The Prince of Darkness
- We begin with the future—that is to say, the present. (Okay, it's the future if we're talking about the timeline of the rest of the story.)
- Here, Merlin is an old man reflecting on the story he's about to tell. The story of how King Arthur came to be is more vivid to him in his old age than what he ate for breakfast.
- Merlin tells us that he's nothing more than a man now—forget all that ultra magician stuff you've heard about him from his greener days. This is not a victorious Merlin.
- Merlin wants to tell us of a particularly clear memory, but he warns us that it's not his own memory. He says he'll explain how he knows this type of thing later.
- It's the story of a king's son who is wounded and seeking shelter in a cave. It's clear that he's in hostile territory.
- A young girl visits the king's son—she's not hostile. She's bringing him supplies for a journey that he's about to take. In fact, he's leaving her.
- But the young girl tells the king's son that he will come back. She knows: she's got "the Sight." More on this later.
- The king's son plans to debate with the young girl about what he will do when he comes back, but she tells him to knock it off. They're wasting their last precious hours together.
- The king's son and the young girl head in to the cave to, um, take advantage of their last visit together.