EXCALIBUR
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THE LEGEND OF EXCALIBUR
Throughout centuries of secrecy, Great Britain's royalty had kept some of its greatest weapons hidden away until such time that England demanded their use; two of those secret weapons were considered to be King Arthur's legendary sword and shield- Excalibur and Pridwin*. Excalibur was considered the "Sword of Kings" and Pridwin was considered to be "King Arthur's Shield".
From as far back as the the 1500s, the Church of England was entrusted with the care, storage and security of what was believed to be both Excalibur and Pridwin (along with hundreds of other magical and/or powerful weapons or relics). Over the centuries, a priory was created for the sword and its shield in the base of the Tower of London. Through the priory, religious ceremonies, blessings and events turned the sword and shield into holy artifacts rather than powerful weapons of war. There, the sword and shield remained in the priory undisturbed...until the American Revolution.
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In 1776, the American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain; an act never before done to the British Empire. As such, King George III, under pressure from parliament to resolve the colonial issue, secretly ordered for a knight regent to be selected to go forth to the American colonies with Excalibur and Pridwin and win back the colonies to British rule.
The new knight, complete with modern armor, Excalibur and Pridwin, sailed to the United States with over 120 highly trained British troops on the HMS Allice. During its secret voyage, the ship sank in a storm, with all lives lost...including the loss of Excalibur, its sheath and the Pridwin shield to a deep, watery grave. The true bearer of the armor was never formally revealed or documented, but was believed to have drowned with the rest of the HMS Allice's complement and crew.
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For over 100 years, the British royalty and the sword's priory feverishly attempted to located the shipwreck and recover Excalibur and Pridwin, but to no avail. Finally, in 1905, the sunken ship was discovered and the previously lost "Excalibur", the sword's sheath and "Pridwin" shield were recovered. After being cleaned up, the items were placed back in their previous location in the priory at the base of the Tower of London. There, these 'holy' items remained, and as such, were treated with even greater reverence.
The existence of the sword, its sheath and the shield remained a secret in the British monarchy until 1914, at which time, a man who'd worked with the sword's priory accidentally let slip about the sword and shield's existence and their location. Within hours, members of the British Parliament were informed and in less than a day, those same members of Parliament saw with their own eyes that which was believed to be "Excalibur" and "Pridwin", now fully cleaned and restored from its 129 year-long watery grave. Certain power hungry men in Parliament immediately formulated ways to use the sword and shield, even though the current monarchy claimed exclusive rights to the holy items. Banter and allegations quickly turned into Parliamentary actions and within a year's time, the sword, its sheath and shield were "redistributed" to use (and abuse) by Parliament and no longer under the auspices of the British monarchy. The priory that took care of the items as holy relics was quickly overhauled to become a testing lab to learn what these legendary artifacts' capabilities were. Within months, they discovered nearly all of the items' secret capabilities, but before Parliament and the priory could find an appropriate application of the items' powers, something disastrous occurred - The Great War.
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*The truth about the sword is MUCH more different than this. If you wish to read ahead about this, go to this page's "Excalibur V (Current)".
Excalibur I (1914-1918)
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Herbert Lancaster
Secret (then); known (now)
British/Hero
N/A
late 20s
Married (11 April 1918)
12 April 1918
Anne (Raleigh) Lancaster (wife, deceased)
History
On 4 August 1914, Great Britain went to war with Germany and thus became embroiled in what was considered "The Great War" or "World War I (WW I)". A week after Britain joined the war, the priory was notified by select secretive Parliament personnel that "Excalibur", the sword's sheath and the "Pridwin" shield were to be made available for a new knightly bearer that would soon to be chosen. This project was given an exclusive code name - Project: Excalibur.
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Dozens of patriotic, physically perfect men from all about Britain were called in for the secretive interview that could align them as the first true knightly bearers since the American Revolution. During the interview, hundreds of questions were asked of the candidates. Those same candidates were also tasked with displaying their combat and/or fighting skills.
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After two closely contested run-offs, a final competition was conducted for the last three candidates. The winner of the competition was British Regular Army Lieutenant Herbert Lancaster of Yorkshire, Great Britain. After some secretive training, briefings and religious benedictions were performed, Lt. Lancaster was taken to the Priory deep under the Tower of London, accompanied with priests, clerics and a couple of Parliament personnel tasked with the responsibility of the sword, sheath and shield. At the Priory, King George V (King of England), and his royal entourage met with Lt. Lancaster and his religious and Parliament entourage. In a secret formal ceremony, Lt. Lancaster was knighted and charged as England's knight regent in the stead of Britain's ruler, King George V.
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After the formal ceremony of being charged with carrying Excalibur, Lancaster underwent two months of rigid and difficult training with the sword, its sheath and the Pridwen shield. After the training, Lancaster was sent to the front lines where he was rarely thrust into battle with the exception of do-or-die attacks.
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Initially, most British troops considered Lancaster, his 'gaudy' armor and the 'fake' sword to be a publicity stunt for the crown, however, after witnessing what the sword, armor and shield were capable of, the troops started giving him credence. Officially, his British title that was to be used on the battlefield was "Sir Lawrence", however, the troops started calling him "Excalibur" instead, and the name stuck.
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From 1915 to 1918, Lancaster was engaged in over 100 battles. Word-of-mouth stories were told of his battles, however, no film footage, pictures or official correspondence survived the war except for ten grainy photos and three poorly made 15-second segmented movies, all of which were confiscated and kept at the Tower of London.
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In 1918, Lancaster fell in love with his childhood sweetheart Anne Raleigh and decided to marry her. Although Parliament and the priory insisted that Lancaster "wait" until the war was over before they could 'discuss' if marriage was even allowed for a knight of this caliber, Lancaster insisted on the marriage and stated that he would marry Anne with or without Parliament, the priory or even the king's authorization. Months later, Herbert and Anne were married. As per Lancaster's desires, the sword, sheath and shield were left at the Tower of London's secretive Priory during his wedding and honeymoon, with the expectation to don them once again after the newlyweds' time together.
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Lancaster never again held the sword or shield.
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While on their honeymoon in the Midlands, Herbert and Anne were killed by bombs from an off-course Zeppelin on April 12th, 1918.
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Once again, a tragic fate took the sword and shield bearer.
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As the Priory set about towards a new recruitment drive for a new knight to bear "Excalibur" and "Pridwin", the Great War ended. No one was proclaimed to be the next knight and/or bearer to the sword until 20 years later; 20 years that would yield the next 'great' war - World War II.
