SCRIPT, Page Two of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Corresponding Gallery
EXT. BATTLEFIELD - DAY
The aftermath of a battle: we can hear the sound of trumpets fading in the distance as the enemy is pursued. Gorlois leans on his axe, watching as his second in command RHIANNON comes up to him.
RHIANNON
A great victory, my lord: the Saxons will not trouble Cornwall again.
GORLOIS
The Saxons were not troubling Cornwall this time, Rhiannon.
(on his puzzled) look)
Think you we would have defeated them so easily if that had been the main force? No: that was a feint. They will attack the South Coast.
RHIANNON
(realizing)
As Uther Pendragon foretold ...
(bringing himself up short)
So we will go to do battle with them there?
Gorlois bends down to pick up a shattered helmet and contemplates it thoughtfully.
GORLOIS
There will be another battle to fight before that, Rhiannon. The High King cannot let my defiance go unchallenged.
RHIANNON
You mean - he will attack us here? In Cornwall?
GORLOIS
He will try. He is on the march already. But I tell you this - he will never reach his goal.
INT. tower CHAMBER (Tintagel)/ viviane's chamber (Avalon) - NIGHT
Igraine is alone in her chamber. The wind howls outside and a fire burns in the grate. There is a panting noise.
VIVIANE (O.S.)
Sister! Sister - hear me!
Igraine sits upright, shocked: as Viviane, still unseen, gives a suppressed scream.
IGRAINE
Viviane!
She looks towards the fire and sees, amidst the flames, a flickering image of Viviane lying on a bed - her face racked with pain.
VIVIANE
It was my last time at the Beltane Rites, Igraine. I thought I was too old ...
(manages a laugh)
But as you see, I was not ...
Igraine realizes, with shock, that there are women around Viviane in the vision.
Her sister is in childbirth.
IGRAINE
You cannot bear a child now, sister: it will kill you!
VIVIANE
I think it will, Igraine. And that is why you must -
(as she is racked with pain)
- you must -
Igraine realises the significance of what Viviane is saying, and her face hardens.
IGRAINE
I will not betray Gorlois for Uther, sister. I have made my decision.
VIVIANE
Uther will die, Igraine. Gorlois will destroy him. I have seen it.
IGRAINE
No ...
VIVIANE
(hardly able to speak now)
You must ... save Avalon, Igraine. Save Avalon ...
IGRAINE
Viviane, no! Don't die, Viviane, don't leave me -
VIVIANE
(in sudden agony)
Lancelot!
But before Igraine can understand why she has uttered this name, the vision fades, and Igraine is left alone. Tears running down her cheeks, she stares into the dying fire. The wooden shutter bangs open, letting in flurries of snow, but she takes no notice.
IGRAINE
No, Viviane ... I cannot do it, I cannot.
But even as she says these words her eyes are drawn to the silent spinning wheel. Her fingernails dig into the palms of her hands.
IGRAINE
I cannot.
But she does. Automaton-like, she goes over to the machine, sets it spinning, and begins to stare at the whirring spindle - which turns into a vision of ...
EXT. MOORLAND - NIGHT (gallery)
Freezing moorland. The cold is intense as Gorlois' troops gather quietly between the rocks on the crest of the moorland and Gorlois and Rhiannon look down through a gap between the rocks.
GORLOIS
We have him. There he lies, ready to attack me at Cameldun on the morrow, sleeping away his last night on this earth.
RHIANNON
The men are ready, my lord.
GORLOIS
Hold them in place: I want Uther Pendragon deep in his dreams when my sword bites into his breast.
IGRAINE (O.S.)
[Gasps]
GORLOIS
What was that?
RHIANNON
My lord?
Gorlois stares at him.
GORLOIS
There is magic at work. I feel it.
(slams his fist into the rock)
I will have none of it! This is a Christian land!
INT. tower CHAMBER (Tintagel) - NIGHT
With a cry, Igraine falls from her stool and sprawls on the floor against the dying fire as the spinning wheel crashes to the ground. The effort of her mental visit to Gorlois' ambush has exhausted her.
The wind howls ever more strongly; snow is blowing into the room through the open shutters.
IGRAINE
Uther! He will destroy you!
(as if she can see it)
Uther!
