They called it ashen blood; a baffling sickness that ravaged the town.

It's not hard to imagine what the symptoms were. And the only treatment they

had

were these little white tablets, and even these only offerd temporary relief.

They weren't a cure, not by a long shot. So when the Healing Church appeared

proclaiming salvation via their blood transfusions

it probably came at the perfect time. The people were cured

of their ashen blood ailment and the Church's miracle cure

became the pride of Yharnam and the envy of outsiders.

People would come from far and wide for a chance

at blood ministration, and the Healing Church gained unprecedented power

through the faith its people.

Only, don't you think this is all too convenient?

That there would be a sickness of the blood? That it would only affect the

populace of Old Yharnam?

That the Healing Church was ready and waiting with transfusions that could

cure anything?

No. It's possible the Healing Church poisoned the populace of Old Yharnam

with the ashen blood ailment. The poison knife tells us that poison was a weapon

of the Church,

the antidote tablets, that the populace used to treat

ashen blood, cure poison, and

underneath Old Yharnam runs a water supply that could have been easily tainted.

What better way to create a community ready to accept

the miracles the Healing Church? But, regardless of what you believe,

it's a fact that the ashen blood ailment eventually triggered the spread

the beastly scourge. And since Old Yharnam was one of the first places treated with

the old blood,

its people were among the first turn.

The hunters workshop existed to fight

the scourge beasts. It was one branch of the Church

run by Gehrman, The First Hunter. The hunters workshop itself consisted of

factions each with different ideas on beast hunting.

One of these factions were the Powder Keg Hunters. Bearers

of the Powder Keg Badge. The Powder Keg Hunters

are credited with creations such as the Canon, the Rifle Spear,

the Stake Driver, and perhaps even molotov cocktails,

but these are unlocked when you attain their badge. The late Powder Kegs had a

moto,

"If a weapon ain't got kick, it just ain't worth it". They were labeled heretics

by the rest of the Workshop who spurned their crude genius.

But you can't deny they had character. One of the Powder Keg Hunters

was Djura.

He was said to have been uncommonly kind, and dreadfully

foolish; and he wasn't just any hunter,

he was a hunter of the dream. The hunter's dream sustained him,

allowing him to suffer little consequence from death, enabling him

to venture out into the waking world from the safety of another realm.

Who knows for how long he did this, and for what reasons.

Perhaps he saw a great good in what the workshop was doing,

their hunting of beasts kept the populace safe. Though

it can't have been too long before everything got out of hand.

A couple of people turning into beasts was manageable,

but when the Blood Moon descended the line between man and beast was blurred

and Old Yharnam, one of the first places treated with the old blood,

became severely overrun by beasts. At this point

secrecy was impossible, and no longer required. The

the only way to contain the beasts was to launch an all-out assault on Old Yharnam.

And who better for the job than the Powder Keg Hunters?

Old Yharnam was sealed and set ablaze

to prevent the spread of the beastly scourge. The town burned,

and so did the men, women, children, and beasts within it.

We find the Chard Hunter set within the ruins;

worn by the hunters who swept through after the raging flames

subsided, to hunt victims of the scourge who survived the inferno.

It vividly mentions the stench of singed

blood. The weaponry, attire, and over enthusiasm of the Powder Kegs

was clearly visible in the smoking debris that remained.

There is little doubt that they were responsible, but

the Hunters did not perform this purge eagerly. In fact,

we see a certain reluctance in the notes left behind.

"The red moon hangs low, and beasts rule the streets.

Are we left no other choice, than to burn it all to cinders?"

Time passes and Central Yharnam becomes the heart of the city,

and Old Yharnam becomes this distant memory that lies

smoldering and forgotten. But when we venture down

into the ruins of Old Yharnam, we find that one human

still remains within,

Djura. "You there, Hunter.

Didn't you see the warning?

Turn back at once. Old Yharnam

burned and abandoned by men, is now home only to beasts.

They are of no harm to those above. Turn back or the hunter

will face the hunt." Djura felt defeated by the state of Old Yharnam.

So much so that he renounced his Hunter's vows and pledged never to kill another

beast.

This kind, foolish man found his true calling in protecting the beasts of

Yharnam

from the hunter he used to be. "You

are a skilled hunter. Adept,

merciless, half-cut with blood. As the best hunters

are. Which is

why I must stop you!"

"I should think you still have dreams?

Well, the next time you dream,

give some thought to the hunt..." No one truly knows the hunts purpose.

It is watched over by a man who does not wish to be there,

and it's inhabited by a doll who exists to serve you.

There is no explanation for why we venture out

and kill. For Djura, Old Yharnam was his realization that hunters are no better

than the beast that they've slain,

and it's true really. If the beast is characterized by

its mindless thirst for blood, then are hunter's really

any different? Some beasts are even capable

speech and of reason. "Die! Die! Hunters are

killers, nothing less!

You call ME a beast? A Beast!?

What would you know? I didn't ask for this!"

"You hunters have got more blood on your hands."

"I no longer dream, but I was once a hunter too.

There's nothing more horrific than a hunt.

In case you fail to realize, the things you hunt,

they're not beasts, they're people.

You're not hunting beasts;

it's you, you're the beast.

Just think about what you're doing.

It's utter madness.

One day you will see."