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Talents
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Swordsman (Professional)
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Military (Professional)
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Combat - Knight (Professional)
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Boxing (Professional)
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Marksman (Proficient)
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Medieval History/Lore (Proficient)
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Athletics (proficient)
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Excalibur II (1939-1945)
1990s Original Art
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Bartholomew Richards
Secret (then); known (now)
British/Hero
N/A
WWII: late 20s
Single
1980
ALIAS(ES):
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FIRST APPEARANCE:
APPEARANCE DATE:
CREATED BY:
CREATION DATE:
None identified
History
In 1938, Great Britain saw the unmitigated Nazi Germany expansion across the Czechoslovakian territory and its neighboring nations. Adolph Hitler was quickly assimilating nations into his Nazi empire without even having to fire a shot. Great Britain knew it was only a matter of time before they would be embroiled in another conflict with Germany. As such, the same Parliament leaders that initiated "Project: Excalibur" in World War I set forth to perform the same action yet again, this time called "Project: Camelot".
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Once again, a powerful yet secretive recruitment program was performed. As part of the stipulations of the recruitment, the 'candidates' were not allowed to be married NOR were they allowed to get married so long as they remained on the project, which was projected to be at least 10 years in duration. These stipulations unto themselves, thinned out the candidates drastically. In the end, British Army Captain Bartholomew Richards of Yorkshire, England was selected.
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After being knighted and trained in the use of the sword and shield, as well as receiving a new suit of armor that deflected even high caliber machine gun bullets, "Sir Bart" as his team unofficially called him, was cast upon the rocky shoals of British military operations upon the start of World War II. In his seven years of being "Excalibur", Sir Bart engaged in hundreds of battles, skirmishes and assaults. He was transferred and/or reassigned to over 2 dozen infantry, special forces, commando and even MI-6 units during the duration of the war. He was a highly documented hero who primarily ran with British troops and regulars. At least several instances occurred where Excalibur was tasked to work with the American superhero group, the Allied Fighters, where he did so to great aplomb, even so much as receiving American, French, and Maltan medals and citations for his actions as recommended by the Allied Fighters leader, Captain John Brown AKA "Captain Invader".
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During one particular battle in 1944, Sir Bart was captured by Nazi troops. He was questioned and tortured for a month by Nazi SS Division interrogators until a specialized rescue unit comprised of American and British special forces and the Allied Fighters extracted Sir Bart in a bloody rescue effort. Over 20 special forces troops lost their lives in the rescue, as well as one of the Allied Fighters' heroes. As such, Sir Bart was placed on medical leave for the rest of 1944 until his wounds were healed and a proper psychological recovery was performed. The sad part of this whole episode is that "Excalibur", its sheath and "Pridwin" were still in Nazi hands. The legendary Arthurian weapons were given to Baron Berlin, the leader of Nazi Germany's super-powered team, Axis Force. Baron Berlin decided to place them with an Axis Force master swordsman and SS Captain Friedrick Fausbaum AKA the Teutonic Knight. In January 1945, Sir Bart was released from the hospital.
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The British government created makeshift versions of Excalibur and Pridwin for him to use, preventing the UK and the world from believing the Nazi rhetoric that the Excalibur sword was being used by the Teutonic Knight instead. Sir Bart joined the Allied Fighters a month after his release in a successful recovery of the Arthurian weapons from the Teutonic Knight in a brilliantly orchestrated operation led by Captain Invader himself; an operation that left Teutonic Knight close to death before the team was able to retreat back to Great Britain. Sir Bart has his weapon, sheath and shield back, as well as a new unshakable confidence in an inevitable Allied victory over Nazi Germany.
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For the rest of the war, Sir Bart fought bravely and relentlessly against the Nazi aggressors, taking the fight to the city's edge of Berlin itself. In the end however, Sir Bart and his team were recalled back to London, where from that time forward, Excalibur, the sword's sheath and the Pridwin shield would be under the authority of British Intelligence, MI-6. Sadly, Sir Bart sat out the last month of the war in a secretive MI-6 base, ill-utilized and relatively ignored. It is believed that the reasoning for Sir Bart's 'sidelining' had something to do with a critical encounter with MI-6's director and a young mutant superhero known as the Irish Fighter, wherein the MI-6 director remained hospitalized for months after the war's end as a result of an 'argument' with the young Irish Fighter. Although the Americans consistently requested for Sir Bart to join them to finish the Imperial Japanese forces in the Pacific Campaign, England refused to release Sir Bart ever again to war, even though Sir Bart himself pleaded to go and help his friends.
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Again, sadly, the British government decided to put the sword, sheath and shield away at war's end. It was placed back in the Priory under the Tower of London, which now soon thereafter became a nuclear-proof bunker by 1950. Sir Bart, now in retirement from being Excalibur, was showered with accolades, medals, honors, titles and property. He was treated as a legend and a true knight of the realm by the media, the Crown, Parliament and the Church of England. Over time, Bart's net worth was over 3 million Pounds (value comparison: equivalent to $15 million in 2015 US dollars). His vast estate in Yorkshire, England was a gift by a fellow nobleman and the Crown.
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Sadly, Bart never married. He was known to have many lady 'admirers' over the decades, though. When Bart died in 1980, half his worth was to be equally distributed to the Crown, the Church of England and to the orphanages of England. His will requested that his Yorkshire estate be divided into parcels for homes for WWII disabled veterans and that over 200 acres of that land be made into a museum and learning center with the theme of a what was considered to be a true knight of the realm, as outlined in the 1981 posthumously published book he'd (partially) written back in the 1970s called "The Excalibur Knighthood". Of course MI-6 doctored portions of Bart's writings, hiding the events where the Teutonic Knight had the Arthurian weapons, stating that the weapons were always in Sir Bart's custody throughout the entire war. To allay public suspicion, the makeshift sword and shield forged when "Excalibur" and "Pridwin" were stolen by the Teutonic Knight were placed on display (even to this day) at the museum and were "officially" designated as THE sword and shield that Sir Bart used throughout all of World War II.
The real "Excalibur", its sheath or "Pridwin" remained secretly housed in the Tower of London's Priory location, now unofficially dubbed as the "Excalibur Bunker". The British Government, predominantly MI-6, secretly insisted that "Excalibur", the sword's sheath and "Pridwin" should be used again in such rough-shot situations such that led to the Teutonic Knight seizing the Arthurian weapons. The Allied deaths performed by Teutonic Knight as he wielded Excalibur were a massive embarrassment for British military and officials, and as such, it was deemed necessary that Britain would never again allow its most cherished legendary artifacts to fall into the hands of the enemy.
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Thus was drafted the "Excalibur Accord".
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The Excalibur Accord allotted that only a solid vote of 'aye' by the majority of each major component of Parliament of the United Kingdom (The Crown (Queen-in-Parliament), The House of Lords and the House of Commons) would ever allow for these considerably powerful (and holy) legendary artifacts to ever be used in war again. It was agreed by Parliament that only a massive national wartime crisis or world-shattering situation would be the only cause by which the sword, sheath and shield could ever be utilized again.
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That crisis occurred in 2000 A.D. when the alien Soltan Star Empire invaded Earth.
