#i made one for gehrman ages ago

[feartheoldblog]

#bloodborne #lady maria of the astral clocktower #ignore that the angle is literally wrong #LMAOOO #i made one for gehrman ages ago #forgetting that she has one as well LMAO

[fantomette22]

Since when does beast blood crept up the right leg?

It came to my attention that some people missed a detail that was already in the base game concerning the thing about how the best blood "crept up the right leg". Apparently injecting blood in the right leg (and having consequences from it) is something that could have happen way before the healing church and the old hunters.

Like you might be aware (if you played the dlc) many old hunters have belt on their trouser & right leg (Like Henryk, Djura & the old hunters) :

Old hunter trousers that protected countless hunters from the beasts in an older age. A widespread belief of the period was that "beast blood crept up the right leg", and this led to the double-wrapped belt.

+ Gehrman is missing's the end of his right leg. (well we have 0 idea how he loose it to so... mystery not sure it's link but it probably didn't help in the collective imagery).

It seems to indicate that smt is going on with it right ? Could be just a belief but I think there's a bit a truth in this.

Here's an image of an half transformed Yharnamite in Yhahar'gul. Like the cleric beast & huntsmen it's their left arm who are bigger / seems to transformed first.

Why ? Well blood transfusion. It's where they got their blood transfusion.

Then what about the hunters legs ? Where could this rumors about the right leg come from ? Well were do we (the hunter) pass our time injecting blood vials to heal ? Bingo. The right leg. In that case, it made sense that some of the hunters who turned into beast would begin their transformation in this part.

Now there's another interesting details concerning the right leg thing. And depending on the timeline it's really interesting and confusing. It seems that the old Cainhurst knight were missing their right leg too. Perhaps for a similar reason? So that "legend" could be even older!

Take a look at the staircase that led to the Queen's chamber just after passing Logarius and before the room with Annalise.

Ok you see the statues? All the knights armors are missing their right leg below the knee.

So what does this status depicted? Well personally I don't think they're the Vilebloods we know when the beast plague strike Yharnam and when they were enemies of the church. but old cainhurst knight. Maybe a few centuries ago.

The following armor, really similar to one illustrated in one painting we can found in the chalice dungeons. It does look more akin to those missing a leg don't you think?

Ah yes Cainhurst went to war with Pthumeru and their pthumerians cousins it seems. But it's another story. (+ they got their ass kicked and that's perhaps why Gehrman just thought that using lighter clothes could be more efficient. old armors are bad.)

Also...Here's a cut content enemy that has supposed to be found in the chalice dungeons. The "Nameless Cainhurst knight"

He is missing his right leg too....

So...why are they missing a leg ? Using old blood before everyone? Hm who knows...

and yes I know moon presence basically take our left leg but a bigger part too

(I just wanted to show off the the knight armor on their horse! many people miss it apparently an I was advice to share it!)

#I mean no wonder cainhurst & hunters (powder kegs + gehrman) have ties with cainhurst XD with that and sharing designs and old weapons... #I thought the status at Cainhurst were oblivious but no I'm too used to rare and hidden lore essay XD #bloodborne #bloodborne theories #bloodborne theory #bloodborne analysis #bloodborne the old hunters #cainhurst #bloodborne cut contents #the old blood #bloodborne lore

[mrslittletall]

Prompt: Painful Transformation Fandom: Bloodborne Characters: Vicar Amelia Word Count: 1.598 AO3-Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18718291/chapters/49982243

Summary: Amelia gathers her thoughts before a hunter comes in to witness her transformation.

(Author's note: I always had the feeling that Amelia desperately tried to supress her transformation and so I worked a few of my headcanons about the backstory of the church and Amelia into it. She will forever be one of my favourite bosses with an awesome cutscene and that blood curdling screams.)

Written for @badthingshappenbingo Please note that I don’t take requests for this anymore!

"Remain wary of the frailty of men. Their wills are weak, minds young. Were it not for fear, death would go unlamented." Seek the old blood. Let us pray, let us wish... to partake in communion. Let us partake in communion... and feast upon the old blood. Our thirst for blood satiates us, soothes our fears. Seek the old blood. But beware the frailty of men. Their wills are weak, minds young. The foul beasts will dangle nectar and lure the meek into the depths. Remain wary of the frailty of men..."

