The Plothole
Register
Advertisement

Anna Pendragon, otherwise known as Anna of the White Hands, was the half-sister of King Arthur of Britannia though she spent much of her adult life at the court of King Hoel of Brittany who welcomed her with open arms. There she met the mysterious cult known as the White Hands who gained magical powers of the undead from NeSferatu. Anna was chosen by Tiarna Des-Mhumhain, the leader of the NeSferatu, to be the vessel from which he would drink. She would be drained to the point of death and then revived by the White Hands. This repeated experience would give her stronger and stronger powers. She introduced King Hoel's daughter, Isolde, to the cult and she was also given powers, only by Nyneve the NeSferatu instead. When King Hoel eventually learnt of this evil magic in his lands, he, and the Templars, were forced to slay the White Hands and he had to kill his own daughter. Anna used her powers to save Isolde, but was killed by the Templars in the process. Sir Tristram, Isolde's husband, had to kill King Hoel and the couple fled to England where they became Knights of the Round Table for King Arthur.

Description[]

Appearance[]

When she became a White Hand, her skin grew extremely pale[Pan 1]. To most she appears sickly[Pan 2] and has long, lank hair, dark eyes and gaunt cheeks[Pan 3].

Personality[]

Anna likes to know who her rivals in magic are, especially if they are connected to her circle of family and acquaintances. She dislikes religion, especially Christianity due to the persecution the White Hands experience. She keeps her own problems to herself and doesn't want to involve others, even her brother Arthur[Pan 3].

Traits[]

White Hand[]

See also: Necromancy | White Hand

White Hands hold powers over necromancy and are able to bring people back from the dead and animate their corpses, albeit in an unnatural fashion. They appear as puppets on strings. As the corpse is dead, it does not experience pain and can take severe damage[Pan 4]. It takes just a small amount of her own life force to bring back an animated corpse. She can even grant a corpse some independent processes, which requires more energy. She can bring back someone from the dead with complete faculties, but it virtually costs her own life to do so. Because Anna was bitten by Tiarna Des-Mhumhain, his power transferred into her and she was one of the more powerful of the White Hands[Pan 1].

Healing[]

White Hands are able to heal people from death when working together. They can also heal themselves. Bringing a person back from death, however, is done at great risk to the individual White Hand if performed alone[Pan 1].

History[]

Space Camelot: Oranges/Origins[]

Main articles: 163 | 164

After he united much of Britannia under his rule, King Arthur had made plans to further his domain with Ireland and Scotland. His allies, however, had to return to their own lands in Gaul to counter their rival king Claudas of Berry. King Hoel of Brittany was the guardian to Arthur's sister, Anna, and he would attack Claudas head on. Anna went to Vannes where Arthur had landed with his knights and she joined him in the attack against Claudas' rear[Pan 2]. Anna met and got to know her brother for the first time, revealing to him that she can wield magic but that it was very different to the magic he would have experienced from Merlin the Elder or Morganna le Fay. She reassured him that King Hoel was taking good care of her and that Hoel had just had a new daughter that they named Princess Isolde. They were interrupted when Queen Guinevere informed them that mysterious people had arrived to talk with Anna. The man was Niall Gilroy, an Irishman, and the woman would later turn out to be Nyneve. The group arrived at the Terre Deserte. Sir Bors revealed to King Arthur that his brother, Prince Lionel, and his cousin, Sir Lancelot, were being held in the Terre Deserte and that he must rescue them. The overenthusiasm of Sir Palamedes led him to ride off in earnest but he went the wrong way, forcing Sirs Kay and Bedivere to go after him and split the group. Sir Bors explained how the land had been laid waste by King Uther and the Knights Templar, pushing Anna to suspect there had been witches here once. She got into a theological argument with Bors and Arthur before three people appeared on the horizon, fleeing guardsmen. The group came under attack and Sir Bors could only save one of the people fleeing so he chose to rescue the damsel, Lady Clare Bertilak, rather than his own brother, Prince Lionel. Lionel was almost killed but the third escapee, Sir Lancelot, slew the guard attacking Lionel. Guinevere was instantly suspicious of Lady Bertilak due to her unusual advances on Sir Bors. She reported that she was held captive by King Claudas due to her beauty. She requests Sir Bors swear an oath to protect her and Sir Bors, unable to refuse such a request for his honour, agrees[Pan 3]. Bedivere, Kay and Palamedes rejoined the group and they continued toward the rear of King Claudas' army. While the others attacked the soldiers, Arthur charged through the ranks to reach Claudas himself. Rather than fight, King Claudas ran off after his knights surrendered. Unfortunately he ran straight towards Guinevere, who, on horseback, kicked him down and he was promptly captured. Sir Bors held the king at his mercy and his brother, Lionel, demanded the instant execution of Claudas but Bors didn't want to slay an unarmed, surrendered man[Pan 5].