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Talents
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Swordsman (Master)
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Military (Professional)
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Combat - Knight (Master)
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Boxing (Proficient)
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Marksman (Proficient)
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Medieval History/Lore (Proficient)
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Finance (proficient)
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Excalibur III (2000)
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​RELATIVE AGE:
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Rory Cavendish
Secret (then); known (now)
Scotland/Hero
With MI6
early 30s
Single
17 Aug 2000
ALIAS(ES):
TEAM:
FIRST APPEARANCE:
APPEARANCE DATE:
CREATED BY:
CREATION DATE:
None identified
History
As part of the formal British process to ensure that a proper candidate was always ready and prepared to don the latest Excalibur armor and wield the "Excalibur" sword, its sheath and the "Pridwin" shield, MI-6, Britain's Intelligence Community, opted to have a Parliamentary voted-on candidate always available and in 'hot standby' to rapidly take on the mantle of "Excalibur" should the Excalibur Accord be deemed necessary to enact. If ever the situation arose to enact the Excalibur Accord, the operation plan called "Project: Pridwin" would be activated to rapidly initialize the next new Excalibur knight.
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In December 1999, the man who had trained for the spot for 20 years had died after discovery the month before of an unexpected and aggressive strain of cancer in the candidate; a strain of cancer never seen before...on Earth.
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The next person in line for Excalibur was a Scottish-born wrestler known as Rory Cavendish. Rory had gone through all the formal training to be the next Excalibur and was fully capable of taking the mantle, however, politics being what it was, some in the House of Lords believed Rory was was not "British" enough to be the poster boy as the next Excalibur. Amidst a time set towards entering a new century (and the Christmas season), secret meetings turned into full blown house sessions, and the house sessions turned into rabid political debates. The next in line behind Rory was a well to do, British aristocrat named Sir Thomas Greene. Sir Greene, on paper, was considered more "British" than Rory, however, his combat skills were lacking as compared to Rory's. Nonetheless, in an unprecedented referendum in the House of Lords on Christmas Eve, Rory was overridden to be the next in line for Excalibur, and instead, Sir Greene was charged to be the next active Excalibur candidate by the House of Lords. Although the Crown and the House of Commons were agitated by this, hundreds of other political issues, the holidays, the turn of the century, 2K Virus issues and other domestic issues demanded greater focus rather than this highly unimportant issue about a sword wielder that hadn't been activated since 1945. As such, politics being what it was, Parliament voted and Sir Greene became the candidate to be the next Excalibur. Rory was upset over the decision, but as a good British citizen, he kept a 'stiff upper lip' and backed up Parliament stating their choice was sound, even though Rory's heart was broken over the usurpation.
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In January of 2000 A.D., the world was invaded by the alien Soltan Star Empire. Their goal: reap Earth's metallurgic and magical resources and enslave the human race. It didn't take but 10 minutes for the Parliament of the United Kingdom to agree on activating the Excalibur Accord and initiating Project: Pridwin to initiate the next knightly Excalibur superhero candidate - Sir Thomas Greene.
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As per British tradition (and Project: Pridwin protocols), the man who was to wield Excalibur had to be knighted by the king or queen of England prior to taking on the mantle as the Knight Regent for the Crown. The Soltans were already attacking parts of London, but Westminster Abbey, Parliament nor the Tower of London had come under attack, thus allowing for Sir Greene, the members of the Priory and the Queen of England (and her entourage) to make their way to the Excalibur Bunker (which again was designed to withstand a nuclear blast ergo a far safer place for the Queen Mother) under the Tower of London so that Sir Greene could be properly knighted and become the new Excalibur.
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As Project: Pridwin was enacted, one of MI-6's more pragmatic supervisors involved in the process believed it couldn't hurt to have Rory Cavendish join in on the ceremony in the Excalibur Bunker for two reasons: one, the MI-6 supervisor was Scottish and was unhappy at Rory's treatment by Parliament and as such thought that at least being able to 'see' the ceremony that should have been done to Rory would at least be a small recompense for what Rory was put through, and two, Rory was a highly trained combatant amidst an alien invasion - he'd be a great person to have alongside them should they encounter any aliens along the way or during the ceremony. Rory was escorted by the MI-6 supervisor to the Tower of London along with Sir Greene and the rest of the new people listed in the Project: Pridwin operation. Rory wasn't too happy to go along, but when it was mentioned the Queen would be there, he felt that it was his duty to assist in providing whatever protection was needed for her in the process and thus went with the MI-6 supervisor to the Excalibur Bunker.
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Once at the Excalibur Bunker, everything went to Hell.
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As the Project: Pridwin entourage descended the circular staircase to the Excalibur Bunker, several magical ward stones lit up and set off audible alarms. Everyone in the Project: Pridwin team was trained to know what there were, however, they'd been removed months before for "recharging" and never replaced, yet they were now here and they were alarming. The wards were set to go off if anything with an alien physiology, other than human, was in the circular stairwell; as per the ward's alarms, there was an alien amongst them. The question was...which one was the alien?
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MI-6 security and the Royal Guards had their guns out and pointing to each of the entourage or each other, all the while encircling and protection the Queen. Each guard and agent was 100% unsure who the alien amongst them was, causing a complete breakdown in the process. That's when Sir Greene spoke up and with proper British alacrity, stated that their mission was to properly knight the next Excalibur and as such, the new Excalibur would be in a far better position to deal with any alien in their midst that any of the currently nervous and suspicious agents or guards. He recommended the team continue to the bunker and that if the alien made any attempts against anyone in the entourage, the alien would give away their true self and thus would be an easy target to take down with such highly trained men and women on the team. All nodded their approval to the plan, all moving step by step down the circular staircase down into the Excalibur Bunker. When they arrived, several Priory personnel were aghast over seeing the entourage training guns on each other, all with suspicious and nervous eyes. After explaining to the Priory clerics what had happened, the Priory clerics confirmed that the wards were in fact genuine and that the clerics installed the wards earlier than what was scheduled...merely out of sheer boredom. Thus, the wards were telling the truth - an alien WAS amongst them.
The big question still remained...who.
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The Queen insisted on hurrying and getting the ceremony started so their 'alien' situation could be resolved with the new Excalibur knight in charge. As the ceremony started, Rory saw that everyone was sweating in the non-air conditioned bunker...even the Queen herself; that is....all except Sir Greene. His skin was not shiny, sweaty or even perspiring. For a pasty aristocrat like Greene, whom Rory has fought in dozens of training session in the past, Greene ALWAYS perspired, even seconds into a fight. It was a condition Rory always thought was an 'equalizer' in match-up comparisons, knowing your rich, aristocratic opponent perspired more than you did under pressure.
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The problem was Sir Greene was not sweating.
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Rory interrupted the Queen during her knighting of Sir Greene. All guns became trained on Rory and the Royal Guards encircled the Queen once again. Rory spoke plainly and calmed everyone down stating, "I'm sorry to interrupt or offend, but, Sir Greene, you'd told me once that if ever you were to be knighted as the next Excalibur that no greater blessing could be done unto you unless a particular passage was read from the Bible; a verse your long departed mother deemed worthy for a knight. I'm just fulfilling my duty in reminding you of what you once told me was more important than the sword itself. That's all. My apologies to the Queen and all present. Please, carry on."
