"In a land of myth and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young man." "His name..." "Merlin." "Heo cwaeth." "Se wyrdes last bith ansiene." "Nu syndon his folma blodige ond tha ne maeg he feormian." "His endetime is on ofost." "Heo cwaeth." "Se wyrdes last bith ansiene." "Nu syndon his folma blodige." "His endetime is on ofost." "Osgar." "You know what must be done?" "I do." "Stand." "Take it." "The fate of Arthur Pendragon is in your hands now." "See that you honor it." "You're getting good, Mordred, very good." " My lord." " I may have to start trying soon." "My lord?" "And... always remember..." "Did you see how Mordred used a contre quarte to my high-line attack?" " It was skilfully done." " Really?" "You understand what a contre quarte is, right?" "At a guess, a type of parry, beginning in the quarte position, ending with a twist of the wrist." "You HAVE been paying attention." "And what do you think of young Mordred?" "He's, er, making progress." "He has all the makings of a fine knight, don't you think?" "There are many fine knights in Camelot." "Yes, but if I'm not mistaken, he'll be one of the finest, and I'm determined he'll receive nothing but encouragement from me." "'You think he's not ready?" "'" "It's not that." "He's an excellent swordsman." "You think he's too young?" "Too headstrong?" "He's always been thoughtful and modest." "The boy sounds perfect, Merlin." "I can't ignore what I saw." "Gaius, Mordred is destined to play a part in Arthur's death." "Perhaps, perhaps not." "The future has many paths." "That is only one." "Have you ever seen him show anything but kindness towards Arthur?" " No, but..." " If Mordred wished Arthur ill, he has had ample opportunity to do so." "He's a likeable boy, Merlin." "I know." "I like him myself, but I can't ignore what I saw." "Seeing is not the same as knowing." "And we must know - for certain - before we act." "What news from the East, Sir Leon?" "Serious news, I'm afraid, sire." "As you know, a few days ago, our garrison in the Forest of Brechfa intercepted the man who goes by the name of Osgar." " The sorcerer?" " The same." "They were trying to apprehend him when he used his powers to escape." "I am sorry to report..." "Sir Ranulf was mortally wounded." "Sir Ranulf?" "He was a loyal and true knight." "Place all the men in the eastern territories on high alert." "Yes, sire." "I personally shall lead a patrol to bring this Osgar to justice." "Is it necessary for you to go in person?" "A king must lead, or what is the point of him?" "You lead the men when you saved Mithian's father... and I nearly lost you." "Sir Ranulf's death cannot go unpunished." "You have many fine men to avenge him." "He wasn't just a knight, Guinevere, he was a friend." "We knew each other as boys." "I must go." "Have no fear." "I will be perfectly safe." "As you say, I have many fine knights." "Yes?" " You wished to see me, sire?" " Ah, Mordred, come in, come in." "The time has come for you to accompany your king." "My lord?" "I want you to join me on a patrol to the White Mountains." "Me?" "To Brechfa?" "Congratulations." "This is a great honour." "I..." "You have earned your place." " Be ready to ride at dawn." " I shall be, my lord." "You won't regret this." "I promise." "He has all the makings of an excellent knight." "I do believe you've grown fond of him." "One of those things I do." "You sure you haven't forgotten anything, Mordred?" "Do you think so?" "Isn't he missing a dagger?" "I can't see a water bottle." "His boot." "He's missing a boot, I think." "Are you sure this is a good idea?" "He's a good fighter, a brave knight." "He's very young." "Where would any of us be, Merlin, if no-one had given us a chance?" "Gentlemen!" "Merlin?" "You will take care of him?" "He doesn't always make it easy." " I know." " Merlin!" "It is a tradition." "Goes back years." "We all had to do it on our first patrol." "Mordred, what on earth are you doing?" "Melding the saddle, my lord." "As in the ancient tradition..." "of melding." "Of course." "I trust your breeches are on inside out?" "My lord?" "It's Osgar." "He's close." "He's getting careless." "Sire?" "Who are you?" "What's your purpose?" "I was beginning to fear you had taken the wrong path." "Who are you?" "My name is Osgar." "And I have an important message for your king." "Take me to him." "It'll be our pleasure." "Do you not know who I am?" "You are a sorcerer, a heretic and a murderer." "No." "Just a man who values his freedom." "Take me to your king." "Would you challenge me?" "!" "Forth fleoge!" "Stop!" "Sire..." "My name is Osgar." "I know who you are." "I am sent from the sacred Disir to pass judgment on Arthur Pendragon, the Once and Future King." "What right have you to pass judgment?" "No man is above the Disir - however royal." "It is my duty to pass their judgment on to you, dread