This has been idea rattling about in my head for a while now. Yes, I know there have been cross overs with the Inheritance Cycle and some versions of the King Arthur legends, but I have yet to see one were Eragon is the son of Arthur and close to the center of all the action that is slowly leading up to the fall of Camelot. Plus the idea of Saphira swallowing Mordred whole was too fun to resist :p.

Time-Line: In the IC-verse, this is a post-Eldest AU. For jolly ol' England, its nearing the end of Arthur's reign. He and Guenevere are middle-aged, and Mordred is already a knight stirring up trouble. Oh, Merlin's sealed away in that stupid cave. By the way, this King Arthur is strongly influenced by T. B. White's Once and Future King series, but with a few things from other versions of the legends and some original material of my own tossed into the mix.

Pairings: It's most likely going to be EragonxNausada here folks, though EragonxTrianna is a remote possibility. Both ArthurxGuenevere and LancelotxGuenevere are staple, of course. Oh, and some implied AryaxBlodgharm and RoranxKatrina. Murtagh may or may not get some lovin' later.... Or he could just be seduced by Morgause -shudders-

WARNING: Some of the versions I've read of the King Arthur legends are nice clean stories that portray Morgan simply as an evil sorceress and Mordred as a man bitter over the death of his father and eager for vengeance. Not in this story. This is based off the old legends, which means unsavory things like tyrant kings, incest, and Mordred, Arthur's bastard son by his half-sister Morgause. Oh, and while I will try not to include it much, religion does play it part in this story. Christianity was a big thing in Arthur's time, with the quest for the Holy Grail and all, and religious matters will be at least mentioned in passing. I will promise to keep it light as possible, though.

Disclaimer: The Inheritance Cycle and the legend of King Arthur are not mine. However, some of my original interpretations of some of the Arthurian characters, as well as any other original material, belongs to me.

The following passage is taken from a yellowed journal found concealed behind several larger tomes in an old library. Its contents are controversial and go against all prior accept knowledge. Some would consider it downright blasphemous to the legends we all know and love. But is it merely fiction invented by some fanciful author? Or the story of a man that experienced the truth we never knew about? You be the judge.

The story of King Arthur has been retold time and time again, some portions of the tale exaggerated or some of the details altered to suit the purposes or tastes of the author. Other sections have been long forgotten over the course of hundreds of years, forever lost to the fog of history. Though many have a basic idea of the legend, they do not know the complete story, the pure truth behind all those years of changes and modifications.

How could I possibly know the truth behind it all? Why, dubious reader, I was there! Were it not for me, it seems unlikely Arthur would have have ever survived boyhood, let alone become the greatest King the world has ever known. My identity? Not important at the moment, sorry. Our main focus is on our hero and his trials and tribulations. Not trivial matters like who I am. All in good time, reader. All in good time.

Long before Arthur, the legend truly began with a young and impulsive leader named Uther Pendragon. New to the throne, he has fallen madly in love with Queen Igraine of the north. However, the beautiful lady was already married to King Gorlois, and had borne him three daughters.

Unwilling to forsake his passion so easily, Uther Pendragon launched a vicious war against Gorlois. Igraine's husband charges off to meet his hotheaded rival in battle, leaving his wife secure in his other castle. Unwittingly, Gorlois had just left Igraine relatively defenseless, for Uther had planned the battle to separate him from his wife.

Uther then sought out the help of an old friend, a wise wizard named Merlin. You see, the young King wanted to disguise himself as Gorlois to sneak into the other castle and woo Igraine while her true husband was off fighting. Naturally, Merlin was hesitant to grant such a request. He knew Uther to be reckless and foolish, especially when blinded by his all-consuming passion, and feared what would happen if he interfered in the affairs of destiny with his remarkable powers.

