Leon Belmont was a church knight in the eleventh century during the Gregorian Reforms and the concurrent Christian Crusades. He was a courageous young man who lived without fear, and his combat abilities were unmatched. He joined together with Mathias Cronqvist, a genius tactician and his trusted friend, to form an unbeatable company that would fight in the name of God. When informed, mysteriously, by a bedridden Mathias, whose wife had recently died, that Leon's betrothed, Sara Trantoul, had been kidnapped by the vampire Walter Bernhard and taken to a castle within the Forest of Eternal Darkness, Leon renounced his title as baron of the knights, thereby throwing away his fame and security in order to avoid disobeying the church's orders to not against fight monsters. In his journey, he met Rinaldo Gandolfi and received a Whip of Alchemy. After Walter vampirized Sara, Leon used this new weapon, at her hopeless request, to transform it into the Vampire Killer.

Leon eventually destroyed the now-vulernable Walter only to find that Mathias was behind the whole ordeal, having used all parties involved in a genius plot; that is, Walter would die through Leon's vengeful actions, his vampire soul would be extracted, and Death would channel it into the dying Mathias using the Crimson Stone, thus granting him new life and crowning him Lord of the Vampires. Leon resisted the disappointed Mathias' plea to join together in this unholy afterlife, where they would curse God and bear their vengeance, and would thereafter never again see his friend. However, in removing Death as a threat, he told the dark angel to deliver to his new master a message: "From this point forward," he said, "the Belmont Clan would hunt the night!"

As the earliest noted Belmont, Leon gave us a dose of just how powerful this family would become. Leon, in part, created the Vampire Killer whip using the Whip of Alchemy received from Rinaldo--it was truly a divine killing machine born of Leon's hatred combined with the generous soul and will of Sara. It was also during his quest where he located five weapon types that had been dropped by previous hunters who had failed in Walter's game; he mastered in their use by collecting seven orbs that allowed him to temper them with mystic power, thus creating four of the basic family weapons and the exclusive crystal. It was these weapons that were passed on into the family for centuries, eventually to be used in the family's never-ending war against Mathias, who renamed himself Vlad Tepes Dracula.

Sonia was the first Belmont to battle Mathias under his new persona of Vlad Tepes, who had already earned the title Count Dracula in relation to his murderous campaign against humanity. On her seventeenth birthday, Sonia met and formed a bond with Alucard, Dracula's estranged and forgotten half-breed son, who had tired of his father's antics and was planning a countermeasure. After the two became close, forming an intimate relationship, Alucard entrusted her with his secret: For he was going to confront and destroy his own father and stop an impending war whose enormity went unconsidered, even if it meant sacrificing himself for the cause. Sonia showed a vested interest despite Alucard's resistance to her involvement. This insistence later led to a showdown between the two--Alucard's testing of her mettle and resolve, whence Sonia proved worth. Knowing now the true power of the whip and its possessor, Alucard realized that the defeat of Dracula was best left in her hands, and he let the determined warrior take his place in the war. Thus, Sonia went on to become the first hero to show the Dark Lord a true defeat.

When Sonia came of age, her uncle passed unto her the Vampire Killer whip that Leon once brandished. Too, it was Sonia who reclaimed the mystic weapons that her ancestors presumably hid for her to find near what was once Walter Bernhard's castle, for these weapons would be forged further over time for each new generation's own usage. Whether or not the stopwatch was part of the package by that point is unsure, but Sonia made it so in place of the lost crystal. Even though, to her, these sub-weapons were only collectible (as she wasn't yet trained to use them), she was not without alternate power: She would instead use her own sacred power to steal and harness a soul's essence and thus use it as a weapon against Dracula's forces.

She also started the trend of finding symbol attachments (chains and fireballs) that would magically augment the basic leather whip, allowing for a metamorphosis--a deadly alteration transforming it into a now-more-powerful tool of destruction. Sonia had another magical power that allowed for temporary invincibility, but this was either character-specific or an ability somehow harnessed and bottled as a special potion for future use.

