vorador's tomb, he reminded himself of the mindfulness of his decision to kill the ancient vampire -- but regardless, there were more important things to take care of now.

Vorador's tomb was swarmed with demons, Kain realized that they too were looking for Delphiel; but why, was just another answer for those who had all the answers. Fighting through them, Kain entered the Tomb of Vorador, and battling into the lowest level of the cairn itself, Kain again encountered Delphiel, snidely recounting his promise to return. Delphiel names his promise fulfilled, and tells him what she has planned. Using her Glyph magic, she can transport Kain to a place where he can find the answers he needs -- but this place is not a safe realm, and the madness of it is greater even than the Demon Realm. Kain demands to go regardless, and Delphiel, before sending him away, reminds Kain there is little time left. Kain acknowledges this, and is teleported away by the Seer just as the demons break into the chamber, much like in BO2.

Kain awakens in a strange realm. It is Nosgoth, again, much like the Demonic and Spectral Realms are -- but only a facet of it, but not the same as the other two. This version of Nosgoth seemed distant, and unflinching during Nosgoth's corruption -- but just as lifeless. No stirring, no native beasts wandering, no birds flying, nothing. Only white, and black, and in the distance, a Glass Tower. Kain walked, slowly, but cautiously, towards it in the distance.

(The Ephemeral Plane, SR1 Era, Two Years After Kain and Raziel Departed Through the Chronoplast)

The Ephemeral Plane, Delphiel called it before transporting Kain away -- a place where the creators of Nosgoth dwell in denial and madness, wishing for the purity of their newborn world to come again, unaware that Nosgoth's lost innocence can never be returned. It was a mirror image of Nosgoth at the time of its' birth; perfect, pristine, and beautiful. Rolling planes, talling, snow-capped mountains, forests. But this one moment, the only moment all was right in Nosgoth, was all the creators of Nosgoth wished to know or even can know -- trapping a "still-image" of Nosgoth at it's birth in time, they dwell in this place waiting, hoping Nosgoth can be restored. But this place where time does not dwell itself is under siege, and Kain, purified by the soul reaver, could see it; in the far, far distance, east and west, beyond the mountains that bordered Nosgoth, great tentacles lurched into the sky, clawing towards the Glass Tower ever slowly. The colorless world was tainted by the presence of the Elohim; and Kain, realizing this, rushed to the Glass Tower as fast as he could for answers before it was too late.

The tower was a curious one. A single column, raising infinitely into the sky, much like the Pillars of Nosgoth, made entirely of deep violet, blue and green glass. It and the valley it rested in was the last remant of perfection in the ephemeral plane with the Elohim slowly encroaching -- and Kain knew if they reached the Tower before he knew his mission, what he was destined to do, it would be over. Fortunately, and with little trouble, he did. Inside the Glass Tower was a white, marble building; similar to the main chapel of Avernus Cathedral. Into the side walls of the Cathedral were carved alcoves, and in them, several statues stood -- on the floor, in blood script, was written "Herein Dwell Those Who Have Attained Ultimate Balance." Kain immediately recognized the statue of Mortanius, his "father," and Raziel, his "son." Some balanced family, he sneered, as he approached the altar.

Three figures kneeled there, back to back, like statues. Only their hands, feet, and chins were visible; and they were white as marble, with blueish-green veins coursing throughout. Their hands and feet were cloven, much like the ancient vampires, but their dark reddish-violet hoods that covered their faced gave the impression of great Hylden-esque crests. These were the creators of Nosgoth, the beings the Hylden worshipped, that created the Elohim, Metatron, everything alive. And they had the answers Kain sought.

Kain first inquires as to the Ephemeral Plane, and it's nature. One of the three responds in her soft, monotone voice that it is the resting place of those who have attained true balance. Another finishes her statement by claiming that it was a resting place for those whose paths upon the wheel of fate were completed, and the final of the three adds that it is the beginning and end of Nosgoth.

Kain asks then of the Pillars, and their relation to Nosgoth. The first of the three responded that to answer such a question, you must understand the nature of the Elohim, the Spinners of the Wheel. The second continued that the Elohim once had purpose -- to help the lost find balance -- and the third finished, noting that they themselves were lost.

The first alone then describes the Pillars. She explains that when the Elohim lost Ultimate Balance, no living thing in Nosgoth could again find balance or salvation along the Wheel of Fate -- the Hylden realized this, and denounced it. This led to the war with the Ancients, which was greatly distressing to the Triune, the name given to the three creators. When the Elohim lost balance, they assumed, the balance of all living things suffered, and thus came up with an idea. To end the war with the Hylden, the Triune sent a divine message to an ancient -- the original Time Guardian -- of the Pillars of Nosgoth, and that by channelling the natural energy of Nosgoth, they could again bring balance to it and those who lived in it. But when she presented the idea to the ancients, they twisted it, and warped it to use as a weapon against the Hylden. The Hylden retaliated by subdueing one of the Elohim themselves -- The Mass -- and using its' natural energies against the Pillars and the ancients. This natural energy, Kain realizes, was the glyphs. The Triune explains to Kain that the Pillars are simply broken, and if they can be repaired and the Elohim eliminated, then Balance may again be found.

Kain then asks of glyph magic, and what role it plays. The Triune shudders at the word "glyph," and stutters in fear as they tell of it. The Hylden did not naturally have this power and use it to subdue The Mass, as was thought -- with Delphiel's aid, they captured and subdued one of the Elohim, and drained a curious energy source, it's refuse, from it. When a soul is spun along the Wheel of Fate, they explain to Kain, not all of the soul is reborn; the memories and emotions that are scarred on the soul are left behind as excriment. This negative energy was harnessed by the Hylden, and used as a last ditch effort to protect their kind against the Pillars. In using it, however, Nosgoth is damaged greatly damaged -- by reusing this negative energy, souls cannot find inner-peace. The Hylden once were a noble, proud, righteous race, the Triune describes, but lost their way just as the Ancients did, just as Metatron did.

