Bran - Bran the Blessed - another mysterious character who appears across time in Arthurian legend.

Most place Bran as a Celtic sea-deity, a child of the seascape. Many say that his head, a talisman for Britain, was buried to protect the land from invasion. However, King Arthur dug it up, allowing his country to be overrun.

Many say that Bran is the inspiration for the Fisher King, as both died of a wound to the thigh from a poisoned spear.

Bran also carried a horn, and some equate that horn with the Holy Grail.

Some claim that many of the key figures in Arthurian legend, including Perceval of the Grail Quest, are descended from Bran.

Others place him later in time, claiming him to be the child of King Arthur and Guenevere.

He plays a key role in at least one of the modern interpretations of Arthurian legend, Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising, in which he crosses through time to help a young boy protect artifacts of the Pendragon line.