- Merlyn has now been with Wart for an entire year.
- And then six more years. We get a sort of montage, with descriptions of King Pellinore being spied chasing after the Questing Beast, Cully getting older, and the sergeant-at-arms getting chunky.
- And, of course, Wart and Kay are growing up fast.
- Over the years, Merlyn changes Wart into a number of different animals to help his education along, and he and Kay are excelling at athletics. They are now a match for the sergeant-at-arms in their fencing lessons.
- When they are well into their teens, the boys have full suits of armor and real weapons.
- Kay starts to become kind of a jerk: he has a temper and likes to challenge people to fights (and he usually gets beaten—serves him right).
- As the time for Kay's knighting approaches, the boys grow apart, because Kay thinks it's beneath him to be too close to his squire. What an elitist.
- Wart is sad that he is now being ignored by Kay, and sits in the kitchen, moping a bit. He decides it won't be so bad being a servant. He can deal.
- Merlyn spends some time describing to Wart the ceremony involved in becoming a knight and what role Wart will play in Kay's upcoming knighting.
- Rashly, Wart claims that he would like to be knighted and encounter the world's evil himself.
- Merlyn has a strong reaction to this and munches on his beard to avoid speaking. Something's definitely up.