Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos

Lore

Ebrietas is a left behind Great One who inhabits the Altar of Despair at the back of the Grand Cathedral in Yharnam.

Ebrietas is a Great One from the land of Isz, a plane located in the deeper reaches of the Chalice Dungeon labyrinth. According to the Choir, the land of Isz lies in contact with the Cosmos, which allowed the Great Ones who resided there to function on transcendental planes of thought. The Augur of Ebrietas suggests that the Church was able to use phantasms, which are slug-like invertebrates known to be augurs of the Great Ones, to partially summon Ebrietas. We can see this in the game, when the player uses the Augur of Ebrietas a cosmic rift opens up and a number of Ebrietas' tentacles forcefully project through before being suddenly severed off to fall to the ground.

The initial encounter with Ebrietas through her phantasms marked the start of an inquiry into the Cosmos from within the old labyrinth, essentially a search for the land of Isz which lies in contact with the Cosmos. To undertake the task, an elite delegation of the Healing Church known as the Choir was formed. The Choir was formed out of those high-ranking, elite members of the Healing Church who founded the Orphanage, a place where these members could pursue scholarship and experimentation. As the name suggests, the subjects of their experimentation were those vulnerable children, with no one to miss them, who would become "potent unseen thinkers" for the Healing Church.

The land of Isz is reached through a ritual performed with the Great Isz Chalice. This chalice was brought back to the surface after the time of the Byrgenwerth schism and during an inquiry into the cosmos from within the labyrinth. Its ability to unlock the land of Isz allowed the Choir to have audience with Ebrietas face to face, rather than through partial summoning.

Perhaps upon discovering Ebrietas the Choir believed that they had finally had the breakthrough they needed. They had made contact with a seemingly legitimate Great One, and surely more would follow. However the discovery of Ebrietas revealed a startling truth to the scholars; that at some point in history there had been a mass departure of Great Ones, and that as the Augur of Ebrietas description notes; Ebrietas herself had been abandoned. As it turned out, the Choir and Ebrietas actually had goals that aligned in that both were seeking to rediscover the Great Ones, that "true greatness" from long ago.

The Choir Garb says that:

Together with the left behind Great One, they look to the
skies, in search of astral signs, that may lead them to the
rediscovery of true greatness.

We know of no other Great One described as left-behind that has come into contact with the Choir other than Ebrietas. This description therefore indicates that the Choir and Ebrietas began working together to make contact with the Great Ones of the Cosmos. This also makes sense when we consider that Ebrietas is not hostile towards the player to begin with, indicating a tolerance and relationship with humanity. But why did they search among the Cosmos?

The Choir stumbled upon an epiphany, very suddenly and
quite by accident. Here we stand, feet planted in the earth,
but might the cosmos be very near us, only just above our
heads?

and:

"The sky and the cosmos are one. - The Choir."

Not only had the Choir received the epiphany that the Cosmos are very close by, but they also knew that Ebrietas, along with other Great Ones, had existed in close proximity with the Cosmos. In the world of Bloodborne the Cosmos are not the great chasm of space and stars above the atmosphere, but a plane that permeates and inhabits the space very close to that of the people of Yharnam, in the sky just above their heads. However, the limited human intellect is unable to function on such a transcendental plane, and must receive help from beings of higher planes (the Great Ones) for guidance. In order to elevate their thoughts, just as Provost Willem had attempted to do by lining his brain with eyes, the Choir attempted to make contact with those Great Ones that inhabited the cosmos, a place so close yet so far out of reach. To do so they tried a great number of experiments. They tried using Ebrietas' phantasms to reach a lofty plane of darkness, but failed to make contact with the outer reaches of the cosmos, instead creating a small exploding star. This is clearly a very dangerous means of attempted contact and was discontinued. They tried creating contact through sound waves, like the bells that are used to contact other planes of existence by the Hunters. To do so they made a bell that projects arcane sound across planes of existence, this too was likely using phantasms as they are closely associated with imbuing objects with arcane power (the Empty Phantasm Shell for example). Unfortunately this experiment was also a failure. It may be that the brainsuckers are also a product of the Choir's experimentation. The head of a brainsucker appears to have been cut open and a phantasm inserted. These phantasms ravenously seek out the insight or eyes, that line the brains of those they come into contact with.

Perhaps it was after the failure of these experiments that the members of the Choir realized the potential of their young orphan test subjects. As noted, the Orphanage Key explains that the children of the orphanage became potent unseen thinkers for the Healing Church. When the player travels to the Orphanage they find a vast number of Celestial Emissaries. Celestial meaning positioned in or relating to the sky, or outer space as observed in astronomy and emissary meaning a person sent as a diplomatic representative on a special mission. These creatures were clearly created to make contact with the Great Ones of the cosmos, acting as emissaries on behalf of mankind. It is unknown how exactly they are created, but it is certain that they are not natural. Completing the Imposter Iosefka quest will reveal to the player that those sent to her clinic became the Celestial Emissaries found within. Iosekfa does give an interesting clue about how these Emissaries are made when she says:

"I've received another patient. This time, I'll be trying old blood. I've achieved much. And I owe it all to you. Take this, as thanks. [Receive Blue Elixir x3]
Custom made. And cheers, to the discovery of kinship. Doesn't it make you feel warm inside?"

This dialogue strongly indicates Iosefka anaesthetised her patients through use of the blue elixir and that it is old blood that allowed her to create the emissaries. The created emissaries are known as Kin of the Cosmos. Ebrietas herself is called Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos. The Kin Coldblood item reads:

Coldblood of inhuman kin of the cosmos,
brethren of the Great Ones.