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With that, Sir Greene is a momentary look of confusion slowly turned to Rory, focused again and smiled, saying in a kindly yet aristocratic mannerism, "I did say that didn't I? You are a proper gentleman to remind me of that...that verse. What was the verse's number? I'm a bit flustered at the moment, Rory old friend. You remember what it was, right, old chap?"
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Rory replied, "Of course, Sir Greene. It was Galatians 2:4".
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The Priory clerics immediately became nervous, as did the Queen. The Queen was well versed in the bible and as such, understood the verse. Sir Greene looked to the Queen as with all formality and reverence, requested she recite the verse in memory of his long departed mother as part of the ceremony.
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The Queen acquiesced to Sir Greene's request and read the verse:
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"Galatians 2, verse 4: And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage".
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With that, Sir Greene looked about nervously, realizing the jig was up. The Queen ordered, "Guards, seize Sir Greene immediately! He is the alien spy!" and with that the fight began.
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Sir Greene was indeed the alien.
In the ensuing fight, guns blazing, fist flying, furniture breaking, smoke filling the already heated bunker, Sir Greene's mask tore from his face revealing him to be a Soltan Star Empire alien spy who had been masquerading at Sir Greene. The Royal Guard and most of the MI-6 agents fought and died against the deadly Soltan spy, leaving only two Priory clergymen, one MI6 agent, the Queen and Rory alive.
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Rory fought like a warrior born against the Soltan spy.
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Amidst the pitched combat, Rory made his way to the "Excalibur" sword and its sheath. When Rory drew the sword, the last Excalibur hero's armor formed about him, saving Rory from a killing blow by the Soltan spy. Rory took Excalibur and cleaved the Soltan spy from shoulder to crotch, literally slicing the alien in half.
Rory quickly assessed the Queen Mother's health, for which she arose from the ground and mentioned Rory's brilliance in his deduction. Before Rory could say another word, the Queen pulled Excalibur from Rory's hand...and knighted him on the spot, just as dozens of armed British Commandos and Royal Guards arrived to take the Queen to safety. In a parting statement, the Queen told "Sir Cavendish" to go and 'save the Kingdom' and to return to her once his task was done. Sir Cavendish swore to the Queen he would do so, and with that, bolted up and out of the Tower of London with Excalibur, the sword's sheath and the Pridwin shield into battle.The Queen was taken to another secretive bunker since Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey were now being bombed by the Soltans. There, she remained, safe and protected until the end of the Soltan Invasion.
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A post-invasion investigation about the spy revealed that the Soltan spy's mission was to steal the Excalibur sword, sheath and shield from the humans and murder their queen with the same sword. The spy was responsible for the poisoning of the Excalibur candidate that died of the unnatural cancer in December 1999, and was directly responsible for manipulating several House of Lords representatives in creating the political turmoil that led Sir Greene to be the next Excalibur. Since Rory had too many 'friends', the spy decided to select Sir Greene to masquerade as to get the sword. Sir Greene didn't have any friends; Rory's friends would have perceived Rory's awkward changes, thus Sir Greene was the better tactical choice to replace. The remains of the real Sir Green were later discovered stuffed in an enclosed wine barrel in Sir Greene's wine cellar, his body hacked into pieces to fit into the barrel. He was given a proper funeral and, as per his will, he gave all of his willed estate to his seven illegitimate children; a factor missed during the Excalibur candidate vetting process for Sir Greene.
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Over the next several months, Rory fought like a warrior born. He felled thousands of Soltan troops, engaged in hundreds of battles and fought alongside Earth's greatest super-groups (and even a couple of villain groups that fought against the Soltans), military troops and militias, rightfully earning the title as "Excalibur". He rarely rested, and when he did, he wrote letters of encouragement to parent-less children, war-torn families and even the Queen of England. His courage was a a true testament to the dark days that Great Britain faced during the invasion. Half of England was either destroyed or overtaken by Soltan forces; most of London remained a burning conflagration throughout most of the Soltan invasion period. regardless, Rory fought the good fight as a true knight of the realm and a relentless champion of Great Britain.
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In his last battle with the Soltans, he and a band of mystical knights known as Knights Arcanus joined forces to fell a massive magic siphoning tower located in Greenwich, England. The tower, along with several other similar Soltan-designed towers worldwide, were draining Earth's magical energies. Once the magic was drained, it was believed that life energies on Earth would slowly begin to die off, as would life on the planet. To that end, Rory fought alongside the Knights Arcanus against overwhelming Soltan defensive forces. Sadly, in the final push to set off the mystical bombs needed to destroy the tower, Rory was killed saving the Knights Arcanus leader, Samhain Knight, from a deathblow by a super-powered Soltan commander that was defending the siphon tower. The rest of the Knights Arcanus killed the super-powered Soltan commander in kind, however, Rory..."Excalibur"...was dead.
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The Knights Arcanus retrieved Rory's body, as well as several dozen other fallen warriors at the battle site before setting off the mystic bombs that basically imploded the siphoning tower. Rory's body was brought to the battle-damaged Excalibur Museum in Yorkshire, England (see: Excalibur II) by the Knights Arcanus and buried on the museum's grounds. There, a simple marker was erected with a sign posted on it by Samhain Knight stating:
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Here lies
Sir Rory Cavendish
EXCALIBUR
Died: 17 August 2000
The Greatest Knight of Great Britain.
He is your champion. He is our hero.
May we all aspire to one day
be worthy of his sacrifice.
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Days after Rory's death, the Soltan Star Empire retreated and fled from Earth to the dark side of Mars in defeat. Earth was once again free, however, the price was high, and the planetary damage vast. During the next few months, the world rebuilt itself and began to cauterize the wounds the Soltans had inflicted. Rory's grave was but one such cauterizing.
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One of the most prolific and heart-wrenching events that occurred post-invasion was the memorial that was erected for Sir Rory Cavendish AKA Britain's Excalibur of the Soltan Invasion. Tens of thousands of the world's citizens. including international leaders, presidents, kings and queens, traveled to Yorkshire, England to pay respect and tribute to Rory Cavendish at his grave site at the makeshift memorial. Years later, the Excalibur museum was rebuilt to its full glory with new displays, videos and mementos of all who'd ever wielded Excalibur since the American Revolution.
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All previous Excalibur wielders were exhumed from their existing grave sites are re-interred at the Excalibur Museum, now rechristened the Excalibur Memorial and Museum site. Each grave marker was an exquisite work of art with grand flourishes and markings worthy of a true knight's grave.
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Once again, the true "Excalibur" sword, its sheath and the "Pridwin" shield went into secretive hiding. Since the "Excalibur Bunker" had been discovered by the Soltans, the legendary artifacts were instead taken to a new facility for the England regional "G.U.A.R.D." station known as "Camelot". There, under the fantastic levels of security, the Arthurian legendary artifacts once again became unused under the next "Excalibur Accord" demanded action.
