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Raziel emerges from the underwater labyrinth into the Swamp for the first time –

Raziel V.O.
I surfaced into a very different landscape – the daylight barely penetrated the dense canopy of this forest.
Here I discovered an ancient ruin – unmistakably one of Moebius’s time-streaming chambers, but long-ago sealed and abandoned to the encroaching swamp.
I didn’t currently possess the means to break this seal – but I thought, in time, that I might.

Raziel wheels around upon hearing something disturb a flock of crows.  He sees Vorador silently watching him from the parapet of the towering ruins behind him.

Raziel V.O.
So, my lurking observer was exposed.
The creature vanished when he realized he was discovered – but I caught a glimpse of him, and his features were distinctive enough.
This was the vampire Vorador – the monstrous assassin depicted in the Stronghold.
Strange that a creature brazen enough to assault the Circle single-handedly would avoid confronting me.
Very well – if Vorador would not come to me, I would go to him.  But first I needed to find some means of reaching that terrace.

Raziel discovers the passage into the northern mountains, but realizes it is currently blocked.

Raziel V.O.
There appeared to be a passage here, leading northward into the mountains.
The opening, however, was obstructed, and too high for me to reach.
Perhaps later I would find the means to bypass these obstacles.
 

Raziel reaches the Dark Forge entrance –

Raziel V.O.
My lurking friend was nowhere to be seen, but I found these ruins even more intriguing.
I recognized these arcane symbols from the chamber beneath the Pillars, and realized that this shrine, too, was sealed to all but the bearer of the Reaver.
 

Raziel V.O.
Throughout this ancient shrine, murals depicted the winged race, and the apocalyptic war against their mysterious – and equally inhuman – adversaries.
These winged beings, it seemed, were not only the architects of the Pillars but of this enigmatic place, as well.
And just as in the Pillars chamber, this shrine was adorned throughout with imagery of the Reaver – depicted with the reverence of a holy icon.

Raziel forges the Reaver with Darkness

Raziel V.O.
As I neared the altar I suddenly felt the Reaver quickening of its own volition.
Just as in William’s chapel, the balance of power tangibly shifted –voracious and willful, the Soul Reaver was now in control, and I, merely its helpless puppet.
The Reaver plunged itself into that mysterious altar – and devouring the energy that emanated from within, drained this place of its power.
Thus sated, the Reaver released me.  And I realized, as I recovered control, that these ancient shrines were forges, each purpose-built to enhance the Reaver with elemental power.

Raziel describes the elemental fonts

Raziel V.O.
Now I understood the purpose of the mysterious basins I had seen throughout my journey.
They were elemental fonts, each attuned to a fundamental essence.
When I forged the blade, every font in Nosgoth with the same elemental attunement was simultaneously quickened.
The Reaver’s enhancements were never permanent, but these fonts enabled me to re-imbue the blade by bathing it in the elemental energy distilled therein.
 

Raziel sees the Dark symbol

Raziel V.O.
Concentric circles, one eclipsing the other...
I recognized this symbol from the door sealing that other ancient shrine – the one I had seen in the lake, outside the Sarafan Stronghold.
Perhaps now, armed as I was with the elemental power of darkness, I could return and gain entry.
 
 
 

Using the Reaver as a key, Raziel exits the Dark Forge – as the massive stone doors slide open, he sees Vorador leaning casually against a column at the Forge's entrance, apparently waiting for Raziel to emerge.

Vorador
(ironic)
You’re a ragged excuse for a savior.

Raziel
(acknowledging him)
Vorador.

Vorador
(still ironic)
I see my reputation precedes me.

Raziel
(cautious)
It does.

Vorador
(ironic; he knows he’s reviled)
All good, I hope.

Vorador begins to walk slowly around Raziel as he speaks, examining him.  He looks at Raziel’s cloven hands – so like his own – his blue skin, his ragged wings.  Raziel stands still and allows Vorador to look him over.

Vorador
I’ve been watching you since you emerged from that accursed stronghold.
(challenging; sarcastic)
Strange that your arrival coincides with the corruption of the Pillars.
But I’m wondering – are you the catalyst of these events, or the answer to them?

