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"Though it is life-giving to humans, water is deadly to vampires. Its touch burns our skin, immersion in water can kill us. Avoid it at all costs."
―Umah[src]

Water is a natural liquid that is a constant feature of the environment in Nosgoth. Water is seen as "life-giving"[1] and beneficial if not necessary to Humans and presumably most other life in Nosgoth, except for Vampires, to whom it was deadly. As such, Water has been a hazard to Kain in Blood Omen, Blood Omen 2 and Legacy of Kain: Defiance; but it is a weakness which Wraith Raziel had largely overcome when he learnt the ability to swim in Soul Reaver.

Profile[]

Water is a constant feature of the Nosgothic landscape, presumably just as vital to life and geology as in the real world, it is seen throughout the series, both on and beneath the surface of Nosgoth, generally collected in large bodies of water as 'Lakes' and 'Seas' (any 'Rivers' are as yet unnamed).[Blood Omen][Soul Reaver][Soul Reaver 2][Blood Omen 2][Defiance]

BO1-Mist Form Kain

Kain using Mist Form to avoid Water

Primarily in the series, Water has been significant for its ability to cause injury and death to vampires. The effects of being exposed to water are described as being burned as by acid or fire and immersion in water is considered fatal.[1][2] Thus for Vampires, Water was a potent natural danger to be avoided and this vulnerability was often exploited by enemies of the vampires. In this capacity, Water was frequently featured within the games as a hazard, primarily to Vampire Kain in Blood Omen, Blood Omen 2 and Legacy of Kain: Defiance.

In Blood Omen, contact with water would cause damage, depleting Kain's Blood vial and when Kain emerged from his Mausoleum after being resurrected as Vampire, the damage caused by rainfall was one of his first experiences of his changed existence and the damage caused by water.[3][4] Through his journey, Kain would also be harmed by snowfall[5][6] and crossing 'bodies of water' [7][Blood Omen] and the swamp.[8][9] Kain was however able to use several methods to avoid injury; as the damage caused by rain and snowfall was negated by powers obtained at Blood fountains [10][11](with a similar 'swamp-immunity' Blood Fountain planned but cut from the final game[12]).

Jump Dark Gift (14)

Kain Jumping to Avoid water in Blood Omen 2

For larger bodies of water, these enhancements were not powerful enough and it was only through Kain's shapeshifting abilities that Kain was able to directly cross water, with Kain's Wolf Form allowing small streams to be jumped[7] and Bat Form allowing Kain to cross water at long-range whilst in flight[Blood Omen]. The most useful method of crossing water however was Mist Form which effectively allowed Kain to float as a vapor above the surface of the water to avoid injury.[7][13]

The implications of Kain's water weaknesses continued on through the rest of the Blood Omen arc in Blood Omen 2[1] and Legacy of Kain: Defiance.[14][15][16] However, with Mist no longer able to cross water, Kain was forced to use more mundane methods, such as ordinary jumping (occsasionally combined with Floating) and the Jump and Superhuman Leap abilities to avoid water damage[Blood Omen 2][Defiance]. When it returned in Defiance, Bat Form once again allowed water to be crossed at long-range in flight and Kain would actively use it to escape damage if he fell into water[Defiance].

SR1-Intro-168

The Abyss at Raziel's execution

Water would also be an important environmental feature of the Soul Reaver arc and it was vital in the backstory to Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver as Kain's water vulnerability was passed on to the Vampires in his empire, including Kain's first-born lieutenant Raziel. Kain would take advantage of this weakness, using a large whirlpool The Abyss (formally the Lake of the Dead ) as his execution ground for traitors and weaklings.[2][17] When Raziel evolved before his master, Kain ordered Raziel be cast into the Abyss. Raziel's torment in the Abyss lasted for centuries until the events of Soul Reaver,[17] when he was spared total dissolution and resurrected by the Elder God as a Soul-devouring Wraith[Soul Reaver]. Beginning his journey in the (apparently underwater and in the Spectral Realm) Underworld, Raziel soon discovered that whilst he no longer suffered from many of his old vampiric weaknesses, he was still vulnerable to water immersion in the Material Realm, which would dissolve his manifestation sending him back to the Spectral Realm, where water was as "thin as air".[18] Knowing well of vampires weaknesses to water, when Raziel returned to the Material Realm, water immersion was one of his primary means of finishing vampires (usually by throwing vampires into it).[19][20][21] Raziel could also gain a Water-related Glyph spell [22](see Water related items)

