The Time Keepers in The Star Chronicles actually inspire the birth of this myth. It also sparks the idea of the three women that are the mouth piece of the Triple Goddess in the TV series, Merlin. I liked the ideas behind both of them and decided to put my own spin on it since the Blood Guard's existence spans the majority of known history, both written and oral.
The Time Keepers do not appear all at once. In fact, there is a great deal of time in between the emergence of each one. Much of the history and back story for the Second and Third Oracle is still undetermined at this time, but the First Oracle has an origin story...its simply a modified version of the TV series known as Merlin, a heavily revised version at that.
Now onto the actual introductions. Please keep in mind that I'm a woman and will likely make alterations to the initial introductions, commonly finding something that is more suited to that particular person than what I could think of at the time. Seeing as how this post has become rather long, I've decided to simply dedicate it to the First Oracle given that a good chunk of her origin story is a heavily revamped version of the TV series, Merlin.
First Oracle of The Time Keepers, the Fate of the Future, The Seeress. She is Yuel of the Prism Guard and she is her guidance.
The First Oracle known as Yuel is, in fact, Morgana Pendragon, daughter of Uther Pendragon and elder sister of Arthur Pendragon. Her life before joining the Blood Guard was incredibly turbulent. During her early childhood, the Great Purge was taking place.
The Purge was caused by the death of Uther's wife, Ygraine, mother of Arthur. Unlike the TV series, the Queen of Camelot was not barren. She was capable of conceiving and carrying a child to term. There were no complications during her pregnancy, but after she gave birth to her son, she bled out, dying from blood loss. The Queen had unknowingly injested several herbs that both stimulated the production of blood and thinned the blood out. The combination of the two effects resulted in her death.
Uther went mad from grief and claimed that his wife had been murdered by a Priestess of the Old Religion, Nimueh. The witch had been present throughout Ygraine's pregnancy and birthing, but was also the Queen's childhood friend. She was actually conducting a healing ritual that would have saved her friend's life had the King not interrupted her by pushing her aside to reach his wife. In doing so, Nimueh could not finish the ritual in time and the Queen died.
The priestess fled the city whilst simultaneously casting a spell into the sky, essentially ordering the evacuation of all gifted individuals within the city and the surrounding areas. She almost died while saving a group of druids and would have if the Blood Guard had not intervened.
Thus the war against magic began and it was during this time of upheaval that Morgana became of her power as a seeress. The gift of prophecy was too closely related to sorcery, so she spent several years fearing for her life. Only the court physician and her godfather, Gaius was aware of her gift, giving her a sleeping draught on a daily basis as a means to hide the truth.
A short while after the Purge had seemingly come to an end, a young girl with long flowing blonde hair and eyes of a vibrant forest green was found wandering through the woods near the city. The exhausted and half starved child bore the seal of the royal family of the Northernmost kingdom of Rozarria. After her health was attended to, it was revealed that she was Lady Emma Swan Lanaria, the crown princess of Rozarria.
She didn't remember much, only that her protectors had spirited her away during some kind of battle, the smell of ash and blood in the air. Riders were sent to investigate only to return with dire news, the kingdom of Rozarria was in ruin. What few survivors they found had fled as they approached, but they finally ascertained the truth. The kingdom had been ravaged by sorcerers in retaliation for the Great Purge...Princess Emma appeared to be the only living member of House Lanaria, but without a home to return to, she became the King's ward.
Morgana had been hesitant to approach the blonde, but the Rozarrian princess was having none of that and practically pounced on the young seeress, claiming her as her new best friend. As the duo became more comfortable with each other, secrets were revealed. Morgana told her friend about her visions and in turn, Emma revealed that she had powers. Together, the two of them learned how to help the other and when the Great Dragon, Kilgharrah, was captured and imprisoned beneath the castle, they immediately attempted to befriend him but he was rather disagreeable until a very young Arthur found his way into the cavern and latched onto the dragon's leg and refused to let go.
The Great Dragon relented after sensing the boy's latent potential. By coming into contact with him, the prince began exhibiting powers of his own and both the seeress and the princess had quite the time covering for the little mischief maker.
Years passed and under the tutelage of Kilgharrah, both the seeress and the prince learned how to harness and control their unique gifts, including Morgana's natural affinity for healing magic and the ability to manipulate all forms of vegetation. Arthur discovered his love of combat and became the most skilled swordsman in Camelot by the time he was fourteen years of age.
