Rider
"It's not invincible strength what makes a hero, it's their heart which lets them keep fighting even in the darkest times. I've met so many heroes in the past and each one gave me courage and the power to smile again. Now it's my turn Master, to be the one to make you smile."
True Name: Calogrenant
Epithet: "The Knight of Love"
Region: Britain (Arthurian Cycle)
Hidden Attribute: Earth
Alignment: Lawful Good
Likes: Competition, Love
Dislikes: Arrogance, The English
Talents: Equitation, Storytelling
Natural Enemy: Black Knights
Parameters:
STR: (C) END: (B) AGI: (A) MGI: (C) LCK: (D) NP: (A)
CharacterRider takes the form of Sir Calogrenant, Knight of the Round Table - though not a Seat Holder like the more famous names. A young and lively man, Calogrenant was well liked by both his comrades and the public for his earnest and straightforward nature even if he could be impulsive which landed him in trouble. He often disagreed with the more "by the book" nature of Kay and Agravain and believed that Knights should be more flexible when dealing with situations as people aren't mere machines and have complexities. Tying into that, he also thought that no one was irredeemable (speaking from experience) and if he got a chance to meet Lancelot again he would punch him before telling him to stop sulking and get it together, then hold out his hand and say they'll walk the path back to the light together.
Calogrenant was especially famous for his courtship of Lady Morvydd which earnt him the title of one of Britain's Three "Ardent Lovers". Kay would often mock him for how he always turned dumb in her presence but Calogrenant didn't care how unbecoming of a knight it was to chase her around like a puppy - she meant everything to him. For her own part, Morvydd ran both hot and cold towards Calogrenant, she was completely aloof and ignored his constant affection but when he was away on duty she would complain about his absence. Calogrenant deep down viewed himself however as not truly worthy of her love due to his past and strove to constantly improve himself both morally and physically to be a man that she could love...even though in reality Morvydd already cared deeply for him but could not express it easily.
Even with his outward goofball nature, do not be fooled as Calogrenant is deceptively smart...when he wants to be. Having been raised as an expected future king, Calogrenant received the best education and he was hand-picked by Ywain to be one of Artoria's counsellors in her campaign to retake Britain from the Germanic tribes. When Calogrenant gets serious and focuses his mind, he practically turns into a different person as his mind races to process all the data - leaving him with a cold robotic demeanour throughout. That said, Calogrenant is wary of being asked to meticulously plan out strategies as he's seen the flow of battle change in an instant due to an unforeseen variable and so believes it's more important to trust in one's immediate judgement and instincts...also having to use your brain less is just a bonus.
But there is a darker side to Calogrenant that he tries to suppress. Seeing his family and homeland razed to the ground by the Angles led to years of fighting on the battlefield to get revenge. If it weren't for both the wise teachings of Ywain and his love for Morvydd which made him strive to be a better man, Calogrenant would have completely fallen to darkness. Though those days are long since past, they nevertheless left a stain on Calogrenant's heart and he has to be careful not to lose himself in the heat of battle, lest he turn into that rampaging demon once again that cannot tell friend from foe. As an aside, he does note the bitter irony of being summoned to the modern land of "England" (lit. "Land of the Angles").
In a Holy Grail War, Calogrenant would choose to fight more like a Saber Class Servant where possible. It's not that his Noble Phantasm is weak, but it is far more effective to keep his opponent guessing at what it can do and lure them into a false sense of security when they think they've got it figured out only to reveal at the last second that it has more hidden abilities. Outside of Noble Phantasm battles, Calogrenant uses his trusty sword and while he may have been the leader of a Calvary squad he's no slouch on foot, boasting as one of the swiftest knights to make up for his average strength with a flurry of sword slashes aimed with precision at the opponent's weak spots. When it comes to a Master, Calogrenant is fine acting as a subordinate so long as he isn't ordered to do anything that would go against his morals. If he found his Master to have truly crossed the line then Calogrenant would do everything he could to stop them, even if it meant giving up his chance for a wish.
His Wish upon the Grail? He would have gone back in time and accepted the offer of the 7th Seat of the Round Table, thinking it would have meant he would have challenged Agravain's authority in trying to vainly capture Lancelot instead of blindly following orders. If nothing else, it might have spared Gareth from having to guard the execution and ultimately getting killed.
