Castlevania:tenebrae in artibus
By darksymphony777
authors note:hey it's me it's me now I'm a big fan of the castlevania series i like to think me as their
number one fan (waves flag) and two things. one this story was inspired by walkazo's mario and luigi and bowser so check it out when you have the chance and thank you walkazo for the inspiration and two I'm putting my reputation of a castlevania fanboy on the line with this story so with that out of the way let's get to the story
PROLOGUE:BEGINNING
the first step into the darkness is the unwillingness to forgive
Rain pitted the small town of quartermain, Germany as William Brauner strode past the welcome sign of his hometown carrying supplies on horseback. Brauner himself was a strapping young man at the age of 44, he could still look for a woman if he so wanted, his lean muscles show he may be no brute but can still hold his own, although from his delicate hands to his simple beige pants and multicolored shirt suggest otherwise.
No William was a painter, he loved his art and he was able to boast his incredible lifelike and extremely detailed work from peasants to the rich and every one in between. But he loved one thing more than his art and that was his daughters Maria and Lucille, he loved them more then life itself. He made a promise on his wife's deathbed that he would protect them even at the cost of his own life.
His recent trip to Altena proved prosperous as is his journey to take his girls to America given the rumors of archduke Feridand's assassination causing tension between Austria and Yugoslavia and according to someone he heard on his trip Germany was taking Austria's side.
So he is taking precautions and bringing his girls with him to America so they can start a new life and he can show his work to a whole new clientele.
He eased the reigns of his horse when he saw smoke coming from his town. "My town ayah" rustling his horse he rushed into town.
When he got there his worst fears rang true, the town or what was left of it was destroyed, small fires engulfed small buildings, bullet castings littered the ground, and the scent of the dead was rampant in the air. "easy girl." The painter said as he got off his horse.
He didn't believe this, everything and everyone gone. No he still had hope he still had his girls.
With renewed vigor he ran to his abode. "Maria, Lucille you there." Brauner screamed coming up to his two story house. His house sat virtually untouched by the destruction sat on a small incline. Next to it sat a small studio where he can sell his work for a reasonable price however the broken door and shattered window showed it fared less then his house.
He ran in and found everything untouched and with hope searched the entire house but found nothing, he figured paint supplies are useless to the German regime. Running back outside he went to the studio which his guess was true, the Germans did take an interest in his art.
He entered and saw that bullet holes covered the place and many of his paintings were gone,Brauner guesses the Germans took them for themselves. As he looked he heard a groan coming from the back room. Entering he saw what made the noise and his hope shattered.
His daughters,his poor girls lying haplessly on the floor,his younger daughter covered in bullet holes. Her older sister Lucille had a single bullet hole in her chest and was barely holding on.
"Lucille meine liebe." he cried as he picked her and held her to his chest "what happened?"
"It was the horrible a huge militia came into town demanding e join there cause,when we refused they opened fire."
so Brauner was right the Germans were with Austria that means war will begin if it has not already. Cradling his daughters head he said " don't worry I'll get a doctor I'll save you."
"No" Lucille said stopping her father from doing something stupid "i lost too much blood it's to late for me,get out of here while you still can." she started coughing drawing blood from her mouth. Brauner could not believe this, his whole world crashing down on him, he failed himself but more importantly he failed his wife.
"Don't worry" the daughter spoke knocking him out of his stupor. "it's like you always say 'wir sind deine engel, von himmel,um ihnen das gleiche von ihnen zu lieben und uns'we loved you father and always will and always will" her breathing slowed and eventually stopped and her body went limp.
Silence reigned in the studio.
Brauner, calm under his weakening facade gently lowered his girls head, stood up and went back to his abode,to find his shovel so he can properly bury the last of his loved ones.
After graves dug,bodies buried and prayers said Brauner his girls room trying to figure out what to bring with him to America, just because his daughters were dead did is not stopping him from going to the land of opportunity only now he will paint in honor of his family but before he leaves he needs something,anything to remember them by.
He already got Lucille's memento, a silver necklace she got on her 17th birthday. Unfortunately he had to pry it from her dead body but it was the only thing he could think of but...oh well. So now he needed Maria's item hence why he's in the room. He decided to grab a book (she always liked reading) off the bookshelf and opened it.
