In a land of myth and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young man. His name: Merlin.
Recap: Part 1.
Merlin took the parchment and read it aloud "A long time we have waited to enact our revenge, we attack 3 days hence. Ahreann."
Arthur stood in the armoury with Merlin by his side. He was facing his Knights and wore a solemn expression as he addressed his men.
"Today, we received a challenge, a man named Ahreann means to attack us in three days' time. We believe him to be coming from the region of Brecken, and I intend to ride out and stop him before he reaches Camelot.
Merlin dropped to the ground unconscious. Two men stepped forward and bundled him on to a horse. She removed the scarf from around Merlin's neck and threw it onto the ground with a smirk. With the woman leading, they rode away.
"I will keep him alive until Arthur arrives, he will not be far behind. With no King and no sorcerer Camelot is yours for the taking." Said Fahriel.
Ahreann sat on his horse, facing his men. His army was small, but with the King and his sorcerer soon to be dead, and the best of Camelot's army heading toward Brecken, he expected a victory to be easily won. A great cheer rang out among the men, and they set out, marching for Camelot.
Suddenly there was a great bang, Galahad and Merlin was blasted back into the wall and both lay unconscious on the floor. Arthur spun around, sword raised.
Tahriel walked into the room with a smile, "were you looking for me?" she asked.
Opening Credits
"Who are you?" Arthur demanded of the woman in front of him. "My name is Fahriel, but it matters not who I am, only what I am going to do" she said with a smile.
Arthur glanced down at Galahad and Merlin, willing them to wake, but neither moved. He looked back at Fahriel, "what are you going to do?" he asked. He was still stood rigidly in his fighting stance, sword pointed at her.
She laughed, "many years I have waited for this, Arthur." He frowned his confusion, and she continued. "I was just a girl when your father ordered for my family to be killed, my father, my brother, my mother, I alone managed to flee."
Arthur's frown deepened, "that is why you seek revenge?" She nodded. "I don't understand, I am sorry for the hurt my father caused you but you must know I do not follow in his path" Arthur said.
She considered him for a moment, "so you claim, yet you killed your own sister for having magic" she said coldly.
Arthur sheathed his sword, "I did not kill my sister for having magic. Morgana started a war against my Kingdom, and I ended it."
Fahriel shook her head, "you can try to justify your actions but it makes no difference, I will get my revenge Arthur, for with you and Merlin dead Ahreann will find it all too easy to take Camelot."
Arthur's eyes widened in shock as Fahriel smirked at him.
Sir Leon led a band of Knights on foot through a village. The group had reached Brecken. The majority of the party had stayed on the outskirts with the horses, while the others investigated.
Their swords remained sheathed so as not to cause panic, but they were all highly alert. Arthur had told Leon that the map makers may hold some clues, so that is where they headed.
The group was cautious, they had met no trouble on their journey which made them feel uneasy, they could be walking in to a trap.
They rounded a corner and saw a sign hung in front of the map makers. Sir Leon and his men approached quietly. Leon knocked on the door. He heard no answer. He exchanged a look with Sir Vidor who nodded. Leon slowly pushed the door open. He and Sir Vidor walked inside.. The other ten knights followed.
Inside the store was dark. Sir Vidor opened the curtains and light flooded the room. Leon froze, staring around in shock. The shop was empty, it had been ransacked. Sheets of paper were strewn across the ground. Sir Leon looked down and noticed with a horrified expression that some appeared to be splattered with blood.
He looked around at the men, "we must find Arthur, he is riding in to a trap" he exclaimed.
Gwen was sat in the council chambers looking over some papers. Gauis was standing beside her, gesturing to one of the documents. They both looked up as the doors flew open. One of the guards walked in breathing heavily.
"I am sorry to disturb you, your highness" he said. Gwen stood up, "not at all, what is the matter?" she asked.
"There is an army, your majesty, marching for Camelot, they will reach us within two days" he said urgently.
Gwen looked momentarily stunned, "an army… for whom do they march?"
"I have spoken to their messenger, he says they are here on the order of a man named Ahreann"
Gwen and Gauis exchanged a troubled look.
