SPIRIT OF EXCALIBUR
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Introduction
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It is the year 539 in Arthurian England. Arthur has been killed at the battle of Camlann, and his realm is in ferment. You are the Crown Regent, Lord Constantine, King Arthur's successor as the leader of the Knights of the Round Table. You are in York as the game begins, and must make your way to Camelot to take the reins of power. Much of Arthur's power, however, is not yours to comand. Sir Lancelot DuLac, Arthurs great companion, incomparable champion, knight, and cuckolder, has gone into retreat. He has taken the greater part of Arthur's veterans with him. Many other knights, kings, and powers of the land will not acknowledge your authority. Your Round Table is a shadow of its former glory.
To make matters worse, the legacy of Arthur's bastard son Mordred has come back to haunt you. Though Arthur slew Mordred in his final battle, his sons Melehan and Morgolon have grown to maturity and are carrying on Mordred's quest to usurp the throne!
SPIRIT OF EXCALIBUR places you at the beginning of Dark Age England. As Lord Constantine, all your wits and skill, your military prowess, battle strategy, and your diplomacy will be required if Arthur's legacy of peace, chivalry, and union is to endure!
Based upon vast resources of fictional and historical literature, EXCALIBUR takes you through escalating episodes of danger and challenges, as you strive to protect your people and your crown against the raging Saxon hordes, and supernatural opponents whom even your strongest knights cannot stand against. Spectacular graphics and interactive battle scenes emphasize the milieu that you will be thrust into. Sovereign, do you dare take the challenge, OR WILL YOU END YOUR DAYS ON THE ASS HEAP OF HISTORY?
STARTING THE GAME
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Please review the reference card for your computer for installation and copyright protection information.
GAME INSTRUCTIONS
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This section of the manual will tell you how to play the game. Many things are hidden in the game environment; while the "how-to" is thoroughly described, we will give only hints about many aspects of the game, in particular magic use and on finding potential allies. With persistence, the thrill of discovery will be yours.
In the sections which follow, we will describe how you issue commands to the game. With all commands, several conventions will be used.
These are:
1. We will refer to giving commands using the "mouse cursor." You can move the mouse cursor with a mouse, a joystick or the cursor control keys on your keyboard. To click on an icon, a command menu, or an option box, you can press the left mouse button, the first joystick button, or the ENTER, or INS Keys.
2. Whenever any command sequence is initiated, you can abort it by pressing ESC. Whenever an information dialog box is no longer needed, you can get rid of it by pressing ESC.
3. In all areas of the game, you can make selections from option menus by pressing the first character of any word in that menu. If there is only one option starting with that letter, it will be selected.
If there are several options with the same first letter, the selection cursor will step to each in turn as you press that key again. When the cursor is pointing at the option that you wish, press ENTER to select it. This short cut will take some getting use to, but is invaluable once you are accustomed to it.
LEVELS OF THE GAME
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Two levels of screen displays will be used in the playing of SPIRIT OF EXCALIBUR. They are, respectively, the MAP level, and the SCENE level.
MAP LEVEL
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The Map level provides the strategic platform for your quest to defend the throne. It is a detailed multi-screen overview map of Southern England, with all the major towns, forts, castles, roads, forests, lakes, and rivers represented thereon. No single screen displays the entire map; to move to any other sector of the map, the player must merely move the mouse cursor to any edge of the screen. The screen will scroll in the indicated direction, revealing other sections of the map to the players view.
From time to time, dialog boxes will appear to the player, displaying information or menus selections. The dialog boxes appear as stone tablets on the screen. Information displayed here will include force identifications, encounter announcements, and the status reports, and will often require a prompt form the player for appropriate action.
Heraldic Shields, representing opposing, allied, and neutral forces, will appear on the map and move about on their various journeys and engagements. The Shields are functioning icons, which can be mouse-clicked upon to display their identification and other information. The shields also can be selected and magnified upon for closer scrutiny at the Scene level (see below). Towns or castles on the map are also viewable in the fashion.
The Map level gives the means for you to deploy your forces as you see fit to meet the onslaughts of enemy forces, and to monitor enemy progress.
SCENE LEVEL
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The Scene level is the action-animation screen. All interactive combat sequences take places here.
Locations on the Map level may be Magnified to this screen to provide a close-up view of the goings-on there. Movements in and out of rooms in castles also take place here. Your characters are viewed on this level. Game time does not pass here;; the scene level represents, in the role-playing vernacular, "real time." When individual or army combat is announced on the Map level, the player will be prompted to Magnify to the Scene level to participate in the combat, if he chooses (in many cases he will have no choice but to do so!).
On both the Map and Scene levels, groups of icons appear on the top right corner of the screen. Many single-keystroke commands, corresponding to respective icons and other tasks, are entirely different in function and effect from those of the other level. Please keep this in mind to avoid confusion, as you move about and consider your options. The Icons and keystroke commands for each game level are described in the following sections.
WHAT THE ICONS MEAN
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Icons appear in the top right corner of the computer screen. They represent many game functions, and can be activated by placing the mouse cursor over them and clicking the button. There are two major groups o ficons, corresponding to the Map level and Scene level screens of the game. The two groups of icons are described below.
MAP LEVEL ICONS
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At the map level, the player may use the arrow cursor keys, the mouse or a joystick to move his cursor over the map, icons, or dialog boxes. Pressing a button will select whatever the cursor is resting on. All icons are found at the top-right section of the screen. Icon-activated commands available at this level are as follows:
1) Status Icon. Appears as a Crystal Ball. Selecting this icon will display an informative dialog box relation to the status of the currently selected party, including their nobility and faith levels, strength and vitality, and other factors, as shown below. An alert message is displayed if no party is selected.
NAME HP HTH MAG COM ARM NOB FTH
* DINAS 5 5 0 12 40 8 10
* HEBES 5 5 0 13 30 8 10
The contents of the status display screen shown above consist of the following entries:
HP - Maximum Hit Points. Shows the number of hits in combat a character can take before being killed. Tougher characters have more hit points. Knights named in the game have 5 each.
HTH - Shows the health of the character, as the current number of hit points left to the character. Usually, 5 points shows full health, and , for example, one hit point will show the character in GRAVE health. Healing potions will restore the character to full health (and thus to full hit points).
MAG (Range 0 - 100) - Shows the level of magic power the character can command. The values are simple levels. Nineve, for example, begins the game with a value of 30. Each use of magic will lower the levels of power left to that character, until the character can be restored by magical means, or by making it to the end of the episode. Also, remember that frequent use of magic can help build up a character's abilities to use magic.
COM (Range 0 - 25+) - Shows the hand-to-hand combat abilities of the character. Ability can increase slightly with each successive combat. The higher this number is, the better.
ARM (Range 0 - 100%) - ARMOR Levels. All knights start the game with standard plate armor (40%). Subtracting this number from 100 shows the percentage chance to be hit (in most cases 60%). Magical or enchanted armor will improve this number further. The higher the armor number, the better.
NOB (Range 0 - 20) - 10 is average. Shows the Nobility level of the character. The average knight begins with levels of 13-15. The higher the number, the better.
FTH (Range 0 - 20) - The character's faith levels, his belief in God and the rightness of his cause. The average number is 0. Brother Baudwin, for example, starts with a level of 5. The higher the number, the better.
Individual characters entries can be selected to display further information about that character, such as his followers and the inventory of items that he is carrying. To select a character, press the first letter of his name. If there are several with the same first character, the cursor will step to each in turn. Press ENTER when it is on the one you wish. Alternatively, move the mouse cursor to the character you want more information about and select him.
2) Archive Icon. Appears as an Unrolled Scroll. Selecting this icon displays the Archive menu, which has two options: to Load, or Save a game. The user selects accordingly. You can up to 25 games, under different names.
3) Time Rate Icon. Appears as an Hourglass. Clicking this icon allows you to select between three game speeds: SLOWLY, MEDIALLY, and QUICKLY. The currently selected rate is highlighted. Events in the game will move accordingly.
4) Magnify Icon. Appears as a Magnifying Glass. Upon selection of this icon, the cursor will turn into a magnifying glass. The glass may be clicked upon any location on the Map level indicated by a location icon (lake, city, town, village, castle, or fort), to provide a close-up peek at that scene and any forces or character which are there.
