Bots, emailconfirmed, Administrators
34,286
edits
More actions
The Creation of Camelot (short story) (edit)
Revision as of 20:50, 5 September 2023
, 5 September 2023Per Forum:References into Worldbuilding; cosmetic changes
(a little fine-tuning) Tag: 2017 source edit |
m (Per Forum:References into Worldbuilding; cosmetic changes) |
||
| Line 19: | Line 19: | ||
== Summary == | == Summary == | ||
The [[Fifth Doctor]] and [[Tegan Jovanka]] land in the middle of a cold, forest landscape and, when they try to ask the nearby villagers for some food, immediately get themselves captured by guards who looked like [[Viking]]s, and taken to a dingy cell. Anxious, Tegan asks the Doctor when and where they are; he is unsure, as [[the Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]'s [[time mechanism]] has been acting up, but speculates that they are in early medieval [[Britain]] — more exactly, during the reign of [[King Arthur]]. This is soon confirmed when they are taken by the [[captain of the guard (The Creation of Camelot)|captain of the guard]] to the King's chamber. On the way, the Doctor is told that he may not only meet the King, but also "the Merlin", who the captain explains is "the King's [[necromancer]]", [[advisor]] and [[bard]]. | The [[Fifth Doctor]] and [[Tegan Jovanka]] land in the middle of a cold, forest landscape and, when they try to ask the nearby villagers for some food, immediately get themselves captured by guards who looked like [[Viking]]s, and taken to a dingy cell. Anxious, Tegan asks the Doctor when and where they are; he is unsure, as [[the Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]'s [[time mechanism]] has been acting up, but speculates that they are in early medieval [[Britain]] — more exactly, during the reign of [[King Arthur]]. This is soon confirmed when they are taken by the [[captain of the guard (The Creation of Camelot)|captain of the guard]] to the King's chamber. On the way, the Doctor is told that he may not only meet the King, but also "the Merlin", who the captain explains is "the King's [[necromancer]]", [[advisor]] and [[bard]]. | ||
The [[High King]] is alone when they meet him. He is a charismatic and evidently benevolent man, but, to the Doctor and Tegan's horror, is familiar with the name "[[TARDIS]]" when they mention it; as Arthur tells them more about his "Merlin", they become more and more certain that he is none other than [[the Master (The Creation of Camelot)|the Master]]. He first "appeared" just after Arthur's [[coronation]], following the death of the old Merlin, [[Blaise]]. Arthur even notes that he "vanishes for long stretches at a time". The Doctor lends credence to his claims that the Merlin is evil when he tells Arthur the name of [[Mordred]], the son of Arthur's villainous half-sister [[Morgan (The Creation of Camelot)|Morgan]], whose existence is a closely-guarded secret. Arthur thought he had had the baby killed (something he reveals with an equanimity which rather undercuts his earlier geniality), but had sent the ''Merlin'' to [[Lothian]] to deal with it. The Doctor guesses that the Master actually took the baby to safety, to grow into the Mordred who, as ''[[La Mort d'Arthur]]'' holds, will one day kill Arthur at the [[battle of Camlan]]. The Doctor further guesses that the Master's plan involves "speeding up" established history, summoning [[Saxon]]s to Britain ''before'' Arthur unites it rather than after his death. | The [[High King]] is alone when they meet him. He is a charismatic and evidently benevolent man, but, to the Doctor and Tegan's horror, is familiar with the name "[[TARDIS]]" when they mention it; as Arthur tells them more about his "Merlin", they become more and more certain that he is none other than [[the Master (The Creation of Camelot)|the Master]]. He first "appeared" just after Arthur's [[coronation]], following the death of the old Merlin, [[Blaise]]. Arthur even notes that he "vanishes for long stretches at a time". The Doctor lends credence to his claims that the Merlin is evil when he tells Arthur the name of [[Mordred]], the son of Arthur's villainous half-sister [[Morgan (The Creation of Camelot)|Morgan]], whose existence is a closely-guarded secret. Arthur thought he had had the baby killed (something he reveals with an equanimity which rather undercuts his earlier geniality), but had sent the ''Merlin'' to [[Lothian]] to deal with it. The Doctor guesses that the Master actually took the baby to safety, to grow into the Mordred who, as ''[[La Mort d'Arthur]]'' holds, will one day kill Arthur at the [[battle of Camlan]]. The Doctor further guesses that the Master's plan involves "speeding up" established history, summoning [[Saxon]]s to Britain ''before'' Arthur unites it rather than after his death. | ||
| Line 32: | Line 32: | ||
* [[King Arthur]] | * [[King Arthur]] | ||
== | == Worldbuilding == | ||
* [[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]] recalls that when she was at school, she "had to read history books with pictures in", though she was not very interested in her lessons. [[Camelot]]'s guards remind her of illustrations of [[Viking]]s in such books. The [[Fifth Doctor]] is annoyed at this, telling her that the real Vikings looked nothing like the "huge men with helmets with horns on them" that her "ignorant teachers" told her about. | * [[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]] recalls that when she was at school, she "had to read history books with pictures in", though she was not very interested in her lessons. [[Camelot]]'s guards remind her of illustrations of [[Viking]]s in such books. The [[Fifth Doctor]] is annoyed at this, telling her that the real Vikings looked nothing like the "huge men with helmets with horns on them" that her "ignorant teachers" told her about. | ||
* [[Blaise]] served as the Merlin of [[King Arthur]]'s father, [[Uther Pendragon|King Uther]]. | * [[Blaise]] served as the Merlin of [[King Arthur]]'s father, [[Uther Pendragon|King Uther]]. | ||