Camelot Reborn isn't dead! Here is a snippet in the works to represent what I have in the works. Please excuse the rough state, just finished writing it. It would be more cleaned up before the full release of the chapter.
Chapter One Sneak Peek
Today was a very special day for a very special group of individuals. Britannia claimed many thanks to justify their "greatness" such being tracing their lineage to the legendary kingdom of Camelot. On of these supporting "claims" came with an unbroken tradition that had been faithfully observed for centuries.
This tradition was known as the Day of the Round Table, or Round Day more commonly amongst the participants that observed the sacred tradition.
The origin of the Day of the Round Table had its roots starting with the very beginning of how the mythical Round Table of Camelot and the group that would become Knights of the Round Table came into being.
Legend had it that the reason why King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table and Camelot was so successful laid on the foundation that would later become known as the Day of the Round by the 21st century Britannia. It where King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table dined and chatted like equals, where the position of King and Knights didn't exist. Without the restraint of social rank, the King could receive the honest opinion of his Knights and the sagely advice on how to tackle any issue confronting Camelot.
This many Britannian scholars claimed was the reason why Camelot was so peaceful and prosperous compared to other kingdoms, empires and nations that had come before Camelot, during and after Camelot had disappeared into the sands of time until modern Britannia had risen from the ashes after descendants of the British Empire laid the foundation to what would become the most successful superpowers ever in human history.
Whatever critics within Britannia or outside its borders might say about what many claimed was Britannia propaganda, no one could claim the legacy of the Day of Round hadn't been successful. Britannia might not have lasted as long as other empires such Roman Empire, but no one could dispute Britannia was the most militarily, economically and technological successful nation in human history to date.
The Day of the Round was originally a daily ritual started where King Arthur and his Knights would share the meals, but such thing wasn't possible as Camelot came larger and started to face internal and external threats.
Hence, the daily ritual of eating and conversing as equals was pushed by a day then two, and then more until the ritual became a weekly then monthly activity.
The same reasoning why the rituals of equals had applied to the original King and Knights of the Round Table also applied to their self-proclaimed successors.
This was why the Emperor of Britannia and the modern Knights of the Round Table would meet together for a large chunk part of the first day of the month where the social norms that separated the Emperor from his Knights were foregone just as King Arthur and the Round Table would have centuries ago when Camelot was around.
"What are we having for lunch, Agravain?" asked Charles zi Britannia in a lazy and careful manner that would have shocked the world given that powerful and charismatic public persona he projected.
"A little special that you would like, Arthur," replied Bismarck Waldstein in a friendly manner that made it seem the Emperor and Knight were best friends then superior and subordinate.
"I eagerly await what surprise you have in for stall," laughed Charles as he made for the room where tradition of the Day of Round started and ended. "I wish I could return the Day of Round back to a daily event. It is so stressful to always maintain the public persona as Emperor of Britannia." The monarch groaned.
"Is this why you fell in love with your Marianne when she was the Gareth?"
"Maybe? Maybe not?" Charles replied ambiguously as he raised his brow at his longtime friend. "How is the progress of selecting the position for Lancelot? We can't keep this position vacant for too long or our enemies might start to perceive as a weakness."
"It's not easy finding a successor to Lancelot…" Bismarked sighed. "The position is Lancelot has traditionally always been reserved for the most capable soldier, but the advent of Knightmare Frames has changed everything."
Charles nodded his head. The former Lancelot had first been knighted well three decades before Knightmare Frame had become the dominant battlefield weapon it was today. Before the days when the ability as a Knightmare pilot played a large role as a Knight of the Round. The tradition of Lancelot being the greatest Britannia soldier might have shifted to become the best Knightmare pilot, but being a Knight of Round was not just being the best Knightmare pilot as a Knight of Round also had to be a great in many other fields such superb tactician, commander and diplomat, amongst many other things as the Knights of the Round were the personal representative of the reigning monarch of Britania.
As Charles and Bismarck entered the room, the Knights of the Round greeted them as equals as dictated by the traditions observed during the Day of the Round.
"Hello everyone," replied Charles in a relaxed manner as he entered the room, "does anyone have a recommendation for the next Lancelot?"
A flurry of suggestions came as Charles took a seat on the mythical Round Table that had been carefully preserved since its discovery by the first Britannian monarch, Ricardo von Britannia.
