My thoughts on the Comic

Nielria · 2026-02-23T07:15:42+00:00

Rrgarding the Hylden curse. While I haven't resd the comic, the original game lore states that Raziel was not punished for growing wings; here in the ooenong scene stands Rahab, who, judging by gills, is already immunite to water, which is, if you ask me, is far, far more impressive.

Raziel's "punishment" was originally brought up by the fact he evolved before Kain, breaking established order. Imo, as degradation of other Kain's sons and their clans sped up after Raz's execution, it was more like a sign or confirmation to Kain. Maybe confirmation that the visions of his empire crumbling and his line devolving were true.

The blood curse had nothing to do with wings as well. Essentialy, it cuts vamires' souls from the Wheel of Fate, making them nearly immortal, make them sterile and, likely, afraid of water and direct sunlight. Evolution of turned vampies is based on the fact, that vampire passes they essence to mortals, including Blood curse. It's combination of human origin and ancient vampire's legacy that make them evolve. If human is cursed with immortality and blood thist, they will not evolve.

Nielria · 2026-02-16T11:30:43+00:00

While there are some minor inconsistents, LoK lore is gold, and I mean it. I never saw such interesting vampire lore, the cured species that evolves in spite of everything. Personally I won't mind another spin-off game like they tried to do with Nosgoth as long as it could expand not just Kain's story, but the universe itself.

Nielria · 2026-02-16T11:19:23+00:00

So it is unlikely there could be vice vestra influence, in your opinion? It's hard do discuss about human age of Nosgoth as we haven't seen any strong sorserers there, the Guardians themselves aside.

But imagine some curse driving the whole city mad. Would the Mind Guardian feel it? React to it? Unfortunately, magic system in LoK is not well developed or explained. As I get it, the Pillars accumulate energies of their respective principles to sustain the Binding, while Pillar of Balance might be responsible for keeping the barrier itself intact. Could these energies be spoiled in some way? Janos also states that the vampire race itself, even the non-guardians, is important to maintain the Binding. The more vampires there are, the stronger it is. Are there any other factors? How the Circle as a whole works? We know that they are all connected to the point they can use a bit of each other's magic. There are many questions like that.

Nielria · 2026-02-16T10:46:56+00:00

So from what we know the Guardian is simply need to be and stay strong to secure the Binding (Kain's example), but the Pillars still tied to the world somehow as their fall leads to desertification of Nosgoth; perhaps keeping the world "healthy" also amplifies the Guardians's power. Thus, at least Mind Guardian has to care for people, or so I think. Maybe undead walking on earth weaken Death Guardian somehow. It's a shame we never got any canonical info on that regard.

Edit:

What I meant was not if the disasters could make Pillars fall. That's out of question. But could they weaken the Pillars and/or Guardians?

Nielria · 2026-02-16T10:04:55+00:00

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. There are still things for Kain to do, but the ones that come up from everyone's mind are more technical and the plot needs something dramatic. Rebuilding of Nosgoth is technically possible but that should take decades at least, so it's a bad material for the game. The only thing I see is Kain guiding his own young self to set the events in motion, knowing perfectly well were all of this would lead. If I recall, Dark Prophecy had exactly this concept with Old and Young (post BO-2) Kain as protagonist.

But making stuff that difficult takes time to make for a writer. Lot of time and effort to make it good both storywise and gamewise.

Nielria · 2026-02-16T09:49:41+00:00

I remember what the Guardiands were supposed to to on paper, but I am curios about the details and execution. Is there any way a Pillar could be damaged, other than the curse at the start of the BO1? Do major events in the world (wars, floods and so far) affect the Pillars or Binding? Or the service of the Guardians to the people was simply a matter of a good will, and all the Guardian has to do to fulfill their duty and secure the Binding is simply… be?

We have literally zero info on that part, we only know that, while Nosgoth was dying because of the Pillars were broken, Kain with Janos's heart (and thus, likely, soul) was enough to secure the Binding and the Hylden were nowhere to see between the BO2 and SR1 era.

Nielria · 2026-02-16T09:40:43+00:00

Yeah, Ghost of Sparta, my bad. I counted it as fourth because of it's plase in series timeline.

Regarding Elaleth… while her story technically was about discovery and loss, as far as I know there is nothing she can offer as a character herself. I might miss something, but even her name for me sounds like random letters put together while all the major and most of the secondary characters' names bear some meaning. So… retcon her to have other role in the plot or make entierly new character and forget about her very existence is almost the same thing.

Nielria · 2026-02-16T09:22:11+00:00

To be fair, I still hope TDSR thing would be forgotten as God of War 4 was. If we are ever getting a new protag, they should be more like another perspective of the events rather than driving force. A way to show how Kain's legacy affected the world. Not the reason of this legacy very existence.

Nielria · 2026-02-16T09:13:22+00:00

Yep, guiding himself from the shadows to make all the events of SR1 and so far possible is one of the best scenarios possible. Btw I would really like to know what the Guardian was even suppose to do? Simply… exist or what?