When Raziel traveled to his brother Rahab's territory in the flooded Drowned Abbey, he discovered that the Rahabim Vampires, usually damaged by even the fragile sunlight in the wasteland Nosgoth had managed to overcome traditional Vampires weaknesses to water and had retreated from the surface to the dark corners of the Drowned Abbey, becoming aquatic creatures.[23][24] Defeating Rahab and consuming his Soul, Raziel gained the ability to swim;[25] maintaining his physical manifestation when immersed in water and also allowing him to take advantage of its buoyancy[26][27] (initially allowing him to gain passage to the Ruined City of the Dumahim). Raziel's ability to swim would remain throughout Soul Reaver 2[28][29] and Legacy of Kain: Defiance [30][31][32] and in the latter Raziel would gain two Reaver enhancements that involved had applications with or involved the use of water; the Water Reaver[33] and the Earth Reaver.[34] (see Water Related Items)

Water-Related Items[]

Throughout the series, a number of items and enhancements have involved the use of water, primarily as a weapon, thus it has most often been associated with Raziel in the Soul Reaver arc.

Water is also seen used as a weapon by the Water Balloon wielding Vampire Hunters of Vampire hunters [Blood Omen]and is suspected to be a part of the projectiles fired by the aquatic Rahabim.[41]

Notes[]

See also[]

