Abbot Emmanuel

, often referred to simply as The Abbot, is a character in the Netflix original animated series, Castlevania: Nocturne. He is the highest clergy representative of the town of Machecoul and has great political influence, often mediating between the town's inhabitants and the aristocracy. However, he won't hesitate to resort to extreme measures if with this he can perpetuate his power, all under the excuse of aiming for a greater good in the end. He is introduced as an ally, but eventually revealed to be a major antagonist of the show.
He is voiced by Richard Dormer.
==History==
Abbot Emmanuel hails from Malta, place where he presumably founded the order of the Knights of Saint John, fierce soldier monks who accompanied him to France time ago and whose main tasks are to keep peace in the community, but also to serve as his personal spies.
Aware of the danger that looms over the Church with the ongoing revolution, where priests and aristocrats alike are being overthrown and executed, and seeing how the absence of the Church's guidance would only lead the people to anarchy –not to mention losing the many privileges power brings with itself–, the Abbot desperately seeks to preserve his institution's political status, even if that means sacrificing a few lives if with that he can achieve what he considers to be a greater good. However, according to Tera, Emmanuel was once kind and not the fanatic clergyman he is today, evidently trusting there's still some good in him.
The Abbot makes his first appearance when monster hunters, Richter Belmont and Maria Renard, visit his abbey in the commune of Machecoul after having fought three vampires earlier that night. They are granted audience with him, even if they are aware the Church doesn't look with good eyes those of their kind. Apart from informing him about the aforementioned event, they also let him know their suspicions about how the Marquis could be involved in this and how the vampires could be gathering at his château, the Vendée. The Abbot replies that's impossible, as the Marquis is a pillar of the community, but that nonetheless, he'll have his spies on the lookout for any eventuality.
Richter, Maria and Tera are later attacked by night creatures at their house on the nearby hills, and during the fight they meet two new allies, Annette and Edouard. The next night, the heroes head to investigate the château, but are discovered by the vampires and Edouard gets killed. After the fight, his body is thrown on a pile of other dead bodies gathered there, and the night creatures then take them through sea and land to the abbey, where it is finally revealed the Abbot is colluded with them. The bodies are carried down to the catacombs, where lies an enormous and mysterious machine. Edouard's body is introduced in the contraption, and moments later he emerges resurrected as a horrible night creature.
Two days later, vampire emissary Drolta Tzuentes, escorted by the Marquis, heads to the abbey to carry out negotiations with the priest. It is then revealed the vampires had been providing him with fresh dead bodies so he could turn them into night creatures for their army, as he is secretly a Forgemaster, in exchange for the Church to have more influence in the aristocracy, as well as to help them abolish the ongoing revolution.
The group then descend into the cellars so Drolta can inspect the already created night creatures, although there they clash with Richter, Maria, Annette and Tera, who had also broken into the cellars via a secret passageway. A battle ensues between both groups, but when Drolta is about to finish off Maria, Emmanuel stops her and reminds her that the slaughter of children wasn't part of their bargain. Additionally, the vampire Olrox had also infiltrated the cellars earlier that day, where he discovered and stole the Abbot's Enochian spell book, which is actually the tool he uses to gather souls from Hell and make his machine to work.
The next day, Emmanuel pays a visit to Tera at her house to try to explain his reasons, and it is during this conversation where it is finally revealed he is Maria's father. Dismayed, Maria doesn't want to hear anything more about it and leaves, although Emmanuel promises Tera he will keep their daughter safe.
That night, the vampire queen Erzsebet Báthory finally arrives to France, and during her procession through the town, Drolta notices the Abbot and Maria together, immediately realizing she is his daughter.
The following day, the Abbot visits the Vendée to polish the final aspects of their negotiations with the vampires, and also to show her some of the night creatures he has already created. The conversation slowly starts adopting a tense tone and Drolta finally suggests Báthory the Abbot should do something to prove his complete loyalty to her: sacrifice his own daughter. That night, Maria, apparently looking to commune with her newfound father, heads to the abbey, but the fanatical priest takes her prisoner instead and prepares to sacrifice her to Báthory. Having been informed by Mizrak of this, Richter, Tera and himself make haste to the abbey to stop this from happening. They manage to rescue Maria and they all fight against the Abbot's night creatures, as well as Drolta and her vampire minions. However, Báthory eventually arrives to the abbey as well and she easily defeats the heroes. Tera then proposes Báthory to take her instead and to let Maria go, to which the vampire queen agrees, much to Emmanuel's dismay.
==Appearance==
Emmanuel is a tall, slender, fair skinned man with slicked back blond hair, some of it graying. He wears a black cassock with a white cross across his chest, and sometimes wears a black cape with a golden neck buckle during strolls through town doing either the Church or personal affairs.
