Excalibur

What it is

The legendary sword of the High Kingship of Logres — a symbol of legitimacy as much as a weapon.

Canon status / disambiguation

Campaign usage distinguishes Excalibur itself from the other swords that have been mistaken for it.

1. Home-world Excalibur / the High Kingship sword

   • Present at the company’s knighting in 481.
   • Later shown to Count Roderick of Salisbury in three broken pieces after Uther Pendragon strikes Eosa “the Giant” Horsason and fails to wound him.
   • Its true current identity/status is still tangled with the timeline problem.

2. Party’s Magical Sword (not Excalibur) / “Fakealibur”

   • Repaired by the Elf Smith of Pengam Green in Session 021 - The Glass City and the Man in Vitriol while the conroi still believed it was Excalibur.
   • Revealed by a parallel-world Merlin in Session 023 - The Dragon Beneath the Mine to be not Excalibur.
   • Used by Millicent as the decoy blade in the Session 027 sword swap with Sir Madoc.

3. Parallel-world true Excalibur

   • Produced by the parallel-world Merlin in Session 023 - The Dragon Beneath the Mine.
   • The conroi refuses to steal it.
   • It belongs to the alternate/parallel Britain ruled by Prince Uther, not necessarily the company’s home reality.

4. Madoc’s runed blade / the blade returned to Lady Wells

   • Sir Madoc carries a runed sword in Session 027 - The House of Constantine and the Return to Wells, claiming it is reforged Excalibur.
   • Millicent takes that blade and leaves Madoc with Fakealibur.
   • Lady Wells receives the runed blade and casts it into the forest pool.
   • As of Session 028 - The Easter Feast at the White Tower, everyone is largely treating this as the true sword returned to the lake, and Merlin reacts as if the matter is catastrophic. However, because the conroi’s timeline/reality status is still suspect, this remains uncertain rather than fully confirmed.

Current status

• Not cleanly resolved. The campaign currently treats the returned runed blade as probably the true Excalibur, but the parallel-timeline problem leaves room for doubt.
• The only confirmed false blade is Party’s Magical Sword (not Excalibur).
• The only confirmed alternate-world true blade is the Excalibur shown by the parallel-world Merlin in Session 023, which the conroi did not take.

Timeline

• (481) — Present at the knighting of the squires/PCs by the High King. (Source: Session 007 - The Vigil and the Knights of the High King; Session 007 — Player Synopsis — Nightly Business)
• (481) — After Aurelius’s death, Uther is tormented by the loss of legitimacy symbols, including Excalibur. (Source: Session 009 - The Death of Aurelius and the Fall of Bedegraine)
• (481) — Noted as an important mark of legitimacy for the High Kingship (regalia logic, not just a weapon). (Source: Session 009 — Player Synopsis — Bedegraine)
• (485–486) — Shattered when Uther strikes Eosa “the Giant” Horsason; the sword breaks without wounding him. (Source: Session 019 - The Well of Bargains and the Demon Princess; Session 019 — Player Synopsis — Well of Bargains and Demon Princess)
• (485–486) — Count Roderick of Salisbury reveals three broken pieces and bids the conroi to find Merlin and/or restore Excalibur. (Source: Session 019 - The Well of Bargains and the Demon Princess)
• (487) — The sword repaired by the Elf Smith of Pengam Green is later revealed to be Party’s Magical Sword (not Excalibur), not Excalibur. (Sources: Session 021 - The Glass City and the Man in Vitriol, Session 023 - The Dragon Beneath the Mine)
• (487) — A parallel-world Merlin reveals the party’s repaired sword is not Excalibur and produces that world’s true Excalibur from his robes. The conroi refuses to steal it. (Source: Session 023 - The Dragon Beneath the Mine)
• (487) — Lady Wells warns that Excalibur must be returned to the Ladies of the Lake or the forests will encroach; Liam suspects Uther may never have held the true sword. (Source: Session 024 - The Feast at Sarum and the Forest’s Warning)
• (488) — Millicent swaps Sir Madoc’s runed blade for Fakealibur; Lady Wells receives the runed blade and casts it into the forest pool. Its true identity is treated as likely but remains uncertain. (Source: Session 027 - The House of Constantine and the Return to Wells)
• (488) — Merlin learns the sword-swap truth and the blade’s return to the lake, then warns that Britain has no sword and no king. (Source: Session 028 - The Easter Feast at the White Tower)