Curtis (カーティス?) (birth unknown, died 1583) is a non-playable character in Soulcalibur VI who can be seen in Grøh's Soul Chronicle, and briefly in Libra of Soul. Curtis was a member of the Aval Organization but now turned to serve Nightmare. He uses Grøh's fighting style.
Revived by Nightmare, he was titled "Sword of the Inquisitor".
History[]
Background[]
Curtis, like Grøh, is one of the Twelve: the Aval Organization's ruling council. The two young men fought side-by-side on many missions, and together rose through the organization's ranks to prominence. Sworn friends, Grøh is the only one Curtis can truly speak his mind to.
Curtis is the second son of a family of English knights that can trace their lineage back to the days of yore. Staunch supporters of Aval, his house has produced a number of notable warriors and leaders, including many who were raised to Aval's Twelve. Thus, in the tradition of his family, Curtis was brought up to lead the Aval Organization into the next age.
Well-versed in both combat and strategy, his talent as both warrior and tactician has resulted in a nearly flawless mission record, a feat few can match within Aval. He is often teased for caring almost too deeply for his subordinates, but this burning sense of responsibility—along with his ability—means that the missions he is responsible for almost always result in few casualties and little collateral damage. As such, he is a popular and well-regarded leader.
Curtis once looked upon Grøh's single-minded focus on battle and inability to make friends with displeasure, but after many missions together, the two grew to understand and respect each other. In fact, Curtis now believes Grøh represents the beliefs of Aval more than anyone, and often frets about how to make his friend more approachable and liked by his peers.
"Sword of the Inquisitor" Curtis[]
Beside the throne which Nightmare sits stands a magical swordsman cloaked in black. Chosen by the attendant Vier, he has purged countless people who were brazen enough to infiltrate Ostrheinsburg Castle. His superior battle skill and eye for strategy set him apart from the other sword malfested, but he is extremely guarded, and many of the lower rank malfested are not even aware of his existence. His true identity is in fact Curtis of the Aval Organization's Twelve, though no one else in the army seems to care about his origins
Compared to the talkative Sechs and Acht, Vier is rather reticent, her motives largely unknown. It remains unclear how she met Curtis or why she decided to grant him her power.
Most of the sword malfested retain their human personalities, so it is highly likely that Curtis remembers his duties as one of the Twelve. And yet, he continues to stand on the former side of his teammates. His eyes have long lost the sunlit glimmer of life, shrouding his true feelings in mystery.
Soulcalibur VI[]
Other Soul Chronicles[]
Curtis's first chronological appearance is in Hilde's story, where he aids Wilhelm in stopping the mad king George, who was directly hit by one of the Evil Seed beams of light that showered from Spain.
Curtis also appears in Grøh's story, coming to check on him after he was defeated by Nightmare and "saved" by Azwel. Grøh decides to omit that his arm is making him an outsider, and acts cold and impatient to Curtis, who assigns him a new mission. Should he succeed in this mission, Grøh's punishment for failing to subdue the Azure Night (losing his seat as one of the Twelve) could be nullified. Though Grøh expresses that he does not care for his position among the Twelve so long as he can subdue outsiders, Curtis tells him that he would rather lead alongside Grøh. Curtis also tells Grøh that he will be going on this mission alongside him as an observer.
Before setting out on Grøh's mission, he and Curtis spar in order to test Grøh's skills. During the spar, Grøh's malfestation sparks, almost making him deal a lethal blow to Curtis. Curtis attributes the incident to Grøh's injury, but Grøh assures Curtis that the injury will not cause them any troubles on their mission. Curtis yields, believing in Grøh's words. Their master, Orzal, appears, making Grøh question his motives to be there. Curtis chastises Grøh's tone, but Orzal does not object, claiming to have intel about their mission. Curtis mentions that their missions together never end up going smoothly, but he expects this bad luck to wane in the mission to come.
During the mission, Curtis attempts to help a merchant under assault, and notices Grøh's avoidance to using his left arm. Curtis tries to question it, but Grøh denies any explanation. When asking about Grøh's left gauntlet made by Azwel, Grøh merely mentions that the arm still suffers drawbacks from the Azure Knight's fight. Curtis states that Azwel is not loyal to either Aval or the Twelve, but remarks that he trusts his friend.
Infiltrating the Fygul Cestemus hideout, they quickly dispose of the ones inside, until Grøh unknowingly activates his malfestation, killing the last priest. Curtis asks if it was the work of Azwel, Grøh answers that Azwel claimed Nightmare was the one that turned him. Curtis then explains that having the power of the enemy can be useful, but the organization will not think the same way. Curtis then decides to put Grøh out of his misery. Curtis is soundly defeated, but his friend spares him, saying that he never wished to take Curtis's life, and that he will take his own life when all outsiders in the world are gone. Curtis says that, since it means both are betraying Aval, he shall find own punishment too, in due time.
