Arthur of Avalon: A Legendary Tale of King Arthur
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Told and re-told throughout the centuries, King Arthur's Court and the days of Camelot still exist in the imaginations of children and adults. I have begun where others have ended. From the scene of the his final battle, Arthur is taken by barge to Avalon to heal his wounds. In Avalon Arthur becomes aware of the forces that made him King and receives words of enlightenment that will guide his self-discovery.
As the mysteries of Avalon unfold, the Swordsman who made Excalibur with his "head, heart, and hands" sends Arthur deeper into the woods to be alone with nature. There in a dream he sees his departed teacher Merlin and realizes that "Merlin and Camelot could exist again in his mind and in his soul, safe within a dream, always there to bring forward whenever he chose." Before Arthur leaves the forest he becomes aware of the ten life stages of man and the truth that has always been available to those who search for it.
"The common folk, as legend had it, believed King Arthur would return again and some say he was sleeping in the Isle of Avalon. He was not asleep, however, but awakening to his true self. He was who he always wanted to beArthurArthur of Avalon.
Gary L. Carlson
Gary Carlson's early education began in Dixon,Illinois and the nearby farms and woods along the Rock River before moving on to graduate from Southern Illinois University and The Pennsylvania State University majoring in theatre and communications. After working as an actor and teacher, Mr.Carlson began developing a journal of stories woven from travels real and imaginary and directed toward our higher selves, our own personal renaissance. If he had not lived it he would not have known it and his personal journey serves as a daily reminder of his own growth, his own lessons to learn.
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Arthur of Avalon - Gary L. Carlson
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to acknowledge Lillian Peterson, my fifth grade teacher, who inspired me with art and the knowledge that little people can do anything; to Jo Ann Babel for her enthusiastic early support and great diligence in typing my rough drafts; to Violet Wingert for typing revisions and the final draft; to Walter Russell, The Man Who Tapped the Secrets of the Universe, and my many guides along the way, especially my father who tendered his garden with loving care and my mother who always had a smile on her face and laughter in her heart.
DEDICATION
To my great-uncle Arthur Erickson and his lady Eunice, who encouraged my education with a child’s roll-top desk that has survived three generations.
To the once and future kings and queens.
For
Alana, Stacey, Dean, Eric, and Lilie
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
DEDICATION
CHAPTER I
King Arthur
CHAPTER II
The Final Battle
CHAPTER III
Avalon
CHAPTER IV
The Oak Grove
CHAPTER V
Lady Eunice
CHAPTER VI
The Great Circle
CHAPTER VII
The Forest
CHAPTER VIII
The Shining Eyes
CHAPTER IX
The Wood Spirit
CHAPTER X
Arthur’s Dream
CHAPTER XI
The Man of Ages
CHAPTER XII
Arthur of Avalon
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Being true to the legend of King Arthur as told by others through the centuries, I have begun where they ended.
…It will not happen for hundreds of years, but both of us are to come back. Do You know what is going to be written on your tombstone? Hic iacet Arthurus Rex quondam Rexque futurus. Do you remember your Latin? It means, the once and future King,
revealed Merlyn.
I am to come back as well as you?
King Arthur asked.
Some say from the vale of Avalon.
Once and Future King
T.H. White
CHAPTER I
King Arthur
As he sat on top of his horse in the early gray morning after the rain, King Arthur waited for the battle to begin near the moors and overgrown marshes of the river that brought in ships from the sea. The water reflected the sky.
Arthur paused to remember the early instruction of his teacher and mentor, Merlin, as he looked up at the sky… ‘observe the heavens and the stars and the moon and sun in them, everything else being unimportant.’ Arthur pulled back on the reins as another horse approached. It was Sir Bedivere.
Sir Bedivere was portly for a knight and lacked a little of the fighting instinct. Not desirous of going to battle at every whim, he was a welcome relief.
What brings you here with such urgency?
the King inquired.
My lord, I have a message sent from Mordred’s camp.
Arthur opened the missive and read aloud, It is hereby accepted that on this day, a formal truce shall be signed on condition that I, Sir Mordred, be granted the Lordship of Cornwall and Kent and succession to the British Throne upon the death of King Arthur of England.
Arthur did not trust Mordred. Only last night you revealed to me another letter read aloud to the court in my absence.
While you were out of the country... in France.
The words were chiseled in stone in Arthur’s memory, Mordred would have them on his grave… ‘That on the date herein ascribed, King Arthur of England was witnessed to have died of mortal wounds delivered to the chest and head.’… He seems preoccupied by my death.
Mordred no longer wants to be recognized as heir to the throne. It is not enough. He wants to be King!
Sir Bedivere vented his anger.
Smiling, always smiling, eyes unafraid of death, eyes that carry with them the knowledge of a terrible sin... the little bastard. I should never have recognized him as my son.
Sir Bedivere did not say a word. Arthur’s illegitimate son, Mordred, conceived through enchantment, was raised in a secret forest by Arthur’s half-sister Morgan Le Fay until he was of age to assert his claim as heir to the throne. At first the King refused to acknowledge Mordred as his son, but once confronted, Arthur knew down deep that naive innocence and even deception were no excuse in the cause and effect of life. Ultimately he had to recognize Mordred as his son and heir to the throne.
We do not have much time before we are to meet Sir Mordred and sign the truce. Sir Bedivere, I want you to do two things for me with great haste.
Yes, Your Majesty,
replied a curious Sir Bedivere.
I want you to find me those papers on which you had recorded my account of the early history of Camelot, and I want you to find me an alert young man who has the stamina to return unaided to his nobleman’s castle.
The King knew what he wanted, and he knew it was the right thing to do. With thunder rumbling in the distance, Sir Bedivere rode away to follow the King’s command. The storm was approaching and the rage of war.
King Arthur called desperately for the one who could help him, guide him, and give him hope. Merlin, where are you? I need you now more than ever.
An enchanter gifted with the sight, Merlin had seen his own destiny close at hand and before leaving Camelot foretold Arthur the main events of his life.
You warned me, Merlin! You warned me! But why didn’t I listen?
The King did not want to bring to consciousness what he knew to be true. Arthur collapsed his forehead in the palm of his hands. For a fleeting moment, he could feel his hands, his fingertips reaching, stretching as if to pluck his eyes out. He did not want to see what he knew to be true.
Deception.
It was the one thing Arthur had grown to hate. I loved them!
Arthur screamed. Gwynevere, his Queen, and Sir Lancelot, the greatest Knight of the Round Table, had betrayed the King’s trust. Arthur had never wanted to prove their adultery, hoping in time that everything would set itself right. Allowed to fester in the dark reaches of his mind, the deception, once exposed by Mordred, had to be dealt with.
I sentenced her because it was the law to sentence her.
The sweat ran from his forehead into his eyes. He didn’t move to