The book was filled with pictures of zombies,vampires and werewolf's and so much more. He noticed that her side of the room was adorn with posters, figurines and more. How had he not seen it sooner and had to wonder what hair brained idiot would give her all this...gothic material then quickly realizes that he was that hair brained idiot,never less he does not know what compelled him to buy these things or why Maria liked them. She even wanted to marry into this so called legendary clan the bel something or other. Overcome with curiosity he took another book and opened it. The book was filled with charms and incantations bah useless to him hearsay he skimmed through it until he found an interesting one. "hmm charm charm your art to create new worlds seems interesting I'll bite." Quickly reading the instructions he set to work pulling this hoax.
Brauner stood up satisfied at his work. His paintbrush stood in the middle of a small circle with runic symbols written intertwined with it "now to read this chicken scratch" holding the book to his face he started reading "Benedicat et maledictio daemon, quod cum vestris." Looking up from his book he saw that...nothing happened.
That was a waste of time.
"Ha fake and use." BOOM.
He had to shield his eyes from the small explosion that engulfed the room. The light eventually dimmed down and Brauner saw the faint wisps of smoke coming from the circle. He bent and grabbed the new brush.
The brush changed a bit,the handle became a bit thicker with a metal protrusion sticking out of one side. The brush itself remained unchanged albeit with a reddish tint to it. Mulling it over he had a thought if he can make new worlds, he can make people, that means...his daughters could still be saved.
A noise outside caught his attention and when he looked he saw two men walking around. Guessing by the fact they had guns they must be members of the German government. If they were here they either saw him enter the town or are looking for survivors most likely it's the former, either way they'll find him sooner or later. He needed to prepare but first he needed to see if his brush worked.
Quickly grabbing a palate and squirting black paint for a easy background he dipped his new brush into the paint however when he pulled out the paint did not stick. "come on." the painter silently fumed as he tried again and failed to get the paint to stick. "why are you not working?"
he fumbled around with the brush trying to comprehend it's function when he felt a small prick from his hand. Opening it he notices a a small cut barely noticeable in Brauners eyes. When he looked back at the brush he noticed the protrusion was gone instead showing a panel with the word 'pingere' on it.
Guessing that meant that he can paint now but...he was curious about he just did. Returning to the book he scanned through it looking for something...aha there it is. Looking outside to make sure the soldiers weren't nearby he started to read "a blood oath is the commanding center or base of any summon, charm, or curse. It uses the user as a contract with the blood as the signature. One cannot use a cursed item without submitting their blood. Explains the blade let's get to work." He set to work preparing for his battle.
several yards away two men were walking through the carnage. Elijah Auswitz looked at his partner Christian Swisler in hidden disgust. Christian was the type of person who shoots first and ask questions later.
No really first day he joined he raced to the shooting range, picked up a Gewher 17 and let it loose. In the end there was collateral damage and a huge amount of pissed off military men. But when it was revealed he was accurate in his shots and the fact the general liked his spunk.
Doesn't help the fact that the general is his uncle and showed nepotism.
Also doesn't help if Christian has a mean streak and a itchy trigger finger.
Elijah sighed as he walked toward a general store. "let's look here." Christian looked at the child soldier in envy. He hated this kid ever since. A sharpshooting prodigy and higher rank then him and more humiliating he's only 17 "fine" he said sorting his hands through his short brown hair as he holds up his gast gun and follows his partner into the store.
Their mission was simple, Intel reported a figure entering Quartermain and they were sent to eliminate this person before neighboring towns find out about the massacre. After all can't have an army if everyone is rebelling against the military that won't do.
The store door creaked open and the soldiers entered cautious. The store was a mess, one side was splattered with the remnants of fruit, boxes littered the floor, and leaning against the wall on the far side were the bodies of the storekeeper and his wife. "we sure did damage on these pathetic peasants" Christian said gleefully. Elijah said nothing as he stared at his reflection on a mirror of the eastern wall. A young boy looked back at him, his unique white hair cropped on his head and his lieutenant outfit marred with specks of blood.
This was not how soldiers would act he knew that. They were supposed to be respected not feared his family came from a long line of soldiers and each of them told their sons the first lesson about being in the army 'if you want to be a good soldier make sure you protect the people you live for, and they will protect you back'. That was mantra he lived by Christian was a scumbag for thinking killing innocent people will benefit this...this unnecessary war with Yugoslavia. He knew it was a matter of time before the other countries in Europe find out about this and he wanted to he'd leave the country and never return but then he let the people he swore to protect down and he did not like that.
Maybe after the war he leave the army and go somewhere quiet he heard good things about a small place southeast from here called Romania he'd see it and maybe move there and he bring his family with him. Right now however he had bigger things to worry about.
