Merlin has seen many strange-magical things in his life, but today was his first time seeing the sky turn gold and a large structure float above Camelot.
It had started out as a relatively normal day; first he woke up to do Prince Arthur's laundry, then he polished Arthur's armor, then he cleaned Arthur room, etc. The reason Merlin does all these chores for Prince Arthur is because he is the Prince's Royal Manservant. He was lucky today; usually he has far more work to do.
However, Merlin is more than just a simple manservant. Secretly, he is a powerful sorcerer in training. Many times now, Merlin has saved Arthur's life without him even knowing it. Just a week ago, he helped Arthur kill his evil troll step-mother. They still have not been able to get the smell of her final fart out of the castle.
Anyway, when Merlin was heading to his room for a quick rest, he suddenly felt a terrible headache. This headache was so strong, he fell to the floor. Fortunately, his friend, Gwen, was nearby and helped him to his feet. As she did, they saw the sky's color change. This change was instantaneous. One second it was its normal blue color, the next it was bright gold. At the same instant, something appeared in the sky. It was a large-gray cube about a mile in height, width, and length. The cube simply levitated over Camelot, showing no signs of movement.
"What is that?!" Gwen exclaimed.
"I don't know." Merlin replied.
Despite Gwen's protests, Merlin went to the Council Hall; the place where King Uther and his advisors met to discuss urgent matters concerning the kingdom. The pain of Merlin's headache lessened as he made his way there, but it still hurt badly. The guards let him through because his uncle was the king's highest advisor and royal physician. Inside, Merlin found total chaos. Almost everyone was shouting, arguing or cursing. Some pointed at others and some raised their fists; only Arthur and his father remained silent, sitting at one end of the room in thrones. Merlin spotted his uncle, Gaius, in a corner sighing.
"How long have they been arguing like this?" Merlin asked his uncle.
"Since the meeting began." Gaius replied. "Everyone is in a panic. They have no clue as to what the sky's change of color and the object over Camelot means."
"Have you any idea what is happening?" Merlin asked.
"No." Gaius said. "I can find nothing in my books or memory. This kind of magical phenomenon is unprecedented."
From the look in his uncle's eyes, Merlin could tell he was afraid. Gaius was very old and has great wisdom in the fields of science and magic. Not knowing what they were facing truly scared him. Merlin himself was afraid, but he did everything he could to hide it. If he acted brave, he hoped he would help others find bravery within themselves.
The arguing grew worse, until Uther shouted, "Enough!"
At that moment, everyone quickly fell silent. They all looked to their king with respect, waiting to be told what to do. Uther was not yet an old man, but no longer a young man. His eyes were dark-green, his hair was dark-gray and his body was very muscular. He wore a dark coat, had a sword at his side, and on his head sat a jeweled crown made of gold. When you looked him straight in the eye, you could see he had endured terrible pain that created rage within him.
Arthur had blonde hair and brown eyes, like his deceased mother. He had a strong body and carried a sword with him, like his father. However, his eyes are much kinder than Uther's. Today, Arthur was wearing a brown-leather coat and a red shirt. When he and Merlin first met, Merlin simply thought Arthur was an arrogant prince, but a friend told him to give Arthur a chance. Since then, he had come to realize that Arthur was noble, courageous, and would be a great king. Though, he was still arrogant and bossy to Merlin.
"This is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves!" Uther said with a deadly serious tone. "Now, what do we know about what we are dealing with?"
For a long moment, there was silence, which was eventually broken by one of the knights.
"We know basically nothing, my lord." Sir Gregory said. "Only what our eyes see."
"Are we certain this is sorcery?" Arthur asked. "If so, then what kind? Could it be an illusion?"
"Yes, sire." Gaius replied. "It is most definitely sorcery, but I sincerely doubt it is an illusion."
Before the conversation could continue, a knight burst into the Council Hall. This knight looked out of breath and scared. Immediately upon entering, he apologized for interrupting.
"Stop apologizing and tell us what you have to say!" Uther ordered.
"My lord, there has been a new development." The knight replied.