At the mention of Metatron, Kain asks of it, and the other Elohim. The Triune describes, much as Kain knew, that the Elohim were created to spin souls in the Wheel of Fate -- a cycle meant to purify souls to help them find Ultimate Balance and enter the Ephemeral Plane where they may find peace. Metatron however, the first and strongest, grew too strong and too voracious of appetite to control, and rebelled -- three of his siblings were killing by him, swalled whole into the Wheel, where they too are now respun until they find a balance that will likely never come. Metatron, however, is not satisfied with being the only Elohim, as is now the case; he seeks to swallow the Triune itself, believing it to have lost its balance, and then Nosgoth itself, until there is nothing left but the deluded, bloated creature that believes itself perfect. One of the Triune interjects, stating that Metatron is partially right -- the Triune, after The Binding was placed, fled Nosgoth to the stability and perfection of the Ephemeral Plane, instead of dealing with Nosgoth's problems as its creators should have. The last one sadly responds, claiming they deserve to be enveloped into the maw that is the Wheel of Fate, along with all of impure Nosgoth.

Kain then asks of the races of Nosgoth, and why the Triune suffered so much from the wars that followed between them. They respond as would be expected; asking Kain whether he felt any remorse to see his vampiric children fighting amongst themselves, destroying their empire. Another explains that the greatest mistake the Triune made was in their creation of Nosgoth's three most prominant races; The Elohim were created with only a balanced spirit, the Hylden were made only with a balanced mind, and the Ancients only with a balanced form. Thus, each lacked balance in either form, spirit or mind, and this led to Nosgoth's downfall. The Pillars, however, were meant to resolve this -- but the Pillars were used for a different purpose. To seal the Hylden in the Demon Realm.

Hearing of the Demon Realm and the native beasts inside, and remembering the Watchful Eyes in the Demon Realm's skies, Kain inquires as to it's nature. The Demonic Realm, the Triune describes, is simply the "belly" of Metatron; the place the glyphs are kept until they are expelled. The Ancients knew this when they banished the Hylden there, and did so with irony in mind; to banish the Hylden, who refused to serve the Elohim, inside the greatest of the Elohim seemed a fitting punishment. This was why the demonic realm is the only place Metatron could not speak; because it was technically within him. The place where the glyphs are kept and souls are respun, unfit for normal, living beings -- hence the degradation of the Hylden race, over time. The demons are simply tools created by the Elohim; twisted creatures meant to aid in the cleansing, locating, and creation of souls. They are not so different, the Triune describes, than the Shades or Archons encountered. Kain responds with asking why, then, did they follow Janos, when Janos sought so blindly to destroy both Hylden and Elohim; to which one of the Triune responded that not all the demons serve all the Elohim; many of the demons trapped in the demon realm were servants of the other Elohim, who were devoured when their masters fell.

Finally, Kain asks of the Soul Reaver, its purpose, the Pillars, and Raziel. The Triune mutters briefly of Raziel, saying how he was one of very few to attain true balance without the Elohim's cycle or the Pillars, but he is not allowed to rest just yet -- his beginning, ironically, is his end; and Raziel's peace can only come when he gives himself up to the Soul Reaver, and his vital task of cleansing the Pillars. The Reaver, the Triune explains, is meant to purify the Pillars; but to do so, all thee incarnations of the Pillars must be cleansed. Purifying the Material Realm first is pointless, they claim; until Metatron is destroyed, all parts of Nosgoth will be corrupted. The facet of the Pillars inside the Demon Realm must be cleansed first, to destroy the glyphwells. When purified, Metatron himself can be confronted. Then the Pillars of the Spectral Realm must be purified; so that the souls trapped there can be released from the Wheel forever. Finally, the Pillars of the Material Realm must be cleansed; and with Metatron destroyed, there will be no more cause for the Binding to remain, and the Pillars can return to their original function of maintaing Nosgoth's fragile balance. New guardians can then be born again to serve the Pillars, not to have the pillars serve them, as Anacrothe and Moebius thought; and Nosgoth can finally find salvation.

Kain, taking it all in, assures the Triune he will do all these things; but the Triune, lacking balance themselves, doubts it is possible. The effects of the Ephemeral Plane begin to take hold, and Kain himself beginss to doubt that he can, having lost even the key to Nosgoth's salvation, the Soul Reaver to a deranged Janos Audron. He turns to depart, but noticing the statue of Raziel, turns to face the Triune with grim determination, telling them they're wrong and Nosgoth still has hope. The Triune remains stubborn in their doubtfulness, and give Kain quick passage back into the Material Realm.

Kain returns to Nosgoth to find it entirely in ruins; almost entirely devoid of life, save for the sprawling tentacles of Metatron now stretching forth in freedom across Nosgoth. It is likely, Kain realizes, that the humans still maintained several of their well fortified cities underground and in the high peaks across Nosgoth, and it is unlikely all of the Hylden, demons, or his own vampiric clans were destroyed -- but wherever they were, they would not show themselves now, or were fighting their battles still beneath Nosgoth's surface. In the distance, near where the Lake of Tears would have been thousands of years ago, Kain notices the green crackling of Glyph magic -- and heads in that direction, still looking desparately for Janos and Reaver, being taunted by the Elder God as he makes his way. Arriving at the mountains created by Kain's fateful decision, Kain descends into a cavern leading him, again, into the ruins of the Vampire Citadel, following it down deeper and deeper until finally arriving at the Spirit Forge. There, he watches Hash'ak'gik and Janos fighting on the giant mosaic of the symbol of the element of Spirit, the mural of the Scion of Balance with the true Soul Reaver watching from above, though cracked and worn after years of disrepair...

