Chapter Three: Djura, The Powder Kegs, Ashen Blood, and Old Yharnam

"Old Yharnam, burned and abandoned by men, is now home only to beasts. They are of no harm to those above. Turn back...or the hunter will face the hunt."

–Djura, Retired Hunter

The PC Hunter encounters Djura for the first time upon entering Old Yharnam, in which Djura warns the hunter to leave. When the PC Hunter fails to comply, he is none too pleased and becomes aggressive in his defense of Old Yharnam. But to really discover who Djura is, let's first take a look at the history of the heretics of the workshop, the Powder Kegs.

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.

The Powder Kegs were, and I use the term were intentionally, a group of hunters with a flair for the dramatic and a love of complexity, intricacy, and explosiveness in their designs. They deviated from the Hunting style of simplicity in design developed by Gehrman the First Hunter, and preferred ambitious (or excessive depending on your point of view) weapon design.

Influenced by a love of flame and a desire to crush and burn, they developed their main weapon of choice, the Boom Hammer, which is described as:

A trick weapon used by the old hunters, and crafted by the workshop heretics, the Powder Kegs. A giant hammer equipped with a miniature furnace. When ignited and fired, it emits a volley of flame that explodes furiously upon impact. Crush the beasts, then burn them - the brute simplicity of the Boom Hammer was favored by hunters with an acute distaste for beasts.

Another slightly rarer Powder Keg weapon developed was the Stake Driver, Djura's personal weapon of choice. The Stake Driver is described as:

A trick weapon fashioned by the workshop heretics, the Powder Kegs. The stake driver allows for high-damage critical attacks, but is difficult to use and leaves its wielder wide open, but none of this should bother a mere Powder Keg.

These two new trick weapons, among others like the Rifle Spear and Whirligig Saw, were drastically different from the previous designs of the Hunter's Workshop. However the Powder Kegs didn't settle with trick weapons, even trying to implement bigger and stronger firepower into their arsenal with the Cannon and Gattling Gun.

We can also give the Powder Kegs credit for the design of the Rope Molotov Cocktails, seeing as gaining the Powder Keg Badge unlocks them at the Bath Messenger.

At some point in time, the Powder Kegs were labeled heretics and exiled from the workshop. Presumably, the Powder Kegs are no more, as all references to them are in the past tense, and even their badge description refers to them as the late Powder Kegs. They were very likely disbanded or slain quite a long time ago, seeing as nobody seems to reference them. Their association with the Workshop only lends credence to the idea of the Powder Kegs being a relatively old faction, as the Workshop itself is no longer a relevant institution as evidenced by the Saw Hunter Badge: The Workshop is gone, and no group recognizes this meaningless badge, except the messengers in the bath who understand its profundity. The only remaining trace of Powder Kegs is found in the Retired Hunter Djura.

So who is Djura? His official description reads: "An old veteran hunter who is said to possess amazing skill. No one has seen him in many years, and he looks like he's been on his own for some time." We learn more from the description of the Grey Wolf Cap which states it as:

Attire of the retired hunter Djura. This worn wolf cap was his trademark. Djura is known through his contact with the Powder Kegs, the heretics of the workshop. He is said to have been both uncommonly kind and dreadfully foolish. Djura felt defeated by the state of Old Yharnam and renounced his hunter's vows.

Uncommonly kind is certainly right. Djura is unique amongst any character in Bloodborne as showing sympathy towards those affected by the Scourge of the Beast. "The things you hunt, they're not beasts. They're people." It's also interesting to note that his cap refers to him as having contact with the Powder Kegs, rather than being a member. It's possible that Djura knew of the Powder Kegs or made friends with them, that he carries a Powder Keg Badge indicates that at the very least he was some kind of Honorary Member. He most assuredly traveled alongside the Powder Kegs, as the description of the Gatling Gun states that Djura had three companions, the youngest of whom used the Gatling Gun.

But Djura's absolute most important quality is that he, like the PC Hunter, was once a part of the Hunter’s Dream.

I no longer dream, but I was once a hunter, too.

You have the whole night to dream. Make the best of it.

He also knows full well that killing the PC Hunter will do nothing but stall them. If the PC dies to Djura, he remarks:"I should think you still have dreams? Well, next time you dream, give some thought to the hunt, and its purpose."

I do not believe every Hunter is special like the PC and Djura. There would be much more information and general knowledge about the Hunter's Dream if this were the case. Certain Hunters are special, chosen by Gehrman and attached to the Hunter's Dream. The title I have given these special Hunters is a Paleblood Hunter. The Doll herself admits that the PC was not the first:

Over time, countless hunters have visited this dream. The graves here stand in their memory. It all seems so long ago now...

Djura was at one point a Paleblood Hunter, like the PC Hunter, who retired from Hunting and renounced his vows to live in solitude.

Which brings us to Old Yharnam. While Old Yharnam is an optional location in the game, the PC Hunter is guided towards it by Gehrman in order to acquire the Holy Chalice. Historically, Old Yharnam was the location of a terrible disease known as Ashen Blood. Antidote tablets are described as: "Small medicinal tablets that counteract poison. Used to treat ashen blood, the baffling sickness that ravaged Old Yharnam long ago. These tablets only provide short-term relief." The tablets were used as to give temporary relief to the victims of the disease, while they were being treated by the then newly formed Healing Church. What would bring true relief would be the bringing of Blood Ministration, the medical procedure that would become the cornerstone of Yharnam. With the ability to cure any disease, the Healing Church's blood ministration got to work immediately. However, as the antidote notes:

The ashen blood ailment eventually triggered the spread of the beastly scourge.

