#chronoplastic

[cosmic-navel-gazin]

The way every lieutenant in Legacy of Kain has a different colour for each of their clans except Raziel, who shares red along with Kain...

[jettiebettie]

We don't actually know when Kain found and started utilizing the Chronoplast exactly, right? He could have gone centuries becoming fond of Raziel, only to eventually learn what he would have to do to him. Do you think he started to pull away after that? Tried to distance himself from his favored one?

Imagine learning that the only way you (and the one person you've ever cared for besides yourself) can fight fate is by subjecting that loved one to centuries of pain and torment, knowing that they'd want to kill you once they returned. Would you not try to push them away to ease the sting?

And what would Raziel think of Kain slowly but surely pulling away from him? We know he remained steadfastly loyal up until his execution. Did he try his best to win that favor back? Is that why he presented his wings to Kain with such pageantry, hoping to impress and be praised by his master once more?

[shesso]

Mi mást csinálna az ember épp késésben a Pezsgő Margitról, mint hogy kiteszi ezt a 2 hete beragadt posztot az érdekesebb londoni kiállitásokról.

Ha már Pezsgő Margit, akkor mindenképp @brgzmpff művésznővel kell kezdeni, akinek Greenwich-ben van kiállitva ez a képe.

Firepit Art Gallery, menjetek január 18-ig, Uber Hajóval 2 megálló Woolwich-tól, ahol ilyen tökjó szoborcsoport van (meg egy igazi embert is elrejtettem a képen).

Ez Tracey Emin - I Followed You to the End, november 10-én bezárt.

Ez holnapig van, vicces csoportos kiállítás, Un Oeuf Is an Oeuf (A tojás az tojás) a TJ Boultingban, elég nagy nevekkel.

Ez meg december 8-ig a Raven Row, ami igazi lakásgaléria - ez pl. egy videóinstalláció az ágy felett:

Chronoplasticity. Ezek meg ventillátorok.

Van hozzá szép fényes katalógusom is, majd lefotózom.

[dogreed-blog]

Some fun with alternative versions of Raziel and Kain in chronoplast room.

[satoshi-mochida]

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered ‘Boss Reveal’ trailer, details - Gematsu

Aspyr has released a new trailer for Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered featuring a first look at the remastered collection’s bosses.

Additionally, over on PlayStation Blog, Aspyr associate brand manager Matthew Ray as shared further details on the bosses and new map system:

■ Remastered Boss Updates and Reveals

Each boss encounter in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered is designed to challenge the player’s mastery of Raziel’s abilities. Our goal with the character models was to improve the textures as much as we could while ensuring that they blend in with the apocalyptic world.

Melchiah

The first of Kain’s lieutenants Raziel must defeat. This battle takes place in the Necropolis where Melchiah chases Raziel down while phasing through gates, making the spectral realm no longer safe. Strategically use the environment to expose Melchiah’s vulnerabilities and use his own devices against him. —Melchiah received a full texture overhaul with darkened skin and a slimier body-feel. The bones and skeletal mapping are now more realistic and gory and his eye color was adjusted to match the original look.

Zephon

Fought in a dilapidated cathedral, Zephon has evolved into an insect-like creature, fusing with this towering structure. You’ll need to ascend to the highest chambers and become willingly ensnared to be able to confront him. Search the room for any elemental advantages which could aid you in this endeavor. —Zephon was too desaturated, so we’ve completely repainted his face.

Rahab

This battle occurs in a flooded abbey. Rahab is fully immune to water, which is lethal to Raziel. Use Raziel’s agility to avoid Rahab’s deadly close-range and long-range attacks by jumping and make use of your newly gained Telekinetic projectile ability to exploit Rahab’s extreme vulnerability to sunlight. —Rahab’s head has been remodeled, so the eyes now have a reddish glow which gives him a menacing look. We’ve also altered the fangs to look more vampiric and made his skin color a little more gray.

Dumah

In a desolated fortress, Dumah awaits reanimation. Just like his other brethren, Dumah is invulnerable to any attacks, so Raziel has to be cunning and lure him to a flame powerful enough to melt even the hardest metal, all while avoiding tremendous earthquakes caused by Dumah’s incredible strength. —Dumah’s armor is now a lot dirtier and has patches of mold and blood all over it (considering he was impaled for centuries).

Kain

Raziel first confronts Kain at the Pillars where he must be swift and strike Kain three times to gain the Soul Reaver. The second encounter takes place in the Chronoplast, where the tiered arena makes evasion even more challenging. Track your target’s movements closely and make haste to strike him with the Soul Reaver. If you cannot reach him in time, use your Telekinetic projectile to stop Kain from using his powerful lightning attack. The encounter is intense and dramatic, but we won’t spoil how it concludes. Pre-order to find out! —The models for Kain in both Soul Reaver and Soul Reaver 2 needed to be completely re-designed to mitigate textural issues. With the increased polygon count we felt it was important to bring his look a lot closer to the Kain we got to see in the original FMVs, which was a lot more detailed and showed more-or-less what the original intent was for the character. The original model in SR1 was especially limited so now both games have a Kain that looks consistent between the two titles.

