February 2nd – Candlemas

Candlemas came, and as he did before, Arthur again drew the sword in front of the assembled Lords of Logres. Many more Lords now sword to Arthur, including most prominently Duke Ulfius and Duke Corneus, and Count Gariant all swore to follow Arthur, as well as many smaller bannerettes. Notably though, Earl Roland refused to swear fealty to Arthur, and instead returned to Salisbury to contemplate his next actions.

Roland turned to some of his closest knights for council. Sir Isadora had no strong feeling about Arthur, but warned strongly against allying with King Idres who she said could not be trusted. Sir Peregrine, Sir Cynehild, and Sir Gwynhael all echoed this sentiment to their Lord. Regarding this young boy king, only Sir Peregrine was quite impressed with him and recommended allying with the new High King. Neither Sir Cynehild nor Sir Gwynhael was willing to commit to swearing to Arthur, although they noted the tide was trending that way.

March 21st – Easter

For a third time Arthur drew the stone, and many of the remaining lords of Logres now swear to Arthur, but Roland continues to refuse. King Lot was now openly recruiting forces against Arthur’s legitimacy, and envoys on both sides were sent to Salisbury to court the Earl to their side.

Seeking council again, Roland found a much more unified approach from his allies. Sir Gwynhael now believed that the sword in the stone was an appointment from God, and Roland should swear to Arthur immediately. Sir Isadora spoke of the danger of not coming over to Arthur’s side, as they would be surrounded by enemies with King Lot’s reinforcements far away. Both Sir Cynehild and Sir Gwynhael remained anti-Cornwall, but were both in favour of allying with Arthur.

Facing a unified voice from his knights, Earl Roland resolved to swear at the next – and final – drawing of the sword.

May 1st – Pentecost

At the final drawing of Excalibur, Earl Roland finally swore fealty to Arthur, as the last of the King’s future vassals to be named. Arthur is declared King of Logres, and a great celebration was held for all in attendance. At the end of it, Sir Uren and Sir Beorhtric were both released from their watch on Excalibur, with the two of them having been far less than cordial during the fight. Though they swore to uphold their honour, Sir Uren pointedly departed for Malahaut, telling Sir Beorhtric exactly what route he would be taking.

Following Sir Uren for a duel to finally settle their feud, Sir Beorhtric was instead attacked with javelins by several Malahaut knights in attendance. The northern knights gained up on the one lone knight downing him, but Sir Uren decided to let his foe live and bear his shame, and sent him back to Logres with his squire.

May 10th

As Sir Beorhtric was in recovery, he missed King Lot’s northern army arriving to lay siege to Carlion – where Arthur had been crowned. Arthur initially prepared for a siege, but at Merlin’s advice, ordered his knights to prepare for battle. The knights assembled to combat Lot’s superior forces, but Arthur drew Excalibur and the sight of it emboldened Arthur’s knights, while unsettling Lot’s – some of whom abandoned the King’s forces to join Arthur.

Sir Isadora led a force of Goblet knights in battle to success, but the turning point of the battle came when the citizens of Carlion streamed out of the city to support the Boy King, catching Lot in a classic Nanteleod Claw. Unprepared for fighting the numerically superior peasants, King Lot withdrew for Arthur to claim victory.

Thought not all swore to him, Arthur was now the High King of Britain, and it was time to make his claim on the kingdom felt…