Kain watches in awe for a few moments, commenting how the battle between these two titans, two champions of a war that has waged in Nosgoth even since it's genesis, is the epitome of what has happened to Nosgoth. How both once were balanced, but due to the machinations of the Elohim and the madness of the Triune, they had degraded into the beasts now battling for control of a situation that is beyond their measure of understanding. Stepping in, the two halt their battle temporarily; Hash'ak'gik's scimitar, alight with green fire, clashed against the Reaver, it's eyes glowing with an ethereal blue fire, Janos' scarlet face wrinkled with anger. With a snarl, Janos tells Kain it is his destiny to destroy Hash'ak'gik and Metatron once and for all; only with their death, Janos claims, can Nosgoth be saved, and Kain fulfill his destiny. Hash'ak'gik simply glares at Janos, his lust for his ancient enemy's blood too strong to pull him away. Below, the Spirit Forge trembles, rocks and dust falling onto the three. Janos pulls back, claiming he did not expect Metatron to awaken so soon, before blasting a hole in the rock wall above them and taking flight to the skies above. Hash'ak'gik, alarmed by unstunned, turns to face Kain, reciting again that Kain's fate, and all of Nosgoth's, belongs to the Hylden, and no other. Lowering his glyph blade, Hash'ak'gik lunges, and Kain readies the axes, Havoc and Malice, watching the perimeter of the Spirit Forge as unbeknowest to Hash'ak'gik, the writhing limbs of Metatron coil and wrap around the chamber. The two battle as the Elder God lurches out of the subterranean caverns beneath them, until Kain is finally the victor. Again Hash'ak'gik lay on the floor, bloodied, with Kain standing above him, the glyph fire in his eyes beginning to die. Kain looks down on him, not with sympathy, but with pity; commenting that this time, there is no host to escape to, no Channelling Beacon to use to flee, and that the fate of the Hylden Lord would not be that of the Soul Reaver. Confidently, and like so long ago when Raziel sacrificed himself, Kain teleports himself to the mouth of the chasm created by Janos retreating to Nosgoth's bleak skies.

Hash'ak'gik lay on the floor of the Spirit Forge, dying, as the invisible form of Metatron slinks about him, moving upwards towards Nosgoth's surface. Slowly, Hash'ak'gik is devoured by the maw the leads to only one place -- the Wheel of Fate, and the unending cycle of Balance...

On Nosgoth's surface, Kain looks about the horizon. Tentacles, deep green in color and covered in azure eyes move slowly upwards, piercing the Planes as they do. Metatron, Kain realizes, had learned of Kain's visit to the Ephemeral Plane, and with the creators of Nosgoth, the Triune -- and in doing so, has learned the only way to stop the false god. Kain deduces that Metatron is moving to take the Ephemeral Plane and destroy the Triune, perhaps to end this confrontation once and for all and ensure Nosgoth's domination. He had no time to ponder the thought, however, as towards the Lake of the Dead, that swirling abyss that remains the gravesite for Raziel's physical form, the massive heart of Metatron pulls itself up, a stretched, slimy maw with a toothed beak at it's center, similar to the one on the Elohim hidden at the Hylden Gate, but a hundred times larger. As the creature, once meant to be Nosgoth's purifier, pulls itself out from it's place of rest, its underside could be seen -- and there, terrifyingly, was the cruelest symbol of all. Glowing with spectral light was the symbol of the horrid creation that was the cause of Nosgoth's suffering -- the Wheel of Fate. So much like the Abyss, it was; circles upon circles, curving into each other, and at it's center a great eye -- Metatron's eye, that watched Nosgoth fall further away as it slowly pulls itself up into the heavens. But Kain's concentration is distracted, as from Metatron's mouth came a groan of pain...

Above him, Kain saw Janos Audron, the Reaver Guardian, vengeful and driven mad from years of imprisonment inside Metatron by Hash'ak'gik, wielding the Soul Reaver. Flying with ungodly speed, the blood red ancient darted across the skies, plunging the sword into Metatron's eyes, slicing at it's tentacles, and any part of the Elohim's form that came near. He continued fighting, crashing again and again into Metatron's heart as Kain watched, moving closer towards the Lake of the Dead. Looking up, Kain saw Janos fall, having been struck by one of the giant limbs, and fall quickly towards Nosgoth's landscape, crashing into the rocks below. Kain moves to Janos, lifting him up and taking the Reaver from his, placing it in the scabbard on his back, and removing the Nexus Stone from Janos' neck, holding it tightly. Janos, however, is already dead -- and Kain, saying nothing, lays his body down on the rocks, moving away. Kain turns quickly, hearing terrible screams and howls in the air; around Janos' body, matter begins to shift, and a multitude of figures manifest. Lacking legs, they float slightly above the ground; their hooded, blue robes tattered. From their long sleeves, Kain notices, protrude several claw like limbs; violet in color, with blue glowing eyes beneath their hoods, and pincers protruding beneath them. Kain hears Metatron laugh far above, shouting his triumph in that his upstart follower has again returned to him, as will all of Nosgoth very soon. The figures, The Archons, made manifest by possessing the fallen bodies of Hylden, Vampire and Human alike lunge toward Janos' dead body, their pincers tearing at his red skin, devouring his very soul. With the loss of both Raziel and Moebius, Metatron had needed servants capable of acting as both ambassadors to the Material Realm, and conduits from which Metatron could feed, and these were they. Kain is prepared to fight them, but realizing he has a greater task at hand, focuses on the Nexus Stone and transports himself to the Demon Realm.

