Calard d'Garamont

"The Lady's light burns strong within you."

- A Damsel looks upon Calard.

Calard of Garamont was a famous and mighty Grail Knight, Lord of Garamont, Castellan of Bastonne and one of the Companions of Quenelles. He became renowned after saving Bretonnia from an army of Undead.

History
Born along with his sister Anara into the noble family of Garamont, Calard's mother died when he was very young - he was always told it was the result of a miscarriage. His father eventually remarried and had another son, Bertelis, who would become his favourite. Growing up, Calard always found his father to be cold and distant, and his stepmother bitter that he would inherent Garamont over her own child.

The young Calard and his brother would often roam their father’s land from one end to the other. It took almost a full day to ride from Castle Garamont to the eastern border and back, and as youngsters these lands had seemed impossibly vast and filled with adventure. They would often purposefully lose their chaperones, much to the distress of those bidden to see them safe, and embark on quests and crusades against imaginary foes. The boys rescued many fair damsels from the maws of monstrous beasts, and bested many evil knights in those childhood years.

By the time Calard and his brother had entered manhood, they were already skilled Knights Errant, having been personally trained by one of Bastonne's, and possibly even Bretonnia's, greatest swordsmen. Calard himself was a notably strong and powerfully built warrior, his body honed through constant, near obsessive levels of training. Calard and his brother, along with many other young knights, would be called out to fight a massive Beastmen invasion, experiencing war for the first time. In the years that followed, Calard would be forged through these trials of war and battle, often fighting alongside Reolus, a renowned and mighty Grail Knight.

Knight Errant
"I am Calard of Garamont, First born son and heir of Lutheure of Garamont, Castellan of Bastonne... and you peasants are trespassing on Garamont land."

- Calard introduces himself to a group of poachers.

Calard and his brother's first adventure came when they were called to ride against a Greenskin horde rampaging across the Bretonnian countryside. Alongside many other young Knights Errant, this would be Calard's first true battle, a battle in which his long years of training were put to great use. The young noble galloped into the fray, slaughtering musclebound Orcs with lance and sword, whilst both knights and greenskins died all around him. The battle was both brutal and bloody, but in the end Calard had succeeded in his first duty as a defender of Bretonnia, for the greenskins eventually fled into the forests. The Bretonnians soon realised however, that the Orcs and Goblins had not been rampaging across the countryside as a mere act of aggression, instead they had been running from another army... an entire tribe of Beastmen.

This army was far larger and more organised than the greenskin horde they had defeated earlier, dukedoms from across Bretonnia soon pledged their knights in Bretonnia's defence. The mighty Paladin Reolus even arrived to lend his holy wrath in the battle to come, an arrival which renewed the knight's spirits. Calard soon discovered that his long lost sister, Anara, had become both a powerful Damsel of the Lady and Reolus' paramour, and she too lent her power to the Bretonnian host.

This final battle proved to be far more devastating than the Bretonnians had realised, but nevertheless, thanks to the knight's bravery and Reolus's holy wrath, they were victorious. After the defeat of the Beastmen, Calard and Bertelis learned that the entire invasion had been a diversion, whilst the tribe's leader, The Gave, travelled across Bretonnia to invade Castle Garamont. Transported by mystical means provided by Anara, the brothers would confront The Gave, only for the beast to remove it's mask of skin and sinew to reveal its disfigured, but undeniably human face. Anara revealed that The Gave was their brother, who they all believed had died at birth, instead he was discarded, and their mother killed herself in shame at having borne such a monster. Calard would defeat and kill The Gave, but not before it took it's revenge by inflicting a mortal wound on his father, Lord Garamont.

During this confrontation, Calard's life came crashing down, Anara revealed that Lord Garamont was already dying, having received doses of poison from Calard's fiancée, Elisabet. The young noblewoman feared that Calard's father, who had long favoured his second wife and their son Bertelis, would disown him, leaving him poor and destitute - and by extension her if she married him. Confronted, Elisabet confessed, but pleaded that she had only done it for the sake of their love. Calard turned his back on her as she fled from the castle.

