Cat's out of the bag now, I guess - thanks for blowing my cover, LindaLou

In actuality, I've used the handle Mordred since I was in my teens and I probably chose it then in the same sense a teenager might choose Darth Vader as an online handle (because he's 'cool'). I grew up on a healthy dose of Arthurian legends and similar tales thanks to my father (who also grew up on them). Mordred's villainy, however, is much disputed amongst we Arthurian geeks of the world In some tales he's not a bad guy at all, just a vengeful one who has been wronged (by the wicked King Arthur). I've always been attracted to this concept. The whole idea that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter and vice versa (Lucifer has even been paralleled with Prometheus as a hero and light bearer amongst some mythologists - another concept which appeals to me). Mordred's also been used in some Arthurian tales to represent Arthur's dark half - and interestingly when Mordred dies (in any of the versions told) Arthur dies too, thus indicating that one half cannot exist without the other, lending the stories a sort of Yin-Yangesque quality.

There are a lot of aspects to old folk tales which their modern versions have washed out or done away with. Ever read the original Cinderella story? One of the wicked step sisters partially amputates her foot so that the glass slipper fits! Anyway, I could blather on and on but I'll leave it at that.

Lord of the Rings is great but it hasn't had centuries to resonate throughout the cultures of the world like the Arthurian legends has so I've had a tendency to favore the latter over the former (not that new legends and fairy tales are unwelcome - they just need a couple hundred years to sink in :D).