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King Lot the traitorous wretch
Bio:
Long ago in the age of Artorius, there were many lords and vassals who had sworn fealty to the High King. Among them was Lot, a lord who initially appeared to most folks at the time like one of Artorius' most loyal and eager of supporters. Not only did Lot seemingly acknowledged Artorius as the overall ruler of Britannia practically instantly without any sort of apparent issue when the matter was brought forth to him, but he also had a seemingly good track record of being loyal towards Artorius' family, having apparently stayed loyal serving Artorius' father, Uthyr, for many years. By all accounts, Lot on the surface seemed like a very staunch supporter of the High King in general especially considering the benefits that came from being one. Alas however, this was all but a charade for underneath the façade of a seemingly trustworthy ally was in reality a bitter treacherous wretch of a man filled with envy and spite born from years of constant irrecognition. This and much more was the truth about one of the more despised villains to have ever come out from that legendary age of old.
The ignoble truth about Lot goes way back to the time of the man most history books recognize as Uthyr's father and Artorius' paternal grandfather, King Kustenhin. Back then, Lot served as a vassal in Kustenhin's court however, he was no great knight, lord, or anything of the sort in service of the previous king of Britannia. Instead, he held a rather minor rank in court. It wasn't a position so low that he could be considered no different from the common lowborn peasant riffraff but neither was it one so high up that he could be considered on par with some of the more respectable lords. He was pretty much no more than an over ranked villein in his standing in Kustenhin's court which in its average mediocrity was insulting in more ways than one.
Aside from Lot's rather mediocre standing in Kustenhin's court, there are some records that claim that he may have been a squire to Uthyr. The validity of these records though is somewhat suspect since many were written after the fact rather than during and most are based merely on Lot being associated with Uthyr rather than anything concrete. What's more, whether or not Lot was a squire who served directly under Uthyr didn't really mean anything for his status either way as he wasn't exactly a part of those who were that close with Uthyr per se. Based on some manuscripts and such, Lot was more of a lowly toady who served Uthyr and any close associates Uthyr had, a position many guess might have led to the belief that he was Uthyr's squire. Lot did all sorts of menial undesirable jobs for Uthyr from running simple errands to doing demeaning chores. Some jobs of which Lot did were really undesirable in more ways than one as in being outright shady. Nonetheless, Lot did such things for Uthyr for a long time however not out of genuine loyalty but rather out of self interest.
Lot in truth was a rather ambitious sort who felt he deserved recognition whether or not it was honestly well earned. He in general hated among other things doing Uthyr's dirty work since he saw it as beneath him. He however only did so as he like many others at the time saw Uthyr as having a lot of potential. He believed that if he bided his time long enough serving Uthyr, he'd eventually be rewarded for all his hard work or at least eventually be given the opportunity. It's for this reason and this reason alone that he stuck around Uthyr for so long through the death of Uthyr's eldest brother and Uthyr's subsequent exile to Uthyr's return campaign and ascension as king of all of Britannia.
After Uthyr ascended to kinghood and secured his dominion, Lot was eventually given his own land to govern and it seemed like he was finally being rewarded for his long servitude to Uthyr. What he instead got was a dismal backwater located in one of the most remote fringes of Britannia. According to surviving accounts, half of the near constant misty region was mostly muddy farmland while the other half was mostly untamed swampland. Its infrastructure was rather low and underdeveloped due to years of neglect and sloppiness. Its inhabitants meanwhile, though supposedly more intellectual than the average squalid superstitious peasantry typical of such places, tended to be very presumptuous and condescendingly insolent towards authority figures and just about anyone who were their betters. Suffice to say what was given to Lot was not so much of a reward indeed.
Because Lot was given such an undesirable land to lord over, it led to many believing that this was instead one more task that Uthyr had asked Lot to do for him, one more unsavory duty the king of Britannia had need of Lot. Based off accounts that have been recovered, it seemed like Lot was put in charge of looking over something or someone within the land he was given. To some, it was almost like he was an accomplice keeping watch over something that was stolen or someone that was kidnapped. Whatever the case may have been though, Lot begrudgingly did what was asked of him by Uthyr as he had always done and became the ever watchful lord of this region. For a time, Lot was merely this until Uthyr died and Lot saw an opportunity.