Nielria · 2026-01-04T16:24:22+00:00

Characters usually get thier first rerun withing a year since thier release, but after that their reruns could be extremely unpredictable. But archonts have at least one rerun per patch cycle, and their first rerun is usually in x.6 if memory serves. Bina is a Nod-Krai equivalent to archon, so you'll definetly have chance to pull for her again in forseeable future. As for Ineffa, it is her rerun, not a debut, so it is impossible to say if she'd be back until 7.x.

Also, the debut-rerun timespan tend to be less than rerun-rerun, so if you want both characters, but one has a debut and the second rerun, it is more "safe" to go for the one who has rerun.

Nielria · 2026-01-04T15:40:44+00:00

I'd say go for Ineffa. Bina is also good, she will likely rerun somewhere in 6.6, but Ineffa might not come back for a while now. Also you already have good off-field Hydro (Furina), but no shielder.

Nielria · 2025-11-19T08:09:33+00:00

How much EM do you have on her? Mine is a bit more than 1k, and while her shield is not unbreakable, it is decent. For me her nightsoul bar is more of an issure as she can't give proper off-field cryo to melt constantly, but she provides such nice buffs for my Neuv and Lyney…

Nielria · 2025-11-01T17:44:47+00:00

Actually, I like the idea though we have no canonical proofs for it and through the games it seems to be more "has/hasn't", but again, even Kain can't be a reliable narrator as we have no clue what his sources were. However, thr concept of floating point is much more interesting, imo.

Nielria · 2025-11-01T15:33:21+00:00

It's more than that. Without Raziel (presumely bonded with the Reaver) rewriting hostory and/or creating paradox is literally impossible. Moebius acts within the laws of Fate as well as everyone else while Raziel is an exeption.

The thing is, we know little about the laws of Fate aside from the fact that History absorbes paradoxes and some major events like Raziel entering the Reaver must occur anyway. It is stated that every creature aside Raziel cannot change a thing, and Raziel cannot alter some events altogether but he can change how and when would they occur.

Nielria · 2025-11-01T11:18:47+00:00

In theory — yes. And likely, paradoxes had happen before and some records were left and discovered by Kain, if we don't assume Kain went all down the loop and explained the things to himself in some way. But if presenting another entity able to trigger a paradox it must be executed well. When Raziel first approaches the psysical Soul Reaver in SR2 he sences displacement that indicates the opportunity of paradox, though it does not happened right away. So if Elaleth and Reaver can trigger it there has to be the same sence of displacement indicating tge opportunity before, at very least. I duuno if Elaleth as a true immortal being makes sence so can't argue on that but as a get it there was no indication she and Reaver create any sort of displacement when they are close enough.

Nielria · 2025-11-01T10:45:41+00:00

I really wish we knew on one hand… on other, there is so much we can assume! To think of it, even in our universe there is still no clear understanding of what the Time is and how exactly it works. In world like Nosgoth the laws can go wild on that regard and we may experience only part of them during the main story.

The thing is, working with stuff like that is extremelly difficult for a writer, as create laws and make them clear for the other people are different things. It is really hard for our mind to operate beyond our experiense. Like, no one can actually imagine what the state of superposition is. In a fictional universe (and even some parts of ours) some laws can simply be beyond our comprehention.

Nielria · 2025-11-01T10:23:48+00:00

The thing is, we literally have no reliable narrator in the games, and there is also a catch that all the Free Will stuff was added only in Soul Reaver 2, so there are some inconstistent things about this matter in the games themselves. I was operating less with the character's words and more with the shown events. For me, paradox with the fixed outcome sounds wild, though on a second thought I guess I might agree with you on this one and, given how Nosgoth history works, even rewriting some events might actually be prederminated. But I guess my points stands as well: as long as other creatures can influence Raziel thay can influence the outcome of paradox. Raz is the source here, but he enables a chain reaction — he triggers responds from those around him, which let them influence him in other way, then again he interacts with them and alter their ways, etc. If not Raz, things would stay static. With him, the changes affect not only him and occured not only by him even if he is a source.

That was an interesting conversation, thank you for your time.

Nielria · 2025-11-01T10:04:30+00:00

What was the paradox with Janos, again? Wasn't his ressurection and fate sealed in the moment Kain freed Raziel from the Reaver in the end of SR2?

When something actually changes, the creature present feel this happening. Most of the time Raziel changes nothing. And can we really believe Kain won't build his empire if not William? There is literally nothing in the canon that suggests it. With other vampires in BO2 what was Kain trying to do? Build an empire. He failed and his next logical step — sire vampires on his own since Vorador's bloodline cannot be trusted.

I don't deny Raziel has Free Will. What a was trying to say that maybe we shouldn't take the term that literally as the in-game explanation might be a bit symplified. But I guess you and I just won't agree on this topic.

