Heropedia: Artorias The Abysswalker

the legend of artorias are none but a fabrication  traversing the dark is but a fairy tale   across history fables and myth knights have often  been heralded as symbols of hope and courage   brave individuals putting their life on the line  to protect the innocent and serve their lord   or land with honor you might think of  a dashing young squire slaying a dragon   to earn his keep or maybe an old and wizened  warrior finding a poetic end on the battlefield   but regardless many of these knights of legend  in one way or another have their kind of happy   ending be it in blood or bounty dark souls however  ain't your average fairy tale my friends the souls   series prides itself on its expert execution  of dark fantasy the game worlds we explore are   decrepit ancient and unforgiving places of death  and we always seem to arrive long after any age   of prosperity where citizens roam the streets  buying fruit and stuff celebrating their heroes   and praising their kings but please don't get me  wrong there are absolutely knights and heroes of   legend to be found here in lordaeron and beyond  but the fate of these characters can be far   far from glorious now pardon my french but dark  souls 1 is the [ __ ] and one of my favorite   things about the game is how it so carefully  handles and considers the small amount of   characters that we do get to know a little bit  about when the game first launched many of these   npcs and even bosses slept right into the hearts  of the fandom but one character really stuck out   to many a mysterious ancient knight who was said  to have done the impossible a man who was lost   to time and the true tale of his life and heroism  along with him a tale that weaves in with ours the   chosen undead as we lend our hand to the forging  of this legend and eventual tragedy i am talking   about none other than knight artorias the abyss  walker i am ghost your host if this is your first   time finding my channel and you enjoy video game  lore character analysis game reviews do consider   subscribing and you'll see tons of stuff just like  that of course i have to say that some of what you   hear in this video will be speculative as much  of the lore in this series is pretty cryptic so   consider all of this just my interpretation  so without further ado let's dive right in   at the beginning a thick fog covered  the rough rocky landscape of the world   and dragons ruled uncontested but in the  darkness humanoid creatures hollows stirred and   searched in the deep places of the world what  they found was fire and with it souls and life   additional great lord souls were discovered by a  handful of prominent figures in dark souls lore   grave lord nido the witch of izalith and gwyn the  lord of sunlight but a fourth soul the dark soul   was found by the furtive pygmy the ancestor of  humanity itself with these souls great power   came and the lords decided to lead an attack on  the unknown surface of the world to challenge   the almighty dragons eventually the dragons fell  and the world shifted the age of ancients ended   and the great lords took their place atop growing  kingdoms thus the age of fire began and it marked   incredible prosperity growth and happiness  dozens of nations were born and generations   of culture and human history flourished but  ultimately this age was born of that first flame   and flames are known to fade with time gwyn the  mightiest of the lords saw this reality coming   toward his kingdom and seat of power with its  pants down the first flame was indeed beginning   to fade and he needed to act quickly now this  could easily turn into just an overall dark souls   lore video about the story but it is now time to  meet our hero gwyn had surrounded himself with   countless knights which we get our asses straight  beat by in-game plenty but above all the others   stood for four of his most trusted tools you can  almost think of them as like agents close allies   and hey maybe even friends who knows among them  were dragon slayer ornstein hawkeye golf kiron the   lord's blade and of course the knight artorius  artorius was known to be one of the greatest   warriors really in the world a man of unbreakable  will and unmatched skill with a great sword   straight up he was an absolute killer and along  with his trusted companion the great wolf sif   he acted as an unstoppable arm of gwyn gwyn seems  to have trusted artorias unconditionally and knew   that regardless of the task given he would  be loyal to the bitter end and i just want   to illuminate how absolutely classic this hero  is structurally noble knight serving as king   simple as that a man who has sworn his life away  to protect and obey no matter the cost so sadly   there's very little known about who artorias  really was personally i would love to know what   his relationship with gwen was like you know stuff  like that but this is dark souls and i suppose the   mystique is kind of