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

[Dracula9]

I will admit the zombies look a little like CV3 zombies.

STILL BETTER THAN THE ARMS-OUTSTRETCHED-TATTERED-ROBE-WEARING ZOMBIES WE'VE ONLY SEEN RECYCLED ABOUT A BILLION TIMES IN THE SERIES

[Lelygax]

STILL BETTER THAN THE ARMS-OUTSTRETCHED-TATTERED-ROBE-WEARING ZOMBIES WE'VE ONLY SEEN RECYCLED ABOUT A BILLION TIMES IN THE SERIES

Sorry guys, not a good time for it, go away... 

[Chernabogue]

Your sprite work is excellent, as always!

[theplottwist]

Your sprite work is excellent, as always!

Means a lot coming from you man!

Today I come to explain how the ceremony to banish the castle was developed:

Many years before 1999, while studying a way to seal Dracula's Castle, Charlotte Aulin realized that banishing the castle with the powers available to humans was an impossible task. Her vast magical knowledge could counter demons and even minor, fallen gods, but it was not nearly enough to counter the darkness permeating the Demon Castle, which at this point was well-known to be a being born out of chaos, possessing power much beyond what any demon of fallen god had demonstrated -- power drawn from the human heart itself.

Charlotte, then, went back to her books. But this time she knew what to look for: A way to call upon the gods. In almost every creation myth, the gods are the only beings who could actually counter chaos and place order on the universe. If there was any power that could counter the Demon Castle's chaotic biology and intent, it had to be of godly origin. If this could not do it, then nothing else would.

Her research led her to recollect an old, forgotten legend from Japan -- There once was a young woman who came from foreign lands long ago, and who had the power to listen to the gods and relay their message to the mortal men. She was known by the japanese people of old as the "Voice of the Gods (神々の声 Kamigami no koe)" and word of her quickly spread across the demon-infested land, as she defended the common people from the demons by calling upon the gods to smite evil with their power. Eventually, the young woman earned great respect from the priests, and as she grew older, her powers expanded, allowing contact with much greater gods than before.

During her life, the woman had learned greatly from her own powers, from their origin to their peak, and relayed her knowledge and the word of the gods unto the priests, becoming a protector of the land until she died.

After the woman's passing, the priests built a temple at the place of her death, which exists to this day -- The Hakuba Shrine. Since then, the Hakubas maintained a special ceremony in honor of Tensho Daijin and her brothers, who, according to the teachings left by Kamigami no koe, were nearest to mankind during solar eclipses of an specific cycle, mirroring the old legend of Tensho Daijin's coming out from inside the Ama-no-Iwato thanks to her brothers' help.

Charlotte went to Japan, and sought the help of the current head priest Eisuke Hakuba. Explaining the dire situation that Dracula's revival represented to the world, Charlotte convinced the priest, and spent years in Japan learning their customs and methods from him, which were taught by Kamigami no koe long ago. Together, they planned a ceremony to be held in Romania in August 11th 1999, when the eclipse would bring the gods nearest to mankind -- at which point they would call forth the gods' strength to counter the Demon Castle's darkness, and finally seal its evil inside the eclipse, like Tensho Daijin's own dark intentions had been sealed inside the cavern in the legend.

Details:

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OK so, while trying to understand how exactly the castle was sealed, I gathered all the evidence I could find about the ceremony. They are not many, but two pieces of crucial evidence exist:

-In Aria, Mina tells the story of Tensho Daijin's retreat inside the cave "Ama-no-Iwato" to "contain her anger against Susanoo", and eventual return from it thanks to the actions of her brothers. Tensho Daijin is none other than Amaterasu, the Sun goddess, and the story is a real part of the Shinto teachings, being present on the Kojiki, which are the religion's sacred texts.

-In the Portrait of Ruin Timeline, this bit of info is present:


So, in conclusion: They used actual magic which could control the gods thanks to the eclipse. By what Mina says, we can conclude these gods are the same ones from the Amaterasu story (and can even infer Amaterasu herself -- the Sun -- was called to seal the castle). All in all, these gods were controlled by the ceremony (which was probably a summoning ritual) to seal the castle inside the eclipse in a recreation of Amaterasu's retreat to the cave.

So I used these ideas to weave the story behind the ceremony, BUT there is one last detail: Can you guess who "Kamigami no koe" is? She is the thread that connects the whole thing together

[VladCT]

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This might be a bit of a reach, but I'm guessing a Renard due to Maria's shtick.

[theplottwist]

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This might be a bit of a reach, but I'm guessing a Renard due to Maria's shtick.

