#of gorlois' inheritance

[nyxi-pixie]

saw an edit of morgana to die your daughter. thousands dead billions injured

[sneakyboymerlin]

It’s a shame that the core four’s ages are never confirmed in canon. Arthur’s age is the best we get, and even then, it’s not that simple.

The dragon was captured exactly 20 years before Merlin came to Camelot. This means that Arthur is certainly over the age of 20 in 1x01. I’d argue that he should be over the age of 21 if the Purge had not only been going on for some time, but had already progressed into Kilgharrah’s capture by that point 20yrs prior.

If we take each episode as ~1 month (making each season ~1 year long), then Arthur’s birthday being in 1x09 would indicate about 9 months’ difference from 1x01, meaning that — if Arthur is 20 here — he was born only 3 months prior to the dragon’s capture.

This would mean that it only took 3 months for Uther to 1) wage his war, 2) escalate it so severely that Balinor summoned Kilgharrah to make peace with Uther, and 3) manage to capture Kilgharrah in chains specially designed to keep a dragon. This is incredibly unlikely.

I propose that Arthur is actually 21 in 1x01, giving Uther ~1 year and 3 months to wage war and orchestrate Kilgharrah’s capture.

From there, we can guesstimate Merlin’s age, since his birth is a direct result of this event. 20 years prior to 1x01 is when the dragon was captured, and so too was Merlin’s father. Then, he would have spent a period of at least a few months or 1+ years in Ealdor (long enough for him to fall in love with Hunith, and enough to never love another woman like that ever again). Then, he left Ealdor before he could discover Hunith’s pregnancy (i.e. she was not showing).

Accounting for the time Balinor spent in captivity, then the time spent in Ealdor, and of course the 9 months of pregnancy (which would have had some overlap, but small enough that Hunith was not showing), we get a period of at least one year, possibly even 2 years, after the dragon’s capture (again, exactly 20 years before the events of 1x01).

Subtracting 1 year, or 2, or whichever number we decide is most realistic from that 20 year figure, Merlin could be any of a wide range of ages in 1x01. At the oldest, he is a little over 1 year younger than Arthur (21 - 1.5 = 19.5). The youngest he could be is ~16 (based on appearances and relative age, since the numbers alone don’t place a limit on his minimum age) but it’s safe to say he’s at least 17 when he leaves Ealdor. So, 18 or 18 and a half would make for a functional average.

There is little to go off of for the Smiths, but Gwen is likely to be somewhere right between Merlin and Arthur’s ages since she has romantic plot-lines with both. She is likely ~19 in 1x01, older or younger depending on which figures we’re using. Elyan is implied to be younger than Gwen in 5x06 (when he says that Gwen “practically raised [him]”), so he may be Merlin’s age or younger. Only tangentially related, but Gwen says in 3x07 that it’s been 4 years since Elyan left. This places his departure ~6 months prior to 1x01.

As for Morgana, her age is dependent on when Uther slept with Morgana’s mother. Gorlois was off in battle when this happened, so it may have been post-Purge. However, because Morgana’s magic is an inherited trait (as it is with her sister, Morgause) and she and Morgause have the same mother but not the same father, this makes the magic a matrilineal trait in their family. It is highly unlikely that Morgana’s mother — a woman with innate magic — would have slept with Uther during the Purge. It was likely pre-Purge, and at least a year before Arthur’s birth.

Furthering the latter possibility, Uther having a child out of wedlock would be the evidence he needs to confirm the reason he has no child with his own wife (only his best friend’s wife): Ygraine is the infertile one. (Uther, on the other hand, is a little too fertile for his own good).

Compiling the timelines of these events, with enough time passing for the conception of Morgana to be realized, enough time for Gaius to persuade Nimueh to help Uther and Ygraine conceive, and enough time for Ygraine to complete a full 9 month pregnancy, we’re looking at a minimum of ~1 year and a half, but probably 2+ years if Uther and Ygraine looked into other (ineffective but time-consuming) fertility options first (via Gaius?).

Therefore, Arthur and Morgana might have a good 2 years between them. If Arthur is 21 in 1x01, then Morgana is probably ~23.

So my best guesses for 1x01 ages are:

Morgana: 22-23

Arthur: 21

Gwen: 19-20

Merlin: 18-19

Elyan: 16-18

[cynthia39100]

Merlin rewatch -- S3E1: The Tears of Uther Pendragon 1

Is this a foreshadowing of Morgana’s true heritage? Uther pointedly said “she inherited much (brave) from her father.” And Gaius followed “Gorlois was a good man.” Then there was a pause when Uther looked at Gaius before he looked away and replied “Indeed” with a little smile. It was like he suddenly came back to himself and remembered Gorlois was Morgana's father in name.

[S3E1] [other episodes]

[the-king-and-the-druidess]

As much as Merlin was unreasonable in suggesting that Morgana ask Uther to soften up to magic (when he himself could not persuade even Arthur), I believe that there was a tiny chance. Not in S3, but in S4.

When Uther was so desperate and longing for Morgana and regretting all his mistakes, he could have done anything for her, it seems. But then Morgana would have considered it beneath her dignity to beg her rights on the knees before a tyrant.

There could have been another chance in the Wicked Day.

Morgana was depressed because the plan with Dorocha had failed and so Morgause died in vain, and she could have decided to bargain for Uther's life. She comes to Arthur and declares that she will heal Uther in exchange for lifting the Ban and (there may be options and outcomes) the throne of the entire Kingdom(later Arthur will have to take it back with Merlin's help), the return of her inheritance from Gorlois, a new castle, half of the kingdom or even nothing but recognition her High Priestess' status in the kingdom if she decides to leave for the Island of the Blessed, for example.

Arthur can refuse, he can no longer trust Morgana after what she had done.

But for the sake of his father, it is possible that he can agree and sign all the papers.

And then there are two futures: either Agravaine acts independently and kills Uther unbeknownst Morgana and everyone blames her; or everything goes well and Uther heals (but soon dies of old age for real this time, because they all had to stand him for far too long) and some kind of golden age(not without some struggle as always) begins for several years before Mordred appears.

[twistedshipper]

Been thinking about BBC Merlin lately and really, with regards to the Pendragons, and specifically Arthur and Morgana, it's a study of nature versus nurture.

Since Arthur was borne of magic, it can be argued that Uther isn't his father by blood, and yet he was the man who raised him. He may be pure of intention by being his mother's son and have a good heart, but his actions at times speak differently and that is on account of his rearing under Uther.

On the other hand, Morgana was raised by a man (Gorlois) whom she believed for most of her life to be her true father, only to have it revealed later years after his death that she is Uther's by blood. Even once she knows the truth, she still believes her moral compass is driven by what she learned from Gorlois in her youth, and yet as we have in the scene with Queen Annis, Morgana is more like Uther than she realizes.

And so when Arthur and Morgana meet again in The Sword in the Stone part 2, when we have this moment between them when they each accuse each other of being just like Uther, it is the truth, but for opposite reasons.

Furthermore, when they each acknowledge their shared past and how they thought they were both "friends" this could refer to their past romantic interest in each other, which they now realize they were both "wrong" about. They each believe they are related because Morgana knows she is Uther's and so does Arthur, and yet neither of them know the truth that Arthur isn't Uther's since Merlin convinced Arthur that Morgause lied in 2x08, setting both "siblings" up to think that they are related when in truth they never were.