what makes him so appealing  as well the less i know the better perhaps off the   top of your head what do you think terrified and  gwyn more than anything else i mean think about it   the lord of sunlight first flame the age of fire  it's now fading yeah my man was scared of the dark   and it's not an issue a little nightlight can fix  because to gwen the darkness represented his age   and the rule of the gods coming to an end just as  the furtive pygmy discovered the dark soul the age   of dark would be the age of humanity gwynn began  taking the necessary steps to avoid this age of   darkness constructing cities to suppress the pygmy  people and linking humanity to the many bonfires   throughout the land an effort to bring humanity  itself to kindle the flame and later on gwen   would even sacrifice himself to link the flame but  this unnatural prolonging of the age of fire was   not good for the systems in place boy the curse  of undeath soon plagued humanity and the disease   caused even more issues in response the great  city of new londo was constructed under firelink   shrine meant to be a cultural center and sort of  a metropolis for the growing population of undead   it was watched over by the four kings respected  humans who were renowned across lordran for   their foresight of the undead situation and  their wisdom even gwen was down with these   guys and gifted them each a fragment of his  own soul but take humanity undeath isolation   what do you expect ultimately happens darkness you  got it long ago the four kings were powerful men   only their hearts were weak when an evil serpent  dangled the art of life drained before them they   were unable to resist and became pawns of evil  along with them their noble knights fell into   shadow and became the dark greats real dicks  these guys but cool armor gwyn saw these things   unfolding in horror and knew exactly who to  send to deal with this issue his trusted knight   artorias whose famous great sword was crafted and  waited to thwart the servants of darkness but the   abyss was known to corrupt and swallow up any who  attempt to traverse it sending even the greatest   warrior to slay these fallen knights and kings  would be a fool's errand like catching smoke   now this is one of the main points where  interpretations kind of branch off but what   we know for sure is that it is said artorias  sought out the beasts of the abyss to make a   pact of some sort so who are these beasts no one  knows for certain but it is implied heavily that   it could be one of the world serpents frampt or  cath now these are two incredibly fascinating   cool ass characters ancient beings that want two  very different things during the events of the   game frampt wants us the chosen undead to prolong  the age of fire by linking the first flame while   cath wants you to usher in an age of unending  darkness and take up the mantle of dark lord kath   is very connected to the abyss though and is the  one who actually introduced the four kings to the   life drain ability that corrupted them so i guess  if artorias sought help from one of these serpents   it could be for very different reasons that  he ends up getting the help he is looking for   france would want to see the abyss vanquished at  all costs while kath perhaps had some foresight   into the issue and saw helping artorias as a means  to his desired end who knows i suppose it really   doesn't matter at the end of the day as artorias  with one of these big snake dudes was granted   a special ring a ring that allowed him to do  what no other had ever done traverse the abyss   so he did just that he braved the darkness and  fought valiantly against the dark greats the   actuality of what happened in new londo  in regards to artorias is unknown but he   definitely gave the dark wraiths hell and in the  process built his legend in lordran and beyond   he was then present to witness the true fall  of new londo as the seals were broken and the   city flooded thousands of innocents dying  to preserve gwyn's pursuit of the flame   we can then assume that he was eventually  called back home and his heroic actions   were noted by gwyn's court he was given a silver  pendant that was known to show resistance to   certain magics of the abyss a gift that was most  likely a pretty [ __ ] big deal at the time but he   did not return unscathed from this mission while  he himself was protected from the abyss for sure   his greatsword was irreversibly cursed a mark that  he then wore and wielded to his next mission so   let's pause for just one second here guys in  these videos we are always trying to identify   heroics the moment ordinary people turn to legends  in our video games and i think this right here is   a moment earning a sort of title like abysswalker  is some serious clout in any game but in a world   starving for fire and light the bravery and  respect that this title likely bestowed on   artorias is immeasurable i also want to remind  