Raphael Sorel grew up as the young heir to the highly-esteemed French family of Sorel nobility. As a child, Raphael only had his rapier and medicine to be his playmates, and thus grew up fairly lonely. As a result of his loneliness, Raphael developed a fairly unemotional demeanor, which awarded him many enemies, though his quick-thinking and decision-making was able to solidify the Sorel family as a house of nobles. His life, though not exciting, was one of promise.
However, on the day that the young Siegfried Schtauffen picked up the evil Soul Edge blade, a terrible catastrophe struck known as the Evil Seed. Dark and evil power reigned down on the world, turning several people into rampaging demons known as the Malfested. During this, a noble that had long served the Sorel family became one of the Malfested, and Raphael was forced to kill him in self-defense. Not knowing the reason for Raphael's actions, the Sorel family was enraged and cast him out.
Almost immediately, Raphael had been fed to the dogs, and was being chased by dozens of angry pursuers. After countless fights and days of hiding from those who wished him dead, a weakened Raphael bumped into a young homeless girl named Amy, who hid Raphael from his pursuers and thus saved his life. For Amy, hiding Raphael was a very small deed motivated purely out of spite for the nobles, but for Raphael, this action marked the first time that he felt he owed somebody his life. Amy became irreplaceable to Raphael.
Out of his gratitude, Raphael decided to take Amy and help her finally leave the poverty-stricken town. However, no matter where Raphael and Amy fled to, he was unable to let Amy open up her heart to the world. Finally settling in an abandoned mansion acquired under dark pretenses, Raphael began hatching a plan to force the world into becoming something that would accept Amy.
After researching into the Evil Seed that started all of this nonsense, Raphael finally traced it back to the legendary Soul Edge, which was still currently in the hands of Siegfried, now known as the Azure Nightmare. This sword had the power to change the world, and Raphael needed to retrieve it for Amy above all else. Making haste, with rapier in-hand, Raphael bid farewell to Amy and headed to confront Siegfried in Ostrheinsburg.
The battle between Raphael and Nightmare was legendary, as Raphael's incredibly strong ambition pulled him through despite Nightmare's overwhelming power. Eventually, however, Soul Edge became too much. Raphael was dealt terrible wounds, and lay prone to whatever strike Nightmare chose to be the finisher. However, unbeknownst to Raphael, Siegfried fought against Nightmare for just a moment within his mind, and prevented the killing blow. Raphael saw the small opening as Nightmare faltered, and unleashed one desperate strike of his rapier.
As luck would have it, Raphael's blade hit true, and pierced Soul Edge directly in its eye. As Nightmare writhed in pain from the attack, Raphael succumbed to his wounds and fainted. Many hours later, when Raphael awoke, he was astonished that Nightmare had disappeared without finishing him off. Raphael dragged his grievously wounded body back to Amy, who immediately put him under extensive care.
As Raphael was being treated, however, he did not notice the peculiarity of the wounds he suffered. The evil energy radiating off of Soul Edge, which struck Raphael's body countless times, was getting into his wounds and infecting him with Malfestation. Amy, who had been closely treating Raphael, found herself infected as well. With the two of them becoming Malfested vampires, Raphael took Amy and fled with her to an abandoned castle in Wallachia.
Amy had now become a creature who could not interact with anyone of the normal world, and this infuriated Raphael. He sought beyond anything to create a world for her in which she could live a normal life, and so his plans had now changed. If everyone became Malfested, as they had, then Amy would finally be able to fit in. To reach this goal, Raphael began slowly infecting entire towns.
The plan was working, until suddenly all of Raphael's efforts had been undone. Every town he had infected, was suddenly being cured by a mysterious Holy Stone. This Holy Stone, directly connected to the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, became Raphael's new focus. If he could destroy it, or better yet, if he could obtain it, then the power to create a world suitable for he and Amy would be his.
Eventually, enraged soldiers heard of Raphael's wickedness and discovered that he'd been hiding out in the abandoned castle. They stormed the castle, and impeded on Raphael's journey. He said a wistful goodbye to Amy, promising he would return in one way or the other, and confronted the soldiers at the base of the castle.
It is unknown how Raphael fared against these soldiers, or how far into the quest for Soul Calibur he got. It is known, however, that Amy and Raphael never saw each other again. Raphael was killed on his journey, and his body had been seized by the minions of Soul Edge. Due to his strong determination and incredible skill while he was still alive, Raphael's corpse was seen as a suitable puppet for Soul Edge.
Soul Edge revived Raphael, but found that his willpower was so incredibly unwavering that it could not take hold of him the way it desired. In a desperate attempt to retain the exact same Nightmare form it had taken while possessing Siegfried, Soul Edge rewrote some of Raphael's memories, and turned him into a wielder of a great-sword instead of a rapier. Furthermore, Soul Edge transformed Raphael into a man known as Dumas.
With no memories of his past or his previous ambitions to create a new world for Amy, Raphael was a shell of his former self. Still, his willpower was so strong that even altering his memories could not completely destroy who he was, and so his ambition to change the world overwrote Soul Edge's ambition to destroy the world. The terrifying creature known as Nightmare had changed from a destructive force of nature, into a war-mongering manipulator.
