Photo by Ryan Durney

There are many legendary creatures: Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, but in antiquity no legendary creature was as horrifying as a giant octopus-like monster called the Kraken. According to stories this huge, many armed, creature looked like an island when motionless and could reach as high as the top of a sailing ship’s main mast with its arms deployed.

When the Kraken attacked a ship, it wrapped its arms around the hull and capsize it. The crew would drown or be eaten by the monster. Kraken were mostly noticed  in the seas of Scandinavia. Fishermen said that huge amounts of fishs gravitate around Kraken and the boat that succeeds to fish around the monster without awaking it will take more than possible to carry aboard.

The Kraken of legend is probably what we know today as the giant squid. Though they are considerably less then a mile and a half across, they are large enough to wrestle with a sperm whale.

Early stories about Kraken, from Norway in the twelfth century, refer to a creature the size of an island. Even in 1752, when the Bishop of Bergen, Erik Ludvigsen Pontoppidan, wrote his Natural History of Norway he described the Kraken as a “floating island” one and a half miles across. He also noted: “It seems these are the creature’s arms, and, it is said, if they were to lay hold of the largest man-of-war, they would pull it down to the bottom.”

Later Kraken stories bring the creature down to a smaller, but still monstrous size and assimilated it as a giant octopus.

On at least three occasions in the thirties they attacked a ship. While the squids got the worst of these encounters when they slid into the ship’s propellers, the fact that they attacked at all shows that it is possible for these creatures to mistake a vessel for a whale.

In the news today, the lair of the kraken was possibly discovered. This article is taken from Lair of Ancient ‘Kraken’ Sea Monster Possibly Discovered by LiveScience.com via Yahoo:

A giant sea monster, the likes of the mythological kraken, may have swum Earth’s ancient oceans, snagging what was thought to be the sea’s top predators — school bus-size ichthyosaurs with fearsome teeth.

The kraken, which would’ve been nearly 100 feet (30 meters) long, or twice the size of the colossal squid, Mesonychoteuthis, likely drowned or broke the necks of the ichthyosaurs before dragging the corpses to its lair, akin to an octopus’s midden, according to study researcher Mark McMenamin, a paleontologist at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. [Rumor or Reality: The Creatures of Cryptozoology]

There is no direct evidence for the beast, though McMenamin suggests that’s because it was soft-bodied and didn’t stand the test of time; even so, to make a firm case for its existence one would want to find more direct evidence.

McMenamin is scheduled to present his work Monday (Oct. 10) at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Minneapolis.

Cause of death

Evidence for the kraken and its gruesome attacks comes from markings on the bones of the remains of nine 45-foot (14 meter) ichthyosaurs of the species Shonisaurus popularis, which lived during theTriassic, a period that lasted from 248 million to 206 million years ago. The beasts were the Triassic version of today’s predatory giant squid-eating sperm whales.

Mark McMenamin, a paleontologist at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts was interested in solving a long-standing puzzle over the cause of death of the S. popularis individuals at the Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park in Nevada. An expert on the site, Charles Lewis Camp of U.C. Berkeley, suggested in the 1950s that the ichthyosaurs succumbed to an accidental stranding or a toxic plankton bloom. However, nobody has been able to prove the beasts died in shallow water, and recent work on the rocks around the fossils suggests they died in a deepwater environment, McMenamin said. [See image of kraken's lair]

“I was aware that anytime there is controversy about depth, there is probably something interesting going on,” McMenamin said. And when he and his daughter arrived at the park, they were struck by the remains’ strangeness, particularly “a very odd configuration of bones.”

The etching on the bones suggested the shonisaurs were not all killed and buried at the same time, he said. It also looked like the bones had been purposefully rearranged, likely carried to the “kraken’s lair” after they had been killed. A similar behavior has been seen in modern octopus.

The markings and rearrangement of the S. popularis bones suggests an octopus-like creature (like a kraken) either drowned the ichthyosaurs or broke their necks, according to McMenamin.

The arranged vertebrae also seemed to resemble the pattern of sucker disks on a cephalopod’s tentacle, with each vertebra strongly resembling a sucker made by a member of the Coleoidea, which includes octopuses, squid, cuttlefish and their relatives. The researchers suggest this pattern reveals a self-portrait of the mysterious beast.

The perfect crime?

Next, McMenamin wondered if an octopus-like creature could realistically have taken out the huge swimming predatory reptiles. Evidence is in their favor, it seems. Video taken by staff at the Seattle Aquarium showed that a large octopus in one of their large tanks had been killing the sharks. [On the Brink: A Gallery of Wild Sharks]

“We think that this cephalopod in the Triassic was doing the same thing,” McMenamin said. More supporting evidence: There were many more broken ribs seen in the shonisaur fossils than would seem accidental, as well as evidence of twisted necks.

“It was either drowning them or breaking their necks,” McMenamin said.

So where did this kraken go? Since octopuses are mostly soft-bodied they don’t fossilize well and scientists wouldn’t expect to find their remains from so long ago. Only their beaks, or mouthparts, are hard and the chances of those being preserved nearby are very low, according to the researchers.

Though his case is circumstantial, and likely to draw skepticism from other scientists, McMenamin said: “We’re ready for this. We have a very good case.”

In the follow clips, you can see Hollywood’s vision of the Kraken in action.

This is from Clash of the Titans.

This is from Pirates of the Caribbean.

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Skywing Book Doctoring

Also, I have officially begun my services as a book doctor? Do you have a novel that you want edited before publishing? Are you writing a novel and want to make sure it is going the right way? Does your novel keep getting rejected and you want to know what’s wrong?

For $100, I will diagnose your first 100 pages to check for conflict, characterization, and story structure (the keys to publishable material). Contact me at skywinginc@hotmail.com for more information.

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Skywing Online Writing Workshop

Starting in the next few weeks, I will hold an intensive workshop on the antagonist called Antagonists II. Go beyond why an antagonist is the vital part of any story to how to create antagonists that will send your story to the next level. You will learn why an antagonist doesn’t have to be bad to make an impact, the importance of the primary antagonist and scene antagonists, and why certain antagonists such as Hannibal Lecter, the Joker, and Darth Vader will live on forever. Sign up this week. Ten spots only.

I was trained by two time best selling author Kristen Lamb, author of We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me Writer.

For $20, you will get the opportunity for me to craft an intriguing antagonist or villain for your novel. You will get personal attention from me during your time in the workshop and others will be able to critique your work.

If you are interested in joining the workshop, send your inquiries to skywinginc@yahoo.com. Interest is high.Sign up for $20 USD via Paypal. Send to skywinginc@yahoo.com. Sign up for one of the ten last spots. 

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CONTEST FOR ALL WRITERS:

I am offering my services to doctor and critique the first 5 pages of your manuscript or screenplay. Your first five pages are your most important.

EVERY time you comment on this blog, I will put your name in the drawing 1 time.

EVERY time you link to this blog on Twitter or Facebook, I will put your name in a drawing twice.

EVERY time you link to this blog in your blog, I will put your name in three times

Drawing and winner will be announced Saturday on the Saturday Smash-Up.

The more your participate, the more chances you have to WIN!!!!!

