Two Worlds Changed, Book 5 of The Fair and Fey

By J. Ellyne

It's taken J. Ellyne two years to write this book since publishing Book 4 of The Fair and Fey, The Elves of Avalon. There are two main reasons it took so long. This is the final book in the series and she wanted a conclusive ending, not leaving any plot threads dangling. Everyone knows if there are dangling threads, people will pull on them and the whole fabric unravels. There were soooo many dangling threads in the Fair and Fey series at the end of the fourth book. She didn't want to contrive ways to tie them all up. Ms. Ellyne's usual manner of writing is to dream about the books first. These are lucid dreams in which the characters are real and do whatever they want. They aren't puppets under her control. She had to wait until her characters decided to wrap everything up into a conclusive ending.

The second reason for this book taking so long was the lack of research material to help guide these dreams. Ms. Ellyne has been accustomed to reading the research first and then dreaming about it. She found only one book covering what might have happened, with actual evidence, after Arthur's final battle to unite Britannia under a single high king, driving out all the foreign invaders. It's a great book: "Arthur's Battle for Britain" by Eric Wamsley. It contains half true history, backed up by historical documents and archeological findings. The other half of Wamsley's book is a story, filling in the gaps that history and archeology have left in what might have been the true life and adventures of Arthur Pendragon, War Leader but never a king.

There are twelve famous battles Arthur won to unite Britain. In books three and four of The Fair and Fey, the Elves are his allies, helping him win. Did you know that real ancient historical documents claim that Arthur's mother, Igraine, was half Elven? Evidently there used to be Elves in Northern Britannia and one of them was Arthur's grandmother. The Elves helped both Arthur and his father Uther Pendragon win their battles and they helped the Elves win their battles with Orcs and Demons -- well most of them anyway. The rest are where the "Fey" part comes in. "Fey" means to have a sad destiny. It is also the word that the word "Fairy" derives from -- an alternate historical term for Elves.

The battle of Camlan, in which other authors such as Mallory wrote of Arthur's death, happened after his 12th victory and as you know, it was a devastating and final defeat. The events that led to that battle, the battle itself, and what happened to Britannia after Arthur's death were covered in Wamsley's book but he admits the evidence as to their reality is scant. That's okay; Two Worlds Changed is fiction, based loosely on fact -- alt history if you will, These events in Britannia are only half of the story. All legends say Arthur was taken to Avalon after his death to see if he could be healed by Avalon healers. Didn't you always want to know if the healing succeeded? Well now you can, thanks to my fifth novel.

In book four, "The Elves of Avalon," Avalon is in Otherworld, which also agrees with other legends. The Elves have left our world to reside there. Without revealing a spoiler here regarding all that happens to them in Otherworld, it can be said that Otherworld changes drastically due to the experiences of the Elves there.. Just as Britannia changes drastically after Arthur leaves our world. As we know from real history, the Anglo-Saxons returned and reconquered Britannia many decades after his departure. This happened because, without a leader to keep them in line, all the kings of the many British Kingdoms started warring with each other again and weakening Britannia, leaving it vulnerable to foreign attack. It didn't happen right away. Arthur's United Kingdom lasted for over a hundred years after he was taken to Avalon for healing. This is what the title Two Worlds Cg hanged means -- how and why Otherworld and Britannia both changed is revealed in book 5.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J. Ellyne
• Release date: Apr 22, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370728503

J. Ellyne

Ms Ellyne graduated from The University of Texas in Austin with a degree in Fine Arts. She currently lives in Florida and is a homemaker, musician, and writer. She has published four novels in The Fair and Fey series, an epic alternate history fantasy series with erotic romantic plots. All four books are available here in all formats and she is now giving away the first novel, Maginaugh, free to promote the series to new readers. Just click on the book titles below. Maginaugh is her best selling novel so far and has been rated 5 stars by readers! Her latest work, The Elves of Avalon, is now published and she is working on a forthcoming 5th novel in the series.

