Excalibur

is the strongest and most majestic holy sword that symbolizes King Arthur. As that which can be called the physical actualization of her ideals and the symbol of her heroism, it is her greatest and most powerful Noble Phantasm. Its power is said to be rivaled by Rhongomyniad.Fate/Grand Order - London: The Death World in the City of Demonic Fog - Section 13: Beyond the Fog
==Origin==
Excalibur was created in 12,000 BC by six great Fairies in Avalon. It was created as a weapon to be used by the Planet against external threats. Excalibur was wielded by a human to defeat the White Titan, who had already killed most of the Gods.
Excalibur is a Divine Construct, the pinnacle of holy swords, and the strongest holy sword whose equal is the strongest demonic sword Gram; one of the ultimate God-forged weapons, a Last Phantasm, forged by the Planet as the crystallization of the wishes of mankind stored and tempered within the Planet. It was guarded by extensions of the Planet, Fairies, before briefly being passed on to Artoria Pendragon by the Lady of the Lake to act as a replacement for Caliburn and later returned to the lake before her death. 
It and its scabbard, Avalon, provided partial immortality for its wielder. It is said that this sword, born in the Inner Sea of the Planet, exerts its true power only when an enemy that threatens the planet emerges. While a powerful sword, it is said that Avalon was more valuable to Artoria. When said to have answered Merlin's inquiry about which had more value with the sword being the obvious answer, the court Magus chided the king in that the scabbard which protects is more important than the sword which slashes the enemy.Fate/stay night - Fate route - Day 13: infinity arms - Saber's contradiction She eventually lost Avalon, and replaced it with Invisible Air, which she continued to use during the Holy Grail Wars to hide the sword and her identity. 
Excalibur and Caliburn are often confused due to their close nature in the legend. Both the sword from the stone, later broken, and the new sword received from Vivian, are called "Excalibur", but that was because they were originally two separate stories. They were later combined into a single narrative, the former becoming known as Caliburn and the latter becoming known as Excalibur. There is also some debate about whether or not Excalibur was reforged from Caliburn, or if they were two completely different swords from the start. The swords are similar in nature and appearance, though Excalibur is more suited to be used as a weapon. Excalibur has good performance as a sword, almost completely devoid of ostentatious ornamentation, and Caliburn is extravagantly adorned as a symbol of the king's authority, making its rank as a weapon lower. They have similar abilities based in using light to attack the enemy, which Shirou Emiya sees as an obvious conclusion from the similar appearance. There is a theory that Caladbolg is the same as of Welsh mythology, making it a prototype of Excalibur.
==Attributes==
While there are many other Noble Phantasms crafted more splendidly and with better skill, Excalibur is an illusion far superior to them. It cannot be called beautiful because of its appearance, for the description of "beautiful" will only dirty it. It is instead sacred, made from people's conceptions, a legend weaved purely out of hope. It is not a myth or inhuman work, but a "crystal trained by the heart alone", making it reign as the strongest fantasy. According to Da Vinci, the concept of the Holy Sword that is Excalibur utilizes the legitimacy of the Human Order itself and proof of Humanity's future.Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Nahui Mictlan: Golden Sea of Trees Travelogue, the One Who Rules the Planet, Chapter 1 - To the Land of the Dead It is the crystallization of the prayer named "glory" and everything etched in the hearts of those who are scattered at the sword's radiance; the nostalgic, sorrowful, and hallowed dream of those who were placed on the bloody hell called a battlefield, of all warriors past, present, and future fully exposed to the fear of death and despair, and who still cling to a desire: "to be exalted." Looking upon its light makes Gilgamesh fondly remember Enkidu, and it is able to make even Gilles de Rais, having fallen into brutality and smeared with corruption, remember the light and glory of his past that has been etched into his heart before it destroys him.