Making his way again across the now emptied, red wastelands, Kain arrives at the Pillars of Nosgoth that reside, in one form, inside Metatron. The Triune claimed that by doing this, Metatron himself could be purified, at least in part -- enough to destroy the glyphwells which poison Nosgoth even more, now that Metatron's body hovers ominously over Nosgoth, climbing ever upward. Approaching the Pillars, Kain prepares to purify them with the Soul Reaver, but another tear in space gives way a lumbering beast. Kain analyzes it, noticing it is very similar to the black, horned demons he has encountered in the past, but infinitely more evolved. In place of legs, it's lower body was more similar to that of a centipede -- thousands of barbed legs jittered, clicking against the Pillars' platform, illuminated red by the fires of the hellish place. In place of claws, as well, the thing brandished two, scythe-shaped claws; and much like it's master, there was no mouth to be seen. Only long, squid-like tentacles, surrounding a mouth that spoke, but never moved. Calling itself the Archon of Life and claiming to serve a higher purpose than Kain could ever hope, Kain responds by brandishing the Soul Reaver, and battles the monstrosity. Defeating it, Kain stabs the Reaver into the beast's heart, returning it grimly to the Wheel of Fate.

Plunging the Soul Reaver in the center of the Pillars platform, Kain pauses, waiting for something to occur. The red realm begins to quake and tremor, and above him, the eyes of Metatron close tightly; Kain realizes, at the least, the Elohim is stunned. Around him, the pools of glowing, green fluid -- the glyphwells -- begin to dry, sizzling and boiling until the streams, oceans and lakes made of glyph magic in the Demon Realm are as barren as the rest of the dimension. With a wry smirk at the eyes above, Kain again focuses on the Nexus Stone, but this time transporting himself to a place he's never been, and was not even sure he could survive in -- the Spectral Realm. The eyes above in the darkness and the red, dry landscape twist slowly into violet, and then to blue; as structures began rapidly forming around Kain, rocks and streams, and suddenly, Kain finds himself in the Sanctuary of the Clans. Kain lets his mind wander and ponders about Raziel's fate the day he had ordered his execution; but is interrupted to find another Archon already in place here, watching. This one floated absentmindedly above the ground, and was not large and intimidating as the other was; this Archon was as thin as bones, though his fingers were longer than any normal being. From the bottom of it's black, tattered robes fell a tail; slithering and ribbed, or was it the bottom of a spinal cord? Beneath its hood, Kain could perceive two eyes, glowing with spectral flame, and pincers, almost insect-like, clawing at the air, drawing matter into the mouth that undoubtedly lay hidden beneath the hood. This one called itself the Archon of Death, and as Kain fought it, it summoned vampire wraiths, shackled to it's long, bony wrists, to attack Kain. With the Soul Reaver, Kain again killed another of the Archons; only to find himself alone, surrounded by total darkness. Eyes opened around him, and claws lunged at him, shades and vampire wraiths chained to the Elder God or simply looking for the fresh meal Kain provided. Swiftly stabbing the Reaver into the Pillars base, the spectres around him recoiled, as did all the lost souls chained to Metatron across the Spectral Realm, until they faded into nothing. Noting his task was nearly complete, despite a mocking laugh from Metatron, Kain focused one last time on the Nexus Stone, and was again in the Material Realm, at the Sanctuary of the Clans. Despite being partially destroyed by the ensuing chaos, Kain was slightly glad to see what was once his home still holding together. He approached his throne, thinking on the fate of his empire, when a familiar voice called out to him...

Kain turned to see none other than Raziel standing at the entrance to his throne room. And not simply Raziel; but a fully restored Raziel, his wings unfurled, his bright red cloak with clan symbol draped neatly over his shoulder, his iron-toed boots still shining. As if that fateful day what seemed an eternity ago had never happened. As though it was happening all over again. Shocked, but not without his senses, Kain looked up through the destroyed roof of the Sanctuary, asking Metatron, the Triune, maybe all of them, what this was. But Raziel answered, asking Kain if this wasn't what he wanted. To have no great destiny, to have only his sons, his empire, everything for himself. Kain snarled back to Raziel, claiming much like he did in Avernus, there is more at stake than just Nosgoth -- who knows what other worlds the Triune had created, what other peoples -- and that if they are destroyed, everything else might follow. Raziel cocks his brow, asking Kain if he's sure that's what he wants, or does he just want to correct his own mistakes? Kain stepped forward, perhaps with a bit of disappointment, as the figure of Raziel faded, only to be replaced by another visage from his past.

Scantily clad, a violet dress covering her perfect form, but with iron shoulderpads and greaves, symbols of Hash'ak'gik's New Sarafan Order on them. Her hair was raven black, neatly tied into a ponytail, and Kain's mouth opened with some amazement to see her again. Kain says her name, Umah, quietly, before shaking his head and drawing the Soul Reaver. He shouts to her that he has survived the dementia of realms and creatures far worse than the thing that attempted to subdue his mind now, and he would not allow this to succeed. Umah, then suddenly faded also -- and finally, the figure of Mortanius appeared. Mortanius moved swiftly close to Kain, his death mask hiding his facial features as he snapped, asking if it was instead revenge Kain wanted; revenge on the one who was largely responsible for Kain's involvement and misery. Kain slashes at the figure of Mortanius as it fades, and above Kain's own thrown, hovering, is himself. His own human figure, and Kain glares at it hatefully. It tells Kain that is surprised Kain didn't succumb easier -- and perhaps Metatron had underestimated the Scion of Balance. The floating form of mortal Kain calls itself the Archon of Rebirth, another soul-devouring wraith of Metatron. Like Raziel possessing Moebius, Kain realizes, the Archon of Rebirth had been forcing it's will into whatever corpse it inhabited, transforming it with the hopes of driving Kain mad, or worse. Kain resolves himself in his mission to save Nosgoth and not give into the illusions, and wielding the Reaver, battles the Archon. During the battle, the Archon summoned spectral visages of many of Kain's old "acquaintences" -- Raziel, Hash'ak'gik, Janos, Ariel, Mortanius, Umah, Vorador, Moebius -- but the last Archon is eventually beaten, and devoured by the Reaver. And for the last time, Kain stabbed the Reaver into the heart of the Pillars platform, this time in the Material Realm.

