Name: Arthur Pendragon
Age: Thirty-six
Occupation: President of The Order
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Pronouns: He/Him
Currently Playing: Yesterday by The Beatles
Big Three: Sagittarius sun, Leo moon, Virgo rising
Headcanons:
Arthur grew up without his own parents, but was adopted by his uncle, a man named Ector, and his cousin, Kay. Back then, he was no better than a nobody, and even his nickname, Wart, further proved his anonymity. Arthur was perfectly content with helping Ector and Kay, until one day, he was hunting in the forest with his older cousin and stumbled upon a cottage where an old wizard lived. Though Arthur didn’t really believe in magic when he was a child like many others did, it was Merlin who taught him everything he needed to know about magic and life itself. It seemed that the old man could see the future, even, and it was when these confusing thoughts of the future came that Arthur deferred to his shapeshifting sidekick, Archimedes, to teach Arthur the basics of schooling while he didn’t receive any at home.
Being the adopted one, Arthur didn’t receive much attention from his uncle or his cousin, but instead was expected to help them run their farm and keep to himself. It was their ignorance for his whereabouts that led to Arthur being able to sneak away with Merlin so often, especially after Echo Isle had announced that they were going to hold a duel for the new head of The Order, a society that protected the magic of the island. The Isle had been left without leadership in The Order for some time, and with no one being able to pull a sword out of a stone to take the rightful place as its President, this seemed to be the next best idea. Ector put all of his time and attention toward preparing Kay to battle for the position.
One of the most valuable lessons that Merlin taught him was knowledge over power. They once encountered his arch nemesis, a woman named Madam Mim, who attempted to defeat Merlin using dark magic and shapeshifting. It was Merlin who came out on top, though, using his powers to infect her and defeat her from the inside. It was one of the most pivotal moments in Arthur’s life, and he still attributes his leadership style to that day.
On Christmas Eve thirteen years ago, Arthur went to Kay’s knighting ceremony the night before the duel. He was supposed to be his stand-in for his cousin’s second in command, as the first choice had gotten sick. In celebration, he went home with a woman (a witch, unbeknownst to him) and overslept the next morning. As he was in such a rush, Arthur left Kay’s sword in the woman’s home, and, desperate to not show up empty handed, he found one lying in a stone in the middle of Main Street. Without so much as a second thought, Arthur pulled the sword out of the stone and brought it to the duel, only discovering once he’d arrived that it had been the Sword in the Stone, the one that proclaimed that the next President of The Order was the one who pulled it out.
Arthur’s life pretty much changed overnight once he pulled the sword. Before he knew it, he was being pulled into a new life and a new profession. It was overwhelming, and still is, to be leading magical beings when he had not a magical bone in his body. He relied on the help of the older families of The Order, and he still does, but over time, Arthur has formed a vision of what he wants Echo Isle to look like. That vision has been strained since Merlin died just a year into his rule, which wrecked him. Arthur took his death hard, feeling unbelievably lost once his greatest teacher was out of his life. His first few years in The Order were rough ones as he tried to find his own voice and leadership style without Merlin’s guidance.
When he was a child, Merlin taught him about Camelot: a utopia where everyone lived in harmony, the weather was always perfect, and it was nestled on its own, free from outside influence. Of course, no world was perfect, and, until the borders closed, Echo would always be influenced by people coming to visit. He knew it was wrong, to take such control into his own hands, but Arthur genuinely believes he did the right thing by closing them. He gave everyone enough notice to get back home if they so chose, and kept lines of trading open, but said it was to protect the magic, and it was. It is. There’s enough dark magic on the Isle that needs to be contained, and there was no other way he could see to handle it than to keep it within the island. Only the members of The Order know what he did, and he says it’s temporary, and he genuinely hopes it is.
Though he exudes valuing order, peace, nobility, and legality over everything, internally, Arthur is a wreck. He has no idea what he’s doing and hopes that some part of it is right. At times, he can be a bit forgetful and impulsive, but he’s truly trying his best. Thankfully, he has the adults of The Order to guide him, but even with them, he still feels as though they see him like a child, despite being a decade into his position.
Arthur knows about the child that came with the one night stand before the duel. He sends the mother and his child money, but he wants to stay as far away from them as he possibly can. Merlin once said that he would be challenged by a child, and Arthur simply is too afraid to face that.
