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    Kain

    Character » Kain appears in 3 issues.

    Kain is a powerful vampire, and scion of the Pillar of Balance. His refusal to sacrifice himself to cleanse his corrupted Pillar along with the other Pillar guardians ensured the fall of Nosgoth from a vibrant, to a decaying world which he ruled over for a thousand years.

    Short summary describing this character.

    Kain last edited by KillerZ on 10/09/23 04:02PM View full history

    Creation

    Kain was created for the Legacy of Kain video game series in 1996 by Amy Hennig from developers Silicon Knights and Crystal Dynamics. Kain was voiced by Simon Templeman.

    History

    "I knew what ominous hour this was in Nosgoth's history. For here was the event that had shaped my entire existence... I had cast my fate, refusing the sacrifice, damning the Pillars, and founding my doomed empire upon their ruins. I would raise the Sarafan priests to be my closest lieutenants, and would one day cast the strongest of them, my servant Raziel, into the abyss – dealing one last hand to play against Fate. But in the end, had it made any difference? Had I misread the signs, as Moebius told me? In my arrogance, had I missed my cast at destiny?"

    Kain made his throne on the Collapse of the Pillars
    Kain made his throne on the Collapse of the Pillars

    Like other vampires, Kain drinks blood to survive, though he has shown a greater level of immortality than other vampires. He implied at one point that the only weapon that could kill him was the Soul Reaver. He possesses a variety of powers including the ability to shape-shift into a wolf form, an intangible mist, and a group of bats which he uses to traverse long distances or to escape when a fight is not going his way. Kain has demonstrated great ability with telekinetic manipulation, from blowing down walls, flinging opponents to their death or sucking the blood from wounds while being up to ten feet away from his victim. He is able to leap great distances and control his descent to land silently from the highest ledges.

    As an elder vampire Kain has tremendous physical advantages over average humans. Super strength, reflexes, stamina, and durability. Kain possess great magical ability with demonstrated control of elemental magics like fire and lightning. In addition, he has acquired a wealth of nasty spells that range from flaying the flesh off a person's bones to possessing their minds.

    Weapons

    Soul Reaver

    "The Soul Reaver, Kain’s ancient blade - older than any of us, and a thousand times more deadly. The legends claimed that the blade was possessed, and thrived by devouring the souls of its victims. For all our bravado, we knew what it meant when Kain drew the Soul Reaver in anger - it meant you were dead."

    --Raziel, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
    Kain with the Soul Reaver
    Kain with the Soul Reaver

    Kain's most deadly weapon may be the Soul Reaver, an ancient indestructible wickedly curved blade originally designed to draw the blood of its victims to the vampire wielder. Now the Soul Reaver houses the ravenous devourer of souls, Raziel. As the Soul Reaver dispatches an enemy it tears the soul loose to feed the spirit trapped within the blade. Kain is a skilled swordsman who often forgoes using his tremendous magical abilities for the thrill of dispatching his enemies at the point of the Soul Reaver, often exclaiming. "Vae Victus!" (Suffering, or woe to the conquered) Kain is a calculating manipulator, often using others to reach goals far in the future. He spent years studying the events that unfold in the chloroplast chamber, a window into different times used by the Time Pillar Guardian, Moebius. From his studies he devised a way to go back in time to change the history of his world to bring balance back to Nosgoth.

    Seeing the opportunity to put his plans to work Kain had his eldest and most trusted lieutenant, Raziel, thrown into the abyss, where his vampiric body would be destroyed by the swirling waters. Raziel would later be resurrected as a wraith and devourer of souls. The same wraith that would ultimately inhabit the Soul Reaver, which is key to changing Nosgoth's history.

    Personality

    Kain is cunning, ambitious, and determined with a sense of wise arrogance, as well as great bloodthirstiness. While at first, he sought to free himself of his vampirism, he now embraces his vampiric side, as well as a growing sense of hatred for humans. Kain is determined to escape the constant manipulations he has faced and take Nosgoth for himself. He also possesses a sense of fatalism that came from Nupraptor's curse, which is also responsible for his desire for power. Kain has stated that as the corrupted Balance Guardian, he can never truly restore Nosgoth to its old self. His actions usually have subtle and cunning intentions behind them, but few are intelligent enough to see these hidden goals.

    The best example is when Kain executed Raziel, which seemed like an act of jealousy, needing him to be reborn as a being with free will so he could change history and their fates. While Kain was once cynical and had little to no care for saving Nosgoth, after his decision, he constantly feels the burden on his conscience, knowing that the world is dependent on his actions.

    Kain balances this with a sense of dark humor and irony, as seen from his use of former Sarafan warriors to create his vampire lieutenants. However, he seems to have some sense of compassion for his “sons”, doing everything he can to secure a resolution to his and Raziel’s fates where they both survive. Also, despite Kain’s flaws, he has an appreciation for honesty and has rarely ever consciously lied to someone else, at most telling only half-truths.

    He values loyalty and believes traitors should be destroyed without a second thought. Kain makes little use of diplomacy, which seems to be a result of his anger, but it is actually a tool. His ultimate goal of giving the Pillars back to the vampires and restore Nosgoth is a well-meaning one, but Kain acknowledges such a thing may be beyond his reach. Only after Raziel purified him did he finally gain a sense of hope.

    Powers

    Kain’s nature as a vampire grants him superhuman strength, speed, and regeneration, as well as skill in magic. He possesses sharp claws and telekinetic powers, along with various magical abilities known as Dark Gifts.After his defeat by the Sarafan Lord and with time, he gained new Dark Gifts from other vampires. His Dark Gifts include the ability to assume an intangible and invisible mist form when near mist, long distance jumping, the power to control the minds of the weak-willed, even higher speed, and pyrokinetic powers, as well as enhanced telekinesis from the Hylden Seer.

    Kain sucking blood from a Sarafan
    Kain sucking blood from a Sarafan

    After defeating the Hylden Lord, Kain spent the years refining his powers, now sporting the power to teleport, the ability to fire lightning bolts, and the power to change into a swarm of bats to travel around. Kain also has even strong telekinetic powers and became able to change into his mist form without mist nearby. He is also able to undergo any evolutionary sleep where he emerges with some new, less human adaption each time. Kain's primary weapon is the Soul Reaver, a powerful sword that drains the souls of those it slays.

    Other Media

    Video Games

    • Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
    • Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
    • Soul Reaver 2
    • Blood Omen 2
    • Legacy of Kain: Defiance
    • Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

    Comic Book

    Legacy of Kain: Defiance

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