The Circle of Nine
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In the Legacy of Kain series, The Circle of Nine is the name that refers to the order of sorcerers whose duty it is to guard the Pillars of Nosgoth.
As there are nine Pillars, there are nearly always nine guardians at any given time. Guardians are endowed with limited immortality (e.g. infinite life span, though not invulnerability), the ability to teleport and given magical powers related to the Pillar they serve. Should a guardian die, their place will be taken by a person who is born at the precise moment of the previous guardian's death. It may, at a first glance, appear that the members are symbiotically bound, because, when Nupraptor the Mentalist fell into madness, the rest of the Circle did as well. However, this is not entirely true, since the rest of the Circle "did not fall into" madness (just like Raziel "did not fall into" the Abyss) : they were voluntarily cast into madness by Nupraptor himself, as a means to punish Ariel's murderer (whom he knew was a member of the Circle).
Still, the Pillars themselves are symbiotically bound. Furthermore, it may be that the true reason why one of the Guardians lost his magical powers during Vorador's attack on the Circle Of Nine is because the Vampire had just killed the then Guardian of Balance - hindering magical power to be delivered to other Guardians (this may also explain why Malek had to run - instead of simply teleport - to his murdered fellow Guardians, when Moebius finally let him go).
When the Pillars were raised, the original nine Guardians were vampires. Since vampires could no longer reproduce, a result of the Hylden curse, they would turn any new human guardians that were called to serve into vampires. This tradition continued until Moebius and Mortanius, who had been called to serve as Guardians of Time and Death, revolted against them and claimed the Pillars for humankind.
What follows is a list of all of the guardians that have been shown on screen over the course of the series and the powers they have been shown to possess.
- Mind - The Mind Guardian has the powers of telekinesis and telepathy, the latter of which also allows the Guardian to create extremely realistic illusions.
- The original vampire guardian's ghost appeared in Defiance.
- An unnamed guardian was killed by Vorador in Blood Omen.
- Nupraptor the Mentalist appeared in Blood Omen.
- Conflict - The Conflict Guardian's powers are vaguely defined in the games, but they seem to have the power to infuse others with rage.
- The original vampire guardian's ghost appeared in Defiance.
- Malek the Sarafan appeared in Blood Omen and Soul Reaver 2.
- Nature - The Nature Guardian has the power to control nature and reshape it from one form to another.
- The original vampire guardian's ghost appeared in Defiance.
- An unnamed guardian was killed by Vorador in Blood Omen.
- Bane the Druid appeared in Blood Omen.
- Dimension - The Dimension Guardian has the power to see into, enter and draw things from alternate dimensions.
- The original vampire guardian's ghost appeared in Defiance.
- An unnamed guardian was killed by Vorador in Blood Omen.
- Azimuth the Planer appeared in Blood Omen.
- Energy - The Energy Guardian has the power to control infinite amounts of energy, though this ability can be as dangerous to the Guardian as it can be to others.
- The original vampire guardian's ghost appeared in Defiance.
- An unnamed guardian was killed by Vorador in Blood Omen.
- Dejoule the Energist appeared in Blood Omen.
- States - The States Guardian's powers are vaguely defined in the games, but they seem to have the power to transfigure matter, giving the Guardian unparalleled skill in alchemy.
- The original vampire guardian's ghost appeared in Defiance.
- An unnamed guardian was killed by Vorador in Blood Omen.
- Anacrothe the Alchemist appeared in Blood Omen.
- Time - The Time Guardian has the power to manipulate the flow of time, this also gives the guardian near-omniscience as they can see the past, present and future.
- The original vampire guardian's ghost appeared in Defiance.
- Moebius the Timestreamer appeared in Blood Omen, Soul Reaver 1 & 2 and Defiance.
- Death - The Death Guardian has power over death and can suspend the soul of an individual in a physical form beyond death.
- The original vampire guardian's ghost appeared in Defiance.
- Mortanius the Necromancer appeared in Blood Omen and Defiance.
- Balance - The Balance Guardian has the power of boundless, incorruptible magic. The Guaridan also binds all of the other Guardians to the Pillars and to one another.
- An unnamed guardian was killed by Vorador in Blood Omen.
- Ariel appeared in Blood Omen, Soul Reaver 1 & 2 and Defiance.
- Kain was destined to take Ariel's place but has refused to submit to that fate. He later became the Scion of Balance.
The ancient vampire Janos Audron was also appointed at the same time as the original guardians, but as his job was to protect the Reaver, he was never actually a member of the Circle of Nine.
There have also been many guardians depicted in vampire artwork within the game, but the identities of the subjects in the paintings cannot be determined.
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