Morgan le Fay
Morgan le Fay is a legendary Unseelie Sidhe of the Isle of the Mighty.
Overview
Yes, that Morgan le Fay who figures do prominently in the Arthurian legends and stories of Camelot. She appears in the history of the fae as a sometime ally of the Unseelie prince Carniog. In the War of the Black Torc, it is she who betrays the son of Queen Caerna, Prince Rhys of Glamorgan, to Carniog, causing his imprisonment within the Torc. She became queen of Glamorgan after the war when a distraught Caerna withdrew. It is said that the moment she stepped foot into the Glamorgan, the Llyn Brianne in Gwynedd vanished.
Morgan le Fay has probably as many aspects to her as do Arthur and Merlin and the rest. Much of her role in the history of fae kind is rumor and anecdote, for she took many witnesses with her to Avalon when she withdrew and slew most of the rest. A cruel woman she was, and virulently opposed to Christianity, and as St. David's monastic settlement grew in Dyfed, along with the strength of the Church, many Unseelie fae slowly withdraw and moved into Glamorgan to serve her.
Departure to Avalon
There are many tales of her; not all of them true: Morgan sealing compacts with the Devil, Morgan inspiring the Redcap who became the first vampire, Morgan warping reality to suit her madness... so many versions there are, it's unlikely that anyone knows them all. But whatever the truth of Morgan's nature, we know the truth of her departure.
In her freehold's great throne room she called together all her court, the highest to the lowest. And there also she invited Prince Carniog, from his dark court off the coast in sunken Lyonesse... her close ally, and yet the tales tell of deep disdain between them, each for the other.
Morgan took a silk purse from her sash, and with a flick of her wrist she cast it open. It grew to the size of the room, and she ordered all her servants and courtiers to walk into it. They dared not refuse. When they entered, she popped the purse closed, shrank it to hang on her sash, and told Carniog, "This realm is yours, to hold or lose."
And she gave him a long sword of shining silver, "This be the Sword of Glamorgan, who did conquer this realm six centuries ago. Mark well these words: The sword be invincible within Cymru; but should ye set foot beyond the country's borders, the sword shall turn on thee, and disaster shall surely follow,"
Then Morgan made to him a terse farewell, opened a path to the gates of Avalon, and departed.
References
- CTD: Isle of the Mighty, p. 13-14, 134-135