[hider=Dragonslayer]

STATUS

Class: Rider
True Name: Sigurd
Gender: Male
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
 
APPEARANCE

Though it is perhaps cliché, Rider’s own appearance makes it rather easy to tell for anyone that looks upon him that he is ‘a great hero’. A lean frame that brims with confidence and strength, his height allows him to tower over most, easily standing at nearly two meters tall, features seemingly carved from marble, no less handsome for it and set into a permanent amused smirk. His skin is tan, taut muscles seemingly bereft of scars despite the notion that the man that boasts of them is a born warrior, and his ashen hair falls down, almost reaching his back, in a mess that is not devoid of its own grace. Though the blood is far too diluted to mean much, he still boasts the red eyes of those who possess the ichor of the divine flowing through their veins, set alight akin to twin crimson pyres, a wild air about him that is his constant companion wherever he goes.

Cutting an imposing figure, he is clad in the armaments of antiquity, a warrior displaced in time. A silver cuirass with blue accents – like breaking waves – along the edges covers his upper body, fashioned into the peak of human physique, made of a certain material long since unavailable to the modern world. Vambraces of the same make and pattern, greaves and boots comprise his armor alongside it and glimpses of fur can be seen, perhaps indicating the wearer is more used to colder climates, black leather pants underneath.
 
PARAMETERS

STR: A END: A
AGI: B MGI: C
LCK: E
 
CLASS SKILLS

[b]Riding: A+.[/b] The hallmark of the Rider class, accounting for expertise in handling vehicles or animals. Rider can freely manipulate the simplest vehicles or state-of-the-art technology with ease, and at this Rank, even [i]Phantasmal Beast[/i] or [i]Divine Beast[/i]-class creatures may be commanded and used as mounts, though it does not apply to members of the ‘Dragonkind’.

[b]Magic Resistance: -.[/b] A Skill that determines the level of inherent resistance the Servant possesses against Thaumaturgy that attempts direct interference upon the self. 

. . .However, it has been lost.
 

PERSONAL SKILLS

[b]Revelation: X[/b]. An anecdote of his story tells of his consumption of the dragon’s blood and later, heart, and following this, he was able to know of the dwarf Regin’s plan to murder him and have Fafnir’s hoard entirely for himself thanks to the birds warning him ahead of time, after which Sigurd killed the dwarf. He is not truly talking with them – rather, upon consumption, he artificially inherited a sort of ‘wisdom’ that manifested itself as a strange connection with the world. He is able to interpret the song of birds, the caress of the wind upon blades of grass and the thrum of mana in the air as warnings or advice on ‘what is the best path’ or ‘what will come next’.

However, Rider seems to have willingly sealed it away, or is otherwise ignoring it wholesale. The only leftover is a persistent sense of ‘déjà vu’. Perhaps it is not something that should be said, but Rider seems to be less than fond of this.

[b]Prana Defense: A+[/b]. A variation of the skill known as ‘Prana Burst’. The fundamentals remain unchanged – use of prana as fuel to accomplish greater feats, but this variation is oriented purely towards defense. Effectively, it is ‘magical energy translated into armor’. The act of bathing in Fafnir’s blood changed the nature of his existence to that of a ‘dragon’, and the act of partaking in its flesh and organs gifted him with the so-called ‘Dragon Factor’ – effectively, Rider is constantly wrapped in magical energy reminiscent to that of such creatures, suffusing the entirety of his physical form, and even without accounting for any physical protections, his body alone is already on par with the Dragonkind – such is the true nature of ‘the hero Sigurd’s invincible skin’ so often praised. However, this invulnerability possesses the same caveat that would be expected – a linden leaf stuck to his back while bathing, and made that place the only one of his body the blood would not reach, and thus, the only true weakness in a defense that should have been, by all rights, absolute.

Due to this, his Saint Graph as a whole manifests the nature of a ‘Dragon’, and thus, he is liable to be more vulnerable against heroes or weapons associated with ‘Dragon Extermination’. It is quite ironic that the bane of one of the greatest dragon-slayers would be ‘kindred spirits’.

