Just one bite

Artorias noticed the swell of pride in his second born, the glee in his dark eyes when he called him a knight. It came as no surprise that both his boys fancied the path of the warrior. He had been equally drawn to it at their age, and just as Resin had encouraged him and trained him along his journey, so too would he offer that road to any of his children. Ciaran was enthralled with his tales as he explained the history of how these weapons all came to be, hanging on every syllable and every detail Artorias spoke. Then came the question he really should have expected, but hadn't been ready for. Would there be enough Carpathian steel for them all?

Artorias' gaze shifted from his son up to the locked strongroom across the armory where the rest of the special weapons lay in wait. The short answer was no. There would never be enough of the rare steel to arm every member of the Hallows that ever would exist, and with a finite amount of it in their armory and no known way to reproduce it yet, someday the steel would run out. He and Ruga had worked to painstakingly restore the weapons they had, and Artorias would keep them in perfect shape until they were claimed, but the fact of the matter was simple—no new Carpathian steel weapons were being made.

Turning a reassuring smile back to his son, Artorias leaned forward aiming to boop his nose against that of Kea's. "Don't you worry about that, my boy. When you come of age, if you wish to have one, there will be plenty left for you and your siblings." That much he could promise Ciaran. The Hallows had enough to give all of his first litter a special weapon should they desire it. "But you will need to prove you're fit to wield such a weapon, son. All weapons are dangerous, and these are especially so. If you show me that you're serious about your training and that you're responsible enough to care for it properly, then we can consider it." Art lifted the sword back up in his jaws, the steel reflecting a rippling ray of silver light as it moved through the air. The Aegis returned it to its home in the vault and locked it, giving his son a lopsided smile. "And speaking of training, how would you like to come see how your father first learned how to use a sword when he was your age?"

"Artorias Carpathius"