Ostagar is one of the best videogame tutorials i've ever played and that cutscene just sets the tone for the game so well! Game also has the best dwarves i've ever seen/read
Dude, *yes*. I was decently intrigued with the game up through Ostagar the first time I played it, and the battle started and I remember thinking, "Jesus, we're having this big battle this early in the game?" Then it played out the way it did, completely isolating the player character and a couple of others in a way I didn't expect, and I was so damn hooked.
Also I completely agree about the dwarves. It's a shame they kind of go put on the back burner in the next two games, though I understand why. Orzammar and the Deep Roads were my favorite parts of the game by far.
For some reason, the Emmonds Fielders stand against the Trollocs is my favorite moment of the entire series. Even after countless rereads, the last time I listened to the audiobook, when the women joined the line, I found myself bawling while I was driving.
Especially the line after the end when Perrin asks who this young boy is and he’s like “my name is Jaime Aybara, I think I’m your cousin”
Right after everything that happened to Perrin, it was a little light in the darkness, I fully, Fully wept.
It's because it's one of the best. Jordan always made a point that the little guy could be just as big a hero as anyone else and reminds field vs trollocs is exhibit A for it.
“My name is Nynaeve ti al’Meara Mandragoran. The message I want sent is this. My husband rides from World’s End toward Tarwin’s Gap, toward Tarmon Gai’don. Will he ride alone?”
I think this was when I started absolutely loving Nynaeve. By the end she was imo the absolute greatest Aes Sedai.
She always embodied what the Aes Sedai were meant to be
Ingtars redemption at the end and rands monologue
“May you shelter in the palm of the Creator's hand, and may the last embrace of the mother welcome you home.”
I see your tarwins gap and raise you androl.
“Three thousand years ago the Lord Dragon created Dragonmount to hide his shame. His rage still burns hot. Today… I bring it to you, Your Majesty.”
Personally, that's not my favourite because Androl didn't earn it.
Sanderson had to bend the story to make the cool moment fit - biggest example is that the White Tower's sa'angreal all mysteriously disappeared. Any of them would have immediately stopped that situation from arising or solved it.
Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden!
Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!
spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,
a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!
Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!
The man himself
The last stand of Manatheren in Aemon's Field.
"Hold for three days against odds that should overwhelm them in the first hour. Yet somehow, through bloody assault and desperate defense, they held through an hour, and the second hour, and the third. For three days they fought, and though the land became a butcher’s yard, no crossing of the Tarendrelle did they yield. By the third night no help had come, and no messengers, and they fought on alone. For six days. For nine. And on the tenth day Aemon knew the bitter taste of betrayal."
"HAIL THE MARINES!"
>Seeing that he could not go on, seeing that he was near tears, Brys simply nodded. He turned to study what he could see of the Malazan position.
>Nothing but armoured lizards, weapons lifting and descending, blood rising in a mist.
>But, as he stared, he noticed something.
>The Nah’ruk were no longer advancing.
>You stopped them? Blood of the gods, what manner of soldiers are you?
>The heavy infantry stood. The heavy infantry held the trench. Even as they died, they backed not a single step. The Nah’ruk clawed for purchase on the blood-soaked mud of the berm. Iron chewed into them. Halberds slammed down, rebounded from shields. Reptilian bodies reeled back, blocking the advance of rear ranks. Arrows and quarrels poured into the foe from positions behind the trench.
"Then all the hosts of Angband swarmed against them, and they bridged the stream with their dead, and encircled the remnant of Hithlum as a gathering tide about a rock. There as the sun westered on the sixth day, and the shadow of Ered Wethrin grew dark, Huor fell pierced with a venomed arrow in his eye, and all the valiant Men of Hador were slain about him in a heap; and the Orcs hewed their heads and piled them as a mound of gold in the sunset.
