Ah, finally, this one is done. Shorter than the last one, but longer than I thought. Hope this doesn't end up becoming a habit. It won't... probably...
In other news, behold an unfortunately embarrassing trial for a witch and a future currently deceased King, and then the main course will involve the hardest thing a child can ever do... attempt at calming down their mother while she is in the middle of a mental breakdown. I tell you it's terrifying :|
Why, why, why… why did this have to happen? Why did she have to be drunk and intensely emotionally conflicted, be found by a handsome and chivalrous man who was attracted to her when she accidentally revealed something very personal, reveal her entire secret to him and then sleep with him out of loneliness and needing someone to hold her? And then they had been found… just why did life always feel the need to toss her with terrible luck? So much careful decision making and all of it was near ruin. One bad decision and here she was, stuck in a cell awaiting a trial, no idea what she was to do, and cuffed on one arm in the corner no less.
'We could use magic and break out of here.' Something sensible that did not involve reckless actions that would backfire, 'You let the laws of these lands govern you too much. You already know the lords will likely be biased against you.' Morgan shook her head, she could not them get to her. If she acted wildly, it may alienate any support she may have, not to mention the stigma that may fall upon her children if it has not already. Though she tried to think of what she could do, she knew she did not have many options at her disposal to escape her situation, powerful though she was. She prayed that Guiomar would assist her, as he was currently being held on trial right now.
…
"I am the one responsible for initiating the affair between Queen Morgan and myself." Guiomar said as he stood before King Arthur, and his cousin, Queen Guinevere, with a stoic expression on his face, as well as before the nobles and knights who watched him. He had been allowed to wear his armor and bring his sword by Arthur, so he had done so. King Arthur had a reserved expression, while Guinevere was shaking her head and murmuring in disbelief. His words showed respect to his King, but his attitude was far different from the usual confidence and energy he would have, and for good reason. He would take the fall for this, not Queen Morgan. He had already decided on this the moment he had awoken and realized they had been found. The poor lady had been through enough, to be humiliated like this was undeserving of her, especially since he knew what she had gone through.
He had to hold back the seething rage he had felt as he had been brought into the great hall room to be judged around noon, witnessing King Lot among the crowd. Part of him would have felt some dark glee in seeing the man enraged or at least somewhat angry, but Lot had the same cold glare he gave everyone. In fact, he seemed almost bored as Kings Angusel and Urien stood beside him. Guiomar did not know what Lot may do to her, so it was up to him. It may drive his name into the dirt, but it would be worth it. Fortunately, he hoped the story was believable enough for them all to accept, all he had to do was take bits of the truth and weave the story.
"I had witnessed Queen Morgan leave the banquet hall on her own last night. Curious, and seeing as how no one else seemed to have noticed her departure, I followed her, until I found her just outside the castle in the frozen night, inebriated." He kept himself focused and serious as he continued, "I helped her back into the castle, but she did not desire anyone to see her, so I took her into a smaller room as per her wishes." Now came the hard part, "After that I slept with her, having always fancied her myself, and in the hazy state she was in, she was not in a position to resist." He had to word it that way, to make it sound in front of them all that Morgan was the victim of this and himself the perpetrator. The fact that he would willingly admit finding Morgan Le Fay a beautiful and desirable woman to behold, even agreeing with Accolon's comment of her being the finest woman in all Britain did assist that. Sadoine cringed and shook his head while Guinevere covered her mouth in horror, while Gawain had plain anger written all over his face.
Gossiping and murmurs went about, some in shock, others wondering what was to happen. One voice did cut through the others as it spoke. "King Arthur, would you mind asking this fool what he means by his statement?" King Lot asked from where he stood at the side, commanding a presence despite his more sickly than usual appearance, "he says he took her into that room as per her will, yet then states she was not able to stop he when he thought to have her. I find this odd, to say the least."
Many spectators whispered amongst themselves as Guinevere's face rose before stating, "King Lot is right, that does not make sense. Even more so, why would she desire to be taken to a room out of sight from her friends and family?" She shot her question, King Arthur not speaking, likely not used to such a situation. Gawain did not seem to like the Queen's choice of words, why both King Leodegan, Lot, and the rest of the crowd watched Guiomar for his response. Of course, she would ask that, after all Guiomar had told her he would find Lady Morgan last night so the 2 of them could talk. She did not want to think Guiomar had been lying to her then, she could not fathom her cousin possibly acting in such an unbecoming manner. Just what was happening, why would her cousin possibly sleep with Queen Morgan?
Guiomar sighed, "As I said, milady, she was drunk and embarrassed. When I found her outside trying to clear her mind, she was struggling to keep herself from falling. She was hardly there when I brought her to the room to rest." He stared at his cousin with a look Guinevere rarely ever saw before, and never at her. He was cold and serious, and her hands shook.
"Are you then saying that you took advantage of my wife and had her when you had the chance, and she could not push you away?" Lot questioned, "Have you any idea of the punishment that is soon to fall upon you? My own Kingdom has no tolerance for that." Many of those watching held with notice, Angusel and Urien both staring at their brother as Lot turned his head to stare at King Arthur, who had held silent, "Arthur," He began, "Exactly what kind of judgement will you bestow upon this man?"
Guiomar looked to his King, "I will accept whatever punishment you deem fitting, my liege. My one request be that Queen Morgan not suffer any form of punishment." He clenched his hands as words came out, "You would call that just, would you not King Lot?" He chuckled bitterly, "After all, there is no reason to punish a victim for the actions of the one who harmed her."
There was quiet after that, Queen Guinevere fidgeting in her throne while Artoria stayed silent in her own. Before she could say anything however, the most surprising of laughter occurred. "Heh heh heh hehe… heh heh heh." Lot started breathing deeply as a smirk came to his face, a mad glint in his eyes, "Heh heh heh heh!" As a man known for rarely showing emotions, let alone mirth, with anyone, more than a few people eyed the man, Gawain looking in slight terror. Laughter was never something he had heard much from his father. "You right… only you have to bear the price. So, Leodegan," He sent a grin to the other King standing on the opposite side of the great hall room, "How exactly should we cut off this knaves head?!" Many in the crowd looked shocked as Lot made his challenge, Sadoine gripping his blade as Leodegan met Lot's gaze with anger.
"Why do you look so upset by that notion, Leodegan? I recall when we found such raping filth on the battlefield and striking down whores, we'd tear them apart and leave there remains for the animals, you used to be quite enthusiastic about it!" A dark grin came to his face, "Or is it that your pretensions of chivalry end when it comes to your blood? But we are not in your court, and I question how you child-"
"ENOUGH!" Queen Guinevere shouted, as loud as she could, the knights beckoning silence from the onlookers and Lot and Leodegan, the former quieting and glaring at her. She tightened her fist, this was her kingdom now, she was the Queen, she would not tolerate such barbarous words… words that could not have been true… her cousin was not… would not… it was not true! It could have ever been true! Guinevere took a breath as she found her voice, "How exactly are we supposed to believe that Queen Morgan was truly so guiltless, despite being such a powerful force in magic?" Many in the crowd pondered this a few nodding as Guiomar's eyes widened, "Furthermore, when I personally found both you and her lying together, she was the 1st awake. She neither seemed unaware of what occurred, nor a victim. If we are to be fair, then we ought to question her as well for fair trial, as was intended."
