User blog:SPARTAN 119/Agnes Chevalier de Milan (Familiar of Zero) VS Yatorishino Igsem (Alderamin on the Sky)

Agnes Chevalier De Milan
"This is the blade I've been keeping, just to get back at Royal bastards like you one day. Now die upon this blade, Richemont!"

- Anies Chevalier de Milan, after impaling Lord Richemont on her sword

Agnès Chevalier de Milan is a character that first appears in the second season of the fantasy anime The Familiar of Zero. She is an inhabitant of the country of Tristain, on the continent of Halkegnia, part of a fantasy world at a roughly 17th century technology level, the world into which Saito Hiraga was summoned into in the previous season. Anies was born a non-magical "commoner", however, she has, unlike most of her class, gained noble status in spite of her lack of magical powers, due to her military prowess, with both melee weapons and firearms, a relatively new technology in Halkeginia

Anies was born in the small village of Danguteal, until while she was still a child, the village was designated by a noble named Lord Richemont as being wiped out by a plague, and a group of fire mages were sent to burn it down. Anies was the only survivor, being rescued from the flames by an unknown rescuer. Anies later discovered the destruction of Danguteal was no accident- Richemont intended to wipe out the village- a center of dissent. This incident instilled a lifelong hatred of mages in Anies. The one exception was Henrietta, the princess and later queen of Tristain, who Anies is deeply loyal to, as she is the only noble who trusted her and valued her talent, in spite of her being a commoner. It was Henrietta that promoted Anies to commander of the musketeer unit and the royal guard.

Anies first encounters Saito when she arrived at the Tristain Academy of Magic to recruit students into the military for a war against the country of Albion. Anies was sent to train the recruits in unarmed and melee combat, a method of fighting most of the young mages found pointless because of their powers. During this time, she also showed Saito a weakness in his own powers- his powers only enhance his skill with a purpose-built weapon, not an improvised weapon.

Agnés later goes on to hunt the fire mages responsible for the burning of her village, and in so doing, manages to kill a magic-using noble and a incapacitate a second in single combat, in spite of having no such powers herself.

Yatorishino Igsem
"My existence completely turned into the two blades in my hands"

- Yatorishino Igsem

Yatorishino "Yatori" Igsem is a major character in the Japanese novel and later manga and anime Alderamin on the Sky was the daughter of Solvenares Igsem, an expert swordsman and field marshall of the Katjvarna Empire, one of two main powers in the fantasy world of Alderamin. From an early age, Yatori was trained in fighting with a sabre and a dagger as an off-hand weapon, and by the time she turned 17, she became an expert with the weapon, and enrolled into the Empire's military academy along with her childhood friend Ikta Solork. Her military upbringing gave her a serious personality and strong sense of duty and loyalty. During the ride on a ship to the academy, Ikta and Yatori are stranded along with Torway Remeon, a cadet, expert marksman and son of a general; Matthew Tetridch, another cadet; Haroma Bekkel, a cadet in the medical corps; and a girl who turns out be the Chamille Kitra Katjvanmaninik, princess of the empire, on the shores of the Kioka Republic, currently at war with Katjvarna. Thanks to Ikta's unforeseen tactical brilliance, as well Yatori and Torway's combat skills, the six of them escape back to Katjvarna.

After their escape, Yatori and Ikta are pitted against each other as platoon leaders in a mock battle at the academy. Ikta's tactical brilliance once again nearly secures his victory, however, the training session is interrupted by an assassination attempt on Chamille, who was viewing the battle. Yatori, Torway, and Ikta intervene and Yatori kills several of the attackers in close combat. For their actions Ikta and Yatori are knighted by the Emperor. =Weapons=

Longsword (Agnes)
The term "longsword" refers to a longer sword than the arming sword, while having the same basic shape of the arming sword, but having a length of up to about one and a half meters, designed more for thrusting, but still capable of cutting. The sword was used from the mid 1300s to the mid 1500s. The weapon was also known as a "hand and a half", as it can be used one or two handed.

Sabre and Parrying Dagger (Yatori)
Yatorishino Igsem favors the standard sword of the Katjavarna cavalry, a one-handed sabre about three feet in length. The saber or sabre is a type of single-edged curved sword often used on horseback. The weapon was widely used by European cavalry in the 16-19th centuries, though its roots date back to Middle-Eastern scimitars and the Turko-Mongol sabre. The weapon was intended to be used in downward slashing attacks from horseback, though it did have a point, and thus, some thrusting ability. Yatori's sabre has a round handguard with an attached knuckle guard to protect the hand. When on foot, she dual wields the weapon with her dagger, however, on horseback, she uses the blade alone.

Yatori's secondary weapon is a left hand dagger with a single-edge, similar to a tanto, and an upside-down cup-shaped hand guard to protect the hand. Yatori uses this weapon both as a parrying dagger and to attack with her sword in the other hand, in a style similar to a combination Renaissance rapier fighting and sabre fighting, typically targeting gaps in armor, such as the neck, side of the torso, and the back of the leg.

