"I recognized these two as my former brethren... in life, as Sarafan; and in unlife, as Kain's vampire 'sons'. Melchiah and Zephon, the weakest of Kain’s brood... These bastards had no idea what future lay in store for them – how they would become the very thing they so despised. The Reaver hummed with ravenous anticipation – Janos had called it a 'vampiric' blade, endowed with the power to drain its victims of their lifeblood. I was eager to see what the Reaver would do to these two..."
When Raziel reached the Cloister area, portcullises sealed the exits and he was he was confronted by the first pair of inquisitors - Melchiah and Zephon. Unlike other 'boss' battles in the series, the battles with the inquisitors had no puzzle aspect to them and were treated the same as any regular combat encounter - albeit against incredibly powerful opposition and with Raziel invincible due to the effects of the Reaver.[Soul Reaver 2][Soul Reaver 2/9]
At a distance all the inquisitors would walk slowly, while in direct combat Melchiah had power, speed, health and defensive capabilities far exceeding that of ordinary enemies. Armed with a pike, Melchiah was a mid-range fighter (broadly comparable to Sarafan warrior pikemen, though with an extended range due to the longer pike weapon), attacking viciously and often with a series of jabbing and sweeping strikes, frequent lunges and relentless blocking, but also being somewhat vulnerable to counters and lunges himself. Appearing together with Zephon also allowed Melchiah to double-team Raziel, preventing any offensive maneuvers on his part. With Raziel's Health coil sustained by the Reaver, any damage was healed almost immediately, making the defeat of the inquisitors inevitable. Upon Melchiah's death his soul was released but quickly rose away, and when both inquisitors were defeated Raziel reflected on the Reaver's new-found power to make him invincible before heading further into the stronghold and confrontations with the other inquisitors.[Soul Reaver 2][Soul Reaver 2/9][Soul Reaver 2 strategy guide (Prima)]
Notes[]
The battles against the warrior inquisitors in Soul Reaver 2 are arguably not true boss encounters. Unlike battles against major characters in other titles in the series, these battles were confined to a final 'rush' at the climax of the game, contained only regular combat with no puzzle element, conferred no special abilities upon completion and did not mark the end of 'levels' - apparently efforts by developers to avoid the artificial nature of levels and boss battles. The final rush arguably begins at the onset of Blade of Vengeance, as after leaving Janos Audron's Retreat Raziel is confronted by increasingly difficult battles against various Demons utilizing Combat barriers (each similarly marked by a cutscene), culminating in the battles with the inquisitors.[Soul Reaver 2][Soul Reaver 2/9]
In game files, textures used for Melchiah are labelled as "melchiah" and "mrd_mel".[Soul Reaver 2]
The Sarafan Melchiah mural in the Chapter House in the Pre-Blood Omen era
With Melchiah's death, the Reaver can be seen drinking his Blood and his soul can be observed departing the body. The souls of the inquisitors, destined to become lieutenants in Kain's empire, were colored blue unlike other human souls (which were yellow) and quickly rose away, unable to be consumed by Raziel or the Reaver (hinting at later revelations about the nature of the blade).[Soul Reaver 2/9] After his death, Melchiah's body was taken with the other inquisitors and interred in the Tomb of the Sarafan, providing the corpses for Kain to revive as a lieutenants a millennium later, keeping them ignorant of their human lives.[Soul Reaver 2/9][Soul Reaver/9]
Using the debug menu it is possible to skip passed the scene where Raziel gains the Reaver and battle the inquisitors unarmed without the healing effects of the Reaver, presenting a much greater gameplay challenge than the usual fight where Raziel is invincible. This allowed Raziel to enter the Spectral Realm in these locations and recover the Pikes (and swords) of the inquisitors as weapons, but did not allow Raziel to consume their souls, which were unaffected by attempts to devour them.[Soul Reaver 2][Soul Reaver 2/9]
This article is about the battle against Melchiah in Soul Reaver 2. For the boss battle against Melchiah in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, see Melchiah (Soul Reaver boss). For character details, see Melchiah.
Some questions about SR2 Sarafan at DCabDesign (by Lexy), post #3 (by Daniel Cabuco)
