Siegfried Schtauffen

Biography

Siegfried grew up under the influence of his father Frederick, who was a great knight of the people. It was in these years of youth that Siegfried learned swordsmanship from his father. Eventually Fredrick had to leave on a foreign crusade. Without his father's guidance however, Siegfried fell under the influence of a local band of thieves. He quickly rose up their ranks until he became leader. He renamed the group Schwarzwind, or the black wind. Soon the group decided to carry out a plan, to slay the knights who gave up and returned from the crusade. They were sure to be carrying good loot, and since they ran away from their responsibilities, robbing them was justified in Schwarzwind's eyes. One night they decided to ambush a group of crusaders who were too weary from the war to defend themselves. Siegfried took on and slew the leader of the group by himself. As he went to lift up the head of their leader, he let out a shriek of terror that echoed through the night. He held in his hands the head of his own father. Siegfried continued to run through the forest. As he did, more and more memories of the sins he had committed ran through his mind, driving him ever more insane. Eventually his mind broke to the point where he was sure that it could not have been him, but someone else who murdered his father. Hearing of the invincible weapon Soul Edge, he traveled to find it, convinced that only it was powerful enough to slay his father's killer.

Eventually he encountered that which he searched for lying besides the dead pirate Cervantes. However as soon as he approached the corpse transformed into the fiery Inferno. Siegfried was able to defeat Inferno, earning himself the right to wield the blade Soul Edge. However as soon as he picked up the blade, the Evil Seed rained across the sky. The voice of the sword spoke to him, promising to revive his father if he gathered enough souls to complete the sword once again. He agreed to the deal and went on to claim many lives. Eventually he was overcome by the power of the Sword and became Nightmare. Soon however Nightmare was defeated by Kilik and Xianghua.

After Nightmare and Soul Edge fell into the void Siegfried was able to regain control along with some of his strength. Upon waking horrible memories of the ones he killed flooded into his mind, along with the reality that it had been he who murdered his father. Such a resurrection was only a lie brought upon him by his desperate need for salvation. Siegfried then decided upon returning home, with Soul Edge still in his grasp, but in so weak of a state that it continued to leave behind pieces of itself. Upon arriving home he heard his mother praying. It was then that he decided that in order to keep the world safe, he would need to distance himself from society until he redeemed himself. However upon waking every night, he would find himself surrounded by corpses and his new zweihänder Requiem covered in blood.

Eventually Siegfried was again consumed by the evil and took upon the mantle of the azure knight until one day a lone fencer by the name Raphael Sorel appeared in search of the cursed soul. While the battle raged on, inside the mind of Nightmare so did another. Siegfried struggle against Inferno for control of his body. This caused Nightmare to stand still. The lone fencer unleashed an attack directly into the eye of Soul Edge, which allowed Siegfried the opportunity he needed to regain control. Upon reawakening he found a sword that had been unleashed at the same time as himself, the holy sword Soul Calibur. Without hesitation he grabbed its hilt and drove the sword into the core of Soul Edge. Neither sword was destroyed but both lost their powers in this embrace of souls. Siegfried threw off his azure armor and grabbed both Soul Edge and Soul Calibur. He decided that he would attempt to atone for his sins by sealing off Soul Edge. Eventually Siegfried meets the revived Nightmare and they do battle. He fails his mission to destroy Soul Edge and is almost killed in the resulting maelstrom of power. However Soul Calibur responds to his desperate will to live to redeem his sins and maintains his life by encasing himself in armor which he is now dependent on.

With a second chance granted to him Siegfried once again sets out to fight Nightmare and put an end once and all to the horror of the cursed soul, determined to redeem himself even if it must come at the cost of his life.

Endings

Soul Edge

Alas, no more battles need to be waged. SoulEdge now lay in front of him. This warrior, this armor, this sword, may finally rest. But at such a cost...Weak was his body, wounded a dozen times or more. No strength had he. Evil was the spirit in SoulEdge. Like poison it lurked from his bloody hand into his mind. Visions of grief, agony and terror was what he saw. Demons of evil lived inside the sword. Take pity on poor Sieg for he screams in agony. But vain are his screams for no one can hear...Now peace has returned to this land. Harvests are plentiful and sounds of life now fill the air. So brief be this solitude for evil is back. High upon the precipice overlooking the village stands terror ahead. Wearing red armor he wields two swords, with one in each hand. The full moon is but a warning of danger ahead.

Soul Calibur

There was nothing that stand in the way of the wind that cut through this valley. The evil within him had been exercised, and now the warrior cast his eyes upon the windblown valley. His childhood memories, the valiant figure of his father, the beginning of his madness, and the Schwarzwind. "Siegfried, where have you been for the last three years?" "I shall tell you about it someday." Familiar faces, new faces, it seems the Schwarzwind was alive and well. "Demons are on the attack! Prepare to fight, men!" And thus a new wind began to blow...

Soul Calibur III

Siegfried looks down upon his hand, and imagines that it is the same as Nightmare's. Three Nightmare clones than surround him, telling him that he does not deserve to live.

If the player inputs the command Siegfried will grab his sword and cut through all three after which he states that living is his redemption.

If no command is inputted than lighting will strike all three nightmares, upon which Siegfried will then realized that it was his father who saved him.

Soul Calibur IV

Siegfried defeats Nightmare, after which he strikes Soul Calibur into the ground releasing its power. Siegfried and Nightmare along with Soul Edge and Soul Calibur are turned to ice. The screen then fades to black and states that the world would be covered in crystals, making the world into a "utopia" without wars or suffering, because it would have no people. He also appears in Hilde's ending where she forgives him of his sins.
 

Soul Calibur V

Not much is known about Siegfried's story in Soul Calibur V, which takes place seventeen years after Soul Calibur IV, except that Siegfried is no longer the game's main protagonist, that role having been passed to new character Patroklos Alexandra, the son of Siegfried's friend Sophitia. In addition, it is stated that Siegfried is no longer the wielder of Soul Calibur, and it is likely he has returned to using Glam.

Design

Siegfried has always been a knight in armor. Originally he starts off as a youth with short hair. After being consumed by nightmare however his face grows older and his hair grows down to his neck. Ever since Soul Calibur Siegfried has also had a scar running down his eye, although no one is certain why. His costume takes a drastic change in Soul Calibur IV where he now wears bladed paladin's armor that is covered in crystals as a result of wielding Soul Calibur and the blade saving his life. In Soul Calibur V, no longer being under the influence of the secretly evil sword Soul Calbur, the crystals are gone and he wears a more realistic suit of standard armour.

Weapons

• Requiem
• Soul Calibur
• Faust
• Glam
• Soul Edge
• Soul Calibur Complete

Stages

• Ostrheinsburg Castle (SB)
• City of Water (SC)
• Lost Cathedral (SCIII)
• Tower of Remembrance (SCIV)

Trivia

• In Soul Edge Siegfried has a costume called Siegfried! which was a early version of Nightmare
• Soul Calibur III was the first game in the series in which Siegfried and Nightmare were separate characters.
• Glam is a mistranslated of Gram, the weapon the Siegfried of legend used to kill the dragon Fafnir