Different Worlds
Disclaimer: I own none of this fan fiction. If I did I would be rich.
Summary: When a vampyre fledgling, Merlin and Arthur Pen Dragon, and some others from the Merlin series, get launched into the world of Alagaisia, where all Vampyres are hunted by an evil king, what will happen? Eragon, House of Night and Merlin crossover. (O/C).
Chapter 1
Strange Happenings.
(Cherish P.O.V.)
The sun was just started to rise as I walked from the club building back to the dorm. My Dark Daughters pendant lay lightly around my neck. I had recently been elected leader of the Dark Daughters and Sons for the Swansea House of Night due to my affinity for water and I had just finished this month's full moon ritual, the thing I looked forward to the most.
A weird feeling pulled me to a stop. A change in the wind maybe? No. This was something else. This was magic. A bright light suddenly surrounded me and I collapsed.
(Merlin P.O.V.)
I was tense as Arthur and I walked through this strange forest. Whatever had transported us here had been magic, Uther had agreed with that. We had no idea where we were. The bluish white light seemed to have transported us far away from Camelot.
The forest ended to reveal a vast, unknown, landscape and a clear blue sky. There was a small town, not too far away. We were about to head back to where we had agreed to meet the others when I noticed a motionless figure lying under a tree.
"Arthur! Look!" I pointed at the figure.
He ran over and I was close behind. It turned out to be a girl of around sixteen, but she was strange.
Her midnight black hair seemed to be flecked with purple and it framed her pale but perfect face, and in the centre of her forehead was the outline of a delicate sapphire blue crescent moon. Around her neck was a silver pendent. The pendant was of a full moon and two crescent moons to the sides of the full moon. She looked as if she were royalty of some unknown people.
"Who do you think she is?" I asked.
"The dress she is wearing seems to be of good quality material and I do not know of anyone, bar nobility, who could afford to have a mark like that inked into their skin. So I'm guessing that she is no commoner. Maybe she will know where we are."
"Uh, my head hurts." Her hand raised and touched her forehead; right on the top of her mark and her eyes fluttered open, revealing a pair of sapphire blue eyes that matched her tattoo exactly.
"Where am I? Who are you?" she cast about worriedly.
"Well I am Arthur, and this idiot is Merlin. As for where this is, we don't know. Hopefully, not too far from Camelot."
Why did he have to make me look stupid in front of her? I thought angrily.
"Camelot? You have to be kidding me? That is like ancient legend. I mean if you are supposed to be the king Arthur then I have died and gone to the Otherworld."
"Um, not king, prince, and what do you mean ancient legend?" Arthur asked nervously, I was beginning to hope he would make a complete fool of himself.
The girls face paled further, if it was possible, and her eyes widened. "Oh! I think that…"
"You think what?" I asked after a minute.
"Magic must have thrown all three of us to a different time or place." She said weakly.
"Not three, my father, some knights and a few others, were all transported here. It seems we are all in the same predicament. I'm sorry, what was your name again?"
"I'm Cherish. I'm from the future."
"I guessed that when you said Arthur was ancient legend." I laughed.
"Hey, is your father really opposed to magic?" She asked Arthur.
"Yes, why?"
"Oh it's just that magic is so common in my time, I have a few friends who can do magic."
"Can you do magic?" Arthur asked. His shoulders were tense.
"I never got the hang of the whole casting spells thing, but I can sense it. I can also sense people who can do magic." (A/N. This is a part truth; Cherish doesn't see her affinity as magic, not yet anyway.)
"Where did you get that mark?" I asked motioning to the crescent moon.
"Oh, this?" she put her hand on her forehead and smiled slightly. "This is the mark of my people. We get it filled in and expanded on as we get older."
"Well, why don't you come with us? We are supposed to be meeting up with the rest of our party and then finding somewhere to stay, or at least get supplies." Arthur offered.
"Thank you that is a very kind offer." Cherish accepted, standing up.
"This way then," Arthur said and he led the way into the forest.
