User blog:SPARTAN 119/Stannis Baratheon (Game of Thrones) vs Hilmes of Pars (Heroic Legend of Arslan)

=Stannis Baratheon (Game of Thrones) vs Hilmes of Pars (Arslan Senki)= Stannis Baratheon, the brother of King Robert Baratheon, who tried to seize the throne after the death of his brother

VS

Hilmes, Prince of Pars, the son of an assassinated king, determined to claim his place on the throne

WHO IS DEADLIEST!? =Combatants=

Stannis Baratheon
"The Iron Throne is mine by right. All those that deny that are my foes."

- Stannis Baratheon

Stannis Baratheon is a major character in George R.R. Martin's novels A Song of Ice and Fire, as well as the TV adaptation, Game of Thrones. Stannis is the younger brother of King Robert Baratheon of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, as well as Renly Baratheon. When Robert was killed by a wild boar during a hunting accident, Westeros was plunged into civil war after Eddard Stark discovered that Joffrey Baratheon was not, in fact, Robert's son, but rather child of an incestuous relationship between Jaime Lannister and his sister, Queen Cersei Lannister. Eddard sent letters revealing Joffrey's true parents across the Seven Kingdoms.

In response, both Stannis and his younger brother Renly raised their own armies and claimed the Iron Throne. Shortly thereafter, the factions in support of Joffrey's false claim to the Iron Throne, including Cersei and his grandfather, Tywin Lannister, who was, in truth, the power behind Joffrey's throne, had Eddard Stark imprisoned after he attempted to lead a coup to depose Joffrey. His father's imprisonment and later execution prompted Robb Stark to fight for the independence of the North. At the same time, Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands rose against the Iron Throne, staring what would become known as the War of the Five Kings.

Early in the war, Stannis converted to the faith of R'hllor, the Lord of Light, under the guidance of the priestess Melisandre, with most of his household following suit. Melisandre soon proved herself to be a powerful sorceress when she "gave birth" to a shadow creature shortly after she started having an affair with Stannis. This shadow killed Renly Baratheon, though only Renly's guard, Brienne of Tarth, realized Stannis was behind that assassination- the shadow had the face of Stannis.

With his brother eliminated, Stannis launches a naval attack on the capital of King's Landing, but his fleet is decimated by an attack using Wildfire- a potent incendiary with a characteristic green flame- orchestrated by Tyrion Lannister. Stannis and a significant number of his men, however, survive and make it ashore, and manage to force their way into one of the city gates. Tyrion launches a surprise attack on the invading army, holding them off until Tywin Lannister returns with a force of cavalry and forces Stannis to retreat.

After his defeat at what would become known as the Battle of the Blackwater, Stannis become increasingly obsessed with using Melisandre's magic to win the war. Melisandre performs a ritual with using leeches few with the blood of Robert's bastard son, Gendry. Coincidentally, at around the same time, Robb Stark is assassinated at the Red Wedding, orchestrated by Tywin Lannister. Stannis becomes determined to sacrifice Gendry, and when his lieutenant, Davos Seaworth, interferes, he has him imprisoned. Davos only escapes execution when he informs Stannis of a letter he received, in which the Night's Watch asked for reserves to support them at at the Wall.

Stannis, on the urging of Melisandre, releases Davos and rides north for the Wall, arriving just in time to prevent the Wildling hordes from overrunning the Watch. Stannis then demands the surviving Wildlings, who invaded in order to escape the menace of the White Walkers swear loyalty to him, promising a home south of the Wall in exchange. When King-Beyond-The-Wall Mance Rayder refuses, he has Mance executed by burning at the stake, though Jon Snow intervenes, putting Mance out of his misery with an arrow to the chest. Stannis is infuriated by Jon's actions, but leaves the Wall without punishing him.

Stannis instead rides to Winterfell, the Northern capital, which first captured by the Ironborn, then retaken by Roose Bolton's pro-Lannister forces. Roose's recently legitimized bastard son, Ramsay Bolton launches a surprise attack on Stannis' forces, destroying much of their siege equipment. Stannis still believe in victory, and, on the urging of Melisandre, sacrifices his daughter, Shireen to the Lord of Light by burning her alive.

