Lake of Avalon

"The land of eternal youth. Mortals are only supposed to glimpse it the moment before death."

- Gaius to Merlin about Avalon

The Lake of Avalon was a gateway to the world of Avalon, the home of the immortal Sidhe. It was only accessible to those with powerful magic, possibly beyond the abilities of most human sorcerers. The lake was the only known gateway to the fallen outside of the Pool of Nemhain, and was the final resting place of Freya, Lancelot, Elyan, and Arthur Pendragon.

History
When a Sidhe named Aulfric killed another Sidhe under unspecified circumstances, the Sidhe elder punished him by stripping him of his immortality and exiling him from Avalon. Aulfric had no hope of changing his fate, but sought to win passage back to Avalon for his daughter Sophia, who had had no part in his crime but been exiled alongside him all the same.

Because the elders would only agree to reopen the gateway in exchange for the soul of a mortal prince, Aulfric and Sophia journeyed to Camelot. Posing as the exiled heirs of Tír-Mòr, they enchanted Prince Arthur with their magic and took him to the Lake of Avalon. They attempted to sacrifice him by drowning him, but their plan was thwarted by Merlin, who seized Sophia's staff and used it to kill both her and her father. He then dove into the lake and pulled Arthur to the surface (The Gates of Avalon).

When the Great Dragon told Merlin to put the powerful sword begotten into his breath in a place where no mortal man could find it, he went to the Lake of Avalon and threw it into its depths (Excalibur).

When Merlin's love, Freya, died from her wounds, the young warlock put her body in a boat and floated it on the lake's waters. He cast a spell, setting the boat on fire. As she was dying in his arms, Freya swore to Merlin that she would repay him. When the druid girl died, she was made the Lady of the Lake (The Lady of the Lake). Later, when Albion was in great danger and all seemed lost, Freya's spirit appeared to him in the pool of water that was created when Merlin accidentally smashed the vial of water from the Lake of Avalon that was given to him by the Fisher King. She then returned Excalibur to Merlin so he could defeat Morgana, and save Camelot.

A Sidhe elder implanted a Sidhe into the infant Princess Elena, creating a changeling. Twenty years later, Lord Godwyn and his daughter Elena paid a visit to Camelot, with Lord Godwyn and Uther intending to unite their kingdoms by arranging a marriage between Arthur and Elena. Elena's maid, Grunhilda was a pixie, and she was the servant to the Sidhe elder who exiled Aulfric and Sophia. They were working together to allow the Sidhe that possessed Elena to take her over completely so there would be a Sidhe queen. Fortunately, their plan was thwarted by Merlin and Gaius, and Arthur and Princess Elena called off the wedding when they both admitted that neither of them had feelings for the other (The Changeling).

When Merlin met the Fisher King, he gave Merlin a vial of water from the Lake of Avalon, telling Merlin that when all seemed lost, it would show him the way (The Eye of the Phoenix).

When Morgause made Cenred's army immortal they became the living dead. Morgause then took charge of the immortal army and conquered Camelot and Morgana was crowned queen. Merlin used the water from the Lake of Avalon that the Fisher King gave to him to contact his former lover, Freya. She told him to meet her at the Lake, where she will hand him Excalibur, which he threw in earlier. With Excalibur he has the power to save Albion (The Coming of Arthur).

When the shade of Lancelot was forced by Morgana to kill himself, King Arthur ordered Merlin to give the knight a proper burial. Merlin took him to the Lake of Avalon, where he used magic to free his tormented soul. Lancelot was revived for a short time, during which he thanked Merlin, but he soon died. Then Merlin pushed the boat in which he had placed Lancelot's body into the middle of the Lake and used his magic to set it alight (Lancelot du Lac).

The lake is seen again during Sir Elyan's funeral where he was laid to rest with Lancelot and unbeknownst to everyone else, Merlin's secret lover, Freya (The Dark Tower).

The lake is last seen when Merlin initially is taking Arthur there in hopes of him being healed, only for him to die before they can reach it. He then throws Excalibur back into the lake, where Freya's hand catches it and takes it back under the water. After this, Merlin puts Arthur's body on a boat and gives him a funeral like Lancelot's, Freya's, and Elyan's (The Diamond of the Day).

In The Legend
Avalon is classically portrayed as an island. Known as the "Isle of the Blessed," it is first mentioned in the 1136 work of Geoffrey of Monmouth (not to be confused with Geoffrey of Monmouth, the character in Merlin), Historia Regum Britanniae as the island where Excalibur was forged, and where Arthur was later taken to recover from the wounds he suffered in the Battle of Camlann. In the 1150 work Vita Merlini, Geoffrey describes Avalon as the home of nine sisters, the chief of whom was the enchantress Morgana.

Historicity
Avalon is derived from Latin "Insula Avallonis", cognate with Welsh "Ynys Afallon", meaning the "Isle of the Apple Trees".

By 1190, Avalon had become associated with Glastonbury, and particularly Glastonbury Tor – which was, at one time, a legitimate island surrounded by marshes – when monks at Glastonbury Abbey claimed to have found the bones of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. This discovery has since been proven a hoax, however Glastonbury Tor remains of superstitious significance to some Neopagans and the local community.