Landuin of Couronne

"Landuin met Louen's gaze as fingers of sunlight began to dapple the water overhead, nodding solemnly in approval. Louen felt a fierce pride blossom in his heart..."

—Landuin accompanies the Lionhearted into battle.^[1]

Landuin of Couronne was one of the Sons of Bretonnia, a group of mystical Knights, made up of men taken by the Lady of the Lake as children for exhibiting magical gifts.

History

Landuin was the son of Brocard the Bold, a great warrior and close friend of the young Prince Louen Leoncoeur. As a child he was considered to be highly intelligent, and his eyes remarkable, hinting at hidden depths.^[1]

At some point after Prince Louen left to search for the Grail, the young Landuin was taken in his sleep by the Lady of the Lake, much to his parents' grief. The young boy was trained to control his powers, and the youth soon grew into a young man of regal maturity. He was pale-skinned, with green and blue eyes that glittered with the Lady's glory. He had the muscular build of a swimmer, and wore a set of archaic, scalloped armour that depicted a stylised legion of warriors riding fantastic underwater beasts.^[1]

When Louen Leoncouer led a failed attack on the Undead legion of Myldeon, Landuin's father was slain in combat by the foul Necromancer. Retreating into a nearby Sacred Lake, Louen was rescued by the magic of the Lady, and brought before her court. The stunned Questing Knight was bade to join the goddess in her banquet, and instantly recognised one of her servants as Landuin of Couronne, his green and blue eyes mirroring those of his father.^[1]

When Louen drank the blessed waters of the lake and became a Grail Knight, the Lady granted him her Sons of Bretonnia to aid in the destruction of Myldeon's army. Landuin acted as the unofficial champion of these mystical knights, and rode beside Louen as they burst from the lake and charged into the undead hordes of the Necromancer.^[1]

The Sons of Bretonnia rode down and slaughtered the undead with contemptuous ease, and Landuin himself was forced to slay the risen corpse of his long-lost father. Leaping over the wall of bone formed by Myldeon's skeletal bodyguard, the young knight's barbed spear took Brocard in the chest. A single well-placed thrust broke the Necromancer's spell over the dead knight: the armoured corpse came apart instantly, and its ashes scattered to the four winds in the wake of Landuin's charge.^[1]

Behind Landuin came a tight wedge of Bretonnia's lost sons, smashing the bulk of Myldeon's bodyguard and leaving the necromancer vulnerable. Vaulting from the back of his warbeast with a cry, Landuin brought his longsword swinging down towards Myldeon in a great killing arc. The witch-fiend rattled a twisted wand towards Landuin, his face a rictus of malice. The young knight found himself frozen in mid air, unable to move...^[1]

As Landuin struggled against the Necromancer, Louen Leoncoeur unstrapped his shield, prepared his aim, and brought the symbol of Couronne curving round in a great arc. The shield met with Myldeon's neck, and decapitated the man in a single, great blow. With the Necromancer's death, the Undead army soon crumbled into dust.^[1]

Sources

• 1: The Court Beneath (Short Story)