The Avalon Project: Andred

As I said in my Avalon Project blog post, my current book(s) takes place after the battle for Camelot which is where most of the stories stop. And as I mentioned here: Avalon Project: Avadaine, part of my drive to write these stories is to find out what happened after that battle.

In the first book, we learn that Morgaine has three more children. Two sons and a daughter. The two youngest children are from Niall, her hand-fasted partner. Who was the older son by, you ask?  Well, I’ll tell you. 

Lancelot.

Andred of Avalon, son of Morgaine and Lancelot.

To find out how in the world that happened, you’ll have to read the book.

Andred is twenty when the story begins. He is the eldest living son of Morgaine and has been raised on Avalon as a guardian (warrior) and a blacksmith.  He is also an empath and able in most cases to tell a truth from a lie. He was raised for the most part by Niall, Morgaine’s mate and Vivaine, the High Priestess, as Morgaine was more away from the isle than on it.

Morgaine’s instructions to Avalon about her eldest son were simple: keep him here and keep him safe.  Thus, Andred was a guardian who was not allowed to go to battle. This is a bone of contention between he and his mother, and it will rear its ugly head a few times during the story.

Andred may not have the comfort of a mother and father, but Niall does his very best to raise him as his own. And his younger brother and sister both worship and adore him.

But Andred thinks of family quite differently than his siblings do. He feels the burden of being an unwanted son. And as such, he has a thick wall that guards his heart against all comers

Or does it?

When Andred is given the opportunity to travel with his elder cousin, Gavyn, to the islands of Orkney, he jumps at it. Finally! A chance to prove himself!

During the trip, Andred discovers that he is to be the next Duke of Cornwall. And when he and Gavyn arrive in Orkney, he discovers that a girl who trained on the isle several years ago, that he had danced with around the Beltane fires, had married his brother Mordred, and was now at the center of a plot by his Aunte Morgause to take over most of Britannia.

But he will not be distracted.  He has duties to fulfill, quests given to him by the High Priestess that he must complete with full competence, or risk feeling less-than forever, an outsider on the isle that has been his home since he was born.

In the end, what will be most important to him?

Andred even has a theme song: The Lost Boy by Greg Holden. (If you are a Sons of Anarchy Fan, you will recognize it, and no, I’m not crying, you’re crying!)

Below is a “vision” I used in the creation of Andred. Note: The picture was created in ArtBreeder.

Andred of Avalon

“You do not see the man I have grown to be. You do not see my accomplishments, only his failures”