SCRIPT,  Page Three    Corresponding Gallery

 

INT. VIVIANE'S CHAMBER (Avalon) - DAY   (gallery)

Viviane's chamber is a simple stone-walled room whose window looks out over the lake.  She and Morgaine have washed and changed; Raven silently serves them with bread, fruit and water and withdraws.

VIVIANE

Raven has made a vow of silence to the Goddess.

MORGAINE

Am I to take vows?

VIVIANE

If the Goddess calls you.

MORGAINE

And how will I know if the Goddess has called me?

VIVIANE

You have the sight, Morgaine.  Not just flashes of it, as your mother has - but the strength to control it: to gaze at will into the future and the past. 

MORGAINE

The sight does not come at my command.

VIVIANE

Not now:  but it will.  Years of training lie ahead of you, Morgaine.  Years of discipline and self-denial; years of study in ancient lore.  If you decide to undertake it.

MORGAINE

If you think it is my destiny? 

VIVIANE

The decision must be yours, child. And I warn you that it is no easy thing to serve the will of the Goddess.  She is not only the Great Mother of Life and Birth - she is also the Lady of Darkness and Death.

MORGAINE

I am young, Aunt: but I have already seen darkness and death. I would fain know how to master them before they master me. 

VIVIANE

(taking her by the) shoulders)

Oh, Morgaine, Morgaine, I would that I could spare you:  but I must use you for her purposes as I was used.  Believe that I love you - for a time will come when you will hate me as much as you love me now.

MORGAINE

Never!

(gazes into Viviane's eyes as she comes to her decision) )

I am in the hands of the Goddess, lady - and in yours. 

Viviane looks at her hands - as if she knows too well what they have wrought - and then slowly, she takes Morgaine's fingers into her grip.

VIVIANE

And so it continues.

EXT. TOR - DAY   (gallery)

Morgaine, in the robe of a novice, amidst the standing   stones, surrounded by a ring of priestesses, raising a bowl high above her head.

MORGAINE (V.O.) 

How does one tell of the making of a priestess?  What is not obvious  is secret.  Those who have walked that road will know, and those who have not will never understand. 

Morgaine looks toward Viviane, standing on a slight  rise, silhouetted against a bright blue sky.  Viviane  raises her arms, and suddenly the day darkens, and  rain begins to fall. 

Tight on Morgaine's face as the raindrops course down her cheeks. 

Tight on a pile of sticks in the rain.  Viviane, crouched over them, stretches  out her fingers.  The sticks burst into flame. 

Tight on Morgaine's eyes, wide.

EXT. SACRED WELL - DAY  

Thick mists surround the Sacred Well.  Morgaine peers   into it and sees - nothing. 

MORGAINE (V.O.) 

At first, it seemed the power I  sought would never come  ... 

Morgaine looks into the mists surrounding the well,  closes her eyes, stretches out her hands, and wills  the mists to rise.  Nothing happens. Viviane looks at her - and then stretches out her own hands. 

The mists disappear, and sunlight pours down on them. 

EXT. LAWN OF AVALON - DAY  

Morgaine stares at a leafless apple-tree.

As she concentrates on it, a single leaf buds from one of the branches.

MORGAINE (V.O.) 

But gradually I began to enter into the mysteries with my whole mind and soul ... 

INT. Viviane's chamber (Avalon) - DAY  

Morgaine is turning the pages of massive and ancient tomes, with Viviane leaning over her shoulder.

MORGAINE (V.O.) 

And my mind filled with the   knowledge that Avalon had gathered to itself, century after century. 

INT. Viviane's CHAMBER (Avalon) - NIGHT  

Tight on Morgaine's palm as she sorts through various   leaves gathered there, picks out two of them, and drops  them into a boiling bowl. Scented steam fills the room. 

MORGAINE (V.O.) 

And I was ready to face the fearful mysteries at the heart of Avalon. 

