BloodRayne
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- For the film of the same name, see BloodRayne (film).
| BloodRayne | |
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| Developer(s) | Terminal Reality |
| Publisher(s) | Majesco |
| Engine | Infernal Engine, Open Dynamics Engine physics engine |
| Release date(s) | 2002 (BloodRayne) 2004 (BloodRayne 2) September 14, 2006 (Steam) |
| Genre(s) | Action |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Mature (M) |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, PC, Mac |
BloodRayne, developed by Terminal Reality, is a franchise of two horror-themed third-person action video games, a movie and a series of self-contained comic books.
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[edit] Influences
BloodRayne appears to be heavily inspired by Nocturne, an earlier third-person survival horror game by Terminal Reality. The character of BloodRayne is similar to a character in Nocturne called Svetlana, another half-vampire supernatural hunter. In early beta screenshots of BloodRayne, BloodRayne's appearance and costume was almost identical to that of Svetlana's. Additionally, some enemies in BloodRayne (such as the Daemites and bat vampires) originally appeared in Nocturne. The final act of BloodRayne also takes place in the same location (Castle Gaustadt) as the first act of Nocturne. Finally, the concept of the Brimstone Society is very similar to the Spookhouse in Nocturne; and the voice of the Brimstone Society agent from the BloodRayne introduction movie is done by Lynn Mathis who also did the voice of Stranger, the protagonist of Nocturne. Originally BloodRayne was intended to be a sequel to Nocturne, but the producers eventually decided to make it a completely separate game (though obviously some references and similarities remain).[citation needed]
Both Bloodrayne and Svetlana may have been inspired by the character of Durham Red from the comic book 2000 AD, although that has been frequently denied by the TRI representatives when discussed on bloodrayne.co.uk forums. Other possible influences are Harris'/Anarchy Comics' Vampi and Chaos Comics' Chastity
[edit] Story
The BloodRayne franchise has a storyline that runs from pre-World War II (BloodRayne) to the 2000s (BloodRayne 2). There is also a movie about BloodRayne, but this movie is not part of the BloodRayne timeline, and cannot be considered a part of the series.
[edit] Video games
[edit] BloodRayne
BloodRayne, developed by Terminal Reality, is a horror-themed third-person action video game released on 15 October 2002 for Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox and for the PC on September 9, 2003. A Mac port was done by Aspyr and released on 6 May 2003, but was plagued with technical problems not seen in other versions, which caused fans to be upset and reviews to be harsh. While the GameCube and PlayStation 2 versions were completely uncensored, the versions for PC and Xbox had all Third Reich symbolism (especially swastikas) removed.
It is set in 1933 and 1938 , just before World War II. As an agent of the Brimstone Society, Rayne is sent to a variety of locations (a small swamp town in Louisiana, a Nazi fortress in Argentina, and an ancient castle in Germany) to battle supernatural creatures as well as the Nazi army.
[edit] BloodRayne 2
BloodRayne 2, developed by Terminal Reality, is a horror-themed third-person action video game released on 12 October 2004 for Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox and for the PC on August 2, 2005.
It does not follow on directly from where BloodRayne finished; instead, it takes place between sixty and seventy years later, in a contemporary(2000s) setting. This game could possibly be set in 2004, the year the game was released.
Rayne's father, Kagan, a vampire and influential Nazi collaborator, was killed by Professor Trumain near the end of World War II. Denied the pleasure of killing him herself, Rayne spent the last 70 years after the War seeking out and destroying Kagan's other offspring. These offspring, Rayne's half-siblings, have banded together to form a group called the Cult of Kagan. The Cult has created "The Shroud", a substance that can render sun rays harmless to vampires, allowing them to surface at all times of the day, and twists nature into a nightmarish perversion (Trees dying almost instantly, grass catching on fire, corpses twitching). Using "The Shroud", the Cult has pledged to create a new era of vampire supremacy, continuing Kagan's legacy.