She gets to her knees, shaking, and manages to push the spinning wheel onto its legs again. Mechanically, she sets the spindle turning - and then forces herself to watch it. She shivers in the cold as the wind grows to the force of a storm.
deleted
INT. UTHER'S TENT - NIGHT (gallery)
Uther wakes suddenly on the piled skins he uses for a bed - and his eyes open wide as he sees the shadowy form of Igraine standing at the foot of his bed, her image wavering as her strength diminishes.
UTHER
Igraine!
IGRAINE
Arise, Uther Pendragon. Gorlois is not at Cameldun: his men are in the Great Stones above your camp.
UTHER
Gorlois! Here? But Igraine, how -
Igraine is fading. Her voice dies away as she disappears.
IGRAINE
Uther! Save yourself ...
In an instant, Uther is out of his bed and has snatched up his great sword.
UTHER
To arms! To arms!
deleted
INT. tower CHAMBER (Tintagel) - DAY (gallery)
MORGAINE (O.S.)
Mother?
Morgaine enters Igraine's chamber.
MORGAINE
Mother, are you -
And then she sees Igraine lying under a blanket of the snow that has drifted in through the window.
MORGAINE
Mother!
She rushes to her, and lifts Igraine's head; the face is blue, the eyes closed. Morgaine cradles her to her breast.
MORGAINE
No ...
Morgause appears in the door, and Morgaine directs all the force of her will towards her.
MORGAINE
She is not dead. She will not die. Call the servants. Make up the fire. Bring blankets now, now!
EXT. castle courtyard (Tintagel) - day
Morgause rushes across the courtyard to Talbot and his men at the gate.
MORGAUSE
Captain - open the gates: my sister is close to death - I must go out to gather herbs.
TALBOT
In the snow? You'll not find any herbs in this -
MORGAUSE
I know where to find them, Captain, snow or no snow. Open the gate.
TALBOT
(reluctantly)
We have orders not to, my lady.
MORGAUSE
What?
TALBOT
Neither you, nor my lady Igraine, nor my lord's daughter are to leave the castle in his absence. They were the last orders Duke Gorlois left before he went to the wars.
Morgause looks at him, her eyes blazing with fury.
TALBOT
Nor is any man to be admitted to the castle, till my lord returns.
MORGAUSE
So we are prisoners, then?
Talbot looks troubled.
TALBOT
Duke Gorlois is a jealous man, my lady.
EXT. castle wall (Tintagel) - DAY
For a moment, all is silent - and then a knotted sheet is thrown out of a window: and seconds later, Morgaine begins to climb down it.
INT. tower CHAMBER (Tintagel) - DAY
Morgause is at the other end of the sheet.
MORGAUSE
Hurry, Morgaine. Hurry. They are by the alder trees.
She looks back at Igraine, who lies tossing on her bed, sweat pouring off her face. She is clearly close to death.
EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAY
Morgaine is squatting at the foot of a clump of alder trees, her bare fingers scratching through the snow to find what she's looking for. Far above her, shouts come from the castle walls.
Morgaine takes no notice, goes on searching with freezing fingers through the snow.
EXT. MOORLAND - DAY
Tight on hooves as a horse gallops through the snow.
EXT. CASTLE GATE (Tintagel) - DAY
Talbot, the Sergeant and another man are dragging Morgaine back towards the castle, trying to open her fingers to remove what she has clenched in her fist.
TALBOT
Come along, my lady: your father ordered that nothing and no one should enter the castle in his absence. Would you fly in the face of his authority?
MORGAINE
The herbs are for my mother! She is dying!
TALBOT
Give me them, child. Now!
Tears pour down Morgaine's cheeks as gradually her fingers are forced open and the little bundle of crushed green herbs is exposed. And then a shadow falls over them all.
VOICE (O.S.)
That will do, Captain.
Talbot looks up to see a cloaked, hooded man looking down at him from his horse. The man's gloved hand is outstretched; Gorlois' ring is on the second finger.
TALBOT
My lord Gorlois! You are returned.
The man on the horse reaches down and lifts Morgaine up onto the saddle.
VOICE
Open the gates, Captain.
Morgaine looks beneath the shadow of the hood - and gasps. The man is Uther Pendragon.
With a clatter of hoofs Uther rides into Tintagel Castle.
