Zeppelin's Castle

Notice: While the subject of this article or section is canon, it has no official name and a placeholder fan name is used.

Count Michael Zeppelin's Castle

Zeppelin's Castle, also sometimes known as Castle Zeppelin, is the home of Count Michael Zeppelin, the noble leader of RKS and first antagonist of Rosenkreuzstilette. The castle rests atop a large plateau, is grand gothic in appearance, and is similar in style to Dracula's Castle in the Castlevania series. The castle is the setting of the four Zeppelin Stages. Once they all have been completed, the player then travels to Iris Palace, the home of Michael's biological daughter, Iris Zeppelin.

The boss theme that plays in the boss battles against the bosses in the first three Zeppelin Stages is "15" by AM3.

Castle Entrance (Zeppelin Stage I)

Spiritia at the beginning of the castle's entrance, and in the background, the castle itself.

Stage Titles

• Schlupfwinkel des Teufels (Pandemonium) (悪魔の巣窟, Akuma no Sôkutsu)
• Grollschwert: Der ungebetene Gast (The Uninvited Guest) (招かれざる客人, Manekarezaru Kyakujin)

Stage Music

Title	Artist	Context	Audio
The Fabricated Truth	Extra Ocean	Stage Theme

Stage Enemies

• Ant
• Demon's Cross
• Gargoyle Statue
• Hawk
• Hover (~Grollschwert~ only)
• Snake Maker
• Spear Knight

Stage Boss

• Demon's Wall

Stage Hazards

In the latter part of the stage, there are some spiked bricks that climb up and down ladders and try to touch the player character while she is climbing the ladders.

Royal Chapel (Zeppelin Stage II)

Spiritia with Freudenstachel powers in the beginning area of the Royal Chapel.

Stage Titles

• Die Göttin weinen blutige Tranen (The Goddess Cries Bloody Tears) (血の涙, Chi no Namida)
• Grollschwert: Ein dunkelroter See (A Crimson Lake) (深紅の湖, Shinku no Mizūmi)

Stage Music

Title	Artist	Context	Audio
Arima's Music No. 10	AM3	Stage Theme

Stage Enemies

• Ball Bat
• Crawling Skull
• Demon's Cross
• Eggmet
• Hover (~Grollschwert~ only)
• Skull Cannon
• Snake Maker
• Spear Knight

Stage Boss

• Poltergeist

Stage Hazards

The only thing worth noting in Zeppelin Stage 2 is the water turning blood red from the bloody drops in the latter part of the stage. Other than that, there aren't really any stage hazards save for the spikes and bottomless pits, one line of spikes so long that Spiritia Rosenberg would need to use Silberflügel "Zwei" to cross it while Grolla Seyfarth would have to have the aid of a Hover to get across it.

Castle Bridge (Zeppelin Stage III)

Spiritia in the beginning area of the Castle Bridge, which is set in the hallways before the bridge itself.

Stage Titles

• Thanatos (タナトス, Tanatosu)
• Grollschwert: Sie trägt das Kreuz (Crucifix Held Close Behind) (十字架を背に, Jūjika o Se ni)

Stage Music

Title	Artist	Context	Audio
Meteor Strike	Suketoudara's Hideout	Stage Theme
Deep Purple Moon ~The Rebirth of Death~ 黒紫月　～月彩の舞踏～Ｒｅｂｉｒｔｈ Kuro Shidzuki 〜tsukisai no butō〜 ribāsu	Sky God Corridor	Raimund's Dialogue Theme

Stage Enemies

• Crawling Skull
• Demon's Cross
• Eggmet
• Gargoyle Statue
• Skeletal Warrior
• Skull Cannon
• Skull Flamer
• Spear Knight
• Zombie

Stage Boss

• Thanatos

Stage Hazards

In the last part of Zeppelin Stage 3, there are platforms that crumble beneath the feet of the player character as soon as she walks on them.

Castle Keep (Zeppelin Stage IV)

Spiritia at the beginning area of the castle keep.

Stage Titles

• Der ewigen Dunkelheit (The Eternal Darkness) (永遠の闇, Eien no Yami)
• Grollschwert: Der Nachtgeher (The Nightwalker) (夜を往くもの, Yoru o Iku Mono)

Stage Music

Title	Artist	Context	Audio
Party of Ghost	God Melospi	Stage Theme
Cathedral -Second Movement- Cathedral第二楽章 Katedoraru dainigakushō	in the Ruins of Memories	Count Zeppelin's Dialogue Theme
Fighting Eternally	Unlimited Hellest	Count Zeppelin's Boss Theme
Human Heart, Divine Might 神の力、人の心 Kami no chikara, hito no kokoro	Unlimited Hellest	Iris Appears
Arima's Music No. 22	AM3	Freudia saves Spiritia
Sovereign's Oath 王との誓い Ō to no chikai	God Melospi	Freudia heals Spiritia

Stage Enemies

• Ball Bat
• Demon's Cross
• Eggmet
• Fire Plant
• Ice Cyclops
• Octopus
• Skull Cannon
• Skull Lantern
• Snake Maker
• Spear Knight
• Starfish

Stage Boss

• Michael Zeppelin

Stage Hazards

The high-speed falling section with spikes near the starting point is the first thing players should watch out for. The lower part has some platforming gimmicks that require players to pass through long hallways without fail.

