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heraldofcrow · 1 year

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The Cainhurst Royal Family

Hello. I am HeraldOfCrow and I stole an idea from LITERALLY TWO of my mutuals. We have all entered the same hell-pit of mad obsession together and likely have fried our brains. Thus I will ALSO be revealing my headcanons about the Cainhurst family portraits. The holy trinity must be completed, and I am the third piece.

Source

Oh, look who’s using the exact same portrait compilation. I am very original.

So, the headcanon that Katy shared about Caryll being the artist of these portraits? I love it. Canon.

Also, because I have woven most of my personal headcanons about these figures into my fic about Bloody Crow, I will refrain from being purely indulgent and list both the “General Headcanon” that most Bloodborne fans would be able to accept, and the “Personal Headcanon” which is my completely fabricated worldbuilidng based on very flimsy evidence.

Let’s jump right to the obvious one!

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General Headcanon: The woman on the left is Annalise, the first ever Child of Blood born to Cainhurst nobles and therefore the first of their Undead. The woman on the right is her mother, the former Queen of Cainhurst.

Personal Headcanon: Annalise and her mother, Claudia. Claudia has chestnut brown hair with hints of red and Annalise was a full-blown natural redhead. Annalise was also Cainhurst’s golden child, and was Claudia’s firstborn. Anna was considered to be the most beautiful woman in Cainurst, and had countless suitors over the years. Everyone wanted to be her consort, and to partake in her blood. The promise of beauty and immortality was too much to bear for them, and this is why the Church detested Anna simply for existing. They considered her an immortal siren witch that seduced innocents into sin and defilement.

Anna herself was no such person, but did learn to embrace the corrupted image as a weapon to use against her enemies. She had no other choice, as she was born into her position and was hated by a powerful authority she did not know or even begin a conflict with. Initially a sweet and well-meaning child, she became cold, calculating, manipulative, and ruthless over the years, learning from her mother. However, her public image remained the same in Cainhurst, and she was perceived as an entirely benevolent and graceful queen. Annalise remained alive for an unknown number of years even after her people were massacred. Claudia died of her old age.

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General Headcanon: Lady Evelyn, dame commander of the knight’s cavalry, and her husband, captain of the mounted brigade. Evelyn was the sister of Annalise’s mother and therefore Annalise’s aunt. She sports the vivid red hair that Annalise seemingly inherited as well. Evelyn was the one for whom the knight’s pistol was named.

Personal Headcanon: Evelyn was Claudia’s elder sister and was initially in line to inherit the throne. However, when Claudia gave birth to the Child of Blood instead of Evelyn, the line of succession was changed. Evelyn, snubbed and overlooked, took up the mantle of organizing and commanding the knights. She disposed of any bestial threats from outside of Cainhurst and even from within, should the nobles become too drunk. When the blood was brought to Cainhurst initially, Evelyn did not partake in it. Yet after a time she realized that her age would affect her ability to fight, and gave in, receiving a gracious offering from Annalise.

Her hair turned white upon consumption, and she wore it styled in a ribboned ponytail thereafter. The knights, who adored her, imitated the style with their wigs. The pistol was also named after her, since she was the one to modify it and popularize it. She was an excellent sharpshooter, and commanded her troops with stern and strict council. A stoic and formal woman, she was the complete opposite of her notoriously flamboyant sister.

Evelyn’s husband was Lord Benedict, captain of the mounted brigade that would ride out to defend the gates and bridge leading into Cainhurst. He would have been that knight on horseback we fought had the enemy not been cut. Benedict himself was more of a bombastic showman. His relationship with Evelyn was one of businesslike professionalism. Their marriage was an arranged union, and lacked any amorous connection. However, they did have two children—Leo, the Vileblood drifter from cut content, and a daughter named Agatha, who took up her mother’s position later on. The family had a theme of being cast aside in favor of others, and so neither of Evelyn’s children ever received portraits. The children were lost/killed during the Cainhurst massacre along with their father. Evelyn died of mysterious poisoning a few years prior.

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General Headcanon: Captain of the castle guard/defense (the gargoyle, lost children of antiquity faction), and his elder sister, the queen before Annalise’s mother, hence the grandmother of Annalise.

Personal Headcanon: The man is Captain Alexander, the head of the castle’s guard. Not the royal guard that defended Annalise, but strictly the “gargoyle” watchmen, or the lost children of antiquity that wear old-fashioned, metallic knight armor. The woman is his elder sister, Zofia, who gave birth to Claudia and Evelyn. Both Zofia and Alexander were austere and cold, adhering to the ways and traditions of their generation, and looking down on the madness that befell their children. Neither of them ever partook in the blood, but believed that they could honor and tap into their Pthumerian heritage without the aid of an external medium. Evelyn was far more like her mother, and the two were closer than Zofia and Claudia ever were. Claudia was half the reason the Cainhurst aristocracy underwent such drastic changes in its latter years, but the children of Evelyn and by extent, Zofia, never forgave the slight.

