The story begins with the Fisher King as a boy – who had to spend a night alone in the forest so that he could become king. While he was alone in the forest, he’s visited by a sacred vision. Out of the fire appeared the Holy Grail; the symbol of God's divine grace. And a voice spoke to the boy, saying, "You shall be the keeper of the Grail, that it may heal the hearts of men." But the boy was blinded by greater visions; by a life filled with power and glory and beauty ... and in this state of radical amazement, he felt for a brief moment not like a boy, but invincible, like God.
And so he reached into the fire to take the Grail. And the Grail vanished, leaving him with his hand in the fire to be terribly wounded.
Now, as this boy grew older, his wound grew deeper, until one day life for him lost its reason. He had no faith in any man, not even himself. He couldn’t love or feel loved. He was sick with experience. He began to die. As he did, so too did his kingdom, which terrified his people. So they mobilized to find the one thing they knew could save him – the Holy Grail.
One day a fool wandered into the castle and found the king alone. Being a fool he was simple-minded, he did not see a king, he only saw a man alone and in pain. And he asked the king, "What ails you friend?"
The king replied, "I’m thirsty. I need some water to cool my throat."
So the fool took a cup from beside his bed, filled it with water, and handed it to the king. As the king began to drink he realized that his wound was healed. He looked in his hands, and there was the Holy Grail; that which he has sought all his life. And he turned to the fool and said with amazement, "How could you find that which my brightest and bravest could not?"
And the fool replied, "I don’t know. I only knew that you were thirsty."