Leon and the patrol of Knights returned to the rest of the group. They explained what had happened, and how they needed to find Arthur at once. They group would return to the forest of Gedref together. From there, the soldiers on foot would march to Camelot, and those on horseback would try to follow Arthur.
The only chance they had to find him was to return to where he had left them, and hope they could still follow the trail.
Sir Leon led the Knights on horseback and they rode away as fast as was possible.
Percival and Gwaine had but found nothing. They kept their swords out and moved cautiously. Eventually, they had done an entire lap of the upper levels and were back at the entrance where they had left Arthur and Galahad. They had seen no one and were now starting to worry that their friends had not returned. They exchanged a look, "dungeons…" murmured Gwaine. Percival nodded and they crept down the stairs, along the path that Arthur and Galahad had taken.
As they crept along the hall they heard Arthur's voice, "if it is me you want, you have me, let my friends go, they have done nothing to you."
They heard a woman laugh, "how wrong you are Arthur, they turned on their own kind to help protect a Pendragon. Yes, I will be glad to see the three of you dead."
Percival and Gwaine inched along the hall until they could see the woman, she had her back to them. Percival held up his fingers, one… two… three…
On three Gwaine rushed forward, he swung his sword, cutting deep into the woman's side. She screamed and fell to the ground. As she fell her eyes flashed and Gwaine was thrown backward.
She lay on the ground, the pain clear in her eyes, "this isn't over" she said, pausing to gasp for breath, "my husband marches for Camelot as we speak, he will destroy your kingdom." Percival stepped forward purposefully and with a flash of her eyes, she threw him to the ground.
Arthur alone remained standing in front of her, she smirked, "I may be dying, Arthur, but I can still kill you." Arthur raised his sword as she raised her hand, but before either could act a red flash of light flew toward Fahriel, she screamed and fell back, laying quite still on the ground.
Arthur whipped around to find Merlin standing, breathing heavily, his hand still raised.
Gwen had summoned Sir Robyn to the council chambers, he was stood around the table with her and Gauis as she explained what she knew.
"An army?" he asked in shock. Gwen nodded, "yes, not a large one by any means, but with Arthur, Merlin and many of our finest men away we are in real danger Robyn."
He simply nodded, still looking stunned. "I need you to prepare all the men who remain, they will be on us in less than two days time."
Sir Robyn shook himself, he could not afford to be shocked, in the absence of Arthur, Merlin and Leon it fell to him to take charge. "Of course your majesty." He bowed to her and left the room.
Gwen turned to Gauis, "I told him not to go…." She said sadly. Gauis put his arm around her, "you musn't worry My Lady, I have faith in Arthur and Merlin."
She gave a forced smile, "as do I Gauis, but I fear they have walked in to a trap."
Arthur breathed a sigh of relief and his face broke into a grin when he saw Merlin. Merlin had a dark look on his face, his hand was still raised and he stared at Fahriel, dead on the ground.
His grim expression was broken as Arthur stepped forward and pulled him into a hug. Merlin let go of him and grinned back. "Merlin, what happened?"
Merlin shook his head, "I don't really know, I heard a noise, in the forest, I went to look and she appeared" he gestured to the woman on the ground, "she must have knocked me out, I woke up here."
Merlin looked around and Galahad, Gwaine, and Percival all still on the ground, "what are you doing here?" he demanded.
They bent down to check on their friends while Arthur explained. "We came to get you back" he said as he checked Percival. They were relieved to find their friends all still breathing.
"You shouldn't have done that, you must have known it was a trap, she could have killed you" Merlin said sternly. "Of course I knew, I wasn't going to leave without you Merlin" Arthur replied in a tone that indicated Merlin was being stupid.
Merlin smiled at him, "I appreciate that, Arthur."
He held his hand over his friend's heads, one by one, and as his eyes flashed they woke.
Gwaine sat up slowly, rubbing his head. He looked over at Fahriel. Arthur crouched down beside her and checked her pulse, he gave a grim nod and they understood she was dead. Gwaine smiled, "well, her little trap didn't go according to plan did it?"
Arthur stood up, "not exactly, thanks to you" he said with a nod toward Gwaine and Percival, "but Ahreann's army are marching for Camelot as we speak, and we are not there to protect her."
