The Lady of the Lake「湖の姫」 is an entity wrought from Chaos, dwelling in Lake Salisbury.[2] She currently resides inside Lancelot, after abducting him to her realm and being absorbed by him along with the lake.
Appearance
Her appearance is mostly unknown as she dwells within the lake, but her silouhette shows her as a slender woman with long hair.
In person, she is a female entity with pointy ears and black eyes with white pupils. She wears a black dress under a loose-sleeved tunic. Below its humanoid body within the lake is its real form, which is a colossal monstrosity with tentacles and parts of various marine animals similar to other entities heirs of chaos that are aberrations of nature.
Personality
Not much is known about her personality except that she is intelligent and usually calm as she explains in Merlin's place the reasons for the Boar Sin's actions as well as her goal, not showing any emotion even after being yelled at by Diane who thinks the Lady of the Lake doesn't know anything about Merlin who is their friend, to which she agrees. She doesn't personally know Merlin and simply states what she does know about her.
She is capable of showing emotions such as fear and shock upon seeing Cath appear from the Boar Hat and becomes panicked as she tells Merlin not to let it get close to Arthur and quickly tells the Sins they must quickly retrieve Arthur's arm from Cath or they will see how powerful just a fragment of Chaos can be in the wrong hands.
She is a lonely being, having lived her entire life inside her magical lake, she has always been curious about the outside world and occasionally allows people to come to her world to talk to her and keep her company, but they all end up dying because they go mad when drinking the water from her side. She feels no empathy or remorse for the deaths of visitors who drink from her lake, as she considers them to be to blame for dying because they were not strong enough to withstand its magical power.
History
At some point, Chaos created the Lady of the Lake within Lake Salisbury for unknown reasons.
According to the legend, the Lady of the Lake bestowed the sword Excalibur upon the human king, Carfen, back when it was just a regular sword.
Plot
King of Chaos arc
When Merlin decides to carry out Arthur's awakening, she teleports to Lake Salisbury along the Sins and Elizabeth. Upon putting herself over the lake, Merlin removes Arthur's body still pierced by Excalibur from the Boar Hat. She says that all the preparations are set and asks the "princess" if she is ready, to which a voice from the lake asks if it is finally time to meet their master.
When Arthur is resurrected as the "King of Chaos", Meliodas asks Merlin why she would awaken a power that is both a blessing and a curse, and demands to know what her desire is out of suspicion. The voice from the lake asks to be allowed to explain instead of Merlin, about the desire made by a single lonely witch who wandered the land in search of chaos. Meliodas asks the voice to tell him who it is and to show itself. The being, revealing herself as the Lady of the Lake and the "Priestess of Chaos", apologizes for not being able to leave the lake. Meliodas is skeptical of her words as he explains that in the 3,000 years he has existed, he has never heard of a being called Chaos except from Merlin a few moments ago. The Lady of the Lake reveals that this is because Merlin hid that truth from everyone.
Meliodas asks her what she is talking about, which leads the Lady of the Lake to narrate Merlin's past and her past, one-sided love for Meliodas who was never reciprocal. The Lady of the Lake finally explains that Merlin dedicated her life to resuscitating a being known as Chaos, the one who created the world, the gods, and the five races, and for that she used the Seven Deadly Sins to destroy the Demon King in order to disrupt the balance between light and darkness that he and the Supreme Deity upheld. Diane reacts very angrily, stating that Merlin is their comrade and that she doesn't know what she's talking about.
The Lady of the Lake admits that Diane is correct as she herself doesn't know Merlin personally nor ever spoken to her before now. However, she reveals that is aware of a series of facts, such as that Merlin was the one who asked the giant Dubs to create the Coffin of Eternal Darkness to seal the Demon King and the Supreme Deity. And recently, it was also Merlin who deliberately delayed her Chrono Coffin for the Demon King to possess Meliodas, that she was the one who reactivated Elizabeth's curse after Meliodas destroyed it and finally made Meliodas launch their combined attack into the lake; all in order to achieve her goal to bring Chaos back.
Meliodas exclaims furiously that if she reactivated the curse for that reason, to which Merlin replies that she also saved Elizabeth. Meliodas then asks if forming the Seven Deadly Sins was also only in search of her goal, to which Merlin does not respond. The Lady of the Lake mentions that hating someone until she wants to kill him but at the same time being able to love him is what human beings do, so she wonders if since they and Merlin are of different races, they will ever really be able to understand each other.