Excalibur is a typical Western sword with a length of ninety centimeters and a width of twelve centimeters, and it has Fairy Letters inscribed on it to show that it is not the work of mankind. It is normally clad in Invisible Air to hide its identity and increase its destructive power. It must be revealed to unleash its full power, and charging it with energy to slash an enemy, called the , brings about an overwhelmingly superior power. Its destructive power widely varies, with Invisible Air showing a power from eighty to ninety and the gold version showing a power of around one thousand.
 While it takes time to figure out the Noble Phantasms and identities of other Servants, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne was able to deduce Artoria's identity as King Arthur from a mere glance at the sword, claiming that any Heroic Spirit that has traversed time and space to join the Holy Grail War would never mistake her golden sword for any other.Fate/Zero Anime - Episode 4: "Blade of the Demonic Spear" According to Nemo the Holy Sword Construct measures "Threats to Human History" and, depending on the level of the threat, the sword gets supplied energy from the Earth's core. It is the Earth's defensive ability, the autopurifactory activity, like a white blood cell.
As a Divine Construct, it is impossible to reproduce with Projection. While Excalibur Image is an exception due to the environment where it is replicated, it is possible that Unlimited Blade Works would normally contain degraded Noble Phantasms with similar abilities within its store of weapons. Within the world of Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA, the general rule still applies, but Kuro, inside the body of Illyasviel von Einzbern and using the Archer Class Card, manages to project it and release its True Name, which would normally be impossible even with the ability to replicate it. Though weakened, it has the ability to exceed the power of the original when faced with the manifested Saber Class Card.
==Usage==
Excalibur.jpg|Saber launching Excalibur at Bellerophon from atop a building.
SaberKillsGilgamesh.jpg|Saber slashing Gilgamesh with Excalibur
File:Artoria's Excalibur out paces Enuma Elish and kills Gilgamesh.gif|Excalibur outpacing Enuma Elish and killing Gilgamesh
Saber wins.gif|Saber slashing Assassin with Excalibur
Saber using Excalibur on Darius (manga).jpg|Saber firing Excalibur at Darius.
Excalibur is a "sword that amplifies", converting its user's Magical Energy into offensive power and releasing it. It is a weapon of directive energy that converts the Magical Energy of Artoria into light by accelerating it with her factor of the dragon, intensifying the kinetic energy by convergence and acceleration, allowing for the use of Divine Spirit-level thaumaturgy. It is an "ultimate killing technique" that releases light holding energy rivaling Artoria's entire Magical Energy supply from the tip of the blade once the sword is swung. To an observer, it looks like a giant beam of light, but the attack's target point is only at the tip. It is the "ultimate slash" that cuts through everything in the "area" the light goes through. Its enormous power heats space around the tip, and as a result, it is interpreted as a wave of light that mows across the surface of the earth like a directed energy weapon. Even if it is dodged, those in close proximity can still be temporarily distracted by its intensity.
Excalibur is considered to be among the greatest of Noble Phantasms, with its speed, attack power, and reach upon being activated surpassing and remaining unrivaled by all others.Fate/hollow ataraxia - Other - Night - Confrontation In terms of competing against others in pure power, only Ea is known to be able to match and surpass it. The speed required for activation is less than a second, slightly surpassing the speed of the charge of Via Expugnatio.Fate/Zero Volume 4: Flames of Purgatory - Act 14 Part 3 -36:44:26 It requires a sufficient amount of distance between Artoria and her enemy, and the further the distance of the opponent will increase its effectiveness. Once something is struck by it, no human Magecraft of any kind can match it. Both hands are needed to use the attack, so losing access to her hands means being unable to use the ability. After the tendon in her left hand was severed by Gáe Buidhe, making it impossible to move her thumb or exert enough strength to grip the sword hilt, Excalibur's strength was lowered to Anti-Unit. The Doll of Zachary Ainsworth, utilizing the Saber Class Card, is still able to invoke Excalibur despite losing one of his arms; however, with only one arm, his accuracy with the Noble Phantasm was drastically reduced to the point that the Shirou Emiya from Miyu's World was able to easily dodge the blast and Zachary's remaining arm is wounded from the attack. 
