The Once and Future King

Before her castle dissolves, Morgan let loose her griffin, which now follows and attacks Robin’s men. The archers fire, but before the griffin dies, it knocks Arthur unconscious, breaking his collarbone. It is Kay’s arrow that kills the griffin, and he takes its head as a trophy. Arthur brings Wat back to the castle, hoping Merlyn can cure his mental illness.

Sir Ector and the entire staff welcome the boys back. The following morning, Arthur asks Merlyn about Wat; the wizard has given him a pig’s nose. Wat and the Dog Boy become fast friends and live together in the kennel.

Confined to his bed for three days with a broken collarbone, Arthur begs Merlyn to transfigure him. The wizard changes him into an ant, and he crawls into Merlyn’s ant colony. Suddenly, his head is abuzz with communication. He stumbles upon two dead ants, and another ant approaches carrying a third corpse. It questions Arthur, but he has no satisfactory answers. He is ordered to the “mash squad,” where he stores seed paste for the nest. He finds ant culture to be dictatorial, territorial, and militaristic. Ants from other nests are killed immediately and their food stores pillaged. As two ant colonies prepare for war, Merlyn transports Arthur back to his bed.

Sir Ector prepares for winter, harvesting crops and storing food for the livestock. One day, he receives a letter from King Uther Pendragon ordering him to allow the king’s huntsmen passage through his forest—a demand Ector resents. On the other hand, he reasons, it would be fine justice for the king’s huntsmen to encounter some of the wild forest’s dangers: a unicorn, a dragon, or the Questing Beast. He agrees to Pendragon’s demands.

On Christmas, Sir Ector hosts a great feast to celebrate a prosperous year. Songs are sung, and blessings are laid upon the castle and its residents.

Arthur rises early to watch William Twyti, the king’s huntsman, prepare his hounds for the boar hunt. After breakfast, the hunting party—Sir Ector, Arthur, Merlyn, and others—sets out. Robin Wood joins them at the edge of the forest. They set the hounds loose on a boar lair and wait for one to emerge. A boar suddenly charges Grummore, but he dodges its deadly tusks, and the beast flees into the forest. The boar is cornered and charges, but Robin Wood kills it before anyone is injured. The boar is butchered, and the party is preparing to bring it back to the castle when a distraught Pellinore summons them. They find the king sitting in the snow beside the Questing Beast. It is dying, Pellinore claims, because he has forsaken his quest, choosing to live in Grummore’s castle instead. They carry the Beast back to the castle, and Pellinore vows to resume his quest.

The following spring, Merlyn continues Arthur’s education. He says he’d like to be a bird again, and he, Merlyn, and Archimedes (Merlyn’s owl) discuss the social habits and language of various bird species. Merlyn argues that bird songs evolve from the sounds of their prey and that bird language varies subtly by tone and tempo. Just then, Kay enters, announcing he has killed a thrush.

Archimedes wakes Arthur during the night and turns him into an owl. They leap out the window, and Archimedes gives him flying lessons. They come to rest on a tree branch, and Archimedes explains the aerodynamics of flight and landing. After eating, Archimedes takes Arthur to the salt marshes, an utterly flat landscape stretching to the horizon and buffeted by a ceaseless wind, “tangible, infinite.” As dawn breaks, Arthur finds himself amid a flock of geese. As they embark on their morning flight, he experiences the great and diverse community of wild birds for whom the salt marsh is home. When he is asked to stand sentry, he asks the goose if they are at war, but the concept is so foreign and distasteful, she chastises Arthur for even asking.

Arthur spends a good amount of time with the geese and grows fond of Lyo-lyok, a female who teaches him about their customs, including migration routes and leader selection. Arthur notices the flock growing restless and learns it is time to migrate. As they journey across the North Sea, the wonders of the natural world spread out beneath them: sheer cliffs, the “copper penny” sun hidden behind a veil of clouds, and vast flocks of birds populating the small islands off Norway. At last, they reach their destination, and Arthur wakes up in his own bed.

Years pass. Merlyn continues Arthur’s education, and he and Kay become skilled with weaponry. Eventually, Kay reaches the age of knighthood. He shuns his younger brother, now his squire-designate and too lowly for a knight to associate with. Merlyn explains the knighting ritual, and Arthur says that if he were a knight, he would stand against all the world’s evil. Merlyn tells him it’s a foolish desire that he would suffer greatly for.

As Kay’s knighting draws near, Arthur, feeling isolated, seeks solace in Merlyn’s company. The wizard tells him that the cure for sadness is learning. He introduces the boy to his friend, a badger. Merlyn also informs Arthur that this will be the final transfiguration, as his time as Arthur’s tutor is over. He must now make his own way in the world as Kay’s squire.

After Merlyn changes him into a badger, Arthur wanders off to experience one final night as a wild beast. He encounters a hedgehog who fears the badger will eat him, but Arthur discovers this hedgehog was once Merlyn’s pet and promises not to hurt him. Chastened, Arthur goes off in search of Merlyn’s badger friend, who tells him he can only teach the boy two things: “[T]o dig, and love your home. These are the true end of philosophy” (188). He invites Arthur to his home, a sprawling “tumulus” of multiple rooms and a great hall. The badger reads his treatise on humans to complete Arthur’s education. He spins a yarn about all the creatures of the Earth (as embryos) gathered before God, who grants each species a gift—powerful jaws or wings or a tough hide. When God asks the human his wish, he asks for nothing. To reward his humility, God gives him dominion over all the animals. Humanity, the badger argues, is a tyrant and one of the few species to wage war, but Arthur is entranced by war’s romance and promise of glory.

Pellinore arrives for Kay’s knighting and announces that Uther Pendragon is dead and has left no heir. He also tells of a sword embedded in a stone with a prophecy inscribed on it: “Whoso Pulleth Out this Sword of This Stone and Anvil, is Rightwise King Born of All England” (197). A tournament is being held in London to see who can pull the sword from the stone. Kay persuades his father to let him participate. Arthur and Merlyn enter, the wizard announcing his departure. In a spinning vortex of light, he bids his pupil farewell and vanishes.

Sir Ector and his party set off for London. The city is packed, and on the first day of the tournament, Kay realizes he left his sword back at the inn. He sends Arthur to fetch it. However, the inn is closed, so Arthur searches for a replacement and comes upon the sword in the stone. When he grasps the hilt, his senses become sharper; he perceives clear music and people nearby. He tries to pull the sword from the stone, but it holds fast. He prays to Merlyn for help, and the courtyard is suddenly awash in light and music, and the spirits of all the animals he has become rise up to assist him. Using all the knowledge he has gleaned from the animal kingdom, he “[draws] it out as gently as from a scabbard” (205). Back at the tournament, he hands the sword to Kay and explains where he got it. At first, Kay tries to claim credit for drawing out the sword, but he eventually confesses that Arthur did it. Sir Ector and Kay both kneel before their king. Overwhelmed, Arthur bursts into tears.

Arthur is crowned king, and gifts pour in from across the land. All of Arthur’s animal friends find sanctuary at his new home. The final—and best—gift is a visit from Merlyn. He tells the boy that his real father was Uther Pendragon and that he, Merlyn, delivered the infant boy to Sir Ector. He addresses Arthur (at this point still known as “the Wart”) by the name he will now be known by: King Arthur.