It's strongly hinted that Trevor Belmont is the son of Sonia and Alucard, which would be the first step in the family's considerable evolution. Years after Sonia's victory over the Count, Trevor became the unfortunate victim of her legacy: He grew up knowing only the loneliness of isolation, for the Belmonts had been banished from Warakiya when the citizens began to fear the power in the Belmont's possession, as if it made the entire province a target of evil's rage while serving a potential outlet for a Belmont gone awry. Their fears were not shared by the Church, historically allied to the family, which called upon the Belmonts to accost and contain the reinvigorated Dracula, who had not been truly defeated. Regardless of the community's actions, Trevor would answer the Church's call and come to defend those who ousted his ancestors. During his quest, Trevor gathered a team of allies in the form of Grant Danasty, Sypha Belnades and that very same Alucard; he scoured the countryside and cleansed it of evil; and he stepped forward to battle and destroy the hated Count in what was an epic battle.

Though there would always exist resistance, Trevor's victory over Dracula went a long way in earning the respect and acceptance of those who wished to see the Belmont's banishment. Furthermore, Trevor forged positive relationships with each ally, whose descendants would grow alongside the family of legend. He and Grant became great friends and together started Warakiya's rebuilding process; his relationship with Sypha only served to further evolve the family's bloodline; and Alucard's burden had surely touched him. As Dracula was growing stronger with each rising, so, too, were the Belmonts and their allies.

However, it was still proving difficult to silence darkness. Dracula would not pass from this world in silence, and with his final words, the Dark Lord left upon all of Europe a demonic curse that enshrouded the people in misery and torment. Trevor investigated these matters and located the troublesome Isaac, a devil forgemaster who had some connection to the curse. It was the oblivious meddling of the vengeful Hector, the other forgemaster, that prevented Trevor from dealing Isaac defeat. Trevor tested Hector's resolve and defeated him easily, which reinforced his opinion. But after a second encounter, whence Hector held his own, it was clear to even Trevor that it was fate at work. He helped in Hector's mission by using drops of his powerful blood to in the abandoned castle open a seal that lead to Isaac's hideaway--an infinite corridor beneath the castle. When Hector slew the corridor's guardian, the castle began to shake, and Isaac used this opportunity to sneak up from behind and stab Trevor through the chest, leaving him for dead. Trevor would survive, thanks to the magic of Julia Laforeze, but he would because of his severe injury be unable to participate further. Even then, his further sacrifice to the cause would not be forgotten.

Alucard was, of course, the son of Count Dracula (his real name is Adrian Farenheights Tepes). It was through his encounters with Sonia as lovers and philosophical rivals that he learned of the Belmont family's power. With that knowledge, he surmised that they were supreme vampire hunters and that the fight against evil would best be left in their hands. Though, his role was still vital, and his wish for eternal slumber wouldn't stop him from escaping this state of rest when needed--especially when Dracula rose the second time; still not completely sure of their power, he waited in the evil-soaked catacombs for Trevor (who is likely his son) to come galloping along to partake in another of Alucard's patented test battles. Gauging Trevor's determination, and now sure, he subsequently became an ally to the young vampire hunter. Years later, powerful forces would once more awaken his haunted soul when Shaft coerced Richter Belmont to the side of evil and a greater good was sorely lacking.

As the son of the world's greatest evil, Alucard's entire existence is one of pain, inner struggle and insecurity. While it would be logical to think that through his actions that his would be the same thirst for revenge, Alucard's nature is as gentle as the mother he had barely known; her genes would prove to be dominant in that regard. On her behest, Alucard held no disdain for the humans for what they did to his mother, and Dracula could never understand why. This rift became too great for father and son to coexist, and Alucard thus became the estranged and forgotten son. Thereby, Alucard believed it his life's mission to vanquish Dracula from this world. He certainly had the propensity: Because of the ever-present vampire blood, Alucard could shapeshift and utilize magical abilities similar to those of his father. Over time, he also became proficient in the use of magic spells, fireball attacks, relics, and he could always call upon and showcase the sword-wielding and striking-weapon skills he had picked up as a youth.

Once Dracula (or at least his spirit) was sealed away for good thanks to the efforts of Julius Belmonts and the Hakuba Shrine priests, Alucard made it his personal mission to see to it that no one ever try to inherit that power. Under the guise of "Genya Arikado," he joined a top-secret Japanese agency and from this position investigated any attempts by the underground to create a new Dark Lord. These exploits are detailed here.

In Action: Dracula's Curse | Symphony