[b]Berserk: C[/b]. An ability that results of the combination of Mad Enhancement and Bravery. While under its effects, Sigurd becomes ‘as a savage animal’ – rather than mechanically obeying the Master like Berserkers with higher Ranks of Mad Enhancement, he becomes obsessed with ‘the fight itself’, devoting himself to the complete annihilation of those classified as ‘the enemy’. Though he was not known to fly into such frenzies within his legend, he has gained this skill due to distorted views – such things are ‘what is expected’ from ‘Norse heroes’, and so, it is only natural that ‘the archetypal hero of Norse origin’ possesses the ‘archetypal skill of Norse origin’.

As it should be expected, due to the reckless abandon he fights with while under the influence of this Skill, his upkeep costs are proportionately heightened. Please, exercise caution.

[b]Inversion Impulse: E[/b]. The urge to give in to an impulse that is both 'inherent to the self' yet 'completely alien to the self'. In the case of Sigurd, this impulse speaks to the nature of 'Dragon' that pervades his Saint Graph, the blood running through his veins and drenching his skin. Fafnir was not a two-bit lesser drake – but rather, an archetypal existence that burned the meaning of 'dragon' in generations to come, only rivalled by one other. Tapping into this forbidden well causes a surge in STR not too dissimilar to the effect of Monstrous Strength.

However, every time it is used, there will be a Rank-up to the Skill. Through E to B, no changes will occur in the physical sense – though the Servant's psyche may be compromised, if still functional – but, as the grudge of his blade grows and this Skill attains its apex, should it be used for one last time when it reaches A Rank, a shift will be made manifest upon Sigurd's Saint Graph, turning him into something far removed from the man he is now.

 
NOBLE PHANTASM

[i][b]Grani[/b] – Through the Flames, Nothing shall Bar Our Path[/i]

Rank: B
Type: Anti-Unit (Self)
Range: 1-99

A fantastical existence known as Grani, Sigurd’s much beloved gray mare. The horse itself is of magnificent stock – a gift from Odin while disguised as an old man, through its veins runs the blood of Sleipnir. Though it has attained ‘only’ [i]Phantasmal Beast[/i] status, it should be noted that its age and lineage make it an incredibly strong specimen. Sigurd may call Grani during combat in order to supplement his mobility and attempt to trample his enemies under powerful hooves, but in the end, this is not the true use of ‘Grani, Sigurd’s Noble Phantasm’, so much as it is a use of ‘Grani, Sigurd’s powerful mount’.

Rather than ‘combat’, the Noble Phantasm could be said to be a combination of both Sigurd and Grani in tandem used for ‘travel’. A certain fragment of his legend speaks of how one of Gunnar’s tasks was to pass the ring of fire in order to court Brynhildr, and it is noted to be a task only Grani could accomplish – and only with Sigurd using it as his mount. There are no mentions of why such a thing was required or how such a feat was accomplished beyond the implied ‘Grani was the best of horses, and Sigurd the best of heroes’, and the Noble Phantasm is both a crystallization of the feat and the implication it carried. No matter how treacherous the path, complicated the Bounded Field or well-defended the fortress, should the True Name of the Noble Phantasm be activated, Sigurd and Grani will inevitably appear at their set destination as though by spatial transference – effectively ‘Grani and Sigurd must travel through treacherous ground in order to arrive’ shifts into ‘Grani and Sigurd travelled through treacherous ground in order to arrive’, forcing the world to conform to such ‘truth’ and skipping the ‘journey’. So long as Sigurd knows where the place he wishes to travel to is located, they shall ‘certainly reach their destination’.

It could be said to be similar to a writer’s own laziness in not figuring out a means through which the hero could have bypassed the traps in his way, and simply insisting that he did because ‘this is one of those situations where the destination is more important than the journey, isn’t it? Just get on with the story!’. Of course, the flipside of such is that the farther away the destination and the more dangerous the path (interesting from a storytelling standpoint), the more magical energy will be consumed if the Noble Phantasm is used.

Audiences are truly merciless.
 
 
[i][b]Gram[/b] – Blade of Glory, Blade of Ruin.[/i]

Rank: A++
Type: Anti-Army
Maximum Number of Targets: 500
Range: 1-99

The fabled ‘sword in the tree which grants sovereignty’, a prototype of the arguably more famous ‘sword in the stone that selects the king’, doubtlessly among the strongest of magic swords and the very strongest blade of Norse origin. Originally crafted by the gods and retrieved by Sigurd’s father, Sigmund, it was broken by Odin’s Gungnir during battle. An episode of his legend tells of his quest to find a sword ‘worthy of a hero’ that will permit him to slay Fafnir. Regin forged for him two meager blades, which broke upon testing due to Sigurd’s phenomenal might, and in the end, the youth handed the dwarf the remnants of his father’s blade in order to remake it for the son. However, this is not the end of the tale.

