Bearing the Path to Destiny

A/N: Here we finally are. The third and final part in the Path to Destiny. Albion's destiny. Warning: If you haven't read the first two fics of the Destiny series then this one might not make too much sense. This fic is sure to be a brutal one on the fields of battle and in the innards of the character's mind, heart and soul. Let's hope for the best for their sake. Also, after this is posted I will be closing the poll. A big thank you to those that voted. You really helped me with what to put in and what not to.

In magic - and in life - there is only the present moment, the now. You can't measure time the way you measure the distance between two points. 'Time' doesn't pass. We human beings have enormous difficulty in focusing on the present; we're always thinking about what we did, about how we could have done it better, about the consequences of our actions, and about why we didn't act as we should have. Or else we think about the future, about what we're going to do tomorrow, what precautions we should take, what dangers await us around the next corner, how to avoid what we don't want and how to get what we have always dreamed of.

~ Paulo Coelho, Aleph

Summary: It's war! Camelot and the other kingdoms have fallen to King Vortigern's iron grip. With Mordred, Mab, Nemain and his great army behind him, it seems like nothing will stop him from achieving his ends. Arthur, Merlin, the Knights of Camelot and the Order of the Bear and all their friends and allies intend to make sure that those ends never come to pass. New players and pieces soon start coming into play like Morgana and Aithusa. Merlin is determined to fulfill his destiny as Emrys, Morgana is determined to fulfill her destiny as High Priestess, and Arthur is determined to fulfill his destiny as the Once and Future King. Yet, new and old developments may cause them to veer off their presumed courses in this path to destiny. What awaits them all at the end of the path? Will they rise to their destinies or fall to their fates?

Chapter 1: On the Path to Destiny

Over at a university in a suburban community in England, a literature class was leaving the room as the professor officially dismissed them. It was going to be Easter break and many were eager to leave to begin it.

"Don't forget to hand in your pair research assignments on the way out," called the professor before any could leave. One by one, the student pairs handed their professor their papers until the final pair, two twenty year old girls were left. "Ahh, Megan and Lauren. As I understand it, you two were having trouble choosing a topic, correct?"

"We did have some trouble," said Lauren. "But we did manage to find one."

"A good one." said Megan. "We really got into it, actually."

"Really?" The professor analyzed the cover page. "The Arthurian Legend eh? Interesting choice."

Lauren nodded. "Our boyfriends recommended it. They said that it would fit what you wanted perfectly."

"I did ask for research on works that have and would boggle minds for ages. The truth is that most students usually go for Shakespeare but this is an invigorating choice. What inspired that recommendation?"

Megan shrugged."We don't know. Though it was interesting. So many branches and versions of the same story. We found four, all different."

"Yes, I know. I've heard about two or three of them. And I heard there are over a dozen more on top of that. Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere, Morgana, Mordred and many others. We may know their names but will we ever know them? Who really knows what happened to these characters nowadays or if any were even real. I look forward to reading this." She placed their paper on the top of the stack."You should thank your boyfriends for this. Believe me, I know many who wouldn't have helped at all on something like this."

"We're going to meet them now and don't worry, we are." As they left, Megan turned to Lauren. "I'm a little sad it's over actually. I really got into all of it. The last version we found was pretty romantic...and devastating. Poor Merlin."

"More like poor Arthur." said Megan. "Remember the second version we found? Guinevere having to lose her husband and their son having to lose his father so young. The three of them are the ones who I want to cry for."

"Maybe, but with that first version we found. Guinevere cheating with Lancelot and Arthur casting them out and her not even able to have children. I didn't feel that they deserved more tears than Merlin's story. Betrayed and Tricked to be stuck in a tree by a dark sorceress he loved."

"Maybe, but like the professor said: who knows what really happened if anything happened at all? I mean, one version still has Merlin walking among us waiting for Arthur's return." Megan looked at her watch. "Well, we better move. Matthew is probably waiting by his van with Miles."

