𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞

[[File:|80px]]Spoilers Ahead!𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞 contains spoilers for new/unreleased content, which means it is one of the most up-to-date articles on DCOM's Private Theatre Wiki!
**Disquietude** is a fantasy novel written by DCOMadicted23/Daughter of Ares that also doubles as a trilogy of the same name, that takes place in the kingdom of Avalon.

## 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞

The original cover created by the author.

## Plot

### Official Synopsis

Mari lives a life of luxury as the princess of Camelot, and she loves every moment. But she has no idea that things aren't as perfect as she thought they were. The Merlin of Camelot is dead, and now the Dark Enchantress makes her first visible move in years.

Mari finds herself kidnapped by an assassin who owes his soul to the enchantress, left with nothing but a ratty ballgown. Even so, an unlikely friendship begins between the two. Mari and Everek set out to stop Morgana once and for all and to bring about the change needed in Camelot.

But what can they do without the help of a Merlin?

### Original Concept

*Note this concept comes from the first teaser/journal entry to be released concerning Disquietude.*

Ayyyy guys! So believe it or not, being the chaotic person I am, I've got a new story that'll be coming out in a bit. I'm planning to write the first twenty chapters and then release them once a week just to start things rolling. I'm hoping to do weekly updates until it runs its course, buuut I dunno, we'll see how that goes.

And yes, it's fantasy. Prepare yourself. LOL

I've always wanted to write something based on King Arthur and all the legends spurring from him, and I've finally come up with something that I want to try out. Ready for the rant-ish part?

To start off Disquietude (I've written this part already) you're going to meet Princess Mariposa or Mari as her friends call her. I don't usually do princesses, but I'm going for something different this time. Anyway, she is going to introduce you to Camelot, where her father Arthur is currently reigning. Unfortunately for Arthur, their current Merlin has just passed away, leaving a gaping hole in Camelot's government and protection.

Over the years, different Merlins have been chosen after the first Merlin's death, because his power is constantly reincarnating. During the gathering where Arthur hopes to find the next Merlin, Mari is kidnapped by Mr. High And Mighty Edgelord (His name is actually Everek lol) who reveals even worse news.

Morgana, who was thought to be dead, is still very much alive. And obviously, she's got some kind of plan "cooking", likely one that involves Mari. Anyway, Everek sold his soul to Morgana several years back, allowing him to draw on her power, but also tying him down from making choices when she inflicts her control. Originally he made this sacrifice for love, but after that didn't go so well, a broken Everek hunts at Morgana's bidding.

### Storyline

> ***Warning! The following content contains: SPOILERS.***
>
>

The former Merlin has been dead for several weeks so King Arthur, along with all of Camelot, is on the lookout for the next Merlin, the one who will inherit the arcane power of Merlin through reincarnation. This night, in particular, is a special one, since it is his lady Gwenivere's first major party in the capital city. While the nobles of Camelot are scoping out the young men at the ball, hoping to find Merlin, Princess Mariposa escapes the busy ballroom for some fresh air. There she is met by a stranger who gets her so caught up in her own thoughts that he has the chance to strike.

Realizing that she is alone with a servant of the Dark Enchantress, Mari attempts to break away from him but is met by a blade of pure darkness. Even her father and the knights of the Round Table are unable to rescue her, and soon enough the two are alone in the mythical forest, Evermoor. After waking up the next morning the two introduce themselves, although Everek does this somewhat begrudgingly. He refuses to give her an explanation as to why the enchantress wants her and simply forces her to make the journey with him.

After several days on the road and stopping in a town to get Mari travel clothes she eventually breaks him. Everek finally agrees to risk working with her to find out what Morgana is doing in the hopes of freeing his soul from the enchantress's darkness. The two sneak into Morgana's vaults and come across her diary, a collection of spells, poems, and events that she has written down that they believe can be used to stop her. Upon leaving the vaults, however, they have their first hostile encounter with Morgana herself. During this encounter, the diary is lost.

Both Mari and Everek are very shaken up after how easily the Dark Enchantress enacted her control over him, but Everek refuses to turn her in and the two create a plan to get the diary back. Unfortunately, Morgana is waiting for them in the flesh at the vaults, expecting a defiant response from Everek. When all seems to be lost and her darkness gains full control a phenomenon occurs. Silvery magic protects the darkness lashing out at Everek and binds with the dark bound in his soul to protect him from Morgana, revealing that the new Merlin has manifested. Shocked and in need of a new plan, Morgana retreats, but not without leaving behind a "gift" for her former assassin.

