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Return
Raziel
There had to be a way to escape the spirit world, without the help my master was pleased to deny me. Only in the material realm would I have a chance to seek my destiny -- or change it.
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Raziel comes upon the sealed gate to the Pillars vista. RazielAn ancient gate, sealed by the powers of Light and Darkness, barred the way to the Pillars beyond. To depart this place and continue my journey, I would have to find the means to open it. |
Raziel drops down into the mausoleum's entrance chamber. He approaches one of the central caskets.
Raziel
In this crypt, I discovered ethereal gases rising from the moldering
corpse within. As I neared, I felt a distinct spiritual pull - and
the closer I approached, the more that pull intensified...
Raziel gathers himself, projecting his energy down into the site where the corpse-gasses are rising. This first attempt is tentative and awkward. The room morphs from spectral to material, and the animated corpse rises grotesquely from its grave. Raziel staggers for a moment, then tears the corps’s flesh away, to reveal his own form beneath.
Raziel
In the end, it was not difficult. I projected myself down into that tomb and found myself reborn into the material world. It was a loathsome vessel - but with an effort of will, that too could change.
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Raziel approaches a doorway with gargoyle heads mounted on both sides of it. RazielThese gargoyles quickened as I drew near, triggering the door to close. I would need to find some means of approaching the door without being observed. |
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Male Vampire Hunter-- she says she won't go near the place. Female Vampire HunterI tell you the Pillars are haunted. Male Vampire HunterHaunted! Female Vampire HunterI heard a woman's voice, talking and moaning -- and there was no one there. |
Male Vampire Hunter
How many vampires have you killed? And you can't face down one ghost?
Raziel
I knew who these were: vampire hunters, scouring the countryside, destroying what had once been my kind.
He steps out of hiding. One of the vampire hunters sees him and scrambles to her feet.
Female Vampire Hunter
My god -- what is that? A vampire? Or a demon?
Male Vampire Hunter
Where?
Raziel
Here.
The others get up.
Female Vampire Hunter
Get him!
Male Vampire Hunter
Quickly! No mercy!
Raziel defeats the vampire hunters.
Raziel
These were Moebius's hunters - mercenaries enlisted in his crusade to exterminate the vampires. His insignia was unmistakable... But this meant I'd been captive in the underworld for centuries. I had lost five hundred years.
Raziel turns and looks up at the Pillars, visible above the horizon.
Raziel
Then I knew what ghost it was that haunted the Pillars -- Ariel, the specter of the murdered Balance Guardian. Perhaps she could provide the answers I sought. But first I would have to find a way out of this cemetery...
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Foreshadowing high Dark & Light Temples: RazielThis temple's facade hinted at some ancient Vampire origin - for it bore the sign of the Reaver, and was marked with the elemental symbol of Light. The mystery of the Reaver might be answered within... but this edifice was too high for me to reach. RazielAnother temple, this one marked with the elemental symbol of Darkness. This edifice, like the other one, was too high for me to reach. |
As Raziel re-enters the crypt where he discovered the phantom planar portal, a number of Revenants begin bursting out of the floor and walls, their eyes burning with green fire. Simultaneously, magical green barriers appear over Raziel's exits, trapping him within the room
Hylden 1
Raziel...
Hylden 2
Raziel... 
Hylden 1
Fallen hero...
Hylden 3
Renegade and traitor...
Raziel
What is this? How do you know me?
Hylden 1
Raziel, what are you?
Hylden 4
Why should any know your name?
Hylden 2
You are nothing...
Raziel
It seemed my method of entering the physical realm was not altogether original. But where had these beings come from?
Raziel fights and defeats the Revenants.
Raziel comes across a door sealed with the Darkness symbol.
Raziel
The Reaver did not seem to activate this orb. I had to find the means to enhance the blade further.
Raziel sees the Light Forge facade.
Raziel
This edifice, marked with the elemental Light symbol, was clearly much older than the ruins in the rest of the cemetery. The door was far too high to reach. And to open it, it seemed the Reaver would need to be imbued with the power of Darkness. Clearly I had more to accomplish before I could discover what lay within.
Approaching a stone monument that must be climbed to reach the cliff above:
Raziel
Perhaps in the spectral realm this would no longer prove an obstacle.
In an ancient chamber, Raziel finds and is able to activate a portal.
Raziel
As I stepped through, I felt a sense of displacement,
as some arcane sorcery transported me away.
Vampire Citadel: Darkness Forge
Raziel arrives in the Dark-themed area of the Guardian Citadel.
Raziel
This was clearly some ancient ruin of the Vampire civilization. Perhaps here I would finally decipher the riddle of my destiny.
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Mural: The Raising of the Pillars RazielThroughout these ruins I found murals depicting
the seminal events of Vampire history. These scenes commemorated
a great war between the Ancient Vampires and their rivals. In triumph,
they banished their adversaries from the world, and raised the Pillars
as the lock that binds them. |
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Mural: The Vampires' Prophesied Hero RazielThe image of the Reaver was inscribed throughout
this place, always depicted with reverence. The Vampires’ holy weapon
was destined to be borne by their prophesied hero, for whom it was forged.
But if this was my destiny, why had the Reaver tried to consume me? |
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RazielThis scene depicted the appointment of the original
Vampire guardians. Each summoned to serve when the Pillars were raised.
Each Guardian is aligned to the principal of the Pillar he serves, and
the Balance Guardian is the axis of them all. |
Raziel
At last it was done: the Reaver was forged with Darkness. As
I felt this new power coursing within the wraith blade, I knew that now
the Light temple would open to me.
The Mausoleum
Raziel returns to the cemetery and enters a passage that has been made accessible by imbuing the Reaver with Darkness. Raziel |
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Raziel steps through another portal.
Raziel
Again I experienced that odd sense of displacement, as I was transported to the Vampire ruin once more... But this chamber was different than the first.
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Mural: The Blood Curse RazielIn their defeat, the Vampires’ enemy retaliated with a terrible curse
– afflicting the Vampires with a bloodthirst that turned their once-noble
race into ravenous predators. This curse plunged the Vampires into
despair, and apparently drove many to madness and self-annihilation.
What was it that so devastated them that they were driven to suicide? |
Raziel
I had succeeded - the Reaver was forged with the power of Light.
And now my way was clear: I would seek out Ariel at the Pillars and see
if she could enlighten me.
Departing the Cemetery
Raziel
I had the means now to depart the cemetery. I only needed to find the gate that would send me on my way.
Raziel
At last, the gate yielded to the powers of Light and Darkness, with which the Reaver had been forged. The way to the Pillars was open.
