Brauner (ブローネル Burōneru) is the main antagonist of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. In 1944, he resurrected Dracula's Castle and sought to take Dracula's place as its master, launching his own campaign against humanity.
Before becoming a vampire, Brauner was an artist. He is responsible for creating the many portraits that Jonathan Morris & Charlotte Aulin must travel through to access different areas within the castle.
This dropdown contains the synopsis of Brauner’s story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!
Brauner was once a human artist whose beloved daughters were tragically killed during World War I. The immense grief and rage from this loss awakened his latent powers, leading him to embrace vampirism and seek revenge against humanity. Thirty years later, in 1944, Brauner resurrected Dracula's Castle by using the souls of the fallen from World War II. His goal was to use the castle's power to wipe out mankind. Unlike most vampires, Brauner had no loyalty to Dracula, due to his previous failures, and sought to distance himself from the Count by using his portraits to separate Dracula from the castle, trapping a portion of the monsters he controlled within them.
Eric Lecarde, a vampire hunter, ventured into the castle alone but was defeated and gravely injured by Brauner. Eric’s daughters, Loretta and Stella, entered the castle in search of their father and found him wounded. Brauner appeared behind them, believing them to be the reincarnations of his late daughters. He turned them into vampires, casting a spell to make them love him as their father, all in front of Eric, who was presumably killed afterward. Before his death, Eric bound his ghost to the castle, hoping that one day someone would come to defeat Brauner.
When Death was resurrected alongside the castle, he remained loyal to Dracula. Upon learning of Brauner's rebellion, Death began planning to remove the usurper.
Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin eventually entered the castle, where they encountered Brauner and his vampirized daughters, Loretta and Stella, in the Sandy Grave. Brauner revealed that he had no loyalty to Dracula and had sealed the Count using his paintings. He made it clear that he intended to destroy humanity on his own. As the situation escalated, Brauner told Jonathan and Charlotte to focus on dealing with Death, and then teleported away with his "daughters."
If Jonathan and Charlotte defeat the Lecarde sisters without using Sanctuary, Brauner will intervene to stop them and spirit away his daughters, pleading for mercy. When Charlotte points out that they aren't his biological daughters, Brauner claims their bond exists in their souls, not just their blood. The castle crumbles, and all three vampires escape, leading to a bad ending and game over.
However, if the duo uses Sanctuary on the Lecarde sisters and clears Brauner's remaining portraits, they will face him in his painting study. Brauner initially believes that Stella and Loretta have returned but soon realizes that Jonathan and Charlotte have infiltrated his domain. Despite being told that the Lecarde sisters have regained their senses, Brauner clings to his delusions, leading Jonathan to call him "sad." Enraged, Brauner engages in battle.
Upon his defeat, Brauner curses humanity for the World Wars and reveals that he only wanted to protect his family. However, Death arrives, kills him, and unseals Dracula, restoring the Count as the true ruler of the castle. This forces Jonathan and Charlotte into a final confrontation, where they must defeat Dracula and Death to complete their mission.
Personality
Misanthropy and Arrogance: Brauner harbored a profound hatred for humanity, viewing them as inferior and undeserving of life. His sociopathic misanthropy fueled his genocidal ambitions, and he sought to use Dracula's castle and army to bring about humanity’s destruction. His arrogance extended beyond mere disdain for others, as he considered himself superior, even looking down on Dracula for his repeated failures to resurrect. His calm demeanor and polite mannerisms were a façade used to assert his self-perceived superiority, rather than a reflection of any true respect for others.
Tragic and Insane: Like Dracula, Brauner was a tragic figure, deeply scarred by the loss of his loved ones. This tragedy warped him into a vengeful, bloodthirsty individual. His insanity reached disturbing levels when he kidnapped and manipulated the Lecarde sisters, believing them to be his daughters. He went so far as to murder their father and turn the sisters into vampires, using mind control to force them to love him as their father. His madness only intensified when Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin broke his control, pushing him further into a violent rage.
Obsessive and Delusional: Brauner’s delusions were evident in his obsession with his paintings, which he believed to be masterpieces. His maniacal excitement during the boss fight revealed the depth of his insanity, as he summoned horrific abominations from his artwork and saw them as his greatest creations. His personal studio was filled with grotesque paintings, though it remains unclear whether they reflected his art prior to his descent into madness or if they were a direct result of his spiraling mental state.
Unyielding Revenge: Brauner’s thirst for revenge was all-consuming, and once he lost control over the Lecarde sisters, his desire to reclaim them became an obsession. His anger at being thwarted by Jonathan and Charlotte manifested in a brutal drive to destroy them, intending to regain control over the sisters and restore them to their role as his 'daughters.'
Blood Art Technique: Brauner paints two large blood trails on the screen in the shape of sideways Roman numerals (II, V, or X). The trails damage the opponent on contact but can be destroyed with attacks or spells.
Paint Blobs: Releases numerous blood-like blobs from his hand that spread around him, damaging the opponent on contact.
