#and theorish. sort of. but which part is which is not specified so good luck

[pyro-madder]

bb thoughts and headcanons : second batch, for djura's clique and then some. because i don't think any of them were powder kegs actually, or rather...

1) Unless this is translation shenanigans, we are only told Djura was "known through his contact with" the late Kegs, and if he was the last of them perhaps the game would have insisted on it just a bit more ?? Regardless, my take is that he was training under them, but Old Yharnam happened before he could earn the title in full. oopsie

2) Now for his 3 companions, in the order in which I think he met them :

Jozef : first of all, the reason I go for him for the alleged third companion is that I would much, much rather use an already existing NPC (especially an obscure one I can develop) than make up a new guy from scratch, and the charred set alone makes him our best lead, even with everything else I will discuss below.

So - he's a variant of hostile "Izzy's Admirer" hunters, all wearing the charred set and wielding the beastclaw... BUUUT considering it's on another beastclaw user that you loot the badge for Oto's workshop - the Kegs' predecessors - I suppose Oto and Izzy were collaborating to an extent ? With Archibald as well, considering both he and Izzy worked on DarkBeast material... unless, on the opposite, that made them rivals... but I'm straying here --

Headcanoning that Oto lived to see his workshop become the Kegs and that the latter respected him greatly - Djura included - it makes it possible to be a follower of both Izzy and the Kegs. However Jozef may wear the charred set, but he doesn't use any firearms, so he probably wasn't a Keg at all. However² nothing specified Djura's companions had to be Kegs, and were rather more likely followers of his philosophy. So my Jozef ends up a bit of a swiss army knife - an early Church recruit to serve with Loran's tomb prospectors, a hunter partaking in Izzy's experiments with beasthood, a friend to Oto and the Kegs, not much older than Djura, present for Old Yharnam but ultimately Taken By The Dungeons.

Djura's disciple, henceforth Ysle (old english for "ash", or so i've read) : I fully believe him sharing facedata with Simon was devs laziness, and I don't blame them for it - Simon has half his face hidden the entire time you know him and Ysle is not only hooded, but also not exactly easy to look at up close in-game. I joked about them being twins, but then thought it could actually work and went with it. Ysle would've started off as a Harrowed alongside Simon, and the two would not hesitate to "switch" to trick others and gain further information on the job. At some point Ysle would take interest in the Kegs' craftsmanship, but would only join Djura after the burning, both for said craftsmanship and ideology : I like the theory that it was the Church that poisoned Old Y to begin with to popularize ministration, and who better suited than Simon to find that out... he'd relay the discovery to Ysle and both would turn against the Church, even apart.

I was convinced Simon was not already dead in the Nightmare due to his opening lines to the player ("must've taken a wrong turn somewhere then // we're more alike than you think", to me it implies he came in deliberately rather than upon death). However I had come to the conclusion that those who end up in the nightmare/dream upon death don't age (Maria), unlike those who were brought in (Gehrman), but the twins' facedata makes them look young compared to Dju and most of all Brador whom I believe them to be contemporary of (edit 17/04 : the Bowblades's desc also reminds us that Simon was one of the first Church hunters)... either way, they were Taken By The Horrors roughly around the same period, but unlike Simon, Ysle eventually lost himself in his duty to protect the beasts and cannot be engaged with anymore.

Djura's ally, henceforth Brandr (old norse for "fire", or so i've read) : last one met, last one standing. My headcanons for him were built on two sources : Oodle's Must we burn it all which I absolutely recommend if you aren't put off by his ship with Dju, and the unused "Old Yharnam survivor" NPC whose dialogue I would've loved to hear in-game. So, Brandr - not a Keg, perhaps not a hunter at all before the burning happened, merely a local who's probably two steps removed from beasthood at all times, was stumbled upon by Djura once the latter returned to the scene of the crime and they struck a deal. fellas is it gay to remain by the side of a self-exiled man you know (participated in what) took everything from you

3) Still raking my brain over how the Kegs were branded heretics. I'd wager the Church conveniently blacklisted them after using them to do their dirty work, but on what account ? Of course they could have just made up anything, but they actually have groundwork here. I don't think it was protecting the beasts as I believe this was specific to Djura and a few others, not something that applied to the Kegs as a whole. Could it have been their connection to Izzy, whose weapon, filed under Church weapons in the Hunter's Dream storage box, is sealed within remote tombs and whose hunter tool deemed "forbidden" ? It's not too far-fetched to assume they and their followers also experimented with beast blood pellets, which are banned by the Church as well.

Let's compare with another craftsman... strangely enough, Tonitrus is listed under the (Hunter's) workshop weapons in the Dream's storage box , despite Archibald being explicitely stated to be part of the Church's workshop... Likely stationned in Yahar'gul, a secret faction of the Church, considering that's where you loot the thing to begin with, alongside many bolt papers dropped by the snatchers, and that you find a copy wielded by a Yahar'gul hunter. Right next to Old Yharnam too, with Paarl's arena considered within the latter. Despite his focus on electricity rather than bestiality, it sounds like Archibald might still have been on thin ice considering his title of "eccentric" and the fact his badge was crafted in secret.

The Beast Roar is cast by human vocal cords. The unused NPC tells us that in Old Yharnam's folklore, beast is the true form of man. The bestial hunter of Oto's workshop bears the same rune that Laurence was branded with in his pursuit of controlling beasthood... but was ultimately forbidden as well.

Perhaps the Church simply desired monopoly over research on beasthood...

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a tl;dr (believe me, i needed it too) :

Oto : craftsman & hunter whose workshop would become the Powder Kegs, a rolemodel to Djura

Izzy : craftsperson, hunter and friend to Oto and the Kegs, who understood and explored the inherent beastly nature of man

Jozef : tomb prospector hunter, follower of Izzy and friend to Oto and the Kegs, a bit of a tutor to Djura

Djura : Keg in-training & hunter, understood the real nature of beasts and further connected the dots post-burning through each of his companions

Brandr : actual Old Yharnam local, believes in the inherent beastly nature of man, agreed to cooperate with Djura to defend what little remained

Ysle : hunter, former Harrowed, would have been a Keg in-training if the burning hadn't happened first, only Djura remained to teach him their skills