With blood ministration came the Scourge of the Beast, as the Old Blood used in the ministration would spread the Scourge. One disease had been contained, but the treatment gave birth to the Scourge, just as it had in Ailing Loran:

There are trace remains of medical procedures in parts of ailing Loran. Whether these were attempts to control the scourge of the beast, or the cause of the outbreak, is unknown.

With the Scourge of the Beast too much to handle, a Hunt was called.

Now we have Djura, the Powder Kegs, and Old Yharnam, three pieces of a puzzle. But it's not unless the PC stumbles into a hidden building in Old Yharnam that the pieces connect. Near Djura's tower is a hidden building that can be accessed by dropping a far, far distance down a ledge. Inside this building, everything comes together. Here, the PC Hunter finds two corpses. One of them holds a Rifle Spear, the other wears a set of Charred Hunter gear. Next to them is a Hunter’s Note. This is where it all comes together.

The red moon hangs low, and beasts rule the streets. Are we left no other choice, than to burn it all to cinders?

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.

After Maria’s death and Gehrman’s self-inflicted retirement, the Healing Church lost a significant portion of its strength. The School of Mensis began to drift apart from the Healing Church proper, and it seemed as if things were spiraling downwards. As the Healing Church continued its operations and explorations of the Pthumerian Labyrinth, they discovered a swamp in the Forbidden Woods. Located directly behind one of their clinics, the swamp was deathly poisonous and filled with strange, parasitic leeches. The poison likely came up from the Hintertombs in the Labyrinth, where we can see very similar swamps. We also find in this swamp what appear to be lumbering giants, much like the ones that the Healing Church would later employ as their enforcers. It’s possible that the poison itself mutated those who lived into these beings. Either way, the Healing Church discovered these parasites that secreted a poisonous substance.

In the Forbidden Woods we also find the White Church Garb, which reminds us that the Church believes that "medicine is not a means of treatment but rather a method for research, and some knowledge can only be obtained by exposing oneself to sickness." And so did the Church develop the Ashen Blood from the parasitic leeches, and loose it upon Old Yharnam.

As Old Yharnam began to grow sick with Ashen Blood, Laurence and the Church arrived with the Old Blood, promising a cure to all diseases. They were hailed as saviors as they began to administer their miraculous special blood to the people of Yharnam, swelling in power and position. But, as the antidote reminds us, with Ashen Blood came the Scourge, as those who had been treated with Communion fell victim to the Scourge, becoming beasts.

With Gehrman gone and his Old Hunters disbanded, the Church had a need for a new workshop to deal with the victims of the Ashen Blood. The Oto Workshop was formed, and Hunters were recruited en masse to deal with the rising issue of the Scourge of the Beasts. These Hunters, unlike the silent warriors of Gehrman’s, slaughtered the beasts furiously. The old hunter garb, worn by the Oto Hunters, tells us that in this era Hunters were "ten a penny", indicating that during the time of the Ashen Blood Plague, it was likely not at all unusual for citizens to witness groups of Hunters walking the streets in search of those who may have fallen to the Scourge. It was likely a time of great fear for the people of Yharnam, not knowing who would be next to turn, who would die of the plague, or who would be swept up in the bloodshed. The streets became a constant war zone between Hunter and Beast as the plague spiraled out of control and countless citizens succumbed to the Scourge of the Beast. Soon, the Oto Workshop developed into something else. As the Beasts grew more and more numerous, and more and more dangerous, the Powder Kegs were born in response. With them, came a young man named Djura.

Djura was, like the PC, a Paleblood Hunter guided by Gehrman. When the Old Yharnam Hunt began, Djura awoke in the Hunter’s Dream. Djura acted as the PC of his time. He started weak, but gathered Blood Echoes and gained strength through the Doll. He lit lamps; he left notes; he slew bosses and probably died many times, reawakening at the lamp and trying again. During this time, he came into contact with the Powder Kegs.

Djura joined the Powder Kegs in hunting the beasts of Old Yharnam. He grew to use their equipment and they considered him an honorary member, and likely a friend. But as Old Yharnam grew more and more tainted with, the Scourge spread. When the line between man and beast was blurred, the red moon hung low. Djura, looking down at his fallen comrades, opened his notebook and left a note.

The red moon hangs low, and beasts rule the streets. Are we left no other choice, than to burn it all to cinders?

The Scourge of the Beast was too great, and the Powder Kegs could no longer stem the tide through simply hunting beasts. The Powder Kegs, with their flair for the dramatic, their bombastic nature, and their love of flame and explosions, were not gentle with Old Yharnam. The city was cleansed. The Powder Kegs razed the city to the ground. With the Blood Moon high over the sky and the beasts overpowering, the Hunters saw no choice but to burn it all down. The attire of the Charred Hunter Gear, worn by the Powder Kegs who cleansed the city, states: "Wearers of this attire hunted down victims of the scourge who survived the raging flames and stench of singed blood." Men, women, and children were hunted and purged. The entire city was cleansed to keep the Scourge of the Beast from spreading. Djura participated in all of it. It's possible that Djura tried to put a stop to it, or it's possible that he willingly, gleefully participated in the slaughter. Either way, Old Yharnam was devastated, never to recover.

With the Dawn approaching, Djura returned to the Hunter's Dream where Gehrman, the First Hunter, met him by the tree. Wracked by guilt and shame at the carnage he had caused, he sunk to his knees and accepted his death, severing his connection to the Hunter's Dream. When he awoke, the sun had risen and the Hunt was over. By now, the Workshop had branded and condemned the Powder Kegs as heretics. Those Powder Kegs who hadn’t died in combat had become so drunk on blood that they had been dragged into the Hunter’s Nightmare. All that remained was Djura. And so he went to Old Yharnam, where he had caused so much horror, and cast aside his Hunter's vows. If nobody cared about the beasts of Old Yharnam, then he would protect them from any further bloodshed.