The Land of the Dragon

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page revision: 01, last edited: 10 April 2021

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An early prototype of Bloodborne's map features a significant area that was removed entirely in subsequent builds. This video on Sinclair Lore hypothesises how the area may have worked and what may have happened to it during development, using prototype maps and concept art as evidence. The area's official name is unknown, but some concept art which potentially depicts it uses the name "The Land of the Dragon".

This prototype map, datamined from a pre-retail build, features a large mountainous area behind the Grand Cathedral - a space that, in the retail release, is completely empty. As it has no equivalent in the retail release, labels have been added to help contextualise its position.

B: A bridge over a chasm in the mountains. A close up of the bridge is provided above, showing that it leads to a portcullis.

While the mountains, castle and bridge were completely removed, it does appear that a structure adjacent to the Grand Cathedral did remain until relatively late in development. A building behind Upper Cathedral Ward is visible on a development map that closely resembles the version in the retail build. What may be the same structure is visible in the concept art for Upper Cathedral Ward, which shows high brick walls and trees on top of a raised area partially visible in the upper right corner. It appears to have been deleted prior to the build used in the Project Beast trailer.

The method of accessing the mountain path leading to the castle appears to have been a shaft above the altar, similar to the means by which the Research Hall is accessed in The Old Hunters. While the mountainous area was deleted entirely, the elevator lift shaft remained until relatively late, and its surviving collision map shows that it led to second, hidden altar above the first.

This second altar, which may be an unused Cathedral Ward location internally referred to as 月の秘所 ("Secret Place of the Moon"), was a copy of the first, and may be where Ebrietas is shown in the Project Beast trailer. It no longer exists in the retail build, but another hidden altar does - the Altar of Despair. This is also a hidden altar where Ebrietas is located, and reached via a secret lift - albeit one leading below, rather than above, the Grand Cathedral.

Concept art may help explain what happened to the "Land of the Dragon". In the online portfolio of concept artist Tstutomu Kitazawa, who has a history of working with From Software, is an image of a knight entitled "Dragon's Guardian". While the artwork is not attributed to a specific project, "Dragon's Guardian" very closely resembles the unnamed knight who was datamined from the retail build of Bloodborne. While some details are different, such as the wooden leg and helmet crest, the overall design is almost identical, so it is reasonable to assume they are two versions of the same character.

While this knight was never attached to a specific area, aesthetically they clearly belong in Cainhurst, as it is a medieval castle full of armoured knights with missing legs. Significantly, the name "Dracula" is derived from the word "Dragon", suggesting that the "Dragon" referred to could be vampiric - a land the vampire, just like Cainhurst.

Kitazawa's portfolio also includes two other pieces of interest. The first, "The Dragon's Sanctuary", appears to be the area that "Dragon's Guardian" is standing in, and is a church with some kind of unidentified object behind the altar. The object is large, dark, and is a mixture of organic shapes and a rock texture, similar in aesthetic (though not shape) to the rocks in the Nightmare of Mensis. The second piece, "The Land of the Dragon", depicts a cathedral-like castle surrounded by mountains, reached by climbing the mountains and crossing a bridge.

If all three of Kitazawa's "Dragon" pieces of art are related, then it is possible that "The Land of the Dragon" depicts the removed area behind the Grand Cathedral, with "The Dragon's Guardian" as a potential boss.

Notably, none of the three pieces feature a literal dragon, despite having "Dragon" in their titles. There is dragon imagery present in the form of winged gargoyles, but no flying lizards. If "the Dragon" is vampiric, however, this is consistent.

Notably, "The Land of Dragon" aesthetically resembles the Nightmare of Mensis more so than any other area in either Bloodborne or Dark Souls 3. As the Nightmare of Mensis is also surrounded by mountains, it is possible that "The Land of the Dragon" concept eventually became the Nightmare of Mensis, after moving it from the Waking World to the Dream.

The story of "The Land of the Dragon" was further complicated by the discovery of more concept art, this time credited to Jocus Wang, although no associated portfolio appears to exist. Wang's art appears to simply be the concept art of Cainhurst published in the Bloodborne Official Artworks book, but mislabelled as belonging to Dark Souls 3. However, the artwork is not identical - some assets, such as the banners and windows, are different, and the player character is dressed as though they are in Dark Souls rather than Bloodborne.

There is no reason to assume this is a mistake or a fan edit, however. Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne share code and assets, and were developed alongside each other, so it is entirely possible that concepts created for one game ended up in the other.

It is unclear how this all fits together, but the hypothesis put forward in the Sinclair Lore video is as follows:

1. A very early draft of Bloodborne climaxed in "The Land of the Dragon", a castle in the mountains behind the Grand Cathedral, reached by ascending the altar. This castle was aesthetically similar to the Nightmare of Mensis, but its role in the history of Yharnam was closer to that of Cainhurst - an old vampire castle that hinted at the city's inhuman origins.

2. "The Land of the Dragon" was then repurposed into the Nightmare of Mensis. The game still climaxed in a castle in the mountains, but those mountains were now floating in the Dream, not sitting behind the Grand Cathedral.

3. Without an area behind the Grand Cathedral, the altar elevator's role was gradually pared back until it became the optional Altar of Despair area, before being repurposed more significantly for The Old Hunters.

4. Moving the castle to the Dream changed its role in the world. It was now an abandoned relic that Mensis found in the Dream, not an older part of Yharnam, and was no longer tied to the vampire aspect of the story.

5. As the vampire castle concept was crucial to Bloodborne's story, a new area had to be created to replace "The Land of the Dragon". This was based on a concept either originally created for Dark Souls 3, or possibly created so that it could be used in either Dark Souls 3 or Bloodborne as From saw fit. This became Cainhurst.

The above is based entirely in circumstantial evidence, but does make sense of all the oddities discovered.