Book preview

Two Worlds Changed

Book Five of The Fair and Fey

By J. Ellyne

Smashwords 1st Edition

License Notes

Thank you for purchasing this book. The following material remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied or distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoy this book, please encourage your friends to purchase their own copy at Smashwords.com, or Amazon, where they can also discover other works by this author.

~ Thank you for your support ~

Copyright 2018

By J. Ellyne

Note: due to the extremely large number of character names in this book, a Dramatis Personae is included in the back. If you have the Ebook version, simply click on the Dramatis Personae in the Table of Contents and search it for the character’s name. A similar approach using chapter title in the Table of Contents will return you to where you were. Characters are not included in the Dramatis Personae if they are only mentioned one time because they need not be remembered.

This book is dedicated to the glory of the great god Pan who has existed from the beginning of time and still exists in our world today. He will always be amongst us as long as there are those of us who worship nature in all its grandeur and who know how to love one another. Pan is truly the god of love and the patron god of lovers.

It is also dedicated to J. Ellyne’s spouse with heartfelt thanks for love and steadfast support during the many years it took to write and publish all five books of this series.

Ms. Ellyne wishes to express her thanks to Ms. Allison Miles for her valuable and careful work as chief editor on this book. Ms. Ellyne could not have done it without her. Thank you Allie!

Ms. Giulia Napoli, editor of all my previous books, also provided a lot of help and encouragement down the long and winding road of this series. Thank you Gi!

0: Map of Otherworld

Part I – The Reign of Peace

Chapter 1: Reminiscing

Sitri unfolded his leathery black wings and leaped into the air. He left the Isle of the Damned, home of the Demons of Otherworld and flew across the Endless Sea to Avalon. He was a solitary black figure against the night sky and was not worried that he might be spotted by any Elf or Priestess. The Dark Lord, Guarnob gave him permission to go to the Humans’ Baseworld and make trouble there.

His mission was designed to aid the Demons in their coming war with the Elves of Otherworld. Gaurnob told him of a meeting Arthur was having with his Knights of the Round Table tomorrow morning. Sitri didn’t know how Guarnob knew about this meeting but he learned, the hard way, never to question the Dark Lord.

Sitri suggested a plan to Guarnob and Guarnob agreed to it. Sitri knew Arthur’s sister, Morganna Le Fey, would be coming to the meeting with her son, Merdraud. They would travel along the road from Lothian to Camelot. He planned to intercept them on the road.

As he approached the southern shore of Avalon he glided lower, trying to find the doorway in the dark.. After several passes, low over the shore, he spotted it. He remembered passing through this doorway many years ago and knew how it worked. He would go through one side and when he came out the other side he would be in Baseworld. The last time he went through this doorway to visit Baseworld he went to Guinevere in the shape of a handsome man and put a spell of seduction on her. His spell was permanent, causing her to lust after any handsome man she encountered in the future. After that she was never faithful to Arthur again.

He landed near the doorway. Looking at it always fascinated him. It was just a simple open doorframe with no actual door. It was freestanding, not attached to anything. He pushed on the frame and it didn’t fall over. Looking through it to the other side he only saw more of the Avalon shore. As he walked through it however, he found himself on a small island in the middle of a lake in a suddenly chilly and damp climate. He knew he was in Northern Britannia now.

I better hurry if I want to intercept Morganna and Merdraud before they reach Camelot. The sky here is already a bit lighter in the East.

