Mortanius - Blood Omen 1 Version

This is the first version of Mortanius that I made. It was always the philosophy to tie the series back to its roots. Back to Soul Reaver 1, or Blood Omen 1, if possible. The facinating nature of Mortanius in Blood Omen 1 was the duality of being the most powerful wizard in Nosgoth, but with that coming at a huge price. The magic he, as Death Guardian, unearthed and perfected, used up his body, to where it was little more than a dried-out husk. Skin stretched over bone, barely kept alive due to his longevity as the Death Guardian. When you add that along with also being tortured and used up from the Hylden Lord’s possession in Defiance, this frail, worn down outcome is even more appropriate. As Blood Omen 1 also showed later in Kain’s travels, ones of the additional armors that he picks up is the Flesh Armor, so here, we see a version of that armor Mortanius has made his own. It’s molded and stitched to the upper leather and bone pauldrons – the leather, itself, stretched over demonic bones. Ultimately, because there are other tie-ins that were already in the works before we started working on this remaster, it was decided we needed to stick a bit closer to Defiance’s look for the default experience. However, this exists now for those who wish to see Mortanius’ Blood Omen 1 incarnation brought into the modern gaming experience for players. I love them both, but this the foremost vision I had for him and wins out as a slight favorite from me!

His death mask went through a few incarnations before the final version. Unlike the Defiance version, this incarnation is Mortanius magically removing his very skin and flesh to reveal what’s left of the muscle and bone underneath. The eyes glow red, as we see when he uses his powers in Blood Omen. The final design is the combination of what worked, as in taking away too much showing nothing but skull just didn’t fully work and I had to remember that I could only add meshes on top as the mask. A portion of his face can’t actually be masked away for something underneath. This final look has the best option while still allowing him to emote. This more macabre version truly brings back the twisted, gritty horror infused in Blood Omen. The red in his uniform is from the flesh armor, exposed veins, with ribs pulled out, held together by tendrils of flesh. The cape and hood black as night, no fine silks or velvet here. Sandals held fast to his feet with bloody skin and the sash across his waist also flayed skin with glowing runes etched into them. Even his fingernails and toenails elongated and showing signs of decay. I hope you enjoy this version of Mortanius!