Lacdu Lancelot

"The Grand Spear of Camelot"

Written by Heart

"I failed my king, my country and my family. You ask me why I serve Ceridia? Why I go so far for the people that have conquered our homeland? Because this is still our homeland. I hold out hope we shall be free. But until that day I must do all I can to protect my people. I shall not fail them again by mindlessly throwing myself into some unorganized rabble planning a rebellion! You may as well go kiss Modred's smug little face!"

— Lacdu Lancelot to Bedivere Griffith

Appearance

Lacdu is a tall, burly man that appears to be fading past his prime. Despite this, the man clearly has not gotten rusty through lack of training or battle. His body is muscular and strong, his back broad, and chest robust. The only aspect of his body that gives off his age are the lines that have begun to decorate his eyes and mouth, as well as the grey peppering his hair.

His large height aside, the second most striking feature Lacdu holds are his sharp facial features. Often seen as having a constant scowl, his thick brows furrowed into a glare that--when paired with his piercing eyes--cows many a knight into submission without a word. This is emphasized even further by his stern tone, deep voice, and rigid body language that could only ever be found within a seasoned soldier.

Generally, the massive man is seen wearing full-plate armor, the fact he is a Talent Holder causing the weight and heat to be far easier on him than a normal human. The rare moments he isn't wearing his armor, the man is generally seen wearing well-crafted gambeson with heavy boots. Generally armed with a buckler and sword while not on-duty, and never without his mastercraft spear and throwing lances when preparing for true battle.

Personality

Most would describe Lacdu Lancelot as a man of honor, integrity, dignity, and dedication. Though he is well known for being one of--if not the most powerful and skilled human warriors of all time--Lacdu is not an overly prideful man. Dignified and modest, he never underestimates his opponents, and constantly seeks out other opinions and assistance in order to look at a problem or battle from as many angles as possible. Constantly working to better himself, and his country, he is a workaholic and married more to his work than his family.

Born to a noble family, he is intelligent, educated, and well-versed in many subjects even if he may not be an active participator in many of the fields in question. Open-minded and always eager for a new strategy or skill that he may use to amplify the arts of combat that he is so naturally talented at. Though he prefers to avoid them, he is a decent politician, having had the habits drilled into him during his youth due to his lineage.

Although Lacud is not exactly the most active participant in noble events, political gatherings and so forth, he understands the power and benefits that having such a bloodline holds. He actively does his best to hold on to those ties in order to continue using the connections that comes with them to benefit his homeland and help those that were born far less fortunate than he. This ties into his charitable side, as he has dedicated himself to his country and people. Though he is not one to simply give gold to the homeless, what he offers them instead are more useful things.

Many a guardsman, knight, merchant, blacksmith or trainer owe their entire lives to Lacdu. Not for offering them simple gifts, but for dragging them through the mud and forcing them to train. Giving them an opportunity to better themselves by throwing them headfirst into academies or apprenticeships in order to give them a true future and profession. This is, largely, one of the reasons that Brittania didn't use the slave trade before it was conquered as Arthur supported Lacdu's idea that everyone should be given a job and did his best to ensure there were always job openings as the country expanded.

Relationships

Arthur Pendragon (Friend): Arthur was Lacdu's closest friend, and even though the man never makes an appearance in the novels, his residual impact is so obvious on Lacdu it's clear who taught him all he knows. Arthur was his mentor, best friend, and absolute king. The man's death left a hole in the aging man's heart that can never be filled again.
Elaine Lancelot (Wife): Though only married through political movements of their families, Lacdu does still care for Elaine. Though saying that he is "in love" with his wife may be a stretch, he would miss her if she left. The mother of his only heir, and a woman of questionable morals, they often butt heads, but both their love for their homeland and their own stubbornness for political control (if for different end goals) has kept them together.
Galahad Lancelot (Son): Though Galahad was born purely to create an heir, Lacud holds nothing but pride and love for his son. The shining star of his family, he would lay down his life for him without hesitation. Truly holding a powerful paternal affection for the young man. Having trained his son himself, he holds great trust in his abilities, if questions his judgment due to his youth and inexperience.
Mordred Blackmore (Enemy): Once Lacdu's closest friend aside Arthur, Mordred's betrayal stung Lacdu more than any of the other knights of the round. Lacdu see's him as nothing more than disgusting scum that needs to be wiped clean, along with his entire family that now rules over Brittania as if they were the Pendragon's themselves, instead of their sworn guardians.
Bedivere Griffith (Friend): Though he views his young friend as a fool, he can understand the young man's feelings for founding the rebellion against Ceridia to reclaim their Brittanian homeland. Despite this, he still serves Ceridia loyally in order to protect his people from the Emporers wrath and therefore has engaged his old friend in combat many a time.
Tristram Silver (Friend): One of Lacdu's oldest friends, Tristam is the only Knight of the Round that not only survived the war, but also joined Lacdu when they surrendered to join the Ceridian Empire and become "Traitors" of Brittania along with the accursed Blackmore. They are hard fast allies and often work together as a team both in tactics and battle.
Dagon Stonehearth (Neutral): Lacdu holds mixed feelings on his old friend. While Dagon refused to surrender alongside them, he also refuses to join the rebellion, as well as serve the Ceridian Empire. One of the strongest of the knights, but never having held strong loyalty, Lacdu is fairly certain that the loss of Arthur crippled the man emotionally. Understanding, but annoyed by his lack of willpower to continue on, Lacdu is uncertain how to deal with Dagon.
Deus Caesar Tiberius Claudius Phosphorus (Enemy): Though Lacdu serves the so-called "God-Emporer" loyally, his true loyalty is only to the Brittanian people that have been conquered by the accursed Emporer. Due to this, though Lacdu is on "good terms" with the man, if he had the chance to truly create a political upheaval in an organized fashion to oust the man's control over his homeland, he would without hesitation. Even at the cost of his own life.