EXT. BATTLEMENTS (Tintagel) - DAY (gallery)
Morgaine is leaning over the battlements, looking out over the countryside. Morgause appears beside her - and Morgaine looks at her interrogatively. Without meeting her eyes, Morgause gazes out too.
MORGAUSE
He's still in there.
MORGAINE
And mother -
MORGAUSE
(with a touch of bitterness)
Began to live again the minute he entered the room.
MORGAINE
She loves him, doesn't she?
MORGAUSE
Loves him? She's forgotten we exist.
(on Morgaine's look)
Has she called for you once since he came? Since you saved her life?
(coming closer)
We are caught up in Viviane's web, you, Igraine and I. Like little flies.
As she speaks the sound of a muffled drum echoes across the moor - and they turn to see a battered group of soldiers making their way towards the castle bearing a shrouded corpse.
MORGAINE (O.S.)
No ...
MORGAUSE (O.S.)
Oh yes, Morgaine. Did you not realize your father would be the first victim?
EXT. CASTLE GATE (Tintagel) - DAY (gallery)
The little procession has stopped before the castle gate and Morgaine is sobbing over the body of Gorlois, which bears the same wound Igraine saw in her vision at Londinium. Morgause pushes through the soldiers to reach her.
MORGAUSE
Morgaine, Morgaine, my little one.
MORGAINE
They've killed him, Morgause. They've killed my father ...
Morgause looks up accusingly at one of the horsemen accompanying the corpse. It is Lot, King of Orkney.
LOT
Uther did not want to kill him - but he had to die. He challenged the High King.
(Dismounting, to Morgaine)
I'm sorry, child. He was a good man.
With a cry of fury Morgaine turns on him - but Morgause grasps her arms and holds her.
MORGAUSE
Hush, Morgaine, hush. King Lot of Orkney did not kill Gorlois. It was Uther Pendragon did that.
She is speaking to Morgaine - but she is looking directly into Lot's eyes as she speaks.
For in King Lot of Orkney - she sees her future.
MORGAUSE
Welcome to Tintagel, my lord.
Their eyes meet. Lot breaks her gaze to look up at a window high in the castle.
LOT
There stands Uther - with Igraine by his side: like man and wife.
MORGAUSE
(to Morgaine)
Behold, child - your new father. And the new high Queen of Britain.
As they look up, we hear Morgaine's voice.
MORGAINE (V.O.)
And so our lives changed. My mother Igraine, from being the wife of a duke in a distant province, became the first lady of all Britain - at Camelot itself.
INT. great hall (camelot) - Day
Uther, now robed as High King, and Igraine, in the full regalia of the Queen, stand on the dais at the end of their throne room to accept the homage of two wild-haired Saxon chiefs, HENGIST and HORSA. Morgaine watches.
MORGAINE (V.O.)
And as for me: instead of the tiny doings of Tintagel Castle, I began to realize that I was, at last, at the very heart of things.
UTHER
And to keep the peace between Saxon and Briton for evermore.
HENGIST/HORSA
We so swear, Uther Pendragon.
MORGAINE (V.O.)
As when Uther Pendragon persuaded a tribe of defeated Saxons to join him as his new, Christian allies.
Uther steps down from the dais and holds up his forearms, bent at the elbows; the Saxon chiefs rise and press their forearms against his; he grasps both their wrists and meets their eyes, warrior to warrior. As he does so we see the serpents tattooed around his arms.
UTHER
Saxon and Briton together, we will defend these shores against the invaders.
PATRICIUS
United under Christ.
Archbishop Patricius, sprinkles holy water on them. Hengist and Horsa make the sign of the cross.
HENGIST/HORSA
United under our Savior Christ.
Up on the dais, a small boy, no more than three years old, makes his own version of the sign of the cross. The boy's name is ARTHUR. He is with his aunt, Morgaine - now looking considerably better dressed and more mature than she did when we first saw her - a woman now, not a girl. She whispers to Igraine.
MORGAINE
See, Mother: My brother is becoming a little Christian.
Igraine smiles and pats Arthur's head absently. But her eyes never leave Uther as the ceremony with the Saxon chiefs continues.
VIVIANE (O.S.)
There will be time enough for Arthur to learn the old ways, Morgaine.
Reveal Viviane - with a child of her own: the young LANCELOT. The revelation is something of a shock: she might have been there all along; she might have just appeared. Morgaine meets her eyes.