The orders came from the top rally any and all cities and towns with the governments cause if they don't use extreme force to make them obey. Elijah was against all of this people should fear their own people they need to help others he tried oh he tried to make sure to convince the people to join just so this such an occasion would happen. When the firing started he didn't join in and all he can hope is all these people who caused this would pay and he well he needs to protect all those who didn't like the cause and make sure they live to see another day.
He shifted his custom assassin blade to a more suitable position it's skull and crossbones handle glinting in the faint rays of sunlight.
He got the sword from a shop in Berlin the shopkeeper said it was perfect for someone like him and honestly he liked swords better then guns. Swords don't run out of ammo after all. The sword was crafted using a special metal capable of holding poison on it's surface. The scabbard was made to seal the poison in and keep the inside slick so it can be reused again and again. The poison is a special blend of snake venom, one cut and a couple of seconds is all it took to kill someone and they wouldn't even know, the poison also caused the sword to take on a greenish hue. If he so wanted he can change to poison for different effects just as deadly and with the added bonus of the different mixture making the sword a different color. Perfect for assassination missions and recon should you get caught or about to.
The soldiers left the store after not finding anything of interest and started walking down the main street. The silence was unbearable so Christian decided to start a conversation. "so...where do you think he is?"
"First off, how do you know it's a guy and second I don't have a clue where he is." Elijah looked into a broken window of a pottery shop hoping to ignore his partner but. "I'm trying to remember this town I heard someone famous lives here."
This he could talk about. "ah you mean William Brauner I heard of him they say he's the greatest German born painter to live. I have a couple of his works very well done."
"so you took them." Truth be told he met Brauner once nice guy had a passion for the arts like he's never seen before highly protective of his daughters though even if one of them was a little...weird.
Elijah looked at a half collapsed building and sighed. What was this world coming to. "do you see him?" Christian asked shaking him from his thoughts. Elijah was about to shake his head when he saw a flash of movement from a nearby house. "i think I see something" he heard a grunt of affirmation and they both walked to the house.
The house they found sat untouched by the destruction like a beacon oh hope in a palace of chaos. Looking around the house they found two freshly marked graves.
Maria Brauner 1896-1914.
Lucille Brauner 1893-1914.
Well this answers who they are looking for Elijah must have saw William preparing to leave. Screw the rules he's getting this guy out of here. He noticed more markings under the tombstones and read them.
If I take death into my life, acknowledge it, and face it squarely, I will free myself from the anxiety of death and the pettiness of life-and only then will I be free to become myself
Martin Heidegger
Great now we have to deal with a very protective and pissed off father. That tears it he's leaving the army after this war. "let's go in" a grunt answered him as both soldiers entered the house.
Christian entered waving his mp 18 like a maniac while his younger partner calmly put his hand over his sword. The sword is a double entendre it was meant to calm William down. After all putting a gun to his face will cause him to act irrationally and will cause another life to end. The other reason was to stop his partner from doing anything stupid and he'd get a chuckle of slicing that bastards gun in half.
"William Brauner in the name of the German government, surrender and we will be kind." silence greeted his ears even if he knew he would not get answer. "what are you doing giving away our position?" the older soldier said "we are killing him remember."
"Screw the killing, innocent people will not die under my watch all these people in this town were killed why? Because they said no I will not have that happen again. This guy lost his daughters because the idiotic nature of our superiors because the country of German wants to start a fight over a petty argument."
the two soldiers glared at each other. Elijah had him beat he knew that, he could never pick up his gun and pull the trigger before he swung his sword. And if it came down to CQC Christian may be a decent shot but he can't fight to save his life. There is a word for people like Christian and that word was scumbag, or as the more derogatory term, douche bag. Christian sent one last glare before saying "when this is over I'm reporting you to our captain." he walked off leaving a calm lieutenant behind. Elijah knew if push came to shove, army or not he will protect the people of Germany.
The living room was nothing special. A fire place stood in the western side of the house surrounded by a couch and chairs, a table between them with a radio on it. The best part of the place was the myriad of paintings that were on the walls, all of them works of pure art from a man who has nothing to live for now.
"listen" Elijah said holding up a hand "you hear that" he looked at the ceiling then at his partner. Both nodded and started to walk up the stairs.
