#Caerleon

[thesilicontribesman]

Roman Military Helmet, National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon, Wales

[mygirlapril2]

caerleon

Took ape to caerleon to meet wig and his kids. Ape was actually a good girl for a change and didn't kick off about anything.

We hand lunch and she ate all the hand sandwiches (with a tonne of haribo) she shared her sweets well which was encouraging.

We helped a bee that seemed wounded and she worked well to pick it up with paper.

We played hideous and seek in the ancient roman ruins,.picked crab apples and finished off with an ice cream. Really good girl in the car.

[flowercrown-hobbit]

National Roman Legion museum, Caerleon

This amazing museum is free to visit when you are in Caerleon. There are so many beautiful finds on display. I was really impressed with all the tiny gemstones found in the sewer of the bathhouse. It feels special to see so many Roman objects so far away from Rome. The Museum is nearby the ruins of the amphitheatre and it is a lovely place to visit.

[geofflewriter]

Travels With Dave: Wet Wales

In 1975, home after my first year at Uni, my friend Dave and I set out on a tour round England and Wales to visit some of the old and new friends we had made, him driving and me at the map and tape machine. Last time we were in Bristol. This time we’ve crossed into Wales to stay with a family. The question that concerns me is why? Caerleon: Wet Wales I have been to Wales in the dry but as Dave,…

[pad-wubbo]

"Caerluna"

Infinite Painter.

The Roman Amphitheatre of Caerleon, but I turned the photo monochrome, inserted an Earthrise and also an Apollo lander module. Welsh Romans on the moon.

I publish my photo edit with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence.

[crystal-lillies]

Because I'm feeling nostalgic, here are some six-year-old pictures from Caerleon and Newport: a recreation of an ancient Roman garden, a bust of Caesar in a Roman bathhouse, the Caerleon amphitheatre, and a Queen Victoria Memorial I passed walking back to my Airbnb in Newport.

Dw i'n caru Cymru ❤ one day I'll see you again

[djwezg]

Ben The Hat @ Hive Mind Brewery / Wye Valley Meadery, Caldicot 24.06.2023

Hive Mind Brewery / Wye Valley Meadery is a new venue to me in Caldicot. It is located on the Severnbridge Industrial Estate, not far from the back entrance to Caldicot Castle, near the Mitel Roundabout. It is open as an entertainment venue on Friday and Saturday nights and has a licensed bar with decent prices. The other part of its business is to sell wholesale alcohol that it produces on…

[deborahdeshoftim5779]

An excellent point @groundbreakingdot872​, which proves that Arthur Pendragon is absolutely not an idiot. 

Here’s another example: in Season 4, Episode 11, Arthur tells Mithian that Merlin can arrange a tour of the citadel, pointing out that some of the buildings are several hundred years old. 

Arthur is also a tactical genius. Season 5, episodes 1 and 2 are proof of this, as well as his utterly self-sacrificing nature for his men. 

Arthurs’ a big history nerd and you can’t convince me otherwise ‼️

Why?? did he know so much about Carleon’s attack and retreat in ‘Castle of Fyrien’

And then he proceeded to happily geek out about it for Gwen 💀 (kinda adorable ngl)

Also he’s just generally very well-versed in Camelot history, ex: the deleted scene in s4ep1 where he just goes off! about the citadel of Daobeth with only minor prompting from Merlin

Exposition King 😌✨

And how does he seem be the kingdom-wide #1 expert on Wilddeoren? Hmm??

I rest my case

[gingersnaptaff]

Does anybody ever think that in The Mabinogion, Bendigeidfran's head probably spoke to Arthur when he dug it/him (I don't wanna misgender a head. That's highly disrespectful) up? Do u think he was just like, 'Oi, mêt, put my head back in the ground!!!' and Arthur was just like, 'lol. Nope. I'm the defender of this land now.'

