So many breaches of ettiquette there! Faith is on a roll I like that Faith's bleached hair did not make it to Camelot because hair dye does not exist in this universe, but everything else is totally there
Extra credit to Morgana for not spitting out any of her tea in gleeful laughter. She knows how to maintain decorum, haha.
I love that face that Arthur pulls when he doesn't get his own way : P I hope Gawain can become a knight someday! I'm wondering who the figure is at the end though...
Kid Arthur, now that takes me back. He made the best faces out of everyone that arc and I didn’t even have to pose him for it. 😁
Hi, guys! I have D&D this weekend, so the epilogue won’t be for a little while (I’m also working on a little side thing that has completely taken over my brain space). So instead, I’d like to take the time to ask you guys for feedback, if that’s okay 🙈
Feedback
Feel free to answer or ignore whatever you like!
Plot
- What are your general thoughts on this arc? Was it what you expected?
- Which parts did you like the most, and which parts did you like the least?
- Is there anything that felt jarring or didn’t work?
Characters
- What do you think of the main 4 (Morrie, Arthur, Guin, Gawain)? Has your opinion of them changed throughout the arc?
- Is there anyone that you’re interested in and want to see more of?
Lore
- What do you think of the ToC lore? Is it fun so far?
- I’ve had a few heavily expositional chapters. Do you like those?
- Lore/world-wise, is there anything you’re particularly interested in?
Misc
I’ve done this before, but I like having my cast answer reader questions in between arcs. If you have any questions you’d like to ask of them, now is the time! (Note: they might not be truthful, and they won’t answer at all if the answer is spoilery.)
Hosting D&D sessions on the side. Interested in playing through some fantasy-themed shenanigans? Send me a message 😘
What are your general thoughts on this arc? Was it what you expected?
Yes and no! I expected you to take us on a whirlwind journey, an exploration of these beautifully flawed characters, court intrigue and for magic to start playing a more important/prevalent role. And we did get all of that, so in that sense, it was what I expected.
But did I expect this exact plot? Not at all Arthur and Morgana experiencing life as commoners in Scarborough and Morgana visiting the fae world, Morgana turning into a bloke, the sidhe mythology, and of course the main culmination of events into what I affectionately call "the zombie apocalypse"... I did not expect any of that. I actually didn't even expect the dragons, which shows just about how much I remember from the legends It was a beautiful, packed arc full of delightful surprises! And of course it's always rewarding to see consequences of people's actions that may seem small at the time to have a lasting effect, as we witnessed in the last couple of chapters.
Which parts did you like the most, and which parts did you like the least?
Let's see. I think one of the stand out moments is still Truth Part II, there was something magical (yay puns) about the scenes of Morgana running through the wheat field and discovering the dancing witches who accepted her for the very thing she'd been hiding her whole life. (And of course, let's not forget centaur Lincoln playing the violin throughout). But generally the time of Scarborough really stands out to me.
I actually weirdly liked Uther and Gorlois's parley "negotiation"/argument/censored-measuring contest, it allowed us to learn a lot more about those two characters in the space of very little time.
And of course we can't go without mentioning the masterpiece that was Stand Your Ground in all of its nailbiting glory, the effects, the character development through their realisations, the suspense, the emotional scene with Morgana and Rupert.
I could go on and on. Also, it's important to note that while these big moments are memorable, none of them would have worked or had that impact if we didn't experience the characters' day to day, so while I may not pinpoint an exact conversation or scene there, I enjoyed the less overtly eventful chapters equally.
Also, random shoutout to the Halloween special.
I'm struggling to think of what I disliked, everything had a purpose. I suppose you could say obvious things like Aggro's persecution of innocents, but I can't say I really disliked that - by which I don't mean I revel in cruelty, but a) it was clearly needed to the plot and b) it makes complete sense why Aggro believes what he believes, how he became so prejudiced - and even now, nobody's exactly done much to subvert his convictions, so I can just see them fuelling his hate further.
I guess the only thing that slightly bothered me was Uther's total absence in the last few chapters - mind you, I feel like his presence would have been bothersome too, because he would of course ruin everything and make a huge mess of it all But it did seem a bit odd that the king wasn't there at all during such crucial events and we never got much of an explanation for it.
Is there anything that felt jarring or didn’t work?
Oops, I guess I just answered that. But as a whole, no, I can't think of anything that felt out of place.
Characters
What do you think of the main 4 (Morrie, Arthur, Guin, Gawain)? Has your opinion of them changed throughout the arc?
I fell in love with Arthur when he was just a spoiled brat, but 🐸🐸🐸🐸 he grew up into a well-rounded young man who is willing to take a step back, does not take things for granted and is willing to question the validity of his beliefs when presented with compelling counter-arguments. I am so impressed with him. He's definitely my favourite and my appreciation of him continues to grow.
Morgana is easily one of the most complex characters in the story, and definitely in one of the toughest positions, being the thing your family denounces and the thing your country outlaws is tough, but when your country and your family are the same thing... oof. It's no wonder she hides this as something she'd take to her grave, and finds it easier to be herself with complete strangers. It is heartbreaking because she does have some people in her life who would understand - like Gwen, or Gawain who would still be loyal to her no matter what, and like I said, Arthur is probably more receptive to learning this news than he ever has been or ever will be, but if she escapes to be with her witchy folk and leave behind unanswered questions, she'll just perpetrate the current position. But of course, that's easily said, when the risks are literally using your life, should she open up to the wrong person or if her secret got out further. So I can't exactly blame her for that.
One interesting thing about Morgana is that while she'd selflessly do anything for the people she loves who are close to her, she often doesn't necessarily give the same compassion to others outside of her bubble unless it's literally something that's placed right under her nose. Which is very nitpicky of me and makes sense for someone who grew up removed from the common folk, and of course you could argue that for someone in her position, she's exceptionally compassionate to the commoner's plight.
Gawain is still full of ideals, and what's unusual, has had no real reason for his ideals to fall. The prince and the princess are his heroes, his good deeds have been rewarded, he got to train with the prince himself and noble knights, even got to take part in the tournament... Of course he's idealistic, his life is what the common people dream off - no wonder he's the commoner's symbol of hope. It will hit him all the harder when inevitably, good does not always prevail over evil in every situation. He got a bit of a "taste" of that with Aggro's witch hunt where he was unable to stop it, but ultimately, as Arthur took over any magic related investigations, his beliefs ultimately got vindicated. All of the knights even ended up surviving the terror. So Gawain gets to retain his innocence and his idols for a bit longer. But the higher the pedestal you place someone on, the lower they can crash.
I don't know if I have very strong opinions on Gwen. Perhaps because she doesn't have any obvious flaws. She, like much of the women in those times, is unable to fully be herself, she's had hardships but actually ended up in a place of having quite a bit of security, she has integrity, she's kind to others, she has dreams but is a realist.... I guess you could say she self-sabotages, but really, who in her situation would pursue an impossible relationship with the crown prince. I don't have anything bad to say about her. Apparently I just prefer characters to be a bit more messed up for me to be able to fully get invested in them
Is there anyone that you’re interested in and want to see more of?
Morgause and Cenred, though I'm sure we've not seen the last of either of them. Lancelot, because he is quite lovely, and almost every time he got screentime this arc, it was for a grim reason Poor dude.
Oh, and Merlin/Emrys. Because I almost forgot he exists.
Lore
What do you think of the ToC lore? Is it fun so far?
It's mesmerising and rich! And somehow I feel like we've only just scratched the surface. I also like how the fae are far more intertwined in the lives of ordinary people than anyone realises, with the whole cleansing of corruption thing and the like. Definitely fun, and definitely would love to learn more!
Of course, besides the whole magical lore aspect, there's the whole puzzle of the political landscape with the neighbouring countries and alliances and... and what do you know, yet another instance where the fae are more involved than one might think
I’ve had a few heavily expositional chapters. Do you like those?
Do you mean the lore-heavy chapters Origin, Part Three or Lady of the Lake, or The Nature of Darkness? I think they're interesting, and I like the way the magic lore is presented in them, it's rarely presented as an absolute objective truth, since you always have to take into account the source of this information too. Like the book in Origins has been written by someone who lives in a country that heavily villainises any magic folk and fae, meanwhile the Nature of Darkness we learn the information from Cenred, who is probably pretty close to the "source" of all of this, but undoubtedly has an agenda of his own and I certainly wouldn't put it past him to leave out details that might not put him in a good light; so how reliable is any of this information in both instances?
I much prefer it being weaved in that way then having a separate "encyclopaedia" of absolute truths; much like you said in your most recent chapter, we can all live trough the same events and our truth about them could vary drastically.
Lore/world-wise, is there anything you’re particularly interested in?
I'm curious what happens with the corruption once it's absorbed by the likes of Nimueh or Cenred - it has to go somewhere, right?
