Legacy of Kain: Raziel’s Character Portrait

Heavy spoilers ahead.

–The Editor

In the Legacy of Kain video games, Kain wields the Soul Reaver, a sword possessed by an ancient, soul-devouring entity. It’s his signature weapon. However, it is his vampire “son,” Raziel, protagonist of the Soul Reaver games, who shares an even more intimate relationship with the blade.

Raziel’s story in Soul Reaver begins after his destruction. A millennium after the previous game, Blood Omen, Kain rules the land of Nosgoth with an iron fist. Raziel is his right-hand man. But, when Raziel evolves into a winged being—a feat that Kain, being the original vampire of his race, should have gained first—Kain rips his wings from his back, then orders him into the Lake of Souls. Raziel burns to death from water immersion.

At the bottom of the Lake, he is transformed into a soul-devouring wraith thanks to the intervention of the Elder God, the self-proclaimed “Engine of Life” that weaves all souls into the tapestry of time. It is here that Raziel embarks of his quest for vengeance, his destiny, and his very soul.

Raziel regards himself as an integral part of the penultimate species. After Kain betrays him and his vampire brothers toss him into the Abyss, he comes to despise all vampires, especially Kain and his “brothers.”

Then, he discovers his mortal life was spent as a Sarafan warrior-priest, an order dedicated to purity and righteousness. For Raziel (Kain’s vampires don’t retain any memory of their mortal life), this revelation is devastating. He shares a lineage with those he believed the opposite of his ideals. He latches onto that Sarafan identity, and his quest against Kain blossoms beyond simple revenge. For most of Soul Reaver II, Raziel believes his Sarafan self possesses a nobility beyond that which he had as a vampire.

Next, he travels back in time to find Janos Audron, one of Nosgoth’s original vampires and the original keeper of the Soul Reaver. Immediately afterward, a pack of Sarafan brutally murder Janos and steal the Reaver. The Sarafan who delivered the final blow was none other than Raziel’s human self. Raziel realizes the Sarafan are nothing more than zealous dogs. Raziel’s identity is destroyed yet again, when he’s discovered to be a pawn. It is his soul-devouring spirit that gets trapped in the Soul Reaver. His destiny was to be locked within the sword forever.

In the next game, Defiance, Raziel adamantly refuses to enter the sword. But after everything he’s done, he realizes the only way to break free of the Elder God’s hold on humanity is to enter the Reaver. He gives Kain the weapon capable of destroying the Elder God and gives Kain hope for the future.

Kain may be the savior of Nosgoth, but Raziel is the real hero. He confronts his destiny and makes the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the future of his world. That’s why he’s my favorite character in the whole saga.

If you enjoyed Michael’s piece, you can find the rest of his work right HERE on Sci-Fi Bloggers.

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