They walked to a closed door on the right. "hold." Elijah held up his hand as his partner walked to the other side of the door. Nodding to each other as the signal the younger soldier put his ear to the door to confirm if he heard what he heard. He heard a voice but the door was making it indistinguishable but it sounded like whoever it was, was talking to himself a good thing or bad thing depending how you look at it. He reached for the knob and opened it.
The room they entered was a art room. Blank canvases held themselves one side of the room and tarps covered the floor. In front of them was the man they were looking for. William Brauner had his back to them working on what they guessed was a painting. Elijah had a feeling, call it a hunch, call it a sixth sense but he knew it when he saw it. First off why paint he heard of weird ways to cope with loss second and more importantly he has not even bothered trying to leave, he does not even have anything packed. That means only one thing, he saw them and he set a trap of some kind. And from his stance he was pissed just what he was worried about. Anger clouds people judgment, he needed to calm this man down pronto.
"mister Brauner my name is Elijah I want to talk to you." Brauner simply kept working ignoring the soldiers in the the room. Elijah tried again "excuse me mister Brauner.."
"hey painter listen up your coming with us." Dammit Christian yo keep doing stuff like that your going to get yourself killed. Christian pulled his gun up and took off the safety he didn't like when he was ignored "villeicht haben sie kein englisch vertstehen, wie übet unsere zunge rücksichtslos bastard." When he was ignored again he got pissed but the younger soldier forcefully put down the mans gun "i don't like this." was all he said.
"Fuck that he's a painter what's he going to do paint us a picture I'm taking him out." He pointed the gun only to see Brauner now standing next to his painting and glaring at them.
"you!" he exclaimed "you bastard how dare you hunt us down like dogs and for what a silly little war. Well let's see you get hunted like the dogs you are." He slammed his hand on the portrait he was working on. The portrait was a simple black hall flanked by beige walls. With the flick of the mad painters wrist the painting started to bubble.
The thoughts going through the soldiers minds were what the hell. This is downright freaky artwork can't do that. What did they get themselves into. "what the hell is going on?" Christian demanded. Brauner just smiled a smile that sent shivers down Elijah's spine. They needed to get out of there NOW. The young soldiers made a grab for his partner but he forced himself away. God damn Christian do you have an ego the size of mars. The painting warped and twisted until a shadowy hand came out of the piece of art and quickly grabbed Christian.
The soldier starts panicking as he fires the gun into the hand to no avail while Elijah just stood there staring at the whole situation in a moment of pure fear. A sickening crunch snapped him out of his fear induced trance as he saw the twisted macabre body of his partner fall to the floor his body parts bent in all sorts of ways. Scared out of his wits Elijah ran, he ran screaming all the way back to his base.
Brauner let let the boy go. What was he going to say 'a painting came to life and killed my partner'. He looked at his new paintbrush. His new weapon against the wretched people of the world and smiled with sadistic glee. Soon he doesn't know when but soon he make them all pay. He'd need a plan, a plan takes time and now he had time to spare. He made a new promise, he make the world pay for what happened to this town...and his daughters.
Yay I finally finished the first part on what is too be long LONG story first off I want to thank Konami for making the series in the first place in 1986 and I'd
SILLY FILLY YOUR NOT DONE
dammit pinkie what are you doing here
I'M HERE TO BREAK THE FORTH WALL AND REMIND YOU HAVE LONG WAY TO GO YOU HAVE NOT EVEN MADE THE HEROES GO TO THE CASTLE YET SO YOU CAN'T EVEN THINK BEING DOWN YET
yes I know pinkie let me finish. Anyway we have a long way to go please read and review I'll shall take constructive criticism no outright flames and now in the words count Dracula himself..you know what pinkie you say it
OKIE DOKIE LOKIE ahem...WHAT'S IS A MAN ( throws a glass at me) A MISRABLE LITTLE PILE OF SECRETS BUT ENOUGH TALK HAVE AT YOU.
tenebrae in artibus=darkness in the arts (Latin)
meine liebe=my love (German)
wir sind deine engel, von himmel,um ihnen das gleiche von ihnen zu lieben und uns=we are your angels,from heaven,to give them the same love of them and us (German)
Benedicat et maledictio daemon, quod cum vestris=demon bless this object with your abilities and curse (Romanian)
pingere=paint (Latin)
villeicht haben sie kein englisch vertstehen, wie sie übet unsere zunge rücksichtslos bastard=maybe you don't understand English how about our tongue you inconsiderate bastard (German)
now for another quote
inside each of us, there is the seed of both goo and evil. It's a constant struggle as to which one will win. And one cannot exist with out the other