It would also be interesting to see what determines if someone is born with magical abilities; with morgana, there of course seem to be *reasons*, but where do witches like Millicent or Gwen's mother come from? Were they descendants of fae, or does that not necessarily have an impact and witches can be born to a "human" family?
Oh, and of course I want to know more about dragons. Are the dragons in the story born with the ability to turn into dragons, or is that something they have acquired? or is being a dragon their true form? More dragon information is needed.
Character Questions- Is there a limit on how many characters I can ask stuff? Never mind, I'm going with loads, but I only have one or two questions per character
Cenred (you knew this one was coming)
What's the secret of your long and luscious locks, Cenred? My braid attempts look pathetic and feeble next to your glorious mane; what's your hair care routine? Any products you would recommend?
Llamrei
Having witnessed a great deal of this awkward budding romance, what do you think of this whole Arthur and Gwen thing?
Arthur
What are the biggest lessons you've learned this year?
Something more light-hearted; what's currently your favourite dessert?
Richard
You've built formiddable alliances with Cornwall and Essetir recently. What did you think of the representatives the two kingdoms sent to offer you alliance? What do you think of their kings? Any ideas what they might find beneficial about your arrangement?
Ok, I guess those are technically 3 questions for Richard, oops. I'll limit myself to just one more character.
Lancelot
What's your take on the madness that occurred during the tournament?
What are your hopes for the future?
Segue; Lancelot, if things don't work out in Camelot, know that the kingdom of Northumbria is always happy to extend a warm welcome to an honourable knight like yourself. Queen's word.
and of course the main culmination of events into what I affectionately call "the zombie apocalypse"... I did not expect any of that.
My notes of this arc will foreverafter be “Plumbob’s Zombie Apocalypse”. I changed it in the document titles and everything. 🤣
Aw, I’m so glad you liked them! Scarborough was my own personal dip into happiness after all the darkness from earlier chapters, and a breath of air before plunging into everything that came after. I’m really glad to hear that everything fit together at the end in your mind too. You’re right about Uther – he was supposed to have a scene of his own in the final few chapters, but it contrasted with the rest of Stand Your Ground so much that I did not want to leave it in, not to mention that it were pretty long chapters as-is already. I skipped his dialogue for the last chapter too – I can see how that’s a loose thread and would leave readers wanting. For those of you who are curious, this is the text that would have accompanied the pictures in the last chapter (has at least somewhat of an explanation).
The Halloween special was so randomly weird and so much fun to make 😂
Characters
Hehee, Arthur’s character development has been a blast to write. Here’s to hoping you will appreciate him in the next arc, too! You’re spot on with your assessment of Morgana – she cares greatly for the ones she cares for, but when it comes to people she doesn’t care for, that compassion is a lot less.
“The higher the pedestal you place someone on, the lower they can crash.”
Oooh, I like that phrase. I see you are wearing your doomsday glasses again. 😁 You’re right, though – you can’t hold on to innocence forever. There’s no Sylvan Glade trees here, either, no matter how much I want to shove him into a happy pocket dimension and seal the entrance.
Haha, the flawed characters are often the more interesting. Guin hasn’t had a whole lot of screentime in this arc yet, so perhaps your opinion of her will change over time. I’m very curious to see how you’ll feel about all of them next feedback round. Whenever that happens.
Lore
Thank you! I meant all three of them, yes. Should have clarified that in advance, sorry if you had to look them up 😅 Fae have always been very interesting to me – ideas with them show up in my head all the time, and I’m glad that I can share them with people via ToC. Dragons are on the future menu no matter what, but I’ll see if I can find a natural point to answer the other two points, too!
Right, moving on to...
Questions
Cenred (you knew this one was coming)
What's the secret of your long and luscious locks, Cenred? My braid attempts look pathetic and feeble next to your glorious mane; what's your hair care routine? Any products you would recommend?
Cenred: “That is an ancient and highly secretive form of magic that you cannot possibly begin to-”
Llamrei
Having witnessed a great deal of this awkward budding romance, what do you think of this whole Arthur and Gwen thing?
*Snort* (“I think their romance should include more horse treats. For me. Daily.”)
Arthur
What are the biggest lessons you've learned this year?
“That’s a difficult question. I think that above all, I’ve learned what a long road I still have ahead of me. And that I can’t turn a blind eye anymore like I did as a child. People depend on me. In more ways than I realized. And I don’t want to let them down in the future.”
Something more light-hearted; what's currently your favourite dessert?
Richard
“…why did you put me in the wedding room? This place is freezing.”
Because your castle takes forever to load, and I just cannot be bothered. Deal with it. “Lazy.”
Shut up and get into persona, Richard.
You've built formiddable alliances with Cornwall and Essetir recently. What did you think of the representatives the two kingdoms sent to offer you alliance? What do you think of their kings? Any ideas what they might find beneficial about your arrangement?
“Cenred played me for a fool in my own castle, hiding his identity and pretending to be a servant to the king. I do not like being humiliated.”
“I don’t know what to think about the representative from Cornwall, but I know Gorlois. He is a man of his word, and his hatred for Uther is stronger than his distrust of me. I can use that. Cornwall will be a valuable tool in the future.”
Lancelot
What are your hopes for the future?
“I can’t speak for the far future because Watcher won’t let me, but for the immediate future… well, I think ‘not dying’ is a priority right now. Technically I’m still lying unconscious in a hospital with a hole through my chest.”
Segue; Lancelot, if things don't work out in Camelot, know that the kingdom of Northumbria is always happy to extend a warm welcome to an honourable knight like yourself. Queen's word.
What's your take on the madness that occurred during the tournament?
“...I think that it is best if I do not ask the wrong questions. For all our sakes.”
Hosting D&D sessions on the side. Interested in playing through some fantasy-themed shenanigans? Send me a message 😘
Yay! I finally have enough brain resources to answer questions! (Even as I say this, I’m writing this with around 2 hours of sleep and a boatload of stimulants (coffee) that is giving me a headache now. So Idk how much will this make sense on your end.
Plot
*ps – I don’t know anything about Arthurian legends so sorry if this all sounds juvie or totally off the mark* - What are your general thoughts on this arc? Was it what you expected?
I don’t know how well I can answer this section because I’m the kind of reader who likes to go with the flow. Stories are an adventure, why do I want to break it down and spoil myself? General thought-wise, I am thoroughly entertained and loving the story. I sought an adventure and ToC was everything I thought it to be and more!
I expected to see a war, for Arthur and Morrie to undergo interesting character development, to see court politics and scandals like backstabs and noble women / Arthur shenanigans. I certainly didn’t expect to see a literal backstab (Essetir ) and I am mightily glad that instead of flirty noble woman bs, we get an adorable albeit at-the-moment sad (crossing fingers for future) romance between Arthur and Guin. I didn’t expect them to go to Scarabough, nor did I expect such a strong focus on fantasy like dragons (I love dragons!), fae, demons, and motivations that extend beyond mortal means like holding back a demon from outerrealm and collecting corruption.
- Which parts did you like the most, and which parts did you like the least?
A part I super heart about TOC are the strong relationships. I’m a hopeless romantic, so romance always grips me, then there’s the amazing brotherhood between the knights and loyalty from Gawain to Morgana (and the other way around, really. She takes care of him really well throughout the chapter.) Many other characters exhibit this. Their supportive sibling relationship, Gawain and Elyan’s bro-ship. These are so lovely to read and are great breathers as they face the difficulties and uncertainties in their path. I love it when Morgana found the witch/priestesses and finally felt a sense of belonging. Love Arthur’s transformation and Gawain’s ascension. Which parts I didn’t like? Well, Richard and Agra were supposed to be swimming in the bog. Heh! But they make good drama so I can’t say I dislike their appearances. ToC will be so different if I don’t have them to pick on
- Is there anything that felt jarring or didn’t work?
I don’t think anything felt jarring or didn’t work, so I’m going to change this section into a concluding plot observation of Ch2. I find it intriguing that throughout the chapter, Morgana is constantly sought after by the faefolk. First Nimeuh makes her presence known, and not just to Morgana but to Arthur too! I’m pretty sure she knows Pendragon history so her revealing her dragon form is quite the risk! Which makes me wonder why she felt the need to do so. What about Morgana was so compelling that she had to take such a close look and have Arthur realise that he might need to defeat Nimueh one day. Next, we could argue that Morgause and Lincoln didn’t exactly ‘seek’ Morgana out, more like she stumbled upon them by chance. But given the familiarity Morgana felt of Morgause, and this familiarity reciprocated by Morgause who even cried at their meet/reunion, I wouldn’t be surprised if Morgause wanted to meet Morgana badly too. She even led Morgana to the priestess coven. And finally Cenred, a dragon, went through some mad hoops and plans (and assasinations?) just to assume the position of Essetir’s heir to meet Morgana and form an alliance with her. Granted his primary motivation is not her, seems like its more geared towards the corruption in Camelot than her, but I can’t help but think that his proposed alliance extends more than just having Morgana absorb corruption, then he collecting it from her. So what I’m trying to say is that I’m super excited to find out why the fae folk are seeking Morgana out. What is her real identity other than being a changeling. She hinted at it by revealing herself as Morgana le Fay. But as a reader who never read the legends, the name doesn’t hold any significance to me for now, just invoked a bunch of predictions to what kind of Fairie she is, who her real parents are, what really happened to Ygraine, and if a baby swap really happened, what happened to the real ‘Morgana Pendragon’? What kind of life did she lead while we follow Morgana le Fay’s pov?
