EPISODE 20

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LAMORAK : 

Look, one more scar for me!
Tristan, wanna compare?

TRISTAN : 

I still have more than you!

LAMORAK :

Yeah, right.

TRISTAN : 

Oh, we’ll see about that!

DINADAN : 

There really is nothing to be proud of, you two.
It just means you can’t be assed not to get hurt.

LAMORAK : 

Coming from someone whose last duel was more than five years ago? No offense taken.

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 right now—
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 dumb as rocks back then.

LAMORAK : 

Excuse me? 

PERCIVAL :

 ( Reuniting with Lamorak here was certainly a surprise.
He sustained that wound 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 the little voice in their head when it tells them they’ve pushed themselves too far.
[ muted suffering ]
They looked like very old friends.
Seeing all of them together made me really happy.
Seeing my brother again at all, actually.
He seemed really happy too.
( Lamorak : I’ve still got tons of things to tell you, so stay right 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 fine, so it’s all good. 

Aglovale’s going to kill you, though.

PERCIVAL : 

( … unlike Gawain. )

GAWAIN :

 Dinadan, a word.

DINADAN : 

Very well…
… Please send some flowers to my father once I'm gone. [terrified]

GAWAIN : 

Don’t be so dramatic.
…Anything to say, 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, then.

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 for King Arthur, her brother, and his wife Queen Guinevere…
… she pledged herself and her magic to the Round Table.
So I was allowed to observe as she cared for Tristan. )

MORGAN : 

Yes, it’s very ancient magic.
Fortunately, the markings will disappear eventually.
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 your arm in the bargain, sir.
It was very stupid of you.
There’s a reason why these artifacts are kept as wall ornaments rather than in our armory.
[ rub rub ]

PERCIVAL : 

Fascinating… How does it all work? [ full of wonder ]

MORGAN : 

Magic? Does the Round Table not teach you about such things anymore?

TRISTAN : 

Percival has led an…unconventional life.

MORGAN : 

Magic came from the ancient gods and the Sidhe, so some of its mysteries aren't for us mortals to know.
You could see it as a chemical reaction.
As water turns to steam when heated, so does magic need specific circumstances in which to manifest.
One of them is the constant need to consume energy from a living creature. The artifact’s patterns are then transferred onto the host so that it may draw on them.
It is us mages who create those patterns.
To go back to my analogy, 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.
You see, magic isn’t an exact science.
I can only encourage you to discuss it further with Merlin.
He’s the one who taught me, after all.

PERCIVAL :

( Tristan started getting depressed after our third day here.

His arm looked like it hurt quite a lot, 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 the fact he was home,
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 forgot his sister murdered our father?

PERCIVAL : 

… I didn’t forget.
Dinadan encouraged us to make up…

LAMORAK :

Dinadan’s not in the same situation as us, you know.
Listen… (sigh)
It’s a commendable idea, but it still sounds like wishful thinking to me.
The Orkneys are a cunning lot. Any truce involving them is doomed to fail.
Gawain probably planned it all out so that you and her brother would become friends
just so she could ingratiate herself to you then backstab us.
… 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.

PERCIVAL : 

...

LAMORAK :
…
Listen, I…
I’m just on edge right now.
My quest wasn’t exactly a resounding success, in case that wasn’t obvious.
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,
it's kind of Aglovale's fault, 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 cold around,
but this one's been especially persistent.
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 expected to find out you were gone.
Hope you feel like talking,
because I’ve finally got a bit of time to myself,
and a whole lot of questions.

BREUSE : 

I can already tell you the answer’s gonna be “go fuck yourself, Dinadan”.

DINADAN : 

I thought as much.
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 the fay, humans have no innate ability for magic, but they can learn to manipulate it⎯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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