Topic: Castlevania: Umbra of Sorrow (1999 Fan Project)

[theplottwist]

@plot: You could remove the reading for the kanji of akumajou since the subtitle doesn't have a reading. I think the logo would look much better after.

Hmmmm, you may be right. I added it because some logos also have this too, like the old CV logos or the Lords of Shadow ones. I wanted to add it to the subtitle, but I didn't know how to write it. It would be something like ほん かげ の エレジ wouldn't it?

But it may be better if I remove it indeed.

[Donvermicelli]

I agree with Shiroi Koumori on the reading part, it feels strange to have furigana there.

but I didn't know how to write it. It would be something like ほん かげ の エレジ wouldn't it?

Yep.

My added suggestion is to add some key concepts from your game to the logo art, the spear being a prime candidate.
Dracula's final form maybe? seeing as the viewer will only see the outlines they will only serve as a foreshadowing but still give that aha moment when they encounter things ingame.

[theplottwist]

My added suggestion is to add some key concepts from your game to the logo art, the spear being a prime candidate.
Dracula's final form maybe? seeing as the viewer will only see the outlines they will only serve as a foreshadowing but still give that aha moment when they encounter things ingame.

I don't think it's a good idea to add too much foreshadowing. STILL adding one weapon might be a nice idea! But only if I find space to do it.

Right now I removed the furigana. I'll mess with it a little more before posting it again.

Now, for today, I bring you one GIANT plot point of my story - It deals with how to break Dracula's revival cycle and the importance of Dracula's remains in the equation. This piece of plot is what kickstarts all the chain of events in the story. Read at your own risk:

(click to show/hide)

These are the steps to break Dracula's resurrection cycle once and for all to be explained in Umbra.

They will be developed by Charlotte Aulin over the years to be applied in 1999, after understanding what exactly is the core of Dracula's revival cycle - his connection with the Demon Castle.

Charlotte studied how Dracula was unable to revive when Brauner separated him from the castle, and studied closely the relationship of Dracula's remains with his revival cycle. She developed a method of her own that works as follows:

1. First, the soul/influence of Dracula must be manually separated from his great magic - his castle. The separation ritual must come before the banishment because the castle itself is impervious to banishment rituals while Dracula is still connected to it.

This connection between Dracula and his castle resides inside Dracula's soul and can be accessed through his remains - the proxy through which Dracula acts in this world even beyond death. So, for the connection to become apparent and be able to be broken, both Dracula's body (his remains) AND the castle must be intact at the same time.

If Dracula is not separated from the castle first, his power/influence alone can shield the castle against banishing rituals. If Dracula's body is destroyed while the castle is whole and they are not separated, the symbiotic relationship will cause the castle to crumble, returning to the spiritual plane, and therefore placing it beyond the banishment ritual's grasp. It is imperative that the castle remains intact and trapped on Earth, without a master, for the banishment ritual to take effect.

2. After the separation, Dracula can be banished. To achieve this, all of his remains - the mechanism of his influence on Earth - must be destroyed at the same time, removing Dracula's soul's access to Earth without causing his castle to collapse. If only one remain stays intact, Dracula is not banished and his influence alone can rebuild the severed connection to the castle again with time. In addition, the destroyed remains have the power to regenerate if any of their obliterated residues come into contact with an intact remain.

Finally, if they are all destroyed, but the soul/influence of Dracula has not been separated from the castle, once the castle returns to the physical plane, it's dark power can regenerate them even if they are completely obliterated, allowing Dracula to be revived. Hence the need for the separation in step 1 before their destruction in this step 2.

3. After Dracula's soul/ influence is separated from the castle, and after he's banished through the simultaneous destruction of his remains, the castle can now be sealed. Without access to the castle, rebuilding the connection is impossible and the remains can no longer be regenerated.

So, in short:

1. Cut Dracula's soul's connection with the castle; This step is performed by Charlotte along with her pupil, Lenora.
2. Destroy the remains/his body to banish him; This step requires no specific performer.
3. Banish the castle; This step is performed by the Hakuba priest and his followers.