Lore
I think I already answered this. I love it. All things fantasy and fantastical, dragons, banshee, Sidhe, faun, fae, nosediving into spirituality and inter-realms, rift between kingdoms, alliances and deception. Yum!
I didn't think anything was particularly heavy! The expositional chapters are strategically spaced out and introduced where relevant and adds so much to the story in terms of significance and weight. Certain moments wouldn’t have felt as magical or as tense without our understanding of the lore so I really liked how you decided to include them. I can’t answer to what I’m particularly interested in since I’m interested in everything and have bombed your comments section with 1001 questions. But this reminds me of another wonder on my part of the motivations of Nimeuh, lady of fire(?), and Cenred, the.. lord of the… earth? He walks through stone! At this point I’m wondering if they are elemental deities. At first I thought they were just unassuming fae folk who go about their business and have fun at the expense of whoever they cross paths with. But by the end of Ch 2, I’m pretty sure they serve a bigger motivation. Why would they go through so much effort to control the amount of darkness that corrupts the universe, right? Which makes me wonder whose motivations do Lincoln and Morgause and the larger faefolk truly serve. They don't trust Nimueh, yet stain their hands with Richard.
On the topic of elemental deities/dragons, I am wondering if Morgana is one of them. We have Water, Fire, Earth and… Morgana is healing, so.. Light? Maybe the demon's (who possessed Rupert) real identity is a 'Dark' dragon? Idk. Sorry for more wacky theories.
Okay I’m taking a break here. There will definitely be a Part II Mercury essay but I need sleep, or whatever that special thing that powers zombies. Unfair I only get the title and not the perks.
Surprisingly, I don’t really have much to say here. I even sat on it for a bit. I’ve always liked Morgana so anything I say of her will pretty much be superfluous and just repeating myself. I’ve mentioned before how lonely she was, how much she kept to herself and commented on her distrust of Uther and towards nobles as a whole. She communicates to me a person stuck in their position, marriage-to-be, and not much authority or power to change her stance, so when a breath of fresh air / hope flits in her path she grabs at it with reckless abandon. I’m pretty sure she’s still going to try and run away in the epilogue. Not faulting her though. I’d do it. Her teasing Arthur and Guin was something I personally wouldn’t do, but I understand why she does it. All this you already know, and if anything changed about that, not really. Morgana learnt something about her kingdom at the end, Morgana’s compassion shines through in those last few chapters too, but then she always had those traits. Just carefully hidden behind a veil and only expressed towards people she think worthy. Even so, I like the change from her being thoroughly dejected to being warm and smiling in Scarabough, and through Gawain being Gawain. It’s with all these seemingly unimportant events that Morgana managed to hang onto hope and not be thoroughly disappointed and removed by all the backstabbing and lies and mayday shennanigans.
I love Arthur’s slow transformation into a dependable young man. I think I can expect more development from his character in the future and am pretty excited to see how he turns out in the end. In the meantime, some of his decisions, like how he handled the druids at Murkwood, the tournament and dealing with Agra tells me that there’s room for improvement in his dealing with people and making decisions. But he’s growing! And those decisions he made without Morgana looking over his shoulder. They are valuable for his growth as a person despite their future consequences, but that in itself is a valuable lesson too. I am interested in finding out what kind of person Arthur’ll become emotionally too. Choosing not to pursue Guin while knowing his father put the kingdom at stake (war) for Ygraine is interesting for Arthur to ponder about and come to his own conclusions. Can Arthur not have his kingdom and eat his cake too? Or must he settle for pancakes?
Gawain hasn’t changed much for me. Still the same person he was. Plumbob explained it all perfectly. My personal opinion of them hasn’t changed much either. Though I do worry with how innocent and optimistic he is, how will he fare as he climbs the ranks. I’m pretty sure once he gets his knighthood and start clashing with knights from nobility, he’ll be forced into politics and play the game.
We’re starting to see signs of Guin changing at the end of Ch 2, but its not much to go on so I’m taking a wait-and-see approach. Tbh, I feel like I don't know Guin very well, she has certain traits that stand out a lot. But shyness is something that could be an innate part of her or cultivated by her surroundings. I'm waiting for the moment where she sheds it off (if it were an environmental factor) to really get to know her. For now, she seems like a nice and kind person. She doesn't take Morgana's teasings to heart and seems to have accepted the social quo and is not likely to do something beyond her 'rank/class'. I like how Morrie influences her in a good way and am excited to see how Guin will take that influence and make it her own. Am wondering if she has some form of witchy powers too!
Misc:
Lincoln
Were you always hanging around people or did you do it as a one-off thing for Nimueh?
Where’d you learn to fight like that?
Describe a perfect date. (For science purposes )
Gaheris & Gareth
I bet there are different sides to Gawain that we readers aren’t expose to! Tell us a side (or a story) of him that we’ve never seen.
Morgana
(Seriously don't know who that townie Trevor brought over is and why his eyes are glowing... )
Hey... this is a similar message to the one I left on Plumbob's story the other day - I've been following since the early chapters and have only decided to appear and start talking now. Sorry, I guess? Plot
What are your general thoughts on this arc? Was it what you expected?
It wasn't what I expected, but I also really enjoyed it for precisely that reason. Also, your screenshots are awesome. I'm really enjoying watching various character arcs play out, partly because I have enough of a basic grasp on Arthurian ledged to see where most of them are going and they're executed really well. I also love the whole war thing and hope that's implemented further.
Which parts did you like the most, and which parts did you like the least?
Best bit is the screenshots and characters. Their arcs manage to feel natural, and any development the story undergoes always seems warranted by in-universe character or lore expectations. It never feels like the story is bending over backwards to fit in the plot, which is a good thing. I would say that I feel like more Uther might be a good thing? As someone who's been portrayed so far as one of the main villains of the story, it'd make sense for him to be knocking around a little bit more, especially as Arthur's beginning to question some of his decisions. Also more Merlin would be nice but I'll explain that more later.
Is there anything that felt jarring or didn’t work?
Like, no? It's hard to come up with an answer here without sounding like I haven't been paying enough attention, but I genuinely cannot think of anything bad to say about ToC right now.
Characters
What do you think of the main 4 (Morrie, Arthur, Guin, Gawain)? Has your opinion of them changed throughout the arc?
All of them manage to be really interesting characters, and while Morrie is by far the most complex of the bunch, the rest all have virtues and flaws like, you know, normal humans. Morrie is one who, at the beginning, I was determined to stop getting attached to because of, like, the whole medieval Anakin Skywalker thing. I have failed horribly and have now resigned to being happily set up for emotional torment. In a good way
Is there anyone that you’re interested in and want to see more of?
Lancelot. No-brainer here. He's a really interesting character who definitely deserves more screen time and I hope he get's it. Especially later on. It'll be interesting to see how you'll portray him as we get further into the story, and whether he'll fill the same role in ToC as he does in Arthurian ledged. So far I doubt he will, but you never know...
Lore
What do you think of the ToC lore? Is it fun so far?
Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes and yes. I love medieval fantasy, and your take on fairies and the like is really interesting. One thing I wish was explored further is the magic system, which seems pretty vague so far.
I’ve had a few heavily expositional chapters. Do you like those?
I... actually hadn't noticed. It never feels like you're info dumping, and the lore + world is really interesting and I love learning more about it. Can we get more of it, please? XD
Lore/world-wise, is there anything you’re particularly interested in?
Everything. This is where I'm going to start rambling. So, firstly, Merlin. His typical role in the legend seems to have been filled by Healer Man (who's name I cannot remember) so far, and I'm really exited to see where the story's leading him and why he's been so conspicuously absent so far. Having him be the same age (ish) as Arthur & co was a kinda odd take in my opinion? Given as he is the base character for Old Bearded Wizardly Types and all.
My next query has to do with the ledgeds themselves. They are odd, and differ from version to version a lot. ToC is a lax interpretation of it, but it's still interesting to draw lines from your story to the various versions of the legend. Because the story has been re-written a billion times, ToC could literally go in any direction. List below will give people some idea of this, along with how likely I'd guess they'd be at turning up in ToC (read; crazy fan theories, some written by me and some written by old English scolars). It all basically depends how old the gang will be when the whole thing ends, which version of the ledged you're following, and how lax I think you'll be on the interpretation.
