Mortanius

Mortanius the Necromancer is a principal character in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, a member of the Circle of Nine and Guardian of the Pillar of Death. Mortanius was responsible for raising Kain as a Vampire, and served as an enigmatic benefactor throughout his quest to restore Nosgoth. Eventually, it transpired that Mortanius' body was a vessel to the malevolent Dark Entity; he had assassinated and resurrected Kain in an attempt to correct the imbalance caused by the murder of Ariel and the Corruption of the Pillars. Mortanius was the final Guardian to perish in Kain's wake.

Mortanius' character is further revisited and explored in Legacy of Kain: Defiance. He, alongside Moebius, initiated the human crusades against the Ancient Vampire, which led to the eventual corruption of the Pillars of Nosgoth. While struggling against the Hylden Lord's attempts to possess his body, Mortanius had attempted to atone for his crimes by creating Kain - the prophecied Scion of Balance - using the Heart of Darkness. In Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, Mortanius is voiced by Tony Jay, while in Legacy of Kain: Defiance his role was assumed by Alastair Duncan.

Ancient History
Mortanius was born as human death guardian some time after the end of the Ancient-Hylden war and along with the immortality gifted by his role, Mortanius was "skilled in the arts of manipulating death"* and was observed on several occasions to communicate with spirits of the dead. The Pillar Token gifted to Mortanius was his Death Orb.

Mortanius was born in a period when the failing ancient vampire race attempted to continue their race and maintain control of the pillars, by 'turning' humans into vampires (giving rise to a new generation of vampires and the first not born of that race). During this time, the ancients routinely "abdopted and when necessary, abducted the human guardians and made them vampires when they came of age". As the Human Death Guardian Mortanius was presumably subject to this treatment, possibly seperated from his family and raised by the Ancient Vampires in the Vampire Citadel.

Mortanius formed a bond with Human Time Guardian Moebius (who was presumably under instruction from the Elder God) and together they conspired to rebel against their masters; seeing them as a "plague upon mankind". When the two guardians came of age, they rejected the dark gift and incited a bloody human rebellion, which further devastated the vampires, probably causing them to abandon the Citadel. The Human Guardians seized the pillars for themselves.

Sarafan era (Blood Omen)
Many centuries later and Ancient Vampire history had receeded altogether, with many humans seeing the vampires themselves as a "plague upon mankind". With an apparent rise in Vampire numbers, The Sarafan Brotherhood was formed to combat the threat and Mortanius, as one of the most senior of the circle was likely heavily involved in the decision of the circle to sponsor the the Sarafan crusades, but to what extent Mortanius was involved in the running of the Sarafan is unclear.

In the aftermath of the Sarafan's murder of Janos Audron, Mortanius was able to avoid the revenge attacks on the Stronghold by Vorador and the Wraith Raziel, (which resulted in the deaths of most of the leaders of the Sarafan Brotherhood and the Circle of Guardians, with only Malek and Moebius surviving the assault). Mortanius' whereabouts during this time are ultimately unknown (All of the leading figures of the Sarafan Brotherhood and Circle of Guardians, with the exception of Mortanius, are accounted for during this event).

A short time afterward however, Mortanius would be on hand to punish Malek ("protector of the circle") for his failure to defend the other pillar guardians from Vorador's assault, as he presided over a ceremony (apparently taking place in a location that resembled the Avernus Catacombs) which seemed to 'extract' Malek's soul from his body and 'fuse' it to his armor; depriving Malek of the "the pleasures of the flesh" and turning him into an 'undead' reanimated suit of armor.

Pre-Blood Omen era
Some years later, Mortanius joined new Dimension Guardian Azimuth in investigating the Avernus Catacombs and the two of them "unearthed" something of great power, though what exactly it was that they discovered "beneath Avernus" is yet to be revealed. Mortanius and Azimuth were "seduced away from their service of the pillars" by this power, forming the Cult of Hash'ak'gik, with Azimuth using her powers to retrieve Turel from the Post-Soul Reaver era to act as the dark god  of the cult. (It is likely that Azimuth was aware of the Hylden's role behind the cult; unlike Mortanius, who may have believed that Turel, who he knew as "Hash'ak'gik" was the leader of the cult).

Mortanius would continue to serve the cult for many years afterwards and this would unknowingly leave him vulnerable to Hylden Possession; as the Hylden Lord took control of his body and used him to murder the Balance Guardian Ariel in a deliberately calculated move that ultimately led to the corruption of the pillars. Mortanius was affected by the corruption and he like the other guardians descended into madness.

Blood Omen era
Mortanius first appeared in Blood Omen. He was the Guardian of the Pillar of Death, and as such, he had a certain amount of influence over the grave and the spirits of the dead. According to the Players section of the Silicon Knights Blood Omen FAQ he was arguably 'the most potent wizard in all of Nosgoth'. He was one of the longest-serving members of the Circle that Kain encountered, and his power had 'accumulated over the centuries'. When Malek failed to protect the Circle of Nine from Vorador - centuries before Kain's birth - it was Mortanius who carried out his punishment. It was Mortanius' magic that fused Malek's soul eternally to his armour.

