Week 12 Story: The Sword in the Stone
Long ago, I remember naught about my childhood. The faintest memory I retain is that of my family. Though they weren't my birth family, I regarded them highly as such. My father went by the name of Sir Ector. I was the foster-brother of his son, Sir Kay. Thus, we lived together quite happily.
Now, Uther Pendragon had passed, and the whole of England had succumbed into much turmoil. Many Knights yearned to seize the throne, but none were deemed worthy. Yet, there came word of a challenge that whomever shall seize a sword from a stone in front of the Great Church in London shall be the rightful King.
Upon hearing this, Sir Ector, Sir Kay, and myself made great haste to travel to London for the great challenge. Alas, Sir Kay begged me to travel back home to retrieve his sword, for he had left it the night before. So, I travelled back home as swiftly as I could to retrieve his sword. Upon reaching the home, I found the door locked, as my mother had left to witness the tournament.
I was angry, for I did not want to disappoint my brother. Then, I had a brilliant idea. I thought to take the sword from the stone and offer that to my brother so that he shall not be without a sword. So, I rode quickly to the stone where the sword lay. I climbed upon the stone and slid the sword out from its prison without any effort at all.
Quite content with my deed, I hurried to find Sir Kay and presented the sword to him. Still, Kay knew the sword was not his own and asked me how I've come of it. So, I told him of my feat, and he called forth his father, Sir Ector. I further told of how I pulled the sword from the stone, much to the utter disbelief of both.
So, to prove my worth, I replaced the sword back into the stone in which it was imprisoned. My father and my brother both had their hands at the sword, both failing to budge the sword from the stone. At once, I grasped the sword and lifted it effortlessly from the stone.
So it was revealed that I was the son of Uther Pendragon, and thus I was the rightful King of England. Though I was a young man still, there was much disagreement from lords who were reluctant of my rule.
More challenges to remove the sword were issued, yet none were able to remove the sword but myself. So, the common folk came to revere me as their King. Thus, all the folk gradually fell to their knees before me, and I was deemed as a Knight. I was crowned King and did my realm fair justice for the rest of my days.
Author's Note: For this story, I decided to retell the story of The Drawing of the Sword from the perspective of young Arthur. The original story tells of how Uther Pendragon dies, leaving behind an absence of the King of Britain. Thus, the land succumbed to ill nature, laws were broken and crops were poor. So, Merlin the magician puts forth the challenge of the sword in the stone, proclaiming that whomever shall remove the stone shall be the rightful King. Many Knights attempted the challenge, coming from far and near, but none were able to remove the sword from the stone. Sir Kay sent his foster-brother Arthur to retrieve his sword from home, for he had forgotten it the night before. However, Arthur found the door to his home to be locked, and he was adamant to retrieve a sword for his brother. So, he removes the sword from the stone and offers it to his brother, unaware that he was now the rightful King. Eventually, the people revered him as the rightful King after some reluctance from some lords, and King Arthur ruled. In my rendition of the original story, I told the story from the perspective of young Arthur, enabling me to capture his inner emotions and actions that led to his fate. With this rendition, I'm able to retell the story from the perspective of a young lad, who was ignorant and thought nothing of the sword in the stone. Only when Arthur knew of his true father did he realize the significance of his feat of removing the sword from the stone. This story illustrates the growth and development that young Arthur undergoes to realize his ability to be King.
Bibliography: The Drawing of the Sword from King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H.J. Ford (1902)
Now, Uther Pendragon had passed, and the whole of England had succumbed into much turmoil. Many Knights yearned to seize the throne, but none were deemed worthy. Yet, there came word of a challenge that whomever shall seize a sword from a stone in front of the Great Church in London shall be the rightful King.
Upon hearing this, Sir Ector, Sir Kay, and myself made great haste to travel to London for the great challenge. Alas, Sir Kay begged me to travel back home to retrieve his sword, for he had left it the night before. So, I travelled back home as swiftly as I could to retrieve his sword. Upon reaching the home, I found the door locked, as my mother had left to witness the tournament.
I was angry, for I did not want to disappoint my brother. Then, I had a brilliant idea. I thought to take the sword from the stone and offer that to my brother so that he shall not be without a sword. So, I rode quickly to the stone where the sword lay. I climbed upon the stone and slid the sword out from its prison without any effort at all.
Quite content with my deed, I hurried to find Sir Kay and presented the sword to him. Still, Kay knew the sword was not his own and asked me how I've come of it. So, I told him of my feat, and he called forth his father, Sir Ector. I further told of how I pulled the sword from the stone, much to the utter disbelief of both.
So, to prove my worth, I replaced the sword back into the stone in which it was imprisoned. My father and my brother both had their hands at the sword, both failing to budge the sword from the stone. At once, I grasped the sword and lifted it effortlessly from the stone.
So it was revealed that I was the son of Uther Pendragon, and thus I was the rightful King of England. Though I was a young man still, there was much disagreement from lords who were reluctant of my rule.
More challenges to remove the sword were issued, yet none were able to remove the sword but myself. So, the common folk came to revere me as their King. Thus, all the folk gradually fell to their knees before me, and I was deemed as a Knight. I was crowned King and did my realm fair justice for the rest of my days.
King Arthur on a Tapestry - Courtesy of Wikipedia
Author's Note: For this story, I decided to retell the story of The Drawing of the Sword from the perspective of young Arthur. The original story tells of how Uther Pendragon dies, leaving behind an absence of the King of Britain. Thus, the land succumbed to ill nature, laws were broken and crops were poor. So, Merlin the magician puts forth the challenge of the sword in the stone, proclaiming that whomever shall remove the stone shall be the rightful King. Many Knights attempted the challenge, coming from far and near, but none were able to remove the sword from the stone. Sir Kay sent his foster-brother Arthur to retrieve his sword from home, for he had forgotten it the night before. However, Arthur found the door to his home to be locked, and he was adamant to retrieve a sword for his brother. So, he removes the sword from the stone and offers it to his brother, unaware that he was now the rightful King. Eventually, the people revered him as the rightful King after some reluctance from some lords, and King Arthur ruled. In my rendition of the original story, I told the story from the perspective of young Arthur, enabling me to capture his inner emotions and actions that led to his fate. With this rendition, I'm able to retell the story from the perspective of a young lad, who was ignorant and thought nothing of the sword in the stone. Only when Arthur knew of his true father did he realize the significance of his feat of removing the sword from the stone. This story illustrates the growth and development that young Arthur undergoes to realize his ability to be King.
Bibliography: The Drawing of the Sword from King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H.J. Ford (1902)
Hi Jackie,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your story and how easily it flowed. Telling it from Arthur's point of view was a good way to change it up. I am a little confused about something tho. Is the person who pulls the sword out of the stone Uther Pendragon's son? At first, I just thought that would be the person to become King, but I did not realize it would also be his son until the end of the story. Maybe clarify that a little bit more at the beginning of the story as well. One suggestion that I have is to maybe add some dialogue between characters. Dialogue always makes a story more interesting and detailed. You could add dialogue between Arthur and Sir Kay when they were talking about how Arthur got the sword out of the stone and why he didn't bring Sir Kay his sword from their house.