(Cherish P.O.V.)
I couldn't believe it; I was travelling with Arthur Pen Dragon and Merlin (who I kept stealing glances at)! Unfortunately I would have to keep the fact that I was a vampyre fledgling a secret, otherwise Uther would have me killed, if he knew what vampyres were, that is.
After five minutes Arthur suddenly came to a stop. We had reached a large clearing and there were quite a few people sitting around a fire.
"Father," Arthur said. The men, and one girl around my age, turned around or looked up from their conversations to face us. One of the men, obviously Uther, due to his clothes being the best, stood and faced us.
"Well, Arthur, what did you find?" he asked.
"A little while away from the edge of the forest is a town. We also found Cherish," he indicated to me, "and she was transported here, like us, and is just as unaware about this place as we are."
Uther thought about this for a moment and then, "well it looks like you should come with us if you do not know where you are. This is a strange place for all of us and you could end up in a dangerous predicament."
I barely managed to keep my cool at that. He thought I was weak! But then I remembered that men before believed women were the weaker sex. Human men anyway.
"Thank you. It would be my honour to travel with you." I inclined my head politely.
He nodded and motioned for us to sit down, we did.
"So, Cherish, where do you come from?" Uther asked.
"The future. I'm guessing we were all pulled to a time in between the two, or to another world."
"The future? How far in the future?" Uther asked.
"Very far in the future. You and Arthur are only legend where I come from. It is an honour to meet those told about in stories at such a great length."
Uther's eyes were getting wider as I talked so I decided to save his eyes from falling out and shut up.
"Things would be easier if it were just another time," one of the knights said, "but another world, that's a whole different thing. Do you know of any possibilities?" he asked me.
"Only one and I really don't want to be there. My people have visited that world before and we strongly oppose the king of one of the Kingdoms we visited there."
"Why?" Arthur asked.
"It's a long story. So if you want to hear it you can't interrupt me, no matter what I say."
They all promised to keep their mouths shut and I began my tale of the riders.
"Long ago, a race of people, the Elves, landed on the shores of a land called Alagaisia. They made their homes in the forests, and for a while everything was fine, but then everything went wrong. A young elf boy went out hunting and killed a dragon the way he would a stag, not knowing that dragons were in fact intelligent beings. A war broke out between the dragons and the elves and, at first the Elves only defended themselves with their magic, but they couldn't hold out like that forever, so they fought back. Allot of blood was spilled, both sides were too powerful and they would have been wiped out. Until one day a young elf, by the name of Eragon, found a dragon egg and when it hatched he raised it in secret. When the dragon was large enough the two walked among their people and brought peace, but they needed a treaty, and a scrap of paper meant nothing to the dragons. So the elves best magic casters came up with the Blood-Oath pact. A pact of magic that meant that the mind of an elf and the mind of a dragon could be joined as one. This meant that a new race was formed. The Riders. A dragon egg would have a spell placed on it, and when the right elf came along the dragon would hatch for the elf. It was a bond that only death could break.
"Over the centuries the elves became, fairer, wiser, and stronger and seemed to become immortal, but blade or poison could still kill them, the dragons, in turn, gained the ability of speech.
" After another few centuries, humans were added to the pact, though it had the biggest effect on the humans who had been linked to dragons, they became like the elves, the human race on a whole became less barbaric and more peaceful, some even learned magic. Under the tutelage of the riders, the land of Alagaisia flourished and whole cities were built out of living stone, even slavery was abolished, but it was not to last.
"A human, by the name of Galbatorix, was tested for magic at the age of ten, as was customary, and a great well of magic was found inside him, a dragon chose him as her Rider and he was trained in magic and swordplay. One day, not long after he had completed his training, he and some friends flew out into Urgal territory, looking for a challenge.
"That night, while they were sleeping, the Urgals attacked. His friends were killed first, and then his dragon took an arrow to the heart. Galbatorix killed the Urgals, and his dragon died in his arms.
