Chapter XXI
“Oedon,” Gascoigne breathed out, clutching his head, accidentally smacking himself with his axe. Ignoring the self-inflicted pain, the hunter stumbled backwards. “What does this mean?”
‘It means nothing,’ Oedon harshly replied.
‘Why? Why is it here?’ Gascoigne thought, shaking his head furiously. ‘It’s probably my mind playing tricks on me, it’s done that before, so it’s nothing new.’
‘It is not your mind that is playing tricks on you. I am here because you are here. I am here because you have the blood of old coursing through your veins. This world. This strange, clean world does not need its ‘streets cleansed’ like you, and many other hunters once said,' Oedon replied.
Gascoigne shook his head. “Why are you here? Your name has been mentioned by… someone, but how is it possible. Vicar Laurence told me that Great Ones answer when called upon, he told all of his fateful Church hunters. But how is it possible you are talking to me? How can they,” Gascoigne said, pointing his finger at the two ponies. “Not hear you?”
'None of you concern. You will never see your wife again unless you stop what you are doing.'
“But Sombra… the Great One… he told me. He promised me I--.”
‘You will listen to what I have to say,’ Oedon cut the hunter off. ‘I have been listening, wondering. This Sombra, he is not one of our kin. He is nothing more than an imposter. You have been deceived, forced to obey his will.’
“I obey no one,” Gascoigne retorted.
‘Then prove it,’ Oedon taunted. ‘If Sombra is truly a Great One, then have him prove it.’
“How?” Gascoigne asked.
‘Ask him something only you know. He told you he would return you to your family, so that means he must know them. Ask him about your family, and uncover the truth. Only then will you see what you have become, and what you have done.’
“Wait!” Gascoigne exclaimed, holding his hands out. “Please tell me if my wife and children are all right. Sombra promised me he’d take me back, and I still believe him. But if you truly are as great as it was mentioned by the Choir and their followers, then please tell me: Are they all right?” he asked, a hint of hope in his voice as the hunter felt his heart ache for the answer he had been longing for.
‘I will be watching, like I always have,’ Came Oedon’s reply.
“No! Wait! Please, I must know!” Gascoigne shouted in desperation.
This time, Oedon did not reply.
Gehrman and Shining, along with Twilight and the others walked through the halls of the Crystal Palace. Pinkie was humming a happy tone, while everyone else stared eye-wide at the palace's interior beauty. Taking a quick glance at Shining Armor, Gehrman noticed the black crystals around his horn. “Dear, oh dear, what happened to you?” he asked, getting the white coated stallion’s attention.
“What do you mean?” Shining asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
“Well, your horn,” Gehrman said, stopping in his tracks. “There are crystals everywhere,” he said as he got on one knee to meet the Prince on eye-level. “They weren’t there when we first met. What happened?”
“I… may or may not have done something incredibly stupid,” Shining admitted shamefully. “You see, when Sombra, or his shadow attacked us, it didn’t just go for you.”
“That was a shadow?” Gehrman questioned, scratching his cheek. “Looked more like smoke.”
“Either way,” Shining said, getting back to the subject. “For some reason—unknown to me, of course—the shadow was able to split itself. I had no idea that Sombra was that powerful. It might sound ridiculous but I think that Sombra’s evil, his dark energy might affect all that is good. You see, these crystals that are spread all across the Empire, it’s like they have a will of their own. When love triumphs, they will stay as they are right now. But should evil triumph, well… here’s the perfect example of that.” He said, motioning to his horn.
“So you got black crystals, so what?” Gehrman replied.
“It’s bad news. Sombra was able to split himself, who knows how much more he can do. He attacked me, and he would have gotten to twilight as well. I did what I could, but he was just too strong.” Shining admitted, looking down at his hooves. “Just between you and me,” he whispered in Gehrman’s ears. “Something broke into the palace last night and attacked Cadance. She’s all right, but I fear it might come back. It’s a miracle Cadance was strong enough to keep the barrier running. She’s such a strong mare.”