Indeed, it was first forged by the gods. Indeed, it was remade by the dwarf – inhuman in both make and size, boasting enormity only such hands could confer. Yet, at the same time, it was weak because it had been remade – Mystery, once lost, cannot be regained. Such is the way of the world, and Gram’s was lost the very moment Odin broke it. Thus, although first-rate and able to withstand Sigurd’s strength, the blade itself was still a shadow of its former self – its self when it was unbroken and unsullied, which could never be attained again regardless of the smith being the lowest wretch of the mortal realm or the highest among gods. Instead, a different route was taken.

Its nature shifted. Its form shifted. Its identity shifted. Gone was the elegant Sword in the Tree – make way now for the blade that would bring about glory beyond measure and ruin beyond measure, a sword that collected into itself the hatred and curses of the fallen, a demonic blade steeped in the grudges of those slain by Sigurd. Those grudges are the chief source of its power – for hatred that lasts beyond death is no small thing, promising ‘glory on the battlefield’. Yet, at the same time, they also bring about the ‘ruin’ of the wielder – causing Sigurd’s Luck to plummet.

In practical terms, the blade will absorb Mana from the surrounding area and passively feast upon Sigurd’s magical energy upon being wielded, accumulating it within. Thus, the longer the battle goes on, the faster it can be activated, which can be useful under certain circumstances. Runes carved upon the flat of the blade channel and augment – ‘amplify’ – the prana within, and True Name invocation will cause an explosive release of magical energy for the purpose of ‘destruction’ alone. Compared to the elegant gold slashes of certain Holy Swords and the semicircle of searing twilight unleashed by one in particular, Demonic Blade Gram’s release is shaped like a raging, unreasonable cone of vivid crimson that even Sigurd has great difficulty controlling, and it would be no less than ruinous if loosed carelessly.

Physically, the blade is shaped like a truly gargantuan greatsword, almost longer than Sigurd himself is tall and as wide as two and a half adult hands pressed flat. Unlike the more ornate weapons of the era said to be wielded by this man, Gram carries nothing to disguise its true nature – a masterfully crafted killing tool, lacking even a guard, and devoted solely to bringing about the deaths of those in the path of the swing. Though razor sharp – Regin was indeed a master of his craft – its enormity makes it seem more like it would be used as a giant, bladed club than an actual cutting tool like Sigurd can – and indeed, any man that does not possess the strength of the aforementioned dragon-slayer would find it nearly impossible to even lift it, much less wield it, and would likely decry it as far too massive to be called a sword – more like a lump of metal with a handle that would be more at home displayed as a parody. As mentioned, various runes are carved upon the blade and are key to its use as a Noble Phantasm – though they also accomplish a ‘warding’, keeping the grudges of the slain Gram so greedily feasts upon contained within the steel. An unwieldy demonic weapon that one would think to be the tool of a villain, nonetheless owned by a first-rate hero that passed on to the annals of history.

Owing to the nature of its most famous kill, the blade possesses a bonus against those who exhibit the nature of a ‘Dragon’, such as a certain King from a certain island.

Incidentally, it would be renamed ‘Balmung’ at a later date, most prominently within Wagner’s Nibelungenlied and Ring Cycle in general, suffering a change in appearance and a revision to its origins, shifting its nature once more. One cannot help but be thankful for this – after all, ‘that man’ already had enough troubles heaped upon him.
 

DETAILS: BACKGROUND

The great hero of the Völsunga Saga, and oft regarded as the greatest and most famous within Norse mythology, Sigurd, Son of Sigmund and Slayer of Fafnir. A mortal that lived during the Age of Gods, one through whose veins still ran the blood of Odin, he fostered under Regin, the brother of Fafnir, who would be the one to both give him his famous sword and egg him on to slay the dragon, thereby starting the chain of events that would lead to the episodes depicted in his legend. He would meet a certain woman – a Valkyrie by the name of Brynhildr, whom he would exchange vows with, yet she would nonetheless foretell his doom and marriage to another woman. Eventually parting ways, he would arrive to a certain court, where the queen would slip by him a potion that would force Sigurd to forget all about Brynhildr, and thus render him amenable to marriage with Gudrun.