"Galbatorix wandered around the land, looking for death, but he was so insane that everything he tried to fight ran from him. One day he collapsed. He was found by a farmer who recognised what he was. The farmer contacted the Riders and they came and took him home. When he recovered Galbatorix got it into his mind that the Council of the Riders would grant him a new dragon. When he stood before them, however, they saw his madness, and denied him the opportunity of a new dragon. Galbatorix the blamed the Riders for the death of his dragon, and he disappeared.
"One night, long after his disappearance, Galbatorix snuck into a city and found a new rider. The rider had not yet bonded with the newly hatched dragon, so Galbotorix bonded with the dragon instead, and killed the dragon's true rider, for good measure. When his dragon was fully grown Galbatorix convinced thirteen weak minded riders to join him, and together the thirteen became the Foresworn, with the Rider Morzan at their head, he only answered to Galbatorix.
"Together, Galbatorix and the Foresworn raged war against the Riders, with the aid of the dark magic they had learnt from a Shade. My people helped the Riders, some of them even were Riders, but the war went badly. During a battle Vrael, leader of the riders, struck Galbatorix a dangerous blow and Galbatorix was severely wounded. Vrael took pity on Galbatorix and Galbatorix and Shurakin flew off. Vrael and his dragon tracked them down, Galbatorix was still badly wounded. Vrael hesitated in dealing the final blow, giving Galbatorix enough time to kill him instead.
"The Riders fell soon after, the elves went into hiding and my people were pushed out of Alagaisia, but we watched it, from our world, waiting for the right time. Galbatorix made himself King of Alagaisia. Over the years the thirteen died from various causes, but Galbatorix did not. When the foresworn died out Galbatorix had to restrict his Kingdom to most of humanity, Sudurians lived as a separate people, opposed to Galbatorix, but too weak to fight him.
"If he found out one of my people were in Alagaisia, he would hunt them down, torture and kill them. And he would enjoy it."
"So these Riders, even though they had magic they helped people?" Uther asked.
"Yes, and so did their dragons, it was their job, and they were good at it. But the wild dragons tended to keep to themselves. Apart from giving the Riders the odd egg, before they were wiped out I mean. There's only one dragon left now and, there is a rumour that there are three eggs left though." I said. "But Galbatorix is evil, pure and utter evil. I would not want to be anywhere near his realm, unless it was with the Varden."
"Who are the Varden?" Arthur asked curiously.
"They are a rebel group set up by humans. But rumour has it they are aided by the Dwarves. It is also rumoured that they managed to steal one of the last three dragon eggs."
"So if we are in Alagaisia we should seek out the help of the Varden?" Uther asked.
"That would be the best option, we should head to the nearest town first though, find out exactly where we are." I replied.
"Yes we should, so let's get going now, get a good start." Uther said, standing up. Everyone followed suit. Then we left the clearing and headed out the forest.
A few hours later I had learned the names of everyone in Arthur's party. We were also drawing near to the small town. As we crossed the bridge to the town a man stepped in front of us, barring the way.
"It's a fee of two silver pieces to pass," he said, "each."
My temper flared. I was already depressed on account of the sun killing my eyes, and this man wanted us to pay? I sent a quick prayer to Nyx, hoping for my plan to work, and I pushed my way to the front.
"You dare disrupt our passage when we are on business for the High Council?" I hissed at him.
The man took one look at me and back pedalled, paling significantly.
"No Priestess! My most sincere apologies! I did not realise…!"
"You would do best to step aside!" I said angrily.
The man looked closely at my mark and sobered. "You're faking." He said.
"Are you calling me a liar?" I demanded.
The man grabbed my arms and threw me over the bridge and into the water below. I heard a shout before I was fully submerged. I pulled myself up out of the water, spluttering and coughing.
"You threw me into the river! You idiot!" I screeched. I was starting to see little dots of red.
"I was just trying to see if your mark would wash off!" He whimpered, backing away from me. I barely noticed that all of the knights, including Arthur and Uther, had drawn their swords. "I know! Why don't I get you what you need for your journey? Food? Horses? Spare clothes?"
