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Blazbaros — Gareth by-nc-nd

#claymore #greatsword #paladin #soldier #templar #warrior #bishounen
Published: 2015-06-29 09:42:49 +0000 UTC; Views: 13439; Favourites: 394; Downloads: 308
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Description My character for Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures.

Gareth comes from a minor noble family in Rosewater.  The Arkwrights earned their title when his father, Gwain, proved himself in the fires of battle selling his sword.  He was knighted and granted property in a humble village, but as a wanderer, he rarely stayed at home, preferring to fight in far off lands.  Because of this, Gareth never truly knew his father, only ever meeting him twice before he disappeared all together.  He was left in the care of his mother, Alis.

Much of Gareth’s childhood was spent inside the walls of Rosewater, more specifically in Lord Stannis’ compound.  He was groomed to take up his father’s title as a knight, first serving as Stannis’ squire, but he felt like a prisoner.  He often slipped away during the night with the brewer’s daughter, Winnie, who also longed for adventure.  Together with Gwen, a strange girl that served the witch of Grimstone, they explored the nearby wood, which more often than not got them into trouble.

Stannis requested that the Order of the Silver Dragon take up Gareth’s training.  Believing the well-known, restrictive order would reinforce discipline, he was surprised when they sent Barth the Black.  He was a famous warrior within the order, but more infamous as a maverick who didn’t stick as rigidly to their tenants as some would like.  Where the order saw the world in black and white, much like their colours, Barth saw exceptions to their rules and harsh regulations.  This did, however, keep Gareth out of trouble.

When his advanced training began, he left Rosewater for a time, away from Winnie and Gwen.  He was schooled at the order’s headquarters in their mysteries and secrets, learning of dangerous beasts that haunt even their peaceful land.  He even mastered a couple spells to give him an edge against such creatures.  Upon completing this, he was given one final test before he was to be completely accepted into the order.

Within the forest near Rosewater was a cave that was used for nefarious purposes.  Inside was a demonic idol that warped the creatures nearby into monsters. Left to his own devices to destroy the idol, Gareth recruited Gwen to help him.  She, being a witch’s apprentice, clashed with what he was taught by the Silver Dragons, but Barth’s own lessons taught him otherwise.  On top of that, her experience with the supernatural would be a boon to his quest.  Together they braved the deep woods and toppled the idol.

For his efforts, Gareth was given membership of the religious order.  In addition, Barth awarded him Galatine, Barth’s very own blade, which had served him in a hundred battles before.  He pledged to protect Rosewater and serves as its Warden.

He's also gots bishie sparkles from his +1 Charisma.
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Comments: 18

KaribuXY [2017-04-13 22:04:08 +0000 UTC]

No plate armor? Well I guess a Witcher needs to be highly mobile against those creepy crawlies.

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MrDibara [2016-06-30 01:28:16 +0000 UTC]

wait... ¬¬ ... you got GAME OF FUCKING THRONES CHARACTERS TOO?!?!? OMG, I'M SO DONE!

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Blazbaros In reply to MrDibara [2016-06-30 06:05:43 +0000 UTC]

Not that Wall.

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MrDibara In reply to Blazbaros [2016-06-30 12:48:54 +0000 UTC]

Oh... ;__; sorry...

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RougeStatus [2015-07-01 02:55:11 +0000 UTC]

Got the seductive looks only Lord of Light would love.

Suck it Darrio.

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Dante8411 [2015-06-30 12:35:45 +0000 UTC]

Hehe...Gareth.

That is one charming knight. That backstory should be a pilot for a cartoon series.

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TheFellowWithTheHat [2015-06-29 19:54:49 +0000 UTC]

Partial Sideburns.

Awesome.

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rikufangirl9 [2015-06-29 17:46:31 +0000 UTC]

Oh mai I love him x3 love the pose and armor!

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whatfrank [2015-06-29 15:26:16 +0000 UTC]

He looks good and I fully support his choice of weapons.

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DeadCobra [2015-06-29 15:18:15 +0000 UTC]

Great

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FantasyRebirth96 [2015-06-29 13:55:04 +0000 UTC]

Pretty Awesome! Great Work! 