Amelia had recited this exact prayer for the last several hours now. It was the night of the hunt and she could hear the sounds of a fight from outside. A hunter was coming... and she knew, once they would set their feet over the treshold of the grand cathedral, she wouldn't be able to suppress her own beastly scourge within her anymore.

And once this would happen, the hunter would do what a hunter would must, slaughtering their prey. The thought... terrified her. She clutched the vicar's golden pendant and once again recited the prayer again. It was the last thing that tied her to her humanity, the last thing that kept her from turning.

As she prayed she looked up and her gaze fell onto his skull.

Laurence... the founder, the first Vicar, how would he have behaved in her situation? She couldn't ask him anymore, she could only pray, pray for his guidance. It had been years since he died... turned, only a skull remaining.

Amelia had been taken in by him, everything she knew about blood research she knew from him, she had been eager to take in her role as the next Vicar once Laurence would have stepped down, but when he turned into the first cleric beast, she had been still too young, only fourteen, and the golden pendant instead had been given to the next suitable person who could act as the Vicar, one of the higher ranking church ministers.

She knew that the people had searched out for Ludwig to ask him to take the role, he was beloved and strong, but Ludwig had rejected the offer. After Laurence' death, he had been the most distressed. She remembered having sitting next to him when he had gotten treatment for several cruel burn wounds with the old blood in the infirmary, as the Holy Blade woke up and had to realize that he had just slain his lover with his very own hands. The very same person that had acted as a parental figure for Amelia, a mere orphan. They both had let their tears flow freely this day.

A few weeks later, Ludwig had disappeared. They had found a horrible beast however that had the Holy Moonlight Sword stabbed through its chest. While some of the church hunters had suspected, that Ludwig, whose mind seemed to be broken since Laurence died, had abandoned them and his sword, Amelia was certain that this beast had been Ludwig.

The way the signature sword of him was pierced through the beast, the gentle eyes she was able to see in that amalgamation of a face... she was certain Ludwig had kept enough of his humanity to end his life before he could become a threat to others.

...And now she was on the verge of becoming a threat for others. At least Amelia had made sure to evacuate the church as good as possible. Some of the church doctors hadn't listened to her and continued to roam cathedral ward, to join in the hunt. And she knew that one of the executioners had joined in it too, probably having an ulterior motive.

Once again Amelia repeated her prayer, the prayer that Laurence had taught her, the prayer that had been spoken every morning and every evening in the church. She could feel her own transformation lingering in her chest, it almost made it hard for her to speak. She clutched the golden pendant harder.

She had become the Vicar of the Healing Church once she had reached the age of thirty. She never knew why they had waited so long for her to actually vote her into the position she had trained for since she had been a child. Since then, sixteen years had passed since Laurence had died. She had been given the gold pendant, the informations about the blood research and she had been left to rule over a town that was so dependent on the old blood, that she didn't had another chance but to continue their practices.

What she also had been given was Laurence' dying message. That they never had showed it to her before had made her chest burn with anger. Written on a singed piece of paper, in shaky big letters, stood only one sentence.

“Fear the old blood.”

Amelia had tried to find out what Laurence had wanted to say. But all the people who had once been close to him had already died or vanished.

Lady Maria had taken her own life at the astral clocktower.

Gehrman had one day vanished without a trace and when she had asked for him, Laurence had given her a blank stare and vanished into his office for the rest of the day and she knew that she couldn't ask about his whereabouts ever again.

Micolash, who once had been the closest friend of Laurence had one day packed his things and left.

And Laurence and Ludwig both had turned and died, leaving her with a riddle. She didn't gave up though and searched for more people who could know what it meant and by slogging through Laurence' old diaries and letters, she had found the names of two of his other friends, Rom and Caryll.

However, she was never able to locate Rom, mainly because it had been described that she had stayed at Byrgenwerth. That had been Laurence' old school and he had declared it as forbidden ground a long time ago. Amelia wanted to respect his wishes to break ties with his old school and never tried to seek it out.

Caryll, on the other hand, could be tracked down, they had became a rune smith, but they had been clear about that they didn't want have anything to do with the Healing Church and that she should leave them alone and so this research had been fruitless too.

While she had read Laurence' diaries though, she had found the phrase on the paper multiple times, apparently having been spoken by Laurence' old teacher and the first Vicar had made sure to mock him all the way over it, describing that the old blood was their future and nothing to be feared about and that it would led humanity into a new age.