History

Lacdu Lancelot was born to the noble Lancelot Family and raised from birth to become the perfect soldier. Luckily due to a mixture of his good genetics, and good luck, he was blessed with the Unique Talent of his families founder as its energy finally passed down to him. This powerful combination led the young boy to rapidly rise through the ranks, between his noble education and open mind he succeeded his father as head of the family by the mere age of nineteen, becoming a formal knight of Brittania by the age of twenty.
Raised by Arthur Pendragon himself more than his own father, he viewed the man as both a friend and father-figure in many ways. Always pushing himself to become better so that he could be of use to his friend, by the time he was twenty-three he had succeeded Mordred Blackmore in status much to the man's ire. This span of fame continued as he began to carve his own path through history as he held Brittania's borders for over twenty years against the Ceridian Empire during the God Emporers Conquest.
Unfortunately, after the betrayal of the Blackmore Family led to Arthurs death, the fall of the Pendragon Family as well as Camelot, betrayed and without options, Lacdu offered Claudius a deal. He and his troops would surrender, and in return, he would swear his loyalty to the Emporer. He would cause no further problems for him and even act as general of the Brittanian troops while Mordred ruled as the new King of "Conlis", once Camelot. The deal was accepted, out of a desire to avoid as many losses and deaths at the hands of Lacdu and his elite soldiers as possible.
Now, Lacdu acts a General of the Conlisian Military, serving Mordred professionally much to the Blackmore's ire. Biding his time silently to try and free his homeland from the grips of the so-called "God Emporer", while doing all in his power to keep Brittanian culture alive and protect his people that he has already failed once.

Combat

"Are you all fools? That man is Lancelot! The Giant-Bane! I don't care how many reinforcements we have or what tactical advantage you have to offer me. Until we can make the pact with that Dragon, and get the response from the Blackmore's, we aren't pushing another inch deeper into the Brittanian territory."

— Deus Caesar Tiberius Claudius Phosphorus to the Council of Six

Abilities

Although Lacdu is beginning to age past his prime, his body is still remarkably fit and strong. His agility and speed all only having begun to decrease slightly with his age, and his mind still sharp as a razor. Blessed with good genes from his noble heritage, he is lucky enough to match the powerful genetics of the Blackmore Family, though he lacks their tainted blood. However, the man is able to ignore this limitation due to the fact he is a Talent Holder. Due to this his life force is overwhelmingly potent, and this is largely why--despite his age--he has not begun to fade in physique thus far.
The baseline benefits of being a Talent Holder has boosted his baseline physical and mental abilities well beyond their normal human limitation, and has been many the anguish for Mordred Blackmore, as despite his tainted blood, he has never once been able to overwhelm or even come close to beating Lacdu. Between his genetics, and residual life force, stamina and so forth that Lacdu holds he is hailed as the most powerful human for a reason.
Unique Talent: Lacdu Lancelot's talent is something that he has named "Titan", and this is quite simply because the talent has granted him only one thing throughout his life. Superhuman strength and endurance that at the age of only sixteen allowed him to defeat five grown men, all trained knights, bare-handed after being disarmed due to inferior skill. As he has grown physically, so too has his superhuman physical power. This ability is largely why even when faced with a Blackmore, Ogre and even a Giant in the past, Lacdu was able to match them blow for blow physically.