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NippleGunz [2015-06-29 12:44:49 +0000 UTC]

Cool, Not enough game of thrones oc's on Deviant art

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Blazbaros In reply to NippleGunz [2015-06-29 18:31:32 +0000 UTC]

XD its not from GoT

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DAttila [2015-06-29 11:17:13 +0000 UTC]

Really nice art, and backstory, especially a fan of how you do chainmail, but there's one, very lengthy thing I'd like to mention.
Specifically, pertaining to greatswords, since you classed his blade as one.
I've been studying martial arts and weapons design all the way from antiquity through the renaissance period to their eventual obsolescence at the start of the first world war, including people who've had decades-long experiences in either archeological study, re-enactment, or both, in an effort to try and improve my own weapons and martial designs.

So I'd like you to know that I don't mean this as criticism necessarily of your art style, but something that could add a great deal to your work.

Your greatsword is actually precisely the correct length, as greatswords must reach to the bottom of the chin with their pommel, when their tip is set against the ground. Glad to see people know that.
Anything longer and you'd have trouble keeping balance while wielding it. (Granted, there have been even larger swords recovered, but those were Bearing Swords, meant for displaying the crafting prowess of a given community during festivals.)
In combat, you want a weapon that's as light, and wieldy as possible, while retaining its intended purpose. A tough thing to balance, which is why I believe the centuries of near-constant warfare of Europe have distilled an exquisite finesse in crafting tools for murder.

There's three things that (thanks to D&D, primarily) popular media misconceived about the Greatsword:
 - Blade thickness:
Contrary to popular belief, the greatsword is quite a different beast to simply a scale-up sword. Being so large, it typically follows a different blade design to a sword. img0.etsystatic.com/050/0/8759…
Their blades are relatively thin, so that their weight overall would not exceed around 7 pounds. Because of this, a longer blade would cause it to bend and droop when wielded, which brings us to the next point.

 - Handle / Grip Length:
Another oft-overlooked facet of a well-made greatsword is the balance. You want a long enough grip to be able to lever its weight down on your foe, the impact concentrating on the balancing point which ought to be somewhere at the first third of the blade from the tip.
Because of this fact, and that a blade too long would droop, causing it to diffuse its blade tension, handles are generally long, and greatswords are wielded more like a polearm than a sword.
www.thearma.org/images/S2000/N…
i.imgur.com/nR2xU0J.jpg
 And this is helped even further, by an ingenious addition..

 - The Ricasso:
This is the spiky-looking protrusion at either end of the blade, which serves as a miniature guard.
Every greatsword that remained in use had one.
images.knifecenter.com/thumb/1…
The portion of a greatsword between its Ricasso and the guard is actually blunt. This is so that you have an even longer grip, if or when you need it. Some swords cover this section with leather, while others don't. That's down to personal preference, honestly. Really doesn't make that much of a difference, you can even grip the sword by its blade, if need be.
What this lets you do, is use the entirety of the greatsword as a weapon, not just its blade. The guard and the pommel (which is extremely effective for dealing with an armored opponent, this maneuver is referred to as the murder stroke, and may be where the term "pummel to death" comes from).
EDIT: Took a bit of digging, but this exemplifies just how devastating a pommel strike is against an armored foe.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi757-…
When in close quarters, you can adjust your grip so that you've a hand on your handle, and another on the ricasso's handle in front of your guard. This way, you can use your blade more as a short spear, able to deliver precise stabs and parry with rapid sweeps. You can use it even as a wrestling tool, as evidenced in this video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L9i7N…




 So to recap, this is a really succint explanation of the greatsword's form factor by Matt Easton of Schola Gladiatoria
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOgw3X…
 And in a battlefield situation, here's some points as to how greatswords may have played out.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiD3cI…

 And finally, the greatsword in action, because this stuff is worth studying!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtT3sj…
 If you got this far, thanks for your time and consideration. Hope this helps you out to make some badass stuff!

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Blazbaros In reply to DAttila [2015-06-29 18:31:12 +0000 UTC]

:U wow, that's like a novella. I'm unsure if you're actually writing a critique or just sharing information, its kinda confusing here.

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DAttila In reply to Blazbaros [2015-06-29 23:56:15 +0000 UTC]

Additionally, I'm a massive nerd when it comes to this stuff, and this info took me months to eventually compile.

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DAttila In reply to Blazbaros [2015-06-29 19:39:30 +0000 UTC]

Just listing sources and examples to help save you time.

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Rodlox [2015-06-29 10:21:12 +0000 UTC]

*wants to read this book*

a terrific backstory & great art.

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