And there lies the tragedy.

Both Arthur and Morgana must die in The Diamond of the Day. It is literally written from the beginning.

They, for all their original good intentions, have inherited the sins of Uther Pendragon, the dynasty of which must be wiped out for there to be the hope of a better future, which is itself unstable.

It rests on the shoulders of Gwen, the sovereign of Camelot, recently widowed after the death of Arthur, the man she loved, due to magic, on the one hand - but on the other, knows that Merlin through his magic, attempted to bring much good into the world through its craft.

And so that's why we have the last shot of her in The Diamond of the Day holding on to Arthur's ring, as the kingdom lies in wait of what she will decide. The very future rests on her shoulders. Will she bring about the Golden Age that was promised? Or will she, like Uther, allow her grief to ravage the land, ousting magic once again, becoming just like him as she said she would never stand by in the beginning.

And Merlin -

He leaves, we are to assume, Camelot for good, his vision through the meddling of Kilgharrah turned to dust.

[nukethebees]

Some Scattered Thoughts on the Arthurian Cosmology

(CW: Mention of rape)

There's an interesting line in the Robert de Boron/Vulgate Merlin which is translated by Nigel Bryant in Merlin and the Grail as:

And so the demons plotted to conceive a man who would work to deceive others. They were foolish indeed to think Our Lord would not know of their plan!

And which is translated by Rupert T. Pickens in The Story of Merlin as:

They undertook to engender a man who would teach the others. The devils were mad for thinking that Our Lord did not know this plan.

In the Arthurian cosmology, God is omniscient and omnipotent, and the Devil is at worst a nuisance, and at best he untwittingly furthers God's plans. In this instance, the Devil's plan to create the Antichrist ultimately plays into God's hands as the end result of this will be the creation of Merlin, who will bring about the birth and reign of Arthur.

What this says about God, that he allowed Merlin's mother and her family to suffer the way they did, I'll leave that to you.

Merlin inherits knowledge of all things past through his demonic parentage, and through his baptism by Blaise is granted knowledge of all things yet to come. He therefore knows he was created by higher powers for a specific purpose, and he knows what he must do to fulfill that purpose. He knows that though it will ultimately achieve a higher end (the birth of Arthur and the creation of a Golden Age in Britain), his actions will cause suffering and death (the death of Gorlois, the rape of Ygraine, and the trauma of Gorlois's children), just like the actions of God and the Devil caused suffering and death for his family. (I wonder how Merlin must've felt about that).

A later example of evil actions leading to higher ends is the conception of Galahad by Elaine/Amite's rape of Lancelot. All this of course raises the question of whether the ends justify the means. Is the creation of a Golden Age worth the suffering of a single family? Again, I'll leave that one with you.

The whole matter of omniscience also raises the question of if there is such a thing as free will in the Arthurian universe? To me, the answer is no. Everything is predetermined and while characters operate under the illusion that they have a choice, their roles and actions are set. Merlin, meanwhile, is a puppet who sees the strings. His warnings to Arthur about the future are futile, and doubtless he knows this.

Sooner or later in my own retellings of the Arthurian legends, I knew I would have to tackle the question of cosmology and how literally to take the medieval Christian worldview. These are some of the thoughts I had while I was working it all out. That said, I do not intend this to be some sort of cynical deconstruction of Arthuriana, as that simply does not interest me.

Does this predetermination make it all utterly bleak and grim and hopeless? No, I think it adds to the tragedy. I do not think it diminishes the joys and triumphs and sorrows of these characters, anymore than the intervention of the gods in the Iliad or the Odyssey somehow makes the characters of those epics into one-dimensional chess pieces.

[malorydaily]

"[T]he opening of the Morte, famously narrated in rapid, chronicle style, is more tawdry than auspicious. Igraine draws the narrator’s sympathy as a good wife: “she was a passyng good woman and wold not assente unto the kynge.” Igraine first discerns King Uther’s designs and then warns her husband: “And thenne she told the duke her husband and said, ‘I suppose that we were sente for that I shold be dishonoured. Wherfor, husband, I counceille yow that we departe from hens sodenly’ ” (Works 7.11–13, 14–17, emphasis mine). While Igraine fears transgression of her marriage, the men in the tale – Merlin, Uther, and Ulfius – work their machinations.

First Merlin strikes the deal with Uther’s messenger, Ulfius:

“And yf kynge Uther wille wel rewarde me and be sworne unto me to fulfille my desyre, that shall be his honour and profite more than myn, for I shalle cause hym to have all his desyre.” “Alle this wyll I undertake,” said Ulfius, “that ther shalle be nothyng resonable but thow shalt have thy desyre.” “Well,” said Merlyn, “he shall have his entente and desyre. . . .” (Works 8.19–25, emphasis mine)

The noun “desire” surfaces four times in this dialogue, as if Uther and Merlin could simply substitute each other’s wants for their own. Merlin assures Ulfius that “honor” will accrue to the king, never noticing that this exchange of male “desire” requires “dishonoring” Igraine. The verb is hers, spoken as she advises Gorlois to flee Uther’s court (Works 7.15–16, quoted above)."

– Karen Cherewatuk, Marriage, Adultery and Inheritance in Malory's Morte Darthur

[rake-rake]

"In a way." Personality wise at least, and those outbursts of savagery as well. It woulf be a sight to behold if it just had been from a king rather than whatever Artoria was. When it came to physical appearance however, Merlin thought she looked more like her other uncle, "Close is not the word I would use. She was Gorlois' wife and King Vortigern's friend, nothing to me. Besides, she smelled hideous. Fairy blood in her, even if way too far back. A stain that can't be wiped. You got lucky by not inheriting it, little dragon."

"So I am often told. Uncle and I have a more similar resemblance, correct?" In demeanor and action at least. Certain acts meant to serve as means of protecting from barbarous hordes could so easily be misconstrued as 'wickedness and cruelty'. "Still I must insist you keep your tongue in check in further regards to my mother. As her child, I do feel some obligation to uphold her honor."

"You two were close in some way, weren't you? I remember stories you told of her after you were done beating me senseless."

[themorningtide]

author’s note: FINALLY I GOT TO IGRAINE. Be kind to her, she suffered a lot.

xxxXXXxxx

When the word comes, it is like she is finally awake in her own body. No longer a passenger, no longer afraid or trapped. Igraine lowers her chin slowly, dark eyes soft upon the messenger who trembles beneath their thrones. At her side, Uther’s body stutters as if it too knows she is listening.

“What have you said?” The Queen asks, authoritatively even. An old authority, of the Duchess she had been, of the free woman Tintagel had raised. When was the last time a man looked upon her in fear? She cannot know; she cannot remember.

“Lady Elaine is not to be found, your Majesty.” The boy whispers. "We have found a letter in her chambers. It is for you.”

There is a small pause as the messenger looks at her, at her whole attention which he knows to be rare but not frightening, not until that moment. He cannot spare a glance at the King before he places the frail paper onto her extended hand. Something in her does not allow it.

(Could it be magic? Could it be something of Gorlois’ left to his widow? Who would ask in the vicinity of Uther, as his gaze thunders and threatens and rejoices for once, as he sees his Queen come to life! Oh, as she was. Older but alive as she was when he first stole her!)

