Book Review:

"Morgaine, I told you, look after the baby"...

As I tell this tale I will speak at times of things which befell when I was too young to understand them, or things which fell when I was not by; and my hearer will draw away, perhaps, and say: 'This is her magick'..But I have always held the gift of the sight, and of looking within the minds of men and women; and in all this time I have been close to all of them. And so, at times, all that they thought was known to me in one way or another. And so I will tell this tale..

For one day the priests too will tell it, as it was known to them. Perhaps between the two, some glimmer of the truth may be seen..For this is the thing the priests do not know, with their one God and one truth: that there is no such thing as a true tale. Truth has many faces, and truth is like to the old road to Avalon; it depends on your own will, and your own thoughts, whither the road will take you, and whether, at the end, you arrive in the Holy Isle of Eternity, or among the priests with their bells and their death and their Satan and hell and damnation...but perhaps I am even unjust to them. Even the Lady of the Lake, who hated a priest's robes as she would have hated a poisonous viper, and with good cause too, chid me once for speaking evil of their God.

"For all the Gods are one God", she said to me then, as she had said many times before, and as I have said to my own novices many times, and as every priestess who comes after me will say again, 'and all the Goddesses are one Goddess, and there is only one Initiator'..And to every man his own truth, and the God within. And so, perhaps, the truth winds somewhere between the road to Glastonbury, the Isle of the Priests, and the road to Avalon, lost forever in the mists of the Summer Sea..

But this is my truth: I who am Morgaine tell you these things, Morgaine, who was in later days called Morgan Le Fey..

~Excerpt from The Mists Of Avalon~

Greetings to all..I, at last, have the unique pleasure in introducing one of my most favoured authoresses.. Although she is gone, the gifts Marion Zimmer Bradley bestowed upon us with her remarkable reworking of the Arthurian legends, and the women of power that surrounded the King during this age, is no less than spectacular, and truly deserves all the praise and glory I can possibly bestow upon her..The Mists Of Avalon is one of 4 books in the Avalon series, and is taken from historical fact and Arthurian legends, and interwoven with a dynamic storyline, taking it from the point of view of the reigning women behind Arthur's throne..This book is split up into 3 sections, and I will give you a decent taster into this book, without spoiling the ending..But I do suggest reading this book, as well as the others in the series..

Part One - Mistress Of Magick

We begin with the Lady Igraine, wife of Duke Gorlois of Cornwall, looking out into the Cornish sea, by way of her window at the Duke's castle keep..She had been given unwilling as a bride to the older Duke at a young age, and had borne him one child, a daughter, whom she named Morgaine..Igraine was also sister to Viviane, the Lady of Avalon, who was the one that gave her permission to the Duke to marry Igraine..

She, being a young lady, was often times bored, with there being nothing to do apart from the normal day to day chores that all the women were expected to take care of, plus the added dute of motherhood and the fostering of her younger sister, Morgause..This was during the time when King Ambrosius Aurelianus, or Aurelius as he is also known as, was sitting on the British throne..On a side note, it is said that King Ambrosius' last resting place is within the ring stones of Stonehenge..Duke Gorlois is pledged as Ambrosius' man in war and peace..

Eventually, the Lady and the Merlin of Britain venture to the castle while the Duke is away, and speak to Igraine to let her know that she has been chosen before she was born, to bear the hope of Britain, but there is a catch - the baby will not be her husband's child, but that of another, soon to come onto the scene..She can hardly believe what she hears, but they make her understand that she must meet this future man..And in order to do that, she must somehow manage to go to Londinium, or modern day London..She really does not want to do this, but when Gorlois comes home, he is so happy to see her after such a long while of being apart, and he is leaving again immediately for Londinium, so he asks her to come with him "if you can bear to leave that child behind"..And so it begins..

The lady is not in love with her husband, but because she feels he has been kind to her while she was yet young and unknowing, and allowed her to keep her daughter, when most men would have insisted she get rid of a female child, so that she might be free at once to attempt to produce him a male heir, she feels the least she owes him is respect as his wife..Soon they reach Londinium, and the spells of the Merlin and the Lady begin to unfold their supple fingers of high magick upon the lady and the unsuspecting Uther Pendragon..Eventually the two fall in love, although neither of them had ever touched or come near in an intimate way to the other..As the Merlin and the Lady explained, this union was designated since the beginning of time - preordained..Fate..And one cannot escape their Fate..