When Meliodas reproaches Merlin for using the Seven Deadly Sins to revive a being that may never exist, the Lady of the Lake states that Chaos exists and that they have already been face to face with it for a long time. When no one seems to understand, the Lady of the Lake reveals that they have been traveling on it and that all that time has been waiting for her resurrection; leaving everyone shocked to see that she refers to Hawk Mama. The Lady of the Lake says that Chaos itself is a will of power, so it does not manifest itself in physical form and that Hawk Mama was a provisional form that the two gods sealed it away in. There, Hawk Mama is revealed to be a moss shell whose content, Chaos, is now inside Arthur who has become the heir of its power.
When Cath shows itself happy to see Arthur, the Lady of the Lake is alarmed by its presence and tells Merlin not to let it approach Arthur. Cath then attempts to devour Arthur, but only manages to tear off his right arm due to Meliodas' intervetion and when it transforms into a monstrous form, the Lady of the Lake tells them that they must retrieve Arthur's arm quickly or they will soon know how powerful even a fragment of Chaos is.
The Lady of the Lake says that she did not recognize the creature immediately because its appearance and magical power differs greatly from the past. Merlin asked her if she knows his true identity, to which the Lady of the Lake exposes Cath as the tyrannical monster that challenged Chaos long ago, Cath Palug.
When Cath Palug absorbs Arthur, Elizabeth and the Sins within another dimension created with the fragment of Chaos that he absorbed, the Lady of he Lake stays outside and watches as Arthur releases everyone using a reincarnated Excalibur.
11 Years Later
About a decade after Chaos revival, a series of mysterious human disappearances begin to occur throughout Britannia. These people were lured by the Lady of the Lake to her realm in search of an ideal candidate that would allow her to leave the lake, however, all the humans ended up going mad after drinking the lake water and died from being unable to resist its power.
Both Lancelot and Jericho were taken in the same way through an open portal in the midst of a strange rain. 20 days after their arrival, the Lady of the Lake appears before them, expressing interest in Lancelot and wishing to speak with him, stirring up bad vibes in Jericho. After being interrupted by a Holy Knight driven mad by the lake water, the Lady of the Lake leaves to continue watching over Lancelot.
Some months later, Jericho falls into the water after being affected by drinking too much of it. The Lady of the Lake emerges, carrying her out in a water balloon, saying that she is surprised by how much Jericho endured but that he is now at her limit. Lancelot berates her for driving his master mad and questions her about that water, to which the Lady of the Lake reveals that it is not actually water, but pure magical power made visible by its high density, given that the realm in an infinite reservoir of magic created by Chaos. When Lancelot asks her why she abducted all those people, the Lady of the Lake denies being a villain, saying that she is a being who deserves pity for being trapped alone in that lake, justifying with this why she lured the humans there and that it is their fault for being too weak to resist the power of the lake. Emerging upon a massive creature, the Lady of the Lake reaffirms that Lancelot is unlike all the others, as he maintained his sanity despite all he drank from the lake. Lancelot simply demands that she let Jericho go, attacking her with his magic-enchanted spear.
Though she regenerates all damage, the Lady of the Lake marvels at the power Lancelot achieved in just one hundred days, saying that such a technique could surpass the one the Seven Deadly Sins used to defeat the Demon King. However, as Lancelot falls exhausted, she comments that he still cannot use that move without completely exhausting himself in one hit. She states that she feels like she has fallen in love with him and how wonderful it would be if they became one with his incredible power and her infinite magical power, though she quickly dismisses this as a delusion. Lancelot disavows her words and calls for his master, to which the Lady of the Lake allows him to speak. Though Jericho tells him to forget about her, Lancelot says that he will save her and then throws himself into the lake, much to the horror of the Lady of the Lake. As Lancelot's thoughts flow towards her, she realizes that he intends to swallow her, the entire lake, and her infinite magical power, something she deems impossible. However, Lancelot succeeds in the end, managing to leave the realm with Jericho.
A small remnant of the Lady of the Lake tells him that he finally fulfilled her dream of freeing her, but Lancelot silences her by casting his Shining Road on her.
