Hylden Tribute Sculpture - WIP

I originally got the idea for this project over five years ago from the gargoyles at Vorador’s mansion in Legacy of Kain: Defiance. Vorador has long been one of my top two favorite characters from any story (along with Kain) ever since Blood Omen was released in 1996, but I found his portrayal in Defiance to be disappointing in some regards. For example, Defiance added artwork throughout his mansion that glorified unprovoked violent acts committed by Ancients against Hylden, which mirrored the violence committed against vampires by the Sarafan, (and nowhere were the graphic paintings that Kain commented on seeing in Blood Omen which memorialized the vampire victims of the Purges). Considering that Vorador’s flamboyant rejection of the persecution his own people faced is one of the strongest and most defining virtues of his character, I would expect him to recognize such blatant hypocrisy. I therefore made some deliberate modifications to my original reference for this sculpture, falling back on some artwork in BO2 for pointers. This Hylden is faced upward with eyes glowing, rather than faced downward and bleeding. Her appearance is no longer demonized. I used the mural that was supposed to be done by Hylden artists in Defiance as the reference for her crest. And I changed the sex to female because, why not? There should be more female characters in LoK. : P

The Hylden have been left enough of a mystery by the games that there are still many directions they could be taken in, but it was Defiance that really intrigued me with their nature, culture, and significance in the backstory of the series. They appeal to me for the unique traits that make them outsiders, and as rational free thinkers who fought to defend their right to live against the inevitable death represented by the Elder’s ‘Wheel’, and those who would commit genocide in blind servitude to it. This is the same battle that was forced upon Nosgoth’s post-Ancient vampires by the Sarafan, and the reason I love the concept behind both races.

Done with ceramic clay in 3.5 months of obsessive work so far, 13” x 9” x 7” in size.
I will post again once it is painted and properly mounted. Hopefully it will survive the kiln…

Hylden and reference images are rightfully copyright Crystal Dynamics.
Big thanks to DA and everyone I’ve interacted with here for inspiring me to finally see this through!