5) Movement Icon. Appears as a Knight on Horseback. Selecting this icon causes the cursor to change into an arrowhead. In this mode the player will select the party he wishes to move, and the destination to go to. Once the party is selected, the cursor will change to a Destination icon:
TO->
The destination may be specified, by a mouse click on a location of the map. Only parties under the players control will respond to such directives. If you change your mind, press ESC or reselect the movement icon to abort the movement command and return to the normal map screen. When selecting a destination for a character or force, keep in mind that obstacles must be avoided. Find the fords and bridges over rivers, the passes through the mountains, and try to find a route using roads for maximum speed.
6) Party or Force Icons. They appear as Heraldic Shields, directly on the map. Parties under your control, along with neutral or enemy forces that have been detected, will appear as shields moving across the screen. If the cursor is clicked over a shield, the party or force will be identified in a dialog box.
SCENE LEVEL ICONS
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1) Action Icon. Appears as a Mailed Fist. Upon selecting this icon, a dialog box with a list of options will be displayed.
PICKUP DROP TALK USE
SEARCH TRADE REQUEST MAGIC
SEIZE GIVE BRIBE ATTACK
The proper options will correspond to the situation. For example, it is not a good idea to ATTACK the kind and gentle abbot of a monastery to obtain what you need. Such inappropriate actions will affect aspects of your character in unpleasant ways: in particular, FAITH and NOBILITY, being critical elements of your character, may be weakened (not to mention Divine Retribution upon your noble carcass).
Keep in mind, also, that some things simply cannot be bought (for example, good sailing weather), and the acts such as bribing may greater detail under the FAITH AND NOBILITY sections of this manual.
Exercising the ATTACK option opens up a whole new field, involving interactive combat sequences with mouse, keyboard, or joystick for individual combat, and many command options for full-scale army combat. All this is discussed in greater detail in Handling Combat/Magic chapter.
Dialog boxes will be displayed, showing the player the results of the action he takes. Every action available under the Action command can also be initiated by a single keystroke, which is the first letter of the command: A for Attack, P for Pickup, and so on.
2) Map Icon . Appears as a Map of England. Mouse-clicking this icon will move the player out to the Map Level display.
3) Status Icon. Appears as a Crystal Ball. You can click this icon to see the current status of those characters that are at the currently displayed location. The status display is identical to that displayed at the map level as described in he previous pages.
4) Gate Icon. Appears as a Castle Gate. This icon comes into play when you approach a castle or other building which you can enter. Clicking on the Gate icon will admit you inside. If a gate or door is visible on the castle itself, you also may mouse-click it to enter.
THE BASIC KEYSTROKE SEQUENCES
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Keystrokes can be used as direct substitutes for icons. At times, it may be faster or more convenient to employ keystrokes command is the first letter of the desired command. The keystroke commands come in two sets, corresponding to the two levels of the game: Map level, and Scene level. The keystroke commands are not case-sensitive: capital or small letters will work equally well.
The Map level keystroke commands, listed below, are:
A ARCHIVE menu. Allows Saving of current games, and restoring of a previously saved game. Any number of games may be saved. A dialog box will display all available saved games. Any game can be selected with the mouse cursor. The sub-commands for the Archive menu are:
S To SAVE a current game. This method is highly recommended for players who wish to replay difficult situations in the game, or to resume later.
L To LOAD a previously saved game.
G GO command. Commands your character to move whatever destination you select: a castle, town, or city, a spot in the country, or some other force or character you wish to pursue.
M MAGNIFY command. Allows you to zoom in on your selected region. The SCENE level action-animation screen will be shown.
P PAUSE game. Press any key to unpause.
Q QUITE/SOUND Toggle. Allows you to toggle on/off the music and sound effects of the game.
S STATUS command. A status dialog box will appear, giving information about any character or force you have selected. If you have not already selected a character or force, an alert box will appear.
T TIME RATE menu. Allows you to switch between the three operating speeds of the game: SLOWLY, MEDIALLY, and QUICKLY.
CONTROL-X EXIT game. A dialog box will appear, asking you if you are sure you wish to leave. Type Y or N as a reply. If you wish to save your game, you must do so before selecting the EXIT option. The Scene Level keystroke commands, listed below, are:
A ACTION command. Corresponds in function to the Action icon at the Scene level. Striking this key will give you all the options of the Action dialog box, including:
PICKUP DROP TALK USE
SEARCH TRADE REQUEST MAGIC
SEIZE GIVE BRIBE ATTACK
These options may be selected with the mouse or joystick. Any of these commands can also be given by pressing the first letter of the desired commands: P for Pickup, R for Request, and so on. Each of these commands will be followed by appropriate prompts for you to select what to pick up, how much to bribe with, ect.
G GATE command. Pressing this key will allow the player to enter through castle gates or doors, where appropriate.
M MAP command. Pressing this key will move the player back out to the Map level.
P PAUSE game. Press any key to unpause.
Q QUITE/SOUND toggle. Allows you to toggle on/off the music and sound effects of the game.
S STATUS command. Displays the current status of the character or force displayed in the current scene.
CONTROL-X EXIT game. A dialog box will appear, asking you if you are sure you wish to leave. Type Y or N as a reply. If you wish to save your game, you must do so before selecting the EXIT option.
HANDLING COMBAT/MAGIC
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INDIVIDUAL COMBAT
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At any time the character you control may be challenged to combat, or you may find it necessary to challenge or attack. The challenge may be simple contest of arms or it might be a fight to the death. If you are at the map level when this happens, you will be given the option to watch/control the combat or to ignore it and just hear about the results. If you elect to watch, you will be brought to the scene level, showing your character's situation and opponents.
When individual combat begins, both fighters will be under their own control and will fight without your intervention. If you think that you can do better, select MANUAL control or just press the SPACE BAR to take over personal control of you fighter. In this mode, you can control the movement and blows of his fighter. There are two separate attack modes. Pressing joystick/mouse button 1, or the INS key, gives you a slow but powerful overhead blow. Pressing button 2 or the Del key gives you a much faster but less damaging thrust attack. The timing and sequencing of these different attacks will work differently against different kinds of opponents. You'll have to experiment to find the best possible combinations.
If you retreat as a blow is being struck by an opponent, any damage resulting will be halved. Your opponent, however, will advance to occupy the ground you just left. During combat, the character's animated figure will default to the Parry position.
Watch closely when you strike a blow, as your opponent has a good chance of falling back. If so, you can advance. You can also opt to retreat, and send another fighter into the combat by selecting a character from the combat dialog box and commanding him to attack. Also, during a fight any character *even bystanders that are not actually fighting) can be commanded to USE some item or CAST a magic spell. You can strengthen a friend or weaken his opponent while they are busy with their battle.
ARMY COMBAT
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When hostile armies approach each other, you will be offered several options. You can choose to ignore the coming battle and just hear the results. Or, you can chose to observe and watch the ebb and flow of the battle with a display of the casualties as they \occur. Finally, you can choose to command the forces of the Round Table and try to improve their showing in battle with your superior tactics. When a battle begins, you will first be asked if you wish to GO THERE or IGNORE IT. The latter option will simply give you the report of the casualties without showing you the battle itself. In some cases, your army leader may be challenged to single combat by the leader of the opposing force\s or by a captured foe. If you accept, individual combat will result. The loser's forces will be dispersed.
During army combat, a small graphic screen of the battlefield will appear, with the forces shown in severe miniature. Each of the relevant forces will be listed by name or by clicking on the force on the battlefield display.
Adjacent to the list of forces are the command options that you can use to issue your orders. Whenever you select a character or force, the relevant command options will be enabled. These include:
CHARGE ENGAGE USE ITEM
MAGIC FLANK RETREAT
DO ROUND
These seven menu options give the player considerable flexibility for battle strategy. The commands con be issued to any forces under the player's control.
The force commanded to CHARGE will inflict greater damage to the enemy in the current round, at the cost of greater losses in the next round.
ENGAGE places the force into normal combat mode.
If the RETREAT command is given, the force commanded will be taken out of the line of battle, and cannot inflict or suffer further casualties. If the force reaches its stopping point, and is given another retreat command, the force will leave the field altogether.
When you are fighting in the field, and you have lost more than half your forces, you will be advised by your assistants that you have suffered heavy losses and prompted to retreat. If you are defending a city or fortress, this advice will come much earlier, with casualties of only one eighth of your forces since the walls of your defenses are such a convenient asset to your combat. If you are hopelessly outnumbered by the enemy in the fight, however, the option to fall back back will not be available
The USE option is available on to commanders who wish to use objects of power in teh combat; e.g., the Crown of Command.
MAGIC is an option reserved for combatants who have spell-casting abilities.