==Personality==
Abbot Emmanuel initially seems like a kind and compassionate man, as befits a priest. He speaks kindly, and of keeping the peace, as well of speaking of his religious followers as if he knows them personally. However, he is also something of a delusional fanatic. When he was told by Báthory to give something up to prove his loyalty, he thought he had to kill someone he loved. He trussed up his daughter Maria over his altar as if to sacrifice her, but when he was stopped by Richter, he expressed shock that God did not send an angel to stop him or a ram to die in Maria's place (as in the story of Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac). More generally, he dislikes, and ultimately sides with vampires against the French Revolution (the revolutionaries had been repressing religious faiths, and even instituted an atheistic state religion called the Cult of Reason).
==Powers and abilities==
Emmanuel is secretly a Forgemaster; he possesses some knowledge in magic and uses an Enochian spell book to channel souls from Hell to power up a machine with which he can create night creatures.
He also may be stronger than he seems, as he was able to restrain Drolta with one hand when she was attempting to attack Maria during their encounter in the abbey's cellars.
==Appearances==
==Quotes==
*"Oh, Maria. It breaks my heart to hear you like this, parroting the phrases of the Godless mob."
*"But I pray for you. And for you, Richter Belmont. I know how much pain is in your soul. How much sadness and loss."
*"This so-called Revolution, it's not a struggle for the right of man. It's an abomination, an affront to the natural order, to common decency, above all, to God and his church. My own holy order, the Knights of Saint John, founded to protect pilgrims in the wars for the Holy Land, has been commanded to submit to the blasphemous, Godless state. We would rather die. But whatever atrocities they commit in the names of their sacrilegious future, the days of this abomination will soon be over. A deliverer is at hand. A new Joan of Arc, a mighty warrior queen to lead us to salvation. She will raise a holy army of the righteous to crush the blasphemers. In the name of God." ("Horror Beyond Nightmares")
*"This revolution, it speaks of something it calls reason, but only God can save yours souls. They burn Catholic churches and destroy statues of Mary and the saints, and call it reason. I call it the work of the devil." ("Freedom was Sweeter")
:-Emmanuel: "I'm building an army."
:-Maria: "And fighting the wrong side. With vampires."
:-Emmanuel: "I'm making the alliances I have to for now. And the sacrifices."
:— ("The Natural Order")
:-Emmanuel: "How many times does the entire course of history come down to the choice of just one man? Constantine. Charlemagne. Me. Who knows what further abominations this revolution will bring?"
:-Tera: "If your God is as powerful as you say, he doesn't need you to fight for him. You're not doing this for the sake of the Church, you're doing this for the sake of your own vanity." 
:-Emmanuel: "I've often thought about Judas. Traitor. Turncoat. But what would have happened if he hadn't done what he did? Was the whole world saved because of one man's betrayal?"
:— (Emmanuel talking about Judas, the infamous betrayer of Christ, while trying to justify his actions to Tera and Maria in "The Natural Order")
*"I promise you, Tera. I will keep her safe." (Promising Tera that he'll protect their daughter in "The Natural Order")
*"To you, O Lord, I call. Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee. And hide not thy servant. For I am in trouble. Hear me speedily, when I raised my hands to thy holy oracle. Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations. They have defiled the dwelling place of thy name. Rise up, O God, and defend your cause. Though my steps have well-nigh slipped. O Lord, do not be silent" (Praying to God in "Blood is the Only Way")
*"And God said, 'Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt offering.' And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife. And Isaac said 'My father.' And he said, 'Here am I, my son.'... And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. Where is the ram, Tera? Why didn't God send a ram to die in her place?" ("Devourer of Light")
*"Everything I do is for God." ("Devourer of Light")
*"I promised you someone I love. You have that. Let the others go. You need me. This is an alliance. You can't crush the revolution without me." ("Devourer of Light")
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*The Abbot seems to fill the role of Shaft to some extent in the series, a recurring antagonist from the Castlevania series who was introduced in Rondo of Blood, which Nocturne takes inspiration from. He is a corrupt priest colluded with the forces of evil. Further supporting this possible reference, the scene where he attempts to sacrifice Maria could be analogous to how Shaft was about to steal the original Maria's magical powers in the game before being rescued by Richter Belmont.
*The Abbot may be way stronger than he seems. In the episode "Horrors Rising from the Earth", he is seen stopping Drolta Tzuentes with only one hand when she was about to strike Maria.
==See also==
*Bishop - A similar character in the Castlevania animated series.
==References==
==External links==
*Abbot Emmanuel at the Villains Wiki
Category:Antagonists
Category:Devil Forgemasters (animated series)
Category:Humans
Category:Male Characters
Category:Priests and Priestesses
Category:Nocturne Characters
Category:Nocturne Season 1 Characters