Vampire Killing Through the Ages - The Belmont Lineage

As I was writing some hopes I had for the upcoming Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, I was struck with a thought: “I wonder if they’ll try to falsely sell this as the first game with a female playable character?” While it may seem like an odd idea to pop in, it is sadly not quite unprecedented, as seen with the marketing for Assassin's Creed Odyssey, which seemingly forgot the very existence of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, which was released a short three years earlier.

With this idea firmly fuelled by righteous fury, I penned an addition to the aforementioned text, only to have one of our lovely staff point out that this could be its own article! Now, I could simply regale you with the tale of Sonia Belmont… however, I’ve never been a man of half-measures.

As such, here is an approximate history of one of my favourite videogame families: the Belmonts! I’ll go through the current canon, while also paying homage to side families, alternate heroes, and those lost along the way.

The Who?

Before we get into the nitty-gritty, I believe a quick primer on why this single family is so important in the world of Castlevania is called for. Thankfully, the reasons are somewhat simple and understandable: a generational vendetta and a weapon.

You see, regardless of the timeline or title, the Belmonts, more often than not, have some kind of decades-spanning grievance with the big bad, Dracula. This changes somewhat depending on the descendant in question, but revenge and duty are common motivators, as we'll see in the coming text.

While this is as good a reason as any, having a heart filled with hate won't get you very far when faced with the cavalcade of beasties inhabiting the good Count's castle. This is where the Belmont family heirloom comes into play: the Vampire Killer.

A holy whip enchanted with vampire-killing power, this implement has seen many wielders and a few different origin stories, but is constantly one of the more powerful tools in the family's arsenal. It is also, somehow, bound to the clan, as only those of pure Belmont blood can actually wield the thing without risk.

The Canon Belmonts

The Castlevania franchise has been around for a long time, spanning about four decades and seven console generations. One can imagine that the "canon" of such a long-lived series has changed and evolved quite a bit and will probably continue to do so if the latest instalment manages to capture audiences!

Regardless of the timespan, there is a generally agreed-upon canon plotline that the mainline games follow; it is the Belmonts of this timeline I will describe here, going over each major descendant and their exploits.

The tragic tale of this family of hunters starts off with Leon Belmont (Castlevania: Lament of Innocence). A noble knight in the 11th century, our hero is informed by his friend and ally, Mathias Cronquist, that Sarah (Leon's betrothed) has been kidnapped by a vampire and taken into a dark forest.

Rushing off to her rescue, Leon leaves in such haste that he forgets to bring any weapons! Thankfully, the knight discovers a small shack located near the vampire's castle. The sole denizen, an alchemist named Rinaldo Gandolfi, sympathises with Leon's quest and gives him a powerful weapon, the Whip of Alchemy.

As his descendants would for generations to come, Leon blazes a trail through the vampire's domain, defeating guardians and gaining power as he goes. Finally finding the vampire, Walter Bernhard, our hero is shocked to find that the whip is ineffective! Worse yet, Sarah is in a trance-like state. Beating a hasty retreat, the knight carries his beloved to Rinaldo, only to realise she has been bitten by the evil creature and will soon turn into a vampire.

Rushing off to her rescue, Leon leaves in such haste that he forgets to bring any weapons! Thankfully, the knight discovers a small shack located near the vampire's castle. The sole denizen, an alchemist named Rinaldo Gandolfi, sympathises with Leon's quest and gives him a powerful weapon, the Whip of Alchemy.

As his descendants would for generations to come, Leon blazes a trail through the vampire's domain, defeating guardians and gaining power as he goes. Finally finding the vampire, Walter Bernhard, our hero is shocked to find that the whip is ineffective! Worse yet, Sarah is in a trance-like state. Beating a hasty retreat, the knight carries his beloved to Rinaldo, only to realise she has been bitten by the evil creature and will soon turn into a vampire.

In a dramatic turn, Sara wakes and hears all this, volunteering to become the sacrifice needed to boost the whip's power enough to damage Bernhard. Binding her soul to the weapon, the Whip of Alchemy is transformed into the legendary Vampire Killer, to the remorse and heartbreak of Leon.

New whip in hand and heart heavy with hate, our hero knocks down the door and whips Walter something fierce! One could think this is the end of the story and the start of the Belmont-Vampire grudge, but no! Twist of all twists, it turns out that the game's events were all orchestrated by Mathias to acquire the soul of a vampire. Power absorbed, Leon's erstwhile friend departs, leaving our hero to fight the newly forged Count's most powerful lackey, Death.

It is after this bout that Leon makes the fateful decree: the Belmonts would hunt Mathias, soon to don the mantle of Count Dracula, until he was permanently destroyed, setting off the generational feud.