Raziel
(cautious; steely)
I don’t know what you mean.
 

Vorador
(a little harsh)
I will speak plainly, then.
I distrust your origins, stranger.  Seeing you crawl from the putrid depths of Moebius’s Keep makes me question your purpose here.
And what should I make of your appearance?  Not human, clearly – and more demon than vampire.
And the Pillars – it is no mere coincidence that your arrival in that clearing heralded the Pillars’ decay.
And so I ask you plainly:  are you the instrument of the Pillars’ destruction, or their salvation?

Raziel
(cautious)
Neither.

Vorador
(slightly perturbed at Raziel’s obtuseness)
Very well, let us look at the other side of the coin –
I have followed your journey, and watched as you blithely unlocked secrets that have been sealed and forbidden for thousands of years.
The path you have been treading is open to only one being...
(he trails off with a realization)
You don’t know what you are, do you?

Raziel
(cautious; slightly sarcastic)
I have been many things...
If you find me ignorant, enlighten me.

Vorador simply laughs and turns away in disgust.

Vorador
What’s the point - this world is beyond redemption.
Let the human cattle have it.

Raziel
I would expect better than meek capitulation from you.

Vorador
(disgusted)
Centuries of persecution have taught me well.
(pause)
500 years ago, our race was nearly exterminated by the fanatical crusades of the Sarafan.
And now the same sick drama unfolds again.  In merely a decade, Moebius’s cutthroat citizen army has nearly accomplished what the Sarafan could not.
(then, with sadness, to himself)
Vampires meddling in the affairs of men...
Look where it has brought us.
 

Raziel
(changing the subject)
What am I to make of these secrets I’ve uncovered, then?  The depictions of the winged race, the Pillars, and the Reaver?

Vorador turns back to Raziel as he responds –

Vorador
(disillusioned)
Fairy tales, boy.
The delusions of an ancient culture, clinging to hope long after the world had discarded them.
Their bloodline trickled away, until only one of the Ancients remained – sustained solely by obligation and his unfaltering faith in the old prophesies.

Vorador strides closer to Raziel, until they are face to face.

Vorador
(dark; cynical)
But you see, even if you are who you appear to be, it no longer matters...
You’re simply too late.
(pause)
Janos Audron – the Reaver Guardian, the last of the Ancients, and my maker – was murdered by the Sarafan nearly five centuries ago.
He alone would have the answers you seek, but his secrets died with him.
I don’t know how you’ve come even this far without his guidance – or without the Reaver, stolen these 500 years ago by the Sarafan.
(pause)
I am afraid, my friend, that you – and all of us – are out of luck.

Vorador disappears, leaving Raziel alone on the terrace.  Raziel walks to the edge of the terrace and looks out at the swamp.

Raziel V.O.
I had no less reason to trust Vorador than anyone else I had met.  In fact, the ancient vampire was the most forthright being I had encountered thus far.
If Janos Audron was the key to all this, then I would find him.
And Moebius’s time-streaming device would provide me passage.
But first I had to find a way back into the Stronghold... and I suspected I would find the means within the lake’s mysterious shrine.
 
 
 

Raziel enters the subterranean Pillars chamber for the second time.

Elder God
Ah, my wayward child returns...

Raziel
Having unearthed more than you’d like, I suspect.
What am I to make of these ruins that litter the land, and these images here in this chamber?

Elder God
Merely the deceits of a failed civilization.
You are being misled, Raziel.
This Ancient race hoped to manipulate the future with these scrawled misdirections.
You must tread carefully.
There are dark forces at work in this world, bent on subverting your true destiny.

Raziel
(suspicious)
I have no doubt of that.
The question is: am I in their presence right now?

Elder God
(bristling)
Your arrogance will spell your demise, Raziel.
Deny my will, and the arc of your destiny will reach a sudden conclusion.

Raziel
Your threats are unmoving.
Even now I’m beyond your reach.

Elder God
(ominous)
My reach is longer than you realize.
This is a very dangerous game you’re playing, Raziel.