At that, Merlin, Uther, Arthur, Gaius and many others began emptying the Council Hall. Apparently, a pillar had descended from the gray cube, connecting the gray cube to the lower town. There was a wooden door at the base. All the peasants had evacuated the area while the knights surrounded the pillar. In total, there were two dozen knights present with swords at the ready and bows drawn back. Every knight was nervous, but some did a better job of concealing it than others.
As they got closer, Merlin could feel his headache worsening. It felt like one-hundred drums were pounding inside his head. A theory began to take form in his mind. Could his headache be connected to the gray cube?
"Has anything come out of that door?" Arthur asked a nearby knight.
"No, sir." The knight replied. "And none of us have tried to open it. We are keeping our distance because of the noises."
"What noises?" Arthur asked, confused.
Arthur and Merlin could hear nothing. In fact, the silence was a little disconcerting.
"Just take a few steps forward." The knight said. "Then you will know what I mean."
Not sure what to expect, Arthur started walking forward with Merlin close behind him. When they were four feet from the pillar, they heard voices within their very minds. Dozens of voices spoke in their heads; some shouted, some spoke normally and some shouted. There were all manner of voices. What they said did not make sense, but did not seem random. It was like someone had taken sentences from a thousand different conversations and put them together in a new order. The experience was very disconcerting for Arthur, but it was even worse for Merlin. Every ten seconds, he would hear a voice shout over the others. This voice was odd and devoid of emotions. What it said was a single word repeatedly.
Divide!
Merlin felt he should understand what this meant, but he did not.
"My lord, what should we do?" One of the knights asked Uther.
"We must find out what is within this gray structure." Uther replied. "Someone must open this door and investigate whatever is behind it."
None of the knights seemed too keen on that idea. Whatever they were dealing with, it was a complete mystery to them. These knights were trained to fight against many evils and monsters, but facing the unknown causes fear to take form in even the bravest of men. However, one man volunteered almost immediately.
"Allow me to investigate." Arthur said.
As soon as he finished that sentence, Merlin also volunteered.
"Arthur, are you certain about this?" Uther asked his son, showing an expression almost never seen on his face.
Concern.
"I am absolutely certain." Arthur replied. "I am the prince of Camelot. It is my duty to protect this great kingdom from all threats, even the unknown."
"Very well," Uther said. "But please be careful, my son."
"I understand, father." Arthur replied. "Let's go, Merlin."
Trying to ignore the voices in their heads, they walked over to the door. With every step, Merlin's headache grew even worse. It took all his concentration not to fallover. When he and Arthur reached the door, Merlin moved to open it while Arthur stood a step behind with his sword in hand. The moment Merlin began turning the knob, he felt sudden pain in his hand that was like being poked with several sewing needles at once. Instantly, he retracted his hand. At the same time, the door swung open on its own. Then, a bright light temporarily blinded Arthur and Merlin, followed by something pulling them forward.
Once they regained their sight, Arthur and Merlin found themselves in a small room with metal walls and a pale light over their heads. There was only enough space in the room to comfortably fit six people in it. Also, the room was vibrating slightly. Both of them could feel it.
"Where are we?" Merlin asked, his headache still hurting.
"Not a clue." Arthur replied. "Let's focus on finding a way out of here."
No sooner had he spoken had one of the walls slid open. Outside the room was a vast library. Seemingly endless bookshelves in row were just in front of them. Once they out, they discovered the room was in the middle of an circular empty space between bookshelves. Each shelf was seven feet high and tightly packed with books of every size and color.
"Is this some kind of library?" Merlin wondered.
Merlin decided to open one of the books. He picked a book titled, "Storybrooke; volume 1." Just as Merlin was about to open the book when he hesitated. Something inside him told him it would be a mistake. That he really should not. When Merlin was about to put the book back, he suddenly heard footsteps heading towards them. The surprise caused Merlin to drop the book, which opened as it hit the floor. As this happened, a beam of light shot out of the open book. This light converted Merlin into light as well, which was then reabsorbed back into the book. After the light had been completely pulled back into the book, it shut itself.
"Merlin!" Arthur shouted as this happened.