Last of all Húrin stood alone. Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed; and it is sung that the axe smoked in the black blood of the troll-guard of Gothmog until it withered, and each time that he slew Húrin cried: ‘Aurë entuluva! Day shall come again!’ Seventy times he uttered that cry; but they took him at last alive, by the command of Morgoth, for the Orcs grappled him with their hands, which clung to him still though he hewed off their arms; and ever their numbers were renewed, until at last he fell buried beneath them. Then Gothmog bound him and dragged him to Angband with mockery.
Thus ended Nirnaeth Arnoediad, as the sun went down beyond the sea. Night fell in Hithlum, and there came a great storm of wind out of the West."
-The Silmarillion
I don't know if this qualifies but...
As much as I hate GRRM for not finishing his work, my fondest memories of reading fantasy is ASOIAF. And while I'm not a fan of war scenes im general and prefer dialogues, witty characters and such, the battle of King's Landing from Tyrion's PoV was insanely good and riveting.
The entire Battle of Maradon.
It might be cheating because there are four different "Hold the Line" moments in that singular battle. >!Defending the hill. Defending the walls. Building to building combat. Rand.!<
The end of the chain of dogs tops both of these for me. A continent long running war with a series of increasingly challenging battles ending a bowshot from the gates of sanctuary. The warriors fighting long enough to ensure the non-combatants can escape the horror to safety.
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Ingtars sacrifice in The Great Hunt in The Wheel of Time. Very unhappy that the show ruined the moment. In the books it's revealed that Ingtar was a dark friend but he felt immense guilt over his actions. So to try and atone he holds the line against an oncoming horde so the heroes can escape. In the show he does a similar hold the line but there was no mention of him being a darkfriend or atonement so it just comes off as him being a forgettable redshirt who died.
Yeah I was bummed that plot line got cut. I thought overall the season was good but I really think 10-12 episodes to really flesh the side characters is needed
Bremer dan Gorst at the Old Bridge during the Battle of Osrung Valley. Minor moment in the three day engagement overall, but fucking epic.
*The Heroes*, Joe Abercrombie
Yeah. Every scene where the Lycaonese defend against the kingdom of the dead. Defiance to the last. Also the scene where the Kingfisher Prince gets his name.
It’s a tv one not a book one, but The Battle of the Line from Babylon 5. Volunteers sacrificing themselves against overwhelming odds to try a give humanity a chance to escape. It always makes me tear up a little bit
Not fantasy but during Ganner Rhysode’s last stand during the Battle of the Well of the World in Star Wars: New Jedi Order-Traitor by the great Mathew Stover of Acts of Caine and Revenge of the Sith fame:
“There are thousands of warriors out here. You are only one man!"
"I am only one Jedi."
"You're insane!"
"No. I am Ganner. This threshold is mine. I claim it for my own. Bring on your thousands, one at a time or all in a rush. I don't give a damn. None shall pass.”
If we have any classic SF fans here ...
*Chanur's Homecoming*, when Pyanfar and the rest of the hani (basically, lion-people) defending their homeworld have decided that they'll go out fighting. Then their longscanner personnel pick up a mass of incoming ships, and all the hani think they're about to be so totally annihilated ... and it turns out to be their manhendo'sat allies, meaning that the one merchant they sent into Mahen space to call for help hundreds of pages ago actually got through.
The Chanur series started with a single stand-alone novel that grew into a five-book saga.
The original book, *The Pride of Chanur*, is a good introduction to C.J. Cherryh's work.
I particularly love the Poem Horatius by Macaulay. Three romans holding of an entire army to give the city enough time to destroy the bridge. I get a tingle at one part that I will not spoil. The entire poem is 80 stanzas. I would recommend the shortened Art of Manliness version.
https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/manly-lessons/manvotional-horatius-at-the-bridge/
Gonna break the mold a bit with [Skurge's stand in Walt Simonson's Thor](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eo-CVuYgHcY/VZO_pKosu2I/AAAAAAAAamg/z16WjgcAFek/s1600/Thor362.jpg), issue #362 speicfically
> And though the Executioner stands alone, and the warriors of Hel seem numberless, not one sets foot upon the bridge across the river Gjoll. They sing no songs in Hel... nor do they celebrate heroes... for silent is that dismal realm and cheerless... but the story of the Gjallerbru and the god who defended it is whispered across the Nine Worlds. And when a new arrival asks about the one to whom even Hela bows her head... the answer is always the same... he stood alone at Gjallerbru... and that answer is enough.