[thesilicontribesman]

Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre, Caerleon, Wales

[gu6chan]

fuck it, for my american friends and my own sanity so I don't have to fight the references in my head anymore:

drakengard locations as they are/might be in europe

to note the scale of the map is a BIT wonky so this will include multiple possibilities with questionable boundary lines

The Imperial Capital: Spain, though it looks like it also covers Portugal The Sky Fortress is in the Mediterranean Sea The Blue Mountains are between Spain and France The Ocean Fortress is in the Gulf of Biscay The Desert of the Moon is in Northern France, looks like it extends to Belgium and MAYBE also possibly the Netherlands?? The Temple of the Ocean Seal is in the North Sea The Winter Wastelands are in north Germany!! And the Silent Forest looks to be further south, with the Elf Village seeming to be around Bavaria or Austria and the Valley of the Faeries taking up a few possible places: Maybe a TINY stretch of Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia this is where it starts getting difficult since the map is compressed to all hell BUT The Forest of the Seal can also be pretty much the entire Balkans and a bit of South Europe lmao, that might be a strip of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, a bit of Bulgaria??? maybe? going all the way down into what LOOKS like northern Greece (Right around the area of land by the Aegean Sea) The Castle of the Goddess is even more chaotic since it's RIGHT next to the Winter Wastelands which is North Germany, but,,,, also right next to what looks like the tip of the Black Sea???? so it's essentially a compressed East Europe which encompasses the Czech Republic, east Austria, maybbeeee a bit of Poland? Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, and part of Ukraine which is actually funny as fuck this is east europe land 😭 And then there's the Crimson Mountains, which looks a LOT more fitted to the Poland category as it's fitted right between the wastes/Nothern Germany and the tip of Sweden, and while mostly off-map MAY also cover a portion of the Baltics too (Latvia, Lithuania and Kaliningrad (Russia), MAYBE Estonia? but who knows....) Also, if it means anything Tokyo (where you access it in the menu) is in Greece, so... 😭 ofc it's mainly just there for spacing but it was worth noting regardless i think sdkghsdfkjhg

[koeiasequoia]

Okay so! Said we'd make a post about this so here it is! All about the rest of Gawain's family!

The Caerleon family consists of

Arcturus (Arty) [he/him], the father, pure arcanine, standing at an imposing 8 and a half feet tall. Well muscled, still a bit of gut, he's been a professional battler since he was young, at first solo, and then tag team once he met his wife. Generally a happy man and an easy laugher, he's always excited to fight, or at least to be doing anything active. Pure Fire type.

Guinevere (Gwen) [she/her] - mom! She's a Meowscarada, specifically using Karina's design, aside from the altered design, she's a relatively normal Meowscarada. Was an entertainer before she met Arcturus, at which point she joined him as tag team battlers. Cool, collected, witty, with a mischievous undertone. Grass/Dark type.

Accolon (Accy) [he/him] 33yrs - The oldest brother, he's a shiny arcanine, and also the only electric type in the family, no one knows how or why! An avid runner he's up bright and early at 6 fucking am to eat breakfast before he goes on a morning jog. Track and field in high school, general cheerful and competitive, and flaming pansexual. The only one to have a kid, aside from the parents obviously lol. Pure Electric type.

Mordred (Mori) [he/him] 13yrs - Accolon's son, half Growlithe, half Rockruff. A bundle of energy who, despite being from two types weak to water, absolutely LOVES the water and swimming and everything, good thing his dad can swim too. Fire/Rock type

Lucan (Lulu) [he/him] 31yrs - brother number 2 (fun fact, actually the first brother we made for G). He's a Hisuian growlithe taur. Exceptionally large, good foot or so taller than their dad, and very much fat, also the physically strongest of all of them, but unendingly lazy, here for a good time he likes to rest, relax, and eat. Will absolutely throw a mountain at you if fuck with his family though. Also aromantic as hell. Fire/Rock type.