Skillset

Lacdu is hailed as one of the strongest human warriors to walk the earth, and is a contender for one of the most powerful warriors in history period, regardless of race. Though his Unique Talent certainly helps with this, it is not his only strength. Lacdu's skill with practically any form of Martial Art is enormous, and this comes from a mastery of practically any weapon, shield, or armor you give the man. Though he prefers the spear and polearms in general, he is no stranger to swordplay, footwork, axes, or any other weapon one may think of. He has even been trained in the basics of many foreign weapons.
This, combined with his creativity and open-minded thinking to incorporating enchantments and magic into his arsenal even if he himself is not a mage, has made him a deadly foe. His knowledge of blacksmithing, runic magic, and alchemy are not all-encompassing, but he knows far more than an average soldier. He abuses this information often in battle, using his knowledge of chemistry and war tactics to turn an entire battle. As well, he is not a fool that thinks there is such a thing as a 'fair fight', and believes only in the final result. As such, he has learned of stealth, hunting, and 'dirty fighting' in general from many an assassin and thief.
Even if he does not use these skills for illegal activities and instead incorporates them only in battle, strategy and ambush: it has earned him many a dark look in a duel when he throws dirt in an opponents eyes, or kicks them between the legs if they are male. However, due to his overwhelming power atop these tactics, few ever try to truly call him out on them. These skills and open-minded combat style has allowed Lacdu to live, and by living through hundreds of battles and dozens of wars, he has tremendous experience in battle and war. This combined with his education in politics and psychology has allowed him to become well known as an expert general. He may not be a genius strategist such as Claudius, but he is still respected for his mind nearly as much as his body.

Equipment

Due to his status, Lacdu is well known for his tremendous arsenal of weapons. Holding a personal armory as well as a personal blacksmith, a dwarven slave that he freed and in return has ever served him since. Using his connections as a noble to acquire rare materials, and having a dwarven blacksmith forge all his needs has caused him to have a weapon for almost any situation. However, there are a few noteworthy items in his arsenal that he is famed for that are Enchanted.

• Immortal: Lacdu has a suit of high-carbon refined steel armor that has been reinforced with a gambeson for cushioning and extra protection underneath. The joints are protected by thin layers of titanium chain, and the entire set has been specifically crafted for his measurements to allow as much movement as possible while it is worn. Furthermore, the armor possesses an Enchantment that allows the wearer to rapidly regenerate damage they have suffered and restore stamina.
• Featherwall: Lacdu's personal enchanted shield is a tower shield crafted out of solid mithril. Originally to be made into armor, when they lacked enough material to make a full suit, Lacdu instead requested a shield be made instead. The shield is massive, capable of hiding Lacdu's entire frame behind it if he wishes, and due to its material it suffers far less of the normal drawbacks. Being practically indestructible, and near weightless, allowing him to wield it casually. The shield holds an Enchantment that allows the shield to absorb force and reflect it back at the attacker a single second after the attack has been nullified.
• Heaven's Fang: The spear of the Lancelot family is nearly as old as Excalibur itself. Hailed as the "Heaven's Fang", the spear is crafted from a meteorite, hence it's name. The material is not nearly as light as mithril, but it is a bit lighter than normal titanium, and to date, has been seen as indestructible as it even withstood the blow of a Giant using a Martial Art. The spear is Enchanted to become white-hot and produce electricity without losing any of its durability, increasing its name, even more, when the enchantment is activated and it is thrown, appearing like a searing bolt of lightning flying at the target.

Techniques

Lacdu is hailed as one of the most skilled fighters in history. He has memorized Martial Arts from across the entire continent and even obtained a few from passing warriors of the Celestial Empire. This vast knowledge has what has earned him the fame of being the "Man of a Hundred Techniques", and is easily the largest reason he is so feared due to having an answer to almost any situation through this massive selection. This mastery of Martial Arts combined with his Unique Talent is what allowed him to kill the Giant Warrior in his prime.

General

Name: Lacdu Lancelot
Aliases: "Lacduel", "Lance"
Titles: "The Grand Spear of Camelot", "Giant-Bane Lacdu", "The Lance of God"
Gender: Male
Age: 652
Nationality: Ceridian
Occupation: General
Previous Occupation(s): First Knight of the Round

Physical

Species: Human
Ethnicity: Brittanian
Eyes: Brown
Skin: Tanned
Hair: Black, Greying
Height: 6'4" (194 cm)
Build: Muscular, Broad

Feats

• Born one of the rare Talent Holders of the world.
• Won an official duel against five knight Captains of Brittania at the age of sixteen.
• Battled a Giant in a one-on-one duel unarmed and unarmored, and won.
• Once blasted a hole through a mountain by throwing his spear.
• Has mastered over a hundred Martial Arts .
• One of the only weilders of a Silver Mana Core that still walk the mortal plane.
• Held off an entire Ceridian Army for two days and nights without rest at a canyon chokepoint.
• Inticed such fear that when Claudius found out Lacdu was still in Brittania, he called his troops to retreat and hold the border instead of trying to push the war further--when by comparison--knowing that thousands of knights were within the capital didn't cause him a moment's hesitation to attack.
• Lacdu's official surrender is considered the date that Brittania lost the war, despite the fact the war technically continued for three years.