[edit] BloodRayne PSP (cancelled)
- Majesco announced that one of their upcoming games was going to be a BloodRayne game for the PSP. Little was known, except that it supposedly took place immediately after BloodRayne 2, and would feature a two-player co-operative mode, which would have made it the first game in the series to do so. The game promised to cover Rayne's unknown history, and return some old characters (the dead ones, i.e. Mynce, Kagan, etc.) and develop new characters as well. However, financial difficulties forced Majesco to cancel Bloodrayne for the PSP. Majesco has not sold the rights, and fans fear a third installment may never be developed, let alone released. Information can be found here. [1]
[edit] Movies
[edit] BloodRayne the Movie (2006)
On January 6, 2006, a BloodRayne film was released. It featured Terminator 3 star Kristanna Loken as Rayne and Ben Kingsley as Kagan. The film's premise was announced as follows: "Set over two centuries before events in the game, the film will follow BloodRayne's quest to stop Kagan's nefarious schemes to slaughter mankind."
The film was directed by Uwe Boll, who was responsible for two other video-game-to-movie adaptations (House of the Dead and Alone in the Dark) which were ill-received by critics and savaged in online reviews by fans of the games. Like its predecessors, the film received poor reviews, and was declared a "debacle" by Variety: "The film's production company (Romar) had said that the film would be shown on 1,900 screens, however Romar failed to book that many screenings and instead ended up shipping several hundred prints to cinemas that had not asked for them, and thus refused to show them, as a result BloodRayne was initially released on only 985 screens."
This film is currently ranking at #81 on IMDb's bottom 100.
Fans of Bloodrayne generally consider the film as non-canon, as it is set over 2 centuries before the game, and deviating from the game's plot numerous times.
[edit] BloodRayne II: Deliverance (2007)
On October 2, 2006, Boll revealed that a follow-up entitled BloodRayne II: Deliverance is gearing up for a January 2007 start date. Unlike the previous film, this time with Natassia Malthe playing the part as Rayne. The storyline will involve Rayne battling vampires in the Wild West. There are also talks of a third film in where the actual storyline of the game, Rayne in World War II-era, will be introduced.[2]
[edit] Comics
As of September 2006, five BloodRayne one-shot comic books have been published. They are, in order:
- Skies Afire
- Seeds of Sin
- Lycan Rex
- Dark Soul
- Twin Blades
On September 20th, 2006, the first issue of Rayne's first mini-series will be available at comic shops every where: "BloodRayne: Plague of Dreams" is a three issue mini-series currently being published bi-monthly by Digital Webbing Press, written by Troy Wall with art by Mark Robinson and Stacie Ponder.
[edit] Characters from BloodRayne
[edit] Protagonists
[edit] Rayne
Main article: Rayne (Bloodrayne)
Rayne (sometimes, though quite rarely, referred to as "Agent BloodRayne") is the protagonist of the Bloodrayne franchise.
[edit] Mynce
A Tibetan-born Dhampir from the Brimstone Society, she had the same skills as Rayne and was the one who introduced her to the ways of the vampires, as well as giving Rayne the harpoon (in Louisiana) which would become an important part of her arsenal. At the beginning of the first BloodRayne game, she and Rayne went to Louisiana to investigate the grotesque mutations of the residents. Mynce was looking at a frog, then attacked from behind by a spider-like demon called a Maraisreq (meaning "swamp monster" in French), and swallowed her whole before Rayne could save her. She was then believed to be dead.
However, Mynce resurfaced as the second-in-command of the GGG during Rayne's mission to stop Juergen Wulf. She did not give an explanation as to the means by which she survived being swallowed by the Maraisreq or the reason that she betrayed the Brimstone Society, and attacked Rayne since she was an enemy of the GGG. Mynce fought with the same superhuman fighting moves as Rayne but being much faster than Rayne. However, she proved to be weak. Rayne sent her falling off a cliff, apparently to her death, and proceeded to eliminate the Doppelganger twins. After the fight with the Doppelganer Twins, to her surprise, Mynce returned once again and revealed that she was a double agent, having taken out the rest of the GGG's officers leaving only Wulf alive.
