App for mythopoeics
.the mundane;
» Name: Dorey/Siobhan
» Age: 18
» Journal: DoreyG
» Contact: DoreyG@Gmail.com / Doreyswan on AIM
.the myth;
» Pantheon: Celtic (Arthurians)
» God(dess): Gaheris
» Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaheris & http://www.kingarthursknights.com/knights/gaheris.asp & http://www.pantheon.org/articles/g/gaheris.html
» Family: {mother & father} Morgause & King Lot ; {spouse} Lynette
» Played By: Michael Obiora
» Human Alias: Gareth Malory
» Human Age: 29 [17th April 1982]
» Ability: He can cause severe pain to his mortal mother whenever he gets angry. Considering that his mortal mother is dead this ability could not be more useless if it tried.
» Occupation: Lawyer, specializing in family law.
» History: Gaheris could, very roughly, be said to be the backing singer of the Knights of the Round Table. Over the myths vaguely involving him in some way he is usually a backing player, with one notable exception, and some have even stated that he was actually confused with his brother Gareth in many of the tales.
He takes offence to that, though. Generally seen as the third son of Morgause and King Lot of Orkney and Lothian he was raised to nobility and, with his connections, was downright destined to be a knight. Look at his brothers, after all, if he’d decided to do gardening instead that would not have gone down well.
First, though, he was a squire to his big brother Gawain for a number of years - and so it can be assumed that the bothers were quite close in this time. Gaheris is said to have moderated his brother’s firey temper, and generally been a sane voice in times when people really wanted to stab something. He is also said to have been a constant companion in Gawain’s early years of adventuring. (And often seems to hang around with him later. He’s said to have participated in the murder of King Pellinore, their father’s killer, but it’s unclear if he just stood on the side and clapped a awful lot.)
Eventually, though, he did become a knight. And married! This is more Gareth’s tale than his own, and so shan’t be gone into too much, but basically Lynette was under siege from the Red Knight, ended up getting the disguised Gareth as a champion, eventually grew to respect him… And then he married her sister. The three journeyed back to the court, Lynette met Gaheris and the two were soon wed. It can be roughly assumed, very roughly assumed, that this wasn’t one of those passionate “Romeo and Juliet” style relationships - but presumably it worked for them.
One thing that didn’t work for Gaheris, however, was walking in on his mother in bed with Lamorak, the son of King Pellinore. Now, Gaheris was often the voice of reason to his older brother but evidently he had a bit of a wrathful side of his own - Lamorak escaped but he killed his dear mother in her bed, like any lovely son would.
…And then rather neglected to mention that he’d wielded the sword, yeah. Instead he allowed his brothers to believe that Lamorak had killed their mother. And sat back fairly smugly as the guy was executed. Which was a bit of a dick move, to be honest.
But not one that he got away with. Eventually his brothers somehow found out that Gaheris had actually been responsible for the murder, and they did not react well. It’s said that he was ejected from the court (though he eventually came back… If not for long) and his big brothers, Gawain (who he was rather sad about) and Agravaine, started hunting for his head. He almost lost it, in fact, until Gawain managed to stop Agravaine from swinging his sword into Gaheris’ rather tender neck.
Presumably a few extremely awkward years of family reunions followed that day… But life moves on, and life moves on into death! (How profound.) Gaheris’ death was to come after Queen Guinevere’s relationship with Lancelot was revealed. Though he refused to help inform the king he was reluctantly pressured into guarding the queen’s execution. And met his death there, as Lancelot charged in with his sword and did a lot of killing. As such he missed out on the end of the age of Arthur, and all of the things that followed.
» Reincarnations: Gaheris has been born several times, all in England (Which he considers himself quite lucky for) and most of them ending up with him murdering his mortal mother (…Ah.)
His first reincarnation was born as Thomas Lynn in the Cornwall of 1714, the year that the first George galumphed his way to power. His father was a fairly rich merchant and was canny enough to make provisions for his wife and young son, provisions that lasted even after his death in 1720 (basically: Thomas’ father came out largely unscathed from the South Sea Bubble situation, a competitor was less lucky and it all ended with a gun.)