Stannis, however, pays for murdering his own daughter- his forces are routed by the Bolton army, and Stannis is left wounded and separated from his army. After fighting and killing two Bolton soldiers, Stannis encounters Brienne of Tarth, still determined to avenge the death of Renly. Stannis, wounded and no doubt remorseful about killing his own daughter, allows Brienne to kill him without resistance.

Hilmes of Pars
"Arslan...The humiliation and hardship that I have suffered to this day...I will make sure that you suffer the same as I have!"

- Hilmes

Hilmes (also Romanized Hermes) is a major character in the novel and later anime series Arslan Senki (Heroic Legend of Arslan). Hilmes was the prince of the fictional kingdom of Pars (highly based on pre-Islamic Persia), the son of king Osroes. Sixteen years prior to the events of the story, Osroes died mysteriously, and is believed by many, including Hilmes, to have been assassinated by his brother, Andragoras III, a rival for both the throne and his queen Tahamine. After his father's death, Hilmes disappeared and was presumed dead.

Andragoras took the throne and ruled for the next sixteen years, until first the neighboring kingdom, Maryam, then Pars itself was invaded by the army of Lusitania, led by a mysterious general in a silver mask. Andragoras dispatched a massive army to the Plains of Atropatane. The Silver Masked General, later revealed to be Hilmes, inflicts a crushing defeat on the Parsians, using fog summoned Arzhang, a sorceror. Using the fog, Hilmes lures the Parsians into a trench filled with oil, which is then set alight with flaming arrows, killing thousands. Then, one of the Parsian generals, Kharlan, reveals himself to have turned traitor, and spreads false rumors that Andragoras has fled the battle, causing chaos in the ranks. Thousands more Parsians are cut down by the Lusitanians and Kharlan's traitors in the chaos, and Andragoras himself is captured by Hilmes. The Lusitanians take no prisoners- they believe it is their duty to kill anyone who does not believe in their god- civilians, including men, women, and even children in areas they conquered are slaughtered if they do not immediately convert. During the battle, however, the Parsian General Daryun escapes with the Prince of Pars, Arslan.

Hilmes next goes on to lay siege to the Parsian capital, Ecbatana, which falls after the Lusitanians incite a slave revolt. After the fall of Ecbatana, the Lusitanians, in spite of claiming that their Faith of Yaldaboath forbids slavery, do not make good on their promises to free the slaves, and also massacre the ruling classes of Ecbatana, as well as (presumably) anyone who refuses to convert to their religion.

Meanwhile Prince Arslan and Daryun, having met up with Narsus, an exiled nobleman, who was exiled to a remote mountain area after he angered Andragoras by suggesting he free the slaves before something like the fall of Ecbatana happened. They are joined by a page of Narsus', a travelling mercenary, a warrior priestess of the god Mithra. The group is soon hunted by the traitor general Kharlan and his army. However, Narsus proves himself as brilliant strategist, and manages to ambush Kharlan, allowing the five of them to lure his men into a canyon at night and fire arrows down at them (Arslan and the others all prove to be skilled archers), and create the illusion that they are a much larger force- the five of them literally force the army of hundreds to flee. Kharlan himself engages in a duel first with Arslan, and then Daryun, who intended to capture him, but, after he falls from his horse, Kharlan is literally impaled on his own spear and dies soon after telling Arslan one thing he knows: Andragoras is alive and imprisoned by Hilmes.

In an attempt to investigate these rumors, Narsus and Daryun infiltrate he capital, but are found by Hilmes. Hilmes manages to fight off both of them and force them to flee to city as the guards arrive.

Hilmes eventually regains Arslan's trail, with Arslan eventually fleeing towards Peshawar fortress. On the way, Hilmes' forces are attacked by the Zott Tribe, who he slaughters retaliation. At the Peshawar fortress, Hilmes finds Arslan unguarded and the two of them fight a duel. Hilmes claims he will not kill Arslan, but rather cut off first his right hand, then his left, before finally killing him.