If the first step is not performed in this order, the castle will be shielded from banishing rituals. If the second step is not performed in this order, the castle will collapse, making it unreachable by banishing rituals.

And again: The connection lies within the soul of Dracula, and can be accessed through his remains - his body. If the remains are destroyed, the connection still exists within the soul of Dracula, which can regenerate them again. The same is true if the castle returns first - they will be regenerated due to this existing connection. If you destroy the connection before destroying the remains, they can not regenerate anymore, thus breaking the cycle of resurrection, allowing the castle to be banished to a place where it can't return to Earth.

And here is a piece of the story's background, that will act in tandem with the above details:

(click to show/hide)

Up until 1999, the Church is in possession of 3 of Dracula's remains. They were recovered by Charlotte and Jonathan after Portrait of Ruin, which were used to revive the Count during the events that took place then. Brauner was able to take control of the castle by severing the connection of these three remains from it - which were then able to give Dracula a weakened body in an early revival as soon as Brauner was gone.

And yes, Dracula's revival doesn't need all of his remains. Simon's Quest corroborates this.

[theplottwist]

Small update on the project:

Right now, and after ponderating a lot about it, I decided to open a secret Facebook group for this project. The group has a lot of advantages over the forum/thread format that pushed me on opening it. Let me explain:

-Secret conversations regarding the project are visible to anyone who wants to be more involved with it and wants/needs to be spoiled about it. This includes people who want to take part on knowing/add to the plot details, or want to contribute with media to enrich it, but doesn't want anyone to steal it WHILE allowing the people involved to see it.

-Anyone can post specific subjects and have it debated over in the comments. The thread format makes it easy to derail the topic at hand, and hard to find responses to the specific topic.

-The biggest reason I decided to do it: It allows me to create a glossary of all the terms and background-plot pieces that will fall together in place in the final story. This part was specially hard for me to keep up doing here, because there simply isn't enough space for everything (even though this space IS enormous) and the format won't allow me to organize things beyond post-formatting trickery.

So that's it.

And no, I won't stop posting about it over here. Every major decision about the project will be posted here just as it has always been and be discussed accordingly. HOWEVER, things here will obviously be slower than the things I decide to post over the group. I have numerous stand-alone ideas that I'd like to discuss or expose in a faster manner that the forum format simply won't allow me to do.

Lastly, the group exists, but no one is being added yet! I'm filling its "library" with contents about the story, so when people arrive, they have plenty to read and discuss. When I open the group for adding people, I'll warn you guys.

And again - anyone who doesn't want to take part in it will still lose nothing. i'll try to keep this thread up just like I've been doing The people added there will simply get early glimpses of how the project is unfolding before the major decisions are made and posted both there and here.

If NO ONE wants to enter, it's still not bad, because I'll be chronicling the project's progress for myself as I write it somewhere on the internet, safe from HD failures and etc.

[theplottwist]

Story update:

In Aria of Sorrow we learn that Julius Belmont sealed the Vampire Killer inside Dracula's Castle to "weaken his magic and his spirit". However we never get to see where did he do it, or why the whip is needed to seal this magic or his spirit.

Now, for Umbra, I've selected a number of places where the whip could've been through logic. From featureless rooms to frachise staple rooms. And, through elimitation, I arrived at two choices.

As the story goes on Umbra, I'm deciding between these two places where Julius could've done it. The reason why the whip is needed is already decided for the two places (and they are different depending on what room it is), and now I'm thinking up only what will be the most fitting one for the tone of the story.

At the moment, the story is nudging me towards this one. And of course, spoiler alert:

(click to show/hide)

This is a room in the Floating Garden. This grave has also a role to play on Umbra, as it belongs to someone special. If you wish to know more about this place's role in Umbra, or to know what is the second possible place on the list, PM me.

