Chapter 8

Viviane

Many hours had passed since Godrick had left. She had laid on the surface of the water weeping, but now, after so long, she had no more tears to give.

She had betrayed her son in favor of her lover, and she hated herself for it. Resolving to make things right, she formed a plan in her mind. Her son had two parents that were practically magical demigods, so naturally when he was born his magical power had been far more powerful than either of theirs and was so powerful that the will of the world spoke to Merlin. It told him to seal the child's power, to trade it for physical properties while the child was still young. The will of the world molded Godrick into a tool that it could use so others could grow stronger, and Viviane didn't like that one bit.

She knew of very ancient magic that might serve her purpose, but it was very dangerous. The price of such magic was incredibly high, but it was a price she was willing to pay. If it kept her son from dying a meaningless death and freed him from the strings the world had placed on him, she would pay the price willingly.

She stood, resolve in her eyes. She would save her son the only way she could. She would separate him from the will of the world. She would separate him from fate itself. She would give him the ability to forge his own fate and forge his own path. He would no longer be tied down to a destiny that was chosen for him.

She began to walk to the center of the lake as a large magical circle appeared around her. Out of the center of the lake, a silver dagger rose from the water and floated in front of her. The price to set Godrick free was her life. The magic required the life of a parent for the life of the child, and she knew Merlin wouldn't give his life. So she would give hers.

Grabbing the dagger, she slowly began to sink into the lake, the light retracting a small bit before filling the lake again. This time, it started to flash on and off, mimicking a heartbeat. Blood slowly started to fill the center of the lake as the light began to slow its beating before finally stopping.

In a sudden burst of energy, blue light shot into the sky and disappeared. Then, just as it had started, it ended. And all was still.

Godrick

It had been many hours since Godrick had left the lake. He had felt that something was off about Viviane, something he didn't understand fully. But at this moment, he didn't need to think about it. What he did need to think about was how he would kill the Warlord. She was a formidable opponent, and one that would not be felled easily. He looked down to the sword that had been given to him. He knew how to weild a sword but liked to use a heavier weapon like great hammers, axes, and other heavy weapons. His favorite was the halberd thanks to its versatility, but it had broken when facing Anthrax. He had brought his new halberd with him, but it wouldn't match the likes of his sister's blade Clarent. Viviane had said that the Warlord now wielded the blade, so he would match it with this one.

Suddenly, his vision started to go blurry, and he started to feel dizzy. He held on to the horn of his horse's saddle, steadying himself as he tried to cling to consciousness. However, he ultimately failed as he fell forward and off his horse.

He awoke to the sound of two men speaking.

"You're sure this will work, Merlin?" Asked one of the men.

"She won't see the difference, Uther, I promise." The man with white hair said.

Godrick sat up from the ground and looked about him. He was sitting in a large field a bit away from a fortress city. He watched as Merlin turned uther into another man, his face and body morphing into someone else.

"How do I look?" Uther asked.

"You look fine. Now go! The spell only lasts for an hour!" Merlin said as he ushered the other man towards the fortress.

"Oh, don't you worry, I'll be back in less than that. It won't take long to seduce Igraine!" Uther said as he started to run.

Godricks was confused at what he was seeing as his vision started to go black again.

He regained his vision, only to be in a completely different place. He was in the royal bedchambers of the queen, but he wasn't alone. Maids were constantly running in and out of the room, as Queen Igraine lay on the bed, screaming and pleading for the pain to leave her. Suddenly, the sound of a baby crying could be heard, as Igraine gave one final scream. Appearing from a dark corner of the room, Uther walked to his his now wife's side, only to storm to the other side of the room where another man was standing.

"You promised me a son, Merlin!" He shouted.

Merlin was as calm as ever, looking at the child. He took the child in his arms and turned to Uther.

"Entrust the child to me, and I will give you a king." He said as he began to leave the room.

"No, wait!" Igraine shouted after him

"Please wait, don't take my baby from me!" She pleaded but was ignored by the two men.

Godricks vision dimmed and lit up once more, now standing on a road with four other people. Merlin was holding a small child talking to two large men on horses, telling them to take the child from him, and raise her to be a knight. After some hesitation, they complied and took the young girl, and rode away. He sees that she becomes a squire and is trained in the use of the sword. He sees her taking care of horses and how she is raised to be a man instead of what she actually is.

Transitioning once more, Godrick now finds himself in a field full on knights. One after the other attempts to pull a sword from a stone. They all fail and begin to leave one after the other until one person stands alone.

Artoria questions her life as she stares at the sword, but soon turns resolute and grasps the hilt.

"Think this through first Artoria." Says Merlin who appears next to her.

