excalibur
Even after pulling the
sword from the stone, King Arthur still had much to prove. Often
I feared that Arthur might fail in his battles if he did not listen to
my wisdom. To be quite honest, I know for a fact that he would
have failed. You see, I advise Arthur in all that he does.
Even though I am saying this, try not to think of me as some
ungratefuly magician. I do my very best to keep Arthur safe, but
the question is... does he listen? No, he hears only what he
wants to hear. I try offering to find him another fair maiden,
yet he still marries Guenevere. I tell him not to send Lancelot
to fetch his queen, but he sends this known adultrious man
anyway. Even though I know how things are going to end up, I
still let Arthur be. Enough with my babbling... Guenevere is an
entirely different matter and believe me we will get to that. Let
us continue on where we were heading. I believe we were about to
discuss how Arthur was given the sword, Excalibur. Let us begin...
Arthur had just finished a very difficult battle with the tallest knight in all of the land. He had fought very well but with out me casting one of my spells over the other knight, he would have not survived. As we approached our horses to ride home, I noticed that Arthur was very badly hurt. I hurried him on his horse and rushed him to a hermit who was a master of healing. Arthur and I laid low for three days and once he was cured from his wounds we gave our thanks and went on our way.
As we proceeded on our journey home, we drew closer to a large lake. Arthur looked puzzeled as I gazed upon what I knew lay ahead. We stopped at the head of the lake and I motioned for him to look. There in the middle of the lake was a remarkable sight. An arm was holding an unbelievable looking sword. Arthur looked at me with astonishment and when he looked agani at the lake, a maiden was standing on the water. I announced to him that this maiden was the Lady of the Lake and if you asked her courteously, she would let the sword int he lake be yours. I pulled my horse away from the lake to let Arthur speak with the Lady of the Lake. He bowed his head and then conversed with her in very kind words, saying "Lovely maiden, might I ask who is the owner of that sword in the lake that is resting above the water? For if it does not have an owner, I would ever be so humble to own it." Next, I heard the maiden say that the sword belonged to her and that she would give it to him if in return, he would grant her a gift that she asked of him. I turned to Arthur as he replied that he would give her whatever she asked. The maiden took a step back and looked at Arthur and I as she spoke ever so softly. She requested that we get into the barge and row ourselves toward the sword and take it and the scabbard with us. I smiled in spite of myself for I knew that this was the sword, Excalibur. The Lady of the Lake glanced at me and then back to Arthur and then told us that in due time, she will ask for her gift.
Arthur had just finished a very difficult battle with the tallest knight in all of the land. He had fought very well but with out me casting one of my spells over the other knight, he would have not survived. As we approached our horses to ride home, I noticed that Arthur was very badly hurt. I hurried him on his horse and rushed him to a hermit who was a master of healing. Arthur and I laid low for three days and once he was cured from his wounds we gave our thanks and went on our way.
As we proceeded on our journey home, we drew closer to a large lake. Arthur looked puzzeled as I gazed upon what I knew lay ahead. We stopped at the head of the lake and I motioned for him to look. There in the middle of the lake was a remarkable sight. An arm was holding an unbelievable looking sword. Arthur looked at me with astonishment and when he looked agani at the lake, a maiden was standing on the water. I announced to him that this maiden was the Lady of the Lake and if you asked her courteously, she would let the sword int he lake be yours. I pulled my horse away from the lake to let Arthur speak with the Lady of the Lake. He bowed his head and then conversed with her in very kind words, saying "Lovely maiden, might I ask who is the owner of that sword in the lake that is resting above the water? For if it does not have an owner, I would ever be so humble to own it." Next, I heard the maiden say that the sword belonged to her and that she would give it to him if in return, he would grant her a gift that she asked of him. I turned to Arthur as he replied that he would give her whatever she asked. The maiden took a step back and looked at Arthur and I as she spoke ever so softly. She requested that we get into the barge and row ourselves toward the sword and take it and the scabbard with us. I smiled in spite of myself for I knew that this was the sword, Excalibur. The Lady of the Lake glanced at me and then back to Arthur and then told us that in due time, she will ask for her gift.
I walked over towards the barge and
got it ready for us to make way towards the sword. Once we were
at the middle of the lake, Arthur gazed upon Excalibur and with a swift
motion he took the handle and the arm vanished. After getting
back on land, I gave a slight bow to the lake and we headed back on the
journey home. As we rode, Arthur looked devotedly at
Excalibur. I laught at what a trance had come over him with the
sword. He just admired Excalibur as it lay at his side. I
asked Arthur, "Which do you like best, the sword or the
scabbard?" Arthur foolishly stated that he liked the sword.
I turned my head towards him and I said that it was not wise to say
that, for the scabbard is as mighty as the sword. It will help
keep you alive just as much as the sword. Once we arrived in
Carlion, we were greeted with a warm welcome by Arthur's knights.
Arthur and I dismounted our horses and together the Knights and I said
to Arthur that it was an honor to fight along side a King that would
give his life like any other man.
author's notes
I chose the story "The
Sword Excalibur" because I felt that it plays such a major role in the
legend of King Arthur. I tried not to change it much. I
really wanted to keep most of the story the same but added a couple of
details here and there. Mainly my details were with Merlin.
I added him in more places than he actually was in the original
version. I spoke in first person narrative of Merlin because I
feel that it adds more appeal to the story. One thing that I left
out of the story was how Arthur was worried about having no sword and
how Merlin just asked him to be patient because he knew was was going
to happen. I left this part out because I felt that it made
Arthur lost and almost child-like, as if he had lost his toy or
something. So for the most part I didn't want to lose anything
that this story had to offer, so I just spiced it up a little bit more
by using the voice of Merlin.