"Yeah. Miles kept hinting to me that he and his cousin had someplace special that they wanted to take us."

"Where?" asked Megan.

"Wouldn't say but he did say we would have to hike a bit to get to it."

"A hike? That's different."

"Well, we always did say that there is something about the two of them that are different from other guys."

Several Hundred Years Before...

The land of Briton was in full blown war. It had been a little over two years since the powerful and merciless King Vortigern Tregor descended on the land with his armies. He came with the intent on bringing the Five Kingdoms under his thumb and struck first at the mightiest one: Camelot. It mattered very little that Arthur's family and his had been allies in the past, he struck first and struck hard. Vortigern brought legions of soldiers from a cold distant land that lived for battle, the Vikings. They were fierce, strong and tough as nails. That coupled with the magic of his sorcerers and his council and their armada of magical creatures came to Camelot and caused it to fall, literally. The castle and city that once was awed and prided as the richest and grandest in the land became reduced to rubble. Mordred was at his right hand as were three other sorcerers that were known as the Thorns. The Thorns had rained the devastation that had caused Camelot to crumble, seen by the eyes of its people, knights and king. The final bit of insult that he and his forces brought was to build him a new castle on the site and changed the name of Camelot to Wirtgernesburg.

Vortigern didn't stop there and quickly had his forces move on to the other kingdoms. Kings Bayard, Alined and Lord Odin had allied with him and struck at the King Olaf, Queen Annis and Lord Godwyn on his behalf. While their lands weren't ravaged as Camelot had, their defeats were just as heartbreaking. Also, with their use gone, Bayard and Alined fell in cleverly disguised accidents and Vortigern had dominion over their kingdoms, to add to his new collection. King Lot was the only king of the Five Kingdoms left and he chose to join Vortigern as well. This left Vortigern's influence virtually unchallenged as the Five Kingdoms became no more.

Yet, Arthur and his people weren't without hope. They had gone to the city of Albion, home of a multitude of sorcerers and old enemies of the Tregors, Thorns and former enemies of Camelot. Arthur had discovered their location over a year prior and through the actions of the now revealed warlock Merlin, he was able to form a truce. He had hoped that they could help in fighting against Vortigern and take back the kingdom. Annis, Godwyn's daughter Lady Elena and Olaf's daughter Lady Vivian also managed to flee from Vortigern's armies and came to Albion to ask for their help.

It wasn't a quick progress. As most of the Albions had suffered pain and loss from their kingdoms during the Great Purge they didn't exactly jump at the chance. The pride of Albion, The Order of the Bear, made it clear that they wouldn't help any of them return to power and would insist on fighting against Vortigern alone. Yet, when Mordred and one of the Thorns named Angus attacked, Camelot's men and Albion's men managed to join forces against them and theirs. Arthur, with the help of the new red dragon Madoc even managed to destroy the evil Angus. Eventually, Lord Connor of Albion and his council agreed to join forces against their common foe and even brought friends from the distant isle of Eire to help them.

Over two years had passed with this new alliance against Wirtgernesburg. The fighting was intensive but there was cause for hope. First, Lord Godwyn's former lands had been won back and it made the people believe that the others could be won back. Bayard's men had occupied these territories along with some of the Thorns' beasts but they were pushed back and retreated. Lady Elena was happy to have her family's land back but she was also sad to learn that her father, Lord Godwyn had already fallen victim to Vortigern's forces. She grieved but she resolved to be strong and lead her newly liberated people in his stead.

Currently, the alliance had moved on to Olaf's kingdom to help him and Lady Vivian reclaim it. Olaf was pouring over a map and conversing with his knights when a soldier came into the sights panting.

"Sire," he shouted.

Olaf went a little cold. For the last two years, they had been hiding in these caves and while it was a complicated system that could make anyone get lost, there was still fear that they would finally be found by one of Vortigern's armies. "What is it?"

The soldier was a little breathless. "In the...woods close by...there are...armies."

