The Grail

The enchanted chalice kept by the Lady of the Lake is not like any other precious or magical item. It is said that if anyone drunk from it they would live a healthy life forever and some claim that it is the fountain of youth. Not surprisingly the grail has become an artifact of legend. The Knights view the grail has a symbol of majesty and power as only the brave and strong could possibly find it whereas the commoners see it as a well of life-giving water

It cannot be taken from her or kept by any mortal person. It is recorded in Bretonnian annals that a wicked and foolish Knight claimed to have possession of the grail. In reality it was a false grail with which he intended to fool and confuse good and virtuous Knights so that he could wrongfully seize the throne of Bretonnia. He met his well deserved fate at the hands of the Grail Knights, servants of the true grail. This episode has passed into Bretonnian history as the Affair of the False Grail'.

The grail has been the obsession of many a questing Knight and adventurer since the time of Gilles le Breton over 1500 years ago. It is said to be Gilles le Breton's own cup which was filled with the hallowed waters of the Lady of the Lake before his last battle against the Orcs. It is claimed that to those who drink it will be given eternal health and youth. Many believe that the grail can also bring life back to the dead. Where this item can be found is a mystery. Many over the thousands of years have claimed to have found and drunk from it but these reports have never been substantiated.

It is not known for sure why an enchanted cup takes a place in the hearts of most Bretonnians. In the legend of Gilles le Breton it is said that his own golden chalice was filled by the water of the Lake and that when he drunk from it he became powerful, stronger than any mortal man. When Gilles le Breton finally 'died' his cup was taken with him, which is why it goes hand-in-hand with the Lady of the Lake. Now, today, Gilles le Breton's grail is highly sort after.

From time to time, Questing Knights return from their wanderings bearing ancient golden cups or similar items which they have found in old burial mounds or glinting on the bottom of forest ponds. Such things do not fool Grail Knights who have seen the true grail and know its true appearance! Such false grails are revealed for what they are by Knights of the true grail and their finders must return to their quest or be disgraced.

Grail Chapels

Throughout Bretonnia are to be found chapels dedicated to the Lady of the Lake and the grail known as grail chapels'. These may be built near to a place where a vision of the Lady of the Lake has appeared, or in a town or village or even within a castle. These will usually be the pious foundations of Knights who either hope one day to succeed on the grail quest, or who have returned. Many of these chapels are to be found in remote locations hidden in the forest near to a place believed sacred to the Lady of the Lake. Grail chapels have been built throughout the history of Bretonnia so many are very old indeed. There are even a few which date back before the time of Gilles le Breton.

Some of the more remote grail chapels have become ruined and completely overgrown and forgotten. This is especially true in the forests and regions which have been ravaged by enemies and subsequently recaptured. Often all record or memory of the location of the original grail chapel has been lost and the new Knight will build a new chapel. One day a Questing Knight may stumble upon the old chapel with its relics while seeking the grail. Since grail chapels are often near to places where the Lady of the Lake appears, Questing Knights deliberately seek out old grail chapels or may be led to them in visions and dreams. Within the ruinous crypts they may find magical weapons, relics placed there by former Grail Knights who may even be entombed in the very same chapel. Such relics are regarded as quest rewards from the Lady of the Lake.

Grail Knights may choose to become hermit Knights living in a remote grail chapel guarding the relics housed within it and the bones of former Grail Knights buried within the chapel. Such Hermit Knights defend the grail chapels from evil foes who might try to take the relics or even the bones for their own vile sorcery. Fortunately the bones of Grail Knights are incorruptible and cannot be bent to evil will, but sepulchres attract raiders, usually Undead or Skaven, looking for whatever they might find and desecrating the sanctity of the shrine in the process.

Over the centuries some grail chapels have been enlarged as various nobles have rebuilt old chapels or embellished existing shrines. Such chapels, often called abbeys of the grail, may contain so many valuable relics that they require defences in the manner of a castle and several Hermit Knights to guard them. In addition, the chapel may attract a small number of female recluses known as Damoiselles du Grail, who seek to devote themselves to the Lady of the Lake. These will often be the daughters and sisters of Knights who because they are not Knights, are not able to express their devotion by going on the grail quest. Instead they become nuns of the grail. Their main work is to heal the wounded Knights carried in from the battlefield or the jousting field and to provide sanctuary and refreshment for the many Questing Knights that roam the land of Bretonnia. They also minister to the religious needs of the peasantry and Knights such as blessing ploughs and swords and banishing imps from village wells and bread ovens with water from the Lady of the Lake's sacred pools and springs!