It ranks as an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm due to its magnitude and destructive power, far surpassing Anti-Unit and Anti-Army Noble Phantasms. Artoria generally attempts to aim it into the sky due to its destructive power, able to incinerate an entire military cohort of one thousand soldiers and turn the ground into scorched earth, leaving a great disorder in the land that would never fade.Fate/Zero Volume 1: The Untold Story of the Fourth Holy Grail War - Act 3 Part 5 -154:03:11 Briefly touching the ground against Iskandar, it left molten asphalt and burns away a forest, and used against Hercules in the Einzbern Forest, it leaves a large enough crater deep into the forest that can easily fit two people.Fate/stay night- Heaven's Feel route - Day 15: limited. - Nine Bullet Revolver When launched into the sky, it can be seen from far around, even cutting into the clouds. It also quickly incinerates the Gigantic Horror, capable of instantly regenerating with damage under the constant assault of four Servants, by annihilating every single atom of its flesh.Fate/Zero Volume 3: The Scattered Ones - Act 10 Part 5 -84:19:03
The Magical Energy consumption is extremely high, leaving Artoria exhausted after usage, and it cannot normally be fired consecutively. Releasing the sword where others can view it will allow others to instantly figure out her identity. This requires her to use it only as a last resort, compared to the weaker but easier to use Invisible Air. As her opponents are the size of humans, its size and energy cost is unnecessary when compared to those with the cost and efficiency to use just enough power to kill the opponent. If used without enough energy or a Master to actively replenish her, it can cause her to instantly fade away upon usage.Fate/stay night - Unlimited Blade Works route - Day 16: EDEN - To the Ryuudou Temple When used while weakened by her connection with Shirou, she could only activate it once before she is almost out of energy, while she can use it more times upon retrieving Avalon. It is possible to activate it without sufficient energy, but the resulting Excalibur will be weakened. When used in Night Without Dawn, Artoria failed to defeat Hercules, likely barely able to take off even two lives before instantly fading away compared to the full powered version that could potentially kill him outright.Fate/stay night - Fate route - Day 11: DragonSlay - Night Without Dawn / Tiger Dojo 8
Excalibur's destructive power can also be a negative trait that limits its usage as it can easily damage the surrounding area and kill a large number of people if used under the wrong conditions. This trait makes it impossible for Artoria to use it against EMIYA during Fate/hollow ataraxia due to the great risk of destroying the Central Building and numerous buildings around it to reach him. Artoria can somewhat control the output with precise calibration, but it is still easily capable of completely destroying Fuyuki's church while holding back energy to minimize collateral damage. It is possible to limit its destructive power if the opponent focuses on close-range combat, and it cannot be used against opponents who fight at extremely close range, such as Sasaki Kojirou, who could cut off her head with Tsubame Gaeshi the instant she began to gather energy into her sword.Fate/stay night - Unlimited Blade Works route - Day 16: EDEN - The Beauties of Nature
==Variations==
===Excalibur Morgan===
, also known as , is the form Excalibur takes after being corrupted by evil. Just as the fairies of the Lake, Vivian and Morgana, can coexist as polar opposites embodying good and evil, Excalibur can also hold a dual existence of good and evil. Due to its nature as a sword that amplifies, it is blackened when Artoria was blackened by Angra Mainyu, reflecting her inner feelings and corrupted nature as Saber Alter. 
The blackened Magical Energy is the primeval Curse that lurks in the British Isles, and it is Artoria's older sister, Fairy Queen Morgana, who has inherited it from King Uther. The name of this holy sword has changed because it may be the only connection that Artoria has with Morgan le Fay, with whom she could never see eye to eye until the very end.
 Its darkness is similar to the breath of the dragon Vortigern.Fate/Grand Order - Artoria Pendragon (Alter) Profile
Becoming the "Black Sword of Ultimate Light", Excalibur Morgan is no longer sheathed in Invisible Air and takes on a different appearance. Rather than creating an almighty slash at the tip of the sword, Excalibur gathers a large amount of Magical Energy to cover the sword in a black light with the same shape. It matters not if it is filled with good or stained by evil as the fact that it is the strongest holy sword and thus does not change.
