Arthur's Quest
Mar. 24th, 2011 10:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wiseheartBelow are a few random ideas, in no particular order, and potentially due to be altered or exchanged for better ones, re: "Prince Arthur and the Quest for the Holy Grail". As I said, they are completely random, I'm just playing with them in my head, trying to figure out what would work within the basic layout of the BBC series and what wouldn't.
1) The outlash of Morgana's grief over what had happened to Morgause leaves Camelot in ruins. The people are battered and scared, and their trust in the royal family is shaken.
2) Uther is still recovering, and Arthur has to rule the realm in his name. He entrusts the training of new knight-probationers to Sir Leon (here a few names from the Arthurian legends like Sir Bors, etc., may make their first appearance) and seems to fall under Gwen's spell more and more with each passing day. This begins to worry Merlin, as Gwen is also showing subtle interest for Lancelot, while still leading Arthur on.
3) Unsettled about the whole situation, Merlin returns to the Crystal Cave again, to seek guidance. There he meets Taliesin (or his ghost, which is trapped in the crystals, I haven't decided yet), who tell him that it is gwen's fate to be with Lancelot. However, Merlin knows that Arthur won't give up Gwen, and decides to try to find another love interest for Lancelot.
4) Upon Merlin's return to Camelot, Isilder, the head Druid makes an appearance, telling Arthur that only the Grail could heal the wounds caused by Morgana's evil magic. When thy try to ask him what that is, though, he simply disappears (perhaps taking the Cup of Life with him???).
5) Merlin and Gaius do some research and provide vague trivia about the Grail for Arthur. (What exactly the Grail is in this context, since the BBC-series completely lacks every Christian aspect, I'm still trying to figure out.)
6)As soon as Uther has recovred, ARthur decides to go on a quest to find the Grail. Leaving Sir Leon behind to defend Camelot in his stead, he takes Merlin, Gwaine, Lancelot and Percival with him. (This might change later, as I'm playing with the idea to have Merlin see Sir Leon have a roll in the hay with Arthur on their way, just to make him insanely jealous. Also, I may add more knights from the Arthurian legends.) Elyan must stay home to protect Gwen. Plus, Uther doesn't verify his knighthood, and Camelot needs a blacksmith.
7) There will be various adventured during the Quest. They come by the Castle of the Maidens, where Gwaine rediscovers his sisters (I'm still of two minds about which ones), and his entire background (which might be slightly different than in the series) will be revealed. They also have to cross the Forest of Brocéliande (probably under a different name), where Merlin gets the chance to look into the Mirror of the Faeries (and see Freya perhaps?) and one of the heroes slays the Knight of the Fountain. (Here I may have to find a reason for Merlin to perform the thunderstorm trick, because it's way too cool.)
8) They rest in the castle of Lord Godwyn, whose daughter, Elena (here perhaps called Elaine) used to be a changeling. She takes a fancy to Lancelot, and Merlin agrees to help her, hoping that Lancelot might forget Gwen (as, let's be frank, Elaine is a hundred time prettier). Lancelot does sleep with Elaine, thinking that she's Gwen, but he leaves her behind nonetheless. (Should I make him marry her first???)
9) Somehow, Merlin will find out that Gwen's father (unlike Elyan's), wasn't Tom the blacksmith but Leodegrance, the sorcerer of King Royons of Cameliand. He was a cousin of Sir Leon's father and forced himself upon Gwen's mother, who was serving Leon's family. No-one knew about it, not even Tom or Sir Leon's parents. Gwen hasn't inherited much from her natural father's powers, but she's fairly good at spells and has learned from Gaius a great deal... which is why she hung out with the old physician all the time.
10) Gwen doesn't really love either Arthur, or Lancelot. She want to marry Arthur, because she wants to become Queen. And she wants to bind Lancelot to her, because - according to the laws of chivalry - a knight ought to put the interests of his lady before his own, and she wants him as her willing servant.
11) Sir Kay is brought to Camelot. He's the son of Tristan de Bois, Arthur's laet uncle, who was resurrected by Nimueh as the Black Knight. Kay was raised by Lord Ector, the brother of his mother; he is now somewhat older than Arthur and already a knight. uther makes him the seneschal of the Citadel, to be his right hand in Arthur's absence (not the least because he's still feeling guilty about Tristan.
