Template:Infobox SH monster Valtiel is a monster in Silent Hill 3 and Silent Hill: Revelation, as well as a governing angel in the Order of Silent Hill.
His name means "attendant" by way of the French word "valet"; his existence as an angel is derived from suffixing "-el". Thus, he is "Attendant of God", a title attributed to theological angels.
Valtiel has appeared in different forms prior to Silent Hill 3. The ceremonial robes worn by the figures in the Otherworld elementary school that appeared in Silent Hill were a homage to Valtiel, while Pyramid Head himself was a being or form connected to Valtiel's existence. Pyramid Head is connected to Valtiel as both of them are described as taking different forms depending on the viewer. A further connection is that Pyramid Head is stated to be the shape of Valtiel's reason for existence. The Butcher also resembles Valtiel, but possesses a more violent and bloodthirsty desire.
Appearance
Valtiel is humanoid in appearance, but his head vibrates and twitches rapidly, obscuring his facial features; although there are not many features to behold, as his face is blank and leathery, with a series of crude stitches where his mouth should be. He is garbed in ceremonial robes and wears gloves. His hands and parts of his body are smudged in what appears to be blood.
Valtiel has the Seal of Metatron on both of his shoulders. Metatron and Valtiel are both considered the "Agents of God", and this mark could suggest that Valtiel is in Metatron's servitude or that he himself is actually Metatron.
Character
Because of his passive role in the game and his designation as a servant, it is thought that Valtiel is the subordinate of another dominant supernatural presence in Silent Hill. In the long standing tradition of Silent Hill, Valtiel is a saintly being corresponding to an angel, possibly Metatron.
In the religious tradition of Silent Hill, Valtiel was one of the beings said to be created by God in order to lead people to obey her. A special sect was made in the honor of Valtiel, founded by Jimmy Stone, called the Valtiel Sect. In it, this angel is venerated as a way to become closer to God. Likewise, Pyramid Head wears similar ceremonial robes and gloves and appears to have cloth stitching, all in homage to this being.
Silent Hill 3 Valtiel Drag Heather
Valtiel drags Heather's corpse in a game over.
When a shift in the Otherworld occurs, Valtiel appears before Heather Mason, the protagonist of Silent Hill 3. In many instances, Valtiel is seen turning a valve; this is both a symbolic gesture of the cycle of rebirth, which he governs, and an implication that Valtiel has some control over the shifting to the Otherworld that takes place throughout the series. Valtiel seemingly has little to no concern for Heather, but rather for the God that sleeps within her.
Should Heather die, there is a random chance of Valtiel dragging her corpse back to a nearby Halo of the Sun, intending to resurrect the "Mother of God".
Silent Hill 3
Valtiel turning a valve beneath two hanging pairs of legs, symbolic of Alessa and Cheryl.
Heather first encounters Valtiel when going down an elevator in the shopping mall, where he appears to be hanging/grabbing another monster (thought to be the Fukuro Lady). There, Heather sees Valtiel behind a fan.
Her next major encounter with Valtiel is in Brookhaven Hospital, when she is climbing up a ladder. Valtiel is seen turning a valve in the background. In the hallway immediately after, if the player looks at the scaffolding quickly enough, Valtiel can be seen dragging a Nurse away from a ledge.
Valtiel can be seen several times in the chapel, hanging nurses and crawling around in vents. He last appears in the final battle, watching over God; he first yanks Claudia Wolf into the mysterious hole in the floor, then can be seen in the cutscene tending to the newborn God, covering Her head in a red veil.
Silent Hill 3 - Valtiel
Valtiel's appearances in Silent Hill 3.
Valtiel may have a similar role to that of Pyramid Head; however, while the latter takes the role of an executioner, hurting and abusing monsters or stalking James Sunderland, the former's following of Heather is largely passive. If Heather dies, Valtiel even removes her corpse to a presumably safer location to resurrect the God inside her. However, this courtesy does not seem to extend beyond her, as Valtiel is often seen violently abusing nurses and other female monsters while twisting the valve, and appears to torture them, though he lacks the sexual connotation that embodies Pyramid Head's behavior.
Silent Hill 4: The Room
During Walter Sullivan's forced conditioning at Wish House Orphanage, Jimmy Stone's right-hand man George Rosten attempted to insert Valtiel's influence into Walter's subconscious. This would presumably allow Valtiel to clandestinely guide Walter's actions, permitting the ritual of the 21 Sacraments to take place. The attempt was successful, but unknown to George Rosten, he had authored his own doom, as he became Walter's 6th victim in his spree of ritual killings.
Silent Hill: Book of Memories
The player interacting with Valtiel.
Valtiel appears in the tutorial of the game, commanding the protagonist to find Howard Blackwood's shop. He also appears at the start of each zone, offering the player an optional mission. If the player succeeds in completing the mission, Valtiel will reappear at the end of the zone and reward the player with a rare weapon or artifact.
