Shaft

Shaft (ja. シャフト) is a dark priest from Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Character history
In 1792, Shaft resurrected Dracula and aided him in his plans to kidnap several young women, including Maria Renard and Annette. Richter Belmont encountered him at least once in his adventure, and Shaft was defeated after conjuring several monsters previously fought by Simon Belmont. Exclusively in Dracula X Chronicles, Shaft's final fate depends on the hero's actions. If Richter or Maria failed to rescue Annette, she took the place of Shaft's Ghost as the boss of Stage 7, and Shaft's Ghost survives, arriving before Dracula is killed and protecting him long enough for him to escape. If Annette is rescued, Shaft's Ghost is fought properly and destroyed.

Shaft would come to exist only as a spirit transferred and kept in a crystal ball.

In 1797, He kidnapped Richter and brainwashed him, knowing no mortal could defeat him because he was the strongest of all vampire hunters. Shaft was instrumental in using his evil powers to control Richter, turning him against anyone who would seek to defy the Count (unbeknownst to Maria and Alucard). Maria guessed that he was under supernatural coercion and helped Alucard see past Shaft's deceptions. Alucard was able to save Richter instead of killing him and put an end to the dark priest's ambitions.

Abilities

 * Magic Mastery: Shaft can use many types of magic attacks, most of which are fire, ice, or lightning-based. Shaft usually uses his magic through his orbs.
 * Summoning the Dead: Like the Necromancer, Shaft can resurrect the dead.
 * Immortality: Shaft can be killed, like Death and Dracula, but he can return in ghost form.

Shaft's Ghost
The penultimate boss of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, Shaft manages to cheat death itself for one last shot at you. When you enter the cermeonial chamber, his empty cloak appears on the altar, and soon comes to life. Shaft's ghost attacks mainly by flying around the room, continually pausing to summon the rotting remains of two past enemies: The Wyvern and the Behemoth. The Wyvern breathes fire and dives at the hero, while the Behemoth leaps out from the ground itself. It is unknown how Shaft managed to resurrect himself completely after this defeat in time for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night'

 * Main article: Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night/Arcade Mode

Shaft appears as an opponent in story mode of Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night. He also is available as a playable character in Arcade Mode.

Trivia

 * Carmilla's abilities in Castlevania: Dracula X are similar Shaft's own powers in Rondo of Blood.
 * Ghost on Stage 4' of Castlevania: Dracula X, is basically Shaft's equivalent in the game.
 * In Dracula X Chronicles, the remake of Rondo of Blood, Shaft's skin tone was changed to match the Symphony of the Night artwork of his ghostly self.
 * Also in Dracula X Chronicles, if the player has not yet felled his ghost, Shaft will appear after Dracula's second form is defeated. The two villains will flee, thus ending the battle and the game prematurely.
 * Dracula X Chronicles also changes the storyline of the original game somewhat by giving Shaft a somewhat larger role he was ironically responsible for detecting and unlocking Maria's magical potential (rather than Maria getting caught while trying to be a hero), and was also the one to explicitly kidnap Annette.
 * According to David Cox's post on Facebook, in Lords of Shadow universe, Zobek is an amalgamation of Shaft and Death.

Fan Speculation

 * The Necromancer from Castlevania: Circle of the Moon bears a striking resemblance to Shaft's ghost.
 * In Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, Death disguises himself as the character named Zead, who bears a resemblance to Shaft.
 * There is fan speculation that Shaft & Barlowe from Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia are related. Both of them will reference the darkness in people's hearts that long for a Dark Lord such as Dracula, and they both sacrifice themselves near the end of both their respective games in order to oversee Dracula's resurrection.