A girl, a girl who was dead up until Morgana returned her to life. Confused and dazed, Beatrice does recognize one thing. After recovering from the shock of seeing her again, Everek is quick to return their relationship to the way it was before she died. Ignoring her new friend's attitude, Mari invites Bea to join to two of them and eventually the three decide that it's best to drop Bea off in their old hometown, Ondra.

On the road to Camelot, after leaving Bea in Ondra, a young squire takes leave from the rest of his group to follow them. Eventually revealing himself, he introduces himself as Lancelot- well, Franklin to be exact, but Lance is his jousting alias that happened to stick- and insists upon journeying with them until the missing princess is returned to her father. Mari and Lance get along well quickly, and while Everek is still grumpy he seems to prefer Lance's company over Bea's.

Upon their arrival in Camelot Mari heads straight to her father to give him the news of the Dark Enchantress's return. Already suspecting something after Everek's appearance at the ball, Arthur and his younger brother Kay are prepared to listen until they see that Everek is with her. Although there is a strong grudge between the two, Arthur is forced to stay his hand towards the young assassin seeing as they are supposed to lead Avalon together.

Slowly but surely, Everek begins taking on more and more duties around Camelot as Merlin and begins cleaning out the old wizard tower. There he and Mari start work on going through Morgana's diary to search for a way to stop her, usually with help from Lance and Bea. Meanwhile, things between Gwenivere and Arthur become more serious as Mari discovers when the king and queen of Eyrie come for a visit and accidentally reveal Gwenivere's proposal ring.

Mari is confused and furious that Arthur chose to marry Gwenivere while somehow keeping it a secret from her, driving the wedge between them even further (since she often argues on Everek's behalf). However it has always been the two of them ever since Arthur's first wife, Mari's mother Minerva, abandoned them, they do eventually make up and the king earns Mari's blessing. Mari and Everek hurry to find a solution to the looming threat that is the Dark Enchantress while the rest of Camelot prepares for the royal wedding, unaware that something is coming their way.

Over the course of the past weeks, Mari has been bombarded by strange cramps and it all adds up after the wedding ceremony. Suddenly she is ripped from her body, frantically trying to find out what is going on she sees the guests, castle staff, and her own family rush to her side. A guest realizes that the princess manifested a fae connection, the ability to tap into certain forces of nature that were previously the sole ability of the dead species, the fae. The moment Mari finds herself back on her two feet, Morgana strikes.

Using the unrest that has already built up after Mari's manifestation, the darkness Morgana inflicts on Camelot is easily winning out against Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. Frantic to save whatever he can, Arthur orders Everek to save Mari and get her out of the capitol. Merlin obliges and once again forces Mari to leave her home against her will.

After they escape Camelot, Everek assures her that they will find a way to save Avalon from Morgana, but this isn't enough for Mari. She worries about the fate of her family constantly, wondering if they take all the time Everek insists upon taking if they will be in time to save those she loves. Unable to think of another place to go, Everek takes Mari to Ondra and plans to reveal to his parents that he didn't die (which was the assumption in Ondra, since nobody knew that he left to get Morgana's help).

Along the road leading behind Ondra, however, Mari notices something strange about several trees growing along the path. Sensing that Mari can see them, three dryads, Rose Poppy, Evergreen, and Willow reveal themselves to her and explain that they are the remainder of the fae in Avalon. Realizing that perhaps she can use her fae connection to stop Morgana, Mari agrees to let them teach her how to use her connection.

Once the dryads have sent them on their way, Mari and Everek travel through Evermoor and discuss possible things they can do moving forward. They are attacked by some of the beasts that live in the forest, but it as if they are on steroids. After narrowly defeating them, Everek discovers that they are unicorns infected with Morgana's darkness, meaning that it is seeping out of Camelot.

Knowing that all he worked for, the place he sold his very soul to protect is at risk once again, Everek rashly agrees that there isn't much they can do besides return to Camelot and face Morgana for the final battle. The two come up with a rickety plan, find the enchantress, and then distract her long enough for Everek to charge up a spell of his own design to seal her darkness away once and for all, and they don't even know if the spell will be successful.