While the Dhampirs were on their way to find Wulf, Mynce was leading the way, moving far more quickly than Rayne, leaving Rayne to follow behind. To their surprise, they were separated by a steel barricade dropping from the ceiling. Wulf emerged with superhuman speed (too fast for both of them to notice), plunged his hand into Mynce's chest and ripped out her heart. Juergen then began to talk to Rayne about Mynce, and getting Beliar's black heart, while Rayne was forced to listen as she couldn't break down the barricade. When Rayne was able to break the barricade, she was forced to leave behind her mentor's corpse and continued to pursue Wulf. Mynce was played by Mary Beth Brooks.
[edit] Antagonists
[edit] Jürgen Wulf and the Gegengheist Gruppe (GGG)
The antagonist in the first BloodRayne game, Jürgen Wulf was a fictional German military officer who had fled to South America after managing to escape from punishment for his crimes during World War I. He founded the Gegengheist Gruppe (G.G.G., German for "Anti Ghost Group"), a group that aimed to bring Hitler to power through the use of occult artifacts, including obtaining and reassembling the remains of Beliar.
A fairly stereotypical Nazi, Wulf wore a monocle, and constantly had a cigarette holder hanging from his mouth.
Despite his old age and relatively frail appearance, Wulf possessed super-human strength and abilities thanks to numerous relics of Beliar which he has gathered and merged into his body.
Wulf is known to have possessed following fragments of Beliar's body:
- Eye
- Hand
- Ribs
- Teeth
It is unknown if all of his superhuman abilities were the result of the Beliar's relics or some have been artificially induced (numerous GGG officers were said to be experimentally enchanced).
Wulf possessed following superhuman abilities:
- Super-speed
- Extension of his left hand into a "claw"
- Breathing fire
- Igniting his hand to use it in close combat
- Superhuman resilience to damage (Rayne's normal attacks or bullets could not harm him)
In the final battle Jürgen Wulf has been decapitated by Rayne, thus completing the destruction of G.G.G.
[edit] Other G.G.G.
Other notable members of the GGG, who appeared as bosses in the game, included High Priest Von Blut, Infantry General D. Mauler, Dr. Báthory Mengele, Kommando, Sigmund Kreiger and Simon Kreiger. The other G.G.G. higher officers would then be sub-bosses. It should be noted that some of the generic GGG officers' pictures were of real Nazis, though all of the generic G.G.G. looked similar.
[edit] High Priest Von Blut
He called himself a Thule High Priest and wore a white robe with a hood resembling that of the Ku Klux Klan. Thoroughly deluded, he believed that Aryans were descended from the people of Atlantis, and that Beliar was that nation's greater leader, who was torn apart by the desturction of Alantis, which were all lies. He refused to believe this, saying Rayne was ignorant. Although he did not have any obvious super-human augmentations like the other members of the G.G.G., his pulpit was armor-plated and equipped with a Maxim machine gun. His only weakness was the unarmored section behind the pulpit, which Rayne exploited and killed him.
Von Blut's name is German for "of blood".
[edit] Infantry General D. Mauler
A brute, whose physical size and strength were somehow greatly enhanced by the Nazis. He was twice as tall as a normal human being and covered with cybernetic augmentations. He told Rayne the truth about Beliar's identity, adding that Von Blut knew nothing but lies. Mauler used brute force (his punches were strong enough to smash through concrete walls and pillars), lacking any sort of firearms. He was virtually immune to physical damage such as bullets and Rayne's normal blades, that the only way to harm him is to go into blood rage. Despite his great fortitude, Mauler fell to Rayne due to his sluggish speed and slow reaction time. Many players have stated that Mauler is hard to beat because he can easily destroy the pillars and large pipes but there are rafters on the left hand side of the wall that he cannot destroy. From there you can harpoon the single soldiers that come out of the door and feed on them, allowing a fill of health.
