Hello everyone who was kind enough to give this story a chance, before you start reading you should know that I've made a few tweaks to the way Bloodborne works. Hunters have the ability to store things in the Hunter's Dream and summon them later, this explains the instant gear changes. Also, stats don't just affect damage, for example a high Strength stat increases how much weight you can lift and how fast you can run. Also, I am going to be going off of my own interpretation of the lore and if you ask me to I will explain how I reached certain conclusions about the backstory. Now that that's out of the way let's get started.
I've rewritten large parts of this chapter to make it longer and improve its weak points. I hope you all enjoy it because I did this to improve the quality of this story.
Prologue: Awakening from The Nightmare
In a realm of nightmares, the sounds of a crying infant rang through the air as a pair of Hunters made their way toward the source of the Nightmare, knowing they would have to silence the child's cries.
One was a woman dressed in the attire of the Healing Church Choir and holding a curved scimitar in one hand and a pistol in the other. Her companion was an extremely tall young man wearing the armor of the royal guards of Cainhurst and wielding a silver longsword with a cannon attached to his left arm; on his back was a massive sheath.
"Are you ready?" the boy asked his companion in an emotionless voice.
"Yes, I am," responded the woman with a nod.
With that said, they entered the open loft from which the crying emanated. The area was empty except for one thing, there in the center of the loft was a carriage for an infant. The two Hunters readied their weapons and slowly approached the carriage, the armored boy taking the lead. As they neared the infant a dark shadow descended upon the carriage, revealing a giant cloaked creature with large black wings whose form underneath its cloak seemed invisible save for six twisted arms. This was Mergo's Wet Nurse, guardian of the stillborn infant Mergo.
The Nurse picked Mergo up out of its carriage and hid it under her cloak, she then pulled out six large curved daggers and rushed towards the Hunters.
The two Hunters dodged the Nurse's daggers and retaliated with sword strikes of their own, their blades cutting into the Great One's flesh. The Nurse began swinging her blades in every direction as the Hunters continued dodging and moving around her while counterattacking whenever they saw an opening. When the woman had positioned herself behind her partner the armored boy made his move. Raising his left arm toward Mergo's Wet Nurse he fired a shot from his cannon, the cannonball flying through the air and exploding on impact with the Great One.
"Now," he signaled his partner.
As the Nurse staggered from the force of the attack the two Hunters stored their firearms and transformed their Trick Weapons as they sprang into action, the woman leaping backwards as she unfolded her scimitar into a bow and the boy charging forward as he connected his sword with the sheathe on his back and they locked together to form a massive great sword.
The woman nocked a silver arrow and raised Simon's Bowblade as her partner rushed at Mergo's Wet Nurse. The plan was simple; her partner would battle the Great One directly while she kept her distance and provided support. She took aim and watched as her armored companion confronted Mergo's Wet Nurse, waiting for the perfect opening to take a shot.
By now the Great One had recovered and was rushing to attack the boy approaching her, her daggers raised to strike. The boy sidestepped the Nurse's attack and swung Ludwig's Holy Blade in retaliation, landing a blow and cutting into the Great One's flesh.
Mergo's Wet Nurse let out a shriek of rage and began swinging her daggers wildly, the blades whirling around her at extreme speeds as she attempted to cut down the Hunter before her. The boy danced around the Nurse's attacks, humming softly to himself as he swayed and leapt out of the paths of the swinging blades, the bulk of Ludwig's Holy Blade doing nothing to hinder his movements as he dodged and slashed with the great sword. Occasionally one of the Great One's blades would connect with the armored boy, but he was able to withstand these blows and continue fighting without difficulty.
As the Hunter in armor weaved around Mergo's Wet Nurse's blades his partner was firing arrows at the Great One whenever she saw a hole in her guard. She didn't worry about her partner dancing around the creature because she knew there was no risk of her arrows hitting him by mistake. While his movements were wild and unpredictable she understood how the boy fought. By matching the rhythm of the tune he was humming, the woman was able to act in sync with her partner; firing arrows at openings in the Great One's guard the instant he created them.
The boy rolled under a swipe from Mergo's Wet Nurse and came up behind her. Before the Great One could react to his action the armored boy spun around in a pirouette, whirling around and bringing his great sword to hit the Nurse in the back with great force. The Nurse staggered but quickly regained her balance and raised up her arms, causing the area to be enveloped by dark fog that hid everything from view and concealed her from the two Hunters.
