Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver prologue

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Plot

Newly transformed, Kain´s firstborn Lieutenant comes to show his gift to the Council. Surprised, Kain observes Raziel´s newly gained wings and tears them down, incapacitating him. For this treachery of evolving before his master, Raziel was damned to be thrown into the Abyss by his brothers Dumah and Turel. Burning in its bowels as water is toxic to a vampire, Raziel´s body dissolves and its remains sink to the bottom of the Abyss. After almost a millennium of torment, Raziel hears a voice which awakens him to a new plane of existence. Surprised at his apparent survival, Raziel observes his appearance changed and covers his missing jaw with his cowl.

The Elder God explains the Wheel of Fate to Raziel - how vampires defy its cleansing nature and that all souls must go through it in order to be reborn. The Elder God offers a chance for a revenge and Raziel, given no choice, accepts to become his soul reaver.

Raziel´s first goal is to escape the Underworld and return to the world of living. With Elder´s aid, he discovers a planar portal which can lead to many places but the gates on the other end must be activated as well. In the next room Raziel realizes he completely lost his lust for blood and the Elder God explains he was transformed into a reaver souls. In order to replenish his health, he now must devour the souls of his enemies. After absorbing the souls from the soul dispenser, Raziel climbs the valley and the Elder notifies him that even his wings are tattered, he can still use them for gliding. In a large room with four pillars beyon the canyon, Raziel finds strange creatures preying on the lost souls. The Elder explains that if these souls are consumed by the Sluagh, they are forever lost and cannot enter the Wheel of Fate. After defeating the Sluagh, Raziel finally escapes the Underworld and finds his first planar portal in the small canyon with pillar structure in the middle. The Elder explains that he can abandon his physical body anytime, however in order to manifest in the material realm, he needs to be at full health and use a portal.

Raziel shifts and manifests in the material realm after all those years. He finds that his health is constantly being depleted and if he waits too long before feeding, he will be sent back to the spectral realm. The touch of a water is still dangerous to him as he retains his vampiric weakness so Raziel jumps over the pool of water in the tunnel and enters a large chamber with a pool and a ray of light. Noticing hideous creaturs, Raziel questions their nature. The Elder exclaims Raziel spent a long time among the dead and that those are in fact Dumahim, children of his brother. Shocked at their appearance and feral behaviour, Raziel engages them in combat and utilizes his knowledge on how to kill a vampire. He kills them by throwing in the water and the rays of light and devours their souls. As the exit from the room is too high for him to reach, Raziel moves a stone block and uses it to get to the higher floor with a tunnel that leads him to the Sanctuary.

Walkthrough

Transcript

Players (in order of appearance)

Kain (voiced by Simon Templeman)
Dumah (voiced by Simon Templeman)
Melchiah (voiced by Michael Bell)
Rahab (voiced by Neil Ross)
Turel (voiced by Richard Doyle)
Zephon (voiced by Tony Jay)
Raziel (voiced by Michael Bell) and Raziel's voiceovers
The Elder God (voiced by Tony Jay)

Dialogue: Introduction

Raziel (V.O.):	Kain is deified. The Clans tell tales of Him. Few know the truth. He was mortal once, as were we all. However, His contempt for humanity drove him to create me, and my brethren. I am Raziel, first-born of His lieutenants. I stood with Kain and my brethren at the dawn of the empire. I have served Him a millennium. Over time, we became less human and more... divine. Kain would enter the state of change and emerge with a new gift. Some years after the master, our evolution would follow. Until I had the honor of surpassing my lord. For my transgression, I earned a new kind of reward... agony. 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 (V.O.):	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. An eternity passed, and my torment receded, bringing me back from the precipice of madness. The descent had destroyed me... and yet I lived.
Elder God:	Raziel... You are worthy.