12) After the death of Cenred and the disappearance of his immortal army, his kingdom is in a great disarray. Hunith flees to Camelot, to her uncle Gaius, until things calm down a little in Ealdor. Yes, I know that Gaius is supposed to be Hunith's brother, but I find he really is too old for that, so I settled for an uncle. There seem to be at least two generations between him and Merlin, IMO.
13) William of Daria, the young farmer impersonating Arthur on that turnament in Season 2, also heads for Camelot. His lands have been destroyed by Cenred's army, and he needs a means to live. HE meets Gilli on the way (the young guy with magical powers from late Season 3), and the two stay together to face the perils of the road. There will be some adventures, presumably of the humorous sort that I haven't figured out yet.
14) In some way, I intend to bring back Alice, Gaius' old flame, and have her play a role in revealing Lancelot's true ancestry. Because, unless I kill off Uther, which I won't do, he'd never be allowed to remain a Knight of Camelot as a common-born. And Uther won't reform the ancient custom for him just yet. For that, Arthur needs to become King first, and this is not that story.
So, that's it, so far. Not much, and very, very random. But I'm still just collecting the ideas.
Comments? Opinions?
1) The outlash of Morgana's grief over what had happened to Morgause leaves Camelot in ruins. The people are battered and scared, and their trust in the royal family is shaken.
2) Uther is still recovering, and Arthur has to rule the realm in his name. He entrusts the training of new knight-probationers to Sir Leon (here a few names from the Arthurian legends like Sir Bors, etc., may make their first appearance) and seems to fall under Gwen's spell more and more with each passing day. This begins to worry Merlin, as Gwen is also showing subtle interest for Lancelot, while still leading Arthur on.
3) Unsettled about the whole situation, Merlin returns to the Crystal Cave again, to seek guidance. There he meets Taliesin (or his ghost, which is trapped in the crystals, I haven't decided yet), who tell him that it is gwen's fate to be with Lancelot. However, Merlin knows that Arthur won't give up Gwen, and decides to try to find another love interest for Lancelot.
4) Upon Merlin's return to Camelot, Isilder, the head Druid makes an appearance, telling Arthur that only the Grail could heal the wounds caused by Morgana's evil magic. When thy try to ask him what that is, though, he simply disappears (perhaps taking the Cup of Life with him???).
5) Merlin and Gaius do some research and provide vague trivia about the Grail for Arthur. (What exactly the Grail is in this context, since the BBC-series completely lacks every Christian aspect, I'm still trying to figure out.)
6)As soon as Uther has recovred, ARthur decides to go on a quest to find the Grail. Leaving Sir Leon behind to defend Camelot in his stead, he takes Merlin, Gwaine, Lancelot and Percival with him. (This might change later, as I'm playing with the idea to have Merlin see Sir Leon have a roll in the hay with Arthur on their way, just to make him insanely jealous. Also, I may add more knights from the Arthurian legends.) Elyan must stay home to protect Gwen. Plus, Uther doesn't verify his knighthood, and Camelot needs a blacksmith.
7) There will be various adventured during the Quest. They come by the Castle of the Maidens, where Gwaine rediscovers his sisters (I'm still of two minds about which ones), and his entire background (which might be slightly different than in the series) will be revealed. They also have to cross the Forest of Brocéliande (probably under a different name), where Merlin gets the chance to look into the Mirror of the Faeries (and see Freya perhaps?) and one of the heroes slays the Knight of the Fountain. (Here I may have to find a reason for Merlin to perform the thunderstorm trick, because it's way too cool.)
8) They rest in the castle of Lord Godwyn, whose daughter, Elena (here perhaps called Elaine) used to be a changeling. She takes a fancy to Lancelot, and Merlin agrees to help her, hoping that Lancelot might forget Gwen (as, let's be frank, Elaine is a hundred time prettier). Lancelot does sleep with Elaine, thinking that she's Gwen, but he leaves her behind nonetheless. (Should I make him marry her first???)
9) Somehow, Merlin will find out that Gwen's father (unlike Elyan's), wasn't Tom the blacksmith but Leodegrance, the sorcerer of King Royons of Cameliand. He was a cousin of Sir Leon's father and forced himself upon Gwen's mother, who was serving Leon's family. No-one knew about it, not even Tom or Sir Leon's parents. Gwen hasn't inherited much from her natural father's powers, but she's fairly good at spells and has learned from Gaius a great deal... which is why she hung out with the old physician all the time.