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You got it. But it's not any Renard - its Maria herself. Maria's ability to "listen to the gods" is explicitly mentioned in the Nocturne of Recollection radio drama.

After the crack on Richter's soul was discovered and he was disabled from defending mankind, the first decision was to find someone to guard the whip locked with Richter's memories, and someone to guard Dracula's remains which were sealed in a vessel by Alucard himself. Alucard and Maria travelled the land and delivered the whip to the Morris, who then moved to America to guard it. They were told to train with the whip because, in case their help was needed, they would be summoned back to Romania to fight in place of the Belmonts -- Though Alucard intented for this to never happen, and for the Morris to act purely as guardians of a weapon that couldn't fall in the wrong hands.

They then went to the Church, and the vessel was delivered. They were told to guard it until Alucard returned with the power to destroy it.

Finally, Alucard decided to help Maria expand her powers so she could either become the Belmont's cure, or Dracula's bane. If Maria could summon gods from Japanese mythology*, then in Japan they would find a way to develop her powers enough to finally destroy Dracula, and so they travelled there.

That's why Alucard is missing during the events of OoE -- he was in Japan with Maria, helping her develop her powers to either restore the Belmonts or destroy Dracula once and for all. When Dracula revived in OoE, though, they were caught off-guard and she was not ready. Alucard then rushed back home, leaving Maria to live and evolve in Japan, now that she was under trustworthy care.

When Alucard came back, however, he discovered Shanoa and the Belmont Power, along with a village full of Belmont descendants. Seeing this as a newfound opportunity to restore the Belmonts and lift the burden from Maria's shoulder, he decided to stay and focus his efforts on this instead -- telling Maria to live a good life. He also intended to lift the burden from the Morris' shoulder by restoring the Belmonts quickly, but seeing as the healing process would take ages and the Belmonts needed a guardian, this was not possible and the Morris would be needed. At this point, Alucard had to take measures.

That's where the Lecardes come in, but this is a story for another day.

* = I know the Four Gods aren't japanese deities originarily. However, they were absorbed into the Japanese belief systems (Onmyōdō firstly, and Shinto and Buddhism later) as Suzaku, Genbu, Seiryu and Byakko, earning their own japanese-given characteristics, and becoming a little distinct from the chinese analogues.

So, all in all, she seemed to be the perfect explanation for the origin of this "god controlling" magic, for Alucard's absence and for some more details that explain what was Hammer doing at the shrine in 2035.

However, I'm still a bit conflicted with one detail. I think I'll make Alucard simply tell Charlotte about the magic hiding in Japan once she concludes that nothing can rival the castle besides the power of a god. As it is now, it appears as if Charlotte deduced that very important piece of info alone, while Alucard simply stood there, mouth shut but knowing it all. This is not very consistent.

[X]

and for the Morris to act purely as guardians of a weapon that couldn't fall in the wrong hands.

This part doesn't quite make sense to me. The Vampirekiller cannot be used by anyone outside of the Belmont bloodline. We saw what happened when Johnathon Morris himself used it; no different then swinging a chain around to hit things. But that was prior to the power being unlocked for him. If it did end up outside of the family the worst I could see happening is that it becomes lost, ends up in the hands of a privet collector, or becomes a museum piece. I suppose it could even end up being recycled for use in other materials, but the weapon would be considered a priceless antique so I highly doubt it. As for people with evil intent? I seriously doubt they could touch it. At least not without suffering some serious repercussions considering its very nature. And no creature born of darkness could even approach it without feeling its energies that were meant to kill them outright. Dracula's remains on the other hand. That's a well-known story.

[theplottwist]

This part doesn't quite make sense to me. The Vampirekiller cannot be used by anyone outside of the Belmont bloodline. We saw what happened when Johnathon Morris himself used it; no different then swinging a chain around to hit things. But that was prior to the power being unlocked for him. If it did end up outside of the family the worst I could see happening is that it becomes lost, ends up in the hands of a privet collector, or becomes a museum piece. I suppose it could even end up being recycled for use in other materials, but the weapon would be considered a priceless antique so I highly doubt it. As for people with evil intent? I seriously doubt they could touch it. At least not without suffering some serious repercussions considering its very nature. And no creature born of darkness could even approach it without feeling its energies that were meant to kill them outright. Dracula's remains on the other hand. That's a well-known story.

