Noble Phantasms
Battle of Bravalla
Valhalla on Earth
- [Reality Marble] Rank (EX)
Look all around you! This is heaven! Glorious battle with good foes, who even come back so you can fight them again! Endless warfare! This is my last and greatest battle, that ceases only with my death , the Battle of Bravalla, Valhalla on Earth!
This NP represents the Battle which he arranged, that brought every known Viking hero of the time together, along with every fighting man, all in order to make a worthy battle for him to die in. The sagas describe it just as they describe Ragnarok itself, as it turned into a general melee, the most glorious oversized pub brawl in Viking history. Vikings born after the battle lament they could not have fought there, so storied was the carnage. It is the crystallization of his Kingship. He united the Viking kingdoms under him with glory and war, and even when he wished to die, he did so by uniting every Viking warrior of worth in a single grand Battle.
When it is activated, a Reality Marble manifests itself onto the world, an enormous rocky island, docked on every side by Viking Longships, extending so far they form an unbroken platform into the border of the Marble. Rivers run through the island, which slowly turn red over time. Unlike many Reality Marbles, one can freely walk in and out of the Reality Marble, entering through the glowing dome that signifies it. When it is activated, first , the most famed Viking Heroic Spirits are summoned, who arrive in anticipation of a great battle. Then lesser Heroic Spirits arrive, then a steady stream of the wraiths of every Viking Warrior who ever aspired to glorious battle. They are summoned as the Einherjar Host, the grand army of the Gods that dies in battle every day, all in preparation for the Final Battle. Just as he united the Vikings in war, so he does now, as they flock to the island to endlessly stream forth from countless longships. However, just as uniting them did not make them follow him, the great Viking host created does not necessarily answer to him. While some will side with him, far more will oppose him seeking a good fight. Only a grand enemy, like Iskandar’s Ionian Hetairoi, or a fully manifested Angra Mainyu, can unite them under Harald’s banner. No matter what, the Reality Marble becomes an enormous war zone. Warriors will constantly battle it out, wherever available , either with the grand enemy if present, or each other. If dead, they return with the sunrise of the next day, and the battle only ends with Harald’s own death, just as the actual battle of Bravalla. The Battle of Bravalla, since it only ends with Harald’s own death, absorbs prana from the leylines it is activated upon, and the Viking Heroes who enter bring their own legend and power to sustain their chosen place of doing battle, as they will it to continue on. It has a very low prana requirement because of this, being able to be in place for days or weeks at a time. Enemies can even exit and enter by entering the area overwritten, and they will emerge and leave from one of the viking longships. It will become a large permanent target/fortress that is immune to most anti-fortress Noble Phantasms due to it’s reality marble nature. Of course, it is a fortress just as dangerous to those in it as those out, as any within will be targets for the many Viking Heroes.
Enemy Heroic Spirits and their masters will find it to be an extremely dangerous area. If they are going to give a good fight, they're fair play, and some of the Viking Heroes within are a challenge for any servant. Harold will have those who ally with him build a fortress for his little army somewhere, causing others to build their own halls and forts. It is advisable to capture one, obtain the friendliness of a nearby faction opposed to Harald, and use it as a relatively safe base from which to plan operations against Harold within his Reality Marble.
A healer of some sort would be likely go unmolested in this place so long as they had no combat ability and/or willingness to fight, and indeed, would be sought after for aid at times, as a warrior can only fight for so many hours with no arm and half a face before wanting a quick pick-me-up. Sure, dying cures all ills and makes one completely hale, but it takes a while to come back depending on when you kill yourselves, and what warrior just slices their own throat so they can get their foot back? Much better-sounding to go find that one person who can reattach their appendage instead.
