Chapter 2: The Holy Blade
The ancient Pthumerian civilization fell. Little is known of this lost civilization except what remains in the endless labyrinthic dungeons beneath the surface of where a new city was later born. From various studies, it is believed they were masters of ancient arcane arts, specifically relating to arts of Fire and arts of Blood. The Pthumerian people seemed to be matriarchal, or at the very least the most important positions were often held by women. Originally, the Pthumerian people had no ruler; they worked as simple caretakers of the ancient labyrinth, The Great Pthumeru Ihyll. As Pthumerian society advanced, they grew into a more stable society with a Queen as their figurehead. The capital of Pthumeru, Ihyll, was named after one such Queen, possibly the first. However it is the last Queen of Pthumeru, Yharnam, which gave name to the new city erected where their civilization once stood. And yet the echoes of what happened in old Pthumeru resonate very deeply in the current city of Yharnam, moreso than Yharnamites can possibly know.
The scope of a Hunter's job is not limited to just hunting beasts when they show up in the city or the countryside. Many Hunters go on expeditions to those ancient labyrinthic dungeons underneath the city, often as bodyguards to the actual scholars conducting the research. The dungeons hold the secrets to the lost Pthumerian civilization who once stood in the place where Yharnam exists today and their secrets are valued by the three pillars of Yharnam society, with detailed reports of each finding being a necessity for every explorer. Every piece of loot is thoroughly evaluated and if deemed of historical significance, taken immediately to Byrgenwerth Academy. As dungeons were the origin of the Healing Blood, any potential discovery of the same magnitude could affect the entire city's status quo and daily life, maybe even the world. The ancient Pthumerians dabbled in the Arcane and Blood arts with a level of mastery that eclipses whatever knowledge regular Yharnamite science can achieve nowadays, and the sprawling labyrinth could hide new discoveries at every intersection.
Ludwig joined these expeditions many times as part of his training and later on as a full-fledged Hunter, acting as a guardian to more scholarly, better-read people. During training he was often accompanied by Gehrman, but later on, after Gehrman had moved on to train newer, more inexperienced Hunters, his main companion became Amelia, a devout vicar of the Healing Church. It was during these dungeon expeditions that he learned much of the history of the city and where he later would find his "light".
Ludwig always marvelled at the intricate architecture; the endless tunnels that could go deeper and deeper into the earth, although he would always need to be on guard in such places, he would often save a few worthless trinkets the scholars deemed of little to no value. For him, these keepsakes were memories of ventures he had successfully completed; building blocks to a new life devoid of any real memories as a foundation. He wasn't the only one in Yharnam who had lost his memory as a result of his treatment, but he certainly didn't feel companionship from much of the other prospectors.
His most trusted companion, Vicar Amelia, was not a fighter, but a scholar. Versed is the history of the city and its people, she first taught Ludwig about The Schism; the great rift of unknown origin that divided the Scholars of Byrgenwerth and led to a sect of them abandoning the academy to form the Healing Church. One of these scholars was their top superior and head of the Healing Church, Laurence, known as the First Vicar. It was Laurence who first brought the Blood to the people and precipitated the age of prosperity the city lives in. Another member of Byrgenwerth was Gehrman, not a scholar himself, but a bodyguard who would often lead scholar expeditions to the Pthumerian dungeons. Gehrman would leave Byrgenwerth with Laurence, but instead of joining the Healing Church proper, would go on to found the Hunter's Workshop as a way to deal with the beasts ailing the country. Yet another dissenting scholar was Lady Maria, a young, light-haired Hunter and deeply esteemed scholar of Byrgenwerth.
Originally from the neighbouring kingdom of Cainhurst, Maria would many times join them as an explorer of the dungeon depths. Although she was their trusted companion and friend, Maria never revealed to them the cause of The Schism during their expeditions choosing to stay silent in matters regarding the politics of the institutions she greatly respected, even if that led to slight confusion from Ludwig who took a while to understand the inner workings of the city's institutions. Others joined them from time to time, like Tomb Prospectors Gremia, Olek and Wallar, who specialized in finding new dungeons and leading expeditions through them. Dungeons themselves were a complicated and dangerous affair, requiring sacrifices of blood and other specific items to open, which meant a Tomb Prospector always had to be the one to open them, even if some expeditions were allowed to be undertaken without them, attending to the rank of the party members. This was indeed the case for Lady Maria who, as a previous scholar of Byrgenwerth, ranked high above every single Tomb Prospector. Entering the Pthumerian labyrinth not on an official sanctioned mission was considered a great taboo.
