Cainhurst Castle: Home of the Vilebloods in Bloodborne
Forsaken Cainhurst Castle is the frozen, half-ruined seat of the Vilebloods and their undying queen, Annalise. It sits outside Yharnam, reached only by a summons and a stagecoach. Here is what the game says about its history and its feud with the Church.
Cainhurst is the snowbound castle of the Vilebloods, a line of blood-drinking nobles who were the Healing Church's oldest enemies. The game's trophy calls it "Cainhurst, the lost and ruined castle", and the Cainhurst Summons says it is "forsaken". It is optional, reached by stagecoach from Hemwick, and its last resident is Queen Annalise. (Bloodborne)
How you get there#
The way in is a letter. The Cainhurst Summons is "an old blood-stained summons, inviting an honored guest to the forsaken Castle Cainhurst. Rather bafflingly, it is addressed to you." It adds: "the stagecoach leaves from Hemwick crossing." The summons sits in Iosefka's Clinic, reached from the Forbidden Woods, and a stagecoach comes for the hunter by the obelisk in Hemwick Charnel Lane. (Bloodborne)
The Vilebloods#
The nobles' origin is told by an enemy. Alfred, Hunter of Vilebloods, passes on Logarius's account: "Once a scholar betrayed his fellows at Byrgenwerth and brought forbidden blood back with him to Cainhurst Castle. It was there that the first of the inhuman Vilebloods was born." He calls them "fiendish creatures who threaten the purity of the Church's blood healing." (Bloodborne)
Their own gear tells a similar story. The Reiterpallasch says "the old nobles, long-time imbibers of blood, are no strangers to the sanguine plague", and that beasts were dealt with by servants called knights "for the sake of appearances". The Chikage, carried by the queen's royal guards, sings "in scarlet hues" when fed blood, but "the rite eats away at the wielder's very essence." The Executioner's Gloves say "the nobles found immeasurable delight" in summoned vengeful spirits. (Bloodborne)
Cainhurst's blades also connect to Lady Maria. The Rakuyo came from the same country as the Chikage, and she was "a distant relative of the queen", though she "frowned upon blood blades". (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
The Executioners' raid#
The Church answered with violence. Logarius' Wheel was "used to slaughter the Vilebloods in Cainhurst" and is "forever steeped in their ire." Alfred says "Master Logarius led his Executioners into Cainhurst Castle to cleanse it of the Vilebloods, but all did not go well", and that Logarius "became a blessed anchor, guarding us from evil." (Bloodborne)
Logarius is still there. The Crown of Illusions is "the old king's crown", said to "expose a mirage that hides a secret. And so Logarius donned the crown of his own volition, determined to prevent a single soul from stumbling upon the vile secret." The hunter fights him on the roof, then wears the crown to see the hidden chamber behind his throne. (Bloodborne)
Queen Annalise#
The secret is Annalise. She greets the hunter with "Visitor... I claim no subjects, but here lieth Our throne. Kneel afore us... or get thee gone." If the hunter kneels, she names herself "Queen of Castle Cainhurst. Ruler of the Vilebloods, and sworn enemy of the church", and says her people are murdered and she is "prisoner to this wretched mask". Strike her and she sighs: "If only our life was so easily forfeit." (Bloodborne)
Joining her makes the hunter a Vileblood. The Corruption rune says its pledgers "find dregs for their Queen in coldblood, particularly in that of hunters", and that "the corrupt are heretics in the eyes of the Church". The Blood Dreg explains why she wants them: "so that she may one day bear the Child of Blood, the next Vileblood heir." (Bloodborne)
Alfred's quest ends here too. If the hunter gives him the Unopened Summons from the throne room, he reaches the queen and beats her body to a pulp. She still doesn't die. Her remains can later be restored at the Altar of Despair. (Bloodborne)
What the game never confirms#
The "vile secret" is usually read as Annalise herself, kept alive and hidden by Logarius. The game shows her behind his throne but never spells it out. The scholar who brought blood to Cainhurst is unnamed, and whether that blood was the same Old Blood the Church used is a common assumption, not a stated fact. (Bloodborne)
Frequently asked questions
- What is Cainhurst in Bloodborne?
- Forsaken Cainhurst Castle, an optional area across a frozen lake from Hemwick. It belonged to the Vilebloods, blood-drinking nobles ruled by Queen Annalise, and was raided by the Healing Church's Executioners.
- How do you get to Cainhurst?
- Find the Cainhurst Summons in Iosefka's Clinic, reached through the Forbidden Woods. After beating the Witch of Hemwick, go to the obelisk in Hemwick Charnel Lane and a stagecoach takes you there.
- Who are the Vilebloods?
- The nobles of Cainhurst. Alfred says the first of them was born when a scholar from Byrgenwerth brought "forbidden blood" to the castle. The Church calls them heretics.
- Who is Martyr Logarius?
- The leader of the Executioners who raided Cainhurst. He stayed behind on the castle roof wearing the Crown of Illusions to keep its "vile secret" hidden, and is fought there as a boss.
Sources
- GameBloodborne, FromSoftware, 2015
- GameBloodborne: The Old Hunters, FromSoftware, 2015 (expansion)
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
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