As he was sailing across the seemingly calm lake to Avalon, he had many questions in his mind for this mysterious woman who proved she was his mother. Sometimes some things jumped from the lake, it was a fish-like creature. His first question on the boat to his supposed mother was :

"Why do you hate Father so?"

"That, I'll tell you another time, ask me something else. I'm sure you have many other questions for me other than that."

"Yes I do, like why didn't come for me when I was so mocked as a parentless child or a bastard child? Where were you then?!" He was just getting a bit angry with her now about this.

"Because you weren't my late Liege's own flesh and blood, and he wanted me to kill you, but I couldn't, as your Mother, so I ordered my now dead mid-wife Aderyn, to kill a pig instead and give my Liege it's heart and say it's your heart, son." She said so honestly that he believed her. "My own Mother wouldn't lie to me about such big things in my life."

"And then why couldn't I have lived with my real aunt Morgana, your sister then?"

"That reason, I'll let her tell you herself, Mordred. And if you can't trust me fully, I'd understand."

"No, it's not that I don't trust you fully, it's that I've never met you before and my whole life's been turned upside down and I lived my life thinking I was an orphan adopted by the Pendragons!"

"I know and I'm sorry for that. But what could I have done for you then when I was Lot's Queen and my Liege ordered me to kill you as a baby? If I didn't, he'd have repudiated me. But did your grandfather and your father not love you as their son? As your aunt asked them to?"

"Yes they did, but the peasants and the nobles at court women or men disrespected me in their heart and I could feel it whenever they did so, and that's I chose you over my father's house when you came for me some days ago."

"I am so very sorry you had to go through all of this, my son. This was my fault for committing adultery and incest. I was so blind then, because my father, your grandfather de Gorlois died by Uther's hand, and I swore to avenge him and slept with his wife, my birth Igraine and your grandmother by my side."

"I understand your difficulties, Mother. And I'm not reproaching you for not being in my life earlier, after all, we have all this time to get to know each other. But Mother, where did you live after your Liege died? You said he was dead when you came to Father's Castle?"

"Oh yes, after his death, it was the darkest moments in my life, my sons, your half-brothers kicked me out of the palace, knowing what I did and I had no where to go, because my parents were dead. But your aunt Morgana, who I wrote to, let me live on Avalon, so hence why I love her and care deeply for her, my son."

"So, she's not an evil sorceress and all?"

"That's all you know about her? No, she's not, she's one of the kindest and most generous people in the world, at least for me. She was the only one who gave me shelter when others rebuked me for my disgraceful actions towards my late husband, the King Lot. You'll see for yourself when you meet her on Avalon."

"I guess I've been brainwashed by my Father's and my Grandfather's hate for people who can do magic like you, Mother."

"I think if you were raised by myself or your aunt, you would like her and me a lot more than now. And I hope you can melt the terrible misunderstanding between Christians and members of our order."

"Who does your order worship, Mother?" He was a very curious lad, and his Mother wasn't exasperated by his ever so many questions.

"A Lady Goddess, who's name we don't say."

"Why?"

"Because she's sacred to us. And look here, while we've been talking, we are almost there on Avalon. I'm sure you'll meet your aunt Morgana soon." He was excited to meet her, having heard about her magical powers being taught my Merlin himself. He risked this other question of his :

"I've heard aunt Morgana's been trained by Merlin himself, is that so, Mother?"

"You'll know her story when you meet her and ask her so yourself. It's not my place to tell her story for you."

"It's better to hear it from the person in question anyway, or otherwise it might be all lies."

"You're very wise for your age, my young son Mordred."

"Thank you Mother, look, there's the Island : Avalon!"

"And do I see my sister there, waiting for us?" As his Mother said this, he indeed saw a taller woman from afar.

"Is it her, my legendary sorceress aunt?"

"Yes it is her. Let's get off the boat and meet her."

He helped his Mother off the boat and ran towards Morgana Lafay, the woman with many legends and his incredible aunt. He didn't know whether he was going to meet an evil sorceress or a warm-hearted woman as his mother said about her. Of course, because this legendary woman was his Mother's sister, so for sure she'd praise her.

His aunt Morgana, seeing them on Avalon, waved at them, teary-eyed. His legendary aunt was renown for her ruthlessness, yet as she saw him, her nephew and his mother, her sister, she had tears welling up her eyes. And she was first to ask his Mother :

"So sister, you got my nephew safely here?"

"Yes, Morgana. Although I had to duel Arthur to get him, his Father wouldn't let him go, even after I won the duel against him. He said he would let him come with me only if it's really his wish."

