Uther!
Merlin!
Merlin, I am the strongest.
I am the one.
The sword! You promised me the sword!
And you shall have it, but to heal, not to hack.
Tomorrow...
...a truce. We meet at the river.
Talk! Talk is for lovers, Merlin.
I need a sword to be king.
Show the sword.
Behold the sword of power.
Excalibur.
Forged when the world was young...
...and bird, and beast, and flower...
...were one with man...
...and death was but a dream.
Speak the words.
One land, one king!
That is my peace, Cornwall.
Lord Uther, if I yield to the sword of power...
...what will you yield?
Me, yield?
He has given. Now you must.
The land from here to the sea shall be yours...
...if you enforce the King's will.
Done!
Good.
King Uther, let's feast together. To my castle.
My wife will dance for us.
Igrayne, dance!
You may be king, Uther...
...but no queen of yours could ever match her.
I must have her.
Are you mad? The alliance.
I must have her.
And risk everything you've won?
King Uther.
You'll never batter this down...
...and you'll never have Igrayne!
Merlin! Where are you?
- Have you found him? - I haven't.
He's here, all right.
He won't show himself.
Where have you been?
I have walked my way since the beginning of time.
Sometimes I give, sometimes I take.
It is mine to know which and when.
- You must help me, Merlin! - Must I?
I am your king.
So you need me again, now that my truce is wrecked.
Years to build and moments to ruin, and all for lust.
For Igrayne.
One night with her.
You don't understand. You're not a man.
Use the magic! Do it!
Igrayne.
You will swear by your true kingship...
...to grant me what I wish.
Then you shall have it.
By Excalibur, I swear it.
What issues from your lust shall be mine.
Swear it again.
I swear it!
They have given up. It's over.
Not quite.
When night falls, we'll follow them and finish them.
I dreamt of the Dragon.
I have awoken him.
Can't you see, all around you, the Dragon's breath?
We have drawn him out.
The Duke is off to pursue your men.
There he goes.
Good.
Mount your horse.
I will transform you into the semblance of the Duke.
Igrayne will think her husband has returned.
But the cliff, the sea?
Your lust will hold you up.
You will float on the Dragon's breath.
Ride!
Take on the outer shape of the Duke.
Change!
Transform!
Now!
That's it.
It's the Duke.
The Duke has returned. Open the gates.
Have the horse ready. I ride out before sunrise.
Uther!
Find the King. Find Uther.
Uther, come out and fight.
We're under attack. It's Cornwall.
My father is dead.
Hush, Morgana, hush.
My father, my father is dead.
Look.
Here's your father.
It was just a dream, little one.
Come, Igrayne.
Go to sleep.
My lord.
The future has taken root in the present.
It is done.
When? Where?
In the camp of Uther, my lady...
...just after nightfall.
It can't be.
He came to me...
...to his bed, last night.
What shall become of us?
Lord Uther, my lady.
It will be for him to say.
Oh, Morgana.
The King. The King.
Wait!
Out!
- What is it, lady? - A boy, sir.
- Send the girl away. - She's only a child.
- Out! - Go, Morgana.
She watches me with her father's eyes.
Is it mine or his?
A man came to me...
...and loved me...
...and made this child.
I thought it was my husband...
...but he was already dead.
All I know is how to butcher men.
From now on, I shall learn to love them.
I am weary of battle.
I shall stay by his side...
...and his mother's.
He's hungry.
Merlin, you come when you're not asked...
...and pay no heed when I call you.
Oh, I have slept for nine moons.
What I did for you wasn't easy.
Now you must pay me.
The child is mine.
You made an oath.
They were hasty words, Merlin.
This is flesh and blood.
Uther, is this true?
Don't let him take the child.
I swore an oath, Igrayne.
I made a pact with Merlin.
It was you!
You came to me that night.
You are the father!
It's not for you, Uther...
...hearth and home, wife and child.
To kill and be king, is that all?
Perhaps not even that.
You strike me with words hard as steel.
You betrayed the Duke, you stole his wife...