Igraine does not need to read the message because she knows exactly what it says. She knows them, after all. She birthed all of them, saw them walk first, develop first. She loved them first, fiercely, with all the strength her body and life could muster. She knew what each would do even before they thought of it. Morgause would die avenging her father while Morgan would die becoming Him. Elaine? She would wither away forced into her mother’s shell. And her Arthur, her kind boy would crumble in his father’s shoes.

So away she pushed them, one after the other, away where they wouldn’t need or want her, away from this Court which meant nothing and the man who had trampled all of them for a woman he did not deserve. What did it matter if they hated her? Not to her. Not as long as they were safe, happy in some manner that did not include her. Oh. And she had done it! Day after day after year after century, while she ignored pleading gazes and trembling hands. She had done it!

“Igraine?”

They are alone. Uther stands beneath her throne and never has she seen him like this, literally below her, hopeful that he will be chosen now that the last of her children has left and she has nothing but herself.

But herself is all she needs.

“I have done it,” she declares and there is strength in that declaration. “I have done it, my love,” words spoken to the air, to wherever her husband was sent after this creature at her feet destroyed them. If she opens her arms just so, she can almost feel him. “Our children are safe. Our children are away and he cannot harm them anymore. We are free.” There is her in those words, Igraine, Lady and Duchess, Mother and Wife; there is her finally! Not the puppet Uther had dangled from countless strings while holding her children beneath an axe’s blade!

And she sees exactly when he understands this; that something is very very wrong. His lips part as if to inquire over her sudden rebirth but this is not his plot and there is no part left for him to play in her life. 

“No,” Igraine interrupts swiftly, raising the message forbiddingly as she stands. “Today, you do not speak! Not Today! Not on my day of victory!” Even the crown feels hers, finally, for once and her smile is brilliant as it has not been for years without count.

Blind Uther seems so confused, the poor old man. She has gone mad, finally and his thoughts play like shadows upon his disgusting face. But why should she care of his thoughts? Of his emotions? Did hers matter, at any point? Did she matter, other than to become what he wanted of her?

“You cannot harm me anymore, Uther,” she smiles down at him, a cold smile Morgause had always wore and he had never recognized until that very moment. “Last night was the last night you have ever touched me. Do so again and I will jump out of the closest window. Force me and I will bite my own tongue. Come near me and I will have the entire Kingdom wondering why their silent, kind, gentle Queen was driven mad by her own husband. I will have your reputation in tatters, even more than you have already sullied it. Because today, I have lost the very last you could steal from me.”

Uther had thought her an ornament. A beautiful mare that Gorlois had caught unaware. He had never seen her as she was, the girl who had ran after a Fae, the woman who had ensnared him, the ruler who had kept all of hers intact and safe until that wretched wizard had deemed her a thing to be used. He had thought she would forget.

And like her children, Igraine knew how to wait.

“Enjoy your prize, your Majesty,” she whispered. “I doubt it will last long.”

[acciofandomlove]

The Weirdly Manipulative Narrative of BBCM Characters

Let's start with the character that is the easiest to explain and whose sympathetic narrative is the easiest to break from:-

----

#1 - Uther

Part 1 - Ygraine

Uther starts off as this big bad villain who every viewer hates. He kills magic users, is a tyrant, emotionally manipulates Arthur, is a narcissist, a natural liar and so forth.

Then we get to know more about his past and realise that he's just a broken man. Someone who lost his wife due to magic and couldn't handle the loss so he chose the only path he understood as a warrior king- violence and bloodshed.

“ She was my heart, my soul. And you took her from me. ”

But here's the thing.

Uther cheated on his wife.

“I loved your mother. There isn't a day that passes where I don't wish that she were still alive. I could never have done anything to hurt her.”

Yeah, sure Uther.

Now, I'm not saying that Uther didn't care for Ygraine. But cheating (and barely showing any guilt over it later) is not the action of a man who "loved" his wife. Considering the fact that Gorlois was clueless about the infidelity, we have to assume that Ygraine was too.

To prove my point further, let's consider the fact how we all know how much Uther valued tradition and arranged marriages. Is it so hard to assume that he would've married Ygraine for her family standing and pedigree rather than "true love"? Especially since he was a new king who had just conquered all of Camelot.

"Your father betrayed me."

So, then why was he so angry at her death? Why did he remember her so fondly? Why did he always call her the one he loved?

The same reason Jane Seymour was the only one Henry VIII truly loved.

Because she gave him a male heir.

"I'm sorry Arthur. Your father has deceived you as he deceived me."

Like I said, this doesn't mean that Uther didn't love her at all. The pain he feels about her death shows that he obviously did.

But a lot of his pain also comes from guilt.

Ygraine probably lived her last moments feeling the fear that she was going to die, sorrow that she would not get to see her son grow up and betrayed over what fate her husband helped write for her.

"Those few seconds I held you were the most precious of my life."

The most precious moment of her life was also the one tinged with the most sadness.

Uther was not some tragic Romeo. Instead, he was the Othello that let himself be his own downfall. But what sets him apart from his Shakespearean counterpart, what truly makes him the villain is what he did next.

“You showed yourself to be a man of honour. You inherited that trait from your mother.”

Uther destroyed Ygraine's life, her friend's life, her legacy, her kingdom.

Ygraine is shown to be sympathetic to magic from the way Nimueh and Morgause describe her. But he turned her death into a cause of war, killing thousands in the process.

He tore down homes for the magic he used to create his own. Kills children for the sake of the one he sired. He not only rages but actively lies and manipulates as he did with Balinor. He spread propagandas and used Ygraine's death as emotional fodder.

He got Gorlois killed in his fight of hatred, Nimueh's life destroyed, Vivianne to have to hide one of her daughters and Gaius to lose his love and watch people he cares for die. These were all people Ygraine knew and was most probably friends with.

Her brother Tristan was killed and Agravaine reduced to a snivelling villain who Uther barely tried to hold any correspondence with as far as we knew. You could say it was because Uther didn't trust him but the very reason that was true was because Uther sacrificed Ygraine and then had the audacity to blame innocent people for it.

He lied about her sacrifice to not only her subjects but also her son, dishonouring her life and cheapening her death.

No matter how much you try, you can never show Uther in any way, shape or form as "sympathetic". The death of the mother during childbirth was quite a common thing during that time, regardless of magic. How that can be used as a reason or justification for literal GENOCIDE is beyond me.

-----

Intro

#1 - Uther Part 1 // Uther Part 2 (coming soon)

[raeynbowboi]

How to Play as Morgan le Fey in DnD 5e

Morgan le Fey just dropped in SMITE, and I’ve had worse excuses to build a character. However, I don’t want to boil her down to just one single source. Morgan has over 800 years of appearances in stories and media to pull from. So, for this build, we’re wanting to explore Morgan’s entire repertoire of appearances in media from her first appearances in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regem Britanniea to modern appearances in television, movies, and literature. I have not seen everything she’s ever been in, but we can extrapolate a lot from a cursory glance.

While Morgan is called Le Fey, I don’t believe it’s ever clearly stated which parent she inherits her fey ancestry from, though it may originate from her mother Igerna, as in the 14th century work of Huon de Bordeaux, King Arthur goes to war with Morgan’s son King Oberon over the realm of the faeries. Igerna being Arthur’s mother and Oberon’s grandmother would explain how both men could have a claim to the throne of Fairyland. It’s possible she’s a water faerie, known in Wales and Breton as Mari-Morgans, which drown men.

