Mathias Cronqvist

Mathias Cronqvist was Leon Belmont's good friend. In the world of knights who lack education, he was a genius tactician who is even called Cronqvist the Wise. Because Mathias' family had books recording secret arts transmitted orally concerning alchemy, a science that experiments with the arcane, Mathias himself had a detailed knowledge of alchemy. His beloved wife, Elisabetha, died from illness while he was on an expedition. Mathias was grief stricken and bedridden and Leon was forced to continue the campaigns without his friend. When Leon's beloved was kidnapped, Mathias told him that it was the doing of a vampire who had a castle in the east.

In fact, Mathias had deceived Leon and was not likely really bed-ridden. In deep mourning, Mathias devised a plan to take revenge on God for stealing Elisabetha by becoming a vampire and living eternally. He used Leon, Rinaldo, Sara, and even Walter and his monsters, and using the Crimson Stone and a vampire's soul, he was reborn. He then offered Leon to join him and become immortal, because Leon suffered the same loss. Leon refused and vowed instead that his clan would forever hunt him. As time went on, Mathias renamed himself Dracula, taken from the romanian word "dracul" meaning dragon and devil. For more details on his later life, see Dracula.

Trivia

 * The name "Mathias Cronqvist" may be a reference to Matthias Corvinus, the King of Hungary. Matthias Corvinus had Vlad III Dracula as his vassal, at times, and once as a prisoner; this connection to the historical Dracula may have influenced the way IGA chose to name his antagonist.
 * The reasons for Mathias's fall and metamorphosis seem to be strongly inspired by Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula film of 1992, based on Bram Stocker's Dracula. Both Mathias and Coppola's Dracula renounce God and seek and obtain immortality out of anger at the death of their wives. While Elisabetha Cronqvist does not commit suicide, she does pass away while Mathias is away 'fighting in God's name'. (It has been proposed that this was during the First Crusade, however this is not possible as according to game canon Elizabetha died in 1093, one year before the events of the game - Pope Urban did not call the First Crusade until the 27th of November, 1095.) Further, she shares the name of Dracula's wife in the film. This theme would be later used in the Lords of Shadow reboot series during Gabriel's fall to darkness and his transformation into Dracula.
 * Mathias's English voice actor, Crispin Freeman, supplies the voice for Hector, main protagonist of Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. He also supplies the voice for vampire Alucard in the anime series Hellsing (In which Alucard is really Dracula himself).
 * His surname, Cronqvist, is Swedish in origin and means "crown twig".