Silent Hill: Revelation
The Valtiel sculpture in the Order's sanctuary.
A large sculpture of Valtiel is seen in Silent Hill: Revelation in the Order's sanctuary, which Christopher Da Silva is tied to. The Order's name is also extended to "The Order of Valtiel".
Other than this, Valtiel has no active role, however, he is possibly alluded to multiple times in the film, most noticeably when Heather Mason comes across a homeless man; his face briefly morphs to a misfigured appearance that bears strong resemblance to Valtiel's. There is another instance when Heather tries to speak to a man for help after seeing a delusion of a birthday party, and when he turns to Heather she sees his face as a sewn mass similar to Valtiel's own.
Symbolism
Valtiel above Heather crying in the Otherworld.
As God's attendant, Valtiel observes Heather in order to ensure the birth of God. His garb (consisting of a mask, smock, and gloves) is reminiscent of surgical wear, symbolizing his role in helping to deliver the reborn God.
Valtiel could be identified with either Lobsel Vith or Xuchilbara, the Yellow Angel and Red Angel respectively, mentioned in "Myth 4: Creation". Both having been created to assist God in keeping humanity obedient to her, both are tasked with a rather important duty. Given Valtiel's distinction as being the closest to God, he could be synonymous with either one. In the same Myth, there is a being similar to Valtiel, if not Valtiel himself, in the bottom left of the painting. This, coupled with the fact that Valtiel and Pyramid Head have yellow and red colored heads respectively, could be further proof of a connection to the Yellow and Red gods. However, Masahiro Ito verified that Pyramid Head and Xuchilbara have no connections.
Although he makes no appearance outside of Silent Hill 3, the presence of the Otherworld in the rest of the series suggests Valtiel is there, watching over the safety of the "Holy Mother".
Unlike most monsters in the series, Valtiel doesn't appear to be a manifestation of any person's emotions or subconscious. It is possible he is a unique being that exists in the Otherworld whose existence is independent of humans, directly serving God.
Trivia
- In Silent Hill: Origins, a pamphlet inside the Artaud Theater references the Sect of Valtiel.
- Valtiel is referred to in the Book of Lost Memories as "The Magician", the first of the Major Arcanas in a tarot deck, which signifies creation, wisdom, beginnings, or destruction and fraud according to a memo in Silent Hill 3, probably alluding to his peculiar ability to shift the state of the world to another and his power to revive the dead. The opposite meaning of destruction and fraud could be how individuals outside of the Order could see Valtiel, so devout in protecting a God believed to be so insidious in nature.
- Although Valtiel disappears after the final battle, developer Masahiro Ito has stated that he may be responsible for Heather's return to the Real World after the end of the game, due to his ability to shift the worlds.
- Valtiel is seen twice in Brookhaven Hospital with the mysterious Brookhaven Nurse; during the first occurrence she hangs horizontally above him and he acts nonchalant towards her, albeit in the second he can be found hanging her upside-down behind smoky glass, yanking her about rather suggestively. It is unknown how the Brookhaven Nurse is associated with Valtiel.
- In Silent Hill: Revelation, Roger Avary had an original concept of Red Pyramid actually being Valtiel underneath the helmet.
Creator's comment
| “ | In Silent Hill 3 the connection to the first game is quite clear, but the point of contact with the second game isn't so obvious. I created Valtiel because I wanted to relate the works of the series through a creature. In the religion of Silent Hill, Valtiel exists as one who is close to the God, and Pyramid Head takes shape of Valtiel's reason for existence. That is to say, the Pyramid Head character was born from the townspeoples' idolatrous ideologies. In the first game, the ceremonial robes were in homage to Valtiel.
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Gallery
| v · e · d |
|---|
| Characters |
| Major Characters |
| Heather Mason - Christopher Da Silva - Vincent Cooper - Claudia Wolf - Leonard Wolf - Dark Alessa - Douglas Cartland - Alessa Gillespie |
| Other Characters |
| Rose Da Silva - Dahlia Gillespie - Suki - Travis Grady - Order Soldier - Detective Santini - Mannequin Girl |
| Monsters |
| Armless Man - Delusion - Leonard Wolf - Lobotomy - Mannequin Monster - Memory of Alessa - Missionary - Nurse - Pyramid Head - Valtiel |
| Locations |
| All Hallows High School - Brookhaven Asylum - Central Square Shopping Center - Jacks Inn - Sanctuary - Silent Hill, West Virginia - Lakeside Amusement Park |
| Terms |
| The Brethren - Halo of the Sun - Monster - Manifestation - Otherworld - Fog World - Real World - Robbie the Rabbit - Seal of Metatron - Siren - The Order - Great Knife - Welcome Sign |