Lancelot could have a long-running affair with Arthur's wife (for some reason). This is kinda crucial to, like, most versions of the ledged? But I'm currently split on whether it'll turn up in ToC, as this isn't being foreshadowed plus my own Lance x Morrie ship. Then there's also the whole thing about his illegitimate son finding the holy grail and ascending to heaven thing. So, um, nope.
Morrie turns evil, kinda, or at least falls into an antagonistic role to Arthur. So. Because of the whole prophecy of doom thing plus the whole secret fey malarkey, I am actually banking on this being a major ToC plot point.
Morrie gets a redemption arc. I'm guessing no but hoping yes? Like, please?
Arthur marries a woman named Guinevere, and Morgan really really hates her, prompting a rise to villainy, sorta it's complicated. I'm not sure how this would work out with the whole Gwen thing, but I guess we'll see?
Arthur gets a magical sword called Excalibur. I'm guessing this will happen! And it's likely that you're following a version of the legend where it's given to him by the Lady of the Lake, on the basis that I feel like 'magical fairy queen' seems like a much more lore-consistent way to get him a magic sword than 'I found this in a rock'.
The knights of the round table! Arthur has a group of knights, and they have a round table. As you're writing a story based on Arthurian legend, I'm assuming this one is a given? Eventually, at least.
Mordun. Mordun is an antagonistic member of Arthur's circle in some versions of the legend. Sometimes Mordun is Morgana and Arthurs kid (yik for ToC), sometimes Mordun is Morgana, sometimes he's just a random jerk... I'm currently doubting he'll even turn up.
Arthur kills a dragon. Or Lance's nonexistant illegitimate son. I'm assuming that someone, at some point, will kill a dragon. Because that's literally one of the main points of a lot of the legends, and also you have foreshadowed it a bunch.
Lance was raised by the lady of the lake as a foster mother! And his real parents are, like, the king and queen of France or something. This is actually in some versions of the legends. I doubt it's a ToC plot twist but could be interesting, as the whole raised-by-fairies thing would do a lot for his dynamic with Morrie.
Lance and Arthur end up on the opposite side of a war, and it's kinda Gawain's fault. (I mean, at this point Morgan is plotting everything plus see Lance's aforementioned affair with Arthur's wife, but it was still Gawain's fault). Yeah so Gawain runs off with Arthur (he wasn't meant to do that), leaving the evil Mordrun (see above) in charge, gets stabbed and forgives Lance on his deathbed. Yey? This is another one that really depends on how old they'll all be when ToC ends.
So yeah. Fan theories. In my defence, the legends at ToC's core are kinda unreliable at best? Like, Lance was in no way part of the original story, and was added in later as 12th century fanfic. Same goes for the whole Arthur/Morgana sibling thing. And the whole Holy Grail plotline (which I also doubt will pop up in ToC, on the basis that it's kinda hard to do without turning up as really preachy) is also a later addition. Arthurian legend is complicated and there's like eleven bajillion different versions of the stories.
Misc
So, I feel like all that I could say has been said. In terms of questions, the only one that really needs asking is MORRIE WHY THE HECK HAVE YOU NOT TOLD YOUR BROTHER YOU'RE A MAGICAL FAIRY WITH LIKE, MAGIC. I know that the answer is 'mental plot armour' but it needs saying, come on.
So, um, yeah! That was my worryingly long take on this. Maybe I'll pick up the mic more in the future? Idk.
She somehow got the power to stop the zombie apocalypse and the dark source, though. I'm still wondering about that.
True, the question of where Morrie got her power to draw out the darkness was never answered, and remains a question mark for now. It’ll be answered at a later point in the story – I haven’t forgotten, promise ☺
I feel like the main females' arcs are a little vague compared to the main guys.
Guinevere has had the least amount of screentime so far, both because she wasn’t present in the kid chapters and because she simply took a backseat compared to most of what happened this arc. You’ll be seeing more of her in the future!
Questions
Guinevere
If possible, do you see a future with Arthur?
"...I don't know."
Morgana
If you had the chance, would you tie the knot with Gawain? (Morgana, you did say that Gawain is cute. I think you two would work well as a couple.)
“Hm? Gawain? You're right, he's cute, but... I don't think that would be a good idea. Don't get me wrong! He is amazing.”
“But... he deserves better.”
Do you have plans to learn more magic, or do you want to leave it as is?
“I want to learn more. I need learn more, once I have the chance. Monoroe taught me the basics, but there's still so much I don't understand- I want to learn it all. I want to know what I did to help Rupert be at peace, I want to know how Cenred can summon walls of stone from nothing, I want to know how to change shape without becoming exhausted- I want to know everything.”
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Your sleeping schedule will never cease to surprise me. I hope you had plenty of sleep after that 😂
A part I super heart about TOC are the strong relationships.
Thank you! I really like writing wholesome scenes between people – it’s the counterweight to all the darkness in the rest of the story, haha. Aw, the bog is still there, just on fire and with fewer bloodthirsty things in it! You’ll be seeing both Aggro and Richard again in the future, so you can look forward to raging over that.
I don’t think anything felt jarring or didn’t work, so I’m going to change this section into a concluding plot observation of Ch2.
Oooh, I loved this! You make some very good points here that I can’t answer without getting whacked by my gnome attorney because it’s massively spoilery. I’m definitely working towards something though, so I hope it won’t disappoint! 😁
We have Water, Fire, Earth and… Morgana is healing, so.. Light? Maybe the demon's (who possessed Rupert) real identity is a 'Dark' dragon? Idk. Sorry for more wacky theories.
I like your wacky theories! And some of them are not as wacky as they seem… 😏 teasing aside though, I don’t know if I’ll state this in the story so I’m putting it down here under a mild spoiler if you’re interested.
I’ve based the Scarborough coven on water, fire, earth, air and spirit. They each represent one, and there have been hints as for who has an affinity to what. The dragons work the same way, and so do many of the other Fae.
Can Arthur not have his kingdom and eat his cake too? Or must he settle for pancakes?
This made me laugh out loud and had office buddy look at me like I was cuckoo. 😂
Tbh, I feel like I don't know Guin very well
This is fair! She’s been taking a backseat this arc to the other characters, and she wasn’t present in the kid arc (well she was around, but she ended up getting cut out of the story), so there hasn’t been much shown of her yet. Her turn is coming up, though! Eventually. After my break.
QUESTIONS
Lincoln
“Oh. Look who it is.”
Now- now don’t be angry, Lincoln, I know I haven’t given you a scene in a while, but I’m still working on- “Fifteen chapters.”
I know, but- “You’ve left them in the dark about me for fifteen chapters, Watcher.”
I know I did, but- “And now we’ve reached the epilogue and they still have no idea that she tossed-”
Shush! We’ll get to it eventually! I swear! Now please answer Mercury’s questions?
“Almost. First things first. What are these?”
… I finally found proper Faun horns? Err, surprise? Do you like them?
Were you always hanging around people or did you do it as a one-off thing for Nimueh?
“Nimueh sends me to certain places to perform, but her requests are rare. Usually it’s Morgause that drags me out to civilization.”
Where’d you learn to fight like that?
“Satyr. They’re like me, but smaller and much more promiscuous. They’re surprisingly tough. I suppose you have to be if your existence ends up spurning half the population.”
Describe a perfect date. (For science purposes )
Gaheris & Gareth
I bet there are different sides to Gawain that we readers aren’t expose to! Tell us a side (or a story) of him that we’ve never seen.
“Oh! Yeah! Like the time he played the silent game with us and carried us out of-”
“Hey, shut it! Snitches get stitches, Gaheris! Don’t be a wuss and a snitch!”
“I’m not a wuss!”
“You so are!”
Morgana
Round 2? – T.
Here. Time limit is three days. Two hands if you make it by nightfall today.
Happy treasure hunt.
-M
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Your Story is awesome, I love how you created the medieval era ambient and the characters, I would really like to see a new Chapter 3
Hey, a new face! Thank you, I'm glad you liked it so far Arc 3 will take a little while to come together in my head, but it will start eventually. I hope you'll continue to enjoy!
Hosting D&D sessions on the side. Interested in playing through some fantasy-themed shenanigans? Send me a message 😘
The part about the 'social game' is so true; there's the 'saving face' front and then there's the other half, to gain and maintain power wherever possible. I think you show that really well in the dialogue as well.
Poor Gawain! Arthur, give him a chance! Good on Morgana for standing up for Gawain! I feel so awful for Morgana, though. Having to hide who you are is never good.
You don't just drop everything in the middle of shooting and hop on the next plane to-
"Too late. Am already here."
The odds are against you, Trev. You've never been here. And what do you know about the wilderness?
"I bought everything off the vendor and reached lvl 5 Selvadoradian culture in just one day."
Okay... buuut...