Skills
Class Skills
Magic Resistance - (C)
The protection granted against magical effects. Differing from the Resistance effect that merely rejects Magical Energy, this ability cancels the spells altogether. As a Knight during the age of sorcery and dragons, Calogrenant has a decent immunity to magical effect but as shown in his encounter with Sir Lionel during the Grail Quest, he has his limits when faced with powerful enchantments. As such he naturally cancels spells with a chant below two verses but he cannot defend against magecraft on the level of High-Thaumaturgy and Greater Rituals.
Riding - (A)
A Class Skill of Rider and Saber Class Servants, denoting the ability to ride animals and vehicles as one's "mount". As an avid horserider and a member of the Light Calvary Squad under Sir Ywain, Calogrenant had practically lived in the stables and has a plethora of riding experience in a multitude of different situations and now as a Servant all machines and all creatures but those of Phantasmal Beast and Divine Beast-rank can be used as a temporary mount - even vehicles that did not exist in the time period Calogrenant was alive in, for they are no exception.
Personal Skills
Advice of the Strategtist - (B)
A talent afforded to military-affiliated Servants. Calogrenant spent a decade of his life as one of Artoria's "Three Counsellor Knights" and whenever she listened to their advice for military campaigns and political matters she would find great success. By grasping and analysing the situation, Calogrenant is able to formulate a strategy for his allies that has a high rate of success even when taking into account factors and variables that he had no prior knowledge of. In order to counter this ability, an enemy would need an information concealing Skill or else to pass a high Luck Check to remain undetected from Calogrenant's analytical scan.
Berserk - (C)
A corrupted Skill that was once "Bravery" until Calogrenant's lust for revenge against the Angles that slaughtered his kingdom left him a broken man. If it were not for the intervention of Sir Ywain then Calogrenant would have fallen to the path of the Avenger. An ugly side of himself that he tries to surpress, nevertheless every time Calogrenant takes battle damage the rage inside builds until it cannot be contained anymore and the Skill activates. Calogrenant's fighting style becomes much more aggressive as his pain receptors are turned off and so long as his limbs are still functioning then he'll keep swinging at full strength no matter how much damage he takes.
Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy - (A)
A strange Skill born out of a stranger mindset. Calogrenant was infamous as one of the "Three Ardent Lovers" of Britain due to his intense love for Lady Morvydd that was sung about by mediaeval bards and said to only be rivalled by King Uther's love for Queen Igraine. Now as a Servant, his "obsession" as Sir Kay uncharitably calls it grants him an almost complete immunity to Charm Debuffs whether they be magecraft, curses or general techniques. However the true power of this Skill arises whenever Calogrenant is in dire peril - he always had sharp instincts which combined with his high intellect allowed him to survive many a brush with death such as the disastrous Battle of Catraeth. But now when Calogrenant needs help the most, he closes his eyes to find himself teleported back to his quarters at Camelot, with Morvydd by his side once again as she chastises him for being so dense before telling him the correct answer to survive the current situation. Of course none of that is actually real and it is nothing more than Calogrenant's brain overclocking to find a solution - all within a fraction of a second of things happening around him.
Noble Phantasm
Cebystr Clydno Eiddin
Gilded Halter of the Elementals
[Type: Anti-Unit], [Rank: A], [Maximum Range: 0 Metres], [Maximum Number of Targets: 1]
The secret heirloom passed down in Calogrenant's family and one of the 13 Treasures of Britain, it is a special Halter made of an unknown material and gifted to the rulers of Eidyn from the Elementals. Cebystr has dominion over all beasts and so has a variety of effects depending on how it is used.
Being a halter, Cebystr in its neutral state can be best described as an "Anti-Mount" weapon whereby if Calogrenant comes across an animal or vehicle he can tie it up with Cebystr in order to take control of it and make it his own mount. This can even include any creatures summoned by enemy Servants so long as Calogrenant has enough mana to keep them forcibly deployed and they aren't powerful enough to break free from Cebystr. In addition, if Calogrenant equipped Cebystr to an ordinary animal or vehicle then the halter will impart its magic to enhance the mount so that they can deal conceptual damage to Servants, however small that may be.
But the true power of Cebystr reveals the real reason why Calogrenant is summoned as a Rider-Class Servant without his own Mount. In legend it was said that whatever horse the wielder wished upon would soon find it in the halter. Now as a Servant, by pouring his mana into Cebystr, Calogrenant is able to summon forth any beast that the Knights of Camelot once rode. Whether it's Artoria's battle-hardened steed Dun Stallion, Mark's lightning quick Morvarc'h that can run on water, or even Ywain's mighty Lion of Light are just a few possibilities among many. Naturally as he only has one halter, Calogrenant can only summon one mount at a time and the more powerful the beast, the more of a drain on his mana to keep them deployed. In addition, all previously mentioned abilities of Cebystr are locked while he has a mount summoned, but in exchange he'll have access to whatever powers the summoned Mount has.