"An attack?!" he asked frantically.

"No sire...a battle."

This caught Olaf more off guard then before. "What?"

The steel of opposing forces clashed on the woods close by the caves. Colors of the red of Camelot fought against the colors of Alined's former kingdom, disturbing the quiet through these trees. Camelot's knights fought their hearts out as they tried to move to where they knew King Olaf to be hidden and, from what their intelligence tells them, that the enemy has found out where he has holed up as well. Leon swiped his elbow down on an enemy soldier's arm to make him let go of the sword he tried to spear him with before he struck him down. A soldier tried to swipe down on Percival when he caught the blow and then pushed back up. Percival's push was so strong that the man's arms went up and the soldier was exposed and Percival then took the man's head. Tristan ducked from a dice for his head by falling to the ground. He then plunged his sword right up into the soldier's chest and then pushed him into another enemy about to strike Gwaine from behind making him lose his footing. Gwaine heard the man's yelp and he struck at him before the man could recover.

Arthur bumped into an enemy soldier before spearing Excalibur into the soldier's stomach. He looked ahead to see more soldiers of the enemy rushing to try and overwhelm them. If he didn't do anything then they would.

"Fall back," he called out to his men. "Back with me now!"

His men heeded the words of their king and went into a full retreat from where they came. As they ran, the enemy laughed before the officers told them to not let them escape. They ran after them with glee, thinking that they would soon cut down men who have given up. Arthur and his men ran through the trees up until the sight of a figure in a blue cloak came into their sights. He was just standing there with his hood up and just looking at the ground before the sounds of their feet made him look up.

Merlin brought his vision up and caught the sight of his friend where he nodded his head. Arthur nodded his back and gave his men the signal. They formed a line in front of Merlin and turned to face back at their enemy. The incoming enemy saw that Arthur's men had stopped running and were confident that they would easily cut them down. Merlin then raised his arms out followed by a great glow of his eyes. Suddenly, from behind the enemy, the ground let out great mini explosions. In the spots, men erupted up from the ground behind their foes, Bedivere and his fellow celts with their weapons at the ready. They had been buried and kept safe there by Merlin's magic until it was time to surprise their foes. With this new development, they had their enemy now trapped between their two lines.

"You are trapped," said Arthur. "I would advise you drop your weapons and surrender for your own good."

"I would listen to King Arthur if I were you," Bedivere shouted from behind them.

"You could still leave with your lives," said Merlin who levitated himself a bit above the knights to be properly visible to the enemy.

The officers apparently didn't appreciate the advice or concern because they called for their men to attack. So Camelot and the Celts were forced to fight back.

Afterwards, Arthur found himself with Olaf in the cave system that he was using to hide with his army, reunited again with his daughter. It had been a few years since he'd seen Olaf but it seemed that losing his kingdom, his daughter and hiding in these caves for two years have weathered the once proud and confident monarch. Yet, when his daughter ran to him, he seemed to lose ten years of him.

"Father," Vivian said running to her father and enveloping him in a hug.

"Vivian," he said squeezing her a little too tightly as if she would be yanked away if he didn't have a firm grip on her. He let her go and looked her over. "You seem okay."

"I told you in my messages that I was."

"It's one thing to hear but I am still relieved to see you are okay."

Arthur stayed silent as he let the father and daughter have their moment. He could distinctly hear the sounds of his men talking with Olaf's and the ones of Merlin and a few others treating and caring for the wounded.

Olaf then looked over at Arthur. "Thank you Arthur for protecting my daughter."

Arthur nodded. "It was my pleasure Olaf. Although, I can't take all the credit for her well-being. You should also thank the Albions. They granted us safety on their land and made sure we all were secure and healthy these past two years."

"It's true sire," said one of the knights that had been with Vivian for the last two years. "We owe them a debt of gratitude."

