(Still got more chapters if you have powerstones, are we gonna see the funny number today?)
With the tournament coming to an end, even with the unexpected entry of Morgana Le Fay. It was now time to deal with just that.
While Mordred might have been able to deal with her easily enough, it was hardly a proper way of gauging the strength of a witch.
No, few were like Merlin, skilled in using a sword. And Mordred was hardly a simple opponent. No, Morgana was dangerous, that scent of blood, that foul darkness I felt from her. It was something even I had to pay attention to.
And honestly, I was beyond the level of a single planet, even on a universal scale, I was a powerhouse. So that I felt something from her clearly indicated that she wasn't simple.
So, as soon as everything was wrapped up, I had Agravain gather the magic users of Albion, those few who had dared to come forth and request permission to practice their craft in my realm, and those who had been granted such a privilege alongside them.
All eight now knelt before my throne.
"I need not explain why you are here. This witch who calls herself Morgan, who claims to be my sister, who is she? What do you all know of her?" I asked them the question my knights all wanted answered.
The eight of them nervously raised their heads, looking at one another.
They were hardly the cream of the crop. Hardly the type of powerhouses that might run in the same circle as Morgana, but that didn't mean they knew nothing.
One of the older mages, a man wrapped in thick robes embroidered with silver runes, cleared his throat. His voice was low, wary.
"Your majesty, I know little. However, there are numerous rumors and tales about a powerful and ancient witch, Morgana Le Fay. Clearly, this woman has been using that name for a long time."
A younger woman beside him, her dark hair bound in tight braids, spoke next. "She is as powerful as she is old, she answers to none and leaves a trail of bodies in her wake. But few people know her, and few survive a meeting with her."
Another mage, an elderly woman with a frail frame but sharp, knowing eyes, shifted uncomfortably before adding, "She has always been known by that name, claiming to be her. Had it not been for your return, none would dare to deny it; she is, without a doubt, powerful and dangerous."
Agravain scoffed, his arms crossed as he eyed the assembled mages. "So you're telling us what we already know? That she's powerful? That she's dangerous? If that's the extent of your knowledge, then you've wasted His Majesty's time."
The older mage hesitated but did not look away. "Sir Agravain, with all due respect, if there were an easy way to deal with her, someone would have done so long ago."
I raised a hand, stopping Agravain from pressing further. "Anyone who could even pretend to be her isn't someone simple, let's not point fingers at anyone here."
No matter what question, I ended up learning very little. Clearly, other then knowing who she was, or at least who she pretended to be, few people knew much more. Only a single thing was learned.
Apparently, she was known to be searching for some kind of tome of great power. Which I figured might be the Dark Hold based on their description.
Which was no big surprise; every dark witch wanted that; it did grant untold secrets and powers, even if that was often at a great cost.
However, given a few clues, I could come up with one other bit of information. The trail of bodies. There were many kinds of dark magic, and some did indeed require sacrifice, given the amount of blood on her hands.
And the tales of deaths she caused every time she appeared, I was rather certain that her magic caused it. She killed many people, and clearly, there must be a reason for it.
"Agravain, have our eyes and ears look around for death, should plenty of people suddenly turn up dead, it might be her." I requested before finally sending the mages back home.
"What about that witch that helped last time, isn't she a big deal? She might know something." Kay asked as soon as they left.
"Finding a witch of such power isn't easy, not when they want to hide. For now, I doubt we can find her, not until she makes her next move, so no need to have the experts look just yet." I reasoned.
As powerful as the Ancient One is, I doubt she could deal with Morgana effortlessly. If she could, I doubt she would have allowed her to be around for so long.
My knights continued to discuss the topic for a while longer. I however couldn't spend all day thinking about it, no, I had work to do. "Sir Bedivere, what is the most important work of the day?" I asked, which quickly sent the others running, unwilling to be dragged in for work.
So much for my loyal knights, ask them to fight a war, hunt a dragon, and they would gladly join me. Ask them to find me the holy grail, and they would travel half the known world. But ask them to help me solve food shortage problems or trade deficits, and they would scatter.
-----
"Excuse me, Your Highness?"
The nearly timid voice caused me to look up from my work. To find one of the newer maids standing nervously at the door.
"Yes?"
"I'm here to report something; a few weeks ago, you asked me to report if something major happened, which didn't involve the current global economic situation, or was about the politics of Albion."
I nodded. Indeed, I remembered requesting something along that line, wanting to be kept in the loop. Naturally, I had my widows, my ears, and my eyes.
But, sometimes, something they found important was pointless to me, and something they saw as pointless might be important. So I requested one of the maids to help me out. "Yes, I remember, what has happened?"
"Well, I saw a lot of news stories this morning, all about a new superhero, over in America, called Iron Man." She nervously explained.
I instantly knew what this was about; this was Stark; he had no doubt said his iconic line and entered headfirst into a world of the extraordinary. Which also meant that many events were soon going to take off.
"Thank you. This is indeed interesting news." I offered the nervous maid a soft smile before waving her off.
