"It seems they managed to recruit two more people into their little group, which is better than nothing. But somehow the mood over here sure plumbed." Da Vinci commented as she glanced in the direction of the knights who most of them sported a complicated expression on their faces.
"I know that Morgan Le Fay is often depicted as an antagonist in the myth, but is it really the case? I mean, she seems to be a good person." Mash asked, a bit unsure of herself, but she had a good impression of the woman from what she saw of her interaction with Kay.
"The thing is that there are some contradictions about Morgan's legend. In the first tales, she was often described as being either a goddess, a fay, a witch or a sorceress who was generally benevolent and connected to Arthur as his magical savior and protector. However, her prominence increased as the legend of Arthur developed over time, as did her moral ambivalence, and in some texts there is an evolutionary transformation of her to the antagonist she's all the famous for today."
"That is correct. Lady Morgan was... someone with unique circumstances, to say the least." Bedivere said as he looked over his king and companions, especially the ones who were related to her, with a kind gaze.
"From what we've been told by our Merlin, Lady Morgan was born a fairy from Lady Igraine, having been blessed by Britain itself. The reason for that is that she had been chosen by the land to become its true king, having inherited its ancient curse and arcane traditions. In a way, you could say that she was born to become the avatar of Britain itself. However, because of her unique nature of her birth and the roles she was given by the World, she had three mixed stances as a human, having been raised as one by Uther and Igraine, as a faerie which she was originally, and as the avatar of Britain which she was having been chosen by the country, she eventually isolated those stances into three independent personas."
"Three independent personas?" Mash asked, a bit taken aback by the story Bedivere had told her and it was Artoria who answered her question.
"Indeed. Her human identity became Morgan Pendragon, a woman who I remember raising me with love and care when I was but a toddler. She was someone I would consider both a sister and a mother." She said as she placed her hand on her chest, a wistful expression on her face.
"Her faerie identity became Vivian, the Lady of the Lake. She was one of our greatest allies, being the one who provided us with our mightiest weapons. Excalibur, Excalibur Galatine, Arondnight and Rhongomyniad being one of them."
"Sorry, King Arthur, but I'm going to interrupt you for a few seconds." Da Vinci said to Artoria who gave her a node before she turned to Mash. "It's not something that important but I thought you should know this, Mash. Vivian is also Lancelot's foster mother so she could be considered your grandmother since you have Galahad inside you."
Her statement shocked not only her but also a handful of individuals as they looked at him with wide eyes.
"Is that true, Sir Lancelot?" Gawain asked, unsure if he should consider his comrade-in-arm and killer of his siblings his foster brother.
"Yes... After my parents died when I was young, I was adopted by Vivian who taught me many things before she sent me to Britain to lend my aid to our King."
"Damn shit..." Mash heard Mordred mutter before she walked away to the corner of the room, a frown on her face. Not willing to confront the knight, she decided to turn to Artoria once more.
"Then, I suppose the third persona is Morgan Le Fay, being her identity as the avatar of Britain."
"That's right." She said as her face slowly grew darker. "While Vivian was one of our greatest allies, then there is no doubt that Morgan was one of our greatest enemies. There is no doubt that the hatred she felt towards me was sincere since I robbed her of the role she was destined to get. I just hope that, since this is a parallel world and not ours, this version of Morgan doesn't feel that way with my counterpart, at least not now. Fortunately, it seems that the personality in control is Vivian, but..."
As she saw Artoria looking at the monitor worriedly, Mash couldn't help but feel anxious as the person Kay had just kidnapped was essentially a tick bomb. Fearing for Ritsuka's safety, Mash prepared herself to ask Kay to leave Morgan behind. However, she noticed from the corner of her eyes Da Vinci shaking her head.
"I know what you're thinking, but don't worry. Sure, Morgan Le Fay may be a problem for us, but Vivian is a great asset for us to have on our side. And if she were to come out, then I'm sure they will find a solution, just like how you always did with Ritsuka. So, for now, have faith in them, okay?"
"I understand." Mash said after taking a deep breath which made Da Vinci let out a smile before she patted her head, much to her own embarrassment.
"Sir Lancelot, may I ask you a question?"
Tristan suddenly asked the knight who stepped back, a bit taken aback by the intensity of his eyes as they looked straight into his.
"Wha... what can I do for you?"
"Correct me if I'm wrong, Lady Vivian is your adoptive mother." He asked, earning a nod from Lancelot.