  • Bodies of Water

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Icon Blood Omen 2 Umah: "While we are superior to humans in many ways, we also have certain weaknesses that they do not possess. Though it is life-giving to humans, water is deadly to vampires. Its touch burns our skin, immersion in water can kill us. Avoid it at all costs." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Icon Soul ReaverRaziel "To us the touch of water is agony; it burns our flesh like acid. My punishment was to be cast into The Lake of the Dead, our execution ground for traitors and weaklings. As my brethren heaved me into the air I could see the bemused expressions on their faces. The transitory thrill of something new. Then the pain. Melting, twisting, burning, falling. A new experience indeed." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver manual, Page 8. (Eidos Interactive). (August 16, 1999) Download.
  3. Icon Blood Omen Weather-Rain: Causes slight damage. Silicon Knights/Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen:Legacy of Kain manual. pg11(Eidos Interactive). (1996) Download.
  4. Icon Blood Omen Kain: "When rainfall comes, vampires are wise to find shelter from its acidic touch." Silicon Knights / Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. (Crystal Dynamics). PlayStation. (November 15, 1996) Transcript.
  5. Icon Blood Omen Weather-Snow: Causes slight damage. Silicon Knights/Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen:Legacy of Kain manual. pg11(Eidos Interactive). (1996) Download.
  6. Icon Blood Omen Kain: "Even the gentle snowfall can be lethal to a vampire’s wellbeing." Silicon Knights / Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. (Crystal Dynamics). PlayStation. (November 15, 1996) Transcript.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Icon Blood Omen Terrain-Water: Causes damage. In Wolf form, Kain can jump over small streams without damage. In Mist form, he can cross water with no damage. Silicon Knights/Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen:Legacy of Kain manual. pg10(Eidos Interactive). (1996) Download.
  8. Icon Blood Omen Terrain-Swamp: Like water, causes damage if crossed unless Kain is in Mist form. Silicon Knights/Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen:Legacy of Kain manual. pg10(Eidos Interactive). (1996) Download.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Icon Blood Omen Kain: "Strange that Vorador would choose a dwelling so perilous to him. The swamp could only offer a vampire hazard and pain." Silicon Knights / Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. (Crystal Dynamics). PlayStation. (November 15, 1996) Transcript.
  10. Icon Blood Omen Blood Fountain: "The rain will do you no harm, for our blood preserves." Silicon Knights / Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. (Crystal Dynamics). PlayStation. (November 15, 1996) Transcript.
  11. Icon Blood Omen Blood Fountain: "The snow will do you no harm, for our blood preserves." Silicon Knights / Crystal Dynamics. Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. (Crystal Dynamics). PlayStation. (November 15, 1996) Transcript.
  12. Icon The Lost Worlds Deleted Blood Fountains at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln).
  13. Mist Drifts: "Some areas are inaccessible until you have the mist, usually because you need to cross water. By the time you reach the stone keep and get the mist form, you have probably spotted a few of these on your travels~" Prima Games / Ian Osborne. Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain: Official Game Secrets (1996). Page 132.ISBN 0-7615-0363-3
  14. Icon Defiance Kain: "The touch of water was like acid to a vampire. I had to find another way to pass." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Defiance. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (November 11, 2003) Transcript.
  15. Icon Defiance Kain's Unique Abilities: Water Vulnerability "For Vampires, immersion in water is deadly. Kain must becautious around water obstacles. If he falls in, his health will be immediately depleted, and he will reset back to his last checkpoint. " Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Defiance manual p17. (Eidos Interactive). (November 11, 2003) Download.
  16. Kain's Unique Abilities: Water Weakness "Despite Kain's power he still holds one of the vampire's several deadly weaknesses that of water. The touch of water is like acid to a vampire and so if Kain becomes immersed in water he will die instantly. Stay away from it at all costs. " Prima Games. Prima's Official Strategy Guide to Legacy of Kain: Defiance.Page 11. (2003)
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 Icon Soul Reaver Raziel: "There was only one possible outcome - my eternal damnation. I, Raziel, was to suffer the fate of traitors and weaklings - to burn forever in the bowels of the Lake of the Dead."//Kain: "Cast him in."//Raziel: "Tumbling, burning with white-hot fire, I plunged into the depths of the abyss. Unspeakable pain... relentless agony... time ceased to exist... only this torture... and a deepening hatred of the hypocrisy that damned me to this hell." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