But Uther Pendragon was stubborn as his namesake, and begged the great enchanter to grant his favor. After hours of beseeching and seeing his friend on his knees like a servant, Merlin's resolve crumbled. Reluctantly he consented to grant such a wish, but only on the condition that the young King would do something for him in return. Merlin failed to specify what exactly he wanted, but said he would name his demand in time. Once he did, Uther would be forced to comply.

Unmindful of such ominous speech, Uther happily agreed to the seemingly reasonable demand. How could he have possibly known at that moment he had put himself into the unbreakable debt of a wizard, bound to his promise by magic itself? Merlin then gave the young Pendragon the guise of Gorlois, and the ability to cast off the illusion when he chose. The wizard hoped his friend had simply needed the disguise to sneak past the castle guards and would reveal himself to Igraine. Honesty works better than lies, after all. Unfortunately, Merlin's better judgement had been outdone by his loyalty to Uther.

Under the effects of the potent magic, Uther easily infiltrated Gorlois's supposedly impregnable fortress where he kept his queen. After all the guards wouldn't have suspected their own master, would they? As far as the denizens of the castle were concerned, their King had returned home early from a victorious battle against the enemy and was here to celebrate with his wife.

Entering Igraine's chambers, Uther contemplated revealing his true identity, but quickly discarded the ridiculous thought. His lust for the fair queen ran strong, over-powering his reason. What was the use of holding off the fulfilment of his desires to immediately explain his situation to Igraine and then having to persuade her to disobey her sacred wedding vows to Gorlois? That would only have wasted the little time he had to complete such an endeavour.

"I'll tell her after it's all said and done, if I'm ready," Uther told himself. "Perhaps I won't feel so in love with Igraine after sharing her bed once. If so, then I will simply sneak out in the morning and have Merlin erase the memory of our encounter. She can then go on with her life with Gorlois, and both of us can forget such a thing ever transpired. But if my feelings are true, I shall tell all to Igraine. She deserves to know the truth, and I will understand if she scorns our relationship."

Out of desperation, naive Uther persuaded himself into believing such wishful thinking. Had he foreseen the incredible risks of this behaviour, the potential consequences that could have resulted in his own doom, then perhaps he would have reconsidered his choice. Blinded by passion, though, he sealed the fate of himself and Igraine.

That night, while Igraine shared her bed with the man she believed to be her rightful husband, the true King Gerlois perished on the battlefield.

A messenger was instantly sent to the castle from the battlefield to tell Igraine of her husband's death, and Uther was forced to retreat during the early hours of the morning to avoid capture. When Igraine heard of the news and remembered the phantom stranger that had visited her chambers the previous eve, she was quick to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Anguished over the loss of her husband and angered that she had been so cruelly deceived by Uther Pendragon, one of her greatest enemies, the widowed queen locked herself up in her castle to grieve and seethe over the unfortunate turn of events.

Discovering Uther's horrible transgression against their friendship, Merlin was enraged. A part of him simply wanted to retreat into the depths of the wildest woods and leave his reckless friend to stew in his own muck, but his lingering loyalty to the King and pity for the poor Queen Igraine prevented him from doing so. He had gotten them all into this mess, and it was now his responsibility to repair things as best he could.

Appearing in Igraine's chambers with Uther, Merlin made them face the other. Uther apologized for his deception and Igraine grudingly accepted it. She was a queen without a king and male heirs, a precious position in a chaotic world where chaotic lords and barons backstabbed each other and did whatever necessary to win power, including forcing themselves upon vulnerable women in power.

A marriage proposal was arranged between the two kingdoms, to give Uther a queen and a chance to have his heir and Igraine and her family a protector. While Igraine underwent the mandatory mourning period for King Gerlois, which meant her wedding to her new betrothed was to be postponed for several months to observe protocol, the young King Pendragon arranged marriages for the daughters of the previous marriage. They were unnecessary baggage, more burdens that complicated the already complex situation that had to be handled quickly. Morgause and Elain, the eldest of Gerlois and Igraine's daughters, were swiftly wedded to Kings. The youngest child, Morgana, disappeared the night before her own ceremony and was never seen again. Most presumed she had chosen suicide over an arranged marriage.