MORGAINE
Perhaps your Lancelot and his cousin Arthur can study together.
VIVIANE
Lancelot will not be with me for long, Morgaine.
MORGAINE
You're sending him away? After his birth cost you so dearly?
VIVIANE
The Lady of the Lake cannot be a mother as well as a priestess, Morgaine. Lancelot will be well brought up at the Court of Brittany, where his father reigns.
IGRAINE
(Proudly, to Morgause)
Look how the wild Saxons do homage to the Pendragon. They can see the greatness shining in him.
MORGAUSE
He has beaten them in battle, sister. They have no option but to do homage.
VIVIANE
There are plenty more he has not YET beaten.
IGRAINE
A lesser man would have let them die, but Uther binds them to him with the cross.
MORGAINE
(whispering to) Arthur)
See, Art: that is how a king behaves. One day you too will be king.
Tight on Morgause as her catlike eyes turn lazily to the man beside her. It is Lot of Orkney; and their hands, with wedding rings prominently displayed, are clasped.
LOT
(softly)
Perhaps ...
(His fingers run lightly over Morgause's belly, which has begun to swell)
But who can tell from whose loins a king will spring?
EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAY
A white horse appears over the skyline of a rolling green hill and gallops towards us.
MORGAINE (V.O.)
I soon grew used to the grandeur of the court; but I never tired of the hills and dales around it; or the hours I spent with the person I think I loved best in all the world: my half-brother.
As the horse comes alongside we realize there are two people on it - Morgaine and Arthur - a year or two older now. Both of them are wild with delight. The horse canters to a halt, and as it does so we look up with them both towards Uther's castle - a significantly grander affair than Tintagel.
ARTHUR
Can my mother see me, Morgaine?
MORGAINE
Of course she can: she's up there, on the battlements, watching everything we do.
ARTHUR
I can't see her.
MORGAINE
That's because your eyes are too tiny ...
(tickling him)
... just like the rest of you.
ARTHUR
(delighted, trying) to wriggle free)
I'm not tiny, I'm huge, huger than you are, huge as the world.
Morgaine hugs him to her.
MORGAINE
You know, little brother, I think that one day you will be.
EXT. FOREST - DAY
Uther, Lot, Hengist and others are doing battle in the midst of a thick forest: arrows are flying, axe-blades slicing through flesh, swords clashing. Uther is at the heart of the action.
UTHER
(to Hengist)
See how the Cross prevails over the invaders, Hengist. You chose the right side.
HENGIST/HORSA
We chose the winning side, Uther, Pendragon. We always do.
UTHER
To me, Britons, to me!
(as his men rush towards him)
Push them down the hill! Into the river. Charge!
And in the whirlwind of flashing steel, Uther leads his allies and troops in a sudden dramatic surge at the thickest knot of their enemies - who buckle under the onslaught, and flee.
INT. passageway (Camelot) - DAY
A SERVING WOMAN carrying a tray pauses for a moment - as a hand comes appears from behind a tapestry - and sprinkles something on one of the plates.
EXT. battlements (Camelot) - DAY
Igraine is looking out over the battlements, her face pale with worry. Morgaine comes in.
MORGAINE
Arthur is sick again, Mother. Igraine doesn't look at her.
IGRAINE
It is a childish fever, it will pass.
MORGAINE
Mother - he cries out for you. You must come to him.
IGRAINE
(in sudden anger)
His father is fighting the invaders, Morgaine! At any minute they might bring his body back bleeding with wounds! And you expect me to fret over a crying child?
MORGAINE
Arthur needs you, Mother. I need you. And you are never here!
Igraine is about to make an angry retort, when she suddenly takes her hands.
IGRAINE
You are right to reproach me, Morgaine. It is true. Since I found Uther, the rest of the world has faded for me, like the flames of a fire in the noon-tide sun. It is cruel, it is wrong - but it is what has happened. He fills my life as the sun fills the day. I cannot bear to imagine him gone.
MORGAINE
When I was a little girl your love was everything to me, Mother. Arthur is so small. Have you nothing for him?
deleted
INT. royaL CHAMBER (Camelot)- DAY
Arthur is tossing feverishly as Igraine and Morgaine come in. Igraine picks up the half-conscious child, and lays her cheek against his.
Her POV as the clutter of goblets and vessels on the low table beside the bed come into focus.