Morgan’s first education came from a nunnery where she studied necromancy of all things. Morgan later becomes the young pupil of Merlin, with a deep fascination with magic, and showing tremendous talent for it. She was very studious, exploring astronomy, astrology, and healing. However, she always favored dark powers and malicious intent. Under Merlin’s tutelage, she studied or furthered her knowledge of necromancy, illusions, shapeshifting, charms, enchantments, and hexes. Older good versions of Morgan’s character were far more benevolent, with powers of healing and protection. Malory paints Morgan as a queen among mages and villains, with other nobles seeking Morgan’s help at making other mages and villains fall in line under her authority. Morgan’s primary talent seems to fall into two primary camps: trickery and destructiveness. In older stories, she banks the entirety of her schemes on trickery through charms, illusions, and shapeshifting to mess with people. However, in more modern media, she has grown to favor raw power and destructive shows of force. Morgan is usually considered the greatest enchantress of all time, second only to Merlin in magical power. In some cases, she’s considered more powerful than Merlin, but less skilled than he is.

While modern pop culture makes Morgan out to be Arthur’s nemesis, and the plotting mother of Mordred, she’s actually Mordred’s Aunt by her sister Morgause, and her rivalry is more aimed at Guinevere, which started after she caught Morgan fooling around with Guinevere’s own cousin, Guiomar. Most of her evil schemes involved trying to reveal Lancelot and Guinevere’s adultery to Arthur, though she did also attempt to usurp the throne with her lover, Accolon, and murder her husband, Uriens.

Although Morgan’s mother Igerna might be part fey, possibly even part of the faerie royal family, Gorlois appears to be a normal human. As such, Morgan is a Half-Elf. She’ll get +2 CHA, +1 INT, +1 CON. We’ll give her Deception and Medicine for her free skills of choice, and Sylvan for her free language of choice.

For her background, we’ll make her a Noble for History and Intimidation. She also gets a free language, and we’ll give her Draconic.

Most iterations of Morgan le Fey makes her Chaotic Evil, as even before she becomes Guinevere’s sworn enemy, she rebels against society and defies her father.

WIZARD SCHOOL OF WAR MAGIC

I debated which Wizard school was best for Morgan. In her literary origins, she’s a trickster who mostly messes with people. It wasn’t until the pop culture version of her took center stage that she became more of a magical powerhouse. The School of Illusions is the best choice if you want to play up Morgan’s mythical origins as a trickster more, but ultimately nothing is lost by putting more faith in her War Magic. With this, she’s made for the battlefield, as appropriate for a witch who chose to study magic as a weapon. Evocation was a little alluring for increasing the damage of her spells and also causing her to harm herself while overpowering her spells, which feels very true to Morgan’s nature. However, while modern Morgan is power-hungry enough to be an Evocation wizard, it felt disingenuous with mythical Morgan who is far craftier and smart enough to not study a subclass where she could kill herself. Necromancy is being passed over because while it can be VERY good with its life-sustaining properties and empowered undead, it’s highly situational. Although it can provide Morgan with an army of undead thralls if set up right, I tried a level 20 necromancer against a Tarrasque. All of my undead thralls had mundane weapons, and were useless against the threat. Short of buying magical weapons for the entire army, there’s no way to really make Necromancy useful against high power enemies. If you have the patience and funds however to buy and carry around an army’s worth of magical weapons to arm your thralls with, then the Necromancy Wizard becomes a lot more viable, as a legion of skeletal archers can help Morgan slay a dragon, or any other foe that gets in her way.

BASIC INFORMATION

STATS STR 8 DEX 14 CON 18 INT 20 WIS 12 CHA 14

SAVING THROWS STR -1 DEX +2 CON +4 INT +11 WIS +7 CHA +2

COMBAT INFO HP: 162 AC: 12 Speed: 30 ft Initiative: +7 Darkvision: 60 ft Passive Perception: 11 Spell DC: 19 Spell Attack Mod: +11

SKILLS Arcana (+11) Deception (+8) History (+11) Intimidation (+8) Investigation (+11) Medicine (+7)

LANGUAGES Common Draconic Elvish Sylvan

FEATS Fey Touched +1 INT (Bonus Spells: Misty Step, Hex)

MORGAN LE FEY’S SPELLBOOK

C Fire Bolt, Mage Hand, Mind Sliver, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation 1 Charm Person, Detect Magic, Disguise Self, False Life, Hex, Silent Image, Shield 2 Blur, Darkness, Earthbind, Invisibility, Mirror Image, Misty Step, Nathair’s Mischief, Phantasmal Force, Silence, Suggestion 3 Animate Dead, Bestow Curse, Counterspell, Dispel Magic, Fireball, Major Image, Summon Undead, Vampiric Touch 4 Blight, Confusion, Dimension Door, Phantasmal Killer, Polymorph 5 Dominate Person, Enervation, Mislead, Modify Memory, Negative Energy Flood, Seeming 6 Create Undead, Disintegrate, Eyebite, Fizban’s Platinum Shield, Flesh to Stone, Mass Suggestion, Mental Prison 7 Finger of Death, Simulacrum 8 Feeblemind 9 Shapechange

FEATURES

REACTION Arcane Deflection: When you’re hit with an attack or fail a saving throw, add +2 AC or +4 Saving Throws. After, can only cast cantrips the following turn.

FEATURES Arcane Recovery: Recover up to 10 spell slots of 5th level or lower on a short rest Deflecting Shroud: When you use your Arcane Deflection, deal 10 Force damage to up to 3 creatures within 60 feet. Durable Magic: +2 AC and Saving Throws while concentrating on a spell Fey Touched: +1 INT. Gain the Misty Step spell and 1 Enchantment or Divination Spell. Each can be cast once without using a spell slot. Further castings require appropriate spell slots. Both are cast with Intelligence. Fey Ancestry: Resist Charms, Immune to magical sleep Power Surge: Add +10 Force Damage to spells by using a power surge. Can hold up to 5 Power Surges at a time. Gain Power Surges by interrupting magic with Counterspell and Dispel Magic. Resets to 1 on a short or long rest. Signature Spells: Cast two 3rd level spells without a spell slot once per short or long rest. Spell Mastery: Choose a 1st and 2nd level spell. These spells can be cast at 1st level without using any spell slots. Tactical Wit: Add your INT mod to your Initiative rolls.

All things considered, Morgan emerges as a rather fearsome battle mage. Admittedly, she would benefit from a maximum Dexterity, but for what we have, she’s pretty well-stocked for battle. If she can get her hands on a Robe of the Archmagi, or a good Barrier Tattoo, it would really help boost her AC. You could also take a 1 level dip into Monk if you’re really desperate, but all you’d get for it is +1 to your AC, so it’s hardly worth it. Still, if you can get her some Rings of Protection or Cloak of Protection, or an Amulet of Health so you can focus her ASI on DEX, it would really help Morgan’s Arcane Deflection spend more time deflecting rather than not. Even though she’s neither a Necromancy or Illusion Wizard, I still stayed true to her character by giving her a wide selection of Necromancy and Illusion spells to stay true to her origins as a dark sorceress. Honestly, her stats are the only thing that I feel don’t live up to the hype, as I built her to be in character and less for power-building. But a few tweaks to the stats to really get good use out of her stats, and give her spell mastery over a concentration spell and/or shield, and her AC will be pretty much permanently better. She may not be the most terrifyingly powerful mage build ever created, but at the very least, she’s a force to be reckoned with, and that’s the real prize we were after. So sally forth and don’t stop until you’ve successfully usurped your bastard half-brother.