As they onlookers talked amongst themselves about this, Sadoine took a deep breath while King Leodegan allowed himself a smile, "My daughter is right, fairness means that we are to measure all participants found in hopes of finding the truth, which means Queen Morgan herself must corroborate her own side. Besides, you have told me yourself how your wife has at times acted without your wishes and against your own desires, so who is to say such an act did not happen once again?"
Lot's smile was gone as he replied to his old ally, "You are right, however, say she proves this fool's story is right, and his head hangs on a pike somewhere in my castle, do not come attacking me because justice was served." He turned his head to where Guiomar stood, facing away from him, "And you fool, are you willing to stand by what you have said, even before your own, before your own King, the brother of the 'victim' in question?"
Guiomar took a deep breath. Now, he was angry, angry at King Lot, angry at his cousin and uncle, and angry with himself. He wanted so badly to strike back at King Lot and reveal what the man had done… but it was not a truth he was to tell. That was Queen Morgan's secret, one she had entrusted him with in a moment of great vulnerability. Who was he then to wave that secret around as a weapon, even against a man who deserved it? He gave his word to her as he held her, he would stand by it. Still, he was not just going to say nothing, as he turned his head to stare at King Lot, "As long as those guilty of heinous crimes are punished accordingly, I have no complaint as to who they are. Britain would be a better land without such curses."
Lot simply stared at him, looking at him in the eyes, and in that moment, Guiomar saw the sincerity of his next words, "Indeed, on that we share the same mind." Guiomar wanted to laugh but held it in as King Arthur finally spoke.
"By evening's time today, Queen Morgan shall be brought to reveal her story. Deciding on the truth, as well as due punishment, shall come afterwards." The King said in a controlled tone while Guinevere managed a light reassuring smile to her cousin and was taken aback when he in turn glared at her, as though she had done something wrong before he was taken back to his cell.
The time in between her sister's trial was nerve-racking for those personally involved with the trial, and as Artoria Pendragon made her way through the halls that had a passageway to the cell where her sister was while on her way to her throne, she spotted a familiar face, "Sir Gawain." Her nephew turned to see her approach him, leading him to bow to her with respect, "I know that this matter is personal to you, but none are allowed to visit those on trial at this time until provided permission by myself, this also goes for Lord Guiomar as well, which is why you will likely find Sir Sadoine with Queen Guinevere at the dining hall rather than attempting to speak to his brother."
Gawain nodded, "Forgive me, but I saw the guards leave here just a bit earlier, apparently they were given orders to leave by you my liege, and I wanted to catch a glimpse of what may be happening." He looked down, "Gaheris is rather anxious right now, and Gareth has barely the slightest clue as to what is happening, but she knows it involves our mother due to gossip in the kitchens, so there's worry in her as well."
Artoria took a moment to respond, "I understand your fears and worries. Rest assured; I have no intention of allowing her to suffer for anything she did not do. For now, it would be best if you were not here, and that no one knew we spoke." She looked down the passageway, "I will go see who would have possibly given them the order to leave their post." Gawain bowed to her and departed, while she took the passageway to the cell. It went a bit below the main level, there were more than a few turns, until Artoria found someone waiting for her, leaning on a wall for support, "I figured the person who did it was you."
Kay sighed as he looked to her, "I told them that 'King Arthur' would arrive to speak with his sister, and that he was currently consoling his new wife and assuring her he meant no harm to Guiomar regardless of the fact that his sister was also on trial." He tossed her the key, "Cell is down the hall."
Artoria already knew that, but she went with him. They went through this passageway together until they reached the door to her sister's cell. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door gently. She felt someone notice her presence on the other side, and bit her lip as she heard Morgan call out, "Who is it?"
"It's me Morgan." She heard a sigh come from the other side, "Are you alright, have they given you any food in there?" Artoria asked in a concerned voice.
"There gave some bread and water, but not much, how about you?" Morgan replied, similarly trying to have the conversation be somewhat normal.
"I-I actually haven't eaten anything." She stuttered for a moment, cursing herself for doing so. At the trial, while she had done her best to maintain a controlled outer state, internally, she was a mess. This trial was the last thing she wanted to deal with, part of her had wanted to take Guiomar's 'confession' at face value and give the man some form of harsh punishment, while the logical side of her reasoned that the man was clearly lying about some things and how it didn't add up, but then Artoria would have to deal with the issues of her sister committing adultery, and then there was Guinevere. They were close friends, but as Guinevere muttered after Guiomar's session was over, her wife was dead set on proving Guiomar's innocence, while she admittedly, wanted to prove Morgan's.
When there was no response, Kay spoke, "She has been worried about, we all are, at least those of us not worried about Lord Guiomar. Personally, I worry for you both."
It took a moment for Morgan to speak, "I am sorry… I did not mean for this to happen. It's my fault, I should have been smarter."
Artoria gulped down from the other side of the door before speaking, "Morgan… did he, force you into anything… take advantage of you? A few people who did see you at dinner confirmed you were drinking a great deal of wine. Were you not fully aware of what was happening, were you coerced while drunk?" She needed confirmation and needed it badly.
"Where did you receive such an idea from?" Morgan asked gently, having not expected to receive that question while she was in her cell.
"Lord Guiomar confessed to acting as such in his trial. I need to know if this is the truth?" Artoria replied.
Morgan took a moment to think, 'Go along with it, say that we did not have our wits and could not resist. This is a perfect opportunity, he's already made himself the scapegoat, do you want to be reviled as a whore in front of so many?' Her darkness spoke to her, whispering in her mind. 'Do we want everything we have done to go to waste right now, especially when he will be standing right there, watching us?!' Taking a deep breath, Morgan knew what she had to say.
"That is a lie, while I did drink a good deal, I was perfectly aware of my surroundings, I was of mind when I slept with him, I even convinced him to do it." Morgan said, and it was not what Artoria wanted to hear.
"So, you truly and willingly committed adultery with Lord Guiomar? And if you were accused of such in your trial, you would confirm it as such?" Artoria asked as she clenched her hands.
"Yes, indeed I do, I willingly slept with the man, and I will not let Guiomar sully his reputation and pretend otherwise." Morgan replied, her voice resolute and true, so much that Artoria dare not deny it, and yet…
"What am I supposed to do then, if you truly did commit adultery, then you will have to be punished for it." Artoria replied, Kay equally worried as he saw the distress in her eyes.
"You'll have to accept the truth then, my dear sister? I'm sorry, I never meant for either you, Kay, or my children to be put through this." Morgan responded. She did not get a response, but she did here the lock on the door get undone by the sound of a key, the door opening, Artoria walking towards her, stopping right in front of where she sat. "What is it?"
"If you are convicted of adultery, I will have no choice but to have you return to Orkney to King Lot, where he will give you your punishment." Artoria saw her sister clench her fist and look away, "If I am to accept what you say as the truth. However, I still question if you are fully telling me the truth?" Morgan looked at her sister as they conflict within Artoria shown on her face, "You're not the type of person to just sleep with people recklessly like that, nor is Guiomar an accomplished liar and deceiver. Something happened last night, and you are not telling me. So, what is it then?" Artoria waited for a minute and was annoyed when she got no response, "Just tell me what it is?!" She shook, "Is… is it Lot, did he do something-" She stopped as she saw Morgan's face harden, "tell me what happened?! We can fix it together, I promise I-"
"You can't fix this Artoria, nothing can, the damage is done, and will never be undone. There are some things that cannot be fixed with a sword, or with any amount of power really. There are just things that will be beyond us." Morgan replied with a sense of finality, before looking at Artoria, "You have already done enough for me. You already saved me once, from becoming something I would have been disgusted by. This home of ours, it will be there home too. All I ask is, promise me my children will be respected knights." Morgan said, before Artoria gave in and hugged her, returning the embrace as best she could.
