So I have to ask... who is LADY ABIGAIL WAYNE?
This was the name that was originally used for the fan fiction being written for the alternate universe called, Batman: First Knight.
She is the deceased wife of Lord Charles Bruce Wayne (AKA: Batman). The name has since been changed to Lady Victoria Elizabeth Wayne. The armor screamed to have a back story made, not to mention, it was suggested that a story be made based on the photoshoot that produced the pictures that have been seen here and on other sites.
I originally used the name Abigail Wayne as a complimentary homage to someone I knew (once you read the character back stories, and synopses, you will see many instances where I pay homage. Just look at the character of Catwoman as a great example), but a small number of individuals thought that I had some ill intent by using the name, which there is nothing further from the truth. So to avoid any semblance of drama that might take away from the fan fiction challenge, posted on my facebook, I immediately changed the name to what it is now. And the reason I am taking any time to explain any of this, it is to clarify what is the truth. This is the only time I will speak of this.
Now back to the story.
If anyone is interested in the fan fiction challenge, please follow this link...
Carlos Blanchard | Facebook
If you're not, but still want to know, here is what I wrote. Feedback would be grately be appreciated.
This is based loosely on history, and is an Alternate universe, so feel free to include historical facts of the time frame. Let your imagination run free, and try your hardest to stay away from what has already been done in the DC Batman Universe. Be as original as possible, using the guidelines I am setting forth here. Don't be a stickler for historic fact, as I am mixing reality with fantasy.
Titles: Batman: Lineage, Batman: First Knight, Batman: The Dark Knight
Date: 1460-?
Location: Gothamshire, England
List of main characters (You cannot deviate from this list, nor change the names. You may add characters, as long as it flows within the story, and is relevant):
Lord Charles Bruce Wayne (Aka: Batman): Born December 6, 1462. Grew up privileged. Mother died during child birth when he was 2. Father, an Academic, raised him till Charles was 16. Father died from a horse accident. His Uncle, Sir Alfred Fitzwilliam Wayne then became his guardian, and trusted companion for the rest of his life.
At age 25, he met, fell in love with, and married Lady Victoria Elizabeth Austen (Later, Wayne). They were married for 2 years when she was killed while traveling back from London when her carriage was attacked by marauders.
One of the marauders was captured and many of her possessions were found on him, including her journal, which described that she was pregnant, and the reason for her trip to London was to get things for the child, and surprise Charles with the news that they were expecting.
His thirst for revenge, is tamed by his uncle who introduces him to a friend of his fathers, who will take him on a 10 year journey that will teach him many different fighting techniques, and how to be an honorable man.
Sir Thomas Alexander Wayne (later Lord): Father to Charles. Was an Academic. Instrumental in negotiating peaceful unification of many parts of England when King Arthur took the throne during the dark times after Arthur’s father, Uther Pendragon was killed and the country was divided. This gave him title, land and wealth. He was also special council to King Arthur on matters of state.
Sir Thomas was a fair man of good spirit, but believed in education, and that all men, women and children are equals. As an example, when Charles was 10, he sent him to live with the families of some of his servants, to teach him the meaning of humility. By day, he would have Charles study Latin, Military Strategy, and the arts, but when studies were done, he would send his son back to live with the commoners.
Sir Thomas loved Charles very much and gave him much attention, especially after his wife, Jane, died giving birth to their second child. A loss he never stopped mourning.
Sir Thomas died suddenly one day, when he was riding the grounds of Wayne manor and his horse bucked and kicking him off, broke his neck. He had the foresight to decree that if anything were to happen to him, his brother Alfred would look after Charles.
Lady Jane Bennet Wayne: Mother to Charles. Married to Sir Thomas for 8 years, From a noble family. Died giving birth to her second child (who was still born)
Sir Alfred Fitzwilliam Wayne: Uncle. Hero of the War of the Roses. Brother to Sir Thomas Wayne.
