At length, Lord Marcus of Bordeleaux challenged the leader of the Norse, Svengar of

the Skaelings, to single combat, with the conditions that the loser's forces would
withdraw. Too proud to refuse, the giant warrior met Marcus upon a lighthouse tower
and fought until the next day. As dawn broke, Lord Marcus found renewed strength
and struck down the Norse chieftain. A savage but honourable race of warriors, the
Norse kept to their words and returned to their ships and sailed home.[1e][2c][4a]

After but a night's rest, the Grail Companions rode eastward where they met up with
Duke Carleond d'Couronne. There the duke joined the armies of Gilles and fought an
orc horde at the River Sannez. With the aid of the combined armies, the knights
drove the greenskins back, defeated them, and turned the waters of the river black
with blood. With victory achieved, the knights rode with all haste to the city of
Couronne.[1e][2c][4a]

Gathering within Couronne, the knights heard news of a massive host of beastmen,
trolls, and nameless creatures of Chaos pouring from the Forest of Arden. As they
prepared for the final battle, messengers brought word of an army of greenskins
warriors, the largest they had ever seen, pouring out of the mountainous region
known as the Pale Sisters. Worst yet, when the knights assembled outside the walls
of the city, an army of Skaven rose up from the sewer networks and pillaged the
city streets.[1e][2c][4a]

As the lords took counsel before the fight, the Lady of the Lake joined their
numbers. There she had Lord Corduin and Carleond drank from the Holy Grai, thus
being the last and final thirteenth and fourteenth members of the Grail Companions.
Then she blessed the whole army and bade them fight in her name. With a ferocity
not seen by their people for centuries, the knights of all the Bretonni people
fought the three armies that assailed them.[1e][2c][4a]

The battle raged for weeks upon weeks, as foul creatures continued to pour from
their lairs like a stormy tide and break upon the armies of the Bretonni as against
a cliff. When at last the sounds of battle fell silent, the plains of Couronne were
awash with the blood of the slain. This was the greatest victory ever achieved by
the Bretonni people, and the battle had finally signalled an end to the fighting,
and the birth of a new kingdom.[1e][2c][4a]

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Founding of a Kingdom (978 to 1448 IC)

Thus with peace won, it was agreed that there would be an everlasting peace amongst
the surviving twelve dukedoms. Gilles was dubbed "The Uniter", and, with a blessing
from the Lady of the Lake's representative, the mystical Fay Enchantress, he thus
became the first Royarch of Bretonnia. The first Royarch of Bretonnia battled dark
forces all across the realms for many years until he finally fell in a mighty
battle by a cowardly weapon shot from afar. With his dying breath, he asked to be
laid before a small raft by a nearby lake where it is said in legend that the Lady
took his body back to her domain, where his body remains to this very day.[1e][2c]
[4a][4d]

With the tragic death of Gilles in the year 17 (995 IC) by orcish ambushers, the
kingdom of Bretonnia was left with a dilemma. There was much wailing, lamentation
and gnashing of teeth throughout the lands, as all Bretonnia mourned the passing of
their first king. Gilles' only recognised son, Louis , was crowned the next Duke of
Bastonne. However, the question of whether he should also be proclaimed King of
Bretonnia, as old tribal tradition allowed, was much debated. Many advocated that
Duke Landuin should take the position, whilst others believed his rival, Duke
Thierulf or the wise Duke Marcus, would make a more suitable heir to the throne.
[1e][2c][4d]

The majority of dukes eventually agreed that Louis should take on the duty, but
this then posed another greater problem. Louis had not drunk from the Holy Grail,
as had his father and all other dukes at the time of the kingdom's founding. It had
been decreed that no knight, no matter of birthright, could become lord over all
Bretonnia without first having the blessings of both the Fay Enchantress and the
Lady of the Lake. So it was that Louis left court, setting out immediately upon his
quest to find the Lady, and thus prove his worth before her sight, towards earning
himself the title as King, earning him the title of "The Rash". This event
eventually led to the traditions of the Questing Knight.[1e][2c][4d]

For years, Louis the Rash travelled the length and breadth of Bretonnia, righting
many wrongs and doing great deeds in service to the goddess. In his absence, Duke
Thierulf acted as steward of all Bretonnia, much to the annoyance of Duke Landuin.
Years later, Louis returned to his ancestral castle astride a mighty purebred
charger, his golden hair was shining and his eyes were aglow with a divine noble
presence. None could doubt that the Lady had blessed him, so thus his subjects fell
to their knees before him, and pledged their loyalty to the new king.[1e][2c][4d]

So it was that Louis was crowned King of all Bretonnia, and presented with the
golden crown, a gift given by the Fay Enchantress herself. All Bretonnia rejoiced
in their new monarch, and made ready to do whatever he demanded. His first act as
king was to formalise the code of honour and chivalry that his father and the
Companions had lived by. These original vows of chivalric knighthood still exist
within the halls of Bastonne, upon a crumbling parchment, decorated with an
elaborate script, detailing all the duties and privileges of a knight, and those of
all other ranks within noble society. All across Bretonnia, knights eagerly
embraced these vows, and many noble warriors gave up all deed of land and title,
castles and wealth, thus to embark upon the path of a Questing Knight. A wave of
faith swept through Bretonnia, and the Lady of the Lake verily became the primary
deity of the noble classes.[1e][2c][4d]

Louis also realised that as long as Athel Loren stood, it would be nearly
impossible for enemies to invade Bretonnia from that direction. Furthermore, the
Elves defended themselves and, unlike the Barons, looked for no favours from the
King in return. He decided to forge an alliance with the Wood Elves, sending one of
his most esteemed Questing Knights, Gaston de Galliard to brave the dangers of the
forest. The brave knight reached Orion and Ariel and made them an offer of peace.
No barons would be permitted by the King to transgress the ancient boundaries of
the Wood elf realm if in return, the Wood Elves would ally with the Bretonnians
against their common enemies. The King and Queen of the Wood accepted Louis' offer
of friendship and the messenger soon returned with various strange and magical
gifts.[12]