User blog:Laquearius/Diomedes vs Sigurd



Diomedes, the unsung Achaean hero who was favored by Athena and filled the Trojan hordes with fear...

Sigurd Fafnisbana Sigmundsson, the greatest of the Norse heroes who avenged his father, rescued of Valkyrie, and slew a dragon...

Diomedes
Diomedes was the King of Argos during the Trojan War, and one of its major participants. As one of the suitors of Helen of Sparta, Diomedes was bound by oath to join the Achaean forces in the Trojan War. Although he was the youngest commander there, he had the most experience of them all, having fought more battles than any of the others. Over the course of the war, he and Odysseus went on several covert missions against the enemy, sabotaging them and even sneaking into Troy itself to steal an artifact from Troy's temple. At the end of the war, Diomedes returned to a home where he was not welcome. His wife had fallen for another man, the work of a vengeful Aphrodite. He left Argos, and sailed to Italy, where he founded several cities. At the end of his life, Athena would grant him godhood.

Dory
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A dory is a bronze-headed spear, about eight feet long, carried by Greek infantry. It is Diomedes's favored weapon, and he has used it to slay numerous Trojans in battle. He is also skilled in throwing his dory, if necessary.

After receiving the blessings of Athena, Diomedes's dory gained divine powers far beyond any normal spear. It is indestructible, and strong enough to wound gods.

Mycenaean Sword

Diomedes wields a Mycenaean sword as a backup weapon, for use when he has thrown his spear or has been disarmed. It is a pointed, double-edged sword about two feet in length. It is the same sword that was wielded by Diomedes's father during his war against Thebes, and has the same divine blessings as the spear.

Panoply
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The god Hephaestus forged Diomedes's set of bronze Mycenaean panoply armor, which protects the torso, shoulders, upper thighs, and shins, while still remaining flexible. Like all artifacts forged by Hephaestus, it is indestructible by any human means.

Helmet

Hephaestus also granted Diomedes a helmet in an early Corinthian style. It protects the head, cheeks, and nose.

Aspis

Hephaestus's final gift was an aspis shield, a round convex shield that is large enough to cover everything from the shoulder to the knee.

Superhuman Strength: Diomedes's strength is far greater than any normal mortal. He was capable of lifting up a boulder that would take two normal men to lift, and throwing it with enough force to gravely wound Aeneas. He was also capable of fighting one-on-one with Ajax, who can lift a stone twice the weight of the one Diomedes lifted and easily shove around multiple men with his shield.
 * -|Abilities=

Superhuman Speed: Diomedes is terrifyingly fast in battle. He is quick enough to avoid the weapons of numerous Trojans simultaneously, once even fighting his way through a dense Trojan phalanx.

Athena's Blessing: The war goddess Athena greatly favors Diomedes. Upon offering a prayer to the goddess, his physical abilities increased threefold, and his shield and helmet begin to flare with streams of intense fire.

Sigurd
Sigurd was the son of Sigmund, the son of Völsung, and his wife Hjordis. Sigmund was killed in battle before Sigurd was born, so Hjordis sent Sigurd off to be raised by a foster father, the dwarf Regin. When Sigurd came of age, Regin told him the story of the dragon Fafnir and his gold. Sigurd agreed, and set off to kill the beast. With some help from Odin, Sigurd was successful. and tasted some of Fafnir's blood in the process. Doing so allowed him to understand that language of birds, who revealed to him that Regin was plotting to kill him and take the gold for himself. Sigurd killed Regin instead. Afterwards, Sigurd rescued the Valkyrie Brynhild, who had been sent to Midgard as punishment by Odin for disobedience. The two fell in love, but Brynhild prophesied that Sigurd would be married to another. Do to the schemes of a rival family, this prophecy came true, and the series of events that followed would lead to Sigurd's death.

Gram
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Gram is a Viking sword, described as "seven spans long" (about five feet), and is about three pounds in weight. It is decked in gold and shines brightly in the light.