Unlike some other lords at the time who decided to compete for the empty throne left by Uthyr, Lot instead decided to declare the land he governed a separate kingdom with himself as its king. He reckoned that regardless of whatever he did, he was never ever going to earn any real status higher than what he was assigned to even under whoever managed to claim the throne of all of Britannia next. He also recognized that despite what problems it had, the region he owned also had its share of advantages such as that its very remoteness allowed him to keep to himself without too much worry from other rival lords and the like. Most of all, he saw that he had no chance in trying to compete for the throne against lords who had more power and influence than him. Thusly in the midst of all the chaos that came about after Uthyr died, Lot made himself the monarch of the little corner of Britannia that he owned. As for those who suddenly became the subjects of his self-proclaimed kingdom, Lot's decision surprisingly didn't seem to bother them for the most part according to surviving accounts.
Although most of those in Lot's self-proclaimed kingdom still retained their general insolence towards authority that they had when he was still a mere lord, the inhabitants in general didn't seem to mind when he suddenly decided to appoint himself as their king without any say from them at all. To them apparently, he had just simply changed the name of the position he had previously held rather than rise above them to a higher one. Furthermore, considering Lot essentially cut off several other higher ranking nobles and the like when he decided to separate himself and their home from the rest of Britannia, this was something acceptable for these particular peasants. That being said, it was not like they exactly acknowledged Lot as their king rather it was more like they decided to tolerate him as someone claiming to be their king. Given their attitude towards any lord and other similar authority figures whom they generally saw as all repressive classist dictators in a sense, they were willing to let Lot play as king provided he didn't overextend what supposed authority they allowed him to have any further than they liked or in a manner they strongly disagreed with. It wasn't an arrangement that Lot liked but he was willing to put up with dirty commoners who didn't exactly respect him if it meant he got to be in a high position not overshadowed by anyone else. Besides, Lot only cared for just living the role of a king than anything else really. Certain royal obligations that naturally came with taking up the title of king, like making sure taxes were properly collected, were seen by Lot as being too much work and by his supposed subjects as being too oppressive so why bother enforcing things that no one in general in his self-proclaimed kingdom liked. It's for this reason in general that someone like Lot was able to be king of a place that had strong issues against nobles and the like. There however have been some rumors over the ages though that Lot may have did more than this to convince these peasants to let him claim to be their king. That he might've embraced their religion or was already a practitioner of their faith prior to being given lordship over them which would've made them more tolerable towards his whole self-appointment as their king.
In the years following his decision to proclaim himself a king, Lot was able to indulge in the position that he had given to himself within his personal little kingdom. True, he still encountered some problems of which were often consequences of the way he chose to act and behave as a supposed ruler but he considered these nothing compared to what he had to suffer before. As for his kingdom itself, it actually relatively fared well, at least compared with the rest of Britannia at the time. Whereas most of the country collapsed from the plethora of problems that quickly arose after Uthyr's reign ended, Lot's kingdom was for the most part spared from the brunt of it all. It was already in disarray to begin with and it's thanks to that, as well as the other reasons which made it undesirable, which dissuaded outsiders from wanting to bother the place as they would rather pursue more favorable lands with much richer resources. Moreover, everyone else in Britannia was too busy dealing with their own problems and competing with one another during those dire times to take any real interest in such a place. So in spite of Lot's irresponsibly lax attitude towards the responsibilities which came along with the role he had appointed himself with, and other certain hardships his supposed subjects still faced, Lot's kingdom fared relatively well on its own. Lot was content with how things were however that changed when he became aware of Artorius' existence.
When Lot found out that a son and heir to Uthyr's throne had appeared with the intention to reclaim his birthright and reunify the country, Lot swore fealty to Artorius almost immediately without any apparent hesitation the moment negotiations were brought forth. Given that most at the time only knew of Lot simply as a longtime follower of Uthyr's, this act was seen by many as Lot being loyal to Uthyr's family and thus was met with both commendation from those who placed value on loyalty, and reservation from those who still held resentment against former associates of Uthyr's. For others, this was seen as Lot merely deciding to hop aboard Artorius' rising success in order to reap what perks he could get for himself. In truth though, it's more likely that Lot immediately swore fealty without much resistance because he couldn't put up any resistance at all. Based on some surviving manuscripts, Lot clearly didn't anticipate that anyone would actually come to his little personal kingdom for whatever reason. Having only just indulged in his self-appointed role for years rather than properly take care of things, Lot had left his kingdom completely unprepared in the likelihood that some powerful lord or the like with their armies and followers might suddenly show up. Therefore, since he had no means to put up any sort of actual opposition, Lot had no choice but to quickly give into Artorius' demands lest he face the might which he had heard that Uthyr's son possessed. This was a course of action that Lot would just as likely have cravenly done with any regular old warlord that suddenly appeared and invaded his kingdom based on what's known. Fortunate for Lot, Artorius came peacefully with terms that were for the most part agreeable and thus did Lot accept Artorius as king of all of Britannia. Despite how things turned out though, this decision still displeased Lot.