“Whatever attacked her, won’t be able to do it a second time,” Gehrman said with determination, getting up as he stretched his back. “Now let’s go.”
Catching up with their friends, who had not noticed them slacking off, Gehrman and Shining reached the throne room, along with Twilight and the others. Using her magic to open the door, Twilight was the first to enter. The rest followed, and their mouths went agape—except for Shining Armor and Gehrman—at what they were greeted with. There sat Princess Cadance, her body wrapped in bandages and her eyes almost closed from exhaustion. Trotting up towards her sister-in-law, Twilight shouted out her name.
“Cadance!” Twilight shouted, getting the attention of the Princess of love as she slowly got off her throne.
“Twilight,” Cadance breathed out, slowly walking towards her sister-in-law. “How are you doing this fine afternoon?” she asked, cracking a smile.
“What happened to you?” Twilight exclaimed in shock as her eyes scanned over her, observing every piece of bandage wrapped around her body. “Did you fell down the stairs, or something?” she asked.
Cadance shook her head. “I wish that were the case, but it’s not,” she replied, looking down at the floor in shame. “I was… attacked.” She admitted, looking at Twilight. “Some creature made its way into the palace and attacked me. I was unable to defend myself and it quickly got the upper hoof on me. I’m afraid, Twilight. Afraid that it might come back.”
“Don’t worry, Cadance,” Twilight said in a reassuring tone. “You’ll be safe with us,” she said, looking back at her friends.
Cadance smiled at her sister-in-law. Glancing at her friends, her eyes widened when she laid eyes upon the creature that stood behind them. “Twilight,” she whispered. “Who’s your friend?” she asked, pointing her hoof at said creature.
“Oh,” Twilight replied, looking at Gehrman. “That would be Gehrman. He’s been with us for a couple of days. He’s really nice and polite.” She replied, motioning for Gehrman to come closer.
Gehrman happily complied, walking towards the Princess of Love. The clomping of his peg leg hitting the floor of the palace echoed through the throne room. Cadance could only watch as he walked towards her, towering over everyone inside her throne room. Looking up at the man as he finally reached her, she felt a lump in her throat as she recalled the creature that had attacked her. For some reason Gehrman reminded her of said attacker. But it couldn’t be. Why would her attacker be with Twilight and the other Elements of Harmony?
“Greetings, your majesty,” Gehrman said, bowing his head respectfully. “I am pleased to meet you, at last. Though I wish it were under different circumstances. I do not know what happened to you, but all I can say is: I am terribly sorry your eternal beauty has been degraded to this level.”
“Oh, stop it,” Cadance said, waving a dismissive hoof at him as a hint of red appeared on her cheeks. “I’m not that pretty. Besides, we have other things to discuss,” she said, her tone suddenly getting serious. Looking back at Twilight, she continued. “Twilight, I need to inform you about a few things my attacker said to me.”
Twilight nodded her head. Motioning for Cadance to continue, she levitated as scroll and a quill out of Gehrman’s left pocket.
“Hey, when did you put that in there?” Gehrman asked, checking his pockets for any other strange materials.
“Well, I was out of space so I figured you wouldn’t mind.” Twilight replied, giving him a cheeky smile.
“I cannot believe I did not notice,” Gehrman mumbled to himself. “Must be my age.”
Cadance cleared her throat, getting their attention. “Okay everypony, listen up. Last night I was attacked by a creature, a creature Gehrman over here shares resemblance of. It attacked me and questioned me. He said he was searching for the Crystal Heart. I do not know what the Crystal Heart is, nor does Shiny… but I think that it must be very valuable to him.”
“This is interesting to say the least,” Twilight commented, scratching her chin. “So the creature that attacked you looks like Gehrman. Perhaps it’s the same species? Hm, and the creature is looking for the Crystal Heart, but you nor Shining Armor have any idea what it is… perhaps we can find some sort of information?” Taking a glance at her big brother, she continued. “Is there any way I can get some information on the Crystal Empire?”
