Name: Balin le Savage
Title(s): The Knight of Two Swords
Class: Saber
Gender: Male
Attribute: Earth
Alignment: Neutral Good
Personality: First and foremost, Sir Balin's biggest flaw is his impulsivity. Though he follows the tenets of chivalry and Christianity as best as he can, his passions drive him to act without further thought. Stains upon his honor are to be scrubbed out as thoroughly and as quickly as possible. He also has a fatalistic sort of attitude, as epitomized in his legend. Though curses and calamities may fall on his head, Balin will accept them all and live on, burdened but still determined to move forward.
Still, there is a certain sourness to his attitude after all the tragedies he has experienced. Though his respect may be earned, sharp words and silent scowls are to be expected until that time has come. True malice is beyond him, however. As the most virtuous of King Arthur's knights, at least before the formation of the Round Table, his heart could be considered to be that of a true knight, even if he is rough with most people.
Biography: Sir Balin le Savage and his brother Balan were knights in King Arthur's court but preceded the creation of the Round Table. One day, a servant of Lady Lily of Avalon came to the court with a challenge: To pull a sword from its sheathe. However, only a truly virtuous knight could do it. Every knight tried, including the King himself (herself), but none succeeded. But from the back of the crowd, a man stepped forward. That man was Sir Balin, recently released from prison for some misconduct. While the servant had her doubts, she allowed it. Sir Balin easily removed the blade from its sheathe and claimed it as his own, despite the protests from the messenger that there would be a curse if he did not return it.
Later, the Lady of the Lake came to the court to seek revenge from Sir Balin for a vendetta between their families, demanding his head from King Arthur in payment for Excalibur. Balin struck off her head with his enchanted blade upon seeing that the Lady that had caused the death of his mother was before him, an act that had him banished from Arthur's court. Merlin reveals that, by claiming the blade from the servant earlier, he is cursed to kill his brother Balan.
Various tragedies happen around Sir Balin after his exile: He slew an Irish knight that was jealous of the blade, the Irish knight's lover committed suicide in front of them, and a dwarf servant mourns for the both of them. King Mark of Cornwall builds a tomb for the pair, prophesied by Merlin as the site of the battle between Sir Lancelot and Sir Tristram, before asking Sir Balin his name. Because of the damsel's death, Merlin also prophesied that Sir Balin would cause the most Dolorous Stroke ever committed by man. Afterward, Sir Balin meets his brother, and together they set out to do battle against King Rience, who had refused to acknowledge King Arthur's rule, to get back into their lord's favor. They succeeded and brought the man before Arthur, but King Nero, King Rience's brother, brought an army to Camelot's gates. The brothers fought beside their king in a display of unparalleled martial skill, and are accepted back into the court.
Later, Sir Balin sets out again to avenge a man killed by an invisible knight. The villain turns out to be the brother of King Pellam, the holder of the Holy Grail. When Balin kills him at a feast, Pellam swears revenge and attacks him. Divested of his weapon, Balin grabbed, unknowingly, the Lance of Longinus and inflicted the foreseen Dolorous Stroke upon King Pellam. This has dire consequences for the land, turning it from the Grail Kingdom into a Wasteland and bringing the castle down upon them. Merlin digs out Sir Balin, still alive underneath of it three days later. Sir Balin's journey out of the Wasteland is filled with hurled scorn.
Once he returns to fairer lands and arrives at a castle, he is compelled to fight its champion. Unknown to him, the champion is his own brother, Sir Balan, who had been forced to take the position when he had killed the previous champion. Neither recognized the other, as Sir Balan was wearing strange red armor, and Sir Balin had been persuaded to switch out shields. The battle ends in a mutual death, fulfilling the curse on the blade. Upon hearing of his death, Merlin told Arthur that Sir Balin, had he lived, would have been his strongest and bravest knight. Merlin would take the blade of Sir Balin and bind it to a stone, which would eventually be pulled out by Sir Galahad.
Armament: Arondight, Unnamed Sword, Shield
Fighting Style: Although he may not possess the same skill in melee combat as the Knight of the Lake that would succeed him, Balin makes up for the lack of finesse with sheer destructive power and abandon, overwhelming the opposition with powerful swings and jumping around the battlefield like a mad beast, Sir Balin's style is truly befitting of one who was called "the Savage".