Even though the arrangement that Lot had accepted from Artorius allowed him to retain his self-appointed title and kingdom, he felt like he had returned to the low ranking position that he had once served under Uthyr. True under Artorius, he was recognized as a king by the rest of Britannia more than he ever was by his supposed subjects but with the way things worked, it made the fact that he was really just a king in name only very obvious. There was also the fact that he was now expected to actually perform his royal duties under Artorius but the matter that he was once again under someone else and not on top per se bothered him more. Lot's displeasure only further increased when Artorius' proper full title was changed from king to High King as it literally diminished Lot's own. Still, Lot recognized that he greatly benefitted from being under Artorius with Lot's kingdom in particular flourishing in both peace and prosperity for practically the first time ever however, this all just highlighted how that much better a ruler Artorius was than Lot. All this slighted Lot's pride and so Lot hatched a plot against Artorius with the aim to make things more fitting for himself.
For his plot, Lot employed a certain young sorceress by the name of Morganna Le Fay. Posing as Lot's daughter, Morganna was to seduce Artorius and steal various secrets from him in order to blackmail the High King. Although it's not really all that clear what Lot's exact relationship with Morganna was to compel her collusion in his plan, a majority of surviving manuscripts however peg Lot as being a father figure of sorts to her therefore making the lie that she was his daughter somewhat of a half truth. Even so, a great many of these manuscripts not so subtly suggest that Lot was abusive towards Morganna in a particularly nasty way, giving their somewhat father-daughter relationship some very uncomfortable connotations. Considering what Lot made her do for his scheme, such implications wouldn't be without merit. Lot knew who Morganna really was and thus chose her specifically for his vile plan primarily to spite Artorius in the sickest way possible.
Once Morganna completed the tasks of which Lot had asked her whilst withholding certain information, Lot threatened Artorius with publicly exposing the appalling truth about Artorius and Morganna's affair as well as revealing the stolen secrets to Artorius' enemies unless the High King met Lot's demands. What exactly were Lot's demands though is a bit of a debate as surviving sources vary on the matter. One account claims that Lot demanded that Artorius completely renounce all power and authority he had as High King over Lot and Lot's kingdom but continue providing benefits and support as if things were normal. Another account claims that Lot demanded that he be given a position almost on par to that of High King, and huge swaths of land to increase his kingdom's size. Yet another account claims that Lot outrageously demanded that Artorius outright surrender the throne of Britannia to him, or at the very least make him Artorius' master that the High King answered to like a dog. Regardless of what really were Lot's actual demands, they ultimately didn't matter as Artorius didn't take it too well when Lot revealed the horrid sickening truth behind the crux of what he was blackmailing the High King for. That Artorius and Morganna whom Lot had sent to seduce the High King were actually siblings. Lot had intended to take advantage over Artorius with this primarily however he never expected the absolute rage that Artorius would have in response which was so uncharacteristic of the High King up to this point in time. As such, Lot and many others paid dearly for his detestable crime.
For what Lot had done, Artorius completely blinded by rage decided to raze Lot's entire kingdom on the grounds that Lot's subjects were in cahoots with his scheme. Given certain strong anti-authority sentiments that they held and their general attitude towards Lot, Lot's subjects wouldn't have been involved. However as Lot's laxity in enforcing certain things apparently inadvertently allowed them to have a degree of independence and agency unlike what regular peasants would normally have back then, it wouldn't be hard to fathom that at least some of them would've aided Lot in some form of manner as they'd rather tolerate a so called king like Lot than be under a High King like Artorius. Moreover, there have been some rumors over the ages that Lot's subjects could've conspired with him for ulterior reasons related to their religion. While Lot had Morganna seduce Artorius primarily to blackmail the High King, these rumors allege that this may've also been part of a plan concocted by Lot's subjects and him in the hopes that it would birth the one who will finally lead their faith back to greatness or something along those lines. Of course, whether or not Lot's subjects were really in on his deplorable plot for whatever reason may never be known since there's no known account that actually clarifies the matter. Nevertheless, even if Lot's subjects didn't aid him, they still apparently allowed him to commit his heinous scheme and whatever other despicable violations he may've done. Lot's kingdom after all was a relatively small place and its people were rather close-knit so there's no way Lot's subjects could've been unaware about certain truths and happenings unless they deliberately turned a blind eye to such issues and did nothing. As such, there are those that feel that as needlessly cruel and extremely disproportionate Artorius' retribution upon them was, it was still karmic justice what befell them. It's also hence one of the reasons why Lot's kingdom is often simply called as is in many accounts instead of what proper name it may've originally had as a sort of badge of shame for allowing Lot's transgressions.