Nothing. Was this Nosgoth's fate, then, Kain wondered? The glyphwells are destroyed, the lost souls and those that had yet to be respun were set free, and so much had been accomplished, only to fail at the last moment. Kain looked above him. Metatron, though weakened, was nearly beyond sight, crossing into the Ephemeral Plane. But why nothing? The Triune had claimed once all free facets of Nosgoth were cleansed, Nosgoth would be free of the Wheel of Fate and Metatron forever, and finally be restored after an eternity of grief. Kain began to doubt again, and not even the thought of Raziel's sacrifice or all his other achievements could bring back the hope of salvation. Kain decides that Nosgoth be damned; if he's too late, it will be destroyed regardless. But first, Kain decides, answers are needed. Using the Nexus Stone, Kain transports himself to the Ephemeral Plane, to the Glass Tower of the Triune amidst the timeless white fields.

Kain approaches the Triune, determined at least to have the knowledge he seeks before everything is destroyed. He demands they tell him why Nosgoth was not yet purified, why any of this had ever happened, and at the very least, what is it's fate now. They respond, again in turns of three, ignoring his snide remarks. The first states that he has done well, exactly as he was meant to do. The second says that Nosgoth is now, after all this time, ready to be purified -- and the third adds Kain's destiny is finally completed. Kain is confused, asking how he can have fulfilled his destiny if Nosgoth is still a wasteland, and the Elohim and the Wheel of Fate still dominate it. The Triune responds that was never his destiny; it was his destiny to prepare Nosgoth for reshaping, for reconstruction. They talk of how though they desired to, their madness made them unable to influence Nosgoth any longer, hidden so far away in denial and insanity in the Ephemeral Plane. But now, they claim, Kain has restored all of Nosgoth he can; enough so the Triune again has influence over it, enough to destroy and remake it. The perfect world they always wanted, made corrupt by Metatron's appetite and the selfish hatreds of their children, the Hylden and the Ancients. They had been ensuring Kain's immortality -- his status as the Scion of Balance, their avatar and champion -- long enough so that he could fulfill his role. Kain lowered his head. Again, all this time -- there was no free will. There was only strings -- layers upon layers of manipulation and control, one evil on top of another. And then Kain made the most important realization of all. Nosgoth's decay was, in part due to the corruption and greed of the Elohim, the enslavement of souls upon the Wheel of Fate, and the introduction of the venomous glyph magic. But the greatest cause, the collapse of the Pillars that controlled Nosgoth's health and natural, inner balance, could never be restored. They were the creation of beings that had, themselves, lost their balance in their sadness -- to see their children fight and kill one another, to have their world destroyed. The Triune once kept Nosgoth safe, and believed it could be saved; but their absence did irreparable harm to Nosgoth. And even now, they sought to destroy it and rebuild anew. With everything he had worked so hard to save at risk, and wielding the only true source of Balance in Nosgoth, Raziel's soul, Kain fights the Triune. Killing the Triune Avatar of Form and the Triune Avatar of Mind, and moments away from finishing his task and destroying the Triune Avatar of Spirit, Kain paused in that moment of time. In that second before the blade struck, he thought of Nosgoth's fate. How could it survive without its gods, if it even could? And what of his own fate; his hopes of returning to his role as Balance Guardian, and watching Nosgoth bloom into life again? Forcing the Soul Reaver into the last of the Triune goddesses, light filled the Glass Tower, and the Ephemeral Plane, nearly devoured by Metatron. Kain hoped, at least, Delphiel would tell his story.

In the Material Realm, Delphiel rushed to the Pillars of Nosgoth. Though the physical body of Metatron was invisible to her, she had known he was there, somewhere -- but now, nothing. It was gone. She had heard, on her way to the Sanctuary of the Clans, voices; Hylden, Vampire and Human alike, confused survivors of this cataclysmic final battle. But Kain was nowhere to be seen. She rushed into the throne room of the Sanctuary, turning her head, but he was nowehere. But there, sitting on his throne across the room, was the Soul Reaver, it's eyes still glowing as Raziel's soul watched from within -- displaced and returned by Metatron devouring the Triune through the Soul Reaver -- the event that had, ultimately, destroyed both entities. She picked it up, looking at it sadly, the dark skies slowly clearing. She didn't know, entirely, Nosgoth's fate -- whether Kain had succeeded or not, whether Nosgoth would heal. But if it was, it would be a slow process, she decided. The pieces of three races that had warred for centuries had to be picked up and placed together in a fragile balance; the same could not be said for the Pillars of Nosgoth, however. Destroyed and ruined, they sat behind Kain's throne as they always have. But different, somehow -- the decay was gone. The dark grey and brown stone was slowly becoming smooth and alabaster again. The change would be slow, Delphiel assured herself. Using the crumbling Chronoplast Chamber, Delphiel sent herself back into the past, thousands of years, to a time years before Kain's birth. Disguised as an Acolyte of Avernus Cathedral, she passed through it's hallowed halls to one of it's two deepest chambers -- to Heaven, they called it, and there, in the arms of an angelic statue so like Raziel, whom she never knew, she layed the Soul Reaver, and sealed the entrance in such a way so that one day, Moebius would come and deliver it as a "gift" to young King William. It would be returned to "Heaven" sometime during the fifty years that followed William's death, however -- only again to be claimed by a man who could save or damn an entire world at his whim...

And in the Ephemeral Plane, Nosgoth still was displayed as a perfect, pristine world in that moment it's mothers, The Triune, gave birth to it. And there, in the white halls of the Glass Tower, wherein dwell those who have attained Ultimate Balance, stood three statues: Mortanius, Raziel, and in between them, Kain.

And that's it.. hope some of you liked it, feel free to post, y'know, thoughts or anything. >.>

[m0oSe]

wow, I saw this when it was on page 1, and i've been reading it on and off. It was really long, but i have some questions if you're still around

[UndeadRaziel]

wow.. nice =) i love it!

except one thing.. why a statue of Mortanius? What did he do?