Affable man of good humor and wit. Loyal. Intelligent. Tasked with raising Lord Charles Wayne after Sir Thomas died. Sir Alfred never married, nor has any children of his own.
Lady Victoria Elizabeth Austen (Wayne): Wife. Born to a Noble family of status, but little wealth. Met Charles Wayne at a Social Ball, and they began to court. They married 6 months later when she was 18.
Theirs was a loving relationship, and they doted on eachother constantly. After 2 years of marriage, she realized she was pregnant, and wanting to surprise Charles, she made up a story about wanting to go shopping in London for new furniture for the estate, when in reality, she was commissioning and buying things for their unborn child. She was going to surprise him with the news upon her arrival a week later. Unfortunately, her carriage was attacked by marauders, and she and all in her party were killed, midway back. This event began the chain of events which led to Charles becoming Batman.
Luther Delarge (Aka: The Joker): Court Jester. Actor. Psychotic.
At a young age, Luther had a talent for theater. He was witty, charismatic, and handsome. His family had abandoned him at 10, so he resorted to doing street performances in order to eat, resorting at times to petty crimes as well.
At 16, while doing his usual performances, he caught the eye of a Nobleman. This Nobleman took Luther and gave him a home in return for his services as a court jester to entertain guests at his home, and whenever he went to social gatherings. This was a dream come true for Luther, which soon turned into a nightmare.
After a few years of service for the Nobleman, Luther thought he had the world at his fingertips, until the evening when the Nobleman came home drunk, and sexually assaulted Luther, informing him, that this was the price he will have to pay in order to repay him for taking him off the streets and giving him a life of luxury.
At first, Luther gave into the demands, but as time went on, the Nobleman would lend him out to other socialites, and notables. After a while, the degradation, and humiliation took it's toll on Luther, and his behavior became erratic, bordering on insane.
One evening, Luther, not wanting to be the sexual slave anymore, came to the conclusion that if he were ugly, his master would not find him pleasing anymore, and cease to molest him. So that evening, he took a razor and cut deep gashes into his face, including cutting both sides of his lips into a grotesque smile.
Upon seeing what he had done, the Nobleman evicted Luther back to the streets, where he lived as a pauper and thief, as people tended to look away in horror at his disfigured face. So to lessen this, he decided to begin wearing clown make up to disguise his deformities.
This is where his loathing for humanity, and especially for the social elite began.
He began to recruit from the dregs of the underworld who shared his views, and began a troupe of thieves and marauders, creating fear in whatever town they came upon.
He settled in Gothamshire, England, and began his criminal spree anew, but was approached by a Nobleman who wanted to employ him and his goons to cause mayhem in the city for his own personal reasons. This he did with complete enthusiasm.
Lord Silas de Augirre (Aka: Two Face) English, with French heritage. Suffers from Leprosy on one half of his body. Wears a mask over half his face to cover the disfigurement. Treacherous. Evil. Conniving.
Lord Silas suffers from leprocy, and hardly ever left his estate, nor was he ever invited to any social gatherings. He amassed great wealth from trading with the middle east, where he contracted leprosy.
His business dealings were often shady, and bordered on illegal. He had no qualms screwing someone over for money, and because of his deformity, he got the nickname Two Face. A nickname which allowed a hatred for humanity to well within him.
He devised a scheme to overthrow the local magistrate, and continue to take over other townships and rule them as king, but he needed a ruthless army to accomplish such a bold scheme, considering that peace was the rule of the land since King Arthur became the one king to unite all of England and Ireland. Thus, when Luther and his gang arrived in Gothamshire, Silas sought them out, because he felt they would be perfect for his plan. He got more than he bargained for.
Merlin: Immortal Magician. Friend to King Arthur, and Lord Thomas Wayne. Instrumental in getting King Uther and King Arthur the throne.
