Three Brothers

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The Standard of the Three Brothers.

The Three Brothers were King Duff, King Kenneth II, and Prince Malcolm. The sons of King Maol Chalvim I.

History

The period in which each of the three brothers lived lasted for only thirteen years, from the time Malcolm was born at Edinburgh Castle in 954, to the time King Duff was the first brother to die at the Battle of Gaine in 967. In 971, in order to strengthen Kenneth II's forces against King Culen, Malcolm forged the first known gargoyle-human alliance in Scotland with the Wyvern Clan's leader. When Kenneth II went into battle against Culen's army, his standard was that of three swords, representing the three brothers. ("The Reach", "The Dream")

Following Culen's defeat, Shahrizad (a player in the Light-Bringers acting troupe) entertained the locals of Wyvern Hill with the story of the Three Brothers over several nights, with some of the individuals featured in the tale – Prince Malcolm and the Captain of the Guard – listening as part of the audience and perplexed in how the storyteller knew their exact words. ("The Reach", "The Draw", "The Oath", "The Promise", "The Dream")

Prince Malcolm would be the second brother to die, occurring at some point between 984 and 994 (from causes as yet unknown), with the remaining brother, King Kenneth II, alive until his murder in 995. ("Avalon" Part One) [1]

When Kenneth III, son of Duff, led his armies against King Constantine III in 997, his banner was once more the standard of the three brothers. ("Phoenix")

Real World Background

Kings Duff and Kenneth II were indeed the sons of the historical King Maol Chalvim I, but Prince Malcolm was a fictional addition to the series. [2]

Production Background

Before becoming canonical as bonus content in each issue of Gargoyles: Dark Ages in 2023, Greg Weisman first shared the prose story "Once Upon A Time There Were Three Brothers..." in 1997.