[therealjammy]

Bristles

I know a lot of you don’t come here for my original work, but I’m gonna share this anyway because I don’t have anyone to talk about this story with currently; it’s an excerpt from a longshot Arthurian story, told from Guinevere’s perspective. Even if the writing is going slowly, I’m still having quite a bit of fun puzzling everything out and seeing how far I can ramp up the tension--sexual or otherwise. Anyway, happy reading xx

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

A stir met Morgan’s arrival just before midday. We few of Arthur’s court welcomed her at the gates, while behind us other nobles poked out their heads from any opening they could find for a glimpse of the fairy-woman. In the books, they were always described as small and nimble, the better for weaving their way in the world, but Morgan was nearly as tall as myself, built more like her father the Duke Gorlois with every inch of her mother Igraine’s beauty. The court bristled at her unbound, uncovered hair, which hung in inky waves to the middle of her back, at her navy robes that were well-suited for her olive skin, at the grace with which she dismounted her dapple roan horse and approached, straight-backed and high held chin, noble heritage on blatant display.

              Arthur stepped forward, taking his kinswoman’s right hand in his and laying a kiss against her knuckles. “My lady Morgan,” he said, “you are most welcome to Camelot.”

              “The honour is mine, my lord Arthur,” she responded, and I sensed the small shock that went through some of the gathered court; they had never heard her voice, and did not expect a woman with such a feminine appearance to have an alto timbre. When released, she turned to me, taking one of my hands within both of hers. Her lips against my cheek were feathery, hardly daring to touch my skin, yet her breath puffed against it, moist and warm. “You look exceedingly well, my lady Guinevere,” she said.

              “And you also, Lady Morgan,” I said, not knowing why the words struggled to form on my tongue, “in spite of your travels.”

              “Then I do hope I am not unsuitable to appear in your halls.” She gave her horse’s reins to a nearby groom and instructed firmly, “Take utmost care of her. She is one of Lady Vivian’s treasured.”

              Next to Arthur, I once again bore witness to their resemblance. While he was of much fairer complexion than she, and bearing features inherited from King Uther, one could see the structure of their faces was similar, at least around the cheekbones, eyes, and mouth—but that was much the end of it, save for perhaps a few mannerisms; they were only partway related, after all. The knowledge had grown old for me already, but for the gathered crowd, it was entirely new; mouths moved quickly in verbal observation or stayed tight to spread word at a later hour. I suspected, as we moved inside at last, watching as Morgan took Arthur’s offered arm, I would hear much of it from my women as they dressed me down for bed.

              Naturally, there was a gander of the place, so Morgan might know her way about, and introductions to the nobles she hadn’t met when she had attended the wedding between Arthur and I one year ago, and introductions to the women who’d been chosen to care for her in the duration of her stay. She eyed each of them carefully, as if she could see into their very souls and judge their characters, and said, after they’d each given her a customary curtsey, “I shan’t have need of these women.”

              The head maid, Livia, who had chosen my own women, coloured visibly. “I beg your pardon, my lady?”

              “I am of simple taste, madam; they would only get in my way.”

              Livia looked from Morgan to Arthur, bewildered; my lord husband soothed her in his gentle manner, “It’s quite all right, Lady Livia. We must allow Lady Morgan some of her own comforts, being leagues from home.”

              “As you say, my lord,” said Livia, fixing Morgan with narrowing eyes. The women, however, looked rather relieved.

                “I expected her to be ugly,” said Gyneth, slipping my nightshift onto my shoulders.

              “And small,” added Lucia, “with only a fine bosom and wide hips as worthy assets.”

              Gyneth laughed but scolded around it, “You should not talk so, Lucia!”

              “If there are no men to hear it, I can talk as crude as I like.” She glanced up at me from her position at my bed. “That is, if my lady doesn’t mind.”

              “One can hardly avoid crudeness in a castle full of men,” I said. “But you mustn’t allow it to leave this room.”

              Lucia twisted her fingers about her pretty lips, as if she were locking a chest, and flicked her wrist in the direction of the window.

              “Is she truly Arthur’s kinswoman, my lady?” said Gyneth. She was taking down my hair now, preparing to brush it out. “They could not be more opposite, in appearance as well as mannerisms.”

              “Oh, indeed,” Lucia agreed, finishing at last in turning down the bedclothes and checking them over. “It’s a wonder the same blood bred such different characteristics, and that His Majesty seems to have escaped the fairy-tendencies. I fear the man he’d be if he hadn’t.”

              “Would he not be like Lord Merlin if he hadn’t?”

              “What,” said Lucia with a scoff, “a man aged before his time and loony?”

              I said firmly, “I’ll thank you not to speak of the Lord Merlin in that way, Lucia. Let us not forget it is because of his wisdom that my lord husband has driven back the Saxons and that Camelot still stands firm atop its hill."

              Lucia’s pale cheeks pinked. “No, my lady,” she said. “I shan’t forget.”

              “See you do not. Now lay the basin and pitcher and be off to bed.”

              Gyneth finished my hair, trailing behind Lucia after bidding me good night. I was alone for a quarter of an hour before Arthur’s arrival. His golden hair was damp from a wash and tiredness was written across his features.

              “Is your fatigue Morgan’s doing?” I said.

              “Not entirely,” replied Arthur, removing his outer robe and draping it over a bedpost. “I had a letter from Lancelot that required an immediate reply.” He climbed into bed, and I beside him, keeping space between our bodies.

              “What news does he bring?”

              “Nothing concerning, I assure you; only a longing to return home.”

              “He says nothing of the battle?”

              Arthur’s tone firmed. “Where did you learn this, Gwen?”

              “It isn’t hard to guess at,” I returned. “Why else would the king send away his best knight, if not to go into battle?” I turned from him, reaching for the tallow candle burning on my night table. “I am not a simple woman,” I said quietly. “I should think you’d enjoy that, seeing as your kinswoman puts herself on a mighty high hill and you do not scold her for standing upon it.”

              I blew out the candle, feeling Arthur’s irritation, and then his guilt.

              He asked, after a good length, “Do you envy her?”

              A laugh bubbled from my lips. “If there is anything to envy about a sorceress, it’s that the world yields to her because it fears what she’d do if they didn’t.”

              And how useful it would be, I thought later, as Arthur faded into dreams, to know magic and to strike fear into people’s hearts with a single look.

              Useful, said a more logical tendril, and then dangerous.

[fishoutofcamelot]

I saw your r recent contribution to the post about hard vs soft magic systems and I agree wholeheartedly. You also mentioned having a bunch of worldbuilding and stuff about the magic system, and I was wondering if you'd be willing to share some?

(For reference, this is the post in question)

Certainly! While the worldbuilding/magicbuilding hellscape i was describing in the notes is actually in regards to an original-content wip I've been working on, i also have a LOT of headcanons regarding the BBCM magic system too! (Do not ask about my wip's magic system, because i won't be able to shut up about it)

WARNING: long post ahead and mobile won't let me include a cutoff/read-more line. If you're not interested, get ready to scroll down like your life depends on it (and it does).

