The Legend of Prince Valiant

Valiant sets out with Arn, Rowanne and a group of Camelot soldiers to gather information about Mordred's army which is gathering in the South. On the way, Denys, on horseback, attempts to leap over a log and is injured. He is taken to a nearby village, where his wounds can be tended. At a tavern, the group is ambushed by Mordred's men. There is a brief battle that ends with Denys' being taken to Mordred's camp.

Prince Valiant receives an invitation to the wedding of an earl's daughter in a distant territory. In the forest near the earl's castle, Val is ambushed by a band of thieves, led by the giant Horack. Val is stripped of everything, including his shield, sword, and his horse, Caliburn. When he staggers to the castle, the guards, taking Val for a vagrant, deny him access to the wedding.

While Arthur is on a hunting expedition with King Lot, a lone assassin tries to kill Merlin in Camelot. Val kills the man and discovers that he has a Black Rose tattoo. Merlin immediately senses danger and sets off with Valiant and Denys to protect King Arthur.

Cynan and his elder son, Dylan, exiled from Thule, again plan against Camelot. Plotting to lure Denys (Cynan's younger son and Val's friend) away from Camelot, Dylan takes a potion made by Glyndon, Merlin's ex-protégée (and now enemy), which has put him in a state of suspended animation. The only antidote which can revive him is one Glyndon knows how to prepare.

Val, Am and Rowanne visit the village of Serenity, where as a young girl Rowanne spent time with her family. Serenity is no longer as peaceful as Rowanne remembers it, for a feudhas broken out between the town's long-time residents, and the "newcomers" the Lusitains. The old-timers, including Rowanne's cousin, Karl, have developed a deep-seated jealousy and resentment for the success of the Lusitains, who have gotten ahead through hard work. When Val asks several long-time residents about the Black Cowls, hooded hooligans who terrorize the Lusitains, he is given only tight-lipped responses. Later, he is knocked out cold by a brutal band of hooded men.

Attending the banquet at neighboring Cassington Court, Val befriends Henry, the son of King Donovan. The boy seems fearful and filled with self-doubt. The king is proud of Henry, yet criticizes him and rules him with an iron fist. King Donovan is generous, and is known for his wisdom and peaceful rule, yet something mysterious underlies his perfect exterior. This mystery is further enhanced by the beautiful yet mournful sounds of a flute which Valiant hears playing at the castle at night the origin of which is unknown, even to the king.

Arthur names Valiant as sheriff of the nearby town of Hammerscape. Soon, Valiant spots Moorish pirates destroying a village up the coast. Valiant makes an assault on the men and drives them back, but their captain, Salandre, escapes.

Gawain, Val, Am and Rowanne are sent by King Arthur north of Hadrian's Wall to make a treaty with the Venicone tribe. Upon arriving, they find the tribes people unfriendly, and are strangely avoided by them. In a conversation between two tribesmen they hear one pronounce, "Death to the High One." They conclude that Arthur is in mortal danger. In disguise, the trio penetrates the barbarian camp, to learn first-hand whether Arthur's life is threatened.

Two villages are fighting over a magnificent tree, Adam's Oak, which grows over a river on their border. Crassus, of Perkshire, insists that the tree must be cut down to allow a bridge to be built to help them transport their goods. Vesta, of Harmony, wants the tree to stand tall, for its shade and beauty are appreciated by all. Valiant and Rowanne attempt to negotiate a peaceful settlement between the warring factions, but the two groups only come to blows.

Denys and his young friend, Wesley, pick up a fallen crossbow which Val has accidentally abandoned during an archery competition with Rowanne. Against Denys' protests, Wesley shoots the crossbow and hands it to Denys to do the same. At first Denys refuses, but then Wesley convinces him to shoot. Haplessly, Denys' arrow strikes Am, who has come to find him. In a panic, they both flee, leaving Arn behind. Later in the afternoon, when Arn doesn't appear, Rowanne goes out looking for him. She discovers him unconscious and rushes him to Merlin's cave, where all fear that Am may die.

On a routine scout to a nearby village, Valiant meets his father's former advisor, Lorne. Even though Lorne is getting on in years, Valiant recommends him as a strategist to King Arthur. Arthur agrees and sends him with Gawain on a mission to Westbridge to snare some local bandits. Lorne fails miserably. Gawain requests reinforcements and a new advisor. Valiant refuses to acknowledge Lorne's failure.

After receiving a surprising call for help from King Hugo of the Misty Isles, King Arthur sends Valiant, Am and Rowanne with an army to aid his old enemy. After a dangerous sea-crossing where they are overcome by a huge sea monster, Valiant meets the beautiful warrior-daughter of King Hugo, Princess Aleta. Hugo is astonished to learn that help has been requested from Arthur he would never have asked his old enemy for reinforcements. Aleta becomes caught between her father's mistrust of Camelot, and her growing love for Prince Valiant.