The FLANK command is only available to knights. Once flanking has been commanded that force will be out of combat for one round, but can strike with crushing force in the next.
Any time during battle, forces can have new orders given to them, by clicking the mouse cursor on the force and selecting from the command menu. Options not available to certain forces (such as MAGIC to a force of archers) will be ghosted. For example, Archers can only engage and retreat, and flank.
The DO ROUND option in army combat, however, is special and will not be available to the player until he finds the Crown of Command (a magic item that allows players to issue commands to individuals and forces in combat rounds, instead of one long block of real time). Until the Crown is discovered, the DO ROUND option is ghosted.
THE USE OF MAGIC
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Magic abounds in Arthurian Britain. Much of it can be used by anybody, with or without native magical ability. These items include the Runic Blade in Camelot's treasury, and the healing and vitality potions available from any good apothecary or healer. Other magical weapons and armaments may make your fighters far stronger in combat than unaided nights.
Other Spells and magical items can only be used by the Druidic magic users such as Nineve and Morgan Le Fay. Nineve's Shield spell, the Fascinum Laxus scroll, and Helye's Book are items of this type.
A third class of magical items are the holy objects which can only be used by clerics or others with very high faith. In the hands of the faithful, the Holy Water will restore health (the higher the faith, the more effective the restoration). The Blessed Cross can only be used by the most faithful clerics and then only sparingly.
Effective use of magic may make the difference between the winning and losing in your fight against evil. The best advice to be given about magic (Clerical and Druidic) is to keep a sharp lookout for it. Some magic items will be beneficial, while other may be dangerous. Find them, learn their strengths and weaknesses, determine who can use them most effectively, and save them for when they can do the most good. Never waste magic casually.
HINTS FOR SUCCESS
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ARTHUR's England was not a harmonious union of knights and kings of the realm, cheerfully banding together to do battle with evil. To name one prominent example from the tales: Sir Gawain, leader of Lothian and the Knights of Orkney, has had a long-standing feud with Lancelot and his clan. At the time depicted in the game, Gawain is dead. Other knights (such as Sir Villars or Gahalantine) may continue the vendetta. Thus, sending an Orkney knight to rescue Lancelot may have baleful effects. Further details regarding family feuds can be found in the glossary.
Several knights will have better speed of movement in the field than others. If faster knights are used as a leader in pursuing a quarry, the rest of the party will move at his speed.
Also, keep a watch out for any of your knights who may have an aptitude for magic use. They may be useful as allies for you druidic magic users. Knights with an unusually high faith may be able to use some of the holy objects of power.
Throughout your tenure as ruler of Britain, you will be faced with numerous challenges and quests that you must accomplish to keep the realm intact. While you must always succeed in these tasks to remain the rightful king, they are not, in themselves, the ultimate goal of a good ruler. You must reunite the scattered fragments of Britain to avert the Dark Ages that otherwise will surely follow the breakup of Arthur's realm. Recruiting friendly kingdoms is accomplished by doing good deeds for their leaders, such as saving an ally's towns or people from threats, aiding an ally in battle, and saving innocent dependents that have been kidnapped. The union of the realm is the ultimate goal of you kingship. As a result, many side quests will come your way, and many must be pursued to aid in building your final victory.
THE ROLES OF FAITH AND NOBILITY
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Faith and Nobility determine the basic character and qualities of King Constantine and those under his command. These two qualities set the Knights of the Round Table apart form the everyday and evil characters in the game. Evil characters, by definition, have little faith and nobility to begin with. Faith and nobility, if employed with discretion and care, can provide you with an edge in getting things done. Conversely, if a knight's attributes of faith and nobility are abused and disregarded, it can spell doom for that character.
FAITH can be considered as an unshakable belief in God. Resulting from this is the character's strong belief in ultimate victory: a confidence that, come what may, his cause is just and will be rewarded. With high faith comes the ability to use clerical magic such as healing protection, prophecy, and, in extreme cases, divine intervention. Faith is an essential quality for good knights, clerics, monks and other holy characters.
Faith declines if you are hurt during a fight, are forced to withdraw during a fight, or retreat from a battle
Encountering demoralizing enemies or opponents, or an extremely powerful magic attack or a demon, also can indirectly damage a knights faith level, despite the outcome of the conflict. The ways to increase or restore a character's faith levels include: success in battle or single combat, the use of religious artifact, or meditation in a chapel, a monastery, or a cathedral. The character must be taken to a holy place, and left there by pressing 'M' (or striking the MAP icon) to go to the map level, for commanding other characters in the game.
NOBILITY is, essentially, the power of command. This power encompasses aspects of charisma, charm, and honor. Doing good deeds, such as rescuing maidens, capturing (rather than killing) a foe, or saving a village from robbers, enhances you nobility. If a good knight commits an atrocity such as executing a prisoner, attacking a innocent person or a village, his nobility levels are damaged. An act of omission, such as declining to rescue a maiden in distress (due, possibly, to time constraints) may also affect nobility levels. A cowardly retreat from a dangerous foe will also have adverse effects.
On some occasions, during a quest, it may be necessary to commit damaging acts to achieve a goal. For example, you may need to threaten or even forcibly seize an object from ma recalcitrant peasant. Such acts, however, can be atoned for by the doing fo good deeds. In the end, damaging acts MUST be atoned for if your character is to maintain his leadership qualities.
Such an action may not be fatal in that regard; but if a character's levels of faith and nobility decline sufficiently, that character may turn to evil and (for example) ride directly to Morgan's castle and offer her his service as one of her minions. Thus it is important to your character, and to your knights, ot maintain acceptable levels of faith and nobility.
EPISODES OF THE GAME
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We have now come to the heart of our game description: the episodes of SPIRIT OF EXCALIBUR. They escalate in tension and complexity, reflecting the increasing power of your character as he meets his successive challenges. You , of course, are Lord Constantine. The scenarios, in ascending order, are as follows:
EPISODE ONE - THE KING MAKING
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You, as Lord Constantine, have just been informed of Arthur's death. As his Crown Regent, you are his most likely successor. You are in York, and you must make your way back to Camelot to claim the throne. On your journey, you will come across many nobles, soldiers, and everyday people who may ask for your help, or merely offer advice to you.
It is wise to pay heed to them. If your conduct is timely and chivalrous, you will be rewarded with the Crown of Arthur's Realm.
EPISODE TWO - THE RETURN OF LANCELOT DU LAC
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As Arthur's successor, Constantine lacks the greater part of Arthur's power. Britain has been fragmented, with former followers of Arthur carving out independent, somewhat friendly kingdoms. Lancelot Arthur's great champion, has sequestered himself in a monastery to repent for his passionate affair with Guenevere. Torn by grief, remorse, and self-reproach, he refuses to be drawn away. He has taken with him the bulk of Arthur's surviving lieutenants of war. The episode begins with your Round Table council at Camelot.
Already, your realm is endangered by an invasion of a Scottish force led my Melehan, a son of the late Sir Mordred. Your limited information from the field tells you that Melehans's equally malevolent brother, Morgolon, has dropped from sight on some mysterious errand.
Furthermore, a Saxon force is threatening London, the city so recently won by Arthur at the battle of Mount Badon. A large part of the forces potentially loyal to you may be bottled up in the city, with limited provisions. Thus the Saxon siege will take time, but can have only one eventual result.
To muster the forces needed to defend the realm, Constantine must find a champion, who the disaffected knights will respect, to stand in his name. The only man who can command this loyalty is Lancelot Du Lac.
As the King, you must send a party of carefully handpicked knights to persuade Lancelot to come out of hiding, to help save the realm. It is also wise to visit the chapel upon the outset of the quest, as brother Baudwin may offer some good advice. You also may wish to consult Nineve, the court's resident enchantress.
While the quest proceeds, you must also gather what forces you can to delay and harry Melehan's army. Many knights and their small forces are scattered across Britain. You may command some of these to unite and move to delay Melehan's advance. In this way, you may buy time; you cannot stop him, however, without Du Lac, and the veterans he commands.
You must also reinforce and replenish as best you can garrison in London. If London falls, the Saxon forces there will unite with Melehan and move against Camelot. If Constantine is killed, you have lost the game. If you, through your lieutenants, can persuade Lancelot to rejoin breathing space for your kingdom, and for your monarchy.
EPISODE THREE - THE ENIGMATIC GIANT
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The immediate danger to the kingdom has passed with the destruction of the invading armies. Them, a disquieting event occurs outside Camelot. A great giant warrior appears at the walls, challenging all the knights of the Round Table to single combat. The supreme confidence displayed by the giant in this arrogant challenge suggests that he may not be what he seems. Is this a trick? Should you risk your knights in a possible trap? You must decide.
