Barlowe

'''"How dare you! Even forget... Who raised you! You... stupid disciple!"

- Barlowe when teleporting and attacking '''

Barlowe is the central antagonist of the Castlevania game Order of Ecclesia. He is the adoptive father and mentor of the primary protagonist Shanoa and her friend Albus. He appears at first as a wise man dedicated to protect the world, but he is in fact a disturbed fanatic who wishes to resurrect Dracula at the cost of his disciple's life. His name is likely a reference to Kurt Barlowe, the vampire from Stephen King's book, Salem's Lot.

After Richter Belmont, and later Alucard, defeated Shaft and Dracula, the Belmonts mysteriously vanished, leaving others to handle the threat of the King of the Night's upcoming return.

Barlow is the founder of the Order of Ecclesia, an order of mages able to cast spells through the use of magical symbols known as Glyphs. Some day, he came into possession of a relic that keeps Dracula sealed away and unable to return. Whether he was once determined to destroy Dracula for good but got corrupted by the Count's foul energy radiating from the seal, or has always been a fanatic hiding his true goal behind a facade of benevolence is never fully explained.

Barlowe told his disciples that the seal was the remains of Dracula, and that should it be destroyed, it would prevent Dracula from resurrecting forever. He had also harnessed Dracula's power into three powerful Glyphs called Dominus, which he presented to his disciples as the only way to destroy the Count's remains. Finally, he raised Shanoa so that she could one day perform the deed. Little did she know that Dominus consumes the life of its user, which would also remove her as an obstacle after she fulfills her purpose.

During the night when Shanoa was about to use Dominus, Albus, who had apparently gone rogue, stole Dominus and fled. In fact, Albus knew that using Dominus was lethal and wanted to spare Shanoa from such a fate. He also suspected that Barlowe had ulterior motives and that Dominus was better left unused. But Barlowe ordered Shanoa to locate Dominus and, if possible, bring Albus back.

Should Shanoa defeat Albus without rescuing enough captive villagers, she will return Dominus to Ecclesia without suspecting anything and trigger the bad ending of the game. In this scenario, Shanoa uses Dominus and dies, fulfilling her secret purpose. However, Barlowe's treachery and Dracula's return are only slightly hinted.

If on the contrary the requirements for the good ending are met, Albus will warn Shanoa not to use Dominus with his dying breath. She will then refuse to obey Barlowe, who will reveal his true colours, claiming that since humans' malice keeps bringing Dracula from the grave, it is them who call for his return and wish to live under his rule. After Shanoa defeats him, he sacrifices his own life to resurrect Dracula. As such, Shanoa has no other choice than to storm the newly risen Castlevania, risking her life to challenge the Count with Dominus.

Barlowe is a highly powerful mage who can put up a serious challenge. He flies around the room surrounded by his magical grimoires, which he uses to cast several spells: "Ustio", which launches several homing fireballs in succession; "Tonitrus", which surrounds him with a sphere of electricity before he charges at Shanoa while laughing madly; "Globus", which can be stolen from him and sends two purple energy balls that bounce against walls; and "Glacius", a dangerous spell that freezes the entire floor and can only be avoided by jumping at the right timing. Should Shanoa get caught by "Glacius", Barlowe will strike her with a lightning spell that she won't be able to dodge.

When damaged enough, Barlowe will start using his most dangerous attack: He teleports and dashes at Shanoa from the left and right sides of the screen, trying to strike her with magic-infused punches that deal crippling damages. He charges around five time in succession, each time from a different side; while cursing Shanoa for forgetting what he has done for her, highlighting his delusion.