"One you pull this sword from the stone, you will no longer be human, and you will die a horrible death. Do you understand that?" He said in a quiet voice.

She nods, then pulls the sword from the stone. She raises it high, as she is declared to be the official king.

Transitioning once more, he is shown Morgan's frustrations about her sister. He sees her plotting against Artoria as Artoria takes to her role as king. He sees her gather the knights of the round table, fighting the Saxons and building a kingdom she would be proud of. But he also sees her struggles, the pains she has to go through, the hardships she has to endure to make the lives of her subjects better. He saw her whole life play out in front of him, and it scared him. He was finally shown her final battle with Mordred and how the two of them fought. Mordred was able to knock Excalibur from Artorias hands only to find the lance Rhongomyniad buried in her chest. Mordred asked why Artoria hated her, but Artoria told her that she had never hated her. She only believed she wasn't ready to be king. The Lance was pulled from Mordred's chest, and she fell to the ground unmoving. Artoria was soon to follow her, falling to the ground. She began to weep and knew she would die soon.

Godricks vision faded, and he saw no more.

Artoria Pendragon

They had reached the city of Tyddewi a day ago, but there was no sign of Godrick. He had said in his letter that he would meet them here, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Your majesty." One of the knights of the round table said.

"We have waited long enough. It's time we end this." He said as he looked toward the keep high on the hill. It was a large building made of grey stone. It had one large tower reaching for the sky on the southwest corner of the keep. There was one large stone bridge leading up to a large metal gate that was backed by large wooden doors. It would be a grueling and bloody task to make it past the gate, but it was one that needed to be done. The option of starving them out wasn't available to them, as the keep sat right above the water, where they could gain fish and water. The only option was a siege.

"Fine." Artoria conceded.

"We will strike at dawn tomorrow. Prepare the siege weapons and ready the men." She said as she walked back into her tent.

Godrick.

As he opened his eye, he found he was looking up into the sky. All of a sudden, a furry nose filled his vision and started to nudge his face a bit. Suddenly, he felt something clamp onto his nose, and he shot up. Surprisingly, there was no pain, but his horse had bitten him enough times for him to realize what had happened. He took in his surroundings and realized he was still far from Tyddewi. He didn't know how long he was out, but it couldn't have been more than an hour at most. By his calculations, the army should have just reached the city, and if he left now, he would still make it in time for the battle.

He hopped back up onto his horse and started to think about what he had seen. He didn't know what had happened to him, but he did know he had been shown a vision of what Artorias life would have been like without the Warlord's appearance. He thought about what he had seen as he made his way to Tyddewi, and soon, he saw smoke on the horizon. He started to gallop, and soon the city came into view, and it was burning. Bright flames climbed into the sky as screams and shouts could be heard. He rode as close as he could without his armor and soon dismounted. He put his armor on, strapped Caliburn to his side, and grabbed his halberd. 

The army had destroyed the gate of the city in their advance into the city, tearing and ripping through the metal and wood. He made his way across the bridge, stepping over the hundreds of bodies that had been filled with arrows or burned with hot oil. 

The city was much the same as the bridge. Bodies everywhere covered in arrows or still smoldering. New bodies had sword slashes or broken bones sticking from them. He made his way toward the keep and saw the ruins of the gate there as well. He finally saw the army fighting the army of the Warlord. He saw Artoria leading the charge with the knights of the round table following close behind her. She led the charge toward the keep, slaughtering everyone in her way. He needed to make sure he got to the Warlord before she did.

The keep was standing on a large rock and had a draw bridge that was currently down, inviting Artoria and her party inside of it. He knew it was a trap, so he quickly thought of a way to get there before her. He climbed one of the many buildings that overlooked the city and the battle happening down below. He ran from rooftop to rooftop, skipping most of the battle. However, when he finally reached the end, he found hundreds of soldiers there. Most likely, in an attempt to whittle Artorias troops down before finally facing her and her general's. He looked below him and realized that it would take too much time to deal with the small army, so he decided to go with plan b.

Drawing Caliburn with his left hand, he shifted his halberd so that he was holding it at the very end of the shaft in his right. Leaping from the building, he buried Caliburn and his halberd into the rock cliff. He started to climb his way towards the keep, below the gaze of all the soldiers. He finally made it to the keep and climbed up onto the draw bridge behind the small army of men. Finding the mechanisms that worked the gate, he used it to close it, then broke the mechanism, essentially sealing himself inside the keep.

"Well, isn't this a surprise." A voice said.

Godrick turned around and was greeted by an old friend.

Anthrax stood tall as he viewed his opponent.

"This is the second time I've expected to fight Artoria only to find you in her place. Though I must tell you, this fight will not go as the last one did." He said as he readied his hammer and shield.