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Lore
Future Press game guide description: "Djura is a retired hunter holed up in a tower in Old Yharnam. He is notable for having been both uncommonly kind and dreadfully foolish during his active days, a fact still reflected in his devotion to protecting the once-human beasts of the ruined district."
Djura was an old hunter known through his contact with the Powder Kegs, the heretics of The Workshop. The Powder Kegs adoration of complex design and big booms culminated in weapon designs that contrast with those traditionally of the Workshop. The word “Djura” means “animal” in Swedish. Djura's favored weapon; the Stake Driver, was fashioned by the Powder Kegs. Its description reads:
The stake driver, with its queerly complex design, violently drives the stake into the flesh of foes.
It allows for high-damage critical attacks, but is difficult to use and leaves it wielder wide open.
But none of this should bother a mere Powder Keg.
The line “but none of this should bother a mere Powder Keg” in the description of the Stake Driver implies two things. The first is that the Powder Kegs were reckless, and the second is that Djura was a Powder Keg. The logic is that the flaws of the weapon would not bother a Powder Keg, and together with Djura's predilection for the stake driver and the fact that he holds a Powder Keg hunter badge, this indicates that Djura was in fact a Powder Keg. The eventually fate of the Powder Kegs is unknown, though all item references to them are given in the past tense, heavily implying that the order has been disbanded or executed. It is interesting to note that the Stake Driver's blade strongly resembles the tip of Ludwig's Holy Blade, though what this means is unclear.
Djura was a Hunter that resided in the Hunter's Dream, like the player. His dialogue reveals that he no longer dreams, indicating that Gehrman released him from the Dream. Djura was a Hunter during the time of Old Yharnam and evidently, once participated in the hunts that took place there.
Djura is said to have had 3 companions. It is likely that at least 2 of these companions can be found in the world of Bloodborne. There is a hunter at the base of the clocktower Djura stands atop who is non-hostile towards the beasts, but like Djura, is very hostile towards the player. The Bloodborne Future Press guide gives this hunter the moniker “Djura's Ally” and they wear the Charred Hunter set, which implies they were present for the burning of Old Yharnam. The second of Djura's companions can be found in the Hunter's Nightmare. This Hunter has evidently become drunk with blood due to their presence in the Nightmare, but can be found in a cave full of beasts at the end of the river of blood, with their back to the beasts, implying they are defending them. The gatling gun the hunter wields was used by the youngest of Djura's 3 companions. Both these companions appear to share Djura's ideals that the beasts should not be harmed, but rather protected from hunters like the player.
As a Hunter, Djura's trademark was his grey wolf cap. The cap resembles a hunter's hat but with sides that are heavily frayed and flecked with grey. The cap may be a reference to Sif from Dark Souls and a reference to Djura being a 'lone wolf' in his ideals. Djura painted his garb with ash in a ceremony to ward off blood. This ash was likely the remains of beasts that Djura or his fellow hunters had killed. Hunters regard the burning of beasts as a ritual of purification. The logic may be that by covering one's clothes in the ash of these burned beasts, one is covering themselves in what has been purified and is therefore immune to the effects of blood. While this logic is fallible, it is a sign of the times in which Djura lived. Superstition was rampant amongst the old hunters. They believed metal and trinkets would ward of beast blood, that “beast blood crept up the right leg” and that the scourge was infectious.
If we observe Djura we can see that he has a covering over his right eye. The eye of the blood-drunk hunter tells us that when a hunter goes drunk with blood they are said to be taken by the Nightmare. It may be that Djura participated in enucleation in an attempt to avoid being drawn into the Hunter's Nightmare like the youngest of his companions. We see in other characters like Father Gascoigne and enemies like the Huntsmen that the removal of the eyes or at the very least, the covering of them, is a practice still engaged in throughout Yharnam. This makes sense since it is the eye of the blood-drunk hunter that gives the player access to the Nightmare, after its pupil has collapsed and turned to mush. Whether removing ones eyes was just another superstition or whether it actually allowed a hunter to escape their fate of being drawn into the Hunter's Nightmare is unconfirmed, though doubtful. The description of the Eye of the Blood-drunk hunter explicitly states that being drawn into the Nightmare is a fate no hunter can escape.
Yet what makes a hunter? Through dialogue and descriptions we find out that Djura renounced his Hunter's vows. Djura knows that the 'beasts' the player encounters in Yharnam are actually people who have transformed due to the scourge, and he has decided that he will no longer hunt beasts, but rather protect them. Djura appears to have come to the realisation that the hunt is cyclical. Hunter's hunt beasts, hunter's ingest blood, the blood transforms them into beasts and they are hunted by hunters. In the face of this realisation, Djura could do nothing else but feel defeated by all he had been working toward; the elimination of beasts in Yharnam. The Ashen Hunter set says that Djura was regarded as both uncommonly kind and dreadfully foolish. These two descriptions work hand in hand. Djura's decision to defend the beasts of Old Yharnam is certainly uncommonly kind, his contemporaries overwhelmingly believed that the best way to deal with beasts was to have them killed and burned. It was also dreadfully foolish, simply because the beasts he defends are too far gone to be human any more. They are dangerous, and to defend them is folly since they will turn on you without hesitation.
After renouncing his hunter's vows, Djura sealed off Old Yharnam warning away any hunters who would seek to enter the “valley hamlet”. The Charred Hunter set description indicates that at one point hunters did return to Old Yharnam to finish off the beasts that hadn't been burned in the fire there. He will do whatever it takes to stop you harming the beasts, but is not above reason. If approached from Yarhar'gul, Djura will be non-hostile and ask how the player managed to get into Old Yharnam, indicating he does not know about the Unseen Village. If the player agrees to spare the beasts he will be non-hostile, but if they tell him otherwise he is merciless in his response.
Theories
Title of theory.
Dialogue
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