At this point in time, wrong hands encompasses everyone who is not a Morris -- including the Belmonts. They must not touch the whip until the crack on their souls is cured, otherwise it will reject them to an irreversible state, causing it to become useless (important of note here is that no one knows about this. Eric Lecarde is told only that the reason is the prophecy, but the true reason is not revealed to anyone - Until Umbra).

Beyond the Belmonts, there are everyone else. They being wrong doesn't mean they mean to do evil with it, but they would still be wrong anyway. Something so important like the Vampire Killer is not something to be kept anywhere by anyone SPECIALLY if they don't know what the whip is.

As you said, it could be lost, or put up to display in a museum (which already are two dangerous things to happen), but there is more: It could get damaged or destroyed accidentally or not. As far as we know the whip does not have indestructible qualities. And you're right, creatures with affinity for evil are (probably) not able to get near the whip BUT we know a Belmont can be made to wield it to do evil things in their place. If a Belmont can be controlled to wield it, who is to say a normal person can't be controlled to actually destroy the whip?

So there are many good reasons why it must be guarded so that it doesn't fall "in the wrong hands." It's more about protecting its integrity and usefulness. If a Belmont wields it before the right time, the soul defect will increase the whip's rejection.

In another note: I'm looking for a better way to write the response you quoted. There is too much room for misinterpretation in some parts, and the order or reason for some events must be reworked.

The bottom line is: The whip was passed to the Morris before Alucard and Maria departed from Romania. The Morris were primarily intended to only keep the whip safe, and their training was a secondary measure in case the Belmonts did not recover in time. It was only after Shanoa destroyed Dracula that Alucard returned, and at this point it became clear that the Belmonts needed more time to recover. So the secondary plan for the Morris was set in motion: Have then wield the whip.

And, again, this is where the Lecardes come in. The Morris simply CAN'T face Dracula alone like the Belmonts with a whip that doesn't work in their hands.

[X]

At this point in time, wrong hands encompasses everyone who is not a Morris -- including the Belmonts. They must not touch the whip until the crack on their souls is cured, otherwise it will reject them to an irreversible state, causing it to become useless (important of note here is that no one knows about this. Eric Lecarde is told only that the reason is the prophecy, but the true reason is not revealed to anyone - Until Umbra).

Beyond the Belmonts, there are everyone else. They being wrong doesn't mean they mean to do evil with it, but they would still be wrong anyway. Something so important like the Vampire Killer is not something to be kept anywhere by anyone SPECIALLY if they don't know what the whip is.

As you said, it could be lost, or put up to display in a museum (which already are two dangerous things to happen), but there is more: It could get damaged or destroyed accidentally or not. As far as we know the whip does not have indestructible qualities. And you're right, creatures with affinity for evil are (probably) not able to get near the whip BUT we know a Belmont can be made to wield it to do evil things in their place. If a Belmont can be controlled to wield it, who is to say a normal person can't be controlled to actually destroy the whip?

So there are many good reasons why it must be guarded so that it doesn't fall "in the wrong hands." It's more about protecting its integrity and usefulness. If a Belmont wields it before the right time, the soul defect will increase the whip's rejection.

True enough. I didn't consider the part that the wrong hands could also mean your basic everyday Joe.

In another note: I'm looking for a better way to write the response you quoted. There is too much room for misinterpretation in some parts, and the order or reason for some events must be reworked.

Which quote could that be? Can you show me?

[theplottwist]

Which quote could that be? Can you show me?

The entire response, actually. That's why I place it inside spoiler tags. The response is not yet fully developed.

For instance: As of now, Alucard is pretty much shooting in the dark, everywhere. Not because the story requires, but because I was unable to write it properly yet. Simply telling Maria off doesn't solve the issue because Alucard would know damn well a faster answer could come from Maria's development in Japan. Though here I know more or less what to do.

Another issue is the order of events. I'm organizing it on a timeline, but there's still something off. I'm not really sure about when the whip gets to the Morris or when does Maria move to Japan (and if Alucard goes with her or not). Though things are fitting neatly, I still need to put more care into it before giving the proper response.

[theplottwist]

OK so I said I have a simplified timeline leading up to Umbra. Here's what it is looking like now. But keep in mind not ALL details are working. There are one or two things not clicking juuuuuuust yet.