On another note, Alexander was the grandfather of Lady Maria and Bloody Crow. This is where it gets really self-indulgent and nonsensical, but what I wrote for Maria and Crow was simply this—They were brother and sister, both being the trueborn children of Dominic, son of Alexander, and Clarice, daughter of a lesser Cainhurst noble that held power in Hemwick. Dominic was the captain of the royal guard that defended the queens…both Claudia and Annalise.

Claudia and Dominic were cousins, and thus closer in age. Maria, Bloody Crow (whom I have named Luther), and Annalise were in the same age range. They were friends as children. Maria and Luther, like Annalise, were “golden children,” but they were wayward, and fled Cainhurst in their youth. Maria went on to become the apprentice of Gehrman and eventually one of the greatest beast hunters to ever walk the earth. Maria had also been a knight under Evelyn prior to leaving, and had mastered the art of quickening in her early youth. She was a Cainhurst prodigy through and through, even naturally born with the silver hair of a Pthumerian and the boiling blood of her ancestors. Her absence from Cainhurst was considered a great loss.

Luther was likewise a prodigy, and became nigh invincible when he transitioned into a Vileblood in his later life. With his sister’s gift, he could quicken effortlessly, and his training as a crow among the Hunters of Hunters in secret led him to be even more formidable. The dark-clad, silver-haired crow of Cainhurst was considered a demonic terror and a vengeful spirit of wrath incarnate when he was at his peak. Such a dark and mysterious figure was one even Logarius was known to have greatly feared. There was no other like the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst.

So, overall…it was a fascinating line that descended from Alexander and Zofia. Both died of old age.

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General Headcanon: Last generation captain of Annalise’s guard on the left, as well as her younger brother. On the right, Logarius the Executioner and future king consort.

Personal Headcanon: So, for the pretty boys we have Theodore and Logarius. Theo was the beloved younger brother of Annalise and was known, in a similar manner as his sister, for his youthful glamor. He notably inherited his mother’s more chestnut brown hair. He was not immortal, but very long-lived and appeared quite young even in his elder years. A popular court presence, Theo was well loved by his people and never felt as though he lived in his sister’s shadow. He was the last royal captain and the one to succeed Dominic after the latter’s premature death in combat. His loyalty was strong, and he led the guards to retrieve blood dregs for Annalise. This he did out of duty and love, with Annalise also rewarding him on occasion with her blood. His life was only extended by the gift, and he relished it.

As for Logarius, he was a foreigner from a Hungarian-coded land where the family of Cainhurst executioners often hailed from. Logarius’ name is, interestingly, Hungarian in the non-Anglicized translation, and is actually the place name of a district in Oradea, a Romanian city within a sub-region of Transylvania. The city district is called Rogeriusz, if anyone is curious.

So, Logarius was a foreigner raised in Cainhurst and brought up to be an Executioner for the royal family…the type that would carry out the court punishments for criminals or traitors. He was chosen and arranged to be wed to Annalise in his early youth, hence his kingly garb and portrait. But Logarius had higher ambitions, and wanted the throne entirely for his own. He rabidly craved power and immortality, which led him to commit dangerous and treasonous acts against his family. Upon discovery, the aristocracy exiled him and chose a different consort for Annalise. Logarius swore his revenge and set out upon an executioner’s crusade, using a certain holy church to gain leverage over the years. He eventually became the ruin of his people and took his frigid throne in vain. He died by the hand of a strange, intrusive hunter years later. Theo was slain in the Cainhurst massacre.

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General Headcanon: Top left was the daughter of the castle guard captain and cousin to Annalise’s mother. Top right was a renowned Cainhurst scientist that invented Numbing Mist and worked to modernize the weaponry of Cainhurst warriors. Also served as an ambassador to the foreign Japan-coded country that brought gifts like the Chikage and Rakuyo. Bottom portrait is a famous Cainhurst scholar and keeper of the ancient library. Counterpart to the scientist.

Personal Headcanon: The noblewoman in the white dress is Diane, firstborn daughter of Captain Alexander and sister to Dominic, thereby making her the aunt of Lady Maria and Luther, the Bloody Crow. Had Zofia’s children not survived, Diane would have taken the throne, and so this is why she received a portrait alongside her father. She, like her father, was traditional and did not often engage in the goings-on of later Cainhurst. She was also close with Lady Maria and the two shared a love of astronomy and botany.