As for Lot himself, it's not clear what his fate was after he incurred Artorius' wrath. Like with his demands, sources vary on what really happened to him. Some accounts say Lot was immediately slain by an enraged Artorius on the spot as the first victim of the High King's rampage, while some others say he was killed instead by a distraught Morganna who was mortified upon learning what Lot had made her do for his scheme which for her was the final straw. There are also some other accounts that instead claim that Lot was torn apart by his supposed subjects for the catastrophe that he had brought upon them by angering Artorius. Then there are a few accounts that claim Lot was able to survive the High King's carnage only to become a drunk that eventually unceremoniously died cold and alone in some random ditch. All these and that's not even counting the sources that omit Lot's fate altogether for varying reasons. Regardless of what his actual fate was, Lot is forever remembered by history as a completely depraved villain for what he did. What's more, his selfish actions had ramifications that went beyond than what simply happened to him and his kingdom. Certain incidents and tragedies that happened throughout the rest of High King Artorius' reign and beyond can be traced back to Lot in some form or manner and for that many damn Lot that much more as a truly traitorous wretch.
Notes:
• For Lot's overall design both here and in his previous bio, I intentionally based his appearance off the King of Midland from Berserk. You see, the King of Midland was initially a rather fair and decent person but later turned into quite the wretch after a certain particular incident. Thus I chose the King of Midland, in particular his later decrepit appearance, as the inspiration for Lot's design since it goes with what I'm trying to go for with Lot as a king. The only difference though is that while the King of Midland was a genuinely good king to begin with who later became a wretched one, Lot on the other hand was a king who only initially appeared to be good but in reality was actually wretched all along.
• The way Lot looks differently here from his previous bio is to reflect who he truly is. While this is something that's been used in multiple stories and the like, I partly based Lot's change off the Ace Attorney games wherein certain characters undergo a completely drastic change in their entire appearance once something major about them is revealed, like that they're really the murderer.
• For the subjects of Lot's kingdom and their views, the idea behind them I based in part on the anarcho-syndicalist peasants from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. What I'm going for them here is that like the peasants from the film, they don't accept kings and such of any kind due to certain views. They however would tolerate a king, even a self-appointed one, provided he kept to himself and exerted little to no authority over them. This is how Lot could be a king of such people as he was just concerned with simply living as a king in name than doing anything else.
• In certain Arthurian stories, Lot is married to King Arthur's sister/half-sister who in some versions was betrothed to Lot by Uther Pendragon after Arthur's father married Igraine. If you apply certain info from some other versions to this, one could come up with an interpretation that Lot was given a bride young enough to be his own daughter, a thing that wouldn't be out of place in the medieval ages but considered really creepy in modern times. It's this idea in mind why I gave my version of Lot an abusive parental-like relationship with Morganna which carried some very uncomfortable implications. It's to add to how much of a despicable wretch he really was along with what he made Morganna do for his selfish scheme.
• Lot having an abusive parental-like relationship with Morganna is also why I intentionally designed Lot's appearance off the King of Midland from Berserk. Arguably the most infamous thing about the King of Midland among other things was that he had an incestuous lust for his daughter Charlotte.
• Lot's kingdom being a misty region, its people having some sort of religion, and the allegation that Morganna's seduction of Artorius was also part of a plan in hopes of bringing forth some sort of leader are details very loosely based off certain things from The Mists of Avalon miniseries.
• Here's a thought to think about also in regards to Lot and his kingdom. Lot's kingdom was anti-nobility. Nobility would refer to the medieval upper class these peasants were against. There is however another definition to this word which is "the quality of being noble in character" as in being honorable and etc. Since Lot was a traitor, his kingdom being against nobility would thus have a double meaning especially if you go by the idea that they really were complicit in his whole plot and other things.
• Here's something I didn't realize until a couple of days after I submitted this piece. I unintentionally made Lot here essentially the opposite of the biblical Lot. The biblical Lot was a faithful man who was allowed to escape the destruction of Sodom but unfortunately his daughters afterwards got him drunk in order to "lie with him". My Lot here was a wicked man who brought destruction upon his kingdom and had an abusive paternal relationship with his somewhat surrogate daughter which carried some uncomfortable overtones.
