From its humble origins in the 6th century Welsh poems until the great 15th century work of Sir Thomas Mallory (Mort D'Arthur), the legend of King Arthur has influenced greatly all adventure stories for the last six centuries.
But were King Arthur and his Knights a mere legend? Historians agree that there is a great deal of truth in the most famous chivalry novels and songs written by Geoffrey of Monmouth, Wace and Layamon, Chretien de Troyes, Marie de France, Robert de Boron, and Malory himself.
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| Assassin jumping off Masyaf, no, wait, Camelot castle. |
ASSASSIN'S CREED EXCALIBUR is a game set in the Assassin's Creed fictional world that revolves around the experiences of Dinadan, a young Breton girl that will fight the Saxons to become one of the greatest knights of the Round Table.
Ready for an epic, alternate story within the Assassin's Creed world? Here we go!
Rome has fallen. Its provinces have been abandoned to inner clashes and pillage. Only one man, the bearer of Excalibur -a legendary sword forged by the Isu- is able to bring order to Britannia and build a prosperous kingdom out of chaos. This is Uther Pendragon, former Roman ducatur and now king of the Britons. King Uther defends the land of Lloegyr from the Saxons' (pre)viking invasions as well as from an inner civil war.
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| Roman Londinium, Arthur's father's capital. |
For years, king Uther rules Lloegyr as a fair king. However, a mysterious cult known as the Order of the Ancients gains momentum in Northern Europe. It is the Ancients' gold and promises that lead the barbaric tribe of the Saxons to raid England. In the end, even Uther the fair succumbs to the Order's bribery and leaves Lloegyr in the hands of his Ancient ministers, who let the Saxons conquer the land. Uther has become a puppet tyrant controlled by the mysterious Great Master of the Order of the Ancients, who sends his messages from within the continent.
At this time, Merlin, whose real name is Myrddin Emrys, is the Master Assassin of the fortress of Caerleon, hideout of the Briton Assassins, later to be known as Camelot. When Uther Pendragon has become a puppet of the Order and England is ravaged by the Saxon hordes, Myrddin Emrys takes a decision: he sends an Assassin to kill Uther Pendragon.
The king dies, and there is a brutal civil war among the Briton knights, who claim the dead king's throne.
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| Late Roman soldiers |
Ambrosius Aurelianus, the small son of Uther Pendragon, is raised safe and trained in secret by the Assassin Sir Hector until he comes of age and takes his father sword, Excalibur, out of the stone. He is now the king of Lloegyr, that is, England. He will prosecute the Saxons and their masters, the Order of the Ancients, to whom he blames about his father's death. For his constant success in battles, this great leader will be called Artorius, the bear, or simply Arthur.
Arthur will move Lloegyr's capital from Londinium to Caerleon and found Camelot and its Round Table, where his 150 knights assemble. Only twelve of these knights, the best among the Britons, take the secret rituals under the castle to enter Myrddin's Assassin Brotherhood.
At the Round Table, Arthur also forges powerful alliances: king Hygelac of the Geats and his nephew prince Beowulf, Theuderic I of the Merovingians, Theudis of Spain, Al-Mundhir III of Al-Hira, and, of course, the mighty Justinian the Great of Constantinople, represented at Camelot by a close friend of king Arthur, the general Belisarius.
At this time, we know Dinadan, a teenager peasant from the fields around Camelot that looks up to king Arthur's knights in their shiny armors. Like Perceval himself, Dina will leave home to seek an audience with the king. Of course, she is just a woman and has no lineage, so her demands to be knighted are ignored. Yet she is a special individual; Myrddin can see that. Dinavan is born with the ability to see strange symbols in the millennary walls of Camelot. When asked, she assures she has an eagle friend called Lancelot that follows her everywhere. Because of this, Myrddin decides to take care of Dina's education himself.
At this time, we know Dinadan, a teenager peasant from the fields around Camelot that looks up to king Arthur's knights in their shiny armors. Like Perceval himself, Dina will leave home to seek an audience with the king. Of course, she is just a woman and has no lineage, so her demands to be knighted are ignored. Yet she is a special individual; Myrddin can see that. Dinavan is born with the ability to see strange symbols in the millennary walls of Camelot. When asked, she assures she has an eagle friend called Lancelot that follows her everywhere. Because of this, Myrddin decides to take care of Dina's education himself.
Dina is trained and sent as an apprentice Assassin to the different kingdoms: Lloegyr, Wales, Cornwall, and even the savage region of the northern Picts.
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| Romano British warriors, Arthur's knights approximate look. |
Time passes by, and Dina will command a viking ship that she takes from a group of Saxon invaders. With this ship, Dina will not only fight at land, but at also at the river Thames and the northern seas and islands.
Eventually Dina's success grants her fame and respect. However, this changes when she gets involved in a passionate love affair with Sir Mordred, Arthur's nephew and best man. Mordred secretly works for the Order of the Ancients and will set up a trap: many innocents will die, Excalibur will be stolen, and Dina will be blamed and expelled from the Brotherhood.
To take Excalibur back and regain Myrddin and Arthur's trust, Dina will infiltrate into Saxon lands and defeat the Saxon chiefs Hengist and Horsa, who in turn lead her to the Byzantine general Belisarius. He, as is finally revealed, is the Great Master of the Order of the Ancients: it is his gold that finances Saxon raiders and turned some Briton nobles against Arthur. Belisarius has already taken Rome and is planning to control England.
Dina does not manage to kill Belisarius, yet she retrieves Excalibur from his hands and makes the general lose an eye with a strike of her hidden blade. This is the origin of the legend of Belisarius' blindness.
Dina does not manage to kill Belisarius, yet she retrieves Excalibur from his hands and makes the general lose an eye with a strike of her hidden blade. This is the origin of the legend of Belisarius' blindness.
When she returns to England with the king's sword, Dina proves herself worthy of trust and exposes Sir Mordred alliance with Belisarius. She is welcomed back into the Brotherhood and king Arthur himself bows to her.
Dina is now an expert Assassin Knight that works in the shadows to serve King Arthur. There is a last mission for her: she will travel to Masyaf, the real heart of the Brotherhood, to learn directly from the medjay-assassin skills of its founders. With her, she will carry a scroll with vital information gathered by Myrddin that, six centuries later, will help Altaïr find the Apple of Eden hidden deep inside Solomon's Temple. Regarding the fate of Excalibur, centuries after the fall of Camelot, it will belong to Jacques de Molay and, later, to Francois-Thomas Germain. Assassin Arno Dorian, however, will take it back in the French Revolution.
Thank you for reading. If you liked it, please, leave a comment in the comment section or just share the Assassin's Creed Excalibur idea in your social networks. But please, remember to credit my writing: I am Guillermo Lance, a Spanish teacher and writer, and a great Assassin's Creed fan.
See you in the Animus!
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