Esperius

Esperius (エスペリウス) is the High Priest of the Church of Bardus and resides in the Cathedral. He is the one who gave Avin and Eimelle a home in the Cathedral.

Background
Esperius is experienced and powerful. He protects those under his care to the best of his ability to the point of sacrificing his own life to do what he can. He is also the instructor for Avin and Eimelle.

Past
During the Octum's Apostles invasion of the Cathedral, Belias had found Eimelle and attempts to force her into their hands. However, Esperius appears and tells her to run away as he attempts to stop Belias. He is able to eliminate some of the apostles, but he is still outnumbered by the amount of apostles and is eventually overpowered by the magic of Belias. He questions Belias on why he defected to an evil force when he was such a good oracle. Belias replies with a claim that Bardus is evil for bringing them false peace. Before he finally succumbs to his wounds, Esperius is disappointed by Belias and says he is possessed. His attempt at stopping Belias only served as a short distraction as he easily catches up with the Avin, Eimelle, and Olecia. He would have captured them if it were not for Gawain.

During Avin's visit to Underworld through a dream in the Ice Temple, Esperius is the first dead spirit that approaches him. Esperius blames himself for letting the Cathedral fall into the hands of Belias due to his incompetence. He apologizes to Avin for the suffering he and Eimelle went through. Before Avin could say anything to him, Esperius' spirit starts to fade away while repeatedly apologizing to Avin.

Esperius appears a second time as a dead spirit. He reveals that Belias, who was supposed the be the next High Priest, had went against the Bardus Church after seeing a revelation in Verusisla. He also explains that Eimelle is the key to open the Underworld Gate and Belias has taken her to the Sealed Land. Esperius blames himself for what happened to Belias, then apologizes to Avin once again for being the cause of everything that has happened. However, Avin replied by thanking him for everything he has done and he should no longer blame himself. Esperius was finally able to rest in peace.

Gameplay
Esperius had once been very powerful, but his strength had diminished significantly over time. His magic abilities are still quite powerful as he was able to eliminate some of the Octum's Apostles during the Cathedral invasion. He is able to defend against magic through the use of a magic shield. His strongest spell is a large beam of blue light that pierces through enemies.

Trivia

 * He was the one who asked Oldman Karaba, Archem's grandfather, to watch over Wood Nymph Forest.
 * Esperius was succeeded by High Priest Croire.