Carrie Fernandez is the direct descendant of Sypha Belnades, the legendary magic-user who assisted Trevor Belmont in his adventure and thereafter took his hand in marriage. Even when she was a young girl, everyone knew that Carrie was gifted with great magical powers that would one day serve to protect the country from the curse of the infamous Count Dracula. Her potent magical abilities only served to lend to her the utmost confidence in her own abilities; but in training side by side with Reinhardt Schneider as the two grew into young adults, she, too, learned the values of a warrior. His true friendship was important to Carrie because she had lost her mother at a young age, and Reinhardt was always there for her as a voice of reason and comfort. As this course would insist: The rivalry to discover which of the two would earn the title of Vampire Killer was that of deep respect. The driving force behind Carrie's will to fight against and destroy evil was a promise she had made to her dying mother.

Carrie's story is most relevant if you choose to play through her mission, which dictates that she, instead, earned the Vampire Killer title: Carrie braved the huge castle and its surroundings in search of Dracula. During this journey, she unwillingly gained an antagonist in the form of Actrise, a witch who had always been jealous of the Fernandez family and its commanding of such power. Actrise wanted nothing more than to see the return of the Dark Lord, and Carrie's intervention in these proceedings was the perfect means to goad Carrie into a one-on-one battle. At first, Actrise foolishly offered Carrie the opportunity to join in the cause, and when that failed, she got nasty by forcing Carrie to fight against a newly vampirized cousin, a fellow hunter, in an attempt to use her perceived brashness against her. Actrise eventually forced the showdown that she craved and built toward, but the result was unwelcome; in defeat, Actrise realized that Carrie's "brashness" was instead an iron will. Soon after, Dracula and his dark servant also learned well this lesson. More importantly to Carrie, she had delivered on her promise.

When Dracula indeed returned as decreed by the 100-year cycle, there was no Belmont clan to greet him. "Where did they go?" the Church and its followers wondered. "Were they gone so long that they lost sight of their obligation?" Hope was not lost: The recent history would continue, and in the meantime, the weapons were left to the care of the blood-related Morris faction, represented most strongly by Quincy Morris. Sometime in the late 1800s, Dracula returned to this world in search of his long-lost bride, who he was sure would be reincarnated again; it's here where the eternal battle between good and evil saw one of its latest episodes. Quincy Morris, aided by friend Jonathan Harker, fought bravely to destroy the Dark Lord. From afar, John Morris, Quincy's young son, and his friend Eric Lecarde observed the heroes' victory over the Count and watched helplessly as Quincy thereafter succumbed to the wounds suffered during the battle. In gauging this show of heroism and sacrifice, the two youths knew well their destiny, for they would train diligently and follow the same lead, to be worthy as the next vampire hunters in line.

By time John was fully grown, the Morrises had immigrated to the United States, to the heart of Texas, with the classic Belmont arsenal in their care. It was in Texas that John completed his training and came to master in the use of the Vampire Killer whip and the associated mystic sub-weapons. Existing was a serious quagmire: Because the Morrises were not direct descendants to the Belmonts, they could not through natural means command such weapons. To do so required the facing of a trial: The defeat of the "Whip's Memory," an image of the last Belmont to wield them. It was for John the image of Richter Belmont, which he was able to defeat thanks to the continued evolution of the family's chromosomes. Too, John would have to compete against members of other blood-related factions (the Lecardes, mainly) if he were to be the one deemed most worth to command the weapons.

If you choose to play John's mission in Bloodlines, he proves his wares and earns the honor over Eric Lecarde: After earning the title of Vampire Killer, Eric Lecarde volunteered to take his friend's place in the fight against evil due to a lingering agenda; however, because John's sense of justice was so great, he was not about to let the Count or his forces off the hook for what they did to his father. John traveled to Romania to infiltrate Castlevania only to find that it was all a decoy, that Elizabeth Bartley's allies had lured him there to buy some time as the evil countess was carting her uncle's corpse over to a castle in England to ignite his real resurrection. Having no leads, John was forced to follow evil's trail and travel around the globe to destroy the rising forces of Dracula's army; the trail eventually led him to the Castle Proserpina in England. It's here where John fought through the last line of defense, including Bartley and Death, before out-dueling a freshly risen Dracula in the gravest challenge.

Unfortunately for John Morris, there was another part of the equation. In order for one who is not a true successor to wield the Vampire Killer whip, he (or she) must give up part of his life. While not too steep a price, continued use of the whip thereafter would continue to consume life. Not realizing this, and perhaps never being told this truth by his father, John used the whip too much; because of this, the wounds suffered during his battle with Dracula would not heal, and no one knew the truth of this until the use of healing magic revealed the grave consequence. It was by then too late, and John would leave this world survived only by his son Jonathan Morris.

While John really didn't add anything new to the growing Belmont arsenal (an energy sphere exclusive), he did finally craft further the family's boomerang/cross weapon to give it typical boomerang form.

