Janos Audron
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Janos Audron is a video game character in the Legacy of Kain series. Throughout the series, he has been voiced by Rene Auberjonois.
In ancient times, Janos fought in the war between the original vampires and the Hylden. When the war ended and the Pillars of Nosgoth were raised, Janos became the secret Tenth Guardian, of the vampires' holy weapon, the Reaver. As his fellow guardians died out, Janos continued living so as to carry out his duty.
As the last surviving member of Nosgoth's original vampire race, Audron was hunted down and murdered by the Sarafan at the height of the vampire purge. They tore the heart from his living body, and bore it away as a trophy, christening it the "Heart of Darkness." (commented on in a monologue by Kain: "Life is precious, Janos discovered, as it was torn throbbing and bleeding from his body.") The Heart became a legendary relic, reputedly imbued with the power to restore vampiric unlife. As the Reaver Guardian, Audron alone knew the truth behind Raziel's terrible destiny, charted for him when the Reaver was forged. When he was murdered, his secrets died with him.
Centuries later, Raziel fought Kain and tore the Heart of Darkness out of his chest (Kain did not know he was in possession of the heart). Raziel then returned the heart to Janos' body, which had been kept by Vorador for 500 years in what was almost a shrine (his body is explained as never decaying as a result of its heart being separate from it). After reviving Janos, the ancient vampire took Raziel to the Citadel of the Ancients. Soon after their arrival, Kain made his fateful decision, and the Pillars collapsed. The Hylden leader, who called himself Hash'ak'gik, was then able to take control of Janos' body. The Hylden-possessed Janos fought and defeated Raziel, then headed off to conquer Nosgoth.
This led to the events of Blood Omen II, in which Janos' blood was used by the Hylden Leader to break the seal on the Pillars (the blood of their ancient enemy that he claims they needed) and thus allow the Hylden to physically enter Nosgoth at last and establish a foothold in the world. The Hylden Leader during this time was under the guise of the Sarafan Lord, who had revived the ancient warrior-priest faith after Kain had damned the Pillars.
Kain encountered Janos in Blood Omen II, although he did not realise it at first. Janos had devolved into a monstrous beast, as a result of being drained of his blood by the Hylden which was fed into their deadly weapon, The Mass. After Kain destroyed the Mass, Janos reverted to his normal form and aided Kain and Vorador in defeating the Hylden. During the battle with the Sarafan Lord however, Janos was cast into the Nexus Portal and is presumably now trapped in the Demon Dimension, his final fate thus far in the series unless another game is made.
Janos Audron's appearance seems to be based off of Béla Lugosi, best known for his 1931 portrayal of Dracula. This is probably a reffrence to Béla as the first vampire.
| Preceded by The Original Circle of Nine |
Lord of Vampires (unofficial title) unknown - 500 BBO |
Succeeded by Vorador |
| Legacy of Kain series |
|---|
| Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain | Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver | Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 | Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain | Legacy of Kain: Defiance |
| Major Characters |
| Kain | Raziel | Moebius | Elder God | Mortanius | Hash'ak'gik | Ariel | Vorador | Janos Audron |
| The Circle of Nine |
| Nupraptor the Mentalist | Malek the Sarafan | Bane the Druid | Azimuth the Planer | Dejoule the Energist | Anacrothe the Alchemist | Moebius the Timestreamer | Mortanius the Necromancer | Ariel of the Balance |
| Kain's Lieutenants |
| Raziel | Turel | Dumah | Rahab | Zephon | Melchiah |
| The World of Nosgoth |
| Pillars of Nosgoth | Lake of the Dead | Nosgoth timeline | Soul Reaver | Ancients | Hylden | Material Realm | Spectral Realm |
