Legacy of Kain: All Pillar Guardians

Just as the Pillars of Nosgoth are central to the Legacy of Kain series, the characters who have served as Pillar Guardians are prominant players in Nosgoth's tale. Kain, Ariel and Moebius are the best examples of this.

Throughout Nosgoth's history there were a maximum of nine Pillar Guardians at any one time, collectively called the Circle of Nine. As Guardians within the Circle died, they were replaced; this only stopped with the Pillars' corruption. This page lists the order of Guardian succession for each Pillar, as far as can be determined. From the games it is impossible to know exactly how many Guardians each Pillar had between their creation and collapse.

We know there was an Ancient Vampire Balance Guardian (despite not meeting its spectre in Defiance) from what Janos said in Soul Reaver 2: "At the time of the Binding, nine guardians were called to serve the Pillars." The gender of the Vampire Mind, Dimension, Conflict and Nature Guardians is determined below, based on their voices in the English version of Defiance. The remaining four Guardians fought in pairs, making at too hard to tell which was talking.

Many thanks to Umah Bloodomen - a moderator of the Eidos Forums external link - and her sources in the Cabal for contibuting images for this page, and for sharing the official information that matched the Soul Reaver 2 Guardian murals to their Pillars. The generic abilities given below are based on the 'Character Biographies' page of the Silicon Knights Blood Omen FAQ, and the descriptions it gave of the Blood Omen era Guardians.

All Known Balance Guardians

The mural image of the human Balance Guardian slain by Vorador Kain's immediate predecessor as Balance Guardian: Ariel The Balance Guardian to date: Kain

The role of the Balance Guardians was a reglatory one; their magic influenced the regulation of the other magic in Nosgoth. We can identify three Balance Guardians, pictured above.

The first is the female Balance Guardian whom Vorador killed following the murder of Janos Audron. We saw her death in Blood Omen's opening FMV (Full Motion Video); Vorador threw a projectile at her - possibly a Flay Battle Artefact - which instantly stripped the flesh from her bones and left only a blood-splattered skeleton. It appeared that she was the female Guardian screaming for Malek to come to their aid.

The second is Ariel, who served as Balance Guardian for up to 470 years until she was murdered by Mortanius. Third is Kain, who was Ariel's immediate successor.

The order of Balance Guardian succession is as follows:

  1. The unnamed, original Vampire Balance Guardian
  2. 0 or more human Balance Guardians
  3. The unnamed female Balance Guardian killed by Vorador (pictured)
  4. 0 or more human Balance Guardians
  5. Ariel (pictured)
  6. Kain (pictured)

All Known Mind Guardians

The spectre of the unnamed, original, Vampire Mind Guardian The mural image of the human Mind Guardian slain by Vorador The Mind Guardian serving during the Blood Omen era: Nupraptor the Mentalist

The Mind Guardians had 'phenomenal' mental and psychic ability, including the powers of telepathy and telekinesis. We can identify three Mind Guardians, pictured above.

The first is the original Vampire Mind Guardian, called to serve the Pillars at the time of the Binding. Raziel found her tomb and spectre/soul in Defiance's Air Forge. They fought, and although the Guardian created illusions of herself to confuse Raziel, he defeated the spectre. Shortly afterwards, he absorbed the Guardian's soul (and that of the original Dimension Guardian) into the wraith-blade, imbuing it with Elemental Air.

The second is the male Mind Guardian whom Vorador killed following the murder of Janos Audron. It is possible we saw his death in Blood Omen's opening FMV (Full Motion Video); upon entering the room where four of the Guardians were gathered, Vorador impaled the closest one - a man with a short, dark beard - on his sword. The resemblance isn't great, meaning that man could have been the (unshaved) Dimension or States Guardian instead. Whatever, we know that this Mind Guardian died at Vorador's hands.

The third is Nupraptor, who served as Mind Guardian for up to 500 years until Kain killed him in Blood Omen.

The order of Mind Guardian succession is as follows:

  1. The unnamed, original Vampire Mind Guardian (pictured)
  2. 0 or more human Mind Guardians
  3. The unnamed male Mind Guardian killed by Vorador (pictured)
  4. 0 or more human Mind Guardians
  5. Nupraptor the Mentalist (pictured)

All Known Dimension Guardians

The spectre of the unnamed, original, Vampire Dimension Guardian The mural image of the human Dimension Guardian slain by Vorador The Dimension Guardian serving during the Blood Omen era: Azimuth the Planer

The Dimension Guardians were able to open doorways and portals into other realms - other planes of existence, such as the Demon Realm. We can identify three Dimension Guardians, pictured above.