And Amelia had latched onto this. The old blood was something good, it did help people. It surely would help them reach a new age, she couldn't even fathom why Laurence last words had about fearing it. Especially because the diaries also stated that all his research had led him to be certain about that it was completely safe.

And over the years, his words had been forgotten. By her, by the church. She continued the practices she had been told as the Vicar of the Healing Church, unaware that the true power laid with the church ministers.

And now she was kneeling in front of the skull of the man who started it all, reciting a prayer that cherished the old blood, as these thoughts crept into her mind.

...Maybe it had all been the bloods fault and Laurence had realized it and wanted to give them a warning? A warning that they all had ignored and forgotten?

She didn't had time anymore to mull further about this thoughts. The sounds of fighting from outside had ceased and she could hear steps ascending the stairs to the grand cathedral.

As soon as they crossed the threshold, she stopped reciting her prayer, instead looking at the pendant one last time, bringing it up to her chest as a rift shook through her whole body.

It was unspeakable, indescribable pain as her bones shifted, as she felt how she grew far larger than before, she couldn't help but scream in pain and terror, blood coming out from within her, staining the altar she had prayed upon before.

She felt how her feet changed, new claws ripping right through her shoes, she felt the pain of antlers snaking their way out of her skull, the pain as her mouth grew into a snout, every single teeth being replaced by a row of deadly sharp new ones, every single of them coming out could be felt by her and while this all happened in several seconds, it felt like an eternity for her, as her bones creaked and shifted and forced her to bend forwards, forced her to put a hand on the ground for support, a hand lined with claws.

...She closed her other hand around the pendant. She could feel her humanity fading, but she would hold on. Hold on to the last shred of humanity she had. But for know, she knew that she wouldn't survive long with a hunter having seen her transformation right in front of their eyes.

She turned to face the hunter, a hunter who had already drawn their weapon. A hunter that would only see her as the next prey and put her out of her assumed misery.

Amelia prepared herself for a fight.

#badthingshappenbingo #painful transformation #bloodborne #vicar amelia #fanfiction #littlewritesstuff

[mrslittletall]

Prompt: Self-Harm

Fandom: Bloodborne Characters: Laurence the first Vicar, Vicar Amelia Word Count: 2.297 AO3-Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18718291/chapters/54999370

Summary: Amelia is fulfilling her duties as a blood saint and sometimes that means that she has to rely on some more extreme measurements.

(Author's note: Self-Harm could have been used for a lot of different scenarios, but when I thought about it I had a clear picture in my mind and I used it for this fic. Please enjoy!)

Written for @badthingshappenbingo​ Hey, look at this, this prompt earned me a bingo ^^  I still have quite a few to fill out and even though I have ideas for some of them, I don’t have them for everything. I won’t take requests, but feel free to shoot me suggestions, maybe you help inspire me for a prompt.

“Amelia.”

Amelia looked up from her schoolwork to see Laurence standing in her door frame. “Yes?”, she asked.

“Do you have a little bit of time later?”, he asked, but not looking at her, gaze slightly averted. Amelia found it a tiny bit strange, normally he wasn't so distant with her.

“I need to finish my schoolwork but then I am free.”, she said.

“Good, come see me in my office once you are finished.”

And as suddenly as he had appeared in her door frame Laurence had left. Amelia shrugged and continued her schoolwork. She was sure that she didn't had done anything wrong, so whatever Laurence wanted to talk about was probably church related.

An hour later she knocked on the door of his office and heard the shuffling of paper and a distressed sounding cat before Laurence' footsteps were heard and he opened the door.

“Please, come in.”, he said and gestured for Amelia to sit on the couch, which she did, right next to that white cat with the fluffy fur.

“Mary, go sleep elsewhere.”, Laurence said and picked the cat up who complained with an annoyed meow and then joined the other cat Amelia had heard earlier on the shelf. She looked at them while she waited for Laurence to remove the cat fur from his clothes and to sit down next to her.

“So, Amelia, do you know why I called you here?”, Laurence asked.

Amelia shook her head and said: “I don't know but I assume it has to do with the church.”

“You are correct.”, Laurence said and took a deep breath. “Amelia, you are 13 years old now. It is time for you to start your duties as a blood saint.”

“Oh.”, Amelia always had known this day would have come it just had felt so far away all the time. Since the time Laurence had told her that her blood had reacted in a special way to the old blood she knew she would be a blood saint once she grew up, she just never had thought about how her life would be once she had grown up.

