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Legacy of Kain | The Hylden - History and Lore

Strictly Fantasy

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The Hylden were introduced as antagonists for Blood Omen 2’s new alternate timeline, devised prior to the completion of the second Soul Reaver game. Join me as I delve deep into the history and lore of these mysterious creatures known as the Hylden.

This video contains spoilers for Legacy of Kain Blood Omen, Soul Reaver, Soul Reaver 2, Blood Omen 2 & Defiance which was made by Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix.

The wonderful thumbnail art is 'The Hylden Lord' by lynnorastormclaw
https://lynnorastormclaw.tumblr.com/p...

Huge thanks to these amazing artists. Credited as below. Please show them your support.

Sirens by Steve Ross & Joshua Gordon
https://www.quaddicted.com/webarchive...

Hylden Warrior (Blood Omen 2) by JLazarusEB
https://www.deviantart.com/jlazaruseb...

Hylden Lord Apostate by TheHylden
https://www.deviantart.com/thehylden/...

The Great War: The Decision of the Council of the 9 by DameKlaudia
https://www.deviantart.com/dameklaudi...

Hylden Lord Apostate by TheHylden
https://www.deviantart.com/thehylden/...

Amy Hennig
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377339/?...

The Sarafan Lord by JLazarusEB
https://www.deviantart.com/jlazaruseb...

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver - Kain by FabricioWorks
https://www.deviantart.com/fabriciowo...

Glyph Wright by Lakdav
https://www.deviantart.com/lakdav/art...

Banishment by Lakdav
https://www.deviantart.com/lakdav/art...

All other artwork are official promotional and concept art created for the series by the team at Crystal Dynamics

Music:

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver Soundtrack - composed by Kurt Harland & Jim Hedges

Blood Omen 2 Soundtrack - Jim Hedges, Mike Peaslee & Kurt Harland

20 Comments

@GallowglassVT 5 years ago

It's criminal that a million games that function as little more than casinos can be pushed out, but a story like this can never be concluded. Honestly, even if we never get Dark Prophecy, it would be great if they could do what The Borgias did and release it as a book.

@dreadedpunk3473 5 years ago

Funny enough, Blood Omen 2 was my introduction to the series as a whole. It might be clunky, the story might not be the best, but even this was enough to hook me into this unique universe.

@maulwind9001 5 years ago (edited)

I feel the Hylden maybe saw the elder god for what he was. Knowing that the spell to make the vampires immortal would be the greatest curse they could do.

@alexanderstilianov 5 years ago

It brings me joy to see there are still fans of this masterpiece of a series still making videos about it.

@WisteriaNerium 5 years ago (edited)

Amy Hennig is such a brilliant writer, the fact that she was able to reconcile three visions of Legacy of Kain (Demons and the Unspoken from the first Blood Omen, Her own version of the enemy race from Soul Reaver 2 and the Hylden proper from Blood Omen 2) shows her mastery over the craft and why she was such a good lead for a series that had the potential to end up as a broken and incomprehensible mess. Wish people would praise her not only for the obvious stuff in SR but the things she did and the compromises she took in order to make sure everything worked and fell into place.

@insanetofu 5 years ago

It warms my heart to see people are still interested in this game series. I wish it had gotten more mainstream attention aside from the multiplayer game. One can only hope.

@odin1185 3 years ago

It's such a shame Amy henig never wrote books her writing is fantastic.

@JPG.01 5 years ago (edited)

"A cancelled sequel" damn these words hurt.

It's rather strange, whenever my life takes a turn for the worse, it's the Legacy of Kain series I feel myself drawn towards.

@Mr.SkizamanopsGaming 5 years ago

Back in 1999 my brother died mysteriously still don't know how it happened grieving over his death I found this game soul reaver the opening cutscene was so amazing and the fact that the game talked about the afterlife and souls actually made me believe that this stuff could be real of course I was 7 years old at the time sing you make these videos explaining the lore in the story of this entire series is fantastic and amazing I have fully understand the legacy of kain series because of your videos I'm definitely subscribing for sure thanks

@Jeva1989 5 years ago

I thank you and all the fans in the world for not letting this story die. I'm a German fan and I'm trying to create a novel series based on my interpretation of Legacy of Kain. It must never be forgotten;)

@nathangallegos9304 1 year ago (edited)

I still await the Hyldens to return

That was 21 years ago after Kain and I defeated The Sarafan Lord

@ericrivas4106 5 years ago

"Strange how one's life casts a shadow far beyond one's own understanding. Here, in this alien vault, I discovered a being whose existence was entwined with mine, far more than I could ever imagine."
-Kain

@TrueUnderDawgGaming 5 years ago

I am in the minority, because I loved Blood Omen 2. I thought the story and gameplay was very diverse. Soul Reaver never let men mind control people or burn people alive with my mind.

@ArvelDreth 1 year ago

11:35 it was kind of insane that Kain even managed to use it though. Think about it. Kain had to not only somehow find out what the stone did, then find out the Sarafan Lord used it, then find out where it is, then actually get it. He thought Kain was dead. It's not exactly a foolish mistake on his part to assume Kain would not get it.

@UnkleKlumsy1353 5 years ago

I have a great deal of fondness for Legacy of Kain. To this day I'm still sad they ended with Defiance

@Seraphim401 3 years ago (edited)

I started my journey with Blood Omen 2.
It will always be special to me.
Play it still this day.

@bryanw8044 5 years ago (edited)

Could you go deeper into the cancelled game "Dark prophecy"
The main story, the possible events, all we know and all we can assume about it based on the information we have.
To provide some kind of closure even though we didn't get one in way what are your thoughts on the ending of the story.

@Yoxiv 5 years ago

I imagine some of the inconsistencies with the Hylden's plan might have been explained with the usage of the Soul Reaver, since Raziel's ensnared soul meant that certain rules about history and paradoxes didn't apply, or at least could be circumnavigated unlike other entities in the series. Of course, it was always interesting how the series seemed to suggest that its timeline was always singular, but able to be rewritten or altered depending on the actions taken. Kain delaying Raziel's absorption opened quite the avenue, after all, and we know that apparently a planned sequence in Defiance was to have Kain lay the improved Reaver back in Avernus, so his corrupted younger self could be purified much earlier and possibly open a path at some point in history to finally stop the Hylden and the Elder God.

@nethercords 5 years ago

for all your criticism, the original soul reaver game was an unfinished masterpiece, blood omen 2 succeeds in developing a narrative that compliments soul reaver 2 in every way. it clearly traded physicality for story driven gameplay. it stands tall and proud on its own without reliance on its predecessor games

@mymaskofshame 5 years ago

My ex loves the Legacy of Kain games, when we got together I found her all 5 complete and watched her play them. Never played (except when she found a boss to hard) but holy hell the story was so damn good. I even found her the Player Selects figures.
So happy to see there is still love for this series.