Poor girl nearly stumbled over her own feet as she made her exit. I do believe she might be smitten with me. After all, I could hardly keep my helm on all the time, allowing those working inside my castle to see my face.
Leaning back, I quickly began thinking about the future, as well as the current state of things.
From my limited knowledge about the world's current situation, my taking over of Albion had changed little.
Although the global economy suffered, the major plot points shouldn't have changed significantly.
Stark had been kidnapped, escaped, made a suit, and still ended up fighting his fat uncle, and then decided to come out as a hero. That should set in motion the events of future Ironman plots.
Those were of little importance, at most, it would cause some chaos and a few deaths, if things went wrong, there might be a dead president, small things.
Thor should still come down, though I might have to pay attention to that. He is, after all, a god, and behind him is all of Asgard.
I had yet to meet a god from the Marvel universe, so I couldn't say whatever or not they compared to the fate gods, I didn't believe so, but Odin could be dangerous.
If anything had changed, then it was the fact that SHIELD might start playing around with the Space Stone before schedule.
After all, the reason they started playing around with it was because SHIELD felt powerless in front of Asgard, and I have no doubt they feel powerless in front of me as well.
However, what changes could that cause?
And more importantly, what could they mean for me, and for Albion?
Originally, their playing around with it caused an alien invasion, they had apparently been broadcasting a signal to the universe that Earth was ready.
That was, without a doubt, problematic, but was it really that bad? After all, Earth had Asgard, which should keep most away. Wasn't that the very reason Thanos used Loki as his pawn? Because Loki could invade Earth, but Thanos couldn't?
This meant that either someone had to be willing to risk the wrath of Odin, or they had to wait until they found a suitable pawn, which was Loki; in that case, everything would unfold as it was meant to.
So, if the risk of invasion was minimal, then the only risk was that they messed with the cube until it went boom or they made weapons more dangerous than they could handle.
That, however, seemed unlikely; even Red Skull hadn't done more than laser weapons and big bombs, which wasn't too different from what there was here anyway, and even that wasn't certain.
After all, no laser weapons had really emerged after the Avengers, and that was after they didn't just have time to experiment with the cube, but also with all kinds of alien technology.
No, so far, I honestly didn't think all that much had changed, at least on the timeline. Far too many things require that something first happen somewhere else and then affect Earth.
"Still, there are many more risks out there, and far too many hostile eyes on my realm." I couldn't help but say as I looked towards the window and the lively city below.
-----
"Raven, what have you learned?"
Countless people took advantage of the open policy of Camelot to visit, some just to see the sights, yet others had different goals.
Since King Arthur hadn't only demonstrated great power but also claimed that magic was real, the land of Albion was viewed by many as a land of superpowers. A place where anyone with special powers could live freely.
"Good to see you too, Erik, how have you been?" Raven fired back with sarcasm as she reverted back to her untransformed self, showing off her blue scale like skin.
On the other side of the call, Raven heard a sigh. Before Eric finally spoke again, "It's good to hear from you again, Raven. I couldn't help but worry that something had happened to you, so tell me, how are you doing?"
Raven couldn't help but laugh at his attempt at being friendly. It was rare for sure, every year, he seemed to grow colder. She couldn't blame him for it; they saw so much suffering for their kind, so many innocents killed by monsters.
"I'm doing well, Erik. Honestly, most of Albion isn't different from the rest of the world or from the last time I was in England, but fewer tourists around in London, which isn't too unexpected." She lazily said, fully knowing it wasn't what he wanted to hear.
"Raven." Was all Eric, no Magneto, " said his tone, cold and demanding.
"Fine. There haven't been any problems so far; either they can't see through my disguise, or they don't care; even at the Tournament, in full view of the king himself, nothing happened."
Raven had spent weeks in Albion, almost as soon as it became Albion, she was there. Trying to learn as much as possible about the place and see the changes as they happened. She had seen plenty of other people doing the same, no doubt working from foreign intelligence.
But unlike them, she had the advantage of blending in perfectly. No one suspected anything; she even changed her appearance from time to time, so no one noticed she had been around so long.
"And the people?" Magneto pressed. "How do they see their king?"
"They love him," she admitted begrudgingly. "It's not just respect or fear—it's real admiration. You see it in the way they talk about him, the way they look at the city walls and the knights in armor. They think they're living in some golden age, Erik."
"Are they?" Was the only response.
"So far, it looks like it, though I can't say if it will last. However, at least he appears to be trying to address problems, although there will likely be many more before the dust settles."
"What about the tests? I assume that no news is good news?"
(chapter end)
So, lots happening here. firstly, 8 people with magic. They won't play much of a role, just wanted to show off magic, slowly letting it become something more normal? there can't be a Camelot without magic at least.
and ironman, yeah, things are happening, and plotwise, things won't change too much, though more things will happen, given mutants and all those around. So things might not go the same, but they will happen on schedule.
and again, Mutants, and their test? what tests?