Abruptly she sits up, takes one and sniffs it.
IGRAINE
Who prescribed this?
NURSE
The doctor you sent, my lady. While my lady Morgaine was fetching you.
IGRAINE
I sent no doctor.
She pours the contents of the goblet into a bowl of water. The water turns green and begins to seethe and bubble.
Then a wind seems to blow through the doorway: the same wind that always signals Viviane's appearance. It blows away the steam of the brew and reveals her, standing in the doorway, tall and majestic.
VIVIANE
You should take better care of a future king of Britain, Igraine.
IGRAINE
Viviane!
Viviane lifts the goblet, sniffs it and empties it on the floor. The very stones seem to dissolve.
VIVIANE
Crowsfoot.
(looking shrewdly at her sister)
How is it you were not sitting by his side every minute of his fever?
Igraine hesitates.
VIVIANE
You were looking out for Uther, weren't you? It is his fate that grips your soul, not the child's.
IGRAINE
And whose doing is that, Viviane?
MORGAINE
I've been with him day and night, Viviane.
Viviane turns her piercing eyes on Morgaine.
VIVIANE
You are kindred souls, are you not? You and your half-brother?
MORGAINE
I would lay down my life for him.
We can almost see Viviane's mind working as she watches Morgaine's face.
VIVIANE
Yes ... yes, I believe you would.
(going to the window)
But you are going to have to say good-bye to him for a time.
MORGAINE
What?
VIVIANE
This is not the only accident to Arthur, is it?
(she can see by their faces she's right)
Falls from horses he should not have been riding, bulls bursting through broken fences when he is near. They are trying to kill him.
IGRAINE
Who would try to kill the son of Uther Pendragon?
VIVIANE
Whoever wants their son to be High King when Uther is gone, Igraine. Isn't it obvious?
MORGAINE
Tell me who they are! I will throttle them with my own two hands!
VIVIANE
I know you would, my love, for you have a great heart. But I have other plans for you.
IGRAINE
Other plans? Who are you to tell me what shall become of my children, Viviane?
VIVIANE
I am the Lady of the Lake, Igraine. I have the fate of Avalon in my hands, and the fate of all who live or ever shall live in these isles is bound up with it. So do not cross me.
IGRAINE
Nothing shall be done without my husband's consent. And he is away at battle.
VIVIANE
No, my dear. He returns this night.
INT. GREAT HALL (Camelot) - NIGHT (gallery)
The warriors are celebrating their return from battle with feasting, drinking and singing. A harpist plays in one corner. The royal family are at the head of the table, and Uther is deep in muted dispute with Viviane.
UTHER
I will not agree to it, lady. It is said; let us not pursue the matter more. Igraine could not bear to be parted from him.
VIVIANE
Igraine has no eyes for her child. She thinks of nothing but you.
UTHER
It was you who unleashed that love, lady. Do you deny it now it has served your purposes?
VIVIANE
Its purpose was to mix the blood of the ages and bring forth the once and future king. And to place you on the throne to hold Britain together until he came of age.
(leaning close)
And nothing must stand in the way of that.
UTHER
Not even a mother's love for her son?
VIVIANE
I too have a son, Uther. I sent him for fostering, that I might fulfil my destiny. And Arthur must be sent for fostering, that he may fulfil his.
UTHER
(through his teeth)
I forbid it.
VIVIANE
How long do you think you will hold the throne if Avalon withdraws its support? Are the Christians strong enough to sustain you? I think not yet.
(She looks around the room to ensure they're not overheard)
Can you trust allies like Lot of Orkney? Or the few beaten Saxons you have yoked? No. Without the Lady of the Lake you will crumble like sand.
UTHER
You would do that to me? You would bring ruin to your own sister?
VIVIANE
I would do anything it takes to ensure the safety of the son you and Igraine have borne. And so should you: he is our future hope.
She fixes him with her eyes: he quails under her gaze. As his will crumbles, she strikes.
VIVIANE
And there is another matter. Concerning Morgaine.
EXT. GLADE - NIGHT (gallery)
A little group, hooded and cloaked, gather in a moonlit glade on horseback. We only identify them as they speak.
MORGAINE
Lady! What's happening? Why are we dragged from our beds in the dead of the night?
