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Master Swordsman: Difference between revisions
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** The best of them is generally held to be Araris Valerian, whose abilities are advanced enough {{spoiler|that he can transform his skin into metal}}. Since most of the [[Authority Equals Asskicking|high lords]] are excellent metalcrafters stone knives are favored for assassination attempts.
** [[Noble Demon|Aldrick ex Gladius]] and [[Dark Action Girl|Phrygiar Navaris]] are both only ''just'' below Araris in terms of skill, and are similarly famous for their abilities.
** Sir Miles is also up there
** Princeps Gaius Septimus may in fact be the only person to equal Araris Valerian, its ambiguous whether Septimus is the most skilled swordsman to have lived or that Araris deliberately underplayed his abilities when sparring with the Princeps to give this illusion.
* Alan Breck Stewart in Stevenson's ''Kidnapped''. "Am I no' a bonny swordsman?" Yes, Alan, you are.
* [[Zorro]], of course. In ''The Curse of Capistrano'', he easily is the best swordsman in the area, and later works only cement his status as a Master Swordsman.
* Hiro in ''[[Snow Crash]]''. Says so right on his business card. The claim seems dubious at first. His success in VR seems to come from the fact that he wrote the swordfighting code himself. In the real world, however, he proves to be just about as good as he claims he is.
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* [[John Carter of Mars]], the greatest swordsman of two worlds, at least. He's not the only one, though, what with swordsmanship being an incredibly prized skill among the Martian races, almost all of whom are varying degrees of [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]]. In particular, Carter complements the [[Path of Inspiration|Therns]] for their swordsmanship (though it's the ''only'' thing he finds praiseworthy about [[Always Chaotic Evil|them]]), and the Okar (Yellow Martian) elite guard [[Badass Grandpa|Solan]] gives Carter a serious run for his money in the third book.
* This is one of the things about Commissar [[Ciaphas Cain (Literature)|Ciaphas Cain]] that makes one stop and wonder just how fair he's being to himself in insisting he's no hero. He's explicitly said to be very good at it, and all kinds of inhuman monstrosities and [[Super Soldiers]] have found their rampage stopped by one (usually secretly terrified) human officer wielding a chain sword who just won't die.
** It's not merely that Cain won't die. It's that he's (against his will) right up close and personal with the enemy, and nonetheless won't let them land a hit on him. '''That's''' the swordsmanship part.
* Richard of the ''[[Sword of Truth]]'' becomes this due to the memories magically imbued in the titular sword, accrued from every single former user of the blade. He unlocks the knowledge in battle with ''thirty blademasters''. Each one is also an example of this trope, coming from a culture that has been training for 3,000 years just to help Richard unlock the sword's power. Richard also becomes an expert with all sorts of bladed implements. His skill with the symbolic language of magic is ultimately explained by it being analogous to swordsmanship.
* Lancelot from Arthurian myth, including literature such as ''[[Le Morte Darthur (Literature)|Le Morte Darthur]]'' and ''[[The Once and Future King]]'', is the greatest knight in the realm.
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