Morgan le Fay

"Merlin? He believes I've changed. And he's right. Soon he will see exactly how much."

- Morgan le Fay.

Morgan le Fay is the half-sister of King Arthur Pendragon and one of the greatest magic casters in Arthurian legend.

Overview
Morgan le Fay is a powerful sorceress and the greatest student of Merlin. Although always depicted as a practitioner of magic, over time her character became more malevolent until she began to be portrayed as a witch who was taught the black arts by Merlin. According to Sir Kay, she may have had similar burdening circumstances as her half-brother, Arthur, due to their parentage. She temporarily became a powerful vampire by way of Absalom.

She is believed to be a seductive, megalomaniacal fae witch who wishes to overthrow Arthur, and have the fae reclaim the lands that was once their own before they were driven away by early human settlers. Morgan methods are usually extreme Morgan as she is sometimes assigned to the role of seducing Arthur and giving birth to the the black knight Mordred, although traditionally Mordred's mother was Morgan's sister, Morgause. In truth, Morgan is far more of an advisor of her half-brother and his kingdom, Camelot though she did start as a villain.

Morgan le Fay was born and lived during the Middle Ages. She was known to have had a half-brother, Arthur. During her lifetime, Morgan le Fay played a role in numerous events through her powerful magic and healing skills. She was an Animagus (taking the form of a bird). However, she became a skillful practitioner of the Dark Arts and an enemy of her mentor Merlin due to conflicting ideals.

Morgan was born from the union of Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall and his wife Lady Igraine, however, according to some sources, she is instead the hybrid daughter of King Uther Pendragon and a fae.

Appearance
One appearance of hers is that of a young woman with long blonde hair coupled by a crown and a veil covering her face. She seemingly wore a black dress that exposes her navel and abdomen.

Powers and Abilities
Morgan le Fay is a powerful witch queen said to be the equal that of her former mentor Merlin and a magic caster with immense power. Although unexpected, Morgan was born with supernatural blood from her connection with Fae. She was the legitimate owner of the Magical Isles, a greater "King of the Island" than her half-brother. Morgan possesses the ability to enchant Arthur and anyone related to him in blood.

Morgan possessed a golden dagger called Erosion: Penetrating Blade of Gold, which under the guise of a golden blade used to cut mistletoe, has the ability to sever the mind and soul from the body, as well as allow the user to slip into the body, spirit, and soul of its victim.
 * Dark Arts: Morgan is described as a powerful witch who is highly proficient in many areas of black magic and with the casting of dark charms.
 * Transfiguration: Morgan was revealed to have mastered the art of Human Transfiguration, having become an Animagus; being able to turn herself into a bird at will, showing remarkable proficiency in this highly difficult branch of magic.
 * Potions: Being an Animagus, Morgan would have needed to have successfully brewed an Animagus potion, in order to gain the ability to transform. This implies that she had great skill in potions, as brewing the Animagus potion is immensely difficult, complex and time-consuming.
 * Healing magic: Morgana was noted to be particularly gifted in the art of healing magic, as she was a proficient Healer, meaning she would have talented with healing spells, potions and other magical remedies.

Background
Morgan le Fay is said to be Arthur's half-sister, daughter of Arthur’s mother, Lady Igraine, and her first husband, Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall. She has at least two older sisters, Elaine of Garlot and Morgause, the latter being the mother of Sir Gawain, the Green Knight, and the traitor, Mordred Pendragon with the latter being born due to Arthur having been forced to lay with Morgause under a spell.

As a fairy later transformed into a woman and King Arthur's half sister, she became an enchantress to continue her powers. Morgan eventually took in her nephew Mordred Pendragon when he was abandoned by her sister Morgause after she had an incestuous affair with King Arthur with the former having been forced to lay with the witch under a spell.

Morgan hated Arthur for his purity and unknowing hypocrisy and so plotted with her lover, Sir Accolon, to steal both Excalibur and the British throne. Arthur met Accolon in combat without his magical sword, but the Lady of the Lake Nimue helped him retrieve it and win the battle. In return, Morgan stole Excalibur's scabbard and threw it into the nearest lake. She eventually escaped Arthur's wrath by transforming her entourage into stone.

Another reason for this hatred is during her early practices of magic, she was married by Uther to his ally Urien. She is unhappy with her husband and takes a string of lovers until she is caught by a young Guinevere, who expels her from court in disgust. Morgan continues her magical studies under Merlin, all the while plotting against Guinevere.

True Goals
Morgan's true goals was to have the Fae overtake the world of man as she was repulsed and angered by the way humans have treated not only her kind, especially elves and fairies but also discriminated against those with the gift of magic, and being hunted during the reign of Uther Pendragon. Being the result of a union between two of these races, some fancied Morgan as some sort of messiah, and one that will lead the Fae into a glorious new age even if she has to take drastic measures to accomplish her goals.

