Warning: Display title "Gold Half of Vorador's Crest" overrides earlier display title "The Gold Half of Vorador's Crest".
- "Perhaps this arcane emblem would unlock the sealed door in the crypt."
- ―Raziel[src]
The Gold Half of Vorador's Crest was an item used by Raziel in Legacy of Kain: Defiance. The artifact was one part of the of a larger item which represented the Crest of the Vampire Vorador found by Raziel in Vorador's Mansion in the chapter Find Vorador. Ultimately the collection of both parts was necessary to open a door in the crypt of Vorador's Mansion where Raziel could discover the Soul Stealer spear which would open the way to the Water Forge.
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- "This door clearly required some artifact before it would open."
- ―Raziel[src]
The Gold Half of Vorador's Crest was a quest item in Legacy of Kain: Defiance that was used by Raziel in the chapter Find Vorador as he ventured into Vorador's Mansion in the Blood Omen era.
As Raziel entered and explored the mansion he soon found an unusual chamber with a distinctive fountain at its heart. Above the fountain three Hylden gargoyles were positioned on the balcony, each channeling water into the pool below. Around the edges of the chamber several frescoes and murals were positioned depicting three Ancient Vampire champions impaling Hylden adversaries with unique spear weapons - with finding the three spears being a main objective to Raziel in that chapter.
Exploring the Mansion, Raziel was forced to pass through the Flooded Crypt beneath, where he discovered a distinctive sealed door marked with a mural of an ancient vampire with a skull face bearing a spear. The door itself was locked but a recess in the floor nearby and symbols on the door itself indicated that an artifact was required to unlock it. Soon after Raziel found and recovered the Heart Seeker spear from the Great Hall and the Blood Drinker spear from the Library and used those spears to impale the gargoyles in the fountain room - stopping the flow of water from them and turning murals relating to their heroes into Breakables.
Returning to the Garden of the mansion Raziel discovered a cracked mural of the Blood Drinker champion which he could break and descend into an underground Cistern area filled with water. Using TK on a Telekinetic switch allowed him to raise a number of platforms so he could jump across them to reach a higher platform at the other end where he could find the Gold Half of Vorador's Crest.
The crest itself consisted of a flat golden metallic artifact decorated with a golden dragon. The dragon had red eyes and a long tail which looped around forming a complicated knotted pattern in a manner reminiscent of Chinese and East Asian dragon depictions. Two loops of the knot protruded upwards and outwards from the center of the piece giving the impression of wings or arms and at the bottom and center of the piece a circular section beneath the dragon was missing - where the Silver Half of Vorador's Crest would fit.
Returning the crest to the door in the flooded crypt was not sufficient to open the door until Raziel discovered the nearby Silver Half of Vorador's Crest. With the crest completed the door could be opened and Raziel could enter the Crypt Chapel where he could recover the Soul Stealer spear from within, ultimately opening the way to Water Forge.
Notes
The Gold Half of Vorador's Crest in the inventory
- "Hm. The artifact I had was not sufficient. There was clearly still a missing piece to this puzzle."
- ―Raziel[src]
- The Gold Half of Vorador's crest is never named as such in game and few sources actually distinguish between itself and the Silver half. In the inventory it is titled as "Half of Vorador's Crest" while the Prima official guide simply calls it "Vorador's Crest" - with both sources using the same names for the Silver half.
- The artifact is labelled in game files as "vd_key_a". A corresponding lock texture labelled as "vd_keylock_a" is included in textures but only includes a repeat of the artifact textures suggesting it was used for after the placement of the crest in its lock. Another duplicate artifact texture - possibly used for cutscenes - is present at "dupe_vd_key_a". The actual lock texture is counted as part of the background environment and is labelled as "vorador12a-0001" and "vorador_ruin12a-0001" in the regular and ruined versions of the mansion respectively. The gold crest is also featured as part of the completed crest on "chapeldoor" texture - a mural of a skull-faced female vampire armed with the Soul Stealer. Dragon symbology and similar motifs are relatively common throughout Vorador's Mansion, although none of the other symbols quite match the golden crest.
- The Silver Half of Vorador's Crest also bears a similar designation as "vd_key_b". The design and designation of the deleted Unused artifact as "vd_key_cd" suggests it too may have been intended to be gained in the mansion.
The Dragon design in the Water Forge
- The Gold Half of Vorador's Crest is listed in Prima's Official Strategy Guide - Legacy of Kain: Defiance as the first part of Vorador's Crest to be gained in Vorador's Mansion - with the Silver Half of Vorador's Crest gained second. Despite this either can be gained first depending upon the door entered in the fountain room and which murals are broken. The same monologue is played for the first and second halves regardless of which is actually picked up.
- The Gold Half of Vorador's Crest uses the symbol of the dragon which has frequently been associated with the Vampire Vorador - appearing as a tattoo on his arm in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and with similar designs seen throughout Vorador's Mansion - although few present such a complex knotted arrangement. A similar Chinese dragon design is later seen in the Water forge. [1][2]
- The Silver Half of Vorador's Crest uses a similar animal symbology to associate itself with Vorador - this time using the Crow or Raven. Other artifacts in this chapter also use dragons and crow symbols such as the Library Seal. The deleted Unused artifact is another that features a dragon and crow design, with this perhaps suggesting it was intended to be gained in the mansion - its file name and designation also suggests this possibility.
- Like the other quest items in Defiance, the Blood Drinker appears in the secret "artifact1a" room.[3]
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See also
References
- ↑ Template:Icon-DCab A few questions at DCabDesign (by Paradoks), post #9 (by Daniel Cabuco)
- ↑ Template:Icon-DCab Vorador's symbol at DCabDesign (by Voradors), post #2 (by Daniel Cabuco)
- ↑ File:Wiki-Icon-TLW.png The Artifact 1a Room at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln)
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