As usual, I based Endeavor–book six of King Arthurs and Her Knights–off a number of Arthurian ballads and lore. The tricky party about this book is that we enter into three different traditional stories, and technically none of them are finished.
The first legend is the story of Sir Galahad and how he obtained his white shield with the red cross. This particular story doesn’t have a name, but it is part of the Quest for the Holy Grail. When the quest starts Sir Galahad sets off with a few other knights, but he leaves Camelot without a shield. He rides to an abbey where a White Knight (who attacked other members of the round table for trying to steal the shield he protects) gives the shield to Galahad’s squire and tells the squire to give it to Galahad–because only he is worthy of it. I cut off the legend there, but it continues into the search for the Holy Grail–which I will explore in future King Arthurs books.
I made a few changes to the original legend. I removed it from the Grail Cycle because Britt and her boys aren’t ready for that adventure yet, and I had Sir Mordred ride out with her instead of the other Grail companions. If I stuck to the legend Britt would have met Ywain there, but he was off starring in his own story which brings us to the next unfinished legend: Ywain, the Knight of the Lion.
Galahad’s white shield with the red cross is something that can be found in almost all of his legends.
I constructed Ywain’s story to stay true to the original. One of Arthur’s knights is killed by a knight guarding a mythical fountain thingie. This obscure knight happens to be related to Ywain, who sets out to fight Esclados to avenge his cousin. As Britt’s Ywain did, the original Ywain also set off in secret. Why the cloak and dagger? Because in the original story King Arthur was interested in the fountain and decided he would take a large party of knights with him, and Ywain wanted to beat the knights before they arrived. So, off he goes! He encounters and wounds the knight, who flees to his castle as Ywain chases him. Ywain is captured in the castle gatehouse and is eventually taken prisoner while Esclados dies of his wounds. Esclados’s wife, Laudine, knows the fountain must be protected, and Ywain–with the help of Laudine’s servant, Lunete–wins her over and marries her. There’s a bit of scuffle when King Arthur and his knights arrive, but Ywain remains true to Arthur and everyone feasts for days.
Sounds like a happily ever after, right? Wrong! Ywain’s story continues, giving you a peek at his married life. I cut off where I did because you will see the rest of Ywain’s story in King Arthurs and Her Knights book seven.
Okay, so we’ve covered Galahad and Ywain, what story is left? It’s a piece of lore I think a lot of my readers will have a difficult time swallowing: the story of Vivien and Merlin. This story is just getting started, but I can summarize the beginning by saying that Vivien–a beautiful young girl who is gifted in black arts–shows up in Camelot with the intention of seducing Merlin so she can learn magic from him. Remember, in the old stories Merlin is pretty old, but he is out-of-this-world powerful, which is partially why Arthur’s kingdom is so great.
So there you have it, three legends, all of them technically unfinished–although Book Seven will see the completion of at least one of them. Thanks for reading, Champions, and a special thank you to everyone who has reviewed Endeavor–I appreciate it! I hope you have a lovely week!