A Possible Lostbelt 6 - Birth of a New Planet

by Venomous Blade

What would you do to change your destiny, if the world was falling around you. 7 worlds made, meant to be a world better than the old, yet one struggles just to survive and exist. As the thread of destiny changes, an unknown shall enter the battlefield. But does he have the right to tell his story. Even if it is not what it could have been, does his story have the right to exist?

46. Preparing for War (Part 2)

Alright, here's part 2 of the last chapter. Added more to it to the point that it got bigger than the last one, but I think it's for the better. Time for us to pick up where we left off with Malphas and the others, as well as see what's happening on Artoria's side of things as well.

Thank you all for waiting, and I hope you enjoy :)

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The fluttering of wings zoomed through the forest as the 3 beings traversed the area. Seemingly the oldest one, he had a well-built yet slim body with long green hair, a bow in hand as he led the group. The middle one had short red hair, a knife in each as he followed his leader. At the end was a seemingly young child with blond hair, his butterfly wings just letting him keep up with his 2 comrades. Traveling very close to one another, they seemed to be surveying the area, the oldest looking around with suspicion, the 2nd one seemed to be sniffing as if trying to catch the smell of something, while the little one looked around with boredom.

"Are you sure we'll find anything here?" He asked carelessly, "For all we know, it's probably just a stray who made it off the island some time after us." The little one didn't seem too concerned really, and the eldest scowled.

"If it were, why would they hide from us?" He shook his head, "We need to know for sure before we report back to Lady Aurora." The man turned his head to the red haired one, "So, can you pin it down, Kreus?"

The red haired one, Kreus, closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, seemingly searching for some sort of smell. Kreus then smacked his lips a few times as a grin came onto his face, "This way." He pointed deeper into the forest and so the 3 went.

Flying over and under branches and leaves, shifting through the trees with consummate ease. The 3 kept their eyes out before Kreus's widened as he came to a stop, his head turning to the right as he stopped his companions. Floating in front of the younger 2, the green haired one slowly went forward as he saw her. She was seemingly sleeping at the base of a large tree, a cloak over her body, and veil over her face, but part of her platinum blonde hair slipped out and lied on her shoulder.

"She's the one, isn't she?" He asked as he looked to Kreus.

Kreus nodded as he licked his lips smiled, "Indeed Ardos, you can just taste the mana."

"Forget the mana, I wanna taste her!" The little one exclaimed as he eyes her chest, still noticeable despite covered by the cloak, with interest.

Ardos chuckled, "1st we have to figure out if she's friend or foe. For all we know, she could have been sent by Oberon and Titania."

"I don't know…" Kreus muttered as they neared her, "She smells like us, and she's powerful. And yet," He took another cautious sniff as he licked his lips, "Not completely, she is something different." Spinning a knife as he squinted, he shook his head, "I cannot be for certain."

Ardos scoffed, "There's a simple way to answer that." His eyes glowed green as a small breeze whirled around him for a moment, before flowing gently towards the sleeping figure. As if 2 gentle and thin fingers were at work, the wind gently rose the woman's veil up before moving the hood covering her just a little bit so that the 3 could see her face, and they all looked in shock. A beautiful face, no denying it, but her ears were round. Ardos quietly touched his pointed ears as he stared at the woman with disbelief, "J-Just a human?! But how?" He wondered, choking as he realized she was waking up.

…

Morgan groaned as her eyes fluttered open. Dear lord, she must have turned in some manner during her sleep, and not in a good way, her neck was sore. The grass crinkled beneath her ass, and she heard male voices speaking to one another in front of her. A high-pitched voice stating how he wanted to fuck her and not kill her, another seemingly slurping before agreeing how it would be a waster of mana, while the 3rd seemed to be listening. Really though, she was wide awake after the 1st one, coming to her feet as the 3 hovered away from her by a few meters.

Morgan's eyes widened as she saw their butterfly-like wings and their pointed ears. "T-The fae?!" She'd heard of them from Merlin, but she never thought she would ever meet any in her life.

Ardos manifested an arrow as he notched it on his bow, "So, you know of us. How so, and from whom?" He hissed while Kreus readied his knives, the small one hid behind them while he tried to sneak a glance at Morgan. "So, are you in disguise, a scout of the false King and Queen, here to find our beloved goddess?!"

"W-What, no!" Morgan replied as she raised her hands up, not wanting a fight. "P-Please, whoever you feel I serve, I promise I did not come here at their request, nor do I have cruel intentions coming here." She took a deep breath as she calmed herself. "I came here for sanctuary and to find myself." Bowing to them politely, she spoke, "My name is Morgan, Morgan Le Fay." She then realized that was not what she should have said when they all then sneered at her angrily.

"Le Fay." Kreus muttered with venom as his eyes glowed red, his 2 knives lighting up with flames. Ardos growled as his arrow brightened, and the little one gave her a perverse smile laced with anger.

"Ah, so this is the great pretender, Morgan Le Fay of Britain." Ardos said in a calm tone. "Sister of King Arthur, who wields weapons he does not deserve to have, claiming glory with that stolen from our kind." His eyes narrowed, "And you who wear our kind like a crown, claiming to be that which you are not."

Okay, well things were already spiraling out of control. Morgan grunted as eyes glowed, forming a barrier to block the volley of arrows Ardos shot at her. The arrows ricocheted off the barrier and hit the ground or trees, causing them to catch fire as Ardos snarled. Kreus tried to pierce through the barrier with his knives, but Morgan created a ball of magical energy in her palms as the markings on her body glowed, before unleashing it as a massive wave that sent the redhead flying back, his 2 comrades flying out of the way as he crashed into the woods.

The small faerie with a high-pitched voice shrieked, "Be careful! We want to taste her 1st, right?"

'Over my dead body, you prepubescent child.' Her darkness whispered in her while Morgan snarled, for once in agreement. Ardos launched several volleys of arrows at her, only for his eyes to widen as they were reduced to mere sparkles in thin air, the witch manifesting over a dozen ethereal blades to block their path. At the same time, she manipulated the flames leftover from his previous failed attack to form a flaming whip of sorts. Growling, she launched the swords forward with high accuracy and speed, forcing both of her remaining opponents to scatter if they wished to avoid death. She then grinned as she coiled the fiery whip before sending it at the little faerie.

The blonde one shrieked as the fiery whip ensnared him and locked his movement, the whip searing his flash as he smacked into a tree before finding himself hoisted into the air. Twisting her hand as if she were physically wielding a whip, she spun the little faerie in the air as she eyes Ardos, planning to launch the little one at him like a slingshot. However, before she could do so, the whip went slack and Morgan looked up, seeing that the little faerie had somehow freed himself from her magical whip and was nowhere in sight. Where had he gone?

Morgan couldn't focus on that, as Ardos was back on the assault, unleashing a volley of arrows that split apart into smaller and faster arrows. Scowling, Morgan created another barrier that surrounded her entirely, blocking every single arrow. While each arrow exploded harmlessly against her barrier, she was somewhat confused when Ardos seemed less worried than she thought he would be.

'Look down behind you!' Morgan jerked her head around and looked down, her eyes widening as the smallest faerie was hiding right behind, his eyes glowing before he freaked out at her finding him. Raising her right palm up, her eyes glowed yellow as said palm ignited with flames. Blasting the ground with fire, her eyes narrowed as he once again vanished before her eyes. Okay, now where did he go? Taking a deep breath as she closed her eyes, her body was immersed with an aquamarine aura. Feeling the flow and current of magic, the aura was able to sense where the 3 faeries were. Ardos was flying above her, likely to shoot at her once again. Kreus was rising back up and was glaring at her, while the little one was hiding behind a tree not too far away on her left.

As Morgan's aura turned violet, it swirled around her before shooting in 3 directions. Kreus's eyes widened as the ground ripped apart in front of him, forcing him to shoot into the air before he was torn apart by the grass, while Ardos had to dodge the blast coming at him as it tore through the air and out into the heavens above. Meanwhile, the tree that the smallest one had been hiding behind was destroyed, along with a dozen yards of the forests, but the little one was not flying anywhere there.

Morgan grinned as she manifested an ethereal sword behind her, shooting it into the woods, a high-pitched cry responding as the faerie vanished before reappearing in the sky. Teleportation, eh. That was a tricky power, but Morgan could get around it.

Her eyes glowed red as the wind whirled around the forest, the 3 male faeries growing alarmed as they felt the air coil and form something of a cage around them. Lightning crackling around them as they eyed the witch with fear, a dark red aura forming around Morgan before spreading along with the wind, completing the cage around them all, covering them from the sunlight.

Ardos eyed the smallest of them and yelled, "Meluis, we need to escape now!" The little one, Meluis, hurried and put one hand on Ardos and the 2nd on Kreus before closing his eyes. As the 3 of them vanished, they found themselves shocked as they were shocked by lightning, smack against the cage. As they all tried to recover themselves, the red cage reduced in size until it simply formed a circular barrier around them. They then found themselves plummeting into the ground as the red sphere smashed into the forest, forming a small crater in the ground as Morgan walked to the edge of it, looking down at her defeated enemies.

Ardos groaned as he heard footsteps slowly approach him before he rose his eyes shakily, Morgan Le Fay standing atop of him and his comrades with her black veil covering her face, her black and blue crown atop her head. "Well, I suppose this farce is over, yes? I hope so, for I am tired of being in conflicts, especially for reasons I don't understand." She knelt to their level before speaking calmly, "Now, I will ask you this once, who are you at war with, and are you in danger?"

A female voice spoke from above, "That depends on whether they choose to return to the King and Queen quietly or continue to fight as traitors." Morgan turned around and raised her head as a female faerie descended towards her, a lance in both hands. Landing next to Morgan, she looked at her 3 beaten kin before turning her head to the Pendragon, "Good work, King Oberon didn't tell me he was sending others to survey the land here. We can take them in for questioning now."

Confused, Morgan stared at the faerie, "O-Oberon?" As the new faerie looked at her with a puzzled expression, Morgan's eyes suddenly widened as she turned her head. Kreus was spinning his daggers in each hand before slashing at the 2 women, creating a blast of fire in an 'X' shape that targeted both. The female faerie shot back up into the sky while Morgan outstretched a hand to freeze the flames in place, bathing the magical attack with a purple aura.

Ardos quickly rose his bow and launched several volleys at the female faerie, causing her to twist and fly around in a zigzag pattern to avoid the attacks. Twisting both arms before spreading them out, Morgan redirected the magical fire attack back at the trio. The blast managed to catch Ardos and Kreus, coiling and binding them together while Meluis managed to evade with his teleportation.

Reappearing in the sky, Meluis shrieked as the female faerie shot at him, both lances primed and ready to end him, only for him to teleport once more out of sight. The female faerie turned her head and circled throughout the sky, growling with anger as she did. Scowling, she descended back beside Morgan Le Fay, who still had the remaining 2 of the trio bound in fiery shackles while she kept her eyes closed. "I cannot find him." She spoke.

Morgan sighed as she opened her eyes, "He's not anywhere nearby. If he were, I'd have sensed him." She shook her head in annoyance before turning to the female faerie, "However, I do not think he is retreating to where he may hide alone. Am I right?"

As the female faerie nodded, Ardos spoke, "He's going to report back to the fair lady and inform her just how low you all have sunk in your efforts to stop us. To conscribe someone disrespectful and false as the cowardly pre-" Whatever he was going to say was silenced as part of the binds closed around his mouth, just as it did so with Kreus's, preventing them from speaking any further.

"Well, that's enough of that for now." Morgan said, not wanting her identity to be revealed before this new faerie. The last thing she needed was to take part in another unnecessary fight. She eyed the female fae cautiously, "Now, I will ask you as I asked them, why exactly are you one another, and who are the ones you serve that these 3 suspected me to be an agent of, the ones I presume you work for?"

The faerie stared at her suspiciously before sighing, lowering her lances as she spoke, "I suppose you truly are a human them. Strange how you're so strong. But very well, I will tell you who I serve. In fact, I will show them to you myself." Her lances vanishing from her hands, she then extended both arms and the captured faeries levitated off the ground, her butterfly wings enabling her to fly as well. Lowering her head to where Morgan stood, she asked, "Will you need my aid in soaring above the skies?"

Morgan grinned as she raised her arms up, her body surrounded by a blue aura as her feet left the ground, her body rising off the earth to meet the faerie face to face, "I believe I can manage." The sorceress stated with confidence.

The faerie smiled with interest, "Very impressive." She noted, before extending a hand to Morgan, "I am Telaria, general of King Oberon and Queen Titania of the Fae. And who would you be?"

Morgan shook Telaria's hand before speaking, "I am nobody. A simple sorceress trying to search for a place."

Telaria smirked, "Very well, 'Nobody.' Let us see if you can keep up." She then shot through the sky in a southern direction, taking the shackled faeries with her.

Morgan looked at the retreating Telaria and chuckled. Did the faerie not know that it was Morgan's magic binding her 2 kin? Regardless, Morgan found herself shooting through the air after the faerie, using her powers to propel her as well as keep her off the ground. Perhaps it was boredom or childlike curiosity, but Morgan wanted to learn more about these fae.

…

…

"So, Ardos and Kreus were captured I see." A sweet and seemingly loving voice said as Meluis bowed at the edge of the lake, his head down before the shimmering presence before him. He raised his head quietly in awe, a beautiful and magnificent blonde faerie with majestic butterfly wings walking atop the water with her bare feet. "It seems they're getting closer."

Meluis spoke timidly, "N-Not just them, L-Lady Aurora! We were defeated by the malefic fraud, the witch who wears our kind's name like a crown, M-Morgan Pendragon!"

The faerie pondered this for a moment, her smile turning into a face of curiosity and intrigue before she waved it off, "Oh well, so Oberon and Titania have a pretender possibly among them. No harm for us."

Meluis was astounded, "But my lady, that fraudulent witch defeated all 3 of us with ease! She could serve as a great aid for them in defeating us?!"

Aurora shrugged, "Then it simply means I will defeat a pretender along them, so all the better really." A light as brilliant as her own shined behind her and she smiled, turning her head to see who it was, "Ah, and here lies the solution to my problems. I wonder if 'I' am truly prepared for the coming battle.