Merlin has been in service to King Arthur since he was born, as he took the child from Uther when he granted his wish to lay with Lady Igrane for one evening. He has been a great influence on Arthur and his reign of peace in England and Camelot, which is where he met and became friends with Sir Thomas.
Sir Alfred summoned Merlin to take young Charles and mentor him after Lady Victoria's death. This training took over 10 years to complete, but in that time, Merlin taught Charles not only to be a great warrior, but a honorable man. To seek justice where there is none. To help those who cannot help themselves. To not use revenge as fuel for his quest. To quell the rage inside him, and use it to his advantage. Merlin molded Charles into what would become Batman, but he needed one more person to complete his quest.
Leonardo da Vinci: Painter, Sculptor, Inventor.
At the end of Charles training, Merlin told him that he needed one person to help him fulfill his destiny, and he took him to meet Leonardo, who also had known Sir Thomas.
Impressed by the inventions of Leonardo, Lord Wayne, immediately became his benefactor with the caveat that he design and build weapons, and gadgets for him in secret. Thus what Lucius Fox is to modern day Bruce Wayne, Leonardo is to Charles.
Their first task was to build a suit of armor for the dark knight, along with a sword and shield. Leonardo worked on this in secret for months, going through design after design till he perfected it. Merlin, added an incantation that made the armor stronger than normal steel, but lighter.
When it came to the sword, Leonardo had discovered a new way of forging steel to make it stronger than normal swords of the day. During the forging process, Charles gave Leonardo several items of jewelry that belonged to Lady Victoria, to mix into the swords steel. Another incantation from Merlin, made the sword indestructible.
The partnership between Leonardo and Charles would last for several decades till Leonardo s death. In that time, he created many great inventions that allowed Batman to be superior in the battlefield.
Lilith Isley, Harleen Victoria Carroll, Julia Kitt Meriwether (Aka: Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Catwoman): The Sisterhood
Lilith Isley, is the daughter of Morgana, the half sister of King Arthur. She is the offspring of a nights union between Morgana and Merlin. Merlin having been seduced against both his knowledge and will.
After her birth, Morgana began teaching her the secrets of nature and the symmetry between magic and the forces of life itself. Lilith became a powerful sorceress, specializing in manipulating plants and nature, as she was often found in the woods using her spells to make the forest more lush and beautiful.
Lilith hated seeing any trees being torn down to make homes, or used for other things. She couldn't understand why mankind couldn't live in harmony with nature, and grew to loath the colonization of man.
One evening, at the age of 14, she overheard her mother speaking to her brother Mordrid about the plans she had to take over Camelot, and how his sister would move heaven and earth to make sure Morganas plans were successful. Lilith, not being one to be used, fled and began to live in the forrest, wandering deep and far. Here is where she would meet her closest friends and form an alliance.
Harleen Victoria Carroll, was orphaned at a very early age. Always a prankster, she also learned how to defend herself while living in an orphanage run by nuns. By the age of 15, there was no boy who could best her in hand to hand combat.
The Nuns tried their best to turn her into a lady, and tried to bring her into the Nunnery, claiming that she would serve the Lord well if she would become a Nun, and leave the fighting and other nonsense behind. This did not suit her at all, so she and her only friend at the orphanage, Julia, ran away deep into the woods, making a vow that no one would ever tell them what to do ever again.
Here is where they ran into Lilith, and formed a sisterhood of sorts. For years, they lived together in the woods and spoke of their resentment towards mankind, and devised a plan to make all of them pay for the hard life they had been forced to live.
Julia Kitt Meriwether, was also an orphan, and ended up at the same orphanage as Harleen, where as they grew, became very close. Always the schemer of the two, Julia learned very early on how to manipulate people to do her bidding. Here she also learned how to steal to make sure that she and Harleen would always have enough to eat.
She learned much of what she knew from watching cat behavior, and how they seemed to gracefully side up to you and allow you to believe they liked you, but would leave as soon as they got what they wanted. This was a very valuable lesson for her, and she mastered it.