The grieving Calard, still very young, would become the new Lord of Garamont, though he was daunted by his new responsibilities and was frequently absent from Garamont for hunts, tournaments, and social visits to neighbouring lords. The young Castellan would mask his pain on these visits by both drinking and womanising, much to the ire of the noblewomen's fathers. Meanwhile, unknown to him, his family's faithful Chamberlain, Folcard, was convinced that because of the Gave, Calard and his sister were both cursed. For the good of the Garamont bloodline, they had to be killed.

Knight of the Realm
"This one had dark hair, and wore a tabard of blue and red over his armour. A silver dragon was emblazoned on his chest. A good symbol that, he thought. To the Norse it represented power, martial strength and passion. That warrior was young, he saw, and bristled with hatred. That was an emotion Styrbjorn understood, and he knew that had this angry young knight been born of a Skaeling woman he would of been blessed by great Kharnath and become a mighty warrior indeed."

- Jarl Egil Styrbjorn sees Calard for the first time.

It was during a tournament that Calard heard of a Norscan war party attacking the coastlines of Lyonesse. The famed knight Laudethaire spoke of a woman held hostage within their camp, and along with Calard, Bertelis and the Grail Knight Reolus, led a rescue mission. The brave knights stormed the camp and discovered the woman was none other than Elisabet, Calard's former lover. Rescuing her from a ritual performed by the Chaos Lord Egil Styrbjorn, they hacked their way out of the camp, as the enraged Styrbjorn looked on. He would claim back his only son at any cost

The Siege of Lyonesse
Now pregnant with a daemon child, Elisabet was cared for by her former fiancé and his sister, meanwhile Styrbjorn had sent forth the full power of his armies to claim his son. Landing on the shores beyond Castle Lyonesse, the fortress city was subject to a siege of epic proportions, with combatants from both sides dying in the thousands. Calard and his fellow knights found themselves fighting in cramped, brutal conditions as droves of Norscan warriors assaulted the castle’s outer walls. The young Castellan of Garamont slew barbarous warriors as they breached the walls, and plunged his sword into their throats as they attempted to climb over them. Meanwhile Calard’s retinue, made up of his trusted cousins, fought alongside their lord.

At the height of the fighting, Calard found himself face to face with one of the enemy leaders, a mighty Norscan warrior, glutted with the power of Nurgle. Pale eyes burned with cold intensity within the shadowy depths of the Norscan’s helmet. Almost as an afterthought he lashed out with one of his swords, and one of Calard’s cousins fell with a gasp of pain as the tainted weapon carved through the plate armour encasing his forearm. He dropped to his knees, grasping his wounded arm, and Calard saw his vambrace blacken and corrode. The Chaos warrior’s broad shoulders were hung with wolf pelts, and he towered over Calard and his companions. Black smoke rose from the deadly, jagged blades of his weapons, and Calard knew that this must have been one of the enemy Chieftains. More enemy warriors leapt over the walls behind him, but Calard’s gaze was fixed on the giant warrior closing towards him. This was a worthy foe, he knew, and he relished the opportunity to prove himself before the Lady and his comrades – and to himself.

Calard gripped the hilt of the Sword of Garamont tightly, and whispered a swift prayer to the Lady of the Lake as he stepped forward to meet this enemy champion. A shadow fell over him and he ducked involuntarily as a winged shape swooped low over his head.The enemy champion took a step back, raising his swords up before him, but before he could ward off the blow, a lance was driven into his chest, punching though his armour and impaling him on its length. The lance tip burst out through the back of his body, transfixing him, and then the pegasus mounted knight was past, banking sharply off to the right. A cheer rose up from the defenders as Laudethaire flew over their heads, drawing his sword and brandishing it in salute. Calard realised that scores of men had seen the Parravonian strike down the enemy chieftain, and he had no doubt that all those who had not would know of it before the day was out. Calard cursed the knight as a bastard. It seemed that Laudethaire had claimed the glory...