*****************************************************************************

Join the love revolution happening on Twitter by following and participating in the #MyWANA Twibe. Read this article by Kristen Lamb to understand how this #MyWANA will shift your life and your author platform to the next level.

Welcome to Myth and Legend Monday. Last week, I covered the origin of the vampire. This week it’s time for the other half. The werewolf.

From the days of The Wolfman to the shirtless Jacob Black of Twilight, werewolves are a part of modern day pop culture. With the advent of movies such as Underworld and Twilight, vampires and werewolves have become something of a unit ala peanut butter and jelly. Macaroni and cheese. Lindsay Lohan and jail. You can’t talk about one without the other.

The following information can be found in this website The Astral World.

The term werewolf can be attributed to an ancient European tribe known as the Yulannu Wood Lords of the second millennium B.C. who celebrated the winter solstice Yuletide festival. They were known as weres. Their totem pole had a wolf at the head, which was their totem-animal as many other tribes use different animals as their tribal identities. Being known as weres, their identity could be called the were-wolf and they were known to worship the moon.

Werewolves in the mythical sense go back as far as the 5th century B.C. when the Neurians wore wolf-skins once a year during their festivals. To the outsiders, that could obviously be seen as something dreadful. Lycanthropy, a form of madness which makes people think they are wolves, goes back to the writings of Ovid around the birth of Christ. In mythology and literature, wolf-skins are often worn either for warmth or for war-gear.

• Werewolves and the Church

The Church’s official description of the werewolf first appeared in 1605, by Richard Verstegan:

The werewolves are certain sorcerers who, having anointed their bodies with an ointment which they make by instinct of the devil, and putting on a certain enchanted girdle, do not only into the view of others seem as wolves, but to their own thinking they have both the shape and nature of wolves.

The Bible states:

Leviticus 26:22 – I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number.

Matthew 7:15 – Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Matthew 10:16 – Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore as wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

These lines helped to fuel the fire of the 15th century Inquisitions. During these times, the Gypsies were common in the areas and the Church needed to find some way to rid the world of Gypsies and scare the townspeople from straying into the forest. It was during these times that fairy tales such as Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood came into being. Wolves and witches, the evil beings that inhabit the forests and love the mysterious night.

• The moon

The moon is integral to werewolves? Why? These are the words of Laurence Gardner:

The moon is the realm of the Goddess, represented by those such as Kali and Diana, and is consequently anathema to the One-God Christian faith. And so the wolf, being essentially a nocturnal creature, is dubbed with its own lunar significance, while also being associated with the oak cult of the druids. Apart from denoting time, periods and cycles, the waxing and waning of the moon (which governs magic in the western tradition) causes the tides to flow. The wiccan peak or ‘high-tide’ of psychic energy is determined by the full moon, which is when werewolves are reckoned to take on their wolf form. The wolf’s link with the night is also expressly significant since the night corresponds to the subconscious and the shadows. At night visibility is limited and even familiar objects become only vaguely defined, so there is uncertainty in the air. Resultantly darkness has become associated with things that are hidden and are, therefore, occult – a word which means quite simply ‘hidden’. In the Christian tradition, however, something hidden is regarded as something secret, while secrecy itself is considered to be sinister since it challenges Church supremacy. By virtue of this, darkness becomes sinister, leading to such expressions as ‘the dark side’ when referring to a negative or foreboding aspect. Ultimately then, the werewolf was emblematic of the man who, according to Church doctrine, had strayed in the night having been overcome by dark forces.

• Silver

But where does silver fit into all of this? Werewolves are theoretically able to be killed only by a silver bullet or blade. The Inquisitors associated werewolves with the element of the moon – silver!

There are many different origins to the werewolf legend that can be found all over the world. This goes to show why werewolves are feared monsters in every culture.

Do you have any werewolf origin stories? Which movie or literary werewolf is your favorite?

It’s Myth and Legend Monday. This week I will cover something that is all over the media: vampires. The Vampire Diaries Season 3 started last week. True Blood Season 4 ended.

I have never known how the “vampire” came around. One theory was that Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus, became the first vampire after he committed suicide. I wish I had more to say, but that was the exact thing I heard. Movies come up with their own reasonings behind vampires, but I did a little research and found out a possible explanation for the rise of the “vampire.”

Porphyria.

Ever heard of it, if you have—great. If not, you’re just like me.

Porphyria is a collection of genetic disorders characterized by messed up hemogoblin (stuff in blood which transports oxygen) production. Strangely enough, some believe prohyria is the result of the intermarrying of European nobility, yet the disease has been around as long as humans have.

The symptoms of porphyria is what led the way to the “vampire” we come to know.

• Aversion to sunlight

The skin of a porphyria victim gets disfigured, blacked, and scars when it is exposed to sunlight. The skin also produces sores. Some sores grow thick hair.

• Fangs

The “fangs” vampires have are actually a result of a victim’s nose and ears are eaten away and the gums start receding exposing fang-like teeth.

• Blood drinking

Purple urine is a symptom of porhyria and people believed the urine was that color because victims drank blood. Porphyria victims didn’t drink human blood, but some drank animal blood to relieve their pain and anemia.

• Garlic

Porphyria victims have an issue with garlic because garlic can aggravate their symptoms and can cause them intense pain.

• No reflection

Once a porphyria victim reached later stages when most of their facial features have been eaten away, it’s likely they avoided mirrors to avoid seeing their own reflection.

• Aggression

People suffering from acute porphyria were diagnosed to be irritable, uncooperative, violent and aggressive. They would swear and are basically disinhibited.

Porphyria victims were feared and ostracized—during the Inquisition they were burned at the stake. It is reported that close to 600 victims were burned. This is probably how the idea of the crucifix came into play and why vampires avoid churches.

Who could blame them? If a church would kill you for having a disease, I would avoid it like the plague (pun intended)

Modern-day porphyria is a mutated set of hemoglobin disorders.

Like some tv shows and movies I have watched which stated “Vampirism” is a disease. I can now agree. Can it be cured in reality? No. Do I have to fear of someone biting my neck? Maybe…and as long as she’s hot.

What are your thoughts on the origin of vampires? Do you have any theories?

About a month ago, my mother went to my grandfather’s grave. It was in terrible condition. The grave was broken open from weather. His remains were exposed to the elements. It’s safe to say that it was an emotionally draining sight. She initiated the work to get the grave redone and to have him resting in peace again.

When was the last time you looked at a tombstone. Most carry the three basic things: a name, birth and death date, and an epitaph.

The thing that causes me to think is the birth and death date. On one side, we have the day someone was born and to the right is the day they died. In the middle lies a dash. That dash contains the deceased’s entire life. Their hopes, dreams, mistakes, failures, triumphs…everything.

Before I get into living in the dash, here are some funny epitaphs.

He was young. He was fair. But the Injuns. Raised his hair. — A tombstone in…Tombstone, Ar.

Bill Blake. Was hanged by mistake.

Here lays Butch. We planted him raw. He was quick on the trigger. But slow on the draw.

“I told you I was sick.” — A hypochondriac

Back to business.

Between life and death, we all have a dash. That dash represents our life. The question I have for you today is what are you doing with it. Are you living in the dash or dashing to live?