The Duke senses something is wrong around the time the old King Ambrosius finally dies, but is not at liberty to do anything about it as yet..Ambrosius died without naming an heir, but all the men knew it was Uther he wanted to take his place, and Gorlois cast back his oath, and henceforth became traitor to the crown.. Both his land, castle, and his lady were all forfeit to the crown..Gorlois was a dead man..

Later on down the road a little way, Igraine and Uther are married after Uther becomes High King, also known in those days as "dux bellorum" or Duke of War..Igraine became pregnant with her child before they were formally married and the baby was born a month early, therefore, many people assumed the child was the son of Duke Gorlois..He favored him not - the Duke being a dark haired gent, and the boy, Arthur being fair..It must be said that Queen Igraine was very much in love with her husband the King, and when he came back from campaigns, she wasted no time in rushing to his side, to spend every possible moment with him as though it were his last..

"Once when Uther came home and she decked herself in her best gown, as she always did, with her amber and moonstone necklaces, and looked down on me with a careless kiss for me, and one for my little brother, ready to run down to Uther, I looked at her glowing cheeks - heightened with color, her breathing quickened with delight that her man had come - and hated both Uther and my brother. And while I stood weeping at the top of the stairs, waiting for our nurse to come and take us away, he began to toddle down after her, crying out "mother mother" - he could hardly talk, then - and fell and cut his chin on the stair. I screamed for my mother, but she was on her way to the King, and she called back angrily, "Morgaine, I told you, look after the baby", and hurried on"...

So it was that the prophecy was true, and what the Merlin and the Lady had set in motion, was now taking place. Later, the Lady visited again..This was well after the marriage of Morgause to King Lot of Lothian..It was thought best to cement and alliance with King Lot by King Uther giving him his very own sister in law for a wife..Lady Viviane sat at breakfast with the king when Morgaine had reached 11 years of age, and between them, decided what was to be done with both children - Arthur would become the foster son of Sir Ectorius, a staunch vassal of the King, and fiercely loyal - Some of you might well remember him from the Disney movie, Sword in the Stone..And Morgaine was sent to Avalon to be fostered by her aunt, in the druid/priestess craft, or bhean druid ..

Over this time, the Lady's son, Lancelet returned to Avalon, he that had mocked Morgaine in youth with an old taunt - Morgaine of the faeries..Only now, both were grown, and for the first time, she looked with desire on a beautifully handsome man..The Lady gave Morgaine special permission to take a day off from her duties and spend time instead with Lancelet..And this is where the entanglement begins..At one point, she might have forgone her promise to keep maiden status until there was a need for her to give that up, just to be with Lancelet, handsome though he was..But there was a sound as someone crying..And they looked, and came across a beautiful maiden called Gwenhwyfar, who had managed somehow to break through the Mists, and there she had mired herself..Lancelet was immediately enchanted by her beauty, and forgot Morgaine, who became angry when she heard the girl say "she is little and ugly, as one of the faery folk"..

Years passed, and Morgaine remained a virgin, to be given eventually during the rites on Dragon Island at a royal kingmaking ceremony, and would be the Virgin Huntress - She who blessed the deer and the King Stag, and sent them speeding into the forest, there for both King Stags to meet, but only one would emerge victorious..And when the young King Stag did come back, the blood of the deer covering his body, She welcomed Him as her consort, and there made sacrifice of her virginity to him..But little did she know that from this meeting, would be born the child of two royal lines, one of the Pendragon, and the other of Avalon..And the next morning was when all hell broke loose, when Morgaine found that she and her own brother had coupled..It was one thing, during ritual, while neither knew the other, but they had known one another after the effect..And both were distraught..

And so it was that Morgaine returned to Avalon..When she knew she was with child, she went into the forest to harvest certain herbs and roots to rid herself of the baby, and went astray, off the well known path of Avalon, and strayed into Faery..There she was met by the Queen of Faery, who asked her why she chose to rid herself of such a child, and why did she not instead give the baby to her to be fostered instead? Morgaine refused to be a pawn in someone else's game..Later, she and the Lady quarelled, and so it was that Morgaine took her leave of Avalon, and went north to Lothian, and to Queen Morgause..

Part Two - The High Queen

"What of the King Stag, when the Young Stag is grown?"..

