Her Father's Blade

In order to fight the fearsome Black Unicorn that has joined forces with Mordred of Orkney, the Pendragon Twins and their entourage must locate the lost sword Excalibur.

Themes

• The question of legacy - those we inherit and those we pass on
• The matter of choice - repeated forks in the road and important decisions made under pressure

Structure

Exposition

We begin not in the present day, but on the last day of the last year of the Pre-Apostasy era of Albion, where a war is being waged for the fate of the Kingdom of Camelot. It is the 20th of June, 1300 Pre Apostasy. Somewhere in the ancient fields of what is believed to be modern day Bath the Once and Future King Arthur Uther Hereward Pendragon I of Camelot and his Knights of the Round Table are entrenched in a fierce battle against Arthur’s own son, Mordred Lot of Orkney. On one side the self-proclaimed Forgotten Son of Camelot, clad all in black and sweating in his iron helm, musing as he blocks a sword blow that his whole life has amounted to this. On the other side Arthur himself, helmet cast aside and blood in his bright blue eyes, unaware that so has his. To his right as always, the young wizard Merlin Ambrosius holds the swelling tide of Mordred’s undead army at bay. Silhouetted against the horizon, a black unicorn rears onto its hind legs and lets out a terrible whinny, shaking the earth itself. Mordred uses this momentary distraction to make his move and, almost in slow motion, Arthur feels the blade slide between the plates of his armor and sink into the meat between his armpit and shoulder. In the few moments before he hits the ground, he thinks distantly that it was a perfectly landed killing blow. Mordred would have made a good knight. He will never see his daughters or his wife or his kingdom again. He has failed. King Arthur hits the verdant green earth of the moor in a cacophony of armor and limbs, wide eyed and unblinking. As Mordred raises his sword in victory, the Black Unicorn vanishes. Merlin rushes to his rightful place at the King’s side and, as the rest of the knights form a protective circle around them, calls to the winds of Albion to take them far across the realm to Avalon. To Queen Morgana Le Fay, Arthur’s elder sister. To the Sisterhood of Nine. To the only people who could possibly help them now.
Though we began our tale 20 years prior with Le Morte D’Arthur, we return in this chapter to the present day in the land of Albion, the 16th of April 20 AA. For several weeks the Kingdom of Camelot has been awash in excitement and the anticipation of the yearly Festival of the Heiress, during which the kingdom celebrates the birth of the heirs to the throne, Princesses Absabeth and Godiva Pendragon.The capital city of Caerleon is filled to brimming with merry makers, members of the peerage and commonfolk shoulder to shoulder in the exquisitely paved stone streets, vendors and mages and hawking their wares, shouted and vague promises of cures for all ills and glamorstones, the smell of spiced meat, vintage wine, and bloodblooms like a heady red cloud of perfume in the air. A cake the size of a small statue has been brought before the royal family, and like its myriad replicas that have been delivered to all the villages of Camelot each layer is a different tier beautifully decorated with intricately painted scenes of Camelot’s history. An assortment of Knights of the Round Table and Spellswords are present as a formality and as slices are being doled out first to the birthday girls and then to their surrounding entourage, a few present have just enough time to recognize an oncoming and historically out of season approach Caerleon before being blinded in a flash of bright light. When their vision clears they’re met with the sight of a black-clad knight who, after a tense conversation with the Queen herself accompanied by the background screams of bewitched dangers, declares himself to be none other than Duke Mordred of Orkney and claims that it is in fact he that has right to the throne. Before he can sit upon the Empty Throne, which has sat as such for the last 20 years, Guinevere shows a rather unqueenly side of herself and Knights and Spellswords move in. Merlin issues a simple, chilling order to our young protagonists: get the royal family to safety.
Led by Lady Lake and pursued by an onslaught of bone homunculi, we follow our not-yet heroes as they move in formation and shield the royal family with their own bodies. Ser Eleanor De Gales and Ser Malcolm clear a path with zweihander and greatsword, Malcolm’s brand new armor glinting in the high morning sun; Ser Grifflynn Toussaint trails only slightly behind wielding her father’s sword as if an extension of her own limbs; Maven Spellsword Adaleis Lake keeps close to the side of the Pendragon twins, particularly heir apparent and best friend Absabeth, and speaking of Absabeth, she hurries alongside her sister and mother toward the castle doors, which have been flung wide by an unseen source when the party rounds a sharp corner out of the courtyard and they come swimming into view. Just as Malcolm and Lady come barrelling across the threshold and abruptly turn to provide cover, a high, hoarse whinny that could could and does shatter glass echoes through the air at an incredible volume rivaling a dragon’s roar and the very foundations of Camelot begin to shake.

