Castlevania (Lords of Shadow)

:This article is about the castle. For the video game, see Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.
The CastleAnimated Armor (LOS1): "They serve the Vampire Dark Lord by patrolling and protecting the Castle's halls and corridors."Soldier's Scroll (LOS2):Banquiet of Sir Trolios (known as the Frankenstein castle, Bernhard castle, Vampire CastleSkeleton Warrior: "The human inhabitants of the Vampire Castle suffered a cruel fate once the Dark Lord set up her lair inside."Wygol Village Intro: "This village is one of the last vestiges of human civilization left in this place of death and cold. It lies not far from the Vampire's Castle, our next objective." in Lords of Shadow, and Dracula's Castle in Mirror of Fate and/or Castlevania in Lords of Shadow 2) was the home of Vampire Dark Lord Carmilla and her vampiric horde.
It was previously owned by Friedrich von Frankenstein, Walter Bernhard and the Bernhard Family. When Carmilla took over, she drove the most of the Bernhard Family out, but kept Frankenstein in order to torture him, and to continue making creations for her. After defeating Carmilla and The Forgotten One, Gabriel Belmont, now known as "Dracul" or "Dracula", took residence in the castle.
==History==
It is said that castle was haunted long before the vampires came to dwell among its walls. The Bernhard clan made a pact with a hellspawn, which resulted in the building itself becoming possessed by the demon. It may have just been a myth to harm the reputation of the family, but the fact that the castle could be a living entity may explain how, after centuries, no one had been able to create a complete map of the castle, even after expending considerable resources on the task.
The castle's Maze Gardens were once the most beautiful in all of Europe. Many pilgrims would visit the castle grounds from lands far away to witness their timeless beauty.
Although the castle's original owners are unknown, it was ruled by the Bernhard family, who were evidenced to be a group of evil sorcerers through their actions. Perhaps at an earlier time, same time and/or later, Friedrich von Frankenstein also owned the castle. Frankenstein, along with the Toy Maker became slaves under the Bernhards. At an unknown point in time, the Bernhard family had summoned the Forgotten One, a powerful demon. However, the Forgotten One was too powerful to control, and broke free. The events of this took place at an unknown time, although it could have occurred as a result of the Bernhard family attempting to fend off the Brotherhood of Light. The Brotherhood eventually managed to combine their powers to seal the Forgotten One into another dimension, and built a new area around the castle in order to house him in the event that he managed to escape.
At a point in the past, the Brotherhood of Light's founders were tricked into ascending to heaven, also splitting their light sides, which ascended to heaven, from their dark sides, which remained on Earth. The Lords of Shadow, as they were called, went their separate ways, although Carmilla remained in order to watch over in the event that the Forgotten One was to escape, fearing what would happen if he did.
When Gabriel returned after being summoned by Laura to confront the Forgotten One, whose bonds had now been broken, the two explored the underground layers of the castle, finally reaching the Founders' Quarters. After drinking all Laura's blood in order to progress, as only dark beings could enter, Gabriel continues into the underworld to confront the Forgotten One.
Gabriel defeated the Forgotten One, and returned to the castle, taking residence in it as a Dark Lord. Here, most of the creatures bowed down to him. The structure of the castle changed dramatically by the Hunchback dwarves who took residence there and began to repair and expand on the castle. Gabriel, now known as Dracul and Dracula, used the castle as his base of operations for his planned vengeance on the Brotherhood and remaking of the world.
After Alucard and Simon defeated Dracula, the castle collapsed, though it would later be resurrected again along with Dracula. It would survive into modern times with its immortal master, surrounded by Castlevania City built around the expansive castle.
The castle's entity, having become bounded and dependent on Dracula, is capable of expressing consciousness. What would become known as the "Inner Dracula" soon sensed Dracula wanting to end his immortality. Unable to survive without a lord, the castle would become desperate to submit Dracula from his plans. The voices of the sentience would try to seduce, intimidate, and beg for Dracula to remain. Even Dracula's legions would be corrupted by the blood of the castle, showing that the castle would try anything to make Dracula abandon his past human life and family in order to ensure that Dracula remains in itself forever.