Sitri leaped into the air again and flew south toward the road from Lothian in northern Gwynedd to Camelot city which was located in Powys near Wroxeter.

~~~

Merdraud rode his smaller brown warhorse alongside his mother Morganna Le Fey who sat astride a big strong black warhorse. They rode fast, away from the rocky shore of Lothian, south toward Camelot. Arthur sent a messenger to them in Lothian calling them to a meeting of his Knights of the Round Table. They rode all day and all night to be certain of arriving in time for tomorrow’s meeting. The wind was whipping Morganna’s long, flaming-red hair because she hadn’t taken the time to tie it up.

Merdraud saw the city of Camelot in the far distance. Camelot was impressive but what caught his full attention was a man in a robe wearing a wizard’s peaked hat. He walked with the aid of a staff and Merdraud could tell he was an old man. As they drew closer he could see the man had a long grey beard.

Morganna reined her horse to a halt and Merdraud stopped next to her. She pointed at the man. That looks like Merlin but it can’t be. He never comes to Baseworld anymore. I wonder what brings him here. I guess we better go ask him.

The wizard hailed them. Hello Morganna. Hello Merdraud. We are well met. I know you wonder why I have come here and appeared to you. I have news to share with you and some advice too.

Morganna nodded. I do wonder. I wonder why you didn’t just materialize out of thin air as is your usual custom. Instead we find you walking down the road like an ordinary Human.

The wizard smiled at them. Something about his smile sent chills up Merdraud’s spine making the hair on his neck stand up.

I thought I would try something different that’s all. It’s dark and I didn’t want to startle you.

Very well, what news do you bring?

As you know, I’ve been living in Avalon now, in Otherworld. I thought you should know that the few Elves who remain alive there are being systematically wiped out by Demons. It’s terrible. I blame Arthur for this.

Morganna’s eyebrows shot up. Arthur? Why? The Demons are to blame!

The wizard shook his head. The Elves wouldn’t be in Otherworld doing battle with a huge army of Demons if Arthur kept his promise to make Baseworld a safe place for them. Arthur allowed the Christians to continue persecuting them. He broke his promise to Vilya who is now queen of the few surviving Elves.

Merdraud interrupted. You said you had advice for us. Let’s hear it.

The wizard nodded. I’m glad you asked young man. My advice is mainly for you. I’ve had one of my visions, which you know are always accurate. In this vision I saw you gradually becoming fully aware of the true nature of your father. You will begin to disrespect and eventually you will come to hate him.

Merdraud bristled. How dare you speak about my father that way? He is the hero of Britannia -- a great man!

The wizard held up both hands, as if in surrender. Hold on now son. I didn’t say I thought he was a bad man. Arthur is my friend. I’m only telling you what I saw in my vision. There’s more too if you have the stomach for it. But first I ask you to think whether it was a good thing he sent you and your mother away so you wouldn’t be an embarrassment to him.

Merdraud was balling his hands into fists and felt his face flush with anger. Continue. I would hear more of this vision of yours.

"Very well. I saw Arthur taking half his army to war on the Continent. He will undertake a battle with the Romans there which will last five years, after which time he will return to Britannia in defeat. I know of this meeting of the Knights of the Round Table you’re going to attend. I foresee Arthur announcing his intention to wage war at this meeting or another in the near future. When he does so, you will know I speak the truth. My prophecies always come true.

Do not look so glum young man. I have some good news for you too. During his long absence the people of Britannia will need a strong leader, a new High King over all the minor kings to keep them in line. As the only living child of Arthur, you have the right to inherit his title. I think you will like wearing the crown and be loathe to give it up when he finally returns. You will make a great king. Arthur will be proud of you for keeping Britannia whole during his absence. He will recognize your right to the crown of High King of Britannia.

Merdraud was about to speak again but Morganna put a hand on his arm and interrupted him. She gave the wizard a hard look. I wonder if you’re really Merlin. You don’t speak at all like Merlin and the vision you related to us seems highly unlikely.

She paused for a moment and then it appeared to Merdraud as if she made a decision. She cast a spell, Ram en tessa, which froze the wizard on the spot, rendering him unable to move. Next she cast another spell to silence him, Dinalle. Finally she cast a spell to remove his shapeshifting spell, Men imya ram en templa. The last spell took away the appearance of Merlin and revealed him to actually be Sitri, the winged, shapeshifting Demon. Merdraud gasped in amazement.

Aha! I thought so, said Morganna. Now we know not to believe a word of your false prophecies. We’re going to leave you here, mute and paralyzed in your true Demon form. I’m going to bring my brother back here with his magic sword, Excalibur, the only sword capable of killing a Demon. If the spells fade before we return, I advise you to hasten back to whatever hell you came from or Arthur will end you!"