King Arthur assigns Val, Am and Rowanne the mission of escorting King Hugo and Princess Aleta from the Misty Isles to Camelot. As the ship negotiates a narrow strait, it is attacked by Mordred, who is sailing in the area. Realizing it is a Camelot ship, Mordred rescues Val, Am, Rowanne, Hugo and Princess Aleta.

King Arthur's spy, Will, is caught and killed on Mordred's ship which is docked at the Camelot waterfront. As he is dying, he tells Valiant that Rowanne overheard the plotters aboard ship, and is in grave danger. Val rides off to save Rowanne.

Valiant is distraught over Aleta's departure for the Misty Isles, and asks King Arthur to send him on a mission which will take his mind off his broken heart. Arthur agrees to send Valiant to meet Gawain in the hinterlands, where Gawain is investigating rumors that a local village has been terrorized. Meanwhile, Rowanne boards Mordred's ship, and asks Aleta's forgiveness for leading Valiant to believe Aleta has sided with Mordred. Rowanne explains that Val's coldness towards Aleta was due to his fears that she was conspiring against King Arthur. Aleta reconsiders her departure for the Misty Isles, and against her father's wishes, disembarks to make amends with Valiant.

Mordred and King Hugo have returned to the Misty Isles, and Aleta is left alone in Camelot to settle her relationship with Prince Valiant. All is not well in the kingdom, however, for there is an insurrection being mounted by some of the King's knights, who espouse Mordred's philosophy of the "New Dawn." Arthur, uncertain who is responsible for the rumblings among his knights, recruits Valiant to discover the source of the dissension. Valiant is troubled, for Aleta is suspected of spreading the seeds of Mordred's evil ways.

While Camelot celebrates the Christmas season, Valiant, Am and Rowanne are dispatched to Northgalis, an ally of Camelot, whose people are continually at war with the barbarians of Lindum. The reason for their battle is written in a book "the relic" so old that no one even remembers its contents.

Rowanne, Val and Am are sent to the village of Reghed, which has been destroyed by fire. Harold, the impostor knight (first met in Ep. #012 "The Visitor"), lives there with his family. Am has a joyous reunion with Harold, and meets his wife, Sarah. They both welcome Arn as if he were their own son. Am also befriends their son,Will, who worships him as both idol and big brother.

It is the time of the Queen's Festival honoring Guinevere, and three young warriors from Camelot's domain will be chosen to train for a year as knights. In secrecy, a young peasant from Serenity, Fiona, arrives at Camelot. Rowanne is initially startled by Fiona (who has crept into her room), but soon she befriends her. Fiona expresses that her greatest desire is to take part in the Queen's competition. Rowanne encourages Gawain to make an exception to the deadline and to allow Fiona (a woman!) to compete. After proving inexperienced during a preliminary bout with Rowanne, Fiona makes a great showing during the official rounds, and rises quickly in the ranks ... over many a male competitor.

While in combat with the MacGrath clan, King Ian of Kengarry (first met in "The Return", Ep. #014) is slain on the battlefield. His nephew Baron Van Halsing refuses the throne; Duncan Draconarius (first encountered in Ep. #003) is named King. King Arthur holds little faith in Duncan and his ability to maintain peace with his neighbors. Fearing unrest, he sends Valiant, Rowanne and Am to Kengarry to ensure a smooth transition between King Ian's and Duncan's rule.

For the silver jubilee of Queen Eleonora's rule, Guinevere, Val, Arn and Rowanne travel to Arcadia, bearing a gift from Merlin. Guinevere's childhood friend Eleonora is now a widow, and has ruled alone for ten years with a philosophy patterned after Arthur's vision of Camelot.

To the North of Camelot, Vikings are continuously attacking the local people. Arthur dispatches Valiant, Sir Gawain, Sir Kay, and other knights, to Norway by way of the Kingdom of Kengarry (ruled by Duncan Draconarius), to stop the conflict.

Arthur, Guinevere, Valiant, Arn, Sir Gawain and Sir Bryant travel to Velquen, a powerful kingdom to the east of Camelot, to negotiate a treaty with its ruler, King Edward. There are hesitations about the negotiation on both sides. Arthur fears Velquen, for it has the reputation of being a bloodthirsty kingdom. Edward's sister, Sedissa, holds a deep mistrust of Camelot and its ideals.

