A Brief History of Camelot, Part II
The Silver Age
The banishment of Lady Lorelei was quite the scandal, and the Camelot gossip mills very nearly spun out of control when it happened. It was followed, however, with an even greater and more impactful discovery – Queen Artura was pregnant.
The news was met with raucous celebration, and Camelot partied for a week straight before normality returned. The highest towers of Camelot, however, were in a considerably darker mood. Artura's inner circle was unable to confirm that Mordred was indeed the son of King Gwynn, but for the people to learn otherwise would mean the end of Camelot. And so the issue of legitimacy was ignored, at least officially.
Mordred's successful birth inspired another week of festivities, although there were many amongst the court and the people who worried about the baby's gender. No man had ever wielded a Heraldry, and could Camelot survive without the power of the Round Table on the throne? The superpower was unprecedented after all – any shift in its structure could potentially be disastrous. Camelot had been built on the shoulders of Artura, and for the first time people were beginning to realize that she would not live forever.
Mordred, however, was unaware of the fears surrounding him – at least for the time being. He was a precocious child, tutored by the best and brightest England had to offer, and he advanced quickly despite his age.
When Mordred was five years old, Lady Lorelei returned from her banishment.
It was storming when Lady Lorelei returned, the kind of coincidence that happened far too often when one lived in Camelot. She threw open the doors of the main hall in the middle of court, hair dripping with rainwater and boots caked in mud from a hundred different worlds.
You have never seen Lorelei before, not in real life. She left Camelot before you were born, and though you have heard her name on the lips of your teachers, seen her face woven into the tapestries that hang above the hall, you have never truly seen her.
She is beautiful. You can tell, though you are young and know little of women. She is dangerous. You can tell, though you are young and know little of war. She trudges through the main hall, all eyes on her and only her, and then she falls to her knees before your mother upon her Sunlight Throne.
"Once, I was your knight," she says, and there is not a sound in the hall but her voice. Even the rain outside has fallen silent, as if in awe of her. "Once I was your knight, the instrument of your will. My deeds gave glory to you."
You notice something. A shadow, behind her. Shielded by her splendor.
"But I failed," she continues. Her eyes are locked on the floor in front of her, not daring to even glimpse your Mother's light. "I failed, and as my deeds gave glory to you so did my failures give shame to you. And so I left, and sought to atone."
The shadow shifts.
"And I have atoned. I have walked a thousand hostile lands for you. I have slain your enemies and I have wrought miracles in your name. I have atoned. And now I come before you, and I ask of you, forgive me."
There is silence, for a moment. And in that moment, thousands more.
"Artura," says the woman kneeling on the ground, hair dripping rainwater, boots caked in mud from a hundred different worlds. "Please."
"Of course," your mother says, and then she stands and pulls Lorelei to her feet and into a hug. Her gown stains with mud and rainwater, but the two women only embrace all the harder. "Of course, of course! Of course there will always be a place for you here, Lorelei." She pulls back and smiles. "And there will always be a place for your daughter as well."
And that is how you met Gala Corbenic, daughter of Lorelei Lake and your only friend.
Gala was a welcome addition to court, always smiling, never complaining. She and Mordred were drawn together by more than circumstance – both were children of the Round Table, both were wise beyond their years. Gala not only challenged Mordred but often surpassed him, and inside the young Prince grew a confused frustration.
This frustration did not go unnoticed by the court, who whispered amongst themselves of the Prince's dark temperament. But he kept up his studies, and continued to be the model Prince. Though his relationship with Gala waxed and waned with the years, there was no doubting that the girl was the closest thing to a friend Mordred ever had.
Interestingly, Mordred also maintained a relatively good relationship with his Aunt, the Sorceress Morgana le Fay. Though she was one of Camelot's greatest foes, she often stopped by the castle in disguise to speak with the young Prince. The inner circle did their best to hide these visits, but they could not stop Morgana, and the knowledge of her visits slowly leaked to the court at large. This did nothing to help public opinion of Mordred, who continued to grow more isolated as Gala found herself busy with squire duties.
When Gala was twelve, she manifested her Heraldry for the first time. She beat Mordred to manifestation by three months.
When Gala was fourteen, she was invited by Queen Artura to attempt to conquer the Siege Perilous, the seat on the Round Table to the right of the Queen. All the knights who had attempted to take that seat before her had died, and there was much trepidation within the court in the hours leading up to the ceremony.
