Melchior Mayvin

Melchior Mayvin
Information
Appearance	Tales of Berseria
Age	•130 (chronologically) •70 (physically)
Height	165 cm
Race	Human
Occupation	Legate Exorcist
Weapon	Orb
Japanese Voice Actor	Nobuo Tobita
English Voice Actor	Darin De Paul
Character Designer	Daigo Okumura

Melchior Mayvin (メルキオル・メーヴィン, Merukioru Meevin^?) is a secondary antagonist in Tales of Berseria. He is a legate elder from the Abbey who is well-versed in the ancient legends and a master in alchemy. His years of experience places him as an adviser for Artorius Collbrande, the head of the exorcists. It is through Melchior's efforts that the art of armatization is introduced to the world.

History

Melchior mostly works in the shadows on behalf of the Abbey, usually appearing in secluded places where he can use his illusionary abilities to the fullest extent. It is revealed late in the game that he was Magilou's foster father and served as her mentor before she left the Abbey, around ten years prior to the game's story.

When they confront him at the top of Mount Killaraus, Melchior uses the armatus and becomes Demi-Melchior (半神依メルキオル^?, "Half-Armatus Melchior").

After they subdue him, Melchior mentions that he follows the ideals of King Claudin Asgard, who was also an exorcist long ago and, according to him, stated, "Man can turn reason into disorder, but also can we surpass it. Our true power is in transcending the possible to achieve the ideal," which is why he follows "reason". In a final attempt to kill the protagonists, he attempts to cause the nearby volcano to erupt. However, Magilou casts a spell that makes flowers close to his feet to appear, which causes him to drop his guard. This gives Velvet the opportunity to use her Therion arm to eat him and the malak with which he was armatized. With his last breath, he curses Velvet for insulting Claudin's "ideals". His defeat provides Velvet with the fourth and final soul she needs to reawaken the four elemental Empyreans in order to overcome Innominat's power, and return free will to malakhim in the Abbey, with most of them leaving the exorcists who treated them as tools.

Appearance and Personality

Melchior is an elderly man with fair skin and a gray beard. His attire is comprised of a uniform befitting of the Abbey and his status within it: a long beige coat, black pants, and a large, extravagant hat, which is beige on the bottom and teal on the top. This same teal is mirrored in a sash he keeps wrapped around the torso of his coat. Melchior recognizes the importance of the exorcists' missions and that they cannot always be accomplished through good deeds, and to that point, is willing to do unpleasant deeds. Though mostly a support to the organization with strategy and resources, he himself is a powerful arte-wielder. His methods are what immediately catch the hatred of most of the party. Melchior also has a love for flowers, which Magilou ultimately uses to her advantage in the group's final confrontation with him on top of the closely-active Mount Killaraus.

Fighting Style

Cut-in image for Tales of Berseria.

Melchior is one of the most powerful illusion casters in the series, capable of escaping the party unscathed for the first few times. In battle, he fights using a floating purple orb. While able to hold his own with some original artes, he can also cast some of the more powerful spells, such as Calamity Flare.

Despite his armatus being Water-elemental, Demi-Melchior doesn't use a bow but telekinetically wields four giant quartz orbs with rings of gold where in some instances he uses them to punch his enemies, a pattern that is reminiscent of the earth armatus' hidden artes. Most of his artes are Water- and/or Earth-elemental. His mystic arte is Absolute Prison.

Gallery

Concept artwork.

Armatus artwork.

Artwork for Tales of Asteria.

Trivia

• In a skit in the game, Laphicet reads a book titled, Words and Deeds of the Hero King, in which Claudin's full statement was, "My people, you must always live with great vigor and hold hope for the world and for our future. Man can turn reason into disorder, but also can we surpass it. Our true power is in transcending the possible to achieve the ideal. My people, you must live without hesitation. Hold hope in your hearts. Hold hope for tomorrow." This seemingly infers that Melchior either misinterpreted Claudin's words or ignored the true meaning of them, as Claudin never mentioned completely ignoring one's emotions and simply following reason.
• It is implied that Melchior himself was responsible for the deaths of Celica Crowe and her unborn child, rather than Aball's inhabitants as he claimed, to motivate Artorius into rejoining the Exorcists. This interpretation can be reinforced by his manipulation of the "accident" that lead to Magilou's adoption and his convenient presence at Aball during the Opening.