Janos Audron is a non-playable character from the Legacy of Kain games. He plays a pivotal role in the story and was voiced by Rene Auberjonois in all the games.
Heart of Darkness
Janos Audron's heart is commonly referred to as the "Heart of Darkness". After the Sarafan
Raziel tore it out of his body, it was stored in
Avernus Cathedral for five centuries. The heart was still beating and according to the myth, it was capable of restoring vampiric unlife. The necromancer
Mortanius used this heart to resurrect
Kain in
Blood Omen. Whenever
Moebius uses his scepter on Kain, it targets Kain's heart and disables him. In
Defiance, Raziel took the heart back from Kain and used it to resurrect Janos. The heart has been with Janos since then. Inexplicably, Kain actually still lives without the heart.
Role
Nosgoth's oldest vampire, Janos Audron was once a noble being before he was cursed by the Hylden. Born as one of the "Ancients", Janos was secretly appointed as the tenth Pillar Guardian - sworn to protect the
Soul Reaver. He was the architect of the magic behind the Reaver and ordered his apprentice,
Vorador, to forge the blade centuries ago. He spent ages hiding in his mountain retreat, protecting the Reaver and waiting for the prophesied vampire champion to claim the sword. About 500 years before the events of
Blood Omen, at the peak of the Sarafan Crusades, Raziel entered Janos's retreat seeking answers to his destiny. Janos thought Raziel to be this vampire hero and offered him the blade. Overcome with dread, Raziel rejected his offer.
On further questioning by Raziel, Janos reveals how the Pillars were created by the vampires and belonged to them. The Pillar Guardians are chosen at birth but due to the Hylden's curse - vampires are no longer born. As an alternative, vampires chose to use humans as the Pillar guardians (it is later revealed that these human guardians would be converted into vampires after a certain age, until Moebius and Mortanius broke the chain). Over the centuries, the humans had forgotten about the Pillar's true heritage. The ancient vampire legacy had been truly lost and the humans now believed that the Pillars belonged to them. In their crusade against the vampires, the Sarafan were slaughtering the architects of the very Pillars they sworn to protect.
Soon after, a group of Sarafan warrior priest broke into his mansion. Janos teleported Raziel to safety but they manage to capture the noble ancient. They ripped out his living heart, christening it the "Heart of Darkness" in the process. Raziel arrived just as the Sarafan left with his beating heart and the
Reaver. Deeply moved by the sacrifice, Raziel vowed to avenge his death and reclaim the "Heart of Darkness". It was rumored that the heart had the ability to restore vampiric unlife. About 500 years later, we find this to be true when the heart is used to resurrect Kain and turn him into a vampire. Kain would go on rule Nosgoth for the next millennium until the events of Soul Reaver
.
In Defiance,after traveling back and forth in time, Raziel finally succeeded in reclaiming the heart from future Kain and resurrected Janos during the Blood Omen era. Shocked and horrified by the events of the last five centuries, Janos doubts his own interpretation of the ancient prophesies and takes the pair to the Vampire Citadel to seek answers. Soon,as the bindings of the Pillars broke down, Janos was possessed by the
Hylden Lord. Raziel failed to stop him as the Hylden's grip was too strong and he escaped.
Janos was used by the Hylden over the next four centuries to fuel their dimensional device until he was saved by a young Kain in
Blood Omen 2. Janos informs him about the history between the Hylden and the Ancients and how the vampire curse started. He tried to help Kain destroy the Sarafan Lord but is thrown aside and banished to the demon realm. His fate is unknown as he is assumed to be trapped inside the demon dimension for eternity.
Quotes
[ Soul Reaver 2] -
The Pillars choose their Guardians from birth, Raziel and vampires are no longer born. This is the crux of our dilemma. And this is the terrible irony, with their vampire purge, the members of the Circle have assaulted the very architects of the Pillars they are sworn to protect. They have embarked on a treacherous path. With every vampire they kill, the humans are slitting their own throats.
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