hunters-dreams

[hunters-dreams]

Dreams, Nightmares and the potency of reality.

In Bloodborne, Dreams, Nightmares and sleep are a large point of contention as to the full nature of them. Here, we will go over every instance and attempt to explain this aspect of Bloodborne's Universe.

What are the realms of sleep?

Dreams and Nightmares are their namesake. To put it simply, they really are dreams and or nightmares of people that form a space in some unknown realm. The cause for this is unknown but presumably due to the power of a Great One.

Currently, we only know of 4 dreams and nightmares. All coming from a knowable source, except one.

These dreams can host memories of things and also host living and dead people. It's also possible to enter the dreams but if you can exit them is entirely unknown, other than the protagonist but they have a special method.

Additionally, these realms can manifest beings from memories, usually bad ones and the environments are usually based upon real places. Most definitely from the host of the realm's memories. However, changes can come from the denizens trapped inside the dream. Furthermore, ones form can be different as the waking world as seen with Maria and the Doll.

Finally, it's clear that the realms of sleep take obvious and clear inspiration from H.P Lovecraft's realms of sleep as well. As they both change based on the person, can be entered and are based on real places, usually as well inhabited by gods.

How the realms work

As stated before, they are created solely from the dream of another. But, the question is... why? The closest answer we have is when a Great One is present and allows the dream to exist. This does correlate to most of them. The Hunter's Dream is manufactured by the Moon Presence, the Hunter's Nightmare is manufactured by Kos, Nightmare of Mensis by the Brain of Mensis and finally it's presumed the Nightmare Frontier is created by the Amygdala we fight.

Further analysis suggests they're created as a curse or something alike it. Kos created the nightmare due to the fact her child was murdered along with her. The Moon Presence created the Hunter's Dream in lieu of the deal between her, Laurence and Gehrman of a child. But, if it is out of anger is unknown. Regardless, it seems the Great One makes them out of an emotional reason and a host is chosen. Though, two out of the four hosts are not known, that being the Hunter's Dream and the Nightmare Frontier.

The Hunter's Dream could be Gehrman, however, it's highly suggested Gehrman is simply a denizen. The Moon Presense could very well manufacture the entire dream by herself but it's not clear. The least possible case is that the Doll is the host, there's no proof, however. Lastly, the Nightmare Frontier it's possible it's hosted by the old denizens of Loran. It's possible since Micolash is dead inside of his Nightmare yet still hosts it.

Finally, Nightmares at least are all stacked up on each other vertically and possibly chronologically. But, it's not clear since the frontier is Loran and Loran was a society an incredibly long time ago. But, it's possible the nightmare was created later for a different reason.

What are the current realms?

Hunter's Dream:

While deserving of its own post that is coming later, to make it concise. The Hunter's Dream is a refuge for Hunter's chosen by the Moon Presence. It is the memory of the Hunter's Workshop in Cathedral Ward previously overseen by Gehrman.

Now the it is occupied by Gehrman but also the doll previously in the Workshop. She has now ascended and gained the ability to talk, more specifically talk like Gehrman's apprentice, Maria, who the doll is based on.

Now the Dream is home to a flower garden and a large tree that did not exist in the real world.

As stated before, the dream was created by the Moon Presence once she was summoned by Laurence at the altar in the titular workshop. The ritual was presumably using the one-thirds cord of Kos' Child. However, a deal was struck under unknown circumstances to where Laurence was to find a child for the Moon Presence and the Dream was created where for the moment, Gehrman would serve as a guide to Hunters selected by the Moon Presense to undergo quests as we know Eileen the Crow and Djura were once Hunters of the dream.

However, Laurence's quest failed as by either popular interpretation, he was consumed by bloodlust and became a beast elsewhere or got stuck in the Chalice Dungeons and transformed into the Bloodletting Beast. Meaning he cannot steal Mergo and return.

Side note: I do believe the latter interpretation to be canon and I find it hard that it wouldn't but if you disagree, feel free.

The Nightmare Frontier:

The frontier is most clearly the land of Loran taken into a dream. While not explicitly said, the ruins and creatures that lay there are the exact same as Loran. (Here's a good explanation.)

It's unknown who created the nightmare other than guessing it was the work of an Amygdala, presumably the one we fight as it's incredibly large and not like the others we see.

Besides this, the creatures that inhabit it are more important. It's the first time where we encounter the giant lost children. Which are an unknowable species of giant troll-like monsters that seemingly have been used for slave work given their anatomy and marks on their body. Additionally, we see Silverbeasts from Loran. Lastly, is the two most interesting of them. Winter Lanterns and Crawlers.