Through both magic and mortal means, she tries to arrange Arthur's downfall, most famously when she arranges for her lover Sir Accolon to obtain the sword Excalibur and use it against Arthur in single combat. When this ploy fails, Morgan throws Excalibur's protective scabbard into a lake but not before cursing it. The curse itself is transferred to Nimue which slowly corrupt her in the process thereby becoming an enemy of the descendants of Arthur and many centuries later would include Hellboy. Nimue's corruption benefited the one using Morgan, the demon lord Beelzebub, as the Lady of the Lake grew mad with the knowledge and magic she learned from Merlin, consequently resulting in in Merlin's imprisonment by Nimue herself. This was also the final straw for Beelzebub's in-action as he now truly began to act upon the world.

Vampire Queen
Seeing no other alternative at taking down Arthur and Guinevere (though mostly the latter), Morgan became desperate. She believed that Guinevere was hiding something from her husband and so wasn't worthy of him. This desperation allowed her to controlled by Beelzebub to be more willing to follow the darkness in heart. So when she was approached by a 'dark king of blood' who was revealed to be Absalom himself to offered her life in exchange for greater power as a vampire, she complied.

He had her drink his blood and in the process was sired by Absalom to become a vampire and the first ever Vampire Queen. Her newly bestowed vampiric abilities coupled with her magical talents made Morgan a dangerously powerful threat, essentially something akin to a vampiric demigoddess, all the while plotting against Arthur and Guinevere, for the humiliation that both gave her. She tried to hide her new self but Merlin noticed it as her mentor, also seeing the darkness controlling her. He went to inform both Arthur and Guinevere about these events. As Guinevere felt guilty over her actions to her former friend, she was all for saving her from this darkness which also convinced her husband as well.

So the three prepared for the actions that Morgan would cause as a vampire. The newly risen vampiric Morgan would then plan and using a deceased knight of the round table's body as a vessel for Absalom under the Blood God's guidance.

Morgan's Return
Morgan raised an army of vampires that would come to aid Vortigern and his ally Lucius Tiberius in his quest to take Arthur and attain absolute sovereignty over Britain, all while she took refuge in an ancient tower where she tapped into the darkest of magic to peel away the veil that lay between the material and spiritual plane in an attempt to have Absalom cross over and take physical form through the deceased knight whose body she took after being slain by Arthur's enemies.

She was confronted by her nephew Mordred who distracted to her while Merlin stopped the ritual from finishing. When she was weaken, she was stabbed through the heart by Arthur, and buried her sword deep into her and right into the sacrificial altar. The blowback was so immense it destroyed the tower.

However, Arthur discovered from Merlin that while her physical body had been destroyed her essence still lingered inside the blade. Not wasting any time, Merlin took Arthur to Salisbury Plain, where the famous prehistoric landmark Stonehenge resides, and by Merlin's magic with the aid of several druids, Arthur jammed his sword in the center of the site, channeling Morgan's essence into the earth as Merlin did a special chant. Using the powers of God himself, Merlin revived Morgan le Fay and separate the darkness in her heart away from her body.

As Mordred brought his now human aunt away from the area, Merlin and the druids grafted powerful seals unto the stone pillars that keep the now separated darkness which held her vampirism confined inside. This burial in Stonehenge is referred to in a poem "Twelve Dreams for the Red Queen under a Crown of Stone".

Aftermath
Once Camelot was rebuilt after the war, she went into seclusion. After a while, she went to Arthur's court and became one of Guinevere's ladies-in-waiting. There she fell in love with Guinevere's cousin Guiomar. Guinevere betrayed the lovers causing Morgan to once again leave the court and on her side Morgan reported to Arthur Guinevere's affair with Lancelot.

Events with Mordred
Morgan eventually reveal the truth of Mordred's parentage as he realized that he is the illegitimate son of Arthur and her sister Morgause as she kept it hidden, fearing that Mordred would try to meet her father. A fear that was proven true as her nephew rushed to castle. Raised without a father, the King was the very form of a godlike "father" to him, but Arthur rejected him very clearly. He said that, while Mordred is certainly born from him, that he will not recognize Mordred as his son or give her the throne. Mordred believed that it was all due to the King's hatred for his half-sister for her actions, that it would be impossible for his son to be accepted. In anger, he became the leader of a rebellion, representing the national discontent towards King Arthur.

The conflict eventually led towards a final fight, the Battle of Camlann, where both armies were dying in heated battle. Morgan believed that Mordred may be the only one to destroy Arthur as only one with the blood of a Pendragon wields the power to kill another Pendragon. Fearing that, she rushed to the battlefield only to be stopped by her sister, Morgause, who became a pawn of Beelzebub's ambitions.

While Morgan fought her controlled sister, Mordred and Arthur faced other at Camlann, fighting until nightfall. Only Arthur, Mordred, and two of Arthur's knights, Sir Lucan and Sir Bedivere, were left alive (Sir Lucan would ultimately succumb to his own grievous injury). Arthur, furious, pierced Mordred with the holy spear Rhongomyniad; and Mordred, in his death-throes, smote Arthur with his sword, mortally wounding him.