Click here for John in action

Eric Lecarde was by John Morris' side when his father, Quincy Morris, and friend Jonathan Harker destroyed Count Dracula. The young Eric, too, was deeply affected by Quincy's show of heroism and his subsequent death. Years after the event, ways were parted when the Morrises immigrated to the U.S. while Eric returned to Spain, his home, to start their own families. Though he and John would remain very good friends, Eric was equally determined to train diligently and earn the title of Vampire Killer and possession of the associated weapons.

This was possible because the Lecardes were very much in the direct bloodline of the Belmont clan. Speculation leads us to believe that Eric, specifically, is descended from the line of Renards, a lineage spawned through a relationship between Maria and Alucard; adding to the theory is that Eric commanded the Alcarde Spear (otherwise known as the "Alucard Spear"), a weapon collected by Alucard during one of his adventures (that is, the Sega Saturn version of Nocturne in the Moonlight).

After settling in, Eric, now a master lanceman, married the love of his life, a woman named Gwendolyn, and continued his training. It was around this time that Elizabeth Bartley had been unintentionally resurrected, whence she began preparing the ritual to in turn resurrect her uncle, Count Dracula. As an act of vengeance against the family for her uncle's repeated defeats, Bartley tracked down Gwendolyn and infected her with the vampire curse; this act, as intended, ruined Eric's life. So after it was decreed that John Morris be named Vampire Killer, the distraught Eric volunteered to take his friend's place, to avenge his wife's death. If you choose to play his mission in Bloodlines, John grants Eric's wish by stepping down and entrusting to him the sub-weapons. As the story would instead unfold: It was instead Eric who was decoyed to Castlevania before scouring the globe, following evil's trail, to find the place of Dracula's real rising--the Castle Proserpina. It was here where Eric foiled Bartley's plan: He extracted his revenge by striking down the last line of defense and then out-dueling a freshly risen Count.

According to series' canon, Eric's mission is seen as but an "interpretation." In reality, it was John Morris who came to command the weapons and defeat Dracula. In the meantime, Eric stood on the sidelines and cheered on his friend's efforts. Eric's greater role came as a result of John's death following the battle with Dracula. To those who were not true successors, the Vampire Killer and its unbridled power were tools necessary, yet they were very much a threat to the continued existence of its wielder. People with this knowledge would have to take it upon themselves to act as the power's key so that the whip would never go overused by a hero. It was the Lecardes who accepted the task, for only they would have the ability to open and close the gateway to the Whip's Memory.

Sometime in 1944, when Castlevania prematurely rose from the depths, a 50-year-old Eric was one of the few to investigate the matter on behalf of the Church. Upon entering a mysterious painting, he discovered the source of castle's rising: The black magic of the vampire Brauner, who had harvested the souls of those felled during World War II. Almost in a flash, he was killed by Brauner's surprise attack. Before breathing his last breath, he cast upon himself a magic barrier, binding his soul to the castle; the price was that he would remain trapped within the castle, able to project only his specter. His was the propensity to resist the castle's power. In this ghostly form, it was Eric (using the alias "Wind" to hide his identity) who guided Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin to their destiny, supplying them skills and pertinent information. When the duo defeated Dracula and his guardians, in the process saving Eric's daughters, Stella and Loretta, from Brauner's control, Eric was able to pass on from this world, fulfilled.

Click here for Eric in action

Jonathan Morris is the son of John Morris and as a hunter his direct successor. While Jonathan was a hot-headed and energetic young man, he had to him a confidence, a certain poise, and a sense of humor in the face of even the greatest adversity. Due to this disposition, he was at times viewed as aloof and perhaps not taking important matters too seriously. His most common response "No problem," John was in contrast quite clever when it really counted. Maybe it was his nature. Or maybe he was perhaps compensating for the loss of his father, who died as a result of overuse of the Vampire Killer, which if not utilized sparingly brings about dire consequences for any non-Belmont successor to wield it. With this knowledge, his wounds suffered during the battle with Dracula failing to heal, John didn't train his son to use the Vampire Killer and instead hoped for his son to develop strength enough to survive using other means. Jonathan, who was thus unable to unlock the whip's power, always viewed this as a shirking of responsibility, an incomplete training, and came to resent his father, who in his eyes "ran off and got himself killed." He would slowly learn the truth during his future adventure.

It was Jonathan Morris and childhood friend Charlotte Aulin who answered the call when Castlevania mysteriously rose from the depths and the Church called for its investigation. They raced to the castle and together discovered the source of its rising: The vampire Brauner had harvested the souls of those felled during World War II and had used their collective force to raise from the depths the feared castle, whose power he would harness to extract revenge against the humans on behalf of his daughters, who because of their actions died during the previous world war and seemingly lived on as vampires. Without the whip, Jonathan thought, there was little hope, a feeling the antagonists used to belittle the young hero. A source of encouragement and great assistance was Wind (Eric Lecarde's ghostly alias), who provided information that when put to use was instrumental in the heroes' foiling of Brauner's plans. They were with his help able to deduce how Dracula's power was being suppressed; they were able to save Stella and Loretta, Eric's daughters who Brauner had in reality stolen from him, and spare them eternal suffering; and they learned the truth about John Morris' death--a discovery that instilled in John a newfound respect and a drive to duplicate his father's efforts.