Dashing to Live

Most of are dashing to live. There is an old cliche. “Stop and smell the roses.” It’s been a while since I stopped to smell the roses. Since junior high school until last year, I have been dashing to live. Life has been on overdrive for me and so many people. Fast food is a billion dollar industry. We expect text messages to be replied to in a matter of minutes. We are a fast paced society dashing to live.

In the process of dashing to live, we stop living. We become focused-driven or survival-driven and dreams, goals, and passions are laid in the wayside until the dash becomes a deathdate. Between Little Jimmy’s little league games, Katie’s dance recitals, shopping, home repairs, school, and religious activities, we lose the opportunity to live…really live.

A dash is a small mark. It represents the brevity of life. If life is so short, why are we rushing to get through it.

Dashing to live doesn’t just mean living a hectic, fast-paced lifestyle. It also means a mundane life. A life of rountine. The day to day grind. That is just much a push to death as going nonstop. The daily routine will kill you because the idea of “living” doesn’t fit into the schedule. 

Living in the Dash

Since life is so short, we have to stop dashing to live and start living in the dash. To live in the dash means to enjoy life. We have a few days before we die and they are full of trouble, why should we spend those days not living a fulfilled life. We have responsiblities, but we shouldn’t let our lives be spent rushing to meet responsiblities. If you have a novel in you, write it. If you have a song to sing, sing it. Take a vacation. Go swim with dolphins. Lie out on a beach and veg out. Go feed the hungry.

When we begin to live in the dash, we begin to see life for what it is. A grand adventure meant to be enjoyed. Like every good adventure, we will have conflict and obstacles and threshold guardians but as long as we keep pushing forward, we will reach a goal…joy and happiness.

Life can end at any moment. Why spend what time we have not enjoying it and doing something that leaves a lasting, postive impact on us, our children, and the world.

Piper Bayard has a great blog called Rockin the Road which can help us all start living in the dash.

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I was the featured author in From a Writer’s POV magazine for August. Click here to read.

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Skywing Book Doctoring

Also, I have officially begun my services as a book doctor? Do you have a novel that you want edited before publishing? Are you writing a novel and want to make sure it is going the right way? Does your novel keep getting rejected and you want to know what’s wrong?

For $100, I will diagnose your first 100 pages to check for conflict, characterization, and story structure (the keys to publishable material). Contact me at skywinginc@hotmail.com for more information.

*****************************************************************************

Skywing Online Writing Workshop

Starting on Tuesday, July 5-Sunday, July 10, I will hold an intensive workshop on the antagonist. The antagonist is the vital part of any story. They are the reason your protagonist has a journey to go on. Are you working on a novel or screenplay? Do you want to create an antagonist that grips your reader and creates the core ingredient for a good story, conflict? Then sign up this week. Only ten spots left.

I was trained by two time best selling author Kristen Lamb, author of We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me Writer.

For $10, you will get the opportunity for me to craft an intriguing antagonist or villain for your novel. You will learn that not all antagonists are villains, but all villains are antagonists. You will get personal attention from me during your time in the workshop and others will be able to critique your work.

If you are interested in joining the workshop, send your inquiries to skywinginc@yahoo.com. Interest is high.Sign up for $10 USD via Paypal. Send to skywinginc@yahoo.com. Sign up for one of the ten last spots. 

*****************************************************************************

CONTEST FOR ALL WRITERS:

I am offering my services to doctor and critique the first 5 pages of your manuscript or screenplay. Your first five pages are your most important.

EVERY time you comment on this blog, I will put your name in the drawing 1 time.

EVERY time you link to this blog on Twitter or Facebook, I will put your name in a drawing twice.

EVERY time you link to this blog in your blog, I will put your name in three times

Drawing and winner will be announced Saturday on the Saturday Smash-Up.

The more your participate, the more chances you have to WIN!!!!!

*****************************************************************************

Join the love revolution happening on Twitter by following and participating in the #MyWANA Twibe. Read this article by Kristen Lamb to understand how this #MyWANA will shift your life and your author platform to the next level.

**************************************************************************

We.Are.At.War A Special blog by Piper Bayard

Welcome to the final week on our series of Arthurian Legends. Today, we shall cover all the Knights of the Round Table. Trust me. It’s a big table.

If the Knights of the Round Table ever existed in real life, it wasn’t in the time of King Arthur. Medieval knights as characterized in Arthurian legend belong to a period running from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries – the historical King Arthur is placed much earlier, around the fifth century. Nonetheless, the image of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table appeals to the imagination and has become an accepted one, if only in literature and legend.

Knights, as such, were real enough – and still are: people become knighted in Britain even today. Medieval knights were usually of noble birth: kings, princes, dukes, earls, and barons, who formed the backbone of any army of the time. They could afford armor and weapons, and the cost of training and maintaining their war-horse: in medieval times, the armored warrior on horseback was the equivalent to the modern tank. Glory in war spilled over into peacetime, with attitude and status and knightly pursuits like jousting and heraldry, hunting and hawking, and a chivalrous way of life (especially towards the ladies, as the knight became the archetypal hero of high romance). Knights were also formed into religious or other ‘Orders of Chivalry’ – like the Round Table – and made an oath to protect the distressed, maintain the right, and live a stainless existence.

The Round Table

The consensus is that Merlin the Wizard created the legendary Round Table – in a shape symbolising the roundness of the universe – for Uther Pendragon, Arthur’s father. When Uther died, it passed to Guinevere’s father, King Laudegraunce, and then to King Arthur when he married Guinevere. Real or symbolic, the Round Table for the fellowship of knights has remained a powerful and appealing concept for several hundreds of years.

The Round Table was first mentioned by the French poet, Wace, in 1155 and in that account was made round so that all the knights seated around it would have the same stature – a table with no head to sqabble over. In Arthurian legend it wasn’t just an actual table but represented the highest Order of Chivalry at King Arthur’s court. The Knights of the Round Table were the cream of British nobility, who followed a strict code of honor and service.

There is a big Round Table hanging on the wall of Winchester Castle, which names 25 shields. Sir Thomas Malory in Le Morte d’Arthur identifies Camelot as the English town of Winchester (disputed by William Caxton, Malory’s own publisher, who asserts that Camelot was in Wales) and there has been a long and popular association between King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and the actual Winchester Round Table, but its origin has been dated to around 1270, the start of the reign of King Edward I – like the knights, well after Arthur’s time.

In literature, the Round Table varies in size according to which author is decribing it. The consensus is that it seated 150, with one chair – the Siège Perilous (‘danger-seat’) – which no-one could occupy safely except for the true Grail-Knight: the knight destined to achieve the Holy Grail, or Sangreal, a symbolism sometimes linked to the Last Supper, which had one place for Judas of ill-omen. The Grail-Knight – it was said that the Siège Perilous was reserved for Sir Perceval, then later, Sir Galahad – was required to be a hero with the purest heart, who was chaste and a virgin without sins (which disqualified Sir Lancelot from the start).

The breakdown of the seating arrangements is this: King Laudegraunce brought 100 when he gave the table to King Arthur, Merlin filled up 28 of the vacant seats, and King Arthur elected Sir Gawain and Sir Tor – the remaining 20 seats, including the danger-seat, were left for those who might prove worthy.

