Topic: Characters and story summaries of abandoned projects

[Lumi Kløvstad]

I have three Castlevania fanfics I had started (well, more than that but these were the interesting ones that I didn't want to forget) but for one reason or another, I abandoned.

The stories are:

“Dark Moon Intermezzo”
A filler story set after Symphony of the Night, I never placed this story specifically other than "early 1800's". Fitting somewhere into the Igavania timeline, it involves a Church attempt to "create" a Belmont-caliber hunter from another bloodline loosely related to the Belmonts. They ALMOST succeeded.

The story was abandoned under the weight of numerous other projects, which themselves were abandoned later for simply being too numerous. Despite a couple of attempts to continue working on this, I never got further than a few pages in.

It is called "Dark Moon Intermezzo" because of the Dark Moon's reputation in magic for being a time of dramatic change (often violent) and an Intermezzo is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work; befitting a story which fits between the "Belmont" and "Morris" eras of the Igavania timeline.

“Postlude of Ancient Feuds”
This is the most recent one, having been attempted less than two weeks ago. Set at the far end of the timeline (2094 AD), I was never sure whether it should fit into the Igavania timeline or not, and as a result it probably does but never concretely addressed the matter. As it stands, it's a coin toss. With only one named original character (Juliette Belmont), the bulk of the tale was going to be short retellings of Leon, Trevor, Simon, and Richter's tales as a short story anthology, with Juliette's story providing a framing narrative. The "Dracula" featured in the ending was going to be something like the Dracula Wraith from Harmony of Dissonance, being a soulless revenant made from Dracula's physical body (part of the "dancing around whether its meant to be canon or not" bit). An elderly Soma Cruz was meant to appear, and Alucard (once again under the Genya Arikado identity) would have also been involved.

This one wasn't so much "abandoned" as much as "it never even really launched". It was a great idea for a story, but I never found a way to even start it in a satisfying manner. While the initial title was "A Dusty Whip", I changed it when I realized it was A) not a cool enough title B) didn't fit the Castlevania naming conventions I loved, and C) I wasn't sure if the Vampire Killer would even be in the story.

A Postlude is a concluding piece of music, especially an organ piece played at the end of a religious service, hence the title, as the tale would have finally brought the Belmont vs Dracula conflict to a close once and for all while summarizing the most important adventures in the saga.

“Spiritual of the Trees”
Unlike the previous two, this tale was DELIBERATELY noncanon from the start, taking place entirely in its own timeline that branched from the Igavania timeline some time after Symphony of the Night. I formulated the idea sometime after Portrait of Ruin came out, feeling that the concept of an American vampire hunter was wasted by PoR.

Spiritual of the Trees was set in the plantation country of Louisiana as a deliberate homage to the Universal Studios film "Son of Dracula" (which also invented the "Alucard" trope). It also featured plot references to Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow, Curse of Darkness, and Portrait of Ruin which you'll see in the relevant character bios. This story was very nearly completed, but became a lost work for me when the hard drive of my laptop became corrupted. Everything about these characters that you'll read was reconstructed from my surviving notes.

As to the title, "Spiritual of the Trees", Spirituals are generally Christian songs that were created by African slaves in the United States. Spirituals were originally an oral tradition that imparted Christian values while also describing the hardships of slavery, which I found fitting for my American Deep South and plantation based setting, and the "Trees" are both the literal trees in the swamp and the dueling Belmont and Dracula family trees that come to a head via the characters of Kyle Morris and Jeremiah Grove.

Character bios were as follows:


Dark Moon Intermezzo

Chaysthe Jaszbek: (pronounced "Ch-ay-th Jazz-bek)

Era: Early 1800’s
Gender: Female
Age: 25
Nationality: Hungarian
Related to Belmonts?: Tangentially -- Four degrees removed from main family on mother’s side.
Weapon(s) of choice: Whip of Alchemy duplicate blessed by Church priests, silvered iron hand axe with Mountain Ash stake pommel, 6-8  holy water flasks, magical lineage (from father’s side of family), magic spells

Short bio:
Born in the era following the Belmont’s disappearance, Chaysthe is a Hungarian vampire hunter tapped by the Church to attempt to create a hunter of a similar caliber as the Belmonts to fill the gap. Armed with the tools of the trade, a distant Belmont lineage on one side of her family and powerful magical blood on the other, and further bolstered by a replication of Rinaldo Gandolfi’s Whip of Alchemy that has been blessed by the most pious priests the Church could produce, Chaysthe is no Belmont, but the closest thing that the people could come up with. Venturing into the Carpathian mountains, she must contend with a powerful Necromancer named Giraldo Loventus as proof that she has what it takes to be a rightful heir to the Belmont legacy.

Giraldo Loventus

Era: Early 1800’s
Gender: Male
Age: 47
Nationality: Italian
Related to Belmonts?: No.
Weapon(s) of choice: Ritual dagger and sword, undead minions

Short bio:
An Italian sorcerer who worships Death, Giraldo Loventus seeks the resurrection of Count Dracula once he discovers that Death serves Dracula. Setting up shop in an abandoned Castle in the Carpathian mountains once owned by the Bartley family, he finds his lair invaded by Chaysthe Jaszbek before he can successfully revive the vampiric Count. Undeterred, Loventus continues his ritual, sending legions of hastily conjured undead minions to stall Chaysthe until he can resurrect the Dark Lord, eventually confronting the hunter in person as a last-ditch delaying action once his direct involvement in the ritual ceases to be necessary.