"At first, I didn't believe the rumors that reached us. The word was that an army of men in Camelot's, Albion's and foreign colors had been engaging Vortigern's forces and pushing them back. That was until I received a message from a falcon with your handwriting Vivian. Many told me not to trust it, said that it was a trick to weed out our location but I know your hand better than anyone. Your messages brought me a small grain of relief."

"Yes, Lord Connor of Albion is a sorcerer that is able to communicate with animals. He gave me use of his falcon. He said it was his best tracker and would be able to find you so I could let you know I was okay. That our men with me were okay. And that there was cause for hope."

"Then Connor has my full gratitude as do his people." Olaf nodded. "Are any of them here with you? I would like to give them my gratitude personally."

"Not at the moment I'm afraid," said Arthur. "None of the Albions were part of our force heading for you."

"Where are they?"

"Connor and the Order of the Bear are off on another front with some of our Welsh allies, trying to push on into your royal city."

"Truly?" asked Olaf completely surprised. "Are they mad? The sorceress who has been hunting for us the last year and governs from the city is merciless."

"Nemain, yes. Trust me Olaf, they are aware and they are more than capable of dealing with her and her forces. She used to also oversee Godwyn's lands but she was forced out. She'll hopefully be finished for good this time."

"Then why are we still here?" he asked before ordering his men to move out. "If there is a force moving to take back my city then I should be a part of it. That demented woman has been grating my nerves for too long."

Arthur nodded. "I was hoping you would say that."

Over in Albion, in the big house dubbed Lord's Manor, Master Malcolm was pouring over a map with Lord Kent, Queen Guinevere and Sirs Galahad and Elyan. Malcolm brought up the topic of the recent intelligence that they intercepted about Olaf's exact position becoming known to Nemain's armies.

"If we calculated correctly," said Malcolm. "The knights and celts should get to those caves before Nemain's men do."

Lord Kent looked a little uncomfortable. "Should? I don't like should."

"I just hope that Arthur and the others manage to get to Olaf before Nemain does," said Guinevere pressing her pointer finger's knuckle to her lips in worry. "If they get attacked in those caves, they'll be trapped."

"Arthur and the others won't let that happen Gwen." Elyan pointed to a spot on the map that symbolized the royal city of Olaf's kingdom. "Once Arthur gets to Olaf, they could push on together for the city from the north."

"In the meantime," said Galahad. "Connor and Travis' forces are openly engaging Nemain's forces from the south. The open confrontation should be enough to draw all the attention away from Arthur's group so they shouldn't be expecting them coming and intercepting the men she sent for Olaf. Nemain would only expect her own men from that direction with news that they have either captured or killed Olaf and his men."

"If all goes to plan, by this time next week, Vortigern will have lost his hold on Olaf's kingdom." said Kent.

"That would only leave Annis's land and ours," said Elyan. "The remnants of Annis' scattered army are eager to drive out Odin and Mab. Vortigern has the two of them overseeing that kingdom."

The meeting soon ended and everyone but Malcolm dismissed themselves. Malcolm looked out the window to see the former Queen of Camelot and her brother heading out of the gates to begin the trek back to their camp by the village. The last two years, Malcolm would admit that there was a degree of trust forming within him towards the two royals and their knights. Maybe, Lord help him, he was even starting to like them. But, as he griped the strap leading to the lute tied to his back, he would never forget what he had committed himself to. He wouldn't betray his friend. He would live for him...and ensure the Pendragons' crimes would never be able to be repeated.

In the fields just outside Olaf's city there were a row of ogres running out in a full sprint with their clubs up high. It didn't take them far a stream of magic fired across the field and collided with them leaving them nothing but ash as they screamed to oblivion. However, they did what they were meant to in absorbing the blasts as the soldiers behind them charged for the Albions and Welsh even faster than the ogres. The front line of Albions, who had their magical weapons out and pointed in front of them charged for them as well with their comrades right behind them.