INT. TUNNEL - DAY  

Tight on Morgaine wriggling along a narrow stone tunnel, squeezing through a claustrophobic gap. And emerging   into a tiny cave filled, Lascaux-like, with prehistoric  drawings of the Mother Goddess.  On an altar in the heart of the cave is an ancient wooden statuette. Morgaine kneels: it is the Mother Goddess herself. 

EXT. SACRED WELL - DAY  

Morgaine peers into the Sacred Well and sees ... herself on the Tor. 

EXT. TOR - DAY  

Morgaine in the rain, crouching, shivering in front of a pile of sticks.  She closes her eyes, stretches out her hands to them and concentrates.

Tight on Morgaine, concentrating. Tight on a twig - as it begins to smoulder.  And suddenly the whole pile is in flames. 

Up on a hillside, Viviane gazes down on her - and nods. 

MORGAINE (V.O.) 

And Viviane judged I was ready ... 

EXT. BARGE - DAY   (gallery)

This time Morgaine is in the prow of the barge as it glides through the mists towards Glastonbury Tor.   

MORGAINE (V.O.) 

For the ultimate test. 

Morgaine breathes deeply, stretches her arms above her   head, as Viviane did - and then swiftly brings them down. The mists disappear - and on the shore of Avalon, the priestesses are waiting to receive her.

EXT. LAWN OF AVALON - DAY

As Morgaine steps ashore, she unclasps a brooch at her neck and her novice's robe slips away, leaving her naked. Viviane steps forward, raising her hand in benediction - as Raven slips the robe of a consecrated priestess around Morgaine's shoulders.

VIVIANE

Welcome to the service of the Goddess, my child.

And she holds Morgaine at arm's length and looks deep into her eyes.

INT. great hall (Camelot) - DAY  (gallery)

Igraine and Uther are sitting side by side on their  thrones: suddenly Igraine's eyes widen - as she  becomes aware of Morgaine's final step of initiation. 

IGRAINE 

She is taken! 

EXT. lakeshore of Avalon - DAY  

Tight on a man in armour getting into the barge.  It is LANCELOT, Viviane's son, but we don't know that yet.  When Lancelot is steady, the barge pushes off.  He peers through the mists towards the prow - and sees a small,  silhouetted figure with her back to him.  As he approaches, she turns. 

It is Morgaine. Lancelot stops - and as he stops, she raises her arms - and with them, the mists.  Lancelot's mouth falls open as he sees Morgaine at the  height of her magical power. 

MORGAINE 

Welcome, cousin Lancelot, to Avalon.  Your mother awaits you. 

EXT. lawn of Avalon - DAY   (gallery)

Morgaine and Lancelot are walking under the apple- trees towards Viviane's chamber. 

MORGAINE 

So why have you left your father's  court, Lancelot?  Have you come  here to become a Druid? 

LANCELOT

(laughing)

On the contrary, Morgaine:  I intend to remain a warrior.  I have come to obtain my mother's blessing: but knowing her, it will not be easy.

A wind blows through the trees, scattering the blossom - and Viviane is before them, as if she has materialized out of the wind. 

VIVIANE  

Indeed, Lancelot - it may be impossible.

Lancelot makes obeisance to his mother. 

VIVIANE

The world is full of warriors, my son:  you have a higher destiny.

LANCELOT

Would you have me stay in Avalon and play druid while the Saxons destroy everything in the real world?

VIVIANE

What makes you say this world is not real, Lancelot?  Because it can only be reached through the mists?

LANCELOT

Because the mists cut it off from the struggle, Mother.  And it is in my nature to be at the forefront of the struggle.

VIVIANE

If you stay here to gather our knowledge, you may direct the struggle, not be caught up in it.

LANCELOT

Like a spider in a web?  No thank you, Mother.

(on Viviane's reaction)

I'm sorry: I should not have said that. Give me your blessing and let me go.

(as she does not respond)

I ask it, lady:  but to tell the truth, I will set my course with your blessing or without it. I have lived in a world where men do not wait for women's bidding to come and go.