  18. Icon Soul Reaver Elder God: "You are young yet, Raziel - you still retain many of your vampiric weaknesses. Immersion in water, while not fatal, will dissolve your physical body, forcing your return to the spirit world. Be aware that in the spectral realm, water has neither heft nor lift. It stands as thin as air." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
  19. Other Vampire Weaknesses: "Immersion in water burns Vampires." Prima Games. Prima's Official Strategy Guide to Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (1999). Page 13. ISBN 0-7615-1796-0
  20. Icon Soul Reaver Raziel: "I knew my opponents’ weaknesses, having suffered them myself. Physical wounds are fleeting - a vampire’s immortal flesh begins to close as soon as it is cleaved. Vampires need only fear those wounds that impale, or inflame. Water scorches like acid, and fledglings are devastated by sunlight’s touch. I would have to modify my tactics to suit my foes." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
  21. Icon Soul ReaverThrowing Enemies "Press Aim/Grapple to pick up a stunned vampire.//To carry an enemy hold Aim/Grapple. Enemies will eventually struggle free if Raziel tries to carry them too far.//Release Aim/Grapple to throw a vampire into an environmental hazard like fire, water, a spiked wall or sunlight to destroy them" Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver manual, Page 16. (Eidos Interactive). (August 16, 1999) Download.
  22. 22.0 22.1 Icon Soul ReaverWater Glyph "This glyph's magic explodes into a room, creating a watery downpour that burns vampires within its range. The water glyph does not kill. It reduces all water-vulnerable vampires within the spell's radius to a damaged state. As with any other damaged state, the enemies will recover to full health after a prescribed amount of time - until then, they are vulnerable to fatal attacks." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver manual, Page 23. (Eidos Interactive). (August 16, 1999) Download.
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 Icon Soul Reaver Elder God: "Once a sanctuary against the vampire menace, this abbey has been drowned by the deluge spilling from this wounded land. Your brother Rahab and his brood, devastated even by the feeble rays of Nosgoth’s sun, overcame their vulnerability to water and retreated from the surface. Now they haunt these ruins, and glide in the darkness of its stagnant depths." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
  24. Icon Soul ReaverRahabim "The Rahabim rule the waters of Nosgoth. These vampires have adapted to become immune to the destructive effects of water. These beasts are equally as dangerous on land or sea. Rahab is the undisputed King of the Sea." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver manual, Page 27. (Eidos Interactive). (August 16, 1999) Download.
  25. Bosses: "Rahab retreated from deadly sunlight but conquered the Vampire vulnerability to water. Kill him with his old and feared weakness to light and gain the Swimming ability." Prima Games. Prima's Official Strategy Guide to Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (1999). Page 9. ISBN 0-7615-1796-0
  26. Icon Soul Reaver Elder God: "Infused with Rahab’s soul, you have overcome your former vulnerability to water’s touch. Immersion in water will no longer dissolve your physical body, enabling you to swim to areas heretofore beyond your reach." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (March 19, 2002) Transcript.
  27. Icon Soul ReaverSwimming "Raziel is unable to swim at the start of the game. Falling into water while in the Material Realm immediately causes him to shift into the Spectral Realm. While in the Spectral Realm, Raziel can walk on lakebeds and canal floors, but he cannot reach higher areas. Once he earns the ability to swim, Raziel can access previously unreachable tunnels and platforms." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver manual, Page 14. (Eidos Interactive). (August 16, 1999) Download.
  28. Icon Soul Reaver 2 Swimming: "~Raziel can only swim while in the Material Realm. Water in the Spectral Realm has no buoyancy; it is as ephemeral as air. Therefore Raziel cannot swim while in Spectral, and is forced to walk along the bottom of flooded areas. While in Spectral he will not be able to reach areas only accessible from the Water's surface.~" Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 manual. pg23 (Eidos Interactive). (2001) Download.
  29. "Swimming:" Prima Games. Prima's Official Strategy Guide to Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2(2001).Page 9.ISBN 0-7615-3237-4
  30. Icon Defiance Raziel: "In the spectral realm, water is as thin as air, putting this opening far beyond my reach. But once I found my way into the material world, I might to able to swim up there…" Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Defiance. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (November 11, 2003) Transcript.
  31. Icon Defiance Swimming: "In the spirit world, water has no buoyancy, but in the Material Realm, Raziel can swim through flooded areas to reach otherwise inaccessible goals.//...Raziel cannot engage in combat, manipulate objects or use TK while swimming." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Defiance manual p19. (Eidos Interactive). (November 11, 2003) Download.
