Gehrman, the First Hunter

Lore

Gehrman is a kindly old man whom you'll first meet upon awakening in the Hunter's Dream. He is the workshop's founder and the very first hunter, though due to his advanced age he now serves only as an advisor; as such, he has a wealth of experience and will provide you with his wisdom and guidance throughout your exploration of Yharnam.

Gehrman inhabits the Hunter’s Dream and was put there as a guide, a helper to the hunters to advise them, such is his purpose. Gehrman was associates with Master Laurence and Provost Willem back at the college of Byrgenwerth. Gehrman's weapon; the Burial Blade, his attire and his style of combat were all deeply influential and characterised hunters till the Healing Church with Ludwig took the hunter’s style of combat in a new direction.

Gehrman was the founder of the Workshop, an institution designed to combat the beasts caused by blood usage. His Burial Blade is a masterpiece, crafted at the workshop. It is forged of siderite, a mineral said to have fallen from the heavens. Gehrman’s clothing existed before the workshop, and was created by making adjustments to everyday clothing. It later became the basis for all hunter’s garb. The attire was adjusted to be lightweight, allowing engagement with beasts at speed.

During his days at Byrgenwerth, Gehrman entered the tombs of the gods. It was in the underground labyrinth that he discovered a great old bell. This bell’s ring resonates across worlds, and Gehrman used it as a special signal to call hunters from other worlds to cross the gap and co-operate. The scholars of Byrgenwerth discovered special blood in the tombs. This discovery made their dreams of evolution a reality, but its use led to metamorphosis into beasts. Gehrman trained the first hunters as students or apprentices. Among those students was Lady Maria. Maria had great admiration for Gehrman, and Gehrman in turn was possessed of a “curious mania” towards her. Evidently Gehrman loved Maria, but whether the feelings were reciprocated, or even known about, is unclear.

Gehrman has clearly occupied the Hunter’s Dream for a long time. He is an old man, obscure in the waking world. His dialogue while he is sleeping reveals that he desperately wishes to escape the Hunter’s Dream, and in fact, Gehrman regards it as a Nightmare. He suffers from restlessness as he sleeps, but he will sleep calmly through the night if the player kills the Orphan of Kos and its shadowy presence.

Should the player defeat Mergo’s Wet Nurse and silence the nightmare newborn’s harrowing cry, Gehrman will offer them mercy. To him, mercy means escaping from the Hunter’s Dream, and to do so he will kill you with his Burial Blade, if the player consents. If the player decides to reject this offer, Gehrman takes it upon himself to force death upon you at his hands. Interestingly, when Gehrman dies, he uses the exact same death animation as Lady Maria.

Theories

An Interpretation of Gehrman's Story

Gehrman is from Hemwick Charnel Lane

Dialogue

Sources





NEXT: Gilbert




Comments

Add a New Comment


Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License