Dialogue: The Underworld

Elder God:	I know you, Raziel. You are worthy.
Raziel:	What madness is this? What pitiful form is this that I have come to inhabit? Death would be a release, next to this travesty.
Elder God:	You did not survive the Abyss, Raziel. I have only spared you from total dissolution.
Raziel:	I would choose oblivion over this existence!
Elder God:	The choice is not yours.
Raziel:	I am destroyed!
Elder God:	You are reborn.
Elder God:	The birth of one of Kain's abominations traps the essence of life. It is this soul that animates the corpse you 'lived' in. And that Raziel, is the demise of Nosgoth. There is no balance. The souls of the dead remain trapped. I can not spin them in the wheel of fate. They can not complete their destinies. Redeem yourself. Or if you prefer, avenge yourself. Settle your dispute with Kain. Destroy Him and your brethren. Free their souls and let the wheel of fate churn again. Use your hatred to reave their souls... I can make it possible. Become my soul reaver, my angel of death...
	[And thus, Raziel's quest for vengeance begins...]
	[Raziel learns about the Warp Gates:]
Elder God:	These gates twist space, laying a path across great spans.
	[If Raziel approaches a force field blocking his path:]
Elder God:	You have much to learn, Raziel. When you are ready, this barrier will be dissolved.
	[When Raziel tries to activate the Warp Gate:]
Elder God:	You must visit other gates before this portal will be opened to you.
	[As Raziel is exiting the Warp Gate chamber he falters from weakness, leaning on a pillar to catch himself.]
Elder God:	You are weak – you must feed.
Raziel:	The old hunger has left me; I have no desire for blood.
Elder God:	You are changed. Your blood-thirst is replaced by a deeper need – you have become a devourer of souls. To sustain your strength, you must hunt the lost spirits of the Underworld, and consume the souls of your enemies.
	[Raziel comes to a chasm, apparently impassable:]
Elder God:	Your wings, though ruined, are not without purpose. Take hold of them as you leap, and they will carry you across this chasm.
	[Raziel spies a small pack of Sluagh from a safe distance; they are hunting and devouring the souls that Raziel needs to sustain his strength. His first encounter with spectral creatures.]
Raziel:	What scabrous wretches are these?
Elder God:	Sluagh, the scavengers of the Underworld. Their feral hunger has claimed countless souls – spirits who now shall never find their rest.

Dialogue: The Sanctuary of the Clans

	[Raziel encounters a material-plane portal for the first time.]
Elder God:	These portals are your conduit between the spectral and material realms. With their aid, you may gather matter and will yourself to become manifest in the physical world. This is taxing, however – your strength must first be fully restored. You require no conduit to return to this plane – you may abandon your physical body at any time.
	[After Raziel uses a material-plane portal for the first time:]
Elder God:	Sustain your strength to prolong your manifestation in the physical world. If you fail to feed, or absorb too many wounds, this fragile matter will dissolve.
	[As soon as Raziel steps into the next hallway, he stops abruptly as he realizes there is water below him. He stands at the edge and looks down, as the Elder God instructs him:]
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.
Elder God:	Be aware that in the spectral realm, water has neither heft nor lift. It stands as thin as air.
	[Raziel first sees the devolved vampires of this new Nosgoth.]
Raziel:	What are these creatures?
Elder God:	Do you not recognize them? They are the children of your brother, Dumah.
Raziel:	That's impossible – these foul, scuttling beasts could not be kin of our high blood.
Elder God:	Do you suppose that time stood still for you, Raziel? Much has changed since you passed from the world of men.
	[Raziel establishes the rules of combat:]
Raziel (V.O.):	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.
	[When Raziel has dispatched his first vampire soul:]
Elder God:	Unfettered from the flesh, a creature's soul fades swiftly into the spectral realm. Draw it in quickly, Raziel, or you will be compelled to follow.
	[After Raziel has destroyed the two vampires, he approaches a large stone block which, by its size, appears immovable.]
Elder God:	Your physical prowess surpasses what you knew in life. Even massive obstacles can be moved effortlessly.