He would be fast friends with (and loyal to) his brother-in-law, Gunnar, who would attempt to woo Brynhildr herself, but the tests of the Valkyrie would prove too much and, exchanging oaths of secrecy and with a heavy heart, Sigurd would supplant him. He did not remember Brynhildr – he simply felt the acts went against his sense of honor and her own dignity, yet he remained steadfast in his loyalty and successfully passed her tasks, exchanging places with Gunnar once he was no longer needed.

Life would be kind, for a while. But lies, as we all know, cannot last. Eventually discovering the truth, feeling cheated out of the man she desired and burning with indignation, Brynhildr succumbed to her love for Sigurd.

. . .Yet, for a Valkyria that ferries souls to Valhalla, ‘to love’ is synonymous with ‘to kill’. And so, she did, arranging for the death of the man she held so dear. That was the sad end to a sordid tale, and eventually Brynhildr would willingly commit suicide by throwing herself to Sigurd’s own funeral pyre, their ashes scattered and mixing in the winds.
 

DETAILS: PERSONALITY AND DISPOSITION

Summoned as Rider, he takes the form of his younger years – one he doubtlessly prefers the most. Compared to the more meditative Saber, the Rider incarnation is still a youth that thirsts for excitement and battle, and even though he attempts to sound relatively dignified, he often slips into rougher speech patterns, most prominently when his battle-lust is roused – perhaps part of the fault lies with the distortions of his culture sphere across time, but Sigurd would readily admit to his nature as a hoodlum even while alive. In short, he gives the ‘delinquent older brother’ impression.

Boastful, proud and nonetheless agreeable, Sigurd is what some would not hesitate to call an odd individual – though one who was aware of his tragic life could be led to believe that he would be the type that carries a somber air about him, the reality is far different, being the sort of man one could not help but bond over drinks with, someone who lives in the present, chasing the moment with all his being. He possesses pride, of course – pride as a hero, pride as a man. His entire life was spent thirsting for adventures like a man lost in the desert would thirst for water, whether recorded in the runestones or not – for is it not the duty of a hero to be grander, to live a life more exemplary than anyone else? To seek challenges in the morn, fight the strongest in the afternoon, make merry with one’s companions at night and do it all over again the next day?

Indeed, much like ‘that one’, Sigurd’s life was spent doing ‘what a hero should do’, but unlike ‘that man’, who believed that heroes should merely limit themselves to doing as other asked, dangerous existences that they were, Sigurd’s own belief was that a hero should strive towards greatness and follow his own heart more than anything, accomplishing great tasks not because it was requested, but because that was their very nature, how things were meant to be.

He has no personal grudges about how his life turned out, even though it was one that was not lacking in wrong turns. ‘I did my best, I think, so I will not sully my pride and their memory with regrets.’, or so he would say. He met two women he loved with all his heart and forged priceless friendships – so long as those moments, ephemeral as they were, remain engraved into his heart, Rider personally thinks that there is no point in regrets and letting them chain him to the past, since they made the precious memories all the sweeter for it.

Thus, although summoned in a War for the Holy Grail, he does not find the price particularly enticing. To him, crossing blades and testing his mettle against legendary heroes from different eras is a reward in and of itself, and as far as he is concerned, his wish has been granted upon summoning.

He respects courage, sticking to one’s principles and the drive to improve and achieve one’s goals most of all, and thus looks down on those with weak wills. He accepted long ago that the world is an unreasonable mess most of the time, uncaring about what is just and what is not, and that bad things happen to good people and vice-versa. Thus, even though he personally leans towards justice, unless he finds the Master that summoned him to be incredibly disagreeable or completely opposed to his beliefs, he will follow orders out of loyalty, and can appreciate the qualities he admires even in the bitterest of enemies, praising them without reservation if he believes they deserve it. This means he has great flexibility in terms of lords he will serve under, but nonetheless, accounting for his own personality and tastes, it would not be wrong to say that he has the greatest compatibility with the sort of dunderheaded idiot that does not know when to give up.

As previously mentioned, he does not think he has a wish worth using the Grail for – and he will certainly not consider changing anything about his life. However, now, with his memories intact, he cannot help but perhaps wait, and hope, that a certain woman would also make an appearance in whatever battlefield he is called to, so that he could bear his sincere feelings one last time. Perhaps that is the only thing that weighs in his memory.


[/hider]