Other Bios:
• First Bio: [link]
Bio:
Long ago in the age of Artorius, there were many lords and vassals who had sworn fealty to the High King. Among them was Lot, a lord who initially appeared to most folks at the time like one of Artorius' most loyal and eager of supporters. Not only did Lot seemingly acknowledged Artorius as the overall ruler of Britannia practically instantly without any sort of apparent issue when the matter was brought forth to him, but he also had a seemingly good track record of being loyal towards Artorius' family, having apparently stayed loyal serving Artorius' father, Uthyr, for many years. By all accounts, Lot on the surface seemed like a very staunch supporter of the High King in general especially considering the benefits that came from being one. Alas however, this was all but a charade for underneath the façade of a seemingly trustworthy ally was in reality a bitter treacherous wretch of a man filled with envy and spite born from years of constant irrecognition. This and much more was the truth about one of the more despised villains to have ever come out from that legendary age of old.
The ignoble truth about Lot goes way back to the time of the man most history books recognize as Uthyr's father and Artorius' paternal grandfather, King Kustenhin. Back then, Lot served as a vassal in Kustenhin's court however, he was no great knight, lord, or anything of the sort in service of the previous king of Britannia. Instead, he held a rather minor rank in court. It wasn't a position so low that he could be considered no different from the common lowborn peasant riffraff but neither was it one so high up that he could be considered on par with some of the more respectable lords. He was pretty much no more than an over ranked villein in his standing in Kustenhin's court which in its average mediocrity was insulting in more ways than one.
Aside from Lot's rather mediocre standing in Kustenhin's court, there are some records that claim that he may have been a squire to Uthyr. The validity of these records though is somewhat suspect since many were written after the fact rather than during and most are based merely on Lot being associated with Uthyr rather than anything concrete. What's more, whether or not Lot was a squire who served directly under Uthyr didn't really mean anything for his status either way as he wasn't exactly a part of those who were that close with Uthyr per se. Based on some manuscripts and such, Lot was more of a lowly toady who served Uthyr and any close associates Uthyr had, a position many guess might have led to the belief that he was Uthyr's squire. Lot did all sorts of menial undesirable jobs for Uthyr from running simple errands to doing demeaning chores. Some jobs of which Lot did were really undesirable in more ways than one as in being outright shady. Nonetheless, Lot did such things for Uthyr for a long time however not out of genuine loyalty but rather out of self interest.
Lot in truth was a rather ambitious sort who felt he deserved recognition whether or not it was honestly well earned. He in general hated among other things doing Uthyr's dirty work since he saw it as beneath him. He however only did so as he like many others at the time saw Uthyr as having a lot of potential. He believed that if he bided his time long enough serving Uthyr, he'd eventually be rewarded for all his hard work or at least eventually be given the opportunity. It's for this reason and this reason alone that he stuck around Uthyr for so long through the death of Uthyr's eldest brother and Uthyr's subsequent exile to Uthyr's return campaign and ascension as king of all of Britannia.
After Uthyr ascended to kinghood and secured his dominion, Lot was eventually given his own land to govern and it seemed like he was finally being rewarded for his long servitude to Uthyr. What he instead got was a dismal backwater located in one of the most remote fringes of Britannia. According to surviving accounts, half of the near constant misty region was mostly muddy farmland while the other half was mostly untamed swampland. Its infrastructure was rather low and underdeveloped due to years of neglect and sloppiness. Its inhabitants meanwhile, though supposedly more intellectual than the average squalid superstitious peasantry typical of such places, tended to be very presumptuous and condescendingly insolent towards authority figures and just about anyone who were their betters. Suffice to say what was given to Lot was not so much of a reward indeed.
Because Lot was given such an undesirable land to lord over, it led to many believing that this was instead one more task that Uthyr had asked Lot to do for him, one more unsavory duty the king of Britannia had need of Lot. Based off accounts that have been recovered, it seemed like Lot was put in charge of looking over something or someone within the land he was given. To some, it was almost like he was an accomplice keeping watch over something that was stolen or someone that was kidnapped. Whatever the case may have been though, Lot begrudgingly did what was asked of him by Uthyr as he had always done and became the ever watchful lord of this region. For a time, Lot was merely this until Uthyr died and Lot saw an opportunity.