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The fake WWII replacement forged "Excalibur" sword, sheath and "Pridwin" shield (see: Excalibur II) as well as a mock-up of Sir Cavensish's sword, shield and steath are displayed for the public at the Excalibur Memorial and Museum. The heavy security, 2 foot thick reinforced glass around the artifacts, the clearly labeled 'magical wards' and dozens of security sensors and cameras provide an air of authenticity and belief by the general public that they are the true weapons. Since the Excalibur Memorial and Museum's massive upgrade, millions of visitors from all over the world continue to visit the Excalibur hero grave sites and learn about their sacrifices and history at the museum.
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To this day, flowers and remembrances are placed at the foot of each Excalibur hero's grave similarly to what is done at the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington DC. The Excalibur Memorial and Museum are now considered as one of the top 100 places to visit in the world as part of any decent person's "bucket list".
​
Talents
-
Swordsman (Master)
-
Military (Professional)
-
Combat - Knight (Master)
-
Wrestling (Professional)
-
Medieval History/Lore (Proficient)
-
Business (proficient)
Excalibur IV (2013)
Info
REAL NAME:
IDENTITY:
AFFILIATION:
REGISTERED?:
​RELATIVE AGE:
MARITAL STATUS:
Carlton Carrington
Known
British/Hero
With MI6
early 30s
Single
ALIAS(ES):
TEAM:
FIRST APPEARANCE:
APPEARANCE DATE:
CREATED BY:
CREATION DATE:
Sir Carrington, The Unworthy
None
N/A
N/A
Don "Major Deej" Finger
12 July 2011
None identified
History
In 2013, the British government was facing a crisis of superheroes. Most of the world was brimming with new super-powered people each day. British citizens demanded their own British hero. Although there were other British superheroes (see The Commonwealth), the people demanded a new Excalibur.
Interestingly enough, an online internet campaign went viral with over 20 million people demanding a new Excalibur hero to 'wield the legendary sword Excalibur once again to protect and defend Britain and Britain alone' amidst these 'trying' times. The British monarchy ignored the viral request and received an immediate negative media backlash as a result. Instead, the British government had to 'reassess' their response, and instead, decided to work a 'compromise'. The government would 'select' the next appropriate candidate for the role of "Excalibur" and once his training was assessed, The Parliament of the United Kingdom would revisit the question of knighting the new candidate to wield "Excalibur" and "Pridwin" once again.
​
Recently, the British government and the people were at odds over dozens of examples of poor leadership. The collective voice of 'social media' became a pulpit for people to express their displeasure. As such, the British people were not about to let the government choose a hero for them when 'they'/social media subscribers/people were the ones demanding a new Excalibur hero. As such, the British citizenry was incensed at the government's decision.
​
In a display of civil disobedience, citizens all over England started sending in social media candidates on who they thought should be the next Excalibur.
​
It was a media circus and an worldwide social media nightmare.
​
Cats were voted on.
​
Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game characters were nominated and seconded.
​
Elvis was even added to the list.
​
The seriousness of the effort was soon lost in a drowning sea of name -calling and online bullying denigrating the entire unofficial, unauthorized process that had little to no chance of ever occurring without Parliament's authorization. Nonetheless, the internet continued to explode with candidates.
​
Parliament, being in the middle of an election season, deemed the issue worthy enough to discuss, with one particular proponent of the movement, the new House of Commons Civil Chairman, Sir Bernard Hastings. In a grand design, Sir Hastings recommended that 'the people' find their top candidates and vote on them via social media. Sir Hastings recommended his web server service, the Hastings Data Center, to host the discussions, debates and final votes. The British citizens agreed to the idea, but were still at odds that it was a 'government' developed idea
.
In a two month period of time, the numbers of social media votes were tallied by the Hastings Data Center, resulting in the final three candidates.
One such candidate had more votes than the rest: Carlton Carrington. Carlton was noted to be an ex-British Army special forces officer decorated with the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross earned from classified operations in 2002. Carlton left the military in 2008 and 'devoted' himself to being a knight as worthy as the previous Excalibur, Sir Rory Cavendish. As such, it was stated he practiced day and night in fighting skills, swordsmanship, tactics and devoted himself to his faith in the Catholic church. As such, many British citizens believed him to be a correct choice, although there were several others that supposedly were removed from the social media vote list days before the final votes.
​
As such, Carrington was chosen by the people. Parliament, the crown and the church sat down and decided to yield to the people's demands. On 10 August 2013, the Queen knighted Carlton as Sir Carrington, and was given the Excalibur Sword, the Pridwin Shield and the sword's magical sheath. Over the next two months, Sir Carrington performed his mandatory government training. He was provided a social media manager, his own chauffeur, a dietician, an extensive melee arts training team and liaisons for the British military, police and a team of armor designers and maintainers. All in all, the new Excalibur set back the British people by over 50 million Euros. But that wasn't the end of any post-knighting controversy for Sir Carrington; in fact, it was just the beginning.
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Sir Carrington, between October and November of 2013, was the talk of the world. Talk shows, cotillions, banquets, charity events, Parliamentary events, sporting events, etc. - Sir Carrington was there. His entourage was more concerned with lighting, make-up and his popularity than the job he was tasked to do. As it was, in October 2013, Sir Carrington was questioned why he hadn't performed any 'heroic' actions in the previous month, only for Sir Carrington to denote smugly that 'unless there is a super-villain out there in need of squashing, the police can do the job'. This was met with a very tepid response from viewers and social media, all of which grew to discourse in November when two high-level villainous instances occurred wherein Excalibur was once again absent from. Social media began to flame up over the situation, however, thousands of other social media accounts instead praised Sir Carrington for knowing 'when' to fight.
​
In an unexpected twist, the anarchist internet organization known as the Virtual Corsairs dumped tens of thousands of documents proving that a large majority of 'voters' and Sir Carrington's social media "Care Bears", as they were called, were actually 'bot' accounts; in other words, over a hundred thousand social media accounts linked to Sir Carrington were actually fake accounts used to 'bloat' millions of messages and votes as well as spam rhetoric and flowery praise for Carrington to be the top Excalibur candidate. Parliament, especially the House of Commons' Sir Hastings denied the accusations by the "terrorist" Virtual Corsairs and squashed the findings publicly.
​
Nonetheless, the people began to have doubts. Sir Carrington wasn't acting like an "Excalibur", instead, he was acting more like a Hollywood celebrity rather than a knight of the realm. This, plus the Virtual Corsair leak didn't help Sir Carrington's position. The final nail in the coffin came as a result of a Ya!Go! Video from a young man who worked at the London Medieval Renaissance Faire claiming that Sir Carrington was a fraud.
