Revision as of 00:16, 1 November 2024 by GiverOfThePeace(talk | contribs)(Created page with "{{Mature}} <tabber> |-|Artwork=right|400px |-|In-Game Model=right|400px </tabber> {{Quote|The power of the night is still full. I shall teach you the meaning of true terror.|Walter to Leon Belmont}} ==Background== '''Walter Bernhard''' was a powerful vampire lord and the first main antagonist in ''Castlevania: Lament of Innocence''. However, unbeknownst to him, his actions were part of a gre...")
Walter Bernhard was a powerful vampire lord and the first main antagonist in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. However, unbeknownst to him, his actions were part of a greater plan.
Chronologically, Walter was the second vampire faced by the Belmont Clan (after Joachim Armster), and his unwitting actions led to the longstanding conflict between the Belmonts and Dracula.
This dropdown contains the synopsis of Walter’s story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!
Walter resided in a forest called Eternal Night, shrouded in perpetual darkness thanks to the Ebony Stone, a jewel created through alchemy. This stone, one of two vampire treasures he obtained through unknown means, granted Walter virtual invincibility by infusing him with the energy that maintained the forest’s darkness. Still, Walter sought the other vampire treasure, the Crimson Stone, but was unsuccessful.
The power and protection of the Ebony Stone often led Walter to boredom. To entertain himself, he would play deadly games with brave warriors, kidnapping those close to them to force confrontations. He would even turn his captives into vampires to watch the ensuing tragedy, as he did with Justine Gandolfi, daughter of Rinaldo Gandolfi. Rinaldo attempted to save her but failed. Walter spared him, allowing him to live outside the castle, knowing Rinaldo’s thirst for revenge would lead him to assist any future challengers with his expertise, making the “game” more interesting for Walter.
Walter repeated this with other warriors, all falling to his minions. He also turned his servant, Joachim Armster, into a vampire. When Joachim eventually rebelled, Walter easily defeated and imprisoned him, casting him as one of the five guardians new warriors had to face before challenging Walter himself.
Walter eventually met Mathias Cronqvist, who suggested abducting Baron Leon Belmont’s fiancée, Sara Trantoul, for a unique challenge, given Leon’s renowned skills. Eager for such a confrontation, Walter kidnaps Sara. Leon, informed by Mathias, renounced his title to pursue Walter. Walter also encountered the deity Death, though it’s unclear if they met alone or with Mathias.
After Leon defeated the guardians, Walter welcomed him, confirming that Mathias’s information about Leon’s prowess was accurate. Leon’s attack was ineffective due to the Ebony Stone. After toying with Leon, Walter returned Sara to him, but with a curse of vampirism beginning to take effect. Walter then eagerly awaited Leon’s final confrontation with him in the castle’s highest room.
However, Sara’s willing sacrifice of her tainted soul enabled Leon to create the Vampire Killer, a weapon powerful enough to shatter the Ebony Stone. Armed with this weapon, Leon reached the throne room and fought Walter, who was confident of victory. But Leon’s weapon canceled Walter’s protection, leaving him vulnerable. Walter, shocked and fearful, vowed to revive and someday obtain the Crimson Stone.
On the brink of death, Walter’s revenge plans were ended when Death appeared and took his soul, offering it to Mathias, the true holder of the Crimson Stone. Mathias revealed his scheme, explaining that he orchestrated Walter’s kidnapping of Sara, knowing Rinaldo’s skills and Walter’s habit of turning victims would lead to Walter’s defeat. This would allow Mathias to acquire Walter’s soul via the Crimson Stone, granting Mathias the vampiric power he sought to eternally curse God for his beloved Elisabetha’s death. Mathias offered Leon the same gift, but Leon rejected him, calling him a fool. Mathias departed, ordering Death to eliminate Leon, a task that ultimately failed.
Using Walter’s soul, Mathias transformed into the vampire lord Dracula. Though Walter himself did not appear again, he lived on indirectly as Dracula, who relied on Walter’s soul and the Crimson Stone as the sources of his dark power.
