We can at least pretend, okay?
We can at least pretend, okay?
chocolote12
A Penguin Flailing Against The Keyboard Of Life.
[X] Stats
-[x] +2 Wits +1 Ath +3 Cha
-[x] +2 Wits +1 Ath +3 Cha
- Location
- Somewhere
[X] Genma
[X] Matthew & Gavin
[X] Investigate the Source of All Lies
-[X] Find Morgana
--[x] go alone
[X] Clear Eyes
-[X] Even when not expressed, Caledfwlch will warn you of any lies spoken in your presence.
[X] Stats
-[x] +1 Wits +3 Ath +2 Cha
[X] Matthew & Gavin
[X] Investigate the Source of All Lies
-[X] Find Morgana
--[x] go alone
[X] Clear Eyes
-[X] Even when not expressed, Caledfwlch will warn you of any lies spoken in your presence.
[X] Stats
-[x] +1 Wits +3 Ath +2 Cha
So uh. I did a thing.
Again.
Uh.
I don't know where this came from, but I figured let's try to go into the headspace of one Queen, with a slightly different take on everything.
---
You are Artura Pendragon, and you are tired. The civil war is over. Gwynn has been captured, the rebel Kings and Queens have either surrendered or been eliminated, Lorelei is missing - again - and you have won. Victory to the Queen of Camelot and her loyal Knights. What a sick joke. You remember when your father - Sir Ector - once told you a story of civil wars. Of how in truth, there was no victor. Everyone lost.
He was right. Half of your Knights are dead. Camelot's armies and defenses have been compromised and are in dire need of restructuring and repair. Kings and Queens now jockey for your favor, ever more now that many of them are dead or disgraced. Your... former husband is in chains - again - and his beloved is still somewhere. The southern farmlands are now a dead land, the people who lived their now bereft of their food and homes. Your people are dying more and more every day. And worst of all, your son is gone.
Mordred is missing. You had specifically mentioned that when he returned to Camelot, you were to be informed. You wanted, no, needed to speak to him. To assure him, to assuage his guilt. Contrary to what some of your own subjects thought, you were aware of the atrocities you had committed. Razing the farmlands was not an act of honor, not something a Knight would or should do. It was not something a young boy should have been told to do. You needed to speak to him. But you couldn't. Mordred returned when you were striking the Dolorous Guard. When you returned, you had to contend with the loyalists, to appease them.
And then you learned he was gone. You were furious. At first you thought he was taken, but that was quickly abandoned. No, you would have been told if he was taken. Morgana would mock you, and Tylwyth was too proud to not speak of having him. And if the others took him, he would be dead and you would have felt it. As you did when Kay died for you, when Trista and Bedivere fell before you, as with every other fallen Knight of the Round Table. You felt their Heraldries, knowing when they lived, and knowing when they died. Caledfwlch still shone, and thus your son still lived. But you could no longer feel it on this plane. It is beyond your senses.
This left one last possibility, one that truly hurt to consider: Mordred left Camelot of his own will. No one knew where he was or why he could have done so. Gala - bless that child - had immediately asked to search for him, but you bid her to stay. You did not let her go, not when you had already spoken with Merlin. Dear, devoted, and foolish Merlin. He was the last one to speak to Mordred. You asked the truth from him. He was hesitant, which did not help your worry. And when he explained his last encounter with your son, you felt something inside you break.
'She would rule forever.'
A spell of reincarnation. To live and die forever, protecting Camelot for eternity. An eternal rule of a powerful Queen. A rule of a solitary being. It was frightening. You were not blinded by bias, not like Merlin. You knew your flaws very well, Excalibur would never let you disregard them. How long would you rule before you became something else? How many lifetimes would you live before you would come to hate your duty? This civil war has made you hurt, would you have to go through it again and again, every time someone disagreed with you? No. You would not use the spell. But Mordred did not know that.
Your son did not believe you would refuse the spell. He assumed the worst of you. The fear you held in your heart, ever since Gwynn and Lorelei's first betrayal, had come true. It grew in every day of the war. It grew when the reinforcements to the south were lost. It grew when you sent that damnable command. And now it had come to pass.