Gawain (G) [they/them] 26yrs - third kid, and our fursona lmao. Works at a special library, does fire and plant magic, has a prosthetic arm. And WILL kill you if you don't return your books on time. Overall a happy canine... at this point anyways lmao. Pure Fire type, occasionally acquires Grass type too.

Safir (Saf) [he/they] 23yrs - twink-ass femboy-ass bitch, thigh highs and skirts and crop tops and cropped jackets galore. Very into fashion and being cute (and being a bratty bottom lmao). 100% will talk about you behind your back, kind of a bitch (Also with a design based on this that a friend sent us). Fairy/Ground type.

Morgan (Lil M) [it/its] 21yrs - the youngest of the family, and also the smallest, only standing at about 3 or so feet tall, this little arcanine inherited its mom's green colors and hypno abilities. Snarky, sarcastic, and mischievous, it's also rather possessive of it's oldest brother Accolon (it was also one of our partners fursonas for a while lol). Pure Grass type.

[luxaofhesperides]

need to put doomed yuri in my superhero wip

[voicelesshatred]

Anonymous :: Would Caim or his dragon care to tell us about a cultural tradition they had in Caerleon?

As the following answer is headcanon, please do not reblog.

“I am not ‘his dragon’,” 〖she began, bristling in outrage despite the innocent intentions of the statement. The dragon’s gaze ultimately fell upon Caim, who had smirked in a manner much too haughty. But that humor of his was brief, barely a flicker as his darkened blues shut in thought. No... remembrance. He had tried to shove the better days into the very back of his mind, locked away to collect dust and remain dead. It was an attempt constantly failed and now it was being shoved back to the forefront of his thoughts.

A sigh inaudible as his left hand rose, fingers curled as if a vessel was in his grasp.】 “There was,” 〖the relay began,〗 “an act that his father once taught him to never perform. It was started in the time of his lost kingdom’s third king, he whom Caim was named for. Generals of Austracia, those who would cause the deaths of two of the second king’s heirs would clink their glasses of ale in celebration of such an act. Those borne of Caerleon were taught to never do such as a sign of respect for the royal family.”

[koalas-koalas-everywhere]

Mercelot Week 2023 Day 6: Ocean/Missing Clothes (When Love Was An Act Of Defiance Sneak Peak)

In which Lancelot doesn't die and that changes... well, not that much, actually. Up until it does.

<< That's what the summary would be IF I HAD A COMPLETE FIC TO POST. These are sneak peaks posted as part of Mercelot Week 2023.

-----------------------------

Nothing to make you feel lov-warm and fuzzy like your bro buddy lending you his jacket. Literally, nothing but warm fuzzy feelings here, hahaha. So, about that Caerleon…

Fill for Day 6: Ocean/Missing Clothes! From ep His Father's Son (4x05) or "I'm Sorry, For I Never Felt Like Anybody". These are a few scenes put together. Um. Implied off-scene violence. Also, what do I even tag for Agravaine? Just uhhh watch out for manipulation and isolation.

Ao3

“So,” Merlin said, when Lancelot walked up to where he was rooting around his bag. “Not Odin.”

“I heard.” He glanced back to the group of knights he’d left guarding their prisoners. “Men from Caerleon.”

“Not only Caerleon’s men — King Caerleon himself was found among them.” Merlin gestured back. His cape swished with his arm and exposed the armour he wore underneath.

“Huh.”

“Arthur is here as well,” he pointed out.

Lancelot looked back at his face and blinked. He thought back, trying to figure out where that comment had come from and how to answer it.

“True,” he said eventually, “but there’s a difference between taking part in a military endeavor that could affect the peace of two kingdoms and going along on a raid of a border patrol— what are you doing?”

Merlin finished unlacing his cape and folded it into his bag. “Well, it’s all a bit heavy.”

Lancelot watched him fumble with one vambrace, then the other.

“We are still a way from the castle,” he said, eyes on Merlin's hands as he took off his belt.