Arthurian legend also contains reference to lesser Orders: the Queen’s Knights, the Knights of the Watch, the Table of Errant Companions, and the Table of Less-Valued Knights, which could explain, in a literary sense, why the Round Table would be so large, though it must have been ring-shaped rather than a round normal table, otherwise most of its surface would have been unreachable.

King Arthur’s Knights

The names of the 25 knights inscribed on the Winchester Round Table are given as:

• King Arthur, Sir Galahad, Sir Lancelot du Lac, Sir Gawain, Sir Percivale, Sir Lionell, Sir Bors de Ganis, Sir Kay, Sir Tristram de Lyones, Sir Gareth, Sir Bedivere, Sir Bleoberis, La Cote Male Taile, Sir Lucan, Sir Palomedes, Sir Lamorak, Sir Safer, Sir Pelleas, Sir Ector de Maris, Sir Dagonet, Sir Degore, Sir Brunor le Noir, Le Bel Desconneu, Sir Alymere, and Sir Mordred.

In Le Morte d’Arthur, Sir Thomas Malory refers to a much more impressive force:

Since the King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are all fictitious characters, there’s no right and wrong answer to the question “How many Knights did the Round Table have?” It’s purely a comparison between different pieces of Arthurian myth and legend – Malory’s was simply a much bigger table than the Winchester Table.

More interesting are their deeds, exploits, and their social significance at the time the best and most comprehensive Arthurian legend works were written, most notably Le Morte d’Arthur, completed in the year 1470.

Robert de Boron’s trilogy of poems

Regarding the origins of the Holy Grail and its relationship with the Round Table, there are three especially interesting works of Arthurian legend – a trilogy of poems by Robert de Boron (a Burgundian knight who wrote not too long after Chrétien de Troyes circa1191): ‘Joseph of Arimathea’, ‘Merlin’, and ‘Perceval’, and which describe the ‘First Table and the Origin of the Grail’, ‘The Grail Dynasty’, ‘The Construction of the Third Table’, and ‘The Round Table and Perceval’. The last one provides a particularly interesting insight into the Holy Grail and the motivations behind the exploits of the Knights of the Round Table:

The Round Table and Perceval

After Arthur is crowned king, Merlin informs the court about origins of the Round Table made by Joseph of Arimathea, and of the Grail family, and the attainment of the Grail. Perceval, the son of Alain le Gros, comes to Arthur’s court and is knighted, but he is not made a member of the Round Table. At Pentecost, King Arthur proclaims a festival at which twelve knights will sit at the Round Table, leaving the thirteenth seat empty to symbolise the seat occupied by Judas at the Last Supper. Perceval asks if he may sit there, and when Arthur attempts to discourage him, the other twelve knights plead on Perceval’s behalf and he is allowed to occupy the vacant seat.

But the seat cracks beneath him and a voice remontrates against King Arthur, and says that Perceval has only been saved from a terrible death by the goodness of his father and his grandfather, Bron. The voice goes on to predict that there will now be great suffering for those seated at the Round Table as they pursue the quest that Perceval has precipitated – the quest for the Holy Grail. The achievement of the quest will require one of the Round Table knights to become the ‘finest knight in the world’ by performing ‘feats of arms and goodness and prowess’. This knight will be guided by God to the house of the Rich Fisher King (Bron), where he will achieve the Grail, and understand its purpose. The Rich Fisher King will be then healed and the cracked seat at the Round Table will be restored.

The end of Round Table

These predictions are to be fulfilled by Sir Perceval, who becomes the new custodian of the Grail after the death of Bron. But the successful quest marks the beginning of the end of the fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table, now undermined by a lack of common-purpose, and the knights plan to go overseas to seek new challenges. Sir Kay persuades King Arthur that only an invasion of continental Europe will hold the Knights of the Round Table together in his service.

France (then Gaul) is duly conquered and the army of the emperor of Rome is defeated, but before he can march on Rome, King Arthur is forced to return to Britain to supress the treachery of Mordred, who has usurped the throne of Britain and is cohabiting with Arthur’s wife, Guinevere. He overcomes Mordred in Cornwall, then pursues him to Ireland where the traitor is finally killed, but Arthur is also fatally wounded, and is taken to Avalon for his wounds to be healed, but he never returns.

This article came from Arthurian-legend.com.

I hope you enjoyed this month’s series on Arthurian legends. Check back next week as we start a new series.

*****************************************************************************

I was the featured author in From a Writer’s POV magazine for August. Click here to read.

****************************************************************************

Skywing Book Doctoring

Also, I have officially begun my services as a book doctor? Do you have a novel that you want edited before publishing? Are you writing a novel and want to make sure it is going the right way? Does your novel keep getting rejected and you want to know what’s wrong?

For $100, I will diagnose your first 100 pages to check for conflict, characterization, and story structure (the keys to publishable material). Contact me at skywinginc@hotmail.com for more information.

*****************************************************************************

Skywing Online Writing Workshop

Starting on Tuesday, July 5-Sunday, July 10, I will hold an intensive workshop on the antagonist. The antagonist is the vital part of any story. They are the reason your protagonist has a journey to go on. Are you working on a novel or screenplay? Do you want to create an antagonist that grips your reader and creates the core ingredient for a good story, conflict? Then sign up this week. Only ten spots left.

I was trained by two time best selling author Kristen Lamb, author of We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me Writer.

For $10, you will get the opportunity for me to craft an intriguing antagonist or villain for your novel. You will learn that not all antagonists are villains, but all villains are antagonists. You will get personal attention from me during your time in the workshop and others will be able to critique your work.

If you are interested in joining the workshop, send your inquiries to skywinginc@yahoo.com. Interest is high.Sign up for $10 USD via Paypal. Send to skywinginc@yahoo.com. Sign up for one of the ten last spots. 

*****************************************************************************

CONTEST FOR ALL WRITERS:

I am offering my services to doctor and critique the first 5 pages of your manuscript or screenplay. Your first five pages are your most important.

EVERY time you comment on this blog, I will put your name in the drawing 1 time.

EVERY time you link to this blog on Twitter or Facebook, I will put your name in a drawing twice.

EVERY time you link to this blog in your blog, I will put your name in three times

Drawing and winner will be announced Saturday on the Saturday Smash-Up.

The more your participate, the more chances you have to WIN!!!!!

*****************************************************************************

Join the love revolution happening on Twitter by following and participating in the #MyWANA Twibe. Read this article by Kristen Lamb to understand how this #MyWANA will shift your life and your author platform to the next level.

Welcome to this week’s edition of video games and storytelling. This week we shall cover the bestselling Western “Red Dead Redemption”.

Plot summary taken from Wikipedia.

In the year 1911, John Marston, a retired outlaw formerly of a gang led by Dutch van der Linde, is taken away from his wife Abigail and his son Jack by government agents. The agents tell Marston that he will be reunited with his family if he hunts down the remaining lead members of his former gang. Left with no choice, Marston travels to the territory of New Austin to capture or kill one of his old friends, Bill Williamson, who now runs his own gang of bandits out of Fort Mercer. Marston confronts Williamson, only to be shot and left for dead outside the fort. A rancher, Bonnie MacFarlane, finds him wounded, and brings him to a doctor to be treated.