You are Queen Artura Pendragon of Camelot. You have defeated those who would betray you and brought an end to the civil war. You have gained the security of your Queendom.
You have lost your son.
--- A Mother's Sorrow
So yes. That happened. It was going to be longer, link to the day of Camelot's fall with Mommy having extra heart break at Mordy's return and the death of the last of her Knights, but I figured this was enough, for now.
Also, I think some people may have missed this: Episode 204
Which probably goes to show I should NOT post these things when the thread is dormant. thenagainitsprobablytheworstofthebunchanywayAHEM
Again.
Uh.
I don't know where this came from, but I figured let's try to go into the headspace of one Queen, with a slightly different take on everything.
---
You are Artura Pendragon, and you are tired. The civil war is over. Gwynn has been captured, the rebel Kings and Queens have either surrendered or been eliminated, Lorelei is missing - again - and you have won. Victory to the Queen of Camelot and her loyal Knights. What a sick joke. You remember when your father - Sir Ector - once told you a story of civil wars. Of how in truth, there was no victor. Everyone lost.
He was right. Half of your Knights are dead. Camelot's armies and defenses have been compromised and are in dire need of restructuring and repair. Kings and Queens now jockey for your favor, ever more now that many of them are dead or disgraced. Your... former husband is in chains - again - and his beloved is still somewhere. The southern farmlands are now a dead land, the people who lived their now bereft of their food and homes. Your people are dying more and more every day. And worst of all, your son is gone.
Mordred is missing. You had specifically mentioned that when he returned to Camelot, you were to be informed. You wanted, no, needed to speak to him. To assure him, to assuage his guilt. Contrary to what some of your own subjects thought, you were aware of the atrocities you had committed. Razing the farmlands was not an act of honor, not something a Knight would or should do. It was not something a young boy should have been told to do. You needed to speak to him. But you couldn't. Mordred returned when you were striking the Dolorous Guard. When you returned, you had to contend with the loyalists, to appease them.
And then you learned he was gone. You were furious. At first you thought he was taken, but that was quickly abandoned. No, you would have been told if he was taken. Morgana would mock you, and Tylwyth was too proud to not speak of having him. And if the others took him, he would be dead and you would have felt it. As you did when Kay died for you, when Trista and Bedivere fell before you, as with every other fallen Knight of the Round Table. You felt their Heraldries, knowing when they lived, and knowing when they died. Caledfwlch still shone, and thus your son still lived. But you could no longer feel it on this plane. It is beyond your senses.
This left one last possibility, one that truly hurt to consider: Mordred left Camelot of his own will. No one knew where he was or why he could have done so. Gala - bless that child - had immediately asked to search for him, but you bid her to stay. You did not let her go, not when you had already spoken with Merlin. Dear, devoted, and foolish Merlin. He was the last one to speak to Mordred. You asked the truth from him. He was hesitant, which did not help your worry. And when he explained his last encounter with your son, you felt something inside you break.
'She would rule forever.'
A spell of reincarnation. To live and die forever, protecting Camelot for eternity. An eternal rule of a powerful Queen. A rule of a solitary being. It was frightening. You were not blinded by bias, not like Merlin. You knew your flaws very well, Excalibur would never let you disregard them. How long would you rule before you became something else? How many lifetimes would you live before you would come to hate your duty? This civil war has made you hurt, would you have to go through it again and again, every time someone disagreed with you? No. You would not use the spell. But Mordred did not know that.
Your son did not believe you would refuse the spell. He assumed the worst of you. The fear you held in your heart, ever since Gwynn and Lorelei's first betrayal, had come true. It grew in every day of the war. It grew when the reinforcements to the south were lost. It grew when you sent that damnable command. And now it had come to pass.
You are Queen Artura Pendragon of Camelot. You have defeated those who would betray you and brought an end to the civil war. You have gained the security of your Queendom.
You have lost your son.
