Xavier Rehayem is recurring character in the Exmortis series of games. He is mentioned in Exmortis, and appears as an apparition in Exmortis 2.
Story[]
Xavier Rehayem is a researcher who, under the watching influence of the Ancient known as Vlaew, translated the Book of Exmortis from Ancient Aramaic into English, in it which recounts the history of the Ancients and the Ancient Dominion War.
Exmortis[]
Xavier and his daughter, Gwen Rehayem, moved into a small house in the woods to "escape the perils of society" and to recover from the loss of his wife, Julia Rehayem. It's stated later in the game by Xavier that tuberculosis was her cause of death. After a month, Xavier had stumbled upon an ancient book know as the Book of Exmortis.
Xavier started reading the Book and began to translate the Aramaic texts into English. Xavier's daughter Gwen, had started becoming distant. She would go for long periods of silence, just shuffling and not even talking to her father, staring blankly at him every time they met. Over time, Gwen's condition would worsen. She would explode into fits of rage, violent seizures, becoming catatonic at stages when she slept. Even Xavier started having disturbing nightmares and hallucinations, such as hearing whispering voices, seeing small movements, and the start of Vlaew's presence being known to him. Xavier would seek help, but as he went to get help, he had found himself and Gwen trapped in the house. Vlaew had trapped them both inside, and wouldn't let them leave until Xavier had finished his work.
It wouldn't be until Exmortis 2, it would be revealed in one of his books, Xavier Rehayem c. 1878, that the demons of the Exmortis were posessing his daughter, torturing her to provide "motivation" for Xavier to translate the the ancient texts. After countless days and nights of torture, Xavier had run out of options. He came to the conclusion that the only way to free Gwen from her suffering was for her to die. That night Xavier killed her, plunging a knife into her heart, believing it would free her. However, an apparition of Gwen appeared. Xavier then realized that he had only sentenced Gwen to a fate worse than death. Left with no choice, Xavier translated the remaining texts.
His task done, Vlaew had no more need for Xavier. The curse had been lifted and Xavier fled for his life.
Exmortis 2[]
In between the events of Exmortis and Exmortis 2, Xavier had managed to return to civilization. Determined to have vengeance against the Exmortis, he wrote the book "Vetus Hostillis Exmortis". It was written with instructions on how to access the Spirit Realm, a realm that Vlaew and the Exmortis had resided for eons before the events of the main games. In doing so, one could weaken and kill the Hand of Exmortis, the one being that was a bridge for the Exmortis to cross over into our world.
Xavier would later die due to an unknown cause before the events of Exmortis 2, his apparition appearing at the Lochear Field Ranch, the main setting of the game. Xavier would at first tell Joshua Hannay, the protagonist to leave, closing off all entrances in the house. As Hannay made his way through the house, Xavier would stand back and observe. Hannay had stumbled upon Xavier's two books, "Xavier Rehayem c. 1878" and "Vetus Hostillis Exmortis". Hannay would learn of the tragic history of the Rehayems and a certain ritual: "Kill five innocent people with a weapon of fire, and make the ultimate sacrifice."
After Hannay had made his way into a shaft, he was knocked unconscious by a female apparition. Xavier would reveal himself again. He had found Hannay as worthy of being entrusted with the knowledge to defeat the Hand of Exmortis. Hannay was then transported into the back room of the upstairs hallway. He then performed the ritual, and would go on to kill the Hand and cut off the Exmortis' only method of re-corporealization into the material world.
Xavier does not appear and is not mentioned in Exmortis 3.
Famous Books by Xavier Rehayem[]
So far, there are a few books by Xavier Rehayem. Here are the titles:
"The Book of Exmortis" - The translated version of the original Book of Exmortis written in the Ancient Aramaic language, tells the past, the present and the future determined by the Ancients themselves.
"Xavier Rehayem c. 1878" - Tells a story of him and his daughter being captives by the strange forces of the house.
"Vetus Hostillis Exmortis" - The same edition as the original Book of Exmortis, but it has a few changes, as well as instructions on how to get to the spirit realm.