Part 70: Radiant Sword - Gawain - Part 1

Radiant Sword - Gawain





Well now. Our ever-earnest knight is ready to go. Gawain is one of the most well-known Knights of the Round Table, probably only surpassed by Lancelot and Arthur himself. While there are many variations on Arthurian myth, Gawain is a constant fixture, and he is usually portrayed as Arthur's nephew, the son of one of her sisters, Morgause (or Anna, as she's called in Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain), and King Lot of Orkney. By all accounts, he is one of Arthur's most valiant and trustworthy knights, and was one of the most senior knights, becoming something of a mentor / older brother to younger knights both on the Round Table and outside. He embodies many of the most powerful ideals of chivalry, or at least very much likes to see himself as such.

He is also the protagonist of the one of the great works of the Middle Ages, the story of Gawain and the Green Knight. While in the Fate universe the Green Knight is a figure Gawain fights against but fails to defeat, the actual story is somewhat different. Basically, as the story goes, the Green Knight came to Camelot one day and offered a test to Arthur's court: he would kill them all unless someone accepted a game from him. Behead him with one blow, but in return, the Green Knight would specify the Green Chapel as the place to return the favor. Gawain volunteers to handle the issue, both the beheading and the to beheaded role, and goes to the castle where the Green Chapel and the Green Knight await. He is instead lodged in the castle with Lord and Lady Bertilak, who after some flirting and such, gives him her belt that offers protection against any injuries.

When Gawain goes to fulfill his bargain with the Green Knight, Gawain lowered his head, as promised, and was prepared to be beheaded in service and loyalty to his king. Gawain flinched at the first attempt (to his shame), the Green Knight held back on the second, and finally, the Green Knight brought the axe down on Gawain's neck, but Gawain was saved from any injury thanks to the lady's garter belt. The Green Knight, having completed the arrangement, revealed he was actually the lord of the castle, and had been transformed into something resembling a monster by Morgana, Gawain's own aunt and enemy of Camelot. However, things ended cordially between the two knights and the Green Knight saw him off with a laugh. As a memory of the adventure, Gawain wears a lot of green on his costume (and his FGO cape is also green), and one of his skills in FGO is Belt of Bertilak.

However, his life ended on a bitter note. After the affair between Lancelot and Guinevere was revealed, Gawain believed Lancelot's betrayal unforgivable (even after Arthur himself forgave Lancelot. Gawain could not accept that). Guinevere was to be punished with death, and Arthur ordered an armed guard consisting of Gawain's siblings Gareth and Gaheris (he didn't want to participate in it himself) to make sure it was carried out, but Lancelot came in at the last moment and saved the queen, killing both of them in the attempt. Gawain eventually went to confront Lancelot himself, and in a brutal fight, fought him to a draw, taking severe wounds himself.

During the course of their encounter, Gawain also rejected an offer by Lancelot to assist in suppressing Mordred's insurrection, a mistake Gawain later believed was a grievous error that cost the king his life. Gawain's wounds hadn't fully healed by the time of Mordred's rebellion, and the normally near-invincible knight was cut down by the Knight of Treachery near the end of the Battle of Camlann (but not before wounding her, as well). The death of Gawain was a severe blow to Arthur's morale, and after surviving alone on the hill of bodies at Camlann, she accepted her death from battle wounds, as well.

As a postscript, Gawain, being Arthur's nephew, one of the most senior and reliable knights, his natural strength, and possession of the holy sword of sun, was, in most versions of the legend, going to be Arthur's successor upon the throne of Camelot. It should also be noted that in traditional mythology, Gawain and Mordred are half-brothers (Mordred being the offspring of an incestuous relationship between Arthur and Morgause), but Fate's Arthur, being a woman, changes this part a bit to the point where Morgause isn't involved at all, and Fate Gawain and Mordred share little blood relation.

But off we go, for real. Like Li Shuwen, Gawain's first stage is based on Flame Poem 1, so, y'know, don't take it too seriously.


Gawain stage 1

Our magnificent Roman territories, symbols of the new SE.RA.PH's glory and propserity, have been invaded. Crush these invaders at once. Knight of the Holy Sword, Knight of the Sun. I look forward to the tales of your glorious victory!

...I understand. These are good, new lands here in SE.RA.PH, where AI and NPCs can live as one. These are our people, our citizens in the new SE.RA.PH. My duty as a knight is to protect them. Long have I awaited this undertaking. I, Gawain, will surely not disappoint you. ...Pardon me.

Yes, feel free to- Oh. He's already gone. What an impatient man. They do say, "Make hay while the Sun shines", so I suppose I can't fault him, but he could show a bit more of his famous charm...

