Le Morte d'Artorius

Reconciliation with the Heart

Having decided to join Sir Perceval to restore Britannia from his son Medraut's tyranny, Artorius knew it wouldn't be an easy task. For one thing, Medraut had surrounded himself within a multitude of defenses both man and fortification so getting to him directly without obstacle was not an option. It would take no short than storming Camelot itself to reach him and that was a feat that had never been accomplished even before Medraut's reinforced modifications to the castle. Another fact was that Medraut's forces were spread throughout the country, controlling various regions with an iron grip on the populace. Sir Perceval himself had a hard time passing through the lands prior to meeting with his former High King due to taking various wayward detours just to avoid Medraut's enforcers. So before Artorius and Sir Perceval could even think of storming Camelot, they would have to deal with whatever stood in their way just to get there. And even if they were to somehow successfully reach Camelot, further reinforcements could be added from elsewhere by then depending on how much of a ruckus they'd cause on the way prior. Faced with these problems, the only viable solution the two of them could think of would have to be to draw Medraut himself out in the open and to do that, they were going to need allies.

To draw Medraut out, Artorius and Sir Perceval would need to enlist allies and cause enough of a commotion within Medraut's regime that even the devil himself would be stirred up by their antics. However they'd need to carefully enlist only allies who truly desired Britannia's honor restored and not simple rabble who just wanted blood in retaliation for Medraut's tyranny. They would also need to hit only strategic points within Britannia that would only call attention to Medraut but not stoke the people's unrest to a fiery blaze that it would incur civil war. They wanted to make enough noise that even the devil would be stirred but not cause too much that creatures fouler than the devil they knew would also be awaken. Furthermore, they needed to keep this matter within Britannia's own affairs as much as possible. For in truth, it was an internal conflict that didn't need the rest of the world to be dragged in and escalate the situation. In short, Artorius and Sir Perceval wanted to wage a very strategic campaign whose aim was simply to draw out Medraut, and only Medraut, to them and not spill alot of blood in the process. It was basically the opposite of Artorius' war with Rome and with good reason. With Rome, Artorius and his men fought against distant foreigners. With Medraut, he and whoever decided to join him were going to be fighting against their own kin.

With this in mind, Artorius and Sir Perceval went on many a quest throughout the land to seek out allies and accomplish their greater goal. They went about this by freeing many from Medraut's forces and prisons, by righting the many wrongs brought about by his unjust laws, by instilling in the hearts of people that true justice and the old ways of chivalry weren't all gone, and by doing other such similar things. Through this they brought back what true peace was to the people and even reconciled a few hearts that were torn apart by Medraut's tyrannical regime. Throughout their journeys in doing their deeds, they also revealed with much care that Artorius still drew breath as was part of their goal of drawing Medraut out. For this they delighted those who had hoped that the rightful High King would return one day to deliver them from Medraut's evil. Seeing them all, Artorius suspiciously noticed that their numbers were not as low as he had initially suspected for people living under an ironclad dictatorship. While their numbers gave him pause for a brief moment, Artorius however nonetheless didn't stray from the true matter at hand. Among those he freed, Artorius and Sir Perceval carefully picked out those who would help them in their goal of restoring Britannia. Both old and new friends joined them in this endeavour and from them they also learned of where they could acquire equipment and more allies to aid them further. Among those potential allies revealed to Artorius through this, he learned of one in particular who wanted to meet with him with the utmost haste, his beloved wife Gwenhwyfar who his heart still ached for throughout all this time.

Hearing of Gwenhwyfar's request to meet with him, Artorius alone and in stealth went to her. He found that she had joined a convent and was alone without her lover Launcelot. Reunited for the first time in years, the former queen immediately confessed to her husband of her transgressions against him in tears. She confessed to Artorius of her affair with Launcelot and that she came upon the knight immediately when he first became a part of Artorius' court. She explained that she thought that their affair was true love with the Frenchman being her literal knight in shining armor. She had convinced even herself that this was the case throughout the many years that she deceived Artorius behind his back. However in truth, she came to realize that it was all but a dreadful farce. She realized this when she and Launcelot had long escaped from the execution that Medraut had sentenced them to. Having escaped from their pursuers, the two of them were supposed to be finally free to love one another without worry. Instead however she did not reciprocate Launcelot's love as much she could've had and that was because she had finally realized that she really didn't love him at all.