It is a true warrior’s paradise, where one may fight forever against worthy foes. Harald’a own life is the only limit. Harald's last battle was Bravalla, and it was where he went to die. The moment Odin struck him in the back of the head in order to halt his ceaseless carnage, and his foe learned of his death, the battle stilled. His body was carried to a pyre, and all paid their respects to the greatest Viking that had ever lived. Thus, the moment of Harald’s death, the Reality Marble’s components disperses, and the Heroic Spirits and wraiths summoned leave as well. Before then, the Heroic Spirits and wraiths summoned will the glorious Battle to continue and to exist, similar to how Iskandar inspire do his men to be so loyal all as to follow him beyond death. For Harald, every Viking warrior born after, lived during, and even those who died before the battle all aspired to the Grand fate that the Battle of Bravalla represents, dying in battle. His Reality Marble thus call s to them, promising the Valhalla they'd wished for upon Earth, and Harald's legend and their will to fight again drags in their spirits, allowing them to walk the earth and drink booze and brawl once more.
Just as it heralded Harald’s death, the Marble being activated ensures Harald is bound to an inevitable death in battle, a fact of Destiny he will normally accept. Whether or not he somehow is convinced to not wish to die in battle, it will take effect regardless, and the reality marble remains in effect until Harald dies. Effects that inflict disease, aging, or similar effects that are not somehow tied to wounds or damage inflicted in battle, are bound by his destiny to not kill him, just as Gae Bolg cannot be evaded. In addition, if he is bound or otherwise disabled by an effect that reduces his combat ability to the extend he cannot fight back, he will also be unable to die, as it is not a death in battle, but an execution. A luck check by the origin of the effect is needed, that requires A-ranked luck to possibly overcome the effect that halts death not in battle. He can still be weakened by the effect, though it must then overcome his battle continuation. It just can’t stop him from fighting. If he somehow decides against dying in battle, his fate requires a luck check with A-ranked luck needed to possibly escape. Obviously , he would require an ally to artificially raise his luck parameter. He would also lose the benefit of being immune to deaths not in battle.
In comparison to Ionian Hetairoi, it is both similar and not. On one hand, Ionian Hetairoi is an expensive way to create a large almost unstoppable army of low-level heroic spirits, all loyal to one man who has enormous tactical ability. On the other hand, Battle of Bravalla is much less expensive, able to be put in place for days or even without exhausting one’s mana reserves, with the ability to create a truly massive warhost of Vikings. However, they are all independent warriors whose priority is not loyalty to Harald, but combat. In some conditions, it is more bane than boon, as one must now contend with enemy Viking Heroes as well as one’s opponent, as the battlefield is highly likely to be Harald’s end. For opponents who rely on minions or a single extremely dangerous being, be it themselves or a summoned creature, however, it is exceedingly dangerous. Their normally advantageous allies or personal strength makes them a target for all the Viking Heroes who want to take something so strong down, forcing them to either flee, disband their allies, or find some way to ally with a faction and wage war upon Harald’s allied forces.
Chariot of Glorious Carnage - Odin, Strike Me Down
Charge Towards Valhalla - Fabled End of the Unstoppable Charge
- [Mount/Anti-Self ] Rank ( B - EX )
I feel it, the sword-bite, the shield-push, Tyr’s calling, the Valkyrie’s choice, the way to warrior’s paradise! Now, I shall find war-end! Oh, Chariot of Glorious Carnage, Charge Towards Valhalla!
Oh Odin! I must plea with you for a boon. Odin, strike me down, bring the Fabled End of the Unstoppable Charge!
Harald’s last battle was fought in a small wooden chariot, and so old was he that he had to kneel rather than stand in it. However,sitting in the little chariot as it's horses pulled forward in a headlong charge, he slaughtered all that stood before him, beating storied hero after storied hero, eviscerating entire warbands, and cleaving a bloody path through the center of the enemy army. He never stopped attacking, for he was not charging at the enemy, he was trying to travel into Valhalla through death in combat. However, his martial skill killed those who tried, and he despaired of ever reaching Valhalla. He prayed to Odin, and Odin personally struck him down at the height of his glory.
