At the feast around the Round Table, Sir Kay's turn to tell of his adventures finally arrives, but he is interrupted by Merlin, who tells the story of how King Arthur got his sword from the Lady of the Lake; he puts the entire crowd to sleep. When Sir Kay does tell his story, he exaggerates immensely. Then Arthur sentences Morgan to die at noon on the 21st. Morgan is stripped of his "enchanted" clothes and is hauled off to the dungeons.
When Clarence (the boy to whom he had talked) comes to visit him, Morgan tells the boy to take a message to the court; he says that he is a magician more powerful than Merlin. The message has some effect, but Merlin ultimately scoffs at the claims of this "magician" because the so-called spell that Morgan says that he will cast is not specified. By this time, Morgan has remembered that there will be an eclipse of the sun at noon on the 21st, so Morgan sends Clarence back to tell the court that he will blot out the sun — if he must.
Shortly thereafter, Morgan is hauled out to the courtyard and chained to a stake. A monk is praying for him when, suddenly, he stops, and Morgan notices that the solar eclipse is just beginning. He realizes that when he asked Clarence what day it was, Clarence gave him the incorrect day. Thus Morgan puts his knowledge of the eclipse to good use, thereby gaining his freedom and a position as "perpetual minister and executive" to the king, as well as liberal funding, if he will "let" the sun shine again. He keeps the king and the knights in suspense for a time, ostensibly to make sure that the king meant what he said; then, when he notices that the eclipse is total, he announces that his spell will now begin to pass away.
This "miracle" makes Morgan a man of great interest to the people of the kingdom, and when Merlin begins spreading rumors about him, Morgan blows up Merlin's tower, using explosives which he and Clarence have made. This "miracle" solidifies Morgan's position in the country.
