After officially teaming up with Arthur, her visions eventually did confirm that he was "the one." And showed he was meant to fall in love with Guinevere, which was a key part of Kirby's prediction.
But by this point, she was in love with Arthur too (but just in complete denial of her feelings); however, this made her even more determined to make this vision a reality. To her, the prophecy was the only thing ensuring Arthur's happiness when she was gone... After all, she couldn't be with him forever...
Celestine convinced herself that this was what they'd been working towards: a better future... Arthur risked so much and chose to put his faith in her (well, Merlyn, that is); for this, she had a duty to ensure the prophecy came true. And with Guinevere, Wart's happy ending was "guaranteed..." (secretly broken-hearted...)
And so she'd planned to leave Arthur once Guinevere & he got together, only then would she consider her job was done... But, when the time came and Arthur finally met Guinevere-NOTHING... WHAT?! NO LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT? NO ZING!?
And it seemed like everything was aligned...WHAT HAPPENED!? Well, something happened, she never could've foreseen...
What was supposed to happen was: Arthur would go on with his life, never knowing who she was, and he believed Merlyn was just a mystical, magical old man he met in the woods who became his mentor, as so the legend goes, but now...HE KNOWS!
The moment he met Celestine... outside of her persona "Merlyn," he felt oddly as if they had met before. That look in her eyes was so familiar a gleam. (Sleeping Beauty reference ) It didn't take long for Arthur to figure out it was her... in fact, he wanted it to be her. Despite the change in her appearance, it still felt like "his Merlyn."
Flawlessly, hiding that he knew her true identity too, to him, they were the same person (Celty & Merlyn). And the moment he had found out she was Merlyn... the future was permanently changed. He could no longer fall in love with Guinevere...
Hooray for love, but OH, NO?! SHI- THE TIMELINE!
Keep reading for extra info: ( Heads up to the long-time followers, you'll notice a few changes to the lore in KBASW AU )
With this, I am officially confirming that "Yes, there is a Guinevere (WIP) in the KBASW AU..." and technically, she has been in this whole time. The homies on the Discord already know who she really is, but...
Guinevere = Galaxia
Which is why she was so essential to Arthur's future.
And like I have said with my other Arthurian counterparts: she follows the spirit as the OG version, but does not follow the same story as them entirely... Ultimately, she never got to have her romance with Arthur due to him falling in love with Celestine first... (and for another reason.) But that is a story for another day.
~
For those who are wondering, "why didn't she just tell him about the vision... or shouldn't she have seen it happen with her foresight?" Three reasons.
Reason 1: Telling jeopardizes it from happening!
She has learned the hard way that telling specific events of the future endangers the vision happening or sometimes makes it ever worse *cough* SHIVER STAR *cough*! Can't have that happen again...
Reason 2: Her future sight is unstable and constantly changing!
Remember, due to her cracked warpstar, her visions are sporadic (except when it's a full moon: 3 times only). And things can happen that change the constant future. She doesn't have the luxury to double-check if they're making the right decision...And the majority of her visions show her bad ones filled with tragedy and warning. (89 %) It's the main reason why she hates her foresight.
Reason 3:
Vague in nature (think Bruno from Encanto)... She's called the title as navigator of the constellation for a reason; her interruptions are an educated guess. Navigators estimate where they are, making their directions guiding ships to safer waters, based on their observations.
Celestin follows these principles when guiding others, out of a bad future and into a good one.
I want to make this abundantly clear... while Celestine is the navigator, ultimately it is Arthur's decision whether he wants to take that path or not... and how he wants to take it.
~
I hid a lot of symbolism; apples play such a big part in "The Mage behind the Man." What gave away Celestine as Merlyn to Arthur was her love for apples (Arthur is currently hiding in an apple tree). Arthur, who later on becomes the king of Avalon (which is also known as the Isle of Apples).
Along with this, the reflection of Celestine in the apple is a reference to the saying "the apple of my eye." Meaning that Celty had already claimed the spot as Arthur's most special person... Basically, (unintentionally) taking Guinevere's destiny away from her. And as a result gets trapped in the sword. A destiny that was actually meant for Celestine... (hope there's no drama) *evil laugh*
This is also a reference to the "forbidden fruit of Eden..." This is something that is not supposed to happen, but it does. Arthur never truly gets to perform his feats of glory with the Round Table, meaning he's been disqualified from "the throne". Which is why this happens ( The Knight of the Round Table's wrapped futures), if Guinevere never happened, then the Round Table never happens.
And one more reference I put in there... the Sleeping Beauty reference, for those who remember this (post). And this isn't going to be the last... >:3
And finally, reference from Merlyned... the name of Merlyn given to Celestine during their first encounter (before that, Celestin was the Nameless Rouge Mage.) Arthur had accidentally given her the name, so she's quite literally his Merlyn...
~ Anyways, glad I finally dropped this lore bit, NGL Artfight really helped inspire me. I feel so pumped, I'm gonna try to get back to writing"The Mage behind the Man"...
I think I finally have proper direction now with the story, with this bit of lore. I really wanna play with "twisted fate subplot. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the lore drop. Have a great day, everyone!
