Ethereal Chronicles

UTHER AND YGRAINE

The fragmented kingdoms of Britain were ruled over by the High King Uther Pendragon during an uncertain era. Britain was plagued by incessant wars and invasions, plunging towns into a state of ruin and starvation.

Uther was a lonely King, with no wife to warm his bed and no child to secure his legacy, but his heart yearned for Ygraine, the wife of the Duke of Tintagel. Uther’s affections enraged the Duke, and a bitter war broke out between the two kingdoms.

Desperate to have Ygraine for himself, Uther sought the help of the talented wizard Merlin, who agreed to assist the King in return for the child that would result in a union with Ygraine. Uther, blinded by lust, readily accepted the deal, and Merlin used his power to transform Uther’s appearance, making him look like the Duke of Tintagel. With his disguise in place, Uther infiltrated the castle, passing through with no resistance and finding Ygraine in her chambers. Ygraine, believing Uther to be her husband, embraced him tenderly, and Uther bedded her.

Later that night, the real Duke died in battle, allowing Uther to seize the castle and take Ygraine as his wife. Shortly thereafter, Ygraine gave birth to a baby boy, whom she named Arthur. But Merlin, remembering the payment that was owed to him, arrived to take the child from her arms. Ygraine resisted, desperate to keep her baby boy, but Uther handed Arthur over, knowing the severity of his promise and fearing what would happen if he did not fulfil it.

Merlin brought Arthur to the court of Sir Ector, and the boy grew up bullied by his peers and adopted family, led to believe that he was nothing and ignorant to the knowledge of his true heritage as the son of a King.

UTHER’S DEATH

Uther’s death brought with it a fear that spread like wildfire throughout the kingdom. With no heir to claim the throne, Britain was vulnerable, and civil war erupted as people argued over who deserved to possess the crown.

Merlin, having built his reputation as a wise man, offered the lost people a glimmer of hope. Outside the chapel of London, he erected a marble stone with a sword pushed inside it. The wizard proclaimed that whoever could pull the sword from the stone would be Britain’s new High King.

Years passed, and thousands gathered to try their hand at heaving the sword from the stone, but the blade was lodged so tightly that even the strongest of men could not force it from its place.

MERLIN AND ARTHUR

Merlin devoted himself to shaping Arthur into a learned young man, tutoring him extensively in numerous subjects. Despite the boy’s somewhat frail form, his intellect shone with the strength of a thousand men, and Merlin intended him to be the next High King.

Once Arthur was old enough, Merlin brought him to the sword in the stone. A crowd had surrounded the place, their gazes reaching the boy with disdain, some pointing and laughing at his scrawny stature, wondering how he planned to wield the sword. Arthur ignored the jeers, the stifled giggles, and pushed his way to the front, his eyes falling upon the blade as he reached for the hilt. With a swift movement, he grasped it firmly and pulled, feeling the resistance give way as the sword slid free. Silence fell over the crowd as Arthur weighed the weapon in his palms with a low whistle.

It did not take long for the looks of mockery to shift to glares of hate. A few of the burlier men moved to confront Arthur, attempting to land blows against him, but Arthur deflected them with incredible ease, causing them to stagger back with shock and the rest of the crowd to cheer. That same day, Arthur was crowned King of England.

GUINEVERE AND THE GOLDEN AGE OF CAMELOT

With Merlin’s guidance, Arthur flourished into a handsome and an honourable King, committed to serving his people and extending aid in times of hardship. He led his army into battle against those attempting to invade his country, building up Britain’s defences and strengthening his court at Camelot once the attackers were defeated. And under his reign, the country thrived.

But Arthur was a man as well as a King, and his heart was stolen by a beautiful maiden who went by the name of Guinevire. Despite Merlin’s warnings that she would bring misery to the Kingdom, Arthur took the maiden as his wife, utterly besotted.

Disappointed by Arthur’s choice, Merlin brought Arthur to a lake shrouded in mist, with a solitary island at its centre. This island was known as Avalon, a realm of magic filled with creatures from the Otherworld.

From the murky waters surrounding Avalon emerged Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, presenting before Arthur a magnificent sword. This sword, Exclalibur, possessed unparalleled strength and power, capable of killing enemies with a single blow. Alongside Excalibur was a scabbard that rendered its wearer invincible, unable to die of any mortal wound. Arthur accepted the gifts gratefully, and returned to Camelot.

Not long after, Arthur and Guinevere were married, their wedding a joyous celebration that drew people from all over the country to Camelot to see the union of the King and his new Queen. As a wedding gift, Guinevere’s father offered Arthur a beautiful round table. It was from this table that the legendary knights of the round table were born. Britain descended into the golden age; a time of love, prosperity and strength.

MORDRED

But a dark secret from Arthur’s early years would later grow to shatter the Kingdom. An incestuous union between Arthur and his half sister Morgause, orchestrated by his resentful half sister Morgan La Fey, had resulted in the birth of a young man called Mordred.

