Chap­ter V – The tale of Balen begins not with tri­umph but with a somber reminder that even the noblest inten­tions can car­ry unin­tend­ed weight. A deep sor­row fol­lows Balen as Mer­lin speaks of a future cursed by his hand, a future where three king­doms would suf­fer for over a decade. The wizard’s warn­ing is not giv­en in anger but in solemn reflec­tion, as if Balen’s fate has already been carved in stone. His heart, though coura­geous, is heavy with guilt and res­ig­na­tion, for the acci­den­tal death of a lady has sealed a prophe­cy he can­not out­run.

Balen, accom­pa­nied by his stead­fast broth­er Bal­an, con­tin­ues on their jour­ney in silence, their armor gleam­ing but spir­its dimmed by Merlin’s words. Their names are spo­ken with rev­er­ence and fear, though their iden­ti­ties often go unno­ticed behind visors and shad­ows. When they next encounter Mer­lin, he has tak­en a new form, cloaked in mys­tery and wis­dom, guid­ing them once more with rid­dles that speak of loom­ing bat­tles and a crown­less king’s fol­ly.

They are led to a place where night con­ceals more than darkness—King Ryons, unaware of what fate awaits, trav­els to meet a hid­den lover. It is there, under the cov­er of trees and moon­light, that Balen and Bal­an strike, not in cru­el­ty but in courage, cap­tur­ing the king in a deci­sive ambush. The news of their feat spreads swift­ly, astound­ing Arthur and earn­ing the broth­ers not only praise but a deep­er entan­gle­ment with the prophe­cies that trail them like shad­ows.

Merlin’s voice again speaks of com­ing glo­ry, but it is laced with sor­row, as though the future offers no true reward—only fleet­ing moments of vic­to­ry before the descent. This tone haunts the broth­ers, yet their resolve does not fal­ter, for knights do not live by ease, but by duty etched in the heart. In the fol­low­ing days, as armies gath­er and drums echo across the hills, the stage is set for a greater war that will test them beyond strength and steel.

The tale turns to the clash of king­doms, where war cries rise like thun­der, and blades draw the breath of des­tiny with every swing. Balen and Bal­an fight not just with skill but with a pur­pose few understand—each strike dri­ven by hon­or, not hatred. Their courage shifts the battle’s tide, inspir­ing those who once doubt­ed and shak­ing the foun­da­tions of even their ene­mies’ resolve.

In the fury of the con­flict, King Lot—a fig­ure both noble and flawed—is slain by Pelli­nore in a duel that marks the war’s cli­max. Though his fall sig­nals a tac­ti­cal tri­umph, it also births tragedy; Lot’s death sends rip­ples through the hearts of many, none more so than his wife. Her grief is not mere­ly for a fall­en king, but for a man whose deci­sions, though his own, were influ­enced by love and pride.

King Arthur, while vic­to­ri­ous, does not let cel­e­bra­tion cloud his con­science. He under­stands that every life lost car­ries weight and that his rule must be shaped not by con­quest alone but by wis­dom earned through blood­shed. Balen and Bal­an, watch­ing from the fringes of this uneasy peace, remain aware that their great­est tri­als are yet to come.

Their path, though marked by vic­to­ry, grows dark­er with each prophe­cy ful­filled. They do not seek fame, though it clings to them, nor do they crave pow­er, yet it chas­es them through bat­tle­field and court alike. What they desire—peace, redemp­tion, per­haps even anonymity—remains elu­sive, slip­ping fur­ther away with every act of brav­ery.

In the world of Arthuri­an leg­end, sto­ries like Balen’s serve as reflec­tions on the nature of des­tiny. The con­flict between free will and prophe­cy is woven into each encounter, each deci­sion made under pres­sure and fear. These knights, though armored in steel, are vul­ner­a­ble to the same uncer­tain­ties that touch every life, remind­ing read­ers that leg­end is not immune to tragedy.

His­tor­i­cal­ly, this chap­ter echoes motifs com­mon to medieval lit­er­a­ture: noble sac­ri­fice, divine ret­ri­bu­tion, and the ten­sion between fate and agency. The actions of Balen and Bal­an would lat­er inspire rein­ter­pre­ta­tions of the hero’s jour­ney, blend­ing myth with human com­plex­i­ty in a way that speaks across time. Even today, the tale con­tin­ues to invite reflec­tion on whether great­ness is defined by glo­ry or the endurance of suf­fer­ing that comes with it.

By the end of this chap­ter, the grandeur of chival­ry has been both ele­vat­ed and ques­tioned. Hero­ism, while hon­ored, is shown to come at a steep cost, and the lines between vic­to­ry and loss are blurred. Balen’s tale reminds us that fate may favor the bold, but it rarely spares them.