Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower: Gehrman's Student and the Nightmare's Guardian
Lady Maria is the hunter waiting in the Astral Clocktower in The Old Hunters. She was one of Gehrman's first students, a distant relative of the Cainhurst queen, and the keeper of the Nightmare's real secret. Here is what the game states about her, and what players infer.
Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower is a hunter and boss in Bloodborne's expansion, The Old Hunters. She was one of the first hunters, a student of Gehrman, and a distant relative of Queen Annalise of Cainhurst. In the Hunter's Nightmare she sits slumped in a chair at the top of the Astral Clocktower, guarding the way to the Fishing Hamlet. (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
Who was Lady Maria?#
Her own clothes give the basics. The Maria Hunter Cap and Garb both say: "Among the first hunters, all students of Gehrman, was the lady hunter Maria." The garments were crafted in Cainhurst. Maria is "distantly related to the undead queen, but had great admiration for Gehrman, unaware of his curious mania". (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
So Maria came from Cainhurst nobility, trained under Gehrman, and was among the earliest hunters, before the Healing Church had a workshop of its own. (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
The Rakuyo#
Maria's weapon tells the most about her. The Rakuyo is a trick sword from the same country as the Cainhurst Chikage, but it "feeds not off blood, but instead demands great dexterity". Maria was fond of that, it says, because she "frowned upon blood blades, despite being a distant relative of the queen". (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
Then: "One day she abandoned her beloved Rakuyo, casting it into a dark well, when she could stomach it no longer." The player finds the Rakuyo at the bottom of a well in the Fishing Hamlet. (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
Caretaker of the Research Hall#
The Astral Clocktower Key says the caretaker of the tower's many patients, "known to them only as Lady Maria", made her home behind the giant star-reading clock. In the Research Hall below, one of the patients still begs for her. (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
Simon the Harrowed calls the Research Hall the true face of the Healing Church, and then tells the player what to do: climb the Astral Clocktower and kill Lady Maria. "She hides the real secret." (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
The fight in the clocktower#
The player finds Maria slumped in a chair with blood pooled beneath her, apparently dead. When the player reaches out, she grabs their hand and stands. "A corpse, should be left well alone. Oh, I know very well how the secrets beckon so sweetly. Only an honest death will cure you now. Liberate you from your wild curiosity." (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
She fights with the Rakuyo and the Evelyn pistol, and later turns her own blood into a weapon, the very kind of art the Rakuyo says she frowned on. Defeating her gives the Celestial Dial, which brings the giant astral clock to life to "reveal a secret to its curious interloper". Behind it lies the Fishing Hamlet. (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
Back in the Hunter's Dream, the Doll says something has changed: from somewhere deep within, she sensed "a liberation from heavy shackles". (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
More on the fight is in the bosses guide, and the Old Hunters story covers what lies past her.
What fans read into Maria#
- The most common reading is that Maria took part in the massacre at the Fishing Hamlet and threw the Rakuyo away in disgust. The Rakuyo's resting place in the hamlet's well supports it, but no line says she was there. (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
- Most players believe Gehrman built the Doll in Maria's likeness. They look very alike, Maria's clothes mention Gehrman's "curious mania", and the Doll feels freed when Maria falls. The game never states who the Doll was made after. (Bloodborne; Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
- Many think Maria took her own life, given the wounds she sits with. The game shows the blood but doesn't explain it. (Bloodborne: The Old Hunters)
- The Small Hair Ornament, found in the Abandoned Old Workshop, would suit someone with greyish hair. Players often guess it was Maria's. It's never confirmed. (Bloodborne)
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Lady Maria in Bloodborne?
- Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower is a boss in The Old Hunters. She was one of the first hunters, a student of Gehrman, and a distant relative of Queen Annalise. She cared for the patients of the Research Hall.
- Is Lady Maria related to the Doll?
- The game never says so, but the Doll looks very like her. After Maria is defeated, the Doll says she felt "a liberation from heavy shackles". Most players believe Gehrman made the Doll in Maria's image.
- Why did Lady Maria throw away the Rakuyo?
- The Rakuyo says she cast it into a dark well "when she could stomach it no longer". It does not say what she could not stomach. Most players link it to the Fishing Hamlet, where the weapon is found.
- What is Lady Maria guarding?
- Simon says "She hides the real secret". Beyond her clocktower is the Fishing Hamlet, which Simon calls the true secret that feeds the Hunter's Nightmare.
Sources
- GameBloodborne: The Old Hunters, FromSoftware, 2015 (expansion)
- GameBloodborne, FromSoftware, 2015
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
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