Capítulo 5: King Arthur Pendragon
The Darkmoore woods was the first location an invader appeared. That day, the rebellion army faced the king and his army, Mordred took the king's sword and mortally wounded him. The battle was won in the end, but there was nothing that could be done without magic to save the king. He was taken to the priestesses of Avalon, but they refused to save him. As a last resort, Merlin brought the king to Darkmoore, a swamp where a congregation of druids resided. The druids taught Merlin a spell that trades life for life. Unsatisfied, he pulled from beyond the veil and brought someone from the other side to complete the spell.
The man was severely injured as well, so the spell could only extend the king's life for a few years. However, due to many factors, the two worlds connected through the opening in the veil caused the land to merge, transferring a portion of the invader's world here. This led to the destruction of the original ecosystem, becoming a forest instead. The man's dying words were love for his kingdom and satisfaction to have died in battle. Priscilla was too young to understand most of this, but she had learned it vicariously from Merlin through small snippets of things he said.
"Its ironic, I bring an invasive flower from another world to my father's memorial every year. But isn't it also quite a beautiful coincidence that such a bright red flower which can grow in the harshest of conditions would grow on the ground where my father spilled blood?"
This small moment of melancholy and reminiscence soothed her mind for a few moments. She forgot about the looming threats all around her that were revealing themselves one by one. She barely remembered her parents due to their early passing, but the warmth she felt from his closest friends and allies gave her an idea of what kind of person her father was. Gawain had been secretly watching her from the side and noticed the change in her mood.
"Your Majesty, may I ask what exactly happened? Should we expect a fight? Did you see signs of barbarians moving in from the south?"
Priscilla had just stopped worrying and Gawain's poorly timed question actually caused her to chuckle. His emotional intelligence wasn't the greatest, and would often stumble into and out of conversations like that. He was holding a large bundle of corn roses which accented the red cloak and black armor very well. She sighed and realized her attitude has been unfair to her close confidants.
"it seems I still have a long way to go to be a proper ruler. I let my emotions get the better of me. My first concern is that woman appeared before me in Sleeping Giant city and warning me of a coming storm. Secondly, the trees to the south have been clear cut similarly to the invaders' methods."
"That is concerning. Percival did not mention this due to how ungrounded it was and it did not seem appropriate at the time. Some hunters mentioned large metal and wooded creatures traveling quickly along the ground without horses towards the east. Perhaps it is one of those invader creations?"
"It does seem likely. In my foolishness I did not investigate how long ago the logging and burning happened. But its possible that this has been happening for a long time. Somewhere between a year ago and now. This kind of operation being done by the barbarians is nearly impossible, so there is definitely an external force aiding them. This sort of thing stinks of goddess intervention."
"I have collected and loaded the bundles, we are ready to depart."
Percival's appearance broke the duos concentration. Gawain went to bring Priscilla's horse over while she looked at the monument one last time. She closed her eyes and gave that man a quick prayer in her mind. 'Wherever you are, thank you for having given my father more time. Your patriotism is inspiring.'
The horse carried Priscilla away as she stared back at the valley. It was always an emotional experience coming here. The ceremony at her father's memorial was to honor and celebrate his life with her people. It did not allow for her to show sadness. Therefore, this time in Darkmoore woods was special to her. Merlin always told her that the wounds would heal over time, but with the weight of the empire on her shoulders and the constant threats appearing randomly, she could not let it go.
There was also a nagging feeling that she couldn't place. Something was going to happen, and it was soon. She looked forward at Gawain and Percival's backs and was glad to have brought these two with her. Of all the knights that swore loyalty to her father, these two were the most loyal. After she took the crown, and later spread throughout several kingdoms around Camelot, they swore their loyalty to her first out of the others. She did not mistrust the other knights, just trusted these two the most.
Remembrance Hill was quite close to Darkmoore woods, since it was built on the site of the battle where the king was mortally wounded. It took three days to travel from here to the memorial, but since Priscilla was in a hurry, she ran the horses through the night until they could no longer run on the second day. Fortunately, they had arrived. There were several servants prepared to unload their burdens and guide Priscilla into the small residence nearby to get prepared.
"Where has Master Merlin gone?" Priscilla asked the butler.
"Master Merlin wished to convey that he would arrive during the ceremony. There was urgent business to attend."
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She could not fathom why Merlin would leave unless it was very urgent. Everything seemed to be falling out of place as if it were someone's grand scheme. She instinctively reached for her sword, but realized that she had already been changed into a dress. Fortunately. on the table next to her was the ceremonial sword, Clarent, used by her father in the past. She grabbed the sheathed sword and left the antechamber.
Priscilla went around and took note of everyone here, but she could only find six of the twelve knights of her royal guard. Percival and Gawain were in front of the memorial stone that listed the names of all those who fell in the final battle, so she approached them. The two weren't surprised to see her come straight to them so they turned toward her with an awkward smile.
"It seems many were pulled away on urgent tasks. But strangely, none of them left the details of what they were doing." Percival said with some suspicion in his voice.
"Your Majesty, you must reprimand them when they return, everyone in the empire knows how important today is."
Priscilla nodded at both of them and started to think about the witch's words from before. 'A new faction will form? Is this a coup d'état?' She dared not believe the loyal knights would betray her, so there must be something else at play. She convinced herself that someone was trying to split her forces to strike. Unfortunately, without any information, she could only go through the ceremony like normal.
"Should you really continue with the ceremony? Perhaps we should delay until they return."
"Percival, the people need this ceremony. If we delay it, they will be more worried than if we have a few knights missing. Just alert the guard to strengthen the entrances and double the soldiers."
Percival nodded toward her and left to join the other knights. After a few hours, the grounds in front of the memorial were packed with citizens of the empire. Although mostly from Camelot, many other people held the old king close to their heart and would come honor him. Additionally, the first few rows were filled with nobles from the various kingdoms. Once the flames were lit, and the music started, Priscilla walked forward in her gold and red dress to begin the ceremony.
"I, Priscilla Pendragon, welcome all of you to this ceremony. Before We begin the honoring of the fallen at the Battle of Camlann, the knights present today are called forth to renew their vows!"
"I, Sir Gawain, swear to follow Her Majesty, Priscilla Pendragon, until my dying breath." Gawain was the first to step forward and kneel, with his sword held to his forehead, he repeated the line he spoke every year, and what he felt in his heart.
However, there was an eerie silence afterwards. None of the other five knights stepped forward. Priscilla looked at their faces and they had various expressions: disgust, regret, shame, and anger. Just as Priscilla was going to question them, a loud horn sounded out from the south. An army flying Camelot's colors and her fathers coat of arms approached. In the lead was a man with light skin and dark blond hair. He wore red and gold armor and held a sword into the air. The sword had a white hilt, and the blade burned with a righteous flame: the legendary sword Gram.
"My loyal citizens, I have returned! Camelot shall never be subjugated!"
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