Fortunately, the friendship formed between the Great Dragon and the Once and Future King, resulted in the crown prince becoming a dragon paladin, the first one to arise since the Great Purge. Knowing that his father had committed terrible crimes against innocent people, Arthur asked Kilgharrah to teach him about the Old Religion and the ancient ways of magic. He wanted a full understanding of magic in all its forms so he could restore magic to the land, making Camelot into a truly balanced and prosperous kingdom that respected the Old Ways, embraced the new, and ensured that the balance between the life of nature and the destruction of man remained undisturbed.
It was not until the arrival of a certain young man from Ealdor that things began to get more complicated, especially for Morgana. She was drawn to the one known as Merlin. He possessed a purity of essence and spirit unlike anything she had ever felt before. When she sought out Kilgharrah for advice, he full on laughed at her supposed predicament, revealing that the good natured and oftentimes silly young man was, in fact, the most powerful warlock in existence.
His birth had been foreseen countless centuries ago and his destiny as the Archmage was entwined with not just Arthur's destiny but her own as well. The dragon advised her to wait until a certain person arrived in the city, that this person would ensure that the destiny of the seeress remained pure and untainted by evil, allowing her to embrace her true destiny as the Fate of the Future.
A few months later, Arthur and Merlin were attacked by mercenaries and were saved by two warriors of unknown origin. It was not until said warriors were presented to the court that their identies were revealed. The first was a rather fiery Celtic woman with curly ginger hair that had Emma squealing in delight and embracing the new arrival in front of the entire court. The Rozarrian princess informed them that the woman was Remaria Beltone McCreedy, one of her childhood friends and had been training to be a Rozarrian ranger, a master of bladed and ranged combat. Though unknown to everyone else, Remaria was actually a fully trained combat mage and as such, she became rather fast friends with the crown prince of Camelot.
The second warrior was also a woman, but was also the last person anyone expected it to be...the Star Child. Fortunately, only a select few actually knew this fact. If the king of Camelot had known just who stood before him, she would have been burnt at the stake. Everyone believed that the Star Child was an immortal seductress that enchanted anyone she deemed valuable, essentially enslaving them to her will and becoming members of the Blood Guard.
Imagine the surprised looks on Morgana's, Arthur's, and Merlin's faces when they not only discover that Artz Gallifreya Lanaria, posing as Emma's younger sister, was in fact the Lady of the Blood Guard...and Emma's birth mother. Gaius had simply welcomed her like an old friend which was true. Artz and Gaius had crossed paths during his youth and it was she that taught him how to wield his natural talent for magic and ignited his passion for science.
The only other individual that was not at all surprised by these revelations was the Great Dragon himself, Kilgharrah...who just happened to be the first born of Artz's dragon, Aizuna. The dragon was thrilled when she came to visit him, surprising the seeress, the prince, and the warlock by his rather hyperactive and childish behavior.
After the arrival of Rem and Artz, things became a fair bit chaotic...mainly in regards to the budding romance between Merlin and Morgana...and two gingers playing matchmaker. The irony is that outside of Artz and Morgana, no one predicted that Arthur and Emma would get together. The Star Child had prior knowledge and the Seeress had foreseen it long before Emma had even been brought to the castle.
Then Merlin learns the identity of his father, the Dragonlord known as Balinor and that said father had been raising Merlin's twin sister, Emrys...the current leader of the druidic people. Events would continue to unfold until the true enemy of Camelot finally revealed themselves.
A powerful priestess named Morgause, claiming to be the High Priestess of the Old Religion...a title belonging to Morgana, attempted to sway the Lady Morgana by using the shared blood through their mother, the supposed bond of sisterhood, but when her attempt failed, she tricked her half sister into accepting a healing bracelet that had been enchanted to inverse Morgana's sense of good and evil.
She even placed an enchantment that compelled the princess of Camelot to wear said bracelet; however, the Star Child had already named the seeress as the First Oracle, Yuel, and given her the crest of the Yew tree within the prism, a crescent moon wrapping around one side of the tree, declaring fealty for both the Star Child and her truest believer, Lady Yuna.
The mark of the Seeress nullified any spells or enchantments that would negatively affect Lady Yuel. Only the original enchantment that gradually healed over time remained and the self-proclaimed high priestess declared war against not only Camelot but the other kingdoms as well. She built her own blood guard and they were exalted as the divine protectors of the High Priestess of the Old Religion.
For years, Morgause would send one creature after another, orchestrated countless skirmishes, attempted to create strife between all the kingdoms, and targeted specific individuals time and again. The blonde priestess even ensured the demise of Uther Pendragon, having temporarily captured the Star Child and prevented her from saving the tyrannical ruler.