Unlike some other lords at the time who decided to compete for the empty throne left by Uthyr, Lot instead decided to declare the land he governed a separate kingdom with himself as its king. He reckoned that regardless of whatever he did, he was never ever going to earn any real status higher than what he was assigned to even under whoever managed to claim the throne of all of Britannia next. He also recognized that despite what problems it had, the region he owned also had its share of advantages such as that its very remoteness allowed him to keep to himself without too much worry from other rival lords and the like. Most of all, he saw that he had no chance in trying to compete for the throne against lords who had more power and influence than him. Thusly in the midst of all the chaos that came about after Uthyr died, Lot made himself the monarch of the little corner of Britannia that he owned. As for those who suddenly became the subjects of his self-proclaimed kingdom, Lot's decision surprisingly didn't seem to bother them for the most part according to surviving accounts.
Although most of those in Lot's self-proclaimed kingdom still retained their general insolence towards authority that they had when he was still a mere lord, the inhabitants in general didn't seem to mind when he suddenly decided to appoint himself as their king without any say from them at all. To them apparently, he had just simply changed the name of the position he had previously held rather than rise above them to a higher one. Furthermore, considering Lot essentially cut off several other higher ranking nobles and the like when he decided to separate himself and their home from the rest of Britannia, this was something acceptable for these particular peasants. That being said, it was not like they exactly acknowledged Lot as their king rather it was more like they decided to tolerate him as someone claiming to be their king. Given their attitude towards any lord and other similar authority figures whom they generally saw as all repressive classist dictators in a sense, they were willing to let Lot play as king provided he didn't overextend what supposed authority they allowed him to have any further than they liked or in a manner they strongly disagreed with. It wasn't an arrangement that Lot liked but he was willing to put up with dirty commoners who didn't exactly respect him if it meant he got to be in a high position not overshadowed by anyone else. Besides, Lot only cared for just living the role of a king than anything else really. Certain royal obligations that naturally came with taking up the title of king, like making sure taxes were properly collected, were seen by Lot as being too much work and by his supposed subjects as being too oppressive so why bother enforcing things that no one in general in his self-proclaimed kingdom liked. It's for this reason in general that someone like Lot was able to be king of a place that had strong issues against nobles and the like. There however have been some rumors over the ages though that Lot may have did more than this to convince these peasants to let him claim to be their king. That he might've embraced their religion or was already a practitioner of their faith prior to being given lordship over them which would've made them more tolerable towards his whole self-appointment as their king.
In the years following his decision to proclaim himself a king, Lot was able to indulge in the position that he had given to himself within his personal little kingdom. True, he still encountered some problems of which were often consequences of the way he chose to act and behave as a supposed ruler but he considered these nothing compared to what he had to suffer before. As for his kingdom itself, it actually relatively fared well, at least compared with the rest of Britannia at the time. Whereas most of the country collapsed from the plethora of problems that quickly arose after Uthyr's reign ended, Lot's kingdom was for the most part spared from the brunt of it all. It was already in disarray to begin with and it's thanks to that, as well as the other reasons which made it undesirable, which dissuaded outsiders from wanting to bother the place as they would rather pursue more favorable lands with much richer resources. Moreover, everyone else in Britannia was too busy dealing with their own problems and competing with one another during those dire times to take any real interest in such a place. So in spite of Lot's irresponsibly lax attitude towards the responsibilities which came along with the role he had appointed himself with, and other certain hardships his supposed subjects still faced, Lot's kingdom fared relatively well on its own. Lot was content with how things were however that changed when he became aware of Artorius' existence.
When Lot found out that a son and heir to Uthyr's throne had appeared with the intention to reclaim his birthright and reunify the country, Lot swore fealty to Artorius almost immediately without any apparent hesitation the moment negotiations were brought forth. Given that most at the time only knew of Lot simply as a longtime follower of Uthyr's, this act was seen by many as Lot being loyal to Uthyr's family and thus was met with both commendation from those who placed value on loyalty, and reservation from those who still held resentment against former associates of Uthyr's. For others, this was seen as Lot merely deciding to hop aboard Artorius' rising success in order to reap what perks he could get for himself. In truth though, it's more likely that Lot immediately swore fealty without much resistance because he couldn't put up any resistance at all. Based on some surviving manuscripts, Lot clearly didn't anticipate that anyone would actually come to his little personal kingdom for whatever reason. Having only just indulged in his self-appointed role for years rather than properly take care of things, Lot had left his kingdom completely unprepared in the likelihood that some powerful lord or the like with their armies and followers might suddenly show up. Therefore, since he had no means to put up any sort of actual opposition, Lot had no choice but to quickly give into Artorius' demands lest he face the might which he had heard that Uthyr's son possessed. This was a course of action that Lot would just as likely have cravenly done with any regular old warlord that suddenly appeared and invaded his kingdom based on what's known. Fortunate for Lot, Artorius came peacefully with terms that were for the most part agreeable and thus did Lot accept Artorius as king of all of Britannia. Despite how things turned out though, this decision still displeased Lot.