Nevertheless, it is a useful Noble Phantasm to have in a variety of situations with an unpredictability factor that keeps the enemy on their toes and perfectly matches the fighting style of Calogrenant, an ace cavalryman who specialises in planning out a strategy to hit the enemy fast and hard before withdrawing before they know what happened. He also likes to play with the opponent's mind in regards to what his Noble Phantasm is truly capable of, pretending to not have a mount at first and if he's forced to use one then sticking to the weakest one he can in order to lull the opponent into a false sense of security before busting out the big guns.
Lore (Not for the faint of heart)Once upon a time during the age of magic and fairies, there existed a small Kingdom within Britain known as Eidyn. It's ruler was the brave and bold Clydno Eidyn who served as a vassal to his sworn brother-in-arms and overlord - Uther Pendragon. The days were peaceful under Uther's watch and so Clydno's one and only son Cynon grew up to be a spoiled brat.
But everything changed once Uther died and the savages from the continent arrived to take over. The Angles in particular had set up their domain of Bernicia on the border of Eidyn and were aggressively encroaching on the Clydno's kingdom. In response, Cynon rallied the soldiers and together with neighbouring allies foolishly attempted to engage the Angles in warfare at Catraeth. As expected, the Brits were crushed in battle with Cynon being the sole survivor, having to crawl his way back home through the corpses of his countrymen only to find his home on fire as the Angles ransacked it. Engulfed in despair, Cynon sank to his knees and closed his eyes as the Angles approached to finish him off...But to his surprise he heard the Angles screaming in pain and as he opened his eyes he saw them being shot down by a rain of arrows. Looking to the horizon, Cynon saw an army of knights had arrived and were effortlessly pushing back the Angles - the leader of the knights swooped down and rescued Cynon personally before introducing herself as "Arthur", child of Uther and the rightful King of Britain after pulling the Sword from the Stone. After the Angles were ousted from Eidyn, Artoria asked Cynon if he would join her as she was setting up the Round Table and was looking for strong warriors. Cynon looked at the flaming ruins of his former castle and said that "Cynon" had died that day, but the avenging knight "Calogrenant" would be more than happy to fight the savages.
Throwing away his pride and status, Calogrenant started off fresh as a mere squire under Sir Ywain. Wearing his deceased father's armour which was burned black, Calogrenant threw himself into every battle against both the Angles and the Saxons, fighting violently like a man possessed by a demon. Troubled by this, Sir Ywain asked Calogrenant to step away from the front lines and go with Artoria and act as a counsellor to help the king in the expedition to retake the Old North since he hails from there. Begrudgingly Calogrenant accepted but he spitefully tried to take the long way round to get to her which consequentially led him to encountering the Castle of Maidens.
The Master of the Castle greets Calogrenant, inviting him to spend the night and whilst dining together the Master spoke of a mysterious knight who appears when you whet the stone of a magical fountain. Intrigued, Calogrenant took a detour through the enchanted forest via the directions provided by an ogre acting as the Keeper until eventually he found the target. After whetting the stone as instructed, a terrible storm appeared out of nowhere and pelted Calogrenant and his horse with hail that threated to tear their skin of but Calogrenant managed to use his shield as cover and braced against the assault for what felt like an eternity until the sky eventually cleared. Shortly after a Black Knight appeared and asked who was responsible for calling the storm that killed all the local wildlife. Without waiting to answer, Calogrenant rushed at him with his spear - thinking that this knight must be a nobody if he wasn't a member of the Round Table but to Calogrenant's folly he was immediately unhorsed in a single strike. The Black Knight introduced himself as Esclados and said no more as he simply took Calogrenant's horse and left him on the ground in defeat. As he lay there, Calogrenant felt a wave of shame come over him as his pride had once again caused him to lose something precious to him, as his horse was wearing his father's halter - a family heirloom that had been the last gift to him before the kingdom fell, and now it belonged in the hands of Esclados.
