EPISODE 76

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PALAMEDES : 

Aglovale, can we talk?

AGLOVALE : 

…

Come in, then.

…

I can have a servant bring you an infusion, if you'd like.

PALAMEDES : 

No, I don’t…

No.

I don’t know where to begin.

AGLOVALE : 

We could start with the fact you are still avoiding me.

Or would you prefer we talk about your romance with Sir Gawain?

PALAMEDES : 

Excuse me? I’m not⎯

AGLOVALE : 

Given her number of conquests, I imagine she did not leave you wanting.

PALAMEDES : 

Oh, is that a pastime of yours, then? Thinking about Gawain seeing to other women's wants? 

[ Aglovale stares at her. ]

Let’s… Let’s not digress.

This situation is ridiculous, and I want…

I would like us…

…to talk like adults and stop with this childishness.

AGLOVALE : 

We should stop with this childishness?

Interesting. I’ll get straight to the point, then.

You made your choices.

Choices that strayed from mine, but neutral ones, in and of themselves.

You’re not the only one not to have turned from Gawain.

You also pursued the quest for the Beast, despite my opposing it. 

But the real problem isn’t what I feel.

I don’t have the luxury to linger on such topics.

The problem is that you seem ashamed of them.

So you hide,

and then every so often, you show up again, we talk, and it all circles back to the start.

PALAMEDES : 

Because…everything stays the same.

And clearly I am not welcome anymore.

AGLOVALE : 

What do you expect from me, Palamedes? 

Do you need me to end each sentence with a show of affection?

To start and end my every word with reassurances? 

PALAMEDES : 

[ sighs ]

You know what I didn't miss? Your pedantic comments.

AGLOVALE : 

Oh, so now I’m pedantic⎯

PALAMEDES : 

[ jumps to her feet ]

Yes, Aglovale, you are!

I’m trying to find solutions

so everything can go back to the way it was!

What are you doing, aside from mocking me? 

We used to be close!

And now, no matter what, I’m not…

…

… So I told myself that if I gave you my reasons, if I looked for a compromise, we could…

… go back to how we used to be… 

…

AGLOVALE : 

…We are not the people we used to be, Palamedes.

I simply accepted it and moved on.

I told you,

I don’t have the luxury to revisit this topic over and over.

To wallow in emotions and regrets would waste time and energy I don’t have.

So I must move forward.

Feel free to cling to the past if you so wish.

…

[ palamedes walks away from him. ]

…

Is there something I should take away from this?

PALAMEDES : 

What’s the point?

Clearly you won’t change your mind.

Perhaps I should just…

…give up on this whole endeavor.

But it would be wise for you to accept that you’re far from immune to your feelings.

Like those that take up your time and energy

by keeping you away from Listenoise.

PERCIVAL : 

( I got to spend the next few days with Lamorak.

As soon as he felt better, we even trained together. 

We also spent a lot of time around the other knights. )

LAMORAK : 

Lancelot, wanna duel?

LANCELOT : 

Don’t overdo it. 

PERCIVAL : 

( Sir Lancelot was friendlier than I expected her to be.

Sir Bors looked preoccupied, but was also glad to see Lamorak again.

Sir Kay got annoyed, though I’m not sure why. )

LAMORAK : 

Enough, Gargantua!

PERCIVAL : 

( They weren’t really fighting. 

The day Dinadan left Camelot, they embraced each other tight… )

DINADAN : 

( Hope I never see your ugly mug again. )

LAMORAK : 

( I won’t miss you. )

PERCIVAL : 

( …despite some harsh words. 

We’d all missed Lamorak.

Then Merlin came back and summoned us, just the three of us. )

MERLIN : 

I gave Viviane the artifacts, she’ll work on creating the hound.

This said, it’s a time-consuming process.

Time you’ll have to think about what the three of you want to do next.

AGLOVALE : 

How so? 

MERLIN : 

Unless we find an alternative…the Grail needs a guardian.

Else, it will keep on wandering. The task of finding a guardian falls to you.

LAMORAK :

 It’s Corbenic’s tradition, and we’re not from Corbenic. 

