Dark Prince of Camelot
- Thread starter Gally
- Start date
- Original
StellarMonarch
Myrmidon
- Location
- Québec
[X] Annabelle and Piper
Gemma is best for last <3
Gemma is best for last <3
- Location
- here
[X] Annabelle and Piper
That would blow a significant portion of our cover by revealing that we can use magic. We've been trying to conceal it (not being amazing at soccer, etc) so it would be silly to expose it now.
[X] Annabelle and Piper
Okay, I know she make for a great scapegoat, but could we not use Morgana as an excuse for everything bad forever ? At least wait until @Gally give us the IC infos we really should have by now before making those kind of assumption.
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
I'm not trying to jump to conclusions @Deathwings, but the mixture of powerful and skilled magecraft used to curse Annabelle's BAKING ABILITY of all things seems to indicate a magic user who's both extremely capable, but also remarkably petty and/or subtle. It's not in character for the King of Bones or the Architects from what we know of them, and I doubt a group known as the Simian Hordes is capable of that kind of finicky spellwork. That leaves Morgana, the Unseelie, and the Ladies of the Lake.
Of those three, Morgana seems the most likely to do whatever she can to tear down Artura/Annabelle and I think she was stated to be the S1 villain of the pseudo-anime, with Tylwyth Teg being the current Big Bad of S2.
Also, having now just reread the Codex, two things jump out at me. First, the Unseelie wiped out the Seelie. That's... big. It also indicates that they're going to be even more utterly deranged than a hostile group of the Good Neighbors would be to begin with. No balance, d'y'ken? Second, how the Fall is re-enacted each generation must change dramatically, because Lancelot isn't one of the Knightly Reincarnates, and Mordred was bound in stasis.
Granted, Lancelot might be a member of the Ladies of the Lake faction or something, but what're the odds of that!
Of those three, Morgana seems the most likely to do whatever she can to tear down Artura/Annabelle and I think she was stated to be the S1 villain of the pseudo-anime, with Tylwyth Teg being the current Big Bad of S2.
Also, having now just reread the Codex, two things jump out at me. First, the Unseelie wiped out the Seelie. That's... big. It also indicates that they're going to be even more utterly deranged than a hostile group of the Good Neighbors would be to begin with. No balance, d'y'ken? Second, how the Fall is re-enacted each generation must change dramatically, because Lancelot isn't one of the Knightly Reincarnates, and Mordred was bound in stasis.
Granted, Lancelot might be a member of the Ladies of the Lake faction or something, but what're the odds of that!
Hm...guys, I don't think she is since she seems to try so hard and think that she just isn't cooking right.
obviously, we should try to show how rebellious and edgy we are by dressing perfectly normally. Actually it'd fit with our character being so far from the past by preferring more formal clothing, especially as a prince.
[X] Annabelle and Piper
A Brief History of Camelot: The Civil War
Gally
Got the whole word talking King Kiba
A Brief History of Camelot, Part III:
The Civil War
Two weeks after Lorelei's escape, the people of Camelot gathered to witness the trial of King Gwynn. The charges leveled against him were severe, and though many nobles stepped forward to plead for mercy on his behalf, the law of Camelot was absolute. The punishment would be death by burning.
Mordred was of course in attendance, although he had to be carried to his seat by a few loyal retainers. His fight with Lady Lorelei had resulted in his Heraldry being physically broken, something which had never happened to any Heraldry before, and the effect on his body was severe. None could doubt that his mind was still as sharp as ever, however – he testified against his own father during the trial.
As King Gwynn was being bound atop a pile of kindling, there was a commotion. Lady Lorelei, flanked by nearly three dozen knights, threw off her disguise and charged the execution stage, intent on rescuing Gwynn. When Artura tried to intervene she was stopped by Ladies Trista and Bedivere, two Knights of the Round Table who had been colluding with Lorelei since her flight. Three other Round Table Knights – Lamora, Garyn, and Gaheria – similarly joined Lorelei, protecting her and King Gwynn from the still loyal Knights.