B2W jungle is completely modded! There's no way you'll be able to recognise the place!
"You fret too much. I'll find it."
Apparently, Trevor is a sloth whisperer.
Is there a specific reason why you’re going through all this trouble, Trev? Badgering me to make this and delaying filming? There's a deeper meaning behind all this right?
"Yes."
What is it?
Well, aren't you conveniently silent now.
"Do I still get two hands?"
Me: 🤦🏻♀️
Also me: I forgot I modded the place. Did he find the right spot?
@SquirrelTail15 Ooooh I’m glad you did! Start talking, I mean. I’d say welcome, but that’s a bit weird if you’ve been here from the very beginning. So… Hi, Squirrel! 😍
I also love the whole war thing and hope that’s implemented further.
I’m planning on it! I don’t know how in-depth it will be yet, but there’s things scheduled for that plot thread in the future.
I would say that I feel like more Uther might be a good thing?
Add more Uther. Noted! You’re in luck – he appears in the epilogue. And with actual words this time, too! 🤣
I have failed horribly and have now resigned to being happily set up for emotional torment.
Yay! Don’t worry, I take good care of my readers once Stockholm syndrome has set in and feed them pancakes all the time.
Lancelot. No-brainer here. He's a really interesting character who definitely deserves more screen time and I hope he get's it.
Thank you for the feedback! He’s been left on the sidelines a bit like Guinevere this arc, but I’ll see if I can pull him to the front a bit more next arc. 😁
One thing I wish was explored further is the magic system, which seems pretty vague so far.
Noted! Granted, I like to give out tidbits naturally as the characters would come across them, so you may need to wait a little bit for this one. Ditto for lore in general, but I love sharing it when the time is right, so there’s more of that coming either way
Everything. This is where I'm going to start rambling.
Oh my. I loved everything about that. You’re right – there are so many different versions of the legends and things that were made up earlier or later in history that it gives me a lot of freedom and a chance to surprise even people who are familiar with the stories already. I’ve put my own spin on things and am freestyling for a very large portion on the story (as I’m sure you’ve noticed, haha), but some of the major plot points remain faithful to the legend (not saying which version though, obviously 😉).
I love your fan theories! At least two of those are very close to the truth 😊 I unfortunately can’t answer which ones because it’s massively spoilery, but there’s this:
The knights of the round table!
I cannot. For the life of me. Find a proper medieval round table. 🤣 the best I’ve got so far is an octagonal table and a “table” that’s basically a round plank on a barrel. Not very knightly, that one. 😆
I’d love for you to pick up the mic again in the future! Reading people’s thoughts on chapters always makes my whole day 🥰
QUESTIONS
MORRIE WHY THE HECK HAVE YOU NOT TOLD YOUR BROTHER YOU'RE A MAGICAL FAIRY WITH LIKE, MAGIC.
“I can’t. Even though I want to more than anything. Arthur’s love for me is strong, but so is his fear of magic. I simply cannot risk it. Even if he were to accept me for who I am – and I don’t know if he would – and even if he agreed to keep my magic a secret – and I don’t know if he could – his behaviour would still change. Subconsciously. His reactions to anything involving magic will change. It will remind him of me. And if our court was made up out of just Gawain, that would not be a problem, but some of our nobles are incredibly perceptive. They will notice. And they will dig. And I cannot risk that.”
“I want to help Arthur see the truth. But I also want to live.”
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The part about the 'social game' is so true; there's the 'saving face' front and then there's the other half, to gain and maintain power wherever possible. I think you show that really well in the dialogue as well.
Poor Gawain! Arthur, give him a chance! Good on Morgana for standing up for Gawain! I feel so awful for Morgana, though. Having to hide who you are is never good.
Loving this so far < 3
Yay, I'm glad you liked it!
It's a very thin line between being friendly and showing weakness for these kids. Especially if the other party plays the game as well. I use the concept of different "masks" depending on what kind of situation the cast is in, especially with Morgana. It's not implemented in the beginning of the kid chapters as much yet but after a bit the light in their eyes (absent or present) starts indicating whether they're wearing a social mask or showing their "true" selves, as well as their overall mental state.
Hosting D&D sessions on the side. Interested in playing through some fantasy-themed shenanigans? Send me a message 😘
@mercuryfoam Haha, yes he did! Dang and in one day too - don't underestimate the tech-savy culture fan, clearly.
"Took you long enough."
"Two hands. A deal is a deal."
*for the people who are very confused by this - Morgana and Trevor have been flirting across story universes. It's just a bit of sillyness and not canon. Much. Forgive. *
Hosting D&D sessions on the side. Interested in playing through some fantasy-themed shenanigans? Send me a message 😘
Hi guys! I was going to post this at midnight, but I don’t think I can stay awake that long. Thank you for everyone who participated in the feedback round! I got a lot of useful information, and I’ll make sure to keep it in the back of my mind when writing arc 3.
I’ll be taking a little break to shape the general storyline for next arc, as it’s all a jumbled mess in my head right now. There’s some tiny bits scheduled for in between, but overall, ToC is going to go quiet for a while. Thank you all for reading along! It really means the world to me. 🥰
And finally! Tomorrow is my birthday, so here is an early birthday present from me to you.
I hope you’ll enjoy. See you on the other side.
Hosting D&D sessions on the side. Interested in playing through some fantasy-themed shenanigans? Send me a message 😘
Seeing Gawain and his black eye always hurts to look at, poor kid : ( The ballroom looks so nice though ;o; I really love all of the costumes in this as well, you do so well to keep to the time period's style with the architecture etc. and the immersiveness is great.
For someone so true to herself, Morgana just doesn't seem to belong amongst the other nobles who seem to be all about saving face and trying to uphold standards. It's good she had a keen eye for that, though- with Richard potentially on her tail, it's only going to make things difficult (especially if he somehow knows of her magic...)
GAWAIN! Bless his little heart, challenging the rogueish guy to protect his friend even with just a wooden sword. I'm glad the guards and Gaius got to him in time, though. If this show of bravery isn't enough to convince others he might have what it takes to be a knight, I don't know what does! I'm glad Prince Arthur apologised to him though and I'm glad he's going to help him get better with a sword! Really enjoying this story so far.
Comments
Body is 4 characters blabla
So many breaches of ettiquette there! Faith is on a roll
Extra credit to Morgana for not spitting out any of her tea in gleeful laughter. She knows how to maintain decorum, haha.
Story Blog | Forum Discussion
Great work : )
@SnowBnuuy Glad you liked it!
Hi, guys! I have D&D this weekend, so the epilogue won’t be for a little while (I’m also working on a little side thing that has completely taken over my brain space). So instead, I’d like to take the time to ask you guys for feedback, if that’s okay 🙈
Feedback
Feel free to answer or ignore whatever you like!
Plot
- What are your general thoughts on this arc? Was it what you expected?
- Which parts did you like the most, and which parts did you like the least?
- Is there anything that felt jarring or didn’t work?
Characters
- What do you think of the main 4 (Morrie, Arthur, Guin, Gawain)? Has your opinion of them changed throughout the arc?
- Is there anyone that you’re interested in and want to see more of?
Lore
- What do you think of the ToC lore? Is it fun so far?
- I’ve had a few heavily expositional chapters. Do you like those?
- Lore/world-wise, is there anything you’re particularly interested in?
Misc
I’ve done this before, but I like having my cast answer reader questions in between arcs. If you have any questions you’d like to ask of them, now is the time! (Note: they might not be truthful, and they won’t answer at all if the answer is spoilery.)
Plot
Yes and no! I expected you to take us on a whirlwind journey, an exploration of these beautifully flawed characters, court intrigue and for magic to start playing a more important/prevalent role. And we did get all of that, so in that sense, it was what I expected.
But did I expect this exact plot? Not at all
Which parts did you like the most, and which parts did you like the least?
Let's see. I think one of the stand out moments is still Truth Part II, there was something magical (yay puns) about the scenes of Morgana running through the wheat field and discovering the dancing witches who accepted her for the very thing she'd been hiding her whole life. (And of course, let's not forget centaur Lincoln playing the violin throughout). But generally the time of Scarborough really stands out to me.
I actually weirdly liked Uther and Gorlois's parley "negotiation"/argument/censored-measuring contest, it allowed us to learn a lot more about those two characters in the space of very little time.
And of course we can't go without mentioning the masterpiece that was Stand Your Ground in all of its nailbiting glory, the effects, the character development through their realisations, the suspense, the emotional scene with Morgana and Rupert.
I could go on and on. Also, it's important to note that while these big moments are memorable, none of them would have worked or had that impact if we didn't experience the characters' day to day, so while I may not pinpoint an exact conversation or scene there, I enjoyed the less overtly eventful chapters equally.
Also, random shoutout to the Halloween special.