The Norse champion, impaled upon the length of Laudethaire’s lance, was still alive, though he was greatly wounded. The blood that dripped from his wound was black and hissed as it struck the stonework, melting shallow pits in the rock where it fell. He stared up hatefully at Calard as he stepped forward to finish the warrior. Calard’s blow shattered the Norscan’s helmet and took half his head away, but still he did not die. The shattered pieces of the warrior’s helmet fell away from his face, exposing a mass of skinless flesh. Maggots writhed through the fibrous muscles of the champion’s face, and his lipless mouth was studded with rotting fangs. A single large horn protruded from the Norscan’s forehead. Calard had thought that horn was part of the brutal ornamentation of the Norscan’s helmet, but he saw now that it was part of the champion’s own flesh and bone. The chieftain spat a gobbet of phlegm up at Calard, which splattered against his helmet, just below his eye-slit. He could hear the foul acidic sputum eating through metal, and he ripped his helmet off his head, dropping it at his feet. The enemy chieftain chuckled, his ice-white eyes filled with dark humour, and Calard struck him again, this time hacking his putrid head from his shoulders. A rancid stink rose from the corpse, and Calard gagged. Several men-at-arms were with Calard’s cousin, helping remove the armour from his arm, and Calard saw that the wound was already festering with poison. Calard barked an order, demanding that the champion’s fell, black-bladed swords be wrapped in blankets and hurled from the walls. He ordered the rancid corpse of the Norscan thrown over the battlements, and half a dozen men lost the contents of their stomach at the repulsive stink of the rapidly decomposing body.

Eventually Calard was forced to retreat, the Norscan host outbumbered the Bretonnians and Jarl Styrbjorn had no qualms about sacrificing his warriors if it meant reclaiming his child. Calard’s rival, Laudethaire was one of the last Bretonnians to fall before the retreat was sounded, having failed in his attempt to slay a particularly massive Chaos Spawn.

The Deal
Eventually Styrbjorn would stand before his army and make an offer: he would face his enemies greatest warrior - Reolus - in mortal combat; if he defeated his opponent, the Bretonnians were honour-bound to hand over his son and the Norscan army would depart.

Reolus accepted the challenge, despite Anara's pleas. A titanic duel would ensue, with Reolus seeming to have the advantage, but the mighty chaos warrior was the favoured of Khorne and a wound that should have killed him simply regenerated. Reolus was eventually defeated, his head cleaved from his shoulders by the enemy that could finally best him. Honour bound, Calard and Bertelis made their way to the castle and pleaded with Elisabet to hand over her child. The girl was hysterical, the half-demon child torturing her mind. When Calard was eventually given the child, his former lover ran after him crying. Bertelis grabbed Elisabet and in his anger, struck her. Calard heard a scream as Elisabet hurtled down the stairs of the keep, running to her body as his sister told him she was dead. Calard turned to Bertelis in rage and despair, declaring that they were no longer brothers. With anger in his heart, Calard left the castle to deliver the baby to its Norscan father, who then left Bretonnia with a single message, he would return one day alongside his fell son, ready to destroy the kingdom.

Calard had also survived an assassination attempt by three of his cousins, who formed part of his retinue. Dying, the last of them confessed that Folcard had ordered his death. Immediately upon Calard's return to Garamont, Folcard was hanged, along with the witch, Haegtesse, who had helped Stybjorn birth his daemon child. Deciding that his path was clear, Calard passed the lordship of Garamont to his young cousin, Orlando, with his friend and mentor Baron Montcadas acting as regent. The morose young knight then set forth from Garamont, to take up the quest for The Grail.

Questing Knight
"Six long and difficult years had passed since he had left Castle Garamont. It felt like a lifetime. Six years ago, had he taken up the Grail Quest, setting aside his lance and handing over the running of his castle. Calard had travelled the Old World and beyond seeking the Lady of the Lake, patron goddess of Bretonnia. Never in all that time had he spent more than one night in one place, as per the decree of his oath, lest the Lady find him wanting."