When Mordred saw what was happening he flew into such a rage that Caledfwlch summoned itself, whole once again. He leapt from his seat and into the fray, and his anger was so great that many of Lorelei's knights died without a touch, felled by his sheer presence. During the fighting, he would kill the Traitor Knight Gaheria.
Despite this personal victory, however, the battle was widely considered a loss for Artura's forces. Lorelei successfully rescued Gwynn and escaped with four of her Traitor Knights to the South of England, where they joined with Kings and Queens sympathetic to their cause. It was clear to all that this Civil War would be a long and bloody one.
For Mordred, the war was the chance he had been waiting for. He was granted the title of Knight-Captain, and led his forces in many large scale battles to devastating effect. Mordred also assisted the Loyal Knights on daring raids deep within rebel territory.
Two years into the war, Mordred successfully reclaimed for his mother the southern farmlands, a vast, abundant territory which grew food for most of Southern England. It was a massive victory, but it was not enough – a storm wrecked incoming reinforcements, leaving Mordred with no chance to hold the land against the approaching rebel army. Only days before the rebels would arrive, Mordred received a message from his mother. The message told him to do two things: destroy the southern farmlands and return home to Camelot.
Mordred razed the farmlands with Hellfire, one of Camelot's most feared warmagics. Nothing would grow there ever again. Though this crippled the rebel forces and eventually forced them to surrender, the resulting famine would kill hundreds of thousands of civilians.
When Mordred arrived at Camelot, he was received by Mage Merlin.
"I will be brief with you," Merlin said. He looks older than you remember, face creased with age, hair hanging in grimy locks down to his shoulder. His eyes have this strange, crazed redness that you recognize from soldiers who'd been on the march too long.
"With respect, Mage Merlin," you say, careful to keep your tone courteous, "when was the last time you slept?"
The man simply waves the question off. "What does it matter? Now come here. Nimue is gone, and Gwynn is gone, and that makes you the only person on this whole blasted island who can understand what I'm about to show you."
He unfurls an enormous sheet of paper, covered in tiny, precise runes. He makes no attempt to explain it to you, and you dare not ask him to, so you follow the pattern yourself until the answer comes to you.
"You're trying to raise the dead," you say, and you cannot stop the accusation from creeping into your voice. "I suppose necromancy is another sin we must bear for this war?" The rage within you surfaces and burns hot, so hot, but it even it pales against the Hellfire you unleashed on your people.
"Calm yourself, Prince," Merlin says. His voice is ice, unmelting. "This is not the defiling of the dead. I am no King of Bones." He points to something you missed in the beginning of the spell, a capturing rather than a calling. "This would deal only with the soul of the willing, at the moment of death."
You frown. "You'll seize it."
"I'll protect it," Merlin says, "from the harsh physicality of this world. Let it not depart, but merely be born anew."
"A soul is too fragile a thing. Even your might could not shield it."
Merlin nods. "A normal soul, no. But perhaps a soul with a Heraldry is made of sterner stuff. Perhaps it could survive those brief moments outside its body, long enough to carry itself to a new one."
"Reincarnation."
"Reincarnation."
You run your hand through you hair, an ache in your head that you cannot explain. "If you're right…"
"Prince," Merlin says, "May I share with you something which I have told no-one, not even your mother? Many years ago, when we were still children, Artura took a sword through the heart. She was strong, as you know, and Gwynn healed her well, but it was not enough." Merlin's voice is low now, so low that it reaches your ears and no further. "I saw her soul leave her, Mordred, as I have seen so many souls leave so many men and women before. But it did not vanish. It lingered, until I took it in my hands and returned it to her."
You cannot believe what you are hearing, and yet you know that Merlin would not lie, not here, not now. "You…saved her."
"And I can do it again, Mordred," Merlin says. "Again, and again, and again. She need never die, Mordred. Camelot would be safe forever."
The ache in your head grows. "She would…never die. She would rule forever."
Merlin's eyes widen slightly, and you can see the lights in his eyes shift as he realizes his mistake. "This is not intended as a slight," he says, slowly and carefully. "I am sure you would still receive your birthright."
Your birthright.