So! First things first. Here's what we know about the BBCM magic system:

Magic requires spells, most of the time. This seems like a no-brainer, but still an important distinction. There are a lot of magic systems that don't require vocalized spells - Avatar: the Last Airbender, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Ninjago, to name a few. Spells are rather common for wizard/witch/medieval fantasies, and are typically used to control and channel the intent of the magic. This suggests that the magic of BBCM is some kind of force or energy that needs spoken commands to control.

Spells are repurposed words from Old English, aka the language of the Old Religion. (Let's ignore the obvious anachronistic nightmare of the fact that Old English is exactly the same language they would've been speaking in this time period.)

The use of a spell causes someone's eyes to flare gold, plus that fancy wooshing sound effect that Arthur miraculously never hears. This suggests that magic somehow changes your physiology, although it could be also just be a side effect of channeling.

However, magic doesn't always require a spell. Though never fully explained, it appears to be something only innate magic users are capable of - Merlin, Morgana, Mordred. It is something less controllable than spellwork, typically governed by moments of strong emotion rather than logical intent.

The show consistently flip-flops between the idea that magic is something you're born with, and that Merlin is rare for being born with magic. It's never clarified just how someone acquires magic. Gaius asks Merlin where he studied, suggesting that it's something you can learn, while Balinor claims that you either have it or you don't. Though not confirmed fact, i suspect it's similar to how it works in the show Supernatural. There, some witches are natural-born, while others are taught (and some get their powers from spooky demon deals).

It has a life-for-a-life policy. Basically like the Law of Equivalent Exchange from Fullmetal Alchemist, a life cannot be created without another one being sacrificed first. This rule only canonically applies to creating life/the Cup of Life, and any other possible applications aren't addressed.

This rule apparently doesn't apply to animals, as Merlin brought a dog statue to life without killing anyone (that we know of), and Valiant's shield had three live snakes in it. However, it's possible that lives were taken as payment in the process of animation without Merlin's knowledge, but it never happens on screen so we don't know. So either a) animals don't have souls to exchange in the life-for-a-life policy, b) they do but it happens off-screen, or c) those animated animals aren't actually alive.

The Cup of Life infuriates me from a magicbuilding perspective. Ignoring the obvious question of how it came into the druids' possession, its existence isn't clearly defined. Does it require the fancy rain ritual that Nimueh gave it, or was she just extra? Why does drinking from it give you life, while bleeding into it makes you undead and also mindlessly obedient to the sorcerer who made you as such? Were there life-for-a-life consequences for creating an immortal army? Wtf happened on the Isle of the Blessed to allow Merlin to "master life and death", and what does that even mean? All valid questions that never get answered.

Spells sometimes need need a 'source'. Think the staff from "The Tears of Uther Pendragon" and Morgana from "The Fires of Idirsholas." It is unclear what makes these spells different/special.

There is a power hierarchy. Some spells are too powerful for some practitioners to cast, although the reason for this is unclear. Does it drain you of energy/life force? Do you exhaust/overwork your magic muscles? Do you get a little pop-up that says 404 Magic Not Found? Unclear.

Magic is something that can be trained and improved. For example, Morgana gradually became more powerful over time. Merlin naturally had a lot of power straight off the jump and just had to discipline it, but he's a ~special~ case so he doesn't count.

There are some subsets of magic that are definitively born traits. Morgana is a Seer, possessing this capability even before her magic manifested. Likewise, Merlin is a dragonlord, which he inherited from Balinor. Although Balinor did mention that it wasn't a sure thing he would have the ability until he faced a dragon, so there may be some variation in whether or not someone lucks out in the Magic Gene Pool. This may suggest that natural-born magic is hereditary, as both Morgana and her sister Morgause had it. Vivienne and Gorlois both probably didn't have it, otherwise you'd hear Uther bellyaching about it, which raises the question of where they got it? A grandparent, perhaps? Maybe they both carried a recessive magic gene or something...

Unless you're Merlin, magic can be taken away by the Gean Canagh. It's not explained how this is possible, though, as it's never explained how you acquire magic in the first place. But Merlin never lost his magic because he's "magic itself" which if you ask me is just a deus ex machina wrapped inside a headache wrapped inside a heaping load of chosen one bullcrap. But it's canonical lore, so we have to consider it.

Despite my previous complaints, i actually find the idea of Merlin being "magic itself" rather intriguing. Is he a creature of magic, like a dragon or a questing beast? Is his body made of magic, like how a statue might be made of clay? Does it run through his veins like blood? If this is the case, then why didn't he suffer more severe ramifications for losing his magic? Why didn't it kill him? How did it restrict his magic in the first place? Placebo effect? The fanon explanation is that he's "the living embodiment of magic" but that makes my bullcrap richter scale shoot off the charts because that makes NO sense whatsoever. "Son of the earth, sea, and sky?" What does that MEAN?

There is a vivid link between magic and the Old Religion, which has its own beliefs and rituals and deities. Primarily, the Triple Goddess. The Triple Goddess is actually an existing deity in Neopaganism and Wicca. This also suggests the existence of the Horned God, another entity from neopagan lore and her masculine consort/counterpart, but that is never confirmed.

WHO. OR. WHAT. IS. THE. FREAKING. DOCHRAID. She's described as a creature of magic, which suggests that humans/humanoids can be creatures of magic, fueling my theory that 'Emrys' isn't human.

Destiny exists. It is unclear who creates/writes destiny, who controls it, who or what is privy to knowing about it, and what that means for the concept of free will.

The crystal cave is a thing, i guess. It's the heart of magic, is haunted by Taliesin, and is filled with prophetic crystals. I actually skipped the episodes that involve this stuff because i disliked them, so i don't know much about the Crystal Cave. Apparently ghosts can manifest there tho???

The veil is a thing too. It is unclear how some spirits can retain their human figure and mentality, like Balinor and Uther, but others become dorocha. I imagine its also like Supernatural - being a ghost for long enough will drive you insane, and though it takes a while all spirits eventually turn into dorocha.

Creatures of magic exist. These are normal creatures who have magic imbued into them somehow.

Okay, i think that's everything we know. It seems like a lot, but keep in mind that all of those rules are VERY nebulous. But that at least gives us a jumping-off point!

So here's my working theory/headcanon.

Magic comes from a connection to the spiritual energies of the Triple Goddess. Kinda like a third eye, and for the sake of simplicity that's what we'll call it. The druids have adapted a way of life that revolves around faith and magic, likely in an attempt to cultivate and one day attain this Third Eye. Like Gaius, who trained with the High Priestesses, you can study and practice and discipline yourself into acquiring it.

Magic is a cosmic force owned by the Triple Goddess, accessible to anyone with the Third Eye link. Imagine the Triple Goddess as a milkshake and the so-called Third Eye as a straw. The studying and training that people dedicate their whole lives to is basically just looking for/building a straw.

However, some people are just naturally born with a straw in hand, but require practice and study to be able to properly use it. Or like Morgana, it takes a few years for them to even find it/activate it.

Spellcasting is essentially just sucking through the straw, and the vocalized spells gives that Magic Milkshake some purpose/intent/shape.

The bigger the spell, the more Magic Milkshake is required. Some people have bigger/wider straws than others, so magic comes easier for them. But with enough training and practice anyone can widen their straw/strengthen their straw-sucking muscles to cast with the big leagues.