However, although his father was rich he wasn’t that rich - hardly rich enough to make Thomas a member of the upper class and thus fit to meet the king. This, unfortunately, meant that he couldn’t become a knight of old and charge around in a generally knightly way (slaying a few dragons, saving a few maidens…) But he still found some way to serve his country and king. He became a soldier in 1730, and as such participated bravely in a few battles. Gaining a reputation as an excellent soldier and a damn fine man to boot.
But this all jolted to an end when he returned triumphantly home, one fine day in 1739, to discover his mother in bed with the brother of his father’s murderer. Now: Thomas was an only child, and so he and his mother had relied only on each other for nineteen years of his life. His mother had also never remarried, so he had half believed that this state would carry on forever in a fairly happy way. His mother had also, in a rather stupid way, made a point of idolizing his father around Thomas’ ears. The effect of these three things was immediate: he murdered his mother in her bed, her lover only narrowly escaping.
For any usual man, or even any usual soldier, this would’ve led to a immediate execution… But Thomas was a very good soldier, who had served bravely, and his superiors were loathe to just kill him like that. Instead they packed him off quietly to serve in the War of Jenkins’ Ear, and generally washed their hands of him from that point onwards.
Thomas was to meet his death at the Battle of Cartagena only two years later, going down with his ship. He was 27 years old.
But no fear! Gaheris was soon reincarnated again, in 1804, as Arthur Knight - the second son of a London accountant. While Arthur’s (he’s sorry for stealing your name, dear king) older brother preferred to follow his father into the “family trade” Arthur himself was, again, more interested in serving his country in a direct way. And so, after the death of his father in 1819 (an accident with a horse and cab), he joined the army yet again - helping to conquer bits of the British empire with great gusto.
A gusto that was terminated, yet again, when he received news of his mother’s desire to remarry in 1824. Begging leave, which he was granted because he was a wonderful soldier yet again, he hurried home to witness a new man worming into his father’s place and, above even that, his older brother looking almost pleased about it. Arthur, to say the least, was not at all pleased - but started to resign himself to it, and tried to be happy for his beloved mother…
Until her swain mentioned, in passing, that he’d once been a cab driver - and had had to stop after he accidentally struck a man. A bit of paranoid searching was enough to confirm it: Arthur’s mother’s new swain had killed his father, and nobody seemed to care about it… This was a state that would not last for long. Arthur proceeded to shoot the man and then, when the woman protested in an extremely justified way, shoot his mother afterwards.
This, however, did not go unpunished - and this time his brother’s hand was not stopped. His older brother, sick with grief for their mother, stabbed him to death in the upper room of their house. Arthur soon perished from his wounds, after just turning 21.
But, yet again, his next reincarnation soon occurred - this time in the Cornwall of 1896. Born as William Morgan, the first and only child of a soon to be widowed young woman, he was raised with a strong work ethic and a desire to help his country no matter what.
This chance to help came in 1914, with the outbreak of WW1. William, just turned 16, bounded down to the recruitment office with the blessings of his mother. Ready to fight a glorious war, ready to defend his country, ready to have a jolly time of all of it…
Except it didn’t quite work out like that, this time. WW1 was brutal, shredding the bodies and minds of everybody involved, and poor William returned from it with his mind burnt out. No longer did he believe in the glory of war, no longer did he believe in good England triumphing over everybody else - he barely believed in anything after those four terrible years, he could barely live as a result.
His mother tried her best to take care of her broken son, of course she did, but by 1921 his lack of improvement had started to grind her down. She started seeing a local postmaster, who had served alongside William’s father long ago, on the sly and built quite a happy life for herself. Finally starting to believe that she could live by herself again, have a life of her own again.
…Unfortunately this life didn’t last for very long. William walked in on them in 1923 and immediately reacted as expected - they were both shot before they could even separate, being found by the neighbours a few days later as William jumped on a train and headed for the seaside (probably to drown himself, he couldn’t see much life after a horrible thing like that.)
He never got to carry out any plans he had there, though. The policemen caught him the moment he stepped off the train in Brighton and immediately dragged him to jail - he was executed by hanging a few days later, at the age of 27.
His current reincarnation, however, rather broke the trends of the ones who’d gone before. He was born as Gareth Malory in 1982, again in London - but this time to a Nigerian mother and a father with Nigerian parents. This time his father didn’t die, thank all the lords, but his parents did divorce when he was a year old - leaving him the only child of a broken marriage.
