Deadwolfia

THE STORY

Raziel lands... well... somewhere in Nosgoth. Though Raziel speaks of this era as one of nobility under Kain's godlike rule, he must challenge hordes of fire demons (red and the larger black) on his long walk to the Sanctuary of the Clans. You would think Kain would commit to keeping at least one road safe.

We switch to an animated cutscene of Raziel flying toward the Sanctuary, collapsing into the dust of its former magnificence. Wait, what? Isn't this era supposed to be the height of Kain's power?

Kain can't keep the roads clear of demons any more than he stop the Sanctuary's paint from peeling. Your Nosgoth tax dollars at work!

I remember how my friend @rahabimz, who animates for a living, reacted to this scene while streaming for me. She once defended the cut from the trailer. Here's what she had to say as we watched it unfold in full: "See? This isn't so bad... oh. Oh no. Nooooooo."

Raziel tucks Elaleth's amulet under his collar and heads inside. For a few moments the scene proceeds like SR1. Raziel reveals his wings. Kain, not to be outdone, unveils his best sobbing wojak impression.

For this transgression, Raziel earns a new kind of reward. Mild discomfort.

Seriously? A fledgling Melchahim would heal from those scratches in under 10 seconds. These wings are supposed to be boneless!

Raziel stands up and spies his brothers giving him the stink eye. This angers him so much that he overcomes the sting of his widdle baby papercuts and charges them with claws unsheathed, shocking Dumah so much that he teleports to a different side of the room.

A battle breaks out. The brothers enter the fray one at a time, starting with Dumah, and each one has something colorful to say. Zephon is my favorite.

A pet peeve: the brothers attack in a seemingly random order. Dumah, Turel, Melchiah, Zephon, Rahab. Wouldn't it make more sense to go in reverse order starting with Turel and ending with Melchiah? Or does lead writer, creative director, and Raziel tattoo haver Joshua Viola just not remember the brothers' ranks?

Naturally, Raziel wins in spite of his little boo-boo. Once the last lieutenant falls to his knees, Kain finally decides to step up. No wonder Raziel's brothers hate him when Kain waits for Raziel to kick their asses before breaking up the fight. "Enough of this!" he shouts.

The scene fades out. In the original version one of Raziel's tattered wings glides across the screen as we transition to the Lake of the Dead. Here, we simply fade into the scene as the white feathered raven circles above; a perfect metaphor for Joshua Viola cramming his terrible ideas where they don't belong.

Somehow Raziel's brothers have recovered their pride enough to drag Raziel and his fully functional wings to the cliff's edge. The classic SR1 dialogue is likewise downgraded. Raziel moans, "Elaleth's betrayal condemned me to an eternity of agony."

Oh, shut up! This isn't about your stupid sister -- you're dying!

As Raziel falls he forms a sudden and inexplicable attachment to the memories Elaleth forced upon him and calls out for the white feathered raven to preserve them. Somehow, at the same time, the amulet loosens itself from around Raziel's neck. The raven swoops down to grab it.

We all know how the next part goes: Tumbling, burning with white hot fire, I plunged into the depths of the Abyss. Unspeakable pain... relentless agony... time ceased to exist... only this torture and a deepening hatred of the hypocrisy that damned me to this hell!

How does BitBot adapt this moment?

Raziel either has the worst wet dream ever or a nice day at the goop spa, I can't tell the difference.

As Raziel drowns, the white feathered raven soars past the platform where Kain stands. Kain recognizes the raven (or maybe the amulet) and snarls like a lion (!?) before transforming into a flock of bats. He pursues the raven like it stole his wallet.

Suddenly, night time!

DIVERGENCE FROM THE COMIC

This level is titled The Hylden Gate. No, not the one from BO2. Apparently, according to TDSR, there was a second Hylden gate in the sky above the Lake of the Dead the entire time! Who knew!?

As mentioned back in part 5, Raziel's clan color is incorrectly represented as brown in spite of the panels directly referencing (if not tracing!) the source material. This mistake persists throughout the entire comic.

Comic Kain correctly debones Raziel.

The comic does a better job of explaining what will happen after Raziel loses the amulet. Don't you just love plot contrivance in service of a retcon?

