King Arthur: Retold (Part IX)

II.IV. The war against Septimus Sulla and the return of the Grail knights.

King Arthur:Retold is part of a fictional series reimagining and combining various Arthurian media and myths into a unique narrative. To understand what you’re reading and why, click **Here**. Artworks showcased are property of Neocore Games (2011).

Note: Images marked by asterisk () are a hybrid, created using in-game screenshots in combination with AI and editing.*

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The Fading Tower

The duel between Morgana le Fay and Nimue is set to begin inside an elaborate tower. The Seelie explain the rules: this will be a magical duel in which Nimue will transform into something different than what she is (essentially shapeshifting) and Morgana’s task is to counter her new form before it’s too late.

As soon as they begin, Nimue plunges the entire arena in darkness, so Morgana can’t see what she’s about to turn into. Very clever. Fortunately she has a powerful weapon at her side: the magical flute from the faun. Though she sacrificed her memories in the process, and likely forgot the origins of the flute itself, Morgana uses its power to banish the darkness. Nimue had transformed into a shadowcat — a powerful predator who only lives in the shadows.

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The arrival of the light banished her magic and made her form useless. Nimue has lost the duel but before Morgana can ask her the important question that started this whole mess, Nimue attacks her with magic and escapes through a portal. This act is also in breach of the grandiose rules and laws of the Seelie Court, so they decide to now aid Morgana in her quest. Though they cared little for Merlin, they couldn’t tolerate this offence, especially from one of their own.

But Nimue had fled far north, beyond Hadrian’s Wall. And it just so happens that the Wall is under the rule of Septimus Sulla, the self-proclaimed new emperor of the Roman Legions.

The same enemy William Pendragon is now forced to confront.

The Mad Emperor

William and his new ally Naevia attack Septimus’ forces in the north and they do so carefully and strategically because their enemy has one small advantage: they’re all undead. Fortunately, Morgana le Fay arrives just in time alongside her Seelie forces. Thanks to their aid and powerful magic, William and Naevia destroy the undead Legions and advance through the north. They reach the stronghold and once proud capital of the Roman provinces: Eboracum.

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The siege of Eboracum lasts several days of gruesome death and destruction but eventually the palace falls. William and Naevia enter its decrepit halls but the emperor is nowhere to be found. Instead, William finds a gallery of mosaics smeared with blood, depicting various scenes from the past. Aided by a mysterious magic that had probably seeped into the walls, William has a vision.

He sees the cruel sacrifices and battles Septimus had to fight at the Wall against the Picts. He sees the moment Septimus had to kill his childhood friend, dying in agony from a poisoned arrow. The visions swirl and twist into various shapes: one is the spirit of Hadrian and another is the moment when Septimus stood above the Wall, shutting its gates to a group of refugees. They were old men and children but the Pict hordes were advancing fast and the safety of the provinces took priority over those few deaths. Still, he watched as the refugees were cut into pieces.

Lastly, William sees a vision of the resurrected Naevia, asking her husband to send her back. She held a dagger and implored him to grant her death. He refused. Naevia stabbed herself in desperation, but to no avail. She was already dead. As the visions fade, William looks to Naevia, who merely nods. It was all true.

Anyone would’ve been driven to madness by such a cruel fate, William ponders. With the fall of Eboracum, there’s but one place left for Septimus to hide: the Wall itself. Aided by its magic and enormous stone soldiers named Colossi, Septimus prepares for the final battle.

The Fall of Sulla

Surrounded only by his undead Legions, Septimus is truly alone. He had really believed that the spirit of Emperor Hadrian had come to his aid through a piece of his golden wreath. But what he actually held was a shard of the Grail and Hadrian had never existed.