- Calard reflects on his Grail Quest.

Now several years into his journey as a Questing Knight, Calard had become a figure of renown. Seeking the Lady’s divine favour, he had bested creatures foul and murderous in the forests of the Empire, championed the oppressed in the burning lands of Araby far to the south, and battled alongside dwarf thanes against screaming hordes of greenskins far beneath the Worlds Edge Mountains. He had fought and won a dozen duels of honour, one against a monstrous Ogre Tyrant. He had battled Trolls upon the frozen oblast of Kislev, rescued a nobleman’s daughter from sacrifice at the hands of a band of cultists beneath Altdorf, and emerged victorious from the famed  Dance of Blades  in the cutthroat city of Sartosa. He had slain hulking monsters in the blizzards of the northlands, and tracked and killed the dread Jabberslythe of Ostwald. He had been hunted by pallid, blind ogre-kin through the labyrinths beneath the Mountains of Mourn and emerged triumphant. Most recently Calard had slain – several times – a monstrous, immortal Wyvern that refused to stay dead. Calard had even fought beneath the burning heavens in the Realm of Chaos and survived its countless horrors – there were few things in the world that could truly unnerve him. The Quest had hardened his body, soul and mind, forging him anew and honing his killer's instincts to a razor's edge.

Calard would soon return to discover Garamont in ashes, destroyed by a powerful enemy. The anger at the destruction of his homeland would spur Calard on, grief and the lust for vengeance making him more determined than ever. Travelling to the nearby lands of Sangasse, he learned from his old rival Maloric that it was a pair of vampiric knights who had slaughtered his family.

The Questing Knight took the treacherous journey to the cursed city of Mousillon, where he discovered that Duke Merovech, once a famed and mighty warrior, turned traitor and kingslayer, had returned from centuries of death. Revealed to be a powerful Vampire, the evil Duke had been amassing an undead army powerful enough to destroy all of Bretonnia. Calard infiltrated the ancient keep of Mousillon to discover his brother, now a mighty Blood Knight and champion of Merovech himself. Bertelis revealed to Calard's horror that it was he who led the attack on Garamont, killing all who stood before him alongside his vile Duke. Corrupted by guilt and the transition to undeath, Bertelis had attacked his own homeland hoping to find and kill his brother. A fierce battle soon ensued, with the Duke of Mousillon watching as his favoured get fought against his mortal brother. Bertelis was deadly, faster and stronger than any mortal could ever hope to be, Vampirism had added to his already impressive skill in combat, rivaling even the late Reolus in skill. Calard could only hope to block his brother's mighty blows with his shield.

Meanwhile, in a weak attempt of rebellion, the vile denizens of Mousillon had burst into the castle. They were led by a massive Varghulf known as the Old One, long imprisoned by Merovech and hungry for revenge. This distraction allowed Calard to seize his opportunity, striking his brother down and reducing him to ash and bone. Calard managed to escape just after Merovech had torn the mighty Varghulf's throat out, swearing to save Bretonnia from the man who had corrupted his brother and threatened his kingdom.

Calard's travels eventually brought him to the forest of Athel Loren, it was here that he helped save the Wood Elves from destruction, fighting through the magics of the fey forest and battling the false visions that it gave him. Calard's journey ended with him dueling the ancient Drycha and banishing her from the realm.

Quest's End
"Calard was able to match the fury and power of his foe, and for a time it seemed that the battle might rage on forever, a never-ending duel within the mists. Time lost all meaning. All that existed was the contest. Neither warrior was able to overcome the other, and their blades were a blur as they cut and thrust."

- Calard the Questing Knight, fighting Gilles le Breton.

The Grail Quest would finally end when Calard battled Gilles le Breton in his form as the immortal Green Knight, avatar of The Lady herself.

