Tuesday 29 December 2015

516 AD, Interlude: The Tale of Sir Donna

Shortly after the return of Sir Taedi, Sir Zebediah and Lady Elspeth from Sugales, an unexpected traveller arrived at Broughton. It was Sir Donna, who had been gone for many years, bearing the body of Sir Fflergant. She was home once more, and ready to explain where she had been, how Fflergant had died, and other secrets.

Sir Donna and Sir Gwyn were one and the same person. Sir Donna had always been a very conflicted individual. She was torn between the Christian faith that she had been taught at Amesbury, and the Pagan beliefs of her family. She was a lesbian, but her sexuality had been repressed by her religion. She wished to be a knight, but was never able to measure up to those she compared herself with. She cared deeply for her family, so she had been badly hurt when Elspeth abandoned her to marry Sir Fflergant.

When Elspeth had returned home, six years ago, the two had had an argument, which was the final trigger for Sir Donna becoming 'Sir Gwyn' - loud, proud, crude, the person that Donna had always wished to be. This was not the first time it had happened, and Elspeth covered for her sister. When 'Sir Gwyn' was lost in Faerie later that year, her relative, the Rabbit Queen, rescued her from her captivity and adopted her as a faerie knight. This had unfortunate consequences: it fractured Donna's damaged self-identity even further, to the point where she forgot who she even was.

Sir Fflergant, after dishonouring himself in 513 when he murdered King Ryonce, set himself a quest: to find and rescue Sir Donna. He did not know the truth about his sister-in-law until this time, when Elspeth explained it to him. He gathered his followers and entered the Forest Sauvage. It was extremely perilous, and one by one, his men died, but after many years, Sir Fflergant finally found Sir Donna and was going to take her home. However, Sir Donna was still massively traumatized by her experiences, and Sir Fflergant was at a loss as to how to help her.

The two were met by the Brown Knight of the Wilds, who asked for their aid. The Dolorous Blow had been struck, and now the Castle of Joy, where the Fisher King protected the Holy Grail, was under siege by dark hosts. Sir Fflergant and Sir Donna agreed to help - hoping that the Holy Grail would be able to restore Donna to herself.

The two traveled with the Brown Knight to the Castle of Joy, where they met the other defenders of the Grail - Sir Lamorak of the Round Table, the White Knight, Sir Alain the Fat, Lord Eurain of Brandigan, Sir Bavid of the Wilds, and more. But among their enemies were Duke Klingsor, a devilish knight and Lord of Evil; King Guinebaut of the Marshes; Duke Brunor of Ireland; the Knight of the Dragon; and, worst of all, King Balor of the Fomorians, the Lord of Monsters.

In the Battle of the Plains of Joy, the outnumbered defenders of the Grail managed to repulse their enemies. Sir Donna herself fought King Balor of the Fomorians, but he exploited her damaged soul with his dark magic. She would have perished, but Sir Fflergant took the blow for her, and struck King Balor such a buffet that he quit the field. Sir Fflergant expired, and Sir Donna was taken in to the castle to be healed. There, the Sangreal appeared to her while she was unconscious, and caused her mind and body to be healed. Her split personalities were reconciled into one. She remained at the Castle of Joy while she recuperated, and then made her way south to rejoin her family, taking Sir Fflergant's body with her for burial.

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