Thanks to Stella and Loretta, living members of the Lecarde family, Jonathan was able to unlock the power of the Vampire Killer by defeating the Whip's Memory--an image of the last Belmont hero to wield the whip. In defeating the image of Richter Belmont, Jonathan could now command the ultimate weapon against evil with the price being part of his life; this reality apparent, he knew well, as did his allies, that the whip should be used only when necessary and at final battle's closure locked away so that he would not suffer his father's fate. A finale so epic could only be fought against one such as Dracula, whose power not even Brauner could contain. Jonathan, honoring his father's teachings and a promise to Eric, showcased his strength and overcame the Dark Lord with a face of responsibility and bravery.

Charlotte Aulin was the childhood friend of Jonathan Morris, the two having grown up together as warriors in their own respects. Counter to the perceived characteristics of Jonathan, Charlotte was intelligent and perhaps a little too confident in the level of her book smarts. She talked a lot and would always stick her nose in others' business, but it was only because she felt the obligation to help those in need. Whereas Jonathan was impulsive and unfocused, Charlotte would always solve problems by taking a logical approach bereft of emotion, which many viewed as her lacking of positive sentiment. Still, because Charlotte was gifted with great magical power, she was mature beyond her years, which her elders always respected. She was, after all, seen as the potential final weapon in the battle against Count Dracula.

Charlotte was by Jonathan's side when the Church requested that he investigate a little matter of Dracula's castle mysteriously rising from the depths with no sign of its ruler's presence. It was Charlotte's magical propensity and instincts that helped the duo solve many a puzzle related to Castlevania's resurrection. Though Jonathan was always perplexed by her complicated explanations as to the widespread supernatural occurrences, he trusted in her highly concentrated senses and her expertise in the area of magic. Too, she was well-versed in the subjects of Dracula, his history and his castle; using this knowledge and her ever-increasing skills, she was able to deduce that Brauner's paintings were suppressing Dracula's power, that Death had in retaliation other desires, and that Stella and Loretta could be saved. More importantly, her separating of procedure from emotion would serve to keep Jonathan in line and help him to focus his sometimes-misguided energies.

Her most urgent contribution was the learning and application of a purification spell, which saved Vincent Dorin from a vampiric fate and later freed the sisters, Stella and Loretta, from the curse that threatened total acceptance of such a doomed eternity. By curing the sisters, it allowed for them to resume human form, as proud Lecardes, and act as the key for the unlocking of the Vampire Killer's powers, which John would use to (with Charlotte's aid) vanquish Brauner and then the team of Dracula and Death. In combining their skills, Charlotte and Jonathan met all challenges and emerged as champions.

Soma was just an ordinary young man, or so he thought, who found himself as a pawn in Genya Arikado's (Alucard's) continuing war against evil. Soma and friend Mina Hakuba were waiting atop the Hakuba shrine in hope of catching a glimpse of the century's first solar eclipse when their troubles began: Upon the event's onset, he and Mina were unceremoniously sucked into a realm that Dracula's castle now called home. Within the legendary halls, the confused Soma was manipulated by cold but friendly forces into braving the huge haunt for unspecified means. It was through these trials and tribulations within the castle that Soma slowly began to learn more and more about himself, as Genya had hoped. Mainly, he learned that he had the natural ability to absorb enemies' souls and utilize their powers as his own--for what purpose, though, he was still unsure. When he was informed that his natural ability was akin to "dark power," he became defensive even though assured that it didn't constitute "evil."

Upon absorbing the grandest of power, the castle essence that Graham Jones was harboring, it finally became clear to him that he was Dracula, or, as Genya confided, a subject in possession of powers that were one in the same as the Dark Lord's; therein, he was strong enough a host to actually trick the chaotic forces into recognizing he as the Dark Lord. He had no choice but to continue doing Genya's bidding--a rather dangerous plan to head into the Chaotic Realm where "only Dracula could go" and forcibly shut the seal, which bore leaks. Only through the encouragement and collective will of his newfound friends was he able to fight off full possession and reseal the castle back within the darkness of the eclipse.

One year later, Soma found himself the target of Celia Fortner, a powerful shadow priestess who had founded a mysterious cult. With the disappearance of Dracula, she and her top allies--Dario Bossi and Dmitrii Blinov--sensed that the magical world was weakening, and they felt that their powers would soon dissipate with it. They planned to plunge Soma's mind into darkness, to bring out his very worst and exorcise from his soul Dracula's powers. Soma resisted the violent urges of Dario and Dmitrii, but he gave in to temptation when tricked by Celia, who orchestrated an abduction and murder of what he thought was Mina. Only by having equipped a special talisman, which was given to him by the real Mina, was he able to somehow contain the overflowing power and further suppress it deep within. As promised, Mina was indeed there for him at his most desperate hour. Afterward, the determined Soma stormed the chaotic Abyss, where he put an end to the cult's games.

In Action: Aria of Sorrow | Dawn of Sorrow