513 AD: The Battle of Castle Terrabil

The tragedy of the May Babies was on everyone's lips. There were many different theories about who was responsible and why - Arthur, Merlin, Lot, Morgause, the Ladies of the Lake, the faeries, or others were all blamed by one party or another. Svenhilde cast a divination to see a vision of a ship at sea in a storm with no crew, and rows of babies under the decks. The ship broke apart, and the babies were washed away into the ocean - save one, which was snagged upon the rocks. As the storm and the vision abated, Svenhilde could see a fishing vessel travelling out to the reef...

Whatever the truth of the vision, certainly King Lot blamed Arthur for what had happened. Once again, he allied with other rebellious kings and marched south to join them. King Arthur's forces met them in Cameliard, near Castle Terrabil. His goal would be to defeat the army of Norgales first, before King Lot's forces arrived to reinforce them. 

The night before the battle, Sir Edwin, Sir Fflergant, Sir Mabon, and Lady Svenhilde all prepared in their own way. Svenhilde oversaw the establishment of the healers' tents, and ensured that it was all fully equipped, with the aid of Sir Mabon and Lady Elspeth, Sir Fflergant's wife. As they returned to their tents, some drunken soldiers began to throw mud at Svenhilde, calling her a witch and a fornicator. Saint Dewi's tirades against her had had an audience, evidently... Elspeth hurried a shocked Svenhilde away, while Sir Mabon chastised the soldiers and convinced them to back down. 

Meanwhile, Sir Edwin gave an inspiring speech to his troops and led them in prayer. He was somewhat upset when his enemy, Sir Telifan, led his followers to join Sir Edwin's prayers, but permitted it. As he returned to his tent, he saw two furtive-looking knights leaving the camp, too far away to confront. One of them had two swords. Sir Edwin remembered Sir Balin, the Knight of Two Swords, and his brother Sir Balan from the previous year, He reported their presence to the command tent, in case they were here as spies, and then retired for the night. 

At the same time, Sir Fflergant, furiously drunk, stumbled out of his tent to urinate. He was in a filthy mood, brooding upon the upcoming battle. For he had a special, personal reason to hate the King of Norgales. As he pulled up his breeches, he saw two guards escorting a massive prisoner through the camp. Somehow, it was none other than King Ryonce of Norgales himself! Sir Fflergant lost control of himself. He drew forth his sword and with an inarticulate scream, buried it in the King's chest. The men at arms were aghast and asked Sir Fflergant to come with them to explain himself to King Arthur, but Sir Fflergant refused, and fled the encampment entirely.

The next day, word was spreading throughout the camp about Sir Fflergant's deeds. Two unknown knights - almost certainly Sir Balin and Sir Balan, hoping to return to King Arthur's good graces - had captured King Ryonce and delivered him to the camp. Elspeth explained Sir Fflergant's motives to Svenhilde: during the anarchy, Sir Fflergant's older brother Sir Aaron had led a force to aid Cameliard against King Ryonce. Knowing that King Ryonce was obsessed with defeating kings, Sir Aaron lied and claimed to be the Brigand King - in other words, his younger brother - and challenged King Ryonce to single combat. King Ryonce broke the rules of honour and had Sir Aaron treacherously slain and shaved, and added his beard to Ryonce's cloak. 

The battle began, with Sir Edwin performing mighty deeds of honour. Back in the first aid tents, Sir Mabon, Lady Elspeth and Lady Svenhilde worked hard to save the lives of the wounded that were brought to them. Everyone wondered when King Lot would arrive and inevitably outflank King Arthur's army, but as the day dragged on, they did not appear, and so the forces of Norgales were defeated. Finally, King Lot arrived (the knights suspected, rightly, that Merlin had some hand in this), as did further reinforcements: a small force led by King Pellinore! Furthermore, Sir Balin and Sir Balan emerged from the trees and began doing mighty deeds of arms, destroying King Lot's flank single-handedly. Eventually, King Lot and King Pellinore confronted each other in a vicious duel, before King Pellinore finally slew the King of Lothian. With his death, the last soldiers routed - the battle was won.

Back in the first aid tents, Svenhilde was shocked when one patient, a knight with a mangled arm on the verge of death, reclaimed consciousness and refused her help. He didn't want a witch touching him. Svenhilde knew that none of the other healers would be able to save his life: only her magic would suffice. She decided to ignore the knight's objections, and to save his life.

Sir Edwin, meanwhile, discovered the body of Sir Telifan on the battlefield. His rival was extremely badly wounded, but begged to confess his sins and gain Sir Edwin's forgiveness. He had falsely accused others of heresy so that he could claim his lands, but he had done so for the greater good, against people who he felt were evil. He regretted how his actions had torn the last members of the Knights of Saint Gwiona apart. Now he was afraid what the results of his lies would be in the afterlife. Sir Edwin tried to comfort him - and then realised that Sir Telifan had died without hearing any of his words.