“Yes, but…” he pressed his lips together before spreading them in a rueful smile. “Everyone’s staring at me. It’s fine,” he chuckled when Lancelot shifted guiltily. “I get it. I look a little ridiculous like this.”

“No, you don’t,” Lancelot denied at once. Maybe even with too much force, he reflected, when a few knights turn around.

“Odd, then,” Merlin conceded. He pulled his chainmail up to his head, but it kept falling and getting caught on his nose, so he couldn’t get it off.

“You’re wrong,” Lancelot insisted, grabbing the chainmail himself. “No one’s laughing at you.”

Merlin blinked owlishly at him, his hair in disarray, and Lancelot contradicted himself immediately.

“That was easier to put on,” Merlin defended himself, patting his hair down. He started tugging at the lacings of his gambeson and sighed. “See, this? This I will miss. It’s so warm.”

“So keep it,” Lancelot shrugged. “At least, until we get back. It’s not like I need two of them.”

Merlin slowed down. “Are you sure?” He played with the strings some more, but he didn’t unlace them. He kept arguing half-heartedly, “It’ll be weird, me doing the dishes, dressed like a noble.”

“No, you know what actually looks ridiculous?” Lancelot reached up to scrub Merlin’s face, but stopped when he realized that he was wearing gloves. He gestured to it instead. “You have half the Plains on your face, you rascal, you should clean up.” Merlin laughed and Lancelot couldn’t keep up his nagging front, cracking up as well. “I mean it!”

“It’s not worth it!” Merlin ran the back of his hand through his cheeks, smudging the dirt there instead of cleaning it. “I’ll just get dirty again!”

“Do you like having dirt on your face?” Merlin shook his head, still laughing and rubbing, so Lancelot shrugged. “Then clean it and, if it gets dirty again, clean it again.”

“It sounds like common sense when you say it.” Merlin dropped his hands and sighed. “Alright, but can you go sit with Arthur while I run to the river?”

Lancelot was a little confused at his apparent belief that the king needed to be babysat, but he wasn’t going to argue. He looked around.

“Where is he?” Lancelot frowned at Arthur’s absence.

“Agravaine’s convinced him they need to set up their own camp away from the rest to discuss Caerleon privately,” Merlin sneered.

“Really.”

“They’ve set up guards, too.” He pointed to a fire a little way off.

Lancelot blew out a breath. “Sure, I’ll go.”

“Thanks. Too much time alone with Agravaine and he might decide to build his own castle to protect state secrets,” Merlin quipped before walking away, leaving Lancelot to control his laughter.

He was still sniggering when he came upon the guards around Arthur and Agravaine’s fire. One made to raise his axe, but he changed his mind with a roll of his eyes and let him through.

“We're not on the borders now, Agravaine. This is the heart of the kingdom. He took a grave risk coming here,” Arthur was saying, incensed.

“Perhaps he doesn't see it that way,” Agravaine suggested. Arthur’s whole stance demanded an explanation, so he went on, “I fear it's no coincidence that all this has happened since Uther's death.”

“What do you mean?”

“Arthur, your father was a strong king,” Agravaine extolled. “His enemies feared and respected that strength.”

“Are you saying I'm not worthy of that respect?” Arthur challenged.

“No, sire, not at all,” Agravaine soothed, the very image of deference. “There isn't a citizen of Camelot who would not lay down their life for you.” He stood up and continued emphatically, “But your enemies...to the enemies of Camelot, you are still untested as a king. You must send a clear message that any action against Camelot will be met without mercy.”

“Did we not achieve that here today?” Arthur asked.

“Yes, Agravaine,” Lancelot cut in at last. “We’ve just curtailed a raiding operation that’s been going on for months, led by the king of a renowned warrior nation. Whatever they thought they could achieve here, we’ve proved them wrong.”

Arthur accepted his presence with no more than a slight start, but Agravaine shot a glance at the guards, as if wondering how he’d gotten past.