Meanwhile, the great Du Lac approaches Camelot. King Constantine cannot risk the destruction of his most trusted ally. You, as the King, sense that even Du Lac, with his great sword Joyeux, may not be able to stand against this evil sentinel, and must be diverted from Camelot.
A quest must be undertaken to find the answer to the enigma presented by the giant warrior. At this time, only Lancelot and Nineve, and the few others sent by you on various errands, have free run over the countryside.
The rest of your men are bottled up and Camelot by the intimidation of the Giant. The can only ignore the Giant, remaining inside the castle walls, or risk death or dishonor. Where did the Giant come from? Why is he here? How can he be destroyed? Lancelot and Nineve must solve this lethal puzzle.
EPISODE FOUR - THE ENCHANTED KNIGHTS OF THE FOREST SAUVAGE
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For two years after your destruction of the Giant, the kingdom is at peace. The people are harvesting, and the land is healing. Most of your knights have returned to their estates for personal errands.
Disturbing news begins to haunt the countryside. It seems that in remote corners of the kingdom, some of your loyal knights and men-at-arms have been vanishing. Many disappearances have been taking place in or near the Forest Sauvage, to the north. The most persistent rumor is of a mysterious "Brown Knight" who waylays even the most heavily armed passerby. Your close friend, Count Galahantine of Leicester, sent four of his best men into the Forest to investigate None returned.
Local intelligence suggest that the Brown Knight has a small band of "Enchanted Knights" as his force, and that they are unstoppable by ordinary arms. The byways of the Forest and the surrounding towns are gripped in fear. Folk do not move about after dark. A gloom seems to settle amidst the darker corners of the forests. Once-cheerful glades and clearings are weed-choked and abandoned, and carry a faint aura of danger.
In the intentions of the Brown Knight are unknown. The people of the kingdom are becoming frightened and are beginning to question the protective might of the Round Table. They say that there are hidden powers in the Forest Sauvage that no ordinary knight - even the great Du Lac! - can stand against. The complaints and discontent among the people becoming serious. Minor revolts are flaring up in various parts of the country, and must be down by the forces of Lancelot and Constantine. Small towns are being harried by groups of increasingly bold Saxon bandits. The threat to the realm is insidious but urgent.
While you have succeeded in thwarting several crises in your quest to unite the kingdom, you know the tests of your power and resourcefulness are not over. You must find the answer to the Brown Knight. Your key lies in information sources in the kingdom. This is critical.
EPISODE FIVE - MORGAN LE FAY'S REVENGE
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For some time, the kingdom has been calm. You and your lieutenants have begun to piece back together the great Arthur's realm. The rest of Europe is in the blackness of anarchy. Britain alone stands as the shining remnant of Rome's dead civilization.
Yet, the signs of corruption are again beginning to show themselves. Maidens are disappearing from their beds at night. Lone travellers, on the roads of Logres, aEscavalon, Essex, and the other byways of the kingdom, never reach their destinations. The forest are haunted, dangerous places, invested with foreboding even during daylight hours. The people are near despair that, even after the great and victorious battles of the last several years, the evil is still present in the kingdom. An urgent council of the Round Table is called.
Petitioners are present at the council, beseeching help to recover their loved ones. The knights, their hearts torn by their desperation, desire fiercely to go. Unfortunately, they cannot stand against DEMONS! Only your prestidigitators can banish them and succor their captives.
The mages are willing to do all they can; yet they, and you, recognize that something is abroad in the land, which banishing the occasional demon cannot alone counter.
Yes, King Constantine. Your great adversary, Morgan Le Fay, is flooding your kingdom with her evil spawn. Your knights are beginning to disappear and the kingdom is becoming restive. Even Camelot itself is threatened with revolt. You see your kingdom beginning to descend into the chaos of the Dark Ages that have overwhelmed all the lands around you. You must find and destroy Morgan Le Fay, or you will be overthrown, and your head planted on a stake!
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
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The legends of King Arthur have sustained the imaginations of England and the West since the Dark Ages. It can be said that the legend directly inspired the culture surrounding the Age of Chivalry in the Middle Ages, and inspired, in some part, England's greatness in world affairs. About the actual historical existence of Arthur there is little doubt; however, most of the romantic figures of legend - Lancelot Du Lac, Queen Guenevere, Tristram and Iseult, Sir Gawain, and the list goes on and on - are merely the comfortable fictions conceived by Middle Age princes and nobles who preferred them to the actual heroes and adversaries of antiquity. The elements of sorcery, magical beasts, and The Lady of the Lake were probably derived from Arabian myths introduced from the Crusades, blended with the simpler fictions of the West to form a highly embellished tapestry: however, a tapestry with more than a thread of truth.
The first documented record of Arthur comes to us from Geoffrey of Monmouths's History of the Kings of Britain. For many years, Arthurian scholars have looked upon this document with disdain; Monmouth's work is filled with puzzling allusions to sources which no longer exist, and references to other works which are patently second-rate in their veracity. Yet, as we shall see, this source may still hold clues to the actual existence of Arthur.
To place in historical context the actual circumstances of Arthur's reign, it may be fruitful for us to explore the recorded history of that time. According to many researchers, Arthur has his beginning during the onset of the Dark Ages, when the extinction of the Western Roman Empire occurred near or on the year 479. For some years, the Roman Empire had been split into Eastern and Western halves, each of which was ruled by a separate emperor.
The Romans had conquered Britain during the first century, during the reign of Domitian. In the words of Edward Gibbon:
"The various tribes of Britons possessed valor without conduct, and the love of freedom with the spirit of union. They took up arms with savage fierceness; they laid them down, or turned them against each other with wild inconstancy; and while they fought singly, they were successively subdued. Neither the fortitude of Caractacus, nor the despair of Boadicea, nor the fanaticism of the Druids, could avert the slavery of their country, or resist the steady progress of the Imperial generals, who maintained the national glory, when the throne was disgraced by the weakest, or the most vicious of mankind.
The native Caledonians preserved in the northern extremity of the isle their wild independence... their incursions were frequently repelled and chastised, but their country was never subdued. The masters of the fairest and most wealthy climates of the globe turned with contempt from gloomy hills assailed by winter tempests, from lakes concealed in a blue mist, and from cold and lonely heaths, over which the deer of the forest were chased by a troop of naked barbarians."
For nearly four centuries, the Roman laws, technology, and civilization were imposed on the anarchic British isle.
Most of the fictional accounts of Arthur's reign describe Arthur's desire to impose unity and peace upon his harried isle; and show him as casting a longing glance back to the times of comfort and stability that the Romans gave in exchange for their power. There is more to that, of course; every account emphasizes Arthur's independence from the Roman world, while learning from and adopting the best aspects of the Roman past.
When the Roman power relinquished its grip on the African and European holdings of its Empire, they succumbed rapidly to the barbarian invasions. Britain alone maintained a long vigorous resistance, in her case against the Scot, Pict, and Saxon hordes and pirates. (The Saxons of course, issued from Saxony, a province of northern Germany. They terrorized their neighbors, repeatedly invaded Gaul, conquered Britain after a long struggle, and were finally subdued by Charlemagne in 808.) Many Saxons had settled in Kent, and were sometimes employed by the British kings (such as Vortigern) in fighting the Pictish invasions. The first of the great Saxon leaders to vex the British isle, Hengist, met such stout resistance that the only territory he could occupy in thirty-five years of warfare was Kent Hengist yielded up the ghost on or about the year 488, when Arthur was a child.
During this time, a descendant of Roman nobles, Ambrosius Aurelian, was the leader of the castoff British realm. Ambrosius was a successful general, and the symbol of Britain's initial resistance. Some legends have it that Ambrosius fathered both Merlin and Uther Pendragon, Arthur's father and predecessor. Others, more historically accurate, show him being the immediate predecessor to Arthur. His final disastrous defeat, which allowed the Saxons to consolidate their foothold on the island, set the stage for Arthur's appearance.
Hengist's successor, Cerdic, was Arthur's great Saxon opponent during the flower of Arthur's reign. Over his lifetime he conquered the Isle of Wight and Hampshire, and was defeated decisively by Arthur at the battle of Mount Badon, dying soon after in 534. Arthur himself, by many accounts, appears to have begun his historical reign about the year 500, carrying on through 38 years and the famous dozen battles: a long series of defeats of the Angles in the north and the Saxons in the east, culminating in the victory of Mount Badon, which gave Arthur possession of London.