"You once told me that even if I was King of this land, it was your duty, as my sister, to help me, even if it made you do things, I did not want you to do. Why are you lecturing me then on knowing my limits in turn?" Artoria asked her sister.
Morgan chuckled, "Because much like you dear sister, I am far too stubborn for my own good. And do not worry, I will be alright. I can't run from it forever." She looked at Kay, who was standing beside them with a sad expression, "Our sister is going to need you dear Kay. Make sure that she does not falter or lose herself, things are going to be hard for her."
Kay sighed and nodded, "If I was hesitant on that, I would not be here now." He helped detach Artoria from her embrace, "Although personally, I hope you know what you are walking towards, for your own sake." Morgan nodded and the 2 said their goodbyes, the cell closing and locking until the time for her trial came.
She waited patiently until the guards opened the cell and entered, one of them unlocking her cuff, giving that arm free movement. As they made her way to the great hall room, she pushed back when the guards got too forceful while continuing ahead. Morgan had had enough, she realized while in her cell, especially once she had learned what Guiomar had said. She was not just going to allow Guiomar to run his name into the ground on the slim chance of her not angering her husband, a man, she believed, had already surmised what had happened. What was she to do, grovel before them all and proclaim her innocence, especially when Guiomar had clearly kept her secret? No, she was done trying to play the forgiving one, especially when her heart did not forgive. She was not the weak foolish girl who had eagerly accepted the man her father had deigned her to marry, and then had never arrived at her ceremony, nor was she the foolish Queen who did not immediately dispatch of her husband, Dura, and the guards when Teneu's life was threatened due to holding on to some hope of decency and goodness in them. Morgan was done with all of that. So, when her trial began, and Artoria and Guinevere stood before her with the whole crowd of people watching, Morgan had no fear in her heart.
"Queen Morgan, this very morning, you were caught with my cousin, Lord Guiomar, in bed together. We have received word that you may have been drunk upon doing so, as Lord Guiomar stated in his own trial, though this neither proves nor denies your part in it. How do you plead about this infidelity?" Guinevere asked her, an angry look in her eyes.
Morgan was calm and unbothered as she said, "I am guilty milady, and contrary to what some may say, I was completely aware of myself upon sleeping with him, I even made the advance, if you are so curious." The observers amongst them all whispered to themselves as the trial continued, Gawain worryingly glancing at where his father was standing, who was bored and uninterested in comparison with many other people in the crowd.
Queen Guinevere glared at her, "So, you concede that you willingly slept with Lord Guiomar, knowingly betraying your vows to your husband, and that you were under no influence or coercion upon doing so?"
Morgan's eyes flashed as a dozen swords of golden light materialized around her as the crowd began to shout in panic, several knights raising their weapons and shields in case a battle was about to break, Gawain and Sadoine startled at the look in Morgan's eyes, while Leodegan brought his hand to his sword. "I assure you that if Lord Guiomar had in any way deceived or forced himself on me against my will, he would not be alive for you to hold trial upon, dear Guinevere." She eyed the horrified Guinevere with a smirk, while Artoria retained her controlled demeanor. Lot had a smirk on his face, as though finally having gained interest in the trial. The blades of light dematerialized, as the guards were ordered back by Artoria, not wanting to force a fight when there was none needed.
Biting her lip, Guinevere attempted to regain some measure of control over the situation as she asked, "I only have one final question. Why did you choose to betray your lord and husband?"
At that moment, all the observers went quiet as Morgan began laughing, the question being one so ridiculous she could not help but laugh, almost falling over herself. About everyone in the great hall room grew frightened as they heard the laugh from the witch. "Hahaha hah… aha hah hah…" Morgan slowly began to calm down as she placed a hand on her chest, "M-My apologies, that was a tad unnecessary… but I could not help myself." She took a deep breath as she calmed down, before staring at her sister and Guinevere, "Why did I break my vows with him? It is quite simply because I hate him. That is all." She sighed with an almost free expression before she asked, "Now will that be all, let us not continue this farce for too much longer."
Within a short time after a bit of deliberation, Guiomar was brought before all observers, 'King Arthur' standing before him and Morgan as the sentence was carried out. "Queen Morgan of Orkney, for your crimes of infidelity against your lord and husband, you will return to your Kingdom where King Lot will ordain your due punishment." There was a cheering in the crowd as Guiomar clenched his fist. He had failed, and he could more than likely guess why? "As for you Lord Guiomar," His head rose as he stared at his King, and his cousin, "For your crimes of adultery with Queen Morgan, you will be stripped of your land and title you have held in Camelot and are to be taken by King Leodegan back to Cameliard. Is that understood?"
Guiomar stared at his King's stoic face as well as his cousin's troubled and upset face, seemingly about to say something, before he then stated, "I understand these terms, and I accept them fully." He said before all the court.
Chapter 36: A Halt in Self Destruction
There is a certain saying that goes when one is busy. You cannot really explain it, but you can feel it, a disturbance. You are either going about your routine, or your busy with something, and then it happens, a disturbance that knocks away your concentration and forces you to confront it otherwise it will never end. On the one hand it can be a simple mild inconvenience taken way out of proportion, which will leave you grumbling and annoyed over being forced to take time out of your life for absolutely nothing. However, it may also mean something traumatizing/disturbing has just occurred, a banshee howling in pain, terrible memories resurfacing and clouding your mind, or the worst case, your mother has just had a fit. In these cases, the best thing to do would be to calm the situation down in a sane and controlled manner that will not lead to harm and will minimize any chaos/damage that has already occurred, while also trying not to get killed at the same time. Unfortunately, in this situation, it happened to be all the latter cases.
Not that Liario, Dia, and Cynthia were aware of this as they kept watch over the Roman army, carefully doing what they could to stay out of the radar of the mystics that scanned the surrounding area of the camp with magic spells, or the giants that also patrolled the areas, one of them had almost smelled and spotted them. The army had moved only a little since the attack by the wyrm the day before, and the 3 were weighing their options.
"I tell you we should have gone in and attacked them yesterday while they were recovering. We could have killed their leader." Dia stated finding herself once again arguing with Liario while Cynthia sighed, having once again been left with the unenviable job of mediating the discussion to keep things civil. "Thanks to your constant worrying, we've held back, and that army has only regrouped."
Liario was more than a little annoyed, "My apologies for trying to ensure that we do not end up dying ever since we found this army. Do you recall how powerful that creature was that attacked them all, not to mention those young it produced? It would have killed us in moments, and this, "Emperor Tiberius," at least that was what his men praised him as last night, defeated it. We do not have the strength to overcome him alone, let alone his forces. By the time he was asleep, the mages and giant beasts he has in his forces were already on guard, and I would rather we not end up food to a giant."
He shook his head, "I have been communicating with my sister as much as I can, it turns out they have intersected with Prince Walbert and the ruler of Camelot, assisting them back with their travels. Our focus should be to watch and follow their movements, which Liaria can report to the prince, keep him and his allies informed about this presence, until they form a solution for this."
Cynthia held Dia's arm as she consoled her friend, "We just need to wait this out and remain careful. Recklessness and arrogance were what made us lose to Morgan Le Fay and her group to begin with, we cannot make that mistake here. If one little runt in that small pack almost killed Mertimo, just imagine what this giant legion of death will do to us? Caution is our best friend in this case." With a groan, Dia relented, and the 3 remained on watch.
