By the light of the Neon Grail

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When the arthurian tales found in history books come to life with an extraterrestrial twist, one otherwise normal class of history students are all that stand between the myths they study and human civilization.
To draw a sword from a stone (golem)

Xanah

Armed and Ready
Location
England
Pronouns
She/Her
As the bus hired by the Royal London College pulled up to the Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre, the history students aboard were, surprisingly, uninterested in learning about the supposed location of the Round Table, the table at which King Arthur's band of legendary knights convened over matters of might and magic.

"You'd think they'd be more excited, given what they signed up to study. Tell you what, let's do our own research while everyone else is following some paid guide." Came from above me. Ungluing myself from the window I'd been staring out of for the last five minutes, I turned to see pretty much my only friend, Karl Dunham. Not that I'm unpopular by any means, even quite friendly and earnest by the redhead's reckoning, just that, well… Everyone already had their own circles and I didn't quite fit in any of them.

As I moved to depart the bus, I couldn't help but catch my reflection in the fogged up window of the door…

[] [SELF] A well muscled, grey eyed young man with shaggy hair falling to his shoulders with a colour somewhere between blonde and brown. [Malcolm Loche]
[] [SELF] A beautiful young woman with clear blue eyes and golden blonde hair giving off an ethereal and angelic visage. [Dorothy Penhelm]

Waiting for Morgan Gallows, the petite and fierce Scotswoman in charge of my group, I couldn't help but agree with Karl. Maybe they could tell it shouldn't have been a Roman module? Could've also been the weather though, no one really wanted to be stuck outside in the rain. British weather's the same whether you're in England or Wales I guess

"Everyone gathered? Ok then. The Roman Empire's first campaign focused on Briton was in the year 34 BC under the reign of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus, otherwise known by his birth name; Gaius Octavius Thurinus…" That was my cue. Making sure the Scottish chaperone's attention was on someone else, I slowly backed up until I was hidden in the foliage. Not noticing one of my other classmates followed me.

Finding Karl wasn't hard, he just stood leaning against the nearest pile of stone that was out of sight. Patting me on the shoulder, he laughed. "Knew you'd come. As much as I trust Morgan to keep things interesting, there's only so much she can do when people want something else entirely."

"Not wrong. I was fine missing some training if we were covering a new subject, but we've done Rome, what, three or four times now? Anyway, what're you guys up to?" Jumping and turning in mid-air wasn't a good idea since I toppled into Karl, who jammed his elbow into the stonework behind him while catching me, which in turn, opened a door under our feet. As we fell down, I could only hear two words being yelled over the wind rushing past our heads.

"I'm sooorrrrrryyy!..."

Landing in a huge cavernous room amidst a pile of bodies was certainly a new experience for us all. Extracting myself from the knot of limbs we made, I stood up to face 11 statues, ten of them standing at attention, leaning on real swords of different shapes and sizes, but the last one was kneeling, as if offering something to a lord.

The first was a heavily built man in armour modelled after an imperial purple dragon.

Next to him stood a man ready to spring into action at a moment's notice, clad in the purest water frozen in the form of truly noble armour.

The third man's armour was the second most resplendent of the lot, etched with decals of the sun and plated with the richest gold.

Beside the sun-clad knight, stood an androgynous figure in armour shaped from the purest white wings, almost as if they were being surrounded by angels.

Ironically, next to the angelic one, was a knight whose armour was either the colour of blood or the dawn, depending on how you looked at it, outlined with accents of gold.

Next was a statue that although it unquestionably depicted a knight like the others, the way the armour blended into the shadows of the room put me on edge.

Standing beside the half hidden knight was a statue clad in copper armour fashioned after a snarling beast.

The next knight was even larger than the first, with his marble carved armour further helping him pass as a mountain.

The most agile of the knights was next, clad in a skin tight suit of teal armour, apart from his left arm, which was encased in pure gold.

The last amongst the standing knights was rather effeminate, garbed in reflective rose pink armour, I could easily mistake him as the softest of the bunch, if not for his defiant stance.

The only kneeling figure was bedecked in deep blue armour, decorated in both gold and silver and marked by symbols of the night sky. A simple, yet glorious, golden crown sat atop the statue's head, completing the image of a humble king serving his people.

"Where are we? I don't think this is a part of the trip somehow." Turning around properly this time, I saw that the one who'd startled us earlier was Gwen Mercer, captain of the college swimming team and a member of countless other sports clubs besides. Known around campus as quite the adrenaline junkie, it doesn't surprise me to see that she snuck away at the first sign of fun.

Climbing to his feet, Karl grumbled about our predicament. "Yeah, no, I was on the committee planning this trip. Even if most of my suggestions were shot down, this wasn't a part of anyone's plans."