Julia, also loved when Noblemen and Women would come to the orphanage to adopt children. She would marvel at their jewelry, and fancy clothing, and how refined they were, and decided this is who and what she wanted to be. A plan soon formed in her head.
When Harleen was trying to be coerced into the Nunnery, Julia and Harleen fled into the woods where they would meet Lilith, and set a plan in motion that would allow Julia to fulfill her dreams of becoming a wealthy socialite.
Kal El (Aka: Sir Galahad): Kal El landed in England at the beginning of the 15th century. Having been found by a family of peasants, he grew up in poverty and worked hard for a good portion of his life till his Kryptonian powers began to manifest.
His adopted family, fearing that he may be possessed by the devil, ran him off, and he began a journey to discover who he really was, and how he came to have such powers. With the aid of one of his adopted brothers, he was shown to the spot where he was found years ago. There he found the pod that brought him to earth. After examining it's contents, he discovered several crystals inside, that when touched by him, filled him with knowledge his parents had recorded into the crystals. His understanding of his purpose there now clear, Kal El began his quest to fulfill his purpose on earth, which was to aid mankind.
During the dark period after King Uther was killed, and England had no king, Kal El wandered England helping where he could, until he heard the story of Arthur. Wanting to be a part of his goal to unite England under one king and restore peace, Kal El joined forces with Arthurs Knights, taking the name Galahad, so that he would be viewed as normal. It was not long till his bravery and honor in the battle field were recognized, and he became Sir Galahad, one of Arthurs clostest knights.
After the unification of England, and Camelot was established, Kal El became one of the knights of the round table, and flourished in his position as knight.
Years went by, and Kal El, heard of a story of a Dark Knight in and around Gothamshire. He investigated and after a while, met and befriended Batman. He is the only person who knows Batmans true identity.
Because Batman fights for justice, Kal El, allows him to continue his quest. Theirs is a unique friendship. A complicated friendship.
These are the main characters, with a brief back-story I came up with. You may change some of the details to better suit your story, but not too much, as if you can't tell, I have put a lot of thought into this already. I basically have given you the bones, now I'm asking you to supply the flesh.
Now onto the story
Synopsis:
Lord Charles Wayne is happily married to Lady Victoria for 2 years. She decides to take a trip to London under false pretenses to buy furniture for the child they are about to have. She is waiting till she gets back to surprise Charles with the news.
Unfortunately, her carriage and all in her party are killed by marauders. When news of her death reaches Charles, he goes into a rage and forms a search party, as well as offering reward for the capture of any who were involved. After a week, one person is taken into custody.
Charles goes to visit the man accused of the crime, when he arrives, the locals tell him that they found some of Lady Victoria's personal belongings on him, giving Lord Wayne the proof he needed to believe that he was involved in her murder.
Among some of the possessions, is his wife’s journal, where he discovers that she was with child, and was planning on surprising him with the news. This sets Lord Wayne into a blood rage, and he makes plans to go kill the man who killed his wife. This is when his Uncle Alfred, who has been his guardian since Lord Waynes father died years back, intervenes and talks him out of it, but tells him that he has summonsed an old friend of his fathers to visit, and that he should talk to him.
Lord Wayne allows the murderer to be placed in custody while he waits for his uncles friend to arrive. During the days that follow, his uncle advises him, that if he is to take the path of a killer himself, he should prepare himself since he has only lived a life of privilege, and never taken a life before. Lord Wayne sees the logic in this, and obeys his uncle.
After a few weeks, the friend of his fathers arrives, and introduces himself as Merlin. Merlin talks with Lord Wayne about the journey he must take if he is to become justice. Lord Wayne agrees to follow Merlin on this journey.
The day of their departure, also coincides with the day the local magistrate finds the murderer guilty and hangs him from the gallows. Lord Wayne and Merlin are there to witness the hanging. Afterward, they head out on what will be a 10 year journey that will forever change Lord Charles Bruce Wayne.