--- A Mother's Sorrow
So yes. That happened. It was going to be longer, link to the day of Camelot's fall with Mommy having extra heart break at Mordy's return and the death of the last of her Knights, but I figured this was enough, for now.
Also, I think some people may have missed this: Episode 204
Which probably goes to show I should NOT post these things when the thread is dormant. thenagainitsprobablytheworstofthebunchanywayAHEM
SalsaDeGranada
Thankful for our Cradle's Graces
- Location
- Philippines
[X] Annabelle
[X] Gemma
[X] Investigate the Source of All Lies
-[X] Trace your ritual's connection
[X] The Subtle Sword
-[X] Caledfwlch can cut through the Walls-Between-Worlds.
[X] Stats
-[x] +2 Wits +1 Ath +3 Cha
Just got through the thread. That was a fun ride.
[X] Gemma
[X] Investigate the Source of All Lies
-[X] Trace your ritual's connection
[X] The Subtle Sword
-[X] Caledfwlch can cut through the Walls-Between-Worlds.
[X] Stats
-[x] +2 Wits +1 Ath +3 Cha
Just got through the thread. That was a fun ride.
Strange9
hdellaverson@gmail.com
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA
I wonder what Annabelle *did* think about Mordred leaving. One imagines that she'd have been devastated, but she was willing to eternally imprison him and then cast the reincarnation spell later...
Then again, at that point he'd torn down everything she'd ever built and murdered her friends. Soooo...
Then again, at that point he'd torn down everything she'd ever built and murdered her friends. Soooo...
I did think about it.
But then that involves the 'why cast something like that spell instead of just shishkabobing everything' and then it spiraled into alternative interpretations and wild ass guessing about the plot, so I ditched the final battle thoughts and just went with post civil war sadness.
Gally
Got the whole word talking King Kiba
Okay, vote is locked. Our winners are:
Annabelle
Matthew/Gavin
Gemma
The Subtle Sword
+3 A
+2 C
+1 W
EDIT: Can I get a 7d6 Wits roll to see how you handle your liquor?
Before the inevitable "shouldn't alcohol tolerance be an athletics roll" - yes, but this isn't a question of how drunk you're gonna get, it's a question of how well you're gonna handle the drunkenness.
0 successes - You die.
1 success - You wish you'd died.
2 successes - You are a danger to yourself and others.
3 successes - Difficulty forming coherent sentences.
4 successes - Just straight up shlammered.
5 successes - Tables are for dancing on.
6 successes - The "zone."
7 successes - You're no fun at all.
Annabelle
Matthew/Gavin
Gemma
The Subtle Sword
+3 A
+2 C
+1 W
EDIT: Can I get a 7d6 Wits roll to see how you handle your liquor?
Before the inevitable "shouldn't alcohol tolerance be an athletics roll" - yes, but this isn't a question of how drunk you're gonna get, it's a question of how well you're gonna handle the drunkenness.
0 successes - You die.
1 success - You wish you'd died.
2 successes - You are a danger to yourself and others.
3 successes - Difficulty forming coherent sentences.
4 successes - Just straight up shlammered.
5 successes - Tables are for dancing on.
6 successes - The "zone."
7 successes - You're no fun at all.
Last edited:
- Location
- St. Petersburg
There is one thing I noticed.
Morgan believes he killed Gala during one of the battles for Camelot. However...
The Codex states that the souls that endlessly reincarnate are those of the surviving Knights (implying that those who died by then were beyond recovery), meaning that he didn't? He just crippled her and left her for dead, but she was saved later somehow?
Last edited:
- Location
- Leeds
Okey doke.
Rolling
E: Not to bad.
Rolling
E: Not to bad.
- Location
- Leeds
Didn't this happen last time?
JoshieWoshie
Mister Doge
Bailey and Piper's Homebrewed Good Shit(TM)
- Location
- ?
Last time involved ~*indirect kissu*~ with Terri.
Gally
Got the whole word talking King Kiba
Mordred stabbed Gala, poisoning her and stopping her healing as mentioned in the previous threadmark. She wasn't technically dead by the time Artura cast the reincarnation spell, but she pretty damn close. Mordred doesn't really see that much of a difference, especially considering the headspace he's in at the moment.
