The Fire Forge [SR1]
The Fire Forge featured in Soul Reaver. It was a bonus location like the Glyph Altars; somewhere where Raziel could obtain a useful but non-essential upgrade. The Fire Reaver, gained from the forge, was not required to complete the game, but it could certainly make the game easier.
The Fire Forge was a narrow room concealed beneath the Drowned Abbey. It was located off an underwater corridor, reachable from the main pupating grounds of the Rahabim. Its entrance was underwater and blocked by an ornate stained glass window, which Raziel could smash with a Telekinetic Force Projectile. Raziel could only reach it after he killed Rahab, and gained the ability to swim from devouring Rahab's soul.
The forge was designed to enhance the Soul Reaver, and it was attuned to the Soul Reaver's energy. When Raziel bathed the wraith-blade in the "primordial" flames of the forge, he primed it to become the Fire Reaver, enabling it to be imbued with fire at any future time. The Fire Forge also contained a Health Recharge, an energized location where Raziel could fully restore his health coil. This allowed him to easily regain the wraith-blade, ready to receive its upgrade, if he wasn't already carrying it.[1,2]
When imbued with fire, the wraith-blade was significantly more powerful; its projectiles could incinerate enemies, rather than merely stunning them. This made the wraith-blade far more effective as a ranged weapon, as it could now kill from a distance. The elemental effect was only temporary though, and if Raziel entered water or the Spectral Realm, the wraith-blade's fire would be extinguished. However, Raziel could quickly re-imbue the blade by placing it in any fires (usually campfires) he found.
Further Observations
Raziel did not automatically have the Fire Reaver enhancement in Soul Reaver 2. He had to regain it from another, more complex forge. Also, there is no obvious indication of who built this Soul Reaver forge. It seemed to be entirely independent of the Reaver Forges that appeared in the later games.
Although the Fire Forge is the only forge in the released version of Soul Reaver, a total of six were originally planned, and each would have given the Soul Reaver a new elemental enhancement. Also, the Fire Forge's stained glass design was changed fairly late in development (between a beta version and the final release of the game).[3]
References
- [SR1] The Elder God: "This elemental forge is tuned to the Soul Reaver's energy. Once baptized in this primordial flame, the blade may be imbued with fire at any future time."
- The Soul Reaver Game Manual (US version)
- The Soul Reaver: The Elemental Reaver Forges page
at The Lost Worlds
and