​
In November 2013, Tom Thatcher, a professional jouster, knightly-entertainer and video-maker at the London Medieval Renaissance Faire posted a video contesting Sir Carrington's credentials. In the video, Thatcher mentioned that Carrington's biography and his TV interviews stated that Carrington himself had trained and worked in swordsmanship and jousting at the Faire for 3 years from 2008 to 2011; those were the dates he and his friend, Arthur Mattocks, had worked there and had NEVER seen or heard of the man. As such, Thatcher 'challenged' the new Excalibur to 'engage' with his friend and best swordsman 'in the U.K.', Arthur, in a true test of swordsmanship for all to see. Thatcher showed video footage of Carrington's sword play and that which was the standard at the Faire, and identified every nuance to the viewers, most of which were extremely easy to discern. The video went viral with the world calling for an explanation, only to instead hear silence from the new Excalibur and the powers that be. Even the workers at the historic Excalibur Museum & Memorial protested against Sir Carrington as the new Excalibur.
​
By early December 2013, the people were furious over the whole Excalibur affair, now beginning to feel duped by their own government yet again. Anti-Carrington Rallies began to form. Protesters formed in massive droves outside Buckingham Palace. The Underground subway came to a screeching halt when the workers walked off the job. Social media was on fire over the situation. After several police and protesters got hurt, the situation grew to an intolerable fever pitch. At the very least, the public demanded that Carrington 'prove' his worth and face-off against this "Mattocks Chap" at the Faire; at the most, they wanted Carrington fired and the next Excalibur choice to be decided PURELY by the people.
​
The Crown stayed silent; the church, the same. Parliament, however, got emboldened and insisted the match occur to prove Excalibur's true abilities.
​
On December 15th, the day after a heavy rainstorm in London, the fields at the Faire were nothing but mud...and tens of thousands of spectators and media.
​
By 11 A.M., Sir Carrington and his government entourage arrived at the Faire. Sir Carrington was nice at the outset of the match, however, after Arthur Mattocks easily won the first two official rounds of swordsmanship, Carrington began to get angry while Arthur instead showed almost a beautiful and chivalrous attitude amidst the entire encounter, even going to far as providing Sir Carrington with pointers on ways to improve his form. He even offered to help Carrington up out of the mud on those occasions, only to be met with a slap of Carrington's sword. All during the series of official matches, Mr. Thatcher stated again and again during the video taping of the event that Carrington's fighting techniques were "NOT the techniques, style, or remotely safe posture of ANY person trained in swordsmanship at the Faire", thus documenting further proof that Carrington was not what he was supposed to be.
​
As the matches continued, Carrington became enraged with Arthur, swearing at him with a sailor's bevy of foul-mouthed slurs. As mothers placed their hands over their children's ears to protect them from the spew of Carrington's swears, Arthur begged Carrington to act as a professional; children were about and that his language was not meant for a knight of his stature. Instead, Carrington became unhinged, lunging at Arthur with what would have been an un-chivalrous killing blow. Instead, Arthur easily side-stepped the attack and took Excalibur and Pridwin from Carrington's hold, leaving Carrington face down in the mud, spewing threats that he was going to kill Arthur. Arthur took Carrington's sword and shield, "Excalibur" and Pridwin, and handed them over to one of Carrington's entourage for safe keeping and exclaimed that the contest was finished; Carrington had dishonored himself during the match and as such, forfeited the match; a statement echoed by the three officials in charge of the matches. Arthur walked away from the site only to be tackled by an enraged, charging Carrington. Arthur easily avoided Carrington's clumsy charge and left Carrington face down in the mud...again. In a berserk rage, Carrington got up to lunge at Arthur once more, but instead was met with a faceful of food, slung mud and rotten tomatoes.
​
The food, slung mud and rotten tomatoes was being thrown by hundreds of onlookers at Carrington, all while booing Carrington and telling him he was 'unworthy' to even look at Excalibur. Even little children threw their collector's edition "Excalibur" action figures and their Excalibur costume items and T-Shirts at Carrington. Handfuls of young children ran away in tears and/or anger. Parents spat at Carrington.
​
The media recorded EVERYTHING.
​
A visibly shaken Carrington stood and stumbled off the field, leaving a trail of his armor's pieces as he walked into the nearby woods.
​
He was never seen again.
​
The rest of the story, continues with the next current Excalibur.
​
Talents
-
Swordsman (Professional)
-
Combat - Knight (Professional)
-
Combat - Judo (Proficient)
-
Combat - Military Hand-to-Hand (Professional)
-
Military - Special Forces (Professional)
-
Demolitions (Proficient)
- Marksman - small arms and rifle (professional)
-
Religious History/Lore (Proficient)
​​
Excalibur V (Current)
Info
REAL NAME:
IDENTITY:
AFFILIATION:
REGISTERED?:
​RELATIVE AGE:
MARITAL STATUS:
ALIAS(ES):
TEAMS:
FIRST APPEARANCE:
APPEARANCE DATE:
CREATED BY:
CREATION DATE:
Arthur Mattocks
Known
British/Hero
Yes
late 20s
Single
Sir Mattocks
30 Oct 2016
Don "Major Deej" Finger
12 July 2011
None identified
History
In 2013, England believed it had chosen the successor to be the next Excalibur hero through its own social media and powerful movement, instead the people of England discovered the hero they chose, Carlton Carrington, was not the hero they'd all thought he be. Instead, it was discovered in a few short months after his 'knighting' by the Queen of England that Carrington was a foul-mouthed, poorly trained prima donna incapable of even fighting against a man perceived to be a medieval fairground entertainer. The world watch the media's footage in disbelief and horror as they saw their own personal selection incapable of even an honorable fight. In the end, Carrington was said to have forfeited the match due to unsportsmanlike conduct and breaking the rules of combat in a matched tournament. Carrington was never seen again, leaving the powerful sword "Excalibur", its sheath and the "Pridwin" shield without a hero for them to bear.
​
In March of 2014, after months of investigation, the House of Commons' Civil Chairman, Sir Bernard Hastings was arrested on several counts of conspiracy and several laws regarding treason and actions against the crown. Before he could even show for arraignment, he was found dead of a massive coronary seizure, dead as age 54. The Hastings Data Center, the server location for all the social media tallying and voting for the 2013 selection for the next Excalibur was found to have been rigged. Data analysts, receiving several more anonymous tips (coupled with additional and verified documents and proof provided by the online terrorist organization known as the Virtual Corsairs), discovered that the Hastings Data Center had rigged the Excalibur vote to select Carrington. They also confirmed the hundreds of thousands of fake social media accounts the Data Center had utilized and reran the election results with all the tainted data removed. Surprisingly, the man who'd actually beat Carrington in combat at the London Medieval Renaissance Fairgrounds was the actual winner of the online votes. The man's name: Arthur Mattocks.
​
Arthur and several other names had been removed by the Hastings Data Center codewriters days prior to the vote's completion stating that those removed were 'inadmissable' or 'fake' entries. In all actuality, the people's REAL votes actually caused Hastings to illegally erase the competitors names for fear that Carrington and the other two selectees might potentially lose. When the courts finally decreed the final selection to be legitimate and as official as it could be, Arthur Mattocks was proclaimed to be the next Excalibur.