Personality
Love of Games: Walter is bored due to his immortal life and wants to play interesting games. Due to this he lacks any real empathy and treats everything like a game, even life itself, taking precious things from people and having them fight him for it.
Ebony Stone: A stone Walter possesses made with alchemy, that allows him to create an eternal night. With this stone, Walter can make it where the night favors him over other vampires. This makes him completely invulnerable to anything asides from the Vampire Killer.
Notable Techniques
Anger Fist
Walter can harness his rage into a powerful lunge, enhanced by his vampiric strength, allowing him to inflict significant damage.
Dark Inferno
Walter fires up to three molten spheres of dark energy that, unlike Dracula's version, will slow down and stop a few meters in front of him before detonating shortly thereafter.
Summon Spirit
Walter releases a cluster of white-blue spirits that converge on his target. However, the tracking capability of this ability is not perfect; it can only adjust within a limited range. If the target manages to move beyond this turning range, the spirit bolts will completely bypass them.
Fire Pillar
Walter summons multiple energy masses beneath his opponent’s feet, which rapidly gather power before exploding into pillars of light blue fire. In a manner reminiscent of Castlevania III, Walter aims to ensnare his target between these energy pillars, with the final blast always erupting in front of them rather than beneath, potentially catching any overly cautious hunter by surprise.
Metamorphosis
Although Walter has never demonstrated a second form, during his most powerful attack, he morphs into a demon-like creature, suggesting that he possesses the ability to shapeshift, similar to Dracula.
Teleportation
Like Dracula, Walter has the ability to teleport using a pillar of light accompanied by a swarm of bats.
Other
Standard Tactics: Walter will not directly attack the opponent, instead wanting to wait for the person to pass his challenges and reach his throen room to fight him. Once there, Walter will teleport around shooting energy attacks and massive waves, along with using demonic megido.
Weaknesses: Walter views everything as a game, thus he tends to underestimate the threats that come to him, such as when he let the Vampire Killer hit him, believing it would do nothing to him.
Many of Walter's attacks are similar to Dracula's, most notably the famous triple fireball Hellfire attack. It seems Mathias/Dracula inherited Walter's powers upon stealing his soul (Dracula himself would later pass these inherited traits on to his son Alucard). When using his most powerful attack, the Demonic Megiddo, Walter transforms into a demonic bat that strongly resembles the "final" or "demon" form of Dracula that appears in several games.
His name is of West Germanic origins: Waldaharjaz "ruler of army" - fitting given the number of monsters he has command over, and Bernuharduz "bear-hard".
Walter's name-element Wald- comes from the root h₂wolh₁-dʰ-, which also yields Common Slavicvold- > South SlavicVlad (East SlavicVolod). Perhaps Mathias took the name Vlad as a somewhat mocking way of "honoring" the vampire who granted him eternal life.
Walter's overall design appears to be based on the historical figure of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary from 1458 to 1490, having long red hair and bearing a similar armor (according to some depictions of him from the era).
Despite this, the name "Matthias Corvinus" most likely ended up being the inspiration for "Mathias Cronqvist" instead. While the roles these characters play in the game are not historically accurate, it is probable they were only included to enrich the narrative of the game's story.
It is also worth mentioning that Matthias had Vlad Drăculea (the historical figure Dracula is based upon) as his vassal (and even as his prisoner at one point).
Walter's red hair is a traditional trait of vampires in Romanian folklore. The strigoi (those who become vampires after death) are said to almost always be redheads, as opposed to the moroi (who are vampires from birth).
Apparently, Walter Bernhard isn't a Transylvanian Saxon or Banat Swabian, as the former group settled in Transylvania in the mid 12th century and the latter in the Banat of Temeswar in the 18th century, after Walter's final death. It is likely that he descends from, or was one of, the Migration Period's Germanic settlers.
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "“As I’ve said, I would equally gain control over the human world and the source of Dracula’s power, chaos. I do not intend to obey someone else’s mind aside from my own. That includes you who were born out of chaos.”"