Even though the arrangement that Lot had accepted from Artorius allowed him to retain his self-appointed title and kingdom, he felt like he had returned to the low ranking position that he had once served under Uthyr. True under Artorius, he was recognized as a king by the rest of Britannia more than he ever was by his supposed subjects but with the way things worked, it made the fact that he was really just a king in name only very obvious. There was also the fact that he was now expected to actually perform his royal duties under Artorius but the matter that he was once again under someone else and not on top per se bothered him more. Lot's displeasure only further increased when Artorius' proper full title was changed from king to High King as it literally diminished Lot's own. Still, Lot recognized that he greatly benefitted from being under Artorius with Lot's kingdom in particular flourishing in both peace and prosperity for practically the first time ever however, this all just highlighted how that much better a ruler Artorius was than Lot. All this slighted Lot's pride and so Lot hatched a plot against Artorius with the aim to make things more fitting for himself.
For his plot, Lot employed a certain young sorceress by the name of Morganna Le Fay. Posing as Lot's daughter, Morganna was to seduce Artorius and steal various secrets from him in order to blackmail the High King. Although it's not really all that clear what Lot's exact relationship with Morganna was to compel her collusion in his plan, a majority of surviving manuscripts however peg Lot as being a father figure of sorts to her therefore making the lie that she was his daughter somewhat of a half truth. Even so, a great many of these manuscripts not so subtly suggest that Lot was abusive towards Morganna in a particularly nasty way, giving their somewhat father-daughter relationship some very uncomfortable connotations. Considering what Lot made her do for his scheme, such implications wouldn't be without merit. Lot knew who Morganna really was and thus chose her specifically for his vile plan primarily to spite Artorius in the sickest way possible.
Once Morganna completed the tasks of which Lot had asked her whilst withholding certain information, Lot threatened Artorius with publicly exposing the appalling truth about Artorius and Morganna's affair as well as revealing the stolen secrets to Artorius' enemies unless the High King met Lot's demands. What exactly were Lot's demands though is a bit of a debate as surviving sources vary on the matter. One account claims that Lot demanded that Artorius completely renounce all power and authority he had as High King over Lot and Lot's kingdom but continue providing benefits and support as if things were normal. Another account claims that Lot demanded that he be given a position almost on par to that of High King, and huge swaths of land to increase his kingdom's size. Yet another account claims that Lot outrageously demanded that Artorius outright surrender the throne of Britannia to him, or at the very least make him Artorius' master that the High King answered to like a dog. Regardless of what really were Lot's actual demands, they ultimately didn't matter as Artorius didn't take it too well when Lot revealed the horrid sickening truth behind the crux of what he was blackmailing the High King for. That Artorius and Morganna whom Lot had sent to seduce the High King were actually siblings. Lot had intended to take advantage over Artorius with this primarily however he never expected the absolute rage that Artorius would have in response which was so uncharacteristic of the High King up to this point in time. As such, Lot and many others paid dearly for his detestable crime.
For what Lot had done, Artorius completely blinded by rage decided to raze Lot's entire kingdom on the grounds that Lot's subjects were in cahoots with his scheme. Given certain strong anti-authority sentiments that they held and their general attitude towards Lot, Lot's subjects wouldn't have been involved. However as Lot's laxity in enforcing certain things apparently inadvertently allowed them to have a degree of independence and agency unlike what regular peasants would normally have back then, it wouldn't be hard to fathom that at least some of them would've aided Lot in some form of manner as they'd rather tolerate a so called king like Lot than be under a High King like Artorius. Moreover, there have been some rumors over the ages that Lot's subjects could've conspired with him for ulterior reasons related to their religion. While Lot had Morganna seduce Artorius primarily to blackmail the High King, these rumors allege that this may've also been part of a plan concocted by Lot's subjects and him in the hopes that it would birth the one who will finally lead their faith back to greatness or something along those lines. Of course, whether or not Lot's subjects were really in on his deplorable plot for whatever reason may never be known since there's no known account that actually clarifies the matter. Nevertheless, even if Lot's subjects didn't aid him, they still apparently allowed him to commit his heinous scheme and whatever other despicable violations he may've done. Lot's kingdom after all was a relatively small place and its people were rather close-knit so there's no way Lot's subjects could've been unaware about certain truths and happenings unless they deliberately turned a blind eye to such issues and did nothing. As such, there are those that feel that as needlessly cruel and extremely disproportionate Artorius' retribution upon them was, it was still karmic justice what befell them. It's also hence one of the reasons why Lot's kingdom is often simply called as is in many accounts instead of what proper name it may've originally had as a sort of badge of shame for allowing Lot's transgressions.