you that when the base game was all we had   we hardly knew this much about artorias when the  chosen undead begins his or her journey this is   a legend long past a borderline mythological  being that you only hear a few little things   about here and there although long ago the night  artorias traversed the abyss if you can find him but we will come back to that and where the player  comes into the story in just one minute artorias   was now an established force a hero and as if this  archetype couldn't get any more traditional his   next mission involved saving a princess from an  evil wizard kind of the township of oolacile was   another settlement that was actually the origin of  the abyss back in artorias time believe it or not   ulysses has brought the abyss upon itself fooled  by that toothy serpent they upturned the grave of   primeval man and incited his ornery wrath this  corpse is none other than manus a great villain   who deserves his own video at some point but  exhuming these remains awoke the wrath of manus   whose humanity had gone x games mode abyss began  pouring out from his body and he manifested as   a twisted monster the father of the abyss for  oolacile you could say this presents a rather   urgent problem darkness is now seeping out from  underneath the kingdom infecting and altering the   minds of the townsfolk all the while corrupting  the very land itself that ain't good the princess   of oolacile dusk was to be rescued and brought  back to safety by artorius his reputation as abyss   walker and skill as a knight made him tailor-made  for this task so with his now cursed greatsword   great shield silver pendant and wolf companion  artorias set out to do just that but i find it   particularly interesting that artorias likely  knew that the force of the abyss was unstoppable   he had seen the corruption it brought in new  londo and how absolutely all-consuming it was i   honestly choose to believe that he knew ulasil was  doomed perhaps even that all of lordran was doomed   given what he had witnessed but still attended to  his errand all the same but what the legends may   not tell you is that he did not succeed in new  londo he did not slay all the dark wraiths they   carry on to the present day the four kings still  wander the abyss and the city had to be flooded   while he fought bravely and without equal the  abyss was ultimately unstoppable but heroes to me   are those who face whatever might come to them  on their feet duty-bound and focused to their   last breath now of course as i have mentioned we  don't know for sure what artorias was like or what   he was thinking so this is definitely a sort  of head canon for ghost charm here but i enjoy   imagining this stoic and powerful knight who never  hesitates or second guesses any decision perhaps   he even resigns himself to his potential fate  in ulasil and embraces his role as abysswalker   knowing that even if he fell the hope he would  bring to those in the kingdom would be worth the   sacrifice so what happened when artorias entered  ulisel what is the final chapter of his story   well you've heard the legend so of course he  fought back the darkness slayed the vile mantis   and rescued princess dusk this after all was his  purpose you could say his destiny and his greatest   honor and he rightfully becomes a true hero a hero  whose impact will be felt for ages untold into the   future i was beset by a creature from the abyss i  would have perished then were it not for the great   knight artorius sadly this is a lie that  cometh the not for the grave of saratorius   my advice true forget this the legend  of artorias are none but a fabrication   because the truth is sometimes heroes fall short  sometimes heroes fail and as much as it hurts to   believe the abyss walker is such a hero artorius  fought through oolacile and into the very lair of   manus and as he delved deeper with his great wolf  he found himself no match for the father of the   abyss and artorias was badly injured his dominant  arm being shattered to the point of uselessness   but his final act was to carefully place his  magical great shield as a ward around his closest   friend sif keeping him protected from the darkness  who knows what happened next maybe manus further   tortured our hero corrupting him with the abyss  or maybe artorias just wandered in the darkness   losing his mind and succumbing to the madness  well hold on then so how is it that his legend   is still seen as complete for us the player and  the world he is that hero of old who accomplished   all those things he slayed manus he fought off  the abyss he succeeded that is where we come in   the dlc artorius of the abyss is in my opinion  the crown jewel of the dark souls one experience   when it was first added as i mentioned earlier  artorias was this ancient dude shrouded in mystery   so seeing him on the cover we finally had a face  to the name and his appearance and armor were   instantly recognizable