All is cut short when a knife is launched at Curtis. Azwel then claims he will get rid of witnesses, plunging the cursed sword's fragment at Curtis's body and malfesting him. Grøh is then forced to mercy kill his best friend. In his last moments, Curtis apologizes to Grøh, saying that he is on his own now. When Grøh tries to assure that all will be fine, Curtis remarks that Grøh truly is a simple man. Grøh thanks Curtis one final time and says he will take care of the rest. Curtis remarks that he believes Grøh can, before presumably dying. However, this would not be the end for Curtis.
In Nightmare's interlude, it is revealed that the being known as Vier has paired with Curtis's body, forcing him to become one of the "Sword Malfested" of Nightmare's ranks, under the moniker "Sword of the Inquisitor". When Iska Acht mocks Johan Dürer for taking Wilhelm's arm, Curtis repeats the name of his old acquaintance, making Iska question if he knows him. However, Curtis denies, saying that he doesn't know him. The spirit then ignores Curtis's response, turning her attention to the Azure Knight.
In Libra of Soul[]
Curtis appears as an enemy berserker during one of the missions of Astral Fissure closing, when the Conduit choose to close the one in western side with Natalie. After the Conduit defeats him, he apologizes to Grøh, before collapsing.
Personality[]
Well-versed in both combat and strategy, his talent as both warrior and tactician resulted in nearly a flawless mission record, a feat few can match within Aval. He was often teased for caring almost too deeply for his subordinates, but this burning sense of responsibility—along with his ability—means that the missions he was responsible for almost always resulted in few casualties and little collateral damage. As such, he was a popular and well-regarded leader. After being brought back to the living as a Malfested, Curtis stutters, and appears to keep his emotions unknown, though being asked about Wilhelm makes him omit info about his old partner, implying that he struggles to accept that he's no longer part of their side.
Relationships[]
- Curtis and Grøh shared the same master, Orzal.
- Sworn friends with Grøh.
- Being part of Aval Organization, Curtis is directly an ally of Wolfkrone Kingdom. He and Grøh are the first persons to witness George von Krone’s downfall into a malfested when Evil Seed’s widespread malfestation occurred, thus manage to warn the malfestation survivors like Hilde and Wilhelm von Krone about the kingdom’s recent situation. Curtis also entrusts Wilhelm with the Aval’s latest weapon to combat malfested.
- Has an attendant that goes by the name of Vier. It is not known his exact relationship with Vier is after his revival, though it's likely that he follows her orders reluctantly, such as getting rid of intruders in Ostrheinsburg Castle.
- Became a "sword malfested", a servant of Nightmare.
Trivia[]
- Like Grøh's name, Curtis is not his real name but merely a codename. [1]
- Grøh is the only one Curtis could truly speak his mind to. The two young men fought side-by-side on many missions, and together rose through the organization’s ranks to prominence.
- Curtis once looked upon Grøh’s single-minded focus on battle and inability to make friends with displeasure, but after many missions together, the two grew to understand and respect each other. In fact, Curtis believed Grøh represented the beliefs of Aval more than anyone, and often fretted about how to make his friend more approachable and liked by his peers.
- The bond Curtis has with Grøh is one of the main reason's Grøh is able to control his malfestation. [2]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ^ Takahashi, Yoshinori [@masuooyama] (November 18, 2020). "Perhaps they know each other's real names. It seems unlikely that they will ever call each other by that name, though.". (Tweet). Retrieved March 31, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Takahashi, Yoshinori [@masuooyama] (November 19, 2020). "Curtis, Grøh's best friend, is an essential part of Grøh's story. I believe that the strong feelings for him are one of the reasons why Grøh is able to control his evil powers. If he had lived, Grøh might not have been in such a hurry to fight to the death...". (Tweet). Retrieved March 31, 2021 – via Twitter.
| New Timeline Characters | |
|---|---|
| Playable Characters | Amy • Astaroth • Azwel • Cassandra • Cervantes • Grøh • Hilde • Hwang • Inferno • Ivy • Kilik • Maxi • Mitsurugi • Nightmare • Raphael • Seong Mi-na • Setsuka • Siegfried • Sophitia • Taki • Talim • Tira • Voldo • Xianghua • Yoshimitsu • Zasalamel |
| Other Notable Characters | Bolta • Curtis • Daniel • Dion • George von Krone • Gerhilde von Egilmar • Gorozaemon Yamabuki • Gyobu Kokonoe • Iska Acht • Johan Dürer • Kim Cheol-hwan • Kunpaetku • Kyam • Lingyu • Lucius • Lyla • Natalie • Orzal • Plata • Rothion • Seong Han-myeong • Sakan Inobe • Shugen Kokonoe • Valtro • Vercci de Burg • Wilhelm von Krone • Won Gabok • Won Soo-hyun • Xiangfei • Xianglian • Xiuqiang |