Calard fought against the Green Knight with all his might, for in his youth he had been trained by one of Bretonnia's greatest swordsmen, and years of battling the mightiest of monsters and foes had enhanced his skill greatly. Whilst initially managing to hold his own against the great being, Calard was still only a mortal, he began to feel himself weaken and tire with every advancing second, whilst his foe fought on relentlessly. Calard was still greatly favoured by the Lady however, calling out in prayer he received renewed vigour, his battered greatsword glowing with holy flame. With this newfound favour, Calard fought on undaunted, landing a mighty blow upon the Green Knight and even matching him in skill... but Calard soon realised that simply defeating his foe was not the true purpose of his trial. He quickly lowered his sword and bent a knee, offering his life for the Lady. The Green Knight brought his sword down upon the kneeling knights's head, but stopped just as the cold steel of the Dolorous Blade touched Calard's skin... the test was over.

Supping from the grail, Calard joined the ranks of the mighty Grail Knights, he stood taller than before and his eyes burned with a fey light, he was now more than mortal and capable of exacting his revenge on Merovech. The God-King Orion, owing Calard a debt for saving Athel Loren, chose the Grail Knight to help him lead the Wild Hunt, straight into the very heart of Bretonnia.

Hero of Bretonnia
"The vampire tore the lance from its throat and rose to meet him. Merovech had lost one of his swords; the other one he gripped in both hands. He hissed, and hurled himself at Calard. The Sword of Garamont came up, smashing Merovech’s sword aside. Calard allowed his momentum to carry him around, so that he had his back turned to his enemy. With a movement so fast it was little more than a blur, he spun his sword around..."

- Calard during his duel with Merovech.

Merovech led an army of undeath into the heart of Bretonnia, slaughtering the army amassed before him. King Louen Leoncoeur himself, would enter the battle mounted atop a mighty hippogryph. The young king defeated all who stood before him, but eventually a lucky blow would send his mount crashing down, pinning him beneath its bulk. Merovech, seeing the king trapped, approached his foe wielding two mighty swords, and readied the killing blow. A light flashed as the Wild Hunt arrived, Calard stormed down the hill alongside the living god Orion, white fire flickering up the length of his blessed lance. His heart filled with rage as he saw the vast undead army besieging Couronne and his eyes blazed with holy fire. He kicked his noble steed on to match the god of the woods, lowering his lance as he neared the enemy battle line. Calard galloped ahead, the enemy falling in droves beneath the thrust of his lance and the cut of his sword. Calard fought like the living saint that he was, holy flames coruscating from his sword, his eyes flaring with fey light. He alone remained unaffected by the fury infusing the others that rode with Orion. His every blow brought ruin on the enemies of Bretonnia. He could feel the power of the Grail pounding through his veins. The enemy fell before him like wheat beneath a scythe. He forsaw the strike of every spear and rusted sword moments before it happened, and he turned them aside effortlessly, countering with devastating blows that splintered bones and shattered blades.

He saw Merovech then, looming over the stricken King, he ploughed into the Duke's vampire bodyguard, a shining light spearing through the darkness and the driving rain. Unholy Blood Knights moved to protect their dark lord. Their eyes were filled with hatred, but there was fear there too - the shining light Calard exuded was anathema to those creatures of the night, and it caused them great pain to even look upon him. Known as the  '' Seneschals", and garbed in archaic armour of ancient design, each was a mighty warrior and dark champion in their own right, but even so, they perished under Calard's furious charge, lance and sword skewering blackened hearts and sending dragon-helmed heads into the air.

Calard shouted towards Duke Merovech, drawing the vampire away from the fallen King, he batted aside a vicious swinging broadsword, and his lightning riposte stabbed deep into the flesh of another Seneschal, the white flame flickering up his sword, making the devil's skin blacken and blister. It was then that the fell Duke swung towards Calard.

Despite the Duke's superhuman speed and strength, Calard was no longer a mortal warrior, and after a brief and brutal duel, Merovech, vampire Duke of Mousillon, was destroyed.