His mother, at the start, looked like a fairly sensible woman and so he was left in her care without too much thought on the matter… Unfortunately, as it turns out, for her behaviour soon started to lapse. She took first to drink, then to drugs, then to prostitution to fund both of them. She didn’t really pay that much attention to her son in this time - leaving him to grow up neglected, terrified and generally wanting to hide most of the time.
This behaviour continued for ten years, their lives getting more and more dissolute, until his mother finally experienced a stab of conscience (or an angry threat from her ex-husband to take their son back) and started working to improve their lot. This didn’t work, she soon got stressed and eventually decided to shoot herself in the head… Right in front of her ten year old kid. Thanks, mum, he still owes you one.
Luckily the gunshot echoed loud and so the neighbours soon broke in, finding the cowering ten year old and taking care of him until his father arrived in a blaze of glory… Unluckily this incident triggered his memories, and so he wasn’t in much of a state to respond when his father got there.
This state, this almost catatonic state, lasted for four straight years - and when Gaheris woke up from it he found himself in Pennsylvania, quite a shock to a boy who had never properly resided out of England (and who had found himself to be one of King Arthur’s knights.) He let a few months of joyfulness at his suddenly responsive state to pass, and then politely inquired whether they might move back to England again.
‘No,’ came the firm reply, ‘England isn’t good for you, you’d do best to stay here and make the best out of your life.”
…Alright, then.
Gaheris, even away from England, tried his best to survive under the careful eye of his father. He did well at school, made a few friends and generally settled into life in America fairly well. He lived there happily for another four years, with a vague plan forming in his head, and on his eighteenth birthday asked his father if he could join the army when he left school - not for the glory, the horrors of WW1 had battered that out of him, but for the opportunity to help people.
‘No,’ came the sharp reply, ‘no son of mine is going to be a soldier.’
Gaheris was rather shocked by this answer, and tried again… But no, no matter what he tried his father would not listen. His son could be anything, anything, besides a soldier - his son could do anything, anything, as long as it didn’t involve killing people.
In the end Gaheris chose a law school in New York, still in a rather stunned way… And, in the end, he rather ended up enjoying it - graduating and choosing to specialize in family law, proving himself a rather good lawyer and advancing quite quickly in the firm he chose. He soon grew rather wealthy from his cases and was able to buy a house in London as well as an apartment in New York, taking his holidays in the UK and working steadily in between.
His father died about half a year ago, slipping away comfortably in his sleep, and Gaheris arranged a beautiful funeral for a man. Afterwards taking a brief leave of absence and spending it in England, thinking of his father and his former lives there. He’s only just returned, only just climbed off the plane, and is looking forward to getting back to work again, helping new people, meeting new clients…
Meeting others, thanks to the whim of the universe.
» Personality: Being a famed Knight of the Round Table Gaheris could definitely be said to be a good man, despite the brutal murder of his mother.
The first thing to note, having once been a knight and still considering himself a knight, is that he’s very loyal to his king, country and family. He would literally do almost anything to protect their honour, and will always be there in times of great upheaval. He considers it his duty to help, his duty to be the best knight that he can possibly be - and that loyalty will never go away.
This loyalty, of course, definitely extends to his brothers. He was a loyal squire to Gawain for at least a few years and also presumably has strong ties with the rest. He’ll definitely charge to their aid if they call for him, and will always be there to provide firm support and unflinching back up... Even if they dislike him at the time.
…In fact, the alienation of his brothers is the only thing that he really regrets about the murder of his mother. Seeing Agravaine and Gawain perfectly willing to kill him is still the most heartbreaking moment in any of his lives, and one that he still dreams about. It’s impossible to deny that he still loves his brothers, and always will (even if certain ones still wish for his head.)
This loyalty also leads to patriotism. Gaheris definitely still considers himself British, and talks with a firm British accent even after all these years. This isn’t taken to fanatical amounts, he certainly doesn’t believe that Britain is the best thing ever and everybody else should just bow down to them or else, but he’s definitely rather fond of his country. Which explains why he still has a house there, one that he visits on a fairly regular basis.
Another reason that he has a house there is that he’s good at his job. He didn’t want to be a lawyer, wanted to serve as a soldier like he’d done in the past, but he’s found himself remarkably skilled at it. And actually brings his devotion in other areas of life to his job: he is certainly rather determined in it, rather set on getting his clients the best deal no matter what.