You have seen your birthright, drenched in the blood of your mother's enemies. Not your enemies. Not even Camelot's. You have killed kings and queens and knights and squires and children armed with sharpened sticks.
You have razed your birthright with the fires of hell itself. Not because you wished it, but because she did.
"She would rule forever," you say again.
"Prince Mordred, listen to me," Merlin says. "You are the only one who can check my work. The only one who can help me work through the final obstacles. With your help, we could create a new golden age…an unending golden age."
"She would rule forever," you say again, and then you leave.
After the razing of the southern farmlands, the rebel army had little choice but to bend the knee. Artura accepted their surrender at Joyous Gard, Lorelei's own castle, and though Gwynn was there to be taken into custody, Lorelei remained at large. Some claim she killed herself out of shame – others say she returned to Camelot as a beggar, crippled and humbled.
With the war over, Camelot began the long process of rebuilding. Between the famine, the construction, and the redistributing of lands to the loyalist Kings and Queens, it was almost possible to miss one crucial fact.
Nobody had any idea where Prince Mordred was.
The Civil War
Two weeks after Lorelei's escape, the people of Camelot gathered to witness the trial of King Gwynn. The charges leveled against him were severe, and though many nobles stepped forward to plead for mercy on his behalf, the law of Camelot was absolute. The punishment would be death by burning.
Mordred was of course in attendance, although he had to be carried to his seat by a few loyal retainers. His fight with Lady Lorelei had resulted in his Heraldry being physically broken, something which had never happened to any Heraldry before, and the effect on his body was severe. None could doubt that his mind was still as sharp as ever, however – he testified against his own father during the trial.
As King Gwynn was being bound atop a pile of kindling, there was a commotion. Lady Lorelei, flanked by nearly three dozen knights, threw off her disguise and charged the execution stage, intent on rescuing Gwynn. When Artura tried to intervene she was stopped by Ladies Trista and Bedivere, two Knights of the Round Table who had been colluding with Lorelei since her flight. Three other Round Table Knights – Lamora, Garyn, and Gaheria – similarly joined Lorelei, protecting her and King Gwynn from the still loyal Knights.
When Mordred saw what was happening he flew into such a rage that Caledfwlch summoned itself, whole once again. He leapt from his seat and into the fray, and his anger was so great that many of Lorelei's knights died without a touch, felled by his sheer presence. During the fighting, he would kill the Traitor Knight Gaheria.
Despite this personal victory, however, the battle was widely considered a loss for Artura's forces. Lorelei successfully rescued Gwynn and escaped with four of her Traitor Knights to the South of England, where they joined with Kings and Queens sympathetic to their cause. It was clear to all that this Civil War would be a long and bloody one.
For Mordred, the war was the chance he had been waiting for. He was granted the title of Knight-Captain, and led his forces in many large scale battles to devastating effect. Mordred also assisted the Loyal Knights on daring raids deep within rebel territory.
Two years into the war, Mordred successfully reclaimed for his mother the southern farmlands, a vast, abundant territory which grew food for most of Southern England. It was a massive victory, but it was not enough – a storm wrecked incoming reinforcements, leaving Mordred with no chance to hold the land against the approaching rebel army. Only days before the rebels would arrive, Mordred received a message from his mother. The message told him to do two things: destroy the southern farmlands and return home to Camelot.
Mordred razed the farmlands with Hellfire, one of Camelot's most feared warmagics. Nothing would grow there ever again. Though this crippled the rebel forces and eventually forced them to surrender, the resulting famine would kill hundreds of thousands of civilians.
When Mordred arrived at Camelot, he was received by Mage Merlin.
"I will be brief with you," Merlin said. He looks older than you remember, face creased with age, hair hanging in grimy locks down to his shoulder. His eyes have this strange, crazed redness that you recognize from soldiers who'd been on the march too long.
"With respect, Mage Merlin," you say, careful to keep your tone courteous, "when was the last time you slept?"
The man simply waves the question off. "What does it matter? Now come here. Nimue is gone, and Gwynn is gone, and that makes you the only person on this whole blasted island who can understand what I'm about to show you."