With the battle over, the rebellions against King Arthur had come to an end. Twelve kings had died that day, and King Arthur took control over their land. With King Idres of Cornwall among the dead, King Arthur confirmed Sir Edwin as the new Earl of Devon, restoring his ancestral lands to him. This would be the end of his adventuring career. Before he departed, Svenhilde sought his advice about the harassment she had been suffering and confessed how afraid it made her feel.

A great feast was held to commemorate the victory. The heroes of the day toasted each other, and King Arthur took Lady Elspeth aside to tell her that he would not hold her responsible for Sir Fflergant's actions - but that her husband was by his own deeds an outlaw. Meanwhile, a drunk Sir Kay began to abuse Sir Mabon for being a coward and keeping to the healers' tents rather than fighting, again. He insisted that Sir Mabon remove his sword belt and leave the knighthood in shame. Sir Mabon was about to comply, when King Arthur stopped him. Compassion and loyalty were no less virtues than prowess and might, and all men who do good according to their own abilities were to be honoured, not chastised. Too long had they valued over war over peace. The King appointed Mabon to his service, to lead the efforts to rebuild and restore the damage from years of warfare.

Upon their return to Salisbury, Lady Elspeth was 'kidnapped' by the followers of her husband, who took her to him in the forest. Sir Fflergant tried to convince her to live as an outlaw with him again, but this time she refused. Sir Fflergant refused to return until he felt that he had earned it, and announced that he would depart upon a perilous quest to earn her forgiveness - he would find her lost sister Gwin in the Forest Sauvage, and reunite the sisters. Sir Fflergant departed upon his quest, and Elspeth, shaking her head at her husband's foolishness, returned home for the winter.

512 AD: The Royal Progress

Earl Robert intended to spend the year in attendance on King Arthur, and invited several of his knights, including Sir Balthazar, Sir Edwin, Sir Fflergant, and Sir Mabon, as well as Lady Svenhilde, to join him at court. The High King had re-established the custom of the Royal Progress - a mobile court that would visit many of the counties and duchies of his domain. During their months at court, they would be able to meet many of the most powerful and important people of Britain, and have an opportunity to make a name for themselves.

The High King was currently at Saint Albans, on a pilgrimage to where his father died. Shortly after the knights arrived, Arthur held a great feast. It was disrupted when Duke Ulfius accused Igraine, the widow of King Uther, of being a traitor. The whole event was staged by Merlin, however, to reveal the truth of Arthur's parentage to the world - that he was the long-lost child of King Uther and Queen Igraine.

After the feast, a great hunt was organised. Sir Fflergant attempted to prove himself the best hunter, and brought home a good selection of game, but was unable to compete with the Brown Knight of the Wilds. This knight had appeared at Arthur's court over the winter, clad in antique and rusted armour. He wished to see if the Pendragon and his followers were truly chivalrous men. No one knew who he was, for he never removed his armour, but his prowess was not in question as he slew a manticore and won the hunt.

As court continued on its way, Sir Edwin attempted to make the acquaintance of Saint Dewi the Waterman, the famously conservative religious leader. The Saint rebuffed Sir Edwin and called upon him to save his soul by denouncing his companion, Lady Svenhilde, as a witch. Sir Edwin refused and departed. Meanwhile, Svenhilde and Sir Mabon heard rumours that goat-people had been seen in the woods. They investigated, and took part in a satyr orgy, awakening the next day bruised, hung-over and half naked. As the year continued, Svenhilde found herself to be pregnant as a result of the bacchanalia,

As the court reached Silchester, Sir Fflergant made friends with Bishop Baudwin, a boisterous and strangely martial clergyman, and they talked about how King Arthur ought to get married. Meanwhile, Svenhilde sang beautifully for the court, and Sir Edwin confronted Sir Telifan, a dishonourable former knight of Saint Gwiona. Sir Telifan acted penitent for his role in killed Sir Julius, but denied any wrongdoing. Sir Edwin resolved to keep an eye on him.