A voice identical to her own laughed back, "Oh please, one look should be enough for answers." Meluis turned his head as he tried to see who it was, his eyes widening at the sight.

Before Aurora lied a figure identical to her, possessing the same proportions, ethereal white dress, wings, and power as the faerie. The twins stared at each other for several moments as they moved closer to one another, before raising both hands and clasping them with their respective others. They then smiled at one another before stating a single word, "Perfect." Both Auroras then embraced one another with a sense of longing.

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Chapter 44: Preparing for War (Part 2)

The new makeshift bridge Morgan had quickly put together for them with magic broke apart and sunk as the 3 ladies finished crossing. They eventually found Prince John playing with Sir Varyn while Lena watched with amusement. John was punching at Varyn's hands, who would block each punch while encouraging the boy to try again.

Morgan smiled as she approached the 3, "So, are you having fun?" John turned to see the 2 sorceresses and his mother turn, nodding as he gave each of them a hug.

John turned to Morgan as he asked, "So where's brother and everyone else? You left together?"

Morgan shrugged, "They're busy with Emperor Tiberius. He wished to train with them for some time." She eyed the boy as she said, "And no, you cannot watch your brother train." As John pouted, she sighed, "But I suppose you 3 may come with us to speak to the emperor's mages on what our current situation and plans are. Could be fun."

John seemed excited while the rest of the 6 was far more hesitant. "I will not take my son to speak to untrustworthy strangers we do not know. Why would you even advise such a thing?" Queen Julia questioned as she placed an arm around John.

Morgan sighed, "My lady, I have raised sons, more than one. And during that time, I have learned 2 things, they despise being left out for too long, and they can never contain their curiosity for adventure." She smiled as she knelt to the boy's level and poked his forehead playfully, "Relax, I will be there to watch for any danger. He will be in safe hands."

Given her grim demeanor and somber mannerisms, few of the adults were taken in by her sudden upbeat demeanor, Lena stating, "And why pray tell do you wish me to accompany you, Lady Morgan?"

Morgan stood up as she gave the servant a smile, "Well, my dear Lena. You've proven yourself quite adept at calling out to the better nature of the Romans since you revealed your history with them. I figured as much that if any of us stands a chance at reasoning with them in case our little chats fall off course, it would be you. And really, do we have anything else to do?" With a confidence she had rarely displayed much of since her arrival at Lahia, Morgan beckoned for the 5 to follow her, "Onwards!" She exclaimed.

Lena and Varyn both noticed Gwenhwyfach and Julia exchange glances with one another, as if the 2 knew something they were not sharing, confusing them both. Their Queen had already told them how King Sadoine had recently brought his cousin to the castle very recently to aid in defending the land and healing the ill. Had something else happened that they had not been informed of?

Queen Julia sighed with defeat as she followed Morgan Le Fay, her oblivious son held her hand as he cheerfully walked beside her. Lena walked by her Queen and Prince while Varyn stood between them and Morgan, following his duty as a knight. Gwenhwyfach walked in the back as she stared forward at Morgan Le Fay with a puzzled and anxious look on her face, trying to decipher her plans. Walking to find the right-hand witch the Lucius Tiberius was easy, all they had to do was walk in the location of several mystics surrounding a hazy mist that seemed to be rising to the sky. As they got closer, a few of them heard that the mystics were muttering something in Latin, some manner of hymn or incantation. Even more ominous, the center of where the mist was rising out of seemed to be emitting a dying groan or moan that alarmed them.

As they approached closer, 2 of the mystics turned their heads and eyed them with weary looks, silently telling them to leave. However, from the center of the group, a female voice spoke something in Latin, and the group broke to allow them entry. It was Rosa, who was sitting on the ground as she held her hand over a strange goblet that had the image of a hound with 3 heads on it, slightly glowing purple while emitting the strange mist. Waving her palms around in a circular motion while muttering in Latin, she then covered the goblet with hers as the mist dissipated, the light fading from the goblet as she turned her head to eye her visitors.

"Oh, greeting Lady Morgan." She said coldly to the witch before her eyes narrowed at the rest of the group, specifically a certain servant. Lena gulped as Rosa spoke, "I see you've brought others with you. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Morgan smiled and spoke in a mockingly pleasant voice, "We've come here to inform you about certain news and plans that have recently sprouted during our meeting with the emperor. I'm surprised you weren't there yourself." She baited, causing a few in the group to worry for a moment.

Rosa simply eyed the witch and smiled, "I was not there because I had far more important things to do in regard to helping his excellency." She lightly touched the goblet and sighed, "After all, recovering from unwanted setbacks and losses is quite important for the glory of Rome." She matched Morgan's playful words with her own, "So pray tell, what urgent news do you have that is necessary for me to know?"

Morgan allowed herself to be serious as she told Rosa the same thing she had shown Tiberius and his commanders, Lena and Varyn listening as well since they had not been there as well. Every now and then they gave Gwenhwyfach or Queen Julia a curious glance while Morgan spoke, receiving a short nod that told them this was the same thing Morgan had shown them during the meeting. Prince John was seemingly not paying attention, instead speaking to one of the mystics. Said mystic seemed to take a liking to the boy as she pinched his cheeks, Queen Julia trying to pull him away from the stranger.

When Morgan was finished, Rosa stared at her for several moments silently, "And so, the emperor told me to speak to you on methods to defend ourselves once the merge begins. Do you believe that such a barrier is possible for protecting his army?"

Rosa though for a moment before scratching her head, "It's definitely possible, I could see it working. But such a barrier would likely take all our mages, including those traveling in the other legions, to really work. This might make it possible for travel, but when the battle arrives it will be a far different story. Our enemies will be able to spot such a weakness and make the mages their 1st targets. That's not even accounting for whatever manner of fiend may appear from Avalon. Should things go wrong, most if not all of the soldiers would be culled within a few moments." She sighed as she stared at the goblet, "Perhaps such a plan would best work after trimming the fat."

Lena was taken aback at such a statement, "Are you suggesting that the appropriate course of action would be to kill your own loyal comrades?! What sort of twisted logic is that?!"

Rosa shrugged, "I was not saying all of our allies. I was merely stating that for such journeys, it is always best take only that which is essential, and to toss aside all things that are too costly, unreliable, or simply put, useless." She finished as she eyed Lena with a particularly cold glare, the servant clenching her fists.

Varyn took a step in between the 2 and eyed the witch of Tiberius as he spoke, "What's useless and unreliable is never set in stone, they can change on a moment's notice. As such, only a fool would make premature judgements without waiting to ponder the consequences. Most who made those decisions often suffered terribly before finding themselves tossed aside just as quickly." Morgan, Gwenhwyfach, and Queen Julia were astonished at his boldness while Lena smiled. Rosa merely eyed him as he said, "More than that, given what I've seen in battle and from those we've come across, eliminating our 'weaker' comrades won't make things less difficult when the battle begins. If anything, it will make things harder given we'll likely be outnumbered as it stands. A smaller legion is one far more easily overrun. What would you do to face our situation then?"

Rosa stared at him before smiling, a bit impressed by his confidence, "What to do indeed?" She said as she tinkered with the goblet in her hands, muttering something in Latin as she did so. Turning her eyes to see them stare at it with curiosity, she chuckled, "A pretty little cup, isn't it?" She stood up as she showed it to them, a black goblet outlined and decorated with gold, showing the images of 3 headed hound, a helmet of some kind, and what seemed to be a river. "We found it in the Necromanteion in Epirus, the same place we found the giants and demon-wings." She giggled, "Demon-wings, I feel like a nun for saying that." She laughed, as if having told a good joke, though no one else was amused. "It was protected by old magic, but we managed to free it from its confines, and well worth the price." Rosa smiled as she allowed Morgan to touch it, smiling as the fellow sorceress cringed and let got of the goblet as she then warmed her fingers. Despite her hand feeling icy cold, Rosa was unbothered, "With it, our forces shall never suffer a single loss."

Now they were curious, "How so?" Gwenhwyfach asked.

Rosa smirked, "It allows the spirits of our fallen to cross over from Pluto's domain and aid us during our times of need."

Now even Morgan was surprised, "Are you saying that you can summon the dead?!" She asked as the rest of the adults stared at her with astonishment.

Rosa scoffed as she traced a hand through her own hair, "As much as I wish I could, it is not that simple. This is old magic, not simple to master, nor easy to wield" She raised a hand over the goblet while muttering something under her breath. The goblet briefly lit up and some mist flowed out, the witch extending her fingers as she manipulated it. After a few moments, the mist changed shape to show an image of a 2-pronged staff, a bident, which she showed to the group. "1st it requires an oath be made to the master one serves, a vow and declaration of service. To seal this declaration, you receive this as a brand, an insignia of your loyalty." Around the group, the mystics removed their cloaks from certain parts of their bodies, revealing the same image of the bident to be branded on their arms, legs, necks, etc.

Rosa continued, "Following this oath, if the marked are slain in conflict, the caster may summon them from the underworld if they stood true to their oaths up to the very end." She stared at the goblet, "Of course, to summon them, the caster must 1st perform the ancient rites to Pluto, to confirm that those who were lost stayed loyal to their oath. If these rites aren't performed in a day's time, then the caster will not be able to summon them."

Prince John's interest was piqued, "Hey, that sounds like what you can do, right Aunt Morgan!" He exclaimed as he raced to Rosa before showing her the back of his right hand, "See, look!" Rosa stared at his right hand with confusion, before sighing, not knowing what she was supposed to be seeing. John then looked at the back of his right hand and got annoyed at seeing the mark was gone. He turned to Morgan Le Fay and pouted, "Help me!" Morgan sighed and lightly tapped the back of the boy's right hand, causing it to glow for a moment. John smiled and thanked Morgan before turning back around to Rosa, "See, it's right there." Rosa then saw the image of a sheathe indented with a faint blue light, "Aunt Morgan and Aunt Gwenhwyfach use it in order get to brother and me faster!"

Rosa nodded, recalling the spell Morgan had used the day before, "Indeed, teleportation magic. A tricky sort of spellcraft, but one that comes in multiple forms." She shrugged as she sat back down and placed the goblet on the ground, "Now, why don't you use that bit of magic to go see your brother and leave me alone? I need to get the rites completed if I'm going to be able to summon our lost comrades, or else things will not be good for either of us." She said as she shooed John away, the mystics crowding around as they tried to force the group out.

As John thought on this for a moment before looking to Morgan imploringly, Morgan sighed as she knelt to look at the child face to face. "My dear boy, you cannot expect your brother to be here all the time for you. These are hard times, and he is quite busy." When John lowered his head, Morgan sighed, "Fine, I'll go check on him with your mother and Lena, and we'll see if we can save him from the emperor for a little bit. Is that alright?" She smiled as John nodded, before rising to look at Gwenhwyfach and Varyn, "You 2 keep an eye on him." She grabbed Lena's arm with one hand and the Queen's arm with another, "Now let us get going." Not giving any of them a chance to speak, she chanted, "Ivren mana devos, desdia vyra mador. Avio ze Morgan Le Fay, vio no Pendragon. Sozde no voyos, avio de vierres, oenyon makar de Avalon, viyen no, mane woa! Zis den Malphas!"

With that, a bright light enveloped the 3 women and they vanished. Gwenhwyfach and Varyn stood there, a bit confused, but for different reasons, while John went to give his aunt a hug. Before either of them could say anything, Rosa shouted from the center of the circle of mystics, "You 3 may leave as well!" Gwenhwyfach cursed under her breath as she took John with her and ran off in pursuit, Varyn following them as the sky turned to noon. Ceren, having been bored with nothing to do, noticed the trio and followed after them.

…

…

Well, it was official, Lena hated teleporting. It left her weird and dizzy when Morgan did it yesterday, and that hadn't changed today. Really, the only thing that managed to shake her out of the stupor was the sound of what was possibly a sword slamming into something, the shockwave jolting her back awake. She stared forward to see Morgan had erected a barrier between them and Lucius Tiberius, who had just struck the barrier with Florent glowing a bloody red. The shockwaves caused some of the debris around them to crack. Taking a step back, he eyed them with surprise, clearly having not intended to strike them. The question was then who that attack was meant for.

Well, the cry of her Queen told her enough as Lena turned around to see a dazed and beaten Malphas struggle to remain standing. Several parts of his arms and legs were cut, blood leaking from the wounds, along with the side of his left cheek. Blood seemed to also be tricking down the top of his head, as though it had been slammed by something hard and blunt. Still, he tried to raise his sword even though he was clearly about to fall. Tiberius cursed in Latin while Julia and Lena caught him, Morgan looking around and sighing. Arawn was lying on his stomach, passed out with a wide gash in his back. Olved was somewhat conscious despite having a pike jammed through an arm, pinning him on the ground. Christan was holding a hand over a stab wound while he carefully stood back up. Meanwhile, Sadoine was leaking blood over a large gash on his side.

Morgan shook her head before looking at the emperor, "Exactly what did they do to anger you so much that you had to resort to this?"

Tiberius looked at her in a confused manner, "What anger? We were training. It isn't my fault that they couldn't keep up." He got annoyed as Morgan stared at him with what he assumed was a look of disbelief, the veil made it hard to tell. "Is there a problem?"

Morgan stared at him for a moment before lowering her head, "And to think I thought my husband was brutal when it came to training the boys." She went to kneel next to Arawn as she placed a hand over his wound, her eyes glowing blue as she muttered some hymn under her breath. His body glowed for a minute or so as the wound healed. As he groggily woke up, Morgan shook her head, "You're lucky I'm a good healer, or you wouldn't be able to move. That hit went through your spine." She then went to heal Sadoine and Christan next before turning to Olved. Whispering an apology to him, she yanked the pike out of his arm before healing him.

When she finished with the older man and the rose to heal Malphas, Tiberius sighed, "Well, I suppose a brief rest was in order. But your done, move aside. The training must continue." He then got annoyed when the 3 knights and former king drew their weapons and stood in front of Malphas with their weapons, "Is there something wrong?"