Three of Alined's former troops went flying as Kay blasted them away with a cyclone of wind. An ogre stomped over behind him and was about to bring his axe down on him before it let out a pained growl and went to dust. Kay looked behind him and saw that it was Kalen with some sparks still lighting up his outstretched hand before he took his sword and parried the blow from an enemy soldier.

"Kay!" shouted a voice in his head.

Kay looked up and saw that it was Connor, in the air engaging a gargoyle. Connor blasted the gargoyle with energy released from his magical sword and he looked down at Kay. He pointed ahead to where the city was visible and he understood.

"Push on to the city." he commanded. The men that could hear him blasted or struck away the enemies they were facing and followed Kay as he lead the assault on the ground.

Connor and a few others of the Order of the Bear were airborne with him and striking at the flying creatures that were trying to swipe at their men on the ground. He caught the light show from a certain red haired friend of his. Flint made two gargoyles and a hippogriff go aflame and their carcasses fell to the ground like firery comets.

"Flint," he cried. "Kay's ground movement is pushing ahead."

"Then let's push on ourselves." he said flying over to him.

They looked ahead to see about a dozen more of those creatures flying for them. Flint and Connor brought out their arms and fired a joint blast of power for them. Their combined magic made their foes nothing more as dust in the wind; they didn't stand a chance against them.

Over in the city's castle, the distant lights and sounds of the battle could be seen and heard by Nemain. The sorceress in her robes with velvet thorns sown in around her torso was alone in the throne room but was still conversing with someone. Someone who was visible in the water of a bowl on a pedestal not far away.

"They're pushing on closer." said Nemain not turning away from the window.

The face of her king narrowed his eyes slightly. "What about the men you sent for Olaf? A hostage like him might come in handy."

"A scout managed to bring the news to me that Arthur and Merlin had met with them in the woods. No doubt to try and stop them from capturing Olaf. Obviously, Connor and Kent's men openly marched for here to try and distract me from trying to notice them."

"And now, they'll march for the city and come for you in two directions to try and box you in," Vortigern finished.

"It looks like. What are your orders?"

"Get out of there," he said not losing a beat. "No sense in losing you as well as that land."

"I'm touched by your concern," she said emotionlessly before cancelling the magic of the seethe bowl. She then looked back out the window in the distance where she could see a dozen of her creatures being reduced to dust.

In the throne room of Wirtgernesburg, King Vortigern rested himself back in his throne as the sight of Nemain disappeared from the water in the bowl. The sorcerer beside him stood watching after the fading image of his fellow Thorn.

"Nemain failed us again."

The king waved it off. "Just a minor setback my friend."

"Sire," he said looking over at Vortigern. "Our enemies are about to reclaim a second kingdom from our clutches." Vortigern just looked over at him with no concern in his posture whatsoever. "And you don't seem worried?"

"About what Mordred? I took all the kingdoms in under two months and it took them two years to get back two of them. It's no real concern. Besides, the losses that we've suffered have been on the late Alined and Bayard's men. So let Arthur and Connor believe that they are making a difference. They are so busy getting back meager spits of land while our power is growing. Am I right?"

Mordred chuckled a little to himself. "I suppose so."

"The future of these lands are in my hands. In the end, all that work will have been for nothing. Speaking of work, what is the update with your spellwork?"

Mordred had grown even more than before in the last two years. His build had gotten a little bigger and there were stubble traces slightly visible on his chin. But that was just the changes on the surface. "My training with the Diabolus Grimoire has been fruitfull. I never knew there was such power. And soon, I will have master its magic."

"I have no doubts Mordred. Just as I have no doubts that our revenge will soon come. Mine against Albion and yours against Camelot."

Mordred gave a wicked smile that now seemed fully complimented by his matured appearance. "I can already taste it sire."

End of Chapter 1

A/N: Well, how did you like the start of the third story. The first part may not seem important but you'll see its signifance but it won't be until the very end of the story so you'll have to have patience. Also, the Diabolus Grimoire roughly means The Devil's book of magic. That alone should tell you what is coming.