[edit] Kommando
A mysterious G.G.G. officer, clad from head-to-toe in steel armor, who never spoke a word and concealed his face behind a metal mask. Fought with an assault rifle. Kommando used flashbangs to escape from Rayne, which would interfere with her aura sense temporarily. After falling to her blades, it was revealed that he was only injured, not killed, and had managed to make his way to the lower levels of the base only to be possessed by a Pure Daemite parasite. Rayne later killed the parasite, putting an end to Kommando. This Boss's name is an obvious reference to the British Commandos.
[edit] Dr Báthory Mengele
Also known as the Butcheress, she was the one who fed prisoners and several of her own soldiers to the Daemites. She also took pride in being a descendant of Elizabeth Báthory, describing her lust for blood as "Human Vampirism". Báthory fought with stiletto heels and a pair of bone saws mounted to her arms, much like Rayne's blades. Since Bathory is part of the G.G.G, she was genetically enhanced to fight better. She has the same melee attacks as Rayne. The Butcheress is considered to be one of the hardest boss battles in the game, due to the arena's traps as well as the Boss's own potent physical characteristics.
Despite her agility, Báthory died after Rayne kicked her in to the pit of Daemite parasites, where they soon feasted upon her paralyzed body.
The game designers obviously designed her after Ilsa: She-Wolf of the SS and took her surname from the infamous German Nazi physician, Josef Mengele.
[edit] Sigmund and Simon Kreiger
Also known as the Doppelgänger Twins, a pair of narcissistic identical twins. Conjoined at the arm at birth, they were later separated(they actually remebered this event), resulting in each of them having only one arm. Each fought with a throwing swastika, that served as both a melee weapon and a boomerang. They ran unnaturally fast behind the pillars, behind which they were hiding. The twins were quite intrigued by Rayne's beauty, skill and sharp tongue and seemed more interested in courting her than killing her. The twins and Rayne both threatened and flirted with each other during the fight. Although they were apparently strong enough to slaughter a horde of feral vampires, they fell quickly to Rayne's blade. Interestingly enough, when one of the twins was hit and harmed, the other twin would suffer damage, in the same place where the other twin was hurt. When one of them was killed by Rayne, the other died as well as being mortally wonded Depending on which twin the player kills, a slightly different death scene will play.
Many fans perfer Sigmund's death scene where he asks Rayne to tell him her name as a last request. Rayne simply says her name without being rude (as she is very rude compared to the other G.G.G.), so she could have respected them on a level.
[edit] Daemites
[edit] Pure Daemites
Daemites are parasitic/predatorial creatures that were awakened by the Nazis as they were searching for Beliar's skull. They float a few feet in the air, making it difficult to hit them with bullets. They can easily be killed with one slash from Rayne's blades, but can stay alive long enough to attack you one last time. While they lie on the floor dieing, they will writhe and spasm on the floor, forcing your attention on them to see if they truly are dead, and off the other Daemites, giving them a chance to attack. The only way to see if they are dead is to use aura vision. They will usually screech in pain when mortally wounded.
The Daemites appeared first in a previously game from Terminal Reality, Blair Witch vol. I: Rustin Parr, in a sequence of nightmare, when the heroine, Doc Holliday, wake up and discovery that all the towns people had turned into daemites.
[edit] Parasitic Daemites
According to Dr. Bathory Mengele, who appears to be mainly in charge of the Daemites, they force themselves into the body of the host, wrapping themselves around the spinal chord and tapping directly into the host's nervous system. They release digestive enzymes from their skin that eat the brain, to control the host like a puppet, and reproduce asexually in the chest cavity, although this is rarely seen in-game.
Parasitic Daemites are hard to kill. They take more damage then a Nazi (human) and aren't afraid to fight to the death, as opposed to a Nazi reatreating when its health is low (running off, calling for backup). Even when Rayne hacks off the limbs, the Daemite can still fight, as their body resides in the torso, by hovering toward her and their attacks can cause alot of damage. Feeding doesn't kill it, as it only kills the body of the host, not the Pure Daemite, leaving Rayne to fight the Pure Daemite.