~~~

As they came near to Camelot, a lady riding a grey warhorse, galloped toward them. As she drew closer Merdraud recognized her. It was Nyynnwe, lady knight, sorceress, wizard, and the new prophet for Arthur.

She reined her horse, turned him around as they met and rode next to Merdraud. Greetings, Merdraud. Well met.

Merdraud was surprised. Lady Nyynnwe! You rode out to greet us! Why?

We have but a few moments to talk before you meet with Arthur and I have many things to tell you. Please stop here with me a moment. Be quiet and let me do the talking. If we have time after I finish, you may ask questions.

Merdraud turned to Morganna and whispered, Do you think this is another trick?

Morganna put a finger to her lips. Shh. We shall see soon enough.

I don’t need to know what you whispered to know what’s in your mind, said Nyynnwe. I know what happened to you on the road, how a Demon impersonated Merlin. She turned to Morganna. Put his mind at ease. Chant your spell to remove a shapeshifting spell if I am not Nyynnwe."

"Men imya ram en templa.! "

Nyynnwe’s appearance didn’t change. She turned back to Merdraud. See? I am who I appear to be. This is important for you to believe because I’m going to tell you, some of the things the Demon told you are partially true.

She dismounted, knelt on the ground, and smiled warmly up at him but her words were not comforting. "I had a terrible vision of the future and it involved you. It’s a true and accurate vision. You must believe me. I think one day in the not too distant future, you may find yourself leading a great host of warriors into battle against Arthur and his army. In this battle you will fight Arthur one on one and you will kill each other. This will end the reign of peace in Britannia. Most of your warriors and Arthur’s will perish in this epic battle. The Anglish will once again invade our homeland and this time, without Arthur to lead our warriors, the Anglish will be victorious.

Arthur is soon going to wage a war on the Continent, against the Romans. It will be a long campaign and only partially successful. He will eventually return to Britannia without having accomplished his goal of defeating the Romans once and for all. He will not have enough warriors to defeat all the Roman legions and will eventually be persuaded to turn back and return to Britannia. I will tell him this but I don’t foresee him listening to my advice on this matter.

Merdraud held a hand up to interrupt Nyynnwe. That’s almost word for word what the Demon told us and he was obviously lying. I’m not saying you’re lying but I don’t believe your vision was true. Perhaps it was sent to you by the Devil.

Nyynnwe shook her head. "Arthur is a warrior and he’s becoming restless during these years of peace. He will seek any excuse to go to battle again. I know you’re wondering what this has to do with my vision of you killing your father. I will tell you. He will ask you and Morganna to remain here in Britannia along with half of his army, to keep the peace at home. If you do so, certain things, unknown to me at present, will be put in motion causing you to want to rebel against him and claim the throne of High King of Britannia for yourself. This will cause civil war between your supporters and Arthur’s.

In order to avoid this fate, you must refuse to remain in Britannia. You must demand to go with your father to fight the Romans. This way you will maintain your allegiance to Arthur and avoid your fey destiny of being the man who killed his father, Arthur Pendragon, the man who was the greatest war leader Britannia has ever known, the man who united all the kingdoms of Britannia into one great country.

Nyynnwe paused and looked at Merdraud expectantly. Evidently she was finished giving her prophecy and advice and was waiting to hear his response. He was too flabbergasted at her prophecy to have any words to reply to her.

