Part 3: Wicked Witches

Early update to make up for lack of one week before:


Dual commentary is available in the downloaded video.

Part 3: Wicked Witches (download source)
Less talking: Blip(Polsy) | Youtube(Polsy)
More talking: Blip(Polsy) | Youtube(Polsy)

Director commentary: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4



Because the music in this game is so good.
Jeanne 1 fight: Battle for the Umbra Throne



Taken from the Bayonetta Collector's Edition Guide


Luka
As a small child, Luka saw his father perish. His father, a determined journalist by the name of Antonio Redgrave, had been following an esoteric trail that led to Bayonetta's resting place. Upon her awakening, Luka witnessed his father being torn to pieces by some unseen force. Determined to get to the bottom of the matter, and expose Bayonetta for what she truly is, Luka takes up his father's torch and continues the investigation.



Transcribed from in-game text


Shuraba
A living katana, pulsing with the heart of Asura, the demon god of war. Always seeking blood, the blade will even suck out the very souls of its victims.

_{yoshesque: If you charge the sword you can pause the combo meter. Translated literally from Japanese to English it means 'the scene of bloodshed'.}



Transcribed from in-game text


Jeanne 1
A witch as powerful or more so than Bayonetta. Her piercing eyes cut through to awaken Bayonetta's lost memories.

The moonlit battlefield...
Umbra Witches...
The heir to the clan throne...
How were their pasts intertwined?

"Will you face me in this hallowed arena?"

- Vigrid Chronicles, Chapter One, Avellaneda


Dear & Decorations
With limited spiritual powers, this angel is spotted comparatively frequently within the physical, human world. Dears, with their dignified faces, are surrounded by the countless child-like faces of their Decorations.

Capriciously firing arrows, they are often mistaken for Cupid. It is said that one of their arrows, shot through the heart of a believer, can be as infatuating as the goddess of love.


Enchant
An angel shaped like a cart wheel. The impetus behind this fateful form was the Creator's desire to craft an angel designed to compel humanity to continue its struggle and feel no satisfaction at surpassing others.

Enchants protect the field of God from human encroachment and are further responsible for passing communications to Paradiso and correcting the trespasses of humanity.



Transcribed from in-game text

Antonio's Notebook


An Unknown Metal Wall
Within old Vigrid, many ancient stone structures have been preserved, being developed further as they are repaired, lending the town a peculiar sense of the historic. Modern architecture has also taken hold in Vigrid, starting with the Central Station; however, it is all to give form to the sacred institutions of the ancient sages.

The architecture gives us a glimpse into the people's deep sense of respect for their past. This town of old and new still keeps within its bounds several strange things that the modern man struggles to make head or tails of.

For instance, dark green barriers made of an as-yet-unknown metal seem to block certain alleyways. Their shape, comprised of many complex bricks, impedes one from proceeding down the ancient paths of the city as though they were a rejected visitor, even though it seems the paths saw everyday use in their distant past.

I may claim this material is "as-yet-unknown", but in reality, I haven't a clue regarding its composition. It is harder and heavier than anything a human being is capable of moving... Or so I have surmised from examining its chilly surface.

Pushing one's ear against the wall, the sounds of the other side reverberate and echo within, resounding throughout the inner workings of the wall, as if a glockenspiel was playing scales. I've never seen a metal like this, but many of the walls within the city are made from this material, and from the cliffs, one can see an enormous monument constructed from the same mysterious matter.

I wonder why these lost witches and sages scattered these walls around the city...?


Notes on the Topic of Magic I
The word witch usually conjures up images in our head of an old woman using strange magic, but peruse the history of Vigrid and you find a vastly different picture of incredibly brave women who once inhabited the area.

They were known as the Umbra Witches. While these witches are said to have manipulated magic, there remains little recorded history to back these claims. Yet, they shared many powers with their opposing counterparts the Lumen Sages, and from their records, we can gather a better view of what magic entailed.

As "Overseers of History", they possessed the ability to literally see everything in an instant, also known as Temporal Control. This technique sharpened all of the five senses, and pushed one's emotional energy to its very limits. It is a world where a falling drop of water can become a crown, and a humming-bird slowly and elegantly flaps its wings. Temporal Control is not just simply being able to recognise this world, it also enables one to boost their physical abilities and move freely within that single moment.

Temporal control requires a sound body and mind, and complete grasp of Spirit Energy. While quite similar, the witches and sages each practised this art differently, leading to different names for their respective techniques, Witch Time and Light Speed.

Witch Time... It seems that the witches on this earth fell victim to our world's passage of time and vanished into the abyss of eternity.


Notes on the Topic of Magic II
In the rigorous pursuit that are the magical arts, one method is said to have caused countless deaths during training - Witch Walk.

To the Umbra Witches it seems Witch Walk was truly indispensable. Taking their power from the Moon, this band of witches were able to draw on the power-enriching qualities of moonlight to execute high-level techniques. However, records state that Witch Walk was powered by a pact with a particularly powerful demon who would grant the power to break gravity's bonds, and not by the more common moonlit source.

As no further records remain as to the nature of this technique, any more hard facts remain unknown; however, by looking at the traces left on the buildings around Vigrid, one can make some further assumptions. The traces are, in fact, footprints left on the surfaces of the wall. They blend into the city so well that you almost never catch a glimpse of them at first glance. In fact, those without knowledge of Witch Walk would probably never notice the footprints' presence. Amongst the dirt and scars on the surface, there are many buildings in Vigrid where footprints sporadically continue along their sides. This must be none other than proof that those magic practitioners were able to literally walk on walls.

Many of these buildings where the witches have left their mark are truly strange. There are doors in unbelievably high locations, or the building may lack a path to its entrance entirely. Rejecting all intruders and living a life of solitude... Witch Walk was not just a training technique for the Umbra Witches, it was a shield that protected their way of life.


About The Umbra Witches I
Witches were ones of talent. That is my impression after years of exhaustive research into the Umbra. The word "witches" triggers within us all prejudices towards the paranormal or the supernatural; however, in this ancient city of Vigrid, the magical arts were a systematic form of scholarship. Of course, what I have learned about witches will be labelled as "fraud" by the world at large, or undoubtedly dismissed as nonsense.

I will begin these notes with items I have confirmed to be absolute facts in regards to witches. Due to their lack of contact with the outside world, we often feel that witches were a strictly hereditary order; however, this was not always the case. For one to become a witch, one must first and foremost possess incredible "Spirit Energy".

Those with the power could become witches despite being of low birth, and those without power would be forced into secular life, regardless of any blood-ties to a witch clan. Naturally, children born within a clan were often quick to grasp the concept of magic due to the environment around them, allowing their innate abilities to bloom at a much earlier age.

Coming to grips with this concept must have inspired one to further hone their Spirit Energy. These children were also able to participate in extensive drills with other witches, and only those who had shown great promise and achievement were able to take their "Witchly Vows" prior to passage into womanhood.

The exact nature of Spirit Energy remains unclear, although recognising its existence within oneself and refining this "talent" further was the one true path to produce a witch of great ability.