Unknown to them, however, was that the group that had defeated and escaped them in the past was currently with the Roman army, they had just not noticed due to having put as much space as they could between themselves and the giant wyrm during the battle yesterday. And right now, before gates that hold back the flood were broken through, the young runt Malphas and his comrades were currently receiving advice from Albus on how to wield their new weapons. Olved needed no instruction, he always had a talent for polearms, so there was little adjustment required for him. Albus could already tell that as a legionnaire the man would hold up well. Christan was skilled in the use of a sword and shield. The real training would come with Arawn and the inexperienced Prince Malphas, though Albus owed the latter a life debt, so he began explaining to him proper stance while Varyn helped calm down the servant Lena, who in turn lightly teased him over his armor.
"You have to keep your shield up when facing an enemy." Albus told Malphas as he adjusted the youth's stance, "protect yourself from a foe, your other hand grips your weapon to kill them." He said as he pointed at the gladius in Malphas's other hand, "You have strength, endurance, and grit, you must use them. Close on your target, then kill them quickly. Your arm does not have as much protection as it may have once had, but it will be looser, more capable of deft movement. You may stab your enemy or slash at them when you get close. The shield can also stagger them and give you time to make your killing strike."
He took to the side as Olved faced the opposite of Malphas, a pike and shield in hand. Albus noted the man's nigh perfect copying of the proper stance of a legionnaire. Once again, the teacher trained the student, with Olved closing the distance and extending the pike forward to attack, Malphas bringing his shield up for defense. As he noted the odd feeling of the pike tip pressing into part of the shield, Malphas gathered his strength and pushed back, Olved withdrawing the pike to cause Malphas to lose his footing. Not surrendering, Malphas charged forward, gladius ready, but Olved blocked his strikes with his shield, with Albus sighing. Malphas was trying far too hard to rush in wildly, he needed to be more careful.
None of them could tell that something foul was in the air until Malphas felt his hair rise for some reason, something changing in the wind. It rustled and twisted, seemingly flowing to a single area, but he was not sure why. A sinking feeling came to his gut, and his chest felt icy cold as his mind roared danger. More than that, he felt twisting emotions in the air, painful ones. There was… horror, and shock… guilt and misery… agony and self-loathing… as though his very soul was being defiled in suffering… and such sheer loneliness. A soul that wished to die, yet unable to. He felt in his gut as though he were approaching his end and became so distracted, he could not properly defend himself as Olved knocked him, groaning as his helmet fell off on landing.
"You need to learn to pay better attention to what is at hand Prince Malphas." Olved came to his side and inserted the pike into the ground before offering a hand up, before noticing his student's face of dread. "Prince Malphas, what's wrong?" He backed away as Malphas slowly rose and looked in the direction Emperor Tiberius and Lady Morgan had departed, his eyes widening.
Albus walked towards him, "What's wrong with him, has he gone mad?" It was only a second before it happened that he felt it, the spine tingling feeling of dread, of something terrible about to unleash.
…
"GGGRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!"
As the agonizing cry rang throughout the Roman camp, all those there found themselves sent flying back as a dark purple beam of light shot into the heavens above, the air blasting outwards throughout the field, the tents flying apart as elephants and giants cried out, the magical flying beasts flying back to keep a distance. Liario, Dia, and Cynthia were all sent flying back by the shockwaves generated by the sheer power of the dark magic. The Roman soldiers and mages struggled to right themselves as the ground shook before the sheer force that was shooting towards the sky, a few could only stare at it from the ground in horror.
Lucius Tiberius and Rosa landed on their feet about 70 yards away, Rosa having conjured a spell as fast as she could while Tiberius had deflected most of the brunt from what they would have been hit by with Florent, which was now unsheathed and glowing red in his hands. He tossed the unconscious body of the sex slave to the ground behind him, the faerie having been knocked out by the shockwave due to being in such proximity. Tiberius's right arm was torn and bloody after deflecting the energy so hastily, but that did not deter his grip on his sword, holding it tightly with 2 bloody fists.
"AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!"
Morgan's wail rang through the ears of all that could hear her, buffeting them just as the dark wind that seemed to churn from the witch did. Tiberius cursed as he witnessed a spherical barrier form around the witch, engulfed the purple aura shooting up towards the sky. That was not the only thing that formed, Tiberius grit his teeth as purple lightning shot from the heart of the dark magic and strike the ground, setting areas on fire. His eyes widened as he saw energy pool in front of his, before a dark purple wave of energy shot towards him, the ground ripping and tearing away as it crushed through the dirt. With Florent glowing a brilliant red, Tiberius roared as he pierced the blade into the ground, a beam of red ripping through the dirt to meet the opposition, the explosion cancelling out both beams, leaving a small crater where they met. Tiberius kept his eyes forward with a calculating look, wondering when the next blast would come his way.
Not that Morgan seemed to even be aware of what was even going on. In fact, other than emitting such an earth-shattering scream and gripping her head with her hands incredibly hard, she did not seem to be consciously doing anything. While the beam of dark magic that shot into the sky twisted the heavens above, the beams that shot across and around the campsite were done so haphazardly and wildly that there was no logical thought process which could be applied to it, and there was none involved at all. It was simply the unrestrained and painful emotions of Morgan Le Fay made manifest to all that surrounded her. Unfortunately, that did not entail a merciful fate for those that ended up facing the brunt of such raw and unchained power.
As Malphas struggled to stand up, his eyes turned to the side as he saw a dark beam of energy tearing through the ground towards them all. Realizing who was standing directly in its path, Malphas felt a surge of adrenaline ripple through his body as he raced forward, shoving Albus out of the way as he shouted, "RUNN!" His allies' eyes widened as the beam collided into him, and Malphas was sent flying high into the air before landing on the ground with a painful thump, boucing a few times before he stopped, steam and smoke emanating from his body before getting swept up by the wind, his unmoving form lying on the ground…
…
…
The exodus of Lahia was slow and grueling, with knights in formation all around the weaponless people, forming a barrier of arms to protect the defenseless, or at least, that was the intention, with King Arthur leading from the front. Gareth traveled at the left of the pack while Lancelot rode his horse by the right, each keeping lookout for any possibly interloper seeking to kill them all. That barrier could do nothing, however, when the ground began to shake, and strong winds bristled all as the horses cried out and the dirt rattled. Lancelot looked around wildly, wondering if there was another monster, or group of such, that were making an attack. Many of the refugees cried out in horror, huddling together as the sky twisted even more than it usually did, growing dark and ominous.
The King of Knights merely rose her head and turned it to the direction where she could feel the energy come from. Her hands went for Avalon as she could make up the dark beam that was penetrating the sky. This power, it was… intense, and frighteningly so. The power was greater than Excalibur, and possibly equal to Rhongomyniad. There was something forming in the sky where the beam touched the heavens, something manifesting, and not from Avalon. Would this better or worsen the merging of the worlds, and what kind of power was this?!
As Artoria held strong and peered into the heavens above from within her, she swore she could hear something, no someone. It was a person crying, a soul in pain. You could mistake this as simply being the cries of the refugees she was trying to save, but it was not only them. This cry had a familiar voice, one she recognized well, even if it was only thin in the air. "Morgan." The King of Britain noted quietly.