He unfurls an enormous sheet of paper, covered in tiny, precise runes. He makes no attempt to explain it to you, and you dare not ask him to, so you follow the pattern yourself until the answer comes to you.
"You're trying to raise the dead," you say, and you cannot stop the accusation from creeping into your voice. "I suppose necromancy is another sin we must bear for this war?" The rage within you surfaces and burns hot, so hot, but it even it pales against the Hellfire you unleashed on your people.
"Calm yourself, Prince," Merlin says. His voice is ice, unmelting. "This is not the defiling of the dead. I am no King of Bones." He points to something you missed in the beginning of the spell, a capturing rather than a calling. "This would deal only with the soul of the willing, at the moment of death."
You frown. "You'll seize it."
"I'll protect it," Merlin says, "from the harsh physicality of this world. Let it not depart, but merely be born anew."
"A soul is too fragile a thing. Even your might could not shield it."
Merlin nods. "A normal soul, no. But perhaps a soul with a Heraldry is made of sterner stuff. Perhaps it could survive those brief moments outside its body, long enough to carry itself to a new one."
"Reincarnation."
"Reincarnation."
You run your hand through you hair, an ache in your head that you cannot explain. "If you're right…"
"Prince," Merlin says, "May I share with you something which I have told no-one, not even your mother? Many years ago, when we were still children, Artura took a sword through the heart. She was strong, as you know, and Gwynn healed her well, but it was not enough." Merlin's voice is low now, so low that it reaches your ears and no further. "I saw her soul leave her, Mordred, as I have seen so many souls leave so many men and women before. But it did not vanish. It lingered, until I took it in my hands and returned it to her."
You cannot believe what you are hearing, and yet you know that Merlin would not lie, not here, not now. "You…saved her."
"And I can do it again, Mordred," Merlin says. "Again, and again, and again. She need never die, Mordred. Camelot would be safe forever."
The ache in your head grows. "She would…never die. She would rule forever."
Merlin's eyes widen slightly, and you can see the lights in his eyes shift as he realizes his mistake. "This is not intended as a slight," he says, slowly and carefully. "I am sure you would still receive your birthright."
Your birthright.
You have seen your birthright, drenched in the blood of your mother's enemies. Not your enemies. Not even Camelot's. You have killed kings and queens and knights and squires and children armed with sharpened sticks.
You have razed your birthright with the fires of hell itself. Not because you wished it, but because she did.
"She would rule forever," you say again.
"Prince Mordred, listen to me," Merlin says. "You are the only one who can check my work. The only one who can help me work through the final obstacles. With your help, we could create a new golden age…an unending golden age."
"She would rule forever," you say again, and then you leave.
After the razing of the southern farmlands, the rebel army had little choice but to bend the knee. Artura accepted their surrender at Joyous Gard, Lorelei's own castle, and though Gwynn was there to be taken into custody, Lorelei remained at large. Some claim she killed herself out of shame – others say she returned to Camelot as a beggar, crippled and humbled.
With the war over, Camelot began the long process of rebuilding. Between the famine, the construction, and the redistributing of lands to the loyalist Kings and Queens, it was almost possible to miss one crucial fact.
Nobody had any idea where Prince Mordred was.
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StellarMonarch
Myrmidon
- Location
- Québec
Wow.
I mean, wow. That must have been brutal.
I mean, wow. That must have been brutal.
- Location
- ABQ--- Taos, NM
Damn Merlin has horrible timing. This is why sleep is important. Without it even the smartest of people forget really simple things.
# Edit... Did Merlin ever tell anyone about this conversation? Or was it just one of those things lost to time?
# Edit... Did Merlin ever tell anyone about this conversation? Or was it just one of those things lost to time?
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I don't know what to feel about this, mom was kind of a cunt, we were taken by a flight of hotheaded teen passion, and none of this would've happened if Merlin kept his trap shut.
