As for whether Queen Annalise’s story continues, it is entirely up to the player. If the player confronts the Queen, she is amused and decides to give you a choice. The player can either join the Queen and become a Vilblood, ignore her entirely, or complete the Alfred NPC Quest Line and have him slaughter her. There’s also the option to have Alfred slaughter her, have the player revive her, and then become a Vileblood. Her fate is in your hands. Though remember, even if you choose to slaughter her flesh, you can never truly kill an undead queen.
The ruler of the inhuman Vilebloods, Queen Annalise, shares an uncanny commonality with Queen Yharnam. They are both immortal. The Yharnam Stone describes, “A sacred heirloom left by Yharnam, Pthumerian Queen.”The Queen lies dead, but her horrific consciousness is only asleep, and it stirs in unsettling motions.”
At the end of the Alfred NPC Quest Line, Alfred tears Queen Annalise’s body to shreds, and yet she does not die. Instead, she drops Queenly Flesh which states, “What remains of Annalise, blood queen of Cainhurst. This pinkish lump of flesh remains warm, as if cursed. All hail the undying queen of blood!” Not only that, but if the player brings the Queenly Flesh to the Altar of Despair in the Upper Cathedral Ward, it will revive the Queen Annalise in her entirety.
This may be a clue to Queen Annalise’s immortality. While not every Vileblood became immortal, perhaps Queen Annalise was able to transcend death through not only using “forbidden” blood, but also through consuming blood dregs; the description of which reads, “They often appear in the blood of echo fiends, that is to say, the blood of hunters. Queen Annalise partakes in these blood dreg offerings, so that she may one day bear the Child of Blood, the next Vileblood heir.”
The Cainhurst Armor reveals that, “This paper-thin silver armor is said to deflect blood of ill-intent, and is what allows the royal guards to capture prey for their beloved Queen, so that one day, she may bear a Child of Blood.” From the description, it becomes apparent that it was Queen Annalise’s intention to bear a Child of Blood, or in other words, a child of the Great Ones. To do this, she created an army of Vilebloods that would hunt and capture the hunters for their empowered blood. By consuming the hunters’ blood dregs, she hoped to gain enough strength to survive birthing a Great One. As one could imagine, this made Queen Annalise a sworn enemy of the Healing Church and its hunters. Alfred tells us:
“In his time, Master Logarius led his executioners into Cainhurst Castle to cleanse it of the Vileblood. But all did not go well and Master Logarius became a blessed anchor, guarding us from evil. …Tragic, tragic time… … that Master Logarius should be abandoned in the accursed domain of the Vilebloods. I must free him, so that he may be properly honored in martyrdom.”
If you’re interested in finding out more about Bloodborne’s lore, check out our article Bloodborne’s Hidden Back Story Finally Explained and feel free to share your own interpretations of the lore in the comments.