  32. Raziel's Unique Abilities: Material Realm "The Material Realm can be considered the "real" world. While Raziel can't pass through bars, he can open doors, collect power ups, swim through water, and interact with objects. Unlike Kain Raziel is not vulnerable to water and can swim at his leisure. A big advantage to being in the Material Realm is that Raziel can use different Reavers there." Prima Games. Prima's Official Strategy Guide to Legacy of Kain: Defiance.Page 13. (2003)
  33. 33.0 33.1 Raziel's Reavers: Water// Location: Chapter 8, Water Forge//Reaver Charge: Freezes enemies briefly.//Reaver Spell Ice Blast that damages/freezes enemies in the surrounding area// This can be a very effect tool to strike enemies once to freeze them and then organise your plan of attack. Also this Reaver has two other uses; one is to douse flames through the game and the other is to freeze waterfalls making them climbable "ladders". Prima Games. Prima's Official Strategy Guide to Legacy of Kain: Defiance.Page 21. (2003)
  34. 34.0 34.1 Raziel's Reavers: Earth// Location: Chapter 10, Earth Forge//Reaver Spell: A ground shattering earthquake that damages close-by opponents.//Reaver Charge Attacks have a mirrored effect on enemies close by.//This is a very powerful blade that has many uses. It is used on a specific plinth to create Earth Platforms that allow access to higher areas. Also, when equipped in water its weight will cause you to sink to the bottom allowing you to "walk through water" and manipulate objects on the bottom. Prima Games. Prima's Official Strategy Guide to Legacy of Kain: Defiance.Page 21. (2003)
  35. 35.0 35.1 Icon The Lost Worlds SR1-The Elemental Reavers at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln).
  36. Icon The Lost Worlds SR1-The Elemental Reaver Forges at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln).
  37. Icon The Lost Worlds SR2-Deleted Elemental Reavers at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln).
  38. 38.0 38.1 Icon The Lost Worlds SR2-Deleted Reaver Forges at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln).
  39. 39.0 39.1 Icon The Lost Worlds SR2-Reaver Upgrades at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln).
  40. 40.0 40.1 Icon Defiance (~Raziel confronts the States and Death Guardians.~)//Guardian of Death: "Your deliverance is at hand - in Death is your release."//Guardian of States: "This state is merely atonement…" (~Raziel kills the Vampire Guardian spirits.~) Raziel: "Once more the Reaver absorbed the spirits of the former Vampire Guardians, and thus was imbued with the elemental power of Water. Perhaps now I could enter that mysterious crypt at the end of the garden." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Defiance. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (November 11, 2003) Transcript.
  41. Icon Dark Chronicle The Rahabim at Dark Chronicle (by Ardeth Silvereni).
  42. Icon Defiance Kain: "The mists that shrouded this lake miraculously now cleared away, revealing an ancient citadel. So Moebius had not lied. Or perhaps this was simply another of the Time Streamer's illusions, meant to slow my true endeavor." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Defiance. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (November 11, 2003) Transcript.
  43. Icon The Lost Worlds The Ruins in the Swamp at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln).
  44. Icon Soul Reaver 2 Raziel: "I emerged... and for the first time beheld Nosgoth in its former glory. The land overflowed with abundant life and vitality."(~then sternly~)"And I knew with certainty then that the world I had left behind was nothing more than the corpse of Nosgoth – a lifeless husk, bled dry by the corruption of Kain’s parasitic empire. This was the fragile world Kain sacrificed to preserve his own petty life and ambition, heedless of the profound cost. The sight only deepened my resolve...I sensed that the Pillars lay to the northwest – if Kain truly waited to confront me there, I would not disappoint him..." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (October 31, 2001) Transcript.
  45. Icon Soul Reaver 2 (~As Raziel exits the time-streaming chamber, he realizes that Moebius has tricked him. The Stronghold is abandoned, and has been overrun by demons. It is night, and a cataclysmic storm rages outside. Recent human corpses litter the ground.~)Raziel VO: "Even as I emerged from that infernal time-streaming chamber, I suspected treachery. The Stronghold was vacant – derelict and abandoned..." Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2. (Eidos Interactive). PlayStation 2. (October 31, 2001) Transcript.
  46. Icon Dark Chronicle SK: The Complete Guide To Legacy of Kain - The Players at Dark Chronicle (by Silicon Knights)
  47. Icon Dark Chronicle The Blood Curse at Dark Chronicle (by Ardeth Silvereni).
  48. Eidos Interactive Warp's answers from Amy at the Eidos Forums (by Blincoln)
  49. Icon The Lost Worlds HMCS Bitter at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln).
  50. Icon Nosgothic Realm Blood Omen Maps at Nosgothic Realm.
  51. Icon Nosgothic Realm Blood Omen 2 Maps at Nosgothic Realm.
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