to anyone who's a fan of  the berserk series now a little tangent here but   it is well documented that miyazaki the granddaddy  of the souls games drew heavy inspiration from   berserk i mean there are tons of videos to check  out on this website on the subject so i'm gonna   link a good one down below that i think you'll  like but the series main character guts has long   been a cult favorite a guy with a death wish and  a massive sword bearing some badass cursed armor   while the character similarities are only surface  level it's a great homage and i love both of these   things a lot so but anyway sorry moving on back  to our story so in classic from software fashion   accessing the dlc area is a puzzle in itself but  in the dark root basin area we find a golden golem   once you slay it contained within is the  princess dusk from the legend of artorias   what the hell are you doing in here she has been  stuck inside of the sky seemingly for centuries   and offers us the knowledge of ancient sorceries  and tales of her now fallen kingdom eventually   you go grab this broken pendant go back where the  golem was and you are yabbed out of the present by   a suspiciously monstrous hand then pulled backward  through time back to oolacile back to the era of   the night artorius now time travel is always  something that's hard to get just right in a   video game but when your lore is directly telling  players the flow of time itself is convoluted   with heroes centuries old phasing in and out i  think it can work pretty seamlessly so just like   that here you are this area is what eventually  became dark root basin and garden so it is a   total joy to explore kill some bosses talk  to this dude uncover some lore when all of a   sudden you come across this arena and inside is a  very special guest to welcome us back to the past oh it's also definitely worth noting that there was  some cut dialogue that artorias had so i want   to play you the very same cutscene with that  dialogue put over top i think it's important whatever thou art stay away soon i will be consumed by them by the dark i  beg of the spread of the abyss must be stopped why on earth did they cut this i mean the final  version definitely works but this is a whole new   level it humanizes artorias so much instead  of sort of a gollum of the dark he feels like   a valiant knight still hanging on warning us  to stand back but ultimately losing himself and   almost sounding fearl i mean it's chilling  but i think the tragedy of this character   is felt either way and do note that his  left arm that's dangling there unusable   that's his sword arm so you are fighting a  crippled and corrupted artorias and he is still   a son of a [ __ ] i mean imagine him at full  strength back in the day he would be straight   beating my ass and after an extremely tough  boss fight you can finally put artorias to rest   but this then puts the player in a bit of an  awkward position here you are back in time the   era of artorias heroically defeating manus  and the abyss but you just killed him manus   is downstairs still doing his thing and dusk  is not rescued at all that is where it clicks   it is us the chosen undead that must walk this  path you are the one who comes to this strange   land you are the one who heroically plunges into  the abyss to find and slay manus you are the one   who saves princess dusk and you are ultimately  the one who saves the legacy of artorias   by succeeding where he failed you pass all the  glory to him other characters seeing a human   knight doing these things of course attribute  your deeds to the famous abyss walker they don't   know you walking in artorias's footsteps you  are able to find and rescue a young sif warded   in the abyss by the great shield encounter alvina  the cat and of course rescue princess dusk all of   these characters later tip their hat to you in a  way a note of recognition or remembrance but even   still there was something about artorias a certain  balance of the humors that quite perfectly fits   your semblance heavens could it be that you  and artorias i owe my life to each of you   and both seem to share some resonance of sorts  perhaps it is the nature of true greatness   they have seen your face though it was centuries  ago whether they know it or not see you as the   hero not artorias or perhaps both elizabeth the  mushroom seer in oolacile says as much that she   will tell this legend as it needs to be told  i will remember thee but i will keep thy story   to myself this is the best way for thou out come  from a time far ahead no one will sing thy praises   but yet thy greatness shall live on for it shall  be my purpose to remember all thou has done for us   later on oh the optional sif boss fight it's  especially hard he smells you remembers you   remembers your deeds from oolacile but still is  bound to artorius's grave the swords around the   tombstone mark all those who came here to seek out  the secret to