The actual historical figure of Arthur appears to have been a British cavalry general by the name of Artorius. According to these sources both historical and anthropolgical, Arthur was not a king, but a commander in chief (Comes Britanniarum). The Pendragon title, meaning 'Chief Dragon," makes reference to the familiar symbol of a red silk dragon with a wide-open mouth, which served as a standard, and as a wind-sock to allow archers to correct their aim.
Arthur's military strategy was primarily defensive, based on dikes, refurbished hill forts dating back to the Romans (thus Camelot), and mounted commandos. All elements of this strategy were used at Mount Badon. His death came, as all the fictional accounts relate, at Camlann, near Glastonbury; not, however, at the fictional hands of Mordred, in the year 538.
A recent historical work has caused considerable debate and reassessment of the fact and lore surrounding Arthur. Geoffrey Ashe's The discovery of King Arthur, published in 1985, studies the entire scope of Arthurian scholarship and comes to some surprising conclusions: that the Arthur-figure actually fought wars in Gaul (which most scholars claim never happened); that Arthur was a king and not just a military commander; and that the reign of Arthur can be placed in the mid-fifth century (450-470), rather than within the dates cited here earlier.
Ashe's book is very readable, thoroughly researched, and persuasive in its conclusions. Most scholars had discredited Geoffrey of Monmouth as a source (with good reason), yet Ashe appears to succeed brilliantly in separating the facts from the opaque allusions and obfuscations in Monmouth's work. This work is highly recommended as a introduction to the historical theories and facts surrounding Arthur.
In any case, Arthur's battles were the high-waster mark of the British resistance. In contradiction of most fictional accounts of Arthur's reign, the Saxons were never dislodged from their initial holdings. Also, in many accounts, Arthur succeeded in uniting Gaul and most of the former Western empire into his realm. Obviously, this never happened. By most accounts, historical and fictional, the waning years of Arthur's reign were marked by popular discontent and domestic strife. By the time of his death, the Saxons were on the move again.
In spite of a century of warfare and spirited resistance, culminating with the Arthur era, the Celtic natives were gradually expelled from the fertile regions of the center of th island. They were forced to take refuge in the mountainous regions of wales, beyond the Severn river, an established isolated pockets of resistance in Cornwall. The Saxons then began to change forever the character and culture of the isle.
The Saxons held nothing but contempt for Christianity, and violated all its precepts in the course of conquest. Sneering at treaties, resistance awakened their redoubled fury, which was demonstrated by wholesale massacres without regard to age or sex. One scene of this found near modern-day Camden, at a marshy field in Kent called Anderida. At this time the Saxon Heptarchy was formed. Existing for some 300 years, they Heptarchy wiped out all traces of the carefully planted Roman civilization, as well as Christianity. Atrocities continued for many years. It was not until the Battle of Hastings in 1066 that the Saxon hold on Britain was dislodged. Ironically, they had succeeded in subjugation of their own kingdom.
Refugees from the Saxon conquest made their way to the Gaulish coast of Armorica (modern-day Brittany, or Little Britain). For several centuries, obscure bards such as Taliesin limned the short-lived achievements of the Arthur era. Over time, and the wishful adornments of many nobles and scribes (among whom, of course is Malory), Arthur evolved into a Christ-figure, and with his 'disciples.' Lancelot, Galahd, Gawain, and the rest held a powerful spell on the minds of many people beset by the gloom of the Dark and Middle Ages.
A classic example of the Christ parallel can be found in the scene of Arthur's death, where Bedivere (Arthur's "Peter," perhaps) is told three times to throw the sword Excalibur into the Lake, and thrice fails through his desire to possess it. Perhaps Christ's admonishment to Peter, on the night of His death, that "three times before the night is through you will deny knowing me" was carried through to lend further resonance to the Arthur legend. Many even prophesied the Second Coming of Arthur. It may even be said that Arthurian legends of knight-errantry gave rise to the true Age of Chivalry, which culminated with the Hundred Years' War during the 14th Century, and met its end at Agincourt in 1415 with the destruction of the French nobles of that era. As with the Arthur tales, the bloody and destructive facts surrounding the chivalric culture have often been overlooked or glossed over. That, however, is another tale.
A SURVEY OF THE MYTHS OF ARTHUR
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As we have seen in our hasty discussion, the historical fact of Arthur has been greatly obscured by the fanciful lore surrounding his name. Turning now from the historical realm, let us briefly explore the fictional realm, and some fo the vast lexicon surrounding the myth of Arthur.
Few quasi-historical figures have inspired so many writers, from the bards of ancient Armorica to the best-selling, word-processing, computerized authors of today. Of course, the starting point should be Sir Thomas Malory, whose work the computer game you hold in your hands is largely based on.
Sir Thomas Malory's work, Le Morte D'Arthur, is, briefly put, a welter of blood feuds, vaguely described battles, even more vaguely described characters, extramarital unions, incest and its offspring (Mordred, for example), and many other picturesque acts. The Round Table, of course, is Christian in name only.
Malory's life was a reflection of his work. He inherited an estate, and became a Member of Parliament in 1445. Five years later he attempted to ambush and murder the Duke of Buckingham. On once occasion, he burglarized an abbey, where he robbed and insulted the abbot. He was charged on separate occasions with rape, cattle stealing, and highway robbery. He was imprisoned a total of eight times, and escaped at least twice, once by swimming a moat around his prison, and once by making an armed breakout from Colchester Castle. In 1462 he fought for King Edward IV against the Scots and French, but promptly defected to the other side. Later, the King (understandably) excluded him from a general amnesty, upon which Malory, languishing in prison, wrote his only work and died in 1471.
Malory's work, and his life, accurately reflect the culture of chivalry, which by the time of his birth was receding into the past. His work was derived from the French bardic legends, and reflected the embroiderments thereof. Morte D'Arthur, however, holds much of the random beauty of fifteenth-century prose, and does place some structure on the previous chaotic Arthurian accounts.
It is here, drawn from the accounts of Geoffrey of Monmouth, and the myth of Arthur's conquests of Ireland and France originate. Descriptions of places are generic; as Robert Graves puts it, "All villages and cities are fair, all towers strong, all abbeys white-stoned, all chapels little. King Arthur has grey eyes, Lancelot and Tristram are big men, and ladies are 'passing fair.' "Knights hole up in castles from which to hurl themselves upon the unwary. Strategy or tactics in battle are non-existent:
"There followed one of those rare and heartless battles in which both armies fought until they were destroyed. King Arthur, with his customary valour, led squadron after squadron of cavalry into the attack, while Sir Mordred encountered him unflinchingly. As the number of dead and wounded mounted on both sides, the active combatants continued dauntless until nightfall, when four men alone survived."
With this brief description the reader may gain a sense of Malroy's work: short on realistic detail, it is rich in romanticism and vendetta, bloodshed and bombast. For all that it is realistic in one respect: Arthur's nights, as described, constantly feud and avenge themselves on each other, pay mere lib-service to the church, and generally behave in a graphic but foolish manner. We have seen, historically, that the British natives were generally a disorganized lot.
Malory's work, of course is worth reading. Two hundred years later, John Milton considered expanding the Arthurian legends explicated by Malory into the prose epic; finding it too difficult, he wrote a light airy piece called Paradise Lost instead.
Lord Tennyson's prose work, Idylls of the King, is perhaps the most wishful of the pre-twentieth century Arthurian works, reflecting the religious and social predilections of the time. The Knights of the Round Table have Protestant religious ethics, and behavior to match Internecine warfare between the knightly clans, along with rampant sexual peccadilloes, would have been too much for his Victorian audience to stomach.
Tennyson's poetry does have beauty and cohesion:
..."And on the mount
Of Badon I myself beheld the King
Charge at the head of all his Table Round,
and all his legions crying Christ and him
and break them; and I saw him, after, stand
high on the heap of slain, from spur to plume
Red as the rising sun with heathen blood
and seeing me, with a great voice he cried,
"They are broken, they are broken!"
It is in the twentieth century that the bulk of popular material has been produced. Representative writings from T.H. White (The Once and Future King, The Book of Merlyn), Catherine Christian (The Pendragon), Mary Stwart (The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, The Last Enchantment, and others), Marion Zimmer Bradley (The Mists of Avalon), Parke Godwin (Firelord), and many others have added tremendously to Arthurian lore. Most attempt to present their individual spins on Arthur; for exampel T.H. White uses Merlyn's antropomophic transformations of Arthur as a child to depict the roots of Arthur's wider perspectives as a benign ruler. He also places Arthur's reign after the Norman Conquest of 1066. In Catherine Christian's account, Arthur's reign was based on a form of Celtic faith. Christianity is, in fact, disparagingly commented on throughout the book. Many of these devices are novelistic, bearing no relation to recorded fact.
