The Plothole
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King Mark was a vassal king of King Arthur and was the ruler of Cornwall until he joined Arthur on his quest to the stars aboard Camelot to found Space Britain. His lands were once raided by the Irish king Óenegus and in order to get peace with him, he sent his best knight, Sir Tristram, to compete in Óenegus' tournament and win Lady Iseult for Mark to marry. Unfortunately the two fell in love and had an affair behind Mark's back. When caught, Mark had Tristram banished to Gaul at the court of King Hoel. Tristram would go on to marry Isolde of the White Hands but tension between the four of them was ever high aboard Camelot and the ghost of the past affair never faded. Mark was an exceptionally nice and wise man that garnered tremendous respect amongst the people of Britannia. Many believed he ought to be the king of the land instead of Arthur, but Mark proved himself to be a loyal man and defended Arthur even when loyalty of other kings waned.

Description[]

Appearance[]

King Mark is somewhat overweight. He wore a thick, furred coat and a little hat on his head[Pan 1]. He is a tall man and wears a thick, velvet hat to add even extra height[Pan 2].

Personality[]

He is willing to cheer others up but he's also likely to make jokes at the expense of those who are gullible. King Mark will sometimes be reminded of darker times and lapse into a silent pause as he dwells on the memories.[Pan 1]. He doesn't approve of Prince Mordred and believes that he has too much of his mother, Morganna le Fay, in him[Pan 3]. He is considered open and likeable by others[Pan 4]. Although he is devout Christian, King Mark had a deep respect for the pagan myths of his ancestors[Pan 5].

Voice[]

He spoke with a soft rasp[Pan 1].

Relationships[]

Queen Iseult[]

See also: Queen Iseult

King Mark often apologises to his wife even when he has done nothing wrong, which annoys her[Pan 3]. Iseult is the daughter of King Óenegus and she was granted to King Mark as wife after his knight, Sir Tristram, won the tournament of Óenegus. Iseult and Tristram fell in love, however, and had an affair until Mark caught them, which caused the awkwardness between Iseult and Mark[Pan 5].

Sir Tristram[]

See also: Sir Tristram

Though King Mark is concerned for the feelings of his wife primarily when Sir Tristram is around, he admits that he is bothered by the knight's presence[Pan 3]. He doesn't like speaking to Tristram, or even respond to him when necessary[Pan 4]. Tristram was once one of Mark's knights and was the man that Mark tasked with winning the tournament of King Óenegus to win the hand of Iseult of Ireland for Mark. Tristram, however, fell in love with Iseult and had an affair, which created the animosity between them[Pan 5].

History[]

Space Camelot[]

Uranus & Neptune[]

Main articles: 76 | 77 | 78 | 81 | See also: Uranus | Neptune

Queen Iseult and King Mark saw that Gamma Pans, the X-Krypton that just joined the Camelot Crew, was alone in the Observatory and so they invited him to join the colonisation committee to help with understanding plant growth of different worlds. Along with them were Sir Gawain, the nephew to King Arthur, and Sir Greene Knight who were both talented in botany[Pan 1].

Caledonia[]