Another reason why opening dungeons was so exclusive were the dangers inside them. Dungeons were a source of great peril, with all manner of creatures from old locked inside them, and letting them roam free and maybe even find their way to the outside was something that needed to be avoided at all costs. Open dungeons were widely believed to be the source of the Beast Scourge, for within the old labyrinth lies proof of Yharnam not being the first to be struck with Scourge of the Beast. Part of the dungeons show what remains of Loran, ancient Pthumerian land devoured by sands after being wiped out by the Scourge. Although some of the more commonly dungeons had lycanthrope beasts like the ones found outside, many held other horrors and those were reserved only for elite hunting parties. Ludwig heard veteran prospectors mention everything from skeletons, spectres and ghostly apparitions that lingered from a time immemorial to hulking brutes armed with brutal weapons, all of them of amazing strength and all of them extremely aggressive. There was even mention of the old keepers, still encountered within the dungeons, who had gained eternal life. Yet, their form was an ashen one, no doubt the result of a lost ceremony of flame, cremating both body and soul and tying them to the labyrinth. What separated these Pthumerian remnants from the beasts was that these had no real will to move on from the depths and leave, they mainly just tried to kill whatever stumbled inside. Every time a new section was opened to be explored, it was essential to ensure no corner remained unturned and no beast stayed alive, preventing any new outbreaks from plaguing Yharnam even further.
Ludwig, Lady Maria and Vicar Amelia quickly became friends and explored many dungeons together due to their great synergy. They never excluded extra elements from the possible party, but they worked so well together that often no one else was needed. Lady Maria was a soft, caring young woman with blonde, almost white hair and a slender figure, who did not pass judgement on people's motivations and instead thrived on helping each individual she knew achieve his own goals. She was stoic, but always kind and composed, almost the polar opposite of the harshness of her Workshop companion and teacher Gehrman. She was a great scholar in Byrgenwerth and one of the first Hunters to join the nightly Hunt, but due to her heavy foreign accent, rumours say she is related to the Queen of Cainhurst, which many see as a vile being and enemy of the Church. Maria wields a weapon unique among the hunters; the Rakuyo, a long, double-bladed weapon that could be detached at the hilt and become two separate, shorter swords, the weapon is extremely fast and makes use of Maria's unrivalled dexterity. Lady Maria was fond of this aspect of the Rakuyo, as she frowned upon the use of blood blades, very popular in her country. She also has a gun called the Evelyn, a popular weapon in Cainhurst and a memento of her origins.
Ludwig looked up to Lady Maria as the true example of what a Hunter could be. Intelligent, strong, beautiful and kind, Maria was also idolized by many of the townsfolk who saw in her a representative of the true peaks any one human could reach, both mentally and physically. Although her fame could never outshine Gehrman himself, the First Hunter was much more of a recluse and as such, never garnered any goodwill or admirers for anything other than his combat prowess.
The other element of the party, Vicar Amelia, was a young, gentle soul who had great admiration for The First Vicar, Laurence, bordering on love, her brown hair was rarely seen peeking from her hooded vests, but her courage and devoutness were often on display. She was not a good melee fighter but her knowledge of the ancient Arcane arts allowed her to use spells in battle, which she used often to protect, heal and power-up her allies. In time even Amelia started to learn how to wield a trick weapon to add to her repertoire of healing and offensive spells, choosing to focus on the Threaded Cane. What time Amelia didn't spend exploring the ancient depths, she spent helping out the needy; often bringing food to the poor, consoling the infirm and making sure the new arrivals got the right treatments in time. In fact, Amelia met Ludwig on his very first day in Yharnam, although he forgot their meeting ever happened and to her he was just one of the many faces she helped seek treatment that day.
It was in the company of the two women that Ludwig encountered the sword that would give him his title of "The Holy Blade". It was supposed to be a venture like any other when the group stumbled upon this discovery. The dungeon itself had been explored before, but only the first two floors. On their way to the third floor, the previous team encountered more difficult beasts to kill, which culminated in an encounter with a special kind of beast that only the elite ever dared fight, a horned lupine that could actually stand upright, unlike most of its more beastly counterparts. The scary, more humanoid form, and a surprising dominion over the Fire used by old Pthumerians drove away the team who found it and a new, more specialized one was called in. Ludwig, Lady Maria and Vicar Amelia were joined by Gehrman and Olek as the five-member team descended to the dungeon depths.