Less than a second after the fog had appeared Mergo's Wet Nurse swung her blades at the armored boy under the cover of shadow, but the Hunter simply sidestepped to avoid the attack. He was unable to see clearly through the fog, but he didn't need his eyes to detect and avoid the Great One's strike. As the monster passed by him the boy retaliated with a strike of his own, but hit nothing but air as the Nurse vanished.
The boy took a defensive stance and held his Trick Weapon at the ready, prepared to react the instant the Great One made her move. Everything was quiet as the two Hunters waited and searched for any sign of their prey. They didn't have to wait long, for soon the fog faded away and revealed Mergo's Wet Nurse. The Great One rushed forward with her blades raised to strike, but the armored boy wasn't her target. Under the cover of the dark fog Mergo's Wet Nurse had slipped away from her armored opponent and moved to target his partner garbed in white.
The woman hurriedly transformed her bow back into a sword to defend herself, but the Great One had gotten too close for her to be able to avoid her attack.
Mergo's Wet Nurse suddenly lunged toward the woman with the bow and slashed at her with her daggers, cutting into her side and knocking her to the ground. The Nurse then moved to finish off the downed Hunter.
As the Great One approached her the woman tried to rise to her feet and retreat, but her wounds were slowing her down too much and she wouldn't be able to escape from the advancing monster. She had a large gash on her side that was bleeding badly and she was certain some of her ribs had been broken by the force of the impact. Her first instinct was to panic, but she quickly pushed that out of her mind; she couldn't afford to lose her head and freeze up now.
The woman attempted to crawl away from the Nurse and keep some distance between it and herself as she tried to think of what strategy they had come up with that would work in this type of situation, but she was unable to get far before the creature had closed in on her and stood over her.
Mergo's Wet Nurse raised her blades to strike, but just before she could bring them down and end the life of the Hunter before her she was knocked away from the woman by a blow from a massive sword. The armored boy had intercepted the Great One and now stood between her and his partner. Without looking at the woman behind him he spoke.
"Get back and heal yourself," as he spoke Ludwig's Holy Blade dissolved into mist and was replaced by a katana, the blade's sheathe on his left hip, "I will keep her attention off of you."
The woman nodded in confirmation and slowly rose to her feet and staggered away from her partner as he charged at the cloaked Great One. As he ran, the armored boy sheathed his blade but kept his hand on the hilt, and when he reached Mergo's Wet Nurse he made his move. The Hunter struck in a flash of red, drawing his sword and swinging it in the same motion as he cut through the Great One. The blade of the Chikage was now coated in blood, the katana's power having been awakened by the Cainhurst blood magic imbued into the sword.
Mergo's Wet Nurse shrieked in rage and retaliated with a swing of her own, but the boy jumped back to avoid the strike and landed in a combat stance with his sword gripped in both hands. The boy dashed forward and landed a series of blows on the Great One before sidestepping when the creature swung at him.
While this was happening, the armored boy's partner had moved away from the battle to safely treat her injuries. Pulling out a Blood Vial, the woman jammed the syringe into her thigh. As the contents of the vial were injected into her bloodstream the woman could feel the healing blood taking effect as her bones mended and her flesh knit itself back together. In mere instants her injuries were completely healed.
With her wounds healed, the woman ran to join her partner in fighting the Nurse. She switched her Trick Weapon back into a bow and took aim at the Great One, firing an arrow when her back was turned to her. The armored boy took advantage of the distraction to sheathe his Chikage and then dash forward to attack the Nurse with a powerful slash.
Mergo's Wet Nurse once again vanished and then appeared behind the woman with the bow. The Nurse prepared to lunge at her again, but before she could she was knocked back by the armored boy appearing between them to intercept the attack; he was now wielding a silver claymore in his right hand and a pistol with two barrels in his left.
"Eleanor," called the armored boy as he shot the creature, "it's almost finished. Let's end this together."
"All right, Corvus," came Eleanor's response.
She shifted her bow into its scimitar form and Corvus' sword became coated in moonlight. The two Hunters rushed Mergo's Wet Nurse, dodging the monster's blades, and slashed with all their might. The Great One let out a cry of pain before dissolving into smoke, leaving behind the cries of an infant. Corvus then pulled out a small music box and began playing it, causing the crying to become laughter before going silent.
Seeing his partner looking at him in confusion, Corvus explained, "The child was stillborn and ripped from its mother to be used to call to the Great Ones. I had to at least give it a peaceful end, it deserved that much."
As he said this Corvus dematerialized his weapons, the Holy Moonlight Sword and Repeating Pistol dissolving into mist before being sent to the Hunter's Dream. Walking over to where the Great One had last stood he knelt down and picked something off the ground.