“I’m not sure,” Shining replied, glancing down at the floor. “Listen, Twily. Cadance is tired. She’s been beaten and broken. She is using every last bit of strength to keep the barrier up, but I’m afraid that it will not last forever. We have to find a way to protect the Empire, without having to use Cadance’s magic. But since Cadance is focusing on keeping the Empire safe and sound, and I’m keeping an eye out for any changes in the artic, we haven’t been able to gather information of any of the Crystal ponies.”
“Then we will have to retrieve said information ourselves,” Gehrman replied, getting Shining’s attention. “I to saw what was out there. A shadow. It talked to me. We need to act fast if we are to protect this Empire from total devastation.”
“What do you have in mind?” Shining asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.
“We search every corner of the Empire until we find something useful. Staring now,” he replied.
“Sounds good to me,” Shining replied, looking back at his little sister. “Good thing you decided to bring him along.”
“Don’t look at me,” Twilight replied, looking at her friends. “It was Spike’s idea to bring him along. He said that it would be nice, having another… male on the team.”
Bickering over who should go with who, Gehrman felt someone tug at his leg. Looking down, he saw that it was Cadance. Bending over, he spoke up. “What is it, your majesty?” he whispered.
“Listen, I am in no position to ask this of you but… would you mind staying with me and Shiny? I know it might seem pretty dumb but… well… I’m afraid Shining won’t be able to hold back another assault. I mean, just look at his horn,” she said, her eyes falling upon Shining’s horn, which was still covered in black crystals. “Please, just stay. You seem like a nice pony.”
“I believe the correct term is: Person. But if it’s what her majesty’s wishes, then I shall comply,” Gehrman replied. Clearing is throat loud enough to get everyone’s attention, the First Hunter continued. “Listen up everyone. I have decided to stay with Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor for their own protection. The rest of you will search the city for any information. But for your own safety, do not speak of the Crystal Heart to anyone. The creature that attacked Princess Cadance might still be out there, and it might start to stalk you to get any form of information. If he was able to enter the palace unnoticed, then he must be very good at what he does. So do not mention the Crystal Heart unless it is absolutely necessary.”
Everyone nodded their head in agreement.
“We’ll do whatever we can, Gerrie!” Pinkie said, hugging the hunter tightly.
“I believe that, Miss Pinkie,” Gehrman replied, patting her back. “Now make haste.” He said, shooing her away.
The First Hunter watched as Twilight and the others left the throne room leaving only him, Cadance, and Shining Armor inside the throne room. An awkward silence soon followed. For what seemed like minutes no one said a word.
‘Are they frightened?' Gehrman thought to himself. ‘It would explain why Princess Cadance asked me to stay at her side, but… what good is a huner who has nothing to fight for? My job was hunting beasts, nothing else. But now another human enters Equestria and attacks royalty for something said royalty does not possess. Hm, this is very peculiar.’
“Gehrman.”
Gehrman turned his head to face Cadance, who has called out his name. “Yes, what is it?” he asked.
“Let me ask you something: Have you ever been afraid?” Cadance asked.
“Why are you asking me this?” Gehrman retorted, raising an eyebrow at her.
“I just… I need to know if I’m not the only one. I feel so afraid all of a sudden. I’ve never felt like this before. Perhaps it’s because of the creature that attacked me, or perhaps it’s because of the threat looming over the Crystal Empire. But I just need to know: Have you ever been afraid, Gehrman?”
“In a way, yes,” Gehrman replied.
“What were you afraid of?” Cadance asked.
“I was afraid I might never wake up again,” Gehrman solemnly replied. “Since you feel this way, let me tell you that it is nothing special, nor strange. You are afraid because you do not know what will happen if you fail. You are thinking about the things that can go wrong, instead of the things that can go right. I have done the same… sometimes, I still do. But let me give you one piece of advice: Never let your emotions take over, for they will cloud your judgment.”
