Hello there! After many months, here is the sequel to The Court Sorcerer Tournament! This time around, our dear Merlin must go on a quest! Hopefully it won't take me too terribly long to finish this...I've got 2 chapters done (So I'll try and post #2 tomorrow) and I'm working on the third, but I've been in such a creative rut! Fear not, though, I will finish this! I will never post a story that won't be finished. I know how it's ending and everything, it's just getting there that's the problem. ;P Mostly it's a problem because I really want to try my hand at a real subplot but I don't have any ideas...yet! Anyway, enjoy and please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.

Chapter One

Merlin sat in his new seat at the Round Table watching as his king paced back and forth. He hadn't said a word since he'd called this meeting the morning after their celebrations. Last night was a time to welcome Merlin home and congratulate him. Today his friends wanted answers.

Merlin let out a breath, "Are you going to say something, sire?"

Arthur stopped his pacing, "I just have so many questions! I don't know where to start, Merlin."

"Well, then," Gwaine butted in, "I'll ask one. What's with the name?"

"Emrys?" Merlin questioned. At Gwaine's nod he continued, "It's the name the druids know me by."

"Which brings me to my next question: how are you the druid king?" Gwaine inquired.

Merlin laughed, "It's honestly not much more than a title. I settle disputes, among other things, but I don't formally rule them. The druids don't really have a ruler like a kingdom does."

"Is it really okay that you leave them to live in Camelot?" Percival asked.

Merlin nodded, "As long as Arthur allows them to come see me when needed, I don't need to be there." He looked expectantly at the king who had finally sat down at the table.

"Of course," Arthur replied. "Magic is no longer illegal; I have no reason to keep them away." The hall drifted into silence as Merlin awaited the questions he knew his friends still had. It was a lot to take in in one day, he mused. He was just glad no one was yelling.

Arthur finally broke the silence, "Why didn't you ever tell me, or any of us, about your magic?" Ah, and there it is. The question Merlin had been expecting and dreading the most. He had to make Arthur and the others understand his reasons for silence.

He opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally speaking, "I wanted to. Believe me, I did. At first, of course, I didn't trust you—we'd only just met and you were the prince. I thought about telling you later, but I never wanted to put you in the position of having to choose between me and your father. That, on top of the fact that I've been keeping this secret my entire life."

"Speaking of which, why did you study magic in Camelot in the first place?" Gwen asked hesitantly.

Merlin mused over how to answer, "I never really had a choice in the matter. I was born like this—I'm not just a sorcerer, I am magic itself." The room went silent at Merlin's announcement, his friends unsure what to make of it. Great, I've freaked them out now, Merlin thought to himself.

"Just how powerful are you, mate?" Gwaine asked, suddenly very curious.

"I don't know, really," Merlin confessed. "The prophecies say I'm the 'most powerful warlock ever,' but it's anyone's guess as to exactly how powerful that is. I can't say I've tried very hard to push the limits of my magic."

"Prophecies?" Leon inquired, his head tilted to one side in confusion.

Merlin looked at Gaius, then Arthur, before answering, "Mhm. About Arthur and I." This seemed to catch Arthur's attention; he had been listening, but his attention slowly wandered as he thought about his friend's words.

"Me?" he questioned.

Merlin nodded, "The Once and Future King who shall unite the land of Albion and his protector, Emrys, the greatest warlock who ever was, is, or ever will be." The room once again fell into a stunned silence. Merlin thought they'd never get through this discussion if this kept on happening so he posed a question, "Anything else you wanted to know?"

"Out of curiosity," Arthur began, "When did you first use magic in front of me?"

"First time we met," Merlin announced, then corrected himself. "Or, rather, the second time. When we had that mace fight, I used magic to keep you from practically killing me. Until Gaius distracted me, of course."

Arthur looked indignant, "You cheated!"

Merlin laughed, "I suppose I did, but hey, you have your skills and I have mine." He winked at his king.

Something seemed to dawn on Arthur, "You weren't kidding when you said you could tear me apart with less than one blow." Merlin just grinned at him.

"Did anyone know before now?" Elyan asked.

"Gaius did, I used magic to save him from a fall my first day here. My mother knows, of course, as did my friend Will," Merlin hesitated, a wave of sadness threatening to take over. "And Lancelot knew. He heard me enchant his weapon so he could slay the griffin."

"We really do owe you a lot, don't we Merlin?" Gwen asked. Merlin nodded, they had no idea.

"I suppose there's just one thing left to discuss," Arthur looked hesitant to bring up the topic, but took a deep breath and forced the word out. "Balinor."

Merlin nodded sadly, he knew he'd have to talk about his father sometime. A small smile graced his lips, "He was indeed my father, though I only met him the one time when we went to find him. I didn't even know until right before we left, but Gaius told me as I was packing."

"So that's why you were acting so weird on that trip," Arthur mused, then seemed to realize something. "Oh, I am so sorry about what I said to you. I—"

Merlin held up a hand to silence him, "You didn't know. It's fine."

"So you're a Dragonlord?" Leon inquired.

Merlin nodded, "Yes, but I wasn't until after my father died. By the way, Arthur, you didn't kill the dragon." The king was shocked, but his Court Sorcerer continued, "I ordered him to never attack Camelot again so you have nothing to worry about. Besides, if Kilgarrah ever does act up, you have me. Oh, and I saved that dragon egg from the tomb, too. I hatched it; her name is Aithusa."

If possible, the room was even more silent than it had ever been. No one knew what to say to that, obviously Merlin had hid a lot from them. Each of them hoped they'd, in time, uncover their friend's secrets.