The chariot manifests as a small chariot, made of wood that is stained dark red with blood,yoked to it a pair of wolves. It is completely open to the elements, and the chariot floats above the ground. The wolves are fed by battle, and the moment battle is detected, they howl to life, before being charging off in that direction. Harald's still controls them, but he cannot and will not stop their charge. The chariot and its wolves are highly agile, and change his agility rank of C over time to A-rank, boosting further the more battle is sustained. If the battle has taken one minute, he reaches B-rank, if it has taken two, he reaches A-rank, if it takes five, it reaches A+ rank. His mental resistance increases as well, as he becomes hellbent on battle and death. At its peak, he has effectively Bravery at A-rank. At its beginning, Bravery is at C-rank. The Chariot itself is a B-ranked noble phantasm.
It's greatest power, however, is the fact that it represents Harald’s last grand charge, where he was only stopped by an act of divine intervention. He can activate the Chariot’s final charge only in the midst of combat, while Battle of Bravalla has fully activated, the use of which causes the wolves to dissipate into energy that wreaths him in a haze of blood-red prana. The creatureless Chariot is sent hurtling forward, moving uncontrollably, Prana being jetted into the air like a rocket to move it. It moves with the promise of death impending, just as Harald's death-charge once slew all before him. Those who do attempt to stop it with force alone, require a strength check of A++ to completely halt it, and if they fail that check, an endurance check of A to survive the impact, only slowing the Chariot.
The Chariot and the Rider it bears, however, does not halt if they have struck the enemy, or have been diverted, or maneuvered into a wall. They now possess the the concept of ‘unstoppability’ imposed on them. Their blows cannot be blocked, only dodged or deflected, their Chariot cannot halt or slow easily, only continuing careening forward, though it may turn or maneuver to continue its attack. Obstructions, like Heroes or NPs, that would change this require a luck or mystery rank of A or higher to reliably work against Harald’s sudden limitless strength, and even then, they cannot damage Harald at all, without a luck check of A or strength of A+. Even then, Damage received is heavily reduced, and magical barriers require a rank of B or higher to divert Harald. If the enemy flees, Harald is under what is effectively a geäs to find more enemies to attack, which is easy during the Battle of Bravalla, the only time the noble phantasm may be used.
Simultaneously as his sudden unstoppability, he is imbued with a curse that contains the principle of ‘defeating that which cannot be defeated’. Any being, item, or magic which has some condition that is absolute in nature, such as Gae Bolg’s heart piercing, Avalon’s defense, and even Eä’s absolute ability to break worlds, is denied if Harold interacts with it. Their absolute effects will not function on him, and will amount to only being exceedingly powerful attacks or techniques, with limits to their capability, rather than trump cards.
Even Harald is not immune to the curse, eventually being destroyed for his concept of Unstoppability, as inevitably, the curse overcomes him, causing him to explode into a blast of Prana within 1 hour, though he may choose to die sooner for whatever reason. For either objects or beings to be eligible to be affected, The absolute trait must have no limit to its function. Excalibur, for example, can only destroy so much with one blast, even if countless units of prana are available, and thus has a limit to its power, making it ineligible, while Avalon, being an absolute defense against all, is capable of being nullified. Kojiro’s skill breaks the limit of swordsmanship, but rather than nullifying his technique, it acts as normal, as the technique does not have no limit, but instead defies the limit of swordsmanship. Scathach’s legend of immortality, that denies any kind of death in battle to her, is absolute, with even her best student never able to kill her. Thus, she is able to be affected by the curse, with his blades in this state being one of the very few things that can end her life. The radius of the effect of the finishing blast is limited, extending 20 meters from his point of death, and it also conveys his curse.
It is his final hope for glorious death in battle, should the heroes who make up the Grail War fail to be able to kill him. Alternatively, it is his weapon against those who think themselves unstoppable because of some arcane , martial, or divine Power or Skill, for in the heart of warfare and the crossing of blades and contest of wills, no man, even the greatest Viking King to have ever lived, is guaranteed of success. Those who rely on grand trump cards will find his crazed charge laughs at their attempts, and demands they face the charge with only their own skill and prowess. If one attempts to use Fragarach against this skill, as the trump-breaker against the Harald’s own trump-card, Fragarach will fail upon the unstoppable Harald’s chest. The Ace-killing Joker cannot stop the combined hand of Joker and Ace.
Originally Posted by PBlades
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