Despite her hatred towards her, Artoria could not help but ponder what must be happening that would have led to such grief. However, the chance for reconciliation was gone in Artoria's eyes, her faith in her sister had been shattered, she could not place her sister in her heart any longer, not in the wake of all the innocents that needed to be saved. She had made her choice, and now Artoria had made hers. As she felt the wind pick up and bristle upon hitting her armored body, she did not stare at the dark magical force as a pained soul to help, but as a threat to her goals, one that needed to be eliminated. Her only question was on who, or what, would do so.
…
…
Vivian almost fell over as she felt the intense magical eruption far into the distance, the darkening sky giving it away as to whether it was naturally caused or not. Simply put, it was not, and it was powerful enough to wipe out the entire British Isles… no, it was even worse. Vivian did not even want to begin to wonder. This power, it could have destroyed the Seyfert itself. "Morgan Le Fay, what are you doing?!" Pelleas helped keep her steady as she felt the air quiver, "This is sheer pandemonium."
Merlin took notice from inside his cage, "Oh, seems like Morgan's having a bit of a breakdown, and a painful one by the feel of this. If only she could truly take control over her own heart, then she would be able to outclass me by a great deal. Right Vivian?!" He asked carelessly, completely unbothered by the great escalation of dark magic they felt from where Morgan was. "You already know what is to fight her, since she defeated you without even using her full powers."
Vivian did not say anything in response, merely staring at the sky in growing dread, she remembered that day well, all of it. That had been the day Morgan had forcibly taken Clarent from her. The Lady of the Lake had kept the sword, waiting for when a great knight would appear worthy to claim it, when the eldest Pendragon came to her lake in her black and blue dress, crown, and black veil. Despite Morgan's shady reputation at the time, Vivian had welcomed her warmly, sensing there was distress in her, and asked what was wrong. Morgan had simply coldly asked for the sword, and when Vivian questioned her on why she needed it, and if Merlin had made the request and sent Morgan in his stead, the witch simply stated that Merlin had no importance in her actions.
Suspicious, she again asked Morgan of Clarent's purpose in whatever it was she required, and at that moment, Morgan had lost patience and attacked, a battle between the fair ladies had occurred at the lake. Morgan had her matched in skill, but Vivian had her outclassed in terms of experience, having been studying under Merlin before Morgan had even began, and tried to press that advantage. A master of magic in connection with the earth itself, especially her special lake, and the very battlefield itself had been against her assailant, with Vivian caging Morgan in a cocoon of water. Upon asking Morgan to surrender, she had been taken aback by the dark power that flooded out of Morgan, barely able to dodge in time when a dark sword of magical power shot out of the liquid cage and right at her, managing to simply get a bad wound on her side rather than gutted by the blade entirely. After that, Morgan had knocked her unconscious, took the sword, and left her. She still recalled the fear she felt upon awakening, wondering if Morgan was about to deliver the finishing blow.
Vivian gulped as she felt a sinking feeling in her gut. If Merlin was right, and Morgan had not been unleashing her full power back then, or had gotten stronger, exactly how powerful was this going to be? She had feeling she was not going to finding out before horror went through her. She needed to make sure Lancelot and the rest of his friends were alright! Grasping at the dirt, her eyes shined blue as her mind left her body and rushed through the land, searching for where her son was.
…
…
The King of Faeries liked to say that nothing ever surprised him, presenting the image of a controlled, if devilishly humorous and handsome, and proud monarch of his kind. That was furthest from the truth. He usually found himself surprised by Puck whenever the rebellious fool went against his instructions and messed, although he really should not be surprised by that anymore. Then there was his wife Titania, who always managed to find a way to surprise him, especially when she had first taken in Walbert back when he was an infant after his human parents had died. Unfortunately, this surprise was neither tedious, nor amusing.
Oberon's head turned as he found himself distracted from the remains of the Seyfert and Rhongomyniad, staring at the now darkening sky. Strange magic was afloat, and while it did not seem to be interfering with the lance's connection to Avalon, it was not good either. It was not any of his subjects, they would never extend their powers in such a manner. The wizard was also out of question, he was both still sealed in Avalon, as well as in the cage he and Titania had made. That left only one other magical being who could be behind this, "Bloody hell, and I thought the witch's sister was bad enough."
Titania floated beside him with a horrified look on her face, "Oh by Avalon, please no." She said quietly as she covered her mouth with her hands.
Oberon placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly, "Do not fret, we may form a barrier around this place, whatever eruption takes hold, it will not damage this land. One sorceress is nothing before the faeries." He was then confused as Titania gave him and angry look and shoved him, "Augh, what in Britain has you so distraught? You act as if the world is ending!"
"Are you truly so forgetful, or do you just not care?!" She shouted at him, "Walbert is still out there, who knows where, and he may be in danger of this power! For all we know the King of Knights has found her sister and the 2 of them are currently engaged in combat! If she is summoning this much power, then who is to say he may not end up dying?!" Titania looked away as his eyes widened in fear, "By Avalon, how could we have let him leave?" She said tearfully. To Oberon's, he found to say at all. Quietly, he prayed to whatever unfortunate soul that may be near the witch to stay alive, and for someone to stop her.
…
…
"PRINCE MALPHAS! PRINCE MALPHAS!" Lena shouted as loud as she could as the winds tore through the field even louder and more ferociously than before, the only thing she was able to do was grip the body of the bastard prince of Lahia along with Sir Varyn, Christan, and Olved, and pray to God nothing worse happened. Tears were picked up from her face and flew into the wind at the sight of him. One of his arms had been badly burned, it was now black and charred, half of his face had also been burned. Blood had trickled out the side of his mouth, and his eyes were closed as well, his chest armor had been partially blasted right off, only part of it remained. He was not waking up; he may have already been dead! Lena was not sure, the only thing she could truly hear, other than the scream of the witch that rippled through the wind, was the overwhelming cacophony that was her own heartbeat.
She tentatively rested her head on his chest and whispered, "Please, By the Lord's grace, Prince Leon, King Guiomar, someone save us."
…
…
Am I… Am I dead? No, I am not. What is this… what is this, agony I feel? Such pain, it hurts so badly… What Happened?... I was training… but when was I… Lady Morgan… she saw me back then… oh wait, that explains me… how long has she had me restrained… I cannot be sure.
She is in pain now, that is the only… those feelings… that scream… it was her… By God, how can one manage to live feeling so miserable? It is so agonizing, is she always like that…? I know that she was… sad inside, but what in this world could make someone feel so terrible, so utterly lost… What would one have to do to feel such manner of…? I, I cannot bear it, make it stop.
I must get up… I must rise… I must stop her before she kills us… before she kills herself… Today is not… the day we die… Not now…
…
A charred hand slowly rose despite the wind, gripped the arm of who was nearest, he did not know. Christan's eyes widened as Malphas slowly came back to consciousness, Olved and Varyn mirroring his expression. A low growl came from Malphas as he felt something on his chest and moved his other arm to nudge her off. Realizing what Malphas was trying to do, Varyn slowly pulled Lena off the youth, who cried upon seeing him awake.
"Prince Malphas! Wait stop, you need to lie down it's not-" Lena stopped when she got a look at his eyes as he stared back at her. Though the skin on part of his face had been seared badly, his eyes were still fine, but they were not as they usually were. Unlike the usually sky-blue gems they were, now all that looked at her were two harsh golden yellow eyes that scanned her like a predator that watched its prey. In fact, as Malphas looked at all of them as he sat up despite the wind, he seemed unfamiliar with them all for a moment, like this was all new to him. Lena briefly wondered if he would attack them were not injured. "Prince Malphas," Lena began gently, "Please, relax, we are not a danger to you." She wanted to say he was not in danger, but that was not true, they all were in danger, "Can you understand me? Do you know who I am?" Gulping quietly as he looked at her, she continued, "I am Lena, a servant of King Guiomar and Queen Julia of Lahia, your parents. I was brought to Lahia by the late Prince Leon. I… I am like family to you, and you are like a younger brother to me. You… and Prince John, your brother."