I'm struggling to think of what I disliked, everything had a purpose. I suppose you could say obvious things like Aggro's persecution of innocents, but I can't say I really disliked that - by which I don't mean I revel in cruelty, but a) it was clearly needed to the plot and b) it makes complete sense why Aggro believes what he believes, how he became so prejudiced - and even now, nobody's exactly done much to subvert his convictions, so I can just see them fuelling his hate further.
I guess the only thing that slightly bothered me was Uther's total absence in the last few chapters - mind you, I feel like his presence would have been bothersome too, because he would of course ruin everything and make a huge mess of it all
Is there anything that felt jarring or didn’t work?
Oops, I guess I just answered that. But as a whole, no, I can't think of anything that felt out of place.
Characters
I fell in love with Arthur when he was just a spoiled brat, but 🐸🐸🐸🐸 he grew up into a well-rounded young man who is willing to take a step back, does not take things for granted and is willing to question the validity of his beliefs when presented with compelling counter-arguments. I am so impressed with him. He's definitely my favourite and my appreciation of him continues to grow.
Morgana is easily one of the most complex characters in the story, and definitely in one of the toughest positions, being the thing your family denounces and the thing your country outlaws is tough, but when your country and your family are the same thing... oof. It's no wonder she hides this as something she'd take to her grave, and finds it easier to be herself with complete strangers. It is heartbreaking because she does have some people in her life who would understand - like Gwen, or Gawain who would still be loyal to her no matter what, and like I said, Arthur is probably more receptive to learning this news than he ever has been or ever will be, but if she escapes to be with her witchy folk and leave behind unanswered questions, she'll just perpetrate the current position. But of course, that's easily said, when the risks are literally using your life, should she open up to the wrong person or if her secret got out further. So I can't exactly blame her for that.
One interesting thing about Morgana is that while she'd selflessly do anything for the people she loves who are close to her, she often doesn't necessarily give the same compassion to others outside of her bubble unless it's literally something that's placed right under her nose. Which is very nitpicky of me and makes sense for someone who grew up removed from the common folk, and of course you could argue that for someone in her position, she's exceptionally compassionate to the commoner's plight.
Gawain is still full of ideals, and what's unusual, has had no real reason for his ideals to fall. The prince and the princess are his heroes, his good deeds have been rewarded, he got to train with the prince himself and noble knights, even got to take part in the tournament... Of course he's idealistic, his life is what the common people dream off - no wonder he's the commoner's symbol of hope. It will hit him all the harder when inevitably, good does not always prevail over evil in every situation. He got a bit of a "taste" of that with Aggro's witch hunt where he was unable to stop it, but ultimately, as Arthur took over any magic related investigations, his beliefs ultimately got vindicated. All of the knights even ended up surviving the terror. So Gawain gets to retain his innocence and his idols for a bit longer. But the higher the pedestal you place someone on, the lower they can crash.
I don't know if I have very strong opinions on Gwen. Perhaps because she doesn't have any obvious flaws. She, like much of the women in those times, is unable to fully be herself, she's had hardships but actually ended up in a place of having quite a bit of security, she has integrity, she's kind to others, she has dreams but is a realist.... I guess you could say she self-sabotages, but really, who in her situation would pursue an impossible relationship with the crown prince. I don't have anything bad to say about her. Apparently I just prefer characters to be a bit more messed up for me to be able to fully get invested in them
Is there anyone that you’re interested in and want to see more of?
Morgause and Cenred, though I'm sure we've not seen the last of either of them. Lancelot, because he is quite lovely, and almost every time he got screentime this arc, it was for a grim reason
Oh, and Merlin/Emrys. Because I almost forgot he exists.
Lore
It's mesmerising and rich! And somehow I feel like we've only just scratched the surface. I also like how the fae are far more intertwined in the lives of ordinary people than anyone realises, with the whole cleansing of corruption thing and the like. Definitely fun, and definitely would love to learn more!
Of course, besides the whole magical lore aspect, there's the whole puzzle of the political landscape with the neighbouring countries and alliances and... and what do you know, yet another instance where the fae are more involved than one might think
I’ve had a few heavily expositional chapters. Do you like those?
Do you mean the lore-heavy chapters Origin, Part Three or Lady of the Lake, or The Nature of Darkness? I think they're interesting, and I like the way the magic lore is presented in them, it's rarely presented as an absolute objective truth, since you always have to take into account the source of this information too. Like the book in Origins has been written by someone who lives in a country that heavily villainises any magic folk and fae, meanwhile the Nature of Darkness we learn the information from Cenred, who is probably pretty close to the "source" of all of this, but undoubtedly has an agenda of his own and I certainly wouldn't put it past him to leave out details that might not put him in a good light; so how reliable is any of this information in both instances?
I much prefer it being weaved in that way then having a separate "encyclopaedia" of absolute truths; much like you said in your most recent chapter, we can all live trough the same events and our truth about them could vary drastically.
Lore/world-wise, is there anything you’re particularly interested in?
I'm curious what happens with the corruption once it's absorbed by the likes of Nimueh or Cenred - it has to go somewhere, right?
It would also be interesting to see what determines if someone is born with magical abilities; with morgana, there of course seem to be *reasons*, but where do witches like Millicent or Gwen's mother come from? Were they descendants of fae, or does that not necessarily have an impact and witches can be born to a "human" family?
Oh, and of course I want to know more about dragons. Are the dragons in the story born with the ability to turn into dragons, or is that something they have acquired? or is being a dragon their true form? More dragon information is needed.
Character Questions- Is there a limit on how many characters I can ask stuff? Never mind, I'm going with loads, but I only have one or two questions per character
What's the secret of your long and luscious locks, Cenred? My braid attempts look pathetic and feeble next to your glorious mane; what's your hair care routine? Any products you would recommend?
Llamrei
Having witnessed a great deal of this awkward budding romance, what do you think of this whole Arthur and Gwen thing?
Arthur
What are the biggest lessons you've learned this year?
Something more light-hearted; what's currently your favourite dessert?
Richard
You've built formiddable alliances with Cornwall and Essetir recently. What did you think of the representatives the two kingdoms sent to offer you alliance? What do you think of their kings? Any ideas what they might find beneficial about your arrangement?
Ok, I guess those are technically 3 questions for Richard, oops. I'll limit myself to just one more character.
Lancelot
What's your take on the madness that occurred during the tournament?
What are your hopes for the future?
Segue; Lancelot, if things don't work out in Camelot, know that the kingdom of Northumbria is always happy to extend a warm welcome to an honourable knight like yourself. Queen's word.
Story Blog | Forum Discussion
Plot
Aw, I’m so glad you liked them! Scarborough was my own personal dip into happiness after all the darkness from earlier chapters, and a breath of air before plunging into everything that came after. I’m really glad to hear that everything fit together at the end in your mind too. You’re right about Uther – he was supposed to have a scene of his own in the final few chapters, but it contrasted with the rest of Stand Your Ground so much that I did not want to leave it in, not to mention that it were pretty long chapters as-is already. I skipped his dialogue for the last chapter too – I can see how that’s a loose thread and would leave readers wanting. For those of you who are curious, this is the text that would have accompanied the pictures in the last chapter (has at least somewhat of an explanation).
The Halloween special was so randomly weird and so much fun to make 😂
Characters
Oooh, I like that phrase. I see you are wearing your doomsday glasses again. 😁 You’re right, though – you can’t hold on to innocence forever. There’s no Sylvan Glade trees here, either, no matter how much I want to shove him into a happy pocket dimension and seal the entrance.
Haha, the flawed characters are often the more interesting. Guin hasn’t had a whole lot of screentime in this arc yet, so perhaps your opinion of her will change over time. I’m very curious to see how you’ll feel about all of them next feedback round. Whenever that happens.
Lore
Right, moving on to...
Questions
What's the secret of your long and luscious locks, Cenred? My braid attempts look pathetic and feeble next to your glorious mane; what's your hair care routine? Any products you would recommend?
Cenred: “That is an ancient and highly secretive form of magic that you cannot possibly begin to-”
Nimueh: “He likes Gummy Bear Pancake conditioner.”
Llamrei
Having witnessed a great deal of this awkward budding romance, what do you think of this whole Arthur and Gwen thing?
*Snort* (“I think their romance should include more horse treats. For me. Daily.”)
Arthur
What are the biggest lessons you've learned this year?
“That’s a difficult question. I think that above all, I’ve learned what a long road I still have ahead of me. And that I can’t turn a blind eye anymore like I did as a child. People depend on me. In more ways than I realized. And I don’t want to let them down in the future.”
Something more light-hearted; what's currently your favourite dessert?
Richard
“…why did you put me in the wedding room? This place is freezing.”
Because your castle takes forever to load, and I just cannot be bothered. Deal with it.
“Lazy.”
Shut up and get into persona, Richard.
You've built formiddable alliances with Cornwall and Essetir recently. What did you think of the representatives the two kingdoms sent to offer you alliance? What do you think of their kings? Any ideas what they might find beneficial about your arrangement?
