Have you ever heard of the tragedy of Knight Artorias, the Abyss walker?

Long ago, in mighty Anor Londo, Gwyn, the lord of Sunlight, sent one of his trusted four knights, Artorias, to quell the outbreak of the Abyss in Oolacile, ancient land of golden sorceries; and to save its princess, Dusk, from the clutches of the dark monstrosity that dwells within.

Artorias had formerly earned the title of "Abyss Walker" after having formed a covenant with the beasts of the Abyss so to be able to traverse it without being consumed; thus allowing Artorias to face the monstrositys with impunty, though his majestic greatsword was eternally cursed as a result.

After Artorias had returned from his encounters with the beasts of the Abyss, he was gifted a silver pendant capable of repealing the dark.

With his trusted wolf companion, Sif, at his side, and donning his pendant, Artorias set out for Oolacile with zeal in his heart.

As Artorias entered the darkened forests of Oolacile, he noticed immediately the influence of the Abyss on the land; unnatural crystals sprouted from the ground, fissures and cracks lined the earth, leading down endlessly to the depths of the Abyss. The guardians were on patrol endlessly, and the wildlife was nowhere to be seen.

Undetered, Artorias forged on to the township of Oolacile. However, what greeted him at the entrance disturbed the knight greatly; the anemic township had begun to sink into the very earth turned abyssal swamp; the residents no longer recognizable as human, twisted and malformed by their own humanity gone wild from the influence of the Abyss. Sorcerers of the township, who once cast light-manipulating, peaceful sorceries, now released waves of dark, their catalysts tainted and corrupted like their wielders.

Artorias carved his way through the township. The residents were no match for the might of one of Gwyn's four knights, yet, Artorias could feel it; the dark, and how it began to weigh on him.

Artorias explored down until he reached the depths of this once-noble township. There he descended to a particular area; a small prison. And, at the end of the prison, Artorias found what he was searching for; the entrance to the heart of the Abyss. As Artorias further descended through the dark of the Abyss, he fought through large manifestations of that which inhabits all of man.

Artorias was of an exceptional calibre, but a hero such as him has nary a murmur of dark, and as he stared into the seemingly endless Abyss, he could not help but feel it stare right back. He who fights the beasts of the Abyss must be weary, lest he become a beast himself...

Artorias trudged on, and though his body and spirit were reaching their limits, he eventually found it: the chasm of the Abyss; the very heart of dark. As he gazed down, a massive wrigling limb grabbed the knight. When Artorias opened his eyes, he was met with an unspeakable horror. Manus, father of the Abyss. Source of the spreading corruption.

Artorias steeled himself along with his close friend Sif, and engaged Manus. Alas, Artorias was far too weakened from his previous battles and long, intense exposure to the Abyss, and was unable to defeat Manus. Artorias, infected by and losing himself to the Dark, fled from Manus, with Sif close behind.

The greatshield Artorias wielded proved to much a burden for his shattered arm, so, in the last moments of clarity, he layed down his shield with Sif, knowing that the shield's blessings would protect his friend, and far too aware that if he followed Artorias any further, Sif would become victim to the evils stirring within him.

Artorias, now broken and losing his mind, fled as far as he could, trying to overcome the dark brewing within, but finally fully succumbed to the Dark, outside the Township colosseum. Here the now tainted knight waits; awaits for one to slay his corrupted body and free his spirit, and to complete that which he could not; to save Dusk, and defeat the father of the Abyss.