Destiny
"Calard could feel the daemon writhing within the warrior’s flesh, but more disturbing still was the fact that he could see the features of Elisabet, the woman he had once loved, reflected in the creatures face. This was the offspring of Styrbjorn and Elisabet, the deamon-child for which so many had died. 'fight well my son,' said Styrbjorn stepping aside. The daemon came towards Calard, unsheathing a massive double-handed cleaver from a scabbard strapped across his back. Dark flames rippled across the length of the blade. Calard drew the Sword of Garamont and stepped out to meet him, his own blade wreathed in a pale fire. 'Lady guide my blade', murmered Calard. Thunder rumbled across the heavens, and under the watchful gaze of the Bretonnian and Norse armies, the two champions of the gods came together."

- Calard facing the Son of Styrbjorn.

Fifty years later, a lone knight knelt in prayer upon a rocky beach as thousands of Norse longships ploughed towards the shore. Calard - now one of Bretonnia's greatest heroes - would stand at the head of an army, his feats and exploits were renowned throughout the land, but there was one more task for him to complete. Facing him was a massive horde of Chaos led by Egil Styrbjorn; his destiny had come. As the two warriors spoke to each other, Styrbjorn would call forth his son, for a duel that would once again decide the outcome of a war... and Bretonnia's survival.

Fate
At one point Calard took part in the event known as the Cleansing of Mousillon. His heroic charge against the forces of Chaos would later be immortalised in the form of an exquisite painting. By this time he had also attracted a force of Battle Pilgrims, zealous warriors who revered Grail Knights as living saints.

By the beginning of the End Times, Lord Calard of Garamont was finally starting to physically age. Despite this he was one of Bretonnia's greatest defenders as one of the Companions of Quenelles, fighting for eight years, up until the Empire's destruction. During the final siege of Averheim, the ageing hero fell alone against innumerable odds, with a sword in his hand and a curse on his lips.

As a Grail Knight, Calard would eventually be resurrected in a new world, inhabited by all who had supped from the grail of Lileath.

Heraldry
Calard's heraldry bore the emblem of a Dragon common to the Knights of Bastonne. It was a fire-breathing, white Dragon Rampant, imposed upon a field of blue and red. The colours represented his parent's own heraldry, the left taken from his father's red shield and the right representing the blue of his lost mother. His helmet was crested with a Lion, holding a winged shield bearing the same Dragon Rampant. This was later changed to incorporate a Grail after he succeeded in his quest.

Weapons & Abilities
Calard was a fearsome warrior. one of the greatest to walk the Old World, renowned by other Knights and feared by even the mightiest Vampires and Chaos Lords. Even as a mortal warrior he was capable of defeating many great foes, having slain Trolls, Wyverns, Ogre Tyrants and even a monstrous Jabberslythe in combat. He had defeated the ancient Drycha and equalled Gilles le Breton himself in their penultimate duel, passing his final test and drinking from the Grail. As a Grail Knight he had bested, within seconds, Merovech the Butcher, a Blood Knight who rivaled beings such as Reolus and Egil Styrbjorn in power.

Like all Grail Knights, Calard was blessed with an abnormally long lifespan and possessed strength, speed and endurance beyond any mortal warrior. He was also protected against fell magic and could predict enemies attacks seconds in advance, these abilities added to his already deadly skill in combat, honed through years of fighting the most powerful of foes.


 * The "Sword of Garamont" was a powerful artefact, blessed by a kiss from the Lady herself, it blazed with a fey light as it struck down its enemies. A weapon of holy might, blood would trickle off the blade as if it were oil and it could cut through the greatest of armours with ease. In the hands of Calard it was a weapon of righteous death, his speed and strength allowing it to cut down enemies in their droves.


 * "Elith-Anar - The Dawn Spirit", was a mighty Elven lance, its hilt was forged into the face of a snarling dragon, and its blade blazed with a pale fire. He weilded this lance as if it was but a sword, skewering his enemies and throwing them to the ground with ease.


 * "Galibor", was a powerful Warhorse, Calard had ridden it's sire "Gringolet" in battle as a young Knight Errant, and so knew the horse's great pedigree. With powerful muscles and heavy armour, it was fearless in battle and feisty in nature.