After recovering from his wounds several days later, Marston begins repaying the MacFarlanes for their help in the form of several jobs around their ranch. At the same time, he recruits help for a plan to attack Fort Mercer. Along with U.S. Marshal Leigh Johnson of Armadillo and his men, con man Nigel West Dickens, grave robber Seth Briars and drunken arms dealer Irish, Marston uses a Trojan Horse strategy to breach the fort. Marston and the Marshalls breach the fort and massacre Williamson’s gang, only to find that Williamson had already fled to Mexico to seek help from Javier Escuella, another member of Marston’s old gang. Irish offers to take Marston into Mexico over the river border. Along the river, Irish and Marston encounter Mexican bandits. Marston and Irish take the bandits out, barely making it into the country.

In Mexico, Marston works with Mexican Army Colonel Agustin Allende and Captain Vincente de Santa, as well as the revolutionaries in the area led by Abraham Reyes. He also improves his gun skills under the tutelage of elder gunslinger and childhood inspiration Landon Ricketts. Allende promises to deliver Escuella and Williamson to Marston, but soon betrays him and has de Santa attempt to execute Marston for working with the revolutionaries and killing Allende’s men with Ricketts. After escaping execution, Marston sides with the rebels who help kill de Santa and successfully get Marston to Escuella. Following Escuella’s capture or death, Marston joins Reyes and his men for an assault on Allende’s villa, not only culminating in the deaths of Allende and Williamson, but also Marston’s rebel friend Luisa as well when she attempts to save Reyes. Reyes takes control of the surrounding Mexican counties, and vows to march onto the capital with his rebel army. Marston, meanwhile, returns to the city of Blackwater to meet with his government contact, Edgar Ross.

Much to his dismay, Ross will not let Marston return to his family until Dutch van der Linde, who has emerged from hiding, has been killed. While Dutch and his men wage war on the United States Army in the area, Marston has several run-ins with Dutch who manages to elude capture each time. Marston eventually joins Ross and a group of U.S. soldiers in an assault on Dutch’s hideout. Marston follows the outlaws to their base, and confronts Dutch on a cliff. Dutch ultimately chooses to commit suicide, backing off a cliff to his death. Before he dies, Dutch warns Marston that the government will always find another “monster” to justify their pay.

Marston is released from his deal with the government and returns to his family at his ranch. After some time spent getting the farm up and running again, Marston is forced to repel the army when Ross betrays him with a surprise attack. After Marston’s friend Uncle falls, Marston manages to get Abigail and Jack out safely but stays behind to hold back the soldiers. Despite a valiant last stand, John, realizing what he must do to save his family, tells his family to ride away and that he will catch up. Then, John steps out of the barn to confront his attackers. He is able to take down a handful of soldiers, but is shot multiple times by Ross and his men. Jack and Abigail return to the ranch after hearing the gunshots, finding John dead and the soldiers gone. John’s body is buried on a hill overlooking the ranch, his grave inscribed “Blessed are the Peacemakers”.

The game then jumps three years ahead to 1914, where the fresh grave of Abigail rests next to his. An older Jack is seen standing at the foot of where his parents rest. He walks away to search for Edgar Ross who has now retired. After questioning Ross’s wife under the guise of a messenger, Jack learns that the retiree is out hunting. Eventually, he finds Ross shooting ducks on a riverbank. When Jack reveals his identity and intentions to Ross, the two get into a heated argument, and Ross claims that John killed himself with the life he lived. To resolve the dispute, the two duel, in which Jack guns down his father’s killer. Almost immediately after Ross’s death, Jack looks down at his gun in confusion; while he has avenged his father, he has also become a murderer and a criminal, which his father died to prevent. Jack holsters his gun, pauses, and then walks back up the riverbed, his future, uncertain.

A newspaper summarizes the fate of John Marston’s companions. Marshal Leigh Johnson retired as sheriff of Armadillo, and then moved as far away as possible from the town. Abraham Reyes, though promising to lead Mexico into an age of freedom, was consumed by power and became a tyrant. Bonnie MacFarlane eventually married, but it is not said to whom, although several conversations heard throughout MacFarlane’s Ranch suggest she married her foreman, Amos. Irish accidentally shot himself dead in a Thieves Landing outhouse when his gun discharged. Seth Briars eventually found the treasure he was looking for and became rich. Finally, Landon Ricketts passed away quietly in his sleep.

*Game plot taken from Wikipedia.*

The following is a 30-minute short film made from in-game footage.

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I was the featured author in From a Writer’s POV magazine for August. Click here to read.

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Skywing Book Doctoring

Also, I have officially begun my services as a book doctor? Do you have a novel that you want edited before publishing? Are you writing a novel and want to make sure it is going the right way? Does your novel keep getting rejected and you want to know what’s wrong?

For $100, I will diagnose your first 100 pages to check for conflict, characterization, and story structure (the keys to publishable material). Contact me at skywinginc@hotmail.com for more information.

*****************************************************************************

Skywing Online Writing Workshop

Starting on Tuesday, July 5-Sunday, July 10, I will hold an intensive workshop on the antagonist. The antagonist is the vital part of any story. They are the reason your protagonist has a journey to go on. Are you working on a novel or screenplay? Do you want to create an antagonist that grips your reader and creates the core ingredient for a good story, conflict? Then sign up this week. Only ten spots left.

I was trained by two time best selling author Kristen Lamb, author of We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me Writer.

For $10, you will get the opportunity for me to craft an intriguing antagonist or villain for your novel. You will learn that not all antagonists are villains, but all villains are antagonists. You will get personal attention from me during your time in the workshop and others will be able to critique your work.

If you are interested in joining the workshop, send your inquiries to skywinginc@yahoo.com. Interest is high.Sign up for $10 USD via Paypal. Send to skywinginc@yahoo.com. Sign up for one of the ten last spots. 

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CONTEST FOR ALL WRITERS:

I am offering my services to doctor and critique the first 5 pages of your manuscript or screenplay. Your first five pages are your most important.

EVERY time you comment on this blog, I will put your name in the drawing 1 time.

EVERY time you link to this blog on Twitter or Facebook, I will put your name in a drawing twice.

EVERY time you link to this blog in your blog, I will put your name in three times

Drawing and winner will be announced Saturday on the Saturday Smash-Up.

The more your participate, the more chances you have to WIN!!!!!

*****************************************************************************

Join the love revolution happening on Twitter by following and participating in the #MyWANA Twibe. Read this article by Kristen Lamb to understand how this #MyWANA will shift your life and your author platform to the next level.

Welcome back to this month’s series on Arthurian legends. This week we cover literature and pop culture’s greatest wizard and the archetype for the mentor character: Merlin. I found the following information from this website: Arthurian Legend.

The original Merlin legend is not connected with King Arthur. He is portrayed in various medieval Welsh poems as a prophetic Wild Man living in the Caledonian forest in the 6th century. Other Scottish sources identify such a Wild Man as Lailoken, not Myrddin, but the tale is similar. It has been suggested that ‘Myrddin’ is a name that was created, in accordance with early traditions, to explain the place name ‘Caer-fyrddin’ (Carmarthen) and that it subsequently substituted the name Lailoken, in which case the earliest version of the Merlin legend is of Scottish rather than Welsh origin.