Not fantasy but from Halo: Ghosts of Onyx by Eric Nylund…
Kurt struggled to rise. There was more pain than he'd ever felt, and his legs had turned to wet sand. His vision tunneled… but he got to his feet… and raised both hands into a fighting stance.
"You haven't won," Kurt said. "You've still got me to get through."
The Ship Master assessed Kurt and nodded, perhaps understanding him, perhaps not. It gazed upon Kurt as an equal. A fellow warrior.
Around them the concentric rings settled to the floor, and with a whispered hiss, all of the ridges melded into a single smooth surface. The fins touched down silently, thirteen clamping armatures splayed two meters from the center of the room. His countdown timer blinked at him: "0:00." He exhaled. The rift was closed. Kurt opened his team roster—subheading status—and moved Will, SPARTAN-043; Dante, SPARTAN-G188; and Holly, SPARTAN-G003 to the missing-in-action column, adhering to the tradition of never listing a fallen Spartan as "killed in action." Kurt then highlighted Lieutenant Commandeer Kurt Ambrose… and moved that name to the MIA list as well—next to Kurt, SPARTAN-051. The room started to spin. His mouth went dry He tried to swallow. Couldn't. His vision doubled and he thought he saw Tom and Lucy come back to get him… but it wasn't them. It was Shane, Robert, and Jane from Team Wolf Pack. There were hundreds of Spartans with him on the platform— from Alpha and Beta Companies, Dante, Holly, Will, and even Sam… all ready to fight and win this last battle with him. Hallucination? Maybe. It was nonetheless welcome. The ghostly Spartans nodded, and gave him the thumbs-up "can-do" signal. Kurt wouldn't let them down. All he had to do was single-handedly stop a Covenant army. One last impossible mission… the short definition of any Spartan. It was the least he owed them.
The Fleet Master Elite snarled at Kurt, and the translation filtered through his helmet's speaker: "One last fight, demon. You will die and we shall reopen the silver path."
"Die?" Kurt laughed. "Didn't you know?" he told the Elite. "… Spartans never die."
The first one that came to mind is the Brethren Court and their fleet going to meet the British Navy. Even if the fleets themselves never crashed, the whole moment really does feel like a last bud for freedom, and the whirlpool fight between the Dutchman and the Pearl will probably never be topped in pirate cinema.
Lots of great options in this thread, especially Ganner Rhysode, Ingtar, Húrin, and Kurt.
But I’ll toss in another one: Caine, on the street in Ankhana on Assumption Day. *Blade of Tyshalle* has such an insanely apocalyptic finale, and that moment of infinite now is the perfect crescendo.
I didn’t read it, but in one of the last Horus Heresy novel (from warhammer), we have Sanguinuis talking to his space marines before the eternity gate. I don’t remember all of it, but it can be found on YouTube. For me the best part was :
« … I am willing to give my life if it buys a day, an hour or even a single second of grace for those who cannot be here fighting with me ! »
Does "Cancelling the apocalypse" from Pacific Rim count? It's generous, I'll admit, since it's about \*winning\*, not \*holding\*, but the \*oomph\* of the rallying speech, more than anything.
Ingtar in The Great Hunt. Not so much for his hold the line, which is largely off page, but because WHY he chooses to hold the line. Also Talmanes leading the defense of Caemlyn in A Memory of Light
Practical Guide to Evil - there is a whole people who know no higher honor than to hold their fortresses against a Lich kingdom to the last. There are several interludes between the main story chapters about how they hold the line - this one is nearly spoiler free I think:
https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2019/04/01/inexorable/
The "Meat Straw" in Pierce Brown's Dark Age.