Hilmes, however, is driven off when Arslan grabs a torch- the silver mask is to hide a burn wound from the fire that killed his father- since them Hilmes has been afraid of fire. Narsus and Daryun intervene, and the two of them fight Hilmes for a second time, and for a second time, Hilmes proves himself a match for both of them at once. However, he is eventually forced to retreat.

During the period when Arslan leaves on campaign in Sindhura, Hilmes is involved in a conflict between the Lusitanian Emperor, Innocentius, the emperors brother, Guiscard, and Bodin, priest of the Faith of Yaldaboath. Hilmes initially sides with Guiscard, but in truth, he eventually intends to betray the Lusitanians. After Bodin separates his elite Temple Knights from the Lusitanian forces, holing up in the Zabul fortress, Hilmes uses this as an excuse to raise a Parsian Army of his own. Hilmes' army surrounds the fortress of Zabul, and drives Bodin to make a hastily planned charge outside the walls by burning the emblem of Yaldaboath. The attack is an utter disaster, with over 2000 Temple Knights lost. Within the next month, Hilmes and his men infiltrate the fortress. The Temple Knights fight to the last man, but are quickly overwhelmed and slaughtered, save for Bodin himself, who flees the fortress.

After his victory at Zabul, Hilmes returns to Ecbatana, where he is given command of a 100,000-man army by Guiscard, with orders to reinforce the garrison of the Keep of St. Emmanuel, a formerly Lusitanian border castle, whose strategic location made it the next target of Arslan and his army. While Arslan's forces were initially forced back from the walls, the tide was turned when a pro-Hilmes Parsian, Xandes, led a cavalry charge outside the walls at what was thought to be Aslan's camp.

However, the camp was a fake place in a depression surrounded by archers and even trebuchets hidden in the woods. Fire from arrows and other projectiles routed Xandes' force, with Xandes himself being killed by Daryun. A second, raid on the actual camp, however, took place soon after, however, it was repulsed, and led to the discovery of a secret passage into the castle. Using this passage, a Parsian force infiltrated the castle, eliminated the archers on the walls, and opened the gate, allowing Parsian forces to enter. After heavy fighting with many losses on both sides, the castle was taken by Arslan, while Hilmes fought Daryun in close combat, but the duel was cut short when both of them were wounded, and Hilmes fled with help of Arzhang and a few other members of his sorcerer's guild, who teleported away with Hilmes. After Arslan's victory, most of the Lusitanians commit suicide, save for a few wounded and sick, as well as Etoile, a female knight who had disguised herself as a man- who, incidentally, had met Arslan before years earlier.

Hilmes is last seen at the royal palace at Ecbatana, agreeing to help Guiscard betray his brother and take the throne of Lusitania if he aid him in his seizure of the throne of Pars.

=Weapons=

Lightbringer/Westerossi Longsword (Stannis)
The Westerossi Longsword is essentially identical to its real-world European counterpart, with a double-edged blade about three to four feet long depending on the user it was made for, and a grip intended primarily for one-handed use, but also capable of being used with two hands. The weapon is designed to be effective at both slashing and thrusting, from foot and horseback. Stannis' sword is named Lightbringer after the legendary sword of the Azor Azai, the champion of the Lord of Light.

Parsian Longsword (Hilmes)
The longsword used by the kingdom of Pars, as well as neighboring Lusitania, is about three to four feet long, with a straight double-edged blade, similar to a real-world European longsword. The weapon is capable of making deadly cuts and thrusts, and Hilmes is extremely skilled in its use, being able to fight two skilled swordsmen at once.

119's Edge
The two weapons are similar enough to be called Even.

Lochaber Axe (Stannis)
Stannis' soldiers are seen using a polearm similar to the real-world Scottish Lochaber axe. The Lochaber is a polearm about six feet long with a large cresent-like axe blade similar to a voulge or bardiche, sometimes extending out to a point for thrusting. The weapon also has a hook on the back for unhorsing cavalry. The weapon also sometimes had a butt spike mostly intended as a counterweight, though it could be used as a secondary point as well.