"You must be insane if you think we're going to train with you. You just nearly killed us all!" Arawn replied with anger.

Tiberius scoffed, "If I really wanted to kill any of you, the witch wouldn't even be able to heal you."

"That doesn't really say much about you, Emperor Tiberius. And as one of the prince's actual teachers, I'll decide who should train him, and how." Olved stated.

As Morgan finished healing him, Malphas groaned and placed a hand on his forehead, shaking his head as he tried to refocus himself. Queen Julia held his right arm with concern, "Are you alright?" She asked.

Malphas blinked a few times, "Fine." He said as he stood up properly, "He came at us faster than usual. Caught me by surprise. Barely had a chance to even react." He said as he checked his arms for any remaining wounds.

Tiberius chuckled, "Maybe for you right now, but yesterday was another story. If I'm going to decide if you'll be a part of my army, I need that warrior I saw. Otherwise, you're as worthless to me as the rest of these fools." He said as he pointed his sword at Arawn and the other men.

Before Anyone could make a move, Lena quickly got in the middle and spread her arms to keep them apart, "Please, enough! The last thing we need is anymore unnecessary bloodshed!" She then turned to Tiberius, "Lucius, we are in your debt, and will do our best to help you, but actions like these are crossing the line. You cannot simply attack Prince Malphas to awaken his powers under the guise of training. Not only is it too brutal, but it's far too dangerous for him. Morgan Le Fay has said it herself those powers will only cause more harm than-"

"Brutal, dangerous, harm, I think it's a bit too late to avoid those things. This is a war Lena, what part of war doesn't involve any of those things?" He asked her, to which she had no reply, "Do you think that the men who pledge themselves to Rome do so not knowing of the danger, that the knights who serve the kingdom that took you in followed the commands of their rulers unaware of the pain that would find them?" He pointed Florent forward, "Do you think any man picks up a blade not knowing they could die at the hands of another?"

Lena turned her head back to look to her group for support, but none of the men had anything to say, all of them agreeing with the emperor's words. Queen Julia was looking away while Morgan was unreadable behind her veil. She got frustrated and turned her head to Tiberius, "Well I suppose that's easy for you to say, willing to trim the fat of your own army while having a way to bring them back!"

Tiberius scoffed as the men were confused, "So Rosa told you about that little ritual. It's a handy trick I'll admit, but it's not real life." He sheathed his sword as he spoke, "Those men died in battle, and they only get to return to participate in another. They don't get to return to their homes and see their families. They cannot be properly rewarded by me for their selfless contributions to Rome. The best I can do is sing their praises and ensure their names are held with honor, and hope Pluto rewards them for service in the Underworld." He eyed Lena seriously, "They knew their place, and their purpose. They knew the costs, and what they had to do. Every member of my army, along with myself, is willing to go however far is necessary to see victory through. And unless you are willing to dedicate yourself completely, regardless of the situation or any excuses, then you cannot fight a war! You cannot fight anything in life!"

As he quieted down, he eyed her with a concerned look, "Do you think his enemies will care about his life, about any of your lives? When the battle arrives, ethics will fly out the chariot. You will do what you must do to win and survive. Whatever songs of nobility they sing, I imagine that the King and his Knights of the Round have just as much blood on their hands as we do. They won't think for a second before killing us, and neither will our men. Neither should any of you either. I don't know what danger those powers put the boy in, but a certain danger he'll face will be dying on a battlefield. At least with those powers, from what I saw yesterday, that danger will be limited, and he'll be able to fight back. Better to worry about the certainty, rather than the unknown."

While Lena stayed quiet, Malphas pushed through the others and walked forward, "He's right Lena. Whatever danger this other part of me brings, it could be the only thing to save us again." He brought his sword up, "If I'm going to lead the charge against King Ar-Artoria, then I'm going to need to get ahold of it to even stand a chance."

Sadoine was alarmed as he went next to Malphas and Lena, "Who said anything about you leading a charge against Camelot, boy?!"

"I did!" Malphas shot back, a serious glare in his eyes, "My aunt started this when she tried to take my life unprovoked before Lancelot killed my father while we were escaping. I made a promise to destroy the Seyfert myself, and if I must lead the charge, then so be it! I'll do it without a 2nd thought!" He proclaimed as Sadoine and Julia eyed him with alarm while Morgan Le Fay watched silently from beneath her veil.

Tiberius grinned, "Is that so?" Malphas's eyes narrowed as the wind rippled, swinging his sword to the left, and intercepting Florent before it reached his uncle's head. Sadoine had to blink before he noticed the 2 blades right in front of him. The emperor chuckled, "Guess you were able to counter that one."

Malphas grit his teeth, "You won't catch me off guard again."

Tiberius smirked, "I would hope not." And so, the training continued, Sadoine joining to help his nephew. Olved, Christan, and Arawn also joined to aid their prince while the ladies watched from a distance. Eventually, Gwenhwyfach, John, Ceren, and Varyn found them as well, with Varyn finding himself dragged into the fight as well. With little else to do, John watched with his mother, cheering his brother on just as he usually did when he watched him train, all the while doing the best to keep track of the fight. Every now and then when one of the would fall against the emperor, Morgan would carefully pull them back to heal them quickly before tossing them back into the fray, literally smacking Varyn on the ass when she did so for him, much to Lena's aggravation.

This went on for some time until eventually, Tiberius stopped the session, Malphas and the rest nearly collapsing from exhaustion. Even Sadoine needed a moment to breathe after the bout. The emperor was as fast as Gaheris, maybe faster, he hit as hard as Lancelot, and his swordplay was on a level he'd barely seen before, as he switched from 1-handed to 2-handed moves on a second's notice. Sadoine knew he'd never been the best of the Round Table, but he had to admit, in a one-on-one fight, most of the would lose to the emperor. Hell, even if some of them came at Tiberius together, they'd still lose.

Malphas took the moment to sit down and massage his shoulder. He'd suffered a kick there by Tiberius, and it was still sore. Despite that, he felt the grass crinkle behind him and turned his head to see his steed and younger brother approach him. "Hey!" He exclaimed as he gave John a hug while gently petting his horse. "Sorry we haven't had much time to talk since yesterday. How have you been, little brother?"

"I'm booooooorrreeeddd!" John complained in an exaggerated manner, Ceren seemingly whinnying in agreement. "I want to ride on Ceren with you big brother!"

Noticing Malphas thinking to himself, Tiberius spoke, "If you want, we can take an extended break for now." Noticing the group stare at him, he said, "I'd keep going, but I'm starting to get hungry, and you can't train well on empty stomach. Planned on seeing if the men I had sent with the giants and demon-wings to grab the monster meat that we left in those forests." He pointed in the direction of where they had killed the giant wyrms, which Malphas showed interest in, "If you're willing to help out, I'll let you have some large pieces to eat."

He chuckled as Malphas nodded, "Good, then you can take your brother with you. The rest of you lot may come as well." Tiberius said as he looked to the rest of the party. Soon enough, the group was travelling on horseback towards the corpses of the giant wyrms. John was with Malphas and Ceren, Queen Julia with Olved, Lena with Varyn, Morgan Le Fay with Christan, Gwenhwyfach with Sadoine… and Arawn was by himself.

"Well, I suppose we've made some progress. It seems the emperor is growing somewhat more accepting of at least Malphas." She sighed, "Still, our main concern will be travelling through Britain when the merge with Avalon commences. It'd be better if we reached Camelot before then, but so is our luck."

Quietly whispering to her cousin not to say anything, Gwenhwyfach asked Morgan, "If it really is such a concern, why not simply teleport us all to Camelot just as you did yesterday from wherever you were to here?" The rest of the group listened as she went on, "After all, Malphas and John are connected to my dear sister from Guiomar's side. You could start with them and then send the rest of us?"

While a few of the group members agreed, Queen Julia spoke, "But I thought that you needed to have one of those brands to use the power. That's the whole reason you placed one on Malphas and John in the 1st place?"

Morgan raised a hand to signal for them both to quiet down, "It is possible to use the spell without someone having a brand, it requires a few ingredients and a more focused ritual, but it is possible." She sighed, "Unfortunately if that were so simple, I'd have already proposed it. That plan would fail before it would bear any fruit. 1st, teleporting to the heart of the castle would alert everyone there to our presence. You'd literally have the Knights of the Round and the Rulers of the Faeries bearing down on you from all directions. They'd kill you before I'd get most of the Romans across."

Gwenhwyfach thought about that for a moment, "Well, if you send me 1st, I could hold Guinevere captive and threaten to kill her if they get too-" She then yelped as her cousin tossed her off his mount, landing on the ground with a plat. She groaned as she sat up and saw Sadoine glaring at her, "Well it was just an idea!"

Morgan snorted, "As amusing as that sounds, it wouldn't work." She said as Gwenhwyfach took Arawn's hand and rode with him, "You'd probably stop my sister and the Round Table, but you'd still have to deal with all of the faeries stationed at Camelot, as well as King Oberon and Queen Titania. On my own I could handle one of them, but both together are too much for me. While far more benevolent than other faeries, at best they only see humans as cute pets, and at worst, annoyances to be erased. Killing humans for them is like killing bugs for us. They'd probably even kill Guinevere along with you due to seeing her as a liability." She sadly lamented, "The best you could hope for is that they would get distracted by my sister and the knights trying to defend the Queen, but even then, it wouldn't buy much time for an actual attack to succeed."

Lena thought for a moment then shrugged, "Oh well, at least we know better than to do so. It may not be the best for us, but I'm impressed on how loyal the Knights of the Round and the King are to Queen Guinevere."

"Yeah, amazing isn't it?" Gwenhwyfach spat sardonically, "My sister has just always been so very fortunate in her life." While Sadoine was busy scowling at his cousin, Christan felt Morgan's grip on him tighten as she shook for a moment, feeling a sense shiver of anger and jealousy swell through him and then fade away. He gulped quietly but remained silent. Exactly what was Morgan's history with his liege's cousin?

…

…

"Sir Dura, former King of Orkney, you stand here accused of unprovoked hostility against the commoners to the point of murder, as well as aggression against those that chose to stop you. Do you confirm that these accusations are true, and if so, how do you justify your actions?" Artoria questioned as she sat upon her throne, her knights standing on the side watching the trial.

After returning to her kingdom last night and ensuring all the people of Lahia were safely brought to Camelot, she had asked Mordred and Angusel to inform them of everything that had happened while she had been gone. Of those things, Mordred had informed her of Dura's actions that led him to be sent for wall duty. While Artoria had decided to let herself rest for a bit and reacclimate into Camelot, she knew she had to call Dura from the walls to question him? Mordred wouldn't lie to her about such a betrayal, Artoria could tell in how she watched Dura with her sword sheathed at her side, a cold look on her face. Gareth, Gawain, and Agravaine stood beside her. Lancelot also watched, but he didn't seem to be paying much attention. Ever since returning the night before he'd been glum, even more so after learning Queen Guinevere was in bed due to feeling ill. He didn't even have Arondight with him, after returning, he'd handed it to Galehaut to hold on to for the time being.

Dura remained quiet for a moment before Artoria demanded, "Answer me, Dura."

Dura stared at her and replied, "Such accusations are true, by your standards I murdered several commoners during my patrol, though not by mine. A few of them had been caught stealing from their fellow neighbors and had to be punished appropriately. In response to the panic of those who witnessed this, I had several executed to make an example that chaos and lawlessness would not be tolerated. If I had not, more thievery and criminality would have continued uncontested." His voice was as cold as his eyes.

"Of those people who were 'made examples of' a few knights who witnessed you stated that several of your victims were innocent, and upon trying to stop you, you and your loyalists raised your weapons against them." Artoria replied, utterly unconvinced.

"They were standing in our way and would not move aside, so there was little point in anything other than force." Dura replied, uncaring of how his words affected the king.

Artoria was unmoved, "These are not your people, and this is not your kingdom. My men risked their lives to help you, and we expected the same in return. We do not kill innocent people who have done no wrong, and we do not attack those trying to protect those wrongfully harmed. You were trusted with watching the eastern district under those rules, and by violating them, you violate not only the lives of those you are responsible for, but you violate my people, the people that I have chosen to save, without any thought of consequences."

Dura then smirked, "Well then, I suppose that lies upon the king who believed that I was the best choice to watch over them." Mordred was about to unsheathe Clarent and cut off the man's head, but Agravaine had a hand on her shoulder, holding her back, the other one doing the same with Gareth. Gawain just coldly glared at the man King Lot had chosen to rule Orkney.

Artoria motioned for her guards, "Take him to the dungeons, where he will await his execution in the coming days." As 2 guards grabbed Dura and escorted him out of her throne room, she sighed, placing a hand on her helmet where her forehead was underneath. She must not have gotten much, if any, sleep.

Her 'son' spoke, "Don't listen to the traitor's words my liege." Mordred stood before 'his' king, "They're just the words of a man trying to blame others for his own failures."

The 3 of Orkney stood beside Mordred as Gawain said, "Mordred is correct. His actions do not reflect Camelot. You have already guaranteed justice for your people."

Artoria did not respond for a moment, "I hope so." She said, her knights surprised at the more lax and not as formal manner with which their king usually spoke, "It seems that every decision seems to strike back in one way or another."

"How could that be your fault, my liege?" Agravaine questioned, "You have done more than your fair share for all of Britain. If others fail to contribute properly, the fault lies on them. It does not fall on you." Even Lancelot agreed with that as the king sat atop her throne, her face unreadable beneath the helmet.

A few minutes later, the throne room doors opened, and Queen Guinevere entered with Sir Galehaut in tow. She bowed before Artoria as she spoke, "Welcome back, my lord. Apologies that I could not see your return last night. I was not as well as I would have liked." She didn't turn to look at Lancelot, who didn't eye her either.

"There is no need to apologize my lady." Artoria replied, before beckoning to the throne next to her own, "Sit down if you must." Mordred had to keep from growling as she opened her mouth, but Agravaine stopped her. When she turned her head to him, his gaze told her silently not to say it now. Very soon, but not now.