These pieces of evidence paint a picture. Iosefka, a member of the Choir, was able to use blood collected from Ebrietas to metamorphose (blood transforms those that imbibe it, a phenomenon seen throughout Bloodborne), her patients into kin of Ebrietas. The heads of these kin are swollen with eyes, a legacy of Willem's research, and they emit an unusual sound seemingly unconsciously, as though they are broadcasting. This use of Ebrietas' blood was perhaps a major milestone for the Choir and those carrying out the experiments. Prior to this, the Church had forced their cerebral patients to imbibe water until their heads expanded with the markings of internal eyes, but now the blood of an actual Great One meant that the experiments began to look less like the Living Failures and Saint Adeline by the end of her quest, and more like the Celestial Emissaries, whole and 'healthy' beings with apparent agency.

Ebrietas bleeds two kinds of blood. The first kind is the common red blood (like red blood cells) that she will spit at the player. The second is blood with a clear, serum like color (like plasma) and is seemingly the predominant type of blood she houses. The serum-like blood is not only found in Ebrietas, but also in a number of other creatures related to the Great Ones. "Serum blood" is a contested blood type, a careless merger of Iosefka's Blood Vial and "Brown Blood". Many Kin enemies have blue-gray blood, and other enemies (e.g. Orphan of Kos, Brain of Mensis, Garden of Eyes, Children of Rom) supposedly bleeding "serum blood" actually have red blood. This seems to depend on where you encounter them. The creatures that may have serum blood include: Brainsucker, Children of Rom, Garden of Eyes, Winter Lantern, Celestial Child, Small Celestial Emissary, Fluorescent Flower, Rom, the Vacuous Spider (Serum will bleed from her head, while red blood bleeds from her body), Amygdala, Celestial Emissary (boss), Brain of Mensis, Living Failures, Orphan of Kos, and Provost Willem.

There are two major types of enemy in Bloodborne: Beast and Kin. According to the Kin Coldblood item description, kin enemies are known as Kin of the Cosmos, and are therefore likely related to Ebrietas by blood (Ebrietas being the daughter of the Cosmos). While the above creatures do bleed the serum like blood, evidence from the Official (Future Press) Bloodborne Guide indicates that not all creatures that bleed the pale serum like blood are necessarily kin to Ebrietas.

Creatures identified as Kin:

  • Celestial Child (Larvae)
  • Small Celestial Emissary
  • Fluorescent Flower
  • Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos
  • Celestial Emissary (boss)

Particularly interesting is that while Rom is not considered kin by the official guide, she does drop kin coldblood upon being defeated. There are unexplained aspects to Ebrietas and her predicament that would appear to involve Rom, or a creature almost identical to Rom in form. When the player first encounters Ebrietas she is prostrated before the Altar of Despair. It may be that she is sleeping, perhaps praying or perhaps that she is overcome with sadness. It is no secret that every Great One loses its child, and then yearns for a surrogate, and perhaps this is no different for Ebrietas.

Scattered throughout the Upper Cathedral Ward the player will encounter dense concentrations of Celestial Children (or Larvae), a Kin creature. These creatures bleed pale kin blood when attacked, and almost exactly resemble a very juvenile form of the fully grown Ebrietas. Their slug like bodies, large round heads, protruding tubes upon their faces and especially, the tiny wings that look so much like Ebrietas' all give them away as her spawn. Their very existence tells us that Ebrietas and the Choir were attempting to create a child of a Great One. We can theorize how these spawn came into being through the events of Arianna's story. Arianna gives birth to a Celestial Larvae, indicating that the Church must have used human women to carry the spawn of Ebrietas. Arianna is certainly one who has imbibed much blood from those ministers of the Church, is it not likely that she would have came into the possession of the blood of Ebrietas from the Church Ministers who visited her at some point in her career? Then it took the descent of the blood moon to conceive the Celestial Child that she would give birth to. Perhaps these creatures would eventually grow up to be Great Ones, or perhaps they are pale imitations of even Ebrietas' greatness?

Atop the Altar of Despair sits a figure almost identical to Rom, the Vacuous Spider. However, this creature is seemingly dead and grey. As we know through the questline of Queen Annalise of Cainhurst; the Altar is able to reverse the flow of time under special circumstances. Could it be that Ebrietas placed her child upon the Altar in an attempt to bring it back? The proliferation of Celestial Children certainly indicates that Ebrietas sought a surrogate, so then where is her original child, if not on the Altar? The ties between Ebrietas and this Rom like creature go deeper than proximity. Ebrietas' name gives us a clue. Ebrietas may get her name from the Ebrietas Butterfly, a species of butterfly found in South America, which matches the, although admittedly distorted form, of Ebrietas as having an almost Butterfly-like appearance. What is even more interesting is what the Ebrietas butterfly looks like in its larval stage as a caterpillar. From this we can see that the resemblance to Rom is almost uncanny. This information is very illuminating and leads to much speculation. From it we can be relatively confident in theorizing that Rom's form is a larval stage of the same kind of Great One as Ebrietas, indicating the creature atop the Altar is indeed the child of Ebrietas that has since died, leaving Ebrietas abandoned once more.

In the end, the fact that Imposter Iosefka is still attempting to make contact with the Great Ones using the means of the Choir, may indicate that the Choir's attempts at contact were never successful, that despite the many experiments and seeming success, Ebrietas and her human helpers were unable rediscover the true greatness they sought so desperately.

Theories

Ebrietas was not born a Great One

Ebrietas is the source of the Healing Church's blood

Sources








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