Part Two: The Age of Fire – Chapter Four: The Rise of The Abysswalker
The war had been won; for centuries after, the World was prospering in an Age of Fire, ruled by Lord Gwyn in Lordran, from his City: Anor Londo. A new race had appeared not long after the war was won, called humanity. They were similar in appearance to the race of the likes of Lord Gwyn and Ornstein; however, they could not, in most cases, reach the same heights as Gwyn's race.
Some humans were worthy of being a part of Gwyn's army and earning his respect and friendship, most notable being Havel the Rock, a bishop to the Covenant of the Way of White, formed by Gwyn's Uncle Allfather Lloyd. But such pleasures can only go for so long before problems begin to arise.
The race of Man had come from a fragment of the First Flame; The Dark Soul. Claimed by Manus, the Furtive Pygmy and the First of the Humans. He splintered the Dark Soul into tiny sprites called humanity, and from them, the Race of Man was born.
Gwyn feared Man, as he had heard from Frampt, a Primordial Serpent, of a Dark Lord; born of Man and destined to end the Age of Fire, and bring about an Age of Dark, where humanity would prosper, and the Gods would falter.
This was not Gwyn's only worry, for his Firstborn Son had renounced Gwyn and went off to aid the few remaining Dragons that were still alive.
Gwyn had responded by erasing every mention of his Son from history; Every book was burned, Every Statue was smashed, etc. Only one statue still stood of the Firstborn, one that Gwyn refused to destroy; The statue was of his long-deceased Wife holding his Son as a baby. This was the last record he had of her, so he refused to get rid of it.
But some positives happened during this time of ever-growing Crises; Artorias, Ornstein, Ciaran and Gough had all been deemed the title of the Most Esteemed Knights in all of Lordran and given titles to match this height of praise.
Ornstein was given the title of Dragonslayer and now commanded Gwyn's armies, taking the role of the Firstborn. Gough kept his title of Hawkeye and had recently retired to Oolacile, a nice place not too far from the Royal Gardens. Ciaran received the title of Lord's Blade, a member of Gwyn's assassins; she was also the head of said assassins and wore a Porcelain Mask to distinguish herself from the other assassins.
Artorias received the title of Wolf Knight due to his incredible agility, strength, compassion, and will.
Artorias awoke. He had been having the same dream over the last few weeks. A dream of a flooded city, darkness and death. He did not think much of the Dream as Dreams are just that, Dreams.
He ate his breakfast and donned his armour, which was different from his old Silver Knight attire. His armour was lighter and had a hood with metal parts on it as opposed to a helmet. His armour was now Blue, and it was built to represent his title of Wolf Knight, the same way Ornstein's was constructed to represent his first title of Leo Knight.
After equipping his armour, he grabbed his Greatsword and Greatshield and placed them both on his back.
After his equipment was on, he put his hood down and took a seat for a few minutes as he had woken up early, after which a wolf pup jumped into his lap.
'Ah Sif, there you are.' Artorias said to the pup.
Artorias ran his fingers through the pups fur and stroked his head as well. Sif ran from the room abruptly without reason.
'Sif!' Artorias called after the Wolf to no avail.
He got up and began to run after the pup, who had somehow managed to evade him. He turned a corner after a few minutes of chasing and saw Sif enter Ciarans room.
'Oh no.' Artorias said to himself as he went up to the door that lay ajar.
He listened in to the room and head Sif yapping happily, after a few seconds he heard a voice;
'Come in, Artorias and cease thine lingering.' Ciaran said.
Artorias walked into the room, expecting her to know he was there when he was staying quiet enough that his presence wouldn't be known to many but loud enough that she would know he was there.
He entered; sitting before Ciaran was Sif, wearing her armour, her mask lying on the table next to her.
'Why did he run here?' Ciaran asked Artorias.
'I do not know.' He responded. 'Do you have an idea as to why he ran here?' He asked Ciaran.
'Perhaps he is fonder of me than you.' She joked.
Artorias smiled.
'Sif.' Artorias said, and Sif ran to his side in an instant.
'You were saying.' He said to Ciaran.
She smiled at this.
Ornstein arrived at the door helmet on
'Gwyn wishes to speak with us. We are to go to the main Cathedral immediately.' He finished.