...you took his castle, now no one trusts you.
You're not the one, Uther.
Give me the child.
I will protect him.
No!
Why?
Take him.
Take the devil child.
No!
Why the baby?
No! Go after him!
That's it.
Sleep now.
Go after him!
Get him back!
Are you the mother and father of the baby now, Merlin?
Where are you?
I want my son.
Attack!
Ambush!
Help me, Ulfius.
The King's bodyguard! Look out!
The King! The King is ambushed!
Excalibur.
The sword!
The King's sword.
Merlin, where are you?
Call your Dragon...
...to weave a mist...
...to hide us.
Merlin, where are you?
Nobody shall have the sword.
Nobody shall wield Excalibur...
...but me.
Uther!
He who draws the sword from the stone, he shall be king.
Arthur...
...you're the one.
Now remember, my sons, what I've told you.
Pay no heed to these robber knights.
You, Kay, be brave and honest and merciful...
...as a knight should be.
And you, Arthur, be modest and true...
...and help your brother to uphold the good name of Morven.
I remember my first joust.
It looks far worse than it feels.
Camelyarde! Camelyarde!
God, send us a true king.
We are unworthy...
...but the land bleeds, the people suffer.
We have sinned, but on this Easter Day...
...when Christ rose from the dead, may one knight here...
...through victory in arms find the grace...
...to draw the sword and be king.
By my right of victory...
...by my blood...
...give me the power.
All knights prepare and be ready...
...who would joust for the right to draw the sword...
...from the stone.
Arthur, where is Kay's sword?
A good squire doesn't forget his knight's sword.
I left it in the tent, Father.
Well hurry then, and get it.
Stolen!
I'll see what's keeping him.
Well hurry, you'll miss your chance.
Your sword was stolen, but here is Excalibur.
Kay?
Did you free Excalibur from the stone?
Yes.
No, I didn't. Arthur did.
The sword! The sword!
You freed it, Arthur?
I did, Father. I beg your forgiveness.
You must put it back.
Now try to draw it again, Arthur.
Wait! I, Uryens, will try.
Stand back.
Let the boy try.
Come on, Arthur. Don't be afraid.
We have our king! Thanks be to God!
Rise, Father, please.
I was your son before I became your king...
...if I am king.
You are king...
...the more so, because you are not my son...
...and I am not your father.
Not my father?
Then Kay is not my brother?
Merlin the magician brought you to me when you were newly born...
...and bade me raise you as my own.
At first I did so because I feared Merlin, but later...
...because I loved you.
Who is my true father?
Only Merlin can tell you that.
And who is Merlin?
I am Merlin.
Whose son am I?
You are the son of Uther and Igrayne...
...you are King Arthur.
We haven't forgotten you. What trickery is this?
He's trying to foist a fatherless boy upon us.
Do you want a bastard as a king?
Lord Leondegrance, join us against the boy.
I saw what I saw.
The boy drew the sword.
If a boy has been chosen...
...a boy shall be king.
No, I challenge that.
The sword has been drawn.
Are you with us or against us?
Against you.
Why have you done this to me?
Because you were born to be king.
What does it mean to be king?
You will be the land, and the land will be you.
If you fail, the land will perish.
As you thrive, the land will blossom.
- Why? - Because you are king.
No!
- What are you afraid of? - I don't know.
- Shall I tell you what's out there? - Yes, please.
The Dragon.
A beast of such power...
...that if you were to see it whole and complete in a single glance...
...it would burn you to cinders.
- Where is it? - It is everywhere.
It is everything.
Its scales glisten in the bark of trees.
Its roar is heard in the wind.
And its forked tongue strikes like...
Like lightning. Yes, that's it.
How can I...?
What shall I...? Must I...?
Do nothing.
Be still. Sleep.
Rest in the arms of the Dragon.
Dream.
Excalibur. It's part of the Dragon, too.
Oh, yes.
Oh, you learn quickly.
That's good.
I like that.
What kind of man was my father?
Oh, he was brave, he was strong.
He was a great knight.