10) Gwen doesn't really love either Arthur, or Lancelot. She want to marry Arthur, because she wants to become Queen. And she wants to bind Lancelot to her, because - according to the laws of chivalry - a knight ought to put the interests of his lady before his own, and she wants him as her willing servant.
11) Sir Kay is brought to Camelot. He's the son of Tristan de Bois, Arthur's laet uncle, who was resurrected by Nimueh as the Black Knight. Kay was raised by Lord Ector, the brother of his mother; he is now somewhat older than Arthur and already a knight. uther makes him the seneschal of the Citadel, to be his right hand in Arthur's absence (not the least because he's still feeling guilty about Tristan.
12) After the death of Cenred and the disappearance of his immortal army, his kingdom is in a great disarray. Hunith flees to Camelot, to her uncle Gaius, until things calm down a little in Ealdor. Yes, I know that Gaius is supposed to be Hunith's brother, but I find he really is too old for that, so I settled for an uncle. There seem to be at least two generations between him and Merlin, IMO.
13) William of Daria, the young farmer impersonating Arthur on that turnament in Season 2, also heads for Camelot. His lands have been destroyed by Cenred's army, and he needs a means to live. HE meets Gilli on the way (the young guy with magical powers from late Season 3), and the two stay together to face the perils of the road. There will be some adventures, presumably of the humorous sort that I haven't figured out yet.
14) In some way, I intend to bring back Alice, Gaius' old flame, and have her play a role in revealing Lancelot's true ancestry. Because, unless I kill off Uther, which I won't do, he'd never be allowed to remain a Knight of Camelot as a common-born. And Uther won't reform the ancient custom for him just yet. For that, Arthur needs to become King first, and this is not that story.
So, that's it, so far. Not much, and very, very random. But I'm still just collecting the ideas.
Comments? Opinions?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-25 11:26 am (UTC)Fitting the Holy Grail into the weird messed-up religion of Merlinverse seems like it'll be quite a trick, though.
Really, Merlinverse religion just confuses me. Both the Old Religion and the New Religion (assuming they have one, though it isn't said outright so, I assume they would have SOME religion and there were some religious hints such as the icon-like thing at Arthur's bed when he was sick at the end of season 1, Merlin mentioning gods in some proverb or saying or whatever that was) are very vague.
I'm not even sure if I agree with the common assumption that the Old Religion is actually druidic (or rather, what people commonly picture as druidic derived from what they know about Wicca) and the New Religion some vaguely-Christian-ish thing.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-25 09:32 pm (UTC)I totally agree with you about the Merlinverse religion, or rather the complete lack of it. I mean, religion plays a central role in the Arthurian legends - it's the basis of the rules of chivalry, after all - and if they didn't want to bring in Christianity - which I can understand to a certain extent, as they wanted to make a series for young people interested in magic and adventure - they should have created something to contrast the Old Religion, which is simply a pretty label for "let's use magic". I don't think that it would have anything to do with druidic religion, either - not that we'd know much about that, of course.
As for the Holy Grail, perhaps I could make it into another sacred item of the Old Religion, like the Cup of Life - like, in the hand of a true sorcerer it could feed a whole crowd with only a bite of food served on it or something like that. Considering the years Camelot had recently had, something like that would be handy.
Of course, Gaius and Merlin would have to lie to Uther and probably Arthur, too, about the actual function of the Grail, if they don't want to end up burned on the stake. Or they could tell him that it mustn't be allowed to fall into Morgause & Morgana's hands, or else they'd be able to raise a new army. Although I'd prefer to let them use the Grail properly, to save the common folk.
Perhaps Merlin really ought to come out to Arthur this time, eh?
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-26 02:30 pm (UTC)I've just about given up on making sense of Merlin's canon religion mess and come up with my own conclusions/headcanon, but then, that might just be an excuse for me to do world building even if it's only in my head *lol*
Making the Holy Grail a magic item for feeding the masses sounds pretty cool and would certainly be useful. But wouldn't Camelot possessing such an item and using it lead to further conflict? Such a powerful item would be sought after and if they use it, even if they do it secretly, sooner or later some sorcerer might put two and two together.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-26 03:35 pm (UTC)Can you tell me something about your own head-canon re: Merlin's religion? I'm not very good at this druidic stuff; and the fact that I know a lot about Christianity won't help here much.
You're right, though: it's good that the creators didn't go into any existing religion with the show. The wank would be unbelievable. I still wish they could have made up something more consequent and more believable, though...