Oddly, the Parasitic Daemite can be killed easily by a running slash attack, as Rayne usually aims for the head, and when they're on the floor, Rayne will usually kick off the head, both killing them almost instantly.
[edit] Daemite Warrior
The Daemite Warriors bear little resemblance of a Pure Daemite with three heads. Nothing is revealed about them, but they are possibly the guardians of the lesser Daemites due to the fact that they guard the entrance to their chambers.
They are very hard to kill, especially when they are in groups. They deal severe damage to Rayne, and can take alot of damage in return. It's easier to kill them with Blood rage.
[edit] Hedrox the Infinite
Hedrox is an ancient and powerful vampire chieftain. Instead of a human appearance, Hedrox's form is animal-like, with black fur and large, clawed hands. He doesn't look human, because he and the other Vampires are a special breed, from New Guinea closed off from the world, letting them be very powerful in combat.
Hedrox has two powers. The first power is, that he can gain the knowledge of another person by devouring their brain. Like any other feral Vampire, each of Hedrox's claws has a circular mouth in its palm, and he uses this to decapitate victims and devour their heads.
Hedrox's second power is that he is infinite. Any damage dealt to Hedrox heals away within seconds, represented in-game as Hedrox's health bar constantly refilling, at a rate so fast it is impossible for Rayne to empty it. Whenever one of his body parts is severed by Rayne with blades, guns, granades, rocktet launchers, a new limb grows, and the servered limb grows into a new Hedrox.
The Hedroxes apparently share a collective consciousness, often speaking alternatively or in unison. Subsequently, Hedrox is slightly insane. The only way to defeat him, as it turned out, was to ignore him and focus on attacking the battle area's support structures, leading to the collapse the arena, and all but one of the Hedroxes fall into water, which is lethal to vampires and dhampirs alike.
Despite that, Hedrox still survived, albeit only one of his many forms lived. He made his way to find Rayne, with more Hedroxes (whether he severed his own limbs is unknown), only to be killed later by Beliar.
[edit] Beliar
According to Mauler, Beliar was the original ruler of Hell, but was usurped by a fallen angel called Mephisto (or Mephistopheles). He was torn to pieces and his body parts were scattered across the Earth as unholy relics.
Each body part will instinctively merge with the first person to discover it, rather painfully, as displayed by Rayne, and will confer upon that person part of the supernatural power of Beliar. Although Juergen Wulf acquired most of the body parts through the course of the game, Rayne ended up unintentionally merging with one of Beliar's eyes, turning one of her eyes (the left one) blood red and allowing her to zoom in on distant objects. Rayne initially merged with Beliar's rib in Louisiana, from the Queen of the Underworld, but Juergen ripped that out of her, nearly killing her.
Beliar's heart is the most powerful of the relics (it is the Yathgy stone from Terminal Reality's earlier survival horror game, Nocturne), and merging with it will cause Beliar to be reborn from the body of the heart's host. In the game's last level, one of the Hedroxes foolishly merges with Beliar's heart, resurrecting Beliar. Upon awakening, Beliar is intent upon reclaiming his body parts from both Wulf and Rayne, initiating the game's final three-way battle.
Beliar has a skeletal appearance, looking much like metal thorns with pieces of torn red flesh hanging from it. His body is elastic, and he attacks by growing sharp tentacles from his chest or arms to impale his enemies with. In the game, the only way to deal any damage to Beliar is to attack his heart. Additionally, If Juergen Wulf is killed by Beliar instead of by Rayne, Beliar will reclaim his body parts from Wulf and re-gain the ability to breathe fire, and possibly defence. Beliar's fire breath is several times larger and more powerful than Wulf's.
Beliar had the ability to increase in size to a point where he could become too powerful and too large in height. Despite this, Rayne killed him and soon pursued Juergen Wolf.
If Beliar increases his size too much, the game will enter into FMV mode showing Beliar crushing Rayne and Juergen (if not killed by Rayne), ending the game, and the player will have to start the fight again.