In an instant, he grabbed the book and tried to open it. However, he found that it would not open despite his best efforts. Frustrated, Arthur grabbed his sword and swung it down against the book. As soon as the sword made contact, an invisible force throw him to the ground. Black chains burst out of the floorboards and restrained him. Arthur struggled to get free, but the chains only became tighter around him. It quickly became hard to breath.
"Who dares try to tamper with my books?!" A voice boomed.
A man appeared, standing over Arthur. This man wore a brown coat, a black shirt, along with odd blue pants. His face was very wrinkled, his hair gray, his skin slightly pale, and his green eyes looked down at Arthur with curiosity. In his right hand, he held Arthur's sword.
"Who might you be?" The man asked.
It took him a second to realize Arthur was unable to speak due to the chains. He said something Arthur did not understand, then the chains loosened enough for him to breath normally and speak.
"Now, would you kindly answer my question?" The man asked.
"An answer for an answer." Arthur replied. "I tell you what you want to know, you tell me what I want to know."
"Agreed." He answered. "But, your answer first."
"I am Arthur Pendragon, prince of Camelot." Arthur replied. "Who are you?"
"Formally, I was known as the Author. The very first, in fact." The man answered. "Now, I am simply the Librarian. My friends call me Gabriel."
"Could you release me, Gabriel?" Arthur asked as politely as he could manage.
"After a few more questions." He replied. "How did you enter my library?"
Arthur explained to him everything that had happened in Camelot. Gabriel listen, but after a few sentences, he seemed bored. As if he already knew, or expected, most of the details.
"Ah, so the elevator is still working." Gabriel said. "That door you stepped through and the room are part of the elevator. It is how most people get in here. I was certain it had been broken during the attack."
"'Attack'?" Arthur repeated. "What attack?"
"My library appeared over your kingdom because I moved it there to escape some rather nasty attackers." Gabriel explained. "There are many who would love to get their hands on such a vast collection of knowledge."
"What good are books that eat people?" Arthur asked.
"Beg your pardon?" Gabriel responded, sounding quite confused.
"I did not come here alone." Arthur replied. "He opened one of your books and it created a beam of light that … well, pulled him into the book."
"Are you serious?!" Gabriel exclaimed.
"Yes." Arthur said. "I saw it happen with my own eyes."
Then, Gabriel snapped his fingers and the chains around Arthur disappeared. The floorboards quickly repaired themselves. Immediately, Arthur got to his feet, while Gabriel picked up the book. He whispered something and the book opened itself. That was when Arthur saw something confusing.
On one of the open pages was a painting of Merlin. He stood at the center of an odd-looking town square. His expression was confused, much like Arthur's.
"What the hell?" Arthur said, staring at the page.
"As I feared." Gabriel sighed. "Your friend has been trapped within the story and he will not be able to leave it, not without help from us."
Suddenly, a loud noise that sounded like a wolf howling echoed throughout the library.
"Well, it seems we must move again." Gabriel said, pulling something out of his pocket.
What he pulled out was a glass orb just barely small enough to fit in his palm. Gabriel then began chanting strange words and the entire library started to vibrate violently while the orb glowed.
Meanwhile, Merlin found himself in a peculiar looking town. Above him, the sky was its normal blue and the sky was shining brightly. For a second, he simply stood in the middle of the road, looking baffled. What brought him out of his thoughts was a loud horn. It came from a horseless metal carriage moving towards him at great speed. Merlin hurried out of the way.
"Are you okay, mister?" A boy nearby asked.
This boy looked about ten, maybe eleven, years old and had brown hair. His clothing consisted of a multi-colored scarf and black coat, which looked very well made. He also carried a weird looking sack on his back.
"Ya, I'm fine." Merlin replied. "Where am I?"
"Dude, you're in Storybrooke." The boy answered. "Are you lost?"
"Yes, I believe so." Merlin replied.
"In that case, come with me." The boy said. "My name is Henry. I can buy you some food for you and you can tell me how you ended up here. This town does not get many visitors, so I am curious."
"Okay." Merlin replied, walking into a building called, "Granny's" with Henry.