Robyn returned to Gwen in the council chambers at midday. "Our army is ready your majesty. Ahreann's men will reach us by nightfall tomorrow. We march at your command."
Gwen gave a nod, "thank you Robyn, I will give my orders this evening." Robyn bowed and left the room.
Gwen sighed and stared down at the table. She felt overwhelmed, she had to decide on a battle plan, and she had very little time to do so.
Arthur, Merlin, Gwaine, Galahad, and Percival ran back to the horses as fast as they could. Merlin rode with Gwaine and they rode hard back toward Camelot. Arthur wanted to make it to the forest of Gedref by nightfall. The path back from the forest was safe, and if they made it there they could ride through the night to get home.
They approached the forest and stopped to feed and water the horses. Arthur heard a noise and held up his hand for silence. The Knights drew their swords and followed Arthur as he crept through the trees.
Arthur peered around a tree, and then turned back to the others with a grin. He lowered his weapon and walked forward. "Leon!" he cried, and the man in front of him whipped around.
His face broke in to a grin "Arthur!" he cried. Arthur strode forward and grabbed Leon's arm. Leon looked bewildered, "I.. what are you doing here? We were looking for you, we thought you had ridden to a trap."
"We had" said Merlin grimly. Leon turned as Merlin spoke and grinned, "Merlin! You are alright." Merlin nodded.
"We can explain everything later, but Ahreann's army is marching for Camelot, we have no time to waste." Leon nodded, "we are ready to ride at once."
"We have a day at best until they reach Camelot, we will have to ride through the night to meet them" Arthur addressed his men.
Gwaine grinned, "then what are we waiting for, let's go."
Arthur smiled at him. The men all mounted their horses and they rode toward Camelot.
Gwen stood on the battlement as night fell. She was nervous. She could see the torches of the approaching army's camp in the distance. They would be at Camelot's gates by this time the next night.
Gauis walked up and stood beside her, "are you alright Gwen?" he asked. She sighed, "I have asked Sir Robyn to send our army out to stop them…. I hope I made the right decision Gauis"
Gauis nodded, "you had to make a choice Gwen, I fear none of the options was better than any other. Have faith."
Arthur and his men rode through the night. They stopped only to tend to the horses and continued.
The men on foot followed behind them. They fed the horses just before dawn, the sun could just be seen when they mounted and began to ride again. Arthur pulled his horse up beside Merlins, and Merlin yawned.
"You can not be tired" teased Arthur, "you did little but sleep yesterday." Merlin glared, "I was not asleep, I was unconscious."
Arthur laughed at Merlin's indignation and spurred his horse forward, Merlin rolled his eyes and followed.
At midday Ahreann halted his army. "We are an hours march from Camelot, we will rest here a few hours, we attack at nightfall" he announced. The men around him cheered and laughed.
Ahreann turned to the man closest to him, "Darin, any word from Fahriel?" Darin shook his head, "nothing my Lord."
Ahreann frowned, "send a message to her at once." Darin nodded, he held out his arm "ic i cume ambih", a crow flew down and landed on his oustretched arm. Darin pulled some parchment from his pocket and walked away.
Arthur, Merlin, and Leon crept on foot up a steep hill. The midday sun shone down on them. They kept low to the ground. They reached the top and peered over.
In the distance they could see an army camped on the plains. "Only five hundred men would you say?" Arthur asked. Leon nodded, "It appears so." Merlin raised his eyebrows, "more than twice what we have, and the knights on foot haven't caught up yet."
Arthur laughed at him as they walked back down the hill. "Always so negative Merlin! The others will reach us within the hour. We are about an hours march from Ahreann's men. Once the remaining Knights have caught up we have an hours rest, an hours march, we attack at the third hour."
"That's great Arthur, and how do you plan to deal with the fact that we are completely outnumbered?" Merlin asked sarcastically. Arthur grinned, "I thought you might be able to help with that….?" Merlin rolled his eyes and gave Arthur a look. He stopped walking and crossed his arms, Leon walked on ahead. "We don't know who they are, they could all have magic for all we know."