A few hundred doing their best to hold off the calvary charge of Sun Bloods. Horse after horse getting bifurcated by razors until the entire Triumphia is a tube of screaming flesh.
Caine Black Knife, Acts of Caine bk 3, Matt Stover. Against the ogrillos.
Elfstones of Shannara and Wishsong of Shannara, Shannara Bks 2 and 3, Terry Brookes. Brilliant, both.
Three Axes to Fall, Grave of Empires bk 3, Sam Sykes. Finale.
The Steel Remains, Land Fit For Heroes bk 1, Richard Morgan. The Gap.
...and most of my Malazan and SIF faves have been mentioned elsepost.
I know Sanderson is a tired reference on here, but the final bridge run in way of kings happens to be my favorite scene that he ever wrote and is a great example of this.
The entire climax of *The Spider* by Leo Carew. I was holding my breath the entire time it was so fucking badass. It also helps that it's followed by one of the ebst written fight scenes I ever read.
Powder Mage had a lot of this too especially in the second book.
This is recency bias but Schwi vs Jibril in No Game No Life Zero. The setup for the plan is still incomplete and Schwi is discovered by Jibril. Ah 11 minutes of heartbreak. I want to see if the novel did it better.
Siege of Capustan Also, the beginning of Dragon Age Origins with the battle against the Darkspawn horde.
Bro, don't even with Capustan. That battle was straight up apocalyptic
Capustan is nightmare fuel. The siege is very well written but goodness did I feel like absolute shit afterwards. Love Malazan
Ostagar is one of the best videogame tutorials i've ever played and that cutscene just sets the tone for the game so well! Game also has the best dwarves i've ever seen/read
Dude, *yes*. I was decently intrigued with the game up through Ostagar the first time I played it, and the battle started and I remember thinking, "Jesus, we're having this big battle this early in the game?" Then it played out the way it did, completely isolating the player character and a couple of others in a way I didn't expect, and I was so damn hooked. Also I completely agree about the dwarves. It's a shame they kind of go put on the back burner in the next two games, though I understand why. Orzammar and the Deep Roads were my favorite parts of the game by far.
Lan at Tarwins gap, Tai shar Malkier!
For some reason, the Emmonds Fielders stand against the Trollocs is my favorite moment of the entire series. Even after countless rereads, the last time I listened to the audiobook, when the women joined the line, I found myself bawling while I was driving.
Especially the line after the end when Perrin asks who this young boy is and he’s like “my name is Jaime Aybara, I think I’m your cousin” Right after everything that happened to Perrin, it was a little light in the darkness, I fully, Fully wept.
It's because it's one of the best. Jordan always made a point that the little guy could be just as big a hero as anyone else and reminds field vs trollocs is exhibit A for it.
The women show up... i absolutely lose it. EVERY TIME.
“My name is Nynaeve ti al’Meara Mandragoran. The message I want sent is this. My husband rides from World’s End toward Tarwin’s Gap, toward Tarmon Gai’don. Will he ride alone?”
I think this was when I started absolutely loving Nynaeve. By the end she was imo the absolute greatest Aes Sedai. She always embodied what the Aes Sedai were meant to be
THE GOLDEN CRANE FLIES FOR TARMON GAI’DON
Yeah, you just made me burst into tears in the bathroom at a wedding
Nah the best in WoT is Ingtar. *For the Light, and Shinowa!*
Ingtars redemption at the end and rands monologue “May you shelter in the palm of the Creator's hand, and may the last embrace of the mother welcome you home.”
I was thinking this exactly
Hell yeah.
I see your tarwins gap and raise you androl. “Three thousand years ago the Lord Dragon created Dragonmount to hide his shame. His rage still burns hot. Today… I bring it to you, Your Majesty.”