In ‘Historia Brittonum’ Nennius, the self-styled “historiographer of the Britons”, wrote that Vortigern, the British king during the mid-fifth century, took refuge from the Saxons in the remote mountains of Heremus where he tried to build a fortified city. Unfortunately the materials gathered for its construction kept disappearing in the night – a problem that soothsayers said could only be solved by sprinkling on the ground the blood of a boy with no father.

Vortigern’s messengers found such a boy in Glamorgan, whose name was Ambrosius and whose mother claimed he had been begotten by a spirit who would appear and disappear. The boy was taken to Vortigern to be sacrificed, but he solved the problem of the disappearing stones not by being sacrificed but by detecting an underground pool on Vortigern’s chosen site. The pool was emptied and two dragons appeared – one white and one red. The dragons fought each other and at first, the white one (which according to Ambrosius represented the Saxons) was winning, but eventually the red one won (representing the Britons). This foretold the death of Vortigern (for his alledged complicity with the Saxon invaders) and that the current Saxon dominance in Britain would eventually be overcome by the forces of Good. The king subsequently assigned the fortress to Ambrosius, together with all the western provinces of Britain.

Sir Thomas Malory’s epic work, Le Morte d’Arthur, was completed in 1470. Malory’s central character is Arthur, not Merlin (who disappears from the story in Book 4 out of 21). Whilst Le Morte d’Arthur draws overall on a wider variety of sources, the first four books are considered to be an abridged version of the ‘Suite de Merlin’, another thirteenth-century prose work that is closely connected to the Vulgate Cycle.

Despite his early exit, Malory’s Merlin plays a crucial role during the early years of King Arthur. We see his now-familiar part in the conception of Arthur by Uther and Ygerna (now Igraine) at Tintagel Castle, followed nine months later by Arthur’s birth and removal by Merlin (according to his bargain with Uther) to be fostered by Sir Ector. Thereafter Merlin becomes Arthur’s constant advisor, slipping in and out of the narrative as the occasion demands, often in disguise, to dispense foresight, knowledge, and guidance, and Malory uses him as a literary device, foretelling the future in the manner of fate – what Merlin speaks will be fulfilled.

There is little of the Merlin legend in Le Morte d’Arthur that is completely new. The main events include Merlin’s kingmaking role, initiated by his advice to the Archbishop of Canterbury to send for all the lords who would be king to assemble in London at Christmas, and to come to mass and pray, after which the great marble stone is seen with the sword stuck into it with the famous inscription that whoever pulls the sword is “rightwise king born of all England.” His advice and influence are then crucial in persuading the barons to maintain support to the young king in his wars against the rebel kings, as is his guidance to Arthur in battle, in which Merlin also saves Arthur’s life and how Arthur (by means of Merlin) got Excalibur, his sword, from the Lady of the Lake.

In Book 2, Merlin made further predictions regarding

•  Sirs Balin and Balan (including the “dolorous stroke” that Balin would deal to the truest knight alive, causing a wound that would not heal, making 3 kingdoms poor for 12 years),
• Kings Pellinore and Bagdemagus (Arthur’s cousin),
• Arthur’s near killing by Sir Accolon,
• Merlin’s own death, and
• the Sangreal.

Arthur’s marriage to Guinevere takes place in Book 3. The barons had suggested that it was time Arthur took a wife, and when he confided to Merlin that he loved Guinevere, Merlin warned him that she wasn’t wholesome enough to be his wife – Sir Lancelot (Launcelot) would later love her, and she would love Launcelot – but he could see the king’s heart was set so he went to inform Leodegrance (Guinevere’s father) of Arthur’s desire. During the wedding feast a white hart appeared, pursued by a brachet and sixty black hounds – at which point Merlin called for immediate quests on the part of Sir Gawain, Sir Tor, and King Pellinor. Each of the three quests was carried out and when the knights had returned the Bishop of Canterbury was able to ordain the Knights of the Round Table.

Merlin meets his end in Book 4. King Pellinor happened to have brought a lady to the court. Her name was Nimue, known as the Damsel of the Lake. Merlin became besotted with her and was hardly away from her side. She accommodated him until she had learnt from him all the crafts that she could. They went together over the sea to the land of Benwick, where Merlin saw the young Launcelot and predicted that the same child would one day be the most worshipped man in the world. By this time Nimue had become weary of his constant attention. On their travels they came to a cave beneath a great stone, and she saw her chance to be rid of him. She let Merlin go first under the stone so he could lead her to the marvels in the cave, then as soon as he was down she turned his magic against him and he became sealed inside, never to come out. And there, rather unceremoniously, Merlin leaves Malory’s story.

Merlin has remained a popular figure since his appearance in early medieval literature, persisting through the Renaissance period into modern times. He is the architect of Camelot in Tennyson’s poem ‘The Idylls of the King’, a figure later parodied by Mark Twain and painted by the American artist N.C. Wyeth. Other than Arthur himself, Merlin is probably the most frequently depicted Arthurian character, being portrayed in numerous poems, novels, and plays.

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I was the featured author in From a Writer’s POV magazine for August. Click here to read.

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Skywing Book Doctoring

Also, I have officially begun my services as a book doctor? Do you have a novel that you want edited before publishing? Are you writing a novel and want to make sure it is going the right way? Does your novel keep getting rejected and you want to know what’s wrong?

For $100, I will diagnose your first 100 pages to check for conflict, characterization, and story structure (the keys to publishable material). Contact me at skywinginc@hotmail.com for more information.

*****************************************************************************

Skywing Online Writing Workshop

Starting on Tuesday, July 5-Sunday, July 10, I will hold an intensive workshop on the antagonist. The antagonist is the vital part of any story. They are the reason your protagonist has a journey to go on. Are you working on a novel or screenplay? Do you want to create an antagonist that grips your reader and creates the core ingredient for a good story, conflict? Then sign up this week. Only ten spots left.

I was trained by two time best selling author Kristen Lamb, author of We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me Writer.

For $10, you will get the opportunity for me to craft an intriguing antagonist or villain for your novel. You will learn that not all antagonists are villains, but all villains are antagonists. You will get personal attention from me during your time in the workshop and others will be able to critique your work.

If you are interested in joining the workshop, send your inquiries to skywinginc@yahoo.com. Interest is high.Sign up for $10 USD via Paypal. Send to skywinginc@yahoo.com. Sign up for one of the ten last spots. 

*****************************************************************************

CONTEST FOR ALL WRITERS:

I am offering my services to doctor and critique the first 5 pages of your manuscript or screenplay. Your first five pages are your most important.

EVERY time you comment on this blog, I will put your name in the drawing 1 time.

EVERY time you link to this blog on Twitter or Facebook, I will put your name in a drawing twice.

EVERY time you link to this blog in your blog, I will put your name in three times

Drawing and winner will be announced Saturday on the Saturday Smash-Up.

The more your participate, the more chances you have to WIN!!!!!

*****************************************************************************

Join the love revolution happening on Twitter by following and participating in the #MyWANA Twibe. Read this article by Kristen Lamb to understand how this #MyWANA will shift your life and your author platform to the next level.

Welcome to Video Games and Storytelling. This week we finish the Metal Gear saga by going into the story for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. If you missed the three weeks, read the blogs for Metal Gear Solid (Part 1)  and Metal Gear Solid (Part 2) and Metal Gear Solid 2:Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater before this one.

Synopsis taken from IMDB.com.

