The settling of scores isn’t the sole motivation for Kain and Raziel; betrayal and manipulation by outside forces seemed to plague both characters in the material and spiritual worlds. Well, the latest chapter in the series, Legacy of Kain: Defiance, sees both heroes struggling to free themselves from the shackles of fate and their tormentors. Fans of the series will be pleased to know that the brainteasing puzzles have returned, but there’s much more impaling and reaver-swinging in this title than previous ones. We’re going to take a quick look at both heroes in a two part extended preview, as we explore the realm of Nosgoth and Defiance’s twisted plotline. Yesterday we took a peek at Kain, now we’ll take a look at his progeny, Raziel. While not as old as Kain, Raziel’s story is no less convoluted or tied into destiny and revenge as his sire’s.

After destroying the Pillars of Nosgoth and essentially making himself a god of the realm, Kain spent time hunting down the Sarafan and Moebius, who’d manipulated Kain to serve his own twisted goals. To help him in this chase, and further insult his enemies, Kain raided the tombs of the greatest Sarafan heroes and resurrected them as his vampiric lieutenants. Granting them power and abilities in return for their absolute loyalty, Kain allowed his soldiers to have free reign with one limitation: No vampire could acquire a new ability until Kain had attained it first. This rule remained unbroken until one day, Raziel, evolved into a new vampiric form with large wings. Furious, Kain manually ripped the wings from Raziel’s body and commanded the other lieutenants to cast him into the Lake of Lost Souls. With immersion in water similar to being doused by acid, this fate was worse than death for Raziel.