After Merlin meets Nimue, a woman who fled to his village after hers was destroyed by a man named Vortigan, they fall in love. However, their love doesn't last long, for Nimue, seeking revenge on the man who killed her family, drinks from the Holy Grail and uses its power to crush the killer's heart. This act of darkness turns her into the first Dark One. Merlin, with his apprentice, uses his books to enact a spell that will tether Nimue to the broken tip of Excalibur, which he turns into a dagger. ("Nimue") Centuries later, the prophesied ruler of Camelot, King Arthur, successfully pulls Excalibur from its stone, however, it is broken. He sets off on a mission to find the missing half, becoming almost obsessed. He uses Merlin's books to attempt to locate the dagger, leading Guinevere to t