Citadel

"The castle is our strongest weapon. No army has ever taken Camelot."

- Arthur Pendragon

The Citadel is a large castle in the kingdom of Camelot that serves as its seat of government. It is also the home of the Pendragon family, as well as the Knights of Camelot and servants and staff such as Gaius and Merlin.

The castle is Camelot's greatest asset in war. It is virtually impregnable, houses a garrison of at least 12,000 men, and - prior to the Fall of Camelot - had never fallen during a siege.

History
At the end of the Great Purge, the Great Dragon was imprisoned in a cave beneath the citadel (The Dragon's Call).

The annual Tournament of Camelot was held on the castle grounds (Valiant).

Nimueh transported an Afanc to the citadel's water cavern to poison the city's water supply (The Mark of Nimueh).

Lord Bayard of Mercia met with Uther Pendragon at the citadel to sign a peace treaty that would end the war between their kingdoms (The Poisoned Chalice).

After the Unicorn's Curse destroyed Camelot's harvest, hundreds of starving villagers sought refuge in the city hoping to be given food (The Labyrinth of Gedref).

When Uther ordered an excavation team to dig beneath the citadel, they unearthed a tomb full of riches belonging to the legendary sorcerer Cornelius Sigan. Sigan's spirit later possessed a thief who tried to steal his enchanted jewel and used his body to launch an attack on Camelot.

The citadel sustained notable damage during the battle. Sigan's gargoyles attacked the castle with such ferocity that they knocked a hole in the roof of the council chambers and drove the Knights of Camelot from the main square (The Curse of Cornelius Sigan).

Aredian fell to his death when he tripped over a box and crashed through a castle window (The Witchfinder).

The citadel was the site of historic peace talks between the rulers of the Five Kingdoms (Sweet Dreams).

After making Morgana the source of a powerful sleeping enchantment, Morgause and the Knights of Medhir were able to infiltrate the castle unopposed (The Fires of Idirsholas).

After Merlin released Kilgharrah from his cave, the dragon sought revenge for his twenty year imprisonment by burning Camelot. His attack lasted seven nights and caused extensive damage. Many structures were burned and the castle walls were damaged nearly to the point of collapse (The Last Dragonlord).

When Arthur learned that Cenred had assembled an army of at least 20,000 men to invade Camelot, he began preparing the city for siege. Siege engines, battering rams, and catapults were set up throughout the city, provisions were gathered, and citizens from Camelot's outer villages were given refuge within the city walls.

The citadel was badly damaged during the battle. Burning refuse from catapults set several structures on fire, and after Morgana used the Rowan Staff to resurrect an army of undead skeletons in the burial vaults, Merlin engaged her in a duel which ended when he made part of the ceiling fall on top of her. Merlin then destroyed the Staff and reduced the skeletons to dust, forcing Cenred to order a retreat (The Tears of Uther Pendragon).

The Decennial Tournament was held on the castle grounds (Gwaine).

Morgause and Morgana took control of the citadel after they conquered Camelot with their immortal army. This was the first time in Camelot's history that the citadel fell under siege.

A little over a week later, Arthur and his allies set out to rescue Uther from the castle dungeons. Merlin and Lancelot were assigned the task of disabling the warning bell, but unbeknownst to Arthur, they had also appointed themselves the task of finding and emptying the Cup of Life.

With Gaius's help, Merlin and Lancelot defeated Morgause and completed their mission, destroying the immortal army. Consumed by grief and rage, Morgana's magically strengthened screams caused the council chamber to collapse around them. When the debris was eventually cleared away, there was no trace of either Morgause or Morgana to be found (The Coming of Arthur).

One year after her defeat, Morgana exacted her revenge by unleashing the Dorocha upon Camelot. Citizens from all over the kingdom began to seek refuge in the city, and the castle dungeons were soon filled with the frozen corpses of victims. Eventually, Arthur, Merlin, and the Knights of the Round Table were forced to embark on a quest to return the Dorocha to the Spirit World.

With his father still not recovered from Morgana's treachery, Arthur left his uncle Agravaine in charge of the kingdom during his absence. Unlike Arthur, who was determined to provide protection for refugees, Agravaine ordered the city gates to be shut at dusk, citing limited resources as his reason. Gaius and Guinevere were horrified by his actions and confronted him before the council, forcing Agravaine to reverse his decision and reopen the gates (The Darkest Hour).

Morgana took control of the citadel a second time with the aid of Helios, Agravaine, and an army of Southrons. Launching a surprise attack during the Feast of Beltane, she and Helios led a frontal assault on the citadel while Agravaine led more soldiers into the castle through the siege tunnels.

The castle was largely unharmed during the attack, but the surrounding city suffered heavy damages. The Lower Town in particular was badly burned after Agravaine lit it on fire.

One week later, Arthur and his allies launched their own attack on the citadel to reclaim the kingdom. They disposed of the sentries stationed on the castle walls, then split into three groups. Leon led one group of knights in an assault on the castle, Percival led another to rescue those imprisoned in the dungeons, and Merlin, Arthur, Gwen, Tristan, and Isolde fought their way to the council chambers to confront Morgana and Helios.

The night before the attack, Merlin had infiltrated the citadel and cast an enchantment to block Morgana's magic. As such, she was unable to use her powers and fled the room. Gwen and Merlin ran after her and Gwen engaged her in a duel. Morgana quickly disarmed her, but before she could kill Gwen, Merlin struck her with a stunning spell powerful enough to make part of the ceiling collapse. When the dust cleared, Morgana was gone.

Meanwhile, Arthur, Tristan, and Isolde battled Helios and his men in the council chambers. They successfully defeated their opponents, but Isolde was killed saving Arthur from Helios (The Sword in the Stone).

When Arthur accidentally released Uther from the Spirit World, his father's spirit followed him back to the castle. He disapproved of many of the changes Arthur had made as King and expressed his displeasured by making a chandelier fall on the Round Table and setting the kitchens on fire (The Death Song of Uther Pendragon).

Arthur invited Sarrum of Amata to the citadel to discuss an alliance. However, he was assassinated during the treaty signing (The Hollow Queen).

When Morgana declared war on Camelot, Arthur chose to make a stand at Camlann rather than wait for her to attack the citadel (The Diamond of the Day).