==Castle structure==
Like the original Dracula's Castle, the castle was said to be able to change form after a pact with a demon which actually possessed the castle. Although this may be untrue, the castle remains very vast and not all of its depths are known. Following the rise of Gabriel Belmont as Dracula, the structure of the castle was changed dramatically in some portions of the castle by the Hunchback dwarves who began to take residence there, who began to repair and expand on the castle. Following the defeat of Dracula by Simon and Alucard, the castle completely crumbled.
Certain areas of the castle appear to have existed in all periods, but different individuals take different routes through the castle to reach those areas.
In Modern times, the castle was obliterated in the last war with Dracula down to its foundations. Colonists built Castlevania City on these remnants. Areas of the castle remain are primarily the catacombs under the city, and the above was built in a style reminiscent of the castle.
Below is a list of known castle areas, in order of progression.
===Lords of Shadow===
*Castle Sewers
*Maze Gardens
*Castle Hall
*Refectory
*Balcony
*Electric Laboratory
*Chromatic Observatory
*Outer Wall
*The Clockwork Tower
*The Throne Room
*Abandoned Wing (Reverie DLC)
*Founders' Quarters (Reverie DLC)
===Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate===
====Trevor's era====
*Castle Entrance
*Unholy Church
*Crypt
*Cemetery
*Entrance Bridge
*Crypt's Labyrinth
====Simon's era====
*Cursed Village
**Not actually part of the castle, but a small village built near the castle, it lies not far from the Castle's Outer Wall. Mostly wooden structures, and a windmill.
*Castle's Outer Wall
**The road leads up to a bridge, and a drawbridge, that leads to the Castle Entrance (a graveyard in Trevor's quest). If the drawbridge is closed off, the access into the castle through an underground route created by pilgrims centuries before to worship the spirit of a woman who it was claimed had the power of healing. These tunnels they traveled through to seek health and good fortune lead into and are part of the Forgotten Caves where the healer's shrine is located.
*Forgotten Caves
**This is the location of the shrine of the healer, where Simon finds the Spirit of Belnades, that both apparently represents the centuries-dead healer, but also the spirit of his dead mother Sypha, it lies on the edge of the Deadly Waterfalls. This section and the part of the tunnel in the previous section must date back to before or during the time of the Bernard family.
*Deadly Waterfalls
**A place of underground streams and waterfalls. Thousands of corpses of men, women and children that were thrown into the castle moat during the First War infected the underground streams. The rivers that flow under the castle became a death trap, capable of dissolving flesh, bone and the very soul within. This area opens up into an area just below the bridge, into a section of rooms within the inner wall. In later times, the floor collapsed near the front gate of the Castle Hall (where Trevor finally defeated the Lady of the Crypt), allowing access into the hall, from the rooms below.
*Castle Hall
**The Main Hall of the Castle (previously seen in Lords of Shadow). It is lined with glass windows, and black statues. There are a few side doors, one leading outside, where the Night Watchmen comes from. At this point in history, the gate leading into the game room is closed off. Behind this door lies the great animated chessboard, designed by vampires to kill time during their long nights. It was said that a human is invited to play from time to time. If he wins, he is received into the Vampire Clan. If he loses, he is included in the dinner menu. An elevator leads down to the Guards room. Near the front gate, there is the skeletal remains of the Lady of the Crypt.
