The Heart of Kings

"**The Heart of Kings**" is the seventh episode of Season 1 of *Unicorn: Warriors Eternal*, and the seventh episode overall. It premiered on June 9, 2023.

## Synopsis

Unicorn's quest to fix Copernicus leads them into a blood war for control over Edred's homeland.

## Plot

In the past, the Elf King of the Northern Elves and the Eastern elves's regent Thraen set up an arranged marriage to secure their alliance. Edred, being the eldest son of the King, does not want to marry Threan's daughter and choses to leave her on their wedding day, in order to be with his love Melinda.

In the present, the Order of Unicorn arrive at the forest, which is destroyed. After encountering Eastern and Northern elves in territorial conflict, Edred is reunited with his younger brother Aelwulf. Aelwulf informs Edred following his departure half of the forest was destroyed, and now the two elf tribes are at war, the king has grown weaker through his ancestral sleep, and Thraen stole the heart of the forest to obtain power, so Edred agrees to stay and fix the unbroken line. While the rest of Unicorn are put in a cell, they reunite with Merlin who was captured shortly after they last vanquished the Evil in Ancient Egypt. They inform Merlin that the Evil is defeated, but that Copernicus remains inactive which is why Edred chooses to retrieve the heart. Enraged by Edred's departure from the wedding, Gobi, Twillion's swordsmith, summons the sword and tries to take it back. Edred threatens to go to Gobi's parents to get him to return Twillion and acknowledge Gobi's promise for his hospitality. Gobi reluctantly returns the sword and strips Twillion's magic informing Edred that it will restore itself once Edred fulfills his oath. Emma convinces Melinda to reconcile with Merlin after what happened with Morgan, and scolds Merlin for blaming his daughter when in fact he himself, the greatest wizard, could not stop this while Melinda was only a child. Realizing his mistake, Merlin apologizes to Melinda and their relationship is restored.

Later, Seng manages to free everyone from the cell. Merlin sees where Edred is and takes them all to him. Edred and Aelwulf learn that Thraen hired a Necromancer to bestow the heart for himself, where the cryptic message Seng recited is in fact the necromancer's spell. After defeating Thraen and the necromancer, Edred recovers the heart and fulfills his oath, restoring the forest in the process. This allows Merlin to revive Copernicus using his magic and the restored heart. However, it turns out the Evil is not yet destroyed, evident by how only after it is destroyed do the souls of Unicorn return to Copernicus until the Evil returns again. Since Edred is having trouble facing parallel lives, Unicorn devise a plan by putting Aelwulf's soul in Edred's original body and faking his younger brother's death to help maintain the unbroken line while Edred can remain in his host's body. Aelwulf gives Twillion to them leaving Edred despondent for his self-imposed exile. Merlin suddenly leaves to track down the Evil, promising to return.

## Characters

*(listed alphabetically)*

* Jack Bandeira as Aelwulf
* Tom Bromhead as Thraen/Turk
* Jeremy Crutchley as Merlin/Gwylfred
* Grey DeLisle as Original Melinda/The Necromancer/Andaen
* Hazel Doupe as Melinda/Emma Fairfax
* Jacob Dudman as Original Edred/Tillac
* Demari Hunte as Seng
* David McCusker as Gobi/Priest
* Tom Milligan as Edred/Driver/Elf Guard

## Trivia

* On May 26, 2023, Tartakovsky took part in an AMA on Reddit using the Adult Swim Official account and revealed several caveats of information, such as:
	+ Unlike the other 9 episodes, this episode is a 40-minute-long special episode.

## Gallery

### Videos

Unicorn- Warriors Eternal - Sneak Peek! The Heart Of Kings - Adult Swim UK 🇬🇧Unicorn- Warriors Eternal - Edred’s Ancestral Burden - Adult Swim UK 🇬🇧
## References

1. ↑ Unicorn: Warriors Eternal episode guide (May 4, 2023).
2. ↑ Adult Swim Official Account Posts History - Reddit
3. ↑ Tartakovsky AMA Part 1 - Reddit