AGLOVALE :

 Lamorak.

LAMORAK : 

Am I wrong?

We’re the heirs to Listenoise, not Corbenic.

We have family in South Wales too, don’t we?

Why not go and deal with their problems while we’re at it? 

MERLIN : 

The Grail seems to have set its sights on you.

Rest assured, it’s not an inevitability, and you don’t have to accept it.

I can perform the bonding ritual, but there needs to be a designated person…

…and preferably a willing one. 

AGLOVALE : 

Are you saying one of us must be the one to do it? 

PERCIVAL : 

I should do it.

AGLOVALE : 

Percival, don't…

PERCIVAL : 

It’s my fault, after all.

MERLIN : 

Are you prepared to end up like Pellam?

[ percy startles, then looks away. ]

AGLOVALE : 

This said, Lamorak isn’t exactly wrong.

How does our family ties to Corbenic make us guardians? Is the Grail tied to Corbenic by blood, or something like that?

MERLIN : 

It’s possible, though I don’t want to rush to conclusions.

The thing about artifacts bound to blood is that they can only be used by their bloodline.

But the Grail needs a guardian bound to it by magic in order to be used.

The fact it sought out Lamorak could be a complete coincidence. 

These things do happen.

AGLOVALE : 

If that is the case, what would happen if someone found themselves bound to the Grail

without being of Corbenic blood?

MERLIN :

 …

I'd rather think it isn’t possible. 

I do intend to do some research on the topic. We have time. 

But it would be best to keep a potential guardian up our sleeve, just in case.

And it should be someone young, perhaps even very young, who’ll endure the ritual more easily. 

( Percival’s nearly too old. )

Thinking it over seems wise to me, but most importantly…

…we should check that there are no other eligible descendants.

AGLOVALE : 

The Cardiff registries.

MERLIN : 

Precisely.

LAMORAK : 

Listenoise keeps very precise and rigorous registries of births.

If there are other descendants of the line of Corbenic, they’ll be recorded in there. 

AGLOVALE : 

Very well. I’ll go to Cardiff. 

LAMORAK : 

I’m coming with you.

[ caption : little brothers alliance!! ]

AGLOVALE : 

Come now, you’re not fit to⎯

LAMORAK : 

There’s no way I’m letting you go on your own.

PERCIVAL : 

I’m coming too.

AGLOVALE : 

[ sighs ]

…Very well.

PERCIVAL : 

( We celebrated Arthur and Guinevere’s return with a feast to which the whole castle was invited. 

They gave us news from Tristan, Iseult and Mark.

Apparently, Tristan is almost fully recovered and ready to go again.

Some people didn’t come.

Bors, Lancelot…

Still, Galahad was full of good cheer, as per usual.

…Mordred wasn’t there either.

He so rarely gets out these days…

He’s avoiding Gawain,

and avoiding me as well.

The Orkneys’ apartments… 

I shouldn’t come in without permission, but…

…I want to see him. )

MORDRED : 

Gawain, I told you to⎯

Perciv⎯?!

What are you doing here? 

[ percy comes closer. ]

No, don’t…

I don’t…

PERCIVAL : 

…Do you want me to leave?

MORDRED : 

No.

…Stay.

Stay with me.

ROUND TABLE TRIVIA 

As one ages, the human body becomes less and less able to use magic because of its backlash.

Kay : 

Back wen I got my tattoos, I could use magic several times a without too much trouble.

Now, I use it twice and my arm’s useless.

( Aging isn’t pretty. )

Kay 

Occupation : seneschal

Age : one foot in the grave

If one is too young or too old, it can be difficult to be one with magic, making it less efficient and more dangerous for its user. 

AUTHOR’S NOTE : 

I’ll be moving soon!

The problem with moving is that it takes time.

So I have to put Gradalis on hiatus for 3 weeks.

That’s why I’m leaving you with this scene. Here, I’ll even give you a bonus drawing.

I can only encourage you to check out my Patreon and Instagram accounts in the meantime.

There could be some bonus content there.

See you all soon for the next episodes!

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