Gwenhwyfar came to realize then that she was just a weeping mother who instead of confronting her husband over what happened with their son, decided to indulge in a forbidden romance like those found in the fairy tales that she enjoyed in her youth. She, like an immature little girl, engaged in this affair and for so long less out of love for a man who matched everything she could ever want in a lover, and more just to comfort her own selfish wounded heart and ego. She did all this and more and in the process hurt everyone, including Launcelot who did genuinely loved her but whose feelings couldn't be genuinely returned as Gwenhwyfar in truth was simply using him as her own private manwhore. She tried to atone for all she had done wrong by leaving Launcelot and becoming a nun. However that achieved nothing but driving a heartbroken Launcelot into becoming one of those raving mad wayside doomsayers. Since then, Gwenhwyfar had been doing nothing but wallowing in sorrow and condemning herself for all the wrong that she had wrought. That was until she heard of Artorius' return and in response, requested that the husband she once thought was dead come for an audience and finally decide her fate.

While Gwenhwyfar poured out her heart and soul with her confession and fully expected to be punished severely for all her sins, Artorius instead simply hugged her tenderly. He tearfully explained to his wife that she wasn't alone for he too was to blame for everything that had happened. He then confessed to her as well all of the sins he had committed that lead to this very point of their lives. Having done so, the two finally forgave and reconciled with one another over the matter that so devastatingly estranged the both of them for so long. With that both of their broken hearts were healed, not fully as such pain could never be truly forgotten but just enough that they could finally go on with their lives. For Artorius though, duty however unfortunately required that his life be lead elsewhere, a place which would surely no doubt make this meeting with his wife be the last one they'd ever have together alive. As he was about to leave his wife for what certainly would be the last time, Artorius was stopped by Gwenhwyfar for she had one last parting gift to give him. That final gift from his wife that Artorius received was none other than Excalibur itself.

Handing Artorius one of his two legendary swords, Gwenhwyfar revealed how she acquired this artifact. During one of her early years as a nun, she had received Excalibur for safekeeping from the last person anyone would've expected to do such a deed, Morganna Le Fay. Gwenhwyfar then explained further in detail that before Morganna went into hiding from her very own son to escape charges of using witchcraft against Britannia, the sorceress had stolen away Excalibur. It turned out that while Medraut could easily wield Caliburn without harm, he couldn't as much as touch Excalibur. The sword constantly stung him with bitter cold whenever he tried to pick it up, like a reversal of how Caliburn burnt anyone who wasn't of Uthyr's bloodline. In fact as if by coincidence, as Medraut's regime went on and became much worse so too did the pain he received from touching Excalibur worsened as well. Since he couldn't wield the sword, Medraut decided that no one else would and sealed Excalibur within the deepest dungeons of Camelot. That was when Morganna decided to steal the sword away from her son with the aid of her magic and a bit of help from a particular Saxon overlord who was once Artorius' ally from way back in the war with Rome. They were able to accomplish the deed but the crime for doing so unfortunately landed the charges against Morganna and rekindled the bad blood between the Britons and the Saxons. Fortunately though, they were able to dissuade the main pursuit for them by spreading false rumors that they had thrown Excalibur back to the Lady of the Lake.

Having escaped the main reason why they were pursued by Medraut's forces, Morganna and her ally then had a little tiff with one another over what to do with Excalibur. Though it was a mystical artifact that would, in words that Gwenhwyfar overheard from one of them, be more suited in the intimately seductive entwining hands of a feistily beautiful all-powerful sorceress and a devilishly handsome saxy visionary, Morganna ultimately decided that Excalibur should go to Gwenhwyfar Artorius' wife for safekeeping. Though it was not known then whether Artorius still lived or not, Morganna figured that if he was still alive and if he required Excalibur once more then he should receive it from his rightful true love. This Morganna stated of which Gwenhwyfar noticed had an air of uncharacteristic reserved and gentle calmness, as if Morganna had finally come to terms with a long heated matter. Hearing this tale of how Gwenhwyfar acquired Excalibur lifted Artorius' heart even further. He had already reconciled with his wife but with this tale, it helped him feel that he had finally reconciled with the one other person he cared about. And though his wife's rather raunchy yet supposedly accurate description of Morganna's relationship with the Saxon overlord made Artorius suspicious in a rather overprotective familial manner, he nevertheless felt at peace. He felt that a great weight had been lifted from his heart and that all of his problems had been resolved, all that was except for one.

With his heart reconciled with and Excalibur once again in his hand, Artorius felt completely invigorated and brimming with pride. He felt that for the first time since a very long time like his young adventurous self again regardless of the creaking bones and the gray hair saying otherwise. He felt that he could do anything once again and this was a good thing for Artorius would need all the enthusiasm he could muster for the most pivotal challenge in his entire life.