The first is the original Vampire Dimension Guardian, called to serve the Pillars at the time of the Binding. Raziel found his tomb and spectre/soul in Defiance's Air Forge. They fought, and although the Guardian teleported to both avoid and attack Raziel, he defeated the spectre. Shortly afterwards, he absorbed the Guardian's soul (and that of the original Mind Guardian) into the wraith-blade, imbuing it with Elemental Air.

The second is the male Dimension Guardian whom Vorador killed following the murder of Janos Audron. Although we didn't obviously see his death in Blood Omen's opening FMV (Full Motion Video), we know that this Dimension Guardian died at Vorador's hands.

The third is Azimuth, who served as Dimension Guardian for up to 500 years until Kain killed her in Blood Omen.

The order of Dimension Guardian succession is as follows:

  1. The unnamed, original Vampire Dimension Guardian (pictured)
  2. 0 or more human Dimension Guardians
  3. The unnamed male Dimension Guardian killed by Vorador (pictured)
  4. 0 or more human Dimension Guardians
  5. Azimuth the Planer (pictured)

All Known Conflict Guardians

The spectre of the unnamed, original, Vampire Conflict Guardian The Conflict Guardian serving during the Blood Omen era: Malek the Paladin

The Conflict Guardians' abilities were linked to warfare and battle. We can identify two Conflict Guardians, pictured above.

The first is the original Vampire Conflict Guardian, called to serve the Pillars at the time of the Binding. Raziel found his tomb and spectre/soul in Defiance's Fire Forge. They fought, and although the Guardian was assisted by Shades, Raziel defeated the spectre. Shortly afterwards, he absorbed the Guardian's soul (and that of the original Nature Guardian) into the wraith-blade, imbuing it with Elemental Fire.

The second is Malek. Malek's physical 'death' occurred when Mortanius - punishing Malek for failing to protect the Circle from Vorador - seperated Malek's soul from his body, and fused it to his armour instead. However, Malek's Conflict Guardianship continued until Vorador destroyed Malek's animate armour incarnation in Blood Omen.

The order of Conflict Guardian succession is as follows:

  1. The unnamed, original Vampire Conflict Guardian (pictured)
  2. 0 or more human Conflict Guardians
  3. Malek the Paladin (pictured)

All Known Nature Guardians

The spectre of the unnamed, original, Vampire Nature Guardian The mural image of the human Nature Guardian slain by Vorador The Nature Guardian serving during the Blood Omen era: Bane the Druid

The Nature Guardians' abilities were linked to the living world: plants, animals and even the weather. We can identify three Nature Guardians, pictured above.

The first is the original Vampire Nature Guardian, called to serve the Pillars at the time of the Binding. Raziel found her tomb and spectre/soul in Defiance's Fire Forge. They fought, and although the Guardian was assisted by Tentacles, Raziel defeated the spectre. Shortly afterwards, he absorbed the Guardian's soul (and that of the original Conflict Guardian) into the wraith-blade, imbuing it with Elemental Fire.

The second is the female Nature Guardian whom Vorador killed following the murder of Janos Audron. It is likely we saw her death in Blood Omen's opening FMV (Full Motion Video); upon entering the room where four of the Guardians were gathered, Vorador impaled the closest one on his sword, then attacked a female Guardian with magic. As the Nature Guardian was the only female in the Circle at that time (besides the easily-identifiable Balance Guardian), it was probably her. Whatever, we know that this Nature Guardian died at Vorador's hands. Her Soul Reaver 2 mural was particularly interesting. She was depicted with a bandaged (and possibly deformed) right arm, and she could be identified as the Guardian of Nature by the Nature Pillar Symbol appearing on her sash.

The third is Bane, who served as Nature Guardian for up to 500 years until Kain killed him in Blood Omen.

The order of Nature Guardian succession is as follows:

  1. The unnamed, original Vampire Nature Guardian (pictured)
  2. 0 or more human Nature Guardians
  3. The unnamed female Nature Guardian killed by Vorador (pictured)
  4. 0 or more human Nature Guardians
  5. Bane the Druid (pictured)

All Known Energy Guardians

The spectre of the unnamed, original, Vampire Energy Guardian The mural image of the human Energy Guardian slain by Vorador The Energy Guardian serving during the Blood Omen era: DeJoule the Energist

The Energy Guardians' specialty was the harnessing and manipulation of energy. We can identify three Energy Guardians, pictured above.

The first is the original Vampire Energy Guardian, called to serve the Pillars at the time of the Binding. Raziel fought the spectres/souls of the Energy Guardian and the original Time Guardian together in Defiance's Earth Forge. Shortly afterwards, he absorbed their souls into the wraith-blade, imbuing it with Elemental Earth.