Dispirited, Calogrenant quietly regrouped with Arthur without saying anything and filled out his role as one of her three "Counsellor Knights", alongside Aron and Llywarch. Together the trio successfully advised Arthur on matters both militarily and politically as she swiftly took back the Old North from the Germanic invaders. Once order had been restored, Arthur offered Calogrenant the chance to be her vassal and rebuild Eidyn as the new king just as his father had been under her father. After much reflection Calogrenant turned down the proposal as he felt he was not fit to be a king and instead wanted to wander the country as an errant knight until he found a new purpose. Arthur assented and so off Calogrenant went to journey high and low, getting into various scrapes and whatnot while he searched endlessly for his reason to live. While taking a rest at one of Arthur's spare courts in Caerleon, he was greeted by both Sir Kay and Sir Ywain and they decided to dine together. After a meal and a few drinks the trio shared stories about their adventures and the inebriated Calogrenant talked about his strange and disastrous journey to the Castle of Maidens and his battle with the Black Knight Esclados.
Some time later Calogrenant awoke to a commotion outside and upon stepping outside found Kay arguing with a distressed woman. Upon seeing Calogrenant, Kay motioned him to come over and as he did the woman turned around and the sight of her beauty took Calogrenant's breath away. After a few moments of silence, Kay coughed and explained that this was Ywain's twin sister Morvydd and she is distressed because Ywain had decided to go challenge the Black Knight Esclados after hearing the story and hasn't been seen since. Calogrenant only barely registered Kay's words as he was completely overwhelmed by the feeling of love at first sight and swore to Morvydd that he would move heaven and earth to get her brother back. Dragging Kay and Gawain along with him, the trio set off retracing Calogrenant's steps back to the Castle of Maidens, past the Ogre and into the enchanted forest where they found the fountain once again. Kay volunteered to go first and he washed the stone with the water and summoned the storm on cue. Once they had survived that, the Black Knight appeared as expected and duelled Kay before defeating him and even when Calogrenant double teamed the Knight with Kay they still lost. It was only when Gawain stepped up did the Knight meet his match and after a long duel his helmet fell off revealing none other than...Ywain. The fighting stopped and Ywain explained that he fought and killed Esclados but was duty bond to take his place afterwards as the guardian of the fountain. Freed from his duty, Ywain laughed as he heard Kay mock how smitten Calogrenant was with Morvydd on their journey back to Camelot and said he's okay with them dating, provided Calogrenant doesn't get rejected by Morvydd like every other suitor normally does. When they returned to Camelot, Ywain discreetly tossed Calogrenant the halter that he had lost before explaining that part of the reason he fought Esclados was to get it back as he too understood the pain of losing one's father. Calogrenant was overcome with emotion and thanked him from the bottom of his heart.
The years went by and Calogrenant gained various nicknames for his love of Morvydd, both respectful and mocking as he had asked her hand in marriage over a hundred times but was rejected each time. Thinking that a great heroic deed is what he was lacking, Calogrenant set out as well as soon as he had heard about the race for the Holy Grail. As Ywain had already retired from the Round Table, Calogrenant decided to team up with Sir Bors and together they journey forth. But their time together proved short as Bors was plagued by terrible dreams of him having to fight a demon wearing his brother's armour. These dreams haunted Bors and so they decided to stop at a nearby hermitage to pray but to their surprise they found Bors' brother Sir Lionel sat by the entrance. However the happy reunion was short lived as they saw the look of wrath on Lionel's face as he stood up and drew his sword. He explained that he came looking for revenge after Bors left him to die at the hands of enemy knights. Suddenly the old hermit in charge of the site came and tried to get between the two brothers, exclaiming that this was a holy place but Lionel was so overcome with rage that he immediately swung his sword and cut down the hermit who fell lifeless into Bors' arms. Calogrenant saw that Bors was in no state of mind to fight so he drew his own sword and locked blades with Lionel. As the pair were struggling, Bors carried the hermit's body to the entrance of the hermitage and carefully placed it down before saying prayers for the old man. Try as he might, Calogrenant could not hold back the vengeful fury of Lionel's repeated strikes and his sword shattered under the pressure. Seeing Bors was still in prayer, Calogrenant did the only thing he knew and simply put up his arms to act as a shield to his comrade behind him whilst saying his own prayers to ask for forgiveness for his blood about to be spilled on holy land, then Lionel swung his sword and decapitated Calogrenant. Seeing his brother kill both a holy man and now his friend filled Bors with righteous fury and he drew his sword but suddenly a tower of fire erupted between them and a divine voice called out to Bors to leave Lionel to his fate and instead head to Sir Percival, which he begrudgingly acquiesced. Meanwhile, Calogrenant woke up from his nap and was surprised to find his head still attached to his neck. Hearing a chuckle behind him, he turned around to find the corpse of the old hermit had been replaced with a youthful man sat upon the hermitage steps staring down at him. The man introduced himself as Gurnemanz the Grail Knight and explained that this had been a trial for the pair of knights who were seeking the Holy Grail. Gurnemanz said that the darkness in Calogrenant's heart was still holding him back and so he failed the trial, but his final action to selflessly defend Bors with his own body meant that Gurnemanz decided to step in and use an enchantment to make it look like he had died whilst putting the real Calogrenant to sleep to further test Bors' heart. Thanking the Grail Knight for his assistance, Calogrenant made his way back to Camelot to see Morvydd again after his close encounter with death.