The Gean Canagh devours your straw/Third Eye. Perhaps you have to rebuild a new spiritual connection from scratch, or perhaps it permanently severs any and all connection to the Triple Goddess. Like getting excommunicated from the Church, only worse.

The Crystal Cave was/is the Triple Goddess's home, but she's out of town on a business trip atm so she left the spirit of her most loyal follower, Taliesin, to look after the place. It's super powerful and has all those cool crystals because it's hella steeped in her magic juices.

While most magic users get a standard-issue straw, others get Fancy Premium Membership Straws. Normal joe shmoes like Gilli have plastic straws, while a Seer like Morgana has a metal one or something (can you tell this metaphor is starting to get out of hand?). Those Premium Straws are only hereditary in nature. So there's a Seer Straw, or a Dragonlord Straw, or a Disir Straw, but it's also not a sure thing you'll even inherit it at all. It's all luck of the straw draw.

Creatures of magic aren't just animals that possess straws, though. They've been made/produced using magic rituals and processes and spells. Like Nimueh's afanc, nathairs, wraiths, shades, etc. So probably like a thousand years ago, some especially powerful shmuck came by and invented dragons. Which leads me to an important question: WHO THE HELL THOUGHT THE DOCHRAID WAS A GOOD IDEA.

Im reluctant to say these creatures were invented by the Triple Goddess, though, for reasons I'll get to in a moment.

So this still leaves the whole Cup of Life, life-for-a-life policy thing to be explained. I do believe that the policy is universally applicable to the creation of souls, and i do believe that animals have souls too. But individuals get their souls exchanged for those of equal value. So every soul has a certain weight to it, and you need to exchange souls of equal weight to create one. So when Merlin brought the dog to life, some random dog somewhere dropped dead against his knowledge.

Creating undead armies involves killing them and then resurrecting them. That's what 'undead' means. Zombies. So yes, to raise an immortal zombie army, Morgause's spell probably caused a bunch of people around the world to mysteriously drop dead.

Which leaves two last things to explain: destiny and Merlin.

Destiny is, i think, a combined effort between human choice and supernatural predeterminism. That is, for the most part humans make their own choices, but there are occasions where the Triple Goddess has to step in and do some course correction. Uther starting the Purge was free will, but Arthur and Merlin's destiny was an act of divine damage control. The Triple Goddess sets destiny into motion and informs a chosen few about it.

Okay SO. That leaves Merlin. And this is the bit im kinda excited about.

The Triple Goddess is a reservoir of power, a cosmic force of spiritual energy intrinsicallu linked to the fabric of the universe. People can spiritually reach out and tune into/channel her supernatural frequencies. But as a milkshake cannot suck itself through a straw, the Triple Goddess likewise cannot cast a spell. She can influence destiny, but she can't physically cast any magic on her own. That's why she didn't create the creatures of magic.

So a few years ago, Uther hecked up big time. And people of magic, the Triple Goddess's followers and acolytes and straw connections, were dying in droves. I can imagine that all those Third Eye tethers snapping en masse was painful for her to go through. She relies on the tethers to remain connected to the real world, and if all the tethers snap then she will be cut off from Earth altogether. And Earth requires magic to continue existing/thriving, so that's kind of a no-no.

So, the Triple Goddess knew that the only way to save the world was through divine intervention. Thus began the destiny of the Once and Future King and Emrys. She knew humanity is bigoted so there was bound to eventually be a repeat of Uther, so she made OaFK resurrectable, so they could keep him on the bench in case anyone ever needs him again.

Where does Merlin/Emrys fall into things?

Well. The Triple Goddess knew that saving her people and the world would require an immense magical undertaking, something no ordinary magic user would be able to pull off. But she has the power, if only she could use it. But a human can. So the Triple Goddess decided to be reborn into the body of a dragonlord's son. Merlin. Emrys. Magic itself.

Of course, this whole Being Born As A Human Thing is tricky, and as anyone familiar with reincarnation knows, you don't usually recall your past lives. So she became Merlin, unaware that he was ever the Triple Goddess. (Although she did add a clause saying she'd be destined to remember her past life eventually, which got hecked up for reasons ill explain later)

That's why so many creatures of magic/magic users recognize Merlin by his presence, why thr druids carry such reverence for him. Whereas the sidhe and other individuals don't recognize him, because they are blinded by heresy. They may have a spiritual connection to the Triple Goddess, but do not use her magic as she intended, and she's too busy wearing jaunty scarves to excommunicate them herself.

Why get the Once and Future King involved when she could just save everyone herself? Well, the Triple Goddess prefers to let the humans keep their agency and save themselves, and would rather remain in the role of protector/helper. Its just her nature.

But if that's the case, then why did Arthur's destiny fail? It's simple: Kilgharrah.

Remember what i said about the Horned God, counterpart to the Triple Goddess? Yeah, that's Kilgharrah. Like the Triple Goddess, he's another power reservoir, but he's jealous because people worship her and not him. He is against everything she does and actively seeks the destruction of the Triple Goddess's magic/influence for Jealous Evil Reasons. To stop him, the Triple Goddess enlisted some of her followers to bind him into the body of a dragon (perhaps this is how dragons were created) so he would never be able to do that. Years later, the Purge happened and "Kilgharrah" got locked away, further cut off from his power.

When Merlin walked in, unaware that he used to be the Triple Goddess, Kilgharrah seized his chance at revenge and manipulated Merlin into setting him free. Then, once free, he decided to lay claim to the power vacuum left by the Triple Goddess's quasi-absence. He began controlling destiny in whatever limited capacities he could, using magic of his own to permanently bury Merlin's knowledge of his past life. Then he ensured that Arthur would die and the Triple Goddess's magic would never return. But since he doesn't have FULL control over destiny (his powers are still limited by his dragon form, after all), he couldn't rewrite the bit where Arthur gets benched in Avalon. He's probably conspiring with the sidhe to ensure Arthur stays trapped there forever, or else he would've come back a long time ago.

As for how the Gean Canagh took Merlin's magic...well, yes, it devoured his Third Eye straw, but those are created by a strong spiritual connection to the Triple Goddess. And since he's literally the big TG himself, all he had to do was find himself again (by returning to his old home, the Crystal Cave) to recreate a new one.

Over the last 1500 years, Kilgharrah/the Horned God has been steadily accruing followers and worshippers in the hopes that one will become strong enough to release TG's bonds on him. Then he can kill her once and for all and claim full dominion over the universe, with the sidhe to support him.

I imagine that's how Arthur's resurrection would happen - Arthur and the rest of the dead Round Table are in Avalon when they learn about the treachery and plot to kill Merlin/take over the world, and spend the next few hundred years fighting their way out of Avalon.

Okay, I think that just about covers it. God, that was long. Any questions?

[kingcawdraws]

The Orkneys are all varying shades of blond/ginger, with Mordred edging into a light brunet. They also all have Disney Princess Curls, and no one who sees them with Lot and Morgause understands where they got it from, but Igraine knows. Gorlois’ hair was dark and dull and otherwise unremarkable, but he had the most beautiful curls. Gawain alone inherits his eyes, and with them his ability to forge peace with a word. They all inherit his loyalty, and, to their detriment, her pride.

[lespendragons]

meta asks // always accepting.

anon asked: Sometimes lovers do crazy things for each other. What do you think Uther did for Igraine in his early years?

