Arthur Pendragon

## King Arthur

**King Arthur Pendragon** was the King of the Britons, the Lord of Logres, Emperor of the Arthurian Empire, and the self-proclaimed Roman Emperor. Arthur was born in Tintagel in the Duchy of Cornwall, to King Uther Pendragon and Lady Igraine. Under the advice of Merlin, Uther would give Arthur away to Sir Ector in order to fulfill a prophecy. Arthur lived as Ector's foster son and would later squire under his foster brother Kay. When Arthur was 8, Merlin and Ector revealed Arthur's heritage to him and began training him for his future duties as king.

When Arthur was 15, he pulled the sword in the stone, Caliburn, which could only be done by the true king of Britain. With this, Arthur then spent ten years building up his kingdom while proving his legitimacy to his vassals and fighting the Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Picts, Scots, rebels who did not agree to his reign, and Saracens. During this time, Arthur's quest would attract various knights who pledged their service to him. It was during this ten year span that Arthur's half-sister Morgan le Fay used magic to trick him into sleeping with his other half-sister Morgause (while unconfirmed, Arthur also suspects that Morgan used magic to make him sleep with her as well). As a result of this affair, Mordred would be born. It was also during this time that Arthur was faced with the prophecy that Merlin had foretold regarding the Red and White Dragons. Arthur was in truth the living embodiment of the Red Dragon which itself was the embodiment of the will of Britain. Arthur was forced to fight the White Dragon, a demonic beast that could endanger the entire world that only the Red Dragon could deal with. Arthur eventually fought the beast in the Island of Avalon, a magical place outside the mortal plane and slayed it using Excalibur and embracing his draconic heritage.

With his reign as king secured and his mission completed, Arthur ruled his kingdom for 30 years all the while fighting invaders and raiders, as well as the machinations of Morgan. Arthur would marry Guinevere and while the two were in love with one another, Arthur was somewhat neglectful towards her because of his duties and his obsession with being the "perfect king". As a result, Guinevere would fall in love with Sir Lancelot, Arthur's greatest knight and close friend. This would eventually cause a rift in the kingdom that would escalate in a full on civil war when Mordred attempted a coup. Arthur would be mortally wounded fighting Mordred in the Battle of Camlann, however he was spirited away to the Island of Avalon by the Fairies (including a reformed Morgan) in order to heal.

Arthur would spend years recovering in Avalon, and the healing process eventually turned him into a being that was somewhere between a human and fairy. While Arthur was given the role of King of Avalon, he learned that in the coming years other beasts akin to the White Dragon would arise and threaten the planet. Arthur pledged himself to vanquishing the beasts or helping other legendary heroes fight them.

One of these threats would be the event known as the War of the Legends, wherein notable figures from history, mythology, fairy tales, legends, and literature would return to life (or become real) and fight to the death in order to gain a perfect wish. While Arthur had no need for the wish, he still took part in the war in order to keep order and prevent an evil figure from gaining the wish. Unlike most of the other contestants, Arthur is still living but can still keep up with them because of his otherworldly transformation and draconic heritage.

## Biography

### Background

Arthur's story begins even before his birth. Arthur's father Uther was told a prophecy by Merlin that his son would be the incarnation of the Red Dragon of Britain and would be in conflict with a demonic being known as the White Dragon that will threaten the world. Uther and Merlin ultimately chose Lady Igraine to be the mother of Arthur as she was a descendant of the fairies of Avalon and has access to powerful magic. Uther and Merlin disclosed the prophecy to Igraine who wanted to agree, but couldn't because of her marriage to Gorlois of Cornwall. While Uther pleaded his case to Gorlois, Gorlois refused to believe him and thought that Uther was simply covetous of his wife. Desperate, Uther went to war with Gorlois.

During this war, Gorlois would lock Igraine in the castle Tintagel. Using Merlin's magic, Uther disguised himself as Gorlois and snuck in where he met with Igraine and dispelled his disguise. The two would sleep together and Arthur would be conceived. Soon after, Uther would defeat and kill Gorlois and marry Igraine.

### Early Life

Arthur was born in Tintagel to Uther Pendragon and Lady Igraine. While Arthur spent his first few years of life with his parents, Merlin later told Uther that Arthur needed to be given away in order for his victory to come to pass. As such Uther gave Arthur to Merlin, who in turn gave him to Uther's most loyal knight Sir Ector.

Sir Ector raised Arthur alongside his son Kay, and under Merlin's guidance did not reveal Arthur's true parentage to him. Arthur grew up happy with his new family and did initially believe they were blood related, though he learned otherwise when he was five. Merlin would often visit a young Arthur and became his teacher in all subjects, including swordplay though he had help from Ector and Kay.

When Arthur was six, Uther was assassinated by the Saxons. Arthur attended the funeral but he felt strange there for reasons that he didn't understand. Arthur also met his mother there, though he didn't know they were related at the time.

When Arthur was 8, his true parentage was revealed and Merlin began explicitly raising him in order to become king in the future. Arthur also began serving as Kay's squire.

## Appearance

#### Physical Appearance

Arthur is a male with golden blond hair and with blue-gray eyes. Arthur is 6'3" and weighs 165 pounds and is quite muscular. He is described as being immensely handsome, his fairy heritage giving him the appearance of an angel in human form. As a result of his fairy heritage, his divine heritage, and his status as the incarnation of the Red Dragon of Britain Arthur ages incredibly slowly. During the time that Arthur had his magic scabbard he completely stopped aging which resulted in him staying in his early twenties for decades. After Morgan stole and disposed of the scabbard, Arthur once again began aging though it was still slow. By the time of the Fall of Britain, Arthur was 55 but still appeared to be in his late 20s. Because of the healing process in Avalon, Arthur once again completely stopped aging.

While Arthur was originally clean shaven in his early adventures, he grew a short, neat beard in the middle of his reign as king. By modern times, Arthur has returned to being clean shaven and appears to prefer it that way.

When Arthur activates his dragon heritage his appearance changes. Arthur's pupils turn into reptile-like slits and begin glowing, he grows fangs, and he becomes surrounded by a visible aura that looks like fire.

Arthur is the spitting image of his uncle, Ambrosius Aurelianus. Part of the reason that Merlin was so shocked Ambrosius' sudden death is that he peered into the future and saw who he thought was Ambrosius having adventures with him, though it was truly Arthur. Arthur looks very similar to the Orkney Siblings, bar Agravain and Gaheris. Arthur also has quite a resemblance to Lancelot and Galahad. It is unclear why Lancelot, and thus Galahad, look so similar to Arthur, though it was useful for when Arthur needed to have a body double which Lancelot was glad to acquiesce to. Gawain also frequently acted as Arthur's body double when needed, to the point that Arthur trusted him to use Excalibur.

## Paraphernalia

### Weapons

#### Current

* **Excalibur**: Excalibur is Arthur's preferred weapon. Excalibur is a holy sword that was created by the Fae in Avalon and was blessed by an unknown saint. Arthur was given Excalibur in order to replace Caliburn. Excalibur is immensely powerful and is enchanted. Excalibur is one of the sharpest swords in existence and will never dull, glows with power, and is able to fire holy blasts of energy. At full strength, a blast from Excalibur can level around three city blocks. Excalibur can only be wielded someone that it considers worthy.
* **Rhongomyniad**
* **Carnwennan**

#### Former

* **Caliburn**
* **Brownsteel**
* **Marmiadoise**
* **Chastiefol**
* **Morrdure**
* **Secace**
* **Clarent**