The former are creatures we see in every nightmare, they resemble Maria's anger and hatred or that's what's assumed. They are large masses of flesh that have a large mushroom-like head composed of messengers and their general shape very closely resembles the Doll. But, the Doll's attire is most definitely akin to the clothes Maria could've worn. Additionally, the lanterns sing a highly distorted version of "Bayu Bayushki Bayu" a Russian Lullaby warning children about a wolf that will get them. Rather interestingly, the Doll herself used to be able to sing this melody, explaining why the lanterns can. Now, it can be chalked up to it being a song Maria would hum to herself. But, of course the question remains... What are they doing here? And, to be perfectly honest this is probably one of the biggest mystery in all of Bloodborne because the reason why effigies of Maria would be in a place related to Loran is unknown unless she has explored the Nightmare or Loran before but Maria does not seem like the person to explore Nightmares or the Chalices. Moreso, this will be the same answer for the Nightmare of Mensis since it's also not explained. An interesting detail is that they do resemble the Brain of Mensis but the reason as to why is not known and hard to even guess.

The latter of these creatures is the crawler. If one has seen every part of the game, then the particulars are obvious as... They look exactly like Kos. But, why? The answer is clearly we don't know but it begs the question, is Kos an ascended crawler? Or, is a Crawler a byproduct of Kos? Answering this is not easy but I believe it's possible that Kos is an ascended Crawler as she pretty easily resembles an adult crawler. And since Kos' child is very human I doubt they came from her. But, if Kos was alive in the real world and washed up on the shore of the Fishing Hamlet, how could a crawler be Kos? And, the obvious answer is they do exist in the real world they just went extinct or only exist in the Ocean. Plus, Kos being an ascended crawler fits with the cycle of failed Great Ones. She could very well be the first of this cycle but this is just guesswork since Kos was not apart of a higher realm, such as Ebrietas and Rom. The second reason why Crawlers are interesting is that they have Messengers spewing from their underside. The reason for this is entirely unknown but many things have Messengers as apart of them.

The Nightmare of Mensis

The Nightmare of Mensis is a nightmare created by the accumulative thoughts of the School of Mensis, hosted by Micolash, the assumed head of the school. It is a large building and presumably the school. It's interesting to note that this is most likely the physical school but brought into the nightmare.

The purpose of this nightmare is actually clear, to ascend. It is also the catalyst of the entire game as Mensis was attempting to create a dream after stealing Mergo, Queen Yharnam's child. This was so that they could summon Kos for ascension, or at least Micolash to ascend. He was jealous of Rom, that she could ascend while Micolash could not. Mergo now sits atop the school, in a manger guarded by a cloaked and multi-armed wet nurse. However, despite the game calling her a Great One, it's not clear if she really is. If she was, wouldn't she want Mergo for herself? Plus, why would an additional Great One be looking over Mergo. It's not clear, regardless she does sit there while a lonesome Queen Yharnam sits, wanting her child's cry to be silenced. For an unknown reason, defeating the Wet Nurse does silence Mergo and the attempt to reach Kos is ended. This also is seemingly the end journey for the Hunter and sets the Hunter's Dream ablaze.

The Hunter's Nightmare

This nightmare is the accumulative prison of every blood drunk Hunter of Yharnam. It holds as the curse of every Hunter overcome by blood drunkenness as punishment of what the Hunters did to Kos and her child.

It surmises of three key locations, Yharnam, Research Hall and Fishing Hamlet:

The Yharnam portion is where every Hunter ends up, endlessly slaughtering each other. It is also home to some beasts and unknowable executioners with tentacles but resemble those that exist in current day.

Interestingly, the corpse of Laurence lies in the Cathedral and spot where his skull is in the waking world. When awoken with his human skull, he is an exact copy of the Cleric Beast, but spewing fire and lava, fire being something that scares beasts. However, the specifics of this and other speculation will be regarded to its own post someday soon.

Further down, we find a large river of blood and we see some mosquito beasts, possibly due to the over-consumption of blood by some nightmare denizens. Here we also find Simon, a former Hunter who is upset by the fate created by the Hunters' forefathers. Further down, we see piles of flesh and corpses until we reach a prison guarded by the once great Ludwig. Who is now an equine beast. Halfway through his fight, however, he finds clarity through the Moonlight Greatsword, proving that beasts can find humanity through certain arcane aspects. But, this is not a fully explored subject. Even after he dies, his head remains alive and still able to speak.

After, we enter the research hall that presumably still resides inside the Astral Clocktower in Yharnam. It is home to many experiments, preludes to the Celestial Emissaries. And a top the tower is Lady Maria. Presumably dead by suicide, when touched, she awakes and chastises the Hunter for wanting further knowledge. Like I mentioned before, Maria is not in the same form as she was in the waking world. What I meant by this was that in the waking world, Maria before her death or bloodlust, did not have her Rakuyo as we know she threw it away in disgust. She also most definitely did not wear her hunting armor while dead for similar reasons. Regardless, after the fight we open the tower to the Fishing Hamlet.

The first thing seen and heard is a priest that curses Byrgenwerth. The perpetrators of the massacre at the hamlet. Further along we see mutated fish people due to the consumption of Kos parasites and their devotion to the Goddess. We are also invaded by an old hunter who also wishes to keep the secret of the hamlet.