"Ellie," he called to his companion, "take a look at this."
"What is it, Crow?" Eleanor asked as she approached her friend and looked at what he had in his hand.
"It's another piece of an umbilical cord. Just like the ones we got from the abandoned workshop and the Imposter Iosefka, as well as the one Arianna's 'baby' left behind," Corvus explained.
He didn't know what purpose these lumps of flesh served, but he knew they were in no way natural. He still remembered what happened with the first one they had found. Something had told Corvus that the cord was special, that it would make him more powerful if he consumed it, and it did. He became stronger than before, but he had also felt something changing within him. He hadn't consumed the ones they found after that, not wanting to know how much they would change what he was.
"Now we have a whole cord, but what does it mean?" Eleanor wondered aloud.
"Obviously it means at least three newborns have perished over the course of The Hunt," Corvus stated matter-of-factly, "But more importantly, it means this thing is important. Slain foes only leave behind things like this when they can be used in some way."
"But The Hunt is over now; we just killed the cause of the Nightmare," Eleanor pointed out in confusion, "Why would we have any use for that thing now?"
"I don't know, but according to experience things will become clear in time like they always do. Now, let's get out of here."
With that said, the pair of Hunters proceeded to the nearby lamp and entered the Hunter's Dream.
When the two arrived at the Hunter's Dream they were greeted by a gentle voice.
"Welcome home, Good Hunters. It is good to see you return safely once again."
Standing at the bottom of the stairs to the workshop was the Plain Doll.
"Greetings, Doll," Corvus greeted as he and Eleanor approached, "Do you know where the old man is? We must tell him what we've done."
"Gehrman awaits you, at the foot of the great tree," was the Doll's answer as she gestured towards the field of white flowers that lay beyond the gates of the workshop, "Go on, Good Hunters..."
"Thank you," Corvus said to the being that had cared for and nurtured him and Eleanor as they began making their way to the field, "For everything."
They found Gehrman sitting in his wheelchair beneath a lone tree on a hill in the field of flowers, just as the Doll had said.
"Hello again, old man," Corvus greeted the elderly Hunter, "We have completed The Hunt."
"Excellent work, you two," Gerhman responded, "Now allow me to free you both from this Dream."
"What do you mean by free us?" Corvus asked with a tilt of his head.
"You will die and return to the waking world. You will be free of this endless nightmare."
Eleanor took off her blindfold cap, allowing her jet-black hair to fall down her shoulders, and turned to Corvus.
"I think we both know what we're going to do, Crow."
Corvus took off his helmet as well, running a hand through his white hair before locking eyes with his partner.
"Yeah," he said with a sad smile, "we do."
"I can't stay here. I'm not brave like you and I have things I still need to do back home."
Eleanor summoned Simon's Bowblade, her favorite weapon, and handed it to her friend.
"Take this to remember me by."
"Eleanor, thank you for everything," Corvus began, his voice was emotionless but Eleanor knew his words were sincere, "You taught me how to read and write, you helped keep me alive, you even kept me from giving up just by being there for me. I can never repay you."
"You don't have to. You already did by giving me the courage to survive and protecting me," Eleanor said with a smile, "Besides, that's what family does."
"Family?" asked a confused Corvus, "We only first met in Yharnam."
"Yes," Eleanor said while reaching up to place a hand on his shoulder, "but I've come to see you as a little brother."
"Then I guess that makes you the only family I've ever had."
"Not just me," Eleanor said before continuing when she saw Corvus tilt his head in confusion again, "I think Eileen giving you a name qualifies her as a family member."
"I guess it does," Corvus agreed with a small smile.
"This is goodbye, Crow. I'll never forget you."
"I'll never forget you either, Ellie. Now go, you have a life to return to."
With that said, Eleanor walked up to Gerhman and kneeled with her back to him as he readied his scythe to decapitate her. In the split second before Eleanor's head was cleaved from her body she smiled at her surrogate brother, and in that instant Corvus saw her eyes change from the crimson red that the Old Blood had turned them to their true sky-blue color. In that instant Corvus committed to memory the time Eleanor was happiest.
"And what about you, my boy?" Gehrman asked, looking at Corvus.
"You know what my answer is," Corvus stated with a shake of his head, "I have no reason to wake up. In the waking world I was just a waste of skin, but here I have a purpose."
"Very well, if you will not leave this nightmare willingly I will have to make you," the First Hunter declared as he rose from his wheelchair, "Tonight, Gehrman joins the hunt."