“Have we?” he disagreed. “Will this be enough to deter the likes of Odin, who is still at large,” he reminded Arthur, “and Bayard and the countless others who covet Camelot's wealth?”

“We don’t know that they’re our enemies, but that will change if we treat them as such,” Lancelot cautioned.

To his dismay, Arthur raised a hand to quiet him and turned to his uncle.

“Well, what do you suggest?”

“I suggest that we force him to accept a treaty on our terms,” Agravaine bid in an urgent tone, stepping closer to Arthur for full effect. “He must withdraw his men from our land, return our territories to us.”

Arthur shared a look with Lancelot. He was forced to agree to the wisdom of the plan. It was something Caerleon would’ve had to do either way after his defeat, but setting them as release terms would put the power wholly on Arthur’s hands. Agravaine glanced his way as well, an indecipherable flicker on his face.

“He must surrender Everwick,” he went on.

Lancelot almost choked on air, letting out a mix between a cough and an incredulous laugh.

“He’d rather die than agree to such terms,” Arthur rejected the idea, gesturing to Lancelot as if he’d made a good argument.

“Then you are left with no choice,” Agravaine concluded with a regretful shake of his head.

“Except for not enforcing terms which you know are unreasonable in the first place,” Lancelot denied, still laughing, but starting to sober up. “What happened to not strangling people with that iron hand?”

“Camelot’s people, of course, but we can’t expect the king to treat everyone like he would his own subjets,” Agravaine mocked, but Lancelot stood firm.

“Can’t he?”

“Sir Lancelot, you’re a good warrior. A good knight,” Agravaine said with an admiring smile. “I wish all men were like you. But they’re not. So we, as statesmen” —he turned back to Arthur, closing Lancelot out— ”must be equal to them.”

“Lancelot’s right, I can't just kill a man in cold blood,” Arthur balked.

“Arthur, you must do what you need to do to assert your authority on this land,” Agravaine insisted.

Arthur shook his head. “Well, there must be another way.”

“There's no other way.” He offered Arthur a look halfway between sympathetic and encouraging. “Think on it. Decide by tomorrow.”

He rose to his feet and left to the knights’ area. Lancelot wondered why he’d insisted on setting the space apart for himself and Arthur if he wasn’t going to use it, but decided there were more important things to worry about.

“You know, you don’t actually have to decide by tomorrow,” he said. Arthur didn’t answer. “We can take him to Camelot. Think through the terms. Even if you decide to go through with Agravaine’s plan and Caerleon refuses, you can take it to the queen—“

“So, I go crying to his wife when he rejects my terms?” Arthur scoffed. “I’ll look weak. Same as if I delay taking action. He’ll think I’m indecisive, or feeble, which…” he let out a barking laugh.

“Well, if he does, he’s wrong,” Lancelot argued, “because you—“

“I need some time to think,” Arthur dismissed him.

Lancelot grit his teeth. Then, he bowed and walked away. At least, he wasn’t leaving him alone with Agravaine.

“Whatever Lancelot’s told you, I hope he didn’t forget to mention that I want peace and quiet,” was how Arthur greeted Merlin when he returned. It was, in fact, pretty much what he’d expected from Lancelot’s description.

“Well, after escaping a horde of angry warriors, so do I,” he shot back, wrangling a snort out of his friend. He didn’t push his good mood, though, setting out his sleeping roll instead. Arthur’d probably realize what a bad idea this was on his own. For his part, Merlin wiggled on the ground, enjoying the added comfort the gambeson provided, and fell asleep at once.

He still didn’t worry when he woke up to the sight of Arthur’s empty, unused roll. He was concerned, sure, but for him, not about him.

He went to the creek, drank some water from Arthur’s cup, then refilled it and brought it to him. It took a couple of tries to get his attention. That he’d let the fire die also spoke to his frame of mind. Still, it’s wasn’t until Merlin saw the pile of kindle to the side, as full as he'd left it the night before, which Arthur would’ve used if he’d noticed that it was needed at all, that his alarm was set off.