When Morgan finally came to the area after unfortunately needing to kill her sister to free her soul. She saw a dead Mordred and mortally wounded Arthur at the end of the war, and so realized she failed. She held her dead nephew, who she loved as a son, in her arms as she felt grief but was able to hold herself together and called her fae sisters in Avalon to bring Arthur to the realm.

Post-Battle
Arthur was quickly taken to Avalon with Guinevere making a plea for Arthur's life. Throughout day and night, eight fairy queens attempted to save the king by treating his wounds. Though Arthur was able to survive, he remained unconscious. Merlin conversed with him as a spirit, and questioned the king what happens now. Arthur however refused to continue to be king as he believed that he taking the throne caused all troubles. He even thought that the world would have been better if he never took the sword of the stone at the first place.

Before Merlin could convince him otherwise, Avalon was suddenly invaded by Beelzebub and his forces as he had enough so decided to take matters into his own hands. While Morgan le Fay assisted the battle effort with her magic. Even with the combined forces of the fae, Beelzebub was able to find Arthur's burial site and strike the fallen king in the heart with his twin blades while Morgan failed to stop it. Afterwards, Beelzebub left laughing as his forces retreated while Morgan held her dead brother's body while in tears.

She then felt an unstoppable rage against the demon prince for his actions, as every bad event throughout her lifetimes and including the ones she had done, had all been done under Beelzebub's influence. However, she then saw her brother started shining as Oberon came from the Fairyland, and using his magic, place Arthur into an eternal slumber as his body healed. He told Morgan that one day if he was needed, he would returned to life, wielding Excalibur, to save his country once more.

Morgan, happy that he at least lived again, left Avalon and her brother's body under the care of the Fae while she went back to the Britain to prepare for the battle against Beelzebub. As she came back, she then went to the destroyed Camelot and united the remaining knights and mages on both side. Before even saying a word, the fae come in the picture and decide to hide the history of Camelot so it is forgotten. Accepting defeat, she allows them to do so as the world changes and only those who would personally connected to the castle had kept their memories.

Battle with Beelzebub
Oberon told Morgan to meet with the sealed Merlin from his tower due to the actions of Nimue and they together will hopefully be able to defeat the demon prince.

Magical Legacy
Morgan le Fay was featured on a Chocolate Frog Card centuries after her "death".

Myths and Legends
She is a very controversial character, sometimes she is a heroine, sometimes she is evil. Still, she is an enchanting and appealing character.

While Morgan is portrayed as a giver of healing ointments, she is usually more so seen as a wicked enchantress who learned her initial mysterious skills from her corrupt education in an early Christian nunnery. Later, Merlin helped her to extend her magical powers. The story that she enticed King Arthur into an incestuous affair from which Mordred was born is, however, a misconception derived from the desire of modern authors to merge Morgan with her more sympathetic sister.

Quotes

 * "Sometimes you've got to do what you think is right, and damn the consequences." - Morgan le Fay to Arthur.


 * "Oh darling, you're entirely mistaken. I'm neither good or bad, like how you guys love to label your opponents. I'm wicked, and that is much, much worse than both of those labels." - Morgan le Fay.

Trivia

 * Mordred mentions that Semiramis possesses the same "smell" as Morgan le Fay, his aunt.
 * It is rumored that Morgan le Fay had a consort in Julius Caesar even though both are centuries apart in age.
 * It is also rumored that Oberon was the result of the union even though the fae king is centuries older than both.
 * Morgan is rumored to have ruled as Queen of the mythical island of Avalon.

Images Sources

 * (morgan_le_fey_by_irenhorrors_de52cse-fullview.jpg) Morgan le Fey by IrenHorrors
 * (Morgan le fay by banished shadow d99528n-fullview.jpg) Morgan le Fay by Banished-shadow
 * (King Arthur II concept art 4.jpg) Morgana Le Fay concept art by Anikó Salamon
 * (Morgan Le Fay.jpg) Morgan Le Fay from Harry Potter
 * (Morgan Le Fay by neurowing.jpg) Morgan Le Fay by neurowing
 * (Morgan le fay by jessibeans dzwmfj-fullview.jpg) Morgan le Fay by JessiBeans
 * (Morrigan le fay by jessibeans dc8bmip-fullview.jpg) Morrigan Le Fay by JessiBeans
 * (Fate Apocrypha - Morgan le Fay.jpg) Fate/Apocrypha - Morgan le Fay by ddangho914
 * (Morgan.png) Morgan Le fay from Fate
 * (Morgan le fay by beckystonehouse d956oyb-fullview.jpg) Morgan Le Fay by BeckyStonehouse
 * (Morgan le Fay by Panaiotis.jpg) Morgan le Fay by Panaiotis
 * (Morgan Le Fair.jpg) Morgan Le Fair by el-grimlock
 * (Morgan le fay by artesora dbbyff2-fullview.jpg) Morgan le Fay by artesora
 * (Morgana le Fay by Helmutt.jpg) Morgana le Fay by Helmutt by HELMUTTT
 * (Morgan le fay and her son sir mordred by asterodia dao47ep-fullview.jpg) Morgan le Fay and her son Sir Mordred by Asterodia