If you guys have more ideas where the VK could be sealed, tell me. The two places I'm thinking about are handpicked, BUT if you provide a reason to why the VK could be somewhere else, it can be considered

[Shiroi Koumori]

Nice catch plot! I might have an idea on who's grave that is, but I'll just stay silent until you write the entire thing.

[theplottwist]

Nice catch plot! I might have an idea on who's grave that is, but I'll just stay silent until you write the entire thing.

You dudes are too fast to figure things out XD

[darkmanx_429]

Small update on the project:

Right now, and after ponderating a lot about it, I decided to open a secret Facebook group for this project. The group has a lot of advantages over the forum/thread format that pushed me on opening it. Let me explain:

-Secret conversations regarding the project are visible to anyone who wants to be more involved with it and wants/needs to be spoiled about it. This includes people who want to take part on knowing/add to the plot details, or want to contribute with media to enrich it, but doesn't want anyone to steal it WHILE allowing the people involved to see it.

-Anyone can post specific subjects and have it debated over in the comments. The thread format makes it easy to derail the topic at hand, and hard to find responses to the specific topic.

-The biggest reason I decided to do it: It allows me to create a glossary of all the terms and background-plot pieces that will fall together in place in the final story. This part was specially hard for me to keep up doing here, because there simply isn't enough space for everything (even though this space IS enormous) and the format won't allow me to organize things beyond post-formatting trickery.

So that's it.

And no, I won't stop posting about it over here. Every major decision about the project will be posted here just as it has always been and be discussed accordingly. HOWEVER, things here will obviously be slower than the things I decide to post over the group. I have numerous stand-alone ideas that I'd like to discuss or expose in a faster manner that the forum format simply won't allow me to do.

Lastly, the group exists, but no one is being added yet! I'm filling its "library" with contents about the story, so when people arrive, they have plenty to read and discuss. When I open the group for adding people, I'll warn you guys.

And again - anyone who doesn't want to take part in it will still lose nothing. i'll try to keep this thread up just like I've been doing The people added there will simply get early glimpses of how the project is unfolding before the major decisions are made and posted both there and here.

If NO ONE wants to enter, it's still not bad, because I'll be chronicling the project's progress for myself as I write it somewhere on the internet, safe from HD failures and etc.

That group sounds cool..sign me up!

[theplottwist]

I have a question for you dungeonites:

On my story, there is space for one returning vampire to appear and have some plot relevance. However I can't decide who it'll be yet. All of these vampires have different plot details that they can enlighten that the others cannot, and these details have varying degrees of relevance depending on the person reading them. I'm thinking of the following options:

1. Carmilla - Can reveal her connection with Dracula and other detailed, personal info about the Count that only she could know as a potential "lover/bride/concubine" to Dracula.
2. Elizabeth Bartley - Can reveal more about Dracula's remains, more about her involvement with the first World War, and more about Dracula's first revival.
3. Olrox - Can reveal his connection with Dracula and more detailed information about the true nature of the castle itself, and even about the other vampires serving Dracula.

I can't have them all because that would be a vampire overload, and I'm not confident I can write that many vampires all at once without one overshadowing the other. Plus, I imagine these vampires would NOT cohexist harmoniously amongst themselves out of pure contention (a subplot about one trying to topple the other would be interesting, but let's forget this for now).

So, I'm personally leaning towards Carmilla and Olrox.

While Carmilla is the vampire who has appeared most from all of these, she's the only who has had zero plot relevancy yet, when Olrox already has the light novel, and Elizabeth already has Bloodlines. (plus, I already imagined a kickass Carmilla x Laura combo boss battle hohoho!)

With Olrox I could pull a theplottwist©-brand plot twist concerning his true intentions as Dracula's servant, and tie it with his actions in the light novel.

But I want your opinions. What vampire you'd like to watch making a return and why?

[VladCT]

I'm personally more interested in Olrox, as he carries information about the castle itself. Plus, his suit appears in Aria. :V

[Chernabogue]

Olrox should be the one, as he appears as the main antagonist in the novel that follows DoS.