Walking over to the aquatic knight, the greenette hummed to herself. "Hm, do people even know this is here? It looked like you triggered a trapdoor and--" Before she could continue, the statue in front of her rumbled to life and knelt, presenting its blue crystalline sabre to her, matching the position of the king.

Leaping back slightly, Gwen gasped in shock. "Huh? These don't look like Islamic automatons, so how…. Wait, is it giving me its sword?" Slowly edging forward, she picked up the weapon and fitted her hand inside the spiralling hand guard.

Snorting at her, Karl went towards the purple dragoon. "I'm surprised. Out of all the wicked swords here, you go for the one that looks like it'll shatter as soon as you touch it wrong. You're even in the fencing club, aren't you?." Accepting the blade as soon as the knight shifted, he held up an indigo Greatsword with a wavy gap running down the centre where a fulcrum usually is on a normal sword. Not exactly more stable than Gwen's really.

Before voicing that thought, I held up a finger for silence and turned my head towards the door between the copper and marble statues. Yeah, I could definitely hear something. "Quiet! Anyone else hear that?" There it is again. It sounds like… a large animal? But we're right next to a town…

Tilting her head, Gwen's eyes widened as she shifted her hand holding her new weapon for a better grip. "What is that? Is something else down here?" Just as she said that, the doors crashed open, letting a lean black cat the size of a small van walk in.

Recoiling back, we all tried to make ourselves as small as possible in the hopes that the monster wouldn't notice us. But the great beast immediately zeroed in on Keith and spoke in a nasally voice. "Ah, so you're Kay's <Inheritor>? From the looks of it. Well boy? Tell me your name… Oh, but where are my manners? I am <Cath Palug>, what luck that I'll get to reclaim my honour whilst completing my quest."

Wildly brandishing his blade at the creature, Karl looked petrified."Wha-! H-How're you speaking? How are you real?! Do-Doesn't matter! I have a sword and I'm not afraid to use it!"

If it was even possible, the cat smiled. "Oh? Not even a name? My, how times have changed--YREOW!" Leaping away from the sharp point in its hindquarters, the self-claimed <Cath Palug> spun around to face Gwen, who snuck up behind it while everyone was distracted. "HISSS! Yes, times have changed indeed! Lancelot must be turning in his grave at the fact that his <Inheritor> is so dishonourable as to strike a foe while their back is turned!"

"Yeah well, honour died years ago mate, along with his friend fairness. Get used to it." She muttered, flicking her eyes to me, she yelled as she settled into her usual fencing stance. "Grab a sword, doesn't matter which one. We'll hold this thing off. Karl, to me!" Hearing her shout, Keith charged to her side in order to buy me time to grab a weapon.

Turning to the remaining eight blades, I was intimidated. I know Gwen said it doesn't matter which one I take, but I think it does..

So… which Knight did I approach?

[] [ESTATE] The one.charmed by the glorious Sun.
[] [ESTATE] The one embraced by the purest Angels.
[] [ESTATE] The one drenched in the blood of the dawn and bound by gold.
[] [ESTATE] The one who blends into the forbidding shadows.
[] [ESTATE] The one clad in snarling beasts of copper.
[] [ESTATE] The one who crushed a marble mountain.
[] [ESTATE] The one who ran with the wind and lost an arm.
[] [ESTATE] The one who loved women but defied men.

[GM Note: So, here we are again, my own take on a science fantasy tale relating to the Arthurian cycle set in the modern world. No, this has nothing to do with the Nasuverse, at the same time, as this is mythology, I'm taking a lot of creative liberties.

Secondly, your character will talk more once you've picked between Malcolm and Dorothy, as they're different people and not just gender alternatives.

On another note, updates for this should come about once a month due to the way I write.
 
[X] [SELF] A beautiful young woman with clear blue eyes and golden blonde hair giving off an ethereal and angelic visage. [Dorothy Penhelm]
Girls Pretty.

[X] [ESTATE] The one.charmed by the glorious Sun.
Praise the Sun!

Looking forward to where you take this, Xal.
 
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[X] [SELF] A beautiful young woman with clear blue eyes and golden blonde hair giving off an ethereal and angelic visage. [Dorothy Penhelm]
Girls Pretty.

[X] [ESTATE] The one charmed by the glorious Sun.
 
[X] [SELF] A well muscled, grey eyed young man with shaggy hair falling to his shoulders with a colour somewhere between blonde and brown. [Malcolm Loche]

Because honestly, I think male Arthur is in the minority on this site XD. I feel like if we're not doing Nasuverse, then we shouldn't just have Saber as our protag.

Plus, judging from the last name, Malcolm might not be Arthur, but rather, a genderbent Lady of the Lake? Which is way more interesting to me, tbh.