Suddenly Viviane is standing, tall and terrible.

VIVIANE

Do you defy the Lady of Avalon?

Lancelot is not cowed:  he matches her steel for steel, gazing into her eyes.

LANCELOT

I ask that the Lady of Avalon helps me fulfil my destiny, Mother.

As if expelling a long breath, Viviane lets her fury subside.  She lets her glance fall on the Tree of Avalon - sicklier now than we last saw it - but does  not remark on it. 

VIVIANE

We will speak of this later.

(to Morgaine)

Morgaine, take your cousin to the top of the tor. I would have him look out upon the land he is rejecting before he makes his final decision.

LANCELOT

I have made my final -

VIVIANE

(interrupting)

Do this for me, my son. We will speak this evening.

And she goes.  Morgaine and Lancelot look at each other. And Lancelot gives a sudden, dazzling smile.

LANCELOT

Well - we have our orders, Morgaine.  Shall we climb?

EXT. TOR slopes - DAY

Lancelot and Morgaine are at the foot of the steep, grassy slope.  Morgaine points to a pathway marked by white stones.

MORGAINE

This is the beginning of the sacred way.

LANCELOT

That winds around and around the hill and takes an hour to reach the top?

MORGAINE

Yes.

LANCELOT

Then I'll see you in an hour:  for I am going straight up.

 

And he sets up at a fast pace up the side of the hill. Morgaine watches him for a moment, exasperated - and then suddenly tucks up her skirts to expose her bare legs - and races straight up after him. Moments later, as Lancelot is approaching the top of the hill, Morgaine appears beside him, going like the wind: suddenly they are neck and neck, and in an instant Lancelot is breathing hard, trying to match her pace. Then she puts on a burst of speed and reaches the top before him.

EXT. TOR - DAY   (gallery)

Morgaine reaches the hilltop and throws herself onto the grass in the middle of the standing stones that ring it. Moments later - some moments later - Lancelot, breathing hoarsely, collapses beside her.

MORGAINE

(laughing)

You spend too much time riding on horses, cousin. Not enough relying on your own two feet.

 

Lancelot tries to reply, and can't.  Morgaine laughs - but not unkindly, and helps him to his feet.

MORGAINE

Look out over the summer sea.  Is it not beautiful?

Lancelot stands beside her, gazing over a sparkling expanse of water.

LANCELOT

Part of me longs to stay here. And yet  ...

MORGAINE

(with a hint of mischief)

It is not the real world. There is the real world.

She turns him and points along the Tor.  For the first time we realize that the hill is not a simple cone, but more in the shape of a tent:  and coming along the tent-ridge towards them is a party of brown-robed monks, chanting softly and carrying a cross.  They are slightly distorted, as if through a summer heat-haze.

LANCELOT

Glastonbury!

(turning to her)

You can see between the worlds  ...

MORGAINE

Of course.

LANCELOT

Can they see us?

MORGAINE

Some of them - but only as shadows.  Where the standing stones are they see a Christian church.

LANCELOT

I have never understood how Avalon can be in the same place as Glastonbury - and yet remain apart.

MORGAINE

If you stayed here and trained as a Druid, you would be able to come and go between the worlds as I can.

LANCELOT

If I stayed here to train as a Druid, the world outside will be laid waste before I have finished my first initiation.  Have you ever seen a village after the Saxons have ravaged it, Morgaine?

(off her response)

If I have my way, you never will.

MORGAINE

(gently, teasing)

What - you alone will stem the tide?

LANCELOT

(with boyish) enthusiasm)

With cavalry, I can do it: armored knights, on horseback, wearing Scythian stirrups.  If only ...

MORGAINE

If only what?

LANCELOT

If only Uther would listen. He is a great warrior, but he is set in the old ways.

MORGAINE

And you are the future?

LANCELOT

And I am the future, Morgaine.

She looks at his eager face, his shining eyes - and begins to love him.