There is much disagreement and uncertainty on the religious aspect of Arthur's reign. The uncertainty reflects, perhaps, the question of whether there really was an Arthur to begin with. In all accounts the magician Merlin is a Druid, and hence completely outside the Christian realm. The strains of Christian faith are everywhere to be found in the former Roman province; in Malory's account, the Knights of the Round Table, while admittedly not comporting themselves as virtuous Christians, consistently pay lip service to the power of the Church. Many Arthurian tales describe Glastonbury (correctly) as the site of the first Christian church in Britain, and the resting place of many holy relics, including the spear that pierced Jesus on the cross, and the Holy Grail, which held Jesus' blood.
In much Arthurian fiction, the conflict between Christianity and the pagan Druid religions is very clear, with Christianity usually coming out on the short end, in sympathy if not in power. Even when a character professes Christianity, his hypocrisy or shortcomings become evident. Fictionally, the gap between belief and action is well illustrated by the case of Arthur, who in Morte D'Arthur commits incest with Queen Morgaues, begets Mordred, and tries to drown him as a baby. This was done by gathering all babies who had been born on May day and casting them adrift in a galley.
This behavior is more fitting to a Saxon dervish than a king of a great allegedly Christian nation. Tennyson's work, while driven by the highest motivations, runs counter to all logic and historical evidence. The historical Arthur is considered by many to have been a authentic Catholic; yet, he was evidently alienated from the orthodox church of his day, because of his willingness to commit sacrilegious acts in exercising power. All this, of course, is open to argument.
Nonetheless, one aspect all the writers agree on is that the reign of Arthur (fictional or not) was one in which the interests of the nation albeit imperfectly, were placed above those of the monarch and his lieutenants. This is the key point that unites all writers in they lexicon: while now one could rightly accuse Arthur of being a democratic statesman, all portray him as a benign leader who held the interests of the common people and his nation as more important than his own.
White puts it well, and in pungent terms, when Merlyn lectures a naive you Arthur:
"I have not thought very much!"
"No. Then let me do some thinking for you. Suppose we think about your gaelic friend, Sir Bruce Sans Pitie."
"That fellow"
"Exactly. And why do you say it like that?"
"He is a swine. He goes murdering maidens - and as soon as a real knight turns up to rescue them, he gallops off for all he is worth. he breeds special fast horses so that no one can catch him, and he stabs people in the back. He's a murderer. I would kill him at once if I could catch him"
"Well" said Merylin, "I don't think he is very different from the others. What is all this chivalry, anyway? It simply means being rich enough to have a castle ans a suit of armor, and then, when you have them, you make the Saxon people do what you like. All the barons can slice the poor people about as much as they want, and it is a day's work to hurt each other, and the result is that the country is devastated. Might is Right, that's the motto. But look at the country. Look at the barns burnt, and dead men's legs sticking out of ponds, and horses with swelled bellies by the roadside, and mills falling down, and money buried, and nobody daring to walk abroad with gold or ornaments on their clothes. That is chivalry nowadays. That is the Uther Pendragon touch. And then you talk about a battle being fun!"
The Once and Future King holds many memorable characterizations, perhaps none more so than that of King Pellinore, who comes across as the classic stumbling, jolly English Lord, adopts the neglected Questing Beast as a pet, and sets it free so that he can chase it for the rest of his days. As the book progresses, the tragic sense of loss builds to the scene of Lancelot's rescue of Guenevere from the stake, in which he ills forty of Arthur's best knights. From then on, the Round Table is fractured beyond repair.
In White's work, the motivating force for the Round Table was the need to stop the brutal crimes of those who used power irresponsibly: to stand up for the underdog, to enforce true civil order. White's descriptions capture the image of life during the real Age of Chivalry - the real versus the ideal, which never existed.
Arthur also represents another compelling aspect of human character - the ability to command the will and love of others. Unquestionably, the historical Arthur possessed the qualities of leadership and charisma that could lead his lieutenants and followers to do is bidding. It takes a special kind of man to inspire love and devotion, as well as independence of thought, among his followers; this is part of the care of Arthur as a Christ-figure in Western literature. It is this yearned-for quality that inspired the Camelot cult that surrounded John F. Kennedy.
Mary Stewart, in her highly recommended Merlin trilogy, well describes the qualities of leadership ascribed to Arthur:
"I hardly listened, but I watched him, and watched the faces of orderlies and servants, and of those men who were awake and near enough to hear us. I saw it begin: even so, after battle, Abrosius' very presence had given the wounded strength, and the dying comfort. Whatever it was he had about him, Arthur had the same; I was to see it often in the future; it seemed that he shed brightness and strength round him where he went, and still had it ever renewed in himself. As he grew older, I knew it would be renewed more hardly and at a cost, but now he was very young, with the flower of manhood still to come."
Both Stewart and White create a strong Arthur character, one who is plausible and genuinely interesting.
One of the more readable, and one of the most revisionist, accounts of Arthur is Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon. The story which runs to 900 pages, is told form the viewpoints of Morgan Le Fay and Queen Guenevere (Bradley's spelling is Gwenhwyfar). The novel is intensely feminist in tone, and very respectful and detailed in its accounts of the Celtic pagan religions of Arthur's day. It's probably the archetypal New Age Arthurian novel, spiritually and stylistically the opposite of Tennyson. Avalon is a good and entertaining read (though a bit long), Bradley being an experienced and prolific writer, mainly from her darkover series.
One of the primary conflicts in Avalon is between the pagan religions of Britain's Celtic past and Christianity. The character of Margan is particularly sympathetic, as the eternal outsider alienated from here country, from Christianity, and even her mother Igraine as she is brought to the island of Avalon to live. Here first chance encounter with a lost Guenevere on the island brings home to her then anger and isolation in her life.
"Lancelot said firmly, 'No, of course neither of use is a demon, and I think we can find the way back to the convert for you.' Margaine, her heart sinking, saw that he now looked upon the stranger as he had looked on her only minutes before, with love, desire, almost worship. As he turned back to Morgaine, saying eagerly, 'We can help her, can't we?' Morgaine saw herself as she must look to Lancelot and the strange golden maiden - small, dark with the barbarian blue sign on her forehead, her shift muddy to the knees, her arms immodestly bare and her feet filthy, her hair coming down. Little and ugly like on e of the fairy folk. Morgaine of the fairies. So they had taunted her since childhood... She snatched her damp skirt off the bush and put it on the wound the filthy deerskin over it. For a moment, as Lancelot looked at her, she felt that he too must think her ugly, barbarian, alien: this exquisite golden creature belonged to his won world."
Morgan's character is a very touching portrayal, which may help to balance out her evil image. In the book's course, she is manipulated into sexual intercourse with Arthur (her brother), thus accidentally sowing the seeds for his destruction through her impregnation. Arthur is, at first, closely linked to Avalon; as his reign waxes the strength of the Catholic church dominates his kingship, and even the Lady of the Lake becomes his enemy. At the scene of his death of Glastonbury, a reconciliation is effected, and the soul of Arthur is borne off to the vanishing island of Avalon, which is being remorselessly driven away by the dominance of Christianity, and all remnants of the Celtic British past with it.
The name and legend of Arthur still represents something to many people: perhaps, the yearning for justice, the desire to see the powerful in society retain their concern fro the welfare of the common man. The image of a lone, isolated nation standing, if only for a time, against the ravening forces of chaos is compelling one.
For many writers, past and present, the reign of Arthur meant that men had the opportunity to be protective and judicious towards the people, and to create a lawful and just society during a very dark time in history. We have seen that Arthur represents the foundation of the ideology of chivalry; in spite of the almost laughable gap between fiction and reality, the myth of Arthur retains its power. That power, in the nihilistic and extravagantly bloody twentieth century, has even been augmented. In an age where every system of belief, and every human institution, has been either destroyed or called into withering question, the rapid expansion of Arthurian lore strikes a receptive chord in many people. In the age of Hitler , Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot, such a legend reaffirms the human spirit.
GLOSSARIES
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1) PEOPLE
This glossary segment includes most major knights and other figures who are alive at the beginning of the game. Several major figures from the past are also included. Historical fact and fiction are described in each entry.