Reconciliation with the Flesh

With Excalibur and a reinvigorated self, Artorius and Sir Perceval were able to accomplish much more with more ease. Eventually, they were able to free a good amount of regions and assemble a sizeable militia of likeminded allies, among which even included a once wayward Launcelot who made amends with his former lord in light of the greater task at hand. The militia that was assembled was not a large force. In fact it severely paled in comparison to the one that Artorius had assembled against Rome. However, it was just big enough to catch the attention of the right person. That person being Medraut who like a sleeping dragon stirred up from its cave came forth from out of the heavily fortified Camelot with an armed entourage of his own to meet with his father's forces. Recognizing his father's handiwork, Medraut only took with him the finest warriors throughout his regime. The host of armed loyalists he gathered were about just as numerous as his father's though comparatively alot more skilled. With the combatants assembled, a date and place were set and the two armies met with one another one foggy midday in the plains by the ancient Roman Fort of Camboglanna and its adjacent river.

In unyielding formation the two forces gathered and faced one another in this suspenseful moment whose tension was as thick as the fog that day. However despite the number of souls gathered on this momentous day, no tension was thicker than the one between the father and son who had brought it all together. With their respective forces primed to do battle at a drop of a word, the former High King and the High King that succeeded him went and came before one another for pre-battle dialogue as was courtesy in such matters. As they approached one another, the fog, as if to give these two a moment to truly be alone with one another, enveloped a curtain around them both obscuring all but just the other in their respective sights. In this very moment wherein the two of them appeared to be completely alone by themselves, Artorius spoke firmly to his son for the first time in years and asked him how it all came to this. He asked Medraut how he could let their beloved Britannia fall into such a state of tyrannical rule that the only way to undo it would be through blood. To this and everything, Medraut responded with an explanation that gave Artorius a great realization and insight into the supposed tyrant that was his own offspring.

Medraut explained that from the very first moment he could remember, he like so many cursed his very existence and the awful truth of how he came to be. Since he was a child, he had learned that he was a mistake against nature, and that his own father killed so many innocent young lives just trying to correct that mistake. He was told by so many throughout his childhood and beyond that a thing like him was an abomination whose very existence would only bring shame and misfortune to his parents as long as he lived. And whilst his own mother did not abandon him for such a reason even though he was told it would've been the right thing to do, the shame that Medraut felt himself was so great that he was forced to hide his true identity behind a mask both figuratively and literally. For that and more, Medraut came to loath his own father Artorius greatly and since everyone already saw him as nothing more than a monster, he decided then to live up to their accusations. As such, nothing then fixated Medraut more than finding a way to cause harm to his father and finally get his revenge. That chance apparently came when Artorius so brazenly called a truce with Medraut's mother to acquire their aid for the war against Rome. Though Morganna honorably complied to work with Artorius in complete trust for the greater good that time, Medraut however decided behind their backs to betray his father the first moment he got.

To backstab Artorius while in the guise of an ally in the midst of the war against Rome that was Medraut's foul scheme, or at least that was supposed to be his original intention. During the long years at war with Rome, Medraut came to know his father more and found to his surprise, a man he could actually respect. Throughout his life prior, all that Medraut knew of his father was a wretched violator and murderer. However as they fought alongside one another against the Roman hordes, Medraut came to see a man capable of true chivalry and honor. He discovered that Artorius was a paragon of virtue and strength, an attribute of which awed Medraut very appropriately like a child upon learning of their father's heroics. He learned that his father was much more complex than he had initially thought. Though mere adulation for his father was one thing, it however was when Artorius knighted him and made Medraut and his mother apart of the royal court without argument that Medraut completely changed his view towards his father. While that act of rewarding was simply something that the High King was honor-bound to fulfil in the eyes of most, for Medraut however that was the greatest gift in his entire life as he was for the first time since forever actually recognized as a person and not as a sin against god. From that moment on Medraut decided then to genuinely swear loyalty forever to his father Artorius and his cause. This Medraut finally and wholeheartedly confessed to his father as they stood before one another on that dreadful battlefield.