Something quite interesting about Leon's tale is that he never actually defeats or even faces Dracula, at least not according to the information available. Instead, it seems he focused more on protecting the people from the Count's machinations while also preparing his family for their new purpose.

The honour of the first confirmed defeat of the vampire lord would happen hundreds of years later, in the 15th century, at the hands of one Trevor C. Belmont (Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, Castlevania: Curse of Darkness).

Leon's noble idea of the Belmont family protecting the innocent from dark forces was a nice dream, but as many such plans do, it went wrong somewhere along the line. Because the family seemed destined to birth powerful warriors and morally righteous minds, the clan soon found itself ostracised by the people and even Christianity as a whole, earning the ire of the Pope.

However, once the region of Wallachia is suddenly beset by monsters and a mysterious Count, the supreme pontiff turns to our favourite family for a bit of help, resulting in the latest heir of the Vampire Killer, Trevor, setting off on an adventure.

Many of the events of Dracula's Curse will seem familiar to the fans of the Netflix animated series: during his travels, our young whip-master joins forces with the rebel fighter, Grant Danasty; a powerful witch and part of a prominent magical family, Sypha Belnades; and the son of the dark Count himself, Alucard (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night). The trio fight to clear Wallachia of Dracula's forces and finally defeats the big bad himself, resulting in the first "win" in the Belmont's column.

Trevor's lot in the family's history is a tumultuous one. For a long time, he was considered the earliest member of the clan, and his eventual partnering with Sypha also added a bit of magic to the Belmont bloodline. However, he is often considered less popular than some of his descendants, though that has probably changed thanks to the aforementioned animated series.

It would seem the Dark Lord Dracula also has a bit of a grudge against the trio of Grant, Sypha, and Trevor, as faux versions of the group are faced as enemies in multiple Castlevania titles.

In his later years, Trevor would hunt down evil again during the events of Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, wherein the Devil Forgemasters Hector and Isaac were roped into a plot to resurrect the lord of the castle yet again, though the Belmont played a secondary, supporting role in these events.

The next member of the Belmont family is one we know very little about, as her title is yet to be released: Rose Belmont (Castlevania: Belmont's Curse). The daughter of Trevor, it would seem Rose's adventures follow suit quite quickly after Dracula's first defeat, taking place only a few decades after. With Trevor being about 40 years of age in the game, I'm honestly a bit worried the whip may not be passed down in the most calm of circumstances.

The timespan after Trevor and before Simon (who we'll get to in a bit) is more on the obscure side, with its heroes being seldom mentioned or referenced in more modern titles. However, with the coming release of Belmont's Curse, this may be about to change!

The next hunter in the family to take up the whip appears in the 16th century, about 100 years after Trevor's fight with Dracula. Cristopher Belmont (Castlevania: The Adventure, Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge), the possible grandson of Rose, is the first Belmont in which the family's vendetta against Dracula becomes something of a "tradition".

You see, Castlevania: The Adventure seems to be the first instalment where Dracula "naturally" resurrects. Though the Count is brought back by various means multiple times in shorter periods, these are often weaker or incomplete returns to the land of the living. The once-a-century events seem to result in a more powerful Dracula, which also sets the Belmont blood ablaze with a need to put the Count down yet again.

Christopher is often overlooked within the lore of Castlevania and in the general discussion of the franchise, though his feats are nothing to sneeze at. Unlike good old Trev, Chris is the first confirmed Belmont to take out Dracula single-handedly. He also does it twice!

Christopher's son, Soleil Belmont (Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge), however, is a bit of a tragic tear on the family's legacy. At the end of the 14th century, fifteen years after Cristopher's victory, Soleil was just about ready to take up the mantle and whip of a vampire hunter. However, it turns out the good Count wasn't quite as dead as presumed, instead surviving greatly weakened and in a permanent mist form. Poor Soleil would quickly be influenced by Dracula and turned against his father, forcing the two to battle.

While things end on a high note with father saving son and defeating evil, this is the first instance of a Belmont being turned to evil by the Dark Lord's influence… though not the last.

And so we reach the first ever Belmont to grace the screen, and possibly the most famous member of this clan of hunters, Simon Belmont (Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest). Setting out to defeat darkness in the 16th century, the traditional 100 years after Christopher's victory, Simon followed in his ancestor's footsteps and flew solo.

Since the titles featuring Simon are quite literally the first two games in the franchise, there was little plot or character development. However, with the expansion of the lore and further instalments, we do learn that the man was headstrong, driven, and immensely powerful. The bout with the Count was a bit of a double-edged sword, regretfully.

