Draft:Sir Daniel Fortesque (MediEvil: Resurrection)

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PLEASE NOTE: This page is a draft. It is thus in an unfinished state and may feature broken and/or incorrect formatting.
PLEASE NOTE: The subject of this article originates from MediEvil: Resurrection, which is considered apocryphal, i.e. to be outside of the accepted canon. See GP:CANON for more information.
Sir Daniel Fortesque
Biographical information
AKA
Dan

Sir Fortesque
Dannikins (by Zarok)
Forty-Darling (by Zarok)
Target Face (by the other heroes)
Jawless Arrow Magnet (by Woden)
Fortisskay/Forteskwee (by Bloodmonath)
The Zero of Gallowmere (by Gargoyles)

Title(s) Hero of Gallowmere
Gender Male
Family Granny Fortesque (grandmother)
Behind the scenes information
Voiced by Jason Wilson
Appears in MediEvil: Resurrection
"It has risen again! Sir Daniel Fortesque! See?"
― an Information Gargoyle shortly after Sir Dan's resurrection.

Sir Daniel Fortesque, commonly shortened to Sir Dan, was a knight of the kingdom of Gallowmere. Due to his close personal relationship with the king, Sir Dan became the king's champion and Captain of the army. He was charged with leading the militia into battle against the rebelling court magician Zarok in what would become known as the Battle of Gallowmere. Ignobly, Sir Dan was killed by the first volley of arrows. The king, unimpressed with Dan's performance, weaved a legend about the felled warrior, declaring him the Hero of Gallowmere.

A hundred years later, Dan was mistakenly brought back to life by Zarok during the latter's second attempt at conquest. Dan seized this opportunity to live up to his legend and brought down the sorcerer once and for all, gaining access to the afterlife's Hall of Heroes as a result.

History

Life

Sir Dan was a professional soldier in life, but his duties were mostly ceremonial.

Death

Everything changed when an army of the undead began marching towards Castle Peregrine led by the former court magician Zarok. The king was in desperate need of a hero who could tackle this threat, and he knew exactly who he wanted.

Fortesque was chosen to lead the charge into battle. Unfortunately, he died instantly when he twisted his ankle by getting his foot caught on the grass and subsequently being shot through his left eye by Zarok's champion, Lord Kardok. At some point during or after the battle, Zarok also trapped Al-Zalam, a powerful genie, inside Dan's head. Despite this, the Gallowmere army went on to win the battle without him.

In order to save face, King Peregrine declared Zarok the Sorcerer dead and organised a hero's burial for Fortesque, including the construction of a custom crypt. From then on, Fortesque was revered as the Hero of Gallowmere.

Resurrection

One hundred years later, Zarok resurfaced and cast a spell called the Evernight, which turned the skies over Gallowmere black and robbed the innocent of their very souls in order to revive the dead. Fortesque was unexpectedly reanimated when magic from the Evernight drifted into his crypt and settled upon his decomposing corpse.

After getting his bearings, Sir Dan travelled throughout Gallowmere, dispelling the black mist and laying the corrupted dead to rest, battling Zarok's minions along his route. With each defeat of Zarok's minions, Dan earned the right to claim numerous weapons and resources from the Hall of Heroes, that he might once again confront Zarok and lay him low once and for all.

Although Dan inadvertently released Zarok's most ancient and powerful force in the Shadow Demons, he would defeat many of Zarok's most insidious traps, before finally reaching the core of the wizard's lair. However, Zarok still had some tricks up his sleeve--his right-hand man, Lord Kardok, who Sir Dan made quick work of. His second line of defense were an indomitable elite group of bodyguards called Fazguls, ready to strike Sir Dan down. Using the Anubis Stone, Dan summoned his own spectral warriors and eventually slew the Fazguls with their help.

Frustrated, Zarok made a last-ditch decision to face the would-be hero one-on-one, transmogrifying into a serpentine form, taking advantage of Sir Dan's ophiophobia. The battle was intense, but Fortesque made good on his mission and became the hero he was always meant to be. As Zarok destroyed his own fortress, the genie Al-Zalam pulled Sir Dan away, flying him back to his crypt. For his heroic deeds, Dan had earned a place in the Hall of Heroes.

Characteristics

Appearance

Alive

Not much is known about Dan's appearance while he was alive beyond how he is described in books and depicted in stained glass windows. On the day of the Battle of Gallowmere, Dan wore a standard set of armour including pauldrons, a cuirass, a bevor, faulds, gauntlets, greaves and sabatons. Dan wore a red doublet underneath the cuirass, the puffy sleeves of which were left unarmoured.

Dead

In death, Dan had become a skeleton. Due to his fatal injury, he was missing his left eye. His jaw was missing as well. He retained the armour and doublet he wore during the Battle of Gallowmere with the exception of the helmet and gloves. The midsection of his cuirass was missing however, partly exposing Dan's ribcage and spine.

At one point, Dan had to disguise himself as a pirate in order to convince a Scurvy Docks harbour master to lend him a ship. To that end, he wore a

Personality

Alive

Dead

In death, Dan had become a better man (or skeleton). In the pursuit of redemption for his ignoble death, he was able to overcome his cowardice, facing Zarok's fiercest monsters, including the sorcerer himself. He had also become more selfless and heroic; he saved the imprisoned town mayor and a group of captured farmers from Zarok's henchmen and made sure to not harm the possessed inhabitants of Gallows Town. In other words, he had finally lived up to his legend. This transformation of character was fuelled by the mocking comments of Gallowmere's gargoyles and witches, as well as the heroes from the Hall of Heroes.

Abilities

Dan had a natural talent for storytelling, an ability he often used at court to amuse nobles and the king.

After becoming undead, Dan obtained new, unique abilities:

  • He could detach his left arm and use it as a weapon, but due to its unsuitability for combat he would only do this as a last resort.
  • Dan was very strong, as evidenced by him being able to carry a hammer and various large swords in one hand.
  • He was able to utilise new combat techniques, such as a full 360 degree sword spin.
  • He exhibited great agility, becoming capable of doing backflips and sideflips.
  • Dan had the Daring Dash ability, which allowed him to traverse more quickly and to jump farther away.

Gameplay

Behind the scenes

Sir Dan is the primary character and protagonist of the MediEvil: Resurrection.

Development

Portrayal

Sir Dan was portrayed by Jason Wilson in MediEvil: Resurrection, just as in the original game.[1]

For the original MediEvil, several actors tried out portraying Sir Dan prior to Wilson stepping in to voice him, but the team was not happy with their performances.[1] In the end, Wilson read the lines through gritted teeth with a bucket over his head to achieve Dan's unintelligible jawless mumbles.[1]

Gallery

Main article: Images of Sir Daniel Fortesque

Notes

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2   "Yeah the original and the PSP version was my voice. We tried getting actors to do it but we were never happy so I stepped in and did it - my finest hour! ... What a lot of people may not realise is that I wrote a script for what Dan actually says and then just read the lines through gritted teeth with a bucket over my head!" — Jason Wilson, MediEvil developers - Q&A; on MediEvil Boards. Published December 25, 2012.

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