"All right, old man. Let's dance," Corvus said while summoning the crowfeather garb and mask of the Hunters of Hunters and the Blade of Mercy, "The First Hunter and the Last Hunter of Hunters."
Gehrman rushed forward with his scythe raised to remove Corvus' head, using the Art of Quickening to accelerate his movements and appear in front of the boy faster than the eye could track. Just before the blade could cut into the young Hunter's neck he disappeared in a burst of speed; he too knew the Art of Quickening and had used it to escape and put some distance between the First Hunter and himself.
The young crow knew this battle would be more difficult than any he had faced in Yharnam before. Gehrman was a veteran Hunter who equaled him in both speed and strength. He would have to fight harder than he ever had before and use every trick he had if he wanted to emerge victorious.
Corvus split his short sword into a pair of daggers as he charged forward to meet Gehrman, rolling underneath a swing of the First Hunter's scythe and attacking with a flurry of quick slashes. The young Hunter leapt back as Gehrman retaliated, narrowly avoiding the blade of his scythe. Gehrman dashed forward in pursuit of Corvus, not allowing the young Hunter to evade him. As he charged forward Gehrman transformed his Trick Weapon, the blade of his scythe detaching to form a large scimitar as the wooden shaft folded in half and was stored on his back. The First Hunter brought his sword down to cut down Corvus, the young crow crossing the Blades of Mercy defensively to catch the blade with his own. The Hunters' Trick Weapons met, the collision creating a shockwave that spread out across the field.
The two were briefly caught in a stalemate until Corvus twisted his body in a circle, catching Gehrman off guard as he redirected the Old Hunter's weapon with one of his daggers and brought the other around to take advantage of the opening and slash him. He landed a hit on Gehrman with his blade and continued his spin to follow up with a kick that knocked the Old Hunter away. All of this was done in a single motion.
Gehrman quickly recovered and lunged forward to strike Corvus, but he rolled away from his attack at the last second. The young Hunter leaned back to avoid a swing from Gehrman, the First Hunter's blade missing him by mere inches, and took a step back to avoid another. Corvus was constantly in motion as he nimbly evaded Gehrman's attacks. The Old Hunter was highly skilled, but even he had difficulty predicting the wild and flowing movements of his young opponent; the boy would appear to be moving one way, but then seamlessly change direction and evade Gehrman's attempt to intercept him. Corvus jumped over an attack from the Old Hunter and landed behind him, attacking with a series of quick slashes before Gehrman could react and finishing by reconnecting his daggers and delivering a powerful strike with the Blade of Mercy that knocked the Old Hunter to the ground.
Corvus dashed forward to continue his attack as Gehrman rose to his feet, but had to evade to the left when the First Hunter fired his gun at him. Gehrman charged at Corvus and hit him with a series of slashes. Corvus rolled to the side and leapt back to escape the Old Hunter's assault. Instead of going after the young Hunter Gehrman transformed his Trick Weapon back into a scythe, the blade attaching to the shaft on his back as it unfolded. The First Hunter leapt into the air and swung his scythe in Corvus' direction, creating a powerful gust of wind that hit the boy with great force and knocked him off his feet.
Gehrman lunged forward to finish off his opponent while he was vulnerable. He neared the young Hunter and had his scythe raised when he heard the sound of a whistle. Before Gehrman could strike he had to leap back to avoid the massive snake that rose from the ground to attack, having been summoned from the Nightmare by the sound of Corvus blowing the whistle he had taken from the younger Madaras Brother. Corvus used this opportunity to heal himself with a Blood Vial while Gehrman was distracted. He then took a ready stance and stood still as Gehrman charged at him, waiting for the right moment. The First Hunter neared Corvus and prepared to swing his scythe, not realizing this was just what the boy wanted.
The young crow swung his arm to defend himself and Gehrman expected the strike to be an attack he would be able to ignore with little trouble, but was instead knocked away by a strike with more force than a short sword could have generated. Gehrman rolled to his feet and looked to see that Corvus had swapped weapons mid-swing and was no longer holding the Blade of Mercy. Instead of the oddly shaped short sword the boy was now holding a large club that seemed to be made of some sort of bone.
Corvus stepped toward Gehrman as his weapon transformed, the club shifting and revealing a sharp claw that resembled a sickle as the Amygdalan Arm came to life. He swung the arm and it unfolded to extend its reach and slash the Old Hunter repeatedly with its claw. Gehrman dashed forward to attack, but whenever he got close to the young Hunter he was forced to draw back to avoid the sweeping attacks from the Amygdalan Arm.