We start the next excerpt with Morgaine being in Lothian with Queen Morgause, fully pregnant now with her unborn son..The child drained everything from her and she appeared thin and gaunt, while her belly continued to protrude to the point of making her seem all over baby and very little else..Here, she got to know her nephew Gareth, Morgause's youngest son, whose great pleasure in life at the ripe old age of 5, was to grow up, and go out slaying dragons with Sir Lancelet. Meanwhile, Morgaine went daily through her own form of hell, suffering with deep depression and long time fasting and unseen weeping. Eventually, as with all babies, hers was finally born, and because of the trouble she went through, it was thought she would never be able to carry another child to birth.

"Did anyone think to bring a cat into the room"? "A cat? Yes, she is there, but why Aunt?" "Because little one, if you have ever seen a cat kittening, you know that the cat bears her children purring, not crying out in pain, and so perhaps her pleasure in bearing will help you to feel the pains less", Morgause said, stroking the small, furry creature. "It is a form of birth magick that perhaps you do not know in Avalon. Yes, you may sit down now, and rest for a little, and hold the cat in your lap"..She watched Morgaine stroking the cat in a moment of respite, but then she doubled over again with the sharp cramps, and Morgause urged her to get up again, and keep walking, "As long as you can bear it - it goes quicker so", she said.. "I am so tired..so tired", Morgaine said, moaning a little..'You will be more tired before this is over' Morgause thought, but she only came and put her arms around the younger woman. "Here, lean on me child".."You are so like my mother"...Morgaine said, clinging to Morgause..Her face contorted as if she were about to cry.."I wish my mother were here"..And then bit her lip, as if she regretted her moment of weakness, and began slowly walking - walking up and down the crowded room..

And so it was, that Morgaine bore the son of Arthur into the world, and Morgause, by the dark arts she learned on Avalon, discovered who the father was, and fostered Morgaine's son for her, thinking of a way the arrangement might be used to her advantage in the future..

Meanwhile, King Uther was dead, and his son Arthur was crowned king, and the petty kings demanded he become married and get to work producing an heir to the throne..Little did anyone know he had already managed to produce the only child he would ever have..King Leodegranz, in order to cement an ally to the High King, made an offer of horses and men, and a small parcel of land and an estate, for a dowry..He wished to marry his daughter to Arthur..Arthur then sent his cousin and best friend, Sir Lancelet to visit Leodegranz to accept the offer of his daughter and her dowry, and found the king's daughter was none other than the maiden he had met on the outskirts of Avalon..Aye, a coup was this, which was now happening as a direct result..Having accepted the offer, Arthur then sent his mother, the old Queen Igraine, to go and fetch the girl hence to his castle, and so, off rode Igraine..On the way back, Igraine saw the unmistakeable friendship and more than friendship growing between Lancelet and the future High Queen..

The marriage and coronation took place as planned, and eventually Morgaine came to serve as the Queen's chief Lady - In - Waiting..There was no mistaking the relationship that was developing between Lancelet and the Queen, as he became her champion whenever there were lists to enter, just as Sir Gawaine was the King's champion..

Some years later, Gwenhwyfar approached Morgaine for a charm against barrenness, since she had `failed in her duty to provide her Lord Husband with a royal son'..Morgaine obliged, but counselled Gwenhwyfar that "I put not much faith in spells and charms.." It had long been put about that Sir Lancelet was a lover of boys, because he had no eyes for any woman but the Queen, and his garments were almost always seen on some handsome young man..And then one day, the unthinkable happened..Arthur and she were giving a party, and the pair of them, and Lancelet made their way to the bedchamber, drunk..Arthur approached his wife with a highly unusual request - to have a 3some between them, and if she should fall pregnant, why, she may swear the baby was gotten in her very own marriage bed, with her husband..But like Morgaine counselled, spells and charms have a mind of their own, and tend not to work in our time, or as we see fit, but rather in their own fashion..And so it came about that Queen Gwenhwyfar remained childless, but she was given the gift of both of the men she was in love with for one night of passion..

Now that you are hooked on what will happen next, I am going to leave you all right here, and hope that you will endeavour to read this fantastic book..As you can plainly tell, I have done so probably more times than was necessary, but a great book is a great book, after all, and I feel confident you all will enjoy it as much as I always have..It is very easy to become involved with all the characters, as each one in their own way, is likeable, and very interesting..There is never a dull or slow moment, in this book, and though there are almost 1000 pages, you will have a hard time putting it down..The pages seem to turn themselves, as you find yourself going deeper and deeper into the magickal land of Faery with Morgaine, or parting the Mists, and seeing Avalon for the first time, as if having just woken from a long sleep..I beg you all to enjoy this book, and this review..Until next time...

Dark Blessings..
Silver~

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