Walter's Castle

Walter's Castle is the main scenario where the events of Castlevania: Lament of Innocence take place. It homes five primary areas, with one final area where its vampire lord owner, Walter Bernhard, waits for any adventurers who dare to challenge him.
This edification marks the place of Dracula's ascension to power, gaining the title of Dark Lord by ultimately succeeding in the creation of the legendary Crimson Stone, and also the place where the Belmont family made an oath to stop him even if it took an eternity to do so.
==History==
An ancient castle that was located somewhere in Europe in 1094, among the Forest of Eternal Night. The building was ruled by the ruthless vampire lord, Walter Bernhard, who used it as a playfield in his wicked games of attracting adventurers who wished to challenge him.
A large drawbridge provides access inside the building, which leads to the main entrance, a large hall where the rest of the castle's areas can be accessed, including the library, a theatre, a laboratory, the castle's gardens and the waterways, culminating with the main keep in the form of a luxurious central throne room surrounded by two identical towers. A very large staircase can also be found at the entrance, which leads down to the castle's dungeons.
It was in this castle where Mathias Cronqvist, a prominent war strategist and acquaintance to the House of Belmont, consummated an ingenious and complex plan he started devising after his wife's death. Now turned into a vampire, he managed to succeed in trapping Walter's soul and gain with this all of his powers, in addition of gaining complete allegiance from Death himself for achieving to create and possess the fabled Crimson Stone.
==Architecture==
*Castle Entrance
*House of Sacred Remains
*Ghostly Theatre
*Dark Palace of Waterfalls
*Garden Forgotten by Time
*Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab
*Pagoda of the Misty Moon
*Prison of Eternal Torture
==Comparison with Dracula's Castle==
It's possible that this castle eventually became Dracula's Castle, as it has the familiar keep structure. If this is the case, then Dracula's Castle dates back to at least the 11th century. In 1094, the castle appeared more like a traditional medieval castle than the more elaborate Gothic architecture seen in other installments. One factor in favor for Walter's castle being Castlevania is that in Castlevania: Curse of Darkness the Abandoned Castle is the place where only a Belmont's blood can gain access to the Infinite Corridor. Seeing as Leon Belmont was the first of this lineage who was proclaimed at Walter's castle, the Abandoned Castle could in fact be the same building.
On the other hand, a factor against the theory of Walter's castle becoming Castlevania is that at the end of Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, Mathias Cronqvist, who later came to be known as Count Dracula, leaves the building in the form of a bat and it's never known where he went or if he ever returned.
Something of note, is that despite Walter's Castle being situated inside the Forest of Eternal Night, Dracula's Castle rarely (if ever) happens to be in the middle of any forest, mostly being situated on the edges of cliffs or coming up from a lake, with very few trees actually being directly around it.
The Japanese instruction booklet for Castlevania: The Adventure states that Dracula himself built his castle at the outskirts of Transylvania.Dracula Densetsu instruction booklet, page 3:狂的な悪魔崇拝者であったドラキュラ伯爵は、トランシルバニアのはずれに暗黒の城を築き、毎夜悪魔の儀式を行っていた。"Count Dracula was a demon worshiper who built a dark castle at the edge of Transylvania, and carried out demonic ceremonies every night." Koji Igarashi has also expressed that one of the reasons for the change of the franchise's Japanese title from "Akumajō Dracula" to "Castlevania" was due to there being neither Dracula nor his castle on a given game, indicating that the castle seen in Lament of Innocence might not be the same castle that Dracula uses later down in the chronology. In addition, in the Japanese dialogue for Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Genya Arikado mentions that Celia Fortner was planning to turn their headquarters into a "Demon Castle" by opening a gate to the Demon Realm,有角　幻也: おそらく、奴が向かった場所は、この城に隣接する塔の地下。そこからこの世にあらざる力があふれている。この城を悪魔城とするための魔界が召還されていると考えるのが妥当だ。Genya Arikado: "They're probably going to the basement of the tower next to this castle. An overwhelming power is flowing from there into this world. It's reasonable to believe that the Demon Realm is being summoned to make this castle into a Demon Castle." mirroring Dracula's actions in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse.
So, while it's known that Dracula built his own castle, when and how he turned it into a demon castle is only implied through Dracula's Curse (which is appropriately called "Legend of the Demon Castle" in Japan) and Dawn of Sorrow. As such, Walter's Castle couldn't be Dracula's castle since it's not a demon castle; thus, it does not possess reviving powers in order to "later revive" for Dracula to dwell in (beyond the fact that the castle itself is never called a "demon castle" in Lament of Innocence).
Furthermore, it has never been officially stated if both Walter's castle and Dracula's castle are the same building, nor if Mathias took ownership of the castle after Walter's demise. Walter's castle seems to be just a normal building, as far as it's known, whereas Dracula's castle is a creature of Chaos, which even if it takes a different form every time it rebuilds itself, may still base its overall structure on Walter's castle's original design (possibly due to Walter's soul and memories remaining inside the Crimson Stone).
==Gallery==
Walter's Castle - 01.png
Walter's Castle - 02.png
Walter's Castle - 03.png
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==See also==
*Castles
**Dracula's Castle
==References==
Category:Castles
Category:Lament of Innocence Locations