Microstory 748: Lancelot

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In the late nineteenth century, there lived a baby boy named Lancelot. His parents were run out of their family business in a hostile takeover by one of their associates, leaving them with essentially nothing. A mysterious woman from another land, named Nivena came to them and said that she would give them everything they needed to live full and happy lives, but that they would have to give something up. They would have to give her their son. She promised to provide him with an even better life than they would have, and so they agreed. She brought him down into the deepest lake in the world. At the bottom lay an entire city, magically protected from the water and pressure above. There he lived and grew up until he was a young man, when he decided that he wanted to venture out and see what else there was out there. As soon as he broke the surface of the lake, he saw a young couple on their first date. Artair and Genevra were surprised to see a human being rise from the water, but were also excited to meet someone from such a bizarre and magical place. They became his tour guides, showing him what the world had to offer than he had missed while living such a sheltered life. But he also taught them advanced technologies that they could only dream of. To him, however, these were all quite normal, and he couldn’t believe how difficult life was for people on the surface of the planet. As the years went by, the three of them grew closer, and developed a polyamorous relationship between them, going so far as to get married. But the world was not as peaceful and safe as the lake of Lancelot’s home. War was breaking among many nationstates. Even in the beginning, they were calling it the Third Great War. Lancelot and Genevra felt the need to be part of the war in the most constructive way possible, so they began forming plans for an elite team of peacekeeping warriors, thinking Artair’s booming voice and commanding demeanor would be perfect to lead them. He was hesitant, for he neither wanted to fight, nor get in the middle of other people’s quarrels. Yet they were able to convince him, and together they founded a small organization called The Global Servants. Over time, this name was corrupted, as would their history, and they would be forever remembered as The Knights of the Round Table.