But Igraine was pregnant, having conceived Uther's child the one night they had shared that bed under his treacherous deception.

The child in her womb was vulnerable. Because of the mourning period, there was no possible way for the parents to marry in time for the birth of their offspring to not seem suspicious. King Gorlois had also been at the other castle for several months prior to his death, leaving no opportunity for he and Igraine to be together and thuis no chance to pass the illegitimate child off as the murdered King's. Merlin had been forced to erase the recollection of the disguised Uther visiting Igraine, for at that time the true King Gerlois had been slaughtered on the battlefield.

Luckily, Merlin had a solution, no matter how cruel it was. While Igraine did her best to keep to herself and avoid contact with her hand-maidens, concealing her pregnancy from them, she and the wizard and Uther made their plans. When the baby was born, it would be spirited off by Merlin to a trusted comrade who would raise the child as one of his own. Uther and Igraine could then marry in peace, and then produce legitimate heirs that stood actual chances of inherited the throne. Meanwhile their bastard child could grow up in relative comfort and happiness, but never no of his or her royal lineage or ever be given the throne.

Igraine delivered her child in time, a handsome little son she named Arthur. Holding her sleeping child in her arms, she felt loathe to relinquish him to the wizard and the family she would place him with. She already fiercely loved Arthur, and would have gladly admitted to her infidelity, however unintentional, to be able to be with him for a while longer. Even if the punishment for adultery was to be burned at the stake. For her beloved child, the heat of the flames would be worth just a few more moments with him.

"But would about Arthur?" Merlin demanded of her when he sensed her reluctance to give him up. "You may be willing to face execution, but can you consign your infant son to the fate that awaits him if you reveal the truth? Born out of wedlock, he is technically a bastard, even if you and Uther are to be married soon. As an illegitimate child he will never be able to wear the crown or hold a respectable position. The law prohibits it. Not to mention how he shall be scorned and hated by his people. Could you condemn innocent Arthur to such a fate, Igraine?"

Tearfully, Igraine had handed over her baby. Heartbreaking as it was, it was for Arthur's own good. There was no way in hell she would doom her precious son to such a life, not if he had a better alternative and a 'true' family out there eager to accept him. Even if it meant she would never be able to see him again. So long as Arthur was safe and secure, her selfish desires could be ignored for his sake.

Shortly after the separation of mother and child, King Uther Pendragon and Queen Igraine officially married. Though they had reconciled and lived a relatively content life, the couple were unable to produce another child, a suitable heir for the throne. Their subjects whined about the lack of an heir, complaining about how insecure Uther's reign was without one. None knew that their rulers did indeed have a secret son.

Five years passed, and Igraine at last died. For months she had been withering away from some mysterious illness, though I suspect the poor thing was still mourning over the loss of Arthur. Uther was soon to follow her in death, assassinated by one of the treacherous barons that hungered for power and his domain. Since there was no true heir to ascend the throne, the corrupt noble claimed it as his own. Only a Pendragon could have opposed his usurpation, and Uther had been the last. Igraine's daughters and their children had not been considered as heirs for Morgause and Elain had signed away their claims to power when they had married their husbands and agreed to the contracts Uther had commissioned.

The night of the corrupt baron's coronation as King, Merlin appeared in the courtyard of one of the capitol's churches. With his great magic he summoned a stone right into the yard's center and plunged a fine sword into it, all the way up to the hilt.

"Only the true King of England can pull the sword from this stone," the mighty sorcerer had announced to the bewildered spectators that had witnessed his miracle. "He who does is the rightful ruler who shall bring a golden age upon this land."