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-26 04:15 pm (UTC)I have to admit to my chagrin I'm not that good at the "druidic stuff" either. I was once pretty well-versed in my pre-Christian religions in my more faithful Wicca days, but I've since then come to tend far more towards atheism than Wicca. As a result, my interest in paganism waned and I've forgotten a lot.
My head-canon is probably grossly AU and definitely very confusing. I have this theory that the Old Religion actually worships magic itself as a divine force. Based on repeated mentions of MAGIC demanding a price for giving life rather than gods asking a price for magic, which makes me assume that magic is seen by the Old Religion as a... well maybe not sentient thing in itself, but as more of a power by itself than a tool used by higher powers - such as magic given as a gift of the gods to chosen ones. Ugh, trying to put this into words is harder than I thought! The "take a life for giving one" of magic makes sense, but its nature of always asking the highest price from you personally stands in striking contrast to the carmic idea which Wiccans also embrace - Threefold Law, all good and bad is returned threefold to you - and seems more in line with the kind of occultism and demonology of left-hand-path followers - a mindset which could be exemplied by to free yourself from a sickness, you bespell a penny with the sickness and whoever picks it up gets the sickness. That is actually what Merlin's Old Religion reminds me more of than the benevolent Wicca which people seem to usually associate it with. Of course, I think the magic in itself is a neutral force, but it is interesting that this magic will act maliciously in demanding its price regardless of the caster's intent - good intent doesn't prevent negative consequences, the caster's intent doesn't seem to have much influence at all in the truly great old works of magic, which again makes me think that Merlin magic has some will of itself.
Of course, the view is very skewed since we don't actually meet good sorcerors other than Merlin and Gaius - which is most likely due to the nice ones having been easily killed while only the nasty ones fought back and survived to take revenge.
Uh, yeah, looooong rant... Which is summed in a nutshell that in my headcanon, the Old Religion is a religion which worships and serves magic, while the New Religion (due to apparently being polytheistic, though that might have been a translation error) would be closer to the nice and friendly paganism we know, though "cleaned" of all magical references in Uther's kingdom.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-26 07:14 pm (UTC)But seriously, I tend to think that they use magic in the way Ursula K. Le Guin does in her "Earthsea" books, where - with the exception of Kargad - no higher powers are mentioned, and magic is something that you either have or don't, although some lesser forms of it (like simple spells) can be learned by most people. Another parallel is the use of dragons and their language as creatures/tools of magic. This is, of course, over-simplifying things, as Merlin is a fairly random creation, not a universe unto itself like "Earthsea", but still this is the closest parallel I could find.
IIRC, Gaius is one of the people who weren't born with magic but learnt it by long years of hard work. Merlin, as the son of a Dragonlord, is a category unto himself. Have you seen Season 3? Around the end, there is an episode featuring a guest character, who also has magic, and can be talked by Merlin into not using it selfishly or to harm anyone else, which is a nice exception, I think.
I couldn't resist and wrote two pages for the story, mostly featuring Percival and his origins. *hides in shame*
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-26 07:37 pm (UTC)No, I haven't seen season 3 yet :( That character sounds very interesting, though, and I'm quite glad that they finally gave us another good magic user. It always annoys me when shows go the "supernatural is evil" route without actually giving us an actual explanation why they should all be evil (though Uther's witch hunts actually give several good reasons, still annoying, though.)
Hahaha, the plot bunnies are irresistible XD
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-26 08:42 pm (UTC)Season 3 is actually quite good, aside from the totally unconvincing Arthur/Gwen romance. They have about as much chemistry as Janet the Weevil would have with John Hart. Actually, wait, John Hart would totally shag a Weevil!
So no, Guinevere's sex appeal is waaay behind that of a Weevil, and the authors still want us to believe that every guy falls in love with her? That's called a Mary Sue, ladies and gents. They've turned every other part of the Arthurian legends isnide out, but they kept Gunievere!Sue? Well, in that case they really should have chosen an actress who's stunningly beautiful, 'cause the Cinderella romance won't work for anyone older than, oh, eight years or so. [/rant]
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-26 08:59 pm (UTC)Yes, I want glimpses!
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-26 10:30 pm (UTC)The snippet should be in your inbox by now...
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-26 10:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-26 10:59 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-27 11:07 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-27 11:40 am (UTC)I'm really angry. My Gmail address won't let in any messages, while I can send them just fine. And Hotmail won't even let me log in. Msn can't be connected at all. What the heck is happening?
