Shadow Whip



The Shadow Whip is Dracula's neutral and main weapon in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. It is a supernatural 'whip' which he creates from his own blood. It has many of the same moves and attacks as the Combat Cross.

Shadow Whip
''Gabriel's deeply rooted training with the Combat Cross remained in Dracula. The Prince of Darkness now uses his own blood, which takes the shape of a sinuous whip, to inflict pain and death wherever he goes. The dark fluid is bounded by a supernatural force, and it hardens on impact. Before they die, its victims feel as if thousands of fangs penetrated their flesh, breaking bones and tearing their life force from them.''

Shadow Daggers
''Making a small cut on his wrist, and using the same power to mould his blood as for the Shadow Whip, Dracula is able to throw a high-speed shadow projectile at his enemies. When it hits, the blood particles harden, dealing a forceful blow that can destabilize a target.''

Overview
After defeating the Forgotten One, Gabriel renounced his old identity and shattered his Combat Cross in his bare hand. Upon his return to the mortal world he took the name "Dracul" (though the people knew him as Dracula).

Mirror of Fate
Dracula first displayed his use of the Shadow Whip against his -then unknown- son Trevor, along with the Void Sword and Chaos Claws. In the end he was victorious over his son, to his regret and horror upon discovering the truth. He would then use it again against his grandson Simon and Trevor, who had been reborn as Alucard.

Lords of Shadow 2
Dracula still possesses the power of the Shadow Whip, and this time players are able to control it.

Powers
The Shadow Whip manifests as a red gauntlet on Dracula's right arm. From it the whip springs when he attacks. Like the Combat Cross, it is the only weapon through which Dracula can attain Focus to power the Void and Chaos powers.

Unlike the Combat Cross, the Shadow Whip does not possess any other abilities such as the ability to grapple enemies or objects, or alternate means of killing, like the stake. This could be due to the whip being composed of Dracula's blood only.

The Shadow Whip's appearence depends on Dracula's current level of mastery. At it's basest level, the whip appears as simply a hardened strand of Dracul's corrupted blood. At level 2, the blood takes on a dark maroon color and seems to be augmented with magic. At max mastery, the Shadow Whip becomes a bright, deep red in color and becomes a full on mystical energy whip. It looks similar in appearance to the Vampire Killer's chain whip when augmented with Shadow Magic.

Mastering the Shadow Whip allows Dracula to increase its damage, and to increase the blood enemy drop. It also change the visual effects of the attacks.

Trivia

 * The Shadow Whip was called the "Blood Whip" before. Despite the name change, fans still the call the weapon by it's orginal name.