Valkenhayn R. Hellsing

Valkenhayn R. Hellsing is Rachel Alucard's elderly butler and trusted adviser who has served the Alucard family line for generations. He is a playable character starting with BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II.

Information
Valkenhayn has been the butler to the Alucard family of vampires for centuries. He possesses a sharp wit and is concerned for Rachel's well-being. Valkenhayn seems to be worried about Rachel associating with things below her class (particularly Ragna the Bloodedge, although others might apply), but he usually acts in a sophisticated and gentlemanly manner. Judging from comments frequently dropped by Rachel, he seems to have once been a vigilante himself.

He has shown a savage temper on occasion, mainly seen during battle. During Continuum Shift he lost his temper after Hazama insulted Rachel, his voice deepened and his teeth sharpened into fangs.

Valkenhayn appears to possess the ability to teleport those that he lays his hands on. He also knows a mysterious and painful technique that helped to unlock Jin Kisaragi's hidden power after his abduction by Rachel in Continuum Shift. This technique, strangely, actually inhibited Jin from using Yukianesa for a time because it was his will to use the blade. In the end, Jin realized this and truly became its master (the 'hidden power' was probably referring to this fact).

According to the BlazBlue Material Collection, he is one of the Six Heroes and an exceptionally strong fighter. Due to the fact that he fought alongside Jubei and Hakumen against the Black Beast, Valkenhayn must be well over 100 years old. In a mural in Hakumen's ending in Calamity Trigger, it showed all of the Six Heroes (in the appearance of more simple forms) and Valkenhayn is the only one who fought the beast without weapons.

Furthermore, a more recent Material Collection revealed more information on Valkenhayn's past. He is a Beastkin like Jubei, Makoto, and Kokonoe, and as such has an extremely long lifespan. He once fought against Clavis Alucard as a rival, and the two became friends. Valkenhayn's loyalty to Clavis also extends to Rachel, whom he has a soft spot for to this day. When Clavis mysteriously vanished, he swore to help his friend's daughter in any way he could.

Personality
Valkenhayn is a novel gentleman: polite and courteous in all situations. Being a butler, he is extremely devoted to Rachel and does whatever he can to assist and protect her. His demeanor, however, belies a savage side which is only seen during battle or when he is pushed to the brink of his anger. He uses a fighting style that, while awe-inspiring, is unbelievably brutal, utilizing slashing attacks and blows so powerful they look like they are intended to break the enemy's bones.

Despite his calm behavior, he tends to lose his temper everytime Terumi is concerned, whether be when Rachel talks about it or when he fights him.

Appearance
Valkenhayn takes on the image of the stereotypical butler. He is an elderly man who wears a dark, aquamarine suit adorned with gold trimming. His long, white hair is tied in a ponytail at the back. In his youth, he still wore the suit sans the jacket, but had brown hair. When transformed, he takes the shape of a big, silvery-blue wolf with a white mane (formerly his hair). On a comedic note, supplemental materials reveal that the pink ribbon used for his ponytail was a gift from Rachel, and the ribbon can be seen in his wolf form adorned on his tail.

Powers and Abilities
Being one of the Six Heroes, Valkenhayn possesses exceptional skill and power on the battlefield. His gentlemen-like behavior and profession as a butler belies a much more savage side that appears to have aged well with him. Valkenhayn fights with brute strength and incredible speed, unleashing swift kicks and claw-like attacks. Valkenhayn's Drive, Werewolf focuses on his mastery over lycanthropy, allowing him to transform partially, halfway or fully into a beast wolf form to tear his opponents to shreds unrestrained. A small purple gauge right above his Drive gauge determines how long he can stay in wolf form, automatically returning to normal once it runs out. The gauge regenerates when he is in human form, but only when he is on the ground. When in wolf form, after Valkenhayn uses his command throw, the gauge fully regenerates and reverts him back to human form. Valkenhayn can morph between forms at will to take advantage of both for some devastating combo strings. While he gains incredible agility and speed, he is unable to block in this form.

Etymology
Valkenhayn as a name, is only existent in the BlazBlue universe. However, Valken is a male name of Ancient Scandinavian origin that has been known to mean Son of a Valkyrie but it has been argued that it shares an etymological route with the Middle Dutch word valke which means falcon. Both are seemingly referencing Valkenhayn's bravery and prowess on the battlefield; the age of both roots also suggests a reference to Valkenhayn's age. Hayn seems to be a corruption of the surname of Hayne which, in its most likely etymological root for Valkenhayn's case, derives from the Middle English personal name of Hain or Heyne which came from the Germanic word; hagano which apparently means awthorn, a word of which the meaning has been lost in the centuries. It may also be a reference to Erich von Falkenhayn, former Prussian Minister of War and the German General of Staff.

Valkenhayn's last name Hellsing is seemingly a nod at the protagonist of Bram Stoker's Dracula, the character in question being responsible for destroying the count is Abraham Van Helsing. In a more modern interpretation of the character, in the movie Van Helsing, the protagnist based off the original Helsing first presented in the novel, turns into a werewolf, if only briefly; a final similarity to the movie is that the antagonist, Dracula, employs werewolves as servants in a similar fashion to Rachel 'employing' Valkenhayn.

Trivia

 * Valkenhayn's design and role fit into the "Battle Butler" archetype common in anime.
 * Valkenhayn's birthday falls on the original date for the Respect for the Aged day in Japan. This is a reference to Valkenhayn's elderly appearance.
 * Valkenhayn is the only DLC character whose theme can actually be heard inside Continuum Shift.
 * Valkenhayn is also the only Continuum Shift DLC character whose Astral Heat does not contain a large-scale projection of his image.
 * Valkenhayn is the only member of the Six Heroes that has not possessed a Nox Nyctores.
 * When Valkenhayn is electrocuted, an outline of his werewolf form is shown.
 * All of Valkenhayn's attacks are in German.