While in the underworld, Kain was filled with rage by the fact that his entire life had suddenly been taken from him, and he didn't even know why. A necromancer named Mortanius offered to resurrect him so that he could return to Nosgoth and avenge his death. Kain quickly accepted his offer, not knowing that it would mean never being human again.

At first, Kain could think of nothing but vengeance and Hunger. Blinded by rage, he found and slaughtered the brigands. It was not until he had gorged himself on their much-needed blood that Kain began to understand and regret what he had become. Suddenly the sunlight was painful, water burned like acid, his former fellow humans hated and feared him, and the Hunger for blood was relentless. Kain was left feeling like an abomination--  forced to live in a dead body. He had gone from being an aristocrat to an outcast over night. Life as a vampire taught him many important lessons, as he sought to find his new place in the world. It made him deeper, wiser, and full of pain. He was forced to learn the value of life by being forced to learn the value of blood.

Spoiler warning: the remainder of this section tells the major plot twists and events of Blood Omen.  If you have not yet experienced this game and wish to learn though dicovering it yourself, then read no further. 

However, this section is meant to explain what happened in Kain's (and Nosgoth's) past.  If you want a better understanding of what Kain had went through before his rulership, then read on...

After killing the brigands, Mortanius informed Kain that his journey had only just begun. He told Kain that the brigands had merely been sent by his true murderer, and instructed him to seek the Pillars of Nosgoth for more information.

At the Pillars he met a ghost named Ariel. She told Kain that the Pillars held the life force of Nosgoth, and if they were destroyed, Nosgoth would be as well.  Five thousand years earlier, Ariel  had been murdered by a traitor among the Circle of Nine. But she was unsure of who the traitor was.  Ariel told Kain that the only way he could end his "curse" of vampirism, was to kill the surviving members of The Circle in order to right the Pillars, and save Nosgoth. At first, Kain's only concern was ending his "curse." But after seeing the atrocities that The Circle had committed against all life, he began realize the true importance of his quest. He also discovered that it was The Circle who had created the Sarafan, (an organization of religious-fanatic vampire hunters) and sent them to hunt down and slaughter thousands of vampires-- they called these massacres "The Vampire Purges."  Kain was disgusted by the way these murderers tried to disguise their own bloodlust with lies and religion.

Eventually, Kain met an ancient vampire named Vorador. Vorador was the oldest and most powerful vampire in Nosgoth.   Thousands of years ago, the Sarafan had brought much suffering to him.   Vorador became a sort of mentor to Kain.   But after being through what he had with the Sarafan, Vorador argued with Kain that vampires are superior to humans and advised Kain to keep out of human affairs.

It was apparent until the end of Blood Omen that Kain still valued human life. He only took  the blood he needed to survive. He only killed to feed, to defend himself, or to protect  Nosgoth. He was not a murderer. He was a very strong-willed, passionate, and moral man.  During his quest, he fought to prevent several human cities from being completely destroyed.

The end of Blood Omen was tragic. Kain had succeeded in defeating most of the guardians  only to learn that he had been used and deceived. Kain returned from a mission to find that Moebius, (guardian of Time) had rallied vampire hunters to round up every vampire in Nosgoth, and decapitate them for the perverse entertainment of a cheering crowd. As Kain  ran through the streets to the town square where the "executions" were taking place, he could hear the other vampires scream and he could smell outpours of their blood. With each death, the humans cheered and celebrated. Those who were not watching the "executions" take place were discussing the great feasts they'd have to celebrate their victory over "the unholy scourge." Kain arrived at the town square just in time to see Vorador's head on the guillotine. Vorador looked over the crowd of cowardly humans sadly one last time, before the blade crashed down, and the executioner held up his severed head like a prize for all to see. Moebius then pointed Kain out of the crowd, and rallied the townspeople to attack him.

The ironic part is that Kain had saved that entire town from annihilation at the hands of an invading army. If he had listened to Vorador, and stayed out of human affairs, they never would have been able to butcher the other vampires. Kain was in shock over how murderous simple townspeople could be. He painfully decided that Vorador had been right. And at that moment he realized that he could never look at humans the same way again.

Unfortunately the betrayals were not yet over. Kain discovered that Mortanius, (guardian of Death) was the one who had had both Ariel and himself killed. Mortanius had chosen Kain to bring death to The Circle because Kain was to be Ariel's replacement as guardian of Balance. After killing Mortanius, Kain learned that Ariel had also deceived him. Now that Kain had become a guardian himself, he would also have to die in order to complete his quest of righting the Pillars. That was what Ariel had meant when she said that he would be released from his "curse"!

Kain knew that if he killed himself and righted the Pillars, Nosgoth would be given over to human control. And after witnessing what the humans had done to the other vampires, Kain wisely decided that saving the humans was not worth throwing his life away. Now that he was the only surviving vampire and the only surviving guardian, Kain decided to reshape the world into a place where vampires could live without oppression or fearing for their lives. 

Written by  Tenaya 
Edited by Wolf Reven