"She's also one of the personalities that inhabit Lady Morgan Pendragon's body." He asked, this time, receiving a nod from Artoria.
"Then, are the rumors about you being one of Lady Morgan Le Fay's affair partners true. Because if you were, then does that mean that you did it with your foster mother since they are basically the same person?"
This time, all the heads in the control room turned to Lancelot whose face simply turned pale in a matter of seconds before he screamed, his face now bright red.
"These rumors are false! I never slept with Lady Morgan! This never happened!"
But unfortunately for him, nobody in the room seemed to believe his claims, much to his grand regret and shame. Then, when he felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked up to see Tristan looking at him with a warm look, full of compassion.
"Sir Lancelot... married women are wonderful, aren't they?"
He didn't bother to answer and just hung his head in shame.
"I always knew that, despite your casualness about everything, you were impulsive but not to this point..." Ector said after he was quickly briefed by Kay about their plan which could be summed up in one sentence.
'We'll visit Vortigern and kill him in his castle.'
"There's a first time for everything, old man. And unfortunately, we don't really have the luxury of taking our time right now and you know how I hate rushing into things."
"...Is the situation really that bad?" Ector asked after a moment of silence as he stared at Kay who was nodding, his smile not present on his face.
"Although they have not yet reached Wales, much less our village, the skirmishes waged by Vortigern's army are beginning to multiply, spreading throughout Britain while leaving nothing behind. And honestly, given the pace, it won't be long before the whole country is transformed into a desolate wasteland."
"And I assume you found out the cause?"
"From what we found out from both our investigations and our new friend's informations, it's because Vortigern got his hands on a magical artifact that gives him immense power, allowing him to perform feats such as summoning these dark clouds and leave them perpetually in the sky. In all honesty, if we leave Vortigern alone then Britain will literally go through a dark age."
"I see. I feel like you're not telling me everything, but that's okay, I get the gist of the situation. However, are you certain about charging head straight into his lair with that ragtag group of yours?" Ector asked Kay who simply nodded, he just let out a long sigh and looked down tiredly.
"Alright then, just do what you want… However, I want you to not take me with you."
"Oh, really? And here I thought you'd like to try your luck against Vortigern, to avenge Uther and your fallen comrades of old." Merlin said as she leaned against Kay's back while the old man shook his head, a melancholic expression on his face.
"That's true, that's something I'd like to do. However, if what you said is true about the skirmishes spreading around, then I want to stay in the village in order to protect it. I don't think I could give my all on the battlefield if I continued to worry about our home, not knowing what would happen to it while we were gone."
"You've changed, Ector. The you in the past never cared about things like this as long as you could fight under Uther."
"People change all the time, especially when you grow old, and it could be because of anything, be it from experiences, memories or even feelings. And perhaps you should look at yourself in a lake, Head Magus, because you too have changed since the past." Ector said before he sent a smile at Merlin who looked at him with wide eyes.
"In any case, please be careful out there. Who knows what kind of dangers await you beyond those meadows... but yes, I have faith that you will be able to go through them like always."
And with that said, Ector got out of the carriage and gave a small wave to the group before he walked away.
"Somehow he was quite reasonable, despite everything. I mean, he looked quite strict and stubborn, so I figured that it would be quite hard for us to talk him out, but it was easier than I thought. He listened to everything we said without rebuting anything til the very end and left us just like that." Ritsuka said as she stared at Ector's back while Artoria nodded, a proud smile on her face.
"That's because, as he said, he has complete confidence in us. Still, it's not often that he's that open like this. Well, I guess we can't betray his trust, can we, brother?
"You're right, we can't afford to do that. That's why, Artoria, don't hold anything back because I'll do the same. I'm willing to lend you that sword if so."
Hearing this, Artoria's antenna started to wriggle like crazy as she quickly nodded her head, causing the others to let out a chuckle at her reaction.
"Now then, if everybody's ready, let's get going!"
[Yeah!] [Woaf!] [Neigh!]
As the group shouted in unison, Vivian, previously stunned, woke up, a little disoriented.
"Eh... What's going on?"
"Now, run, Basashi... Full speed ahead!"
And without warning, Red Hare ran east at full speed while pulling the carriage behind him, startling Vivian as she let out a scream full of fear.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooo—"
At the same time, back in Carmarthen, a certain old man let out a smile as he looked towards the horizon where the car was heading, having quickly disappeared from sight.
"It's a good thing I got off while I had the chance..."