Priestess of Avalon,
half sister to Arthur. Morgaine is a Princess, the daughter of Igraine and Gorlois, the Duke of Cornwall. When she is three years old Igraine marries Uther, and she lives in Caerleon with them. In an increasingly Christian land, she is taken at 11 to Avalon by Viviane, her aunt and her mother's sister. At 18 she is made Priestess and she takes her vows to the Goddess.
Morgaine sacrifices her virginity to Arthur to make the Great Marriage, and they make love without knowing each other. In the morning they discover the truth, and part, distraught. Morgaine forsakes Avalon and Viviane and travels to her aunt Morgause's castle in Orkney. There she gives birth to Mordred, Arthur's firstborn and only son. Morgaine leaves him in Morgause's hands.
After several years, she tries to return to Avalon. But she has forsaken Avalon and in turn the Goddess rejects her. Desparate to make her way into Avalon by the hidden paths, Morgaine wanders into the faery country and, although time does not pass for her, about five years pass in the outside world.
When she makes her way out of the faery country, she once again becomes waiting woman to Gwenhwyfar, and believes that she has been forever rejected from the Goddess. Years pass, and when Gwenhwyfar and Arthur discover the existence of Mordred, Gwenhwyfar arranges Morgaine's marriage to Uriens of North Wales, an elderly king twice Morgaine's age. At Uriens court, Morgaine comes to think of Uwaine, Uriens nine year old son, as her own. And it is there that she falls in love with Accolon, Uriens middle son, who follows the Druid ways. Accolon brings her back to the Priestess that she was, and together they follow the ancient rituals.
As Arthur moves farther and farther from his promise to keep Avalon in the world, Morgaine plots to defeat him and put Accolon, one faithful to the Goddess, on the throne. However, they fight and Accolon is killed. In grief, and in Arthur's greatest displeasure, Morgaine flees to Cornwall and to Tintagel, and then to Avalon. There she lives for many years. As an elderly woman, she travels back to Camelot one last time with Raven. This is her final journey as a messenger of the Goddess, and here she is the bearer of the Goddess' holiest vision--the vision of the Grail. The vision is mistaken, however, for the sign of the Christ, and as Arthur's companions scatter to the four winds to search the the chalice, Morgaine returns to Avalon. Avalon, once a thriving home for Druids and Priestesses, is empty, and it drifts further and further into the mists.
At the end , Morgaine sees Arthur and Mordred fighting on the shores of the lake. Mordred is killed, and Morgaine comforts Arthur as he dies. Morgaine comes to understand that the Goddess will survive and will be everywhere, in all women.
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