​
Arthur told the media he didn't want the title or the position. IN his mind, he wasn't worthy enough to be the country's next champion.
​
The people were in shock.
​
As per the original stipulations set forth by those who set up the rules for the selection, if Mattocks wouldn't take it, the next person in line would be authorized. That person, a young, black college student who studied in Medieval History and had learned swordsmanship as a Hollywood job when he was a teenager, declined the offer as well, citing that " If Mattocks considers himself unworthy of the sword, I am even more unworthy, because I can't do what I saw Mattocks do on TV...not be a long shot".
​
The third and final person in line was a 27 year old ex-British Navy woman who performed in honor guards with swords, bayonets, and highly choreographed shows for tourists at the Portsmouth Naval Yard. She too declined, stating that Mattocks was one of the men who taught HER how to handle a sword.
​
With no one wishing to take the reign, additional requests for new votes and additional actions quickly lost traction with the British citizens. No one seemed to want the title, and those that did want it, couldn't do the job needed. As such the country fell into a stupor about the entire affair. People that were excited about something for the first time in years were now somber and even morose. Even the anti-government fervor dropped off rapidly, leaving Britain's politicians unable to create any controversy over...anything. Collectively, Britain seemed depressed and 'sad'.
​
Arthur kept getting badgered by the media, fans and of course his best friend, Tom Thatcher, a fellow knightly entertainer at the Medieval Renaissance Faire. Tom told Arthur that as far as he was concerned, Arthur WAS Excalibur, and that all he needed was something to get Arthur to willingly believe his role and take on the responsibility he was obviously born for.
​
One night, Arthur was taking out the trash when his friend Tom stopped him in the their 2nd floor flat. Tom said "There's someone you need to meet." to Arthur, for which Arthur simply shrugged off Tom and told him to go away. Tom then manhandled Arthur into an apartment two doors down. Arthur was furious...until he saw who was in the room - the Queen of England and her security detail, all incognito.
​
Arthur immediately dropped to a bow, wide eyed and apologetic for his actions. The Queen laughed and told him to get up and join her for tea. The two sat at a small table, surrounded by security and his intently watching friend, Tom.
​
The Queen stated, "I bollocksed up with the last Excalibur, Mr. Mattocks. You were supposed to be the next one chosen. I made a mistake. A mistake I wish to rectify once and for all. Do you care to help your Queen undo her mistake and set our people aright?". Arthur stated without hesitation, "If you deem me worthy to wield Excalibur and bear the noble title of those who died bearing it in the past, then I am yours to command", as he again dropped to a knee before her. She sat silently for a moment and asked Arthur, '"do you understand what sacrifice I'm asking of you?", for which Arthur exclaimed, "Yes, your majesty. My life, my sword, my honor for you and country, at your command from this day forth".
​
The Queen laughed a polite laugh.
​
"Please arise, Mr. Mattocks. I'm afraid mankind has surpassed the eccentricities of the realm's needs, kind sir. You see, I am of course willing to perform the formal ceremonies, the knighting, the hullabaloo, the pomp, the titles, etc., however, it is meaningless unless you truly wish to take on this duty to care for the innocent and defenseless of all of Britain, if not for the Commonwealth itself. What say you, Mr. Mattocks, are you willing to die for them? The people? or are we going to recite Shakespearean sonnets to an odious contention?".
​
Arthur slowly rose. He looked around him, noting that some of the security personnel were actually anxiously awaiting an answer from him; he saw it in their eyes; the look of desperation; a look that they hope is a solution to their hopelessness. A look that beckons a man to save their lives.
​
Mattocks finally understood. It wasn't about the crown; it was about THE PEOPLE. It always was. Even the Queen knew it.
​
Mattocks knelt down before her once again and looked at her with strong eyes saying, "My Queen, I will take charge of Excalibur and use it to protect the people of England...and those England is charge to protect, from now until my death or by your order alone to withdraw from my duty. I will do this to the best of my ability, and in England's honor, so help me God."
​
With that, the Queen said, "Your oath speaks volumes over the official one some government lackey wrote up last time. I accept your oath. Arise, Sir Mattocks. Serve England. Protect her people...and our honor". Arthur was knighted moments later in that same room and given Excalibur, the sheath and Pridwin. The Queen told Arthur that it was 'past her bedtime' and they both would work out all the 'details' and pomp for later dates. She would, however, give Arthur all he asked for within reason, in order to perform his duties.
The Queen informed Sir Mattocks that he was also authorized to join lead the super-group, Commonwealth, should he choose to do so, however, the Queen inserted a rather unique recommendation; she recommended that Arthur join, but 'be available' for the Commonwealth super-group as needed and that although she knows he can lead, the Queen hinted that Arthur, in his own time, will know when he is truly ready to take on the burden of leadership.
​
With a smile, Arthur agreed with the Queen and accepted entry into the Commonwealth super-group, but respectfully declined leadership of the group...until he believes he is suited and worthy of that role.
​
The next day, the Queen announced her decision to select Arthur as the next Excalibur and within two week's time the formal ceremony was conducted for "the people and the media" as the Queen put it. Arthur was given a private residence off the corner of Westminster Abbey, allowing him ease of access to London proper. He was given a ten person staff designed to update, repair and care for his armor and weapons, as well as take care of the residence, act as security and provide meals and liaison activities between the British authorities and himself. He even had his own police chauffeur, which he detested, but knew of no other way to get around England fast enough otherwise...that is, until his chance encounter with the mystical super-group, the Knights Arcanus, and their leader, Samhain Knight; an encounter that would change everything for Excalibur.
​
Months after becoming Excalibur, a large group of shape-changing Fir Bolgs were discovered on a military base. Bullets and grenades weren't stopping them; Excalibur was called in. By the time he got there though, the Knights Arcanus were already engaged in battle with the Fir Bolgs.
Moments after joining the Knights Arcanus in battle against the Fir Bolgs, the fight was over, with the heroes victorious. The Knights Arcanus leader, Samhain Knight, introduced himself and his knights formally. After a few pleasantries were passed, Arthur noticed that Samhain Knight had a look of disappointment on his face that was quite palpable. When asked what displeased him so, Samhain Knight exclaimed that he was sad to see England's greatest knight running around with a supernatural Saxon War Sword rather than the true Excalibur itself, which, according to Samhain Knight, was never England's in the first place. Puzzled, Arthur pressed the conversation further, asking how Samhain Knight would ever even know what the Excalibur blade was to truly look like.
​
Samhain Knight responded about his past duties with a group he simply called "The Conglomerate" and his role as their Master at Arms. He kew that the real Excalibur hasn't been been in over 2000 years and was last used by those under the Holy school of magic. The sword had been locked away in a location that only a dozen people on the planet know, for which, one day, the Holy will return to our space and time and their champion take up Excalibur once again as their powerful weapon of magic. The one Arthur had...it was an old enchanted Saxon War Sword. Upon seeing Arthur's diminishing expression about what he was hearing, Samhain Knight added, "...but it's a GOOD enchanted sword...one of the better ones I've seen. This one here surpasses many of the ones me and the Knights Arcanus used in the Soltan Invasion. That shield and sheath; same thing...Saxon made, arcane enchantments. Well made, just not what you 'think' they are."
