Azian Vance
For other uses, see Vance (disambiguation). |
| |
| Azian Vance | |
|---|---|
| Biographical information | |
| Homeworld | |
| Died | |
| Function(s) / Belongings | |
| Jewel(s) |
Necklace with box-shaped jewel |
| Physical description | |
| Species |
Human |
| Gender |
Female |
| Hair color |
Black |
| Chronological and political information | |
| Era(s) | |
| Faction | |
Azian Vance was the wife of Eli Vance and the mother of Alyx Vance. She is described as being of Malaysian descent.[4] During the Black Mesa Incident, she was one of the many who did not make it out of Black Mesa.[2]
Overview[edit]
To remember his wife, Eli managed to save a family picture with her and an infant Alyx from Black Mesa, and he has since kept this photo safe with him in Black Mesa East and later at White Forest during the uprising. Azian can also be seen with Eli on the corkboard in Kleiner's Lab on a small pinned newspaper clipping. Her occupation at the time is unknown, namely whether or not she was also a scientist at the research facility like her husband.
Eli continues to wear his wedding ring in City 17 and onward, although it is absent in Half-Life: Alyx. Based on the family picture, it seems that the necklace with the small box-shaped jewel that Alyx now wears originally belonged to Azian. Along with the family picture, this necklace was also saved by Eli, although he does not specifically mention it to Gordon at Black Mesa East when he remarks on what he managed to carry out of Black Mesa.
In Half-Life 2, when he converses with the imprisoned Resistance figures in his office at the top of the Citadel, Dr. Breen shows he has familiarity with Azian, telling a captive Alyx "you have your mother's eyes, but your father's stubborn nature," to which she angrily responds by spitting in his face and proclaiming "How dare you even mention her?"[1]
At the end of Episode Two, just as she and Gordon are about to depart from White Forest following the successful closure of the superportal, Eli tells Alyx that her mother would have been proud of all she had accomplished.[5]
Behind the scenes[edit]
As heard in sound files only present in the Half-Life 2 leak, Eli was to reveal more details about his wife to Gordon while he was at Black Mesa East. Eli states that his entire family had been living in base housing on the premises at Black Mesa. He explains that, after the Resonance Cascade, he returned to their housing to find only Alyx alone with her mother's wedding ring in her hand.[6] While Eli still wears his wedding ring in the final game, his wife's ring is never seen, and no reference to it or its whereabouts is ever made. Eli also states in the leak's sound files that he is ultimately uncertain of Azian's fate following the incident.[7]
In Episode Two, the game files reveal that Eli was to have two additional lines pertaining to Azian as he bids his daughter farewell at the end of the game. His initial statement declaring "Your mother would be so proud..." was to be followed by a second line, eli_launch_mother02, which ended the remark with "if she were here today." The subtitles exist for this line, but no sound file is present. A third line, eli_launch_mother03, is defined in the sound script file, but no subtitles or sound files exist to indicate what may have been said.[8]
Alyx's voice actress, Merle Dandridge, mentions in her commentary for the final scene of Episode Two that Alyx has always been carrying the anguish of the loss of her mother with her throughout the games, making the loss of her father as well at that moment an even more devastating blow.[9]
In the game files of Half-Life: Alyx, an unused texture featuring several graffiti messages implied to have been written by Gary is present. The map source files indicate this graffiti was to appear on walls near the Vortigaunt Hideout.[10] Among the included messages is one that cryptically mentions "Azian Vance and her Sacrifice". In the final game, the purpose of this graffiti was replaced by Gary's murals, and none of them ended up alluding to Azian.
Gallery[edit]
Early version of the family photo frame model, used as the preview image for the retail model, with differences in Eli's hair and beard.
The photo as it appears in-game.
Eli shows his family photo to Gordon at Black Mesa East.
The photo as it later resides at White Forest.
The photo on Eli's workspace.
The entire corkboard in Kleiner's Lab with Azian and Eli in a newspaper clipping at the bottom left.
Close-up of Alyx's necklace.
Ditto, Half-Life: Alyx model.
Eli's wedding ring.
Unused graffiti texture in Half-Life: Alyx alluding to Azian's sacrifice.
List of appearances[edit]
- Half-Life 2 (First appearance) (Picture only)
- Half-Life 2: Episode Two (Picture only)
- Half-Life: Alyx (Game files only)
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Half-Life 2
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Half-Life 2 Prima Guide, page 22
- ↑ Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar, page 141
- ↑ Half-Life 2: Episode One Prima Guide, page 24
- ↑ Half-Life 2: Episode Two
- ↑ Eli: "We were living in base housing, you know. When I made it back there right before the end, I found only Alyx. She had her mother's wedding ring in her hand, but she couldn't tell me how she'd gotten it." Half-Life 2 leak (Eli Vance Quotes)
- ↑ Eli: "I can still only guess what might have happened to my wife. One of the missing. One of the millions who were lost." Half-Life 2 leak (Eli Vance Quotes)
- ↑ Half-Life 2: Episode Two game files,
scripts/level_voices_episode_02.txt - ↑ Half-Life 2: Episode Two commentary
- ↑ Half-Life: Alyx Workshop Tools,
a2_pistol.vmap