During the time he and his mother were a part of the court while Artorius was still High King Medraut continued on, he still felt the prejudice that others had of him and more. However they didn't matter as Artorius gave him and his mother more than they deserved. And even though he knew that no matter what they would never be recognized as Artorius' legitimate family, Medraut still felt that they were loved and for that he was ever more loyal to his father. However, it was for that reason that drove Medraut to his present tyrannical regime. When his father fled in heartbreak and caused the crisis that happened afterwards, none was more affected than Medraut. The glorious utopia that his father created was falling apart and Medraut felt that he had to do something in order to preserve it. For this he decided against his fears to draw Caliburn out and reveal his shameful true identity in order to assume the mantle of High King and restore order. The first act of which was sentencing Gwenhwyfar and Launcelot to death on charges of treason for which Medraut personally felt at the time to be rightfully due as they were supposed to be the ones his father could trust the most, even more than his bastard abomination of a son.

From that debacle which fortunately failed and onward, Medraut tried to right similar wrongs that he thought were likewise damaging his father's dream. Even though he was better at killing Britannia's enemies rather than at ruling its people, he tried to be a High King worthy of his father's blood and pride. He even put up a mask of indifferent strength that he thought best resembled his father's stalwart resolve in order to not look weak and keep the peace. However no matter what he did, it just kept getting worse with every solution he thought could settle things. It eventually came to a point wherein he could no longer control things without resorting to extremist measures, among which included hurting those he cared the most for. For it all, he desperately hid further behind his mask and other such closed doors, hoping behind them all that something would turn up to fix it all. Something did happen and that was his father Artorius returning as if back from the dead. However by the time it had occurred, Medraut was so deeply entangled within the very fascist laws and persona he himself had set up that he was bound by them to not just simply return rulership back to his father without hassle. He was forced by the very laws he so foolishly created to put down his father's insurrection rather than welcome Artorius back with arms wide open in love. Fate had decreed that a creature such as Medraut would bring ruin and like a pawn he unwittingly fulfilled its wishes. For this, Medraut tearfully cried behind his mask and asked his father for true justice to be served as he was beyond redemption.

Having heard Medraut's confession, Artorius learned a great deal about his son. Among other things, he finally figured out why a belief in which hopes a tyrant would be overthrown by the return of the previous ruler was so suspiciously rampant and left unchecked in a supposed ironclad dictatorship. It was because the tyrant himself also hoped for Artorius' return. Being one who also hoped for his father's return, Medraut had allowed this belief to remain alive within his regime that it unintentionally and counterproductively allowed Artorius to rally so many allies for their upcoming battle in the first place. This was an act so audacious that it was a miracle unto itself that it remained completely unnoticed by Medraut's own fanatical followers. However other than that, it was clear that any other action that could settle things peacefully was beyond Medraut's reach due to his own laws and supposed followers. Artorius though could understand and sympathize with Medraut's inescapable predicament for he too was more than once bound by the very laws he created to do things that went against everything he believed in. Knowing firsthand the weight the crown has on its bearer well, Artorius forgave a repentant Medraut for all of the sins he'd done and all of which he would soon commit in their battle. For even with the father reconciling with his own flesh and blood, the both of them were truly bound by duty and fate to fight one another to the death for the sake of Britannia's future. There was no escape for the both them.

With that, the two of them then returned to their respective troops and as if guided by fate's hand, the fog that had engulfed the entire battlefield prior lifted as if to declare the battle to truly begin. Thus the battle between the forces of Artorius and his son ensued and it was truly nothing like anything that happened before. Brother against brother, kin against kin, and so forth fought in this battle for Britannia's future. Though it severely dwarfed in scale in comparison with the war with Rome, it was an intense battle of unparalleled legend and renown. However nowhere was it more intense than when the royal father and his son finally found one another in the insanity of it all and began to fight each other directly.

Throughout his entire life, Artorius had always fought in his greatest battles with both Caliburn and Excalibur in each of his hands. However in this very battle due to circumstances, his two swords for the first time clashed with one another as if to reflect the situation's true nature. Through the clashing of the blades, he for the first time felt the might of Caliburn used against him. Though he couldn't feel the fiery fury of Caliburn due to the magic of both swords, he however felt the flurry of emotions its wielder could be consumed in while possessing the sword as he received blow after blow from Medraut. And as their duel went on, Artorius could also feel evermore the personal pain his son had as both the blade and magic of Excalibur stung Medraut greatly with each blow Artorius gave him. From it all, it was clear that both men truly did not want to battle as their blows against each other further conveyed their true emotions. However fate and duty would not allow either one of them to yield so easily and thus they both reluctantly put their whole hearts and souls into the fight.