Check out this trailer to Metal Gear Solid 4.

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I was the featured author in From a Writer’s POV magazine for August. Click here to read.

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Skywing Book Doctoring

Also, I have officially begun my services as a book doctor? Do you have a novel that you want edited before publishing? Are you writing a novel and want to make sure it is going the right way? Does your novel keep getting rejected and you want to know what’s wrong?

For $100, I will diagnose your first 100 pages to check for conflict, characterization, and story structure (the keys to publishable material). Contact me at skywinginc@hotmail.com for more information.

*****************************************************************************

Skywing Online Writing Workshop

Starting on Tuesday, July 5-Sunday, July 10, I will hold an intensive workshop on the antagonist. The antagonist is the vital part of any story. They are the reason your protagonist has a journey to go on. Are you working on a novel or screenplay? Do you want to create an antagonist that grips your reader and creates the core ingredient for a good story, conflict? Then sign up this week. Only ten spots left.

I was trained by two time best selling author Kristen Lamb, author of We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me Writer.

For $10, you will get the opportunity for me to craft an intriguing antagonist or villain for your novel. You will learn that not all antagonists are villains, but all villains are antagonists. You will get personal attention from me during your time in the workshop and others will be able to critique your work.

If you are interested in joining the workshop, send your inquiries to skywinginc@yahoo.com. Interest is high.Sign up for $10 USD via Paypal. Send to skywinginc@yahoo.com. Sign up for one of the ten last spots. 

*****************************************************************************

CONTEST FOR ALL WRITERS:

I am offering my services to doctor and critique the first 5 pages of your manuscript or screenplay. Your first five pages are your most important.

EVERY time you comment on this blog, I will put your name in the drawing 1 time.

EVERY time you link to this blog on Twitter or Facebook, I will put your name in a drawing twice.

EVERY time you link to this blog in your blog, I will put your name in three times

Drawing and winner will be announced Saturday on the Saturday Smash-Up.

The more your participate, the more chances you have to WIN!!!!!

*****************************************************************************

Join the love revolution happening on Twitter by following and participating in the #MyWANA Twibe. Read this article by Kristen Lamb to understand how this #MyWANA will shift your life and your author platform to the next level.

We are introduced to Rizwan Khan, a Muslim man, as he is held by the TSA because his suspicious actions alerts them. They find out he is autistic. He has Asperger’s Syndrome.

Next, we are given a flashback of Khan as a boy in Mumbai during the Hindu-Muslim riots of 1983.  He is mentally challenged but has a good heart. This flashback we see his normal world of living different in a world that is “normal.” Despite his condition, he shown to be a bright child which is illustrated by how he uses a bicycle to pump water out of a crowded apartment courtyard. Years pass, Khan’s normal world of India is changed into the special world of the U.S. with his first stop in San Francisco. It is there where he learns of his autism. He has a different yet insightful look into things most people consider “mundane.” While working for his brother, he meets his future wife Mandira, a Hindu woman, who is taken with his child-like innocence. They eventually marry.

The second act puts Khan in a special world of a post-9/11 America as his family experiences hate due to his last name. After finally adjusting to a world who doesn’t understand him, he has to adjust to a world which doesn’t understand his faith. This leads to a tragedy which sends Khan on a quest to reclaim the love of his life.

There is no clear cut antagonist as the antagonist is ever shifting. In the first act, the antagonists are general people who are proxies of Khan’s autism. They make fun of him. In Act II, the proxy is changed to people who fear Khan’s Muslim faith as the U.S. has experienced 9/11. They not only attack him but his family. I will not remark on the final antagonist as it would detract from the powerful nature of this film.

There are scenes which border on melodrama, but the reality of the conflict keeps it grounded. One powerful moment is when Khan goes into a mosque to pray. He overhears an Imam giving a Jihad-type speech. He calls the Imam a liar and says the way of Allah is “love not war and hatred.” His faith breaks through the hatred the Imam intended to spread.

Clocking in at 2 hours and 41 mins, the inciting incident occurs at 1 hour and 30 min. The first hour and a half is inter-cut with the 2008 adventure of Khan trying to reach Washington D.C.  and his life as boy to pre 9/11 to post 9/11. Due to fragmented chronology of the film, you come to realize that the incident incident has already occurred in scene 1 and the extensive backstory is vital to this story.  This story works because at its heart it’s a boy meets girl, boy loses girl and the boy goes on cross-country journey in order to reclaim the girl.

This movie is in the league of “Rain Man” and “Forrest Gump.” A man with mental handicap, but a wide-eyed view on life who takes a grand journey and in effect changes the lives of everyone he comes in contact with.

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For more information on Asperger’s Syndrome, go to this blog.

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I was the featured author in From a Writer’s POV magazine for August. Click here to read.

****************************************************************************

Skywing Book Doctoring

Also, I have officially begun my services as a book doctor? Do you have a novel that you want edited before publishing? Are you writing a novel and want to make sure it is going the right way? Does your novel keep getting rejected and you want to know what’s wrong?

For $100, I will diagnose your first 100 pages to check for conflict, characterization, and story structure (the keys to publishable material). Contact me at skywinginc@hotmail.com for more information.

*****************************************************************************

Skywing Online Writing Workshop

Starting on Tuesday, July 5-Sunday, July 10, I will hold an intensive workshop on the antagonist. The antagonist is the vital part of any story. They are the reason your protagonist has a journey to go on. Are you working on a novel or screenplay? Do you want to create an antagonist that grips your reader and creates the core ingredient for a good story, conflict? Then sign up this week. Only ten spots left.

I was trained by two time best selling author Kristen Lamb, author of We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me Writer.

For $10, you will get the opportunity for me to craft an intriguing antagonist or villain for your novel. You will learn that not all antagonists are villains, but all villains are antagonists. You will get personal attention from me during your time in the workshop and others will be able to critique your work.

If you are interested in joining the workshop, send your inquiries to skywinginc@yahoo.com. Interest is high.Sign up for $10 USD via Paypal. Send to skywinginc@yahoo.com. Sign up for one of the ten last spots. 

*****************************************************************************

CONTEST FOR ALL WRITERS:

I am offering my services to doctor and critique the first 5 pages of your manuscript or screenplay. Your first five pages are your most important.

EVERY time you comment on this blog, I will put your name in the drawing 1 time.

EVERY time you link to this blog on Twitter or Facebook, I will put your name in a drawing twice.

EVERY time you link to this blog in your blog, I will put your name in three times

Drawing and winner will be announced Saturday on the Saturday Smash-Up.

The more your participate, the more chances you have to WIN!!!!!

*****************************************************************************

Join the love revolution happening on Twitter by following and participating in the #MyWANA Twibe. Read this article by Kristen Lamb to understand how this #MyWANA will shift your life and your author platform to the next level.

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We.Are.At.War A Special blog by Piper Bayard

Morgan Le Fay was first introduced into Arthurian legend by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the Vita Merlini (c. 1150) but her true origin, as with many Arthurian characters, leads back into Celtic mythology and inevitably develops with each new rendition of the tale. Morgan Le Fay’s character is interesting enough, but so is her name.