"I am your teacher, Olved." The older knight says, before pointing to Christan, "As is he. We are here to help and protect you from-"
"Lady Morgan." Malphas interrupted, "She is the source of this power." Growling, he grabbed a shoulder from Olved and Varyn to hoist himself up on his legs, shakily standing up, "We have to stop her." He said as he walked forward, putting one foot forward, and then the next, digging his feet into the ground as he braced himself against the wind, almost half of his body stung as the air and dirt chafed with his burnt skin, but he grits his teeth as he persevered. Olved tried to reach out but stopped as he witnessed a dark aura lightly surround Malphas as the youth breathed, his eyes somewhat glowing as he trudged forward. His gaze turned to Sir Arawn who was kneeling close to where he was standing and pointed to the gladius he had sheathed at his side. Sir Arawn unsheathed the weapon and handed it to Malphas, who grabbed it with his less damaged hand and marched forward, steadily gaining speed and strength as he pressed on. He then extended a hand at the shield Albus had, and the Roman soldier handed it to him without saying a word, currently in stunned silence as he looked at the person who had saved his life twice, now with the appearance of a dead man. As the wind savaged away at his body, Malphas continued further even as some of his skin began to peel off. The dragon would not stop, it would not be kept down, or held back from its goals. And for the one called Malphas, the damaged human vessel was a mere obstacle to overcome in his wish to save his family, including the woman crying in despair.
Already ahead of him, however, was Lucius Tiberius, currently fighting his way closer to Morgan, the red glow of his sword the only way for his men to notice him from a distance, Rosa by his side. With an elaborate spin of Florent, Tiberius launched an energy slash at the barrier, already moving back as it cut through the wind before colliding with the dark barrier, only to get absorbed on impact. Tiberius cursed angrily as the attack shot back at him in a corrupted form of dark energy, followed by another ground beam of dark magic. As Rosa formed a barrier shield to block the deflected attack, Tiberius dug his sword into the ground and again countered it with an equally powerful energy strike from his blade, his eyes focused on the opposition in front of him.
There was clearly no conscious act from Morgan Le Fay to attack anyone, Tiberius could surmise that from the fact that the witch was still screaming and not making any effort to willingly direct magic at them, even if it were hard to notice her at times while she was immersed in the barrier as well as the column of dark magic shooting up at the sky. As such, the magic strikes that haphazardly struck out did so randomly and no idea as to what was in the path. As such, Tiberius had breathed easy when magical strikes that came out randomly had hit nothing and grew angry when he saw his men and a few giants get hit. Impossibly to predict where it was coming from… or was it?
When attacks were made on the barrier, as Tiberius noted, they were absorbed and shot back. It was not a work of science however, magic followed its own rules, and this one had manifested from the intense and violent emotions of Morgan Le Fay. Essentially, it was like that of a wounded wild animal acting purely on instinct, striking out randomly and in response to what it deemed an intimidating and threatening presence. However, even a wild animal had some ingrained pattern of behavior written in their instincts, all conscious life did. What that pattern was came to the individual, it was something only the brightest and most ingenious could truly master, and those of the highest caliber could perform actions and movements not only without needing to visualize, but without even needing to think that. Sentient life itself did that when it ate, and when it breathed. Tiberius had spent rigorous training mastering the ability to perform moves with his sword without even a thought. He believed that Morgan Le Fay was similar when it came to her magical prowess.
Judging from his previous fight with the witch, a straightforward clash was not her preferred approach. No, Tiberius could tell Morgan liked to use many vectors when in combat, preferring to layer her moves with defenses and diversions before going in for an attack. Illusions and barriers at first, before she then ramped up the magic, throwing in stronger spells to disorient and confuse him before finishing him off. Her magic was wide, strong, and varied, covering all her bases while diminishing none of them, all while prepping for one finishing strike that would decisively end her foes. Tiberius could see the same kind of approach, even in her wild state.
The rapid dark wind pressed back anyone in the area, leading to poor and hard to manage footing for the inexperienced or those insufficient in endurance, eliminating any tedium caused by dealing with the insignificant. Her barrier was powerful as had immense defensive capabilities, while Rosa had found all manner of magic attacks absorbed by the dark magical aura shooting into the sky. Wild magic attacks were just that, wild, and as such had no predictable pattern to face, making it difficult for large groups that needed strong coordination to accomplish an objective, and may be held back a great deal when faced with the unorthodox. Against a single opponent, the barrier could also absorb the power of an attack and then send it back, following that up with extra magical attacks to overwhelm the assailant. As for the big finishing tactic, Tiberius had realized it once Rosa had beckoned for him to look at the sky more closely.
The dark aura that shot into the sky was making the heavens above harder to glimpse, only ripples of darkness noticeable. How, there was one point that managed to shine through the darkness, but it was not one to take comfort in. At the very highest point, where dark magic touched the sky, a purple light was shining, taking physical form. As Tiberius had taken notice multiple times while blocking and analyzing the witch's power, it was in the shape of a sword, a potentially very large sword. One of Morgan Le Fay's more usual physically damaging magical attacks involved materializing swords of light to hurl at her enemies, and this one was larger than the usual. Tiberius was already aware that the witch was powerful, and in this unstable state of mind, it seems he was getting a glimpse of exactly how strong she may in fact have been. If that thing came down, it could wipe out his entire army, maybe even damage the entire British Isles! The island was already floating above the ocean, Lucius Tiberius did not know exactly what would become of it if that violent blade of light made contact, and he did not want to know.
He was pretty sure the only thing that held back the sword may be that Morgan Le Fay was not concentrating on this, it was out of emotional primal instinct. And yet it still followed the patterns he had glimpsed in analyzing how she fought her battles. She would be a devastating foe if she were lucid, fortunately she was not. That meant that he had a chance to overcome her if he played his hand correctly. Emperor Tiberius knew he had to hurry up, because the dark magic was growing stronger, her barrier getting thicker, and that sword of light above was getting brighter. He deflected a bolt of dark lightning off his sword that happened to come at him, his eyes narrowing as he slowly kept walking forward. A skill he had gained since mastering Florent was the ability to not only sense magic, but to analyze its wave and flow, to harmonize with it, to find the weak points, to know and copy the pattern. A difficult thing to master, but far from impossible, it had been that skill which aided him when defeating those witch sisters back in France.
Hard to analyze this one since it was so erratic, but even the wildest of animals had some form of repetition in their movements, and this was no different. The dark magic barrier was not stationary, it swirled and rotated, he could sense the magic flowing in a counterclockwise rotation. No point on the sphere differed from another point, so there was no weak point he could exploit, the only time when one did appear, was the point at which one of the weaker beams shot out randomly at a target, he noticed, as well as when they were launched following a redirected attack. More than that, it was as if the dark magic itself was also sentient, the winds blew harder the closer he got, the blast were more likely to target him, he slowly saw. It was like a cornered animal getting ready to face its predator.