BROTHER BAUDWIN - Court cleric to the knights of the Round Table. Clerical magic user. Very high faith, which increases with long retreats to a monastery.
SIR BEDIVERE - One of Arthur's first knights, Sir Bedivere was always the king's staunchest supporter. Fights with Arthur at all of the great battles. Consistently subordinates his own interests to those of his sovereign. One of the few survivors of Arthur's last battle at Camlann, Sir Bedivere witnesses Arthur's death. At Arthur's dying command, he attempts three times to return the sword Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake, and is reproved by Arthur until he finally succeeds. Leader of the current Knights of the Round Table, Sir Bedivere's love of Arthur makes him an enemy of Arthur's betrayer, Lacelot.
SIR BELLENGERUS le Beuse - A loyal, but average, knight of the Round Table. He was once a lord of Northern Wales, but was evicted in a rebellion and is still hated there, and by the lords who now rule that area.
SIR BORS de Ganis - Son of King Bors of Gaul and brother to Sir Lionel. On the quest of the Holy Grail defeats the Devil in various guises. Accomplishes the quest together with Sir Galahad and Sir Percivale, both of whom he buries at the Spiritual Palace before returning to Camelot. Sir Bors is a strong supporter of Sir Lancelot but suspicious of the Round Table. Due to an old dispute, Sir Bors and his brother Lionel hate each other. Having set aside his weapons an armor, Sir Bors now leads the life of a monk a Glastonbury. Good clerical magic user.
LORD CONSTANTINE - King Arthur's regent has extremely high nobility, and is lied by almost everyone. His faith is also high, and he may be able to use some clerical magic. Arthur intended Constantine to be his successor.
SIR DINAS - Former seneschal of Cornwall, Sir Dinas renounced his allegiance to King Mark over his treatment of Tristram and later became a knight of The Round Table. Sir Dinas has an unsuspected aptitude for Druidic magic.
SIR ECTOR de Maris - Lancelot's English born half brother, Ector is a strong knight, loyal to Constantine, Lancelot, and the Round Table. Not to be confused with the older Sir Ector who was Arthur's Foster Father.
SIR GAHALANTINE - A knight of the Orkney clan, Sir Gahalantine is a loyal supporter of Constantine's. Sir Gahalantine leads the force charged with the defense of the fortress at Leicester. Due to a longstanding feud involving his kinsmen, Sir Gahalantine hates Sir Lancelot.
SIR HEBES le Renoumes - Former squire to Sir Tristram, Sir Hebes became a good knight, but not the best fighter. Sir Hebes' strong faith makes him a good candidate to train as a clerical magic user.
SIR LANCELOT DU LAC - Son of King Ban of Benwick. King Arthur's favorite. Champion and lover of Queen Guenevere. Begets Sir Galahad on King Pelles' daughter Elaine while under enchantment. Driven to madness for two years by Guenevere's jealousy. Punished for his adultery by being denied participation in the mystery of the Holy Grail. Kills forty knights, including Sir Gaheris and Sir Gareth, in defense of Guenevere. Is exiled by Arthur and besieged by him at Benwick. Challenged to mortal combat by Gawain, who he wounds fatally. When he returns to Britain and finds Arthur dead and Guenevere a nun, Lancelot cloisters himself in a monastery in mourning.
SIR LAVAIN - - Knight of the Round Table. Lavain is inordinately proud of his speed and endurance. He is the fastest of the knights under Constantine's command, though average in fighting ability. Excellent for pursuits of fleeing quarry.
SIR LIONEL - First son of King Bors of Gaul, older brother of Sir Bors de Ganis and a cousin of Lancelot. Allied with, but not subordinate to Constantine and the Round Table, Sir Lionel commands the forces defending London, the capital of Essex. Good fighter, and has enchanted armor. He is also the fastest knight in England. An old dispute leaves Sir Lionel and his brother Bors filled with enmity.
Sir MELIAS de Lile - Sone of the King of Denmark, Sir Melias became a knight of the Round Table due to his interest in the Grail Quest. A strong fighter, with unusually good armor. A prideful knight, Sir Melias is the least noble and faithful of the Constantine's knights.
MERLIN - Celtic prophet and Druidic magician, Merlin was called "son of the Devil." Arthur's mentor fro his birth to his marriage to Guenevere. Most powerful magic user loyal to the Round Table. Placed Arthur as a baby under the care of Sir Ector and his wife, who brought him up with their son Kay. Merlin hasn't been seen for several years before Arthur's death.
MORGAN LE FAY - A sorceress and half sister to Arthur. marries King Uryens of Gor and bears him a son, Sir Ywaine. Plots with here lover, Sir Accolon, to destroy Arthur and her husband and to seize the throne; the plot is thwarted by Nineve and Sir Ywaine. Subsequently capturers and tries to seduce Sir Lancelot, Sir Tristram, and other knights of the Round Table
The LADY NINEVE - The court enchantress to the Round Table, the Lady Nineve is far more powerful than she appears to be uninformed. At the start of Constantine's adventures, Nineve is the only powerful Druidic magic user loyal to the crown.
SIR PALOMIDES The Saracen - Close friend of Bedivere. Unsuccessful rival to Tristram in the jousting field and for the hand of Iseult. After King Pellinore's death, accepts the chase of the Questing Beast and devotes his like to it.
SIR VILLARS - An older knight of the Orkney clans, not in the best of health, Sir Villars rules the city of Lincoln and the surrounding lands and maintains a small army to defend the northern reaches of the kingdom. Long a friend of Lord Constantine, Sir Villars should be one of the most stalwart supporters. Due to the long standing feud involving his kinsmen, Sir Villars hates Sir Lancelot.
The knights and supporters who remain at Camelot, and loyal to King Constantine, include:
Brother Baudwin
Sir Bedivere
Sir Bellengerus le Beuse
Sir Dinas
Sir Ector De Maris
Sir Hebes
Sir Lavain
Sir Melias de Lile
The Lady Nineve
Other powerful knights and lords scattered in various locations of the realm:
King Andred of Cornwall at Exeter
Saxon Warlord Arcaus at Colchester
King Clariance of NorthUmberland at York
Sir Lionel at London
Count Morwik at Lyonesse
Sir Nerovens at Cirenchester
Sir Ywaine at Tauroc
Sir Palomides at Dover
Earl Selises at Cardigan
Duke Sadok at Gloucester
Archbishop Dubric (Cleric) at Canterbury
Count Gahalantine at Leicester
Duke Galihodin at Chester
Sir Villars at Lincoln
Lord Baldric at Arundel
Duke Peredur at Wroxeter
Knights who have retreated to the hermitage at Glastonbury to stand vigil over Arthur's grave include:
Sir Lancelot du Lac
Sir Balamoure de Ganis
Sir Bleobris de Ganis
Sir Bors De Ganis
2) FIGURES NOT PRESENT IN GAME
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This list describes some of the other key figures in the Arthurian legends. None of these characters exist in SPIRIT OF EXCALIBUR. The are listed only for reference
ARTHUR - King of all Britain. Conqueror of Rome, founder of the nights of the Round Table. Begins his career as War Duke of Britain under general Ambrosius Aurelianus. Witnesses Ambrosius' final defeat and takes command of the remnants of the British Army. Fights the great Dozen Battles against the Picts and Saxons, culminating in the victory of Mount Badon in 534. Commits incest and adultery with his half sister, Queen Morgause, and begets the bastard Sir Mordred, who he tries to drown as a baby. Marries Guenevere, and , after the quest for the Holy Grail, sentences her to burning for adultery. Exiles her lover, Sir Lancelot, and besieges him at Benwick in France. His throne is then usurped by Sir Mordred, who wounds him fatally in single combat after his return to Britain. Though his body is conveyed to the Isle of Avalon by the Lady of the Lake, his grave is at the abbey in Glastonbury.
SIR MORDRED - Bastard son of Arthur and Queen Morgause. Escapes drowning by a miracle. Exposes adultery of Lancelot and Guenevere. Exploits dissension to usurp the throne. Attempts to marry Guenevere, his stepmother, while Arthur is besieging Lancelot in France. Delivers fatal would to Arthur in combat, but is slain by him. Begets two sons, Melehan and Morgolon
KING UTHER PENDRAGON - King of all Britain. With the aid of Merlin impersonates the Duke of Tintagel, seduces Igraine, and begets Arthur. Marries Igraine thirteen days later. Dies in bed with Arthur aged two years.