Progressing into the caverns, we can reach Kos herself and find her dead child's soul who has grown inside the nightmare into an adult. Crawling out of her, it begins to weep and fight us at first sight with his mother's placenta. Once dead, the souls of Kos and the Orphan are satiated, ending the curse of the Hunters.

Final Thoughts

The Dreams and Nightmares of Bloodborne are a key aspect to the story as they can explain the weirder and more bizarre parts the game. They are locations that can influence events in the universe and give everyone involved a chance to connect with divinity.

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Thanks for reading until the end if you did. I understand it was a really long once and I wrote it late at night. I might edit this post with more info or fixing information.

[hunters-dreams]

The Choir; Madman or Prodigal Masters?

In Bloodborne, the Choir are an observing presence felt throughout the game as a faction attached to the Healing Church. However, their story doesn't open up much until reaching the upper levels of Cathedral Ward where this faction is given their own means to experiment.

What is the Choir?

The Choir are orphans that were assumedly selected by the Healing Church and put into intensive training to become brilliant scholars in their adulthood or adolescence.

Source: Orphanage Key

They were born in the main building of the Orphanage and now remain there, singing hymns as their namesake.

Their main purpose seems to be experimenting on Humans, as they seem to follow the school of thought once pursued by Byrgenwerth. This is obvious once you look at the Choir's helm compared to Willem's as they are influenced by each other, you could say the entire outfit is inspired by Willem's. However, who designed them is unknown as if Willem or Laurence had involvement in this is never explained.

Source: Choir Set

The Choir were also avid explorers of the Chalices that warp time. However, it also seems they discovered the old land of Isz and along with it, a Goddess.

Throughout the game Choir members are found in places seemingly spread randomly, except for once case. Let's go over the members we actually see in the game.

Choir Members We See.

We see approximately three notable members of the Choir.

Imposter Iosefka:

Her real name is never given but Imposter Iosefka infiltrates Iosefka's clinic after the first time change of the game.

She will task the Hunter to ask anybody who they come across to venture to Iosefka's Clinic for safety. However, as you will learn if you take the back route, she is experimenting on the people you send over. Turning them into Celestial Emissaries. It's not clear why she's really doing this other than the sake of it. As the city is currently in mass disarray and I'd imagine the last thing on your mind is transmogrification.

Regardless, after the seal is broken by Rom, she becomes impregnated by an unknown deity, presumable Oedon and presumably is about to give birth but never does, forcing us to kill her. However, rather interestingly, she says she is "chosen" and that she sees things writhing inside of her head.

Edgar, Choir Intelligencer:

Edgar is a member of the Choir who has infiltrated the School of Mensis. To what extent of the events he was involved with is unknown, but seeing how he is in the Nightmare of Mensis.

His motives outside of being a liaison of Mensis' plans to the Choir are entirely unexplained.

Yurie, The Last Scholar:

Yurie is called the last scholar, but this probably refers to her being at Byrgenwerth serving Master Willem, protecting him and presumably Rom. Her origin or reason for wanting to go to Byrgenwerth is never explained but only can be presumed as a means of her respecting Willem.

Ebrietas and Isz.

In the depths of the Grand Cathedral, in a gigantic chasm lays a large aquatic, yet alien creature. Her name is Ebrietas, yet another failed Great One. Dubbed the Daughter of the Cosmos.

Despite this, she is able to contact the cosmos and has augurs in forms of slugs.

She is seen in the Altar of Despair, weeping over a corpse that looks like Rom:

Side tangent, but in game this is never explained and is victim of terrible game cycles. This IS Rom, the Altar of Despair was directly under Rom's boss room and she would fall and that's why Ebrietas is crying over her!

Ebrietas is passive over humans as she and the Choir have built a relationship, as she lets them study her.

Source: Augur of Ebrietas.

When fighting her, however, she bleeds White and Red. Which the only other ones to do that are those who are Rom, who is the only other character that is known to once be human.

This is all further reinforced by the idea that Bloodborne is run by time repeating itself over and over in a cycle. There's always the beast, always the Great One, someone who ascends. It seems the first in this cycle to ascend was Ebrietas, an Iszian woman. The method is never known, but presumably came in contact with a Great One like all the others.

The Orphanage:

The Orphanage is not only where the Choir was born but now is home to many Moon Larvae. Where they all came from is unknown but all of them who are in the Orphanage have been a live for quite a while as compared to Arianna's newborn, they are much larger. However, the most interesting part is that they all face Ebrietas, it is never explained why but it's possible they are all her children. But it's not clear since a child from Oedon also looks the same.

Additionally, the Lumenflower Garden has statues of the Moon Presence:

It is unknown if this is even still apart of the story but given that Laurence would know what she looks like, it's possible he allowed them contact with the Goddess.

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Well, that's it for this post! Thanks if you read, I might update this post with more information or edit it over time. Sadly, there's not much about the Choir that can be extrapolated other than what's explicitly stated.

Thanks for reading!