“What does that mean for me?”, she asked.

“Well, I will make sure that your duties don't intermingle with your school days, so we will take it slow first. One evening in the week and on the weekends.”, Laurence explained. “You know that your blood has a certain quality that is similar to the old blood. People will come to you and ask you for a vial.”

Amelia nodded along to his words, she had seen the other blood saints work, it was a constant drawing of blood and handing it to the sick or injured. Although... some of these people didn't look like they were sick and injured. Maybe they needed the blood for a bedridden relative.

“This means you need to learn how to draw your own blood with a needle.”, Laurence said. “At first you can feel free to ask the other blood saints for help but you must be able to draw your own blood in a matter of seconds for the future. It becomes especially important when we have the night of the hunt.”

Amelia nodded again and then spoke: “Will you show me?”

“Yes.”, Laurence got up and opened a few drawers until he found what he searched for. He returned with a needle and one of these medical tubes, the ones they used for the blood ministration, just smaller, and a vial. “I show you how to draw blood and then you do it yourself.”, Laurence spoke, kneeling in front of her. “There are different veins you can use but I prefer to take the one in your elbow crook. Could you please roll up your sleeves?”

Amelia complied and extended her left arm for Laurence. He dipped some cotton in a bowl of clear tincture and applied it to her arm. It was cold but didn't hurt. “Always use a clean needle.”, Laurence said. “We had quite some trouble with recurring sicknesses until we realized that sharing needles was what made people sick...”

Amelia once again nodded. She always had found it gross that people used to share needles and she could barely believe that it had been a regular occurrence at the early days of the Healing Church, that was when she still had been in her mother's womb. She was glad they realized that mistake.

“You put the needle into your vein, like this...”, Laurence murmured and Amelia flinched because of the sting. “And then you let the blood running into the vial.”

Amelia had her gaze locked on the tube and the vial. It was kind of fascinating seeing her own blood coming out of her body, first a crimson red before turning a slightly darker tone.

“And once it is full, you pinch the tube and then can pull the needle.”, Laurence said, pulling the needle as he spoke. Being relieved from the constant stinging pain Amelia breathed out and then watched as the wound on her arm closed right away. Small wounds like this would always close on their own.

“And then you put a cork in the blood vial and give them to the recipient.”, Laurence finished and put the cork in. “And in really urgent cases, you can apply it as a kind of blood ministration, but then you need two needles, one for the drawing and one for the inserting. Understood?”

Amelia nodded but then a thought occurred: “Um, Laurence... what do I do when there isn't a needle to draw blood?”

Laurence gaze darkened a bit before he spoke: “If you really must, then cut yourself a wound to get the blood flowing. It won't heal right away when it is deep enough. Your blood also should work when directly applied on the wounds, the important thing is, that it gets into the blood stream of the injured or sick person.”

“Understood.”, Amelia said.

“And now.”, Laurence continued. “Let me see you draw your own blood.”

Amelia blinked as she slowly shook herself awake. A dream... or a memory? Just how had she managed to fell asleep with a night of the hunt coming?

She looked at one of the antlers that decorated her office. It had fallen off the beastly skull of Laurence and she had kept it... Was his death really already twenty years ago? As well as Ludwig's shortly after? She shuddered as she thought about how the hunters had found a grotesquely transformed horse creature with the moonlight great sword stabbed through it's chest.

The official versions had been that Laurence had died during the great cathedral ward fire and that Ludwig had fallen in the hunt. But she knew better. They had transformed, had fallen victim to the scourge and every night of the hunt Amelia feared that she would show signs of the scourge too...

For know, she should get herself ready to act as not only the current vicar of the Healing church but also as a blood saint, giving out some blood to the hunters and then wait for anyone who needed her help. She gave Laurence' antlers one last glance and then got up from her desk to prepare herself for the hunt.

Hours later, once the sun had set over Yharnam, Amelia waited in the Grand Cathedral, praying to Laurence skull like she would do so often during the night of the hunt. The sounds coming from outside were terrifying and she just hoped that everyone managed to hide in their homes and... and that they wouldn't lose as many hunters to the beast this time.

It had been twenty years and the hunt would become more and more frequent. It had started once a year but gradually increased and now they could bet that it would happen every quarter year, just as the seasons would change. That for some reason Yharnam never seemed to cease being populated fascinated her, but at the same time, she had the feeling that they had became less in the last five years.

