Sorry I'm flooding you guys with notifications, I've just been really inspired lately. This is only a mini exposition chapter, sort of a teaser for what's to come. I'll have plenty of time over winter break, so expect some fleshier chapters at some point before the new year.
For anyone who hasn't realized, chapters one and two of my Cainhurst mini-fic are already out, and chapter three is on the way! The fic is titled 'A Cainhurst Sojourn', and you can find it on my page. I guess I kinda lied when I said it would take a whole month. The entire Cainhurst arc takes place somewhere in between Maria getting killed by the crow and meeting with the Choir. I'm planning ten chapters for the Cainhurst fic, but it could be more, or it could be less. Depends on how faithfully I follow my outline. Now some reviews, then I'll let you read in peace.
Morality's a spook: Aww that's really nice of you to say, thank you! I think I've got a pretty good idea of what I want to do going forwards, so no one feel guilty about not providing feedback!
I'm sorry to say Maria probably won't be going to Old Yharnam, and if she does, it'll be after the blood moon hits. There were a ton of things I wanted to do with this fic that've kinda fallen by the wayside because they don't fit with the narrative I'm crafting here. Djura was one, and I had a ton of interactions planned for both Arianna and Iosefka. The Doll, Amelia, and the Crow ended up taking precedence, unfortunately.
Inquisitorwaffles: Okay first of all, thank you so much for reviewing as much as you have. It really helps me to find motivation knowing at least one person will be cheering me on throughout the process.
I would consider myself a Bloodborne lore enthusiast, and I'm doing my best to cram this fic full of easter eggs and relevant details. I hope I've done an acceptable job, but no one can be perfect!
Doll is adorable. She wants to support her namesake in any way possible, but her range of emotions is kind of a limiting factor.
Yeah I don't know what happened. I started this fic as just a cute little 'what if' scenario because I thought it'd be cool to write an angsty reunion scene for Gehrman and Maria. I thought I'd get Maria to the church, have her fight Logarius, maybe do a timeskip to the Gehrman fight, and that would be it. But as time went on, I really fell in love with this reimagined version of Bloodborne, and that plan got scrapped pretty quickly. So now I'm dedicated, and I've decided going to see this through to completion no matter what.
Thanks for reading, and happy holidays if you celebrate! Anyone who hasn't, go read the Cainhurst fic! It's crucial to what's going to happen next.
In the early days of the Healing Church, the uppermost reaches of Cathedral Ward consisted only of the research hall, the gardens, and the clocktower. In the years since Maria had died, it seems the church had begun to maintain an orphanage atop the main cathedral. This orphanage, along with the now defunct research hall, had become the home base for the highest echelon of the Healing Church, a secretive organization known simply as 'the Choir'.
Maria knew very well that the Choir did not enjoy visitors of any sort, so to be invited into the halls of their most private sanctums was truly a rarity.
This must be a very important mission.
The five scholars led Maria across narrow bridges and precarious walkways, deeper into the beating heart of the Healing Church.
The head scholar cleared her throat.
"Before we begin, I must inform you that we are on the precipice of catastrophe. As such I will not be wasting your time with meaningless pretense and sugary optimism."
"We should be getting along nicely then," Maria smiled.
"Perfect. To start with then, what do you know of the School of Mensis?"
"Never heard of them."
"That's fine. They are a very dangerous splinter group that formed after the Old Yharnam incident and the advent of the Choir. Our quarrel is one of academic pursuit. Both our groups agree on the importance of ascendency to the level of the Great Ones. We at the Choir differ to the teachings of the old Provost Willem, that the only way to truly ascend is to perfect the mind before one attempts to reach a higher plane of existence. Mensis… disagrees. They believe that they are ready to ascend now, and that they need only to-"
"Semantics," Maria said, waving her hand. "Just tell me what you want me to do, and why."
The scholar smiled, as did all her companions in eerie unison.
"My apologies. It has been too long since I've spoken to one as wonderfully pragmatic as yourself."
The scholars made a right in front of the orphanage, and led Maria onto a long covered bridge that spanned the gap in between the orphanage and the Healing Church. Dozens of white-robed scholars were coming and going across the bridge, many of them carrying telescopes, starmaps, or other astronomical instruments.
"Our spies have uncovered a nefarious plot engineered by the School of Mensis. We believe that tonight, Mensis will attempt to make contact with a Great One."
"You're jesting."
The scholar shook her head.
"That would mean the end of Yharnam!" Maria exclaimed.
"Which is precisely why we must act with haste," the scholar continued. "The School is based in Yahar-Gul, the unseen village just north of the Grand Cathedral. The village's gates remain sealed, but our intelligencers have determined that a small party of hunters will be exiting the village soon. Their destination is Byrgenwyrth."
"Byrgenwyrth?" Maria frowned. "What would a splinter group of the church want with Byrgenwyrth?"
"We have our theories. In order for contact to be made with the dreamlands, the veil between the waking world and the dreaming world must be thinned in an event known as the blood moon. It is our belief that something in Byrgenwyrth is stopping Mensis from beckoning the blood moon, hence their interest."
"And that's where I come in?" Maria guessed.
"Precisely. We would like you to make your way to Byrgenwyrth before Mensis can, and stop them from doing whatever it is they are doing."
The entourage reached the end of the bridge, and filed into a large garden positioned just above the Grand Cathedral. Maria could recognise the lumenflower gardens a mile away. This was one of the few places that had managed to make her happy after the traumatic incident at the fishing hamlet. The beautiful lumenflowers remained closed during the day, but as evening fell, a number of them had begun to tentatively raise their heads towards the milky moon above.
"That sounds simple," Maria enuciated. "I assume you have no qualms about me killing them?"
"None whatsoever. We are saving lives, after all," the scholar said, accepting a small envelope from a passing priest. She inspected the envelope closely, then handed it to Maria.
"Get to Byrgenwyrth posthaste. In the Provost's abode, you will find one of our own, a Choir operative named Yurie. We installed her in Byrgenwyrth should something like this happen, and she is instructed to help anyone with official certification from the Choir magistrates."
"Understood. Get to Byrgenwyrth before Mensis, convene with Yurie, and prevent Mensis from performing their ritual," Maria tucked the envelope into her pocket. "I should be going, then?"
"Yes, please do. And Maria," she began. "Yharnam's fate rests upon your shoulders. Do not falter."
"I will not. Farewell," Maria turned on her heel, and strode purposefully across the bridge, back the way she had came.
The road to Byrgenwyrth lay behind a simple door, locked and bolted. Since the schism between the church and the college, the church had declared Byrgenwyrth forbidden ground, and forbade anyone from attempting to reach the old college. It seems Byrgenwyrth had a similar agenda.
Maria lifted the iron knocker, and gave three sharp knocks to the ancient door.
"The password…" a feeble voice sounded from behind the door.
"Fear the old blood," Maria answered.
No sooner had the words escaped her lips than the door opened inward, squealing in protest as it did. Sitting in a chair behind the door was a finely dressed skeleton, likely years expired. Scattered around him were urns of noxious incense designed to ward off beasts, though it wasn't like anyone came this way anyway.
Maria stepped inside, and immediately noticed that there were more than ten sets of footprints on the dusty floor.
Then Mensis has already been here, she thought. This will be one hell of a race.
Maria crept through the ramshackle tower, careful not to alert any Mensis agents who might've stayed behind. She found the exit, and strode into the dark forest that lay between Yharnam and the prestigious old Byrgenwyrth.