William held another shard but it was powerless. His army clashes with Septimus in a grand battle at the slopes of the great Wall and the two commanders fight an epic duel on its ramparts. The power of Septimus’ shard alongside his rage at the betrayal and loss of everyone he’s ever loved overpower William, who is fortunately saved in time by Morgana’s magic. The enchantress and Naevia are the only ones left standing as Septimus unleashes the devastating power of the shard, shattering pieces of the Wall and opening great, empty maws into the earth.

Septimus was beyond salvation but there was still a human side to him that recognised and remembered the love he had for his wife. It is Naevia who defeats him in the end, plunging her blade into the heart of the man she once loved and throwing both of them beyond the wall and into the deepest crevices of the earth, leading to Tartarus itself.

Meanwhile, William’s soldiers fight against the great Colossi brought to life by the shard’s magic. As Septimus falls, his shard is retrieved by Morgana’s powers.

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Obtaining the Grail shard allows Morgana to put an end to the battle, dissolve the Colossi and return the undead Legions to their place beyond the veil. But soon the shard begins speaking to her just as it did to Septimus. Morgana sees that its power lies in corrupting the mind in its attempts to reunite with the other parts.

Our tale asks an interesting but frightening question: what is the true nature of the Wasteland and its maddening plagues? And what of William’s murderous cleansing of corrupt kings? Did he do it out of real necessity or… what if there never was a Wasteland to begin with?

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Beyond the Wall

After the ashes settle, both Septimus and Naevia are gone. The few survivors of the Roman provinces are led by Tullius Caracalla, the last surviving member of his family, who now rightly asks what the hell are they even supposed to do? Are they allowed to rebuild? But William has no patience for these silly questions — their lands will belong to his father Arthur, as soon as he finds a cure.

Instead, William’s mind is pulled towards Morgana. He now begins to truly desire her, though whether out of something akin to love or because of the shard’s influence is unknown. His thoughts become obsessed with her beauty and power. Morgana is aware of this and suspects the Grail shard’s influence. She will needs its power in her quest to find Nimue, so the enchantress quickly departs for the cold, untamed lands beyond the Wall.

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There are many great dangers beyond the Roman border but her Seelie companions detect a powerful energy emanating from the ancient Highlands. There may be traces of their old world or perhaps a way for them to finally return there.

The Lost Knights

William gives chase, following her steps through the wilderness, but Morgana’s magic can take her far, while William’s forces must contend with scattered warbands of Picts and wild animals.

Eventually, William is surrounded by armed men wearing rags and rusty weapons. A short confrontation is enough for William to recognise the fighting style of these soldiers: they were knights of Britannia, once serving at Arthur’s court. They take William to meet their leader, who turns out to be none other than Sir Percival.

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The last time we saw him was in **Part V**. Now old and bitter, Percival tells William he’s been trying to find all the scattered Grail knights after the fall of Britannia and Arthur’s death. But William tells Percival his father isn’t dead yet, merely wounded and in hiding. He also shows him a shard of the Grail, which prompts Percival to immediately kneel and weep bitterly. William asks him the reasons for his strange reaction and he’s told Percival spent his entire life researching the power and history of the Holy Grail, plagued by dreams of it since childhood.

Percival had guided Arthur to find it during the final battle against the Unseelie, and to this day he’s unsure what truly happened but it’s possible the Grail was somehow corrupted and has to be cleansed. Perhaps he’s right, William thinks — cleansing and restoring the Grail may just be the only way to heal his father, Arthur. But sooner or later he will need all the shards, which means retrieving Morgana’s too. He is starting to believe she is truly in love with him and would gladly give her shard for a higher purpose.

New visions manifest in William’s mind: his father healed and a grand coronation; ascending the throne of Britannia alongside his beautiful wife Morgana feels both just and rightful. And ecstatic. Growing up with tales of his father’s conquests there was one idea that defined the realisation of the ultimate kingdom in the world: Camelot. After all, who else would be more deserving and capable of building it?

Percival agrees to help William restore the Grail, and together they depart to find the next shard. He dreamt of its light, buried deep in the cold, northern forest.

In that darkness something still shines.

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