Guinevere shook her head, "That will not be necessary. In any case, I am glad to know that you have returned well after your long trip to Lahia. However, it seems my cousin and his family were not among those who returned." Lancelot lowered his head as he stared at the ground, while Mordred, Gawain, and Agravaine either looked to their king, or to Gareth, who had remained silent on what had happened since returning. She simply grit her lance tighter as Guinevere spoke, "Queen Titania had been informed by Merlin that my cousin was killed in Lahia, ostensibly because of your actions there my liege. I would like to know if this is true."

Cursing under his breath, Lancelot finally looked to the Queen. He would not allow the king to bear the burden of his failures. Mordred beat him to it as she spat, "Hold on there, my lady!" Lancelot turned her head to where Mordred was standing, glaring at the Queen, "I was with you when Titania delivered us that information, and from what we heard, it was apparently Lancelot who had been responsible for killing King Guiomar! I do not see why you are leveling the blame squarely on the king!"

As she could feel the faces of her brothers turn to her mentor, Gareth shouted, "It was the witch's fault! She used King Guiomar and his men to cover her escape!" She then froze as Guinevere turned to look at her for a moment.

Her shoulders sagging for a moment, Guinevere let out a breath before composing a smile for the knight, "So he is dead. Well, at least that is covered. Thank you for clearing that up Sir Gareth." She said before nodding at Mordred, leaving 'him' speechless as well. Even Agravaine raised an eyebrow, he never thought of the Queen as cunning. Her smile left as she looked again to Artoria, "So if he is dead then, how did that happen?" When Artoria did not reply for a moment, she sighed, "I am not blaming you, or anyone who went with you. But I want to know what happened, I need to know." She stared at Artoria before saying, "Please, my dear friend."

Artoria lowered her head for a moment before speaking, "During the time Morgan Le Fay was in Lahia, she gained the trust of your cousin and the people by protecting the kingdom and villages from Chimeras and Gryphons. During this time, she told Guiomar and his wife a false version of the truth to seem sympathetic. Before we arrived at your cousin's kingdom, we found Morgan setting up magical protection in a small village, and a battle broke out between our forces and the knights Guiomar had sent with Morgan, leaving some near death." Artoria stopped speaking when Gareth flourished her lance, silently telling the Queen her role in it. "Morgan was able teleport back to Lahia using her magic and used the events to aid her story."

"And so, she convinced Guiomar to side with her?" Guinevere questioned.

Artoria sighed, "Enough to plan for her to escape. From what his advisors told me, Morgan's magic involves teleporting to and with those that share the same blood. Guiomar apparently had at 1st planned to bring Morgan with him to Cameliard to help his brother Sadoine but learning of our impending arrival prompted him to change plans. He had his family sent ahead of time to travel to Cameliard, while he waited for us with Morgan. If negotiations went well, he would have had Morgan transport him to them so they could return to Lahia, if not, the 2 would escape, with their bastard son, Malphas, as the point of travel."

Guinevere said nothing for a moment before she said, "So, I imagine that Morgan did something to confuse you all while she escaped then? And that's why Guiomar died?" She asked.

"Not precisely… their son did not follow the plan. He disobeyed them and secretly stayed behind in Lahia, where he then revealed himself to us all, much to his father's surprise." She then muttered, "And then I attacked him."

Guinevere was confused for a moment, "You attacked Guiomar?"

Artoria was silent for several moments before speaking, "No, I attacked Malphas." She said more clearly, "I unleashed Excalibur on the boy in an attempt to kill him." Stopping to collect her next sent of words while unconsciously tightening her fists, "I thought that he was a weapon of Morgan's, so I tried to end him."

Guinevere stared at Artoria, speechless. Gawain was also surprised, while Agravaine and Mordred didn't seem to care as much. Guinevere lowered her head, "I suppose you were simply overcome by paranoia. The sight before you must not have been very reassuring." When Artoria said nothing, she pressed on, "Then what happened, my friend?"

Artoria sighed before continuing, "Morgan saved his life, formed a barrier around herself, Guiomar, and the boy. She also used illusion and confusion magecraft to confuse and disorient my men. Lancelot was able to retain enough sense to strike at her just when they were about to escape, but Guiomar intercepted him, enabling Morgan and their son to escape at the cost of his own life." Guinevere did not say anything to Artoria, and so the king went on, "While we were transporting the people of Lahia, we met with faeries who learned of their whereabouts. Morgan and the boy have made an alliance with the Roman Emperor, Lucius Tiberius. With their forces, Morgan plans to go to Cameliard for more allies, and from there travel and lay siege to Camelot."

Guinevere sighed, "And the boy will join her because we've shoved him right into her arms. We tried to kill him and took away his father. He'll come after us looking for revenge, and it's our fault."

Artoria stared at Guinevere, "You aren't the one who tried to kill the boy."

"But I did keep possibly vital information from you before the Seyfert was destroyed, leading to them getting wrapped up in this." Artoria stared at her curiously, and so Guinevere told her everything about her strange encounter with Morgan in her chambers during the night, mere days before the Seyfert's destruction. "The next day I saw her, she had the same intimidating and malevolent demeanor as usual, and so I wondered if I'd dreamed of what had happened. Looking back, it's obvious now that if I had told you, we could have been more alert and have foreseen her treachery, but I did not, and these are the results."

Artoria stared at her and shook her head, "Regardless, none of us could have predicted Morgan's actions that day. That is not something you can be held accountable for." She said reassuringly to her friend.

"But there is something the Queen can be held accountable for my liege and should be. Both her, and Lancelot to be more precise." His glare was firmly kept on both the Queen and Knight of the Lake. Gareth was confused and worried as she looked to Gawain for understanding, but the eldest of the siblings was staying out of it, while Mordred watched with a smug grin. "I have received confession from the Queen herself, that she and Lancelot have been committing infidelity behind your back for years now!" He exclaimed.

Growing worried about what may happen, Galehaut quietly reached his sword, only for a hand to grab his other arm. Lancelot, fast as ever, simply shook his head as he pulled out Arondight from its sheathe at Galehaut's side. He walked forward next to Guinevere and placed the sword on the ground, kneeling before the King as he said, "What Agravaine says is not a lie. I admit full guilt on my part for my betrayal of your trust in me, my king." Somehow, he found himself chuckling, "Though I must say, I figured as much you'd be the one to reveal me Agravaine. What gave it away?"

Agravaine was less than impressed by Lancelot's somehow cheery mood, "I realized it over a year ago, and tried to see if I was right. Would have probably revealed you far sooner if someone had not always been getting in my way." He turned his eyes to Galehaut, who merely shrugged. "But really, the last bit of evidence I needed was handed to me by the Queen herself when she started getting sick." He smirked, "No doubt because she is pregnant with your child, Lancelot."

At that moment, Lancelot froze, his eyes widening as he rose his head to where Guinevere was standing right next to him. At long last turning her face to look at his, she timidly placed a hand on her heart while smiling at him, nodding silently. Lancelot turned his face to stare at the ground, not knowing what to say or do in the light of this, his mind slowly zoning out.

Mordred was rather smug as she looked towards her 'father.' "So, my liege, what are you going to do with them for what they've done?" Her face faltered as Artoria turned to look at her with what she could only guess was a curious face.

"What do you mean, 'what am I going to do with them,' Mordred?" She then turned her head to Guinevere and Lancelot, "What am I going to do with them?"

Mordred stuttered for a moment, "Y-You, well I-I… obviously you have to punish them, right! They've betrayed your trust for who knows how long!"

"I don't mean to seem dismissive Mordred, but I honestly find Guinevere not telling me of Morgan visiting her secretly more alarming than I find her love with Lancelot." Artoria said rather nonchalantly, much to the shock of her subjects. "Now, if you don't mind, Gawain, would you take Guinevere back to her chambers so she may rest. She is shaking and I can't tell if that's because she's weak or if she is feeling too much right now." At that moment, Guinevere could not help but burst out laughing for almost half a minute before she began to sway, prompting Gawain to catch her and escort her out of the throne room.

Galehaut looked to where Lancelot was, still staring at the ground lost in his own thoughts. He looked to Artoria and asked, "My liege, would if I took Lancelot for some wine, I think it would do him well right now."

Artoria waved as she said, "Sure, have him get piss drunk with King Angusel, pretty sure I told him he could take a barrel or 2 this morning. Just make sure you don't get drunk Galehaut, I still need you to take Bedivere and Archemais's post at the northern district tonight, they're due for a break."

"Understood my liege!" Galehaut proclaimed as he grabbed Lancelot with one arm and hauled him up onto his back, grabbing Arondight as well and sheathing it, "Come on my friend, a few goblets and you'll be fine!"

"She… with my…" Lancelot muttered incoherently, still utterly lost.

"Yes, yes, we know." Galehaut said as the doors closed behind them. That left only Artoria, her 'son,' and a nephew and a niece. Gareth was speechless while Agravaine and Mordred both felt robbed.

"F-Father, I mean you no disrespect," Mordred began, "BUT WHAT WAS THAT?!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.

Artoria merely looked at her and replied, "I believe it was just what it looked like. Is something wrong, Mordred?" She asked, like an oblivious but willing to listen parent.

"I-IS… THAT WHORE CHEATED ON YOU! WITH HIM!" Mordred shouted so loudly that Agravaine ha to quickly cover Gareth's ears as his own vibrated.

Artoria did not know what to say before chuckling from beneath her helmet, "M-Mordred, I'm flattered that you are so focused on defending my honor. You, as well Agravaine, for such a relentless investigation." She added, prompting the knight to give her a nod while he massaged his eardrums. "However, that marriage was just a means to legitimize my rule, love had no bearing on it. I am far more concerned with the much more pressing issue of the merge between Britain and Avalon as it is. Even if I was angered by it, considering what has happened to Guiomar, well," She lowered her head as she stood up, "I believe the slate may be more than clean." She said bitterly as she left her throne, beckoning the 3 of them to follow her as she went to find her brother.

…

…

John hungrily tore through the meat, his small hands holding each end of the stick as he chewed and smiled. He smiled with joy as he found the meat delicious, cheering happily as his mother ruffled his hair affectionately. Not sated yet, his chowed down on all the meat on the stick licking his lips as he savored the taste. Looking around the campfire to see if there was more for him to eat, he was surprised as a larger stick of meat came in front of his face. He looked to his right to see Malphas smile at his, offering his brother a bite. John happily tore a piece off for himself, and Malphas finished the rest, the 2 princes happily eating with the rest of their party over the night sky.

It had taken the rest of the day for all the snake meat to be taken to the ruins of the castle, but it was doable. Just as the sun had been setting, the rest of the Romans had put up campfires and set up a few tents to sleep in, though most were likely going to sleep on the bare ground again. After a hearty speech, Tiberius had declared the meat of the giant wyrms to be the boons of their efforts, burning an offering to his patron Flora as declared Britain to be Rome's, his forces all cheering as they dug in, man, mystic, mage, and monster alike. Malphas wasn't complaining, after the hard last few days, he'd been hungry, and he needed to eat. The rest of the party was eating too. Olved and Christan were discussing something about weapons, Lena was eating next Varyn instead of her usual spot at Queen Julia's side, Arawn seemed to be trying to talk to Varyn but his eyes kept slipping to Gwenhwyfach, who ate right next to him without paying him any notice. Morgan and Sadoine ate quietly, neither saying a word.

Their group kept to themselves until they were approached by a familiar warlord, "Oi, bow to your emperor's presence!" They turned their heads to see Lucius Tiberius walking towards them with a stick of meat in one hand, a much older man walking behind him, a cloak surrounding his body. "1st thing to know is that we got word back from the mystics of the other legions, they should be here tomorrow, so be ready for a lot more to come before we set out for Camelot." Malphas along with several other members of the group nodded as Tiberius went on, "2nd, Some of my scouts found this old pile of bones trying to trespass earlier, he was apparently trying to find, Sa-," Tiberius shook his head, "You know, the guy who used to be king here. You, right?!" He asked, pointing his stick of meat at Sadoine.

Ignoring the emperor's casual disrespect, Sadoine's eyes widened as he saw who it was, "Father Vortent!" He exclaimed as he stood up before shaking the old man's hand, "I'm glad to see you are alright! I am sorry but, between the monsters attacking, then the Romans, so much happened that I completely forgot about speaking to you yesterday!"

The old man laughed, "Please, it is fine. To be honest, we had assumed that you had been slaughtered along with the rest of in the castle. It is a blessing from the Lord to know that was not the case." His face lowered as he then asked somberly, "While I can see that a new presence has arrived here, I still hope that aid will still be offered to those in the church." He said cautiously.

Sadoine placed a hand on the man's shoulder, "I am still the King of Cameliard, and I give you my word. The sick that you have in your church will be cared for. Isn't that right?" He turned his head to Gwenhwyfach and Morgan, who both nodded in turn. His newfound confidence was ruffled from the now chuckling emperor. "And what may be so funny, Emperor Tiberius?"

Tiberius simply smirked, "Let's just say that I wouldn't trust the word of a king with no crown, no castle, and no soldiers," He then ripped off a piece of meat with his teeth before chewing and swallowing it, "At least no living ones anyway." Undisturbed at the glares sent his way, he patted the old man on the back, who shook at the emperor's strength. "But, since I'm a benevolent emperor, despite my previous conflicts with the church, you're more than welcome to bring your people here to see if we can help them. Provided you do something for us in return, since that's only fair." He gave the old man a confident but menacing smile and the old man nodded nervously. "Great, now why don't you sit down and relax for a bit. Eat this while you're at it." He then stuffed part of the meat into the old man's mouth forcing him to bite it off before handing the man the stick, "There's plenty more where that came from."

While he left Sadoine to help the old man sit down while glowering at the arrogant red head, Tiberius circled around to where Malphas was and knelt next to him, whispering so quietly that only Malphas could hear, "Your reflexes are good, but only somewhat more than passable. I told you, you'll need to be whatever you were yesterday during that battle if you want to even stand a chance of surviving. Or were you just lying when you said you wanted to lead the charge against 'King Arthur?'"