The power of the Star Child was expansive and currently without equal, but even she was still bound by the laws set forth by God. It was a constant reminder that she was not an omnipotent being that could do as she pleased, but that despite her extraordinary talents and seemingly endless lifespan, she was still mortal. She could still die and she did so quite often, but the newly named First Oracle had already foreseen the true end of Her Ladyship's timeline, warning the Star Child in the vain hope that the crimson haired dimensional traveler could once again pull off a miracle.
The newly crowned king, Arthur Pendragon, was untested and unsure, seeking the aid of the Star Child, his elder sister and her betrothed, and from the woman that had completely stolen his heart, the Rozarrian princess and his future queen, Lady Emma.
Arthur's uncle, Agravaine, attempted to offer council in court affairs, determined to undermine the new King's rule, only to come face to face with the Druid King and Merlin's twin sister, Emrys...that promptly punted his ass back to his mistress, Morgause...who killed him for being discovered and ultimately rendered useless.
The self proclaimed High Priestess of the Old Religion put into action a rather complex yet patient plan that would lead to the fields of Camlan, the place where the Once and Future King was destined to fall, but was saved by the Star Child, taking the fatal blow meant to stop his heart.
The shock of watching Artz die to save him, it triggered a power that had laid dormant within him his entire life. The King of Camelot awakened his ability to wield the very life force of nature. Everything within nature answered his call and put an end to the final battle. Morgause attempted to escape, but Arthur, blinded by his grief, ripped the priestess's life force away, her body aging rapidly until she was nothing but dust, and used it to resurrect the Star Child.
This had been a mistake, for Morgause's life force had been corrupted and tainted. It poisoned the Star Child which caused her to descend into a feral state of madness. She lunged at the Once and Future King in an effort to rip him apart with her bare hands, only to be trapped with a powerful, reflective barrier amplified by the magic of the Archmage, the Druid King, and the Seeress. The source of the barrier was Yuna of the Prism, Artz's sister in all ways save blood, having been sent back through time by the Second Oracle and Fate of the Past, Tokemi.
Expelling the tainted life force was no easy feat and most certainly not painless. The Star Child spent the better part of a year in agony and once freed from that torment, she vanished without a trace, but a few days later, crests began to emerge on the hands of the elite knights and upon Arthur as well and thus The Knights of the Blood Guard were born...on the same day as Morgana giving birth to her son, Mordred.
The boy was the Star Child's godson and possessed both his mother's prophetic talent and his father's ability to wield magic and command dragons. Mordred would one day become vital in the recruitment of the Fourth Captain, Hook, and several other events that his mother could not see, but that is another story altogether.
I had not intended to delve so deeply into Yuel's origin story but once I got started, I became a runaway train with no brakes and...
Anna: Pssst...she means word vomit.
Me: *blinks* How long have you been here?
Anna: *giggles* Now that would be telling.
Yuel: Since before you had even begun the new post.
Anna: *whines* Aww...Yuel! You totally ruined my epicness! You don't undercut the Song, man!
Me: *raises an eyebrow* Okay...who gave you coffee? *sees a remarkably familiar cat hiding behind the Seeress* Should have known it was you, Noel. Bad kitty!
Yuel: He wasn't the only one involved, my lady. *glances to the side* Isn't that right, Second and Third Captains?
Light: Hey! Don't blame me! Everyone knows that you don't give a Zimmerman a high concentration of caffeine!
Poseidon: Says the man that tripled the amount of coffee grounds just to see what would happen to his great niece.
Light: Well at least I wasn't the one that substituted the water with rum.
Poseidon: I have no idea what you're talking about...though Noel did say something about a new enchantment he wanted to test out.
Anna: *squeals in delight, running around like a kid on the ultimate sugar high* I'm a guinea pig! Hurray!
Me: *drops head into hands* This...this is my life now. *rubs temples* How long before she comes down? *sliding to the left to avoid being run over by a speeding Anna*
Yuel: *smirks, her eyes darkening with mischief* Three...two...one...*a distinct thud of a body dropping to the floor was heard*
Me: *deadpans* Well someone has been practicing. Enough, alright! I gotta post this and I am in desperate need of...
2nd/3rd/4th Captains: ....getting laid.
Me: *slams head into desk repeatedly* Good night, everyone...*konks out*
Wonderful post! :)
ReplyDeleteA slight alteration to the timeline in regards to the emergence of the crests, months instead of days. It was conflicting with another event.
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