■ Map and Compass Details and Gameplay

In the original versions of the games, players often found themselves wandering the vast, twisting landscapes of Nosgoth, relying heavily on memory and environmental cues to navigate.

The introduction of the Map and Compass marks a thoughtful enhancement that blends modern gameplay conveniences with the preservation of the explorative experience the original titles were known for. The Compass gently nudges the player in the right direction without giving away specific details of where to go or what to do next and the Map is more of a reference tool than a guide. We also included a collection tracker for any Health and Energy power-ups so that you know if you’ve gotten all of the collectibles within each area. All of the major Nosgoth features are present and accurately condensed based on the setting and gameplay. For fans who might feel that these additions are a major departure from the original games, we’ve made sure to incorporate a toggle-off function for the compass.

In addition to its gameplay utility, the map is also a wonderful art piece that was created in collaboration with our development team, community advisors, artists, and designers at Crystal Dynamics. We knew accuracy was paramount, so we worked hard to pull from the original source art, design documents, and clues from game lore. We also incorporated community reviews to ensure nothing had been missed. Thanks to these efforts, the map is accurate enough to feature in the new lore reader bonus menu – identifying the location of each lore entry.

For design direction, Crystal Dynamics designers used a heavily inked approach that sits beautifully with the existing art, creating a stunning new way to visualize the world of Nosgoth. The Map and Compass are there to serve as welcome tools for exploration, ensuring that the remastered versions remain both a tribute to the classics and a modernized, more player-friendly experience.

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered is due out for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam on December 12.

Watch the trailer below.

Boss Reveal Trailer

[incorrect-nosgoth]

Zephon: Hey, sire. Remember the Chronoplast?

Kain: Yes.

Kain: Wait, what do you mean "remember"?

[taonpest]

Do you think Kain used the chronoplast to win petty arguments he had with his sons

[scionofsucc]

What's your AU?

Anon i really appreciate you asking tbh--

I do wanna preface this with "i havent been over the lore in a year or two so im a bit rusty" so like.. tell me if i get something horribly wrong pls fjdhdh

Putting this under a readmore bc its rambily

BuT basically:

Kain fucks up when using the Chronoplast and ends up in a different universe with technology much closer to ours

However time-wise he ends up in the era prior to Nosgoth's recorded history. Seeing as he wouldnt quite fit in with the ancient vampires he uses his Disguise Form (which has become much more reliable since Blood Omen) to hide as a human.

I still havent worked out how Raziel also ends up there but

Raziel arrives and like in Defiance has to posess a body to change planes, but the bodies dont just turn into wraith Raziel (they do decay over time though, losing their jaw first usually lmao) letting him walk around more easily, just... very covered.

The rest of the AU focuses mostly on Kain and Raziel trying to get back to the right universe, understanding all the new technology, and witnessing history that they never got to know unfold as the Vampires and Hylden wage war (That they inevitably get dragged into while trying to get home)

Whew, that was a lot! Thanks again for letting me ramble anon <3!

[quaddmgd]

ok so to wrap up the sr1 master post.

i did finish the game on friday and i wanted to touch on two things

1) on my way to chronoplast i got stuck on the puzzle where i needed to align blocks so the image on them reflects the one on the ground. it requires to push two of the blocks down from very high places. one of them landed on one that was already on the ground and they've merged. one was inside another, their textures were z-fighting and i couldn't move them anymore. thankfully i saved the game not that long ago and managed to catch up in less than ten minutes.

i'm not sure if saving the game would softlock it or just reset the puzzle - idk how the game's save system treats the unfinished puzzles. if that happens to you, beware

2) i was very curious to see how they'll treat the chronoplast visions, since in the original game on each platform they were very compressed fmvs of in-engine cinematics. made sense due to platform limitations back then.

now i'm happy to report that all the visions are in-engine! they took 1-2 seconds long stutters to load each time for me, but now they're normal in-engine cutscenes with toggleable remastered graphics. and they are great!

overall it's the definitive way to play soul reaver and while there are some minor issues, they should be easily fixable. and if tomb raider remasters are anything to go by, they will get fixed. it's worth keeping in mind that i was really looking for things to complain about because i'm a fan and i want these remasters to as great as they possibly can.

so i played soul reaver 1 remastered up to the Sarafan Tomb and i really enjoy the visual changes and QOL features added.

new models look great and and at times terrifying when they have to. i love that some of them got granted some semblance of facial animation. i liked the facial animations of tr remastered more, but anything is much better than what we had on PS1.

i like the texture work much better than disjointed hd textures of tr remastered; here it feels more like just playing a new port of soul reaver (kinda like the dreamcast version but on a much greater scale) instead of an hd texture mod (most of which suck for such old games).

overall there are less noticeable visual changes than tr remastered thanks to the original soul reaver's lighting. it still does look great no matter which graphics you choose, but remastered looks give you also better player shadows and some dynamic lighting from the reaver and other stuff that should give off light.

both new (beautiful) map and compass are fun to look at and give locations the much needed spacial context without having to remember blood omen's map (or playing bo in general). i imagine they are helpful for new players, but i can't tell for sure since i kinda moved around from memory.