Summon Monsters from Paintings: Brauner summons creatures from his paintings, with effects varying by color:
Green: Two giant monsters with five large appendages spin from the center of the room to the edges, inflicting Poison on contact.
Gray: Two giant ghosts, one on the ceiling and one on the ground, move to the screen's edge, inflicting Curse on contact.
Blue: Numerous cycloptic heads fly toward the opponent, inflicting Petrification on contact, lowering defenses and leaving the opponent vulnerable.
Portrait Teleport: Brauner teleports into his portrait and flies around the room. Contact with the moving portrait causes damage, similar to the Captain miniboss from Rondo of Blood.
Other
Standard Tactics
Brauner, encountered as the penultimate boss, employs an array of deadly techniques. He begins the battle with his signature move, the Blood Art Technique, painting two massive blood trails on the screen in patterns resembling Roman numerals (II, V, or X, all sideways). These trails damage upon contact but can be destroyed with attacks or spells.
Brauner follows up by summoning paint-like blood blobs from his hand, harmful on touch, and spreading them around. He can also summon monsters from a painting, with the effects depending on the painting's color:
Green: Summons two large spinning monsters with five appendages each, inflicting Poison status upon contact.
Gray: Summons two giant ghosts, one on the ground and the other on the ceiling, which inflict Curse status upon contact.
Blue: Releases numerous flying cycloptic heads that inflict Petrification status on contact, lowering defenses and leaving the player vulnerable.
Additionally, Brauner can teleport into his portrait and fly around, damaging players upon touch, in a manner reminiscent of the Captain miniboss from Rondo of Blood.
Brauner is based on real life painter Victor Brauner, a surrealist artist that often painted portraits that included signs and symbols based from a diverse range of sources, such as religion and mysticism. Eyes had been a reoccurring theme in much of his early works; in doing so, he gained a reputation of seer among the Surrealists community, also believing himself to be one. After an incident where he lost the sight of his left eye, his work became more introspective and symbols such as a prophetic cyclops eye became common. Likewise, one of the vampire Brauner's attacks in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin involves summoning Cyclops' heads, and the big painting on the canvas in his studio has many eyes, among other macabre imagery.
Even though Brauner is a vampire who seeks Humanity's destruction and uses the souls of those who died in World War II to revive Dracula's Castle, he does not seek to revive (nor does he intend to serve) Dracula, who he keeps under a seal, instead taking the castle's power and army for himself. The reason Brauner does not revive Dracula is because of his constant failures to destroy Humanity. Brauner is one of a handful of monsters/vampires who do not serve Dracula (such as the Frozen Half and the Time Reaper) and is opposed to Dracula's status as Dark Lord (similar to Galamoth).
Ironically, Dracula is partially responsible for the deaths of Brauner's two daughters (which fueled Brauner's hatred for Humanity), as Dracula's niece, Elizabeth Bartley, had the Crown Prince of Austria assassinated, leading Europe into the chaos of World War I (which took the lives of Brauner's two daughters) in order to revive her uncle, only for both to be defeated by John Morris and Eric Lecarde (the same man Brauner would later murder). Brauner, however, apparently held Humanity responsible for the war (it is unknown if he was aware of Bartley's role in starting the war or not) that led to the deaths of his beloved daughters.
In a further level of irony, Brauner's English voice actor, Jamieson Price, voiced Walter Bernhard, who ended up being manipulated by Mathias Cronqvist into allowing him to become Dracula, with Death even playing a major role in his final defeat.
In addition, both Brauner and Dracula became vampires for the exact same reason: Both did so due to sadness over the loss of loved ones (as Mathias became Dracula due to the death of Elisabetha Cronqvist, while Brauner became a vampire because of his daughters' deaths during World War I), and both even developed genocidal views against Humanity for similar reasons (although in Brauner's case, it was the same reason he became a vampire, while with Dracula, it was the death of his second wife Lisa Tepes at the hands of humans that resulted in his genocidal actions against Humanity).
Despite being enemies, both Brauner and Eric Lecarde have lost loved ones due to the actions of Elizabeth Bartley. She turned Eric's lover, Lucy Seward, into a vampire who Eric was forced to destroy, and started the war which took the lives of Brauner's daughters (whose souls Brauner believed had been reincarnated into Eric's two daughters, Stella and Loretta).
Brauner's overall design seems to be based on both Count Orlok, the main antagonist of the 1922 Gothic horror film Nosferatu, and Count Olrox from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. While in fact Olrox was primarily inspired by the film's character, Brauner only wears a purple-colored Victorian apparel similar to Olrox's; the rest of his physical features (face, pointy ears and thin hands with long nails) along with the design of his suit (which now portrays a larger collar) are more reminiscent to those of Count Orlok.
These similarities are highlighted in Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, as defeating Brauner while playing as either Soma Cruz or Alucard]] sometimes has the Olrox's Suit appear as an enemy drop.
The similarities were also given a nod in Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls, where after Lucy alludes to Brauner sealing Dracula's Castle in a painting to take advantage of its magic, Genya Arikado mentions he was familiar with Olrox, yet not Brauner.
