Vortigern

## King Vortigern

**King Vortigern** was a British knight and king, being the King of all Britain. Vortigern was born in Londinium as the son of Vitalis and grandson of Vitalinus, the Archbishop of London. Despite his ancestry, Vortigern wished to have more power. Vortigern would make a deal with a demon to achieve power, though at the cost of a mass loss of life in Britain, something Vortigern was willing to supply.

Vortigern would become a knight and advisor for King Constantine II of Britain, becoming close with his son Constans who was training to be a monk in the monastery near Londinium. After Constantine died, Vortigern manipulated Constans into taking the throne, though Constans was very ill-prepared for the role. Vortigern later arranged for Constans to be killed by the Picts and took the throne of Britain.

An unpopular king, Vortigern's reign threatened to tear the kingdom apart and increasing raids from the Picts and Scots only worsened matters. Vortigern cared little and came up with a plan to uphold his deal with the demon. Vortigern would invite the Saxons, Angles, and Jutes, lead by Hengist and Horsa, to fight the nascent rebel movement and the Picts and Scots, marrying Hangist's daughter, Rowena, all the while. The Saxons soon grew out of control and began invading in earnest, with Vortigern approving of this as it was part of his plot to create a massive war that would eternally assure his power.

Vortigern would be unexpectedly usurped by his son, Vortimer, who became the new King of Britain, with Vortigern taking haven in Wales. Under Vortimer's rule, the Romano-Britons were able to force the Saxons to retreat to Germania after several fierce battles. Rowena, under Vortigern's orders, would poison Vortimer and Vortigern would retake the thrown, killing his remaining children to prevent himself from being overthrown again. The Saxons returned to Britain and once again, Vortigern did nothing to stop them.

Years later, the brothers of Constans, Ambrosius Aurelianus and Uther Pendragon, led an invasion from Amorica to retake the throne and defeat the Saxons. Vortigern took to hiding in Wales and began making many fortifications to defend against them. Vortigern began making his main castle in what is now Dinas Emrys, but was unable to do so for unknown reasons. Using advice from his patron demon, Vortigern had his men look for someone who was not born of a man to be sacrificed so he could built his castle. Vortigern's forces captured a young man living among the local druids, named Merlin Emrys. Merlin was born of the union between Asmodeus and Princess Adhan (though he had baptized so he was no longer evil), thus not born of a man. Before Merlin could be sacrificed, he revealed that two massive and powerful dragons, Ddriag and Albion, had been sealed in constant battle under the fortifications and unearthed them, reciting a prophecy about the dragons who represented the struggle between the Britons and the Saxons. The two dragons left to continue their fight, though Albion placed a spell on Vortigern that had an unknown effect on him.

Vortigern's castle would later be sieged by the brothers and Vortigern would engage in combat with Ambrosius. Despite his demonic power, Vortigern's age and years out of practice had caught up to him and Ambrosius managed to mortally wound him, trapping him in his burning castle. Albion's spell then took affect, with a dying Vortigern being sent to Avalon. Though successful in killing his eternal enemy, Albion had been mortally injured during the battle with Ddraig and he knew that Ddraig would return in the form of a human for their final battle which would decide the fate of the world. Albion then fused with Vortigern, turning the dying usurper into his own human incarnation. For years, Vortigern was trapped in Avalon to allow both his and Albion's body to rest enough until their fated battle.

This fated day occurred and an awoken Vortigern would face against Ddraig's human incarnation, King Arthur Pendragon, in Avalon. The two would have a fierce battle that lasted for days, though Arthur ultimately prevailed and slayed the demonic dragon once and for all. Despite this, Vortigern's spirit lived on and a new curse appeared in Avalon, so that the demonic dragon would return to plunge Avalon into chaos unless Arthur and his knights were powerful enough to stop him.

## Paraphernalia

### Weapons

**Vortigern's Sword**: Vortigern's main weapon was a massive seven-foot long sword that he swung with a single hand. It was extremely heavy and sharp.

### Equipment

**Vortigern's Armor**: Vortigern wore a full suit of black and red armor that protected him from most blows and magic. While it was identical to the armor he wore in his original life, it is made from his demonic energy.