Umm ... was all he could say. Nyynnwe didn’t press him for an answer; she remounted her horse and they rode on together in the light of a half-moon toward Camelot. They rode in silence together the rest of the way to Arthur’s palace. Merdraud’s thoughts drifted backward in time. He was thinking about the past happenings in his strange life.

~~~

His earliest memories were of a good life in Camelot. His real father was Arthur Pendragon, War Leader of Britannia. Morganna, his mother, was Arthur’s wife, or so he thought. Those early years in Camelot were happy ones. His mother told him he would one day be High King of the United Kingdoms of Britannia. She told him High Priestess Viviane of Avalon prophesied this. Recently he came to the realization, bitterly, there were many dark secrets his mother and Arthur, his biological father kept from him.

He remembered how Arthur sent him and Morganna away when he was just a young boy. They were told to go to the kingdom of Gorre in the realm of Gwynedd where Arthur’s old benefactor, King Rhydderch would provide them lodging, paid for by Arthur. It made no sense to Merdraud and, when they first went to Gwynedd, he asked Morganna about it.

He would always remember their conversation with bitterness. Back then he asked, Mother, why did Arthur send us away? I thought he loved us.

To Merdraud’s dismay, his question caused Morganna to break down crying. Her shoulders shook as she wept loudly. Merdraud always thought of his mother as a strong woman. She was one of Arthur’s top knights and fought in many battles at his side. This was the first time Merdraud ever saw her cry.

I’m sorry, mother! I didn’t mean to upset you.

Oh, it’s not your fault Merdraud. It’s only that I can’t give you a good answer. I don’t understand it either.

Didn’t father give you a reason?

Morganna nodded. He did, but not one that made any sense to me. He said he was sending us away for our safety. Apparently his powerful Christian allies don’t approve of his relationship with me.

Why not? What do the opinions of a few Christians have to do with our safety anyway?

Morganna wiped the tears from her cheek. I’m the one who should be saying sorry to you. There are some things you don’t know. You’re old enough now, and you should be told, even though it will be hard for you to hear and understand.

She hesitated. Merdraud said, Go on, tell me please. I am your loving son.

She smiled at him. Yes you are. Very well. You have always been led to believe that I am Arthur’s wife, that we were married by Viviane on the Isle of Avalon where you were born. Arthur and I were not born in Avalon; we were born in the city of Teradryn, in the palace of my father, Uther Pendragon, before it was destroyed by the Orcs.

"Uther? But everyone knows Uther is Arthur’s father. Are you Arthur’s half-sister?"

Morganna cast her eyes downward and in a low voice said, "No. I’m Arthur’s full sister. Igraine is our mother and named me Anna Pendragon at birth. Viviane changed my name to Morganna Le Fey to disguise my identity from Arthur. She wanted to keep me away from him until we met for the first time at her sacred mating ceremony. She knew from her visions that we were destined to fall in love and, although it didn’t bother her, she actually approved, she wanted me to be a virgin at the ceremony where I would officially mate with Arthur and conceive you.

It didn’t work. We found each other and fell in love long before the mating ceremony. We became lovers at a very young age but have never married. I always thought of myself as Arthur’s wife and he treated me like his spouse too, but never proposed marriage to me."

Merdraud shook his head. It’s all so confusing. I know you love each other. Why did you never marry? And why does father fear his Christian allies?

Morganna scowled. Certainly you have heard about the Christians burning witches at the stake.

Merdraud nodded. Yes, but you’re not a witch. You’re Arthur’s wife.

Morganna shook her head. You must stop thinking of me as his wife. I’m not and probably never will be, even though I do think he truly loves me. As for being a witch, there are no such things as witches. Witches and warlocks are names the Christians invented to label those like the Elves and High Druids who are able to command magic. To them, magic is the work of Satan. To them all Elves are devil-worshippers because some of them have seen us worshipping Pan and they’ve seen his horns and hooves. They think Pan is the Devil.

Merdraud laughed. Pan is the opposite of the Devil. He is the god of love.

Morganna nodded. Yes but these are the twisted thoughts of fanatical Christians. Arthur is afraid they will think me a witch and have me burned at the stake. They would also have the charge of incest to levy against me which is considered a terrible sin by the Christians.

Bah, such tripe. Love is love and the heart wants what it wants.

So true. As I said, I’m confused by all this too and I certainly can’t explain it so that it will make sense to you. There is nothing we can do about it. We are being sent away on Arthur’s orders. We must obey him as he is my husband, your father, and the war leader of Britannia.

~~~

Still reminiscing, Merdraud’s thoughts shifted toward his first years in Gorre. It was a small kingdom, with a permanent army of less than 500 soldiers and a hill fort with a castle made of rough-hewn rock, instead of a grand palace like the one in Camelot. Merdraud was always amused when he heard the citizens refer to it as the royal palace. He knew most of them never saw a real palace like Camelot.