It is what it is. He's the spirit of a heroic knight through and through. Even pledging his sword to you was a huge deal for him. Try to be aware of how your subordinates feel. Not to say they'll revolt if you ignore them, but you can only push them so far.

I'll take your advice to heart, Archer, odd as it is to hear it from a man who keeps his own heart so well guarded.

Why, I don't know what you mean. I thought I wore my loyalty on my sleeve. But as your staff member, let met suggest we keep this kind of chit-chat off the comms channel.

Well spoken! I'm relying on you, Archer and Sir Gawain! In the meantime perhaps I shall construct a thermae in My Room!



So Gawain's another of Nero's faction that's pretty fun to play as. He's one of the slowest basic attackers, but shot for shot he's probably the stronger Servant in the game. Like with Iskandar, Gawain's gameplay is more focused on controlling a point on the battlefield than dashing around or powerful hit and run or ranged attacks. Indeed, Gawain joins Jeanne as a fighter who has no projectile attacks at all.



His S T attack, which I used as the start of this stage, is one of his most powerful and dangerous. The problem comes from the second hit of the attack, where he'll perform an upward chop that he follows with spinning somersault that does a ton of damage, but the problem is between the S and the T, he can easily be interrupted. His S S T attack, which I'm using now, has him perform a dash that you can guide around and ends with a few slashes to knock enemies away. It's not overly powerful.



S S S T will deploy a fire field around him. It operates similarly to Jeanne and Li's moves of a similar nature, but this effect is longer lasting, inflicts continuous damage to anyone caught near him, and basically protects him from any non-superpowered enemies. If an enemy is caught in the entire move, it can do some pretty respectable damage. It definitely helps him in the middle of a group fight, where he has few options. However, should very much be noted that this move will NOT drag enemies toward it, so it's best to make sure you have a juicy target before deploying in a serious fight.



It should be noted that Gawain's T T T combo is really effective, covering a wide area in any direction you choose (between attacks), comes out really fast, and does some pretty good damage. It's one of his bread and butters.





His last special move is his most effective. He can release the artificial sun stored within the hilt of Galatine, then after a few seconds of damage in front of him, he can explode the sun and launch anything caught in it away. It is quite powerful, especially the explosion at the end, and can even, somehow, hit targets behind him. But targets behind him won't be exploded away.



I will also note his L1 + T power up is pretty essential. Galatine is a heavy, broad sword, but doesn't have much reach. Again, by releasing the artificial sun, he can, let's say, increase the reach of Galatine by at least 50% or so. Definitely helps keep him safer when he doesn't have to get as close to do damage.



And finally, pressing square a bunch will end with a flurry of slashes ending in a wider slash in front of him. It's not that effective, especially since enemy Servants can block in the middle of the slashes, so you can't really call it a combo. Basically only effective against enemy groups that can't block.



Lovely concert. Pity I wasn't invited.

HAAAAAA!



So you were the puppet master, Elizabeth. A psychological attack that utlizes the sounds of demons... Being this close is enough to send shivers down my spine.

Come on, her song wasn't THAT bad, man.

Would there even be a point in a mental attack against you?! Can't you see everyone falling under my song's spell?!

Cu Chulainn's words suddenly echo in my mind. Is she the "weird band" he was talking about?

Indeed, I might not understand, but that is no issue. I just need to defeat you.

Free the music! Groupies, attack!



...She got away. No matter. I will first eliminate the enemies here.



I think that's his "famous charm" in action. Gawain is excellent in Servant-Servant combat, mostly because he's powerful and his T T T combo is extremely effective in swatting away an ornery foe. I had to ignore Elizabeth a bunch simply because I didn't want to kill her too quickly.



Time to bring out Galatine's full strength.











It's as you expect. Basically releasing the full power of the artificial sun, and performing a huge slash that can incinerate everything up to the end of the horizon. While the sun usually is the stronger of the two between the sun and moon in Nasu settings, Gawain can't quite match his king's sword when both are unleashed. It doesn't tickle, of course.



Well, it's not that impressive, given the stage, but still, not bad at all. One nice thing about my abysmal side mission results (only 3 out of 5, mainly because Gawain didn't drink enough sake), is that I got Elizabeth to bond level 30. Do note that you do still have to craft these things from the My Room menu before you can use them.





...That visage, that magnificence... That indeed is my King... The King of Knights who strides over the ancient lands of Britain... Either this is a figment of my own weak heart, or my King has become a Heroic Spirit, summoned to SE.RA.PH just as I was... A solo Servant. Summoned from the fluctuations of the new lands. Or...