“Cenred played me for a fool in my own castle, hiding his identity and pretending to be a servant to the king. I do not like being humiliated.”
“I don’t know what to think about the representative from Cornwall, but I know Gorlois. He is a man of his word, and his hatred for Uther is stronger than his distrust of me. I can use that. Cornwall will be a valuable tool in the future.”
Lancelot
What are your hopes for the future?
“I can’t speak for the far future because Watcher won’t let me, but for the immediate future… well, I think ‘not dying’ is a priority right now. Technically I’m still lying unconscious in a hospital with a hole through my chest.”
Segue; Lancelot, if things don't work out in Camelot, know that the kingdom of Northumbria is always happy to extend a warm welcome to an honourable knight like yourself. Queen's word.
What's your take on the madness that occurred during the tournament?
“...I think that it is best if I do not ask the wrong questions. For all our sakes.”
Yay! I finally have enough brain resources to answer questions!
Plot
- What are your general thoughts on this arc? Was it what you expected?
I don’t know how well I can answer this section because I’m the kind of reader who likes to go with the flow. Stories are an adventure, why do I want to break it down and spoil myself? General thought-wise, I am thoroughly entertained and loving the story. I sought an adventure and ToC was everything I thought it to be and more!
I expected to see a war, for Arthur and Morrie to undergo interesting character development, to see court politics and scandals like backstabs and noble women / Arthur shenanigans. I certainly didn’t expect to see a literal backstab (Essetir
- Which parts did you like the most, and which parts did you like the least?
A part I super heart about TOC are the strong relationships. I’m a hopeless romantic, so romance always grips me, then there’s the amazing brotherhood between the knights and loyalty from Gawain to Morgana (and the other way around, really. She takes care of him really well throughout the chapter.) Many other characters exhibit this. Their supportive sibling relationship, Gawain and Elyan’s bro-ship. These are so lovely to read and are great breathers as they face the difficulties and uncertainties in their path. I love it when Morgana found the witch/priestesses and finally felt a sense of belonging. Love Arthur’s transformation and Gawain’s ascension. Which parts I didn’t like? Well, Richard and Agra were supposed to be swimming in the bog. Heh! But they make good drama so I can’t say I dislike their appearances. ToC will be so different if I don’t have them to pick on
- Is there anything that felt jarring or didn’t work?
I don’t think anything felt jarring or didn’t work, so I’m going to change this section into a concluding plot observation of Ch2. I find it intriguing that throughout the chapter, Morgana is constantly sought after by the faefolk. First Nimeuh makes her presence known, and not just to Morgana but to Arthur too! I’m pretty sure she knows Pendragon history so her revealing her dragon form is quite the risk! Which makes me wonder why she felt the need to do so. What about Morgana was so compelling that she had to take such a close look and have Arthur realise that he might need to defeat Nimueh one day. Next, we could argue that Morgause and Lincoln didn’t exactly ‘seek’ Morgana out, more like she stumbled upon them by chance. But given the familiarity Morgana felt of Morgause, and this familiarity reciprocated by Morgause who even cried at their meet/reunion, I wouldn’t be surprised if Morgause wanted to meet Morgana badly too. She even led Morgana to the priestess coven. And finally Cenred, a dragon, went through some mad hoops and plans (and assasinations?) just to assume the position of Essetir’s heir to meet Morgana and form an alliance with her. Granted his primary motivation is not her, seems like its more geared towards the corruption in Camelot than her, but I can’t help but think that his proposed alliance extends more than just having Morgana absorb corruption, then he collecting it from her. So what I’m trying to say is that I’m super excited to find out why the fae folk are seeking Morgana out. What is her real identity other than being a changeling. She hinted at it by revealing herself as Morgana le Fay. But as a reader who never read the legends, the name doesn’t hold any significance to me for now, just invoked a bunch of predictions to what kind of Fairie she is, who her real parents are, what really happened to Ygraine, and if a baby swap really happened, what happened to the real ‘Morgana Pendragon’? What kind of life did she lead while we follow Morgana le Fay’s pov?
Lore
I didn't think anything was particularly heavy! The expositional chapters are strategically spaced out and introduced where relevant and adds so much to the story in terms of significance and weight. Certain moments wouldn’t have felt as magical or as tense without our understanding of the lore so I really liked how you decided to include them. I can’t answer to what I’m particularly interested in since I’m interested in everything and have bombed your comments section with 1001 questions. But this reminds me of another wonder on my part of the motivations of Nimeuh, lady of fire(?), and Cenred, the.. lord of the… earth? He walks through stone! At this point I’m wondering if they are elemental deities. At first I thought they were just unassuming fae folk who go about their business and have fun at the expense of whoever they cross paths with. But by the end of Ch 2, I’m pretty sure they serve a bigger motivation. Why would they go through so much effort to control the amount of darkness that corrupts the universe, right? Which makes me wonder whose motivations do Lincoln and Morgause and the larger faefolk truly serve. They don't trust Nimueh, yet stain their hands with Richard.
On the topic of elemental deities/dragons, I am wondering if Morgana is one of them. We have Water, Fire, Earth and… Morgana is healing, so.. Light? Maybe the demon's (who possessed Rupert) real identity is a 'Dark' dragon? Idk. Sorry for more wacky theories.
Okay I’m taking a break here. There will definitely be a Part II Mercury essay but I need sleep, or whatever that special thing that powers zombies. Unfair I only get the title and not the perks.
Characters
I love Arthur’s slow transformation into a dependable young man. I think I can expect more development from his character in the future and am pretty excited to see how he turns out in the end. In the meantime, some of his decisions, like how he handled the druids at Murkwood, the tournament and dealing with Agra tells me that there’s room for improvement in his dealing with people and making decisions. But he’s growing! And those decisions he made without Morgana looking over his shoulder. They are valuable for his growth as a person despite their future consequences, but that in itself is a valuable lesson too. I am interested in finding out what kind of person Arthur’ll become emotionally too. Choosing not to pursue Guin while knowing his father put the kingdom at stake (war) for Ygraine is interesting for Arthur to ponder about and come to his own conclusions. Can Arthur not have his kingdom and eat his cake too? Or must he settle for pancakes?
Gawain hasn’t changed much for me. Still the same person he was. Plumbob explained it all perfectly. My personal opinion of them hasn’t changed much either. Though I do worry with how innocent and optimistic he is, how will he fare as he climbs the ranks. I’m pretty sure once he gets his knighthood and start clashing with knights from nobility, he’ll be forced into politics and play the game.
We’re starting to see signs of Guin changing at the end of Ch 2, but its not much to go on so I’m taking a wait-and-see approach. Tbh, I feel like I don't know Guin very well, she has certain traits that stand out a lot. But shyness is something that could be an innate part of her or cultivated by her surroundings. I'm waiting for the moment where she sheds it off (if it were an environmental factor) to really get to know her. For now, she seems like a nice and kind person. She doesn't take Morgana's teasings to heart and seems to have accepted the social quo and is not likely to do something beyond her 'rank/class'. I like how Morrie influences her in a good way and am excited to see how Guin will take that influence and make it her own. Am wondering if she has some form of witchy powers too!
Misc:
Lincoln
Were you always hanging around people or did you do it as a one-off thing for Nimueh?
Where’d you learn to fight like that?
Describe a perfect date. (For science purposes
Gaheris & Gareth
I bet there are different sides to Gawain that we readers aren’t expose to! Tell us a side (or a story) of him that we’ve never seen.
Morgana
(Seriously don't know who that townie Trevor brought over is and why his eyes are glowing...
Have fun with DnD!
Plot
It wasn't what I expected, but I also really enjoyed it for precisely that reason. Also, your screenshots are awesome. I'm really enjoying watching various character arcs play out, partly because I have enough of a basic grasp on Arthurian ledged to see where most of them are going and they're executed really well. I also love the whole war thing and hope that's implemented further.
Which parts did you like the most, and which parts did you like the least?
Best bit is the screenshots and characters. Their arcs manage to feel natural, and any development the story undergoes always seems warranted by in-universe character or lore expectations. It never feels like the story is bending over backwards to fit in the plot, which is a good thing. I would say that I feel like more Uther might be a good thing? As someone who's been portrayed so far as one of the main villains of the story, it'd make sense for him to be knocking around a little bit more, especially as Arthur's beginning to question some of his decisions. Also more Merlin would be nice but I'll explain that more later.
Is there anything that felt jarring or didn’t work?
Like, no? It's hard to come up with an answer here without sounding like I haven't been paying enough attention, but I genuinely cannot think of anything bad to say about ToC right now.
All of them manage to be really interesting characters, and while Morrie is by far the most complex of the bunch, the rest all have virtues and flaws like, you know, normal humans. Morrie is one who, at the beginning, I was determined to stop getting attached to because of, like, the whole medieval Anakin Skywalker thing. I have failed horribly and have now resigned to being happily set up for emotional torment. In a good way
Is there anyone that you’re interested in and want to see more of?