Despite the dangerousness of the magic wielded by the Necromancer, it seemed he was a just individual who tried to act in the best interests of Nosgoth. The Players section of the Silicon Knights Blood Omen FAQ says 'His power is tempered with mercy and judgment'. However, his mind was not always his own. The Dark Entity - revealed in Defiance as the Hylden Lord - possessed him, and used him as a tool for bringing down the Circle. Controlled in this fashion, Mortanius murdered Ariel, which in turn led to the corruption of the Pillars.

At times Mortanius was able to fight the Dark Entity's influence, and assert his own will instead. During these interludes, he tried to correct the imbalance he had caused by murdering Ariel.¹ Thirty years after her assassination, he had the nobleman Kain killed outside a tavern. Somehow, he detained Kain's soul - preventing it returning to the Pillar of Balance, as it presumably should have done - and in the Underworld, he offered Kain an opportunity to avenge himself. Resurrecting him as a vampire, Mortanius guided Kain to purge the Circle of its deranged Guardians, knowing that eventually his 'undead son' would come for him.

Kain dutifully hunted the Guardians, and (at Mortanius' invitation) he returned to the Pillars after beheading Moebius. Anarcrothe and Mortanius were there, arguing about him. Anarcrothe knew Mortanius was responsible for Kain's murder, rebirth and subsequent slaughter of the Circle members. He did not accept what Mortanius believed: that it was necessary for the good of Nosgoth. The Alchemist believed his powers were his to use as he desired. The fate of Nosgoth was unimportant; he owed the land nothing. Mortanius and Anarcrothe had a brief fight, each directing their magic against the other. Mortanius killed Anarcrothe with ease, impaling him with a lightning-like attack, slamming him against a Pillar and then summoning ghosts to break the Alchemist's back.

The Necromancer welcomed Kain when he noticed him watching. He anticipated and wanted his own demise, but he didn't make it too easy for Kain. He raised Skeletons and other creatures to battle for him. When Mortanius eventually died, the Dark Entity revealed itself, twisting the Necromancer's body into a demonic-looking form. The Dark Entity taunted Kain before they fought. Kain emerged victorious, but he knew who he was now: the Guardian of Balance. He had to make his decision. Tired of being manipulated, he rejected the self-sacrifice Ariel (but not necessarily Mortanius) had hoped for.

Defiance era
Mortanius' history and motivations were explored further in Defiance. A mural revealed that the Ancient Vampires - trying to maintain the integrity of the Pillars' sorcery - found and looked after the human successors of their own fallen Guardians, abducting them if necessary. When the successors came of age, they would be turned into vampires too. Apparently Mortanius had been unwilling to submit to this fate. With Moebius, he led a human revolt against the Ancient Vampires.

In Defiance, Raziel found Mortanius in the Blood Omen era, leading the Avernus Cenobites in their worship of Hash'ak'gik. Although it wasn't shown in Defiance - probably because it would be too gory - Hash'ak'gik was used to receiving victims with their throats cut. Mortanius may have carried out this preparation personally, but we cannot be sure.

After killing Turel/Hash'ak'gik, Raziel had the chance to speak with the Necromancer in person. As Raziel approached him (in either the Spectral Realm or the Material Realm), Mortanius was apparently talking to the fledgling vampire Kain - through some magic - giving him that invitation to the Pillars "grand finale". That business concluded, Mortanius commented that "the Binding must be fragile indeed" if Raziel had "come out into the open, at last". He told Raziel that he was too late for the victory he sought. Mortanius believed Raziel was the prophesied Hylden champion, whom the Ancient Vampires had schooled him about, centuries ago.

Mortanius admitted that he and Moebius had been wrong to overthrow the Ancient Vampires. He had thought the Ancients "were simply a plague upon mankind" but he had since learned they were right, and the Pillars were holding back something far worse. His act of atonement was to create the Scion of Balance - whom he thought was also the Vampire champion - using the Heart of Darkness. He believed the Scion, Kain, would destroy the Hylden champion, return the Pillars to Vampire guardianship, and ensure the Hylden were banished forever.

Throughout the conversation, Mortanius was in constant conflict with the Dark Entity. Twice, the Hylden Lord managed to seize control and speak directly to Raziel through the Necromancer. He said that Mortanius was weakening (as all the Hylden's human hosts did), but they would soon have a stronger vessel to replace him. Until then, the Dark Entity had to be careful not to "break him". Mortanius knew that he did not have long to live. After the second emergence of the Dark Entity, he vanished. Presumably he went to confront Anarcrothe and the Fledgling Kain at the Pillars before his body gave up entirely. It can be assumed that these events progressed exactly as in Blood Omen, but it is now known that Kain did not destroy the Dark Entity then. After abandoning Mortanius' flesh, the Hylden Lord possessed the recently-resurrected Janos Audron instead.

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