"Rosa, be ready." He said to her, who nodded in response. Deflecting another attack that came his way, he rose his blade above his head as Florent beamed with light. Feeling his sword charge, the energy flowing through the blade, Tiberius could sense the shield tense in response, as though it had once again sensed the presence of an attack coming, and one was indeed. His eyes narrowing when his sword was ready, the Emperor of Rome brought his blade into a downward slash, the energy cutting through the field and right at the barrier. Just as before, the energy was absorbed by the barrier and converted into dark energy to be shot back, Tiberius not flinching a bit as blood red was converted to midnight darkness.
The attack was then sent back at him, at which point he gave a slight grin. Bringing his sword forward, he swung the blade just along the redirected attack, absorbing the power back into the sword, for what came from it could also be returned. The dark magic beam that soon followed ripped through the ground with ferocious intensity, but Tiberius did not even bother to raise his sword in defense, he had a loyal friend there. Raising her arms forward, Rosa chanted in Latin as a magical shield was erected between them and the blast, Tiberius taking notice as the magical wave of energy was both taller than himself, and wide enough to fit 3 Roman centurions.
That would imply that the weak point in the barrier was just as large, and as Tiberius could sense, the point on the spherical barrier that this dark magic blast was shooting from, it was weaker than other points on the barrier. He grinned as his sword lit up, as he pointed it forward, Rosa's shield holding strong no matter what. "Come now, you cannot keep that up for now, you need to finish the sword about to fall." Tiberius muttered, even though he new his chances depended on breaking the barrier and finishing off the witch before that sword was done and began falling. Still, he had to wait for this blast to finish, even as it took several minutes, but good things came to those who were willing to wait. His eyes focused in on his target as a bit of sweat went down his cheek, dripped off his chin, and landed between his shoulders and neck, his breathing being what made it drip off his chin. Taking a deep breath, he kept his gaze forward, 2 hands gripping to blade as he waited for it… just the right moment.
Then the blast subtly began to let up and dissipate in front of him, and Tiberius's smirk grew into a vicious smile as he charged forward at lightning speed, tearing through the brutal wind as though it were nothing more than a gentle breeze as he thrusted his blade forward, stabbing at the barrier with blood red light! Energy from the rest of the barrier tried to swirl around the weak spot of it, attempting to fill the gap and force Tiberius back, but the Emperor of Rome was not about to be pushed back or have his victory taken away from him. The tip of Florent slowly entered the barrier, small cracks beginning to show through the darkness as Tiberius pushed even further forward, red light emanating at the cracks. With a guttural roar, Tiberius plunged the blade deeper into the barrier, until the cracks formed all around the barrier, and it could no longer hold.
CRACK!
With the sound of a sonic boom, the barrier was destroyed, the blast sending Tiberius back over 2 dozen yards before he dug Florent into the ground and landed on his feet, Rosa staggering beside him after having been similarly thrown back. The dark wind had mostly subsided, though the pillar of dark magic rising into the heavens still very much continued, the sword in the sky still forming. Morgan Le Fay seemed to sway for a moment, and it seemed as though she retained some lucidity to notice the 2 confronting her, but her face simply grew wilder as bloody tears streaked down her face.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHH!"
Morgan screamed like a banshee as dark tendrils shot at the warlord and sorceress with maddening precision and ferocity. Not stopping at all, Rosa erected a barrier as she and her lover raced forward, Tiberius hacking down the tendrils that slipped out of her notice with consummate ease. They could not afford to slow down as they raced forward, they needed to stop her before another barrier was formed, especially as Rosa could feel the ethereal blade that hung over them like the Sword of Damocles was nigh completed. Closing the distance, Tiberius rose his sword as Florent was caked in a blood red aura, ready to kill.
In her manic state, Lady Morgan grabbed the incoming sword with both hands, not at all injured as her body radiated a dark blue aura, enabling her to match the Roman Emperor's raw physical power for now. Rosa grinned, now was her moment. She licked her lips as though she were preparing for sex as dark fire erupted out of her hands. For certain traitors lacking loyalty, or those who stood in the way, Tiberius would at times allow her to burn them at a stake, watching as once immaculate figures were seared and ruined under her fiery power. She had always had a taste for beauty, whether it was in scenery, in lovers, or in punishment. And while she loved taking on handsome and beautiful lovers both in Rome and in her beloved's conquests, she also could not help herself when it came to watching unworthy pretty faces and bodies turn to ash at her hands, the sheer power she held in those moments was indescribable. Even better, she would be ending the life of the witch who dared try to stand equal to her love and Emperor, to supplant Rosa as his true right hand. A shame she could not have tasted her with Tiberius, but if the witch chose to be such a nuisance, so it shall be.
Before she could burn the witch though, she heard footsteps coming behind her, which she initially dismissed as being one of the soldiers foolishly coming to help them. However, she then heard something sing in the air, and moved her head at the last minute, her eyes widening as a gladius cut right where her head had been, and to where Tiberius and Morgan Le Fay were currently trying to overpower each other! With a clang, the gladius hit Florent, startling Tiberius as he looked to see who it was. His eyes widened as a badly wounded came sprinting at them full throttle, shoving Rosa aside as he neared both the warlord and the witch. In the split second of distraction the emperor was in, he found himself thrown back as Morgan Le Fay blasted him with a wave of power, causing him to scramble madly as he looked at them. Were they in league with his enemies and came to destroy them?!
He found himself surprised once more when the wounded Malphas then tackled Lady Morgan to the ground, shoving through the dark aura as he wrapped his arms around her neck from behind, trying to choke her unconscious. Morgan simply howled and shrieked like a diseased animal, no attempt at any understandable words or language, she merely screamed like possessed ghoul as she jerked and flailed wildly while on the ground, trying desperately to break free, scratching at Malphas's hand and arms with her nails, bringing them behind her head to scratch at his face, or slamming his face with the back of her head. The youth did not let up, his now golden eyes narrowing as he tightened the hold on her neck further, gritting his teeth as her screaming grew more strained and painful. Twisting and moving to the side, he put his own body between her and the warlord, who was currently too confused at the situation to act. He did not think she had done much breathing while in her madness, and if he could reduce the oxygen in her enough, she may fall unconscious, negating her magical Gotterdammerung upon the British Isles.
Morgan would not relent, her eyes glowing purple just as the blade hanging far above them did before she let loose an ear-bleeding scream. At that moment, the ethereal blade of light began its descent from the rifts between Avalon and the human world, cutting through the air as it pointed at the British Isles. If this made contact, that would be it. The British Isles would be destroyed, wiped out as though they had never existed, the roots of the remains of the Seyfert would be completely wiped out! And without Rhongomyniad with her, it may even kill the King of Knights, which would break the lance's focus in connecting the tree to Avalon, causing the world to be erased! This was unknown to Malphas, who had been given the lies of the witch, but it did not change the desperation in his eyes. Some may have boasted about their willingness to give themselves up in place of friends, family, comrades, king, country, belief, but all life had the ingrained instinct of self-preservation. Malphas did not want to die, and as he struggled to hold the witch on the ground, he croaked and whispered into her ear, hoping she would here him, hoping, against all odds, that she would stop.
…
…
The sky above her was dark, the stars and moon giving light. Trees whistled in the wind, leave blowing as the crickets chirped. Morgan in turn simply floated in the lake, not giving any notice or care to anything. She often dreamed of being here, especially in times of distress, wishing that it will all end, wishing that she could just sink, dissolve, and disperse in the water. Leave nothing behind, no body for anyone to worry about, no foul scent to harm the nose of those who walked by. She would no longer be a curse to anyone, no longer harm anyone. Morgan could rest now, she could dissolve, and she closed eyes then, uncaring as the water began to rise, and she began to sink.