MORGAINE

Even the future must eat. Come.

And she opens the pouch at her belt and sits down on the grass to improvise a simple meal.

mix to

The sun is declining from the zenith. The bell tolls from the shadowy church.  Morgaine and Lancelot, the food eaten, are sitting back against the standing stones. Lancelot has his eyes closed, and Morgaine is watching his face, tracing every lineament with her eyes. Lancelot speaks softly, his eyes still closed.

LANCELOT

I can feel the power of the earth flowing into me, even as I lie here.  Do you feel it, too?

MORGAINE

Of course:  it is the lines of power which meet here.  Those who are of the blood feel it more than any.

LANCELOT

It's as if I have been in Avalon for a thousand years.  I feel as if I was here before Atlantis fell.

MORGAINE

Perhaps you were.

LANCELOT

With you?

MORGAINE

Perhaps ...

Slowly, he reaches up and strokes her cheek.  Morgaine's eyes close.

LANCELOT

Yes, for sure:  with you.

Their fingers reach out and interlock. As they look at each other from somewhere far off comes the sound of a WOMAN WEEPING.

MORGAINE

(sleepily)

Let them weep.  Sometimes women need to weep.

But Lancelot turns towards the sound and sees, coming out of the heat haze a young, fair girl:  GWENHWYFAR.  Lancelot positively flies to her side and takes her hand.

LANCELOT

Lady!  Weep not!  You are safe.

She looks at him as if he is a supernatural vision: which, to her, he is.

GWENHWYFAR

Who are you?  What is this place?

(looks wildly around her)

Where is the church - I was walking to the church -

MORGAINE

(to Lancelot)

She is one of the convent girls. She has stepped through the veil from Glastonbury.

GWENHWYFAR

Ah!  One of the fairy people!

(to Lancelot)

Keep her away from me!

LANCELOT

Hush, she is no fairy; she is a mortal like you and me.

GWENHWYFAR

(whispering)

But she's so small and dark and ugly.

MORGAINE

(affecting not to have heard)

What is your name, child?

GWENHWYFAR

I am Gwenhwyfar, daughter of King Leodekrantz. How did I come to be here?

MORGAINE

It happens, sometimes, on the lines of power. Take my hand - I will return you to the ordinary world.

Gwenhwyfar looks at Lancelot. 

GWENHWYFAR 

May I not stay for a little while? 

MORGAINE 

No, Gwenhwyfar of Leodekrantz, you  may not stay.  This world is not for you. 

As she says these words, she seems to rise in height,  and when Gwenhwyfar looks at her, it is as if she is  looking at the Goddess. Morgaine takes her by the hand and leads her into the shimmering heat haze. 

As Morgaine returns Lancelot looks at her strangely.

LANCELOT 

For a moment you looked so  intense - it was like looking at my mother. 

Morgaine reacts to this as if to a blow - and then  recovers her composure. 

MORGAINE

(coldly)

When you look on a priestess of Avalon, Lancelot, you look upon the Goddess.  Did Viviane not teach  you that?

Lancelot's eyes meet hers.

LANCELOT

She did, Morgaine.  One forgets  these things, out in the world of men.

EXT. SACRED WELL - NIGHT

The moon, reflected in the still waters of the sacred well.  It is a moment before we realize that Morgaine is staring into it:  and Raven is watching her.

MORGAINE

I can see nothing.

(off Raven's look)

Because I am looking out from my soul, Raven - and not inwards. But I don't want to look inwards: I don't want to see what's there.

(off Raven's look)

Yes, he's there. Only he. And I have frightened him away.

(with sudden intensity)

But I wouldn't have done it if that flaxen-haired ninny hadn't blundered in from the other side!

Suddenly the moon in the water has disappeared:  and in its place is the silhouette of a man riding hard across a starlit skyline.  Morgaine closes her eyes, as if in a trance.

MORGAINE

Tell the Lady of the Lake to prepare.  The Merlin is coming - with heavy tidings.  Send for the barge.

