Chapter Five: Valtr, The League, and the Vermin
"The night brims with defiled scum, and is permeated by their rotten stench. Just think, now you're all set to hunt and kill to your heart's content!"
–Valtr, Beast Eater
The Beasts and the Kin. These are the two types of enemies that we face in Bloodborne. One is born of the Scourge of the Beast, humans tainted from the influence of the Old Blood. The other are ascended humans, who have purged their body of the Scourge and have become Kin of the Cosmos, pure beings. There’s something else though, some strange third thing that seems to be right around the corner, yet somehow avoid description. It’s almost like there’s something we just can’t put our fingers on, right in front of our nose. To try and pinpoint what this thing is let us examine Valtr, the Beast Eater, and his League of confederates.
For starters, I will use only information and evidence that can be found inside of the game. I will save my personal interpretations and beliefs for the end, so that you can make up your own mind about the evidence presented.
We first encounter Valtr in the Forbidden Woods, where he introduces himself to the player. "I am Valtr, Master of the League. Members of the League cleanse the streets of all the filth that's spread about during the hunt. Like any half-decent hunter ought to, you know? Haven't you seen enough of these wretched beasts, freakish slugs, and mad doctors? Sentence these fiends to death." The League appears to have been an organization that exists during the transitionary period from Gehrman’s workshop into Ludwig’s, however Valtr has been in Yharnam for quite some time.
According to the Constable Garb, worn by Valtr, there is a rather popular fable in Yharnam. "Once upon a time a troupe of foreign constables chased a beast all the way to Yharnam, and this is what they wore. The constables became victims of the beast, except for one survivor, who in turn devoured the creature whole, all by himself." As Valtr’s title is that of the Beast Eater, it’s very reasonable to assume that he is the constable from this fable. It was when Valtr consumed a Beast, an utterly unholy act, that an Oath Rune was born within him: Impurity.
This rune, discovered inside the forbidden beast eater, came to symbolize "Impurity," and the oath of The League. Confederates of The League hunt to discover vermin. Vermin writhe within filth, and are the root of man's impurity. Crush all vermin without hesitation.
–Impurity.
When Valtr performed such a tainted act, he gained the Impurity Rune and the ability to see Vermin, and with this ability he formed the League. The League, dedicated to hunting down Vermin, consisted of individuals who were brought face to face with the root of man’s impurity and suffered the consequences. We only know of three confederates, other than Valtr. The first is Yamamura the Wanderer, who is described by his garb as: "Garb of a distant Eastern land, worn by Yamamura the Wanderer. This Eastern warrior pursued a beast for honorable revenge, then became a hunter of the League. But when he stared straight into impurity, it drove him mad." It would appear Yamamura’s membership of the League was rather short-lived, as as soon as the Impurity oath was committed to his memory he was driven mad. So while Yamamura plays a relatively minor role in the League, two more significant figures are the Madaras twins.
From the Butcher Mask, we learn it is a: "Mask of the Madaras twins, denizens of the Forbidden Woods, likely belonging to the older of the two. The twins grew up in silent kinship with a poisonous snake. Eventually they learned human ways, and became hunters. When they discovered vermin even in their beloved snake, the younger brother is said to have murdered the older." Furthermore, we learn from the Butcher Garb that: "Both the twins became hunters, and brought back and dissected their beast prey, in order to support the villagers in their forbidden research."
What was the forbidden research of the villagers? What twisted discovery brought Yamamura to madness? And most importantly, what are the Vermin?
What follows is purely my own interpretation and belief based on the evidence I have gathered. Do not consider any of this as solid fact. Instead, use it as my interpretation, so that you can gather your own beliefs.
Some time early in Yharnam’s history, a group of foreign constables chased a beast into the city. The beast, however, turned and devoured the constables one by one. The sole survivor was Valtr, who slew the beast and, in some twisted, maddened hunger for revenge, devoured the beast in turn. This unholy act branded Valtr as the Beast Eater, and within him was born the Oath Rune: Impurity. When Valtr turned and gazed throughout the city of Yharnam he found he could now see those who had become impure, tainted with filth. In order to combat this new threat, Valtr formed the League, gathering a group of confederates and branding them with the Impurity Rune so that they could see the true root of man’s impurity.
In regards to the timeline of when exactly this took place, it appears to have taken place during the time when Hunters were in the transitionary period away from Gehrman’s workshop, but not yet fully formed with Ludwig’s. We see that Valtr favored the Whirligig Saw, a weapon designed by the Powder Kegs, and so it’s likely that the League was in full force during the time of Old Yharnam. Two confederates of the League would be the Madaras Twins, wild folk from the Forbidden Woods who were trained in the art of hunting. The Madaras twins had a great love for their beloved poisonous snake, alongside whom they had grown up together. The Madaras Whistle tells us: "The twins grew up alongside a poisonous snake, and developed a silent, inhuman kinship. The poisonous snake grew uncontrollably, raised on a healthy diet of beast entrails." It appears that the Twins would bring the victims of their hunts back to the Woods with them, not only feeding them to their snake, but also handing them over to the villagers to aid in their research, as referenced in the Butcher Garb.
But what research was occurring in the Forbidden Woods? It’s simple: Ashen Blood. The Healing Church was, at this time, using the Forbidden Woods and the nearby poisonous swamp as their laboratory for the research and development of Ashen Blood. The Healing Church was studying the parasitic leeches found in the poisonous swamp, not only to develop it for use in Old Yharnam, but also to discover the source of the poison. The source of the poison, of the filth. Where did this poison come from? Recall the Butcher Mask: "When they discovered vermin even in their beloved snake, the younger brother is said to have murdered the older."
A centipede-like creature discovered on successful hunts by League hunters. Vermin, found hidden within filth, are only seen by League confederates, and are the root of man's impurity. The League has assumed the task of finding and crushing all vermin. Perhaps there is some mercy in the madness. Those who wish to see vermin can, and those who choose to are provided with boundless purpose.
–Vermin
The poison swamp was teeming with Vermin, unseen by those who had not committed the Impurity Rune to memory. As the Madaras twins slaughtered the infected, Vermin-riddled beasts and fed them to their snake, the creature became tainted and riddled with the parasitic creatures. This is the source of the Snake Parasite of the Forbidden Woods. Vermin infested the local wildlife, and in turn the wildlife infested the villagers. The Snakes spat poison at their enemies, the Ashen Blood turned against the very people who had developed it in the first place.
Ashen Blood, the poison, the Vermin. Perhaps it is the case that all cases of poison in the game are cases of Ashen Blood, and in turn are caused by the Vermin. After all, the antidote tablets that were used to treat Ashen Blood are still in circulation today. If we look at the Nightmare Frontier, for example, we can recall the poisonous swamp that loveable, trustworthy Patches knocks us into. Here we find countless leeches, and large creatures known as Crawlers. Interestingly enough, the Crawlers do not take extra damage as either Beasts or Kin. They are something else: Vermin. Infesting the Loran Silverbeasts we even find more maggots, likely teeming with Vermin themselves. We as players of a videogame are so conditioned to think of poison as some random, nameless, vague side effect that we never stop to think what this poison actually is, and if it has a root cause.
This brings us to the Bloodlickers. Large, flea-like creatures, they are first discovered in Cainhurst alongside a group of parasitic leeches. While described as beasts, interestingly enough they do not suffer from damage bonuses against beasts. They’re something else. Not kin, not beast: Vermin.
What if the Vermin were to infest a human? Not just one or two vermin, but an entire colony of the parasites squirming and writhing within the blood of a human being. No doubt they would be tainted. No doubt they would be forbidden. No doubt they would be Vile.