Knight Artorias was one of the four Knights of Gwyn, the commanding knights of Lord Gwyn's army. Artorias had an unbendable will of steel, which both helped and fed his hatred for servants of the Dark, particularly the Darkwraiths of Kaathe. Lord Gwyn bequeathed him with a custom-made ring, the Wolf Ring, to assist in his already unmatched ability to wield a greatsword. When in New Londo Artorias discovered the ability of abysswalking; earning him his title: Artorias the Abysswalker. This allowed him to enter The Abyss, the home of the Darkwraiths and the Four Kings themselves. At some unspecified time in the past, when Oolacile was attacked by the Abyss, Artorias traveled to Oolacile to rescue Princess Dusk of Oolacile. Defeated by Manus and the Abyss, Artorias sacrificed his great shield to protect his loyal companion, a young Sif, from the myriad Humanity Sprites that littered the deepest reaches of Oolacile. With his left arm shattered following his confrontation with Manus, he had no use for the shield and chose to wield his greatsword in his one good hand. With time, Artorias became fully-corrupted by the Abyss (though, in hunting the corrupted denizens of Oolacile, it is clear he didn't wholly forget his mission). At some point after this, an unknown hero (The Chosen Undead) travelled back to the past and, in the process of relieving Oolacile of its corruption and rescuing Dusk, finally bested Artorias. In doing so, The Chosen Undead preserved the lost knight's honour. Despite The Chosen Undead's feats, the saviour of Dusk and Oolacile would come to be attributed to Artorias. Rather than being corrupted by the Abyss like the rest of Oolacile, it was believed that he perished while facing the Abyss. Perhaps the only compatriot of Artorias that knew the truth was Sif, who in thanks for his rescue from the Abyss gifted The Chosen Undead Artorias' Cleansing Greatshield.