She looks at the Tree of Avalon.  The blossoms are long  gone now; a wind stirs its branches; leaves fall to the  ground. 

EXT. LAWN OF AVALON - NIGHT

The Merlin steps ashore from the barge:  Viviane is waiting for him, as are Raven, Morgaine and several other priestesses.

VIVIANE

Welcome back to Avalon, Merlin.

MERLIN

(softly)

Dismiss them.  We must speak as we walk.

At a signal from Viviane, the priestesses disperse, and Viviane and Merlin begin to walk across the lawn towards her quarters.

MERLIN

Uther is dying.

VIVIANE

What?

MERLIN

He was wounded as he repulsed the Saxons in the low country.

(suddenly angry)

He should have let Uriens lead the charge - but he was always too much in the forefront, always concerned too much for his men, never for himself.

VIVIANE

How soon?

MERLIN

It will not be quick:  he does not know it himself yet.  But I have probed it with my mind.  He will not see out the year.

VIVIANE

Then all our plans have been for nothing, everything we -

MERLIN

Hush, Viviane, no:  it is not too late.

VIVIANE

But the boy is too young, he cannot -

MERLIN

With our help he can.  I have seen over him ever since he was fostered with Ectorius.  He is a fine boy.

VIVIANE

But a boy!  And he knows nothing of Avalon!  How can you expect him to defend the old ways when he has had no teaching here?

MERLIN

I have taught him what I could, at the court of Ectorius.  And in the months that come, he must learn more. We must go to him, you and I.

VIVIANE

Go to him!  He must perform the rites, he must submit himself to -

MERLIN

Viviane:  everything has changed. He is our only hope of uniting the two worlds when Uther goes.  He is our only hope of saving something from the wreckage of Rome.  We must prepare him.

Viviane looks at him.

VIVIANE

We have taken on too much, you and I.

MERLIN

We have done what we had to.  The chariot has begun to move.  We cannot let go our grasp now.

VIVIANE

So many lives turned, twisted from their natural course ...

MERLIN

Forced into the paths of destiny, Viviane.  It is your role, it is mine.  Come, there is no time to waste.  We must set out before the sun rises on the morrow.

He looks up at the standing stones on the top of the Tor, and the moon shining over them.

MERLIN

Avalon demands it.

INT. Viviane's CHAMBER (Avalon) - DAY

Morgaine is reading, copying sections from the book as she goes.  Sunlight is coming through the open door, falling on the illuminated manuscript.   

Suddenly the pages of the book begin to turn as is blown  by some supernatural wind - and Morgaine looks up to   see Viviane standing in the doorway.  She rises swiftly.

MORGAINE

My lady!  But we thought you were -

VIVIANE

Far away.  I was.  And now I am returned.

MORGAINE

No one knew why you were gone. The younger priestesses -

VIVIANE

Were asking too many questions, as usual.  Take off your robe.

(on Morgaine's questioning look)

Have you forgotten the authority of the High Priestess while I was away?

MORGAINE

Of course not, my lady. And she unfastens a brooch, letting her robe slip down from her body.

VIVIANE

And your underskirt.

Morgaine is naked now; a cloak appears in Viviane's hands and she places it across her shoulders.

VIVIANE

Good:  you do not ask why.  But I will tell you.  You are to be prepared.

(leaning close)

For the Horned One.

Raven and an old woman appear, and begin to anoint Morgaine with oils and decorate her with blue designs. Viviane, standing in the shadows, speaks softly throughout the preparations.

VIVIANE

Since ancient days, before Atlantis fell, there has been a ritual in times of terrible peril. The deer are found, and the Maiden Huntress enchants them.  Then the young man chosen to be the Horned One must run with the deer, and fight the King Stag for his life.

(whispers in Morgaine's ear)

And if he lives, he will join the Maiden Huntress in the Great Marriage.

Morgaine draws an involuntary breath.

