The Lady of the Lake

The Lady of the Lake is the patron goddess of Bretonnia, the divine mistress whose favour is the foundation of that kingdom's chivalry and the source of its knights' near-supernatural prowess. A serene and beautiful figure who appears at the still waters of sacred lakes and springs, she is worshipped above all by the noble class, for it is to them alone that she reveals herself.

Bretonnian legend holds that in the kingdom's darkest hour the Lady appeared to the hero Gilles le Breton and his companions, offered them a drink from the holy Grail, and so bound them to her service: the founding of the realm and its knightly orders in a single miraculous stroke. Ever since, her blessing has set the seal on Bretonnian knighthood, and her damsels and prophetesses, taken from their families as girls to be raised in her mysteries, weave her magic on the battlefield.

Only a knight who has sworn and fulfilled the Grail Vow may drink from the Grail and become a Grail Knight, a living saint of the Lady whose valour becomes the stuff of legend. To the common folk, who may never behold her, the Lady is a distant and jealous goddess of their betters; to the knights she is everything: the reason they ride, the judge of their honour, and the promise that a life of faultless chivalry will be rewarded by her grace.