Bane the Druid was a major character in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. He was the Human Guardian of Nature in the Blood Omen era, tainted by the corruption of the Pillars and hunted down by Kain as the "scourge of the circle". Kain caught up with Bane (along with DeJoule and Anarcrothe) in Dark Eden; killing him and returning Bane's Antler Headdress to the Pillars of Nosgoth, Kain was able to temporarily restore the Pillar of Nature.
Biography
Pre-Blood Omen era
Bane was born to serve the Pillars as Guardian of Nature at some point in the centuries of Nosgoth's early history and, along with the immortality gifted to him by his role, Bane's position also allowed him power over the natural world and the elements (including a certain degree of power over life itself), Bane was heavily associated with nature and wore animal hides. The Pillar Token gifted to him was his Deer Antler Headdress.
After Nupraptor descended into madness, corrupting the Pillars, Bane was affected by the corruption and turned against nature; "creating new and weird lifeforms for his own purposes"*, eventually joining with fellow corrupted guardians Dejoule the Energist (Energy Guardian) and Anarcrothe the Alchemist (States Guardian) to create Dark Eden and its creatures.
Blood Omen era
In Blood Omen, Kain's quest diverted him into the Termogent Forest, seeking Vorador's aid in defeating Malek and when Kain emerged he spotted Dark Eden and the dome of energy rising from the tower. Suspecting the involvement of corrupted Pillar guardians, Kain travelled to the Dark Eden; passing unscathed through the dome and witnessing the hideous mutations of nature within.
As Kain reached the tower at the heart of Dark Eden and found the three guardians responsible, Bane acknowledged Kain as the "scourge of the circle" before Anarcrothe summoned Malek to defend them and teleported away, leaving Bane and Dejoule to escape on foot. Summoning Vorador to face Malek, Kain pursued the two guardians outside and confronted them. As Dejoule fired energy projectiles at Kain, Bane laid water traps for him by digging away strips of earth. Once Kain caught the druid he was able to overpower and kill him (along with DeJoule).
Once Bane was defeated, Kain was able to recover his Pillar Token, Bane's Antler Headdress, and returning it to the Pillars, restored the Pillar of Nature; albeit only temporarily.
Apocrypha
Bane is mentioned in the background to Nosgoth in the backstory of the Alchemists and the red sisters of Anacrothe - where he and the rest of the Dark Eden triad are cited as an example of the elemental knowledge that was lost and became legend to the Humans under the rule of Kain's empire in the Soul Reaver era.[1] Bane was also mentioned in the background to the Beastmaster class, where it was said that he and the other members of the triad were worshipped by the groups of mutated humans that lived in Dark Eden after the fall of the triad - ultimately giving birth to the 'scourge of the wild' faction that sought to tame nature and the environment to their control.
Notes
- Bane is likely named after the several poisonous or 'protective' plants widely believed in the Middle Ages to have special properties (such a preventing Werewolf transformations). Bane is described as a "Druid" - a pre-Christian religious 'priest class' found in parts of Britain, Ireland and France; which implies (in etymology at least) a relationship to sorcery and nature.
- Bane's age is not conclusively discussed in the series, but since we know that a Nature Guardian was killed by Vorador in Nosgoth's early history, Bane cannot be older than 500 years at the time of the events of Blood Omen. It is not clear if Bane was born as a direct successor to this guardian, or years later after the death of another - under the guise of the Oracle of Nosgoth, Moebius tells Kain that Malek has "allowed no members of the Circle to fall" since Vorador's attack, five centuries before, and this claim would imply that Ariel, Anarcrothe, Azimuth, Bane, DeJoule and Nupraptor were the direct successors of the martyred Guardians killed by Vorador, and had each served for almost five hundred years. However, Moebius's comment was at least partially flawed, and should probably not be taken at face value: it failed to account for the death of Ariel, which had taken place thirty years earlier, and the deaths of Nupraptor and Kain himself, which had occurred recently.
- Bane greets Kain as "the scourge of the circle", clearly indicating that he is aware of Kain's quest to eliminate the corrupted guardians, and possibly aware of Kain's murder of Nupraptor.
- At some point during development of Blood Omen, Bane was known as "Orzach the Ecomancer"
Appearances
- Template:Icon-BO1 Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
See also
- Template:Icon-DC Bane the Druid at Dark Chronicle (by Marie Tryhorn).
- Template:Icon-TLW Early Character Names at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln).
References
- ↑ Template:Icon-Nosgoth Alchemists - Arcane Cultists with a Thirst for Revenge at the Nosgoth official blog (by George Kelion)
| Preceded by: The martyred Nature Guardian (most recent known predecessor) |
Guardian of the Pillar of Nature Bane the Druid |
Followed by: None |
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