Thus did the battle between Artorius and Medraut and their respective forces continued as so and much blood and tears were shed that day. On that day, it felt like the battle would go on forever and the grim reaper's harvest would never be fulfilled. However despite the madness of it all, the battle did fortunately end. As if in perfect unison, the battle ended at the exact precise moment when Artorius and Medraut gave each other the final definite blow. In what was probably their first and only embrace, the two of them gave each other a mortal wound in which both their swords penetrated the other deeply. And while Artorius was able to sustain himself longer than Medraut thanks to the magic of Excalibur, it was clear that the wound he suffered at Caliburn was fatal beyond anything medicine or magic could repair. Despite that though, the mere act of Artorius living beyond his son was cause enough for both Artorius' and Medraut's forces to declare honorably victory and defeat respectively.

With that the battle was over. However amidst all the commotion that happened afterwards, all that a dying Artorius could think about was the last words that Medraut spoke of when the final blow was struck. When Artorius gave Medraut the fatal strike that ended his life, Medraut in a whisper thanked his father for finally delivering him out of this nightmare he had caused. He told Artorius that he knew that this was true for Excalibur despite it impaling his body deeply, no longer stung him with its bitter cold. This reconciliation between his flesh and the holy sword Excalibur could only mean that for there could be no other explanation Medraut could think of. This Medraut spoke as his last words to his father and this did Artorius tearfully think of as he cradled the lifeless body of his son in his arms.

Reconciliation with the Soul

With the battle against Medraut won, peace returned to Britannia as the fascist regime fell alongside its tyrant. However, Artorius was fatally wounded beyond repair. The only thing that kept Artorius barely alive was the magic of Excalibur of which he still grasped in his hand in a near rigor mortis like state. As such, taking away the sword away from him would truly make him succumb to the wound which brought him to death's door. The wound of which was Caliburn passing through Artorius' entire body, embedded completely within and irremovable by any like all the times before. With his body like this, it was clear that Artorius was in a deep critical condition and was barely hanging onto life. Regardless of whether there was a way to save him though, Artorius however was resigned to his fate.

Even before his return to restore Britannia, Artorius was already prepared to die one way or another from this last endeavour. He had lived a long life and it was beyond high time that he passed the torch to the next generation. This he truly believed in as expressed in his hold towards his two swords. His hand slowly loosened its grip on Excalibur as each moment passed, while the wound created by Caliburn tightened evermore around the blade that caused it. Both acts were not caused by magic or anything of the sort but by the former High King's very own will to pass on. He was more than willing to be taken by the reaper to the great beyond.

Although he was resigned to his mortal fate, Artorius was not in regret. He thanked the heavens that through this very last task of restoring Britannia, he was fortunate enough to finally reconcile with many things that plagued him throughout his life. And though some of them ended in tragedy most unfortunate, his soul was finally reconciled with nonetheless. Having thus accepted death, Artorius took care of a few small matters before he could truly accompany the reaper, among which included the naming of his successor and what would become of Britannia's affairs after he passed on. The most important of them all however was the return of Excalibur to its true owner, the Lady of the Lake. His need of it was at its end and it was only right to return it to the fair Lady who so generously bestowed it upon him those many years ago.

So with a small host of those closest to him of which also doubled as his funeral procession, Artorius travelled back to the fair Lady's lake. Their journey there was peaceful and uneventful as if fate finally decided to give something Artorius could do with the utmost ease. Upon arriving at the lake, Artorius instructed one of his still surviving knights Sir Bedwyr to pry Excalibur from his hand and cast it into the lake for the Lady to receive back. While Sir Bedwyr hesitated to do the task a few times since he didn't wish for his lord sovereign to extinguish, he ultimately did as he was told and threw Excalibur back into the lake. Upon the sword being thrown into the lake, the fair Lady in perfect unison caught it in midair with her hand reaching out from the waters. With that accomplished, Artorius finally left the world of the living peacefully. As his soul left his body, the Lady of the Lake and her attendants came before Artorius' then mourning host in a ship of unimaginable splendid design. For all the trials that he had been through and for all righteous deeds he had accomplished throughout his life, the Lady and her attendants offered in reward to bury Artorius' body on the Isle of Avalon. Such a honor was only reserved for the most holy and righteous beings, and while the Lady and her attendants admitted that Artorius was not without fault, he definitely though had rightfully earned such a privilege. Thus Artorius' body was taken to Avalon and his name forever made a legend throughout the ages.

With that the story of Artorius' life ended and his now peaceful body resting forever in Avalon. Though his story had ended, legend speaks that should the need arise, The Once and Future King would awaken from his deathly slumber to once again right the evils of the world. Whether or not such a prophecy would ever come true, it is clear that the story of High King Artorius of Britannia is one that has forever been engraved in the hearts of many throughout the whole world and beyond.