Misc. Musical Themes

Title	Artist	Context	Audio
Zeppelin Map	[erka:es]	Stage Intro Theme
Arima's Music No. 15	AM3	Boss Theme (Stages 1-3)

Gallery

At the end of the first half of the entrance is a shaft with plenty of items as well as a Spear Knight, an Ant, and two Demon's Crosses.

After climbing up the ladders, the player gets closer to entering the castle's interior.

Upon entering the castle's interior from the entrance, the player fights the Demon's Wall.

With the Cross Wall destroyed, the player enters the castle's Royal Chapel. After exiting the beginning area, she comes to a lake of blood.

Exploring some more hallways of the Royal Chapel, the player uses Zwei to cross the long line of spikes.

This room at the end of the Royal Chapel seems empty, but it's where the Poltergeist attacks the player.

The Poltergeist shatters the whole room and forms a big stained glass cluster, making the background of the room behind what was the background completely visible.

After defeating the Poltergeist and continuing through more hallways, the player walks onto the castle bridge.

Walking along the collapsible platforms of the castle bridge.

The end of the castle bridge is guarded by the resurrected Raimund Seyfarth, now as a Grim Reaper-esque wraith taking on the name of Thanatos.

After laying Raimund back to rest, the player is free to enter the Castle Keep where she can put an end to RKS' madness. Here, she comes to a fork-in-the-road where she can decide on one of two paths.

Taking the upper path leads to a room where we view lots of vampire bats flying in the background.

After taking one of the two paths, the player comes to the final hallway before climbing up to the throne room.

The player climbs her way up after that last hallway...

...And finally enters the throne room to confront the Count himself.

As the Count's transformation into his demonic beast form progresses, the background collapses and switches over to a strange cloudy area.

The throne room is also visited early in the opening scenes of Rosenkreuzstilette ~Grollschwert~, where Grolla attacks Iris and Sichte witnesses her attempt to kill her.

Trivia

• In the original Japanese version of Rosenkreuzstilette, the Japanese name for Zeppelin Stage I can be translated as "The Demon's Lair" and "Pandemonium". "The Demon's Lair" is the name of a table-top RPG and one of Isemiya's favorite board games. "Pandemonium" is the capital city of Hell in the epic poem, Paradise Lost, by the 17th century English poet, John Milton.
• The first Zeppelin Stage's layout is similar to that of Dr. Cossack Stage 1 in Mega Man 4.
• Zeppelin Stage II bears allusions to Castlevania Chronicles' fourth stage; its stage title in Spiritia's story is a reference a popular and reoccurring song in the Castlevania series, "Bloody Tears," and the stage itself takes place in a chapel. There are also statues of the Virgin Mary that sheds tears of blood that can be seen half-way into the stage and during the boss fight against the Poltergeist when it enters Desperation Mode.
  • Zeppelin Stage II's stage title in Grolla's story seems to be a reference to Bloodpool, the second region in ActRaiser.
• The Stage Title for Zeppelin Stage III in Spiritia's story references to the fact that Raimund Seyfarth, Grolla's grandfather, was nicknamed the Thanatos in his former life before his death four years ago. In Grolla's story, it references to a Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin song, "Crucifix Held Close". Said song's title means to hold a cross close to one's heart (which also means to cherish one's faith in something). ~Grollschwert's~ stage title for Zeppelin Stage III refers to carrying a cross on one's back, which means to carry a burden or responsibility, referring to Grolla coming to terms with her responsibility as the successor to her esteemed mentor.
• Zeppelin Stage IV's stage title in Spiritia's story is a dual nod to Silicon Knights' psycholgical horror game along with the ultimate triple-tech belonging to the Ancient Wizard Magus in Chrono Trigger, which was rendered as "DarkEternal" in the original Super Nintendo version due to space limitations.
  • Said stage's stage title in Grolla's story refers to a popular title in fiction, which was used for a 1964 psychological thriller, Gino Vanneli's 1981 album, a 1993 Japanese visual novel and its 2001 remake, and a 1998 anime series.
• Zeppelin Stage IV is the one of the stages in Rosenkreuzstilette with two branching paths; the first being Trauare Wrede's stage.
• A Bomberman-styled room can be found as a secret room in the upper path for Zeppelin Stage IV. If the player can complete the puzzle in that room, the player can obtain a Cross Tank and a 1-UP.
• The lower path of Zeppelin Stage IV was considered as a design flaw by WOMI, because a Cross Tank was originally planned to be placed in lower path and easier to get, corresponding to the Cross Tank in the upper path which is harder to get because of the puzzle in the Bomberman-styled secret room. The designers completed the stage setting without realizing the design flaw though.
• The scene at the end of Zeppelin Stage IV where Freudia gives Spiritia what appears to be a Cross Tank with the letter L on it is a reference to a scene at Dark Man's Castle Stage 4 in Mega Man 5, where Proto Man gives Mega Man an L-Tank.
• Count Zeppelin's castle can also be seen in the backgrounds of both the options menu and the staff credits for Rosenkreuzstilette ~Grollschwert~. The backdrop for the boss fight at the end of Grolla's stage can also be seen in said credits, which proves that the Ghost Town, the setting for Grolla's stage, is located near Zeppelin's castle.
• The castle is also seen in the backgrounds of the outside areas of the Opening Stage in the C76 Trial version of Rosenkreuzstilette ~Freudenstachel~, which also suggests that said stage is located near the castle itself. In fact, this is because the stage is set in the castle grounds.

Locations and Stages in the Rosenkreuzstilette series