QUEEN GUENEVERE - Daughter of King Leodegrance. Brings Round Table to Arthur as marriage gift. Championed by her lover Sir Lancelot, who saves here from death by burning. Repents after Arthur's last battle, and dies a nun.
QUEEN IGRAINE - The mother of Arthur, Morgan Le Fay, and Morgause. Married to the Duke of Tintagel, later to King Uther. Deprived of Arthur at birth by Merlin. Is acknowledged by Arthur only after his coronation.
QUEEN MORGAUSE - Morgan Le Fay's full sister and half sister to Arthur. Marries King Lot. Some renditions of the Arthurian myths name her, not Morgan Le Fay, as the mother of Arthur's bastard Mordred. Subsequent to King Lot's death, is murdered by her son Sir Gaheris, who surprises her in bed with her lover Sir Lamerok.
SIR GARETH - Youngest son of King Lot. Serves for a year in the kitchen at Arthur's court under Sir Kay, who dubs him Beaumains. Accomplishes quest of the Lady Lyonesse before revealing his identity to Arthur. Posted as guard when Queen Guenevere is tied to the stake for burning and together with his brother Sir Gaheris, is unwittingly killed by Lancelot during his rescue of the queen.
SIR GAWAIN - Eldest son of King Lot of Orkney, Arthur's favorite cousin. Avenges his father's death by slaying King Pellinore, and his mother's dishonor by killing Sir Lamerok. Abandons quest for the Holy Grail after killing his cousin Sir Ywaine, being rebuked by a hermit, and being wounded by Sir Galahad. Twice challenges Lancelot to avenge his brothers Sir Gaheris and Sir Gareth. Fatally wounded by Lancelot and dies during his return to Britain. Writes letter of reconciliation to Lancelot an hour before his death.
SIR GALAHAD - Bastard son of Lancelot. Last descendant of Joseph of Arimathea. Lifelong virgin. Sinless and invincible. Occupies Siege Perelous at the Round Table. Purges the Maiden's Castle and cools the waters in the Well of Lust. Wins the Sword of the Strange Gurdyls. Purges Earl Hernox' castle of Antichrists. Accomplishes Quest of the Holy Grail. Crowned King of the city of Sarras. The only knight to defeat Lancelot, his father, in single combat.
Dies after his second experience of holy emanation and is buried in the Spiritual Palace.
ISEULT THE FAIR - Daughter of King Angwyhaunce of Ireland. Cures Sir Tristram of poised wound delivered by Sir Marhaus, and falls in love with him as he plays to her on the harp. Their love intensified by drinking love potion intended for her and King Mark, to who Sir Tristram delivers her and she is obligated to marry. Undergoes many hazards in the course of her love for Sir Tristram before rescuing him from prison and taking refuge with him at Joyous Gard. On returning to Cornwall, sees Tristram stabbed in the back by the perfidious King Mark as he plays to her on the harp. Falls prostrate on his grave.
SIR TRISTRAM OF LYONESSE - Son of King Melodyas and Queen Elizabeth. Defeats Sir Marhaus on behalf of Sirk Mark, and Sir Balamore on behalf of Sir Angwyshaunce - thereby winning Iseult, who he delivers to King Mark. Escapes summary execution by making the Chantry leap, rescues Iseult from the Leper's Hut and takes refuge with her in the forest . When Iseult is recaptured, flees to France. joins Arthur at Camelot and is made a knight of the Round Table. In a series of tournaments, proves himself the greatest knight in the realm, with the lone exception of Sir Lancelot. Twice champions King Mark against his enemies and is rewarded by imprisonment, and after his return from Joyous Gard, assassination.
KING PELLINORE - One of Arthur's earliest supporters. A highly fecund King, begets Sir Agglovale, Sir Percivale, Sir Lamerok, Sir Dornar, and, on a milkmaid, Sir Torre - all of whom become Knights of the Round Table. Unwittingly kills King Lot at a tournament, and is eventually slain by Sir Gawain in retribution. The hunter of the Questing Beast.
3) OBJECTS
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This glossary section includes brief descriptions of magic and holy items, and components of some spells required by Merlin and other necromancers.
THE HOLY GRAIL - In Christian lore, the silver dish or cup in which Joseph of Arimathea collected drops of blood and sweat from the wounds of Jesus Christ during Hs Crucifixion. Together with the lance with which he was pierced, was brought by Joseph to Glastonbury, where he founded the first Christian church in Britain.
In Pagan legend it is called the Cauldron of Plenty - an attribute of the variously named Goddess of Fertility, and from which divine children might receive inspiration and knowledge. Alternatively, in which those children might be stewed for the benefit of the goddess and her acolytes.
EXALIBUR - Arthur's holy sword. Can deliver wounds to supernatural beings. Given only to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake. In other legends, drawn by Arthur out of a stone, thereby proving his birthright to the throne of England. Also called Caliburn.
BELLADONNA - Also called deadly nightshade, this European poisonous plant has reddish bell-shaped flowers and shining black berries, and its leaves and root yield the drug atropine. If sufficient quantities are taking, twitching muscles, nausea, and paralysis will result, and almost always fatal.
MANDRAKE ROOT - A Mediterranean herb, also of the nightshade family. It has ovate leaves, whitish or purple flowers, and a large forked root which has, since antiquity, been associated with human characteristics. Mandrake has been used to promote fertility, as an aphrodisiac, and as a sleep drug. Unripe plant can cause severe digestive upset and diarrhea.
DRAGON'S BANE - A potent, poisonous herb, Dragon's Bane is effective against Fell Beasts.
ARTHUR'S HELM - The iron helm Arthur was waring when he was fatally wounded at Camlan
ARTHUR'S SHIELD - Arthur's great battle shield, which he carried through the Dozen Battles, and at his last battle with Mordred. It is enchanted, and can protect the user from magical attacks and weaponry. Also gives higher resistance to normal attacks.
HELYE'S BOOK - A highly powerful book of spells, some of which are dangerous to the user, and others which are devastating to the opposition. While the church owns and protects the book, no cleric can use the satanic spells that it contains.
Many objects of interest, Magic Items, Potions, and, Substances are not described here. It's important to keep your eyes peeled for them!
4) PLACES
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This glossary section mention some of the more important locations described in the accounts of Arthur, and those encountered in the game.
A map is also provided to fix geographic positions.
LOGRES - The heart of Arthur's realm
ANGLIA - Area of Eastern Britain that has been taken over by Saxons. Capital is Norwich. Warlord Arcaus in Colchester
ESSEX - East central region. Capital is London. Held by Sir Lionel. Friendly but not under Constantine's rule.
KENT - Southeast corner of the island. Capital is Dover. Held by Sir Palomides incudes Sandwich and Canterbury. Friendly but not under Constantine's rule.
SUSSEX - Southern Coastal region. Capital is Arundel. Held by Lord Baldric. Friendly but not under Constantine's rule.
CORNWALL - The southeast peninsula of Britain. A rainy, haunted region. Castle Tintagel, scene of Arthur's conception and birth, is here King Andred in Exeter.
LYONESSE - Southwestern tip of Cornwall. Held by evil Count Marwick at Castle Lyonesse.
ESCAVALON - In Wales. Gloucester, Cardiff, Caerwent, and Caerleon. Held by Sir Sadok.
ESTREGALES - Southwest Wales. Capital is Castle Cardigan. Earl Selises.
SUGALES - Central Wales. Capital is Castle Llanbadarn. Leader is King Gwynedd.
CAMELIARD - Northeastern Wales. Capital is Tauroc. Leader is Sir Ywaine.
NORGALES - Northwest. Capital is Chester. Leader is Galihodin.
NORTHUMBERLAND - Northmost British kingdom south of Scotland. Leader is King Clariance.
GLASTONBURY - In Eastern Cornwall. Scene of Arthur's death. Lancelot and many of Arthur's lieutenants have been seen here.
CAMELOT - Arthur's seat of power. Some accounts describe it as a former Roman fortification, with three circular staging areas surrounding it for archers and sortie posts. Located in South Lambeth.
CAMLAN - Near Glastonbury. Arthur fights his last battle here. Becomes a scene of evil and despair. Your men must travel through here to seek the sword Excalibur.
WALES - A wild, mountainous region of Western Britain, bordered on the east by the River Severn, and on the West by the Irish Sea. Morgan Le Fay's Castle is rumored to be located in this region. The last refuge of the British natives after the Saxons overwhelmed the island
CASTLE OF MAIDENS - Located in Wales. Sir Galahad comes here and disciplines the wanton spirits within.