Malphas did not respond to Tiberius for a moment, thinking to himself before whispering back, "I wasn't in danger." Tiberius was quiet as he went, "It knew, I knew, that I was not in danger with Aunt Gwenhwyfach and Morgan Le Fay watching over me. I only awake with it when the situation is very critical and life endangering, otherwise it won't feel the need to fight."

Tiberius thought for a moment before patting Malphas on the shoulder, saying goodnight to Lena as he left. As he sat with them, Father Vortent asked if they could all hold hands for a moment while he offered a prayer. They all looked to one another and shrugged or nodded, what was the harm? John sat between his mother and brother while even Gwenhwyfach and Morgan took part as well, all of them closing their eyes while the priest prayed to God for blessings and goodwill in the coming future.

…

…

Vivian took a step back from the cage as she stared at Merlin in horror, "You're a monster." She muttered.

"I know I am, and so does Morgan, you were the only one blind to that." Merlin replied stoically as Pelleas stood between the 2, despite Merlin being caged.

"You, you won't win…" Vivian shuddered as she breathed rapidly, "Neither of you will. King Arthur, the Round, my son, and I… we won't let this happen."

"Unfortunately for you it's already in motion." Merlin told them both, "All any of you did was play along."

She hissed, "Not if I can stop it!"

Vivian turned around as Merlin spoke, "The only difference between you and Morgan are a few circumstances and awareness. You just aren't willing to admit it." He said as he looked at Pelleas, "After all, you 2 are both the legacy of the 9 Sisters."

Vivian said nothing as she took Pelleas with her and left her teacher by his lonesome.

…

…

His eyes slowly fluttered open as he felt the morning sun shine brightly overhead, brain feeling as though it had finally been relieved of a great torment. It was as if several knives being pulled out of his mind, with the wounds then cleaned and mended. The rest of his body felt similarly well for some reason. It was a surprise really, last time he could properly think, he remembered being in too much pain to keep conscious for long. He finally sat up and opened his eyes, finding that he was sitting on a rather dried grassy plain, with dead trees in the distance. It was not all bad though, for it was not every day where there were 2 beautiful women kneeling at his side. Gwenhwyfach stared at the black oozing liquid she'd extracted from the man before placing it in her flask, while Morgan helped him stand back up.

"Ah, it seems another one has awakened as well!" The man turned to see Father Vortent approach him, before bowing to the older man, recalling how the priest had let him into the church when he started growing ill. Father Vortent then explained to him what had been happening recently, as well as what their current situation was. Apparently, the Romans had arrived and allowed the people of the church and ill to seek refuge if all the able-bodied men were willing to take up a shield and spear. They'd brought them from the church to the ruins of King Sadoine's castle early in the morning so they could be healed. After properly thank the 2 witches, the man went on his way to where Father Vortent said the emperor was, where he'd then receive his next instructions.

Gwenhwyfach sighed, "Alright, any others left." She and Morgan turned to Vortent, who nodded.

"Just one more, I am afraid." They followed him to where a little girl was lying down on the ground, wrapped in several cloaks, barely breathing as she had black spots on her nose, lips, and other parts of her face. Both Morgan and Gwenhwyfach swallowed painfully at the sight. "She does not have long left. It is a miracle she has lasted so long."

"Miracles do not exist, priest. If they do, they're a poor substitute for one's innate will to live." They turned to see Rosa approach them, a small of water carried tightly in her arms. Carefully placing the cauldron on the ground, she took out a goblet she carried at her side and filled it with some of the water from the cauldron, before motioning for the other 2 witches to start. While they prepared the broth, Rosa looked at the girl for a moment, "How old is she?"

"Just about 7 or 8 years old. Her parents left the girl in my care a few weeks ago when she started gaining the illness. I did the best I could, but she only got worse. I have no knowledge of where her parents are now." Father Vortent told Rosa.

Rosa's eyes narrowed, "If leaving her in a church was the best they could do, then they were either very desperate, or hated her too much to simply kill her." She muttered; Father Vortent confused at why she sounded so venomous. However, the 2 had no choice but to work together and help the ill girl sit up, Rosa opening the girl's mouth so that she could drink the broth as Morgan and Gwenhwyfach brought it forward. It took a few minutes, but they managed to empty the contents of the cauldron, spilling only a little bit. The girl began to shake as her face began to steam, smoke flowing out of her mouth as Morgan and Rosa held her, Father Vortent doing a prayer for her.

Miyren vriudo gayo. Miyren vriudo gayo…" Gwenhwyfach continued to chant as her eyes turned purple and her hair went wild. After several minutes, when smoke seemed to completely cover and obscure the little girl's face, Gwenhwyfach shouted, "MRINIANO IVRUATO LEVRATA!" The girl shuddered as the smoke was blown away, all while the same sludge-like substance that had been within the rest of the ill slowly spilled out of her mouth. Chanting under her breath as she pulled all the magical substance out of the girl, Gwenhwyfach opened her flask and filled it back up with the sludge, before closing it quickly.

Morgan then placed a hand on the girl's forehead and quietly chanted, "Vweltro mingte viyu moor, aryen ier viyu cendiluar moor. Ivyren nemyader falchyun moor, aldeth bantyo girehni moor. Vweltro mingte viyu moor…" As she slowly finished chanting, she gave the girl a small peck on the forehead as a light surrounded her body, her more hollow face filling out back to normal.

The girl's as fluttered opened before she sat up, yawning while stretching her arms. Rubbing her eyes, she looked around at the 3 unknown women and got nervous. Father Vortent placed a hand on her shoulder, "By the Lord's grace, you are healed now, my child." Turning further to see Vortent behind her, she smiled and gave him a hug, while also going behind him to put some distance between herself and the unknown ladies, "Now, do not be like that." He kneeled down and prodded her out from behind him, "These 3 healers saved your life, and all the others we had as well."

As the girl silently peaked from behind Vortent, Morgan got on her knees and smiled, removing her veil as she said, "My name is Morgan." She offered the girl a hand, who tentatively shook it, "What is your name, little one?" She asked gently.

"A-Anna." The girl said quietly, before looking at Gwenhwyfach and Rosa curiously. They both revealed their own names and approached the girl in a nonthreatening manner. Eventually, the girl moved from behind Father Vortent to just standing beside him and accepted a hug from each sorceress.

"Well Anna, I think it's time we try to see how we should help you. Come, let me introduce you to the Emperor of Rome." She said as she beckoned Anna to follow her.

Anna looked up to Father Vortent and he nodded, taking her hand as they followed Tiberius's right-hand witch, Morgan and Gwenhwyfach going with them. As they walked, Father Vortent informed her as much as he could without confusing her. When he was done, Anna thought to herself for a moment before she asked, "Are we gonna find my mama and papa?" She asked innocently.

Vortent looked to Gwenhwyfach and Morgan for what to say, but Rosa said, "We aren't sure of where your parents are, little one, or where to find them." She then turned her head to look at the little girl as they walked, "But I promise, you will be taken care of here, and if we can find them, then you will be reunited." Giving the girl a reassuring smile, she turned her head forward just as she started to see her lover arguing with one of the members of the church holding a Bible. The rest watched along with several soldiers, as well as Queen Julia, Prince John, Sir Olved, and a few other children and women.

"READ HERE YOU HERETIC! IT WHAT VERSE DOES IT STATE THAT SUPPOSEDLY A 'GODDESS' WAS THE CREATOR OF EDEN?!" The man, Father Vortent recognized him as June, shouted at the annoyed Emperor. "IT'S NO WONDER THAT SUCH AN IGNORANT-" He then started talking as the Bible suddenly came apart in his 2 hands. He took a moment to stare in shock as he noticed that it had been clearly cut through straight down the middle. Looking around in shock, his eyes widened as he saw Florent out in Tiberius's right hand, when had the emperor even unsheathed the blade?!

As he stuttered in confusion, Tiberius took a quick breath and sighed, before knocking the man out with the blunt end of the sword. "Not even worth killing, really." He placed a hand on his forehead as he looked around, nodding for a moment as he noticed they had arrived, "Alright, does anyone else wish to argue with me?" No one said anything and Tiberius breathed calmly, before tossing the unconscious priest to one of his companions, "Then as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I am the Emperor of Rome, champion of the goddess Flora, and destined to bring all of Europe under Rome. As of now, you are all subjects of Rome, and shall be treated as such." He declared to which the healed nodded, as did the rest of those from the church.

Tiberius cleared his throat before continuing, "Now, as your emperor, it is my duty to ensure the wellbeing of the land and its people. As of now, our biggest threats are the strange phenomenon and monsters wreaking havoc and the land and your homes, as you most certainly know." He didn't even need them to nod, of course they knew. "Now, I have knowledge of the ones responsible for this, and shall see to it that they suffer for bringing harm to my subjects. Under my reign you shall receive the blessings of Flora, and have good harvests, a lovely land, and plenty of food to eat, just as has been for my capital." He promised them, "However, just as an emperor will provide his service to his land, so must all of you! He eyed each one of them carefully as he said, "I know not of whether any of you have wielded weapons in your life, but now is the time for you all to pick one! More terrors are likely roaming about the land, terrors that will seek to kill and devour us all! My men and I will fight, and so must all of you, for if you do not, then how can you call yourselves men?!" Tiberius questioned, eyeing everyone one of his new recruits, "For your emperor, for your nation, for your people, your homes, your families, and most of all, yourselves! You must fight, everyone must take up a weapon, and defend their land! Or tell me, is this not your land?!" Tiberius shouted at them, "Were you not born here, lived her, loved here?! Are you just going to stand aside and hide like cowards as these monsters continue to tear your land apart?!" His face was one of fury as he roared, "ARE YOU?!"

"NO! THIS IS OUR LAND!" They shouted back to the emperor.

Tiberius grinned, "Then we will fight for this land! My men will teach you how to properly fight for those of you unskilled in combat. Do not look at them with envy, for they bear the same burdens against these monsters, we all do! But Rome is not one person, or a single place. It burns within the heart of every single person, of every soul in all of Europe!" He pointed his sword up as he shouted, "THIS IS OUR LAND!" The men roared in return, invigorated by the will of the emperor.

Tiberius watched as they left, his soldiers leading them to train. He then sheathed his sword as he turned to those who were still there, beckoning them to form a single group while Rosa went to stand beside him. Gwenhwyfach and Morgan stood beside Queen Julia and John as the women and children who had come from the church watched the emperor nervously. Tiberius 1st placed his eyes on John and the rest of the boys before kneeling to their level.

"None of you may fight, but you will all be men one day, and play your part in this world. Work to that in small ways." He gave them a confident smile as he turned his head right and extended his hand, "You see that tent there?" He pointed at the large tent by the destroyed stables where a war elephant was resting. "I want you all to go there and count every piece of armor and weapons there are in there. That way we know what we have left." As they all nodded, he said, "Remember to examine each item carefully so there aren't any mistakes."

Julia was shocked, "You want these young boys to handle dangerous weapons?! What if they got hurt?!" She exclaimed, to which Olved, Vortent, Gwenhwyfach, and Morgan all agreed.

Tiberius scoffed, "Please, my father gave me my 1st knife when I was 5, you'd have to be an idiot to hurt yourself. But if it really worries you, you and your knight may go with them to keep an eye on them, as may any of you?" He asked the other women, "I am safe to assume there may be a few other mothers among us, yes?" He smiled as they nodded, not noticing how Rosa unconsciously twitched. As he motioned for them to leave, he turned to look at the remaining priest, 2 witches, and little girls.

"What are we gonna do?" Anna asked cautiously, the other girls looking similarly nervous.

Tiberius thought for a moment before turning to Rosa, "You mind having them help around the other mystics? They'll probably be good at tasks like filling up the goblets or other materials. The old man as well, he'll fit in. I'm pretty sure a few of our mages are also Catholic." He sighed as Rosa got annoyed, "Please Rosa, not now. If you don't like it, then I suggest speak to Morgan Le Fay on possible barriers that can be formed." Rosa looked away and crossed her arms, "Rosa, it's for all of us, okay." He sighed, whispering something in her ear. Morgan seemed to hear it when no one else did, and she shook her head silently.

Rosa relented and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Fine, but it better be tonight." She then beckoned for the other 2 witches, the priest, and the other 2 girls to follow her as they went to the rest of the mystics and mages.

Tiberius sighed and placed a hand on his forehead. Good, now it was time to train the boy.

…

Malphas coughed several times as his uncle pulled him out of the moat, his chest heaving as he blew the water out of the moat. Deciding to give his nephew a small break from combat, Sadoine decided to teach Malphas how to swim, with mixed results. He'd stripped the youth of his boots and armor, leaving him only in his red shirts and pants, then had him slowly dip into the water in the moat. He wanted to teach him how to float 1st, but he ran into problems right away. Malphas was squeamish and unused to floating, and instantly panicked as soon as he couldn't touch anything solid. Sadoine had to remind himself that even though his nephew may have had a young man's body, he is still only a child less than 10.

Malphas growled as he patted water out of his ears. Inexperience was half of the issue; his more enhanced senses weren't making things easier. He already recalled the sensation felt when dunking your head in the water during a bath, after all, water was denser and was not something he could breathe in. However, the minute his ears had entered the moat, he found himself very irritated by the feeling of the water entering his ears, and the minute his head was under was even worse. The shock of the entering his nose and making his clothes heavy caused him to panic, and he started flailing.

"Do I really need to learn this?" Malphas complained as he blinked out some dirt particles that had been in the moat. "It's not as if I will be needing to learn how to swim to fight." He turned his head and looked enviously at where Varyn and Arawn were currently training.

Sadoine shared a look with Sir Christan and sighed, "As you should have realized yesterday, if you cannot even travel to your destination, then fighting is of little importance, and if a battle should take place across the rivers, lakes, or seas, you will need to learn to swim. Now, try again!" He declared, to which Malphas sighed and capitulated. Once again, he carefully dropped himself into the moat, Sadoine holding his right hand to ensure he'd come up for air. Once he saw his nephew's face break out of the water, he said, "Calm down, boy!" Sadoine grunted as he saw Malphas start to panic again, "Malphas, look at me and listen!" As his nephew turned his head to him, Sadoine spoke, "As long as your head is above the water, you will not drown. Don't panic, stay calm and balance yourself. Keep your head above the water."