i LOVE the brand-new day-night cycle. corrupted nosgoth at night looks even gloomier than i imagined. at first i thought it wasn't that noticeable, but it turned out i just hadn't reached the night yet. one small gripe - it can make platforming very hard due to no light sources around the map. idk if it really needs to be fixed since i only played through one night so far but yeah. maybe give raziel an optional light aura like of an angel he is... idk we'll see.

as of now i only found a few minor issues, which is not a lot compared to what tr fans found in their respective remasters. first of all the lighting issues are non-existent here since the game uses its original lighting. the skybox after emerging outside for the first time gets messed up in one place due to weird mountain geometry, raziel's new model once obscured the original camera framing for a second and in a few liminal spaces the camera goes haywire as the game takes a second-long stutter - something that wasn't there in the original release.

overall it's worth every penny and i love it. i love that i can call it a definitive way to play soul reaver. i can finally recommend these games to people that don't have older hardware or don't know how/like to use emulators.

i only skimmed through bonus content and haven't played the lost levels yet, so i'm hyped to do that. i've seen some familiar art and names in the fanart section, though, and it made me smile.

and since, like tr, both games run on their original engines i was hoping for the file structure to be as open as back then and i'm not disappointed! can't overstate how great this is for data mining and modding.

i'm so happy that legacy of kain is back and i can only hope for it to stay that way, especially with the dead shall rise and other projects on the way. i really hope to see defiance getting remastered one day, maybe with some new gameplay QOL features, possibly alongside both blood omen 1 and 2 as a new remaster package. without it i doubt we'll get a direct sequel that would finally finish the story after it was left on a cliffhanger 21 years ago.

[kainissoable]

Thanks @dongtopus, now I'm imagining Kain struggling to crochet with those claws of his.

[fiberluver]

Meet #Grayhero. This is a mighty big #swatch! Last if the #vintagemystery SUIM402 2011 #chronoplastic #swatch #watches #swisswatch #swatchoftheday #swatchcollector #swatchlovers #swatfie #swatchoninstagram #swatchus #swatchusa #swatchwatch @swatch @swatch_us #swatchusa #iamaswatchwatchaddict #swatchfan #myswatch #madeinswitzerland #swatchswiss #swatchwatches #swatchaddict #watchporn @alexandani #bangles #bangle #banglestack #banglesoninstagram

[guardiansofnosgoth]

Chapter Six: Time Streaming

Once considered impenetrable, the decrepit Dumahim city sprouted out of the mountains like a cypress. None remained to salute the faded purple flags waving in the wind. Skeletal remains of humans and vampires littered the grounds. Those not found by scavengers had been mummified by the cold. Raziel passed them without looking, wielding a rusty halberd. Grey snow clung to his boots.

Fatigue and strong winds forced him to land here. The path to Moebius’ cave lay on the other side of these ruins. There were no tracks, no signs of habitation, apart from a few hawk nests.

Last he passed this way he had encountered several Dumahim squatting in ruins. At the time he never gave them a second thought. Dumah’s death scattered his offspring far and wide. To him they were merely souls to prey on, a nuisance delaying his ultimate revenge. Now Raziel puzzled over their presence.

Due to the city’s close proximity to the Great Northern Smokestack and high altitude the weather remained chilly year round, becoming especially inhospitable during the winter. There did not appear to be enough animal life to support a small population of vampires. The human slaves once imprisoned here had moved on to greener pastures. What were they feeding on?

As he trekked he noticed something unusual near the outer wall. A row of oblong holes, just the right size for rabbits. He stopped and stared. Not since Kain’s conquest had he felt compelled to hunt such pitiful sources of blood. It had been his last resort. Burning with shame, he knelt down and tried to dig something out of the hole.

No luck. The burrow was too deep. Maybe the rodents living here were adapted to Dumahim attempting to fish them out of their burrows with their long tongues. He wondered if it was even occupied. Their tracks could be hidden beneath the fresh snow. He pinched his brow. Finding out probably wasn’t worth the embarrassment. Besides, he was losing time.

The sun started to set, turning the ashen ground yellow. This was the end of his fourth day. Kain had given him only five.

Beyond the deserted city a narrow path wound through the mountains, leading to a secluded landing surrounded by steep cliffs where rested the legendary cave of Moebius the Time Streamer. A massive stone gate protected the mouth of the cave, carved with the image of Moebius’ divination bowl. The doors were sealed. Raziel already knew how to gain entry using the large sundial in the middle of the clearing. However, he stopped as he caught a glimpse of imprints in the snow.

These tracks clearly belonged to vampires. Their two toed talons were distinct. One set was unique, indicating a large vampire that walked on its toes instead of flat footed - a Turelim. The others appeared to be Dumahim. Raziel sampled some of the snow near the tracks and ran it through his fingers. Still soft. These tracks were fresh.

The tracks originated from the other side of the cliff. They concentrated around the door, perhaps trying to determine a means of entry. After circling the cliff, apparently searching for something, they returned to their point of origin and continued further east into the mountains.

This did not look like the behavior of a hunting party, more like a scouting party, one not sent by Kain. These must be the Zillahim Nogah warned him about. He wondered what she hoped to uncover here.