"You're not seriously going to go through with it, are you?" You ask. Gala shifts uncomfortably and stares out the window rather than meet your eyes with her own.
"Queen Artura asked me personally."
"My mother doesn't get to tell you to throw away your life!"
Gala smiles with closed lips and sad eyes. "Yes she does, Mordred."
You groan and press your forehead against the cool glass of the window. The people of the city scurry along the market roads, like tiny ants from this distance. "Well, she shouldn't then."
"Why are you so convinced I'll fail?" Gala asks, and when you look back at her you realize she's looking at you – at your face, directly. To your own shame, you look away. Now it's you who can't meet her eyes. "It feels right to me, Mordred. I can just…I can do this. I know it. Haven't you ever felt that before?"
You don't bother to respond. You both know the answer.
Gala laughs, high pitched and slightly frantic. "I'm the one who's made the decision. I'm the one who wants this. Would it be so crazy for you to support me? For once?"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? I don't want you to die, Gala!"
"Do you?" She asks. "Or do you not want me to succeed?"
And then she leaves you there, in the abandoned hallway, to contemplate your answer.
Despite the tension, however, Gala succeeded admirably where others had failed. She took the Siege Perilous, and was led out to a private garden by Queen Artura, who had her pull a sword from a stone and knighted her as the best knight of all the world. On her fourteenth birthday, Gala Corbenic became a Knight of the Round Table.
As was custom in Camelot, the ensuing feast was massive. A new Knight of the Round Table was always something to celebrate, but the greatest of all the Knights? And at such a young age? The atmosphere itself was intoxicating, to say nothing of the wine which flowed like a river down the streets.
But at the top of Camelot's tallest tower, Prince Mordred Pendragon sat and brooded.
You are just as good a knight as Gala.
You let the cool night air from the window you have opened waft over you. Well, not just as good. Almost as good. But to be almost as good as the best knight of all the world? To be the only male to ever wield a Heraldry? Was that not an accomplishment worthy of praise, of recognition? Of something? Anything?
All you want is to prove yourself. But the wars with Saxons are long over, and your mother will not let you leave to seek out old magic, or hold the line against the Forces of Darkness. There will be plenty of time for that when you are older, she has told you. Plenty of time for that when you are ready.
But Gala is ready, and she is no older than you. When will it be your turn to prove yourself?
You sigh. This is ridiculous. Half the Queendom is downstairs, celebrating the biggest moment in your only friend's life. The least you can do is join in, and worry about yourself later. Isn't that what your Mother has always said? That a ruler must think of themselves last, for in reality they are the least important person in the land?
You stand and shake the cobwebs out of your hair, and move to close the window. Before you are able to shut it completely, however, a bat swoops in through it, fluttering on tiny wings high out of your reach.
You swear inwardly. Lady Percila would have your head if she knew you had let a bat into the castle. You leap and try to catch it with your fingers, but its panicked flight avoids your grasp. You are just about to activate Caledfwlch and knock it out of the air when it darts past you and out the door into the castle proper.
Shit. Shit. You take off after it, legs carrying you as fast as you can. The bat flies in aimless circles but always remains ahead of you, leading your further and further from the tower and towards the abandoned parts of the castle. Finally, after what seems like an hour, you make a flying leap and snag it by the end of the wing. Though the bat struggles mightily, you are able to keep hold long enough to toss it out a nearby window.
Now. The party. You begin to descend down the stairs when you hear a curious sound. Bumping. Did the bat get in again?
You follow the noise to a bedroom which has long since been abandoned, and the rest is history.
When Mordred discovered the affair of King Gwynn and Lady Lorelei, he did not confront them immediately. Instead he sought out Lady Bercila de Hautdesert, a celebrated Knight of the Round Table and foremost judge of Camelot's knights. It was her duty to carry out the judgement of knights if either Queen Artura or King Gwynn were unable.
As Lady Bercila had sworn off alcohol, she was sober when Mordred found her, and though she did not entirely understand what the young Prince was trying to tell her, she followed him anyway. When he showed her what he had discovered, she flew into such a rage that she activated her Heraldry and attacked.
The ensuing battle was fierce and brutal. Bercila restrained Gwynn, but was wounded by Lorelei and ordered Mordred to pursue her. Mordred followed Lorelei through the castle, but she shattered Caledfwlch with her own blade and escaped.
When Queen Artura learned of her husband's betrayal, she was bound by duty to sentence him to death and brand Lorelei a traitor. Thus had the Civil War of Camelot begun.