Charles took the next few minutes to carefully listen to the suggestions offered to him. As he listened, the Emperor found comfort that he was being treated like a normal friend instead of the all-powerful and wise monarch that everyone seemed to think he was.
"I suggest whoever is the new pilot for the sixth generation Knightmare prototype, codenamed Lancelot, be considered for the role of Lancelot," advised Anya Alstreim, the bearer of the name Mordred. "It would be fitting that the tradition of strongest Knight continue on with the most advanced Knightmare in our empire."
"That seems like a good idea," murmured Charles. "It's similar to how Caliburn," said Charles while glancing down to ceremonial sword only the reigning Britannian monarch was allowed to possess, "was used to select King Arthur… A Knightmare to choose the next Lancelot…"
The monarch's comments started a flurry of discussion. None of the Knights of Round objected with the idea that the Lancelot be used to select the next successor to vacant position of Lancelot. It seemed like a fitting idea, playing into the long-held belief and traditions that the Holy Britannian Empire had inherited from Camelot. Candidates were about to be brought forward when something unbelievable happened.
The clothes that the Emperor and the Knights of Round started to glow.
If their clothes were mundane cloth then they might have raised a brow or been surprised, but alas what they wore was not normal. The clothes of Emperor's and Knights of Round might militaristic or ceremonial, depending on the circumstance, but they were not made out of normal fabric. Their clothes were relics from a forgotten age that were physical manifestations of the Holy Britannian Empire's claim that they had inherited the legacy of Camelot.
The very identity of the Britannian monarch and Knights of the Round's seemingly inability to sustain anything worse than a moderate injury be it by an assassination attempt or the maelstrom of the battlefield came largely from the clothes. Each cloth was a rare product when magic was once a very real thing. Woven with magic that had first created by the legendary Merlin and altered by many successful generations of mages before magic had disappeared from Earth.
The special nature of their clothes that they had inherited from their predecessors as Britannian monarch or Knights of the Round. An unbroken legacy that had originated from King Arthur and the original Knights of the Round Table.
The notion that their clothes were glowing without their command alarmed them and they rushed to gain control over their clothes that seemed to be slipping away. It was brief, but Charles and his Knights quickly lost control, and the glowing faded away….
The women of the Round were the first to response as they were more sensitive about their appearance then their male counterparts. Their hands rushing to their breasts and nether regions.
The man were slightly behind the uptake, but they quickly realized what had happened and covered their groins.
What the Emperor and Knights of the Round didn't notice in their chaos of the sudden disappearance of their clothes was the very special wooden table and chairs within the room had also disappeared.
Charles was the first to panic, not because of his nudity, but by the disappearance of a familar sword that represented the Holy Britannian Empire's claim of their lineage from Camelot.
- O -
I smiled as my prizes had appeared before me. I had been half-expecting for my prizes to not appear given that while magecraft had disappeared, the British Empire, predecessor to the current Holy Britannian Empire, should have altered my prizes before the last vestige of magecraft had forever disappeared. Well the fact that the British mages had failed was something that I was grateful for or it would have been impossible for to secure my prizes.
My grin grew as I gathered my prizes and arranged them in a special manner. Each set of clothing being placed in a wooden chair, which said chairs were placed in the order that I remembered with great pride.
After I made all the preparations, I made sure to double check then triple check everything was in order.
The sets of clothings. Check.
Wooden chairs. Check.
A spectular wooden table of great historical value. Check.
I started to laugh in glee before the magic ritual.
The circle drawn with my blood started to glow as words came out my lips. It might have been a few seconds or several minutes, but my emotions started to stir as I finished up.
The circle glowed to its zenith before the light exploded in one final blast. Figures started to appear around the wooden table and sitting on the historical seats wore clothes that fitted their original owners.
"Welcome!" I chirped happily as I sat down on the lone unattended chair. "Since I had summoned you without the aid of a Holy Grail, you would not have been summoned with the relevant information. You are here today because an abomination claiming to be our successors claim to be our inheritors. I as King Arthur cannot allow the Holy Britannian Empire to exist! We must erase it to protect our dignity and right wrongs claimed in our name!"
What do you guys think about what you read? Is it good, bad or meh? Any recommendations to improve? Please let me know.
Thank you for reading!