Year 501: Morgan le Fay

General Summary

For the prior session, see Year 500: Knighthood, Redefined.

"They were careless." - Morgan le Fay

After a decades long war, in the kingdom of Gomeret, the Cambrian hill tribe chieftains known as The Three Cadlews finally oust King Pellinore de Galis and his family from Norgales and take control of his overkingdom.
In the county of Salisbury, in the kingdom of Logres, the squire Blaen of Idmiston is overseeing a bout in Idmiston's new jousting arena - a feature the young lord had installed to settle local disputes. He is joined by his cousin Dowager Lady Viver of Blackdown, who is surprised that he is not spending the evening before his knighting ceremony in prayer and reflection, as her son Dafi is. Lady Viver pushes Blaen to punish his mother Lady Briant of Lighthorne for her crimes or find more information from the Faerie King of Sauvage, but he is hesitant to break laws chivalry against his family and is non-committal, promising that she will be brought to justice "soon".
At Oxenwood, Baron Alwyn and Baroness Winnie from Behind the Waters are adjusting to life with the baron's two new bastard children, Neilyn and Nest. Baron Alwyn explains the truth to his wife about his false marriage to Lady Clover of Meadowstream, and insists that she was not a mistress. Accepting his answer, Baroness Winnie asks again to return to her family home, the Castle Behind the Waters. Avoiding revealing that it has been seized by Saxons, Baron Alwyn lies and says that it will be under renovation for the next few years by her mother Dowager Baroness Rosalyn. The young baroness doesn't believe him, and promises to get the truth from him sooner or later.
The following day, everyone arrives at Sarum for the knighting of Blaen and Dafi. Blaen is approached by Ralf, an elderly commoner who served as the royal huntsman under King Uther Pendragon. Ralf recalls an adventure decades prior with Blaen's cousin Sir Artaire, where both of them were almost killed by the hag Black Annis in Leicester Forest. As a reward for killing the hag once and for all and a congratulatory gift for being knighted, Ralf gives Blaen a magical protective raven feather cloak that was stolen from Saxons. The ceremony begins, and with Sir Drystan of Tilshead as the proxy knight of Countess Regent Ellen of Salisbury, the men are knighted, swear homage to the county, and successfully complete the ceremony of the leap.
Once the revelry dies down, the Inner Council of Sarum meeting begins with Sir Blaen officially being sworn in as a full member instead of a squire of Sir Edward of Upavon. As a first order of business, the council discusses who to support as High King of Britain. Lady Harley believes that Salisbury should support King Idres of Cornwall, while the other councilmembers believe the king to be a violent opportunist threatening to seize their county. Sir Drystan insists that King Nanteleod of Escavalon's recent victories are proof that the Cambrian king could be successful in uniting Britain, but most of the council believes that Escavalon is too distant a kingdom to be strategically useful to Salisbury. Sir Blaen points out that King Nanteleod's marriage to Queen Alene could also secure a useful alliance with the queen's father The Magician King of Somerset, who is much closer to them. Sir Edward restates his belief that Salisbury should ally with Cyning Ælle of Sussex and Duke Ulfius of the Vale, but Lady Harley reveals that the rumours around the court are that Duke Ulfius is no longer allied with the Saxon king after allegedly leaving to fight the new Saxon kingdom of Anglia against his orders. Baron Alwyn and Sir Blaen consider an alliance with Duke Ulfius, but Lady Indeg points out that Salisbury currently holds the captured city of Levcomagus, which is in the duke's county of Silchester. Unable to reach a consensus, the council decides to move on to other matters.
Reading news from the land, Teacher Bolton states that Cornwall will likely not be attempting to annex any further Logrian counties this year, as King Idres is mourning his daughter Queen Isabelle of Lyonesse, who died in childbirth. He also announces that there are rumours that King Nanteleod may have allied with King Pellinore, as the East Cambrian coalition of Escavalon, Brycheiniog, and Estregales has challenged the Three Cadlews to war. The council also learns that the earls of Hartland and Huntland are requesting assistance in repelling the armies of Cyning Cwichelm of Anglia, who has refused any attempts of peace or alliance. The attention of the council is divided between two urgent tasks: Salisbury's famous Amesbury Abbey is being besieged by the Frankish mercenaries from Uther's Shame, and their ally Cyning Cerdic of Wessex is facing an attack from a new Saxon chieftain directly from Saxony looking to seize his territory. Ultimately, they decide to send an army led by Sir Drystan, Sir Edward, and Sir Mars of Winterbourne Stoke to assist Cyning Cerdic, and an army led by Baron Alwyn, Sir Blaen, and the Sarum Castle household knight Sir Thornton to save Amesbury Abbey.
