22- The tragedy of... Mordred
I'm together with Mordred in one of my paintings...
An open training ground... swords, spear, shields and all types of weapons hanging on the sides for the trainees to pick up...faint shouts and the sounds of metal clashing are heard now and then...
A sunny day, the one that gives you warmth but is not strong enough to affect the trainee...
This was her choice for this one, It seems that she feels comfortable in a place like this...
Right now she is munching on some sweets that are on the summoned table, while processing what I told her...
Mordred Pendragon, born from Artoria Pendragon and Morgan le Fay , her half-sister.
Morgan managed to get the seeds from Artoria... whose body was modified by the famous and commonly referred as the D-wizard, or Merlin, in order to fulfill her role towards her wife... and then proceeded to conceive a child with them...
A child meant to become the perfect king, the sword that would surpass her father and therefore the next and better king...
In order to fulfill this... she made Mordred into a special kind of Homunculus, accelerating her growth, imparting knowledge and who knows how many changes she also did...
The only dates I remember that can prove her age is that she was incubated for three years and appeared somewhere in the middle of the reign of Arthur... reign that lasted for ten years... her form being adult because of the accelerated growth of a homunculus...
So she is between three and ten years old...
The One and most famous machination of Morgan is... the one that appeared at the last battle where Mordred without her knowing... or wanting... stabbed Artoria... leading to her death...
Mordred is someone who... loves her Father.
The typical child full of admiration and who wants to impress her tall and unreachable father... an approval and recognition seeking child...
And when Artoria with all the reasons to do so says that she wasn't fit to be a king?
Morgan and those wanting to bring down Artoria from the throne won't lose the chance to sharpen the weapon most fitted to do so.
And like that... by schemes, lies, manipulation and some... misunderstandings, they made her love and admiration for her father almost become pure hate...
Almost.
"You... took that pretty well " It is the truth... but at the end... I barely know the real Mordred... so I don't know what I was expecting...
Was I... always this calm?... I feel myself changing too much... and too fast as of late.
"I suspected... something like this... when father told me that she didn't despise me... so... I stabbed my father in Camlann... so... that is why... " is easy to tell... that her emotions are a mess right now... happiness, sadness, anger and guilt combined with hope...
The happiness of not being hated and somehow recognized by her father...
The sadness of her dying because of her...
The anger of being used and manipulated...
The guilt of all she did... to her people and to her Father...
And hope... hope of seeing her again thanks to me...
"Mas-... Ahm, Can you bring father? "
"Not now... she is too strong... -" and too costly... and I doubt she wants a weakened version of her... the cost of summoning Excalibur to this world is not cheap... at all...
"Dammit... how much time? How long until you can summon her ? " She is irritated but at least not angry...
"Well... the first step is done... at least I can summon without worrying about you attacking her " or so i thought... but with the face she is making...
"Ha? You think I will stop fighting against my father? I'M the future king of Camelot, I was raised, created and trained as the one who will surpass her. Knowing the rest only makes it less annoying and more direct, but I won't stop. I was MADE for this " She is fierce... a lion who went past being a cub... a well-trained lion who has a clear objective and the capabilities to fulfill it.
Even if she is straightforward and rash... she is still someone raised and trained by legendary figures of Camelot and that is without counting that she carries the blood of Artoria and Morgan, two legends of their time.
"I don't expect less, you are one of my favorite sabers for a reason... but for now... I ask you to train two... children... to childs that you will like... "
"The descendants of Arthur from this world right...? Fine, I want to see the state of this world Camelot... and if it's not good enough... I don't mind making some... upgrades " She had a playful tone on her voice... seems like beat-*cough* train a Arthur and Le fay alike would calm her... for now
"You won't be disappointed... The kid should be eleven now... and his talents are enough to reach high in this world on his own. " Sadly not high enough... in the original he could play around with the son of Fenrir... and had enough strength to fight against the heavy fighters of this world.
"But it's not enough... I need powerhouses that stabilise the human race... otherwise we can't negotiate with the other factions. We need to stand on equal ground to cooperate with other races... otherwise... "
"We will depend on their kindness, mood and how much they want to get from us... In other words, they would play us by the hand... " Maybe it's because of the similarity with her case but... her aura is flaring while she was pointing that out.
"I trained under the best of Camelot... I doubt I will have problems training the kid... but I'm not a mage, other than battle senses I can't teach the girl. Wait... don't summon the annoying pointed ears... ugh or Tristan... or Gala... You know what!, summon my father, no one else. " Seems like she doesn't want to deal with the others.
Now I need to think about a good mage to train the girl... and maybe ...Mordred?
or should I teach the kids?
"Are you thinking something rude... right? "
"Nope"
"That annoying smile... "
"Well... is late but... welcome to the family, Mordred " I told her with a smile and a welcoming voice...
"That Witch was right... you look like a girl " I know that smile... She did it on purpose..
"... " Does this mean... Now I have to deal with a second Jalter?
...
They have the same face too...
Was she... the right choice?