I am working on rewards for the fanworks, and will get them up soon.
Codex: The Round Table
Gally
Got the whole word talking King Kiba
Progress on this update is much slower than I anticipated. Have a Codex update!
The Round Table.
Recent events have brought to my attention that despite having had more than thirty years to uncover the mysteries of the Round Table, we seem to know little and less of the artifact that serves as the backbone of our Queendom.
It has long been the opinion of the occult academics here at court (of whom there are few, damn few, and fewer every year) that the Round Table is a puzzle that is best to be solved "next year, or perhaps the year after…" as there is always some more pressing issue at hand, some crises that the finest minds of Camelot must assemble to confront. Our hesitance to approach the subject of the table is in no small part frustration, of course…as our Good King will attest, we lost many a night in the years immediately following the Tournament at Vere absorbed in study of the Table, seeking to turn its immense power to better use in the Saxxon Wars. Ah, were that our foes so simple, so refreshingly human, again.
But I digress. If Gala's presentation has taught us anything, it is that we know even less of the Table than we have believed these last few decades. If this is to be a summation of our knowledge of the Table, I will begin with what is known beyond doubt, what few facts we have been able to bring to light.
The Round Table is ancient – divinations of its exact age return answers that defy even my expanded comprehension. To say that it is infinitely old would be far truer, I believe, than such a statement has any right to be. It has appeared sparingly throughout histories and prophecies, its likeness carved on the walls of caves, a perfect circle eclipsing the sun.
Its power is almost certainly not human. In many ways it behaves more like the magics of the Lucidians or the Unseelie, or even the Architects than it does human magic, enchantments operating on a higher form of existence than anything any human hands have woven. And yet, in some ways its operation is blindingly familiar. The need for Artura to pull the sword from its center before it bestowed its power upon her speaks to the ancient principle of Choice-Catalyst, for one. And the gifts it bestows – the Heraldries – are clearly physical manifestations of its wielders soul, an old magic still practiced in certain areas of the world. (The scale of the Heraldries is far beyond anything ever recorded, of course, but their fundamental elements remain the same.)
More curious is its seeming subservience to our Queen – ever since it revealed itself following the Tournament at Vere, and gifted Excalibur upon Artura, the Table has acted solely as an instrument to Artura's will. It bestows its power upon her chosen knights, and recalls its gift at her whim.
Except in the case of young Gala, who manifested her Heraldry yesterday. This marks Gala as the only person to every wield the power of the Round Table without the express permission of Queen Artura herself.
The court is abuzz with theories, as the court is wont to be. Prevailing amongst the empty-headed lords and ladies is the idea that Gala's abilities must have been inherited from her mother – this despite the number of cases we've seen of an active Knight having a child, and that child never manifesting a Heraldry herself. (See my previous studies on Lady Kay's children – while Gaheria was eventually given a Heraldry by Artura, she never manifested one independently, and neither have her sisters.)
No, it is far more likely that Gala's display is merely the long awaited sign that finally there has come a Knight worthy to take the Siege Perilous. I have counseled Artura to ask the girl to take the seat, but she insists on waiting. She has always been far too maternal for her own good.
Nevertheless, with this we have reached the end of what we know of the Round Table, as pathetic a list as it may be. From here we dive unprotected into the wild waters of speculation, chief amongst them the relevant musings we have received from Nimue's ever more infrequent drifts. Quoting:
"It is a self-bound star, the physical manifestation of an infinite engine."
"Of her and not, of them and not, of him and not, eternal, ceaseless, circling."
"A promise yet fulfilled, the chrysalis-loop that was and is and has yet to be."
Utter nonsense, at first glance, but Nimue is often nonsensical when probing the deeper truths that lie at the heart of magic. Our language is so woefully limited – even I sometimes struggle to describe the architecture of my enchantments, though I know their function deep in my bones. Yet try as I might, I cannot parse Nimue's thoughts on the Round Table. The self-bound/circling/chrysalis-loop connection strikes me as important in some way, but I cannot interpret it.