Lancelot. No-brainer here. He's a really interesting character who definitely deserves more screen time and I hope he get's it. Especially later on. It'll be interesting to see how you'll portray him as we get further into the story, and whether he'll fill the same role in ToC as he does in Arthurian ledged. So far I doubt he will, but you never know...
Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes and yes. I love medieval fantasy, and your take on fairies and the like is really interesting. One thing I wish was explored further is the magic system, which seems pretty vague so far.
I’ve had a few heavily expositional chapters. Do you like those?
I... actually hadn't noticed. It never feels like you're info dumping, and the lore + world is really interesting and I love learning more about it. Can we get more of it, please? XD
Lore/world-wise, is there anything you’re particularly interested in?
Everything. This is where I'm going to start rambling. So, firstly, Merlin. His typical role in the legend seems to have been filled by Healer Man (who's name I cannot remember) so far, and I'm really exited to see where the story's leading him and why he's been so conspicuously absent so far. Having him be the same age (ish) as Arthur & co was a kinda odd take in my opinion? Given as he is the base character for Old Bearded Wizardly Types and all.
My next query has to do with the ledgeds themselves. They are odd, and differ from version to version a lot. ToC is a lax interpretation of it, but it's still interesting to draw lines from your story to the various versions of the legend. Because the story has been re-written a billion times, ToC could literally go in any direction. List below will give people some idea of this, along with how likely I'd guess they'd be at turning up in ToC (read; crazy fan theories, some written by me and some written by old English scolars). It all basically depends how old the gang will be when the whole thing ends, which version of the ledged you're following, and how lax I think you'll be on the interpretation.
Edited to add in more dumb fan theories.
@DeafSimmer
Guinevere has had the least amount of screentime so far, both because she wasn’t present in the kid chapters and because she simply took a backseat compared to most of what happened this arc. You’ll be seeing more of her in the future!
Questions
If possible, do you see a future with Arthur?
"...I don't know."
Morgana
If you had the chance, would you tie the knot with Gawain? (Morgana, you did say that Gawain is cute. I think you two would work well as a couple.)
“Hm? Gawain? You're right, he's cute, but... I don't think that would be a good idea. Don't get me wrong! He is amazing.”
“But... he deserves better.”
Do you have plans to learn more magic, or do you want to leave it as is?
“I want to learn more. I need learn more, once I have the chance. Monoroe taught me the basics, but there's still so much I don't understand- I want to learn it all. I want to know what I did to help Rupert be at peace, I want to know how Cenred can summon walls of stone from nothing, I want to know how to change shape without becoming exhausted- I want to know everything.”
Your sleeping schedule will never cease to surprise me. I hope you had plenty of sleep after that 😂
Oooh, I loved this! You make some very good points here that I can’t answer without getting whacked by my gnome attorney because it’s massively spoilery. I’m definitely working towards something though, so I hope it won’t disappoint! 😁
I like your wacky theories! And some of them are not as wacky as they seem… 😏 teasing aside though, I don’t know if I’ll state this in the story so I’m putting it down here under a mild spoiler if you’re interested.
This is fair! She’s been taking a backseat this arc to the other characters, and she wasn’t present in the kid arc (well she was around, but she ended up getting cut out of the story), so there hasn’t been much shown of her yet. Her turn is coming up, though! Eventually. After my break.
QUESTIONS
Lincoln
“Oh. Look who it is.”
Now- now don’t be angry, Lincoln, I know I haven’t given you a scene in a while, but I’m still working on-
“Fifteen chapters.”
I know, but-
“You’ve left them in the dark about me for fifteen chapters, Watcher.”
I know I did, but-
“And now we’ve reached the epilogue and they still have no idea that she tossed-”
Shush! We’ll get to it eventually! I swear! Now please answer Mercury’s questions?
“Almost. First things first. What are these?”
… I finally found proper Faun horns? Err, surprise? Do you like them?
“Nimueh sends me to certain places to perform, but her requests are rare. Usually it’s Morgause that drags me out to civilization.”
“Satyr. They’re like me, but smaller and much more promiscuous. They’re surprisingly tough. I suppose you have to be if your existence ends up spurning half the population.”
Gaheris & Gareth
“Oh! Yeah! Like the time he played the silent game with us and carried us out of-”
“Hey, shut it! Snitches get stitches, Gaheris! Don’t be a wuss and a snitch!”
“I’m not a wuss!”
“You so are!”
Morgana
Round 2? – T.
Here. Time limit is three days. Two hands if you make it by nightfall today.
Happy treasure hunt.
-M
Hey, a new face! Thank you, I'm glad you liked it so far
Poor Gawain! Arthur, give him a chance! Good on Morgana for standing up for Gawain! I feel so awful for Morgana, though. Having to hide who you are is never good.
Loving this so far < 3
And..
……. I forgot how shirtless Lincoln is when he returns to his true form. 🙈
D’aaaaw Lincoln and Morgause! And you separated them, Yimi!? Cold!
@Morgana
Oooh boy. This is going to be interesting... 🙊
You don't just drop everything in the middle of shooting and hop on the next plane to-
"Too late. Am already here."
The odds are against you, Trev. You've never been here. And what do you know about the wilderness?
"I bought everything off the vendor and reached lvl 5 Selvadoradian culture in just one day."
B2W jungle is completely modded! There's no way you'll be able to recognise the place!
"You fret too much. I'll find it."
Apparently, Trevor is a sloth whisperer.
Is there a specific reason why you’re going through all this trouble, Trev? Badgering me to make this and delaying filming? There's a deeper meaning behind all this right?
"Yes."
What is it?
Well, aren't you conveniently silent now.
"Do I still get two hands?"
Me: 🤦🏻♀️
Also me: I forgot I modded the place. Did he find the right spot?
Add more Uther. Noted! You’re in luck – he appears in the epilogue. And with actual words this time, too! 🤣
Yay! Don’t worry, I take good care of my readers once Stockholm syndrome has set in and feed them pancakes all the time.
Thank you for the feedback! He’s been left on the sidelines a bit like Guinevere this arc, but I’ll see if I can pull him to the front a bit more next arc. 😁
Noted! Granted, I like to give out tidbits naturally as the characters would come across them, so you may need to wait a little bit for this one. Ditto for lore in general, but I love sharing it when the time is right, so there’s more of that coming either way
Oh my. I loved everything about that.
I love your fan theories! At least two of those are very close to the truth 😊 I unfortunately can’t answer which ones because it’s massively spoilery, but there’s this: I cannot. For the life of me. Find a proper medieval round table. 🤣 the best I’ve got so far is an octagonal table and a “table” that’s basically a round plank on a barrel. Not very knightly, that one. 😆
I’d love for you to pick up the mic again in the future! Reading people’s thoughts on chapters always makes my whole day 🥰
QUESTIONS
“I can’t. Even though I want to more than anything. Arthur’s love for me is strong, but so is his fear of magic. I simply cannot risk it. Even if he were to accept me for who I am – and I don’t know if he would – and even if he agreed to keep my magic a secret – and I don’t know if he could – his behaviour would still change. Subconsciously. His reactions to anything involving magic will change. It will remind him of me. And if our court was made up out of just Gawain, that would not be a problem, but some of our nobles are incredibly perceptive. They will notice. And they will dig. And I cannot risk that.”
“I want to help Arthur see the truth. But I also want to live.”
Yay, I'm glad you liked it!
"Took you long enough."
"Two hands. A deal is a deal."
*for the people who are very confused by this - Morgana and Trevor have been flirting across story universes. It's just a bit of sillyness and not canon. Much. Forgive.
I’ll be taking a little break to shape the general storyline for next arc, as it’s all a jumbled mess in my head right now. There’s some tiny bits scheduled for in between, but overall, ToC is going to go quiet for a while. Thank you all for reading along! It really means the world to me. 🥰
And finally! Tomorrow is my birthday, so here is an early birthday present from me to you.
For someone so true to herself, Morgana just doesn't seem to belong amongst the other nobles who seem to be all about saving face and trying to uphold standards. It's good she had a keen eye for that, though- with Richard potentially on her tail, it's only going to make things difficult (especially if he somehow knows of her magic...)
GAWAIN! Bless his little heart, challenging the rogueish guy to protect his friend even with just a wooden sword. I'm glad the guards and Gaius got to him in time, though. If this show of bravery isn't enough to convince others he might have what it takes to be a knight, I don't know what does! I'm glad Prince Arthur apologised to him though and I'm glad he's going to help him get better with a sword! Really enjoying this story so far.
Sorry for madness.
Hopefully you know what this is otherwise you'll really think I'm mad.
Have a great birthday!! 🥳🎉🎊
(Enjoy your new army!)