“But emotions are what makes one special,” Cadance retorted.
“When you are staring into the face of death, your emotions will no longer matter. Just let it all go and charge. Charge and do not look back. Only then will you overcome that what you fear,” Gehrman replied. “Now if you will excuse me,” he said, walking an exit. An exit that lead to a balcony. “I will be on the look-out for any form of danger.”
Slowly nodding her head, Cadance spoke up.
“Overcome what you fear. But what is it that I fear? Fear of the… unknown?”
“What was that?” Shining asked.
“N-nothing,” Cadance replied. “Nothing at all.”
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I was almost expecting a bigger reaction from Cadance about Gehrman. But still, bravo.
Hmm, what will Oedon do in this new land? Will he seek to create another child in this new land with a new people? Keep up the good work!
There are a bunch of missing letters in this chapter. I don't feel like pointing them all out, so I'm just telling you that that they're missing.
A good interpretation of the games lore, makes sense.
Although one must recognize that part of what makes the game's lore so interesting is that has room for change; flexible and dynamic toward every person to see it in a different light.
But like I said, still good.
And Cadance took Gerhman's presence very well, I half expected her to have a PTSD moment considering how shook up she was earlier.
Good chapter, anticipate the next update.
Carry on!
Wow, I LOVE your interpretation of the game. Also, I like this chapter.
Keep the good work.
A very good chapter. Nicely done :)
Really well thought out interpretations of the Bloodborne Story and Lore. From Software kinda likes keeping things in the dark plot-wise, wouldn't you say? Still, it was interesting to see Oedon try and sway Gascoigne from Sombra's path. And, hoo-boy, I can taste the inevitable conflict... Tastes oddly like cherry.
You, uh, kinda copy-pasted 'your' interpretation of the lore from a reddit page. If you are in fact the person who wrote this, than it's fine, but if not than I think a bit of credit is due to the origional poster.
6849643 Correct me if I'm wrong, but even while reading I noticed that the author's writing style and the "lore explanation" are very different, so I get the feeling it's copy-pasted like I assume you're trying to say.
Well, that was certainly interesting. I hope I get to see Gehrman fight something; at this point I could care less what.
Excellent job on the story, and an interesting take on the lore.
6850068
6849643 I was a part of the discussion. A few friends of mine wrote that together a very, very long time ago. So I thought I'd use it here
Wait, so what about the school of Mensis?
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6848565
Guess Gehrman's just that amiable. Definitely more than that beastly brute called Gascoigne, at least.
6850225 Gotcha.
6850251
The School of Mensis was one of the causes of the beastly scourge because they wanted to commune with Mergo and have Great Ones come down to us, when that happened, the line between man and beast began to blur, signifying that humanity is to blame for the problem it now faces, but they don't want to admit it, so they blame the Great Ones.
Can't wait for the next chapter. In the mean time, have a fav and a like.
6852873 Mergo? i thought they were trying to commune with Kos or some say Kosm because Micolash would not shut up about him/her/it in his boss fight. Or with the great ones directly by walking onto their figurative front garden.
6853741 I believe they wanted to make contact with Mother Kos, but got Mergo instead.
6853741
They tried to contact Kos, but she was already dead within the Hunter's Nightmare, when that happened it seems that the true curse upon humanity was to turn us into monsters as we tore her from the sea and killed her. That's why I I think that Mergo answered, and the reason that Micolash keeps talking about Kos is because he's clearly insane, and completely torn from reality, because if Kos answered, then she would be in the Nightmare of Mensis instead of Mergo and Queen Yharnam.
Truly the beasts must have horrible breath to be result of so much plaque. Some of that lore seems questionable, especially the lack of distinction between kin and Great One, but the only real problem I see in story is that a Great One is speaking directly to a human, in english. That seems unlikely as that would make the runes unnecessary, and with that and your idea on the moon presence make its silence questionable.
6854283 I believe some Great Ones are capable of communicating with a person. I think Oedon has reached a level that he/she/it can understand human language, and is able to speak it.
