MORDRED FALLEN PRINCE

Mordred is said to be the nephew of King Arthur and son of King Loth and Queen Morgause, the sister of King Arthur and Morgan le Fay. He is actually the son of Arthur, and was given away as a baby to be raised by Loth and Morgause in secret. This is because, as the story goes, the night Mordred was born, Arthur dreamed of a serpent which came forth from his side, destroyed his land and people, and fought with him to their mutual destruction. The nightmare was so vivid that Arthur had it pictured in a painting in his castle as a grim reminder, and he would have killed the infant Mordred if not for Guinevere pleading him to have mercy. This is the first schism between Arthur and Guinevere.

Mordred grew up as the son of Loth and Morgause. He was once involved in the adventures of his brothers (cousins, in reality), first as a squire and then as a knight, eventually joining King Arthur's elite fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table and becoming the protege of Lancelot. But he grew to become murderously violent, and had many un-chivalrous and lustful habits. He is envious and deceitful, willing to strike other knights from behind in battle. He is described as having long blonde hair and that he "would have had a very handsome face if his demeanour had not been so wicked." Mordred's turning point toward villainy happens after he met an old hermit astrologer who told a prophecy for the two "most unfortunate knights", revealing Mordred's true parentage by Arthur and predicting Mordred's role in the future ruin of Arthur's kingdom. The angry Mordred kills the astrologer before he can finish. Lancelot has to save Mordred's life many times before Mordred is eventually banished from Camelot. Mordred still views Lancelot as his hero, but Lancelot is disgusted by him.