You mean that time he took the appearance of her husband to sleep with her or are we talking about Merlin the family show?

I’ve always seen their relationship as true love, more like it was depicted in the Mists of Avalon, which pretty much matches the legends, but adds some romantic context to an otherwise weird story. However, given that in Merlin Arthur and Morgana are related through Uther and not through Ygraine, as it was in the legends, I would assume that she wasn’t married to Gorlois before, and Uther was her first and only husband. 

But Uther is a conqueror by nature (I mean, it is mentioned in the show that he didn’t inherit Camelot, he won it), and he loved Ygraine. He loved her more than anything, arguably more than Arthur (like when he said that maybe he shouldn’t have asked Nimueh for help after all, that hit me hard). So their early years were fierce and passionate, and if he’d set his eyes on this woman, he’d have done anything to win her love.

There were a lot of tournaments won and courage flaunted, not to mention big romantic gestures and generous gifts – as a king, he hardly needed to do much to get himself a wife, but with her, he didn’t just want a reluctant queen who’d marry him for his power and riches. He wanted her to love him. I see young Uther as a very charming and brazen man, and those were the times when magic thrived in Camelot, the good times. There were no heavy burdens on his shoulders and no darkness in his heart, so if you can imagine a bold knight trying to woo a lady in every sweet or dumb way possible (remember how Arthur climbed through a girl’s window with a rose in his teeth? I mean this dumb), that was it.

But it didn’t end after they got married. It remained exactly the same throughout their relationship – Uther adored his wife, and it didn’t go away or fade with time. Despite his responsibilities as a king, he always made time for them to have a picnic by the lake or just spend an evening together, he made sure that she had everything she wanted and knew just how dearly loved she was. 

[cynicalclassicist]

Jarl Vidkun

More Arthuriana. If the language sounds harsh... well, I based this on actual stuff from far-right, including Acephobic abuse I got online.

Mordred had come over to Norway as part of a diplomatic mission, his father sending him over due to rising tensions in this region, the Swedish King Ongentheow having difficulties with the Geats. A pact had been made and signed, overseen by Mordred and others and now they were returning.

But on the way Mordred passed through Norway. His stepfather had inherited a Kingdom in Norway and so Mordred had at times gone over there from the Orkneys. He was now passing through the realm of King Olbrict, the second son of King Aschil of Denmark. In this Kingdom, to Telemark in the South-East of Norway, stood the castle of Jarl Vidkun.

Jarl Vidkun was an elderly man. His grandson was currently a squire in Saxony, for the Duke Chelric. He was not well loved among the Norwegians. When the Roman Emperor Lucius Tiberius had been conquering Europe, there had been rumours of a secret pact between him and the Jarl, a pact which would make him King Vidkun, subservient to the might of Rome.

But Lucius had been beaten by Arthur and many others, and freedom had been restored to Europe with the death of Lucius and the breakup of his Empire. Vidkun had not been proven to be in league with Lucius, but he had not been in favour ever afterwards. Yet as time passed, as stories of the cruelties of Lucius passed further away, as new generations grew up, minds turned.

Mordred could sniff this trouble, this resentment in Europe. This Emperor, the Count of Luxemburg, fought to keep order in Germany and the surrounding powers. In Rome the Pope critiqued him, angry at the rights of the Church being pushed aside. There were new powers rising there, another Lucius Tiberius. In Saxony the Duke resented the Emperor for not giving his daughter Fenice to him, the Greeks for taking her away and Arthur, for being kin to the man now married to Fenice. In Spain the atrocities at Saragossa, the smashing of Synagogues and the massacres in Mosques were brushed aside, people denying the Franks deeds and talking of the greatness the Frankish King Bahamond had brought.

And now Mordred spoke to Vidkun in the castle, where the common people could not hear them. The servants had been ordered not to enter, this was a meeting only for the elite.

“There are many who say you would have wished Lucius to succeed” said Mordred.

“Lucius had fine ideas. Why do you think Rome worshiped him?” asked Vidkun, offering Mordred some wine.

The British Knight considered. “I am of blood which cannot accept an overlord.”

“Of course” said the Jarl. “But… superior blood.” He swilled the wine round and handed it to Mordred, who took a sip. “Some races are naturally better. Those people of the East, those Mohammedans… too many have entered Europe. And the people know it. The common people.” Vidkun took a draught of his claret, brought over from Italy 30 years ago. “Those who we represent truly.”

“Yes” replied Mordred. “Palamedes drags down the court. And that magpie with Perceval, along with their savage nephew. And of course Priamus. The court of Camelot… how can such diversity be strength?”

“Are more coming in?”

“It is happening each day” replied Mordred. “Every day more of those people come in, the non-British. My brother Agravaine told the people they were overfilling, like the point where an overfilled skin breaks. And yet he is mocked for this. Dinaden cracks a jape and all laugh.”

“Who is this Dinaden?”

“A foolish clown, too weak to even sire children or take a woman” said Mordred. “Claiming not to feel lusts… the mark of a lesser man.”

“Such people are a danger to us” said Vidkun. “If they are not siring children others will follow their lead. Our race will be diminished. As it is being diminished now…”

“And it happens every day!” snarled Mordred, suddenly angry, his fury bursting forth. He tried not to let his emotions get out of hand, but when he was angry, or at least, when he showed he was angry, it was like a broken dam.

“Every day we have more of those… people, those filthy idiots… not speaking our language, crowding the streets, swamping us like a hoard of locusts!” Mordred was so angry he hurled his wine cup against the wall, shattering it.

Vidkun turned angrily and opened his mouth. But he stopped suddenly, coughing as his speech halted. He twisted his face into a smile. “Yes. They are a swarm.”

The door burst open and a servant entered. “Is something wrong my Jarl?”

“Do not disturb us!” replied his Lord. “I gave orders me and Sir Mordred were not to be disturbed!”

The man looked over. “Your wine…”

“You should not have spilt it. I will take it out of your wages” replied the Jarl.

“But…”

“Are you questioning me?”

“No, my Jarl” said the man. He left.

“What were we talking of?” asked Mordred.

“One day… one day the true European people will be restored. That King will stop tyrannising the people, we will stand up for the common people. And their Kings will not be traitors to their race.” Vidkun smirked, his lips glistening in the light. “There are people like me all over Europe. The true race of Europe.”

“But what can we do?”

“Why… what Lucius did” replied Vidkun. “Remind the people of their true heritage. Make a movement. Tell people the truth. Wake them up!”

“Yes… we are the majority after all” said Mordred, a smile appearing on his face. He was not used to smiling and most people would have found this look unsettling.

“Draw on Lucius” said Vidkun. “And that salute of his.” He demonstrated, raising his palm up to the sky, as if he was trying to grab something he couldn’t reach.

Mordred saluted as well.

“Make that your symbol” said Vidkun. “Like a prayer. All of you pray together, through the salute. I recall before Lucius thousands would perform the salute. If you can do the same, then a Kingdom will be yours.”

Mordred liked this salute of Rome. With it he drew on his true heritage. He thought of all Arthur had done, bringing in the lesser peoples. He remembered the wickedness of Uther, what one grandfather had done to another. He knew which grandfather he would draw on. Like Gorlois he would be heroic, he would fight for the supremacy of his race against the invaders. As Mordred left the castle the following day, he knew what he and Agravaine would speak of when they next saw each other.

@cukibola @epic-summaries