Malphas looked at his uncle and took a few deep breaths, calming his nerves as he relaxed. Slowly, his body balanced himself as he felt himself able to turn enough so that the water was up to his chin. Sadoine nodded, "Good, now I'm going to let go of your hand. Remember to relax, peace will let you float, panic will make you drown. Ready?" He asked, Malphas waiting for a moment before nodding. Carefully, he let go of his nephew's hand, Malphas gritting his teeth as he felt himself float away a bit. "Spread out your arms and legs, it will make your heaviness lessen." Sadoine advised, Malphas following his instructions.

He stretched out his arms and legs under the water, and eventually his body began to float more horizontally in the water. It was almost like lying on a rope bed he once had in Lahia. His uncle stood up and carefully walked along the edge of the moat, "The current will allow you to follow me. Should you fall behind, use your arms to wade through the water." He showed Malphas an example with him slowly moving his arms up and down, like the wings of a bird. "You can also kick forward with your legs but be careful doing so. Remember, keeping your balance is the most important thing when in water."

As they watched the uncle teach his nephew, Lena asked Sir Christan, "Did you even learn how to swim, Sir?" She watched as he chuckled in response.

"Yes, one of the things I can say with full confidence I have over Ruthius. Of course, both of our 1st mistakes were wearing a full set of armor while jumping into a lake that day. By Lord, we almost drowned." He laughed at the nostalgic memory before he turned his head to Lena, "How about you, my dear?" At that, Lena cringed before shaking her head. Chistan them grinned and patted her back, causing Lena to nervously back away from the moat. "Relax my dear, I am merely jesting."

As he noticed he was no longer able to see his uncle, only vaguely able to hear what he was sure were his footsteps, Malphas took a deep breath and began to swim. Just as his uncle instructed him, he moved his arms in wide arcs to course through the water. Cautious at 1st, he took greater sweeps as he grew in confidence, and eventually, he started to see his uncle once more. Recalling what his uncle said about kicking forward with his legs, Malphas slowly brought them in, before kicking out, able to do so while stroking through the water with his arms after a few tries. Sadoine grinned as he watched his nephew, "Ah, a fast learner! Seems you are my brother's son." As his uncle knelt and extended an arm, Malphas turned in the water before dunking his face in for a moment while he grabbed Sadoine's hand with his own.

With a hearty roar, Sadoine pulled his nephew out of the moat with one arm, his son sitting on the edge as he patted the solid dirt, "You learn well boy." Malphas gave his uncle a smile as Sadoine patted him on the shoulder, "You're like your father. He was always quick when it came to learning. Swords, horseback riding, women."

He chuckled at that last part, "I always had to work harder to keep up. Honestly a surprise that I became a member of the Round before him, but Guiomar was sick in an earlier battle. If he'd been there during that attack the Saxons made on King Arthur's forces, he'd probably have been knighted over me." He noticed how his nephew was quiet after that, "He was pretty much a member of the Round anyway. Already one of the King's vassals, he and Lancelot had a bit of a rivalry. Really, the only thing that kept him from being a genuine Knight of the Round was the fact that King Arthur didn't make it official." He sighed as he peered at the destroyed ruins of the castle, "He should be here, with us. All of us. We'd both be teaching you right now. Heh, Lord knows it would make things easier with Gwenhwyfach, my brother knew how to keep her calm."

They stayed quiet for a moment before Malphas spoke, "We'll be together again, all of us." Sadoine looked at Malphas, "We just need to reach the Seyfert after all. Once it's destroyed, none of this will have happened… Father will come back." The youth said hopefully, though he could feel his uncle's sigh. "That is what Lady Morgan told me."

Sadoine knew it was a challenge and thought for a moment, how much should he tell him? "You can't trust that witch." Sadoine said cryptically, "You cannot trust anything she says."

"She saved my life." Malphas replied, "She saved Lahia. We'd have been dead without her." He thought for a moment, "I know that she and Artoria used to be enemies," Sadoine noticed how his nephew spoke his liege's true name, "But she doesn't want to be enemies. She's a good person, uncle." Malphas affirmed while not looking at Sadoine.

Sadoine shook her head, "You've already been taking you in. Do you think King Arthur wanted to be enemies with her? Morgan made herself his enemy. Even after more than one betrayal, my liege still offered a hand of alliance and pardoning for her, and she still betrayed us! She despises us and wants nothing more than for us to suffer and die-"

"Well maybe that changed, uncle!" Malphas interrupted, turning his head to stare at Sadoine face to face, "Every time I talked to her in Lahia, all she ever told me was how she was the one at fault, how she hurt Artoria, and how she could never forgive herself. She loves her sister and doesn't even want to fight her!" He growled, "Artoria was the one who came to kill us. She came to Lahia for Lady Morgan, but the moment she saw me, she tried to kill me with Excalibur! You saw that, right?!" He shouted, Sir Varyn and Sir Arawn stopping their spar as they noticed uncle and nephew argue, Lena and Sir Christan worried as well.

Sadoine didn't know what to say, recalling the memory he and his cousin saw, which according to Gwenhwyfach, was not implanted, but genuine. "King Arthur was paranoid, likely that you were a tool against Camelot." He replied, "After all, we very nearly suffered that very fate with Mordred."

Malphas was confused, "What do you mean?" He asked.

Sadoine sighed, "Morgan Le Fay magically grew and trained your younger half-brother, Mordred, as a tool to infiltrate and overthrow King Arthur. Their plan was to infiltrate the Knights of the Round through Mordred and assassinate the King. That plan culminated in the battle of Camlann, where both the King and Mordred would have died." He stated while Malphas was speechless, "If not for the Seyfert we'd be dealing with that already."

"Mordred betrayed Artoria…" Malphas's eyes widened, "I KNEW IT!" He exclaimed, causing Sadoine to look at the youth in surprise, "MORDRED IS THE SON OF KING ACCOLON!" He shouted with triumph, thrilled at having apparently figured it out, turning his head to see Sadoine and the other 4 stare at him with bewilderment, "It makes sense, right? I mean, if Lady Morgan was a part of Accolon's rebellion, she could've gotten pregnant with his child. Yes, he lost, but then she must've raised Mordred in secret after that and trained him to avenge his father! She must've had a change of heart sometime later but that's why Mordred would've rebelled, and that's what would have caused Camlann and oh God, I knew it didn't make sense when she explained it to me!"

Sadoine stared at his nephew, pausing to think for a moment as he was about to correct him, but then, "Actually… he would… they could've… he was blonde…" His eyes widened, "It could, but then why would she… was the witch just trying to shock us… but Guinevere did say that…" He trailed off as he became lost in theorizing, before shouting, "AUUGHHH! NOW YOU GOT ME CONFUSED BOY!" He shouted at Malphas, the 2 simply staring at one another before they both started laughing at one another. Varyn, Christan, Arawn, and Lena all shared glances, not knowing what to do, Lena struggling to keep a straight face.

As Malphas started to come down from laughing, he shook his head. He was still processing what his uncle had told him, but…

Malphas blinked for a moment, his smiling leaving him. As his uncle noticed his change of expression, the hair on the back of Malphas's hair stood up. Without saying anything, Malphas leaped to his feet and tackled his uncle, throwing them several feet away as the edge they were at became engulfed in red. The blast sent them flying a few extra yards as they tumbled on the ground for a few moments. Christan, Lena, Varyn, and Arawn had been thrown back as well, the latter rising as he noticed a jagged scar in the ground between where the 4 of them had been that led right to where Malphas and Sadoine had been sitting, that part of the edge now partially destroyed, leaving a wide gap between there.

Malphas stood up to see Tiberius approach without saying a word, sword at his side as he stared at Malphas with eyes that seemed to will him to death. Rosa got up and grew alarmed at what she saw, rushing as fast as she could to stop the warlord's plans. "Please, wait! You don't need to do this! Stop, mast-" She was cut off when Tiberius slammed the blunt end of Florent into her chest, much to the shock of Malphas, Sadoine, and the 3 knights. As she struggled to breathe, she eyed Tiberius with a look of shock before she fell down unconscious.

Varyn howled and charged at the emperor, raising his sword to cut off Tiberius's head while the conqueror stared at the maid's sleeping form. Clenching his sword tighter to stop the twitching, Lucius turned as he swung at the last minute, cutting through the armor, and slashing across Varyn's stomach. Varyn stopped for a minute as he looked down, dropping his sword as he went into shock before doing his best to keep his gut from spilling out, falling on his back in the process. Arawn and Christan both struck at Tiberius, but the man simply sidestepped before blocking both swords with Florent, holding the sword with one arm as he looked at the 2 men not as combatants, but as annoying gnats to swipe. As Arawn tried to push further, he left his footing open for Tiberius to make him trip. Bringing his sword down on the knight, he found his blade stopped by Christan, the older knight grunting with frustration as he poured all his strength into his sword to keep Florent away from his comrade.

Tiberius decided to humor the older man and stepped back, breaking off the blade lock. He gave the man a smirk as Christan glared at him. Pointing his sword forward, he charged at the man and attempted to stab him, but it was all for naught as Tiberius barely had to use any strength to deflect the attack. They traded a few blows before the emperor skillfully disarmed Christan before stabbing the man in the shoulder. Christan gagged for a moment as he looked at the blade, Tiberius smiling as he the ripped the blade through the man's shoulder, Christan crying out as his right arm barely hung on to his body, falling to his knees as he used his left hand to keep it in place. Arawn was once again on Tiberius, but the warlord barely gave him a look as he slammed the blunt end of Florent into the young knight's forehead, the poor man falling to the ground immediately unconscious.

"Stop it!" Tiberius turned his head as Malphas was charging at him, having grabbed his sword and shield that had been lying on the ground. Tiberius barely batted an eye as he sidestepped the youth's 1st stab before effortlessly parrying his slash, bringing his right leg up as he kicked forward. Malphas brought his shield up in time, but he was still pushed back 10 feet from the strength of the kick. His uncle stopped him from falling and steadied him, before bringing up his own sword to block Tiberius's downward swing.

Glaring at the red head, he muttered, "Filthy Roman." He then pushed Tiberius back as the 2 broke off the blade lock, Sadoine placing himself between the tyrant and his nephew. "Stay behind me." Sadoine told the boy. He then brought his sword up and held it with both hands, a grim and focused look on his face as he stared down the wielder of Florent, who grinned as he twirled his blade for a moment before pointing it forward, clearly accepting the challenge.

Carefully taking a step forward, then another, then on his 3rd, he struck forward. Tiberius parried it before going for a counter, but Sadoine deflected it and swung again, forcing Tiberius to block the next strike as Sadoine kept swinging. Keeping his sword at his center and his swings tight, Sadoine parried the emperor's attacks and struck back, slowly pushing the red head away further away from his nephew. Tiberius grinned as he entered a blade lock with Sadoine, still only using one hand, "I suppose you have more strength than I thought."

Sadoine grit his teeth as he glared back, "You aren't the 1st opponent I've ever faced who was stronger than me. Even amongst the Round, I was never the strongest, or the fastest. But I did have something my brother and I both shared," He grinned as he drove Tiberius further away, "I never stay down!" The king declared.

Tiberius broke off from the man and grinned, pointing Florent forward as he grinned, "Impressive, but then again, that isn't something special." Florent then glowed red as he dashed forward, faster than Sadoine could manage. Sadoine grunted as he found himself pushed back, each swing from the emperor now feeling 3x more powerful than before, and from the smile on Tiberius's face, it still was not the man being serious! With an overhead strike, Tiberius disarmed Sadoine as the sword fell on the ground between them. He then attempted to slam the blunt end of Florent into the man's head, Sadoine only managing to weather the blow by bringing his hands up at the last, minute. However, the force was still so much his hands still slammed into his face and he fell, all the while feeling a few bones in his hands fracture from the blow. Tiberius sighed as Sadoine fell, tip of Florent inches from the man's fate, "Well, that was still more boring than I would have liked." He complained.

"Aauughh!" Tiberius rose his head as Malphas charged forward, the youth crying out as he swung at the emperor. They traded several blows, Malphas, instincts and senses allowing him to dodge at the right moment as he positioned his feet and shield to minimize Tiberius's blows and retain his center, which was fine, but not enough. The warlord was beginning to grow annoyed with the youth, exactly how far did he have to push things? If the youth was merely going to be just another soldier in the ranks, then this was fine, but he was not. He could be so much more, so much better, but he reminded Tiberius too much of a young boy unsure of what he was doing and was simply frantically flailing about. Too much like the weakling Tiberius once recalled in his own body.

Lightly dodging his next swing, Tiberius grabbed the wrist of Malphas's right hand before pushing away his shield with Florent. Bringing his right leg up, he then kicked Malphas hard in his unarmored chest. Malphas's eyes froze as he felt the shock course through his body, ribs shattering on impact. Finding himself thrown several yards away, Malphas coughed up blood for a moment as he tried to process what had happened.

Tiberius scowled before his eyes widened, jerking his head down as a sword just slightly shaved off a bit of his hair where his head had been. He turned to see Sadoine on top of him again, and he groaned, once again parrying, and countering the older man. This time however, Sadoine was far more focused and in control of himself, Tiberius finding the man countering every strike. Even more alarming, Sadoine's eyes seemed to go white as he glared at the emperor, a strange power coursing through him…

…

…

"You have performed an astounding feat for us all, Sir Sadoine." King Arthur praised the him as he knelt before the King. Atop the hill they stood on, there were dozens of bodies lying dead, both of Britain and Saxon. Several wounded knights were being tended, while a new watch was being kept staying alert for any attacks. "Though they surprised our forces here, you managed to rally the men to hold the hill despite my absence. Thanks to you, we may maintain our position here and stay on course for the next battle, rather than be cut off and divided by our allies."

Sadoine remained respectful, "I did what anyone would have done in my position." Really, he did not see the point of praise, a scout had spotted scouts approaching in the distance, so Sadoine had assembled the men to fortify the hill while having a messenger travel to King Arthur. It was simply what had to be done. Guiomar would have been no different in his position.