The name ‘Morgan Le Fay’

In Celtic terms, Morgan (or Morcant) is a man’s name. The feminine version is more correctly Morgain (or Morgue or Morgne). Also Morrigan equates with Morrigu of Irish mythology. According to Celtic tradition the Morrigan (a Triple Goddess of Celtic myth, thought of as the Goddess of Death) flew over battles, shrieking like ravens and claiming dead soldiers’ heads as trophies. Or the answer may lie in Uriens – in early Welsh literature Modron (a version of Matrona) was the daughter of Avallach, wife of Urien, and mother of Owein. The Welsh and Arthurian story lines were later merged, forming a link between Modron and King Arthur. Further, there was a sixth-century Cumbrian ruler called Urien Rheged who presided over a loose coalition of kings (according to some accounts there was also an Arthur, son of King Aedan of dal Riada). Urien had a loose ally: Morcant Bulc – a man – who eventually plotted to assassinate him, which could have been Sir Thomas Malory’s inspiration for the plot in Le Morte d’Arthur where Morgan Le Fay attempts to kill Arthur and Uriens.

‘Le Fay’ is an ancient word for a fairy and to this day, apparently, the Breton name for a water-nymph is a ‘Morgan’.

The possible roots of the Arthurian character Morgan Le Fay therefore run deep into early British mythology and can be traced across several hundred years up to her final act as one of the three women who transported the fatally wounded King Arthur in a barge to the Isle of Avalon to be healed (outcome unrecorded). A speculative summary, based on Welsh and other Arthurian legend, suggest an identification with Modron and also with the river goddess Matrona, possibly derived from the Irish goddess Morrigan. Given the superstitious Christian attitude to supernatural women in the medieval era, the more she is humanized, the more the name Morgan Le Fay descends into an easy literary metaphor for devious, sometimes evil mischief.

Nonetheless the much-maligned Morgan Le Fay never becomes purely evil. Her attractive qualities remain – a healer, she is associated with art and culture, she is sexy, and in the end is worthy of redemption.

Morgan Le Fay in Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur

In Le Morte d’Arthur Morgan Le Fay is fully established as wife of Uriens, sister of Arthur, but is not, truly, a major character. Her best-known part in the tale is as follows:

When Uther Pendragon married Igraine (Book 1), Morgan was the youngest of her three daughters from her previous marriage to Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall, who had been slain by Uther’s army just before he raped her at Tintagel Castle (and begat Arthur). Morgan was then sent to a nunnery. According to Malory’s timescale, at the time of Uther’s death two years later, Morgan would have been between thirteen and sixteen and already married to Uriens. At any rate, when the young King Arthur waged war against the five kings Morgan had a grown son, Uwaine, who was close to knighthood.

King Arthur and Morgan Le Fay first came face to face when he sent for Igraine to verify his parentage. At that stage there are no indications of any feelings either way between Morgan and Arthur, but at the burial of Lot and the eleven kings (Book 2) Merlin told Arthur, “Sir, take care with the scabbard of Excalibur, for ye shall lose no blood while ye have it upon you, no matter how many wounds ye have.” Arthur passed the scabbard to Morgan Le Fay for safekeeping, but she loved another knight more than she did her husband (or King Arthur) so she secretly had made a replica of the scabbard and gave the real one to her lover, Sir Accolon of Gaul to protect him.

Following the war with the five kings, Arthur, Uriens, and Accolon went on a hunt (Book 4). Their horses exhausted, they found themselves near nightfall by a great lake where they saw a silk-clad ship approach. Venturing on board, they were greeted by twelve damosels, banqueted, then shown separate chambers. Once in a drug-induced sleep, each was magically transported away, Uriens back to Camelot (where he awoke beside Morgan), Arthur to the prison of the evil Sir Damas (minus his sword and scabbard), and Accolon to a well close to manor of the good Ontzlake, younger brother of Sir Damas.

Morgan Le Fay’s wicked plan

Despite being brothers, Sir Damas and Sir Ontzlake had become mortal enemies, the younger offering to resolve their differences in combat but the latter always refusing, preferring to elect another knight to fight for him. But Damas was too hated ever to find such a knight. At this point a damsel came to Arthur with an offer from Damas that he and his fellow-prisoners would be freed if he would take on the fight, to which Arthur agreed. The damsel was of course ‘false’, having been sent by Morgan Le Fay.

At the same time a dwarf came to Sir Accolon by the well, sent by Morgan to remind him of his earlier (secret) promise to fight an unspecified knight whenever she chose the moment. Accolon would bring her the knight’s head and Morgan Le Fay would become Queen. And now was the moment. The dwarf gave him Excalibur and the scabbard, sent by Morgan, and Accolon made himself ready for combat, on behalf, as it turned out, of Sir Ontzlake against his brother. As Arthur in turn readied himself another damsel came, once again sent by Morgan, and gave him a sword like Excalibur and its scabbard, from which he took reassurance not knowing they were nothing more than poor replicas. The whole monstrous ruse, evidently, had long been planned by Morgan Le Fay so that she could replace Guinevere as Queen.

Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, saves King Arthur

The duel, watched by Nimue, the Lady of the lake, was prolonged and bloody and Sir Accolon, boldened by Excalibur, almost won after Arthur’s useless sword snapped off at the handle. Nimue took pity and with the help of her enchantment Arthur was able to deal such a blow to his opponent that the real Excalibur fell to the ground and he leaped to it and took it in his hand. About to kill Accolon, he asked his name and Accolon confessed all, and thus was spared but died from his wounds soon after, prompting Arthur to despatch his remains to his half-sister at Camelot as a warning.

In the meantime Morgan would have slain her husband, confident of Accolon’s success with Excalibur and the scabbard, but Uriens was saved at the last moment by the intervention of Uwaine, his son, by whom Morgan would herself have been slain had she not agreed to leave Camelot forever. She rode to the nunnery where Arthur was recovering from his wounds and tried to steal back the real Excalibur and scabbard while he slept, but was only able to take the scabbard because the sword was in his hand. When Arthur awoke he set off with Sir Ontzlake in pursuit of Morgan, but she cast the scabbard into a deep lake. She then used her shape-changing powers to disguise herself and her entourage as standing stones to escape further pursuit.

Morgan Le Fay then retreated to her domains (still Book 4). En route she came across a knight leading another bound knight, Manassen (a cousin of Accolon) to be drowned in a fountain for adultery with his wife. For her lost love, and because Manassen swore his innocence, she released him and let him bind and drown his accuser.

At this point Morgan fades somewhat from the mainstream of the story. She went to occupy her lands in Gore, and then to her Castle of Tauroc. To thwart any reprisal by Arthur she sent a damosel to give him a rich mantle embellished with precious stones (in atonement for her sins). But the mantle was laced with poison – Nimue intervened to save Arthur, who made its bearer put it on, who fell down and burnt to coals. Uwaine was later suspected by Arthur of being instrumental in Morgan’s earlier escape from Camelot, and was banished from the court.

The Royal court appears to have thought Morgan Le Fay dead, until King Arthur came across her residence while out hunting one day, and the two were reconciled. In later life she moved to the Isle of Avalon, where she and her allies, the Queen of Northgalis, and the Queen of the Wastelands (and also many damosels, including Nimue) took her dying half-brother to be “healed” after his last battle.

This information on Morgan came from Arthurian Legend.

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We.Are.At.War A Special blog by Piper Bayard