Conflict

• Le Malicorne is the strongest enemy Merlin himself has ever faced and after 20 years in hiding and amassing power, he does not think she's a threat Camelot is prepared to face. If they don't find a way to defeat her, she'll continue across Albion until there's nothing left but molten slag. Malicorne are rare - it takes a great deal of magic, time, and dark dealing to corrupt the perfectly pure soul of a unicorn, and in exchange malicorne are imbued with incredible power.

Rising Action

• Following the attack on Camelot by Duke Mordred and Le Malicorne, Camelot's highest-ranking officials surround the Royal Family and deliberate on a plan: Guinevere, having donned the Scarlet Veil of War and the traditional red armor of a war queen, cannot leave with her girls. The girls must not stay, as they represent the natural end of the Pendragon bloodline. If no one else survives the ordeal, Absabeth and Ivy must. Fortunately, they can kill two birds with one stone - their assigned entourage is assigned to travel with them first to Broceliande and then on to Avalon by way of the mysterious Uncanny Valley, of which Lady has created a mental map from clues included in text. They are told to look for Vermilia when they reach the outskirts of Camelot and tell them that Guin and Leo are calling in their favor.
• In a feat that will severely sap his strength, Merlin will wait until the party is clear and then activate Camelot's primary safety measure (derived from Apostatic ritual of 0 AA): an enormous field of magic that draws on the Archmage's very life force will engulf Camelot, effectively placing it in the amber of temporal stasis so that reinforcements can't get in - for either side. Morgana or Nimue would be able to break the spell.

Components

Goals

• Find Excalibur
• Travel to Broceliande & secure their army's assistance
• Travel to Avalon and secure the Sisterhood's help with the malicorn's defeat
• Return to Camelot with the cavalry

Stakes

• The very fate and future of Camelot itself

Relations

Protagonists

• Princes Absabeth Pendragon
• Princess Godiva Pendragon
• Ser Malcolm Le Deux
• Ser Eleanor De Gales
• Ser Grifflynn Toussaint
• Maven Spellsword Adaleis Lake

Allies

• Vermilia (Uncanny Valley)
• Queen Nimue & Royal Court (Broceliande)
• Sealgairí Fola (Potential, Broceliande)
• Guthanna An Domhain (Potential, Broceliande)
• Queen Morgana Le Fay (Avalon)
• Uxores Mortis (Potential, Avalon)

Neutrals/Bystanders

• The Uncanny

Adversaries

• Duke Mordred of Orkney
• Le Malicorne

Plot type

Quest: Find Excalibur

Parent Plot

Her Father's Blade

Subplots

• Her Father's Blade
• Le Mecontente

Related Characters

• Morgana Le Fay
• Nimue An Locha Ash

Related Organizations

• Court of Avalon
• Court of Camelot
• Guthanna An Domhain

Related Locations

• Realm of Avalon
• Realm of Broceliande
• The Uncanny Valley

Related Session Reports

• Session 10: Once, Future, Forever Report
• Session 2 Report: Her Father's Blade
• Session 3: The Uncanny Valley Report
• Session 4: Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered Report
• Session 5: Handling the Truth Report
• Session 6: Sightseeing Report
• Session 7: How Uncanny Report
• Session 8: Our Father's Blade
• Session 9: Birthright Report