"No, lesser men would have panicked, fled, or give into despair, you did none of those things. You showed true bravery and strength, and your family will be very proud to know what you are now." Sadoine was about to ask the king what he meant when he felt footsteps crinkle the grass from behind him, then a hand placed on his shoulder. He felt a strange aura of power flow through him, revitalizing and filling him with life as quickly as it left.

"In times of hardship, though you may struggle, at the very end, you will always retain your calmness and strength. May that strength fuel thy sword, and may you live your life honorably, forevermore." Sadoine wanted to turn around to see who that unknown male voice had been, but didn't have a chance as the man vanished, King Arthur unsheathing Caliburn before knighting the man.

"Rise Sir Sadoine, from this moment forward, you are a Knight of the Round Table." King Arthur told him.

…

…

White light manifested around his sword as Sadoine muttered, "Clear of mind and focused sword… the defeat of mine foes be its own award…" He slashed twice as he forced Tiberius back, the emperor now wary of him. "Wherever I be, wherever I roam… I protect the honor of mine land and Home!" Wind whirled around him as he pointed his sword forward. Charging at Tiberius, he shouted, "SWORD OF BRITAIN!"

As Malphas slowly began to rise, he glimpsed the flash of red and white light before the shockwaves began…

…

"Okay, so I would say that once the rest of our forces arrive, we should have most of our mages atop the demon-wings. Likely low altitude, we don't want to stretch the barrier too thin." Rosa surmised as she spoke to Morgan, Gwenhwyfach mainly just listening to the 2 more experienced witches. "And I really don't think we'll have to have the giants stay outside the barrier, given their magically enhanced bodies I'd say they could survive outside it, at least for a while. We could then further reduce the strain by-"

Rosa raised her head, as did Morgan and Gwenhwyfach, when she felt the wind blow across the land intensely, carried by the shockwaves of what sounded like something smashing into the ground. The mystics with them noticed as well, as did others around the ruins of the castle. She sighed, "Well, I suppose this was bound to happen so… hey, wait right there!" Rosa declared as Morgan and Gwenhwyfach got up, the former muttering something under her breath for a minute or so as her eyes glowed. Cursing in Latin, Rosa stood up and got in front of them, "You don't expect me to let you teleport away when we are discussing your plan to-" Rosa then shut up and grabbed ahold of Morgan as the 3 witches teleported away.

…

Malphas watched with awe as the wind billowed around his uncle and Tiberius, the dust flying away as the 2 warriors held their ground. As his vision cleared and he was able to tell them apart, he was even more surprised! Tiberius was down on one knee, the ground cracked below him. He was holding Florent above him in both hands, right on the handle, and left on the tip. Blood was dripping from his left hand, possibly from Florent cutting the skin. Sadoine was pressing him down above, his face an unwavering glare as sweat dripped down from him. He rarely chose to use that technique, preferring to save it for when he needed it, though he made an exception here. No one crossed or threatened his family, not if they wanted death to be a 2-way streak.

Tiberius closed his eyes as he spoke, "I underestimated you, and for that I am sorry." He sighed, before allowing himself to smirk, "But that still does not mean you are strong enough!" His left hand sizzled for a moment as Florent glowed red, and Tiberius blasted Sadoine back, his sword shattering against Florent. Sadoine gagged as a part of his sword impaled his throat, blood leaking out as he came to his knees, his nephew watching him all the while.

Tiberius stood over Sadoine, raising his sword up as he said, "Most impressive." His eyes then narrowed as the sword glowed red. Sadoine thought that it was over, but then he felt something rip through the wind, passing over his head, and Tiberius swung his sword in a defensive manner, the air sizzling as 2 broken halves of a shield landed on the ground. The emperor chuckled for a moment in front of Sadoine before he blocked another sword swing, the shockwave causing the air to ripple where the blades met. He eyed his opponent with a smile as he began, "Final-" He was cut short as a kick to his front sent him back 3 yards, though his armor soaked up the damage. Tiberius blinked as he registered what had happened before his smile grew even wider.

As Sadoine tried to tear out the shard of metal from his throat, his eyes widened at who he now saw in front of him. Malphas was bereft of sandals or armor, wearing only his still drying shirt and pants, his sword in one hand, his shield now broken on the ground. With his nephew's back to him, Sadoine could only see the dark aura that lightly covered his form. Golden eyes glared at Tiberius as Malphas spat blood on the ground before licking the little bit dripping down his mouth, the emperor smiling coolly in response. Hissing at the warlord, Malphas charged forward at a speed far too great for someone with broken ribs, swords clashed with one another as both tried to bring the other down.

Once again, Tiberius scored several cuts on Malphas's arms and legs, but this time, Malphas would not stay down, or perhaps better said, his shadow did not. For all his injuries, the youth moved faster, stronger, his sword swings now matching the emperor as the 2 traded one handed blows, almost mimicking his opponent. Escalating it, Tiberius stabbed forward and cut through the left side of the youth, but his battle hungry grin faded as he saw a blade come close to his neck, jumping back quickly as he felt metal cut his cheek. He lightly touched the wound as Malphas looked at the tip of his blade, both astonished at what had happened. Tiberius smiled, finally, something a little interesting.

They both brought their swords forward as they readied for another bout, but Malphas then looked at the back of his right hand and did not press on. Tiberius did not care as he charged forward, only for his eyes to be blinded by an all too familiar light. As he blinked for a moment, he saw Rosa, Morgan Le Fay, and Gwenhwyfach between him and Malphas. Morgan turned her head to her bastard, only for Malphas to shake his head, "The rest 1st." The shadow said quietly, before pushing through the 3 women as he approached Tiberius. Gwenhwyfach looked around and shuddered at what she saw, Morgan wordlessly beckoning her to help with healing their allies. Meanwhile, Rosa decided to watch the spectacle before her.

Both clashed sword against sword multiple times, Tiberius also including punches, kicks, and bashes with the blunt end of Florent. Malphas was more on the defensive, his awakened powers and sheer adrenaline the only things keeping his burning chest from bringing him down. Even so, he tried to slip an attack here or there, a stab with his sword, a punch with his free fist. It didn't do anything to the emperor, but he had to try anyway. After what was likely a minute, Malphas grew to more easily dodge and counter, his brain memorizing the patterns of Tiberius's attacks. He put a bit more distance between them, trying to keep a center line to the fight. In response, Tiberius changed tactic, holding his sword with 2 hands as he closed the distance, forcing the youth back with strength blows rather than quick cuts and slashes.

As the 2 fought, Morgan cursed under her breath as she healed Varyn, pushing the man's intestines back in as she did so, "My, you seem to be quite prone to getting wounded, now, don't you?" She asked sarcastically. When she was finished, Varyn groaned and sat up, "Don't move too quickly, it may upset your insides.

Varyn's eyes widened, "Lena!" He worried as he struggled up to his feet to and looked to where the maid was lying before running towards her, Morgan following. They both knelt beside her as Varyn turned her so that she was sitting on her back, "Can you heal her?" He asked redundantly.

Morgan still nodded, "Indeed." Placing a hand on the girl's chest, she chanted quietly as Lena's body was engulfed in ethereal light. As Lena slowly opened her eyes, Morgan asked, "How did she get hurt? Was it an accident or…?" She let herself trail off.

Before Varyn could speak, Lena responded, "No, he knocked me unconscious to keep me from interfering with his 'training.'" She muttered.

Rosa, who'd been listening, laughed, "Well then, perhaps you should know better than to get in his excellency's way you simple-" She was cut off as several ethereal blades hot at her, forcing them to dodge several while blocking the last. Morgan giggled from beneath her veil as her eyes and tattoos stopped glowing, helping Lena back to her feet as the 3 watched Malphas and Tiberius's battle, Gwenhwyfach doing the same beside the restored Sadoine, Christan, and Arawn.

As Malphas was pushed further back, he felt the blade shake, turning his eyes for less than a second as he noticed cracks along the metal. He cursed under his breath as Tiberius rose his sword for another attack. Hastily holding his sword up at both the handle and sharp end, Malphas tried to block the incoming strike, but to no avail. The sword shattered once Florent touched it, the holy sword continuing unimpeded as it drew blood. Tiberius then kicked Malphas backward before pressing his foot on the youth's chest, causing Malphas to cough out blood as the emperor leaned in on him, the tip of Florent inches from his throat. Blood leaked from Malphas's face out of a new vertical gash that went down his nose, cut his lips, and stopped at his chin. Despite, his seemingly precarious position, the youth was somehow able to smile back at the emperor.

Tiberius's eyes quickly looked to his right as he chuckled, "Impressive, young Malphas." In his left hand, Malphas was holding the pointed end of his sword right at Tiberius's neck, obviously meant to press deeper if the emperor tried to finish it off. Far from alarmed though, Tiberius seemed proud, almost wanting to dare Malphas to try, "This ferocity, this strength, this unrelenting persistence, that's what will keep you alive on the battlefield. You'll make a fine soldier if you stay on this course, Malphas." His eyes narrowed, "Of course, assuming you actually want to be a soldier… and not something more?" Malphas wordlessly questioned the man as his golden eyes gleamed back at the red head. "What's wrong? You said yesterday you were going to lead the charge against our enemies, in front of your own mother. Was all that just mere bluster, or was it the truth?"

Malphas choked as Tiberius pressed harder on his chest, "T-The truth!" He spat at the emperor, "I will lead the charge and destroy the Seyfort! T-That right… belongs to me!" The shadow of the youth declared.

Tiberius scoffed, "If you really want to lead, then far from ready. Who would follow you?" He pointed to the youth's friends and comrades, "Them, why would they follow a boy who is not even a decade old yet? What would you do to inspire my men to follow you, to inspire me?!" He asked Malphas, "If you want to lead me, then you have to prove you are better than me, prove that this army and all of Rome is better in your hands than my own! As you are now, you could barely convince anyone to follow you, and you will never be as great as me!"

Malphas coughed, "I-I don't care… to be stronger than you… but I need… I have to destroy the Seyfert!" He rasped painfully.

"Why though?!" Tiberius shouted at him, "Why do you want to lead us to battle?! Is it revenge, do you want to see Camelot suffer for the death of your father?! Will you take Camelot as your own once you have claimed it for yourself, leaving your brother with Lahia? Or will you instead give him Camelot and you take Lahia?" He grew increasingly annoyed at Malphas's silence, "Why do you want to lead?!" He shouted. Malphas seemed to almost whimper, even with his now golden eyes, and it sickened the emperor, "WHY?!"

Malphas carefully breathed as a bit of blood leaked down his face, "T-To make things right…" He continued to whisper as Tiberius silently told him to continue, "H-He told me… to go… with the rest, while he talked to… to Artoria… but I stayed behind… I thought I could, stop them from fighting… and he died…" A tear slipped down his golden eyes, "He died… protecting me…"

Tiberius eyed the youth with an unreadable expression before he stood up, getting off Malphas as he motioned for Morgan to heal him. As Morgan went to Malphas's side, Tiberius stabbed Florent into the ground. He then removed his armor until he himself was wearing a sleeveless red tunic and pants, just as Malphas had. Noticing Malphas standing up and healed, Tiberius stated, "Don't relax yet boy." He turned around and let out a sigh of relief as he saw that Malphas still had his golden eyes. "For the rest of this training, we'll use know weapons but our bodies. Even the finest swordsman can be killed by a drunken thug if caught by surprise and unable to use their weapon correctly. So let us see how you wield your most primitive weapon?"

The rest of the group seemed to want to interfere, but Malphas waved them off without saying a word, turning his head as he eyed them all, a dark aura decorating his form. Lena had the strength to speak, "Prince Malphas," He focused his golden eyes directly on her as she looked at him before turning to look at the emperor. She glared at Tiberius as she said, "Make sure he cannot walk for the next few days." Sadoine and the knights stared at her in shock while Malphas simply grinned and nodded, turning to smile at Tiberius, who was no longer smiling in turn. Rosa cursed in Latin as black fire swelled around her fingers, but both Gwenhwyfach and Morgan glared at her as they got between the Roman witch and the maid.

Malphas and Tiberius eyed one another as the former tried to imitate the latter's stance, before the 2 raced towards each other. To neither's surprise, Tiberius was easily the superior fighter, landing several fists on Malphas's face and chest before rapidly kicking him in the stomach 3 times, sending the youth hurtling back. Staying on top of him, Tiberius launched blow after blow on Malphas, pummeling him into the dirt and not letting up even for a moment. It made Lady Morgan healing him minutes ago almost pointless as each punch and kick from the emperor was enough to shatter bones. Malphas feel his cheek bones sting, as well as his chest and arms for all the pain they'd received, and that wasn't getting to his stomach, which almost regurgitated yesterday's food after that last kick.

Even so, Malphas refused to stay down, and neither did his shadow. For once, Malphas did not feel as though he were watching himself from afar, nor was he unaware of what was happening. He was fully locked on in the present, his shadow working with them in tandem as they fought the emperor. Dodging Tiberius's next kick, he scrambled up and blocked the next punch as he neared the edge of the moat. As the red head watched the youth, he struck forward with snakelike movement, preventing Malphas from grabbing him as he went for quick jabs to break his concentration, before grabbing Malphas and throwing him aside, the youth quickly getting up once more as he took another stance. Tiberius balled his right hand into a fist and charged at Malphas, who responded in kind. They both raced forward as closed the distance as they readied for a possibly finishing blow…

BAM!

Tiberius grit his teeth as he felt the fist push further against his cheek, not giving an inch, and neither did Malphas. To the warlord's surprise, Malphas had caught the punch with his bare teeth, opening his jaw at the last moment and biting down on contact. Blood was leaking from his mouth, either from the punch, or because that blood was in fact Tiberius's. The emperor could not rule that out as he felt several teeth imbedded in his right fist. Stubborn to a fault, the 2 pushed against one another at a stalemate, neither giving in. Even Rosa was intrigued at what she saw. Growling madly, they both pushed forwards with their other fist and freed themselves from the lock.