VIVIANE

I told you years ago that your maidenhead belonged to the Goddess.  Now she calls for it to be sacrificed to the Horned God. You are to be the Virgin Huntress.

The old woman paints a blue crescent on her forehead.

MORGAINE

As the Goddess wills, my lady.

deleted

EXT. HILLSIDE - SUNSET   (gallery)

Tribesmen and women are gathered on a hillside at the head of a thickly wooded valley.  They bow down as Morgaine appears from a cave in the hillside, her body and the cloak around her thickly painted with magical symbols. She looks down a corridor of skin-bedecked bodies to see a young man - his features invisible in the glare of the setting sun.  As she watches, the antlers of a deer are fastened to his head - and the old woman places a drum in Morgaine's hands.

Automaton-like, as the young man is prepared, Morgaine begins to beat on the drum; the crowd takes up the rhythm of the drumbeat, chanting with her, and the speed of the drumbeat rises with their excitement.

MORGAINE

Life surges in the spring, the deer run in the forest, and our life runs with them.  The King Stag of the world shall bring them down.  The Horned One blessed by the Mother shall triumph.  Let it begin!

And she stops drumming and raises both arms above her head in a hieratic gestures.  With a great cry, the Horned One, followed by the tribe, races off down the hillside into the forest.

EXT. FOREST - SUNSET

Men racing through the forest. The deer grazing.  The King Stag, sensing danger, raising his head and sniffing the wind. The deer begin to run.

EXT. FOREST - NIGHT

Deer and men racing through the forest. The Horned One catching up with the King Stag, wrestling him to the ground.

Tight on the antlers of the horned One and the King Stag, locked together as they thrust and pull against each other.  The young man's eyes in his pained face are bright with excitement; as bright as those of the stag. Suddenly he has a flint knife out; is raising it.

The King Stag, seeing it, uses all his strength to throw the man off, to throw him down, trample him; but the young man is too quick.  The knife slashes down into the King Stag's throat. Now the other men of the tribe have caught up, and a great cheer goes up.  More flint knives slash down at the fallen stag, and the young man's face is anointed with blood.

There is a TEARING sound; and the dripping hide of the King Stag is draped over the young man's shoulders.

INT. sacred CAVE - NIGHT   (gallery)

Morgaine lies on a bed of skins in the cave, looking out at the great full moon rising over the valley.  She hears the CHANTS of the approaching tribesmen, and with a single gesture sweeps her painted cloak from her body. There's a moment's stillness, and then the Horned One appears in the mouth of the cave, silhouetted against the moon.

From his POV we see Morgaine's naked, painted body, Goddess-like on the bed.

And then he removes the antlers from his head, and releases the cloak of deerskin around his shoulders. Thick with blue pigment, dripping with the blood of the King Stag, he advances towards the bed. Morgaine reaches up, grips his hands, and draws him down to her. The mouth of the Horned One closes on hers as their bodies merge.

EXT. HILLSIDE - night

The tribespeople are sprawled about the hillside, asleep, as the sun rises.

INT. sacred CAVE - SUNRISE

The Horned One and Morgaine lie together in the dimness of the cave.  The Horned One wakes and looks at her.

THE HORNED ONE

Last night you were a Goddess: I was afraid of you.  Now I wake to find you are a woman.

MORGAINE

I am a priestess from the Holy Isle.

THE HORNED ONE

And the priestess is a woman.

(kisses her)

Do you think the Goddess will be angry with me if I like the woman better?

MORGAINE

The Goddess is wise in the ways of men.

THE HORNED ONE

And her priestess?

MORGAINE

I - I have never known a man before this.

The Horned One leans down and kisses her between the breasts.

THE HORNED ONE

I don't suppose we shall ever meet each other again ... but I want you to know you were the very first for me:  and no matter how many women I will lie with, for all my life I will always remember you - and love you and bless you.  I promise you that.

There are tears on his cheek.  Morgaine cradles his head against her and wipes the tears away.  The Horned One seems to stop breathing.