Timeline:

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1800: Richter locks the whip with his memories to stop the rejection. The whip is passed to the Morris clan, and Dracula's sealed remains are entrusted to the Church by Alucard. Compelled by the gods, Maria leaves Alucard and journeys in secret to the east. With the Belmonts gone, mankind loses the ability to resist the darkness.[1]

1815: Maria returns from her journey and settles on Spain. The legend of "Kamigami no koe (Voice of the Gods)" who banished the Jiang Shi from the lands of the east with the power of the gods is born. Priests who learned the gods' teachings through her build the Hakuba Shrine, holding eclipse ceremonies to pray to the gods.[2]

1843: Shanoa defeats Dracula. Sensing his father's presence, Alucard returns to Romania[3]. Shanoa starts the forging of the glyph that will cure the Belmonts, using the Belmont power she acquired from the villagers.

1848: The glyph to cure the Belmonts is completed and encompasses the entire village. Richter's descendants are brought from hiding to live in Wygol and healing process starts. Alucard becomes their guardian and their existence is kept secret.

1893: Dracula's revival draws near. Unable to battle, Alucard forges a spear and entrusts it to the a family related to the Belmonts through the one "whose power surpasses even that of a Belmont", sealing his own power in the process. They must train to harness its power for three years before the Morris are summoned to Romania and the spear is needed to compliment the whip.[4]

1897: The Morris and Lecardes team up for the first time. Quincy Morris finishes Dracula.

1914: Drolta Tzuentes revives Elizabeth Bartley. The countess sets off the events leading to the WWI.

1917: John Morris and Eric Lecarde team up to stop Elizabeth's plans. She's destroyed by Eric, while John finishes Dracula. Dracula's remains disappear.[5]

1942: Dracula's Castle is revived. Eric Lecarde is killed by Brauner.[6]

1944: Jonathan and Charlotte storm the castle and finish Dracula together. Charlotte learns from Brauner that Dracula can be separated from his castle. Two of Dracula's remains used by Death to revive him are recovered by the Church.[7]

1961: After a mission, one more of Dracula's remains are recovered by Jonathan and Charlotte[8]. Jonathan displays symptoms of weakness from having Richter's memory consume his health. The Lecarde sisters isolate the memory in Jonathan's right hand at his behest, taking it off. Charlotte marks Jonathan with a glyph able to produce a new hand.

1985: An explosion of unknown origin destroys an entire block in Wygol. Two adults are found dead at ground zero, but their son is found enveloped by holy light and unconscious. The boy is taken by the Church and the light is suspected to have protected him. The explosion coincides with the disappearance of the glyph encompassing Wygol. The secret of Wygol as the shrine for the Belmont bloodline becomes known.[9]

1986: Having identified the surviving boy as a Belmont descendant and realized that his soul has no flaw, he's re-baptized as Julius Belmont, and is taken by Jonathan Morris to be trained to inherit the Vampire Killer. Julius' memory of the incident is locked by trauma.

1990: Cecilia L. Lang is taken by Jonathan to be his assistant and guard the Vampire Killer in his absence. She inherits the Stellar Sword.

1991: Researching for a way to banish Dracula's Castle using godly power, Charlotte discovers the legend of "Kamigami no koe" and tracks it down to Japan seeking the power to control the gods. There, she convinces the Hakuba priest to help in banishing Dracula's Castle, and spends one year learning to perform the Hakuba eclipse ceremony. Having learned her role in the ceremony successfully, Charlotte returns one year later, and a ceremony to summon the gods is planned to be led by priest Eisuke Hakuba at Romania in 1999.[10]

1992: Lenora Belnades' training begins. She's taught by Charlotte how to separate Dracula from his power based on her studies of Brauner's method. Lenora becomes the only person able to carry the task safely.

Details:

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[1] - The whip getting to the Morris shortly after SotN comes from IGA himself. Dracula being sealed by Alucard is confirmed at the end of the Radio Drama (though the specific meaning of "sealed Dracula" is a subject of debate). Mankind losing the ability to resist the darkness is straight out spelled in OoE's prologue.

[2] - This is why the Jiang Shi "crossed the sea from the east." He escaped from China as Maria hunted them all down on her way following the calling of the gods. He buried himself in a cave and laid dormant until Shanoa disturbed him.

[3] - Alucard is gone from Romania, and I still do not know why exactly, though I THINK it could have to do with Nostradamus' prophecy. I only know that he "was looking for a way to destroy Dracula" as per the japanese entry for Alucard on Dawn of Sorrow's Library mode. Judgment's ending says the same thing. So this prophecy could be a discovery of his in France while looking for clues.

