Excalibur

Arthur:
Now, once more, I must ride with my knights to defend what was, and the dream of what could be.

Merlin:
STAND BACK! Be silent! Be still!

Merlin:
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.

Arthur:
Move aside! This is the king's road - and the knights you joined arms against were his very own.

Lancelot:
I await the king himself. His knights are in need of training.

Arthur:
I am King. And this

Arthur:
, is Excalibur. Sword of Kings from the dawn of time. Who are you, what do you seek?

Lancelot:
I am Lancelot of the Lake, from across the sea. And I have yet to find a King worthy of my sword.

Arthur:
That is a wild boast. You lack a knight's humility!

Lancelot:
Not a boast, sir. But a curse. For I have never met my match in joust or duel.

Arthur:
Move aside!

Lancelot:
I will not. You must retreat, or prove your worth in the test of arms under the eyes of God.

Arthur:
Then may He give me the strength to unhorse you. And send you with one blow, back across the sea.

Lancelot:
Then come across, sir.

Uther:
The sword. You promised me the sword.

Merlin:
And you shall have it; but to heal, not to hack. Tomorrow, a truce; we meet at the river.

Uther:
Talk. Talk is for lovers, Merlin. I need the sword to be king.

Merlin:
Now look, I once stood exposed to the Dragon's Breath so that 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.

Arthur:
Merlin! What have I done?

Merlin:
You have broken what could not be broken! Now, hope is broken.

Arthur:
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've 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.

Arthur:
Merlin, where are you going?

Merlin:
Where do you think? You have a kingdom to rule.

Arthur:
But how? I don't know how.

Merlin:
You knew how to draw the sword from the stone.

Arthur:
That was easy.

Merlin:
Was it? I couldn't have done it.

Merlin:
It is a lonely life, the way of the necromancer... oh, yes. Lacrimae Mundi - the tears of the world.

Merlin:
Remember, there's always something cleverer than yourself.

Merlin:
You're not listening... well, your heart is not. Love is deaf as well as blind. That's it.

Arthur:
Any man who would be a knight and follow a king... follow me.

Merlin:
Looking at the cake is like looking at the future, until you've tasted it what do you really know? And then, of course, it's too late.

Merlin:
Too late.

Merlin:
Good and evil, there never is one without the other.

Merlin:
When a man lies, he murders some part of the world.

Arthur:
Will he live?

Merlin:
Oh yes.

Arthur:
Will Guinevere...?

Merlin:
Yes.

Arthur:
Merlin, will I ever have a son?

Merlin:
Yes.

Arthur:
No riddles? Nothing but a simple "yes"? That frightens me.

Arthur:
But a King should be afraid, Arthur, always... of the enemy. Waiting, everywhere. In the corridors of his castle, on the dear paths of his forests, or in a more gentle forest... in here.

Merlin:
He who draws the sword from the stone, he shall be king. Arthur, you're the one.

Mordred:
Come father. Let us embrace at last.

Perceval:
I can't lose faith, Lancelot. It's all I have left.

Merlin:
The future has taken root in the present.

Merlin:
Ooh, that plan is well known. You'll have to do better than that.

Uther Pendragon:
To kill and be king, is that all?

Merlin:
Perhaps not even that.

Uther Pendragon:
You strike me with words hard as steel!

Merlin:
You betrayed the Duke. You stole his wife. You took his castle. Now no one trusts you. You're not the one. Give me the child. I will protect him.

Morgana:
Your eyes never leave me, Merlin.

Merlin:
Can't I acknowledge beauty?

Morgana:
Can't you acknowledge... love? Perhaps you ache for what you've never known.

Merlin:
Perhaps you lust for what you cannot have.

Lancelot:
Your rage has unbalanced you. You sir, would fight to the death, against a knight who is not your enemy. Over a stretch of road you could easily ride around.

Arthur:
So be it. To the death!

Mordred:
Any message for your dear brother, my father?

Morgana:
You are my message.

Mordred:
I've come to claim what is mine father.

Arthur:
Show yourself.

Arthur:
I cannot give you the land. Only my love.

Mordred:
That's the one thing of yours I don't want! The quest knights have failed. They're all dead. And YOU... are dead, too. I shall come back and take Camelot by force!

Boy Mordred:
You seek what Arthur wants? That thing they call the Grail?

Perceval:
I do.

Boy Mordred:
Then folow me.

Boy Mordred:
They were looking for it too. But they weren't good enough.

Sir Ector:
I remember my first joust. It looks far worse than it feels!

He's our best... and our bravest... why, then, is he never here? Without Lancelot, this table is nothing! Is there anyone here who doesn't think him a god? And now to be driven from us by a woman's desire!

Uther:
Where have you been?

Merlin:
I have walked my way since the beginning of time. Sometimes I give, sometimes I take - it is mine to know which and when.

Uther:
You must help me, Merlin!

Merlin:
Must I?

Uther:
I am your king!

Merlin:
So you need me again, now that my truce is wrecked. Years to build and moments to ruin, and all for lust!

