#inverted castle

[airayart]

Gorey Inverted Library

I made this Castlevania tribute piece for the @darkdecadeszine zine! The full illustration is traditional pen an ink inspired by the work of Edward Gorey. 

[nyxshadowhawk]

[captain-azoren]

The Inverted Castle Part 2: The Count

Part 1.

Previously that day…

*Lygron and Ibunet are buying their fur cloaks, boots, and mittens at a little frontier store made of logs at the foot of a mountain. The store is run by a scruffy old gopher man with a bushy mustache named Early*

Early: Where y'all headed?

Lygron: East, through the mountains.

Early: Through the mountains? That's a dangerous way to go, especially with a storm brewing. You're better off taking the south trail.

Ibunet: We can't go south, that'll take us a week to get around! We're kind of in a hurry.

Early: If you're going through the Ever Crests, then be careful. They say that trail is haunted. The lands used to belong to an ancient family of nobles, leather-wings they were, but they all died out a long time ago. They say their spirits still reside there, waiting to feast on unwary souls! Don't say I didn't warn you.

Lygron: Leather-wings? You mean a chiropteran? Don't think I've met one of them… Thanks for the furs old timer.

Presently, at the castle doors…

Ibunet: You think this belongs to that family of nobles? Looks run down… even for an upside down castle.

Lygron: Probably. Come one help me with the- *the massive doors open, the old wood creaking loudly. Lygron's fur stands on end* ...door?

Ibunet: Well, that was unsettling. *the wind picks up and she shivers* Don't care, need warmth NOW.

*the two enter the castle. Lygron turns just as the doors close, leaving them in darkness*

Lygron: Great, I can barely see. 

Ibunet: So light a torch. 

Lygron: You have the glowing staff, you light it up!

*the foyer is suddenly lit as the surrounding torche as set ablaze. They look around in wonder*

Ibunet: Uhhh… wasn't me.

???: Ah, guests…

*Lygron and Ibunet look up at the ceiling, which is just another floor. Hanging upside down is a chiropteran with a white body and flowing blood red hair, dressed in formal black clothes. The shirt exposes his sides, allowing his painted leather wings freedom of movement. He releases his foot claws and silently glides down, landing into a bow as his cape falls to the floor behind him*

???: Greetings, weary travelers. I am Count Melchia, and welcome to my humble abode. *he raises his head and smiles, his sharp fangs exposed and his red eyes shimmering* It's been so long since I've had visitors, and just in time for dinner...

[captain-azoren]

Inverted Castle Pt. 1

(Hey, so if you've been paying attention tot his blog, you may have noticed me posting some stuff related to my original project, "Kingdoms of Gaia." I've decided that, instead of languishing as I try to come up with a good, meaty plot to write, I would write out these quick little scenes. Not much prose, more like transcripts, just to show what I have in mind.

I know this is primarily an Avatar/Dragon Prince blog, but I'd also really appreciate checking these too. They're a taste of what I want to do. Hopefully I can make a separate blog for Kingdoms of Gaia if I can get it enough attention here.)

Summary: In their journey towards the Dragon Empire, Lygron and Ibunet find themselves pinned down by a snowstorm only to encounter an ominous castle that has been turned upside down. With few options for survival, the pair enter the castle seeking shelter, and they encounter its mysterious lord...

Cast of Characters:

Lygron, Pantheran Pugilist

Ibunet, Reptilian Sorceress

The Inverted Castle, Part 1.

*Lygron and Ibunet are trekking up a rocky mountain trail through ankle deep snow. They are dressed in thick furs. Ibunet is shivering, her tail coiled around her waist as she uses her staff as a walking stick*

Ibunet: Uhg, it’s freezing… why do we have to go this way?

Lygron: Because it’s a shortcut and we’re in a hurry. We have to get ahead of the storm. Besides, it’s not that cold.

Ibunet: You’re warm-blooded and hairy. My body was made for much hotter climates than this.

Lygron: Really? You look like you’d be pretty cozy under all that blub-Ow!

Ibunet: *tail whips his ass* Watch your mouth. My plumpness is what makes me so pleasant.

Lygron: Whatever. Just keep yourself bundled.

Ibunet: *latches onto his arm* Hnmm, you should share that precious body heat. Stop hogging it all, be my personal heater!

Lygron: *frowns with exhaustion* Seriously? Uhg…

*more snow begins to fall harder as the sun sets between mountain peaks and the wind picks up*

Ibunet: It’s getting dark… and this snow is getting heavy…

Lygron: Yeah, maybe this was a bad idea. I don’t think we can outrun the storm at this rate…

*Ibunet squints ahead of them through the snow. Embedded the side of a nearby cliff face is a gothic castle, standing upside down as its black stonework contrasts with the white mountains. A small light can be seen through a window*

Ibunet: Hey, what’s that? Is that a… castle?

Lygron: Yeah, and it’s upside down? How...? *the wind whistles and he looks up at the dark clouds above* Come on, let’s take shelter in there.

Ibunet: What about whoever lives in there?

Lygron: Let’s just hope they’re a generous host. Besides, we don’t have much choice, unless you’d rather set up camp out here.

Ibunet: I’d prefer not, my tail is gonna snap off if I don’t get some heat soon…

To be continued...

Part 2.

[shoxnas-blog]

The inverted castle Easter egg. Nice.

[doshmanziari]

Reflecting on the Inverted Castle

I’m not sure how much else can be written about Castlevania: Symphony of the Night’s inverted castle. Not that a whole lot has been written about it anyway. But isolating some of its spaces -- ones that have stuck in my head for however many years -- and turning them into cropped images a couple of weeks ago reminded me of how much I like the idea. It’s so cool. I wonder if there’s an article waiting to be written here that compares the inverted castle to other post-SotN/KCET-developed Castlevania games’ secret extensions. Maybe the flipped areas could be reviewed, picking out what catches my attention. Or this could turn into a much broader piece about the geometry of 2D spaces (if this sort of thing interests you, check out this YT video about spatial composition in 1001 Spikes) and how that directs your emotional responses, many of which are perhaps too subtle or ephemeral to be put in coherent terms.

It’s true that the inverted castle has problems. For some people, I think the differences between it and the regular castle just aren’t major enough to make trekking through the same thing, but upside-down and sporting some new additions to its bestiary and soundtrack, feel significant. I can also imagine experiencing frustration with the vagueness of the adjustment the inversion makes to Alucard’s quest (although, imo, it can just as easily be argued that the mysteriousness of what exactly you’re supposed to be doing in the inverted castle is crucial to how exciting it feels the first time). And when everyone is paying attention to a game’s soundtrack for not only its quality for its variety too, it can feel like a letdown when three separate environments in the inverted castle share the same theme (with the case of “Finale Toccata”, which I do think is one of Yamane’s best compositions, the problem is how it’s a very long track in a game where a theme restarts if you exit and reenter an area).

I’ve always been able to look beyond those slip-ups, though, and enjoy the results of that simple architectural transformation -- “arches becoming half-pipes, or all of the tiers that are just out of reach and necessitate you turning into a bat or using the moon jump, or how high upper ceilings whose roofs you’d have no reason to touch transform into sheer drops.” Whereas someone else might criticize the inverted castle for being awkward to navigate, I welcome that awkwardness. Among those complications, I find myself more conscious of the environment I’m exploring, much like how construction in your home, or the mounds of snow and sheets of ice coating sidewalks following a winter storm, can make you re-see those places as ones with distinct topographical features and your body as a controllable, tangible form that moves through them.

Below are those cropped images and several more.

[anatastarr]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jUI5USWbtY)

[arcade-lackey]

I don't think you understand how much I hate this room.