Marcus
Marcus appeared in Blood Omen 2. He was one of the vampires acting under the command of the Sarafan Lord. He was bald, and wore a long black robe with a thin red scarf. He also wore over-elbow-length black gloves.
Kain encountered Marcus in the Upper City area of Meridian. The two were not on good terms, even before Marcus allied with the Sarafan. Some time before Kain's defeat by the Sarafan Lord, he had tried to murder Marcus, apparently attempting the act personally. Marcus escaped with his life and laid low. He joined with the Sarafan when their army triumphed over Kain's.[1]
Marcus believed Kain had attacked him that time because Kain considered him a threat, fearing his growing powers. Marcus was confident in his skills, and particularly proud of a Dark Gift he possessed: 'Charm'. He attempted to use this gift against Kain, to rob him of his free will, but it failed. However, as a side effect, he managed to glimpse Kain's thoughts. Marcus learned of his intention to find the Bishop of Meridian.[1]
Kain was drawn into a race against Marcus to see who could find the bishop first. Marcus had more success using his Dark Gift on the robed humans from the cathedral. He controlled their minds and directed them to fight against Kain. Marcus was known by the Upper City's Sarafan, and he enlisted their co-operation too, without needing to resort to psychic coercion. When Kain finally reached the bishop, he found that Marcus had indeed beaten him, and the old man was under the other vampire's control.[2]
Kain chased Marcus as he ran from the scene; he had to kill Marcus in order to free the bishop from his influence. They fell through the glass ceiling of the cathedral when it could not support their combined weight, and fought inside the impressive building.
During the fight, Marcus employed another of his abilities - invisibility - making it difficult for Kain to hit Marcus and defend against Marcus' unblockable attacks. By ringing the cathedral's bells, Kain could cause Marcus to stop and show himself, as Marcus couldn't tolerate the sound. Eventually, Marcus summoned more robed humans to aid him, and they lowered the bells, so they could no longer be struck by the ringing mechanism.[2]
The fight continued on the balcony that formed the upper floor of the cathedral. Marcus kept his distance by running from Kain, often becoming invisible, and avoiding any combat unless Kain was distracted, battling one of the humans. Marcus repeatedly called upon them to destroy Kain.[4]
Kain defeated him anyway, and by 'absorbing his veins', Kain drew the Dark Gift 'Charm' from Marcus' body after it came to rest on the altar.[3]
Further Observations
Like the vampires of Soul Reaver, Marcus appeared to have a weakness to sound, or conversely, like Turel in Defiance, his hearing may have been enhanced and therefore exceptionally sensitive. He was forced to cover his ears when Kain rang the cathedral bells during their battle, but the same noise didn't bother Kain in the slightest.
Also, it was unknown if his invisibility was a Dark Gift in its own right, or just an extension of his psychic powers; it was possible that he removed himself from Kain's vision through mental manipulation. Whatever, the ability to make himself invisible - through any means - was a useful skill to have. Marcus could also jump impressive distances, as evidenced when Kain pursued him to the roof of the cathedral. Kain had to use his 'Jump' Dark Gift (gained from Faustus) to keep up. It was not entirely surprising that Vorador had tried, many times, to persuade Marcus to join the Cabal.[5]
Marcus was either sired as a vampire by Vorador, or was otherwise descended from Vorador's bloodline.[6]
References
- The Blood Omen 2 Script (Dialogue) (Chapter 4 - The Upper City - A Question Of Faith: Seeking the Bishop)
- The Blood Omen 2 Script (Dialogue) (Chapter 4 - The Upper City - A Question Of Faith: The Race to the Bishop)
- [BO2] Umah to Kain (referring to his forthcoming encounters with the traitor vampires): "You would be lucky to survive one such encounter until you grow stronger. But should you prevail, then you will be able to absorb their veins and thus gain new abilities. To our kind, these are called the Dark Gifts."
- The Blood Omen 2 Script (Dialogue) (Chapter 4 - The Upper City - A Question Of Faith: Marcus)
- [BO2] Vorador to Kain: "Many times I attempted to persuade Marcus to join with us, but he would not heed me."
- [BO2] Kain to Vorador: "They thought once before they had destroyed us, yet you proved them wrong. You created a new race - something I could never do - and from that race, I had my army."
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