ERRORS & FUCK UPS

Much like the Sarafan Tomb, the Sanctuary of the Clans is depicted in the same state Raziel finds it after he emerges from the Abyss. There is a 500 year gap between Raziel's execution and resurrection. This could have been an opportunity to show the Sanctuary at the height of its glory.

Once again, BitBot's team demonstrates a profound lack of vision. For comparison, here is the Sanctuary of the Clans as depicted during the golden era in one of Defiance Remastered's bonus levels:

Rahab's eye color is incorrect as per his official render. Honestly, none of them are render accurate but Rahab is particularly offensive to me because I love his blue eyes.

Forgive me for getting serious for a moment while we discuss the SR1 cutscene. Feel free to watch along here.

I'm going to say this again because it bears repeating: Kain tears off Raziel's wings. The damage to Raziel's body is so shocking, so catastrophic, so agonizing that he falls unconscious within seconds. This is not an ordinary wound, it is a desecration and violation of Raziel's body so severe that he carries it after death, a constant reminder of betrayal.

And it's not even the worst thing Kain will do to him on this day.

Obviously, the battle royale completely misunderstands the tone of the original scene. Here's what Raziel's brothers say to him as they fight.

Dumah: "Nothing ever satisfied you, Brother. Not your position, not our loyalty. The price of your greed will be steep!"

Turel: "Too often I looked at you in envy, Raziel. Now I see I admired a fool."

Rahab: "For a thousand years, I watched you bask in Kain's esteem. Your fall brings me great joy, Brother!"

As you can see from the video, Dumah appears startled and distraught by Raziel's sudden mutilation. Rahab also flinches. The atmosphere is one of fear and confusion. If Kain could strike down Raziel without a word, any one of them could be next.

Raziel's execution is somber. Turel and Dumah maintain a stoic bearing as they drag their brother toward his death. Though we cannot know what exactly they felt at this moment, one can only imagine a hurricane of conflicting emotions roiling through them. Raziel was more than their rival. He was their brother, a proud warrior who fought side by side with them during Kain's conquest, and though they envied his position, even hated him at times, there can be no doubt they also admired him.

And it's not just his brothers who have mixed feelings. This is the look on Kain's face when he sees Raziel's wings.

Shock, perhaps even awe. Then his expression shifts. He turns his head to the other side, thoughts racing, his eyes narrow and his lips curl a fraction, expressing a momentary grimace that stiffens as he rises from his throne.

Kain often wears a stern facade. As he approaches Raziel his expression is guarded, almost neutral -- but there's still that slight part between his lips. This is neither rage nor jealousy. He's uncomfortable. He understands the significance of Raziel's wings and resents their ill omen.

Kain does not want to do destroy Raziel. But he knows that he must.

Compare this to BitBot's interpretation, where Kain looks so angry he's about to shit himself.

Ascendance is a fucking joke.

ANALYSIS

Here is Raziel and Kain's relationship according to lead writer, creative director, and Raziel tattoo haver Joshua Viola.

One day while Kain was lounging on his throne, pretending to rule over an empire he had yet to found, some random vampire lady showed up and told him about a tomb full of dead Sarafan. At first Kain didn't see why he should care about a bunch of "dust and bones." Only losers die.

This random lady told him that his non-existent subjects would revere him if he made these particular piles of dust and bone into his servants. That's a good point, Kain thought. Plus Ariel said she was cool and she's alwayas been a good judge of character.

So Kain made those piles of dust and bone into a pile of sexy vampires and conquered the world. His favorite sexy vampire was Raziel. He loved Raziel so much that he gave him a giant empty castle in the middle of nowhere and never visited him.

One day Kain called five of his six sons to a meeting. He left Raziel out because -- I don't know, he was planning a secret birthday party for him or something -- but that dumb bitch just had to barge in anyway. Worse, he flies now! The sight of Raziel's wings made Kain so mad with jealousy that he tore them from his back ripped them up. Raziel felt so betrayed that he swore vengeance against Kain started a 1v5 with his brothers, who were just standing there. The battle was so cool and badass that Kain forgot how to govern.

After the kids tuckered themselves out, Kain had Raziel cast into the Abyss. Then for an extra laugh he travelled back in time and killed Raziel's parents. That Kain, what a guy!

If it seems like I'm putting words in Viola's mouth in regards to his interpretation of Kain's motive, wait until the next part.