Of course the baron had immediately strutted over the stone, assuming he could pull the sword out as easily as a knife from butter. Presumptuous of him, don't you think? Naturally the blade did not budge for him, nor for anyone. People came from miles around to try and take the sword from its earthly scabbard, but none could move it. Eventually the sword was all but forgotten as struggles for power began to tear apart the country and people were just seeking a strong source of leadership, let alone the true heir of Uther Pendragon.

You see, while the baron had ascended to the throne, many rebelled against his rule for he was a true tyrant. Peasants revolted frequently, only to be slaughtered into submission again and again by his mercanary armies. Lords and knights and barons that had faithfully served King Uther now believed they could form their own kingdoms or try to take over England for themselves. Chaos assumed all over the place, though it was dreadful in England.

Far away from the tumult in a peaceful estate in the Forest Sauvage, Arthur grew up under the steady hand of an old knight named Sir Ector. Sir Ector did he best to keep his young charge and his own son, Kay, out of the confusion of the constant war. Though Kay thought of Arthur as his best friend a sort of adopted brother, he was the only one to be trained as a knight, as custom dictated.

Arthur was dismayed at this, but he was tutored personally by a wise old wizard that taught him about all sorts of things. Aye, reader, this wizard's name was Merlin. Together the wizard and the unwitting prince went on many marvelous adventures, Merlin's unpredictable magic providing valuable lessons that stayed with Arthur for the rest of his life and helped him to be great ruler he would one day become.

More years crawled by, and Kay became a knight like his father. Arthur, the orphan ward of Sir Ector, was Kay's squire. Young and eager to prove himself at a tournament in the baron's honor, Kay dragged his squire off to the capitol of Camelet to pit himself against other knights. In his haste the young fool left his only sword at home, and then made Arthur rush off to find him another one before the tournament started.

Finding no sword he could purchase from a weaponssmith or borrow (seemingly everyone in town had somehow packed themselves into the grandstands to observe the competition) the frantic Arthur did not ask questions when he discovered a sword plunged deep into a stone, left all alone in the middle of a church courtyard. Desperation kept from noticing the oddness of the situation; he felt only relief that he had stumbled across a blade for Kay in time.

Surprisingly, the sword was easy to draw from the stone, as if passing through thin air rather than solid rock.

The moment the sword had been completely removed from its stone, Arthur felt an incredible feeling come over him. Bathed in warm sunlight, he felt strength pour into his body and make him into somebody else. At the moment the tender squire to a newly made knight died. In his place a glorious and powerful being was born inside of him, a person Arthur did not recognize but was eager to become acquainted with. Possessed by a greater force, Arthur dashed back off to the tournament, having another thing in mind than just merely giving Sir Kay a new sword.

The few passerby that had witnessed the miraculous event were quick to inform everybody about how they had personally watched a mere boy draw the sword from the stone. The same sword that could only be wielded by the one true king.

Meanwhile, the baron-turned-King was idling in the throne that had been carried over so he could observe the tourament comfortably. Bored by the usual swordplay and charges with lances, his gaze had shifted from the entertainment to inspect the grubby faces of his peasants. Catching a glimmer out of the corner of his eye, the baron turned to look closely at it, and thus stared down at his doom.

There, charging right toward him out of the crowd, was the same sword he had failed to draw from its bothersome earthly hilt all those long years ago. Brandishing it was a young man barely older than eighteen. One with narrowed blue eyes that were chillingly similar to those of the dead Queen Igraine. And with the fiery red hair and unmistakable features of a Pendragon.

"Look!" a woman shrieked. "It's Uther returned from the dead to have his vengeance against his murderer!"

"It's a Pendragon!" another yelled. "The Son of the Dragon!"

"The sword from the stone!" several chorused in unison. "The rightful King has returned."

Spurred on by Arthur's appearance, the crowd was quick to rally. Tired of the corruption and oppression and of their tyrant baron-king, the common folk rose up to defend their new champion. While the usurper's men carried weapons and wore armor, they were overwhelmed by force of sheer numbers. His guards trying to beat back the mob of revolting subjects, the baron-king attempted to sneak out before being spotted, to leave England behind and garner power somewhere else....