Luminescent crystals arranged in hanging bowls provided minimal light. These same crystals sprouted from the floor and walls in large formations as he traveled deeper into the cave, into the room said to have contained a small museum of artifacts stolen from across time. That room was now barren, deformed and cracked by moisture and time. At the other end of the museum a pair of stone snakes carved from the walls of the cave guarded the final passage into Moebius’ divining chamber. Although the cave’s structure appeared to be less-than-natural, perhaps modified by humans or ancient vampires, this perfectly circular room with its smooth, decorative walls felt most alien, practically untouched.

In the center of that room stood a brass tripod taller than Raziel. On each foot of the tripod rested a gold orb. To the vexation of centuries of plunderers, the orbs were inextricably attached. Moebius’ cauldron, once used to show the young Kain his future, hung from a chain fastened to the tripod where the three legs met. Raziel ran his hand along the inside. No visions stirred. He might as well have sought destiny in a cook pot.

Filling the cauldron should make it useable, he thought. Adding a few handfuls of ashen snow from outside, he used the tinder he collected from the abandoned Dumahim camp near the cave entrance to start a fire. The tinder was cold and rotten. After much frustration he managed to keep the fire going long enough to produce water. Even though it filled less than half, it was the best he could do without trekking back toward Dumah’s city and risking confrontation with the patrolling Zillahim. Raziel gripped the tripod as he leaned over the cauldron.

“Show me the future,” he commanded.

The cauldron showed him dirty water.

Perhaps he needed to be more specific. Raziel mustered his authority and said, “Reveal to me the Nature Guardian’s fate!”

The cauldron revealed his muddy reflection. Raziel pinched his brow and lamented, “Fate, why do you torment me? I’m already too late to return to the Pillars in time. If I could just give that bastard what he wants he might finally let me live in peace.”

If only he arrived here sooner he would have had time to experiment. Unfortunately, continuous flight proved impossible without favorable winds. Even when the wind blew at his back he needed to leap from a high place if he hoped to gain sufficient altitude before he exhausted himself, despite his great jumping ability, and good perches became significantly harder to find after leaving the Necropolis.

On his second day of travel, out of desperation, he had tried to access his bat form. The spell failed him. Whether he had forgotten how to cast it or this form was no longer accessible to him he could not say for certain, but this handicap contributed to his current predicament.  

“Stop that,” he said, slapping himself on the cheek, “No one wants to hear your blubbering. Forget about Kain. No matter what you will only achieve death if you stop fighting. Think! There must be more below, something you can use.”

As he pushed against the leg of the tripod, it rotated on a wheel concealed in the floor. Gears locked the wheel to the walls of the circular room, causing them to turn and block the entrance behind him, opening a path to the secret complex deeper within.

The complex was shaped like a vertical cylinder divided by several layers of wide circular rooms with stairs and hallways branching off and circling back to the center from top to bottom. A massive clockwork mechanism made up the backbone of the entire facility. It stood in the center of the rotunda on every floor. There was a gap of a few feet between the floor and the device, separated by a thin railing, and slumbering at the bottom of that well was the Chronoplast, Moebius’ grand time machine. To one side of the room, near a grouping of inoperable elevators, Raziel recognized the corroded statue of an old man. He paused to look at it.

Moebius the Time Streamer, Raziel’s human predecessor. He had met the man in person before. Moebius’ intentions for Nosgoth had been malevolent long before the corruption of the Pillars, a reminder that however the Pillars chose their Guardians it was not for purity of heart. Now only this cold statue remained, the last evidence of the man who had conspired to eradicate vampires through the manipulation of Raziel’s destiny.

He felt no kinship with this man. Indeed, he loathed him. By selfishly tampering with history, devoting himself to the rapacious will of a false god, Moebius asserted himself as the cause of Nosgoth’s suffering. He nearly destroyed Nosgoth entirely.

Raziel started by retracing his steps. He had been in a hurry to meet Kain on his first passage so perhaps he had missed something important. Most rooms were barren. One contained space for a hearth and a few other amenities, although no trappings of human habitation remained. Perhaps Kain pillaged them.

Half-way down Raziel found a large hall with a high vaulted ceiling supported by thick columns. There were two floors. The upper floor consisted of a walkway around the perimeter with oval balconies extending on either side and beyond those balconies were doorways connecting to other areas of the complex. On the lower floor the ground was black, different from other parts of the complex. Raziel crouched and ran his fingers across the surface. Some off the black stuff came off on his claws. Soot. As he combed the room he found fragments of charred wood and tiny scraps of paper in thin piles near the walls. Here and there he discovered little metal plaques engraved with letters and numbers, the kind you would find in a library.  

Kain must have come here first. Once Kain had taken the knowledge he needed must have destroyed the rest, perhaps out of greed or perhaps to stop it from being used against him. Raziel frowned, recalling a time when he spent hours in Kain’s library with Melchiah and Rahab while they were young. Although he felt no remorse over what he had done he still experienced a pang of longing when he remembered how they used to be, a quiet regret that began long before his execution. He wondered if they ever felt it, too.