Beliar's name comes from Belial, meaning "without worth", mentioned in the Bible as a demon.
[edit] Characters from BloodRayne 2
[edit] Severin
Rayne's sidekick from the Brimstone Society. His role is about the same as Mynce's in the first game. He is either Vampire or a Dhampir, by the quote he said at the end of the game, and when he talks to Rayne, his teeth resembe that of a Vampire/Dhampir. At times, he even appears to be cowardly, yet he somehow always manages to show up in places not normally accessible to humans. Severin provides Rayne with information about the enemy by radio, as well as advice on what to do next when there is a dead end.
In the very end of Bloodrayne 2, Severin says that the Brimstone society will have drawn their lines indefinitely, waging war on all vampire kind, including people such as himself and Rayne, which would be people who are Vampire, Dhampir, or maybe even just having Vampire blood in them, but not evil.
It seems like him and Ephemera were either lovers, or someone Ephemera took interest in. Actually, there is a FMV in the game in which Rayne explains that she took Severin away from Ephemera before she could turn him.
Severin is also voiced by Troy Baker, who voice acts Kagen.
[edit] Professor Trumain
Professor Trumain is revealed to be the one who took in Rayne as his own daughter. He was most likely a father figure for her, and the only human Rayne cared for, after her mother and her family, as she is seen in an FMV calling him "Sir Trumain". In a flashback, Trumain is shown having been severely beaten by Kagan, having his own small intestine around his neck. After Rayne sees him like this, she is shocked, but doesn't show emotion due to the situation. After Kagan finds the Vesper Shard, he speculates that Trumain and the Brimstone Society truly knew of the power of the Versper Shard (ex. the sun gun) and were planning to use it on all people who have Vampire blood, including Rayne. Trumain pulls out a grenade, gives Rayne time to run, and explodes the place, killing him, the Nazis and Kagan (supposedly). In an FMV with Rayne talking to Severin, she revels that if Professor Trumain didn't get to Rayne, she would have most likely turned out to be like the rest of Kagan's children.
[edit] Cult of Kagan
[edit] Kagan
Rayne's Vampire father who worked with the Nazis. Rayne tracked him down in 1939 in the Brimstone HQ in France, just as he obtained a magical artifact called the Vesper Shard, but she had to flee when a grenade went off from Professor Trumain, who had been beaten severely by Kagen (he is shown having his own small intestine around his neck), supposedly killing Kagan. He mysteriously returned decades later when Rayne waged war against her half-siblings, who had formed the Cult of Kagan. The pieces of the Vesper Shard had bonded with Kagan's arm and the side of his head, presumably giving him powers beyond what he had already have, though the actual effects of the Vesper Shard on him were not elaborated on in detail, it could be the ability to fire beams. He also appeared to have been blinded in one eye.
Though it is never really said how Kagan came back to life, Xerx says that it took him "Five long years" to piece Kagan back together. As Xerx is a scientist, and shows affection for his dad, it is likely that he was the only sibling who wanted to bring Kagan back to life.
During his unnaturally long life, Kagan searched for vampire females that could mother him offsprings with superior powers. He regards his children as being his subjects and shows little consideration for them, though his favorite seems to be Ephemera, as they are seen together at the balcony in one FMV, calling her "daughter". He does not tolerate treason or disobedience from his "family". With his consent, Ephemera stabs her sister in the back and throws her off the Shroud tower, after Ferril had attacked Kagan.
Kagan is the final opponent in BloodRayne 2. His attacks include firing giant beams of light and swinging a large sword that inflicts a lot of damage. In the large room where players fight him, there is a pool of blood that he, and Rayne, can use to heal themselves. Rayne eventually managed to kill him by decapitation after a long battle. Kagan is voiced by Troy Baker, a voice actor who works for Funimation Entertainment.