The final chapter in Calogrenant's life came during the twilight years of the Round Table. Sir Agravain had procured evidence that the Queen had been having an affair with Sir Lancelot and had summoned the twelve knights stationed in Camelot including Calogrenant and Sir Mordred. Together they advanced to the Queen's chambers to arrest the pair but found the door locked and bolted. Agravain ordered Calogrenant and two others to ram the door and break it down but just as he had turned his back, the door suddenly flung open and a figure mvoing as fast as lighting snatched Calgorenant and dragged him into the chamber before kicking the door shut once again. Calogrenant kicked off his assailent and rolled away and as he stood up he quickly analyzed the situation. Facing him was Lancelot, both unarmed and unarmoured with the Queen and some of her handmaidens in the back of the room. Even the mighty Lancelot could not take on twelve of his comrades unarmed and so he must be trying to force it into a series of twelve one-on-one fights, Calogrenant thought to himself. As they lunged at each other the battle was over in an instant - by all means Calogrenant should have won, he had longer reach with his sword and his armour would prevent any counter blow from being fatal. But as he was swinging his sword, Calogrenant's eyes drifted to Guinevere and he wondered what he would have done if he was in Lancelot's place and if he was doing the right thing by trying to kill someone who was his sworn comrade just an hour ago. The weight of his concious slowed down his swing by a fraction of a second, just enough so that Lancelot could close the gap and slam his fist into Calogrenant's helmet and launch him into the wall. The shattered helmet fell to the ground and as he looked up, Calogrenant saw Lancelot standing over him, the sword now in his hands. The final thought that ran through Calogrenant's mind was that he would never get to apologise for the argument he had with Morvydd the last time they saw each other...
(As an aside, the darkened armour Lancelot wears in his Berserker form is the very same armour that he took from Calogrenant after killing him.)
RelationshipsAgravain - "I'm sorry. My failure to defeat Lancelot when I could have led to your death."
Artoria/Arthur - "My King...you aren't angry about me borrowing Dun Stallion, are you?"
Gareth - "I wonder, if I had accepted the position of 7th Seat instead of letting it go to you, would I have taken responsibility and challenged Agravain's order to arrest Lancelot and the Queen, in the hopes of preventing disaster?"
Gawain - "Looks to me like you got even stronger than since we last met. How about a little sparing match for old times sake?"
Lancelot - "Do you think it's not okay to smile? Even if you're tormented by your mistakes and solitude, do not give up! You must overcome your past, your present and keep moving forward so you can smile with everyone once more. Live, Lancelot!"
Mata Hari/Salome - "*(Deep Breath)*... BEGONE THOT!!!"
Mordred - "No. Even if I did know what you were scheming, Lancelot and the Queen commited a crime and had to be arrested either way. Had I not died, I would have beat the shit out of you as well afterwards."
Tristan - "Ah, if it isn't my fellow 'Ardent Lover'. Things didn't turn out so well for you either eh? I wonder what happened to the other guy..."
Ywain - "Dearest Brother-in-law...No, you are more than that. After everything you've done for me in the past I don't know how to repay you. But I will, this I swear."
Creator's NotesNot much to say about this Sheet since it was only created to make a point. I guess I ramped up the whole "Black Knight" thing to make somewhat of a parallel with Lancelot who ended up killing Calogrenant at the end. Anyone who can guess the reference in the third personal skill gets a non-existant cookie.
The FaceClaim is Clive Rosfield, the protagonist of Final Fantasy XVI. That said, the personality stems more from Yugo from Yugioh.
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Originally Posted by Break