At any rate, Moebius’ library was of no use to him now. He needed to press on.

Hunger and vexation pursued him as he descended deeper into the facility. When he came to the chamber where he had seen his history laid out before him, deep underground near the Chronoplast, he found the device inoperable. Instead of a pulsating field of stars he saw only a cracked stone wall surrounded by a broken iron frame. On the save level, tightly sealed behind a stone door, he discovered row upon row of drawers, each containing a scroll protected by a bronze case. These scrolls were similar to star charts but more complex than any he had ever seen.

Something cracked beneath his foot. He stepped back, bending over to examine the object. About the size of a pocket watch, the device resembled an astrolabe. Its mechanical components appeared to be made of gold fitted to some odd red material similar to obsidian in weight and texture. In Kain’s tales Moebius used some sort of small device to hurl him fifty years back in time for the assassination of the Nemesis, then called William the Just. Raziel recalled how the device had activated of its own accord.

He stepped around the device, wisely choosing not to touch it, but after a few steps he returned and gently lifted it off the ground. On second thought, it might prove useful in the future. He decided to put it somewhere he could find it again.

Finally, he came to the Chronoplast itself. The Chronoplast was a domical chamber divided into three levels held up by arching square columns of white marble and blood jasper. On the highest level was a round gate, currently inactive. Brass cogs, dials, and gears adorned each of the platforms, rising upward and outward toward the highest point. An arcane mechanism hung from the domed ceiling; pincher-like, mechanical arms embraced around a glowing, yellow-green orb. Several smaller arms surrounded the orb, each ending in a bulb representing a planet. Surrounding this mechanism was a dark void undulating with stars.

Dark splotches of dried blood speckled the floor. These stains were the leftovers of his final battle with Kain before his sire lured him into the past. They were only a few weeks old. To Raziel, that battle seemed like lifetimes ago. When he tried to recall the white-hot rage that propelled him in pursuit of Kain, the effort left him drained.

Was that betrayal? Would his family despise him if they knew the way he felt about his brothers and Kain?

Sinking to the floor, Raziel sat on the bottom step with his weapon across his knees. Despite traveling so far from the Sanctuary of the Clans his mind felt no less chaotic. Perhaps it was even moreso. He hoped it was only hunger making him feel this way.

Hunger would have been no consequence in his wraith body. Lost souls and sluagh wandered the spectral realm, an endless source of food at his fingertips. Although he could still visit the spectral realm with Melchiah's gift he found himself an unwelcome stranger amongst the dead. Souls no longer gave him sustenance.

With no way to replenish his energy he would make Kain an easy target. The prospect of being imprisoned frightened him more than he cared to admit. However, fighting Kain was a different sort of prison. He could not run from him. With the Balance Pillar restored Kain could track him to the ends of the world, as evidenced by Callisto. Neither could he attempt to kill Kain. If he succeeded that would leave the young Circle in a dangerous position, possibly inciting the disaster he foresaw. Understanding this felt like choking.

That left only one option open to him: the Chronoplast. If he traveled back in time to a point when Moebius’ library was still intact he might find the knowledge he required to properly see into the future. This came with the added benefit of extending Kain’s ultimatum practically indefinitely. He would have time to feed, time to learn, and time to rest. Only, he needed to be reasonably certain of when he was going. Running afoul of Moebius could cut his plan - and Nosgoth’s future drastically short. Assuming Kain had not revisited the Chronoplast since returning to the present the time dials should still be set to the day of Ariel’s murder, when Moebius still lived. But what if he was wrong about that?

Raziel pondered the warp gates once used to connect distant parts of the empire. They ceased functioning after the Pillars’ rebirth, yet they might provide insight. The gates functioned synchronously regardless of physical distance. When Raziel activated the gate in his territory to visit the Sanctuary of the Clans, the Sanctuary’s gate would activate simultaneously and automatically by opening a portal to the Razielim capital. In other words, they became mirror images.

Kain returned to the present not long after the Pillars’ collapse, thirty years after Ariel’s murder, and after Moebius’ death. If the Chronoplast functioned across time the way the warp gates functioned across space, that meant that the settings Kain used on the Chronoplast in the past would be inverted in the present. By activating the Chronoplast without touching the dials it should transport him back to the exact moment Kain left Nosgoth’s history.

Spreading his wings for lift, Raziel leapt from the entryway and landed smoothly on the stairs on the other side leading up to the gate. Behind its frame was a stone wall. Raziel pulled a lever to activate the portal.

Unseen gears whirled and the air hummed with arcane power. Strange mechanisms stirred, causing the air to fluctuate like water inside the gate, filling the inside with stars. Raziel backed away from the gate, watching over his shoulder as the planetarium came to life with static and thunder. A bolt of electricity leapt from the central orb. It struck the lemniscate above the gate. White light burst from the portal with a ghostly wail. It closed like a fist, retracting into the passage, a puncture through time. Raziel approached the gate, shielding his eyes from the tunnel of swirling light.

White mist swirled around his boots. All noise ceased as he stepped through the gate. His flesh prickled as strange forces whisked him backward through time.

...

