"Today is my apprenticeship's ritual." He had been quite used to living on Avalon now and had been very busy, training and practicing magic. Now as apprentice, he had to learn more magic than ever, more than curses, spells or anything the like. And he liked that because he had access to some more powerful things such as necromancy and telepathy, or what the Christians call : "mind-reading."

His aunt and mother didn't like to call it that however, they called it by it's more correct name : telepathy. These 2 ancient arts were useful to him, because one, he could hear others' thoughts and feelings and two, he could summon the dead. He knew people usually wanted to see their dead relatives or friends and would give anything up for it, but this easy arcane art had it's limits : the departed ones could be only summoned for 1 hour after midnight. He often asked himself why, but didn't have an answer to that yet.

So his apprenticeship with his Mother was never boring nor dull, he always had new arts to master. Furthermore, he liked being his Mother's apprentice. He also was an avid and quick learner. For example, he mastered necromancy and telepathy in just months, when others would have taken years. Of course, he was a natural at these two things. However, he didn't like potions and magical healing much, which he found to be too obscure. However, he still had to learn about these as an apprentice and was with his aunt now, who was telling him about the differences between an elixir and a potion. He couldn't help but to ask about the much famous love elixir though :

"Say aunt Morgana, when will I be ready to make a love potion?"

"A love potion, what for, Mordred?"

"Nothing, just asking because Christians were superstitious about the love elixir."

"You'll learn it all in due time, my good nephew Mordred. Potions can not only make people fall in love, but can also heal people's insanity, physical injuries faster and etc."

"But aunt Morgana, I've heard the Christians were ungrateful to you when you healed them, then why do you still?" He left that hanging. His aunt sighed and answered with honesty :

"Because people are people, no matter how ungrateful they are, I as a physician, it's my job to heal, no matter whom, no matter what they've done to me."

"That's very admirable of you, aunt Morgana."

"Thank you, Mordred, but I think you'll need to concentrate on that potion of yours, it's one for healing stomaches and the like. Next time, you'll make one that cures insomnia."

"What's insomnia?"

"The inability to sleep at night. It quite bothers some people."

"I understand now the use of potions, people are going to beg me for some, if their sickness is too awful for them to bear."

"Mordred, you've been with my sister too much, I don't want you to be like her, so full of hate. I want you to be a great magician, who can heal others' pains and the like."

"But aunt Morgana, I don't want to be a physician like you, I want to be like Merlin, the greatest sorcerer ever."

"Merlin is also skilled in healing arts, dear. A great magician is someone who is expert in every fields of magic, not only spells, curses and the like. I know you like learning about them a lot and have an affinity with them, however, you can do much more with potions, such as having someone's heart and making your enemy childless."

As his aunt was explaining to him the use of potions and healing art, he saw his Mother flying on a fae towards him. Wonder on his face, he greeted her :

"Mother, what is this?"

"He is a who, Mordred, not a what." His Mother said sternly, reproaching him for calling the fae a "what."

"There are male fairies?"

"Of course, how do you think they reproduce?"

His Mother, over the years, he noticed was a very direct person, she didn't speak with much mystery or crypticness like his aunt did. He liked her frankness and her apparent honesty. If she were honest on the surface, she was someone very plotting and malicious even, but since she never openly schemed against anyone, he thought of her as someone straightforward, simple and loving. And unlike his illustrious aunt, she hid her plotting under layers and layers of plotting. But as her son, he just couldn't see her bad side even if he wanted to. "Maybe my Father was wrong about her the day she came for me in Camelot?" Since he didn't want to go into details about the fairies' reproductive system, he asked his Mother instead :

"Can I ride a fae too?"

"You'll not only learn how to ride one, but also how to summon any creature on this Island to your aid. Today, I'll be teaching you about that."

That sounded so thrilling to him, so he easily agreed to ride with his mother, leaving his aunt to her pastimes and hobbies : caring for magical plants and herbs. And so he went with his Mother, to learn how to ride these creatures. When he and she came to where the magical fae folks dwelled, his Mother instructed him :

"Here's Titania, the Fae's queen. If you can manage to win her loyalty, then you are true master of faes." He tried several times to call Titiana to his aid, but the Fae Queen was not so easily tamed, she was stubborn and resisted his calls. No matter what he did, she wouldn't come to him. Defeated, he tried it on a lesser fae. As he was Morgana's nephew and Morgause's son, he was also heir to Avalon, so the lesser ones listened to him and obeyed his every orders. As time went on, he moved on to other creatures such like nymphs, dryads, unicorns, and etc. He found himself to be very skilled with nymphs and dryads, but had some issues with the unicorns because they were so very much like Titania : high, mighty and proud of themselves. And this was something he enjoyed, so he often practiced it with his creature friends. Often after something heavy, like a magical or physical duel with his Mother, he'd talk to the creatures on this magical Island.