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-27 11:42 am (UTC)That's very weird! I can't think of anything except "internet going crazy" either.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-27 04:23 pm (UTC)In any case, more Merlin will be going your way, soon. I've just rewatched "THe Once and Future Queen" (ep 2.02) and had much fun with the joustling tournament. Still disgusted by the Arthur/Gwen romance, though, despite all the legends.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-27 04:49 pm (UTC)Looking forward to more Merlin!
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-27 05:38 pm (UTC)More Merlin has been sent to you. It's reached Page 11 in the meantime.
Sorry for late response!
Date: 2011-03-28 12:57 am (UTC)When the Fisher King was introduced and killed off in a single episode, I wondered if Merlin was going to avoid featuring the Grail altogether. But obviously the Grail could still exist in a different context from that of the traditional story.
I don't much about the history of the Grail legend, but I think the Grail was originally a pre-Christian fertility symbol. Later it became a mystical stone, in Parzival, or a cup - in some versions the cup used at the Last Supper, and in others, IIRC, a cup in which Christ's blood was collected during His Passion. Providing food seems to have been one of its most characteristic qualities.
I like the idea of the changeling girl being Elaine. (Who was certainly cursed. And beautiful. And lacking in social skills.) But poor Lancelot! When the Fisher King died, I thought that at least that meant Lancelot could escape Elaine :). I guess not. The idea of Merlin casting the glamour on Elaine is interesting, since traditionally that's how he enables Uther to bed Ygraine. It would need careful handling, I think, since to me it seems rather evil for our Merlin... being an accessory to rape.
Will Galahad exist in your story?
Hunith and Alice returning? Excellent :).
Gwen as a villain is certainly not without precedent. As you probably know, in the earlier 'British' Arthurian stories (Geoffrey of Monmouth/Wace/Layamon), Guinevere betrays Arthur: she acquiesces in Mordred's takeover of the kingdom and becomes his mistress. Later, that was revised so she was personally unfaithful but politically loyal. Of course, many portrayals of Guinevere have been misogynistic so criticism of her needs to be put in context...
Anyway, sounds fascinating! I'd be happy to beta if you need it.
Re: Sorry for late response!
Date: 2011-03-28 03:29 pm (UTC)When the Fisher King was introduced and killed off in a single episode, I wondered if Merlin was going to avoid featuring the Grail altogether. But obviously the Grail could still exist in a different context from that of the traditional story.
My thoughts exactly. I'm using the Patene de Serpentine as the Grail, and will eventually bring in the Holy Chalice of Valencia, too, since that also has serpent motives. I'm not sure in which context I can use the cup, since it would clash with the Cup of Life, so perhaps I'll leave it out entirely. We'll see.
The idea of Merlin casting the glamour on Elaine is interesting, since traditionally that's how he enables Uther to bed Ygraine. It would need careful handling, I think, since to me it seems rather evil for our Merlin... being an accessory to rape.
I'm thinking of working along the line already discussed on the show: the enchantment being broken by true love. While Lancelot does not love Elaine - obviously - I could make Elaine really fall in love with him. And Merlin's character has already considerably darkened since Season 1. After all, he did poison Morgana in order to save others. I know this is not the same category, but perhaps I can work something out.
I also intend to use the motive about the fountain from "The Knight and the Lion", simply because it would be cool for Merlin to call down a thunderstorm without actually using his magic and reveal himself to Arthur. *g* Of course, in that case I might have to replace Sir Yvein with Arthur, but that's something else I'll need to figure out.
I'm not sure what I'll do about Galahad. One possibility would be that Lancelot realizes that he's under a spell but can't free himself completely. I might have him marry Elaine while still being in love with Gwen. It's a know fact that many of the Minnesänger were married, with families, while doing insane things for a different woman who was perhaps married to their liege lord, so why not?
But I don't think I'll bring in Galahad - unless in a completely different role. I want to keep Percival as the Grail Knight (he was the original one, after all), and Galahad is so saintly anyway that he gives me a toothache.
I'm planning to use as many known Arthurian legends as I can stuff into this series - I'm planning to write one adventure a time, and there will be long breaks between the adventures, most likely. It will be like an alternate Season 4, ending with Arthur returning with the Grail, Merlin revealing himself and Uther leaving the scene. How all this is going to happen, and how Morgana and Morgause will fit into the whole thing, is completely unclear at the moment.
Beta offer is gratefully accepted. I've written 11 pages for the first chapter; once it's fully done, I'll mail it to you. You're a jewel!