Gram was originally the sword of Sigmund, Sigurd's father. It was a finely crafted and beautiful blade, and it served Sigmund well through many battles. However, Gram would be shattered by Odin in Sigmund's final battle. Sigmund's wife, Hjordis, would gather the shattered pieces and give them to Sigurd, who had the dwarf Regin reforge them. The recreated sword was sharp enough to split an anvil in two. It's unnatural sharpness has been displayed in battle; Sigurd uses it to hack through armor with ease.

Spear

Sigurd also carries a Viking spear as a mid- or long-ranged weapon. It is a iron-headed boar spear, about seven feet in length, with a iron-reinforced wooden shaft. Like Diomedes, Sigurd is capable of both throwing his spear and using it in melee combat.


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Golden Byrnie

Sigurd wears a byrnie, or a riveted mail shirt that covers the torso from the upper arms to the thighs. It was one of the treasures Sigurd found in Fafnir's hoard, and is described as golden in color, covered with a red and brown surcoat, and emblazoned with the symbol of a dragon.

Helm of Awe

Another one of the treasures Sigurd discovered in Fafnir's hoard, the Helm of Awe is a Viking-style helmet made of iron plates that covers the head, cheeks, nose, and area around the eyes. It has eight small tridents protruding from the sides. It has the magical affect of inspiring great fear in the owner's opponents, and making them believe that the wearer is unkillable.

Shield

Sigurd's shield is a large, wooden, rounded one, rimmed with iron. It is plated with a red-gold metal, and bears the symbol of a dragon.


 * -|Abilities=

Power of Prophecy: After consuming part of Fafnir's heart, Sigurd gained the power of magical prophecy. This grants him premonitions about future events, making it very difficult to take him by surprise.

Runic Magic: Sigurd learned the magic of Nordic runes from his lover, the valkyrie Brynhildr. There are several runes carved onto Sigurd's weapons and armor, which enhance his abilities in a variety of ways. The more practical effects include improving his sword fighting ability, making his strikes more accurate, healing him of wounds received in battle, and making him more quick-witted.

X-Factors
Brutality

Both of these warriors give no quarter when confronted with a foe. Sigurd brutally slew the sons of Hunding and their allies, causing so much carnage that his upper body became soaked in blood. He also did not hesitate to kill his foster father Regin when he learned that Regin was plotting against him. Diomedes is also an incredibly efficient killer. He demonstrates this well during his aristeia in Book 5, where he slaughters his way through a Trojan shield wall with several well-placed strikes to his enemies' throats and hearts. He is also incredibly tenacious when it comes to taking down a foe. Even the prescence of multiple gods wasn't enough to make him give up his pursuit of Aeneas. When he participated in a sparing contest with Ajax during Patroclus's funeral games, he attacked with such ferocity that the Achaeans called the fight off as they feared for Ajax's life.

Experience

Despite being the youngest commander in all of the Achaean fleet, Diomedes was the most experienced of them all. He has already led Greek forces in the Epigoni War, which ended with Diomedes's army routing the Theban army and razing their city. The ten years of Trojan Wars also gave Diomedes plenty of battlefield experience, where he would face off against seasoned warriors like Hector, demigods like Aeneas, and even two Olympians. Sigurd's experiences, on the other hand, are much more limited. He's slain a dragon, and killed numerous human opponents, but Diomedes has been seen much more combat and fought a much wider variety of foes.

Physicality

As stated in his abilities section, Diomedes possesses superhuman strength and speed. He can force his spear through enemy shields, dodge blows, and contend with numerous opponents at once. However, he still vulnerable to normal human weapons. An arrow from Paris that went through his foot was enough to put him out of the fight for quite a long time. Sigurd is at the very peak of normal human physciality, and also has slightly superhuman durability. After being completely impaled with his own sword, he still survived long enough to remove the weapon and throw at his killer with such accuracy that it cleaved him in half.

Training

As the grandson of the King of Argos, Diomedes received all the training necessary for him to become a great warrior. He also trained heavily with the Epigoni as they prepared to make war on Thebes. Sigurd was raised by the dwarf Regin, who taught him plenty of combat skills. Neither of these warriors had special training from any particularly skilled individuals; they only were taught the basics. However, it was plenty enough for them to be successful in battle.

Battle
TBW