As Tiberius massaged his cheek for a moment, he stared at his right hand to find it bleeding, having to pull out several teeth that had been imbedded in it, dropping them into the dirt. With several teeth missing, mouth leaking blood, and jaw likely broken, Malphas did not seem to be paying attention, simply staring forward at the emperor as he readied a stance, before charging forward to strike once more!

…

…

"Augh! I tell you; I can still feel my jaw vibrating." Malphas said as they sat about the campfire, massaging his jaw before he took a bite out of the leftover meat, needing to be careful since his healed teeth were sensitive. Training, if he wanted to call it that, had last with the emperor until past noon. They stopped after one of the mystics informed him that the rest of the Roman army had arrived, at which point he carried the tired Malphas to Morgan before putting his armor back on and sheathing Florent, waving goodbye as Rosa went with him. The shadow still wanted to fight, but ultimately quieted down and returned to the back of Malphas's mind. After that, he ended up taking a nap from the exhaustion.

By the time he had woken up, it was extremely overcrowded, with so many soldiers about you could fit a whole city of them… and that wasn't even getting into all the new mystics, mages, elephants, and monsters stomping about or flying overhead. He wondered how big Rome was to fit so much… but that was the least of it. Forget the claustrophobia, the noise was so goddamn loud it nearly split his eardrums, he'd rather still be training with the emperor. It got so bad, the group had to camp at the far end and put some distance between themselves and the Roman Army just so Malphas could stay sane. He'd apologize, but he expected that most of the others were looking for an excuse to distance themselves from the Romans, and he didn't blame them.

"At least you can see straight." Arawn complained as he placed a hand on his temple, "My head still feels all fuzzy from him breaking my skull. You sure you can't heal me anymore?" He asked Morgan, who was sitting not too far from him while quietly gazing at the fire from behind her veil.

"Admittedly, I sort of rushed while healing you, and brain injuries are the hardest to heal with magic, for it not only controls the body, but it connects the vessel with the soul. Even the scabbard, Avalon, cannot heal wounds to the brain." She extended a hand and placed it on his temple, her tattoos glowing as she whispered something quietly. After a few moments, Arawn blinked and felt his sight clear up a bit, Morgan stating, "Your skull is fine, and your brain was not as injured as you feared. It should heal slowly, with any luck, you should be perfectly well tomorrow.

Arawn sighed, "I suppose that's the best I can hope for. What about you Arawn, are you holding up well?" He asked the other knight, who had barely touched the meat. The other knight simply gulped silently and said nothing. After his 1st few bites, he panicked as he clutched his stomach before tossing his stick into the fire, Lena having to calm him down. Then again, the man had literally been keeping himself together for several minutes before Morgan had healed him, so it was understandable. Arawn chuckled bitterly, "Guess you got lucky Olved. Mind if I guard Queen Julia and Prince John next time?"

Olved sighed, "Fair enough, you may handle that post tomorrow. It honestly was not that bad, right Prince John?"

The little boy smiled, "They gave us all knives after we were done!" He cheered as he showed his brother and the rest of the group his reward. This was short lived as Queen Julia then took the knife from him and handed it to Sir Christan.

"Yes, because clearly handing weapons to small children is a wise choice to make." She said bluntly as John pouted.

Malphas sighed as he ruffled his brother's hair, before looking to their mother, "Oh please, Father was letting me train with swords when I was 5, I'm pretty sure John is old enough." He then unsheathed the new sword he had taken from the weapon tent after his nap, stared at it for a moment as the campfire illuminated it, and then showed it to John. "You want to hold this part, see?" He asked John, emphasizing the handle of the blade, "You don't want to hold it from this part." He trailed his hand other hand along the blade until his finger rested on the tip of the sword. "This part is for your enemies. You strike them with this, and you avoid hurting yourself with it." He lowered his head to be face to face with John, "Get it?"

John blinked and then nodded, "Yep!" He cheered.

Malphas smiled, "Then congratulations, you now know how to use a sword!" He exclaimed, before allowing John to hold the blade, the rest of the group watching the absurd display as Malphas began, "Now, let's try and-" He stopped talking as Queen Julia plucked the sword from them and handed it to Christan as well, "Oh come on Mother, I was just going to have John cut some meat!" He complained as the rest of the group snickered at the display.

"Stop being an irresponsible influence with your brother, Malphas." She replied, the rest of the group trying not to laugh.

Morgan grinned from behind her veil, "You're fighting a losing there my dear. My sons were the same way, always playing around with blades and spears in their free time when neither Lot nor I were watching. Not to mention all the brawls they'd have with each other. I think my daughter Gareth was the worst offender. She tried to pick up Gawain's longsword when she was 6!" She started laughing as she recalled that day, "By Avalon, they could be so troublesome at times! Made me want to rip my hair out at times!" She slowly came down, wiping a tear off her cheeks, "Feels like a lifetime ago."

Sadoine eyed her for a moment before he asked, "What about Mordred?" Both Gwenhwyfach and Julia flashed him warning looks while the rest of the party looked at each other with confusion, with Malphas growing concerned. "What was he like when he was so young?"

Morgan was quiet for a few moments before she responded, "Mordred was fine." She said quietly, "I trained him since he was little before he grew up quickly. I had to," Morgan clutched the left sleeve of her dress with her right hand, "I needed to send him to Arthur quickly."

"Why though?" Sadoine continued, turning his eyes to Malphas quickly before focusing again on Le Fay, "Why wouldn't you just give him a normal life? Didn't Mordred deserve that?"

It was quiet after that, too quiet. Morgan's silent face was unreadable beneath her veil, while Sadoine was glaring daggers at the witch. Gwenhwyfach grit her teeth as her eyes slowly started to glow violet while Olved and Arawn reached for their weapons, wary of an approaching fight. Queen Julia held John tightly as Malphas watched with uncertainty of how Morgan would respond. It started with a snort, then a chuckle, until finally Morgan could not keep herself from laughing out loud, smacking the ground several times as she did so. She took deep labored breaths before speaking, "Oh Sadoine… don't you already know the answer to that?" She then stood up and left as she walked towards the woods.

Malphas cursed under his breath and stood up, not saying a word as he took his sword back from Christan and followed her. John also wriggled out of his mother's grip and followed his brother. Julia panicked and went to follow them both, but Christan grabbed her by the wrist. As she stared at him with shock, he spoke, "Let them go." He looked to the rest of the group, "If anyone can calm down the witch, I believe it would be them." Christan then looked at Sadoine, "And while I do not have full understanding of the enmity between the witch and the King of Knights, I would prefer we not antagonize an ally when we are already in a very difficult position."

"Preaching to the choir there, my friend." Gwenhwyfach said as she glared as Sadoine, who simply scowled and lowered his eyes. He then cursed and stood up, taking his spare sword with him before following his nephews who followed the witch.

…

Her surroundings were misty as she walked through the woods, until they opened to a cliff with a girl standing at the edge. Eyes widened beneath the black veil as she raised her arms forward, then the scene changed. Now she was in the hall of a familiar castle as an armored body fell before her. His black armor was ripped and torn, blood flowing from his open wounds as he struggled to rise, only to fall again. The scene chained to a bloody courtyard where dozens of bodies laid dead, surrounding a stake. Of those bodies was a young man clutching the dead form of another knight whose face was unrecognizable now. Then a gruesome battlefield, hundreds of dead. She passed by the corpse of a blonde man as she reached the top. Fierce armor with red touches met her, a broken horned helmet, while the other had blue armor. Finally, her vision ended, and she was simply again in the dying woods, to which she fell to her knees.

As Morgan lay there in a daze, footsteps came from behind, "Lady Morgan," Malphas stopped behind the witch, "Are you alright?" He asked, just as John caught up to him. Morgan did not say anything. Malphas swallowed carefully as he then asked, "Is what my uncle said true? Did you train Mordred… to overthrow Artoria? Is that what would have caused Camlann?" He wondered if he should take John and run, for energy was now coiling around Morgan. She shook as she seemed to be about to laugh, but it became mixed with anger.

"So… you finally get it now, right?! I'm a witch, I told you that!" She glared at Malphas as her eyes glowed gold, her veil billowing in the magic wind, revealing her face, "I used Mordred to cause Camlann, just like I'm using you right now!" Her mouth split into a wide grin as she hissed, standing up to look at the brothers with a mad expression in her eyes. Malphas readied his sword as John his behind his brother's leg. Just as the dark wind began to pick up, her smile faltered. Wait… why were… why were they…? She shook her head, but the 2 brothers kept changing how they looked, either having blonde hair, a different look, or not even being the same gender. Morgan grabbed her head as she muttered, "No… no… NO!" The wind shattered as she lunged forward, grabbing the 2 brothers as she fell to her knees.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" She continued muttering as she held both boys tightly, Sadoine finally arriving as he saw the 3, "I-I never meant to… I never wanted this for…" She took deep breaths as she slowly calmed down, tears sliding down her face. Morgan felt a small hand move her veil before wiping them off.

"Are you okay, Aunt Morgan?" John asked sweetly as Morgan looked at the boy and then Malphas, her vision finally clear for her to see them properly.

Blinking for a few moments, Morgan sighed, "No, I'm not okay… but I'm trying to be." She then gave John a motherly kiss on the forehead before she stood up, "What are you doing here? You should be back at the campfire? Whose idea was this?" She grabbed them both by the arm as she hauled them back out of the forest, giving a polite bow to their uncle as she did so. Sadoine simply looked at Malphas while the youth pried himself from Morgan's grip, and the 2 looked at each other. Morgan was anything if not confusing. "Oh, and Malphas, you're wrong on both accounts." Morgan stopped as she turned her head back at Malphas, "I did not train Mordred to overthrow Artoria?" She watched as Malphas grinned while Sadoine rolled his eyes, before smirking, "And he is not the son of King Accolon."

Malphas stopped smiling as he stared at Morgan, wracking his brain for a minute before he raised his arms to the sky and shouted, "WHO IS HE THEN?!" Morgan simply exchanged a look with Sadoine before turning back to the campfire, young John in tow.

…

…

A new day was here, and with it, more things to prepare for, but also more things to be happy about. Artoria had usually focused on the former and not the latter, results only concerning her for the good of Camelot as she always mentally prepared for the next hurdle, for what was life but a series of obstacles. It was an aspect of being an emotionless ruler that even her knights took issue with at times. Kay always told her that she should let herself be praised and take pride in how much she had already done, but she'd always been someone who simply kept looking forward, even before becoming a king. Still, there were times when she'd let herself take pride in her work, even if only to herself. This was one of those times.

It had become far larger now, even larger than it had been right before she had nearly destroyed it, but here it was before her, and the King of Knights could only admit mentally, how relieved she was, to see it well once more. The Seyfert's branches were now stretching far enough to be seen overhead from the peasants on the streets, and they had grown thicker and stronger, growing tiny leaves and flower petals around the tips and edges. While it had once been glowing red and purple, now it was hues of gold and orange, feeling like a morning sun. Pulsating from the center of where she had stabbed it, now the core of the tree that had been reduced to a husk by that very weapon, was Rhongomyniad. It was time, it had finally come, and just when she had returned. Had things gone differently, Artoria would have considered every current threat to be eliminated, but that was not true.

Her sister was still alive, a nephew as well. They were with the Romans and were on their way to Cameliard. She knew this, she had made the choice to ignore Cameliard to focus on taking the people of Lahia to Camelot, and she did not regret it. Artoria was done with her, there was no other way to describe it. She would not chase or hunt after Morgan anymore or be led on by any plots or tricks. She would focus only on her kingdom, and her people, just as she was always meant to… she would be held down by nothing else.

Reaching a hand forward, she touched the Seyfert and felt the raw power from it, Rhongomyniad, and the energy surging from Avalon. Once the 2 worlds were fused together nothing would endanger them again. And with the power she'd wield, there would be no future encounter between herself and Morgan, no battle, no war. She would wipe Morgan out, there would be no exceptions. There was only one thing that she needed to know…

"When will my knights be back?" Artoria questioned as Oberon floated above her, "We cannot commence the merge without them returning."

Oberon sighed, "They'll be back when they've completed their goal. Do not worry, we had Vendru sent with them because he is quite reliable. They will return soon enough."

…

…

"We're here!" Kentigern exclaimed as they reached the mountainside. Gaheris, Agravaine, and the rest of the knights followed in the direction the youth pointed to, until they finally saw doors leading into the mountain.

"Pretty good place to hide I suppose." Gaheris joked as they followed the youth and Saint Serf, the rest of the survivors with them while their faerie companions watched from overhead. They'd been surprisingly safe from any monsters; none had come near them. However, they did see more signs of whatever… creature, had been around here. "Guess we can finally rest for a bit until we plan a way to get back to Camelot." He looked to his comrades, "Any ideas, because I don't think a few bags of wind will help everyone here."

Percival thought for a moment, "We could put the bags under the mountain, untie them, and then ride the mountain all the way to Camelot!" He exclaimed, looking at the others as they all sighed.

"We'll see what we can do and leave that as a fallback option." Segwarides noted as they reached the door. While Serf was knocking at the door, Gaheris looked up to where Lucrecia was, and returned the nod she gave him. So, no trouble nearby, that was good.

As the doors opened, a female voice called out from inside, "I was just about to go out with a few others to get water. An odd way to meet visitors. Kentigern smiled as he ran into his mother's arms, "I am relieved to see you have come back well, my son. You as well, Father." She said to Serf, who nodded in response.

"Indeed, we've come with who remained in Glasgow, as well as some fortunate aid." Serf said as he gave her a hug.

"I am thankful for such blessings. It is an honor to…" Her voice trailed off before she went silent, her smile faltering as she stared ahead. Kentigern looked at his mother before turning around to look at the knights of Camelot. Save for Percival, they all looked at her in shock or horror, for they beheld the face of Morgan Le Fay.

---

Alright, that wraps up that, next chapter will follow our friends in Glasgow and their journey back to Camelot... and then, we'll finally be done with half the story... things will definitely pick up after that... I hope :)

Thank you all for your patience with me thus far, and until the next chapter, this has been the Venomous Blade, and I'll see you all later :)