[4] - As per the entry for Alucard in Dawn of Sorrow's library, Alucard sealed his powers to "prevent Dracula's return." The interpretation given here is that the sealing of his power is a consequence of creating the spear for the Lecardes, so that it can help prevent Dracula's return by complimenting the power of a whip that is not as powerful while locked. Why Alucard didn't fight in 1897 or in 1917 or in 1944? Now you know -- his powers were sealed and he was guarding the Belmonts. Also, if you played Judgment, you know who is the one "whose power surpasses even that of a Belmont" and will understand why Alucard trusted them to keep the spear.

[5] - The remains disappearing is a build-up for Umbra. Notice how Dracula keeps getting revived after Ecclesia and the remains are nowhere to be seen and nobody is looking for them?

[6] - As stated in the manual, Eric died at 50 years old. If you do the math with the years of his birth and Portrait, you'll notice he died two years before Portrait. Ergo, the castle in Portrait has been up for two entire years.

[7] - Death is implied to have revived Dracula, and needed the throne room to do it. This explains how Dracula was so weak, to the point of needing to absorb Death to transform -- he was revived by Death with only two remains. More build up for Umbra.

[8] - This mission will be explained in Umbra -- the Church is already aware that there is a force behind the remains' dissapearance. This force still has two remains after the mission.

[9] - There is something to be added here and it has to do with the military. Though I'm not ready to do it yet.

[10] - Charlotte knows how to separate Dracula from his power, but not how to deal with the Demon Castle. So she seeks the power of the gods to do it, as explained before. After learning the ceremony from the priest, she trains Lenora to conduct the separation, while she and the priest carry on the sealing.

[Belmontoya]

Nice work on the story.

One question I have about this project pertains to the title.

Why have you chosen an "of Sorrow" title? I typically associate that with the Soma storyline.

Just curios what your reason for that is.

[theplottwist]

Nice work on the story.

One question I have about this project pertains to the title.

Why have you chosen an "of Sorrow" title? I typically associate that with the Soma storyline.

Just curios what your reason for that is.

"Sorrow" because this story would be the beginning of Sorrow series outside Japan (Aria and Dawn). Ergo "Umbra of Sorrow" is the reason for Aria and Dawn to exist, storytelling speaking. If not for the umbra that will be the castle's prison, there wouldn't be other "Sorrow" games (again, on the storytelling sense, of course). And more than that, "Umbra of Sorrow" refers to Dracula's own sorrow upon his demise.

Though I understand your point. "Sorrow" is indeed associated with Soma. In this story, Soma's existence will be explained and he will appear at a certain point so all the threads are connected.

[theplottwist]

So, today I bring you Alucard, in vampire form!



And with this, the explanation behind this form:

When Alucard started guarding the Belmonts, he became unable to fight Dracula together with the Morris clan. So he sealed his powers in his equipment, and forged a weapon from them using alchemy -- the Alucard Spear. This was his way to lend his power to the people who would fight in his place to prevent Dracula's revival. Although the spear carries Alucard's powers, its full potential is locked by a key (a ring, in fact) kept by Alucard so it doesn't overwhelm the spear's user. The ring also contains a small fraction of his power so he can defend himself if needed. As he sealed his powers into the spear, his hair turned black and his human side became prominent.

In 1999, Alucard recovered his spear, as himself had predicted he would one day. With his spear in hand, Alucard is able to tap again on his full power by separating it back into his equipment. Yet, for having spent one century without them, he is not able to fully submerge himself on this vampire form, only separating the spear to use them for short periods of time.

While in vampire form, Alucard has enough power to keep the Sword Familiar out of its card. His hair turns platinum blonde once more and his vampiric features become apparent. The vampire form grows stronger as the spear evolves.

Now, this is where this all comes from:

-Remember how in Dawn's Julius Mode, Alucard had to dress himself up to "unlock his powers", including having his hair turn platinum blonde again? This is the explanation. He did it by fully disassembling the spear to face Soma.

-The "key" to unlock this power is a special ring. In Aria, when Genya executes the "Soul Steal" to protect Soma and Mina, you can see a glimmer in his hand. THAT is the ring containing a small fraction of his power -- just enough to defend himself -- that can disassemble the spear.

-Fusing equipment into other equipment is not new to this Alucard. Hector was doing that centuries before him, and it's heavily implied to be alchemy. The Alucard Spear is merely a fusion of the Alucard Mail, Alucard Sword and Alucard Shield.

-Pieces of equipment CAN contain someone's powers, as is the case with Dracula's Tunic.

Yes. I turned Alucard into a magical girl.

Don't forget to check the artwork in its full size at Junki's page.

[VladCT]

Yes. I turned Alucard into a magical girl.

Well, at least he didn't have to make a contract with a shifty creature or another. :V
Sprite when tho?