Benwick arc
When Lancelot leaves Benwick, the Lady of the Lake speaks to him from within, saying that she is happy to begin a new adventure, to which Lancelot tells her to be silent.
Abilities/Equipment
As a being created by Chaos, the Lady of the Lake is a powerful, ancient, and wise being knowledgeable about it and the things it has created, including the Demon King and Supreme Deity, and even other people such as Merlin herself.
She herself is the "lake" located in another dimension that appears to go on forever, the lake itself is an infinite amount of pure magical power made visible by the sheer density. If ingested, it revitalizes their body and soul with one drink, living off the water without food and could get stronger. However, if one isn't strong enough, then they would go mad and die by drowning in it. As the lake itself, the Lady of the Lake has full control of the water, recusing Jericho from being drowned and creating a mutated marine lifeform.
Relationships
Merlin
The Lady of the Lake has stated that she has never talked to Merlin herself nor personally knows her, and simply tells of what she does know about the sorceress, displaying a very neutral tone and when talking to Merlin about reviving Arthur as the "King of Chaos" shows a more business-like demeanor, showing their relationship is mutually for their shared desire of turning Arthur into the new vessel of Chaos and nothing more.
Cath Palug
While the monstrous cat doesn't take any notice nor caring towards the Lady of the Lake's presence, the entity herself is very fearful and anxious of the beast's appearance from the Boar Hat, panicking telling Merlin to not let Arthur get near him and saying that they have to kill the monster after it consume Arthur's right arm.
Lancelot
She is very interested in Lancelot as he is the first visitor to her lake in centuries not to go mad from drinking its water more than once and supports his vast magical power, claiming that he is a special person. Excited by Lancelot's vast power, the Lady of the Lake keeps his master Jericho alive and captured to see how much more he can handle. After several hundred days within her realm, the Lady is in awe at Lancelot for lasting so long, to the point of her even claiming that she has fallen in love with him and would wish to become one with him and finally leave the lake, and idea she immediately dismissed as a delusion before Lancelot finally exhausted himself.
The Lady then allowed Jericho to speak to Lancelot, as she told Lancelot to forget about her. However, he says that he will save her and then throws himself into the lake, much to the horror of the Lady of the Lake. As she realizes that he intends to swallow her, the entire lake, and her infinite magical power, she deemed such an action impossible. However, Lancelot actually succeeds in doing so, leaving the realm with Jericho by his side. What's left of the Lady of the Lake happily tells Lancelot that he has freed her in the process of his actions, but Lancelot silences her by casting his Shining Road on her.
11 years later, it is revealed that the Lady of the Lake is still alive and has gotten her wish of becoming one with Lancelot, as the boy has now become her vessel as she speaks to him from within his body, saying to him that she is happy to begin a new adventure as he leaves his home, with Lancelot simply telling her to be silent.
Arthur Pendragon
Being the chosen vessel of Chaos, the Lady of the Lake refers to Arthur as her "master" and worked with Merlin to help free Chaos from its slumber and allow it to use Arthur as its anchor to the physical world. Despite her interest in Arthur being due to the fact that Chaos itself chose Arthur to host it, she has shown to be protective of Arthur's life when she realized Cath Palug was after the power of their creator and was in admiration upon seeing him wielded the reformed Excalibur to strike down the beast.
Chaos
Unlike most of her "siblings", the Lady of the Lake has shown to be very loyal to her creator and sought nothing more than to reawaken Chaos from the slumber forced upon it by the Supreme Deity and Demon King, showing neither fear or envy of its immense power, nor did she seek to try and take the power for herself. To this end, she would end up meeting Merlin, who also wished for the awakening of Chaos for her own reasons. This alignment of interests would cause the two to work behind the scenes to set up the conditions needed for Chaos to be returned to the world, such as the destruction of the Demon King and using the immense magic housed within her lake to allow Chaos to be transferred into Arthur and out of its prison.
Trivia
- The Lady of the Lake is directly based off on the character of the same name from the Arthurian Legends.
- The Lady of the Lake's true appearance was probably based on the Greek myth of Scylla, a beautiful nymph who was cursed to have her lower body transformed into a mass of sea monster parts.
References
- ↑ Chapter 337 , Page 2
- ↑ Chapter 336 , Page 2