[edit] Zerenski
Zerenski is Rayne's Dracula-inspired half-brother and the first boss of the game. He owns a huge mansion and has an important social position. His job in the Cult of Kagen is to kill the city's citizens who have a high social status (mob bosses, city officals, etc.). Daniel Zerenski also mentions Delinda, one of his sisters, which Rayne had previously killed. He is a generic vampire, and his sole ability is turning into a flock of bats. He is possibly the easiest boss next to Slezz. Zerenski is played by Dameon Clarke, an actor whose most well-known voice work is his role as Cell in Dragonball Z.
[edit] Ephemera
Ephemera is one of Rayne's half-sisters. She is very difficult to kill due to her ability to dive into shadows and heal herself; in fact, as long as there are shadows in an area, she is invincible. Ephemera is dressed in BDSM-style black leather, has pale skin and no visible eyes, they look much like black pools when seem close up, and dark shadows can often be seen leaking out of them. It is possible that Ephemera is actually blind and the shadows which surround her have a role similar to a cat's whiskers, and uses her sense of smell, seen when she says "Smells liks Slezz..." when Xerx introduces her to one of Slezz's children. Also, she is presumed to have an aura vision superior to Rayne's, as she's a full blooded vampire. She appears to have long shadows constantly floating around her. Her shadows are not seen in FMV mode talking to Kagen on the balcony.
In the game, Ephemera is one of the more prominent villains, and is possibly Kagan's favorite daughter. Just like every member of her Vampiric family, Ephemera likes to boss people around, using a commanding and despising tone. Also, she has little consideration for the rest of her family: she's not affected by Zerenski's death, even though she calls him "our dear brother" when talking to Rayne, she despises Xerx ("my mongoloid brother") most likely for being truelly loyal to Kagen, threw Ferril off the shroud tower with no hesitation and wants her father dead to take of the Cult of Kagen.
Ephemera's concept possibly has some Asian influences, as her as turned-Vampire minions resemble ninjas and they use swords and shurikens. Rayne is seen mentioning to one "You guys remind me of ninjas... I hate ninjas". The final battle between Rayne and Ephemera takes place in a Japanese-inspired garden. She is clever and calculated, and tends to do things indirectly as she'd rather wait in the shadows and plan a deadly strike, most likely due to her nature of shadows, both in combat and in life.
Ephemera is possibly also Severin's old love and master, but Rayne took him from her, eight years before the events in Bloodrayne 2 so that he wont be turned into a Vampire. However, she seems to still be interested in him, as she asks Rayne about him several times ("Is that my old love, mister Severin? I'd like to pay him a visit. See if we can rekindle an old flame").
Ephemera is played by Scarlett McAlister.
[edit] Ferril
Ferril is another of Rayne's several half-sisters.
Ferril has her own supernatural powers unique to her. She has an appearance much like a supernatural cat of sorts, with sharp, extended, clawlike fingernails, continually-shifting tattoos upon her skin, and eyes that are completely white. In the game, when she attacks Rayne, her whole body gets covered with the tattoo-like marks, most likely to personify her rage. Ferril's temperament matches her feline appearance, as she has incredible speed and a wild temper. She says at one point in the game that she is "the strongest and the fastest...", but suffers from hubris and too satisfied with being "the strongest and the fastest", and fails to adequately protect herself - during the course of the game, Ephemera stabs Ferril in the back, through the heart and throws her from a tower. In a manner befitting a feline creature, Ferril manages to survive this tremendous fall, returning later to meet her demise by the Sun Gun.
Ferrill is portrayed by Liza Gonzales.
[edit] Xerx Mephistopheles
A sophisticated mad scientist who invented The Shroud. He is one of Kagan's vampire children and created various high-tech weapons to be used against Rayne, including the Sun Gun that killed Ferril near the end of the game. He's the one who put Kagan back together after the detonation in 1939 in the Brimstone HQ in France, after which Kagan was thought to be dead. It took him 5 years.