[Smoke_Z]

Didn't read the entire thing yet, but it certainly is complicated. Two points: Hash'a'gik shouldn't be alive, but rather have one of his allies if it's entirely neccesary. Kain needn't return to the future to gather armor and weapons, the Turel point can go when Kain returns to the future after talking to the original time guardian.

I don't think they'll use this in a recognisable form because they like to keep us guessing.

[UndeadRaziel]

yeah.. they'd want the game to be ambiguous. like the others.

i just noticed.. this post was made last year X-D

[Smoke_Z]

Originally Posted by UndeadRaziel

i just noticed.. this post was made last year X-D

Ooops. Actually, it was edited recently. New users tend to drag things up.

Hi Moose! *smiley wave*

[Thryhring]

Wow, replies. @_@ hehe

Yeah, I know it doesn't leave much ambiguity. But that was because I was trying to think of a good, final story for LoK -- not something that would eventually lead to further sequels like the developers probably would. Something to tie up loose ends and be a proper finale.

Well, I thought Mortanius deserved a statue there because of how he
developed throughout his life. The first human death guardian who was likely kidnapped/"adopted" by the Ancients and raised up until a certain age when he would eventually be given the dark gift, he rebels before they give it to him(and Moebius), leading a revolt against the Ancients nearly wiping them out. He leads what appears to be a fairly morally bankrupt existence, leading a cult worshipping a monster he doesn't understand the origins of(or the origins of what's inside it), only to become possessed as a result of his corruption. But in the end, he did try to atone for what he did vicariously through Kain -- he may not've bet the farm on the best person, but he tried his best to correct his wrongs. I thought, because of that, he deserved a statue there and found his own "balance."

And on Hash'ak'gik -- I thought his death in BO2 was a cop out, to be honest with you. The Hylden have a method of seeing into the timestream, and Hash'ak'gik masterminded much of BO1 and Defiance, and has been a major antagonistic figure throughout the series. I think he deserved a better end than being taken out by young Kain like a punk.

And since the Hylden have no problems possessing people to get the job done(Hash'ak'gik, afterall, possesses several throughout the series), I thought it would kind of make sense he'd protect his own hide by possessing another Hylden, so his soul could flee said Hylden, if trouble came along.

As for Kain returning to the future originally before going to the Ancient War era, there were a couple reasons for that -- I agree, it wasn't entirely necessary. That probably would've been more of a gameplay mechanic -- giving Kain alternative weapons to use, and a chance to see SR1 again before it goes cataclysmic when he returns. He was also grabbing the portable time streaming device he nabbed from William the Just's keep after killing him to make time travelling easier; running back to the Chronoplast everytime he had to would've been kinda boring I guess hehe. I see that as I continued the story, that never really came up -- the Time Guardian sends him back to the future, and he doesn't really time travel again after that. But I guess he wouldn't've known how things were gonna go, anyway.

[Vampmaster]

I'm about half way through it. I like most of what I've read so far, but I think the part where he goes to the SR1 era just to get his items seems like it's there just because you miss the abilities and not because it adds to the quality of the story. I'm not too keen on the EG being a hylden weapon related to the mass either. I prefere the idea of him being the thing that started the war by manipulating both races from the beginning. Themes like good being not that good and evil being not that evil and the whole hypocrisy thing have been present through the entire series. I mean right from the beginning, the thing making the series different has been that you get to play the bad guy, so I think it would be more interesting to try to keep those themes.

[black_reign]

Great story....some of this does make sense when you think about it... Mortanius does look like Raziel a little and it does have that LOK style of twists and turns but in the end, who is actually telling the story(or Legacy) of Kain?

[Thryhring]

Thanks for the comments and for reading it, all. I'm glad people actually are hehe.

Vampmaster, I don't know what you mean by the EG being a Hylden weapon -- in my story, he is related to the Mass, and the Mass *was* used by the Hylden as a weapon. But the EG in my story doesn't have anything to do with the Hylden -- if you're only halfway through though, maybe you haven't gotten into that part yet.

And yeah, to be honest I kind of agree now in hindsight, that the original trip to the future was unnecessary -- but I kind of stand by it. I didn't do it just so Kain could get some of his original weapons though, as cool as that would be hehe. I wanted Kain to be able to explore some of future Nosgoth *before* it goes completely chaotic, and I wanted Turel to be taken out of the future before the Hylden started invading also. In terms of an actual game, I guess I kind of saw the Sanctuary of the Clans and future Nosgoth as sort of a "hub" from which sidequests and such could be undetaken in between the other things that had to be done, so I thought it would be approrpriate if he stopped by. Since it would have to be in the future Kain changes to avoid any fatal paradoxes, I also wanted him to stop in sometime after he and Raziel left just to make sure everything was as it was with his empire, considering all the paradoxes and time changing that's occurred by then.

black_reign, that's exactly what I was thinking when I was thinking this up hehe. That's why I decided to end it like that -- with Kain wondering who would tell his, Raziel's, and Nosgoth's story, and the implication that it would be Delphiel who was telling it and would tell it to future generations in Nosgoth.

[Guardian OF The Reaver]

Well I finally read it all, And I got to say it was pretty good.

awesome job dude.

[black_reign]

THRYHRING.... does you idea of Kain being possessed by the Hylden Lord take place after BO2? and did you get this idea by the look at look on Kain's face at the end of BO2. i was asking because i hope i wasn't the only one who saw that.

[The Hylden]

I just read this all and have some points I have questions and comments on. It was a cool effort, though. I think, with some touch-ups and fleshing out, it possibly could be a next addition. It certainly would be a grand over-all experience, with maybe the ending being a little less than climactic. But then, this isn’t a Rocky film, lol.

The easiest person, he deduces, would be Vorador. Being dead, Kain decides to head to the palace of William the Just(north of Stahlberg; don't think the name was ever said), where Vorador was executed by Moebius.

Vorador’s head appears held by Moebius’s statue when Raziel is hurled a century into the future from BO1's era. Unless you are saying that the paradoxes changed this event, which I doubt they would (path of least resistance), it’s a little too soon for Kain to find Vorador’s head and revive him.