Coincidentally, both Brauner and Olrox were vampires who restored Dracula's Castle without actually serving Dracula, usurped his authority, and even ended up killed by Death with the unwitting aid of a vampire hunter.
His internal files give names to his three invocations. This is actually the Japanese phonetic pronunciation of the damage type they inflict:
Doku (毒, "poison") for the green star-shaped monster.
Noroi (呪い, "curse") for the gray ghosts.
Sekika (石化, "petrification") for the cyclops' heads.
Brauner's method of attack when he enters a painting and swoops down on the player is reminiscent of the Captain, a miniboss from Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.
Brauner is the first person to think of separating Dracula from his castle as a way of subduing him, with Genya Arikado and Julius Belmont doing something similar later on during the Demon Castle War, as Arikado commented on.
Note: Due to Death along with Dracula being the hardest fight for Jonathan and Charlotte, it is likely that Death would be able to defeat Brauner without needing to wait for Jonathan and Charlotte to weaken him.
↑Akumajou Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "I had come to destroy evil. A spectacled vampire hunter confirmed this as his duty. In front of him is a [grotesque creature] whose dreadful power can be felt. The creature appears human but the instant he looked at it, all of his body’s cells cried out in terror. “The timing is bad, church person.” Whilst listening to the words said by the [grotesque creature], the young hunter kept on reminding himself. -----I am …… I ought to be a vampire hunter."
↑Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls Chapter 9 Vessel for the Lord
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "Ever since the Middle Ages, every 100 years, this legendary castle would rise together with its master Count Dracula ----- And whenever it happens, it is said that a clan of vampire hunters will seal it.
Several hundred years have passed with battles with the [dark lord] Dracula. When suddenly, an end to it all has been foretold.
1999----- Thanks to the power of a clan in Japan, Dracula’s castle was sealed inside a [solar eclipse] to disappear forever. However, in this world, there is no such thing as forever. [They] had understood that Dracula’s regeneration cycle ought to have ended. Indeed, people have prepared for this but will it still exist?
The castle is the symbol of the chaos within humans and as long as people exist, it will not be completely sealed.
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Bestiary No. 064
↑Castlevania Judgment True Story Mode, Aeon: Aeon vs. Alucard
↑Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness Master Oldrey Cutscene
↑WN: Last question. Why does Dracula keep putting meat inside the walls of his castle?
KI: You should ask, why do they eat it! I've thought about this stuff. I've actually thought about the candles. The candles are people's souls that were taken by Death or by the vampires. In Japan there are candles that represent life. So, when you release the souls from the candles by whipping them, they give you a "thank you" present. Thank-you hearts, or thank-you holy water. The meat, I have no idea.
↑Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Bestiary No. 44
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "From the time they stepped into the mountains, Curtis and Michelle felt malicious intent in the air.
Even though it is still far away, their bodies seemed to squeal [run away]. There was definitely no room for doubt. It is certain that the [castle] exists at the back of the mountains. The church’s greatest vampire hunter, Julius Belmont must be contacted. However, the conversation jumped into the matter of the disappearance of several village children."
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "A drawbridge suspended from the main gate is seemingly welcoming Michelle’s arrival. And her body was telling her [do not go] as her leg muscles were petrified like stone."
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "“Uh……aa……Mi……chelle……” That really is no doubt an obsession. The youth had more than 28 holes penetrating his limbs and body. His heart is already starting to fail and he is desperately trying to say something amidst the darkness. “Only…… protect…… you……-----“ When he said those words he must say, the man’s soul already left his body-----becoming one of the floating spirits that wander the halls of the castle. However----- Fate did not allow it. For those people who are involved with the demon castle, even the loneliness of death seemed half hearted----- The man’s soul is pierced by a small scythe that flew in from somewhere. That scythe did not exist physically. It was a diabolic blade created by some magic and possessed a strong soul."
↑Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Bestiary No. 44
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "From the time they stepped into the mountains, Curtis and Michelle felt malicious intent in the air.
Even though it is still far away, their bodies seemed to squeal [run away]. There was definitely no room for doubt. It is certain that the [castle] exists at the back of the mountains. The church’s greatest vampire hunter, Julius Belmont must be contacted. However, the conversation jumped into the matter of the disappearance of several village children."
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "A drawbridge suspended from the main gate is seemingly welcoming Michelle’s arrival. And her body was telling her [do not go] as her leg muscles were petrified like stone."
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "“Uh……aa……Mi……chelle……” That really is no doubt an obsession. The youth had more than 28 holes penetrating his limbs and body. His heart is already starting to fail and he is desperately trying to say something amidst the darkness. “Only…… protect…… you……-----“ When he said those words he must say, the man’s soul already left his body-----becoming one of the floating spirits that wander the halls of the castle. However----- Fate did not allow it. For those people who are involved with the demon castle, even the loneliness of death seemed half hearted----- The man’s soul is pierced by a small scythe that flew in from somewhere. That scythe did not exist physically. It was a diabolic blade created by some magic and possessed a strong soul."
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