Siegfried Schtauffen

Facts

Game Appearances

Endings

Soul Edge

He is the young commander of mercenary knights, who seeks an invicible sword in order to avenge the murder of his father. He has yet to find the murderer or the weapons, "Soul Edge."

"I must find the sword and have my revenge... I must..."

In Germany, the oppressed peasants revolted against the Holy Roman Empire. With its forces weakened by the Italian Wars, the German peasants finally had a fighting chance.

One of their champions was Sir Frederick, a brave knight. While on campaign, Frederick met the lovely Margaret and spent the night in her arms. After nine months of battle, Frederick returned to find that Margaret had given him a son. Frederick realized his love for Margaret and named his son Siegfried, after the famous hero.

Several years passed. His father, known as the "gentle knight," taught his son swordsmanship. He embarked upon a foreign crusade, promising his return to Margaret. Young Siegfried, without his father's gentle hand to guide him, fell into bad company. He banded together with a group of outlaws and started commiting crimes. His strength grew and soon he led a feared group of thieves known as "Schwarzwind" or Blackwind. It was then when he conceived his master plan...

"We will hunt the cowardly knights who ran away from the crusades. They carry valuable armor and loot. We'll all get rich!". That night. as a war-weary group approached, the thieves sprang their ambush. The fatigued knights were no match for the thieves. They defeated the knights all too easily. Siegfried killed the knight's commander himself with his proud "Zweihander."

He held the commander's decapitated head up high in triumph. But, as the moonlight shone down, he let out a horrified scream. In his hand was the head of his father, Frederick!! The horror caused Siegfried's mind to snap. Yelling in grief and fear he fled into the forest. He plunged deeper into his insanity, convincing himself that someone else slew his father. He grew determined to find and avenge his father's death!

Hearing about the invincible sword, "Soul Edge," he has come to believe that his father's fictitious killer can only be defeated by this weapon.

"I can't ease my father's soul until I find the sword and slay his murderer!"

Soul Calibur

No one knows when the knight in azure armor first appeared in Europe. It was said that those who saw this knight's crimson eyes could not escape death.

The grotesquely shaped sword in his hand appeared as if enraptured when bathed in the blood of the living. And then there were the grotesque monsters that followed him...

Seasoned knights and armies equipped with the latest firearms were no match for it, as the nightmarish horde cut a path of destruction and horror through towns and villages.

.......................................

Siegfried barely hung on to his sanity by supressing the memory of him killing his father.

He obtained Soul Edge to avenge what cannot be avenged, only to become enslaved by it instead.

Many years passed during which time his soul was consumed by the demonic blade, and he eventually came to be known as Nightmare. The resurrection of his father Frederick succedded at last, but he discovered it was a mere illusion created by his weak soul.

Admonished by the illusion of his father, he accepted responsibility for his sins by relinquishing ownership of Soul Edge. As penance for his sins, Siegfried now travels around the world to destroy any evil left by the demonic blade.

Soul Calibur 2

Originally, he was the leader of a group of brigands known as the Schwarzwind (Black Wind), whose stronghold was located near the Roman Empire. He left on a journey to find Soul Edge after his father was murdered.

Eventually, on a Spanish harbor he came across a sword emanating a strange aura lying besides the corpse of a pirate. The dead body returned to life, covered in flames, as if to protect the sword. Upon defeating the apparition, he reached for the hilt of the mysterious blade.

It was then that he heard the voice of Soul Edge. It told him that if he used the souls absorbed by the sword, he would be able to resurrect his father. From that moment on, the man became Nightmare, the evil knight who would go on to strike fear into every corner of Europe.

He killed for three years thereafter to feed his sword with souls. But his dream was crushed when a warrior wielding a spirit sword called Soul Calibur--a sword with polar opposite energy of Soul Edge--appeared. Nightmare and Soul Edge were defeated, and they both fell into the collapsing void.

He somehow managed to survive and regained some of his sanity. Along with lucidity came the horrifying memories of the sins he had committed, as well as the realization that it was he who had murdered his father.

He knew Soul Edge must never fall into the hands of another man. He set off to be as far as possible from other humans, yet awoke every morning to the sight of people he had slain during the night. The evil blade took over his body while he slept.

After four years, he was once again Nightmare, his body taken over by Soul Edge completely. He began to pursue the fragments of Soul Edge in a mission to full restore itself.

Will there ever be a day when he will be Siegfried Schtauffen once more?

Soul Calibur 3

Collecting the powerful souls and the fragments of Soul Edge, Nightmare was approaching the revival of the cursed sword. He returned to Ostrheinsburg Castle, a place that had seen the blood of many spilled, and there found a man wielding a thin sword in his left hand. The man sought Soul Edge, but after a fierce battle, Nightmare defeated him.

Nightmare closed in to finish him off, but at that moment, a brief flicker of Siegfried's will returned, and he struggled against the cursed sword. One voice sought atonement and a desire to restore pride. Another laughed, saying that all men shall despair at the darkness of death.

At this conflict raged within Nightmare's mind, the wounded man drew upon his last strength and unleashed a desperate final blow. The blow cleanly pierced the center of Soul Edge.

Nightmare let out an inhuman howl and writhed in pain, two consciounesses clashing within him.

And finally, with a will of iron, Siegfried reclaimed control of his own body. At that moment, the area was covered in light, and Soul Calibur suddenly appeared. Reflexively, Siegfried took the holy sword and stabbed it into the eye of Soul Edge.

The power of the cursed sword was sealed, but the spirit went silent as well.

"This isn't enough... I swear to seal away Soul Edge for all time and atone for my sins!" Smashing into pieces his detestable armor, Siegfried set out on a journey. However, his blood-stained fate would not release him so easily. The feeling of a grotesque right arm periodically welled up his memories. The whispers of the cursed sword echoed in his ears.

And each time he was forced to fight those who sought revenge on Nightmare, his mind was wracked by guilt...

Soul Calibur 4

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