From the Chronoplast in the SR1 era, Kain returns to the Sanctuary of the Clans. There, he procures some older artifacts of his(the chaos or flesh armor, possibly the axes?) to use when he returns to the past,

As others have said, this seems unnecessary. Kain’s skin is his own armor and he’s got the most uber weapon in history. He doesn’t need those items anymore.

and also the Timesteaming Device he procured from William the Just's castle after the "assassination" of the young king.

Those time streaming devices were described as one-way tickets. They broke after their initial use, planted for Kain to find by Moebius, who wouldn’t want him to use them again. Kain wouldn’t be able to use it again, then. It would make more sense for him to use the Chronoplast Chamber for any time travel necessary.

Kain encounters a curious sight -- Turelim vampire, enmass, and Turel himself, retaining as much of his humanity as he can. Turel tells Kain that, just as Kain asked, Turel scattered his clan across Nosgoth; but for nothing. Kain simply disappeared, Turel claims, and abandoned them and all Nosgoth to the decay Kain himself had damned it to. Turel lunges at Kain before a rift in space and time occurs

This part, I just don’t like, really. Number one, with the devolution of the rest of the clans’ leaders, I don’t see why Turel has to be more human than we saw in Defiance and, number two, I don’t see him really just up and attacking Kain like that.

Using this, he instantly transports himself to the far past, during the war between the Ancients and the Hylden.

Again, the timestreaming devices were one-way tickets in BO1.

The glyph barriers that protected the city, though easily penetratable by Kain

Why would Kain be immune suddenly to Glyph barriers, when all vampires, including him, were quite susceptible to them in B02?

Since the Glyphwright Lord, Dun'dar'ak, had assumed control during Hash'ak'gik's absence by destroying the Warrior caste, many Hylden had died

Why would they die, or how could they? The Demon Realm was said to have “ensured [their] immortality” in that Realm.

mocking Kain for thinking he could truly win in that battle at the Hylden Gate so long ago; that the body Hash'ak'gik then possessed was just a host, and the Hylden Throne, much like the Channelling Towers, allowed him to displace his soul and possess the bodies of others. The poor glyphwright who died at the Hylden Gate that day was not so fortunate

Alright, so he supposedly jumped out of the body at just the right moment? That, I might accept, actually. However, one other thing that is fuzzy with this is that Kain has become “purified” by the Wraith Blade, down to his very soul. If the Hylden Lord/Hash was inside of him then, would not he be purified too? It’s a bit iffy, all of this. However, I agree with you that, after seeing into the future, and also manipulating this whole ordeal with BO1, etc., Hash shouldn't have died so easily... It doesn't make any sense at all. I actually had a theory he was an imposter a long while ago, or maybe even a clone (as they seemed to be experimenting with cloning, those wacky Hylden).

a glyph insignia burned permanently into his flesh

Even with his uber-healing abilities? This also goes back to my "Why was he unaffected by the Glyph Barriers?" question earlier. Yet, he's affected permanently now by Glyph magic?

The rest is interesting and could work with the right presentation, I suppose. Kind of melancholy end for Kain, but then, that is pretty Nosgothian, heh.

[Thryhring]

black_reign, nah hehe, that wasn't what made me think of that. You're right though, it's after BO2 that Hash'ak'gik's soul enters Kain body in my story, right as Kain reaves him. But it wasn't the look on Kain's face that made me think of that hehe, like I said, it was my desire to see him be in the series more really. I think he got taken out like a punk in BO2, especially with the Hylden's ability to see into the timestream somehow. So I think it's reasonable to assume he planned an escape ahead of time just in case.

Originally Posted by The Hylden

Vorador’s head appears held by Moebius’s statue when Raziel is hurled a century into the future from BO1's era. Unless you are saying that the paradoxes changed this event, which I doubt they would (path of least resistance), it’s a little too soon for Kain to find Vorador’s head and revive him.

Yeah, I guess that's a good point. Ultimately though, and yeah, what with the paradoxes and changes to the timestream, I would say that in my story, it did happen before Moebius was holding the head. I feel that since Raziel seeing Vorador's head in Moebius' statue was such an overall minor thing to the timeline, it was something history wouldn't be bothered about being changed really -- it could just be part of the statue when Raziel sees it in SR2 or something and events would still be pretty much the same.

Originally Posted by The Hylden

Those time streaming devices were described as one-way tickets. They broke after their initial use, planted for Kain to find by Moebius, who wouldn’t want him to use them again. Kain wouldn’t be able to use it again, then. It would make more sense for him to use the Chronoplast Chamber for any time travel necessary.

Had a long argument with someone about this back in the day when I first posted it on www.nosgoth.net hehe. Ultimately, the first timestreaming device Kain used broke after travelling to the past to kill William the Just -- but the one he finds in William the Just's castle never broke, and it was never said what happened to it. That's the one he uses in the story. Since they never said what happened to it, and it's never said they all are only good for one trip, I think it's alright to use it.

Originally Posted by The Hylden

This part, I just don’t like, really. Number one, with the devolution of the rest of the clans’ leaders, I don’t see why Turel has to be more human than we saw in Defiance and, number two, I don’t see him really just up and attacking Kain like that.

He's more "human" than in Defiance for a couple of reasons. His "devolution," at least in my story, is slower than the other lieutenants because, like Raziel, he received a different amount of Kain's soul. His vampires in SR1 are quite human looking; they stand on two legs upright, have two arms, etc., the only real difference is their powers and their ears. Turel isn't exactly "human" though as I envisioned it at this part -- he looks kind of like he does in the SR1 manual, a large, much more muscular Turelim vampire standing upright, with his clan cape on his shoulder. So much like he did in the SR1 opening, just with more yellow skin and large bat ears without hair.