Though victorious, Simon was cursed by Dracula, causing a grievous wound on our hero's back to never heal. In a desperate attempt to remove the curse, Simon hunted down the five remnants of the recently defeated Count and attempted to burn them. The whole ordeal was, in short, a trick, and our hero inadvertently resurrected his mortal foe yet again. Thankfully, Simon is no slouch and manages to slay the weakened Dracula again, breaking the curse.

Though ending the Prince of Darkness's reign twice is no small feat, Simon's greatest contribution to his family's legacy is probably some sorely needed PR work. During the events of battling his curse, our whip-wielding hunter worked hard to protect the local villagers and defeat the evil plaguing them. His efforts were, in a rare turn of fate, recognised, and the rift of hatred and fear between the common people and the Belmonts was healed, even if only a little.

It is this renewed connection that both fostered powerful growth in the Belmonts while also causing some issues that would make our buddy Leon feel a bit of deja vu. Juste Belmont (Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance), the grandson of Simon, was an interesting case. Inheriting a surprising aptitude for magic from his Belnades side, but still maintaining human connections and friendships outside of the clan, Juste was possibly one of the more well-adjusted Belmonts in the clan's history.

Things go awry, as they often do, when his best friend, Maxim, returns from a training mission with amnesia apart from the certain knowledge that their other friend, Lydie, was kidnapped and taken into a mysterious castle. With whip in hand and magic at the ready, Juste would venture into the dangerous building.

Much like the originator of the clan, our hero's quest does take a bit of a turn. You see, Maxim had been a bit jealous of the mighty, magical Belmont, and decided in his infinite wisdom to hunt down the remains of Dracula in order to resurrect the Dark Lord and one-two punch evil into oblivion. Things don't go as planned, and Maxim is partially possessed by Dracula's spirit. He himself kidnaps Lydie to lure Juste into battle to end that pesky bloodline once and for all! He is not successful.

It's a bit sad that Juste never actually fights the dark Count, only contending with a shadow of the evil power. However, I have a soft spot for the guy, as he is one of the first Belmonts to have a bit of personality outside of defeating evil! Juste is, as it turns out, an avid interior decorator. During the events of Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, the player can find multiple items of furniture that Juste will happily add to an empty room in the castle.

The next descendant of note is possibly the most influential member of the family, for better or worse. Often called the most powerful Belmont, even recognised by the Vampire Killer itself as the epitome of the clan's power, Richter Belmont (Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) represents both the highest high and the lowest low of the Belmont line during his late 18th-century escapades.

Let's start off with the good. Richter's first taste of vampire slaying was relatively early, as he was only 19 when the Count's dark priest, Shaft, captured Richter's girlfriend and a few other women from a local town. Blazing a trail through Dracula's forces, our whippy warrior teams up with one of the captured women, a young girl named Maria Renard, to take on the dark priest; Dracula's loyal second in command, Death; and the vampire lord himself.

The young slayer is victorious in his quest, saving the imprisoned women and even becoming a very formidable fighter in the interim, using martial skills and magical attacks never before seen and mastered by very few after. However, as is often the case with anything Dracula-related, things do go awry.

After the defeat of the Dark Lord, Richter hits a massive slump and a depressive spell. With Dracula defeated, he is no longer needed; his one small taste of glory gone. Convinced by his dark thoughts, the erstwhile saviour of mankind decides against living a peaceful life and instead sets his will to finding a way to bring his former foe back for a fight that could last eternity.

Naturally, these are all the machinations of the Dark Priest, Shaft, who managed to fuel the darkest parts of Richter to manipulate him into darker deeds. Thankfully, the spell is broken via the efforts of Maria Renard and the recently returned Alucard during the events of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, leading to the destruction of the Dark Lord's castle once more.

The events leave a mark on our hero, regretfully. The shame and guilt Richter felt for his failing would eventually lead him to make a pivotal shift in the Belmont lineage: they would give up the Vampire Killer (for a while) and go into hiding until it would be time to face the Dark Lord for one last time at the turn of the century, in 1999.

The Belmont's departure from the world for a time is a pretty fascinating stretch in the series lore, as evil seldom rests even if the heroes are doing some soul-searching. Thankfully, the world is not without its protectors, with multiple families and organisations taking up the slack, such as the Morrises, whom we'll get acquainted with soon.

Though our favourite vampire hunters would pop in every now and again to remind their replacements of their duty, the clan does indeed manage to stay out of the limelight for the two centuries that follow… until the Demon Castle War.

In a baffling turn, the most exciting and impactful event in Castlevania history is very much unexplored and shrouded in mystery! This massive conflict took place near the turn of the century, having forces both mortal and supernatural battling it out with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.