THE HORNED ONE

Your voice  ... and what you just did.  Why do I seem to know you? Is it because you are the Goddess - and all women are the same?   

Morgaine sees the streaks Arthur's tears have made on  his painted face and dips her fingers into a bowl of  water to wipe off the rest of his savage finery.  As  she does so her mouth falls open. 

MORGAINE 

No - 

Arthur raises himself up, and looks down at her in  growing horror. 

ARTHUR

Morgaine!  You are Morgaine!  My sister!  Ah, God, Mary, Virgin - what have we done?

MORGAINE

Ah, Goddess!  Brother!  Arthur!

She holds him tight as sobs rack his body.

ARTHUR

No wonder it seemed to me that I had known you since the world was made.  I have always loved you and this - no, no, no  ...

MORGAINE

(hopelessly)

Don't cry, don't cry.  We are in the hands of her who brought us here.  It doesn't matter.  We are not brother and sister here:  we were god and Goddess in the ceremony, no more.

But her eyes belie her words:  she is appalled at what she had done.  As she cradles Arthur on her breasts, she speaks into the rising sun.

MORGAINE

Why did you do this to us, Goddess?  Why, Great Mother, why?

EXT. woods - DAY

Uther and his men are riding swiftly through woodland.  Uther's chest is bandaged beneath his armor.

UTHER

If we can reach Caester before the Saxons, we can prevent Hengist joining forces with the Norse.

URIENS

Where are Lot's men?  Unless he gets here in time we're not even a match for Hengist alone.

UTHER

Oh, he'll come.  He's given his word that -

But he never finishes his sentence.  An arrow thuds into his shoulder, hurling him off his horse, and before any of them can react, logs roll across the woodland before and behind them, and the Saxons pour out of their hiding places in every house.  It is an ambush.

EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAY

A lone horseman galloping wildly across the downland:  as he passes us we see it is Arthur, his eyes red with weeping, his face still strained with the horror of what has happened to him.  And then, ahead of him, he sees a country church - and fugitives racing towards it.

EXT. country church - DAY

As he tries to lead his remaining men towards the church, Uther is battling valiantly, but he has sustained several new wounds and is bleeding heavily.  Even as we watch Hengist, the Saxon chief, backs him up against the door of the church.

HENGIST

I want you to know how much happiness this brings me, to bring down a high king.

UTHER

You swore an oath to me:  I defeated you and let you live. Have you no honor?

Hengist's axe clashes with Uther's sword - and smashes it to pieces.

HENGIST

Honor rests only with the victor: and I am the victor, Uther - and you the vanquished.

And his axe-blade comes slashing down on the wounded man - as Arthur throws himself from his galloping horse into the weapon's path. But his intervention is without finesse:  he has no time to draw his sword before Hengist, with a cry of fury lifts him up and slams into the church wall. 

He slashes at Arthur with the axe, cutting his sword-belt so the weapon falls to the ground:  but in that instant Arthur grasps the head of the axe - and holds onto it.

ARTHUR

Father - into the church, now!

HENGIST

Father?

Uther too looks in surprise at Arthur - but begins fumbling weakly with the church latch.

ARTHUR

Yes, Saxon - Uther Pendragon is my father.  Do you think his son would let him die at the hands of a traitor like you?

Hengist's superior strength tells:  he tears the axe head out of Arthur's hands.

HENGIST

Yes, I think that is exactly what will happen.

And he whirls the axe at Arthur's head - as Arthur throws himself backwards through the door of the church.

INT. country CHURCH - DAY   (gallery)

Arthur slams the bolts of the church door and turns to look into its dimness.  Uther, leaving a massive trail of blood behind him, has reached the altar, and is prostrate before it.  Arthur rushes up the aisle and cradles him in his arms.

ARTHUR

Father!

UTHER

Is it you, Arthur?  I thought you were safe in the household of Ectorius.  And now you have to come to see me die.