Lusitanian Spear (Hilmes)
Hilmes' Lusitanian allies use a distinctive spear with a triangular point with a rounded circular guard similar to a buckler immediately below it. This may be intended to to aid in parrying, or to keep the spear from going to deeply into the enemy's body, making it difficult to retrieve.

119's Edge
The Stannis' Lochaber Axe for its greater versatility.

Westerossi Lance
The Westerossi cavalry lance is essentially identical to the real-world European version- essentially an elongated spear with a length of about 20 feet. The conical wooden lances commonly seen in depictions of medieval knights were intended for tournament use.

Parsian Lance
The kingdom of Pars makes heavy use of cavalry, and Hilmes raised a Parsian force to take full advantage of their unparalleled horsemanship. Unlike the Lusitanians, Parsian cavalry use a simple lance with a triangular metal head, up to about 20 feet in length. Some have a tassel on the end, possibly to distract an enemy.

119's Edge
The weapons are essentially identical: Even

Longbow (Stannis)
The English longbow, also known as the Welsh longbow, is a well-known bow and arrow known for its use by British forces in the Hundred Years War at battles such as Crecy and Agincourt. The longbow was generally about five to six feet long, the length allowing for greater draw strength and a range of up to 180 meters. The bow is described by a period source, Gaston III, count of Foix in 1380 as "of yew or boxwood, seventy inches [1.78 m] between the points of attachment for the cord". The bow was used in warfare in England from about 1280 to 1600. The weapon saw extensive use first by Welsh rebels against the English, and later British forces in various conflicts including the invasion of Scotland and later the Hundred Years War. Similar longbows are widely used in Westeros, presumably including Stannis' Army.

Recurve Bow (Hilmes)
A composite bow is a bow made from a composite of different materials, typically wood, horn, and resin. The composite of materials give the bow greater flexibility, allowing it to store more energy on the draw. This allows the bow to release the arrow with greater force, allowing for greater distance (up to about 150 meters) and armor penetrating power. Composite bows were used throughout Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Mediterranean region. Numerous Asian cultures, including the Parthians, Huns, Mongols, and Turks, were known to be skilled at firing the composite bow on horseback, typically firing a devastating barrage of arrows, before making at tactical retreat, and repeating this, wearing down their enemies. The Parsians of Arslan Senki use a similar weapon, and are skilled in its use on foot and on horseback.

119's Edge
Stannis Longbow for its superior range.

Crossbow (Stannis)
The Westerossi crossbow is a weapon similar to it medieval European counterpart, with a steel prod and a trigger mechanism allowing it to be fired similarly to a modern rifle. The weapon fires a short arrow or bolt with enough force to pierce all but the heaviest plate armor.

Gastrophetes (Hilmes)
The Gastrophetes (literally "belly shooter" or "belly releaser") is a crossbow-like weapon designed by the Ancient Greeks in the 200s BC and later described by famous ancient Greek inventor Heron of Alexandria. The weapon consisted of a bow attached to a stock with a concave rest for the stomach, which the user held the bow in while he pulled by back the string with both hands, with greater force than a conventional archer, who had to use only one hand. The Gastrophetes later evolved in the ballista, a siege engine similar to an oversized crossbow. Hilmes' Lusitanian allies have at least a few archers armed with gastrophetes at the seige of Ecbatana (though most carry conventional bows).

119's Edge
Stannis' Crossbow for its superior stopping power.

Melisandre (Stannis)
Stannis Baratheon converted to the faith of the Lord of Light and sent in a Red Priestess of the faith, intending to utilize her magical abilities to seize power. Melisandre proves herself capable of "giving birth" to a "shadow demon" shortly after having ritual sex with Stannis. She later convinces him of her ability to grant him victory through the use of a blood sacrifice with royal blood (though this is unsuccessful and Stannis is killed shortly after he crosses the "moral event horizon" and sacrifices his daughter, Shireen). Other Red Priests of the Lord of Light are known in the books and TV series to be able to create and control fire to attack their enemies, including coating swords in fire, and seem to be able to touch flames without being burned. Melisandre states that they are also immune to cold.