I am loathe to admit that I am similarly confounded by the Table's origins, and the source of its seemingly limitless power. In the early years Gwynn and I considered heavily the notion that the Round Table might be the surface upon which Jesus of Nazareth consumed the last supper, but the energy of the Table is markedly unlike that of Holy artifacts that have been located since, and I feel comfortable in dismissing this origin from consideration. I have also investigated a pagan connection, but my many inquiries within the druid communities that still dot the undeveloped countryside have revealed naught.
Morgana once told me that I must look within and beyond myself to find the answers I most craved, and I have long wondered what answers those may be. These days there is not much that escapes my understanding, and with the Round Table still proving so elusive I cannot help but wonder whether I must return my attention to Morgana's words. Nevertheless, I feel I should retire – I feel comfortable in saying that the Round Table shall not surprise us as it did yesterday for a great many years to come, if ever again it does.
-Mage Merlin Ambrosius, Right Hand of the Queen
The Round Table.
Recent events have brought to my attention that despite having had more than thirty years to uncover the mysteries of the Round Table, we seem to know little and less of the artifact that serves as the backbone of our Queendom.
It has long been the opinion of the occult academics here at court (of whom there are few, damn few, and fewer every year) that the Round Table is a puzzle that is best to be solved "next year, or perhaps the year after…" as there is always some more pressing issue at hand, some crises that the finest minds of Camelot must assemble to confront. Our hesitance to approach the subject of the table is in no small part frustration, of course…as our Good King will attest, we lost many a night in the years immediately following the Tournament at Vere absorbed in study of the Table, seeking to turn its immense power to better use in the Saxxon Wars. Ah, were that our foes so simple, so refreshingly human, again.
But I digress. If Gala's presentation has taught us anything, it is that we know even less of the Table than we have believed these last few decades. If this is to be a summation of our knowledge of the Table, I will begin with what is known beyond doubt, what few facts we have been able to bring to light.
The Round Table is ancient – divinations of its exact age return answers that defy even my expanded comprehension. To say that it is infinitely old would be far truer, I believe, than such a statement has any right to be. It has appeared sparingly throughout histories and prophecies, its likeness carved on the walls of caves, a perfect circle eclipsing the sun.
Its power is almost certainly not human. In many ways it behaves more like the magics of the Lucidians or the Unseelie, or even the Architects than it does human magic, enchantments operating on a higher form of existence than anything any human hands have woven. And yet, in some ways its operation is blindingly familiar. The need for Artura to pull the sword from its center before it bestowed its power upon her speaks to the ancient principle of Choice-Catalyst, for one. And the gifts it bestows – the Heraldries – are clearly physical manifestations of its wielders soul, an old magic still practiced in certain areas of the world. (The scale of the Heraldries is far beyond anything ever recorded, of course, but their fundamental elements remain the same.)
More curious is its seeming subservience to our Queen – ever since it revealed itself following the Tournament at Vere, and gifted Excalibur upon Artura, the Table has acted solely as an instrument to Artura's will. It bestows its power upon her chosen knights, and recalls its gift at her whim.
Except in the case of young Gala, who manifested her Heraldry yesterday. This marks Gala as the only person to every wield the power of the Round Table without the express permission of Queen Artura herself.
The court is abuzz with theories, as the court is wont to be. Prevailing amongst the empty-headed lords and ladies is the idea that Gala's abilities must have been inherited from her mother – this despite the number of cases we've seen of an active Knight having a child, and that child never manifesting a Heraldry herself. (See my previous studies on Lady Kay's children – while Gaheria was eventually given a Heraldry by Artura, she never manifested one independently, and neither have her sisters.)
No, it is far more likely that Gala's display is merely the long awaited sign that finally there has come a Knight worthy to take the Siege Perilous. I have counseled Artura to ask the girl to take the seat, but she insists on waiting. She has always been far too maternal for her own good.
