EPISODE 20
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LAMORAK :
Look, one more scar for me!
Tristan, wanna compare?
TRISTAN :
I still have more than you!
LAMORAK :
I don’t think so, no.
TRISTAN :
Oh, we’ll see about that!
DINADAN :
There’s really nothing to be proud of, you two.
It just means you can’t be assed not to get hurt.
LAMORAK :
No offense taken, coming from someone whose last duel was more than five years ago.
DINADAN :
Harsh but true…
… if you don’t count the thrashing I gave you at the Sorelois tourney.
LAMORAK :
Woah, take it down a peg—
That was five years ago, and I was wounded.
DINADAN :
Who takes part in tourneys while wounded, though?
It’s not my fault you were already a moron back then.
LAMORAK :
Excuse me?
PERCIVAL :
( Seeing Lamorak here certainly was a surprise.
He got wounded on his quest, which, according to Dinadan, happens pretty often.
He says it’s because he’s just like Tristan.
They don’t listen to that little voice saying they’ve pushed themselves too far.
[ muted suffering ]
They looked like very old friends.
It made me really happy to see them all together.
And seeing my brother again in general, too.
He seemed really happy too.
( Lamorak : I’ve still got tons of things to tell you, so stay here! )
That was comforting, since we parted on bad terms.
( Tristan : I want a kiss too, c’mon!
Lamorak : Fuck off. )
He barely even confronted Dinadan about his lies… )
LAMORAK :
Oh, yeah, he’s alright, so it’s fine.
Aglovale’s going to kill you, though.
PERCIVAL :
( … unlike Gawain. )
GAWAIN :
Dinadan, we need to talk.
DINADAN :
Very well…
… Please bring my father some flowers. [terrified]
GAWAIN :
Don’t be so dramatic.
… Got a problem, Lamorak?
LAMORAK :
You’re lucky.
( contempt )
Your mother’s care is the only thing stopping me from breaking your face.
GAWAIN :
Oh? ( equally contemptuous )
No need to hold back, you know.
Or are you waiting on a growth spurt so you can reach it?
DINADAN :
Hey, easy there.
I don’t want to step in and get hit, got it?
GAWAIN :
So? Do it.
LAMORAK :
… Don’t talk to me again.
( Dinadan : Stop provoking him.
Gawain : Aww, but he’s the one who started it, Din! )
PERCIVAL :
( Dame Morgan agreed to care for Lamorak after all.
In the name of the love she bore King Arthur, her brother, and his wife Queen Guinevere…
… she swore to aid the Round Table through her magic.
So I was allowed to observe as she took care of Tristan. )
MORGAN :
Yes, it’s very ancient magic.
Fortunately, the markings will disappear.
That said, they’ll probably be quite painful
in the meantime.
All I can do is speed up the process and give you something for the pain.
TRISTAN :
How long will it take?
MORGAN :
A week for the pain to fade, maybe two,
and probably a solid month before you’re back to full mobility.
… You could’ve lost an arm in this bargain, knight.
It was very stupid of you.
There’s a reason why these artifacts are kept hanging on walls instead of in our armory.
[ rub rub ]
PERCIVAL :
It’s fascinating… How does it all work? [ full of wonder ]
MORGAN :
Magic? Does the Round Table not teach these things anymore?
TRISTAN :
Percival followed an… unconventional path.
MORGAN :
Magic came from the ancient gods and the Sidhe, so not all of its mysteries are within our reach.
You could compare it to a chemical reaction.
As water turns to steam when it is heated, magic needs precise circumstances in which to manifest.
One of them is the constant need to draw energy from a living creature. The artifact’s patterns are then transferred onto the host to act as a leech.
Us mages create those original patterns.
To go back to my comparison, if magic is steam,
then the host is water, and the mage is the boiling pot that allows steam to exist at all.
PERCIVAL :
… And what is fire, then?
MORGAN :
That is a mystery.