Wake up!
Why should she, her life did not bring anything good anymore, it was better this way, better let go. You could not hurt anyone if you were nothing. She would not be able to fail anyone ever again, and she was so tired.
Please, you must stop this! Before it is too late!
Stop what… was she doing something wrong? She had done many things wrong in the past, such as performing actions she had once despised and reviled. Actions she knew full well the repercussions and trauma which would follow, yet ended up doing them anyway, with similar excuses as those she had loathed, and that had made it even worse. Though what was she doing now… she honestly did not even know. Morgan ignored it; it was too late.
Please, stop!
She honestly had no idea what she was supposed to stop. It did not matter; she could not bring herself from the lake of despair she had chosen to drown herself in. Morgan had been trapped in it for a few years, before sinking even deeper not to long ago, she wondered if now she would finally die.
P-Please… M-Mother stop!
At that moment, her eyes shot open. Who was calling? Was it Gawain, her gallant eldest son, having freed himself from the past and was serving in Camelot righteously, as she had always hoped? Agravain, who despite being the spitting image of his father was at heart nothing like him? Gaheris, her kind and loyal son, continuing his service in Camelot when all he wanted was for them to be a family again? Sweet and naïve Gareth, whose childhood and adolescence Morgan had not been a part of, yet had grown into a great night under the tutelage from Lancelot? Or was it Mordred… who had been denied a childhood and true life thanks to Morgan, a homunculus trained to be an assassin without any knowledge of who her true intended target? Was it any of them, or was it all of them?
Was she hurting them right now… what was she doing?! She was hurting them; she was failing them again! No, she could not, she would not, not again! Whatever she was doing, she would stop, she would stop for them! For them, and for Artoria, here and now, she would stop, and she would stop now!
…
…
Just as the sword of light neared the surface of the British Isles, with Lucius Tiberius ready to swing Florent in counterattack, it began to fade, reducing to orbs of light as the sky returned to some normal color, if one discounted its wavy bluish and purple shading, along with green. Purple light fell and trailed around the area as the wind calmed, the grass easing and the trees no long shaking. Morgan Le Fay was no longer screaming like a banshee, nor twisting and flailing like some rabid beast. She breathed deeply as her eyes returned to normal, sagging as her arms spread out and lay on the dirt. The eldest Pendragon was no longer insane with rage and grief, she was simply exhausted, and remorseful.
"I'm sorry…" She muttered, before finally giving out, and falling asleep. Malphas felt her drift into slumber and sighed with relief, his arms removing from her neck as he let himself relax, at least as much as he could given how much pain he was in. Raw adrenaline and unwavering determination had been the only things keeping his body going, with his task completed, he realized just how much pain he was in. The dragon trait, the unchained part of his soul could only keep the vessel together for so long. As Malphas himself fell unconscious, he prayed would help him.
Meanwhile, Tiberius and Rosa stared at them, looking at each other as though they were not sure what to do for a moment, before Tiberius got his sword ready for a good stabbing. Before he could carry it out however…
"PRINCE MALPHAS!" Tiberius looked back to see Lena charge through the area as fast as she could before stopping at where the youth and witch were laying, Olved and Christan by her side, as they hauled Morgan off of Malphas's body. Varyn and Arawn were right behind them as they ckecked on their eldest prince.
"Damn boy, stop nearly getting yourself killed." Olved muttered before he turned to Rosa, "Hey you, you're a sorceress, right?! If you can make cages from the ground, you can heal our prince, or at least someone amongst your giant forces can! Hurry up and save him before he dies!" The older warrior barked not giving a care as to who he was speaking to, or how easily they could kill him. If Malphas ended up dying, Olved did not know what he would do. He would never be able to find and look at his Queen and remaining prince, he may even kill himself for such failure. As for now, he merely, glared at them both, "Well, are you touched in the head?!"
Before Rosa could voice her objection to his disrespect, Tiberius snarled, "He'll be healed soon enough, first I need to kill her." He readied his blade above Morgan's unconscious body and pointed it down, ready to execute her.
Lena panicked, "You cannot, she is our ally and friend, we need her!"
Tiberius scoffed at her, "Your friend maybe, but given as to that fool's injuries, I would cast doubt on that if I were you. As for myself, this woman is uncontrollable and a danger to my conquest, I cannot afford such a wild force remain."
"NOOO!" Lena rushed at him, only to gasp and grab her face as blood leaked out of wound, the tip of Tiberius's blade bloody as he saw the servant girl fall back into Varyn's arms, who cried out her name in horror. Before he could go back to business, the servant spoke, "So this is the great Lucius Tiberius, a pathetic coward concerned only with himself and not that of Rome."
He turned his head to look at the girl with glaring eyes, Lena staring back at him undaunted, even despite the slash that went across her cheek and across her nose. Varyn held her tight and stared at Tiberius with fear and anger, Arawn holding a gladius and pointing it at them, ready to throw himself between the powerful warlord and his friends. Rosa looked ready to burn them to ash, but Tiberius questioned whether that was too merciful. These fools, these curs, they needed to learn…
"Such arrogance…" He coldly noted as he approached the servant girl, "Exactly who do you think you are?"
Lena looked at him, not with anger, but with resolute control, and then spoke words that made Tiberius's skin crawl, "A man who kills another for the crime of possessing power, is not suited for power." She said, "Those who would kill that which they cannot control, have no place, or purpose in ruling, in wielding power. They are not men," Lena stated with intensity as Tiberius began to stop and look at her, as though he was staring at a ghost. "They are the leeches, the worms that feed off the healthy, concerned only with their petty desires, and unable to see the greater scope of what lies beyond them. Such filth is unworthy of Rome, such disease should be quartered and butchered before they spread like a deadly plague. They are the reason why Rome suffers." How did… how did she… how could she… "For if such people remain in power as they do now, there will be little left of Rome. All her glory, and all her greatness, will crumble because of their weakness and unworthiness, and all that was gained destroyed and inevitably forgotten. By the Gods, may that never happen, may you never see that happen, and may you reap the lives of those worthless scum!" Lena shouted as she began to heave, her breath strained and heavy, while Tiberius just stared at her, unaware if that had happened.
"Lena, what are you talking about?! What are you saying?!" Sir Varyn asked him, and then Tiberius looked at the knight before looking back at Lena, Rosa stopping as she stared at her love, taken aback by his confused face.
His hand slowly shook, "Lena…?" No, it could not be, there was no way. That was… how in the world, in here of all places.
Lena looked at him as a tear streamed from one of her eyes and down her cheek, mixing in with the blood, "Those were your father's words right, what he told you, when he made his choice to face the corrupt senators, before he died. I remember because I was there too. I was cleaning the room right beside where he spoke to you, in your room."
Florent fell out of his hands as he stared at her, "You are… still alive." He said as he stared at the girl he had just wounded, the girl that had served his family when he was just a boy, the girl who had been his first and truest friend as a child, the one taken away after his father's death. "Lena." He stated, because it was fact, and as his eyes gleamed with remembrance, Lena smiled. It had been a long time since they had last seen each other.
And that closes off this chapter with a reveal that was honestly pretty obvious to anyone who had been paying attention. Next chapter will be a little less action packed, continuing the path of putting everything in place for what is to come. With hope, the chapter will probably end up coming out on July 4th the earliest, so if that's the case, how about an early Happy Independence Day.
Thank you all and reading and being patient with me. Until next time, this has been the Venomous Blade and I'll see you all later :)