'I shall not be far behind; you go on ahead. Sif will stay here.' Ciaran told Artorias.
He nodded and began to walk out of the room to walk with Ornstein.
After a brief minute of walking, Ornstein spoke:
'Artorias, could I pose you a question?' He asked.
'By all means, ask away.' Artorias responded.
'Do thou have feelings for Ciaran?' Ornstein asked.
Artorias stopped dead in his tracks. Ornstein turned to face him.
'Why do you ask?' Artorias enquired.
'It is obvious that you talk to her quite a lot and spend a large amount of time with her.' Ornstein started.
'Your point being?' Artorias asked.
'My point is that from your actions, one could deduce that you, do indeed, have feelings for Ciaran.' Ornstein finished as he continued walking.
Artorias caught up to the Leo Knight and began to speak as he walked:
'Ornstein. I-' He was cut off by Ornstein.
'Artorias, I simply asked a question that I believed to be a reasonable one due to your actions, and one that thought you would honestly answer as I am your friend, am I not?' Ornstein told Artorias.
'Ornstein, thou are my friend.' Artorias began.
'Then why do you refuse to answer my question?' Ornstein asked, now standing still.
Artorias came to a halt as well and began to speak:
'Because Ornstein. It is true.' He said, keeping his composure.
'So you...' Ornstein trailed off.
'Yes.' Artorias said.
'Do you wish to speak about it' Ornstein asked, trying to offer as much help as possible.
'Not now, but later.' Artorias replied.
'Let us get to Gwyn.' Ornstein said.
Artorias nodded.
Their journey was silent the rest of the way.
When they had arrived at the main Cathedral, Ciaran was already there. Artorias prayed that she had not heard the discussion between him and Ornstein.
Gwyn spoke as soon as Artorias and Ornstein were in line with Ciaran.
'Knights, I have tasks for you all. Ciaran has already been informed of hers.' Gwyn started.
'Ornstein, Black Dragon Kalameet has been spotted near Lordran. You art to confirm these sightings and eliminate the beast if they are true.' He said to Ornstein.
Gwyn turned to Artorias.
'Artorias, there is a problem in New Londo.' He began.
'What problem?' Artorias asked.
'The Abyss is spreading throughout New Londo. The Four Kings have been corrupted, and those who pledged their allegiance have been turned into skeletal Knights. They call themselves the Darkwraiths, and they have been amassing a large force in the bottom of New Londo. I need you to go there and stop the spread by any means that you deem necessary.' He finished.
Artorias did not speak for a moment, then said, 'It will be done, my Lord.'
Gwyn nodded then dismissed the Knights.
Ornstein and Ciaran went up to Artorias.
'Are you sure that thou can do this?' Ornstein asked.
'We have killed Dragons; a feat deemed to be impossible.' Artorias responded.
'Slaying Dragons and stopping the Spread of the Abyss are two different things entirely!' Ornstein told Artorias.
'Regardless, I will fulfil my duty.' Artorias said.
'Be careful, Artorias.' Ciaran said to Artorias.
'I will; thou need not worry.' He said reassuringly.
Ciaran left to do her task.
Ornstein looked to Artorias.
'We shall talk when I return.' Artorias told Ornstein.
'Make sure that you do.' Ornstein replied.
Artorias nodded in response; he walked off and put his hood on his head as he went to go and face the Abyss.
When Artorias had arrived at New Londo, he was greeted by a man in a strange pointed red hat.
'Knight Artorias.' The man spoke.
'What is thine name?' Artorias asked the man.
'I am Ingward.' He replied.
Artorias took his hood down and look at New Londo, a once-great city teeming with Human life now reduced to a place of evil and death.
Ingward said, 'There are not many people left alive; those killed by the Darkwraiths have had their bodies piled up on the lowermost part of the city. But they were not killed by any means that you or I are familiar with.'
'What do you mean?' Artorias asked.
'They are not killed by weapons, but instead sorcery that drains the humanity out of its victims, leaving them as empty husks. The Four Kings are also rumoured to have this power, but on a much more powerful scale, and with part of Gwyn's soul, there is no telling the extent of their power.' Ingward explained.
