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Update #13: The Sarafan Stronghold

Raziel exits the chamber wherein he spoke with Moebius...

...and finds his first weapon, conveniently placed on the wall. This game differs from Soul Reaver 1 in that he no longer has to finish off his opponents (since he's no longer fighting vampires - we're still 30 years before the events of BO1, remember), but he still 'can'.

He also has two attacks - one a normal swing and one a longer but more powerful attack - and a block, now. The block is fairly useless, as it's easier to just dodge blows, but the power attack is very nice. It has the added bonus of throwing his opponents around like rag dolls, allowing him to more easilly contend with multiple opponents (by clearing some out while dealing with the others). Unfortunately, his enemies can do it as well (and their block is far more effective).

Ahh, just like old times.

Raziel:
"Throughout the Stronghold I discovered evidence of my former nobility, and my life as a Sarafan priest."

Raziel:
"This was the heritage so foully stolen from me when Kain raided my sacred crypt and defiled me."

Soon, we encounter this gate, with a room that will become all too familiar beyond.

Raziel retains his abilities from SR1 (with the exception of Constrict, which was lame anyway), so we shift to the Spectral Realm...

...and will ourselves through the barrier.

On the other side, we shift back to the Material Realm.

Raziel:
"Away from the influence of Moebius' cursed staff, I could feel the strength of the Soul Reaver slowly returning. If that orb was as debilitating to vampires as it was to the blade, it gave Moebius a powerful advantage over his enemies."

Raziel:
"I finally understood how Moebius' crusade could decimate the vampires so successfully. If he could immobilise his enemies, they were at his mercy. But why, I wondered, did the staff have any effect on the Reaver?"

We deal with another minor threat... (Notice the size of Raziel's life coil? He's damn near invincible, at the moment, retaining the strength he gained in SR1. This is essentially an intro.)

Watch it here:

Video - Raziel finds the physical Soul Reaver

As he walks through the chamber, the scenary around him begins to warp and pulse.

Raziel:
"As I neared the Stronghold's inner sanctum, a strange sensation crept over me - an indescribable feeling of displacement, a sense of vertigo as reality itself appeared to warp and bend around me."

Raziel:
"The disturbance seemed to emanate from the Sanctuary's furthest chapel. As I cautiously approached, the sense of dislocation intensified with each step."

Raziel sees a stained glass window in the cathedral...

Raziel:
"So this was the tomb of the beloved King William the Just - beautified here as the martyr and catalyst of Moebius's crusade."

This, remember, is the man destined to become the Nemesis, whom Kain killed in Nosgoth's past, allowing Moebius to incite the vampire massacre that wiped out the rest of his race. Moebius's cruisade that he speaks of in the intro is, in fact, this.

Raziel:
"I was reminded of Kain's journey as a fledgling vampire - How Moebius coerced him to travel back in history and assassinate William, thus igniting a genocidal hatred of vampires among the citizens of Nosgoth."

Raziel:
"And here I discovered the source of the displacement - the Soul Reaver itself, laid out like a holy relic..."

Moebius had returned, in the end of Blood Omen, and given the Reaver to King William, to use against Kain. Kain is not yet born in this time period, and as such, has not yet claimed the blade.

Raziel:
"And broken, apparently in the battle between William and Kain. I had not thought such a thing was possible..."

Raziel:
"Until, of course, Kain shattered the blade against me when he tried to strike me down."

Raziel:
"Thus the captive spirit inhabiting the Reaver was released - and binding itself to me, became my symbiotic weapon."

Raziel reaches out to touch the broken Reaver, and as though in response, the wraith blade begins to manifest on his arm, of it's own will.

Raziel:
"Embracing its twin, its mirror self, the Reaver's long-dormant spirit was now fully aroused."

Raziel:
"And for the first time, I felt the true presence of this other entity - wilful, ravenous, and deranged from thousands of years of imprisonment..."

Raziel:
"Then Reaver was now in command - and I, now merely its helpless host, felt my soul being leeched to restore the blade."

Raziel:
"But the Reaver knew better than to destroy its host - and just as I neared the brink of oblivion, the blade released its hold on me.

Raziel:
"As I recovered, I realized we were now bound together in a fragile alliance - the Reaver no longer merely my symbiotic weapon, but a sentient parasite, competing for control."