Another reason that he’s good at his job is that he’s practical, extremely practical. This is shown by his marriage in myth, which was never really stated to be one of overwhelming passion (even if it was at least affectionate), and is shown in his actions in present day. He tends to just get on with things, and work through problems in a reasonable manner.
In a calm manner, too. For Gaheris has always been very calm - he is credited with calming the excesses of Gawain’s temper in myth and is a fairly mellow man even in present day. He’ll usually think about things before he does them, and will usually respond to things politely and calmly instead of charging in with fists blazing.
Despite this, however, it would be wrong to say that Gaheris is an entirely relaxed man. And this is firmly proved by his murder of his mother, and his lack of significant regrets for it even after all these years.
In his eyes his mother betrayed the honour of his family, the honour of his brothers, the honour of himself when she dared to clamber into bed with the son of his father’s murderer. And as such he can’t really regret murdering her in such a brutal way. As far as Gaheris is concerned she deserved it, and he won’t really budge on that view.
Another reason for the murder could be, perhaps, because he’s a highly possessive man. This probably won’t come up in casual conversation, will probably just simmer down below, but that doesn’t stop it from being there. Gaheris likes owning things, likes feeling that things are his (or the extended property of his family) alone. And if anything steps out of that box… Well, the results will not be pretty. Morgause stepped out of that box he had drawn and he happily killed her, he’d also happily do it to anybody else that dared to defy his place for them, his almost ownership of them.
He does have the ability to hurt people, after all, if they displease him. Despite what certain writers may say (he’s ignoring your face, White) he’s actually fairly intelligent and knows how to use it. He could almost be said to be a cunning man, usually able to wait and watch patiently instead of taking sudden action and ruining everything.
He’s also physically strong, working out at least three times a week and often doing it every day. He wasn’t allowed to be a soldier, to his disappointment, but he often trains like one - and as such is quite physically strong and extremely proud of it. He’d probably give at least a good fight to most people if they chose to go down that route, and he’s quite aware of that fact.
So, both of those attributes could be used to hurt people if they step out of Gaheris’ possessive boxes. But he won’t boast about that, and will actually lie about it if asked. It’s important to note that, in myth, his brothers didn’t discover the actual murderer of their mother until poor Lamorak had been thoroughly killed. From this we can take that Gaheris was a good liar, and that he’s still comfortable lying to this day. If he’s done something wrong then he’ll calmly deny it, even right to Gawain’s (the brother he’s arguably closest to) face, and will keep denying it until the proof is thrown before him. He sees nothing wrong with lying, does Gaheris.
He still sees himself as a good man, though, and while this is partially denial (he still doesn’t acknowledge how possessive he can be) he is actually fairly nice over it all. This may be because he covers a lot. An extension of his ability to lie: any problems that he has are usually tucked down, presenting a calm and friendly face to nearly everybody that goes looking.
But, though it is a cover to an extent, this does not mean that Gaheris is evil. He’s certainly noble, and happily charges off to save people if they need saving. His natural consideration doesn’t allow himself to charge into a situation without looking twice but he’ll still come if anybody needs saving. He was a knight and, despite his skill at lying, he still feels the need to protect people and to be kind to them. He’s the type to give the crying little girl in his office, the one with soon to be divorced parents and nowhere to go, a teddy bear and a smile. He’s the one to hold open doors, listen politely and generally be a considerate young man. He can’t help being kind to most, it’s just something that he does with a happy smile and a desire to make life a little better for those around him.
This, however, still doesn’t take away from his darker side. It all links back to the possessiveness, really, the desire to own anybody he cares about. If Gaheris properly cares about you, has looked after you and would do it again, then he’ll definitely desire to own you, to fit you into that old box. Though he’s nice above, nice and noble and generally pleasant, the possessiveness will always be lurking underneath - the desire to own hidden by his smiles, the lack of regret for his mother hidden by his intelligence, the entirely too possessive side hidden by his purring lies.
Overall it can be gathered that Gaheris is a very loyal man, one concerned with the honour of his family and always backing his brothers up. He’s kind, smart, good at his job… But these positive traits conceal negative traits: A skill (almost a pleasure) at lying, a lack of guilt about his mother, a possessive streak that definitely influences him. Gaheris is generally a good man, yes - but he’s definitely not shining.