Artorias assessed what he had been told in his head and formulated a plan.
'Ingward, I will infiltrate the Darkwraiths, but I need you to be ready with my backup.' Artorias told Ingward.
'What do you require of me?' Ingward asked.
'If I tell you to: thou must flood the city with everyone, including the people still alive inside of it.' Artorias told Ingward.
'Art thou sure.' Ingward asked.
'If I cannot find a way to stop the spread of the Abyss, this is our last line of defence, and these people have been exposed to the Abyss too long; they must be lost with the city. Lest we risk the World being consumed by the Abyss.' Artorias said.
'I understand, but what of me? I have also been exposed to the Abyss.' Ingward asked, concerned for his life.
'Thou art to stand guard over this place, making sure that if anyone does enter here that they leave.' Artorias told Ingward.
Ingward nodded
'How art thou going to infiltrate the Darkwraiths?' Ingward enquired.
'By joining them.' Artorias said as he walked off and raised his hood.
When Artorias had made it to where the Darkwraiths had amassed, they raised their weapons, ready to attack the Azul Knight.
He showed them that he meant no harm by lowering his hood, throwing his sword and shield onto the ground, and raising his hands to signify peace.
'Lower thine weapons!' A voice commanded to the Darkwraiths, which they did.
Artorias knew that this man was one of the Four Kings, he could not remember his name, but he was different from the last time he saw him. His body was slowly turning into a grey wooden-like creature.
'What do thou want?' The King asked.
'I wish council with your leader.' Artorias asked, arms still raised.
'Follow me then, and bring your weapons.' The King demanded.
Artorias did as he was told, and after picking up his weapons, he looked up to where the crack to flood the city was and saw Ingward.
They suddenly stopped;
'Why do you seek to speak with our leader?' The King asked.
'I wish to join The Darkwraiths.' He answered.
'I cannot give you access to our covenant, But I can give you the means to get to our leader who can.' He said as he handed Artorias a ring.
'This ring is the only one of its kind, as it allows traversal of the Abyss. The other Kings and I do not need one as we are now one with the Abyss.' The King said as Artorias put on the ring.
'Now, follow me again.' The King said.
Artorias followed down a long spiralling staircase. Then after reaching a black emptiness about halfway down, he asked
'If that is the Abyss, and this ring allows me to traverse the Abyss, Then how do I get back? The stairs end here.'
'Here.' The King said, handing Artorias a gem.
'What do I do with this?' He asked.
'Show it to our leader, and he shall give you a way back here.' The King replied.
Artorias clutched the gem and stepping forward into the Abyss and began to fall.
When he landed, he looked around and saw nothing.
He was in the Abyss.
'Knight Artorias!.' A familiar voice spoke.
Artorias turned around and saw a Primordial Serpent.
'Kaathe.' Artorias said.
'I wish to join your covenant.' Artorias told the Serpent.
'Why?' Kaathe asked.
'I have grown tired of fighting for Gwyn. I have realised that his words are corrupt and riddled with lies. So when I heard of the Darkwraiths, who could be a mighty force to oppose Gwyn, I was thrilled to discover this news.' Artorias lied.
'Prove to me that you are willing to join our cause.' Kaathe told the Knight.
'How?' Artorias inquired.
'Plunge your sword into the Abyss and gain part of its power.' Kaathe said.
Artorias did it without hesitation to boost the facade that was him being unloyal to Gwyn.
When he pulled it out, Kaathe said, 'No true Knight of Gwyn would imbue their weapon with the powers of the Dark. Only one who wishes to fight for it and humanity would.' Kaathe told the Knight as Artorias sheathed his sword.
Artorias then realised that Kaathe had a point. The Darkwraiths were just like the Way of White or Warriors of Sunlight covenants, but instead of fighting for Gwyn and the Sun, they fought for Humanity and the Abyss.
'Knight Artorias, I grant you the title of Darkwraith. May the Dark Shine your way.' Kaathe said to Artorias.
Artorias held out the Gem the King had given him, and Kaathe used a form of magic, known only to the Primordial Serpents, and sent him back to the top of the stairway that led to the Abyss
Kaathe looked to the Four Kings, who had appeared from nowhere in their abyssal forms.