Arthur stopped and walked back to him, "Merlin, you know I hate to admit it, but I can't do this without you, have faith, we can do this." Arthur and Merlin exchanged a serious look, and then Merlin smiled. Arthur squeezed him on the shoulder, "that's more like it!" he said and they continued toward the others.
Gwen stood on the steps of the castle speaking with Sir Robyn. "They do not seem to have left their camp, we will leave at once and should reach them just after the third hour after noon" he said.
"Thank you Robyn" she said with a weak smile. Her face was troubled as she watched them ride away.
Gauis walked down the steps to stand beside her, "you made the right decision Gwen" he said kindly. "I hope so" she replied. "still no word from Arthur?" Gauis asked. She shook her head and a single tear ran down her face.
Ahreann was sat on the ground eating when Bahren ran toward him, "my Lord, Arthur's men are almost upon us!" Ahreann knocked his food to the ground as he stood up in a hurry. "They march from Camelot?" he asked. Bahren shook his head, "no, from Gedref" Ahreann frowned, "prepare for battle!" he screamed. Their camp was suddenly a flurry of activity as men ran around gathering their weapons.
Arthur peered out from behind the rocks. His men had used a path within a stone valley and were well hidden. They had a clear view of Ahreann's men. He turned back to his Knights, and held up his hand and gestured for their attack to begin. "ON ME!" He yelled, and they surged forward.
The enemy had clearly had some warning, but Arthur was pleased to see they were not prepared. Ahreann's men were no match for the knight of Camelot. The first assault of Ahreann's men were easily felled.
"Darin!" They heard Ahreann scream. Darin had been knocked off his feet by one of the Knights, he jumped when he heard his name. His eyes flashed gold and the Knight advancing on him was thrown backward. Darin stood up and looked behind him, "this is it" he said to the two men behind him.
They walked forward purposefully, hands raised, and the Knights closest to them were all thrown off their feet.
Arthur was fighting one of Ahreann's men. He swung his sword quickly and was forcing an advantage. Merlin ran up behind him and with a wave of his hand and a flash of his eyes threw the man onto the ground. Arthur frowned and turned around, "you can't have all the glory Merlin!" he cried. Merlin opened his mouth to protest but before he got a chance they heard a loud bang. He and Arthur whipped around and saw three men advancing on the Camelot Knights, hands raised, using magic to throw them off their feet. Behind them stood Ahreann, grinning broadly as he watched. "On second thoughts…go ahead" said Arthur with a cheeky grin.
Merlin ran toward them, he raised his arms and cried "Astrice" A blast of light flew toward the three sorcerers, and they all fell, quite still, onto the ground.
Ahreann looked up, his eyes widened in shock and he raised his sword. Suddenly there was a great rumble as of thunder. It took both Arthur's and Ahreann's men by surprise, and all turned to the hill behind them where the noise seemed to be coming from.
Arthur's face broke into a grin as he saw the rest of Camelot's army charging toward them with a yell. Ahreann's men started to exchange nervous glances. Camelot soldiers were now advancing toward them from two directions and they were vastly outnumbered. Some bravely raised their swords, but many ran.
"Cowards!" screamed Ahreann. Arthur ran toward him with his sword raised. The two fought, but Arthur had no trouble finishing him. Ahreann's death was the final straw, what remained of his army surrendered, or ran for safety.
Arthur walked toward Sir Robyn with a grin. "Good to see you" he said, holding out his arm which Robyn took with a smile.
Camelot's army arrived back to the citadel just before nightfall. Arthur dismounted his horse and Gwen came running down the steps toward him. "I was so worried" she said softly as he hugged her.
She let go and turned to Merlin, "thank you for bringing him home Merlin" she said.
Merlin smiled at her and Arthur frowned, "what makes you think our victory had anything to do with Merlin?" he cried indignantly. Gwen raised an eyebrow, "well, did it?"
Arthur glanced at Merlin, who was trying not to laugh. "Maybe a tiny bit, though he also did a good job of nearly getting us killed."
Merlin gave him a look "I think you did a pretty good job of that on your own!"
Merlin and Arthur exchanged a look, then both smiled. Arthur took Gwen's hand and they all turned to walk up the stairs together.