Arriving at Amesbury Abbey, the army fears that they have arrived too late, as the abbey appears to have been forced open but they see no Franks and hear no sounds of struggle. Entering the building, they find Lady Morgan of Tintagel calmly reading a book, surrounded by a small army of dead and dismembered Franks. Near her, her mother Sister Ygraine is clearly in shock as she quietly packs their things and mumbles that she didn't see what happened. When questioning the women proves fruitless, Abbot-Bishop Dilwyn pulls the knights aside and admits that while he didn't see the attack, he heard it all from the next room. He explains that - though his Frankish is poor - he knows that the mercenaries were there specifically for Sister Ygraine, as he overheard them yelling to seize the former queen. He states that the last thing he heard was them screaming "Morgan le Fay" - a Frankish phrase which translates to "Morgan the Faerie". Baron Alwyn quietly questions the brooding Morgan le Fay, and the two acknowledge that they can sense each other's magical abilities. Sister Ygraine reminds her daughter that it is time to leave, and Lady Morgan tells the knights that she is being forced to marry the Caledonian King Uriens of Gorre, a man she was betrothed to by King Uther as a very young child, and Sister Ygraine asks the knights to escort them. Baron Alwyn asks if Lady Morgan intends on doing anything drastic at her wedding, and she promises that she will not.
As the armies are sent home and Baron Alwyn, Sir Blaen, and Sir Thornton accompany the former queen and her daughter north, the knights are eventually able to restore the nun to her former chipper self over the long journey as Morgan le Fay enters a deep sleep. She informs them of the political situation of Caledonia, stating that the region has Cymric knights and tribal Pictish warriors from the mountains living side-by-side, and is mostly under the rule of her eldest son-in-law King Lot of Lothian and his right-hand man, her second son-in-law King Nentres of Garloth.
On the journey, they pass knights from the Logrian counties Bedegraine and Lambor, leaving to fight in a border squabble against the Cambrian kingdom of Cameliard. When they reach Catterick in the Cumbrian kingdom of Malahaut, they are greeted by the future groom King Uriens and his royal army, who explains that they will need to journey through the small kingdom of Rheged, which is notorious for their hill tribes of bandits that rob caravans. He escorts them through to his kingdom of Gorre with no issue.
At the Pagan wedding in Gaiholm, the capital of Gorre, Sir Blaen and Baron Alwyn see the newly crowned Queen Morgan of Gorre happy for the first time as she is reunited with her sisters Queen Margawse of Lothian and Queen Elaine of Garloth after many years. A lavish royal feast is held, and Sir Blaen and Baron Alwyn are considered guests of honour. As a helpful Sir Blaen helps a young Prince Gawain of Lothian find his parents and consoles heartbroken drunks, Baron Alwyn stops Sir Thornton from the dire mistake of trying to flirt with Morgan le Fay, and ends up drunkenly leaving the feast with a serving maid himself. As the celebration concludes, Sister Ygraine rewards the knights for their assistance and tells them that she plans on staying in Caledonia with his daughters and grandchildren for now, and gives them leave to return to Salisbury without her. Though they are concerned travelling through Rheged without a large royal retinue, they make it home without conflict.
In Salisbury, the knights learn that Cyning Cerdic, Sir Drystan, Sir Mars, and Sir Edward lost the battle against the new Saxon chieftain Chief Port, and that he was granted a small kingdom within Wessex, which he has also named Port.
That winter, the council receives word that the counties of Huntland and Hartland have both been defeated, murdered, and enslaved by Anglia, and that Cyning Cwichelm is demanding tribute from all neighbouring counties. They also learn that the Three Cadlews have been killed by King Nanteleod, but that he did not return Norgales to King Pellinore de Galis - instead, he installed a loyal vassal named King Maelgwen, ensuring that King Nanteleod retains control over almost all of Cambria.

Rewards Granted

Sir Blaen of Idmiston was granted knighthood.

Report Date

30 Jan 2021

Secondary Location

Amesbury Abbey