Fifteen hundred years ago the silent Chronoplast sprang to life. Dials turned, metallic arms swung into position, and the planetarium began to spin, faster and faster. Green lighting jolted from the device, striking the lemniscate above the gate.

Eerie winds played with Raziel’s hair as landed on the other side of the time gate. The chamber rumbled softly as it drained of power, the planetarium slowed to a stop, and the portal closed behind him with a soft hiss. As he descended the stairs, the end of his halberd clicking against the stone, he noted the change in the dials. No sign of Moebius.

Raziel unsealed the doors and stepped into the hall. He gripped the halberd steadily in both hands. Everything seemed quiet. As he crept up the circuitous stairs his nose scrunched up from a horrid acidic odor. Near the top of the stairs he came to an abrupt stop. Only a few feet away, the body of a grey demon lay in a pool of stale green blood. The demon was about twice Raziel’s size, body made up of a spindly grey exoskeleton, sturdy arms with pincer-like claws, each one the length and width of a longsword, and a head resembling a bull skull. Keeping his distance, Raziel prodded it with the staff of his halberd. Definitely dead. He grabbed one of the bony stalks on its back, now safe to touch, and rolled the body onto its side. Foul blood oozed from the jagged gashes across its chest, indicating recent death, along with the stench of burnt flesh. These wounds were consistent with the Soul Reaver. The three other demons strewn about the area suffered similar marks. Raziel grimaced in vindication. This could only be Kain’s handywork.

So the Hylden sent their dogs after Kain. They must have intended to stop him from returning to Nosgoth’s present with the purified Soul Reaver, but they clearly underestimated him - underestimated them. His eyes twinged in dismay of that misplaced nostalgia.

Unfortunately, Raziel would find no sustenance here. Pure demon blood was toxic to vampires. It might satiate him for a few minutes before its determinants drained him of his stamina and sanity, like a human succumbing to salt water poisoning.

In this time period the elevators appeared to be functional. They looked similar in design to the lift that took him to the top of the tower in the Sanctuary of the Clans, although their appearance was far more ornate, reminding him of the architecture in the ancient vampire forges. He decided to forgo their use for now, in case there were any live demons lurking in the halls.

Raziel wondered what he would discover in Moebius’ library in this era. Learning how to interpret his visions would satisfy Kain and ensure the future safety of the Pillars, but what about the Chronoplast itself? Surely the Pillars did not endow him with a gift forbidden. If he mastered the Chronoplast he should be able to prevent Janos from ever being captured by the Hylden, eliminating the need for rescue and leaving the young Kain with a more enviable ally. Raziel might prevent Janos from dying at the hands of the Sarafan. That would change the course of history all together. Moebius could have done it. Why not?

As he made his way through the complex he encountered more demon corpses. Occasionally he discovered a splattering of vampire blood, still wet. On second thought, considering the sacrifice inherent in changing his own destiny to the Soul Reaver, it would be better to start with something small. Janos was not the only person he wanted to save.

Raziel smelled smoke.

He sprinted and fluttered up the last flight of stairs and slid to a stop outside the library, the sounds of loud, heavy breathing and moist crunching alerting him to the presence of a large demon on the other side of the wall. He crouched on the balls of his feet and snuck around the corner.

Fine wooden shelves lined the walls between the support beams, each one lined with books of various sizes. Decorative rugs covered most of the lower floor, except for the raised hearth in the center, while on the upper level half-sized shelves made space for paintings of Nosgoth’s landscape. On the lower floor Sarafan banners hung between the shelves, burning. Little flames danced across the collection. Only the black demon looming near the entryway hampered Raziel from rushing in to save them.

This demon was more than three times Raziel’s size, a greater breed of demon with hard leathery skin and bulging muscle. Thick, curved horns grew from its back and the sides of its skull. One arm hung limp, rent by the Soul Reaver. Crouched over a pile of smoking books and broken furniture, it tore at an undefinable green mass of blood and meat clutched in its opposite hand, oblivious to him. The disfigured carcass of a smaller demon lay at its hooved feet.

From a cursory glance most of the library appeared unharmed. Only the shelves closest to the demon were beyond help. If he put it down quickly and avoided provoking its flame breath he could save the rest of the collection. Based on previous experience with black demons he knew it would use its flames against him unless they fought in close quarters, making trying to lure it out of the library too risky. Their thick skulls and armored skin prevented him from killing it in a single blow. He would have to get creative.

Letting out a battle cry, Raziel charged the demon with his halberd. The demon lifted its heavy head. Raziel vaulted into the air and stabbed the spike down into the demon’s exposed jugular. This maneuver would cost him his weapon, at least temporarily. The demon reared back, bellowing in pain and anger. Raziel swung around the pole, using his wings for balance as he avoided the demon’s swiping paw and flung himself onto its horns. All he needed to do was keep its attention on him until it bled out. Hanging onto the horn with his arms, he jabbed the sharp toes of his boot into the demon’s eye. Suddenly the demon lurched to the side. Raziel looked up just in time to see a bookshelf hurtling towards him. He stood up as the demon crashed into them, sending him hurtling to the floor.