But we can assume it is because of that “fire” that many such incidents occur.
Magic isn’t an exact science, you see.
I can only encourage you to discuss it further with Merlin.
After all, he’s the one who taught me.
PERCIVAL :
( Tristan started getting depressed after the third day.
His arm looked very painful, even though he kept denying it.
( Tristan : I’m fine! I just want to go home! [man who is clearly not fine] )
Mordred and I went training to escape the melancholic atmosphere. )
MORDRED :
It’s your lucky day, we’ve got shortswords in store.
They’ll suit your style better.
PERCIVAL :
( Despite being home, though…
Mordred looked even more tense than usual.
It didn’t keep him from making for a tough opponent.
We both made undeniable progress. )
( Percival : See you later!
Mordred : Sounds good! )
LAMORAK :
You know, Percy…
You and that Orkney kid are pretty close, huh.
Did you two become friends or what?
PERCIVAL :
Mordred? Yeah, he’s nice. You wouldn’t believe it at first glance, true, but⎯
LAMORAK :
Just a few weeks on the road…
… and you’re forgetting his sister murdered our father?
PERCIVAL :
… I didn’t forget.
Dinadan encouraged us to make up…
LAMORAK :
Dinadan’s not in the same situation we are, you know.
Listen… (sigh)
It’s a commendable idea, but it still seems fanciful to me.
The Orkneys are cunning. Any peace agreement with them is doomed to fail.
Gawain probably planned it all out so you and her brother would become friends
just to ingratiate herself to you then stab us in the back.
… Anyway.
Looks like you’re holding your own with a sword. I’m really proud of you.
It’s not the most conventional technique, but we can work on fixing that together.
PERCIVAL :
(radiant)
Oh, but Sir Tristan told me this one suited me better!
He wants us to train together and⎯
LAMORAK :
Sir Tristan this, Dinadan that…
PERCIVAL :
Huh?
LAMORAK :
You’re Percival of Wales, in case you forgot.
Son of Pellinore, and my squire.
…
Listen, I…
I’m just on edge right now.
My quest wasn’t exactly a resounding success, if that wasn’t clear yet.
On top of getting wounded, I lost a squire,
and all I could do was send a letter to their family.
And it’s driving me crazy…
… that I’m still not strong enough.
So I want you to be able to defend yourself at any cost, do you understand?
I don’t want to lose you. And you’ve got responsibilities as a son of Pellinore, you know.
You mustn’t tarnish our family’s reputation.
You’ve got to live up to the expectations that come with your name.
Bring glory and respect to your family
by becoming a knight who’s able to hold his own.
And,
I kind of blame Aglovale, too.
PERCIVAL :
Sorry?
LAMORAK :
( embarrassed )
He keeps getting sick these days, it’s messing with me.
He came down with something again between your departure and mine.
PERCIVAL :
… Is that normal?
LAMORAK :
Probably, yeah. He’s always been the type to catch every other bug around,
but it’s been especially persistent lately.
What can you do? He didn’t inherit the ol' Welsh hardiness.
( Ouch. )
PERCIVAL :
( All of that…
… made me incredibly anxious.
How…
… How can I improve faster? )
DINADAN :
Well, well.
I almost didn’t expect to see you here.
I hope you feel like talking,
because I’ve finally got a bit of time to myself,
and a lot of questions.
BREUSE :
I can already tell you the answer’s gonna be “go fuck yourself, Dinadan”.
DINADAN :
Thought so too.
I assume nothing can make you break your silence?
Not even the right price?
BREUSE :
Aww, Din.
See, you can speak my language after all.
ROUND TABLE TRIVIA
Unlike fairies, humans cannot manipulate magic in their base state, but they can learn to do so⎯like Morgan, who was born fully human.
Morgan :
I became Morgan le Fay after my apprenticeship.
She’s one of the chosen few who got to study under another mage ; in her case, Merlin.
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