Raziel:
"What have you done to me, Moebius?! Is this your trap?!"

Moebius:
"How mine?! Don't forget it was Kain who led you here, not I!
While you curse me - the only soul in Nosgoth ready to guide and assist you - Kain laughs at our folly and revels in your dismay."

Raziel:
"These blades now coiled in sinister embrace have inspired terror in the hearts of creatures far more durable than you, old man. Bound together as they are, I can only imagine what they could do to your soul's fragile shell."

Moebius:
"Raziel, I beg you to stay your hand. This was none of my doing. I have sought only to aid you in your righteous quest."

Raziel:
"Why, you're trembling, Moebius. Has your confidence abandoned you? You seem to have made a fatal error by leaving your precious staff behind. Is that where all your courage comes from?"

Moebius:
"Listen to me, Raziel - you don't know what you're doing. I have taken an enormous risk by appearing here before you, so defenseless, yet eager to prove my good intentions."

Moebius:
"If there's anything left of the Sarafan in you, you won't do this."

Moebius:
"While you threaten me, your true enemy eludes you!"

Raziel:
"Don't concern yourself with Kain, old man. He'll join you in hell soon enough."

Raziel:
"As you said, Death comes to us all..."

Raziel raises the Reaver, with the intent to kill Moebius where he cowers.

Moebius:
"Yes... the Wheel of Fate demands it."

Raziel:
"What did you say?"

Moebius:
"The Wheel of Fate - the inexorable cycle of death and rebirth to which all men are compelled."

Moebius:
"We serve the same God, Raziel."

Moebius:
"To strike me down would be striking God's own attendant, and I don't believe even you would take that risk."

Raziel throws the physical Reaver away, and the wraithblade dissipates as it recoils itself around Raziel's arm.

Raziel:
"I tire of your games, Moebius. Now that I know you fear me, I needn't concern myself with you."

Raziel:
"Kain is waiting for me."

Moebius:
"Go, then, Raziel. Seek Kain out and destroy him, in the name of the One God we both serve."

Moebius:
"You, who were once a Sarafan priest - murdered, profaned, destroyed and reborn again from His mercy..."

Moebius:
"You are now most powerfully equipped to be His agent - His instrument of restoration and retribution."

Raziel:
"My own vengeance is motivation enough."

As Raziel leaves, Moebius closes and locks the door to the chapel, breathing a genuine sigh of relief.

Moebius:
"By my soul, you almost had me, my little blue assassin. But that'll be the one and only chance you get, I assure you of that."

Raziel:
"I could now summon the blade at will, regardless of my strength. But once summoned, the blade's ravenous appetite could not be contained."

Raziel:
"It devoured the souls of its victims... And if I allowed it to become over-aroused, the Reaver would now turn its hunger on me."

The Reaver can, as Raziel says, now be summoned at will, regardless of his health. However, there's a bar around his health bar, now, that fills up as he swings and kills things with the reaver. It only takes about 3 kills to fill it up completely, at which point it begins draining Raziel's own health, until it slowly dissipates over time. Furthermore, the reaver devours the souls of anything killed with it, so Raziel is unable to use them to heal himself while he wields the weapon.

And the encounter with the physical Reaver weakened Raziel significantly. Notice his much smaller health coil - the intro is officially over.

Before we leave the chapel, Raziel notes this stained glass window.

Raziel:
"So this was the legendary Janos Audron - reputed to have been the most ancient and diabolical vampire to have ever existed.
According to folklore, he lived high in the cliffs of Nosgoth's northern mountains, and preyed mercilessly on the defenseless villagers below. His reign of terror ended when the Sarafan finally hunted him down and tore his throbbing heart from his still-living body.
This relic came to be known as the 'Heart of Darkness', and was supposedly imbued with the power to restore vampiric unlife. The Sarafan therefore guarded it carefully, lest the Heart fall into the hands of their enemies."

Raziel:
"But I wondered - could Janos Audron truly have been as monstrous as depicted here?
Or was this merely artistic licence by the Sarafan, who sought to lionize themselves by demonizing their darkest enemy?"

Next time: We make our way out of the Sarafan Stronghold, and Raziel sees the world before Kain's reign for the first time.


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