Greatsword+shield of Artorias (untainted) PDO/PDF

Download ZIP(205MB) from MediaFire:  www.mediafire.com/download/rrj…
_{*DeviantArt doesn't host files over 200MB, so MediaFire ONLY.}

Page for templates of Abyss-corrupted and (Cursed) variations:  fav.me/d9iydjy

All 20+ "Dark Souls" papercrafts designed by me:  towerdweller.com/soulsindex

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My doggie is slowly starting to feel better, so I actually had a solid chunk of computer time yesterday, the first in what feels like ages, though he's only been sick a week.... So, I kinda snapped from all of the sleepless stress I've been under, and blazed through this particularly massive undertaking overnight. (While listening to this. ) Like I was trying to say in my last upload, the more close-encounters my 14.5-year-old border-collie has with death, especially those which I'm able to do something to obstruct, the more the story of Artorias resonates with me.Which, in turn, keeps me focused on my harebrained Souls projects..... I'm having LOADS of fun with these things, but it's getting pretty hard not to sound obsessed in front of non-gamers.......or even in front of some gamers, like my bro's friend who's mostly a CoD fan.

Now technical stuff. It's a good thing I put this weapon set off for so long, because I've gotten much better at using Pepakura lately and even just yesterday had a huge breakthrough about merging the multi-layered textures ripped from "Dark Souls" into single-layer textures that can be printed on paper. Notice how crisp those engravings look?!! Because of that, I'd say this is my best work from the series yet—which is saying something considering this weapon set marks THE TWENTIETH "Dark Souls" papercraft I've uploaded! I'm gonna go back and update my previous 19 templates with renovated textures, but yeah that's going to take a while......like melting an anvil with a cigarette lighter...

I'm particularly proud that my new texture-merging process boldly preserves details that even Man At Arms was only able to guess at when they forged their Artorias Greatsword. Comparing their sword and my template here, though, now I can appreciate even more how close they got just using rendered screen-captures as references for freehand work. Mind boggling.... But as an unabashed (but polite ) screen-authenticity "purist" detail nazi, perhaps even a general among such, I honestly have to say I'd rather have the sword developed from a 3D model taken right out of Knight Artorias's own virtual hand—no exaggeration.

HOWEVER, I'd like to take a moment here to randomly endorse this kickass Shapeways 3D-printed replica of Knight Artorias's Wolf Ring.

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Coming across that Shapeways page got me thinking about plot stuff I haven't heard anybody else point out yet about Artorias. Why was his famous Wolf Ring discovered on a random corpse? Sif retained his covenant ring for centuries---surely for as long as Sif stood watch over his master's grave, no one could have taken either ring. And even Ciaran's Hornet Ring was found on a female corpse presumed to be her own because it was beside Artorias's grave.... And where Gough's Hawk Ring is found also implies plot points.... So I ask again, why was Artorias's Wolf Ring lost to the forest and discovered in the possession of a nobody?!

This is all conjecture, but pretty much the whole entire story of Dark Souls IS, after all, and I haven't even played either the sequel or the threequel yet, so just ignore me if I'm being an idiot here, but.....

I suspect that the Wolf Ring was stolen from Artorias..........prior to his decent into the Abyss.......by an expert in stealth. Only an expert in stealth IMO (or, of course, one individual "Chosen" by Fate to obliterate all other legends) could have stood a chance against Artorias, given his reputation as a swordsman. But, why was it stolen? I suspect this was no petty theft; the answer, I believe, lies in the Wolf Ring's ability, which is to increase its wearer's Poise by a hefty 40pts. This keeps a shield-bearing warrior from staggering under especially heavy blows—a useful defensive tactic.

Backtrack a little. If Gwyn had four knights and the Abyss was such a great threat which was tearing apart the very timespace fabric of Lordran, why then did Artorias and his wolf Sif penetrate the Abyss alone? One other fan-theory I've heard suggests that Dragonslayer Ornstein had inescapable responsibilities in Anor Londo keeping Gwyn's favorite dragon, Duke Seath, in-check; that would certainly be a valid excuse. But as for Ciaran and Gough, seems to me that Artorias was simply braver than they were. And as it so happens, as a famed assassin, one of those remaining two must have been an expert in stealth!

Going back to my theory that Gwyn's Four Knights (Artorias, Ornstein, Gough, and Ciaran) all had Silver Knights under their tutelage and command in Lordran's heyday, I don't think, if Ciaran was responsible, that she stole Artorias's ring herself. Rather, that the body it was discovered on in the Darkroot Garden was that of a student of hers. Such a student may even have been unaware of Ciaran's purpose for stealing the ring, tasked to do so by his commander as a mere test of the abilities she had taught him.