Eventually Gehrman grew tired of this and leapt into the air to send another gust of wind at Corvus, but this time the boy was prepared and managed to evade the attack. He leapt back out of range of Gehrman's attack, switching weapons again as he did so. As Gehrman landed he looked to see what weapon the boy was using now, and when he saw it his eyes widened and the First Hunter actually gasped in shock.
"Impossible," he said as he looked at the sabre with a second, smaller blade protruding from the hilt the boy had in his hand, "That's the…"
"The Rakuyo," Corvus confirmed as he glanced at the Trick Weapon that had once belonged to Lady Maria before she cast it into a well in disgust.
Gehrman was stunned by the sight of the weapon of his former student; the woman he had been so obsessed with that he modeled the Plain Doll in her image. Corvus took advantage of Gehrman's shock and dashed to attack him as he separated the smaller blade of the Rakuyo into a dagger he wielded in his left hand. He slashed with the dagger and then ducked under a slash as Gehrman snapped out of his stupor and retaliated. Seeing his opportunity, the young Hunter thrust the Rakuyo forth and stabbed the Old Hunter through the stomach. Both Hunters knew this was the final blow. Corvus felt a sense of triumph, but also one of sorrow as he gazed at the old man who had watched over him from the beginning of The Hunt.
"I'm sorry it had to end like this," Corvus said with regret as he pulled the blade from Gerhman's body.
"Don't be, my boy," responded Gehrman, "You've finally granted me my wish. You've finally freed me from this eternal nightmare."
"Take this, I have no more use for it," Gehrman said while offering his scythe to Corvus, "This is the Burial Blade, the first Trick Weapon. Use it well, young Crow."
"Thank you, Gerhman," Corvus said as he took the scythe, "I hope you find peace now that you're free from this Dream."
And so, Gehrman, First and Last of the Old Hunters, finally died and was set free from the dream he had been bound to for so long.
Before Corvus could think about what to do next he felt something approaching. Looking to the sky, the young Hunter saw it descending from the moon, and he knew what it was. The nameless moon presence the Byrgenwerth Scholars had first made contact with, and he knew it was the being that had created the Hunter's Dream. Corvus could think of only one thing to say.
"So that's why people say I smell like the moon."
As the Moon Presence touched the ground Corvus instinctively knew what to do. Walking towards the being that had created the Hunt, Corvus summoned the pieces of umbilical cord he and Eleanor had collected, and held them out as an offering. The Moon Presence took the umbilical cord and though it made no sound Corvus had the distinct impression it was giving him something akin to an impressed chuckle. And then it spoke to him, its voice sounding like rippling water.
"Very good, little Hunter. You have done what no other before you has and resisted the temptation to become kin of Kos and Oedon."
"What do you mean?" Corvus asked the being in confusion.
"Every Hunter before you has used the flesh of the Great Ones in an attempt to ascend beyond humanity, and every Hunter before you has been killed by me."
"So, what happens now, do I have to return to my old life?" Corvus asked as he felt a flash of panic, "Please don't make me go back to living on the streets."
"I see. You do not want to lose the power and purpose The Hunt has given you. Very well, as a reward for fighting back the threat of the Great Ones I shall send you to a new world beyond their reach. One where you will find great use for your abilities as a Hunter."
"Wait a minute," Corvus cut in, interrupting the Great One, "If this world is beyond the Great Ones' reach how can you send me there?"
"Because I will be sending you to this world instead of going myself, and even then, I will barely be able to do it. You will never be able to return from the place I send you."
"Okay I accept, but before you do that I want to ask you something. What will happen to the other Hunters in Yharnam, like Eileen, and what will happen to everyone in the Hunter's Nightmare?"
"Your fellow Hunters will awaken and return to the lives they once lived. As for the Hunters of the Nightmare, I do not know. That realm was created by Kos to protect her child and punish the Hunters of old for the crimes they committed long ago. Now close your eyes, and when you open them again you will awaken in a new world."
Corvus did as instructed and closed his eyes, and when they opened he was standing in a forest as the sun began to rise. Corvus somehow knew he had been changed; he felt the tail and animal ears he now had the same way one could feel where their arm is, but he was not concerned. After all, he was familiar with being changed after using the Beast's Embrace rune and the Beast Claw. Instead of worrying about how he had changed, Corvus simply began walking in a random direction as he made a declaration to himself.
"Tonight… No; today, Corvus begins the hunt."
And that's a wrap! What did you think of the new and improved prologue? Please leave a comment telling me your thoughts. But remember when pointing out flaws to keep it as constructive criticism instead of just complaining and insults, that means tell me where my problems are and give suggestions for how to fix them.