[theplottwist]

I'm personally more interested in Olrox, as he carries information about the castle itself. Plus, his suit appears in Aria. :V

Olrox should be the one, as he appears as the main antagonist in the novel that follows DoS.

Pretty darn good reasons to have Olrox.

I might still insert another vampire, but only if I feel confident enough I can write them both. So, continue voting. Olrox has two points in his favor

Also, there is a big possibility of me adding an original vampire to the story. The character already exists (and so does the vampire legend where they'd come from), but if they are a vampire or not, is still up for decision.

[X]

1. Carmilla - Can reveal her connection with Dracula and other detailed, personal info about the Count that only she could know as a potential "lover/bride/concubine" to Dracula.

Carmilla is always a classic CV villain as she was in the series as early as CV II though rarely seen since. However what you have here,

"lover/bride/concubine"

completely contradicts her character. There is a reason as to why Carmilla is called the lesbian vampire and that she only went after women to feed upon. She would not be Dracula's lover/bride/concubine because it's not in her nature. It's just not the nature of her character. If you do choose Carmilla then don't take the route you've suggested. Whip up something else that could work for her. You should be true to the characters as much as possible as it'll show respect for the character and the literature they're borrowed from. Sadly IGA didn't do that with Dracula when he decided to make his origin story.

PS. sorry for the info dump but I respect these characters too much to see such a drastic change. Even if it's for story-telling

[theplottwist]

completely contradicts her character. There is a reason as to why Carmilla is called the lesbian vampire and that she only went after women to feed upon. She would not be Dracula's lover/bride/concubine because it's not in her nature. It's just not the nature of her character. If you do choose Carmilla then don't take the route you've suggested. Whip up something else that could work for her. You should be true to the characters as much as possible as it'll show respect for the character and the literature they're borrowed from. Sadly IGA didn't do that with Dracula when he decided to make his origin story.

Very fair point. Castlevania's Carmilla adores Dracula like a god, and not as a lover. It'd also be out of place for Dracula to have a lover, as I don't think he'd take anyone else for a bride or lover anymore after Lisa.

I must point out, though, that Castlevania's Carmilla does display some drastic differences from Le Fanu's Carmilla (even sexually, as seen in Judgment and her bissexual dominatrix behaviors). Even though she is a reference to the character in his work, she still is an original Castlevania character, much like Castlevania's Olrox references Murnau's Orlok without being the same character (just read that light novel and tell me Olrox is faithful to Orlok xD). So, it's hard to be faithful to the book's Carmilla when I'm trying to be faithful to the Castlevania counterpart of these characters.

But still, I'm willing to bend her back into a more Le Fanuesque shape from what Castlevania did to her anyway, because I honestly loathe her guts on Castlevania. Castlevania made a character full of potential into a total bitch in the only game she has any personality (Judgment) and into "another crazy worshipper" in the game that is not canon (Circle of the Moon). I respect her much more on Circle, but I still don't like it. So, while I'll give Carmilla much of her Castlevania iconography, I'll try to rewrite her personality into something less raunchy.

I intend to make her into a more refined, matter-of-factly noblewoman with small eccentricities that hides her face behind a ball mask and dresses like she's going to an extravagant masquerade. And, of course, her lesbian side will return aswell, although in a much more tasteful fashion than Judgment's horrid representation of her sexuality. She'll still maintain her role as the one who knows about Dracula's personal life anyway. She might be a vampire, but she's still an observant woman and knows what's up.

Also, something I'd like to add to Carmilla VERY MUCH is the power to control Black Panthers or turn into one, and make her be able to go through solid objects as if she were a ghost

So, one vote for Carmilla (and for Laura by proxy) and two for Olrox

[Shiroi Koumori]

I really want to see Olrox because I translated that novel. 
Just answer "What's his beef with ye old Drac?"
And the plottwist-branded plottwist sounds really intriguing.