VIVIANE
You are to come with me to Avalon, Morgaine; your destiny is upon you.
MORGAINE
My destiny?
ARTHUR
Morgaine! Where are they taking us?
Morgaine whirls around: she had not realized till now that Arthur was one of the hooded figures.
MORGAINE
Arthur! Sweetheart! Viviane - why is Arthur here?
MERLIN
Arthur is coming with me to the household of Ectorius, where he may be brought up away from the long reach of his enemies.
ARTHUR
Morgaine - don't leave me, please!
MORGAINE
Viviane: why are you doing this?
VIVIANE
So the future king may live, Morgaine. Uther has agreed.
She turns to Uther who has sat there on his horse, silent till now.
UTHER
It is because I love you that I must send you away, my son. But my heart will be with you always.
MERLIN
I will be with you, Arthur: you and I have worlds to explore.
There is a shriek from the forest - and Igraine rides into the glade.
IGRAINE
Viviane! You cannot do this to me!
ARTHUR
Mama!
VIVIANE
I must, Igraine. You can't keep him safe. Do you want him with you, or do you want him alive?
IGRAINE
My son, my son!
UTHER
Let the boy go, Igraine: Viviane is right.
IGRAINE
Viviane, Viviane, always Viviane! Is my whole life yours to do with as you will?
VIVIANE
None of our lives are ours to do with as we will, Igraine. They belong to the Great Mother.
IGRAINE
Then I curse the Great Mother for what she does to me this night!
Arthur, still held in Igraine's arms, reaches out for Morgaine.
ARTHUR
Don't leave me, Morgaine! Don't leave me!
She takes his hand: but only for a moment.
MERLIN
Enough, we must ride. Every moment here reveals us to our enemies.
UTHER
(embracing Arthur)
Good-bye, my son. Remember that I will always love you. Morgaine embraces Igraine.
MORGAINE
Mother. Hold me.
IGRAINE
You are no longer mine. My sister is taking you.
MORGAINE
I will always be your daughter.
IGRAINE
You will be a priestess of Avalon, Morgaine, and I will have lost you forever.
MORGAINE
No!
And the horses begin to move, the child turning and waving wordlessly as he disappears into the forest. Uther holds Igraine against his breast, the tears coursing down his cheeks as she sobs against him.
UTHER
Hush, my darling. It is the right thing.
IGRAINE
I weep not only because they are gone, Uther ... but for my own damned soul.
UTHER
Igraine ...
IGRAINE
(whispering it)
I have you to myself at last, Uther. I have you to myself.
As he looks down into her eyes they both acknowledge the truth: that each of them is the only thing that matters to each other. It is their glory and their curse.
The camera rises above the trees until it is looking down on ...
EXT. MOORLAND - NIGHT (gallery)
As the two parties - Viviane's and Merlin's - reach the standing stone which marks the parting of the ways.
MORGAINE (V.O.)
The parting with my mother was hard: The parting with my baby brother was almost more than I could bear.
We see the standing stone rushing toward them from Arthur's POV - as he understands that he and Morgaine are now to part.
ARTHUR
Morgaine ...
MORGAINE
Arthur ... my love ...
But as the two parties divide, their clasped hands are torn apart, and the horses thunder away to north and south across the moor.
MORGAINE (V.O.)
And so we parted, one north, one south: toward our separate fates.
EXT. WOODED VALLEY - DAY
Tight on the hooves of two horses plodding down the bed of a shallow stream in a narrow, wooded valley. Morgaine is on one horse, Viviane on the other: they are both travel-stained and weary.
MORGAINE (V.O.)
But as Viviane and I plodded our weary way across the wilds of Britain towards Avalon, I felt strangely at peace: as if she was the mother to me that Igraine had never been. And I think Viviane knew it, too.
VIVIANE
You do not complain, child. That is good.
MORGAINE
What use is it to complain? Besides, I am with you. It is enough.
VIVIANE
(surprised)
You like being with me?
MORGAINE
Of course. You are at the center of the world. When I'm with you - we are both at the center.
VIVIANE
And that's where you want to be, Morgaine?
Morgaine thinks about this.
MORGAINE
Everything whirls around so fast. It's only when you are in the middle that things are still.
VIVIANE
Would that were so, child. Would that is were so.
EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAY
Merlin and Arthur are riding through a lonely valley, Arthur looking bleakly ahead.