Nevertheless, with this we have reached the end of what we know of the Round Table, as pathetic a list as it may be. From here we dive unprotected into the wild waters of speculation, chief amongst them the relevant musings we have received from Nimue's ever more infrequent drifts. Quoting:
"It is a self-bound star, the physical manifestation of an infinite engine."
"Of her and not, of them and not, of him and not, eternal, ceaseless, circling."
"A promise yet fulfilled, the chrysalis-loop that was and is and has yet to be."
Utter nonsense, at first glance, but Nimue is often nonsensical when probing the deeper truths that lie at the heart of magic. Our language is so woefully limited – even I sometimes struggle to describe the architecture of my enchantments, though I know their function deep in my bones. Yet try as I might, I cannot parse Nimue's thoughts on the Round Table. The self-bound/circling/chrysalis-loop connection strikes me as important in some way, but I cannot interpret it.
I am loathe to admit that I am similarly confounded by the Table's origins, and the source of its seemingly limitless power. In the early years Gwynn and I considered heavily the notion that the Round Table might be the surface upon which Jesus of Nazareth consumed the last supper, but the energy of the Table is markedly unlike that of Holy artifacts that have been located since, and I feel comfortable in dismissing this origin from consideration. I have also investigated a pagan connection, but my many inquiries within the druid communities that still dot the undeveloped countryside have revealed naught.
Morgana once told me that I must look within and beyond myself to find the answers I most craved, and I have long wondered what answers those may be. These days there is not much that escapes my understanding, and with the Round Table still proving so elusive I cannot help but wonder whether I must return my attention to Morgana's words. Nevertheless, I feel I should retire – I feel comfortable in saying that the Round Table shall not surprise us as it did yesterday for a great many years to come, if ever again it does.
-Mage Merlin Ambrosius, Right Hand of the Queen
Last edited:
- Location
- United Kingdom
Maybe this means the spell which reincarnates the Knights is/was retroactive?
The Round Table is a source of limitless power. Or rather, it's not about to run dry anytime soon, and will keep providing power to its chosen.
The second statement specifically mentions people. Her -> Artura, them -> her Knights, and a he. Mordred, perhaps?
The second and third statement both imply the cycle of reincarnation. Which means this entire thing was expected.
This is probably part of what made Merlin make his spell in the first place.
The promise yet fulfilled. Godhood? Again with mentions of chrysalis, so, like Bat-Talia implied, the Knights are all godlings not yet formed. The cycle isn't helping either, they're stuck at a phase they can't get past.
I get the feeling if the reincarnation spell was done right, it would basically be an incubator of sorts. With every incarnation, they get stronger, until they become, well, gods.
To put it in terms of Magical Dogfighting, the reincarnation cycle was supposed to be an xp feed to get the knights to their final forms, but instead they're stuck with some fucker pressing B every time the music starts.
Thoughts?
- Location
- USA
I'm liking that interpretation. We don't know enough to have really any actionable intel from this, but it is a nice bit. I think one thing you missed is the possibility that Morgana's advice about "within and beyond yourself" might have to do with reincarnations coming to terms with both their current and past lives.
...
GUYS!
WHERE'S THE ROUND TABLE NOW!!!
Unless I'm mistaken, we never destroyed it, and I don't think the reincarnations have it! I think the table itself is the key to just about everything! The cycle started with the table, but it can't come full circle without it so it keeps looping back on itself until all of the pieces are there! The table is at least one, we're probably another, and there may be some more.
If they do, then either it's completely useless without its chosen one (Annabelle), or they are just dicking with the Knights because having that Table is a Bad Thing, considering one of the reasons they kept attacking Camelot was to get it in the first place.
Alternatively, it's gone. Hidden or something, till someone finds it. They can't find it, but at the same time neither can the Knight because they probably don't even remember it or where it could be. Or they die long before they get the chance to find it.
It's basically the I Win button for whoever gets it. It might boost Annabelle back up to Artura levels of bullshit and by extension her friends as well, should they find it.
- Location
- United States
Race to the Round Table, winner take all.
- Location
- Leeds
Sound like next seasons plot.