Dog King
Dominion of Canine
Type: Anti-Unit (Self)
Rank: C
Range: 0
Max Target: 1
The Dog king is a Scandinavian tradition which appears in several Scandinavian sources: Chronicon Lethrense, Annals of Lund, Gesta Danorum, Heimskringla, Hversu Noregr byggðist and probably also in Skáldatal.
The Chronicon Lethrense and Annals of Lund tell that on the death of the 6th century Danish king Helgi, the Swedish King Adils sent a small dog to the Danes to take as their king but warned that whoever told him of the death of the dog would lose his life. One day, when larger dogs were fighting, the small dog sprang to the floor among them and was torn to death. Then Læ, the giant of Læsø, gave some advice on the matter to his herdsman Snow. Snow went to the Swedish king's court and by riddling talk eventually got the king himself to say that the dog was dead. Snow was then appointed king of Denmark in place of the dog. Snow was a vicious, oppressive, and dishonest king. Snow sent his servant named Roth, whom he disliked, to the giant Læ to ask about how Snow will die, intending that Læ would kill Roth who would be unable to pass his tests. Roth passed and Læ gave Roth two gloves to take to Snow in answer. Snow put them on in an assembly and lice suddenly attacked him and ate him to death. Thereupon Helgi's son Saber was made king.
Embodying a life fraught with dogs, but mostly the above epithet, Dog King is a constantly active-type, reactionary Noble Phantasm. By taking the conceptual place of the dog in the story above, Saber forces a reexamination of actions on the part of his opponent. In practice, this means that when an enemy attacks Saber in such a way that any check must be made before continuing, the enemy must first pass his own check before attacking Saber. As an example, if an opponent uses a Noble Phantasm that forces Saber to make a Luck check to survive, the opponent must be able to pass the same Luck check first. The attack meant for Saber is thus rebounded to the enemy if the check is failed. This means that an opponent like Cu Chulainn--with a Noble Phantasm avoidable through luck with poor luck himself--is sure to have his Gae Bolg turned on himself.
Or it would be, if it was a lower rank. Dog King’s check-reversing effects can be overcome if the check comes from a Noble Phantasm of B rank or higher. All checks forced by means of a skill can still be affected by Dog King. As a side effect of this Noble Phantasm, Saber’s taken on some interesting physical characteristics…
Fyrisvellir
Gold-Sewn Plain
Type: Anti-Army
Rank: C
Range: 50
Max Target: 20
After Saber crashed and burned through Adils’ and his mother’s land after the wealth which was owed to him by inheritance of his father, he and his men rode off from the land of Adils with that very same man and his own men in hot pursuit.
After entering the marsh of Fyrisvellir, Saber noticed a gold ring lying in the middle of the road. As he could sense his men’s crawling greed even after all that had just happened, he commanded that none of them attempt to pick it up.
Instead, Saber had the ingenious idea to add one of his own rings to the one in the road, under the impression that it was so captivating simply because it was the only one of its kind there. He then proceeded to seed the marsh with gold as they went, knowing that Adils didn’t have enough control over his men to curtail their own greed.
Sure enough, Adils and his men were instantly captivated by the swamp that had apparently started growing gold rings right out of the ground. Saber was able to quickly exploit this situation, and sent Adils packing.
Taking the form of a bounded field that appears to show acre after acre of naturally-grown gold, it is a field of [captivation] and [compulsion] that gnaws directly at the target’s weakness for riches. While inside the field, those that fall under its effects will feel compelled to halt all hostilities and attempt to collect all the pieces of gold strewn about before them. However, the longer they remain within Fyrisvellir, the more difficult the gold is to obtain, and thus drastically lowers the chance for escape.
Can be overcome with a mental fortifying skill of appropriate rank, or Golden Rule of C or higher.
Randomly spawning somewhere in Fyrisvellir is Saber’s magic ring
Sviagris, the reforged version of Freyja's own
Brisingamen. Because Saber’s ownership of it isn’t enough to qualify as a standalone Noble Phantasm, it is instead spawned as a byproduct of the mystic swamp. As this is the most valuable treasure contained in Fyrisvellir, the trapped opponent will be eventually drawn to it as if by magnetic response. If Saber can secure it before the enemy, he can enjoy its charisma and magic boosting effects.
Skofnung
Glistening White Fang of the North
Type: Anti-Unit
Rank: B++
Range: 1
Max Target: 10
The best of all swords to be carried in northern lands, that is Saber’s legendary sword Skofnung.
Renowned for its supernatural sharpness and hardness, it is the placeholder for the “greatest of all swords born from Scandinavia” should Gram or Balmung be absent.
The sword (and by proxy its True Name) cannot be drawn in the presence of women, as the terror it would inspire in the fairer sex would dishonor the blade, depriving it of its power. The hilt is also forbidden from being revealed in full sunlight. Although as one of the rare true Scandinavian zweihanders, it’s a wonder if the hilt will ever show through both of Saber’s hands at all.
While it’s said that no wound given by Skofnung will ever heal unless through healing runes specifically, the true power lies in the numerous spirits contained within the blade.
During Saber’s war with his sister Skuld, in which he inevitably fell, so too did his 12 most trusted and faithful berserker champions. Svipdagr, Hott, Hrómundr, Starólfr, Bodvar, Haki, Hjalti, Hrolfr, Beigað, Hvítserkr, Haklangr, and Harðrefill.
Theirs was a bond unbreakable and deep as any between men. Revitalized as the source that powers Skofnung, the 12 raging souls inside it add exponential power to the already semi-legendary blade. However, because of the nature of the men who possess it, Skofnung has taken on a Demonic attribute it wouldn’t otherwise earn until after it had been plundered from Saber’s grave many years hence.
By releasing the True Name, Skofnung awakens to the raw power dwelling inside it. It becomes a sword with a pseudo-rank of A+ by applying the bonus combat modifiers of Mad Enhancement A to the sword itself as well as Saber. Because the collective soul power residing in Skofnung is great enough to actually constitute a Servant of the Berserker class (especially given the actual Berserker who may or may not lurk in its depths…), Saber is unable to resist the maddening effects himself, and so he lunges forth as a man possessed.
Originally Posted by 4score7years