However, there wasn't time for musing because she could hear the knocks on the Great Cathedral and knew that her service was needed.

Amelia had given herself a blood ministration this morning to make sure that she had more blood in her body because a blood saint could only give out blood a certain amount of times before she needed to recover for a while. And today vials with her blood were heavily requested. Again and again she stuck the needle in her body and send the hunters off with a blessing, always wiping over the small wound once the needle was out, even though it would close in seconds. While the wound wouldn't stay the pain was still very real and she knew she could thank the old blood that she hadn't scarred yet.

The night went on and less and less hunters came for her services, either not needing any more of her blood or having fallen in the hunt... or having succumbed to the beastly scourge, it always seemed to peak during the hunts. As she continued her prayer to Laurence' skull Amelia thought about the recent years. She had the feeling that the hunters struggled more and more. Of course, it had been years since there had been talents like Lady Maria or Gehrman, both of them had died when she still had been small and Laurence had... changed after that. It got better when he met Ludwig and Ludwig was another one of the most skilled hunters but now...

There wasn't much structure in the hunt anymore. The Healing Church mostly took care of it, but the time of the Old Hunters, how the age around Laurence had been called as well as the time when Ludwig had rallied Yharmanites to join the hunt, it was over. The church hunters did their best, but every and each hunt Amelia had the feeling that the beasts took one too many.

Sometimes... sometimes there were tales of a truly marvellous hunter. A hunter who faced fears none of the others would ever think going close. A hunter who didn't seem to fear death. A hunter without a name who vanished as suddenly as they had came. These usually were the hunts with the least victims. Amelia often asked herself just from where these hunters came and where did they go too.

Thinking about it, Amelia hadn't left the town in twenty years. Why had she never tried to venture outside of the town? It wasn't like someone was forcing her to stay inside... or was it...

Her thoughts got interrupted by another knock and a hunter dragging their clearly massively bleeding and heavily injured companion inside.

“By the blood.”, she gasped and got up. “Get them inside, I prepare a blood ministration.”

“There's no time.”, the hunter replied, voice croaky and heavy. “We need some of your blood, now. Please, Vicar, we are all out of blood vials and he is bleeding out.”

Amelia gasped again and went to grab for a needle... only to see that they all had been used. And she hadn't given out only vials today, she also had done a few transfusions. Damn, she should have used the time to clean the needles instead of getting herself lost in musing about the state of the city.

She was quick to react however, Laurence voice in her mind as it was yesterday. She grabbed for a knife that she always was wearing under her robes and rolled up her sleeve.

“Show me the wound.”, she demanded and the hunter carefully lowered their companion to the ground, unveiling a large wound on his stomach, clearly ripped open by the claws of a beast. Amelia had seen a lot of injuries in her life, but it still almost made her gag.

She extended her arm so that it would hover over the wound and then braced herself as she took the knife and cut deep into her own arm, ignoring the shocked face of the hunter in front of her. She hissed in pain as she pressed the knife deeper into her skin, making sure that the wound would be deep enough to bleed. And it worked, blood seeped out of the wound and dripped onto the stomach wound of the hunter, ceasing the bleeding. Amelia still let herself bleed, making sure to cut herself a bit more every time the wound wanted to close, until the gaping wound on the hunter had started to heal.

She removed the knife from her arm and started to pant, feeling a bit light headed. She had used up too much of her blood and would need a blood ministration after the night ended.

“He should be out of danger but get him inside for a blood ministration immediately.”, Amelia said with a stern look on her face.

“Vicar Amelia, thank you. Without your help he wouldn't have made it.”, the hunter gave her a bow and then picked their injured companion up, wandering deeper into the church.

Amelia looked after them until they had disappeared and then looked at her own arm. The cut slowly had started to heal but she could see that her own blood was staining her robes and the floor and still dropped of her own arm.

Silently she picked up a piece of gauze and wiped it clean, then proceeded to wipe the floor and her robes even though it did nothing.

Then, she sat down and started to clean the needles. (Author's note: I already told in an earlier entry that I headcanon Amelia to have been a blood saint, mostly because she can heal herself in her boss fight and healing spells aren't a thing in Bloodborne minus one tool that can heal others, but I also like to think that blood saints can't heal wounds that are too heavy and so your continuous attacks are what is able to kill her, unless you let her concentrate. The cleaning needles thing? To be honest, every time I search up medical practice from victorian times I facepalm because these guys were idiots but I felt like the Healing Church quickly got that needle sharing was a bad thing and that some basic hygiene could maybe help people who just got a blood ministration to not get sick two days later again...)