Powers:
 * Pyrokinesis
 * Shadow Summoning
 * Immunity to Fire

Arzhang (Hilmes)
Arzhang is a member of a cult of sorcerers who are allied with Hilmes. Arzhang (or another sorceror in his cult) used his magic to summon a fog in order to reduce visibility during the decisive defeat of Pars at Atropatene. Arzhang is also know to use "Earth Travel Magic" to allow him to disappear into the earth and travel unseen and (presumably) intangible until the very moment he attacks, before disappearing before the enemy can retaliate. For the purposes of this match, Arzhang will be safe while Earth traveling, but can be injured and killed when attacking or caught unaware. When attacking, Arzhang may use either a sword or a recurve bow, however, given he uses stealth magic, it's not clear how skilled he is in extended combat. Also, to make this match fair, Arzhang will be able to do something to protect Hilmes from Melisandre's shadow... if he is present at the time.
 * Weather Control (fog summoning, implied not to be powerful enough to cause more destructive weather such as tornadoes, but can cover a large area with fog)
 * "Earth Travel Magic"/Teleportation

=Heavy/Siege Weapons etc= Both Stannis and Hilmes have similar siege engine technologies, including trebuchets, ballistae, battering rams, siege towers, and assault ladders. Both sides are also known to make use of simple incendiaries (Stannis would only have pitch and various oils, lacking the Wildfire used by Tyrion Lannister). Still, these can be used to great effect as seige weapon projectiles. It should be noted, however, given the ferocity of the flames in the trap at Atropatene, it is possible that Hilmes may have access to some a natural oil seep- meaning he may have been using more flammable crude oil, much as the Arabs were known to, as the Byzantines in the creation of their Greek Fire. Both sides will also be able to use ambush tactics, field fortifications, spies, saboteurs, and assassins behind enemy lines, and any other tactic they would realistically be able to, in combination with the powers of their allied sorcerers. It should be noted that Hilmes seems to be more skilled these sort of tactics, and thus, will have an Edge.

=X-Factors=

Explanations
Stannis is an expereience soldier who fought in the seige of Storm's End during his brother, Robert Baratheon's rebellion, however, Hilmes has fought in numerous battles, presumably having fought to survive from an early age as a exile, and seems to have gained the personal combat and tactical skills to win a number of decisive victories. In terms of training, Stannis is highly trained in swordsmanship and combat, but Hilmes appears to be more highly so, or at least more skilled with a sword, being able to take on two skilled oppoenents at once. As for physical strength, Hilmes wins again- given that he is a highly trained younger man, while Stannis is much older, and likely beyond his physical peak. In terms of weapons and armor, in terms of both personal and troops, Westeros seems to be a bit more advanced, with plate armor being more common, while even ranking nobles in Pars often wear chain mail or scale armor. Plate seems to be mostly restricted to a few royals- albeit Hilmes seems to have at least partial plate armor. Stannis also has more sophisticated polearms and crossbows, not seen in Pars- that said, none of this will be a drastically game changing weapon. In terms of the wizard allies, I'm giving the edge to Melisandre for her ability to assassinate a target without making direct contact with her shadow summoning, however, Arzhang's fog summoning may be absolutely devastating in an open battle, especially when combined with various traps and ambush tactics. Hilmes is a tactical genius, cleverly using fog sorcery, earthworks filled with flammable oil, spiked barricades, field fortifications, and even inciting revolts to devastated his enemies. Stannis, on the other hand, was a decent commander, but was lured into traps that decimated (and the in the second case, wiped out) his men by both Tyrion Lannister and Ramsay Bolton. =Notes= This will be a large campaign between large armies, including fortifications and sieges, open battles, as well the possibility of assassination.