[] [ESTATE] The one.charmed by the glorious Sun.
[] [ESTATE] The one embraced by the purest Angels.
[] [ESTATE] The one drenched in the blood of the dawn and bound by gold.
[] [ESTATE] The one who blends into the forbidding shadows.
[] [ESTATE] The one clad in snarling beasts of copper.
[] [ESTATE] The one who crushed a marble mountain.
[] [ESTATE] The one who ran with the wind and lost an arm.
[] [ESTATE] The one who loved women but defied men.
Sun is obviously Gawain. Angels is probably Percival or Galahad, due to them being the Grail Knight. Missing arm is definitely Bedivere. The effeminate knight is likely Tristan.

The others are left up in the air because they're too vague.

Gwen is confirmed to have picked Lancelot, while Karl might have picked Kay, though this is more based off his narrative role as the protag's only friend and his somewhat brash personality.

[X] [ESTATE] The one drenched in the blood of the dawn and bound by gold.
 
[x] [SELF] A beautiful young woman with clear blue eyes and golden blonde hair giving off an ethereal and angelic visage. [Dorothy Penhelm]

[x] [ESTATE] The one embraced by the purest Angels.
 
[X] [SELF] A well muscled, grey eyed young man with shaggy hair falling to his shoulders with a colour somewhere between blonde and brown. [Malcolm Loche]
[X] [ESTATE] The one.charmed by the glorious Sun.
 
[x] [SELF] A beautiful young woman with clear blue eyes and golden blonde hair giving off an ethereal and angelic visage. [Dorothy Penhelm]
[x] [ESTATE] The one who loved women but defied men.

Think these two in combination are certainly interesting.

I did have an idea for a write-in estate, but it's one that could alter the setting quite a bit, given what its source has to say about Arthurian myth
 
[x] [SELF] A beautiful young woman with clear blue eyes and golden blonde hair giving off an ethereal and angelic visage. [Dorothy Penhelm]
[x] [ESTATE] The one who loved women but defied men.

Think these two in combination are certainly interesting.

I did have an idea for a write-in estate, but it's one that could alter the setting quite a bit, given what its source has to say about Arthurian myth
Although I'm not allowing write-ins for this vote specifically, I am curious who you had in mind.
 
Although I'm not allowing write-ins for this vote specifically, I am curious who you had in mind.

Hank Morgan from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. A book that's admittedly nigh impossible to make work with most other takes on the Arthurian mythos, so yeah I came in expecting it to be rejected, but thought it might be worth a shot.
I've always liked the idea of combining Hank with Morgan le Fey though due to his surname, even if they're not meant to be the same person at all
 
I really should read that book...

But although that particular reality isn't possible, time travel itself is certainly on the table, especially with our mentor.
 
The others are left up in the air because they're too vague.
Giant is almost certainly the half-giant Galehalt
Shadowy-blending is probably Agravain
Blood/Dawn Armor is probably Mordred.
...No Idea who the snarling beast armor represents, only other knight I can think of is Gareth and that doesn't sound right.
[X] [SELF] A beautiful young woman with clear blue eyes and golden blonde hair giving off an ethereal and angelic visage. [Dorothy Penhelm]
[X] [ESTATE] The one drenched in the blood of the dawn and bound by gold.
 
[x] [SELF] A beautiful young woman with clear blue eyes and golden blonde hair giving off an ethereal and angelic visage. [Dorothy Penhelm]
[x] [ESTATE] The one who loved women but defied men

It is time for Gae
 
[X] [ESTATE] The one drenched in the blood of the dawn and bound by gold.

I believe this is Mordred, blood of dawn referring to slaying Gawain.

[X] [SELF] A well muscled, grey eyed young man with shaggy hair falling to his shoulders with a colour somewhere between blonde and brown. [Malcolm Loche]
 
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[X] [SELF] A beautiful young woman with clear blue eyes and golden blonde hair giving off an ethereal and angelic visage. [Dorothy Penhelm]
[X] [ESTATE] The one drenched in the blood of the dawn and bound by gold.
 
Vote closed
Scheduled vote count started by Xalgeon on Dec 27, 2023 at 9:44 AM, finished with 14 posts and 10 votes.
 
give me a moment, you all got most of them right, I'm just making sure I get the right names.
 
[Gawain] [ESTATE] The one.charmed by the glorious Sun.
[Galahad] [ESTATE] The one embraced by the purest Angels.
[Mordred] [ESTATE] The one drenched in the blood of the dawn and bound by gold.
[Agravain] [ESTATE] The one who blends into the forbidding shadows.
[Percival] [ESTATE] The one clad in snarling beasts of copper.
[Galehaut] [ESTATE] The one who crushed a marble mountain.
[Bedivere] [ESTATE] The one who ran with the wind and lost an arm.
[Tristan] [ESTATE] The one who loved women but defied men.
 
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