When Ludwig realized Gehrman was joining their expedition, he expected a tough fight, he had never encountered a beast like the one described and Gehrman's presence made him feel like they could actually be going up against something very dangerous. Gehrman did go on plenty of scheduled expeditions as a teacher, but for him to be summoned for this one specifically in an unplanned way meant the Tomb Prospectors really feared the beast inside. However, the mission itself couldn't have gone more surprisingly for him. Gehrman and Maria bantered the whole way down through the already cleared rooms in a warm and familiar way that Ludwig had never seen from them, especially from Gehrman who always seems to be in a bad mood. Maria's stoicism wasn't gone, but there was admiration and reverence in her words to Gehrman, as much as there was affection in his words to her. Reaching the beast room, Gehrman merely lifted a hand and said to the group "watch and learn, young blood".
Leaping viciously at the unsuspecting beast, Gehrman used his weapon, a gigantic scythe that towered even over him, to cut its head clean off. Although he had seen Gehrman brandish his weapon before, this time was different; Ludwig had never seen the man fight; really fight. He had never before been left in awe of the First Hunter's physical capabilities; only his wisdom. Gehrman's weapon was the Burial Blade, known in the Workshop as a masterpiece that defined the entire array of weapons crafted for the common Hunters. Its blade is forged with siderite, a metal so rare that it's said to have fallen from the heavens and can actually be detached from the giant handle to be used as a kind of curved sword. Ludwig has seen it being used before but he had never been marvelled by its display. Then and there, as Gehrman stood up from the attack and the beast fell to its knees, blood spraying from its decapitated body, he knew he witnessed a special display. Olek breathed in relief after the beast laid dead on the floor, Amelia looked incredulous and Maria merely smiled retorting "I see you still haven't lost your flair for the dramatic, old friend". As the beast's blood pooled on the floor, Gehrman's reflection showed the tall, imposing man in a whole new light.
It was then, after the beast was murdered, that the group decided to carry on and continue further into the dungeon. However, there wasn't much more of it. A few more rooms, a trap door with spikes they all avoided easily due to their training and the group finally reached the last room; a dead end that looked like a treasure vault of sorts. There they found many treasure chests, but also an abandoned, old greatsword with moss covering it in the middle of the room. When the party examined the artefact, it resonated with Ludwig's touch, seemingly emitting a green light when he touched it. The others were all surprised, as even Gehrman, master craftsman and weaponsmith that he was, said he didn't know how to trigger or what caused the effect. All they knew is that it happened only for Ludwig.
Taking the most valuable things they found, the group proceeded back to the surface, with the greatsword also in hand. Their victory was much celebrated by the Tomb Prospector community and the sword was taken to Byrgenwerth to be studied for a while, but since Ludwig was the only one capable of getting it to emit light, the scholars of Byrgenwerth Academy saw fit to return it to him, in the hopes of learning more, and with his promise of reporting any discoveries regarding the blade. While it normally looked just like a normal heavy sword, this two-handed weapon would later be named the "Holy Moonlight Sword", because of Ludwig's ability to attune his spirit to the blade, making it emanate tiny particles of light that would dance around it.
The very day Ludwig got the sword back, a gift seemingly orchestrated by Gehrman, he heard it call out to him in the veil of night. It all happened while he was alone in his room; he heard a wind that sounded like a whisper. Or maybe it was always a whisper, or maybe it was just the wind. Whatever the truth was, he held the sword, looking to reproduce the effect from the labyrinth. He focused his mind on the sword and tried to clear his head, this did indeed make the sword shine its light and to him, this felt like it almost talked. This green light reminded him of moonlight reflected in a lake and he would often close his eyes and listen to the sounds only he could hear from it. Soon he was able to hear them even in battle and let them guide his hand. He called this the act of attunement. Although only he could hear and attune to the sword, everyone around him could see its light. While attuned, this tremendously powerful heavy weapon didn't just dish out melee brutality, it could even hurl a shadowy lightwave at its enemies, doubling as a ranged weapon.
Although there were further attempts to study the blade after everything was recounted in detail to the scholars, there was never any success. Ludwig was always the only one who could attune to the sword and so it was returned to him a second time. While he had owned it for only a couple of days, during its absence, Ludwig almost felt sad, as if he missed an important friend in his life or like the empty day refused to pass along and usher in the date where they could be reunited again. After this second reunion, he would never again be seen without it. He eventually gave up on using the traditional weapons of the Hunter's Workshop, like the Saw Cleaver he had started his training with, and would only carry his trusted sword, either on a sheath he had fashioned to hold it on his back, or by actually carrying it on his right hand, with his shoulder supporting the weight. With this epic and unique sword in hand, Ludwig made a name for himself as a Tomb Prospector and the population quickly grew to admire him, just like his peers in the Healing Church. The way he talked about his sword of Moonlight was infectious and in time everyone started talking about The Holy Sword of Moonlight and its wielder and everyone wanted to take a glimpse at them. Hunter Ludwig, the Holy Blade was thus born.