I think Ciaran, having "feelings for Artorias", had heard that he, having an "unbendable will of steel" (which is just a flattering way of saying he was stubborn and maybe even bullheaded) according to the Wolf Ring's item description, had made up his mind to fight the Abyss; and Ciaran, being afraid of loosing him but too cowardly to assist in his fight, had conspired to dissuade Artorias from going by weakening his ability to defend himself. That is, arranging to have his defensive ring stolen, to force him to come to his senses and stay out of harm's way.

Of course, though, having "an unbendable will of steel", Artorias went anyway, without it! Ciaran's ploy was in vain, and in the end had robbed Artorias of the very thing that probably would have saved his life. When The Chosen Undead fights him in his corrupted state, his shield-arm is broken, likely as a result of resisting a relentless barrage of heavy attacks----the very sort of barrage which the Wolf Ring was designed to help withstand. Had Artorias the Wolf Ring in his possession when he and Sif were in the Abyss, it is possible, I suspect, that his shield-arm would NOT have broken, and that he and Sif would have instead prevailed against the Abyss, to return home safely.

Knight Ciaran may never have learned of his broken arm, and therefore that Artorias's loss of the Wolf Ring was SPECIFICALLY to blame for his downfall, but it would still be obvious to her that she had played a part in it. Maybe she wasn't just mourning over his grave out of love when the Chosen Undead encounters her---maybe she was, more importantly, mourning out of guilt. If in fact she did commit suicide there, as the discovery of a female corpse possessing her Hornet Ring suggests, that would certainly seem a stronger reason; she'd be wondering what right did she have to still be alive when someone so much better---braver, more compassionate, more selfless---than she was had paid the ultimate price because of her. (And, yeah, she was probably still just being selfish, and wanted to be with him again at any cost....)

As for Ciaran's supposed student who actually did the stealing, it's very likely that he merely got clobbered by one of the Stone Giants near where his corpse was found; being a stealth-type, it's not likely that he could have defended himself very well (his teacher didn't even know how to parry!) in the event he ever got caught, cornered, and had to fight his enemy face-to-face.

EDIT 06.08.16: Come to think of it, I forgot two additional points: the curse, and the Silver Pendant.

Knight Hawkeye Gough says, "The Abyss weakened Artorias." The Dark Souls Wiki interprets this to be referring to Artorias's broken arm—however, unless Gogh had ever confronted Artorias after he was corrupted and driven insane by the Abyss, and furthermore Gough being blind, unable to see Artorias without physically clashing with him, how the heck would Gough know what condition Artorias's arm was in? Hearsay? No, I think Gough was instead referring to the curse that the Abyss placed on Artorias's greatsword, which enabled it to slash ghosts but statistically reduced its attack power. The Abyss probably imposed the later as a safegard against exactly what Artorias intended to do—destroy it from the inside.

Had Artorias made his covenant with the Abyss after losing his Wolf Ring, or before? It probably doesn't matter (continued below), but I think he confided in someone, probably Gough, that he was starting to get nervous after losing both defence AND attack capability; and I think that whoever Artorias confided in came up with the idea of giving Artorias Oolaciele's treasured Silver Pendant, to attempt to restore some of Artorias's power—and confidence. After all, Oolaciele was desperate to be saved, and Artorias was their only hope; in direct opposition to Ciaran, they couldn't afford to let him change his mind.

EDIT 06.29.16: Actually, it occurs to me now----if Artorias had made his covenant with the Abyss first, thus attaining his special Covenant Ring, then logically if Ciaran had wanted to stop him from traversing the Abyss at all, she or the one acting on her orders would have stolen the Covenant Ring instead. So, therefore, I think Artorias made his covenant with the Abyss AFTER his Wolf Ring was stolen. Because at the time it was stolen, the Wolf Ring may have been the only one he had. (The Chosen Undead is a truly prolific scavenger, lets face it; as valuable and rare as rings are to us Players, they were probably much, much more so to the 'other' characters, limited to high-level knights and whatnot.)

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As a final note about this papercraft-----with this set, I have now created templates of all five of Artorias's weapons: three swords and two shields. As a completionist as well as self-proclaimed polite purist detail-nazi, though, maybe after I get a little ways into playing DS2, I'll try ripping the 3D-model of the one final variation, buried somewhere in the abyss of technobabble gamefiles----the Majestic Greatsword.

Artorias's suit of armor first, though. And some Havel stuff for my bro....