Having won the battle, the army of King Bors set up camp. Arthur and Lancelot celebrate by drinking, though Arthur was drunk just by smelling the alcohol. Anna was again approached by Nyneve and Niall Gilroy and they spoke in secret from everyone else. King Bors agreed with Bors the Younger that they should spare the life of King Claudas for now and keep him captive. He goes to the pen where the king is being held to gloat. Arthur and Lancelot likewise go to gloat, in their drunken stupor, over the knights of Claudas. They began to harass the knights Sir Calogrevance and Sir Aggravain. Aggravain expressed his dissatisfaction with King Claudas as his former liege and when Arthur promised he was a valiant and honest king, both Aggravain and Calogrevance pledged themselves to his service. Suddenly there was a howl of pain and they discovered that King Bors was dead and Claudas was missing. Lady Bertilak revealed she saw him flee in disguise and the knights gave chase. Prince Lionel blamed his brother for ever showing Claudas mercy[Pan 6]. Bors, however, had died with a knife in the back and Claudas was not responsible. Claudas ran through the night and reached a woodland. Nyneve, able to travel much faster than any of the human knights, ventured after Claudas and found him scurrying through the woodland. She revealed she was just curious over her "pet's", Anna Pendragon, interest in him and she allowed him to pass her unmolested. However he soon stumbled into a trap set by Sir Bedivere and was captured. The three knights, Bedievere, Kay and Palamedes had been following him for some time and had repeatedly set traps to catch him that the king unwittingly avoided. Claudas is dragged to Cornouaille, the capital of Brittany, where he could be judged by King Hoel for his crimes. Lady Bertilak is taken with the genteel mannerisms of Sir Calogrevance as they made their way through the city. When they reached Quimper Castle they were met by King Hoel, who gave his young daughter, Isolde, to Anna Pendragon to care for. When Hoel realised that Claudas was alive, he suddenly drew a dagger and murdered him by slicing his jugular. His justification was that Claudas was a snake and not an honourable foe to be spared. When Lionel declared he wished to have done the deed, Hoel affirmed that Lionel's hands were clean and he could begin his rule of Vannes[Pan 7].

Some weeks later and Arthur's group must return to Britannia. He bade a fond farewell to his sister, Anna, asking to to stay safe. But when his group made rode some miles they were stopped by the mysterious woman that had been following his sister. She introduced herself as Nyneve and that she would be travelling with them, despite Arthur refusing to allow it. She intended to become the latest student of Merlin the Elder. Queen Guinevere recounts a legendary story of the Lady Nyneve of legend, who left her beloved and joined an evil Irish king for supernatural powers. Nyneve insisted that the legendary Nyneve left Britticus, the former lover of the story, for a better man and Guinevere was left in little doubt that the story revolved around the very Nyneve before them. Nyneve admired Guinevere's cunning and smarts. When they reached Stonehenge in England, Merlin welcomed his new apprentice merrily. This freed Anna Pendragon from her plight with the monstrous Nyneve for a time[Pan 7].

Space Camelot[]

King Hoel had not wanted his daughter, Isolde, to marry Sir Tristram as he believed Tristram was not a good and worthy man. Isolde, however, considered herself already corrupted and Tristram was not too good that he would grate on her mind. Hoel's cousin, and sister to King Arthur, Anna Pendragon, was staying with Hoel in Brittany. Anna, however, had become involved with an ancient brand of vampires called the NeSferatu who drank blood ink to gain power. Anna took Isolde into their fold and showed her the ways of the White Hands. To become one of the White Hands a NeSferatu had to drain a person of their blood almost entirely and then be healed back to life by the other White Hands. This would gradually change the individual into a White Hand. Anna was fed on by the most powerful of the NeSferatu, a man that Isolde believed to be Donn himself, Tiarna Des-Mhumhain. Isolde would be turned into a White Hand by Tiarna Des-Mhumhain's protégé, Nyneve, who was abusive and sadistic. Even after the transformation was completed, Nyneve would visit Isolde and attempt to take her blood. If she lost the fight, Isolde was left to heal herself using her powers as a White Hand. Isolde told only Sir Tristram and his acceptance of her dark secret only emboldened her love for him. She believed that The Morrigan, god of fate, was at work due to the similarities she possessed to Tristram's former lover, Queen Iseult. Then, unbeknownst to Isolde, King Hoel discovered the White Hands and the NeSferatu coven. With the Pope's blessing he led a small army of Templars into the hole where they destroyed many of the NeSferatu and any of the White Hands that resisted. The NeSferatu were butchered on sight, while the White Hands were permitted to surrender. Not that it helped. The Pope sentenced them all to be burnt at the stake anyway. Eventually the king came for his daughter and slew her. She was, however, healed by Anna Pendragon who was then, instead, killed. Isolde was saved by Tristram, who killed her father, and fled with her to England[Pan 1].

Notes[]

Britt's Commentary[]

"Anna is based on the use of the name Anna[Ext 1] as a sister to Arthur in Arthurian Legend[Ext 2], though the character is little more than a name in the source material." ~ Britt the Writer

References[]

External References[]

Pantheons of the NeSiverse References[]

Advertisement