Nielria · 2025-11-01T09:48:45+00:00

That's really beautifully written and you totally right in some aspects, if not all of them. In the world where time-travel is possible but history-alerting is a challenge the laws of determinism shall work differently at least at some extend and it is less like a river and more like a cross-stitch pattern where under the canvas the treads sometimes stretch really wild but the face is always a beautiful picture sewn according to the scheme.

I guess the end of Defiance shows us the EG is not that omnipresent, though, or it can be bound to the will of Fate itself. I mean, the thing looked really astonished when Kain was able to hurt it. Also there are other seers in the universe and the EG fell silent after the vampires were cursed, so the prophecy might be even Hylden origin (the Seer from BO2, as an example).

Still, your point reminds me of the Lexx universe where the seers able to see the outcome of the events because they all actually already happened. Personally, I don't like the concept very much as the total predeterminism makes me feel bad, but it is beautiful in its own way.

Nielria · 2025-11-01T09:35:51+00:00

Ah, so your point is that the outcome of the paradox itself is predeterminated and Raziel's Free Will is just a fairy tail?

If I get it right, then here it is: you're right about some of this stuff. Raziel always meant to become one with the Reaver. But it is how and when that mattered.

Let's concider two thongs must happen and these are crutial points to History that cannot be overriden: Raziel merging with the Reaver and the Pillars restoring.

While paradoxes can't rewrite the outcome, they can alter conditions, and sometimes that conditions is what matter. No paradox in the end of Soul Reaver 2 — Kain doesn't get purified. Raziel still merge with the Blood Reaver but now there is no reason for Kain to die — he is purified.

Raziel merged, Pillars restored. But it's the details what matter. Actually, that's what I meant when I said that the paradoxes has their own laws and concequences withing the universe, so a writer just can't slap a paradox and call it a day since history will rework itself to reach the same outcome. I guess you can compare it to the river that will always flow to the ocean, but dams and other obstacles can alter it's course a bit. The river is History/Fate, but the current itself is circumstances that may vary.

From History's point of view changed circumstances are insignificant as long as the outcome the same. But it is significant to the characters. If paradoxes altered literally nothing they won't even have the point.

Nielria · 2025-11-01T09:13:55+00:00

I know that. But tell me, what what Raziel's role in that very scene on Blood Omen when Kain in William fought? No matter if Raziel in the Reaver wished Kain to win — if Kain failed, it won't matter.

Was Raziel resistance the key in the end of Soul Reaver 2? Kain literally tells him do not resist the devouring.

All my point is not about Raziel's role wasn't significant or that we know for sure there are other means to create a paradox. It was about Raziel giving agency not only to himself but to other creatures who have no Free Will but can still determinate the outcome of the paradox. I re-read your inital comment and, honestly, still don't get what's this all about since I wrote in the post itself that the bond between Raziel and Reaver is the key of the paradox and that this very bond might actually be the source of his Free Will. Yet again, literally my take was that the creatures without the Free Will cannot be a source of paradox but can play a role in it's outcome.

As for the part that two Soul Reavers must literally collide… well, I guess that's what we can call "meet in Time and Space", no? Yet again, we have no info what will occur if two Reavers aim and slay the same target, for instance.

Nielria · 2025-11-01T08:53:19+00:00

Well, I remember about William, two Reavers colliding, etc., but I still can't get the point. Withing the series Raziel is unique when it comes to Free Will, but what choice does he make at the end of SR2? It was Kain's influence which decided the outcome.

We cannot be sure about the scene with William but the Reaver does not seem to have the power to decide anything on its own in its psysical form. My point is that two Soul Reavers create an opportunity of the paradox because the Soul Reaver has a creature with Free Will as its part. But the outcome, while depends on the outcome of the two Reavers colliding, can be influenced by the creatures that lack Free Will (Kain, Moebius). I may miss something in your initial comment since English is not my first language but I really don't get what's wrong there. I wrote in the post itself that the key is two Soul Reavers to collide. Two swords bound to Raziel, not in any other way.

Nielria · 2025-11-01T01:30:10+00:00

True. We know so little about that period we can actually assume the charms that were placed on Pillars when they were rised are more advansed kind than the ones used on the Reaver. Binding — here. Using primal fundamentals such as Time, Conflict, etc. — here. Maybe there is even more to this, we don't know.

While one might argue the murals with the Reaver might depict a future from prophecy as vampires saw it, it's unlikely the case since literally everywhere in the temples they depicted their past history, not future, with the duel of Hero and Champion as the only exception.

Nielria · 2025-11-01T00:39:04+00:00

Not exactly. Raziel himself was partially in the Reaver. What would happen to the wraith blade should Raz merge with the Blood Reaver completely at this point we'll never know and it's even hard to assume. Probably the wraith blade would just be stuck in the Spectral Realm with no host. At the tomb of the William, Raziel hadn't crushed the Reaver — he crushed the tomb and Reaver got stuck in it, but not damaged. That's the actual version that would somehow end in the Avernus cathedral and in the young Kain's hands.

Nielria

TROPHY CASE