↑Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls Chapter 10 Dracula's Curse
↑Castlevania: Curse of Darkness Manga Volume 1 Chapter 2
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "It was said that there are areas in the castle where teleporters instantly allow you to return to the entrance even from the farthest side of the castle. It was then discovered that the castle exists on top of another dimension."
↑Castlevania: Curse of Darkness Manga Volume 1 Chapter 2
↑Akumajou Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "I had come to destroy evil. A spectacled vampire hunter confirmed this as his duty. In front of him is a [grotesque creature] whose dreadful power can be felt. The creature appears human but the instant he looked at it, all of his body’s cells cried out in terror. “The timing is bad, church person.” Whilst listening to the words said by the [grotesque creature], the young hunter kept on reminding himself. -----I am …… I ought to be a vampire hunter."
↑Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls Chapter 9 Vessel for the Lord
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "Ever since the Middle Ages, every 100 years, this legendary castle would rise together with its master Count Dracula ----- And whenever it happens, it is said that a clan of vampire hunters will seal it.
Several hundred years have passed with battles with the [dark lord] Dracula. When suddenly, an end to it all has been foretold.
1999----- Thanks to the power of a clan in Japan, Dracula’s castle was sealed inside a [solar eclipse] to disappear forever. However, in this world, there is no such thing as forever. [They] had understood that Dracula’s regeneration cycle ought to have ended. Indeed, people have prepared for this but will it still exist?
The castle is the symbol of the chaos within humans and as long as people exist, it will not be completely sealed.
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 064
↑Casltevania Jugement True Story Mode, Aeon: Aeon vs. Alucard
↑Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness Master Oldrey Cutscene
↑WN: Last question. Why does Dracula keep putting meat inside the walls of his castle?
KI: You should ask, why do they eat it! I've thought about this stuff. I've actually thought about the candles. The candles are people's souls that were taken by Death or by the vampires. In Japan there are candles that represent life. So, when you release the souls from the candles by whipping them, they give you a "thank you" present. Thank-you hearts, or thank-you holy water. The meat, I have no idea.
↑Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Beastiary No. 44
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "From the time they stepped into the mountains, Curtis and Michelle felt malicious intent in the air.
Even though it is still far away, their bodies seemed to squeal [run away]. There was definitely no room for doubt. It is certain that the [castle] exists at the back of the mountains. The church’s greatest vampire hunter, Julius Belmont must be contacted. However, the conversation jumped into the matter of the disappearance of several village children."
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "A drawbridge suspended from the main gate is seemingly welcoming Michelle’s arrival. And her body was telling her [do not go] as her leg muscles were petrified like stone."
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "“Uh……aa……Mi……chelle……” That really is no doubt an obsession. The youth had more than 28 holes penetrating his limbs and body. His heart is already starting to fail and he is desperately trying to say something amidst the darkness. “Only…… protect…… you……-----“ When he said those words he must say, the man’s soul already left his body-----becoming one of the floating spirits that wander the halls of the castle. However----- Fate did not allow it. For those people who are involved with the demon castle, even the loneliness of death seemed half hearted----- The man’s soul is pierced by a small scythe that flew in from somewhere. That scythe did not exist physically. It was a diabolic blade created by some magic and possessed a strong soul."
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "“Uh……aa……Mi……chelle……” That really is no doubt an obsession. The youth had more than 28 holes penetrating his limbs and body. His heart is already starting to fail and he is desperately trying to say something amidst the darkness. “Only…… protect…… you……-----“ When he said those words he must say, the man’s soul already left his body-----becoming one of the floating spirits that wander the halls of the castle. However----- Fate did not allow it. For those people who are involved with the demon castle, even the loneliness of death seemed half hearted----- The man’s soul is pierced by a small scythe that flew in from somewhere. That scythe did not exist physically. It was a diabolic blade created by some magic and possessed a strong soul."
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 021
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 052
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 005
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 006
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 009
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 011
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 053
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 009
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 001
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 064
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 066
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 65
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 003
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 004
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 014
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 030
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 041
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 054
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 056
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 029
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 034
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 046
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 052
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 036
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 049
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 060
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 074
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 007
↑Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Beastiary No. 013