Uther:
For Igrayne! One night with her. You don't understand, you're not a man. Use the magic. Do it!

Merlin:
[considering] Igrayne... You will swear, by your true Kingship, to grant me what I wish. Then you shall have it.

Uther:
[kneeling] By Excalibur, I swear it!

Merlin:
What issues from your lust, shall be mine. Swear it again!

Uther:
I SWEAR IT!

Merlin:
Shall I tell you what's out there?

Arthur:
Yes, please.

Merlin:
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.

Arthur:
Where is it?

Merlin:
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... [lightning strikes] Whoa! — like lightning! — yes, that's it.

Arthur:
[holding Sir Uryens at swordpoint, during the siege of Leondegrance's castle] Swear faith to me, and you shall have mercy! I need battle lords such as you.

Uryens:
[sarcastically] A noble knight, swear faith to a squire?

Lot:
Never! Never!

Arthur:
You're right. I'm not yet a knight. You, Uryens, will knight me. Then, as knight to knight, I can offer you mercy. [hands the sword Excalibur to a shocked Uryens, kneeling before him]

Merlin:
[astonished] What's this? What's this?

Lot:
Keep it, Uryens!

Uryens:
[after struggling with his thoughts for several seconds] ...in the name of God, Saint Michael, and Saint George...I give you the right to bear arms, and the power to mete justice.

Arthur:
That duty, I will solemnly obey...as knight...and king.

Merlin:
[still astonished] I never saw this!

Uryens:
Rise, King Arthur. [kneeling, as do all the other knights] 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. [kisses Arthur's hands]

Perceval:
You and the land are one. Drink. [holds the Holy Grail to King Arthur's lips]

Arthur:
[listlessly] I am wasting away. I cannot die...and I cannot live.

Perceval:
Drink from the chalice. You will be reborn, and the land with you.

[Arthur sips from the Grail]

Arthur:
[becoming quickly revived] Perceval. I didn't know how empty was my soul...until it was filled.

Merlin:
You brought me back. Your love brought me back. Back to where you are now. In the land of dreams.

Arthur:
Are you a dream, Merlin?

Merlin:
A dream to some. A nightmare to others!

Arthur:
For years, peace has reigned in the land. Crops grow in abundance, there is no want. Every one of my subjects enjoys his portion of happiness and justice. Tell me, Merlin, have we defeated evil? Because it seems we have.

Merlin:
Good and evil — there never is one without the other.

Arthur:
Where hides evil, then, in my kingdom?

Merlin:
Always... where you never expect it. Always.

Uther:
Merlin, I am the strongest! I am the one! The sword! You promised me the sword!

Uther:
Talk! Talk is for lovers, Merlin. I need the sword to be King!

Uther:
Nobody shall have the sword! Nobody shall wield Excalibur...but ME!

Arthur:
Merlin if only you were at my side my old friend to give me courage. There are no war tricks that will fool Mordred and Morgana. More than I ever did I need you now.

Arthur:
Where are you Merlin? If only you could see me wield Excalibur one more time.

Arthur:
Where have you been these many years... are you just a dream Merlin?

Arthur:
Ready my knights for battle. They will ride with their king once more. I have lived through others for far too long. Lancelot carried my honor, and Guenevere, my guilt. Mordred bore my sins. My knights have fought my causes. Now, my brother, I shall be... king.

Arthur:
I have often thought that in the hereafter of our lives, when I owe no more to the future and can be just a man... that we may meet, and you will come to me and claim me as yours, and know that I am your husband. It is a dream I have...

Arthur:
Do... as I command! One day, a King will come, and the Sword will rise... again.

Merlin:
I have walked my way since the beginning of time. Sometimes I give, sometimes I take, it is mine to know which and when!

Merlin:
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!

Merlin:
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.

Merlin:
Anál nathrach, orth’ bháis’s bethad, do chél dénmha.

Merlin:
The days of our kind are numberèd. The one God comes to drive out the many gods. The spirits of wood and stream grow silent. It's the way of things. Yes... it's a time for men, and their ways.

Percival:
You and the land are one.

Percival:
Drink from the chalice and you will be reborn and the land with you.

Percival:
The fog is lifting.

Percival:
I saw nothing but the wind on the water.

Ector:
[before the battles of unification] All these men are loyal.

Morgana:
[to Merlin] You fool! You thought you would trap me. You are trapped yourself, by the same sorcery you used to deceive my mother. You're nothing. You're not a god, you're not a man. I shall find a man, and give birth to a god.

Kay:
[following Percival's success on the Grail Quest] Guards! Knights! Squires! Prepare for battle!

Uryens:
In the name of God, St. Michael, and St. George, I give you the right to bear arms and the power to mete justice.

Arthur:
I was not born to live a man's life, but to be the stuff of future memory. The fellowship was a brief beginning, a fair time that cannot be forgotten. And because it will not be forgotten, that fair time may come again. Now once more, I must ride with my knights, to defend what was... and the dream of what could be.