When Mordred was of age, he appeared in the court of Camelot, expressing his desire to serve Arthur as a knight. Merlin warned Arthur that Mordred was treacherous in nature, and would in time turn against him, but Arthur, ever hopeful and compassionate, extended an invitation for Mordred to join the knights of Camelot.

MERLIN

In certain versions of the legend, Merlin, born of an Incubus and a mortal, was a wizard afflicted with madness. He had ventured into Britain from Wales, living in the surrounding forests like an animal and sleeping beneath the stars as his mind was gifted with countless visions of the future.

As the years passed and Merlin continued living in his wild state, he became more and more attuned with nature, his very veins flowing with it. Eventually, during his wanderings, Merlin stumbled across an immense lake shrouded in mist. Above the still water, some strange lights had appeared, swirling and dancing through the fog.

Merlin lingered by the lake for almost a fortnight until the lights finally withdrew into the water, leaving behind them a serene stillness. And then, in their place, a beautiful woman in white appeared, her ethereal form drifting across the lake.

The woman was Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, and Merlin instantly fell in love with her grace and her beauty. Once his work with Arthur was done, Merlin returned to the lake, remaining there to constantly shower Nimue with words and affection, his heart consumed by love. Such interactions irritated Nimue, for Merlin was old, and persistent, and she wished dearly to be rid of him. So she schemed to trick him, and remove him from her life once and for all.

THE LADY OF THE LAKE AND MERLIN’S IMPRISONMENT

Despite her secret repulsion, Nimue feigned interest in Merlin’s advances, cunningly requesting that he share his magical knowledge with her in the hope that she might be able to use one of his spells against him. One day, she asked Merlin if they might take a walk through the nearby wood, and Merlin, too in love with her to understand her motives, readily obliged.

As they travelled deeper into the trees, Merlin led Nimue to a cave he claimed possessed magical properties. Nimue encouraged the wizard to enter first, expressing false curiosity for what lay within. The moment Merlin had passed the threshold, however, Nimue hastily uttered a spell to trap him within the cave for eternity. Merlin despaired, trying desperately for many years to escape his magical prison, but none of his efforts were able to free him, and he was forced to remain there for the rest of his immortal days.

LANCELOT AND THE QUEST FOR THE HOLY GRAIL

Lancelot was a skilled knight and a cherished friend of both Arthur and the Queen. Brought to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake, Lancelot was gifted in sword fighting, and admired by the women in Camelot. For many years, Lancelot shared a deep, brotherly bond with Arthur, a bond that began to sour when Lancelot developed feelings for Guinevere. But there were bigger problems at hand.

News of a Holy Grail had spread to Camelot, the same grail that Jesus Christ Himself had taken drink from at the last supper. The King’s knights, having previously embarked on many triumphant quests, were eager for the chance of divine glory to bring more honour to their name and country. But this was a journey destined to end in failure, resulting in countless unnecessary deaths and the loss of Arthur’s best knights.

With the most skilled of his Knights dead, Arthur was forced to turn to Lancelot, the most capable of the few that were left. The King chose to ignore Lancelot’s forbidden love for Guinevere, reluctant to lose another knight as well as a dear friend.

THE BETRAYAL

Arthur’s relationship with Lancelot shattered, however, when he learned from Mordred that Guinevere had committed adultery with Lancelot. Though he loved his wife deeply, Arthur knew that the crime could not go unpunished, and Guinevere was sentenced to death.

As dawn broke the following morning, Guinevere and Lancelot made a desperate attempt to flee together but were closely pursued by Arthur and Mordred. Though Lancelot managed to elude capture, the Queen was unsuccessful, and taken back to Camelot to be burned at the stake.

When Lancelot returned to save her, Arthur and his men followed once more, eventually finding the lovers at Lancelot’s castle after days of relentless pursuit. In the conflict that followed, Guinevere was brought back to her husband, and Lancelot was exiled.

THE DEATH OF ARTHUR

Despite having his wife returned to him, Arthur’s heart was consumed with a burning hatred for the friend who had betrayed him, and set out to find Lancelot in France, where he had been exiled. His decision to leave Mordred in charge was a foolish one driven by blinding rage, a grave error that would bring with it hideous consequences, consequences that Merlin had previously cautioned.

Mordred had long been waiting for the opportunity to claim Camelot as his own, as Morgana had made it his destiny. Once news reached Arthur that his son had sparked conflict, a great battle escalated.

This battle was so bloody, so furious, that in the commotion Arthur dropped his sword and scabbard, leaving him utterly defenceless. As he lunged towards Mordred with a spear, he met his son’s blade, which killed him instantly.

REFERENCES

The Death of Arthur – The Legend of King Arthur (heroofcamelot.com)