The people of Old Yharnam were dying.
They called it "ashen blood"; a baffling sickness that ravaged the town.
It's not hard to imagine what the symptoms were. And the only treatment they
had
were these little white tablets, and even these only offered temporary relief.
There weren't a cure, not by a long shot. So when the Healing Church appeared
proclaiming salvation via their blood transfusions
it probably came at the perfect time. The people were cured
of their "ashen blood ailment" and the Church's miracle cure
became the pride of Yharnam and the envy of outsiders.
People would come from far and wide for a chance
at blood ministration, and the Healing Church gained unprecedented power
through the faith of its people.
Only, don't you think this is all too convenient?
That there would be a sickness of the blood? That it would only affect the
populace of Old Yharnam?
That the Healing Church was ready and waiting with transfusions that could
cure anything?
No. It's possible the Healing Church poisoned the populace of Old Yharnam
with the ashen blood ailment. The "Poison Knife" tells us that "poison was a weapon
of the Church",
the antidote tablets, that the populace used to treat
ashen blood, cure poison, and
underneath Old Yharnam runs a water supply that could have been easily tainted.
What better way to create a community ready to accept
the miracles the Healing Church? But, regardless of what you believe,
it's a fact that the ashen blood ailment eventually triggered the spread
"the beastly scourge". And since Old Yharnam was one of the first places treated with
the old blood,
its people were among the first to turn.
"The Hunter's Workshop" existed to fight
the scourge of beasts. It was one branch of the Church
run by Gehrman, The First Hunter. The hunters workshop itself consisted of
factions each with different ideas on beast hunting.
One of these factions were the "Powder Keg Hunters, Bearers
of the Powder Keg Badge." The Powder Keg Hunters
are credited with creations such as the "Cannon", the "Rifle Spear",
the "Stake Driver", and perhaps even molotov cocktails,
but these are unlocked when you attain their badge. The late Powder Kegs had a
motto,
"If a weapon ain't got kick, it just ain't worth it". They were labeled heretics
by the rest of the Workshop who spurned their crude genius.
But you can't deny they had character. One of the Powder Keg Hunters
was Djura.
He was said to have been uncommonly kind, and dreadfully
foolish; and he wasn't just any hunter,
he was a hunter of the dream. The hunter's dream sustained him,
allowing him to suffer little consequence from death, enabling him
to venture out into the waking world from the safety of another realm.
Who knows for how long he did this, and for what reasons.
Perhaps he saw a great good in what the workshop was doing,
their hunting of beasts kept the populace safe. Though
it can't have been too long before everything got out of hand.
A couple of people turning into beasts was manageable,
but when the Blood Moon descended, the line between man and beast was blurred.
And "Old Yharnam", one of the first places treated with the "old blood",
became severely overrun by beasts. At this point
secrecy was impossible, and no longer required. The
only way to contain the beasts was to launch an all-out assault on Old Yharnam.
And who better for the job than the Powder Keg Hunters?
Old Yharnam was sealed and set ablaze
to prevent the spread of the beastly scourge. The town burned,
and so did the men, women, children, and beasts within it.
We find the "Charred Hunter Set" within the ruins;
worn by the hunters who swept through after the raging flames
subsided, to hunt victims of the scourge who survived the inferno.
It vividly mentions the stench of singed
blood. The weaponry, attire, and over enthusiasm of the Powder Kegs
was clearly visible in the smoking debris that remained.
There is little doubt that they were responsible, but
the Hunters did not perform this purge eagerly. In fact,
we see a certain reluctance in the notes left behind.
"The red moon hangs low, and beasts rule the streets.
Are we left no other choice, than to burn it all to cinders?"
Time passes and "Central Yharnam" becomes the heart of the city,
and Old Yharnam becomes this distant memory that lies
smoldering and forgotten. But when we venture down
into the ruins of Old Yharnam, we find that one human
still remains within,
Djura. "You there, Hunter.
Didn't you see the warning?
Turn back at once. Old Yharnam
burned and abandoned by men, is now home only to beasts.
They are of no harm to those above. Turn back, or the hunter
will face the hunt." Djura felt defeated by the state of Old Yharnam.
So much so that he renounced his Hunter's vows and pledged never to kill another
beast.
This kind, foolish man found his true calling in protecting the beasts of
Yharnam
from the hunter he used to be. "You
are a skilled hunter. Adept,
merciless, half-cut with blood. As the best hunters
are. Which is
why I must stop you!"
"I should think you still have dreams?
Well, the next time you dream,
give some thought to the hunt..." No one truly knows the hunts purpose.
It is watched over by a man who does not wish to be there,
and it's inhabited by a doll who exists to serve you.
There is no explanation for why we venture out
and kill. For Djura, Old Yharnam was his realization that hunters are no better
than the beasts that they've slain,
and it's true really. If a beast is characterized by
its mindless thirst for blood, then are hunters really
any different? Some beasts are even capable
speech and of reason. "Die! Die! Hunters are
killers, nothing less!
You call ME a beast? A Beast!?
What would you know? I didn't ask for this!"
"You hunters have got more blood on your hands."
"I no longer dream, but I was once a hunter too.
There's nothing more horrific than a hunt.
In case you fail to realize, the things you hunt,
they're not beasts, they're people.
You're not hunting beasts;
it's you, you're the beast.
Just think about what you're doing.
It's utter madness.
One day you will see."