The Hollow Kingdom: Camelot

I’ve been thinking for several weeks about writing a post on Camelot as the perfect fantasy setting.  A few days ago, I got the prod that I needed to make this post a reality.  Thanks to Justin Achilli for kicking me into action.

“Ask ev’ry person if he’s heard the story;
And tell it strong and clear if he has not:
That once there was a fleeting wisp of glory
Called Camelot.”

Camelot.  It’s one of the most enduring “fantasy worlds” ever created.  The earliest stories of Camelot, of King Arthur and his court, were written in the 8th century.  That means that for about the past 1300 years, there have been stories, poems, movies, songs, video games, and all sorts of things created, all based on this same fantastic kingdom.  Forgotten Realms, eat your heart out.  Azeroth, you’re just a baby.  Greyhawk?  A drop in the ocean of time.  Even you Middle Earth, are a youngster compared to that grand-master of fantasy worlds, Camelot.

This is a world so enduring, so accessible, that it became the symbol of a period of American history known for both its prosperity and its turbulence.  Like the Camelot of the medieval romances, John F. Kennedy’s American Camelot was known for sterling ideals and unrivaled prosperity, set against a backdrop of lies, betrayal, family rivalries and, ultimately the destruction of the ideal.

Almost everyone knows the story.  The boy, Arthur, is merely an innocent lad.  He is seemingly not destined for power or greatness, but he is chosen by the universe to lead.  He establishes a grand kingdom.  A seat of reason and enlightenment called Camelot.  From there, Arthur leads his kingdom to a time of great peace and unparalleled achievement.  Chivalry rules the day.  Knights pick flowers for the ladies.  Things can’t get any better.

“The candle that burns twice as bright, burns half as long.”
- Dr. Eldon Tyrell, Blade Runner

Everyone also knows the rest of the story.  The king’s love and bride betrays him.  His family, his queen, his best friend all set the stage for the fall that must come.  We know it must, because nothing that seemingly perfect can last forever.  Even Kennedy’s American Camelot ended in a dramatic, violent collapse.  The thing is, with any Camelot, we know it is coming right from the beginning.  We can sense it.  There is an undercurrent of impending doom even in the beauty and perfection.  It is the imperfect fantasy.

The imperfect fantasy.  That’s the thing.  I’ve spent a lot of time over many years constructing fantasy worlds for my players.  If there’s one thing that most world builders know, it’s that the perfect fantasy is just too damn boring.  There has to be conflict to move the story.  You have to know, in the back of your mind, that Camelot is likely to fall.  Almost sure to collapse.  But for that one special band of heroes.

Look at our literary fantasy worlds.  Middle Earth is on the verge of falling to the Dark Lord of Mordor.  There is corruption everywhere.  It is only by the successes, against all odds and all reason, of the most unlikely band of heroes, that the dark tide is beaten back.  This is not the story of a perfect kingdom.

Look at our comic books.  Gotham is beset by vile villains on all sides.  Crime is rampant.  The city’s leading philanthropist is murdered in cold blood on the streets of his dark Camelot.  If it were not true, Gotham would have no need of the Dark Knight.

Look at our video games.  Rapture, the ideal society, is sinking into chaos while Andrew Ryan practices at golf.  Frank Fontaine plots to control the citizenry.

There stories of Camelots are innumerable.  There is always the veneer of prosperity and perfection, but under it all lies the ugly truth.  The queen is false.  The best friend a betrayer.  The energies of the realm’s protectors are spent in fruitless pursuits.  They are off questing for their holy grails while the kingdom’s seamy underside is asserting itself.  The hero’s family are plotting against him.  It is up to the most unlikely of heroes to, if not attempt to save the kingdom, at least to tell its tale so that Camelot may live on.  Sometimes they succeed.  Sometimes they fail.  That is in the hands of those who weave the story.  Maybe your protagonists are agents of the fall.  That is up to you.

In the end, it isn’t Camelot’s shining example of the ideal society that makes it the perfect fantasy setting.  It’s the coming fall that makes it engaging.  It’s the imperfection that makes it the enduring legend.  After all, it’s but a thin veil that separates the shining Camelot from the abyss.  It could all come apart at any moment.  With as little as a single bullet or a well-placed spear.

Do you find this model to be present in any fantasy worlds you may have built?  Are there any examples in popular culture that I’ve missed (I’m sure there are)?