Though the events themselves are unknown for the most part, what we do know is that the forces of good were victorious! Dracula's forces were beaten back, and the Count himself, along with his titular castle, were sealed into the solar eclipse, finally ending the Count's reign… if not his machinations. The final member of the Belmont line responsible for this victory, and my personal favourite descendant, was Julius Belmont (Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow).

Julius is an interesting character in that he is often in a supporting role instead of heading the charge to face evil. The events of the Sorrow games take place in the future years 2035 and 2036, starring the prospective reincarnation of Dracula, Soma Cruz. Since it's been more than three decades since his last hurrah, our aged vampire slayer is almost in his 60's, so maybe it's understandable that he'd rather let the youngsters have a crack at the whole defeating evil thing.

Nonetheless, the last Belmont is no chump, as he is both a pretty challenging boss and playable in an alternative game mode. In a fun nod to Trevor, he is even joined by a Belnades witch, Yoko Belnades, and Genya Arikado, one of Alucard's many personas.

And with that, the legacy of the Belmont clan comes to a close, at least for the time being. However, our trip down this genealogical rollercoaster is not quite done! Next, we'll have a quick look at the prominent offshoots from the Belmont Clan, as well as the alternate versions of the family's beginning.

The Offshoots

Of the "secondary" families, none is more prominent than the Morris clan. As Richter steered the Belmonts into their long period of dormancy, the Vampire Killer and its burden were entrusted to this family of skilled fighters. The first member to make use of the artefact was Quincy Morris, who slew the Count in 1897 but succumbed to his wounds soon after.

His son, John Morris (Castlevania: Bloodlines), would continue in his father's footsteps soon after. Joining forces with a mysterious spearman, Eric Lecarde (Castlevania: Bloodlines), John fought and bested Dracula's niece, Elizabeth Bartley, in a European tour of dark beasts and battle.

It was after John's exploits that it was discovered there was a price for using the Vampire Killer for those outside of the mainline family. The sacred tool would sap the user's life force to fuel its vampire-killing powers, leading to an early demise for any poor soul wielding its power.

The only known Morris able to unlock the whip's full power without paying said price was the third known member of the family (and John's son), Jonathan Morris (Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin). Though he would eventually face the combined might of a Dracula and Death tag-team, Jonathan's first exploit was taking out a wannabe Dark Lord, Brauner.

The Lecarde family, much like the Morrises, were bequeathed a relic to both keep and use to fend off evil. Guardians of the Alucard Spear, a complementary weapon to the Vampite Killer, this family was, regretfully, destined for much tragedy.

Though John and Eric were victorious in their campaign against Bartley, John's death left the spearman with no ally to call for aid. When a suspicious new master started crawling around the Dark Lord's castle, Eric went in for a look-see, only to be bested by the new denizen, Brauner. Even worse, Eric's daughters, Stella and Loretta Lecarde (Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin), followed after their father and were turned into vampires in front of their dying father's eyes.

In his grief, Eric was bound to the castle as a spirit, aiding those with a grudge against the vampire. Luckily, his story is one of closure, even if bittersweet. Within the span of a few years, Jonathan Morris would be attracted to the castle and would eventually both defeat Brauner and release the sisters Lecarde from their vampiric curse, allowing the long-suffering Eric to finally rest.

In addition to these fine families, whole organisations were formed during the Belmonts' exodus, though few of them are noteworthy. The Belnades, of course, seem to have a somewhat solid presence throughout history, for example. Another order of note is the 19th-century Order of Ecclesia. This collection of scholars would, seemingly, work toward fulfilling mankind's greatest dream! While it goes poorly, the order does train up Shanoa(Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia), a disciple of the order and a precursor to the Aria of Sorrow protagonist.

The Alternative Timelines

The first false start is the whole reason I began this mad rambling: Castlevania Legends for the Game Boy. Released in 1997, the title featured the origin of the Belmont clan as well as the first female Belmont, Sonia. The narrative featured a mysterious man gathering demonic power in order to become a Dark Lord. The man's (Dracula) son (Alucard) would rebel, eventually running into the young Sonia Belmont and creating an instant bond.

The two would team up to defeat the newly forged lord, with Sonia wielding her slain grandfather's magic whip. Upon their eventual victory, the two would depart, only for Sonia to give birth to a son, a descendant of both Belmont and Dracula's blood, beginning the family's intertwined history with the vampire.