Postlude of Ancient Feuds

Juliette Belmont

Era: 2094 AD
Gender: Female
Age: 23
Nationality: American
Related to Belmonts?: Yes -- direct descendant
Weapon(s) of Choice: None

Short Bio:
A world history major with a passion for genealogy, Juliette Belmont is participating in a dig in what is believed to be newly discovered main stronghold of Vlad Tepes III. Aware of the stories of the Belmont family (but not really believing them), Juliette has eagerly volunteered for the expedition in the hopes of finding out where the legends began. During the course of her adventure, she finds artifacts that corroborate the tales of Leon, Trevor, Simon, and Richter Belmont. She then discovers too late that Dracula is real, and not quite as dead as the legends have claimed. Furthermore, thanks to the expedition’s meddling, he is awake again, and hungry! Juliette must use all her knowledge about the old family legends and muster the courage to finally put an end to her bloodline's most bitter enemy, once and for all.


Spiritual of the Trees

Kyle Morris

Era: 1908
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Nationality: American
Related to Belmonts?: Yes, via the Morris family
Weapon(s) of Choice: Vampire Killer

Short Bio:
Kyle Morris, the nephew of Quincey Morris, is the latest heir to the Vampire Killer whip, and the Belmont legacy. Unfortunately, like his uncle before him, he is unsure of exactly what it means to be a Belmont. He has no time to learn however, as his uncle’s great nemesis has returned, and on Kyle’s home soil in the United States! Kyle must infiltrate the plantation being used by Dracula and his servants and quell the great evil before it has a chance to grow in strength and spread across all of the United States!

Hector Lecarde

Era: 1908
Gender: Male
Age: 56
Nationality: French
Related to Belmonts?: No.
Weapon(s) of Choice: Kyle Morris

Short Bio:
The latest to be entrusted with the secret of unlocking the Vampire Killer’s full power, Hector is visited briefly by Kyle Morris before Kyle sets off to destroy Dracula. Despite his deep suspicions that something will go horribly wrong in the plantation for Kyle, he conducts the ritual and unlocks the Vampire Killer’s power -- after all it’s either that, or watch America fall into darkness, and after it, the world.

Jeremiah Grove

Era: 1908 (alternate self-contained timeline)
Gender: Male
Age: 60
Nationality: American
Related to Belmonts?: No
Weapon(s) of Choice: Dracula’s Power

Short Bio:
The leader of a twisted branch of Evangelicals who believe that mankind must be shown true evil before they accept the grace of God willingly, Jeremiah Grove is a pastor who is out to save mankind by destroying it. Beginning arcane rituals in his family plantation in Grovestown, Lousiana, Jeremiah Grove seeks to become a new Dark Lord for the 20th Century, the successor to Dracula. While he succeeds in obtaining Dracula’s powers and essence, during his fight against Kyle Morris, he discovers that this essence has ideas of its own, and becomes the Earthly vessel for Dracula’s resurrection.

Mortimer “Morty” Dobbs

Era: 1908
Gender: Male
Age: 71
Nationality: American
Related to Belmonts?: No.
Weapon(s) of Choice: None known

Short Bio:
A lifelong friend of Jeremiah Grove, Mortimer “Morty” Dobbs helped Jeremiah found his church, and is a passionate believer of its message. A biblical scholar and a gentleman, Morty Dobbs is a pillar of the Grovestown community who served in the War Between the States and settled in Grovestown during Reconstruction, helping the residents get back on their feet. While his reputation is that of an altruistic philanthropist, Morty hides a horrifying secret that only comes out once Jeremiah Grove has begun transforming into Dracula: Morty is Death, Dracula’s most loyal servant, and everything has proceeded exactly as he has planned for decades in advance.

Lydia Nims

Era: 1908
Gender: Female
Age: 40
Nationality: American
Related to Belmonts?: No.
Weapon(s) of Choice: None

Short Bio:
Lydia Nims is a prominent figure in Jeremiah’s congregation: a fervent believer who was one of its first converts. She has volunteered to be the sacrifice that Jeremiah needs to claim Dracula’s power and “ascend”. Kyle meets her in the plantation early on, but is unable to dissuade her from her decision. Lydia is sacrificed as scheduled, leading to Jeremiah’s successful ritual. Dracula later reanimates her body to attack Kyle Morris during their fight, but the zealous woman's revenant is swiftly destroyed by the much more powerful vampire hunter.


Rodrigo Fernandez

Era: 1908
Gender: Male
Age: 28
Nationality: Spanish
Related to Belmonts?: No.
Weapon(s) of Choice: Powerful magic, spectral weapons

Short Bio:
A young but skilled mage from the Fernandez clan, Rodrigo has arrived in Grovestown due to worrying premonitions about an encroaching darkness that has taken root in the souls of the town residents. After conducting his own investigations, he encounters Kyle Morris at the Grove family plantation, and banding together they seek to stop the darkness before it can spread. Once Mortimer Dobbs reveals his true identity as Death, Rodrigo duels the fallen angel so that Kyle can focus entirely on Dracula.

[Lumi Kløvstad]

Just a side note: if anybody who makes fangames likes these characters and stories, feel free to adapt them. Just credit my ideas as mine and we're square.

And then send me a link when the project is done -- I think these could make killer games.