*Guards Room
*Cells
*Inner Cells
*Vertical Prison
*Kitchen
*Theatre
*Terrace
*Ballroom
*Courtyard
*Library
*Toy Maker's Funfair
*Main Tower Outside
*Throne Room
===Lords of Shadow 2===
This castle represents the castle as it appeared shortly before it was destroyed by the Great Explosion, and is filled with 'memories' of the Brotherhood of Light laying siege to the castle, as well as the bodies of fallen Brotherhood members. The castle itself is actually a curse Dracula suffers from that forces him to remain in a dream world inspired by his memories. The dream castle is a very real place, akin to its own pocket dimension and the servants and people within are themselves real, but they're only representations of these people formed from Dracula's memories. How and when this curse came about remains a mystery, but it appears to have been around ever since Dracula went to sleep. It's possible that the book of Dracul is the source of the curse, as it functions as an advanced brotherhood scroll that allows Dracula to access memories he's already placed within the book to help him deal with the amnesia that comes with long periods of sleep. it should also be noted, however, that the book of Dracul also allows Dracula to interact with these memories and even change the outcome to some degree, as the game over screen shows him closing the book on his defeat before opening it back to a checkpoint. it's possible that the book of Dracul lets Dracula change his own past. This wouldn't be the first time he's implied to have tried to manipulate fate, he once attempted to rebuild the time machine from Reverie, the clock face of which can be seen outside his tower during Simon's chapter in Mirror of Fate.
*Throne Room (tutorial)
*Bernhard's Wing
**Balcony
**Ballroom
**Hall
**Corridor
**Main Corridor
**Old Chapel
**Ruined Sections
**Void Room
*Carmilla's Lair
**Library
**Moon Terrace
**Outside Bridge
**Laboratory
*City of the Damned
**Chupacabras' Shop
**The Gorgon's Lair
**Torture Chambers
*Overlook Tower
**Castle Entrance
**Storm Arena
**Door Mechanism
**Elevator
**Greenhouse
**Puppet Theatre
**The Horn of Bromios
**Trevor Room
**Guest House (Revelations DLC)
*Forbidden Wing (Revelations DLC)
*Map Rooms
*Mirror Rooms
*Navigator Rooms
==Gallery==
===Lords of Shadow===
CastleVista.jpg
Cutscene Sketch (III).jpg
CastleShot13.png
Cathedral Facade.jpg|Cathedral Facade
Cathedral Interior.jpg|Cathedral Interior
Cathedral Statues.jpg|Cathedral Statues
Interior Sketch.jpg|Interior Sketch
Ornament Detail.jpg|Ornament Detail
Stained Glass Window.jpg|Stained Glass Window
Statue Detail.jpg|Statue Detail
Throne Detail.jpg|Throne Detail
Throne Sketch.jpg|Throne Sketch
Tower Sketch.jpg|Tower Sketch
VampireScreenshot.png
CastleShot1.png
CastleShot2.png
CastleShot3.png
CastleShot4.png
CastleShot5.png
CastleShot6.png
CastleShot7.png
CastleShot8.png
CastleShot9.png
CastleShot10.png
CastleShot11.png
CastleShot12.png
LoSPC01-600x337.jpg
Castlevania-Lords-of-Shadow-PC-Game.jpg
===Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate===
The castle bathed in red.jpg
Castle Exterior.png
Castle Overview.png
Castle Map Simon.png
Castle Map Alucard.png
Castle Map Trevor.png
===Lords of Shadow 2===
LoS2-Home2.jpg
ZXmWIto.jpg
O1scRnD.jpg
Blood.png
I4wimb7p4c5P5.png
Corridor.png
Hall.png
MainCorridor.png
Mirror'sRoom.png
OldChapel.png
OuterBuildings.png
TortureChambers.png
Props01.png
Props02.png
Props03.png
Props04.png
Props05.png
Props06.png
Props07.png
SecretStatues.png
==Notes==
*It is suggested that Carmilla lived in the castle when she was human. She despised Dr. Frankenstein, and wanted to bring him to justice. This suggests that she may have been a member of the Bernhard family or had a connection to them somehow. The Skeleton Warriors were once her closest retainers at the castle when she was human. In death, they became her guards.
*There are some similarities with some of the architecture in the Bernhard Castle in Lords of Shadow and Walter's castle in Lament of Innocence. Primarily, the hallways in the castle are lined with giant black armor and statues. These resemble the black armor statues on the top floor of Walter's Castle leading up to his throne room. These dark armor statues also appear in the top floor of the castle in Aria of Sorrow (in some cases blocking passages with their swords). The Entrance hallway with the black armor statues appears in Mirror of Fate as well, with the game room with giant chessboard as seen in Reverie DLC.