King." "My sacred duty." "Your hand..." "Arthur Pendragon." "It is done." "What is the meaning of this?" "It is both judgment and fate." "You have waged war on the people of the Old Religion." "Now the ancient gods answer you." "The Disir have spoken." "The circle of fate begins to close." "For even as Camelot flowers, the seeds of her destruction are being sown." "What nonsense is this?" "It is not too late, Arthur." "Not too late to find the true path." "Redeem yourself." "No further chance shall be given." "What would the king say?" "Sorcerers are not permitted marked graves." "It's all right, Merlin." "I'd have done the same." "He was one of us, after all." "It won't always be like this." "One day we will live in freedom again." "You really believe that?" "I do." "Until then, we go unmarked - in death as in life." "The swelling should go down by the morning." "Let's hope so." "How is he?" "I've applied poultices." "They'll make a full recovery." "You are a skilled physician, Merlin." "I've watched Gaius, that's all." "He also makes a very fine breakfast, as you'll soon discover, eh, Merlin?" "Now I've offended him." "Come, Merlin, warm yourself, have a drink." "To young Mordred - and his first successful mission." "It was nothing." "It was timely and vigilant." "Merlin!" "Congratulations." "If he died and was granted eternal happiness," "I do believe he'd find reason to be miserable." "Come, Merlin, we've triumphed." "Osgar could have easily killed you." "But he didn't, did he?" "He was a sorcerer, it was quite within his power." "He was deranged." "And the runemark?" "A trinket - nothing more." "Here." "I'll have the jeweller mount it as a memento of our success." "Are you feeling all right, Merlin?" "Quite, my lord." "Only, more and more I find your face resembles the back end of a cat." "See, you don't even laugh at my jokes any more." "Seriously..." "I haven't seen you smile these past three days." "I'm not sure there is a great deal to smile about." "Sire, thank you for coming." "Please." "Tell me Merlin's got you believing his nonsense too, Gaius." "This is a runemark, my lord." "So everyone keeps telling me." "In times past, this mark aroused great fear." "It was given to those found wanting by the court of the Disir." "The Disir?" "The highest court of the Old Religion." "Three women were chosen at birth to be trained as seers and soothsayers." "Their only task was to interpret the word of the Triple Goddess." "When they sat in judgement, their word was final." "This worn-out superstition has no relevance now." "I don't see how what bearing it has on me or Camelot." "Because, sire, the Disir saw fit to give you this." "This is the judgement of the gods against you." "This is... nonsense, surely?" "The Old Religion held that the runemark not only contained a man's guilt but the path that the gods had chosen for him." "That is why it is both a judgement and fate." "I make my own path." "Do you?" "It is said that only the gods can alter a man's fate..." "And even then, only when he repents and appeases them." "You don't believe any of this?" "Gaius?" "I am an old man, sire." "Old enough to be wary of dismissing other people's beliefs." "Have I not made Camelot a fairer and more just kingdom?" "You have, my lord." "Have I not rid it of the cruelties and injustices of the past?" "You have." "I am not my father." "No." "Then why do they judge me so?" "I'm not sure I'm the person to ask." "I am asking you..." "Merlin." "Man to man." "Well, perhaps they feel you are worthy enough to be judged." "What do you mean by that?" "Judgement is wasted on a... man who won't listen." "You think I should take them seriously?" "I think you already have." "If there's nothing else...?" "No." "Thank you." "O drakon!" "E male so ftengometta tesd' hup' anankes!" "You were right to summon me, Merlin." "The Disir are the mouthpiece of the Triple Goddess." "It is she who has decreed Arthur's fate." "What is it to be?" "The runemark predicts Arthur's death." "When?" "When will Arthur die?" "The future is never clear, Merlin." "You should know that by now." "There are many paths." "Not all lead to Camelot's ruin." "Do they lead to Mordred?" "The Druid boy?" "His fate and Arthur's are bound together like ivy round a tree." "I fear he is dangerous." "There is good cause to doubt him." "Is there nothing I can do?" "Sometimes... to save the tree, the ivy must be cut." "You had a chance to kill the Druid boy once before." "If you have another... you MUST not fail." "Arthur?" "I thought you might be hungry." "You ate nothing at supper." "Thank you." "That was kind." "He was a deranged, desperate man." "You said so yourself." "Merlin was right - he could have killed me but instead he thought it was more important to give me this, and he gave his life in doing so." "Who can fathom the mind of a fanatic?" "That