Arrival

Moebius: “Where am I” is the usual question. In your case, “when?” might be more apt.

Raziel recognizes Moebius and attempts to attack him, but his spectral blade is rendered useless by Moebius’s staff…

Raziel: Very well, you old snake - if you’d prefer I use my bare hands…

Moebius: This is completely unexpected! This orb disables our vampire enemies, leaving them helpless and incapacitated. Strangely, it seems to have the same effect on that peculiar weapon of yours. But you must believe me - I mean you no harm.

Raziel: You can drop the benevolent façade, Moebius. I know who - and what - you are. I should kill you where you stand…

Moebius: Perhaps you should, my boy. But you don’t.

Raziel: Are you so certain of that, Moebius?

Moebius: My role as Time Guardian affords me a certain level of omniscience, Raziel.

No, you don’t kill me. That honor belongs to your maker, Kain, some thirty years from now.

Raziel: Hmph, you two are a pair - you’re just as fatalistic as he is.

Moebius: Death comes for us all, Raziel. It’s just a matter of time.

Raziel: How is it that you know my name? We have never met.

Moebius enters the adjoining room…

Moebius: On the contrary, Raziel - I know you very well… And it grieves me to see how cruelly Kain has used you. I knew you when you were one of the Sarafan brotherhood, Raziel. We were even close.

Raziel: Oh please.

Moebius: Fortunately, you need not love me now to be my ally…

Raziel: Are we within the Stronghold of the Sarafan priesthood?

Moebius: Yes, but the glorious days of the Sarafan have long since passed, I’m afraid. This is a more… cynical and indecorous age.

My mercenary army now inhabits this stronghold - we strive to honor the memory of the Sarafan with our own humble crusade.

Raziel directs his gaze towards a mural depicting Vorador…

Raziel: Is this the vampire Vorador?

Moebius: Yes, the scourge of the Circle. The most depraved and decadent example of his whole degenerate race.

He slaughtered six of my fellow Guardians as they cowered, defenseless in this room.

Raziel: And you somehow survived this massacre?

Moebius: I, and two others. The Circle was devastated; only we three were spared.

Raziel: How convenient.

You’ll forgive me if I don’t naively devour every scrap of information you toss me. You have a reputation for deceit.

Moebius: And who has slandered me so? Your malefactor Kain? The one who betrayed and destroyed you? Our common enemy? Consider the source, before you judge me too harshly.

We’ll forget about rekindling our old friendship, then. But consider an alliance based on our common ground - We both want Kain dead. I can help you do it.

Raziel: You don’t want to meddle in this, old man. I know all about your sordid little schemes, but you’re simply out of your depth on this one.

Moebius: You underestimate me, Raziel. Let me show you…

Moebius approaches the pile in the room and shows Kain in the pillars…

Moebius: Even now, Kain is lying in wait for you, unaware that I’ve snatched you out of the time-stream and brought you here to me. See how he lingers at the very Pillars he is destined to destroy, foolishly confident that he has eluded your grasp.

Raziel: The Pillars are still standing in this time?

Moebius: Yes, Raziel - they are the embodiment of the divine force which preserves the life of our world. We who serve the Pillars maintain their delicate balance - and Kain is destined to be the fulcrum upon which that balance turns.

I believe you have already endured the wasteland wrought by his terrible, selfish decision. Kain’s very existence is a cancer upon this world. As long as he lives, all of Nosgoth is in peril.

You may never again be human, Raziel… But you can re-embrace the essence of your humanity, and the nobility of your Sarafan heritage. Go to him, Raziel, and end this.

But first you will need to find your way out of the Stronghold - and in this, I’m afraid, I cannot help you. My soldiers will not understand your appearance here; they will try to kill you. You needn’t fear them, of course. They’re no match for you. Try to keep the casualties to a minimum, but do what you have to do.

All great movements require a few martyrs…

Moebius fades away, leaving only Raziel…

Raziel (vo): Alone now, I surveyed my surroundings and noticed a second Time Streaming chamber, its entrance identical to the first, but with one distinction. That crystal was significant, but how? I had not yet discovered.

Raziel leaves the room in search of an exit, observing details of the fortress as he progresses…

Raziel (vo): Throughout the Stronghold I discovered evidence of my former nobility, and my life as a Sarafan priest. This was the heritage so foully stolen from me when Kain raided my sacred crypt and defiled me.

When Raziel moves far enough away from Moebius’s staff, the orb’s effect on the Reaver weakens…

Raziel (vo): Away from the influence of Moebius’ cursed staff, I could feel the strength of the Soul Reaver slowly returning.

If that orb was as debilitating to vampires as it was to the blade, it gave Moebius a powerful advantage over his enemies. I finally understood how Moebius’ crusade could decimate the vampires so successfully. If he could immobilise his enemies, they were at his mercy.

But why, I wondered, did the staff have any effect on the Reaver?