Raziel looked up and saw a second shelf coming down on top of him. With no time to get out of the way he rolled onto his back, protecting his wings, and caught the shelves with his hands, his arms shuddering under the impact as books showered over and around him. As he tried to push the shelves away intense heat rushed across his body. Raziel’s blood ran cold. He tilted his head back, forced to shut his eyes against the scalding light that flashed between the jumbled books. “Damn it!”

How many books perished in that attack? Again Raziel tried to free himself. An enormous weight slumped onto the back of the bookshelf, pinning his arms to the floor and compressing his ribs. Green blood dripped through cracks in the wood. Another wave of heat crashed against Raziel as the demon loosed a second gout of flame from atop his latest tomb. Raziel let go.

Death came easy in the Spirit Forge. Not here.

Time ground to a halt as everything went blue-green. Fires froze, architecture distorted into a surreal parody of itself, and the floor became concave. Inside the spectral realm Raziel shivered. He rolled over and dragged himself out from under the bookshelf through a crevice revealed only in the spectral realm’s unique geography. As he staggered from the wreckage he felt the thousand icy teeth of death gnawing against his skin, reminding him why he found no safe harbor here.

The demon was invisible in the land of the dead. Most living creatures were. Demons could travel to and from the spectral realm with ease, but this one was too wounded. Raziel repositioned himself behind where he expected the demon to be. His head spun as his surroundings reformed to Moebius library in material realm. Color returned, his footing shifted as the floor returned to a flat surface, and heat and smoke assaulted his senses. Raziel covered his nose and mouth. In front of him the black demon hunched over the bookshelf with its back to him. With a wheeze the fountain of flame sputtered from its mouth. It sagged across the broken shelf, struggling to breathe. If Raziel was still down there he would have been crushed.

He tried to avoid looking at the rest of the library. Trying to rescue books from the burning library while that demon still fought for life would only put him in more danger. He scanned the immediate area until he spotted his halberd lying on the floor. The spike had broken off in the demon’s neck. He called the weapon into his hand. There was still the axe.

Raziel climbed onto the demon’s back. The demon stirred, tried to turn its head, however its broad shoulders and horns prevented it from aiming its fire. Gripping the halberd in both hands he raised his weapon over his head and brought the axehead down against the exposed side of the demon’s neck. With the first chop the demon roared and jostled beneath him, unable to lift its great weight. On the second strike blood bubbled and smoke hissed from its mouth. By the third Raziel became a butcher. He hacked until the thing stopped moving.

By now the smoke from the flames was so thick he could hardly see the way out. He dropped his weapon and grabbed as many books as he could carry off the floor. Hot ash burned his eyes and tongue. He put his shoulder to the wall and hurried alongside it until he found the exit. Dropping his bounty on the floor, he ran back inside and started pulling books from the first shelf he could find, repeating the marathon. Soon he could feel his flesh starting to burn. Out of desperation he began firing telekenitic projectiles in the direction where the heat was greatest. This had an effect like beating flames with a sack of dirt. He heard a crash as a shelf toppled over. Unable to withstand the heat, he fled the library.

Eventually the flames began to die down. The library was not ventilated enough to sustain an inferno for long. When the heat diminished Raziel charged back inside with a rolled up banner and used it to beat down the flames until the fire finally ceased. He saved as many books as he could from the lingering smoke. Only a fraction survived unscathed. There were simply too many.

Raziel sat on the ground next to the pile, coughing smoke. Soot covered his whole body. He looked at his pathetic bounty and held his head in his hands, lost somewhere between laughing or sobbing. Finally, he screamed. It was an animal rage, wordless hatred.

[dreadedmother]

… Dobson’s work doesn’t even align with Chistyy Ren’s. The overlap is incidental, linguistic only. Contextual. Chronoplasticity and the Ren Diagram have zero in common. If you look at the developmental timelines involved, you can see two completely separate epiphanies at work there. For a contrast, consider a third epiphany: look into old Math Matthew, the Fating Clone, early Saelunar Instrumentality hero. Tragic stuff. It’s all in the books.

Notice that no one knows who invented f-fields. Building the tech to make f-fields requires f-fields. Who found one first? Nobody fucking knows. Bill Bartlett didn’t know. Strality doesn’t even pretend to know. System would probably arrest you if you knew. Somebody did that shit on purpose. It’s not like velcro or smartphones. If you ask me, everything starts and ends with those f-fields. Pardon! 

[scionofbalance]

Found

My son.

Kain stared at him. The daemonic ichor rolling and sweeping into the blood-grooves of the Reaver as certain as the lost flow of his own divine blood had dried upon his naturally armoured skin. The gaping hole of his ribs raw yet ignored.

If he was a man of further comedy, he would say he felt nothing to the scene before.

That was not true. The Vampyre tasted the bitterly familiar taste of hatred, rage...and sorrow. He knew it so well when all think him to be above his mortal emotions. He wished he was. His face twisted in confusion, disgust and vivid stoicism. As the Chronoplast foretold but he dared to hope not;

The great body of a tortured beast lay dead in a pit of deprived worship. The stinking fog of death and humiliation was beyond even Melchiah. Unlike he, this one was trapped. Kain’s eyes forced to look up, the sting of something escaping from his right’s corner. Unable to escape with those twisted legs.