Valiant, Am, Rowanne and Denys go to Longport, a harbor town, to collect a delivery of palm trees for Merlin. Denys is excited because his hero, the wrestler Raymond, is in a tournament there. After arriving, they see Raymond compete he is everything Denys had hoped he'd be. Raymond invites the travelers from Camelot to dine with him at a local inn. When Raymond's identity is revealed to the tavern owner, his dinner is given for free. Valiant disapproves and rightly believes that Raymond is trading on his fame for a free meal ticket.

Denys awakes from a daydream, in which he has a vision of a flying machine. He asks Valiant if he thinks it possible to make machines that fly. Valiant dismisses the boy's question as fantasy, and says they have a mission to attend the Spring Festival and they must be on their way. The two, with Arn, Rowanne, and Merlin, set out on horseback. Soon, they become lost and wander into the shire of Croydon, known to be perilous for travelers.

Rowanne and Valiant sneak into Merlin's secret chamber and discover a book Merlin has written which describes past events which happened and more importantly, they believe, future events that will happen.

Valiant has a recurring dream, in which he sees a mysterious woman and a coiled serpent with golden eyes that threatens him. When asked about it, Merlin responds that sometimes a dream is ... just a dream. Merlin then sends Valiant to bear a message to Om, a spritely old alchemist (first encountered in "The Awakening", Ep. #015), who resides at a seaside village. Om welcomes Valiant and explains that Valiant must spend a month with him, while he prepares the potion Merlin has requested from him.

King Arthur's and Guinevere's goddaughter Celeste is to be married, and Valiant, Am and Rowanne join the royal party to attend the wedding. Arn is intimidated by the grandeur of the festivities. Am meets Claudio the black sheep of Celeste's family.

King Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, Valiant, Rowanne and Arn set up camp near Greenglade Cathedral to celebrate the signing of a treaty with the kingdom of Northland. They are cautious, for a spy is feared to be in the area. While Rowanne is on watch, she is knocked out and Merlin is abducted. King Arthur reprimands Rowanne for neglecting her duty. Rowanne is deeply hurt. Her wounds are further deepened when Valiant rejects her after she confesses her love for him. Only Arn supports Rowanne. Nevertheless, she feels terribly alone.

With the death of his father, Richard is named King of Northland. Guinevere and Arthur set off for the coronation. Valiant and Arn are sent to Bridgesford to deliver a message from Michael of Northland to Rowanne. Initially, Rowanne rejects Val's and Arn's overtures of friendship. When she discovers her niece and nephew have been taken hostage, and that the Duke of Lionsgate threatens Arthur's troops with catapult fire, she lends a hand in the fight.

King Malcolm of Northland dies, and his peace-loving son Michael is to be crowned king. Arthur, Merlin, Val, Arn and Rowanne go to Northland to attend the coronation. Rowanne is particularly excited because Michael proposes to make her his queen and to dub her knight. Rowanne asks for time to consider his offer.

The monks of Sandfield are attacked by a band of brigands. Arn, instructed by Val, helps to save the monks from the brutal attack. Later, Am is commended for his bravery, but he feels no pride: only under Valiant's command did he perform like a great warrior.

A messenger informs King Arthur that Michael of Northland has attacked the Baron of Grafton. King Arthur is surprised, for he believed the newly-crowned king to be peace-loving. Meanwhile, the Baron of Grafton has requested reinforcements from King Arthur. Arthur sends Val, Arn, Rowanne and troops to Northland to settle the confusion.

Celebrating the signing of a treaty, Rowanne, Val and Arn attend a masked ball in the Kingdom of Reverie. Valiant hears rumors of something strange which lies in the great swamp between Reverie and Camelot, and as the trio rides home, he decides they should investigate.

A great convocation is being held in Camelot. Wise men from across the Earth are invited by Merlin to meet one another. (Among them is Om, first met in Ep. #015, "The Awakening.") Sing Lu, whom Merlin knew in his youth, also comes, from Asia.

Princess Aleta and her father, King Hugo, travel to Camelot. Maldon and Mordred are also in Camelot, and pledge their unflagging allegiance to King Arthur's ideals. Although Mordred has forged a treaty with the Vikings, Arthur mistrusts Mordred's new-found loyalty, and banishes him from the kingdom.

Valiant is crowned King, but Camelot is in deep trouble. The peasants are fleeing, fearing that they will conquered by Mordred. Morgana, Arthur's evil sister, is in league with Sir Kay, a traitorous knight of the Round Table. Morgana has prepared a poison which she applies to Sir Kay's hand (to which he is supposedly immune), so that Sir Kay can poison Bryant and Gawain disabling the battle leaders of Camelot.

Aleta of the Misty Isles joins forces with Camelot to help defeat Mordred. Sir Bryant and Sir Gawain are captured by the Vikings, and are pressed to reveal military secrets but steadfastly refuse. As Mordred's army gains force, even Valiant thinks that the battle against his enemy will not be won.