Morcalavin

Overview

Morcalavin is the primary antagonist of Heretic II, and the first main antagonist in the Heretic series (outside of its expansions) who does not count himself as a member of the Serpent Riders. He is no demon, as his forebears had been, but rather a Seraph, a member of a once-great race of mages who ruled the lands of Parthoris in times past. Though the Seraphs were extremely powerful beings, their culture inexplicably went into decline with the advent of the younger races. As their bloodlines thinned, the Seraphs gradually devolved into the Sidhe, an elven race whose control over magic was significantly reduced, though still significant. Morcalavin is among the few true Seraphs remaining in the world of Parthoris, and he hopes to restore the primacy of his kind by performing the Ritual of Ascension, which will make them immortal. When he unwittingly uses a false Tome of Power in the ritual, however, his attempt ends in catastrophe. Morcalavin himself gains immortality, though his mind is shattered by the process, and he becomes maniacally obsessed with the idea of spreading disease and ruination across the lands of Parthoris.

In contrast to previous Heretic bosses, Morcalavin is not portrayed as an intrinsically evil individual. Rather, his primary flaw is his hubris, which leads him to arrogantly believe that he is single-handedly capable of returning his race to their former status, a belief which ultimately ends in his downward spiral into madness. After Corvus restores the Seraph's sanity by replacing Morcalavin's false Tome with the real one, he expresses genuine remorse for the actions he committed while under the influence of his self-induced insanity. As he leaves the realm of Parthoris, he implores Corvus to right the wrongs he committed, so that the lands and peoples therein might recover from the plague and prosper once more.