The Deception

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-protegee (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.

Argus, Cynan's close ally, brings the inert Dylan to King Arthur, claiming that the young man is dead, and furthermore, that Cynan himself is "on his deathbed," and would like to say a final fare-well to his son, Denys. Arthur, sympathetic to Cynan's last wish, proposes that Denys return home to his father. Reluctantly, Denys agrees. Valiant follows Denys to Cynan's castle and is captured by Cynan's men.

Only Valiant's death and Dylan's revival stand between Cynan and his revenge against Camelot. Merlin, however, intercedes by overpowering Glyndon with a potent potion of his own, and forces her to hand over the antidote to him. Merlin gives the antidote to Denys, who uses it to free Valiant. In an act of treachery, as Valiant and Denys leave Cynan's castle, with his crossbow, Cynan shoots at Valiant. He misses, but his shot causes the bottle containing the antidote to break. Dylan cannot be brought back to life, and the house of Cynan has been destroyed by Cynan himself.

Prince Valiant, Arn, Rowanne, Merlin, King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, Sir Bryant, Sir Gawain, Lord Maldon, The Baron, Cynin, Denys, Glyndon