I can't help but feel things would've gone better if Mordred had just stabbed Merlin in the gut keeping him from doing his reincarnating thing, and just let Artura let go of her crown and kick the bucket naturally over what actually ended up happening
I can't help but feel things would've gone better if Mordred had just stabbed Merlin in the gut keeping him from doing his reincarnating thing, and just let Artura let go of her crown and kick the bucket naturally over what actually ended up happening
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
Wow. Merlin shows that truly classic grasp of interpersonal relationships that's somehow always his hallmark, regardless of what iteration of the mythos one deals with. The man CANNOT GROK people. Still, at least Mordred isn't female, that'd just have made things a thousand times worse.
Well done Gally! This makes me sympathize with Mordred dramatically. Which I expect is the point. I fully expect this was the moment that drove him to gather all of Camelot's foes in one great army to smash it, because he was faced with the reality that Camelot, shining, golden, rotten at its core, would last for all eternity if he did nothing.
He'd just seen the utter horrors his mother was willing to countenance, and had made him enact, and now he knew that Merlin had made it so that she would live forever.
Also, dear god so much would have been fixed if Artura hadn't gone all starry eyed and married Gwyn. I've said it before but the Lancelot/Guinevere thing is one of my least favorite parts of the mythos, and this particular work is doing a good job of making me seriously dislike both participants.
Well done Gally! This makes me sympathize with Mordred dramatically. Which I expect is the point. I fully expect this was the moment that drove him to gather all of Camelot's foes in one great army to smash it, because he was faced with the reality that Camelot, shining, golden, rotten at its core, would last for all eternity if he did nothing.
He'd just seen the utter horrors his mother was willing to countenance, and had made him enact, and now he knew that Merlin had made it so that she would live forever.
Also, dear god so much would have been fixed if Artura hadn't gone all starry eyed and married Gwyn. I've said it before but the Lancelot/Guinevere thing is one of my least favorite parts of the mythos, and this particular work is doing a good job of making me seriously dislike both participants.
- Location
- USA
Informational warfare against everyone! We can make them play the blame game with the cycle!
- Location
- Nowhere
Terri, please do not use that term when talking about mo- Annabelle.
[X] Gavin, Matthew, and Aubrey
I feel like we should apologize for not getting the keg. I also think we spent plenty of time with Annabelle after the HE thing. Piper, we were with here most of the day yesterday.Not to mention we never got that chess game. I also want to hang out with Terri, hijinks with her is certain to be fun.
JoshieWoshie
Mister Doge
Scorched earth tactics. Not just scorched earth tactics, scorched earth tactics with the magical equivalent of a smale scale nuke. In a civil war.
Not against an external invader you are trying to deny supplies to. But against what are frankly your people, and on land YOU need.
What the actual fuck? That's like tearing off your cheeks because there are pimples on them!
Not against an external invader you are trying to deny supplies to. But against what are frankly your people, and on land YOU need.
What the actual fuck? That's like tearing off your cheeks because there are pimples on them!
chocolote12
A Penguin Flailing Against The Keyboard Of Life.
Find a better analogy, yes? People do that.
It's like setting your house on fire because you didn't want your roommate eating your brownies.
KnightDisciple
Brotherhood. Unity. Peace.
- Location
- Midwest, USA
Sheesh. That's...yikes.
Of course, Mordred's solution was "blanket the land in war against the collective hordes of DARKNESS, and raze Camelot to the ground so thoroughly it's left as nothing but myths and legends". So, uh, yeah. Mixed bag there.
Of course, Mordred's solution was "blanket the land in war against the collective hordes of DARKNESS, and raze Camelot to the ground so thoroughly it's left as nothing but myths and legends". So, uh, yeah. Mixed bag there.
SirLagginton
Shadow Cabal Caerbannog Bun-Bun
- Location
- Arrrghhh
I am absolutely going to tinker with the dialogue in The War of Four when I get home.
MortichFrittle4
Verified Speculator
[X] Gavin, Matthew, and Aubrey
Like mother like son
SirLagginton
Shadow Cabal Caerbannog Bun-Bun
- Location
- Arrrghhh
edited
edit2: no wait did one last thing, really finished now
edit2: no wait did one last thing, really finished now
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