"That's the half-brother I know : stubborn, arrogant and everything else."

"I almost forgot you raised him like a surrogate mother, the ungrateful bastard who betrayed you."

"Don't talk about him like this, I consider him my brother still despite not being my full-blooded brother, Morgause and you shan't speak badly of him in front of me."

"If you say so, but sometimes, you need to be heartless, like me."

"You, my sister are too vengeful for my taste. It's not good for you to hate for so long. You should learn to forgive. And look, where are my manners? Is that my nephew with you, Morgause?"

"Yes I am, aunt Morgana."

"How sweet of you to call me aunt right away." He took his old aunt's hand in his and he found it unexpectedly warm.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go to the Goddess' Temple." His Mother said, going further in the Island.

Avalon seemed to him like an enchanted forest where fairies dwelled. As a boy, of course, he didn't believe in fairies and elves, but the mythical Avalon enraptured him as he was going through a lush forest. In the forest, he saw unicorns, nymphs, little butterfly faes and other bigger fairies, all folks with wings. But he didn't know he himself was part-fae, through his Mother's blood. As he meandered through the magical forest with his aunt and mother, he couldn't help but aww at these marvellous creatures. He walked for a long time through the forest now, so he asked :

"Mother, aunt Morgana, why are we going to the Temple?"

"To get you initiated, of course." His aunt said as if it were evident for everyone, well everyone except him.

"But I thought only females could be initiates? At least, that's what Father has told me about it."

"The Goddess changed the rule because there are less females now. And to balance everything out, now males can be initiates too. We're almost there." He was beginning to understand why when he was born he couldn't be raised on this wonderful Island.

"The Temple is ahead, I can see it now, aunt Morgana, Mother!"

"Yes, let's go in."

As he went in the Temple, sur-excited, it was a magnificent, yet simplistic building decorated with fairy and elvish flowers and the like. He also saw priestesses everywhere bowing down to the Mother Goddess' statuses and doing their normal rituals. One with fair hair and a plump face stroke him as particularly beautiful, even more so than all the faes he saw in the forest. He didn't know then this was Gwenyfar, his aunt's most trusted and most promising young priestess ever and was going to be given to his Father as his Queen.

"This is all for the Mother Goddess?"

"Yes, Mordred. Come in the initiation's chambers with me."

He did as his aunt asked, and found someone who was much like a Mother Superior in the Christian religion there. She saluted him and said :

"Mordred, come forward. I shall be the one who will initiate you to the Goddess's ways."

"Yes my Lady."

"My Lady?" The Priestess asked, no one but him's ever called her this way before.

"Yes, this is how I called the women back in Camelot."

"Ah, you shall call me sister, Mordred. And I shall call you brother. For in the order, everyone's like brothers and sisters."

"Yes sister."

"Say this with me : I Mordred Pendragon, shall serve the Goddess forever and shall listen to my appointed tutors : Morgana Lefay and Morgause de Garlois."

And he did as the priestess asked. Then his Aunt said :

"I Morgana Lefay, shall train you, Mordred Pendragon, my nephew in the Goddess' ways."

"And I, Morgause de Garlois, shall assist my sister Morgana in every way I can."

"And this is done." said the Priestess fatally.

Then all 3 bowed down to the initiates' Priestess. For 2 years he stayed on Avalon now, in company of his aunt and his mother. On one hand, his Aunt taught him more about the Goddess, potions, healing herbs and creatures found on the Island and the like, and on the other, his Mother trained him in magic spells, curses and everything else. For sure, as a boy, he was much more interested in practical magic, so he spent as less time as possible with his aunt. But then he had to read at night by himself about all the rituals and everything else about the Mother Goddess to pass his initiation. He learnt, through the books and ancient writings, that the Goddess was benevolent and cared for all her creatures equally. This particularly fascinated him because he always thought his aunt and mother worshipped "the devil". He once asked himself a blasphemous question to Christians, after reading much about Avalon's Goddess : "Could she be the Mary Virgin too?"

And in 2 years, he passed his initiation, and was now his Mother's apprentice. During his time as an initiate on the Island, he also saw more of the priestess he met when he first walked in the Goddess' temple. When he was free, he introduced himself to her properly :

"Hello, I am Mordred Pendragon, and what's your name?"

"I am Gwenyfar Leodegrance."

And they spent the afternoon together in the forest surrounded by faes and other creatures of lore.

From his first official meeting with her, he fell deeply in love with her without knowing it himself. And his aunt and mother didn't object to his spending the majority of his free time with her.