Originally, he wanted to hate King Rhydderch, using him as a target for his anger, holding him responsible for tearing him and his mother away from Arthur. In truth he found it impossible not to like Rhydderch. He was a jolly old man with a genuine smile most times and eyes that twinkled to match. He lived up to his reputation as Rhydderch the Generous, providing Merdraud and his mother with a grand house of their own to live in, paid for out of his own treasury, rather than expecting Arthur to pay their expenses as he always did in Camelot. He also appointed one of his own personal cooks to prepare sumptuous meals for them. Merdraud admitted to himself that they lived in Gorre every bit as comfortably as they did in Camelot.

The king of a tiny neighboring kingdom was a friend of Rhydderch’s and came often to visit and attend social events. His name was Lot and his kingdom was called Lothian. Merdraud remembered how Lot became immediately besotted with lust for his mother, Morganna. Merdraud didn’t like this at all. He felt loyal to his father and protective of his mother. He didn’t want another man to steal her from Arthur. Over time Merdraud’s views on this matter changed. They hardly ever heard from Arthur unless Morganna was called upon to attend a meeting of the Knights of the Round Table like the one that was going to happen this morning. Lot was a good man and he took an interest in Merdraud as well. He had no son of his own so whenever he came to Rhydderch’s court, which was about once a week, he would take Merdraud under his wing and give him lessons in swordsmanship and battle strategy.

After King Lot courted Morganna for three months, Merdraud was once again relocated. He knew there weren’t many boys his age who kept being moved from place to place as often and wasn’t happy with it at first. This time his new home was in King Lot’s royal house in Lothian, a kingdom even smaller than Gorre with no castle or fortress at all. His mother shared King Lot’s bedroom and Merdraud was given the guest bedroom.

There was only a thin wall between the two rooms so Merdraud could hear the king’s bed squeaking every night as Lot and his mother made love. They did it several times every night, until well after midnight. Merdraud couldn’t sleep through the noise they made so he would masturbate while listening to them. He wondered if it were Lot who was so randy or if his mother was the aggressor. Merdraud knew she was a passionate woman. He could often hear her saying breathlessly, Again! or More! At least he knew she was a very willing participant. He was glad she was happy but wondered how she could forget about her love for Arthur so easily.

When Merdraud turned 15, Arthur summoned him to Camelot and knighted him. From then on he always rode with Morganna when she went to attend meetings in Camelot. Arthur allowed Merdraud -- ordered him actually -- to return to his home after each visit but he did make Merdraud one of his Knights of the Round Table and gave him personal lessons in combat from horseback whenever he visited Camelot.

They used spears and rode together toward strawman practice targets. Merdraud perfected his own unique style in doing this. As his horse approached the target, he would slide off the saddle to one side, hanging on to the saddle horn with one hand and the spear with the other, one long, powerful leg over the top of the horse and the other underneath, his heels pressed tight to the horse’s body to hold himself in place. Merdraud knew many of the warriors in those days could not have done this easily because their tack included stirrups, a recent invention. Merdraud hated stirrups. They were hard to get out of and he saw many a knight in practice combat knocked off his or her horse by their opponent, get a foot caught in the stirrup and then being dragged around the arena by their horse.

When Arthur first saw Merdraud perform this maneuver he said, What the bloody hell was that and why did you do it?

Merdraud replied, I have seen what happens to knights when an opponent unhorses them. While the spears have dull, rounded, protective caps, so they won’t perforate armor, the actual force of the impact can break a rib, which in turn could puncture a lung and kill the knight. Sometimes both knights are unhorsed when their spears hit their marks at the same time. I’ve seen one case where both knights died in a practice combat. I think you should teach all your knights this maneuver. To die during training is senseless.

But surely you wouldn’t do this in real combat?

Merdraud shrugged. Why not? I’ll sit upright in the saddle until I get very close, letting my opponent think he’s going to run me through with his spear. Then, at the last moment, I will slip sideways on the horse, point my spear up at my opponent, and run him through!