Parameters:STR: B (A)
END: A+
AGI: B
MGI: C
LCK: E-
Class Skills: Magic Resistance: A-
Magic Resistance grants protection against magical effects. Differently from the Resistance effect that merely rejects prana, this ability cancels the spells altogether. At this rank cancels spells of A-Rank or below, no matter what High-Thaumaturgy it is. In practice, the Servant is untouchable to modern magi, so it would not be an exaggeration to title the Servant a 'Magus Killer'. Balin possesses such a high rank due to a combination of his extreme disdain for magic and the Fae, along with the events of his life. However, he is vulnerable to curses tied to fate and destiny as well as Geasa, suffering a rank down when faced with such spells.
Riding: B-
Riding is the expertise to ride animals and vehicles. At this rank, most vehicles can be handled with above-average skill. However, cannot ride the likes of Phantasm Races such as Monstrous Beasts. Its rank has been reduced due to legends that upon his final battlefield he rode his horse so hard it died between his legs.
Personal Skills:
Enemy of the Fae: A++
Enemy of the Fae is a skill that represents the hatred shared between the Hero and the spiritual entities known as the Fae. At high ranks, this skill doubles the damage a hero does to enemies with strong connections to the Fae. However, few people with this trait live long or happy lives. Balin has this skill at such a high rank not because he slaughtered many Fae, but because of the status of the one that he did. Using Arondight, he struck the head from the shoulders of the Lady of the Lake herself. Coupled with the act of refusing to return Arondight, this resulted in the knight living a cursed and short life that ended in a mutual death with his own brother.
Eye of the Mind (False): B
A natural talent to avoid danger on the basis of an innate 6th sense, intuition, or prescience, where the accuracy of instinct has been augmented by experience. When stalking the invisible knight Galron, he was able to avoid ambushes through intuition. It is difficult, though still possible, to catch him unaware. This skill is sealed when Mad Enhancement is active.
Mad Enhancement: E
Raises basic parameters in exchange for hindering mental capacities. In some cases, also seals away Personal Skills. A knight known for his impetuosity, Balin is often ruled by his emotions rather than his head. Strength is ranked up when active however it also seals Eye of the Mind (False). If summoned as a Berserker, this skill would be higher, representing his moments of irrationality caused by blinding anger.
Uncrowned Martial Arts: -
Uncrowned Martial Arts is arms competency that was not recognized by others due to various reasons. Though recognized by Merlin as Arthur's most skilled and powerful knight during Balin's lifetime, his legend would be overshadowed by the likes of Galahad and Lancelot and forgotten by Arthur himself. Until his identity is revealed, his swordsmanship, Magic Resistance, and Riding all appear to be a rank lower.
Noble Phantasm:Name: Arondight
Title: The Undying Light of the Lake
Rank: A-
NP Type: Anti-Unit
Range: 1~2
Maximum Number of Targets: 1
The cursed sword that Balin pulled from the sheath, this weapon would eventually pass on to Sir Galahad, and then to Sir Lancelot, who would use it to mortally wound Sir Gawain. This is the legend of the sword Arondight, given only to someone who could be exalted as the "perfect knight." It bears a similar design to that of Excalibur, carved with Fairy Letters to show that it was not forged by mortal hands. It is a limitless sword capable of receiving any attack without taking damage that shines much like the water of the Lake. It increases all of his parameters by one rank and the success rate of saving throws are doubled. Unlike the Arondight that Lancelot wields, this is still a Holy Sword; however as long as Balin holds this, he is cursed,
'for with that sword you shall slay the man you love best, and it shall bring about your own ruin.'Name: My Brother's Demise
Title: A Heraldry Not My Own
Rank: B
NP Type: Anti-Unit (self)
Range: 0
Maximum Number of Targets: 1
Just before he was forced to face off against the champion of an enchanted castle, Balin was persuaded to swap out his shield for a better one. However, he had not changed the heraldry on its face. His opponent was his own brother Balan, dressed in red armor with a strange shield of his own. With both in full armor with strange shields, neither brother recognized the other, leading to tragedy when they inflicted mortal wounds on each other at the same time.
This Noble Phantasm is constantly active, operating similarly to Mordred's Secret of Pedigree. My Brother's Demise hides all but his base stats and class skills (themselves altered by Uncrowned Martial Arts), making recognizing him extremely difficult even if someone knows his legend. Even if his identity is found out, Balin can "reset" this by changing the heraldry on the shield's face in a manner similar to Information Erasure.
This Noble Phantasm will be locked when Arondight is drawn as it is indisputable proof of his identity.
Balin hates this Noble Phantasm due to the events surrounding it, but he will grudgingly use it if it means completing his objective.