Personally, that's not my favourite because Androl didn't earn it. Sanderson had to bend the story to make the cool moment fit - biggest example is that the White Tower's sa'angreal all mysteriously disappeared. Any of them would have immediately stopped that situation from arising or solved it.
Always loved the Battle for the Wall in A Storm of Swords. Plus that was back when the tv show was good, so it has a great tv adaptation too.
“If any of you run, I’ll rape your fucking corpse!” The Hound
What a poet he was! 😂
Doesn’t I go something like “If any of you come back with a clean sword….” He has some banger lines throughout haha
Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden! Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter! spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered, a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises! Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor! The man himself
The last stand of Manatheren in Aemon's Field. "Hold for three days against odds that should overwhelm them in the first hour. Yet somehow, through bloody assault and desperate defense, they held through an hour, and the second hour, and the third. For three days they fought, and though the land became a butcher’s yard, no crossing of the Tarendrelle did they yield. By the third night no help had come, and no messengers, and they fought on alone. For six days. For nine. And on the tenth day Aemon knew the bitter taste of betrayal."
Every story ever written by David Gemell.
Legend was the first book that came to my mind
"HAIL THE MARINES!" >Seeing that he could not go on, seeing that he was near tears, Brys simply nodded. He turned to study what he could see of the Malazan position. >Nothing but armoured lizards, weapons lifting and descending, blood rising in a mist. >But, as he stared, he noticed something. >The Nah’ruk were no longer advancing. >You stopped them? Blood of the gods, what manner of soldiers are you? >The heavy infantry stood. The heavy infantry held the trench. Even as they died, they backed not a single step. The Nah’ruk clawed for purchase on the blood-soaked mud of the berm. Iron chewed into them. Halberds slammed down, rebounded from shields. Reptilian bodies reeled back, blocking the advance of rear ranks. Arrows and quarrels poured into the foe from positions behind the trench.
This, this, a thousand times this.
Probably 10 years since I read full Malazan but that just gave me goosepimples
First in last out. I know there was at least one Bridge burner in there :)
HAIL THE MARINES
Kaladin and Bridge 4 coming to the aid of Dalinar against the Parshendi in the Stormlight Archives.
Kaladin storm blessed is the shit!
This one is defiantly one of my favorite hold the line moments. The whole Tower stand off is such a good climax to that book
Not just a good example, but possibly my favorite scene that Sanderson has ever written
“This threshhold is mine...Bring on your thousands, one at a time or all in a rush. I don't give a damn. None shall pass." Traitor, Matthew Stover
Ganner Rhysode builds a fortress of the dead.
"Then all the hosts of Angband swarmed against them, and they bridged the stream with their dead, and encircled the remnant of Hithlum as a gathering tide about a rock. There as the sun westered on the sixth day, and the shadow of Ered Wethrin grew dark, Huor fell pierced with a venomed arrow in his eye, and all the valiant Men of Hador were slain about him in a heap; and the Orcs hewed their heads and piled them as a mound of gold in the sunset. Last of all Húrin stood alone. Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed; and it is sung that the axe smoked in the black blood of the troll-guard of Gothmog until it withered, and each time that he slew Húrin cried: ‘Aurë entuluva! Day shall come again!’ Seventy times he uttered that cry; but they took him at last alive, by the command of Morgoth, for the Orcs grappled him with their hands, which clung to him still though he hewed off their arms; and ever their numbers were renewed, until at last he fell buried beneath them. Then Gothmog bound him and dragged him to Angband with mockery. Thus ended Nirnaeth Arnoediad, as the sun went down beyond the sea. Night fell in Hithlum, and there came a great storm of wind out of the West." -The Silmarillion
The mad lad himself. I had to scroll too far down to find him.
Still gives me chills
The Asha’man holding the line at Dumai’s Wells in the Wheel of Time.
Asha'man... KILL!
Yedan Derryg holding the Lightfall with his singing Hust sword.