The second is the male Energy Guardian whom Vorador killed following the murder of Janos Audron. It is likely we saw his death in Blood Omen's opening FMV (Full Motion Video); upon entering the room where four of the Guardians were gathered, Vorador killed three, then vanished from sight to sneak up on the fourth. When Vorador reappeared, the last living Guardian (a old-looking, white-bearded man) tried to defend himself with magic. This inexplicably failed, and he shouted for Malek. Vorador made his famous "call your dogs" taunt before killing the Guardian (possibly using a Blood Gout Spell) and drinking his blood telekinetically. Malek arrived in the room moments later.

The third is DeJoule, who served as Energy Guardian for up to 500 years until Kain killed her in Blood Omen.

The order of Energy Guardian succession is as follows:

  1. The unnamed, original Vampire Energy Guardian (pictured)
  2. 0 or more human Energy Guardians
  3. The unnamed male Energy Guardian killed by Vorador (pictured)
  4. 0 or more human Energy Guardians
  5. DeJoule the Energist (pictured)

All Known Time Guardians

The spectre of the unnamed, original, Vampire Time Guardian The Time Guardian serving during the Blood Omen era: Moebius the Time Streamer

The Time Guardians' abilities were linked to time travel and using this to predict the future. We can identify two Time Guardians, pictured above.

The first is the original Vampire Time Guardian, called to serve the Pillars at the time of the Binding. Raziel fought the spectres/souls of the Time Guardian and the original Energy Guardian together in Defiance's Earth Forge. Shortly afterwards, he absorbed their souls into the wraith-blade, imbuing it with Elemental Earth.

The second is Moebius. Moebius died twice in the Legacy of Kain series. In Blood Omen, the fledgling vampire Kain beheaded him shortly after Vorador's execution. In Defiance, we saw that the Elder God resurrected Moebius as a reward for his loyal service. Moebius had only a few hours or so to enjoy this gift of life before the older Kain killed him again in the Spirit Forge. This time, Raziel was on hand to devour Moebius' soul, ensuring he wouldn't be coming back again.

It is unclear if Moebius retained his Time Guardianship when he was resurrected, as Kain returned his Hourglass Token to the Pillar in Blood Omen, and apparently repaired it. However, as the Pillars - as a whole - were corrupt, there was no replacement for him. The Guardianship may have reverted back to him by default; if not, that might explain the "crack in [Moebius'] omniscience" - why he didn't forsee Kain's survival.

The order of Time Guardian succession is as follows:

  1. The unnamed, original Vampire Time Guardian (pictured)
  2. 0 or more human Time Guardians
  3. Moebius the Time Streamer (pictured)

All Known States Guardians

The spectre of the unnamed, original, Vampire States Guardian The mural image of the human States Guardian slain by Vorador The States Guardian serving during the Blood Omen era: Anarcrothe the Alchemist

The States Guardians liked to experiment with chemicals, machinery and alien substances, presumably to change the state of matter or possibly shapeshift (the Blood Omen design of the States Pillar hinted at this). We can identify three States Guardians, pictured above.

The first is the original Vampire States Guardian, called to serve the Pillars at the time of the Binding. Raziel fought the spectres/souls of the States Guardian and the original Death Guardian together in Defiance's Water Forge. Shortly afterwards, he absorbed their souls into the wraith-blade, imbuing it with Elemental Water.

The second is the male States Guardian whom Vorador killed following the murder of Janos Audron. Although we didn't obviously see his death in Blood Omen's opening FMV (Full Motion Video), we know that this States Guardian died at Vorador's hands.

The third is Anarcrothe, who served as States Guardian for up to 500 years until Mortanius killed him in Blood Omen.

The order of States Guardian succession is as follows:

  1. The unnamed, original Vampire States Guardian (pictured)
  2. 0 or more human States Guardians
  3. The unnamed male States Guardian killed by Vorador (pictured)
  4. 0 or more human States Guardians
  5. Anarcrothe the Alchemist (pictured)

All Known Death Guardians

The spectre of the unnamed, original, Vampire Death Guardian The Death Guardian serving during the Blood Omen era: Mortanius the Necromancer

The Death Guardians' had influence over the spirits and bodies of the dead. We can identify two Death Guardians, pictured above.

The first is the original Vampire Death Guardian, called to serve the Pillars at the time of the Binding. Raziel fought the spectres/souls of the Death Guardian and the original States Guardian together in Defiance's Water Forge. Shortly afterwards, he absorbed their souls into the wraith-blade, imbuing it with Elemental Water.

The second is Mortanius, who served as Death Guardian until his demise in Blood Omen. It is debatable whether Kain killed Mortanius, or if he simply succumbed to the aggressive possession of the Dark Entity (the Hylden Lord). Whatever, as Mortanius died, the Dark Entity mutated his body into a demonic-looking form, and continued the fight with Kain at the Pillars.

The order of Death Guardian succession is as follows:

  1. The unnamed, original Vampire Death Guardian (pictured)
  2. 0 or more human Death Guardians
  3. Mortanius the Necromancer (pictured)

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