At Wanborough, a squire led an exhausted horse with a dead knight, Sir Miles, upon it. A knight was encamped at a nearby crossroads, challenging all those who would pass to a duel. He had fought and slain Sir Miles. Before any could react, a squire called Griflet begged the King for a boon: to be knighted, so that he could avenge Arthur's honour. Despite misgivings, Arthur agreed. Lady Svenhilde similarly had misgivings, and offered to accompany the young knight as his squire. Sir Griflet proved to be a pleasant young man - but no match for the other knight (who was none other than King Pellinore, he who pursued the Questing Beast). King Pellinore struck Sir Griflet off his horse so hard that, had it not been for Svenhilde's ministrations, he would surely have perished. She took the boy back to Wanborough for further care. The next day, it was discovered that King Arthur himself was missing, having gone personally to undertake the quest! Sir Edwin and the others chased after him, in time to find the young King and Merlin returning from the quest. That night, King Arthur told of how he had fought King Pellinore, how his sword had been broken, and how he had restored to him by the Lady of the Lake herself. All present were impressed by having a king who acted as well as spoke of chivalry (even if some thought his actions a little headstrong!) Sir Edwin became wary of Merlin as well. Another event had been orchestrated by the magician to prove a point. Shortly thereafter, King Pellinore himself joined the court and told how he had been made to play the role, and told of his mighty battle with King Arthur.

As the court reached Carlion, Lady Svenhilde defeated the canny Sir Lucan the Butler at a game of chess. Sir Edwin spoke to King Arthur about chivalry, and how it was not always easy to perceive or do the right thing. Sir Mabon grew melancholic and sought to lose his sorrow in carousing with Sir Fflergant. Sir Balthazar and Svenhilde had a heart to heart, in which Sir Balthazar revealed that he felt intimidated by Sir Edwin. Also in Carlion, a group of Roman ambassadors came to Arthur demanding tribute for their so-called Emperor, but the King refused them and they swiftly departed. Shortly thereafter, at Easter, many pagans left the court temporarily to celebrate the pagan festival of Beltane with the King's blessings. Some of those who remained behind were upset at this religious toleration, Saint Dewi and Sir Telifan among them.

At Leicester, the knights were able to relax in the old Roman baths. A noble lady came to court with a sword that could only be drawn forth by the best knight in the world. Many attempted to draw the sword, and eventually Sir Balin, a poor knight recently released from prison, drew it. Then Lady Nineve of the Lake came to court and demanded Sir Balin's head - but she was slain by Sir Balin in front of the King and the assembled court! King Arthur was outraged at this breach of hospitality and cast out Sir Balin. His brother, Sir Balan, departed with him. Prince Lanceor of Ireland, a proud knight, chased down Sir Balin to avenge the Pendragon's honour, but Sir Balin slew him, and Prince Lanceor's betrothed Lady Colombe slew herself atop her lover's body for sorrow. Prince Mark of Cornwall was nearby and witnessed this, and arranged for a monument to the lovers to be built. He departed abruptly when Sir Edwin reminded him of how the Prince had fled at the Battle of Netley Marsh and demanded satisfaction.

The court went hawking a few days later. Sir Lucan and Sir Edwin discussed how Sir Lucan had discovered evidence that King Uther had been magically drugged in the years leading up to his death, though he had no idea who was responsible. Sir Fflergant befriended King Pellinore, and joined him when the King rediscovered the trail of the Questing Beast. After the hawking, Sir Edwin talked about Faerie with Sir Bedivere the cup-bearer, and Svenhilde sang a beautiful song about her husband, Sir Helbur.

When the Royal Progress reached Lincoln, Duke Derfel told the court that the kingdom of Malahaut was mustering for war against Logres, despite having sworn fealty to Arthur as High King of Britain. King Arthur called for a muster against Malahaut, and declared a great tournament as his knights gathered. Sir Edwin won the tournament, defeating Sir Bedivere himself, while Bishop Baudwin accidentally injured Sir Balthazar very badly. Meanwhile, Sir Mabon, Sir Telifan and others undertook a scouting mission, and ambushed an advance force from Malahaut. Sir Mabon found himself beginning to like Sir Telifan, even if Sir Edwin hated him!

With a speedy muster completed, King Arthur seized the initiative and marched into Malahaut. His forces fought the Centurion King at Bassus River. As the battle started, King Pellinore and Sir Fflergant emerged from woods behind the enemy lines and laid into the enemy - and King Pellinore slew the Centurion King himself! This was quickly followed up by Sir Edwin slaying King Nentres of Garloth, an ally of Malahaut. Prince Galagantis of Garloth took control of the enemy army, but was defeated by the Brown Knight. Before long, the forces of Malahaut were defeated. Prince Barant, now King Barant, was recognised as the new King of Malahaut, but much of his land was taken off him by King Arthur in punishment, and Garloth was likewise claimed.

As the year ended, and the royal progress returned to London, fell news came from the north. The babies born north of the wall in the month of May had been abducted and were believed dead. Queen Morgause blamed Merlin, and King Lot believed it on the orders of King Arthur. There would be more war in the coming year...