Main articles: 89 | 90 | 96 | 104 | 118 | See also: Caledonia

Camelot eventually came to the planet Caledonia and the humans chose to settle upon the cold world, despite resistance from the native drow. King Mark and his wife, Queen Iseult, led the colonisation effort of the human settlement with help from others, including The Greene Knight, Sir Gawain, Gamma Pans and, much to everyone's surprise, Sir Kay. They saw Prince Mordred being escorted by Sir Tristram in the distance and this drummed up old agitations between King Mark and Queen Iseult. Sir Greene Knight produced cotton plants and Gamma Pans hoped he might be able to help with his Lightning Amulet but the Greene Knight asserted that the magic of the naacal only extended to flora. He went on to describe, briefly, how the homeland of his people had been destroyed in a great flood[Pan 3]. One night the settlement was attacked by the drow of Llurth Caridwen and they captured Prince Mordred[Pan 6]. Queen Iseult and her husband were asked to travel to the village of Eberron and request aid of the drow there. But also with the group were Sir Tristram and Isolde of the White Hands. Due to their past, Isolde and Iseult argued profusely, with true vehemence. Tristram had asked for his friend, Sir Palamedes, to join them. There was also Sir Galahad and Sir Gawain with them are they travelled through the forest to Eberron. There they met a drow who directed them to the village. They were escorted through the village to a gazebo where the leaders gathered. They were greeted by Minister Lysse, though most of the other drow wanted the humans to leave. The drow wouldn't help but Lysse suggested that they visit the owners of the spacecraft she saw above the mountain - Camelot. It turned out there was an identical ship to Camelot on Caledonia. She offered to take them to the owners of that ship, the Boreans, in Hyperborea[Pan 7]. The group travelled via flying stone, though there wasn't enough room for Sir Gawain so he had to ride a floating paving stone attached to the main brick via a rope to surf behind. The turbolasers of Camelot are erratic, which they speculate is because Morganna le Fay cannot control the systems. As they reached Hyperborea, a land covered in snow with a gigantic orb at its centre, a rogue blast from Camelot hit them and Minister Lysse was crushed by the flying rock. Isolde wanted to animate her corpse but everyone else protested, including Tristram. The humans reached the main city, which was filled with all manner of styles and fashions, and King Mark managed to persuade three Boreans to help them. They asserted just three of them, Benem, Kryst and Tulla, was enough, despite the king's concern[Pan 8]. The group plod through the mountains and when they reached the top King Mark pointed to Camelot. They admit they found the ship on their homeworld and the Boreans reveal they remembered Earth well and they recall that humans were the lesser of the various sapient species on the planet. Kryst and Benem remember travelling to Earth in one of the sister ships to Camelot. Camelot was, at the time, controlled by the High Empire and it was they who installed weapons on it as they wanted to protect their 'rocks' (Hedrons). The High Empire delivered their rocks and left, though the Boreans remembered the first sapient beings on the planet were Lemurians and the other civilisations of Muirians and Atlanteans came later. Tulla didn't remember it because she was on Tatooine at the time. She remembered how a dragon (Typhon) turned the world to sand. This reminiscing continued through King Mark and the others requesting urgency until the three finally came to attention and transported the humans across the land of Reethreen to Llurth Caridwen. Sir Palamedes charged up the mountain to rescue the prince first. Mordred tackled Prelate Seerias, his captor, before she could blast Palamedes with magic. She tumbled off the mountainside but she flew back up to attack Mordred and Palamedes. Sir Tristram arrived and joined the fight. Seerias believed victory was near when drow came up the mountain path but it became apparent that they were the walking dead of Isolde. Seeing the perversion of her people Seerias gathered up tremendous amounts of aether to blow herself, and her enemies, up. She chased them as they retreated down the mountain, where they found King Mark strolling up before running too. Mordred tripped and might have succumbed to the magic bomb if not for Camelot's turbolaser finally hitting its mark and snuffed out Prelate Seerias[Pan 4].

Outpost Finagle[]

Main articles: 139 | 140 | 157 | Lysse was crushed by the flying rock. Isolde wanted to animate her corpse but everyone else protested, including Tristram. The humans reached the mMain articles: 139 | 140 | 157 | See also: Outpost Finagle

The Boreans gave the humans coordinates for a planet they believed suitable for colonisation. Sir Bedivere, who was responsible for the coordinates, was late reaching Camelot's Bridge and, instead, Admiral Ltexi input the coordinates and the ship jumped. However, Ltexi had actually transported the ship to Outpost Finagle instead of the colonisable planet. She explained that the station hops throughout the Multiverse and provides a wide array of entertainments for all. Instantly enamoured with the idea, King Arthur gave his crew permission to engage with the station[Pan 9]. An impromptu meeting of kings was held at Mr Kipling's All-You-Can-Eat Bakery, without the knowledge of the king and queen, which Mordred attended. The king to hold the most influence there was King Óenegus of Munster, whose daughter, Queen Iseult, was also present. King Mark, Iseult's husband, acted as a counter to his father-in-law's anti-Arthur rhetoric. With them was also King Caradoc, king of Gwent in southern Wales. Queen Guinevere's sister, Princess Guinevak, was there to undermine Guinevere at every opportunity. Arthur's sister, Queen Morgause, was present and with her husband, King Lot, of Hen Ogledd. Finally there was also King Urien, the brother of King Lot. Led by Óenegus, the kings condemn Arthur's made space plans, in particular he accused Arthur of violent conquest and warmongering. King Mark stood up for Arthur, which prompted a comment from Óenegus about his daughter's infidelity to Mark and she stormed out. Guinevak assured Mark he could throw her in a convent and find a new wife. When Óenegus questions why Arthur should be the one to rule over them all, Morgause stood up and verbally lambasted the Irish king. When she almost throws the revered cherry bakewell, everyone shouted for her to put it down and Mordred was especially horrified. She is calmed down by her husband. Guinevak asserts that King Arthur would never back down from his role as king over all, especially while supported by his greatest weakness - his wife, Guinevere. This plans the seeds of trouble in the mind if King Caradoc[Pan 5].

Notes[]

Britt's Commentary[]

"King Mark is based on the original King Mark[Ext 1] character from Arthurian Legend[Ext 2]. His personality and good naturedness is based primarily of the version of King Mark from the Tristan & Isolde movie[Ext 3] and not the evil version from most literary sources." ~ Britt the Writer

References[]

External References[]

Pantheons of the NeSiverse References[]

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