Arthur laughed. I’ll believe that when I see it.

Well, Arthur did see it, Merdraud remembered. After several years of peace, Arthur sent forth recruiters throughout all Britannia, to gather the largest army he ever commanded. Merdraud was called upon, as well as Morganna and Lot. Lot brought his entire small army to join Arthur. They were ordered to meet Arthur at Liddington, the castle to which Arthur retreated after being defeated at Longborth. The current news, spreading across the land, told of the Anglish invading from Germania again, in massive fleets of warships coming across the North Sea.

Lookouts spotted the Anglish rounding the coast of Kent and sailing west along the southern coast of Britannia. They were expected to besiege Liddington and Arthur was gathering reinforcements. Merdraud fought the Anglish as one of Arthur’s Knights at the nearby Battle of Badon Hill Fort, Arthur’s most famous battle and his final victory over the Anglish.

Merdraud also fondly remembered how Morganna approached him after Lot proposed marriage to her. She wanted his advice as to whether she should accept. This was after living in Lothian for a year. Lot was now treating him like the son he always wanted to have. Merdraud was happy to give the union his blessing and he was the best man at their Celtic wedding. He walked Morganna down the aisle, giving her away to Lot.

It wasn’t very long after the wedding that Arthur called all men of fighting age to join his army at Liddington. Women were allowed to join as well as long as they didn’t have small children to attend to at home. King Lot brought his small army. Merdraud and Morganna were part of Arthur’s army, reporting directly to him as Knights of the Round Table.

This was Merdraud’s first chance to see Arthur’s Elven allies, who came to aid him in battle. They came at the urging of Merlin himself. Merdraud learned it was common for Elves to ride Gryphons. This was also the first time Merdraud saw these winged creatures, half giant eagle and half lion.

The Elves refused to fight for Arthur again since they almost became extinct as a result of previous battles. The few survivors retired to Avalon to live in peace. Viviane, High Priestess of Avalon and Merlin, the longtime counselor of both Arthur and Vilya, queen of the Elves, prevailed on Vilya to help her old ally one more time, or he would surely die in the coming battle. Reluctantly, Vilya agreed to a few of them going to provide aerial reconnaissance for Arthur but they would not participate in the fighting.

Merdraud’s thoughts turned to other things his mother told him. She too, like his father, was raised on the Isle of Avalon from the time they were babies until they returned to Britannia, along with a few others. They fought Orcs and Anglo-Saxons when they were both still in their teens. From other stories his mother told him, Merdraud reckoned that she was already pregnant by Arthur when she returned to Baseworld. Merdraud never went to Avalon. This world was the only world he knew. He assumed Arthur and Morganna knew they were siblings at the time of his conception. This, in and of itself didn’t really bother him.

Yes, other children called him names like bastard and devil’s spawn, born of incest but that was in Camelot when he was too young to understand how badly these slurs were meant to hurt. The insults were hurled by Christian children. In Lothian, all the citizens were Celtic Pagans who worshipped the Druid goddess Rhiannon. None of the Lothians held anything against children born out of wedlock or resulting from unions of related family members.

His mother told him magic was forbidden in kingdoms heavily under Christian influence. The missionaries preached that magic was the work of the Devil and that its practitioners should be burned at the stake. This made Merdraud fear for Morganna’s safety.

They were almost at the gate of Camelot now and its citizens were mostly Christian. Merdraud knew his mother was taught very advanced magic by the goddess Rhiannon herself in Lothian. Morganna even knew a bit of shapeshifting magic. He saw her transform herself into the shape of a giant redwing hawk to help a small band of Elves perform scouting missions for Arthur at the Battle of Badon Hill. He hoped she would not perform any magic while they were in Camelot.

One more significant thing was burned into his mind and the memory of it caused him to have an erection while he rode next to his mother. He could only hope she wouldn’t notice because he couldn’t make it go away. He was thinking of Guinevere and the one night he spent making love with her at an orgy in Wroxeter, held to celebrate their victory at Badon Hill. Guinevere had a reputation for