As for him attacking Kain, that's kind of a mixture of things. Without writing any specific dialogue, it was hard to get across what was being discussed between them. The corruption of Kain's soul was starting to take it's toll on his mind, in addition to the fact that, following Kain's orders, he scattered his clan and waited for quite some time, only to find Kain had eventually abandoned Nosgoth when he went back in time. So Turel resented Kain alot for what he'd done.

Originally Posted by The Hylden

Why would Kain be immune suddenly to Glyph barriers, when all vampires, including him, were quite susceptible to them in B02?

That's not what I meant with that line hehe. I meant he could use his powers to bypass them, either by using his super long jump, mistforming through cracks, etc. Not actually go through them.

Originally Posted by The Hylden

Why would they die, or how could they? The Demon Realm was said to have “ensured [their] immortality” in that Realm.

I always assumed that immortal meant to never die naturally, not necessarily never die. They just killed each other, really. If necessary, they could have chopped them up into little pieces -- so even if they're immortality means they can never die ever, they still wouldn't be able to do much if they're just a head and their arms, legs etc. have been removed hehe.

Originally Posted by The Hylden

Alright, so he supposedly jumped out of the body at just the right moment? That, I might accept, actually. However, one other thing that is fuzzy with this is that Kain has become “purified” by the Wraith Blade, down to his very soul. If the Hylden Lord/Hash was inside of him then, would not he be purified too? It’s a bit iffy, all of this. However, I agree with you that, after seeing into the future, and also manipulating this whole ordeal with BO1, etc., Hash shouldn't have died so easily... It doesn't make any sense at all. I actually had a theory he was an imposter a long while ago, or maybe even a clone (as they seemed to be experimenting with cloning, those wacky Hylden).

Yeah, that's what happened. The channelling towers the Hylden used to possess people in Nosgoth and send their souls through the dimensions were similar to Hash'ak'gik's throne, which was where his actual body was when he was possessing random Hylden #3 in BO2. When he knew he was about to get Reaved, his soul left the possessed body and he entered Kain, where he waited for the opportunity to get back. As for Hash'ak'gik being purified, that's a good point, but because of the inherent corruption in the glyphs in my story, he's unable to see the Elder God regardless, due to his exposure to mass amounts of glyphs. It's almost as though he's unpurifiable, I suppose?

Originally Posted by The Hylden

Even with his uber-healing abilities? This also goes back to my "Why was he unaffected by the Glyph Barriers?" question earlier. Yet, he's affected permanently now by Glyph magic?

Well, even with his strength and power he can still be hurt -- and glyph magic, being as damaging to vampires as it is, is really what caused the glyph scar on his hand. Remember, he was actually *using* glyphs while being possessed by Hash'ak'gik, not just being hit by them or around them. The casting of them severely weakened him.

Just because of the long discussions that happened when I posted this on the nosgoth.net forums, I wanted to clarify something first, about Hash'ak'gik and his body, since a poster was really trying to find things wrong with it just to bug me hehe.

In the story, I mention that Hash'ak'gik's body on his throne is reddish, as opposed to the white/grey of the other Hylden, and that it's because he didn't use glyphs in life. I didn't intend it to be "he never used glyphs ever," or that he didn't have the flaming eyes affiliated with glyphs. The green eyes, at least in my story, is an indication of an over exposure to glyphs -- which after being banished, all Hylden possess because the Demon Realm is where glyphs are created and expelled, so they're constantly around them. The flaming skull Hash'ak'gik had in BO2 was kind of a sign that the Hylden was being possessed and not actually Hash'ak'gik himself; since all the Hylden souls are green, in my story, it's kind of like Hash'ak'gik soul is so strong that it's kind of "overflowing" from his weaker Hylden host. He needed to host though to preserve his own life. But just because he spurns glyphs himself doesn't mean he never used them; when confronted by the Glyphwright Lord and his guards, he knew he had to use all the powers available to him.

Originally Posted by The Hylden

The rest is interesting and could work with the right presentation, I suppose. Kind of melancholy end for Kain, but then, that is pretty Nosgothian, heh.

Thanks hehe.

[Anoobish]

Originally Posted by Thryhring

In the story, I mention that Hash'ak'gik's body on his throne is reddish, as opposed to the white/grey of the other Hylden, and that it's because he didn't use glyphs in life. I didn't intend it to be "he never used glyphs ever," or that he didn't have the flaming eyes affiliated with glyphs. The green eyes, at least in my story, is an indication of an over exposure to glyphs -- which after being banished, all Hylden possess because the Demon Realm is where glyphs are created and expelled, so they're constantly around them. The flaming skull Hash'ak'gik had in BO2 was kind of a sign that the Hylden was being possessed and not actually Hash'ak'gik himself; since all the Hylden souls are green, in my story, it's kind of like Hash'ak'gik soul is so strong that it's kind of "overflowing" from his weaker Hylden host. He needed to host though to preserve his own life. But just because he spurns glyphs himself doesn't mean he never used them; when confronted by the Glyphwright Lord and his guards, he knew he had to use all the powers available to him.

Then what abiut Janos, in Defiance? He got possessed by Hash'ak'gik, and got green, glowing eyes, but I doubt he had ever used Glyph magic :P

[Thryhring]

That's a good point, but then again, his wings(for example) were tattered and had a burned look to them. Let's just say that while in Kain's body and being forced to fight another Glyphwright and many other Hylden, Hash'ak'gik was forced to use glyphs much more frequently -- did Janos use all that many glyph-looking spells or moves in Defiance, anyway? I remember the one at the end, the green lightning one that sent Raziel to the Spectral Realm, and the occasional summoning of Revenants(but that tends not to happen very often each fight.)

In this story, were it an actual game, I envisioned the glyph spells to "replace" TK in a way for that fight. Like instead of tapping the button and you TK push someone away, a jet of green fire with glyphs about it shoots out of Kain's hand, and if you hold it, a pillar of glyph fire comes out from under your target. Maybe that's a little indepth, but you get the idea. :P