'Kill him.' ordered Kaathe.
The Kings began to head to the surface to kill the Knight of Gwyn.
When Artorias arrived at the surface, he looked to Ingward, who had yet to be spotted.
He then saw a familiar colour scheme out of the corner of his eye and looked at it. When he did, he saw someone and spoke their name, 'Ciaran?' he said, questioning how she could be here.
A King appeared at the top of the stairway.
Artorias, not having enough time to draw his weapon, kicked the King down into the Abyss as infernal screams came at him from all sides. He raised his hood, drew his weapon and shield. With them ready, he looked to see if Ciaran was still there. She wasn't.
Artorias had barely enough time before the Darkwraiths came at him, with no intent on stopping until he was dead.
Thousands were charging at him; Artorias had to deal with enough so that he could tell Ingward when to flood the city.
As the first Darkwraiths came at him, he beheaded all of the Darkwraiths that were first to reach him.
He fended them off for a while, and then he put his shield away, so it was easier for him to move at the cost of defence.
One Darkwraith had jumped onto his back; Artorias grabbed him by the throat and held him as the other Darkwraiths charged at him. He stabbed the Darkwraith in his hand and began to run.
He ran throughout the city, slicing at any Darkwraiths who got close enough to him.
When he could finally yell at Ingward, he spared no time in telling him what to do, 'Flood the city!' Artorias yelled.
'You are still in it!' Ingward told Artorias.
'DO IT!' Artorias screamed.
Ingward then opened the gate that held enough water to flood the city, killing everyone in it.
The water had settled and was still, Artorias could not be seen anywhere, and Ingward began to think that the Azure Knight was dead.
Bubbles appeared from the water, and soon after, so too did Artorias.
He still had his Sword and Shield. Ingward knowing what he had to do, now moved to a rooftop and looked out at the city of New Londo.
Artorias began to make his way back to New Londo, saddened by the methods he had to use to stop the Abyss and Darkwraiths, killing innocents even if the Abyss had tainted them; there was no need for Humans to die needlessly.
Once back at Anor Londo, Ciaran went up to him and attempted to hug him as she was happy that he was still alive.
Artorias stopped her and told her that he was soaking wet.
Ornstein walked up to him, 'I told you I would return.' Artorias said.
Before Ornstein could reply, Gwyn walked up to Artorias:
'You have halted the spread of the Abyss. But I am sorry to tell you that there is no time for rest; Oolacile has also been a point where the Abyss has manifested. I believe that Manus' grave has been disturbed.' Gwyn finished.
'Lord Gwyn, I was barely able to stop the spread. I had to flood the city which killed innocent Humans.' Artorias told Gwyn.
'The Abyss tainted them; they needed to die.' Gwyn responded.
'Surely their kind is more than pure dark?' Artorias inquired.
'Enough. You will to Oolacile and stop the spread of the Abyss, and you will have help this time.' Gwyn told the Wolf Knight.
'I will go and assist him.' Ornstein said.
'No, I need you to assist me and the silver Knights with another problem in Izalith.' Gwyn told Ornstein.
'What problem?' Ornstein asked.
'The Witch of Izalith tried to recreate the first flame and ended up turned into a deformed creature along with the rest of her Daughters and her son, Except Quelana; she left Izalith before this happened and has gone missing.' Gwyn replied.
'Ciaran will go with Artorias to Oolacile.' Gwyn told the Knights.
'You have your tasks, go.' Gwyn ordered.
'You get ready; I shall meet with you for our journey to Oolacile shortly.' Artorias told Ciaran, who nodded and went off to get what she needed.
Ornstein walked up to Artorias.
'What are you going to do?' Ornstein asked, and Artorias knew he was not talking about the spread of the Abyss.
'Confront her about them in Oolacile in the Coliseum.' Artorias replied.
'Stay Safe.' Ornstein told Artorias.
'Her safety comes before mine.' He replied.
'Good luck, Abysswalker.' Ornstein said to Artorias as he walked off to get Ciaran and Sif, as he had a feeling he might need Sif.
When he got to Ciaran, he whistled for Sif, and they came immediately. Then Artorias walked off for the last time in his life.