Was he a great king?
Well, he was rash.
He never learned how to look into men's hearts.
Least of all his own.
You loved him?
Well, it is easy to love folly in a child.
Merlin, will you help me to be wise, not to be rash?
Where are you going?
Where do you think? You have a kingdom to rule.
But how? I don't know how.
You knew how to draw the sword from the stone.
- That was easy. - Was it?
I couldn't have done it.
You couldn't?
You're the King, not I.
But where to start?
Well, what do you think has happened since you ran off?
Sir Ector and Kay. They must be waiting all this time.
Most of the great knights were against me. Except Leondegrance of Camelyarde.
But if he supports me, the others will turn against him.
Even now they lay siege to his castle.
I need him. We must help him.
There you are.
That was easy, too, wasn't it?
We have to get back.
That's it.
Now...
There they are.
Well, you go and show them.
Arthur, I knew you wouldn't fail us.
Go on.
I picked out a horse for you.
All these men are loyal. Now what do you want us to do?
We waited here for you.
Any man who would be a knight...
...and follow a king, follow me.
Where to? Where are we going?
Leondegrance, his castle is under siege.
Guenevere, get back.
You're beaten, Leondegrance.
Get the hook.
Throw the rope.
That's good.
That's it.
Now round the other side. Uryens is attacking.
Go on!
Father!
Hold on! Hold on!
Take the knights in the moat. Hold them off.
I'm going for the ladder.
Father, look.
It's the boy king.
Behind you.
Swear faith to me and you shall have mercy.
I need battle lords such as you.
A noble knight swear faith to a squire?
Never, never!
You are right. I'm not yet a knight.
You, Uryens, will knight me.
Then, as knight to knight, I can offer you mercy.
What's this?
Keep it, Uryens.
In the name of God, Saint Michael and Saint George...
...I give you the right to bear arms and the power to meet justice.
That duty I will solemnly obey...
...as knight and king.
I never saw this.
Rise, King Arthur.
I am your humble knight...
...and I swear allegiance to the courage in your veins...
...so strong it is...
...its source must be Uther Pendragon.
I doubt you no more.
- It didn't hurt too much, did it? - No.
I've sewn my father's wounds more than once.
Careful! You'll tear them open.
You'll have to stay still and rest.
How long?
A few days.
Oh, no! What is it?
The stitches.
It's all right.
Come on, come on. Dance.
A king must marry, after all.
So it seems.
I love her. If only she'd be my queen...
Merlin, can you make her love me?
Now, look.
I once stood exposed to the Dragon's breath...
...so a man could lie one night with a woman.
It took me nine moons to recover...
...and all for this lunacy called love...
...this mad distemper, that strikes down both beggar and king.
Never again!
Never!
Who will I marry then? You can tell me that at least.
What do you see?
Oh, Guenevere.
And a beloved friend who will betray you.
You're not listening. Your heart is not. Love is deaf as well as blind.
You have a land to quell before you can...
...start all this hair pulling and jumping about.
I've made these only for you.
I've mixed into them things that will heal you, but not too quickly...
...and they'll make you a little sleepy so you can't escape.
What's in them?
It is an ancient mixture...
...soft, unborn grains...
...flavored with rose petals.
The rest is secret.
Looking at the cake is like looking at the future.
Until you have tasted it, what do you really know?
And then, of course, it's too late.
Too late.
We have won battles against armies.
And now one man defeats all my knights.
He's a mighty opponent.
A hard man.
I'll go myself.
The King must not engage in single combat. I'll go again.
No, I will.
Merlin, who is this knight?
Look at him.
So beautiful.
So quick.
Remember...
...there's always something cleverer than yourself.
Move aside. This is the King's road...
...and the knights you joined arms against were his very own.
I await the King himself.
His knights are in need of training.
I am King, and this...
...is Excalibur...
...sword of kings from the dawn of time.
Who are you? What do you seek?
I am Lancelot of the Lake, from across the sea.
And I have yet to find a king worthy of my sword.
That is a wild boast. You lack a knight's humility.