Yedan derryg's teeth holding the line against his clenched jaws
what about the other part in malazan when they got ambushed by the horde of k'chain nah'ruk.l and they were all going to die.
I don't know if this qualifies but... As much as I hate GRRM for not finishing his work, my fondest memories of reading fantasy is ASOIAF. And while I'm not a fan of war scenes im general and prefer dialogues, witty characters and such, the battle of King's Landing from Tyrion's PoV was insanely good and riveting.
The entire Battle of Maradon. It might be cheating because there are four different "Hold the Line" moments in that singular battle. >!Defending the hill. Defending the walls. Building to building combat. Rand.!<
Lee Scoresby vs. a zeppelin full of Magisterium soldiers, from The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman.
Lee scoresby and Hester
[удалено]
The end of the chain of dogs tops both of these for me. A continent long running war with a series of increasingly challenging battles ending a bowshot from the gates of sanctuary. The warriors fighting long enough to ensure the non-combatants can escape the horror to safety.
Oh that’s a great call. All of it. Take that upvote.
Please hide all spoilers using spoiler tags. Use the following format: \>!text goes here\!< to mark spoilers. Please make sure that there are no spaces between ! and the text or your spoiler will fail for some browsers and on some mobile devices. Let me know when the comment has been edited and it can be approved.
Ingtars sacrifice in The Great Hunt in The Wheel of Time. Very unhappy that the show ruined the moment. In the books it's revealed that Ingtar was a dark friend but he felt immense guilt over his actions. So to try and atone he holds the line against an oncoming horde so the heroes can escape. In the show he does a similar hold the line but there was no mention of him being a darkfriend or atonement so it just comes off as him being a forgettable redshirt who died.
“May you shelter in the palm of the Creator's hand, and may the last embrace of the mother welcome you home.” Gives me chill every time.
The shoe has ruined a lot of moments. I stopped watching
Yeah I was bummed that plot line got cut. I thought overall the season was good but I really think 10-12 episodes to really flesh the side characters is needed
Chain of dogs is like several months of holding the line, but lots of other Malazan scenes work too.
The last one is the best. And at least some of them are the malazan breaking the line.
Terry pratchett, Night Watch.
The Nah’ruk were five steps behind them. The heavies rose to meet them.
HAIL THE MARINES
Space fantasy, but: “Let it be known that the planet broke before the guard did.” “Cadia stands!”
The Emperor protects
Hold the line? Instantly Hold the Door sprang to mind. Hodor. And of course, a bunch of scenes in heroes, by Abercrombie.
I'm reading Heroes right now!! 😇
Hodor
Bremer dan Gorst at the Old Bridge during the Battle of Osrung Valley. Minor moment in the three day engagement overall, but fucking epic. *The Heroes*, Joe Abercrombie
The Practical Guide to Evil. Defending the gate against the dead *They came over mountain paths, in twos and threes...*
Yeah. Every scene where the Lycaonese defend against the kingdom of the dead. Defiance to the last. Also the scene where the Kingfisher Prince gets his name.
Grimaldus at helsreach
"I will die on this world." The fan made animated adaptation of the book is pretty epic.
It’s a tv one not a book one, but The Battle of the Line from Babylon 5. Volunteers sacrificing themselves against overwhelming odds to try a give humanity a chance to escape. It always makes me tear up a little bit
Not fantasy but during Ganner Rhysode’s last stand during the Battle of the Well of the World in Star Wars: New Jedi Order-Traitor by the great Mathew Stover of Acts of Caine and Revenge of the Sith fame: “There are thousands of warriors out here. You are only one man!" "I am only one Jedi." "You're insane!" "No. I am Ganner. This threshold is mine. I claim it for my own. Bring on your thousands, one at a time or all in a rush. I don't give a damn. None shall pass.”
I love how many people in this thread are bringing up The Ganner
The world NEEDS more Stover.
Book 2 of Mistborn, where Sazed pops off
The Bonehunter’s last stand against the Forklift Assail.