The bell ringing-type woman was of more direct Pthumerian descent than several of the nobles and possessed inhuman intelligence for it. Her name was Charlotte, and it was from her that the Iosefka twins (My names are: Iosefka and Karolina) were descended. Charlotte spoke several languages fluently, including the ancient tongue of Pthumeru and the Eastern language of the Japanese-coded allies. As such, she was an ambassador for Cainhurst and was the reason the country received strong intercultural enrichment prior to the Vileblood revolution. Charlotte was the inventor of numbing mist as well, and was known for being a learned alchemist, scientist, astronomer, crafter, and interpreter. From a distance, she admired the trick weapon techniques that Gehrman employed in the old workshop and began to modify Cainhurst’s weapons to be more advanced. She specifcally commissioned and helped craft weapons like the Chikage, Rakuyo, and Reiterpallasch, as well as adopting the method of using quicksilver bullets for Cainhurst arms.

Charlotte was brilliant and obsessive as a scientist, pushing Cainhurst rapidly into a more modern and functional standard of life. Her inventions were famed and earned her a widespread amount of respect and admiration from different countries around the world.

Lastly, the man in red is the cut content Cainhurst librarian named Beltran. (Yes, mutuals I share the headcanon). He was a scholar well-versed in the histories of Cainhurst, the Pthumerian people, the Great Ones, and the cosmic mythologies. Like Charlotte, he spoke many different languages and studied ancient cultures for the sake of enriching his knowledge of the world around him. He was also a provost of the royal academy at Cainhurst before Byrgenwerth became the new hotspot. He sent his son, Laurence, to the new college for a higher education, but the two grew apart due to the rift that arose between Cainhurst and Byrgenwerth at the time. The advent of the Vilebloods did no one any favors, and Laurence left behind his heritage willingly. Beltran remained in Cainhurst until his death, counseling the aristocracy and tutoring their children. The “Beltran is Laurence’s father” theory stems from that damn pendant, in case you’re wondering.

These three nobles met their deaths in a variety of ways. Diane committed suicide during the peak of the Cainhurst-Healing Church conflict, Charlotte died/disappeared under unknown circumstances during a visit to the Pthumerian tombs, and Beltran contracted an illness and passed on a few years before the Cainhurst genocide. He never reconciled with his son.

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Additional Notes:

—The Cainhurst baby pictured with the mother of Annalise is mysterious to me, but I have settled on the headcanon that it is Arianna. Arianna does wear a scarlet noble’s dress, and her blood is special enough to mark her as a worthy vessel for the birth of a Great One’s child. The way her hair loses its color in the same manner Annalise’s did makes me think she would have to be a very close relative. So, yes…the blond-haired, red-clad potato child is Arianna in my eyes. She likely escaped Cainhurst as a child during the genocide and was raised in Yharnam.

—I think the bell-ringing woman would have been considered a witch by the Healing Church and was maybe a target they felt needed to be eliminated. The Iosefka twins could have been her daughters or granddaughters, brilliant and talented scientists themselves, but wary of the Church upon discovering their heritage.

—In my eyes, all of these people pictured, with the exception of Alexander, Zofia and Logarius, imbibed the forbidden blood at some point in their lives and became true Vilebloods. Only Annalise was immortal, but the rest were long-lived and passed the trait to their children biologically.

—Cainhurst puts quite a bit of emphasis on their queens and mothers. I believe this is why the woman heirs are prevalent in depictions.

—The theory about Alfred being of Cainhurst descent is fascinating to me, but I am not sure if I adopt the headcanon yet. However, he does appear to have absurd strength and his golden-haired appearance (bearing similarity to Arianna) naturally summons the thought.

—I have headcanoned these people as mostly related because I think it would make sense for these portraits to be “the royal family album,” with a few exceptions made for the relevant figures that were more distantly related.

—Logarius’s portrait was not replaced with an image of the next kingly-robed consort because of secrecy. The royal family wanted to arrange the marriage in a secluded manner, so as to avoid revealing the identity of the next king. This was at the time when the conflict with the Healing Church was at its worst, and Logarius was deliberately seeking out the next king of Cainhurst.

—None of this is anything close to canon, but as someone obsessed with Cainhurst and who wants to develop a in-depth lore for their culture and history, I felt like it was worth it to at least try to imagine who these people might be and how they are connected to the actual canon. However, I understand that this is literally on the level of fan-fiction and that I am using these headcanons for the BASIS of a fic, so please don’t take this very seriously. Hopefully, I will be able to complete a reference post in the future with more general headcanons that are not so specific to me, and that more people can actually enjoy.

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So, that’s it for now! Thanks @fantomette22 and @katyspersonal for inspiring me to finally do this! This will make a fantastic reference for my writing in the future, and I couldn’t have gotten the energy to do it without you guys. I adore both of your headcanons posts as well, and I love how different but similar our ideas are! I’m living for the diversity, and hopefully people like our crazy ramblings about these rich Cainhurst snobs 😅🙌