"Say everyone, why does my Mother hate my Father so much? And what really happened to her while she was cast out of her King's castle? And who did this to my mother?" He asked ever so innocently.

"Brother, it is not my place to tell you, you should ask your own Mother yourself."

"I did, but no matter what I say, she wouldn't tell me."

"Then wait when she's ready for it."

He finally waited for the best moment to ask his mother during mealtime. Dinners, suppers and breakfasts he usually had with his aunt and mother. And the meals were generally very frugal, they ate simply fruits and nuts, rarely any meat. He once asked them why. His aunt simply answered him that the Mother Goddess liked it that way : simple, nothing fancy. And just like him, she didn't like the Christians' sophisticated lives and everything else. After one dinner, he still asked his Mother persistently :

"Why do you hate Father so much?" This wasn't understandable to him. "She has such irrational hate for my father."

Before his mother could answer, however, his aunt said calmly :

"I think it's time for you to know everything. If you're done with your supper, come with me." And he willing followed his aunt to a shrine to the Goddess. Again, the shrine wasn't anything ostentatious like the Christian Churches, it was something simplistic, yet elegant.

"In this shrine, Mordred, there's a Mirror called the Mirror of all Truths. Only the Goddess's descendants like us can use it, no mortal can. You can ask it anything you wish and it'll answer you by showing you everything with images. The proverb's right : a picture is worth a thousand words. Enjoy having your questions answered."

His aunt then left him alone with the Mirror, before he could thank her for it. Of course, now what he most ardently wished to ask the Mirror was : "Why does Mother hate Father so much?" He asked, and the Mirror showed him why she seduced her half-brother Arthur and had him :

His Mother, much younger then, was in her mother's, Lady Ygraine Pendragon's, meaning also his grandmother from his mother's side's house. She was thinking about seducing his then very young father because she hated him. She took some other woman's form, a gorgeous one at that. And then she went into his Father's chambers at night and seduced him there with her magical powers. In her heart she was thinking : This is for Sir de Gorlois, my father's revenge. You birth was a shame to my Father's glory and your Father shamed my mother the Lady Ygraine by seducing her while she was married to my Father so I'm going to do the same to you, Arthur, my dear half-brother. And your child shall be the product of incest, the greatest of all shames.

As the image in the Mirror faded, he asked it another question :

"How did she escape from her sons', my half-brothers' wrath, when they discovered her adultery with my father Arthur?"

Again the Mirror showed him :

His Mother struggled with his brother Sir Gawain, who surprised her in bed with Sir Lamorack. His half-brother Sir Gawain was about to kill her, but she used her magical charms on him, changing his mind and so he told her :

"Escape, mother and shameful Queen of Lothian. I'll kill a maid and you'll change her into your body after her death."

"Thank you, my son."

And she fled her husband's house as quickly as possible. But where to? She rowed some nights and days to Avalon, seeking her sister's help out. On Avalon, her sister his aunt didn't refuse her, but gave her food, water and shelter, just like she told him she did. Avalon was a safe Haven for her then.

But as he was watching it, he had another question in mind, so he asked the Mirror a 3rd time :

"Why did Mother cheat on her husband, knowing the consequences for such women who committed adultery in the Christian regime?"

This time, the Mirror showed him how her Liege the King Lot was as a man and husband :

Her husband the King Lot was with many Ladies. He was drinking and gambling with them, spending his money unnecessarily. His Mother, disguised as another woman was watching her husband seduce and giving gifts and money to other ladies such as duchesses, countesses and others.

"I've seen enough, thank you, oh great Mirror of Truth! So that's why Mother cheated on her husband, because he wasn't faithful to her."

After he's seen everything about his past, how he was conceived, he began to hate his Father and Grandfather as well. But he didn't notice, Gwenyfar was there, the good priestess went to find him :

"I must go home for a while, Mordred. My kingdom's being under siege by King Rience, your Father's long-time enemy."

"Why do you have to go home?"

"Because I am worried about my Father and Mother, Mordred. I've heard your Father's willing to help my father end this war quickly because he's friend with my Father, so I hope I won't be gone long."

"I hope so too, Gwen."

She had asked him once to call her Gwen, as she wasn't quite used to be called "Gwenyfar", finding it too long for a name. But little did he know she'd be gone for such a long time. While she was gone to her own parents' house, he wondered about her life story. For instance, "how did she come into my aunt's service?" All these hows made him forget about the initial question he was going to ask his sorceress aunt : why wasn't raised on Avalon?