In the year 465 AD, Briton is hard pressed by the Saxons and divided against itself as warring factions contend for the scraps of the prosperity and order that was the Roman empire. A Romano-British Chieftain named Riothomus, also known as Arthur, pushes against the Saxon tide and strives to hold the island together to reclaim the former glory of the Roman influence. Together with Merlin, a sorcerer turned Cleric and a cynical second in command named Gawain, he seeks “the grail”. To Arthur, the grail is the very land and the spirit of the people. He leads his band of warriors to reclaim this spirit and to help the people believe in themselves in the wake of the former glory days. Along the way he obtains Excalibur, a sword purported to have mystical abilities, under unusual circumstances from the deceased wife of a Roman centurion.
He encounters Lancelot, a second son from the mainland of Europe seeking his own place in the world, who teaches Arthur’s men the art of horse archery, making them almost invincible to the tribes against which they fight. Arthur is beset by treachery and devastated by the murders of Merlin and Guinivere, his child hood sweet heart who chose to follow the path of a religious order. His sister, Morgana convinces him to lead his army to Europe where he dies fighting on behalf of one of the last of the Roman emperors. The war is not over, however as Gawain takes up the mantle of command and leads the army to victory, thereby finding his own ideal, his own “grail”.