6854309
I think that in case of Great Ones and humans it should be the other way around.
6855069 Humans being able to communicate with a Great One? That means that said human would have to speak the language of a Great One. That would be almost impossible.
6855218
But that was the whole purpose of creating the Celestials.
It all started with those Swollen Head Patients (they were supposed to be able to hear them) and Living Mistakes, and led to Imposter Iosefka's experiments and Celestial Emissary at the Grand Cathedral.
As for Moon Presence = Choir is a little bit off to me. There is a note that says "The nameless moon presence beckoned by Laurence and his associates. Paleblood." So I guess they called and Moony showed up.
But hey, your story so you can do whatever you like.
I even have my own little theory, you can read it, should it please you.
P.S. When Oedon first started to talk, I, for some reason, though that it might actually be Good Hunter, in his new Infant Great One form, don't know why.
6855506 The swollen head, they were being expiremented upon by the Healing Church (hence the Healing Church Hunter's in the Research Hall.) Remember that it is a nightmare you are in, a nightmare created by Mother Kos herself. I don't think one can simply beckon another Great One in a realm where there is already one present. The Living Failures were the sucessors of the swollen head patients. I think the Healing Church was trying to create Great Ones, using the Old Blood to their adventage. They did some crazy thing to the townsfolk in the Fishing Hamlet. They called upon a Great One to avange their fallen, Mother Kos answered and created the Hunter's Nightmare (since there no other Great Ones n said Nightmare, and I do not consider the Orphan of Kos to be a Great One).
The Moon Prescence might have been beckoned, bt it seems to be hostile towards other Great Ones. No other Great Ones have ever showed such traits. That is why I think my whole 'Choir=Moon Prescense' might be correct.
*cough* loran *cough*
The fact that there are multiple encounters for ebrietas show that without entering the nightmare realm, we cannot truly slay a great one, and even then im not sure we really can.
Look at the /spoiler/ orphan of kos \spoiler\ and after we defeat it, it returns to the ocean(each one is unique so its possible some of them we just cant kill) mergo persists even after being killed, in the queen yharnam boss encounter we hear murgos wails. What about annalise attempting to bear a "child of blood"
Also it doesnt seem that queen yharnam failed the birth, but it was violently successful.
In addition its pthumereru not pthumeria( where the scorpion mechs unfairly cr'ed live)
6855601 True, but one can never be too sure. Returning to the ocean can mean many things. I think you can kill Great Ones, and in the process, gain their knowledge and strenght. Also, we do not know if like Amygdala, Ebrietas might have some sort of clone. Because the 'real' Amygdala is slain in the Nightmare Frontier, in my opinion, Bloodborne is a very difficult game, and'i--along with many other players and authors--am trying to understand and explain it. Everyone has their own interpertation of the lore, and I think that is wat makes the From Software games so much more fun.
6855601 Also, it's Isz where you encounter Ebrietas. In Loran you encounter Amygdala, Perhaps a clone. Or Perhaps there is more than one Amygdala?
Funny thing that about the quicksilver, because quicksilver is another name for mercury (which is of a pale color and flows like blood), and in Alchemy, quicksilver has ties to Azoth, which is the essential agent of transformation.
6855546
Something just blew up my mind!
If you go to the cemetery beneath the Oedon's Chapel after you kill Wet Nurse, Viola's body will no longer be there!
Well, at least you addressed your interpretation of the lore and the concerns some of us had with contrasts to our own interpretations instead of ignoring us. Good read, but I'd have placed that Author's Note near the end or in a blog post, as it takes up a majority of the page where the story should be I find.
I am not sharing your opinion that the Choir is the Moon Presence. I rather think it was beckoned by Gehrman to create Hunter's dream. He did it so that they can have a hunter that will manage to fight the scourge back as each hunt kept getting stronger beasts. A hunter that would not die and just come back. This is purpose of Hunter's dream.