They head out to the four corners of the globe. Merlin takes him to Norway to learn how the vikings fought, then to Germania, Rome, Greece, the Middle East, and finally to Japan, where he is the very first Anglo allowed on the islands shores. In all the travels to these distant locations, Lord Wayne has learned how to fight in all the different styles. He has learned the ways of the different warriors and their codes of combat. He has also learned their codes of honor.
During Lord Waynes absence from Gothamshire, many things have taken shape. Most notably, is the criminal presence that has established itself in and around the area.
Luther Delarge, also know now as the Joker, has established himself as the main criminal element. He and his goons have been extorting money, stealing from farmers, controlling all road in and out of Gothamshire. Nothing illegal happens in the city without either him having a hand in it, or without his knowledge. The local magistrate has tried unsuccessfully to rid themselves of him for years.
What is not common knowledge is the fact that Lord Silas de Augirre has secretly been paying Joker to continue his crime spree and stay in Gothamshire. His main plan being to take over the local magistrate, and all the others in the surrounding countryside, to install himself as King in the region. He is under the impression that he has total control over Joker, and that his plan will succeed without fail, but Joker has a loathing of all humanity, especially Noblemen, and Royalty, and has a plan of his own. In the end, Joker betrays de Augirre, and takes over his fortune and plan for Kingship. This happens after the appearance of Batman.
At the same time, a group of women known as The Sisterhood, have been moving from city to city, robbing from the wealthy, then moving to another city to start over. Their plan is flawless in it's simplicity, Julia establishes herself in the local elite, and gets invited to all the balls and parties, where she has access to see who has what kinds of valuables. Once this is done, Harleen, the muscle of the trio, with the help of Lilith, break into the homes of the rich and take what they want. Lilith, having the ability to manipulate plants, uses her abilities to crush all who may stand in their way.
Julia, on occasion, takes pride, and enjoys breaking into the homes of the rich while they are there and stealing without them being aware of her presence. A skill she excels at, and enjoys more on a personal level than anything else.
Once they reach Gothamshire, they are made aware of the Jokers standing in the criminal community, and make a pact with him to share in what they take, if he allows them to continue their work. It is here that Harleen meets Joker for the first time, and becomes enamored with him, and he with her. A fact that neither Julia nor Lilith anticipated or enjoy.
Meanwhile, Lord Wayne and Merlin begin their journey back, when Merlin tells him that there is one more stop on their way, and takes him to meet Leonardo da Vinci. Once there, Lord Wayne and Merlin explain to Leonardo what his mission is, and why they will need his services, as Merlin has convinced Lord Wayne that in order to be justice, he must strike fear in the hearts of all who would do harm. That he must become someone other than Lord Wayne, someone bigger than himself in order to be successful.
Leonardo accepts Lord Waynes request to be his inventor, and Lord Wayne becomes his benefactor. First on the list for Leonardo is making Lord Waynes armor, shield and sword. With the help of Merlin, they create armor that will intimidate all who cause chaos, and with Merlin’s incantations, make the armor almost completely indestructible, as well as the shield. When it comes to the sword, Lord Wayne asks Leonardo to use his wife's gold and silver jewelry to be forged in the metal that is used to make the blade. Leonardo uses a new technique to forge the steel that makes the blade, and Merlin uses his magic to make the sword unbreakable, with the added ability to never dull.
Once done, Batman is born, and returns to Gothamshire, to discover that crime has run rampant in the city. Uncle Alfred, tells Lord Wayne of all that has been happening, and Charles begins to remodel his estate to be able to go into Gothamshire as Batman with being detected. He wants no one to know his true identity, and wants to keep his close ones safe from reprisals and harm.
Once night falls, Lord Wayne dons the armor, turning himself into Batman and begins his quest to clean up Gothamshire, beginning with it's biggest threat....Joker.
