Brotherhood of Light (Castlevania)

The Brotherhood of Light is an organization that features in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.

History

The Brotherhood of Light (Japanese: 燈光教団, Hepburn: Tōkōkyōdan?) was an order of knights that was founded three centuries ago by three great warriors that were dedicated in their service to God. This was their sole purpose and the order was tasked with defeating the Devil. At an unknown time, they fought the sovereign of the elemental Plane of Darkness known as the Forgotten One. This powerful demon was summoned by the Bernhard Family, but broke free from their control and had to be stopped. During their battle with the creature, the founders combined their powers to create a dimensional rift to imprison the Forgotten One within the center of the Bernhard Castle. For decades, it was known that three Founders of the Brotherhood had fought fiercely against the minions as well as spawns of Satan until finally they tipped the balance in favor of Heaven. Their sheer commitment to their crusade led to them uncovering in their studies the location of three sacred sites where the power of God converged. These places forged a bridge between the spiritual and the mortal world where they used the power within these sites to purify their bodies. This led to them abandoning their Human forms whereupon they were transformed into spiritual beings who's power was second only to God. Unknown to them and many others, their bodies that remained behind were not simply devoid of souls but rather were consumed by the dark side of themselves. Thus, inadvertently, this gave rise to the Lords of Shadow who plagued the lands with their evil.

In time, the link between the Heaven's and the mortal plane began to grow weak for unknown reasons. This led to the Brotherhood consulting an ancient prophecy which spoke of a Warrior of Light who would be sent into the domains of the Lords of Shadow and end their reign of terror. Thus, they selected one of their own namely Gabriel Belmont who had lost his love and told to journey to the lands bordering Agharta and consulted Pan at the Lake of Oblivion in order to speak with his deceased wife about the fate of the souls of the dead. There, he met with Zobek and embarked on a crusade to fulfill the prophecy by killing the three Lords of Shadow. This led to the Brotherhood consulting an ancient prophecy which spoke of a Warrior of Light who would be sent into the domains of the Lords of Shadow and end their reign of terror. Thus, they selected one of their own, a warrior named Gabriel Belmont. Gabriel was eventually successful in his quest but ended up becoming a vampire, obtaining astounding powers from the Forgotten One and started referring to himself as Dracul (meaning "The Dragon"). As an insurance policy, the Brotherhood hid and raised Gabriel's son, Trevor Belmont, who later started a journey to defeat his demonic father. Only after Trevor became an adult did the Brotherhood send him alone after his father Gabriel Belmont –now known as "Dracula"– armed with a Combat Cross, while giving him only a basic idea of his father and leaving out the parts where both they and the Lords of Shadows had manipulated him. Only when Trevor was on the verge of death did he and his father realize the full details of their relationship. After seemingly failing to revive his son, Dracula turned his rage on the Brotherhood and sent an army of Lycanthropes to crush their headquarters, the only survivor being Trevor's son and Gabriel's grandson, Simon Belmont. Even with the loss of Trevor and the destruction of their forces to Dracula's lycan army, the Brotherhood still sent many of their warriors into Dracula's territory over the years, although none were ever successful as Simon and Alucard would find their corpses while going through the castle.

Overview

In appearance, the Brotherhood of Light was an organization of soldiers that sought to eliminate creatures tied to the forces of evil.

Those that proved themselves with a sword were recruited into the Brotherhood in their campaign against the forces of evil. They went through tough physical and mental training that made them very efficient in close combat where they had an iron-clad determination. Brotherhood Soldiers were also equipped with full armor and carried large shields to protect their lives where they served as the lowest ranking members of the organization. They were sent to their deaths by their generals with the sole hope of offering them a better fate in the cause rather than perishing on their own. The Brotherhood was said to had studied the hunting techniques of the Wallachia tribes and adapted them to create a new discipline of heavy combat. This led to the formation of Brotherhood Heavy Soldiers that were warriors chosen to join this new school where their ranks consisted of criminals and ex-convicts. These warriors had to be over 2 meters tall and had a proven aptitude for violence though the most traditional commanders refused to use them but they proved to be a key part of the Brotherhood's arsenal.

A key figure within their ranks were the Clerics who were capable of using magic and summoning more troops on the battlefield. The elite ranks of the Brotherhood consisted of those that became Paladins. Those that aspired to be them were raised in monasteries and educated under the dogma of faith where they trained in the art of war. Their whole lives became a test with any mistake no matter how small was grounds as a complete failure in their mission. Only the purest of hearts that showed absolute determination and unswerving faith were recognised as one of God's chosen. Those that became Paladins received the admiration of all and the favour of the council of the Brotherhood of Light. They were also rewarded with weapons and armor of gold that were forged by the best master blacksmiths from angel bones. Their aim from that point onwards was to serve God in the battle against the spawn of evil with them guiding their troops to victory.

Among the signature weapons of the order was the Combat Cross whose origins were largely unknown. It was known that many of the additions to these weapons were made by the orders chief artisan and alchemist; Rinaldo Gandalfi though certain designs that he included were rejected by the elders of the Brotherhood. These items were later hidden at abandoned order mausoleums in the hope that they would be used by a prophecised warrior that was said to emerge in the time of need. As such, the officially sanctioned version consisted of only an Iron Chain Chip that was forged from cast iron and drenched in holy water along with being blessed. A further upgrade included a Hook Tip allowing it to be used as a grappling hook whilst the Spiked Chain was a controversial upgrade that was disproved by the elders as it was deemed too cruel for a holy weapon though when used it allowed the user to use the chains as a saw or tame beasts to his will. The final addition was the Stake which allowed it to be used more effectively in hand-to-hand combat; especially against vampires.

Knights carried with them magical scrolls where they were told to carry them at all times and never part with them. It was said that they were able to reflect the thoughts of the person holding the scroll that manifested on the very paper itself. If their bearer died then the scroll allowed other brothers to learn from their mistakes and thus complete the mission that their comrade failed to finish successfully in their life.

Members

• Founder Cornell :
• Gabriel Belmont :
• Cardinal Volpe : leader and founder of the school.
• Cardinal Vicus : Grand Master
• Agustin : a high inquisitor of Wygol.
• Alvar : known as the Wise.
• Andreas Aloisius :
• András de Wygol :
• Baiou :
• Chester de Vries :
• Chupacabra :
• Danasty:
• Eric :
• Frederic :
• General Channarong:
• Gerard : the Lion-Hearted
• Gisverta : secretly a woman known by the name Gisverto who was referred to as the Beardless.
• Grand Master Quisada : Brotherhood general
• Zobe :
• Victor :
• Stefano :
• Michael :
• Sister Laverne :
• Brother Bernard :

Notes

• The Brotherhood of Light featured in the setting of the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow universe.

Appearances

• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow:
• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate:
• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2:

External Link

• Castlevania Wiki Entry

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