But Moon Presence chose Gehrman as it's host. If you kill him, it makes you it's host of its realm, you are what anchors it to the world. When you have consumed the three cords? You are repelling it and it is angry. You ruined its plans, you killed its host. And that is why it attacks you. It is angry.
Orphan of Kos is the one responsible for Hunter's Nightmare. Or rather, that Black spirit that shows up after defeating it, the Child of Kos.
The curse of Kos? Look everywhere in village. You see these slugs? These are Kos parasites. Their description says that Kos's body was brimming with them, but when you reach her, it's empty.
Killing Kos and possibly her unborn child, which granted it the form in Nightmare, is the sin of hunters. Church used the parasites for experiments. Living failures were just that, failures. Celestial Emissary and it's brethren are the successful version, but it is not a separate Great One. It is simply children that were transformed through experiments with the blood and possibly parasites.
Notice that the Nightmare Slain only appears if you slay that black spirit. This is also the case after fighting Mergo's wet nurse. It shows up after MERGO, the child in nightmare, is dead.
Moon presence was using you to get rid of its competition. Your goal was to stop the plague, but Mergo was not responsible for it. If anything, it would be Ebrietas as her blood was used for experiments. And Ebrietas was optional. So moon presence was just using you and gehrman.
Also, the Third Umbilical Cords. One was used to beckon Moon Presence and you find it in abandoned workshop. One is found after killing Mergo's Wet Nurse, since you also kill Mergo and it makes sense the wet nurse had it. The other two are a result of the two women in bloodborne giving birth, as surrogates, to the great ones.
Rom was possibly elevated into what it is as a result of experiments with old Blood, or just too much insight, or perhaps it was also caused by what Micolash used to create the Nightmare, beckoning the Brain of Mensis and Mergo?
But to beckon em, the umbilical cord must have been used. Perhaps Gehrman just took it after the stuff that happened in Byrgenwerth... Or it is that they got it from KOS! As you can see in DLC, you are going backwards chronologically in a way. Maria was still around when they found Kos... And so was Gehrman.
That is where they got the Umbilical Cord, lined with eyes, that started up everything. Notice how despite being used to beckon Moon Presence, the cord is still existing in Abandoned workshop. They don't get used up. Gehrman, after it was used by others, took it with him and beckoned Moon Presence in hopes of unbeatable hunter that will stop the plague and this madness... And so was the cord left in the abandoned workshop. As it feels, consciousness of the Hosts of dreams or nightmares is pulled into them and stuck there, still alive until killed.
I like the way you tell the story. Keep up the good work! Have an upvote
Yeah, that explanation for Shining having his horn messed up made no sense. Seriously, there's nothing wrong with making a mistake and having a plot hole in the story. Just change it so that his horn is fine and let that be the end of it.
6972323 That's your opinion. What plot-holes do you see? I don't see any, because I believe I fixed them all.
6972413
Honestly I'm just still confused as to why Shining's horn is messed up. I mean, yeah, you said later on that Sombra (somehow) split up and still attacked him, but the explanation given in the story felt like a hand wave more than anything. Why didn't any of the others mention Sombra attacking? They all ran together and Shining didn't stay behind like in canon. If he stayed behind when Sombra's double (again, why can he suddenly do that?) attacked, then why did no one mention that? Why didn't Gehrman notice him split?
From what I read, I don't see why canon wasn't changed enough to make it so that Shining wasn't hurt. It seems weird that, despite how different this was from canon, the outcome was exactly the same (with Shining having his horn messed up).
Just a nitpick really.
6972773 Sorry if it felt that way.
I thought it was implied that they used it as bait, but WOW that actually makes sense!
...Jesus, did they replace even their plumbing water with blood in a world where there was no plague?
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That would be a seriously metal toilet system...
Personally, since the pungeant cocktail says merely that blood is far more intoxicating, I think it was used as something special and saved for special occassions. It isn’t like they could scale up production since it isn’t artificial in the first place.