Sonia would, regretfully, be wiped from the canon five years later with the release of Castlevania: Lament of Innocence and the introduction of Leon's journey. However, Sonia does live on to this day! She is an unlockable character in the Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania DLC, and in a hilarious Freudian slip, the protagonist for Belmont's Curse was erroneously referred to as Sonia in a PlayStation Editorial Hub article.

Circling back to Alucard sharing in Belmont blood, the second time the origin of Castlevania was reworked was in the now-ended Castlevania: Lords of Shadow series. Released for the PlayStation 3 in 2010, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was a stark contrast to the series so far, featuring a much grittier narrative and three-dimensional, high-octane combat.

The first Belmont of this timeline is Gabriel (Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2). A knight of the Brotherhood of Light and wielder of the Vampire Killer Combat Cross, Gabe is tasked with hunting down and defeating the titular Lords of Shadow to prevent the end of humanity.

Grieving his dead wife and angry at the world, the whip-wielding warrior does just that and even faces off against the Prince of Darkness, the actual, literal devil. He fights and defeats Satan. Fitting the grittier narrative, however, things are not as clear-cut as they seem, and Gabriel is betrayed by the order he serves.

It turns out our hero had been manipulated from the start by his allies, mentor, and the order as a whole, all with the goal of gaining more power. Even the death of his wife, Maria, was orchestrated by his supposed friends, leading to our already irate hero casting aside his whip and title.

In an absolutely fantastic bit of storytelling, and something the potential of which I mourn to this day, Gabriel is forced to become a vampire to defeat a previously unknown evil, The Forgotten One, which was released due to the deaths of the Lords of Shadow. After defeating this powerful demon and absorbing its power, Gabriel took a new moniker… The Dragon, Dracul.

However, the story does not end there. Unbeknownst to good old Gabe, he had conceived a son years before. Trevor Belmont (Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2), hidden away by the Brotherhood, grew up knowing little of his father's fate for decades. However, after the events of Lords of Shadow, the Brotherhood of Light, being the kindhearted organisation it is, manipulated Trevor into hunting down his father to avenge his mother's death.

The two meet, with the newly forged Count Dracula unfamiliar with the young warrior. The battle goes poorly for Trevor, being impaled by his own Combat Cross. With his final breath, the son revealed the truth of their connection to the father, causing Dracula to panic and infuse Trevor with his vampiric blood, to no avail. Buried and seemingly dead, Trevor instead was slowly healing and turning into a vampire… creating the man known as Alucard.

During Alucard's thirty-year nap, an enraged Dracula would unleash his horde of monsters onto the Brotherhood's holdings, inadvertently slaying Trevor's wife, Sypha. The third Belmont, however, escaped.

Simon Belmont (Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate) would join his father years later, rocking a very cool barbarian-esque look. The father-son duo would hunt down and defeat the Dark Lord, though they are not quite convinced of their victory. Simon would then go on to reinvent the Brotherhood of Light to be more worthy of the title.

Far, far in the future, Alucard and a resurrected Dracula would meet the final descendant of the line, Victor Belmont (Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2), though little is known of his exploits or history.

Before we have a quick look at a more modern spinoff, there is one last stop on this crazy train. Though the Lords of Shadow saga games are probably better known, and the PlayStation 2 titles are remembered with more geniality, the honour of being the first 3D Castlevania titles belongs to Castlevania and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness on the Nintendo 64.

Largely self-contained and unrelated to the rest of the series, these games would introduce yet another offshoot of the Belmont clan, the Schneider family. Reinhardt Schneider would have the dubious honour of fighting the forces of evil alongside Carrie Belnades and the wolfman, Cornell.

Now, I admit that I am somewhat unfamiliar with our last entry, Castlevania: Order of Shadows, as it was a mobile game and not available in Europe. The game takes place during the 16th century, when the titular order, a group of fanatics worshipping Dracula, attempts to bring the grumpy old Count back to life.

The title follows the exploits of Desmond Belmont and his two younger sisters, Zoe and Dolores Belmont, as they combat this looming threat. So, if we're being pedantic, Rose is the fourth female Belmont and the second that is playable. I rest my (very long) case, your honour.

Bidding goodbye to these alternate timelines and what-could-have-beens, our look into the long legacy of whippy warriors comes to an end. Spanning numerous years, games, and consoles, I don't think there is another family of heroes like them. It's easy to see why they are held so dear and why it's such a shame that, much like their time after Richter, they've been absent from our lives.

However, with the coming of Castlevania: Belmont's Curse (which I insist on calling Curse of Belmont to keep the X of Y theme going), it may very well be that we're looking upon a triumphant return. The genius of Castlevania is how easy it is to fill in the many gaps in its tragic history, from prequels to side stories, so I, for one, am hoping to see which member of the family we'll be introduced to next.