Flintlock Musket (Agnes)
The flintlock musket is a smoothbore long arm operated using the flint lock mechanism. The flintlock mechanism works by using a spring-loaded striker to strike a piece of flint, creating a spark. This spark ignites a small amount of gunpowder in a priming pan, which in turn fires off the main charge. The flintlock musket was the standard issue weapon for European soldiers for over 100 years from the late 1600s to the early 1800s, with weapons such as the British Brown Bess Musket and French Charleville gaining renown for their use in conflicts of the era. Flintlock muskets were finally replaced in the early 1800s by rifles- firearms with grooves drilled into the barrel, making the bullet spin for greater accuracy, and precussion weapons using a cap filled with mercury fulminate, a substance that explodes when struck, as an ignition mechanism. In Halkeginia, presumably including Albion, firearms have advanced to the point where flintlock weapons exist, however, they are not as widely used as their real-life counterparts due to the prevalence of magic on the battlefield. However, they are one of the few weapons that have the potential to even the odds of a non-magical commoner against a mage. The weapon can be presumed to have a maximum range of about 100 meters, and a rate of fire of no more than 2-3 rounds per minute, similar to a real-world musket.

Crossbow (Yatori)
As true firearms have not been invented in the world of Alderamin (only air guns which can be only used by those with an air spirit partner), the primary ranged weapon of those with any other form of spirit is a crossbow not unlike those used in the middle ages, with a stirrup at the front, presumably for drawing the bow, and a metal prod (bow arm). A crossbow consists of a bow mounted on a wooden stock, with a mechanical string holding and release mechanism. This design allows the crossbow to aimed more easily, allowing effective use with minimal training. This design also allows the bow to be held drawn and ready to fire for extended periods of time, and allows for the use of mechanical devices such as stirrups, levers, cranks, and windlasses to pulled back the string with greater force than with muscle power alone. The weapon can be presumed to have an effective range of about 100 meters, and a rate of fire of no more than 2-3 bolts per minute. It should be noted that, while Yatori has experience using a crossbow, as a soldier of the cavalry, she rarely does so.

119’s Edge
Agnes Chevalier de Milan’s Flintlock Musket for its comparable range, as well as greater stopping power, as well as the fact that Agnes has more experience with her ranged weapon than Yatori does.

Black Powder Grenade (Agnes)
The Tristainian Musketeers are known to carry black powder grenades similar to those used by European armies in the 17th and 18th centuries. Black powder grenades such as those used in 17th and 18th century Europe are also used in Halkeginia. These devices consist of a metal ball with a gunpowder charge at the core. Lead shot or other shrapnel are often placed around the gunpowder charge to increase the fragmentation effect. The weapon was was activated by a simple fuse, which was lit before the grenade was thrown. These fuses, however, were dangerous, and would often detonate prematurely. This sense of danger meant grenadiers were often viewed as elite troops, with the word "grenadier" being used in the name of many military units, even after the use of black powder grenades was abandoned in the mid-to-late 18th century. Anies will have three grenades in the battle.

Fire Spirit (Yatori)
The “Four Great Spirits” are small sapient organisms of about 15 cm height in the manga and novel, but only a few centimeters in the anime (which is the size I will be using), which form symbiotic relationships with humans. The faith of Aldera believes them to be messengers of the gods, though it is implied that they are simply organisms like any other. “Spirits” possess one of four abilities, associated with the elements of fire, water, air, or light. Yatori is partnered with Shia, a fire spirit, which is shown to possess the ability to fire a jet of fire at a range of up to about two meters, similar to a miniature flamethrower. While this ability is rarely directly weaponized, and more often used for setting fires, it could potentially be used in an emergency. Fire spirits are also capable of igniting crossbow bolts fired by the user, for use as flaming bolts for setting fire to enemy structures.

119’s Edge
While the fire spirit has multiple potential utilities, the grenade had far greater destructive power, and is more likely to score a kill. =X-Factors=

Explanations
In terms of training, both Agnes and Yatori are highly trained soldiers representing the best the armies of their respective nations have to offer. In terms of agility, Agnes is highly agile, proving capable of easily evading magic attacks from a skilled fire mage, before going in for the kill. Yatori, however, takes a slight a slight edge as she is capable of moving at practically superhuman speeds, allowing her to evade attacks by multiple opponents, block a crossbow bolt with a well-timed sword strike, or even keep up with someone using a “magitech” jet pack. In terms of combat experience, as a recent graduate from officer candidate school, Yatori has only been in the army a period of months, a year at most, she she has seen intense combat against a variety of foes, including a group of rebels, the fearsome Shinaak tribe of the Alfatra, assassins from the Kioka Republic, and the army of the Holy Empire of Aldera. Agnes has served longer and fought against two dangerous fire mages and killed both of them, in spite of being a non-magical commoner, and saw some action during the war with Albion, but she hasn’t the intensity of combat that Yatori has, hence Yatori getting the higher score. Both Agnes and Yatori and in very good physical condition, but Yatori appears to be slightly stronger. As for marksmanship, Yatori is trained in the use of a crossbow, but as a member of the cavalry, primarily fights with her sword. Agnes, on the other hand, is a musketeer specializing in the use of firearms. As a commoner who managed to gain noble status through martial status, she is probably one of the best shots with a musket in Tristain. =Notes=
 * The battle will take place in an abandoned village with a “17th century” look similar to those seen in Halkeginia, though not familiar to either side, with the leaders and five soldiers on each side.
 * The Yatori in this battle will be after the Alfatra campaign, while the Agnes will be at the end of the second season, and thus will have killed two skilled fire mages and served in the Tristain-Albion war.