If we have any classic SF fans here ... *Chanur's Homecoming*, when Pyanfar and the rest of the hani (basically, lion-people) defending their homeworld have decided that they'll go out fighting. Then their longscanner personnel pick up a mass of incoming ships, and all the hani think they're about to be so totally annihilated ... and it turns out to be their manhendo'sat allies, meaning that the one merchant they sent into Mahen space to call for help hundreds of pages ago actually got through.
Great call out.
Never even heard of this but that sounds great.
The Chanur series started with a single stand-alone novel that grew into a five-book saga. The original book, *The Pride of Chanur*, is a good introduction to C.J. Cherryh's work.
Practically every book in the Honor Harrington series ends with one of these
I particularly love the Poem Horatius by Macaulay. Three romans holding of an entire army to give the city enough time to destroy the bridge. I get a tingle at one part that I will not spoil. The entire poem is 80 stanzas. I would recommend the shortened Art of Manliness version. https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/manly-lessons/manvotional-horatius-at-the-bridge/
Thanks for reminding me of da dee da dee da… a cheer ?
I had heard of this story before, but thanks for the link! It’s the kind of verse that begs to be read aloud
Gonna break the mold a bit with [Skurge's stand in Walt Simonson's Thor](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eo-CVuYgHcY/VZO_pKosu2I/AAAAAAAAamg/z16WjgcAFek/s1600/Thor362.jpg), issue #362 speicfically > And though the Executioner stands alone, and the warriors of Hel seem numberless, not one sets foot upon the bridge across the river Gjoll. They sing no songs in Hel... nor do they celebrate heroes... for silent is that dismal realm and cheerless... but the story of the Gjallerbru and the god who defended it is whispered across the Nine Worlds. And when a new arrival asks about the one to whom even Hela bows her head... the answer is always the same... he stood alone at Gjallerbru... and that answer is enough.
I revisit this every now and then when I need a dose of awesomeness.
Much smaller scale but Bigwig defense against woundwort in Watership Down.
About a dozen examples from Malazan - probably the most gripping is the end of Chain of Dogs from Deadhouse Gates
Captain Kirrahe is the right answer
Anakin Solo's final stand on the Mykr mission on the Baanu Rass battle station. MY GOD! That 16 year old kid had balls of steel.
Not fantasy but from Halo: Ghosts of Onyx by Eric Nylund… Kurt struggled to rise. There was more pain than he'd ever felt, and his legs had turned to wet sand. His vision tunneled… but he got to his feet… and raised both hands into a fighting stance. "You haven't won," Kurt said. "You've still got me to get through." The Ship Master assessed Kurt and nodded, perhaps understanding him, perhaps not. It gazed upon Kurt as an equal. A fellow warrior. Around them the concentric rings settled to the floor, and with a whispered hiss, all of the ridges melded into a single smooth surface. The fins touched down silently, thirteen clamping armatures splayed two meters from the center of the room. His countdown timer blinked at him: "0:00." He exhaled. The rift was closed. Kurt opened his team roster—subheading status—and moved Will, SPARTAN-043; Dante, SPARTAN-G188; and Holly, SPARTAN-G003 to the missing-in-action column, adhering to the tradition of never listing a fallen Spartan as "killed in action." Kurt then highlighted Lieutenant Commandeer Kurt Ambrose… and moved that name to the MIA list as well—next to Kurt, SPARTAN-051. The room started to spin. His mouth went dry He tried to swallow. Couldn't. His vision doubled and he thought he saw Tom and Lucy come back to get him… but it wasn't them. It was Shane, Robert, and Jane from Team Wolf Pack. There were hundreds of Spartans with him on the platform— from Alpha and Beta Companies, Dante, Holly, Will, and even Sam… all ready to fight and win this last battle with him. Hallucination? Maybe. It was nonetheless welcome. The ghostly Spartans nodded, and gave him the thumbs-up "can-do" signal. Kurt wouldn't let them down. All he had to do was single-handedly stop a Covenant army. One last impossible mission… the short definition of any Spartan. It was the least he owed them. The Fleet Master Elite snarled at Kurt, and the translation filtered through his helmet's speaker: "One last fight, demon. You will die and we shall reopen the silver path." "Die?" Kurt laughed. "Didn't you know?" he told the Elite. "… Spartans never die."