He played nonchalant as he worked on the fire.

“You must be cold.” No response but a vague movement of the head. “Have you slept at all?”

“Been thinking.”

“About what Agravaine said?” Merlin prodded.

Arthur scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Honestly.”

“You would’ve told me anyway,” Merlin defended himself and Lancelot, but Arthur was too busy laughing to pay attention.

“What are you wearing?!” He gestured to him.

Merlin looked down at the gambeson he’d tugged on unconsciously. He shrugged. “It’s cold. He said I could keep it until we got back to Camelot.”

“Of course he did.” Arthur was barely biting down a smile.

“He already brought one for himself,” he pointed out. It was actually feeling rather warm out there, all of a sudden.

“It only makes sense,” Arthur agreed. That is, he should have agreed, since it was the truth, but there was a definite mocking edge to his tone. “He’s so sensible, that Lancelot.”

“He is.” Merlin wished he could say that he pulled them back to Agravaine’s plan because he’d sensed that Arthur was in a more amenable mood, or that it seemed like a good segue. In truth, he was just flustered by Arthur’s mystifying jokes, doubly so by the inkling that they weren't that mystifying at all, so he crushed it all down. “Like his ideas about how to deal with Caerleon.”

“Merlin.” Arthur lost his cheer.

“They’re good,” Merlin insisted. “And they don’t involve murdering someone, which clearly bothers you, if it kept you up all night—“

“They’re good ideas for dealing with Caerleon today,” Arthur said. “They’re not good enough to keep him away. Or anyone who might come after him, who’ll be looking at how I act now for weaknesses." He gave a thoughtful nod. "I must have none. Show that I'm worthy of my father's name.”

“Caerleon won't sign it.” Merlin asserted. Arthur’s jaw twitched, so he pressed, “You know that?”

“Caerleon brought this upon himself,” Arthur declared, voice as steely as he probably wished he was.

“Arthur,” Merlin started, hoping to remind him of the truth. “You've always shown mercy in battle. You've never sought to humiliate your enemy in this way. This isn't like you. This isn't who you are—”

“You have no idea what it is to make these decisions,” Arthur cut him off. “Decisions that will shape the future of this land.”

“Arthur—" There were so many things wrong with that sentence and so many reasons he couldn’t correct it. He didn’t even get to try.

“So, please…” He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t get angry. Still, there was no room for argument. "Stick to what you do know.”

He left without another word. After a while of sitting by the fire, Merlin sniffed and took off the gambeson. It was warm enough.                        

Arthur didn’t order Lancelot to gather the knights and Caerleon for a negotiation meeting. He sent Agravaine to do it. Who informed him of Arthur’s wishes loud enough that everyone heard him and knew, exactly, how the chain of command went. Lancelot grit his teeth against the snub. He told himself he might have known if he’d stuck to Arthur the way Agravaine did, if he’d taught him he could rely on Lancelot the way his uncle had. He reminded himself that Agravaine did outrank him, if not officially as the Constable, then unofficially as Arthur’s closest living relative. He did this quite forcefully when he was handed the roll of parchment Caerleon was too prideful to take so that he could hold it open for him to read.

He also told himself that the disdainful look Agravaine shot them was directed at Caerleon.

He shook his head. These were such small snubs. Everything seemed to irritate him that morning. Against his will, his eyes drifted towards the edge of the clearing, where Merlin was standing, but he dragged them back to Caerleon. This wasn’t the time to obsess over his decision to trade the gambeson for his jacket. Even the justifications he tried to tell himself, like how he might prefer his own clothes’ comfort, had no place at a moment like this.

“You expect me to sign this? To humiliate myself before you?” Caerleon demanded once he finished reading, as if to prove it.

