In 1820, Dracula was again resurrected
early in what was becoming a common stunt perpetrated by deviants. As a known
consequence for history repeating itself in such a manner, Dracula was not able
to reach full power; thus, he was defeated by Morris
Baldwin and members of the Graves family, the factions chosen by the Belmonts
to house the mystic arsenal. Having almost been killed, Morris came to realize
the near-unlimited power possessed by the evil Count Dracula and his minions
and how dangerous the combined forces could be if allowed to peak. As the one
assigned responsibility of housing the Vampire Killer whip and the sub-weapons,
Morris knew that it was important to hand down the artifacts to the appropriate
party. Hence, he trained two youths--his own son, Hugh Baldwin, and Nathan Graves,
the son of his close friends--accordingly spurned by the fear that Count Dracula
would one day return, perhaps again early, wherein he'd be no match at such
an advanced age.
As the two youths grew together, they became
great friends and blossomed into the warriors Morris knew they could be. Even
though it was obvious that Hugh was superior in skill, Morris continued to favor
Nathan; Hugh could never understand why, and, over time, he became jealous and
hateful of Nathan to the point where the good friends instead became rivals.
Hugh grew even more enraged when it was decided by Morris that Nathan should
be the next in line to wield the Vampire Killer and the sacred weapons. From
the circumstances surrounding, Hugh strongly believed that he was the
more logical choice, but the answer still eluded him. Through time, his hatred
for Nathan only grew.
In
1830, Camilla was risen from her grave. As a devout follower of Dracula, perennially
craving leadership, her very first act was to prepare a ritual that would serve
to reawaken the soul of her dark lord. As the ritual was underway at the ancient
Castlevania, Morris Baldwin and his students sensed the imbalance in nature
that they felt could very well be the rising of the infamous Count Dracula;
the three hurried to the beckoning castle to prevent such an unnatural occurrence,
sprinting through the main halls and into the Ceremonial Room. They found that
it was too late: Camilla's ritual was completed, and Dracula, though not at
full strength, was back to threaten humankind as Morris had feared. Dracula
immediately recognized Morris as the one who had sealed his fate ten years earlier,
and he gained an early advantage on the trio by blowing open a hole in the ground
of the Ceremonial Room. Amidst the chaos, Nathan and Hugh plummeted to the castle
depths, which left Morris to be captured by the demonic duo of Dracula and Camilla.
Now Dracula had the perfect plan: He would drain away Morris' power, his life-force,
and use it to restore his own.
Meanwhile, Nathan and Hugh had reached
the bottom of the abyss. When they landed safely, Nathan suggested that they
stick together and escape from the depths, but Hugh, feeling that he had something
to prove, belittled his former friend, pushed him aside, and set out on his
own to rescue his father. Regardless of Hugh's discouragement, Nathan picked
himself up and persevered through the castle of horrors. He eventually located
Hugh, who still wanted nothing to do with him. When they met a second time,
Hugh was roughed up but continued to feign a tone of superiority toward Nathan
because he knew that his former friend had beaten bosses that he could not.
Much later, as he neared the heights of the castle, Nathan entered the keep
only to find Hugh waiting; while he was ready to breathe a sigh of relief, his
weariness would have to subside quickly; Hugh, whose hate had grown so much
that his diminishing spirit easily came under a Dracula-enhanced spell that
magnified this hatred infinitely, grabbed his sword and launched an assault.
It was on this day, though, that Nathan proved himself to be superior. Defeated,
heaving observed himself externally while under the spell, Hugh finally realized
why it was Nathan that was chosen to be the recipient of the whip and
the weapons. The truth set him free, and he humbly gave Nathan the blessing
to continue on and rescue their master.
In
the next room, Nathan found what Dracula was protecting--the key that would
unlock the door in the Ceremonial Room. Nathan hurried to meet his destiny.
Once inside its inner throne room, a fully-powered Dracula began to attack Nathan
in his typical fashion. Nathan won the first encounter and was able to rescue
Morris; Hugh finally arrived at the throne room, too, and took his father into
his arms. Before scurrying to safety, the two encouraged Nathan to enter into
the ambient blaze that would lead to a final battle with Dracula's true form.
Absorbing their words, Nathan confidently entered into the realm wherein the
Dark Lord awaited, and ultimate good and ultimate evil would battle once more.
When the battle was over, Nathan stood victorious.
Defeated, Dracula called his demise but
a "wasted opportunity," echoing the hollow words he had spewed again
and again. "I will continue to be revived." Nathan confided, as Sonia
Belmont once did, that someone would always be there to stand up to him. As
the castle began to submerge, crumbling piece by piece, Nathan hurried out and
located Morris and Hugh by a mountain cliff. Morris was truly proud that his
students were able to resolve their issues with their minds rather than with
their fists. Hugh, too, was proud of his friend's efforts, and, comfortable
with the knowledge that he would have to restart his training, he expressed
his newfound respect for Nathan with a friendly challenge to stay sharp.
Page 14: The
Forgotten War | Back to Page 12