As for Lot himself, it's not clear what his fate was after he incurred Artorius' wrath. Like with his demands, sources vary on what really happened to him. Some accounts say Lot was immediately slain by an enraged Artorius on the spot as the first victim of the High King's rampage, while some others say he was killed instead by a distraught Morganna who was mortified upon learning what Lot had made her do for his scheme which for her was the final straw. There are also some other accounts that instead claim that Lot was torn apart by his supposed subjects for the catastrophe that he had brought upon them by angering Artorius. Then there are a few accounts that claim Lot was able to survive the High King's carnage only to become a drunk that eventually unceremoniously died cold and alone in some random ditch. All these and that's not even counting the sources that omit Lot's fate altogether for varying reasons. Regardless of what his actual fate was, Lot is forever remembered by history as a completely depraved villain for what he did. What's more, his selfish actions had ramifications that went beyond than what simply happened to him and his kingdom. Certain incidents and tragedies that happened throughout the rest of High King Artorius' reign and beyond can be traced back to Lot in some form or manner and for that many damn Lot that much more as a truly traitorous wretch.
Notes:
• For Lot's overall design both here and in his previous bio, I intentionally based his appearance off the King of Midland from Berserk. You see, the King of Midland was initially a rather fair and decent person but later turned into quite the wretch after a certain particular incident. Thus I chose the King of Midland, in particular his later decrepit appearance, as the inspiration for Lot's design since it goes with what I'm trying to go for with Lot as a king. The only difference though is that while the King of Midland was a genuinely good king to begin with who later became a wretched one, Lot on the other hand was a king who only initially appeared to be good but in reality was actually wretched all along.
• The way Lot looks differently here from his previous bio is to reflect who he truly is. While this is something that's been used in multiple stories and the like, I partly based Lot's change off the Ace Attorney games wherein certain characters undergo a completely drastic change in their entire appearance once something major about them is revealed, like that they're really the murderer.
• For the subjects of Lot's kingdom and their views, the idea behind them I based in part on the anarcho-syndicalist peasants from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. What I'm going for them here is that like the peasants from the film, they don't accept kings and such of any kind due to certain views. They however would tolerate a king, even a self-appointed one, provided he kept to himself and exerted little to no authority over them. This is how Lot could be a king of such people as he was just concerned with simply living as a king in name than doing anything else.
• In certain Arthurian stories, Lot is married to King Arthur's sister/half-sister who in some versions was betrothed to Lot by Uther Pendragon after Arthur's father married Igraine. If you apply certain info from some other versions to this, one could come up with an interpretation that Lot was given a bride young enough to be his own daughter, a thing that wouldn't be out of place in the medieval ages but considered really creepy in modern times. It's this idea in mind why I gave my version of Lot an abusive parental-like relationship with Morganna which carried some very uncomfortable implications. It's to add to how much of a despicable wretch he really was along with what he made Morganna do for his selfish scheme.
• Lot having an abusive parental-like relationship with Morganna is also why I intentionally designed Lot's appearance off the King of Midland from Berserk. Arguably the most infamous thing about the King of Midland among other things was that he had an incestuous lust for his daughter Charlotte.
• Lot's kingdom being a misty region, its people having some sort of religion, and the allegation that Morganna's seduction of Artorius was also part of a plan in hopes of bringing forth some sort of leader are details very loosely based off certain things from The Mists of Avalon miniseries.
• Here's a thought to think about also in regards to Lot and his kingdom. Lot's kingdom was anti-nobility. Nobility would refer to the medieval upper class these peasants were against. There is however another definition to this word which is "the quality of being noble in character" as in being honorable and etc. Since Lot was a traitor, his kingdom being against nobility would thus have a double meaning especially if you go by the idea that they really were complicit in his whole plot and other things.
• Here's something I didn't realize until a couple of days after I submitted this piece. I unintentionally made Lot here essentially the opposite of the biblical Lot. The biblical Lot was a faithful man who was allowed to escape the destruction of Sodom but unfortunately his daughters afterwards got him drunk in order to "lie with him". My Lot here was a wicked man who brought destruction upon his kingdom and had an abusive paternal relationship with his somewhat surrogate daughter which carried some uncomfortable overtones.
Other Bios:
• First Bio: [link]
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