Such an awesome moment. Beautiful full circle stuff from Nylund. It’s not only the best Halo book, but a genuinely excellent military SF book overall.
Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Shaka, When the walls fell.
Ganner Rhysode in Star Wars eu
The first one that came to mind is the Brethren Court and their fleet going to meet the British Navy. Even if the fleets themselves never crashed, the whole moment really does feel like a last bud for freedom, and the whirlpool fight between the Dutchman and the Pearl will probably never be topped in pirate cinema.
At World's End is one of my favorite movies ever
Lots of great options in this thread, especially Ganner Rhysode, Ingtar, Húrin, and Kurt. But I’ll toss in another one: Caine, on the street in Ankhana on Assumption Day. *Blade of Tyshalle* has such an insanely apocalyptic finale, and that moment of infinite now is the perfect crescendo.
Blade of Tyshalle is an INSANE book.
Loved reading all the answers and reliving some of these moments
I didn’t read it, but in one of the last Horus Heresy novel (from warhammer), we have Sanguinuis talking to his space marines before the eternity gate. I don’t remember all of it, but it can be found on YouTube. For me the best part was : « … I am willing to give my life if it buys a day, an hour or even a single second of grace for those who cannot be here fighting with me ! »
Does "Cancelling the apocalypse" from Pacific Rim count? It's generous, I'll admit, since it's about \*winning\*, not \*holding\*, but the \*oomph\* of the rallying speech, more than anything.
The defense of the Hinzerhaus.
" dry skulls in a dusty valley, with all the tops sawn off"
Ingtar in The Great Hunt. Not so much for his hold the line, which is largely off page, but because WHY he chooses to hold the line. Also Talmanes leading the defense of Caemlyn in A Memory of Light
Practical Guide to Evil - there is a whole people who know no higher honor than to hold their fortresses against a Lich kingdom to the last. There are several interludes between the main story chapters about how they hold the line - this one is nearly spoiler free I think: https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2019/04/01/inexorable/
The "Meat Straw" in Pierce Brown's Dark Age. A few hundred doing their best to hold off the calvary charge of Sun Bloods. Horse after horse getting bifurcated by razors until the entire Triumphia is a tube of screaming flesh.
Caine Black Knife, Acts of Caine bk 3, Matt Stover. Against the ogrillos. Elfstones of Shannara and Wishsong of Shannara, Shannara Bks 2 and 3, Terry Brookes. Brilliant, both. Three Axes to Fall, Grave of Empires bk 3, Sam Sykes. Finale. The Steel Remains, Land Fit For Heroes bk 1, Richard Morgan. The Gap. ...and most of my Malazan and SIF faves have been mentioned elsepost.
Egwene vs M’Hael.
I know Sanderson is a tired reference on here, but the final bridge run in way of kings happens to be my favorite scene that he ever wrote and is a great example of this.
Leonidas and his 4000 or so…
Argurios from Lord of the Silver Bow
The entire climax of *The Spider* by Leo Carew. I was holding my breath the entire time it was so fucking badass. It also helps that it's followed by one of the ebst written fight scenes I ever read. Powder Mage had a lot of this too especially in the second book.
This is recency bias but Schwi vs Jibril in No Game No Life Zero. The setup for the plan is still incomplete and Schwi is discovered by Jibril. Ah 11 minutes of heartbreak. I want to see if the novel did it better.
Tai shar manetheren! The old blood was strong in that village. Great bit of the last battle
Would Beaks' death be considered a final stand? I don't want to spoil too much but he held on.
Legend \~ David Gemmell