Not a boast, sir, but a curse.
For I have never met my match in joust or duel.
Move aside!
I will not.
You must retreat...
...or prove your worth in the test of arms under the eyes of God.
Then may He give me the strength to unhorse you...
...and send you with one blow back across the sea.
Then come across, sir.
You joust well, sir. I offer you another lance.
Yes. Yes. Another lance.
Sword!
Yield, sir.
- I have the advantage. - I will not.
Fight me, on your horse or on foot, but fight me. Your avoidance mocks me.
I sought only not to harm you.
Your rage has unbalanced you.
You, sir, would fight to the death against a knight who is not your enemy.
For a stretch of road you could easily ride around.
So be it, to the death.
Excalibur...
...I call...
...on your power.
Merlin, what have I done?
You have broken...
...what could not be broken.
Hope is broken.
My pride broke it.
My rage broke it.
This excellent knight...
...who fought with fairness and grace was meant to win.
I used Excalibur to change that verdict.
I have lost for all time the ancient sword of my fathers...
...whose power was meant to unite all men...
...not to serve the vanity of a single man.
I am nothing.
The Lady of the Lake.
Take it!
Excalibur.
Is it true?
Take it! Quickly!
Thanks be to God, you're alive.
I, the best knight in the world, bested!
This is a great day.
For my search is over, my king.
Make me your champion.
But your life and lands are far from here.
I give up my castle and my lands.
Here is my domain...
...within this metal skin.
And I pledge all that I still own:
Muscle, bone, blood, and the heart that pumps it.
And a great heart it is.
Sir Lancelot, you will be my champion.
We killed every one of them! Burnt their ships!
Lancelot, how'd you fare in the North?
We spared a few to tell what fate they met at Arthur's hands.
- And you, Uryens? - Victory!
Lot, and you?
We drove the invaders back into the sea.
Gawain, you?
The East is ours again.
The West is free and with us.
The wars are over!
One land, one king!
Peace!
Stand back!
Be silent.
Be still.
That's it.
And look upon this moment.
Savor it.
Rejoice with great gladness.
Great gladness.
Remember it, always...
...for you are joined by it.
You are one, under the stars.
Remember it well then, this night...
...this great victory...
...so that in the years ahead you can say:
'I was there that night, with Arthur, the King.'
For it is the doom of men that they forget.
Your wisdom has forged this ring.
Hereafter, so that we remember our bonds...
...we shall always come together in a circle...
...to hear and tell of deeds good and brave.
I will build a round table...
...where this fellowship shall meet.
And a hall about the table.
And a castle about the hall.
And I will marry.
And the land will have an heir to wield Excalibur.
Knights of the Round Table.
It's Sir Lancelot.
Lancelot, welcome.
This is a great day.
Everything is prepared. We'll leave at dawn.
Guenevere...
...here is Arthur's greatest knight come to escort you to the King.
They want me to ask you if...
...any one of them could win your heart.
I'm a fighting man.
I'm sworn to the Quest.
But surely there must be some lady somewhere in the world who inspires you?
There is one.
Who is she?
Oh, go on, tell me.
You.
You're teasing me.
I will love you always.
I will love you as my queen...
...and as the wife of my best friend...
...and while you live...
...I will love no other.
By the blood of Jesus Christ...
...I join you in marriage.
Man to woman.
King to queen.
Arthur to Guenevere.
Don't you know me, Lord Merlin?
Morgana of Cornwall.
You have your father's eyes.
I remember you.
When my brother, Arthur, was born you came and took him away.
And now you leave his wedding.
Because I am a creature like you.
What is the stone that burns?
Sulphur. To mix with mercury.
What is that root?
Mandrake.
The essence of it can prolong the act of love.
And if too much is taken?
Pain and death.
That's it.
Oh, you do know something of the Art.
Do you have the Sight?
Do you see the future?
Sometimes, I dream of things that come to pass.
Look now.
What do you see?
What will be?
I see a castle of silver and gold.
Up there.
That plan is well-known.
You'll have to do better than that.