#badthingshappenbingo #self-harm #bloodborne #fanfiction #vicar amelia #laurence the first vicar #cw blood #cw wounds #cw needles #littlewritesstuff

[bellringermal]

So in your headcanon, how did Gehrman lose his leg?

Oh boy. Let me translate a (quite long) bit from my fanfiction :3 enjoy.

“Is your family from Yharnam?”“Yes, we lived on the canals. My father was a warehouse owner and rented it to merchants in search of a safe place to store their goods as they waited for the dam’s reopening. If the stock was especially valuable, we hired extra guards to ward off thieves, but most of the time my father and I  were enough. He taught me well.”“And how did you end up working for Master Willem?”“As you see, Byrgenwerth is rather isolated and the village at the edge of the woods barely has the resources necessary to sustain itself. Supplies need to be carried here through the woods but, given the frequent attacks of wolves and bandits, it’s a job not many couriers like to take. My father and I were among the few who thought it was worth taking the risk and therefore Willem hired us multiple times. I was sixteen when I came here for the first time. - He said, a nostalgic smile on his lips - It was pouring and the approaching thunder roars presaged the coming of a terrible storm. Try to imagine a boy who has just trekked throughout the forest making his way into the college’s main hall with soaked clothes and boots caked with mud. The students looked at me as if I were a castaway who just returned to civilization after months at sea. As for me, I was entranced. I had never seen so many books in my life. Actually, I could barely read at the time, yet the very idea that there was so much to learn struck me like a revelation. Given the impending storm, Willem offered me to spend the night here. I was not in a position to refuse and Edmund was already dragging me to the kitchen anyways.”“He’s so thoughtful, I can totally see that happen.”“Yeah, Eddie’s a good man.”“I’m sure he is. And so… you never left?”  Maria asked. By now they had reached the end of the corridor and the chattering of the students was once again loud enough to cover their words.Gehrman straightened his jacket - My father wanted me back at the warehouse, but was also aware that he would never be able to pay for my education, so when Willem offered me a job and free access to the library, he knew I would not find anything better. Byrgenwerth attracted more and more students and Willem wanted them to feel safe even if secluded in such an isolated place. Dores and Edmund needed help in their duties as groundskeepers and Willem’s intention was for me to become their assistant and help them keeping out wild animals and intruders. Church fanatics who accused Willem of heresy were more common back then than you may think. Yet, my father remained hesitant. He needed me, I was his only child. It was then that Willem doubled his initial salary offer. I never understood why he wanted me here, but my perplexity is shared by many of the students Willem personally selected to become his pupils. Dores likes to say that Master Willem can… ‘sense’ people’s potential. -“Well, you’re a formidable hunter now. You’ve come a long way, that’s for sure. Perhaps he can really see the future. Somehow.” Commented Maria, clearly admired. “I’m sure you’ll do great things.”Gehrman prayed that the darkness hid his blushing cheeks.“Gehrman, are you alright?”“Yes. Yes, I’m fine. It was an uphill struggle, you see. But I’m satisfied. And proud. Of all of you.” he sighed. “But as for you in particular… You… you look lovely tonight, Lady Maria.” he added abruptly, his voice made squeaky by his nervousness.Hearing that sudden change of topic made her chuckle in return “What? Are you insinuating that this silly dress makes me look prettier than when I’m covered in Beast blood and guts?”Gehrman let out a low laugh and Maria congratulated herself for breaking the ice with such great skill. “Touchè. Honestly, I can’t fathom a situation in which you would not be at ease.”“You say so because you never had to wear a corset. I’m slowly dying in here even though my education has brainwashed me to the point that I now accept this torture as something all women must go through.”The man rubbed the back of his head nervously ruffling his dark hair streaked with gray “We all have to die a little bit inside to present ourselves to others.” he said gravely, as if those words were addressed more to himself than Maria. “And bite the bullet when the clothes we wear made old wounds burn.”Maria hesitated, shifting her gaze on the prosthetic leg on which Gehrman always avoided to rest his weight too much. He hastened to hide it with the coat’s long flap “Oh do not worry about me, I am sure that it is not more painful than your corset.”“You know it is.” She said more harshly than she intended to. But the harshness was all for herself. “I should stop complaining, I pretend not to sound like a spoiled girl but everything that comes out of my mouth is exactly what a Cainhurster would say.”“Well, you know what they say: you can’t choose your family…”“How did it happen?”“What?”“Your leg. How did you…? Damn, I’m so sorry I shouldn’t have asked. Pretend I said nothing.”“It’s okay. It’s just… not a pleasant story to hear. And even a less pleasant one to tell.”“You don’t have to. Please, forget I asked.” she shook her head, avoiding his quizzical gaze.“Perhaps I-” Gehrman’s face slowly lighted up “Perhaps I should tell someone about it. Well, beside Dores and Edmund of course. They were there, they saw it all. It was only a few years after I moved to Byrgenwerth, when the scholars discovered the entrance to the Old Labyrinth. They knew of its existence of course, but accessing it had been impossible for quite some time because of the seals placed on the doors. Edmund dedicated his youth to the study of Pthumerian rituals, he was the one who understood how to appease one of the Chalices that the students had found during the excavations in the Pthumerian graveyard right outside of the college’s gates. Ever wondered why Byrgenwerth was built here in the first place? That’s your answer. Willem knew the catacombs were right under our noses.”“I am not superstitious, but I now get why those angry mobs you told me about would pose a threat to the students.“