“You invaded our kingdom and took what did not belong to you,” Agravaine accused.

“And if I do not sign?” Caerleon’s whole demeanor was detached. He either thought there would be no actual repercussions for his actions, or he felt so much disdain for them that there wasn't room left for fear.

“Then you will pay, with your life.” Agravaine spoke as if by rote, at least to Lancelot, who knew how he expected this negotiation to go from the start. Besides that, though, there was an unnerving relish in his tone.

Caerleon scoffed. “And who makes these terms?”

The answer to that was obvious, but the act of questioning itself carried quite the punch. To Agravaine, it reminded him that, whatever his posturing, he was still acting on someone else’s orders. To Arthur…

“Arthur Pendragon,” he declared, walking forward at last. “King of Camelot.” He gave no indication that, with a throwaway comment, Caerleon had torn apart the effect he’d wished to create by having his second-in-command speak to him.

A passing thought reminded Lancelot that Arthur was using the same tactic with the enemy king that he’d used on him that morning. He stamped it down. Arthur had just been passing a message along. He hadn’t meant to emphasize Lancelot’s lack of importance. Even if that was what had ended up happening.

Caerleon pushed his arm, still holding up the treaty, out of the way. Percival tried to stop him from stepping towards Arthur, but he shoved him away, too. He kept a derisive sneer at all times, but he wasn’t forceful or even threatening.

“Very well. Then make it quick,” he told Arthur, taking a knee.

Arthur shifted his jaw. Lancelot understood his hesitance. This was what they’d expected to happen all along. In some ways, although he was sure that Arthur didn’t see it that way, being able to not just make the threat, but also carry through with it would be for the best. It would leave no doubt as to their strength, no possible suspicion that they’d been bluffing. And yet, there was a dignity in Caerleon’s bearing, even in his quickness to submit, that made their attempts at a powerplay look like a children’s tantrum.

“Think what you're doing, Caerleon,” Arthur said. “This treaty could seal a truce between us. There would be peace. Like there was between your father and mine.”

Hearing his words, so full of hope for peace, something eased in Lancelot’s chest. He hadn’t been aware before that moment that he’d doubted Arthur’s intentions. If they were going to commit regicide, Lancelot thought wryly, at least it was due to an honest belief that it would be best for the kingdom and not to assuage his ego. It shouldn’t have made as much of a difference for him, but it did.

A pity that Caerleon didn’t appreciate it.

“I am not my father” —he paused, his voice turning contemptuous— “and you are not Uther.” He watched the effect of his words on Arthur, then went on, almost conversationally, “Do you really have the guts to kill me?”

Arthur took a moment to respond. To Lancelot’s trained eye, it was clear that he was still reeling and trying to recover.

“You leave me no other choice,” he said.

“You do not choose anything, boy!” Caerleon finally let go of his temper. Lancelot wondered if Agravaine’s influence was that obvious, when he continued, “It is I who choose to die, and I alone. Now, get on with it.”

He bent over even further, offering up his neck to Arthur. All eyes went to their king, waiting to see what he’d do. There was still time to back down. Not without looking bad, things had gotten too far for that, but dammit, Lancelot thought, maybe that was what Arthur deserved after pushing for this at all. He could fix still it, though.

If he wanted to.

“So be it,” Arthur declared. He unsheathed his sword.

Notes:

No, for real, what do I tag for Agravaine? Made a small change in that last scene from “no choice” to “no other choice” to fit better with Caerleon’s next comment, because like, yeah, he just said that he doesn’t choose anything. Duh. This isn't the last we've seen of the gambeson, but this one's already kinda long and the two other scenes are too involved with ~~~the plot~~~.

[random-racehorses]

Random Real Thoroughbred: SUZU CAERLEON

SUZU CAERLEON is a dark bay/brown horse born in The United States in 1995. By CAERLEON out of IBTIKAR. Link to their pedigreequery page: https://www.pedigreequery.com/suzu+caerleon