I pulled up short and narrowed my eyes, assessing him. "All right, but the horses are to be both strong and fast." I agreed.
"This way then." The man said.
I looked back to see the others staring at me in shock.
"I'll explain later." I said. The knight's sheathed their swords and we followed the man.
True to his word the man got us horses, supplies, clothes and also a map. Then he hurried on his way.
An hour later we left the small town, which we had learned was Therinsford. I was in a clean (and thankfully dry) black travelling tunic and trousers. I also had a thick black cloak wrapped round me and the hood up, shading my eyes.
"Look up!" I said as we approached a mountain. They did as told and followed my pointing finger to see a tower nestled on the peak. "That is Utguard. It was an old watch tower for the riders. It is also where Vrael met his death. You can only reach it by flying, though."
We carried on away from Therinsford.
"So what was that show about?" Arthur inquired.
"Back at Therinsford? Well the High Council are the leaders of my people. They are the wisest of all the High Priestesses and they tell us how best to use our gifts to help others and how to avoid war. You see people don't like us. We are different and that scares them, but not here. At least not before the war. Anyway, if one of my people came here on business for the High Council, people would have to let them pass as they could be here to reconcile with the King. My mark would be the easiest to copy, it's simple, only the outline of a crescent moon, it could be faked. That's why he thought water could remove it. I'm so glad I'm a good actor, otherwise he wouldn't have freaked out the way he did."
"Well you got us supplies we wouldn't have been able to pay for otherwise, so it's lucky in a way that he threw you in the river, to show the mark was genuine." Arthur said.
"Yeah, well it certainly wasn't fun." I said.
An hour later the sun had set and we had stopped to rest for the night.
"Cherish?" Merlin inquired, "Why did you keep your hood up?"
"I have sensitive eyes," I replied. "The light hurts them. It happens to all my people. We are able to see better in the dark, so I kept my hood up to keep my eyes shaded."
"Do you know why your people are affected by the light?" Gaius, a physician, asked.
"It's just the way it is. My people tend to do things at night. It is one of the reasons we are shunned by most people." My voice had turned bitter. "We try to help as much as we can, and they accept our help, but they do not acknowledge it. It is as if they don't want us around, yet they want our help."
"How long has it been like that?" one of the knights, Marcus, asked.
"For centuries. There was a time where we had to hide, where we feared for our lives. Others would hunt us and at least one of my people would be burned at the stake a week, if we weren't careful. The Burning Times. The highest of us, she knows the most about that. She knows how best to avoid another Burning Age."
We all sat in silence for a while. There was nothing anyone could say to that. After all, Uther had burned people at the stake. Had he unknowingly started a war on innocent people?
"Where's that map?" I asked suddenly and Arthur handed it to me and I rolled it out.
"Well the Elves will most likely be here," I said pointing to Du Welden Varden. "But they would not like us coming to their realm. Our best bet would be to head for the Boer Mountains, and search for the Dwarves. They may help us find the Varden. Either that or Surda."
"Why Surda?" Merlin asked.
"They send supplies to the Varden. They would probably be able to help us locate them. But we would have to traverse the length of the Empire. If we headed for the Boer Mountains, however, we would have to go through the Hardarac desert. I'd rather go through the desert. Even though it would be hot, dry and full of sand, with no shelter from the blistering hot sun. I want to get out of the Empire as soon as possible; the king would have my head if he knew I was here."
"You're willing to go through a place that would harm you more than anyone else, just to get away?" Gwen, a maid in the royal household, asked.
"Yes, I would. Anything is better than ending up in Uru Baen. He's not exactly the type to grant people a quick death. Torture would come first. Death would be slow and painful."
"The Boer Mountains it is then," Uther agreed.
The knights took turn on watch. For half the night I lay there watching the stars. I needed to get home. Or at least find a full vamp, and soon. If not, well the idea was too bad to bear thinking about.