“Exactly. They said we were profaning hallowed ground. Which was… and still is, kinda true. But Pthumerians were supposed to be long gone. At least, the ‘true’ ones, those from the legends passed on through the Age of Dark up to present day. We did not expect to find anything alive down there, even though the horrible offerings required to satiate the Chalice should’ve warned us. Made us predict that slavering, hungry things were waiting for us. Looking back at that day now, it all seems so obvious… it wasn’t so back then.”“How old were you?”“Eighteen? Nineteen? I can’t remember. Still feels like a life ago. The ancient doors finally opened and we ventured into corridors where no man had set foot before. The scholars were estathic. For them, it was a dream came true. To me, it was just work. I did not understand all the implications of Master Willem’s research at the time, I still don’t. But what I know that it takes some guts to dwell in studies like theirs. It takes stubbornness and self-sacrifice. I admire them now as much as I admired those unfortunate students back then.” Gehrman stopped, the gaze of his gray-blue eyes lowered in discomfort. “It happened so quickly we could barely react to it. The echoing halls were filled with the sound of screams as some students who separated themselves from the main group got mauled in a matter of seconds. We never found their bodies. The beasts dragged them away in their den to feast and I would’ve met the same fate if Edmund didn’t drill the beast’s head with rifle shots. And even with so many bullets in its flesh, that monster did not let go of me.”“Because those were not quicksilver bullets..” Maria muttered under her breath.“Of course they weren’t. We knew nothing of Beasts. That was the First Hunt, and we were the hunted. I tried to wriggle free, to react, but the pain was too much, the darkness too thick, the horror too great. All around it was chaos, the remaining students tried to ran away, some of them fell from the narrow bridges, cracking their skulls on impact, others got caught in traps or snatched by creatures even more vicious than the one that assaulted me. Blood splattered everywhere as coffins sprang open and the dead rose from their sleep wielding sacrificial knives and thrust them in the hearts of the scholars. The last things I remember before passing out were the cold cobblestone littered by chewed carcasses sliding beneath me…blood soaking my trousers… the beast’s fangs cracking my bones as the creature dragged me awa-” Gehrman startled when Maria’s hand gently touched his arm.“You’re pale. I think you should sit down for a little while.”He bit his lower lip, cursing himself for having shown her such weakness. “I am fine. It’s just… a bad memory, that’s it. So, as I was saying-”“No need to continue on. I got it. Thank you for sharing this story with me.”“I do appreciate your concern, but I can assure you that I am not going to faint just because-”“Gehrman, please.” Maria’s grasp on his arm was tighter now. It almost hurted. She slowly lifted her eyes, meeting those of the First Hunter. Hers was the gaze of someone who’s giving an order, not a simple advice. “ Please, sit down. I know you still have nightmares to this day because of what happened. Ludwig told me so. Don’t brush it away as if it’s nothing.”

#bloodborne #lore #my writing #gehrman the first hunter #lady maria of the astral clocktower #gehrmaria (sort of) #headcanons