ARTHUR

Die - no:  you can't die. I hardly know you.  Come on, we'll go out there, both of us, and cut them down.

UTHER

I'll never cut anyone down again, son.  And you:  you have no weapon either, I think.

ARTHUR

(realizing he's right)

It's alright, we're safe in here. They can't get in.

UTHER

They never try to get in, Arthur. They have another way.

And as he speaks there is a ROAR of FLAME - as the Saxons set fire to the church.

UTHER

And so ends the High Kingdom of Britain.  It's a shame you never had the chance to rule: you would have been a good king.

Arthur looks at his father with pity - but as he does so a steely glint comes into his eye.  This is not how it is going to end:  he is not going to let it end this way. He looks up at the altar and calls aloud in a surprisingly strong, commanding voice.

ARTHUR

I call on the powers of heaven: aid me now.  I call on the God of Heaven, and the Goddess of Earth:  help me now.

He rises to his feet and looks straight at the altar.

ARTHUR

I, Arthur, son of Uther Pendragon, once and future king, call on you. Come to my aid!

He stares at the altar.  Nothing happens.  And then - a  wind blows through the church.  

VOICE (O.S.)

Your prayer is answered, Horned One.

He turns around and then, halfway down the aisle of the church stand Viviane.  Arthur stares at her, amazed.

ARTHUR

The Lady of the Lake!

VIVIANE

Did you not call on God and the   Goddess, Arthur?

ARTHUR

I did.

VIVIANE

And it is the Goddess who has answered.

UTHER 

Viviane  ... 

She kneels beside him. 

VIVIANE 

Uther  ... 

UTHER 

And so it ends. 

VIVIANE 

You have played your part well,  Uther.  You may die knowing you have served God and the Goddess. 

UTHER 

I have played the part you assigned  to me. 

VIVIANE 

You have been a king, Uther. You  have helped the world turn. And  your son is ready to reign in your stead.

Arthur is gripping Uther's hand. 

ARTHUR 

I don't want to reign in your stead, Father. I want to live beside you, learn from you. Be your son, not a stranger. 

UTHER 

You have learnt, my son, everything  you - 

And suddenly he is silent; a trickle of blood runs from  the corner of his mouth. 

ARTHUR 

Uther! 

VIVIANE 

He is gone.  Arthur; and nobly gone.  And now you will be High King - if Avalon supports you. 

Arthur looks at her - looks around him at the burning  church. 

ARTHUR

Lady - we are surrounded by Saxons - trapped inside a burning church:  and you talk of -

VIVIANE

Avalon will lend you its support, and the tribes will follow you, if you swear to protect the old ways and keep the Goddess alive in men's hearts.

ARTHUR

Lady, I cannot promise -

VIVIANE

Swear, Arthur - or it ends here.

Arthur looks at her, the flames growing more intense, sweat beading his brow.

ARTHUR

I swear.

VIVIANE

Look at the altar.

Arthur turns, and realizes that what he took for a cross embedded in the altar stone is in fact the hilt of a massive sword.  He looks back at Viviane and then grasps the sword.

VIVIANE

It is Excalibur, the sword of Avalon.  You are blessed by the Goddess, purified in the rites, consecrated in the Great Marriage: you have the strength to draw it.

Arthur draws a deep breath, and pulls.  With the piercing sound of steel on stone, the sword slides out of the altar, glittering with blue light.

On Arthur's eyes as its significance sinks in.

VIVIANE (O.S.)

It is Excalibur. Take it, and go forth - and smite your enemies.

He turns to her:  she has disappeared.  The roof has begun to burn, and blazing beams are crashing to the floor.  Arthur looks at Uther's lifeless body.

ARTHUR

With your blessing, Father. 

And with a great yell of battle, holding Excalibur high, he charges down the aisle, reaching the doors just as they crumble in the flames.

EXT. country church - DAY  (gallery)

Arthur charges out of the church with the sword, slashing and hewing as the Saxons hurl themselves at him.

Continued on Page 4

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