Xerx seems to be the only offspring of Kagan which is actually loyal to him. He acts like a child whenever Kagan is around, a child happy to show his father his accomplishments, though Kagen doesn't return the feelings. Xerx does not hesitate when it comes to eradicating his father's enemies, not even when it comes to his own siblings. This is proved when he kills his sister Ferril with the sun gun.
Xerx has an unusual appearance, resembling a more human-looking version of Frankenstein's monster, though there is a picture of him in Zerenski's mansion and Kagen realm looking human. It is unknown why Xerx looks the way he is in the game. He fights Rayne in a giant bio-mech suit with weaknesses that are not immediately noticeable, and attacks with the deadly Sun Gun.
Xerx's last name, Mephistopheles, is a reference to the demon who Faust sold his soul to for wisdom and power. Xerx is played by R. Bruce Elliot.
[edit] Slezz
Slezz is a huge, ancient pot-bellied born-vampire known as a Babylonian Winged Shakab that lives in the sewers. She has a rather mutated appearance, vaguely resembling an insect. She is not Rayne's sister, but is a "baby-machine", and Xerx 'borrowes' her children for experimentation, shown in the beginning of the game. Slezz apparently is in love with Kagan, calling him "my love" in a conversation with Rayne preceding their fight. Slezz doesn't have the sympathy of Kagan's children, as Ephemera and Ferril were glad to be rid of her.
Slezz is also blind, but she orientates using her bizarre sense of smell. When Rayne arrives in her chamber, Slezz mistakes her for Kagan, Rayne's father, probably because they have the same blood, which could mean her sense of smell is not acute. She constantly wishes to have her children back and demands Rayne to return them to her.
While in battle, Slezz slings her henchmen towards Rayne with bombs on them. She keeps Rayne away from her by flapping her large wings and knocking her back. She throws balls of green acid from her breasts and has "wicked aim", according to Rayne. Despite her immense size, Slezz is rather weak and can be beaten fairly quickly. Slezz is played by Christopher Sabat, a voice actor best known for performing the roles of Piccolo, Yamcha and Vegeta in Dragonball Z.
[edit] Other Dhampir
Throughout the Bloodrayne 2, Rayne encounters a number of other Dhampir, which leads to the conclusion that all other Dhampir, or most, are evil. In fact, Zerenski and Kagan have a number of Dhampir under their control, although it is not explained if they are Kagan's offspring as well. The other Dhampir wear black and red suits, and the males use large scimitar-like swords. The females use blades similar to Dark Rayne (an alternate costume for Rayne), or the same blades as Rayne. The females have the Carpathian Dragons (and only have, or use single shot level one), which leads to another conclusion that Zerenski had only one Carpthian Dragon, and there maybe more. The females use them against Rayne when shes far away. The females also have all of Rayne's standard melee moves. All of them have green eyes, although none have red hair like Rayne's. Another noticeable difference is that they both have heavy facial tattoos. The Dhampirs don't have, or won't use Blood Rage against Rayne.
[edit] Kestrel
A group of Asian Dhampir assassins that have "birds figure heavily in their ancestral bloodline" (quote from Severin over the radio to Rayne). Rayne has to kill four of them during one level. They are armed for full-scale combat; spikes on the back of their boots, shuriken and bird-wing shaped blades on each arm, and they also wear ninja-like body armor.
The Kestrel have a larger role than the aforementioned Dhampir in black and red suits. They are in charge of bringing humans to the Shroud tower, where their blood will be used to create "The Shroud". One of them, after seeing Rayne's abilities, asks Rayne to join them ("Wanna play on our side, maybe?"), but her offer is turned down. They have a strange way of speaking and they barely make logical statements. ("Yes! Good, you come get me.", and "You still beating on my boys?") While Rayne thwarted their mission by killing all of them, Ferril and her henchmen finished the job.
It is speculated that Kestrel are entirely female, as "bird" is British slang for "girl", as Severin has a British accent and has information on them. There is also a bird called a Kestrel.
[edit] External links
- Video games
- Movie
- Comics
- Music Videos
- Everybody's Fool by Evanescence (first appeared in MTV2 Video Mods)
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