​
Arthur challenged Samhain Knights words.
​
Samhain Knight reached into his cloak and pulled out a one foot-thick ancient leather-bound book with aged, yellow pages. He set it out across his knee and started scrolling through the pages until he showed Arthur the image of what Excalibur, its sheath and "Pridwin" were supposed to look like. Samhain Knight translated the Latin text that stated the sword's use by the Holy and only the Holy of the Conglomerate order and that until such time as the return of the Holy from their self-exile shall Excalibur, its sheath and the mighty Pridwin shield be forever kept locked away from mortal man. No mortal man has the ability to contain the power of these Holy weapons nor can any mortal's soul be 'worthy' enough to endure the magics that emanate from Excalibur's energies. Looking at the images of the sword, sheath and shield on the ancient pages, Arthur felt a tinge of truth in Samhain Knight's words. Although the book, the story and Samhain Knight's tale could all be made up, Arthur truly believed that what was presented to him was the truth.
​
Excalibur...England's Excalibur....was a lie.
​
Deflated and agitated, Arthur brushed off Samhain Knight and requested him and his knights to leave England. Samhain Knight saw the destroyed visage of what was England's greatest warrior and realized these truths was too harsh and the honesty too brutal. Samhain Knight slid the ancient book back into its void in his cloak and attempted to console Arthur, putting his arm around him as they walked. Samhain Knight apologized for his audacity and honesty, but thought Arthur and the rulers of England already knew of Excalibur's truths beforehand, which obviously, Arthur hadn't. Samhain Knight stated that Excalibur's secrets were safe with him and his knights and that no one would ever know of the discussion that occurred between them. Samhain Knight knew he'd just destroyed Arthur's motivation and awkwardly attempted a recompense for his innocuous actions.
​
Samhain Knight changed the subject and stated, "I...um...saw you arrive by vehicle. Rather...um...undignified for a knight, if you ask me. A knight as great as yourself, should arrive in battle with the deportment of a warrior rather than that of a lawyer. I cannot offer you one of our arcane steeds, due to arcane rules of acquisition, but I do have something with me that might be just as good!".
​
With that, Samhain Knight broke off their discussion, went to his large arcane-empowered Clydesdale War Horse, "Spirit", and pulled out a pair of beautifully engraved armored boots with small metal wings welded at the ankles. Samhain Knight presented the enchanted boots "from one knight to another"; enchanted boots that could fly. Boots that would get fly him into 'trouble' quicker than any vehicle traveling the roads of England could ever do.
​
After a few minutes of instruction and thanks, the Knights Arcanus and Arthur parted ways. Arthur knew what Samhain Knight said was true; the sword was not the real Excalibur weapon, however, he also knew that his power as a champion to England DID wrest in the sword he now wielded, and if England believed it to be Excalibur, then he would continue to be their champion, Excalibur.
​
On a interesting side note, as a result of his encounter with Samhain Knight and the disclosure of the origin of the Excalibur relics, Arthur has started chasing Excalibur lore in hopes of discovering where the real Excalibur, sheath and shield lay; a quest that may one day, if he be so blessed, may grant him the opportunity to find the real Excalibur and test his worth once and for all.
In addition, Samhain Knight offered up a rare (completely non-traditional) opportunity to train under the Knights Arcanus as a "Knight Errant", and to be available for said training and, at times, fight beside and with the Knights Arcanus. Arthur agreed to the offer and as such became a member of the Knights Arcanus while still a member of The Commonwealth super-group. On an additional note, agents from Parliament AND The Conglomerate reached out to Sr Mattocks stating their disapproval of his interaction with the Knights Arcanus, to which Arthur simply stated, "Tough".
​
Today, Arthur continues his knightly and honor-bound duties to Queen and country, protecting the people of England and the world from all form of evil, maliciousness and crime. From saving cats in trees to stopping mystical monsters attacking English ports, Arthur is there to put his skills to the test to protect those ultimately in need of "Excalibur".
​
Talents
-
Swordsman (Master)
-
Combat - Knight (Proficient)
-
Combat - Jousting (Proficient)
-
Combat - Medieval (Professional)
-
Horsemanship (Professional)
-
Acrobatics (Proficient)
- Renaissance Faire/Entertainment Operations (Professional)
- Chef (proficient)
- Knight Lore/History (Professional)
- Medieval Armor & Weapons (Professional)
- Medieval Dance (Professional)
- Video Productions (Proficient)
Equipment
ARMOR (all)
-
Mystically regenerates itself when damaged at 1% rate per minute.
-
Amazing protection from arcane energy and psychic attacks
-
Incredible protection against heat, cold, radiation, all forms of energy, force, physical, chemical, toxic or acidic attacks
-
Armor protects vision and hearing as if they were shielded to an excellent level.
-
Armor magically and automatically appears in a flash of light on the sword bearer's body when the sword is drawn from its sheath or the accepted wielder has been in contact with the sword for at least 6 seconds. Armor disappears in a flash of light once the sword is fully sheathed.
BOOTS (Current Excalibur only)
-
Amazing material strength and protection
-
Allows for levitation and flight up to 40 mph at a maximum altitude of 400 feet above ground level
WEAPONS/SHIELD (all)
-
Sword - British government name: "Excalibur"; actual ancient enchanted Saxon sword simply named: "Saxon War Sword"
-
This is a Legendary magical sword, but not THE true Excalibur sword of legend.
-
Mystically applies armor in a flash when sword is pulled from its sheath; when sheathed, armor mystically removes itself in a flash.
-
Unearthly metal strength; can withstand nearly all attack against it, especially magical.
-
Sword is an excellent magical divining rod for sensing magical energies; point it in a direction and the amount of pull/draw it has is equal to the closeness/direction/amount of magics near to the sword.
-
Sword translates all forms of English, Welsh, Scots, Ulster Scots, Irish, Angloromani, Scottish Gaelic, Cornish, Portuguese, Spanish and Shelta, as well as extinct languages such as Insular Celtic, Anglic, Nordic, Indic, Latin and Romanaic all such that he 'hears' the talkers in English, and when the bearer speaks, it is in the tongue associative (mentally) to the receiver.
-
Shield - British government name: "Pridwen"; actual ancient enchanted Saxon shield name: "Valiance"
-
This is NOT King Arthur's legendary shield, Pridwen, but instead a lesser legendary shield called "Valiance".
-
Provides spectacular protection from physical, force, toxic and acidic attacks.
-
Provides unearthly protection against heat, fire and cold, energy, magic or radiation.
-
The shield has the same self-repair properties as the armor; it magically repairs itself at a 1% rate per minute.
-
The shield's clean surface allows for reflecting and deflecting attacks, as well as act like a mirror to reflect light and potentially blind foes on a sunny day.
-
​​