traversing the abyss and ultimately   sif must protect his master's resting place  and secrets i just think this entire character   the backstory the failure and where we pick  up the sticks is just fascinating the fact   that we could have such an influential heroic  legendary character so established in a game   where so little lore is really known and then it  turns out to all be sort of a sham is really cool   but while artorias did fail and was consumed by  the very force he sought to destroy it was his   effort and heart that defined his heroics to me  one of the main themes of this series is decay   you know the fire must fade the undead must  go hollow the abyss must eventually consume   all this leads to desperation and depression for  so many i mean it's hard living in these dying   kingdoms bro can you imagine so those who are  actually selfless and don't have evil intentions   are exceedingly rare we learned this in the  solaire heuropedia i also think it's a really cool   way to put into context all that you the player  are doing during the game like if this is all they   sang and said about artorias and you are half of  that tale plus everything else you're doing i mean   jesus you are quite important it does a really  good job of empowering us while also showing how   fragile even the most legendary warriors can be  but that legend doesn't end there my friends dark   souls 2 and 3 show that even after ages turning  over the rising and falling of countless kingdoms   some things do not fade in dark souls 2 it's more  of a subtle thing the majestic great sword is a   weapon that you can find in the second dlc  area and is pretty much artories sword from   the first game but the description is quite  cool an ancient greatsword of unknown origin   this sword was passed down through generations  until it reached gordon wandering knight of ferosa   and was lost upon his death uncannily every last  one of the prominent swordsmen who inherited this   weapon was left-handed lo and behold if you throw  that thing in your left hand it unlocks the true   potential and full moveset of the sword i mean  this is a really cool little touch like it ended   up being this mythical sword for southpaws  i like that in dark souls 3 however there   is quite a bit more the watchdogs of pharyn is  a covenant in lothric that the player can join   and take part in some good old pvp action  but this covenant is based solely on the   legend of the abyss walker they revere wolves  and even empower themselves with wolf blood   to channel the strength and the very soul of  artorias it's pretty damn cool in the lore   of dark souls 3 these pharyn fellas fight rabidly  against the abyss to the point of maybe overdoing   it a little bit and wiping out an entire territory  when even the littlest whiff of abyss is detected   but they carry on the legend of confronting  that abyss with bravery and strength even   if the characteristics of the individuals don't  totally align with artorias more noble approach   but hey you got the spirit anyway and they  will likely face the same tragic end against   an unbeatable foe the wolf set in dark souls 3 has  a very somber description helm of a knight tainted   by the dark of the abyss the twilight blue tassel  is damp it will ever remain so a vanquished knight   left behind only wolf's blood and legacy of duty  the undead legion of pharyn was formed to bear   his torch and the armor of these abyss  watchers suggests their own eventual end i think the legacy of artorias is one of tragedy  one of sacrifice but also of strength and   selflessness in many many ways he checks every  single box when it comes to a heroic knight in   a fantasy setting and though his tale ultimately  ends in heartbreak and failure it's our greatest   honor as the chosen undead to see his work be  completed and remembered in his name even if it is   a little bit of a lie when the world was dying the  fire was fading and lords were withering artorias   stared into the great unstoppable void and began  walking great sword in hand and friend at his side thank you guys so much for watching and or  listening to the end as always it means a lot   a ton of new subscribers have actually  joined us after the bloodborne review   was uploaded so welcome all of you i am  very much looking forward to eldon ring   as so many of you are commenting and once  i've spent probably 2 000 hours in game   you can count on some content from me  but it will likely be after i have had   a healthy amount of time with it so in the  meantime comment down below other video game   heroes you would like to see profiled here and  also how about your favorite childhood cartoon   thank you so much again everyone and i will  see you all very soon until next time peace

Channel: Ghostcharm

Views: 240,031

Keywords: artorias, abysswalker, darksouls, lore, kaathe, frampt

Id: 9EH36D--4DM

Length: 26min 51sec (1611 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 20 2022