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UTHER's P.O.V: The bright light, the noise of a large fight crowd, a multitude of expectant faces and in the centre of the Tournament Ground the BLACK KNIGHT standing motionless and poised for battle... UTHER steps forward. ARTHUR (to both fighters): The fight shall be to the Knights'rules... And to the death. ARTHUR: That ... BLACK KNIGHT: Who will take up my challenge? GAIUS reacts, but the conversation is interrupted by ARTHUR's entrance. GAIUS: I believe he has been conjured from the dead. GAIUS: Revenge. GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH: Several fables speak of ancient swords...
MERLIN: That can kill the dead? GREAT DRAGON: Heed my words ... MERLIN stops and turns to the GREAT DRAGON ...
GREAT DRAGON: The sword was forged for Arthur and him alone. He is defenceless. Is that all? It must be wielded by Arthur and him alone. MERLIN: To save Arthur. NIMUEH: She died giving birth to your son! That is the Knight's code. That is the law of magic. The DRAGON considers this. UTHER now has only his shield with which to defend himself...In vain, he uses it to beat away the BLACK KNIGHT's blows. You can only guess.
Plan: A: The Black Knight; Q: Who interrupts Arthur's coming-of-age celebrations? A: Arthur; Q: Who is the only person who can wield Excalibur? A: the gauntlet; Q: What does the Black Knight throw down? A: any knight; Q: Who does the Black Knight challenge? A: Gaius; Q: Who discovers that the Black Knight is Uther's dead brother-in-law? A: Uther; Q: Who kills the Black Knight? A: the grave; Q: Where was the Black Knight summoned from? A: Nimueh; Q: Who summoned the Black Knight? A: revenge; Q: What is the Black Knight seeking? A: the Great Dragon; Q: Who instructs Merlin to hide Excalibur? A: Excalibur; Q: What is the name of the sword that can kill the Black Knight? A: evil; Q: What is Excalibur capable of being used for? A: mortal men; Q: Who is the sword to be hidden from? Summary: The Black Knight arrives to interrupt Arthur's coming-of-age celebrations and throws down the gauntlet to any knight who will fight him. He kills them all one by one. Gaius discovers that he is Uther's dead brother-in-law, summoned from the grave by the witch Nimueh. He is seeking revenge for the death of his sister, who died giving birth to Arthur by way of magic from Nimueh. Merlin learns from the Great Dragon that only a special sword (Excalibur), burnished with the Dragon's fiery breath, can kill the knight. The Dragon warns Merlin that only Arthur can wield it. Arthur is next to fight the Black Knight, but Uther takes Excalibur and faces the knight himself, slaying him in the end. Now that the sword has been wielded by someone other than Arthur, it is capable of being used for evil; to prevent that, the Great Dragon instructs Merlin to hide Excalibur far from the reach of mortal men.