In every respect – visual design, gameplay, lore – Martyr Logarius stands out as an exemplary Souls boss. Where the boss fight itself is concerned, he blends elements of Lord Gwyn and False King Allant in such a way that, in my opinion, achieves a new level of refinement.
As a character, he adds another layer of fear and violence to the background lore of the Healing Church, to say nothing of what he illuminates about Alfred’s inner character. Even within a “series” that has always criticized Western religion pretty barefacedly, Logarius the home-invading crusader is pretty frightening. But did he always play this role in the game’s lore?
I believe that the boss of Castle Cainhurst – now “Martyr Logarius” – was originally conceived as the King of the Vilebloods, and that much of the game’s design still reflects this.
Bear with me as I put forward the support for my theory…
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Let’s take a gander at Logarius’s design, and let’s see how it compares to the known lore about both the Executioners and the Healing Church as a whole.
(Pardon the large image; I’d like to be able to examine Logarius in close detail.)
It’s immediately evident that Logarius is not wearing the attire of the Executioners. The Executioners wear dove-gray coats and mantles made of thick fabric, studded leather gauntlets and boots, and very large holy shawls. As hunters of beasts and Vilebloods, they wear the “Hunter” rune stitched upon their chests. Seemingly only on special hunts, they also wear the Gold Ardeo and wield Logarius’ Wheel – which is not only a weapon, but a special emblem of Logarius himself.
Here Logarius wears a loose, thin robe of some golden fabric, belted by a sash of some kind. Quite a difference! Now, it should be kept in mind that Logarius commanded the Executioners, but he was not one himself; the Executioners were his disciples. What strikes me oddly about Logarius’s design is not that it differs from normal Executioner’s garb, but that it lacks certain symbols and styles.
I wouldn’t expect Logarius to wear a thick protective coat emblazoned with the “Hunter” rune because, obviously, that’s a hunter’s attire. I would, however, expect to see the wheel emblem and the holy shawl somewhere on his person – yet Logarius wears neither.
The description of the Executioner’s attire states that the holy shawl began with Logarius and his Executioners; and the description of the Wheel Hunter Badge states that the wheel symbol was crafted within “a secretive enclave of mystical beliefs and heady fanaticism,“ which almost certainly was conducted by Logarius himself, given that he is stated explicitly to have been the Executioners’ spiritual leader.
Why doesn’t he wear the Wheel or the shawl? Why, instead, does he appear to be wearing jewel-studded ornaments, including a Fleur-de-lis, a symbol of French royalty?
In addition to these points, I’d also like to add the fact that the Healing Church began at Byrgenwerth, and that the attire of Healing Church clergy was based on the Byrgenwerth scholars’ uniform. We can observe that the Student’s Uniform is fitted with buttons, a fairly modern collar, cuffs, a vest, and modern trousers. We can also observe that Provost Willem, literally the oldest member of the Byrgenwerth university, also wears a similar collar beneath his heavy robes. He might even have a cravat or some similar necktie thing…
The ultimate point to be gleaned from this is that the style of Logarius’s attire predates that of Byrgenwerth and the founders of the Healing Church.
Even if the holy shawl were worn only by the Executioners themselves, and achieved its popularity only through them, Logarius would still wear something reminiscent of Byrgenwerth. Instead, he wears a thin, billowy robe with a much older-fashioned mantle – something more Medieval than anything at Byrgenwerth. Who, other than the nobles of Cainhurst, would ever wear such a thing?
II. THE DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE
Given that Alfred serves as “Mr. Exposition Dump” for reasons largely unrelated to his role in the story, we can reasonably assume that he was added late in Bloodborne’s development cycle. They needed some way to convey vital background information to the player – about the Healing Church, Byrgenwerth, the Chalice Dungeons, the Vilebloods, and all the rest. The fact that they ultimately chose to have one NPC spit it all in the span of two conversations indicates that they hadn’t the time to implement this information elsewhere, in a more organic and spread-out way.
This having been established, we can assume that the canon lore of the Executioners – which exists only through Alfred and through text descriptions, which can be edited very easily – was also implemented late in the development timeline.
If we strip all of that away, and focus solely on the visual design of Cainhurst Castle and its boss…
III. CAINHURST AS AN IMAGE; THE LEVEL DESIGN OF CAINHURST
We have a lonely castle full of vampire aristocrats – or, rather, what remains of them. Most of them are ghosts, or have become decrepit monsters. Within the castle, you find a pair of fine silk gloves (very unlike the Executioners’ actual gloves) that summon blood-red spirits. At the very top of the castle is the vampire queen’s secret stronghold, in which two thrones reside.
This hidden stronghold is guarded by a seemingly undead man wearing rich clothes, jewelry, and a crown. He sits upon a throne. He uses a sword and a polearm that glow blood-red, and the latter appears to be made of some organic substance, perhaps bone or something calcified. (He does not carry a wheel or a Church weapon.) He summons the same blood-red spirits that the silk gloves summon.
Upon this man’s defeat, the player uses his crown to access the hidden throne room of the Vilebloods.
Oh, and by the way, the music track that plays during the boss fight is titled “The Queen of Blood.” It also plays during the fight with Yharnam, the Pthumerian Queen – whose role as the mother of the Blood Child is coveted by Vileblood Queen Annelise.
Given all of the above information – and NONE of the text or added exposition – what would you assume to be the boss’s identity?
As usual, writing my entire post in a single sitting has caused the structure of my argument to become somewhat muddled, but I think that this suffices to convey my thoughts. I’m not making any authoritative claims with this small theory; I just think it strange that Logarius doesn’t really look like a clergyman, nor does the game’s actual design seem to support this canon.
2087
stormborns
yousharknotpass