*Some of the statues in the castle, particularly some seen inside the Mirror of Fate room, an armored man with red hair, resemble Walter Bernhard from Lament of Innocence. According to some of the backstory gleaned from the game, Walter Bernhard was a leading member of the Bernhard family, and he was the culprit behind the Toy Maker's curse.
*It's unclear who exactly owned the castle before Carmilla took over, since various notes say the Bernhards and Frankenstein ruled the castle, but never mentioned who had governing rule. It's suggested that both families could have shared the castle for various reasons, or could have been distant relatives. The legend that the Bernhards made a pact with demon suggest they were the first rulers of the castle though, meaning Frankenstein could have simply ruled over a small section of the castle. Another idea is that he took control after the Bernhards left, and lost it shortly before Carmilla claimed the castle as her own.
*The legend that the castle is a demon, in which the layout is nearly impossible to map out, is similar to what Alucard mentioned about Dracula's Castle in Symphony of the Night.
*An interesting note about the castle, is that it shares similar levels to Dracula's Castle. Because of this, it could be argued that Vampire Castle is a nod to Castlevania itself, since most games in the series take place in a singular castle, with a Belmont as the protagonist, and a vampire as a the main boss/lord of the castle.
*The three paths seen through Dracula's Castle in Mirror of Fate have sections that overlap, however, the characters enter the castle from different positions in each. Doors that one character can access in their path, are not accessible in other paths, and sometimes sections of the castle are modified as each character goes through them. For example , the fight against the Reaver destroys an elevator that Simon could use on his path through the game. In addition, the Lady of the Crypt's caress can be seen near the main gate of the castle in Simon's quest, but is killed by Trevor in his own some years prior. Simon begins outside the castle in the Cursed Village, Alucard begins from the Mirror of Fate, and Trevor begins from the castle's graveyard. Some of the areas seen by the various characters are nods of the areas seen in the Lords of Shadow such as the entrance hallway leading to the chess board in the 'game room' as seen in the Reverie DLC, but many areas are also new as well. The backstory (read via Brotherhood Scrolls) mentions some of the areas previously existed when the Bernard family ruled the castle, and others were built or expanded on by the Hunchbacks at the behest of Dracula.
*In Lords of Shadow 2, the castle has revealed to have grown stronger in power since Dracula came to power. The castle eventually challenges his rule by using its own blood to turn Dracula's minions against him.
**It is explained that the castle has become dependent on Dracula to survive. If he succeeds in his suicidal plot, then his life will be ended along with the castle and its inhabitants. This is the reason why castle began plotting against him. Since it also represents all of Dracula's evil, Inner Dracula would be affected as well.
***Inner Dracula's effects on the castle is reminiscent to haunting movies like The Shining and Amityville Horror.
*The castle was destroyed by the Great Explosion, which leveled everything down to the foundations (except for the catacombs underneath the city). Colonists have later founded Castlevania City on what's left of the castle, incorporating much of the original Gothic influences, architecture and foundation.
*Inner Dracula is most likely the original entity/demon that makes the castle alive. The demon probably came about from Bernhard's pact and thrived under Walter, Carmilla, and grew even more powerful (and eventually dependent) under Dracula. Since it needs a Lord to stay alive, it will try to stop Dracula from separating himself. The demon has infused itself with Dracula enough to the point where its consciousness is expressed as Dracula's "inner self".
*Since Dracula decided not to take his own life at the end of Lords of Shadow 2, the castle and Inner Dracula remains alive.
**Ironically, it is the only antagonist in the entire Lords of Shadow saga to achieve its goal: stay alive at all costs.
==References==
Category:Castles
Category:Lords of Shadow Locations
Category:Lords of Shadow 2 Locations
Category:Mirror of Fate Locations