 It can either be used to attack as a blazing black flame in a similar fashion to the regular Excalibur or, as shown in Fate/unlimited codes, swung like a sword in an upward arc multiple times as a technique named . Due to the corruption and the enormous amount of Magical Energy received from Sakura Matou, Artoria Alter can fire this version of Excalibur without limit.
Even when Artoria Alter is in her Santa form, Excalibur Morgan remains unchanged in its function. In comparison to the Elizabeth Báthory in her Halloween form and her Noble Phantasm, Báthory Halloween Erzsébet, one can feel the difference between their Noble Phantasms as Excalibur Morgan's name remains unchanged and does not take on a twist with her associated holiday.
 
Artoria Santa Alter utilizes Excalibur Morgan as a jet engine for her sleigh, propelling it into the stratosphere with great force.Fate/Grand Order - Around a Week with Santa Alter Although it is an unnecessary item for Santa Claus, a monster may appear at Christmas due to some mistake, so she brings it to ensure no losses.
===Excalibur Image===
 is a degraded version of Excalibur utilized by Archer that can only be utilized within Unlimited Blade Works. It is normally impossible for Unlimited Blade Works to replicate Excalibur through projection, but the conditions for where wrought iron is possible are boosted within the Moon Cell to allow for the replication of holy sword-class weaponry with inferior performance compared to the originals.
 In Fate/EXTELLA LINK, it is shown usable outside of the Reality Marble.
===Excalibur (Archer Class Card)===
Originally, Excalibur and other things that surpasses human limits such as Divine Constructs cannot be projected. Even if it were possible, that person is not the user and therefore cannot release their True Name. However, Illya did just that. Even if it was weakened, its output still exceeded that of the original. It is noted to be an advanced exploit that Kuro was unable to fully replicate upon manifesting a body of her own, so its ability is likened to a "paper mâche version" when she projects it again as a Broken Phantasm arrow
===Airgetlám===
Bedivere's silver arm Airgetlám is actually Excalibur which was transformed by Merlin to keep it concealed until Bedivere could return it to the Lion King.
===Gray===
Gray's Mystic Code, Add, is capable of transforming into many weapons, and one of those forms is an imitation of Excalibur. Add seals Artoria's holy spear Rhongomyniad inside himself and there is no real reason to have Rhongomyniad imitate Excalibur, but it was something set up by the cultists at Blackmore Cemetery who sought to revive King Arthur.Fate/Grand Order material VII — Gray's Servant Profile, translated by BananaShiki on Reddit
==Parody variations==
===Excalibur Vivian===
 is the Noble Phantasm of Artoria Pendragon in her swimsuit. It is named after Vivian, the Lady of the Lake.
While Artoria is in her swimsuit, Excalibur can be attached to the barrel of her water gun similar to a bayonet. This allows her to make water appear when she slashes the sword and fire off a powerful beam of water. According to Artoria, this is because Excalibur "was originally something entrusted by the Fairy of the Lake," a statement that is considered rather childish.Fate/Grand Order Profile of Artoria Pendragon (Swimsuit), translated by Master of Chaos at Beast's Lair.Fate/Grand Order material IV - Artoria Pendragon (Archer), p.174-183, translated by Clyton at Beast's Lair.
===Laser Excalibur===
 is a Noble Phantasm belonging to Galactica Saber.
==References==
it:Excalibur
fr:Excalibur
ru:Экскалибур
vi:Excalibur
pl:Excalibur
Category:Noble Phantasms
Category:Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasms
Category:Anti-Unit Noble Phantasms
Category:A++ rank Noble Phantasms
Category:A rank Noble Phantasms
Category:Swords
Category:Divine Constructs
Category:Noble Phantasms introduced in Fate/stay night
Category:Noble Phantasms of Artoria Pendragon
Category:Noble Phantasms in Unlimited Blade Works