MERLIN
Be not downcast, Arthur. Great things lie before you.
ARTHUR
But I miss her, Merlin. I miss her so much.
MERLIN
You will see her again, Arthur: that I promise you. But what I want you to think about is - that hawk up there. Do you see it?
ARTHUR
I see it.
MERLIN
Would you like to fly like a hawk?
ARTHUR
Nobody can fly like a hawk - except a hawk.
MERLIN
Nobody, Arthur, who does not know how to enter a hawk's mind ...
And the old man and the child gaze up into the blue sky at the swooping bird.
EXT. lakeshore of Avalon - DAY
Thick mist covers a marsh. The horses carrying Viviane and Morgaine splash through the mud; their breath condenses in the chilly air as they come to a halt. Viviane dismounts and then helps Morgaine down from her horse.
MORGAINE
Where are we?
VIVIANE
We are on the borders of Avalon.
MORGAINE
This is Avalon?
MORGAINE (V.O.)
She must have heard the disappointment in my voice: was this cheerless place the legendary island of magic, the gateway to the world of faery?
Viviane takes Morgaine with one hand and the horses' bridles with the other and leads her a few yards through the mist - until water is lapping at their feet.
VIVIANE
See? Through the mist?
Morgaine peers through the swirling fog - and makes out, in the distance, the silhouette of a steep-sided hill with a dramatic tower on its summit.
VIVIANE (O.S.)
Glastonbury Tor.
MORGAINE
Where the priests are? And the nuns? Is that where we're going?
VIVIANE
That is where ordinary folk would go if they took boat on this lake.
A black and silver barge appears in the distance, sliding silently towards them.
VIVIANE
But we are not ordinary folk.
EXT. BARGE - DAY (gallery)
MORGAINE (V.O.)
And so began my initiation into the world of magic.
Small, dark half-naked men, their bodies tattooed with blue pigment in magical patterns, propel the barge across the lake without a sound. Morgaine looks ahead at the rapidly approaching Tor - and then at Viviane.
Viviane is clearly preparing herself for some great mental effort, standing in the prow of the boat, breathing deeply. She stretches her arms above her head, palms upwards - and then with a swiftly exhaled breath, brings them down.
Morgaine gasps as the mists disappear - and suddenly the barge is gliding along through bright sunlight across clear water - towards the shores of the Isle of Avalon.
EXT. LAKE VIEW OF AVALON - DAY
Ahead of them, approaching rapidly, is a green lawn sloping down to the water.
The hill is still there, but it is crowned now not with a tower but with a ring of standing stones, and a processional way winds up its green slopes to the summit. At the foot of the hill, two low, white colonnaded buildings curve around to the mirror pool which lies between them. Oak trees thick with mistletoe surround them; blossoming apple trees dot the grass between the buildings and the shore. White robed priestesses stroll the grounds, moving with stately steps over the grass.
EXT. LAWN OF AVALON - DAY
The oarsmen hold the barge steady as Viviane and Morgaine step onto the lawn, the priestesses making their obeisance to the Lady of the Lake. RAVEN, a young priestess about Morgaine's age, takes Viviane's travel-stained cloak - and for the first time Morgaine sees Viviane in all her splendor as the Lady of the Lake.
VIVIANE
You see me now as Avalon does, and not as I am in the world of men.
Morgaine stares at her in wonder.
MORGAINE (V.O.)
Just as I would never forget the sight of Viviane when she chose to show herself in the glory of the Lady of Avalon, I would never forget my first sight of Avalon itself, in all its unearthly beauty.
Morgaine's gaze takes in the whole vista of Avalon: the green lawns sloping down to the water; the groves of oak and blossoming apple, the white-robed figures pacing slowly along the colonnaded walk.
VIVIANE
(leading her up to the lawn)
It is beautiful, is it not, Morgaine? But unless we succeed in our quest - it is also doomed.
And she pauses at one particular tree.
VIVIANE
Here is the Tree of Avalon. As it flourishes, so does the magic isle itself. If we cannot bring the Goddess back into the hearts and minds of men, its sap will cease to rise; and as it withers, so will Avalon. Viviane touches a branch: the blossoms suddenly fall off, leaving the branch bare.
VIVIANE
It is our task to bring it back to health. And with it - all Britain.Continued on Page 3