wasn't what was in his eyes, Guinevere." "There was no hatred there." "It was something else - pity almost." "Why would a sorcerer pity a king?" "Come, eat something." "What if the Disir are right?" "What if I have transgressed in some way?" "What if I have put Camelot in danger?" "Arthur, you are a good and just king." "The Disir don't seem to think so." "That is because they don't know you like I do." "If they did, they would feel nothing but love." "Is it late?" "Have I overslept?" "It is not yet dawn." " My lord, I..." " Where can I find the Disir?" " Sire, I..." " Gaius, if anyone knows where to find them, it is you." "Until yesterday I didn't know they still existed." "But they do." "As we know." "So again, where can I find them?" "Sire, I do not think it is wise for you..." "Gaius, do I look like a man to trifle with?" "It is said that the Disir divines using an ancient pool." "In turn, the pool is fed by the sacred spring at Caerlanrigh." "The source of the spring is a grove of yew trees in the White Mountains." "The Grove of Brineved." "Thank you." "We leave within the hour." "Be careful, Merlin." "I don't know what you'll encounter but the Old Ways will be at their strongest there." "The Caerlanrigh is the very centre of their powers." "My lord, you are going to the White Mountains?" "I am." "Then I humbly petition to come with you." "It is not for novices, Mordred." "Did I not serve you well?" "You did." "Then I will do again." "It is no mere sorcerer this time, Mordred." "Our mission is dangerous - in ways we cannot perhaps imagine." "Then you will need good men by your side." "Let me serve, let me do my duty." "Merlin!" "See to it he has everything he needs." "Stay close." "You know your positions." "My lord." " What is it, Merlin?" " This place is sacred." "It's a cave, Merlin." "It's more than that." "To me, one cave is the same as another." "You can't go armed into a sacred place!" "You want us to go in there unarmed?" "Of all the ridiculous things that you have ever said, Merlin and there's been a few that is the most ridiculous." "By far." "I am Arthur Pendragon," "King of Camelot." "I come to know the meaning of this." "The Grove of Brineved is in the kingdom of Camelot, subject to its laws, its decrees." "Every man, however humble, however noble, has the right to be judged only by his peers." "Yet YOU judge me in my absence." "Explain yourselves." "We do not judge." "We do not condemn." "We are but the internuncio of the one who presides over all." "Who sees all." "Who knows all." "The Triple Goddess." "And you, Arthur Pendragon, have angered her." "How so?" "Have I not been an honourable king?" "Have I not made Camelot a fair and just kingdom?" "So much is true." "But you have denied the Old Religion." "Dismissed its faith." "Persecuted its followers." "Even unto slaughter." "I fight against sorcery and superstition, that is all." "Embrace the ways of the Old Religion, Arthur." "Or risk the ire of the Goddess." "The destruction of everything you most value." "The end of your reign." "The fall of Camelot itself." "I refuse to be judged by those who do not know me." "You are known, Arthur." "You have always been known." "And now you come here, to the most sacred of the sacred, to the very heart of the Old Religion, with weapons drawn." "Trampling hallowed relics." "Treating our sacred space like you do your kingdom - with arrogance." "With conceit." "With insolence." "Enough!" "You speak of the King!" "On me!" "Merlin!" "Pull back!" "How is he?" "It is not a simple wound." "Sorcery is involved." "Is there anything you can do?" "This is beyond my skill, sire." "We need to get him back to Camelot." "That is a long and arduous journey." "What if he doesn't survive it?" "Look..." "I fear that Gaius is the only one who can save him." "Mount up." "We ride for Camelot." "He grows worse." "There has been little change." "I should never have let him come." "He wanted to prove himself." "And he has." "He saved my life for the second time." "Merlin is right." "This is no ordinary wound." "There is magic at play." "Can you save him?" "I am but a physician - there are limits to my knowledge." "There must be something that can be done." "Perhaps." "I shall do everything in my power, sire." "Let me know the moment he improves or..." "I shall." "Only your magic can save him, Merlin." "I cannot save the life of a man destined to kill Arthur." "If Mordred is destined to take the King's life, why has he just saved it?" "I cannot ignore what the dragon said." "What happened to the young boy who came into my chambers just a few years ago?" "He grew up." "And he learned the meaning of duty." "It is not your fault." "He begged you to let him go - it was a kindness to allow him." " It was foolishness." " No." "You told me once that Mordred had a strong sense of duty." "That is true." "You also