(Reference art by http://irisgrass.deviantart.com )

The Abyss Watchers

A lone Abyss Watcher stood, Greatsword hanging by his side as he tightly gripped the handle, the tip of the large blade resting against the stone ground he stood silently on. Around him, sat the remnants of a long, tiring battle. Corpses lay scattered around the open area, some of fellow Watchers, but most being the foul creatures of the Abyss.

Alone, this Nameless Warrior stood, the last of his men. They had been sent to a distant land to destroy an outbreak of the Abyss. It went well at first, clearing out the city of any survivors. Men, women... children. No risks could be taken, all must die. That was the way it was done. Then, the real fight began. From deep in the dungeons they came, swarm after swarm of creatures, corrupted and consumed by the foul Abyss. Some kept their humanoid forms, covered in black sludge; a sign of early corruption. Some, however, where fully transformed, no longer recognisable as the men they once were.

For now, the forces had retreated, leaving the lone Watcher time to recuperate his energy. He looked left, seeing the corpses stretch along the streets, bodies on the floor, slung over broken market stalls and slumped against walls of houses. It was tragic to think about; the fact that this was once a thriving kingdom full of joy and peace. Then they came. Before the Watcher could think too much about it, his vision snapped in front of him as he heard footsteps approaching. He stepped back, extending his arm backwards, Greatsword moving into position as he crouched slightly, ready to strike anything that may approach. In his free hand, he clutched his dagger tightly as he waited.

Drag, step. Drag, step. Drag, step. The footsteps got louder, and the Abyss Watcher waited. Drag, step. Drag, step. More footsteps, this time from his right. He was being surrounded. He watched a shadow duck from building to building from the left too, and began to take mental note of numbers. From what he could tell, there must have been at least ten; and they were getting close. Suddenly, his opponents presented themselves from all sides. What were once villagers, swallowed by the Abyss and morphed into thin and feral looking creatures all stared at him, their many eyes locked on him as they slowly circled the Knight of Farron.

With a small clench of his handle, the Watcher's Greatsword lit up as the blade was swallowed by flames, fire dancing and twirling along the hard steel of his weapon and the Watcher waited, not moving. He would let them come to him. Suddenly, one of the creatures screeched and rushed at him. With a dash, he evaded the creature's dive attack and swung his dagger in an upwards arc, catching the being by the throat in a brutal uppercut, sending the beast flying back and slamming onto its back, wriggling on the floor before falling limp. One down.

Immediately after, a second one came from the right. This time, the Watcher turned to face the beast head on, back stepping to avoid it's hungry jaws as it chomped at him, instead meeting it's strike with his burning blade, slicing the creature in two, completely disconnecting the monstrosities waist from its legs. In 2 halves, the creature slumped to the floor. Frustrated, the rest charged the Watcher from all sides, but he was ready.

The Watcher took two paces back, anticipating his first attack, which he dodged by ducking from a swipe to the left, meeting the creature with a swift strike to the torso with his dagger, slicing the creature wide open before kicking it away, the body slumping against another servant of the Abyss, knocking them both to the floor as the warrior turned his attention to three attackers to the right. He swung his Greatsword, chopping down one creature before breaking into a full spin, clipping the next one as his sword followed his graceful motions. He then finished the third one by launching himself into the air, flipping sideways and bringing the blade crashing down onto the last of the group, pummelling it's frail body into the cobblestone beneath them.

The Abyss Watcher began to straighten up, but was pounced on from behind, stumbling forward as the beasts jaws lunged down and began to tear at the thick fabric that covered his neck, tearing through and burying into his shoulder. The Watcher cried out and quickly lunged forward, flinging the being over his shoulder, watching it slam onto the ground. With a hateful glare, the Watcher brought his Greatsword down on the beast before looking left. The rest of the pack were still approaching, joined by several more of the Abyss' servants. The Watcher stumbled slightly, falling to one knee as he struggled to hold up his large, flaming weapon. Weakly, and on one knee, he extended out his right arm, pointing the tip of his blade forward as his left hand moved up to press on his right shoulder, holding the posture of a true Watcher of the Abyss, staring down his opponents as they closed in before lunging at them, burying his dagger into the ground, using it as an anchor as he did a full spin again, swinging his blade to chop down 3 creatures before releasing the heavy weapon, letting it fly off to impale a fourth creature.

The Watcher broke his spin into a roll, landing on his wounded shoulder and crying out in pain before he landed on his feet, forcing himself up and switching his dagger into his good arm, holding it with his right hand as his left hand moved up, pushing down on his wounded shoulder and collar with his right hand, still clutching his dagger with his left. He looked at his remaining attackers, narrowing his eyes as he tried his best to keep his strength. Once one got close enough, he swung his blade, slicing the beast's throat open, sending it stumbling back. He then dashed backwards to avoid an attack, turning to face his attacker so that he could bury his dagger into their chest, about to yank the blade free when another corrupted soul tackled him down, clawing and slashing at his body as he struggled to kick it off, but it was no use.

Another creature dived onto him too, both of them clawing at anything they could get their hands on, and it wasn't long before the pain became to much. The Watcher's struggling became weaker, his energy fading away as more creatures battled to ravish and mutilate the final Knight's body, which was made easier when his struggling stopped. For the Watcher; everything stopped. The last defender had fallen. The Abyss had won.