Once, there was a kingdom. Many warriors flocked to its lands and swore their arms to its cause. Battle by battle they conquered in its name, growing its borders, building its legend. They were great, it was said, and great was their kingdom, and greater still their king. Their power, unrivalled, could only be likened to God's kingdom, whose earthly regents they were. Blessed warriors, they were called, holy knights, champions of the faith. And yet, for all their powers, human, all too human.
Once, there was a kingdom built by men, for men. Naturally, it was by the hands of men that it fell to ruin.
Those knights, strong of arm and faith, yet weak in flesh and mind. Time made murderers, adulterers, covetous tyrants of them all. The legend they built came to a piteous end. Their dreams ephemeral, their bonds frail.
They were warriors, but they were no heroes. Men this weak could not carry the weight of their own dreams, let alone humankind's. The kingdom they built is less than dust, their deeds dissolved into falsehoods. The names they bore remain as cenotaphs, spinning fables of what was not and what may yet have been, avoidant of the truth. That they who lived such lives were men, and lived as men, and died as men, and all they ever served was their desires.
And what is it humanity desires? A hero. And what is a hero? Someone who serves man. And who can serve man, when man only serves himself? One that is above, and beyond, man.
That kingdom had had its fill of warriors, who only blaze the path of ruin. Its people called out for a hero, one who could walk the path of salvation for everyone to follow.
A man above the desires of man. A master of all who chooses to serve all. The perfect knight. A hero.
That is I.
And I alone.
Class:
True Name: Galahad
Alignment: True Neutral
Stats
STR - A
END - A+
AGI - D
MGI - C
LCK - A+
Class Skills
Magic Resistance - A: The protection bestowed upon a knight on a divine quest. Rejects magic, rituals, and heresies of all kinds.
Riding: - (E): The skill to control steeds of all kinds. Having sailed on the Ship of Solomon and ascended to heaven, Saber cannot ride upon any earthly steed or vessel anymore.
Personal Skills
Champion of Virtue - A: Immaculate chivalry, dispassionate justice, peerless mastery, unwavering faith, absolute loyalty, stainless purity. The embodiment of the chivalric virtues cannot be brought to ruin unless by his own doing. Saber is unaffected by rank-downs and status effects of any kind, up to and including checks of instant death, befitting of one who survived the trial of the Siege Perilous. Additionally, this Skill functions as a variation of Charisma, imposing awareness of Saber's overwhelming excellence on those who lay eyes akin to mental interference. The degree of its effect on other Servants depends on their alignment, with Lawful Servants merely seeing Saber for what he is and Chaotic or Evil Servants facing LCK rank-downs.
Revelation - A: The quest for the Holy Grail began with a vision, and was guided by revelations every step of the way. Saber's divine visions only reveal information about the Holy Grail, but in a Holy Grail War this encompasses many things indeed, from the actions of those who plan to undermine the sanctity of the contest to those whose hearts are clouded and bring their twisted desires on the battlefield. Visions pertaining to the participants of the Holy Grail War may be revealed to him, and he innately grasps certain aspects of the character of those he meets, specifically pertaining to their wishes, vices, and virtue or lack thereof. Additionally functions as a sixth sense in battle, where Saber's attunement to the voice of God may guide him to the optimal action.
Keeper of the Grail - EX: He who has held the Holy Grail and seen the light of Heaven. Having attained the Grail, Saber became its keeper, fulfilling the destiny of man and precluding the need for others to follow in his footsteps. As its champion he receives the majority of the magical energy support needed to materialise from the Holy Grail instead of his Master, and replenishes it at a higher rate. Additionally, while he is defending the Grail from others, he receives plus modifiers to all his stats that don't already have them. However, as those who fight in the Holy Grail War have been chosen by the Grail to begin with, he cannot kill an enemy while they are actively fighting for it, but only block their path as a test of their mettle and worth. Finally, having already attained the Grail in life, Saber cannot under any circumstances take the Grail for himself again. In return, he may repeat the wish he had wished upon the Grail in life at any time: he may choose the time of his own death.
Noble Phantasms
The Sword in the Stone
Rank: A
Type: Passive
"Never shall man take me hence, but only he by whose side I ought to hang, and he shall be the best knight of the world." The sword that crowned Saber as the greatest knight of all, bestowed by the king of knights himself. Drawing this sword marked the beginning of his quest, and it never once wavered until its wielder's quest was finally complete. When Saber draws his sword to fight in a battle for the Grail, fate itself decrees that he prevail. Clashes of equal rank are always in his favour and saving throws always go his way when faced with killing blows. As long as this sword is drawn, Saber cannot be defeated.
The perfect knight does not falter by any action but that of his own doing, and so this protection will fade if Saber is ever anything less than the paragon of what a knight should be.
The Sword of Strange Hangings
Rank: A
Type: Anti-Self, Anti-Unit, Anti-Army, Anti-Fortress
The same sword, wielded with an impure heart. Cancels all personal skills in exchange for raising all stats to A+. Shoots beams and stuff. Saber will not use this.
Personality:
It is said that there is no such thing as a perfect knight. That is not strictly true. What is meant is that such a thing as a perfect knight could not possibly be human. That much is true.
Galahad is the answer to the prayer for a man above the needs of men. Men tore the kingdom apart for petty rule, so he does not wish for power. Men broke their vows over lust, so he does not care for women. Men turned on one another because of their fickle hearts, so his feelings do not waver.
Even the greatest heroes fell because of their humanity, and so the people asked for a hero who was not human. His is an existence meant to not be able to fail. His perfection is his own nature, and he has known nothing else. His victory was inevitable, the salvation he brought guaranteed. In other words, from the very beginning his choice had been denied.
A perfect knight is something people wish for their own sakes. If something meant to serve humans possessed humanity of its own, it would no longer do so.
Saber lived and died for the sake of others, so that the disgrace of his progenitors may be washed clean and the failed kingdom consecrated in memory as a shining beacon of virtue and knighthood. The burden he bore for Camelot became his own legend, but Camelot is no more, and never was the entirety of the world to begin with. In any era, in any place, the perfect hero is something that people will turn to when nothing less will do.
But that future may yet change. The humanity of today has turned away from its gods, shunned its icons, and is aiming to surpass even the world it inhabits. This modern world where humans no longer need heroes is one that pleases Saber, insofar as he can feel, and it is one he believes fulfills the wish underlying his own creation, as well as explains why he has been summoned in the first place. Until that moment when his duty is finally fulfilled he will protect this march of progress, and he believes that his existence as the perfect hero should suffice, rendering all other heroes obsolete. It is only natural that he should feel they fall short of the mark, compared to himself.
Saber does not hesitate to expound on how superfluous the existence of other Servants is, not to mention their lacking credentials as Heroic Spirits to begin with. As an embodiment of virtue his moralising knows no bounds, and he will mercilessly criticise the failings of others without a hint of either tact or ill intent. Saber could never be accused of possessing social graces.
It can be said that although his intentions are inherently pure-hearted and virtuous, the goals he might support and the actions he may take to facilitate them are not necessarily 'good', although they are undoubtedly those of the "justice" he is meant to serve.
Long ago, humanity wished for someone who would show them how to strive for something higher, someone to prove that man can rise above petty pursuits and the failings of the past to achieve personal greatness. Galahad is all too happy to keep reminding them, even after they ask him to stop.
Originally Posted by mAc Chaos
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