Upon returning to Camelot, however, they are instantly taken by the strange guards waiting outside the castle. They are brought to the throne room, where Mari horrifiedly watches a stranger lift Excalibur, the legendary blade that no man but her father can wield. But as the moment plays out, they eventually realize that this Mordred, this false king, is an illusion created by Morgana and quickly escape his grasp. They search the castle, eventually resorting to checking the dungeons for the knights of the Round Table.

On the way down into the underground dungeons, they are met face to face with one of the guards who captured them and after a struggle in the dark and some help from Mari's new fae connection, he falls to the bottom of the stairs. The guard is revealed as Sir Hector, one of the knights of the Round Table, who was under the control of Morgana's illusion.

They go around the dungeons and move on to the rest of the castle, finding Mari's parents, Lancelot, and many of the knights. Now there is only one problem left to solve: the Enchantress herself.

Facing her in the great hall, Everek, Arthur, and the knights take action against Morgana. Things seem to be going relatively well, although Everek is the only true threat to his former mistress until Morgana reveals that she has Bea. Merlin instantly stops, revealing that he truly does care for his old friend, even if he doesn't want to admit it. When all seems lost, and Everek appears to be considering Morgana's proposition to return things to the way they were between him and Bea, he chooses that moment to cast the spell.

Avalon is free, Bea is free, and most importantly the darkness is sealed. Morgana is free.

## Characters

### Main Cast

* **Princess Mariposa Minerva Lia mal Laden**

Mariposa, or Mari as her friends call her, is a very dignified young girl because of her prestigious upbringing in Camelot's high society. She has a love for finery and keeping things prim and proper, although she can be curious about trying new things at certain times. She is constantly worrying when those she loves are threatened, although she can be rather childish in said situations.

* **Everek**

When his other peers made bad choices, Everek was left to clean up their mess and protect his home on his own. Because of this he is quite salty, introverted, and ridiculously obsessed with control over situations. His gritty exterior can be cracked, as Mari later learns...

* **Beatrice "Bea"**

Is a sweet girl with a love for her hometown of Ondra. She was lost to the mythical beats plaguing the poor village almost two whole years ago, and while her memory still haunts Everek, she still has business in Avalon.

* **Squire "Lance" Lancelot**

A squire after a knight of the Round Table's own heart, Lance is the perfect golden child of Camelot's military program. His talent was discovered at a jousting tournament, and now he rises in the ranks as a squire under the service of King Arthur himself. Recognized for his talent and praised for his cheery nature and willing attitude, all can see that his future is bright.

* **The Dark Enchantress**

As old as Avalon itself, Morgana has stood against the light for centuries. Bound to the darkness that she created, the mysterious enchantress is often sought out by those seeking power or those unfortunate enough to have nowhere else to turn. Do they receive what they asked for? Perhaps... But do they truly understand what they have done?

## Reception

*Disquietude* has been released since December of 2022, usually a chapter each Tuesday. Racking up almost 2000 reads on Quotev and does well with weekly updates. It is currently coming to a close on the climax, and it is predicted that the trilogy will make it to its second book before the end of the summer.

## Trivia

* Everek is named after a minor character in *Enchantress to the Stars*, a novel by Sylvia Engdahl.
* Disquietude (Trilogy) was originally going to be a stand-alone novel.
* There were many drafts trying to encapsulate different concepts and worlds using the legends of King Arthur, some set in a similar fantasy world (but not based on Celtic folklore) and others set in a modernized Urban Fantasy world. All of these drafts included some sort of love interest (in the form of a knight, squire, or bodyguard; except for a single Urban Fantasy project in which Arthur was the lead and hence Gwenivere was the interest), aka the character who was going to become Lance, but none included Everek and most began when Merlin was already dead.
* The kingdom of Eyrie is named after Éire, a name for Ireland (and as a sentimental throwback to the VR ride Battle for Eire).
* Avalon is the name of the mythical island Arthur is taken to after he is gravely wounded in original Arthurian legend, and in the world of Disquietude, the kingdom is named after said island (which rests in the center of the great lake).
* The book's/trilogy's title refers to a state of uneasiness or anxiety, reflecting the effect of the Dark Enchantress.

## Links

Read Disquietude on Quotev here! ->

Take the Disquietude Personality Quiz here! ->