Walking slowly, the Father barely touched his son. He felt...unworthy? No. He just couldn’t stand to see the final child of his embraced of Final Death. 

Melchiah.

Zephon.

Rahab.

Dumah.

Kain stopped to cup the peaceful face of his bestial Secondborn. He could see the vagueness of his stony humanity. A thumb brushed his cheekborn. Already the body was starting to enter its marble-like decompose. 

“Turel.”

They will pay for their transgression. All of them and right the wrong they befallen on him, his sons and all of Nosgoth.

Turel’s face cracked after another comforting brush. For Kain had to stop that foolish boy of his, but knowing Raziel, it is perhaps too late. Nothing he hasn’t done before. 

Renewed by a surge of that familiar vengeful purpose, the true Emperor of Nosgoth sneered and started to his ascendence from this familiar hell. His eyes could almost see the hanging skeleton of the Paladin above him, a constant reminder of that hellish punishment bestowed by Mortanius. It made his sneer into a cold-hearted grin at its edges. Destiny never was without its kicks.

With a concentration, he melted into a fluttering colony of white-backed bats and flew with upmost haste.

[biolabs-soldier]

Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver 2 intro sequence!

Stage directions by me!

(LoK is a great game series. I highly recommend it for any gamers who love rich, engrossing stories. Graphics are great, but a good story makes the game!)

Kain:

At last...

I must say I'm disappointed in your progress. I imagined you would be here sooner.

Tell me - did it trouble you to murder your brothers?

Raziel descends the small flight of stairs, never taking his eyes off Kain, as if enraged.

Raziel:

Did it trouble you when you ordered me into the Abyss?

Raziel says this with sarcasm and disgust, knowing Kain had no issues with casting him into the Lake of the Dead.

Kain's merely chuckles. He steps backward to one of the chronoplast dials and prepares to turn it.

Kain:

Eternity is relentless, Raziel.

Kain says this with a hint of joy and interest.

Kain:

When I first stole into this chamber, centuries ago, I did not fathom the true power of knowledge.

Kain follows through with turning the switch, and the Chronoplast device wakes up.

Kain:

To know the future, Raziel - to see its paths and streams tracing out into the infinite...

As a man, I could never have contained such forbidden truths.

But each of us is so much more than we once were. Do you not feel with all your soul how we have become like gods?

And as such, are we not indivisible? As long as a single one of us stands, we are legion...

Kain descends the staircase, heading towards another dial. He continues his lecture.

Kain:

Our futures are predestined -

Moebius foretold mine eons ago. We each play out the parts fate has written for us.

Free will is an illusion.

Kain shows the importance of his notion by switching the dial as he concludes his statement. Raziel stares at him from the floor of the chamber.

Raziel:

I found the Tomb of Sarafan, Kain.

How could you profane a priest by turning him into a vampire?

Furious, Raziel lunges at Kain - who easily stops Raziel in mid-air with one hand. Kain holds him by the throat.

Kain:

How could I not?

One must keep his friends close, Raziel - and his enemies even closer.

Kain effortlessly tosses Raziel to the lower floor of the chamber, and then drops down. He approaches Raziel's sprawled figure.

Kain:

Who better to serve me than those whose passion transcends all notion of good and evil?

Raziel rises slowly, enraged. After readying himself, Raziel launches a verbal attack.

Raziel:

The Sarafan were saviors, defending Nosgoth from the corruption that WE represent.

My eyes are opened, Kain - I find no nobility in the unlifeyou rudely forced on my unwilling corpse!

Raziel leaps at Kain. Kain evades the blow, but Raziel attacks again, sends Kain flying, and pins him against the wall. Raziel's forearm is held to Kain's throat.

Kain is unscathed by Raziel's attack - he is composed and slightly amused. He lets Raziel to pin him. Kain continues to taunt him, their faces inches apart.

Kain:

You may have uncovered your past, but you know nothing of it.

You think the Sarafan were noble, altruistic?

Kain breaks Raziel's grip and hurls him away with a blast of telekinetic energy. Raziel flies backward and slams into a buttress with unimaginable force.

Kain laughs and moves toward the final dial.

Kain:

Don't be simple.

Their agenda was the same as ours.

Kain throws the final switch. The arms of the Chronoplast device descend, and the portal appears.

Kain: (mockingly)

You nearly had me, Raziel...

Kain vanishes in a flash of light, and reappears in front of the portal.

Kain:

But this is not where - or how - it ends. Fate promises more twists before this drama unfolds completely.

Kain turns and strides through the portal tauntingly. Raziel gets to his feet and races up the stairway. He stops momentarily, then follows Kain.

Raziel finds himself floating in darkness, and hears an voice calling to him out of the blackness. As Raziel descends to the floor and the chamber is now visible, Moebius the Time Streamer steps out of the mist to greet him.

Moebius:

Raziel...

Redeemer and destroyer.

Pawn and messiah.

Welcome, time-spanned soul.

Welcome... to your destiny.

[incorrect-nosgoth]

Moebuis: Something brought you here, Raziel. Call it what you will: Fate... Destiny...

Raziel: The Chronoplast.