told me he was impetuous." "I should have listened to you." "No, you shouldn't." "If Mordred hadn't gone, it could be you in Gaius's chambers." "Mordred did his duty so you could do yours..." "To be king." "Yes?" " Sire." " Is there news?" "I thought that once we'd got him back to Camelot and your care..." "The staff that caused his wound was forged using powerful sorcery." "All the same..." "And the poison that runs through his veins is beyond remedy." "There must be something you can do!" "I'm afraid not." "Only the Disir themselves have the power to counteract their own sorcery." "I'm afraid we must prepare ourselves for the worst." "I'll go to them." " Sire, I do not think that is..." " And I beg for mercy." "Prepare the horses." "We leave at once." "Why do you risk so much for one man?" "I would do the same for any knight." "Though, obviously, not me." "Actually, I would." "Servants are hard to come by - even bad ones." "I'm touched." "Mordred saved my life." "What greater debt could there be?" "The debt to your people, to your destiny." "You almost sound as if you care." "I do care." "About who you are, Arthur, who you are destined to become." "If it's fated." "It doesn't matter what I do, it'll still happen." "There is a difference between fate and destiny." "You think too much, Merlin." "The situation is quite simple." "A brother-in-arms saves my life." "When he, in turn, is threatened, it is my duty to do all I can to save him." "I am not totally insensitive, Merlin." "I can see that some people feel this is a sacred place." "I am even prepared to admit that you are right sometimes." "Obviously, I will deny I ever saying that." "Obviously." "Arthur Pendragon." "King of Camelot." "We have been expecting you." "My men and I behaved with arrogance and stupidity." "We dishonoured this place and insulted your faith." "I humbly beg your forgiveness." "One amongst us," "Sir Mordred may yet pay the ultimate price." "I have come here to petition you for his life." "Why should we help you?" "I ask not for myself, but for a young man whose only crime was to sacrifice himself for his king." "The future holds much pain and suffering for you, Arthur Pendragon." "For you and your people." "If you wish to save all you hold dear." "If you wish to save your kingdom." "Embrace the Old Religion." "Learn her ways." "Bow to the Goddess." "You know I can't do that." "Consider carefully." "You have until dawn." "How did you know this place was sacred?" "That's obvious." "Pretend it isn't." "Everything here..." "is so full of life." "Every tree, every leaf every insect." "It's as if the world is vibrating." "As if everything is much more than itself." "You feel all that?" "Don't you?" "What will you do?" "I don't know." "My heart says do anything I can to save Mordred." "But I have seen what misery unfettered sorcery brings." "Before my father outlawed magic," "Camelot was almost destroyed by sorcery." "In my own time, Morgana has used it for nothing but evil." "What would you do?" " In my place?" " Me?" "I'm just a lackey, a maker of beds." "Lackeys can be wise." "It is not like you to be silent." "A kingdom's future is at stake." "And a man's life." "You must protect Camelot." "You must protect the world you have spent your life building... a just and fair kingdom for all." "You would have me sacrifice a friend?" "I would have you become the king you are destined to be." "If I do save Mordred, all my father's work will be for nothing." "Sorcery will reign once more in Camelot." "Is that what you'd want?" "Perhaps my father was wrong, perhaps the old ways aren't as evil as we thought." "So what should we do?" "Accept magic?" "Or let Mordred die?" "There can be no place for magic in Camelot." "You have returned." "Is your decision made?" "It is." "I cannot do as you ask." "Consider carefully, Arthur Pendragon." "This is your last chance to save all that is dear to you." "It will not come again." "I have seen too much... to allow sorcery again within Camelot." "You have made your decision." "Sealed your fate." "And that of your kingdom." "Farewell Arthur Pendragon." "You did the right thing." "I condemned a man to death." "For the sake of Camelot." "He saved my life, Merlin." "More than once." "I know." "'How could I have been so stupid?" "!" "'" "You did what you thought best." "I assumed the best way to protect Arthur was to kill Mordred." "A perfectly natural assumption." "But all I did was make sure he lived." "That was the Disir's judgement." "Mordred's life is Arthur's punishment for rejecting magic." "You mustn't blame yourself." "But it is my fault." "Mordred is alive and well." "He's free to play his part in Arthur's death and there is nothing I can do to prevent it." "Nothing." "Where is she?" "I thought we could play a little game." "Whatever twisted game you're playing," "I want no part in it."