Only to have Arthur run him down and end all of the pain and suffering he had caused with one deft stroke of the magic sword.

King Arthur Pendragon claimed his father's throne, and went about restoring what the baron-king had destroyed. He brought the rebelling barons and lords under his control, quelling all opposition within his domain. Many swore fealty to him while those that didn't were made to. His kingdom secure, Arthur set his sights on the chaos that surrounded him, and began his conquests and alliances with the other Kings.

As promised, Arthur Pendragon brought England into a golden age, the likes of which had never been seen before. Thugs and bandits no longer prowled the roads. Monsters like dragons and orgers were eradicated, no longer terrorizing villages and carrying off maidens and children to devour. Corrupt barons and rogue knights were stamped out, and Great Britian enjoyed a long era of peace and heroism.

Of course, there is much more to King Arthur's story than this. I have only left you the important background knowledge, for without this history our hero would never have come to be. Just beneath the superficial surface of matters, trouble was brewing for Arthur. He was no longer threatened by rival Kings and barons, but by greedy and ambitious people right within his own halls. Those he trusted that only wanted him dead.

The version of the legend you all know says King Arthur is killed by such forces, the golden age he brought on violently ended by warfare caused by envious and corrupted people that managed to poison all he worked for. And supposedly the Son of the Dragon died without an heir, his only child being the mad son by his own half-sister Morgause.

But is this version true? No. Trust me, I was there for it all. Arthur had another son than that monster, a true Pendragon worthy for the legendary throne. One that might have been able to preserve his father's labors and perhaps even contribute to improving the nation even further.

You have heard the history of the story, the forces that influenced King Arthur and will also affect both of his sons, villain and champion.

Here King Arthur has already formed his England and lives happily Camelot with Queen Guinevere. The knights had already slayed the brutal monsters and rescued the damsels from their distress. The Holy Grail has been found and Merlin sealed away in his cave, due to his own infatuation of a traitorous little girl that only wanted him out of the picture. The Son of the Dragon is past is prime, graying and aging as even heroes and Kings do.

For you see, our legend no longer followers the Son of the Dragon. But rather the Son of the Son....

Yes, the page is in italics as it is all 'taken out' of an old book. Don't worry, all the story will be told normally. And no more long summaries of the King Arthur legend. Any parts that need elaboration will be explained later on when it is needed. I have only included in the basic information of King Uther and his little episode in this prologue as it is the actions of he and his generation that set the field for Arthur and Mordred and Lancelot and everyone else. Without them, there would be no story! Plus all of this information (both original and derived from other versions of the legend) is important to the story, so it not just useless filler.

Next chapter: Guinevere has a history of miscarriages and stillborns and has not yet produced an heir for Arthur. Is that about to change? And will a fellow new mother be as lucky?

1. Morgana is the name Morgan le Fay will be most often called by. She was originally normal, like her sisters, but her desperation to evade marriage caused her to accept her inhuman powers and use them to escape.

2. Both Uther and Igraine are dead in this fic. Igraine died of a broken heart from the loss of Arthur and Uther was assassinated by a greedy baron that became King in his stead. In an act of poetic irony, the same baron is later killed by Arthur, Uther's son. Ah, I love old stories.

3. Uther's surname was 'Pendragon.' Legend says that his brother saw a comet in the shape of a dragon one night and took its name as his own, because it was a sign. When the brother later died, Uther took the name for himself. While being a Pendragon himself, Arthur is also sometimes called 'Son of the Dragon' in some legends. Theoretically any legitimate child of his (I don't count Mordred, 'cause he's evil) could be called the 'Son of the Son' for he is the son of the Son of the Dragon. Although 'Rider of a Dragon' would be a more appropriate title for Eragon, I suppose, or 'Slayer of the Shade.'.... I'll stop now.