As Dumas, Raphael made his way to the Holy Roman Empire, where his knack for manipulation quickly brought him into the inner circle of Emperor Rudolf II. He was able to convince the Emperor that the Holy Roman Empire should reclaim the territories it had lost to the Ottoman Empire, and sparked up a large-scale war as a result. Dumas was given position as Count in Hungary, granting him the title of Graf Dumas.
While leading Hungary, Graf Dumas came across a young boy by the name of Patroklos Alexander, who showcased unmatched swordsmanship and was easily manipulated. In order to reach his own goals, Graf Dumas claimed that he would assist Patroklos in finding his long-lost sister Pyrrha, who had been taken by the Malfested. Dumas was thus able to manipulate Patroklos into killing innocent civilians, who he claimed were Malfested.
After Patroklos learned the truth of Dumas's manipulation, however, he left his service and went out to search for Pyrrha on his own. But once Pyrrha was found, Graf Dumas reappeared to him, and revealed himself as the new Azure Knight, Nightmare. Although temporarily stopped by the Malfested Pyrrha, Nightmare is still able to wreak havoc, as he leads an army into war on Central Europe.
Eventually, Graf Dumas makes his way to Castle Denevér, where he is intercepted by a young werewolf named Z.W.E.I., who sought revenge on him. After an intense and bloody battle between Nightmare and the werewolf, Z.W.E.I. manages to come out on top. Nightmare is seemingly killed, his body vanishing and leaving Soul Edge behind.
Freed from the grasp of Soul Edge, however, the old persona of Raphael awakens from behind the mask of Graf Dumas. Raphael, dazed and confused, awakens in a dark dungeon cell. He discards the Azure Knight's armor, finally leaving the prison with rapier in hand. Now an amnesiac, Raphael had no idea what was going on or how he ended up where he was. The singular memory that remained was of Amy, his foster-daughter who he had not seen since he left her in their castle.
With one singular goal in mind, to get back to Amy, the confused Raphael set out of the prison and continued on with his journey to make the world into what he thought was a better place. A force of madness was loose upon the world, a man who would stop at nothing to find his beloved.Raphael, the cold, cruel head of the Sorel family, is known for his fencing prowess and deep knowledge of medical science. Though still young, he has survived numerous plots and venomous political strife to establish his family as part of the ruling elite.
However, when the Evil Seed occurred, a noble that he had backed went violently insane, and attempted to kill the king. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity to strike, Raphael's political enemies blamed him for the incident, and attacked his Paris home. Betrayed one by one by those around him, Raphael fled to his birthplace, Rouen, in order to mount a counterattack.
Though he arrived safely after shaking off his pursuers, he did not get the welcome he had hoped for...
A young girl from the slums had saved Raphael's life. For Raphael, who had never relied on anyone but himself, having someone come to his aid was no small matter—even if his salvation was born purely of a child's whim. Amy's actions were enough to rouse emotions Raphael had long forgotten.
With the aristocracy continuing to fight their petty battles, ordinary people had all but surrendered their spirit and given up on life. Like animated corpses, their lives were drained of all meaning and joy... Instead, Raphael decided it best to seek refuge with Amy in the land where the sun never sets: Spain.
As they wandered through Spain like nomads, Raphael sharpened his blade skills while also teaching Amy some techniques. However, with his enemies a constant threat, he felt his and Amy's nomadic lifestyle would do her more harm than good, and so took the risk of crossing the border back into France...
After crossing the mountains, Raphael and Amy arrived at a citadel in the south of France. To ensure her safety, it occurred to Raphael that she would need a decent home and financial security. So, disguising his real name, he became a servant to the wealthy Lord Dumas. After a long time serving as a servant, Raphael became Lord Dumas's protégé, though he was told he could only inherit Dumas's estate under one condition.
"That girl. Amy, is it? She is not your daughter, correct? If you are to become my son, you should send her away... to an orphanage perhaps." Lord Dumas proclaimed. Although Raphael appeared happy by the offer on the surface, deep down he knew that abandoning Amy would be as though he forfeited his own life. In a quiet rage, Raphael accepted the conditions, but invited Lord Dumas to tea.
"I shall toast to the death of those who come between Amy and I!" Raphael became Lord Dumas's adopted son, declaring that his relatives had "gone on a long journey." His previous efforts to gain everybody's trust had paid off, as not one soul doubted him. The mansion of Lord Dumas was now his, and Amy remained at his side.
In the mansion's library, Raphael soon came across the enlightened writings of someone who called themselves a "Scholar of the Future." Deeply intrigued, he pored over the words, a great plan forming in his mind...
The day has long come to an end as Raphael leaves the reading room in the outbuilding and heads for his main house. Every step he took as he hurried toward his dear Amy, his legs became heavier. The familiar walk felt longer than usual, as though it was leading to somewhere different.
The so-called Scholar of the Future stood before him. Raphael explained his plan, pausing to ask questions about the cursed sword from time to time. But he was aware that at any moment, a fight to the death might erupt.
Before Raphael knew it, the strange man was gone... and he was following the spiral staircase up to Amy's room. Though the medicine vial was new to him... it felt as though he had carried it all his life. So began the grand yet perverse plan, devised by one for the sake of another. When a twisted soul seeks the cursed sword, the cogs of history once again begin to turn...