I do not own the King Arthur myth, it's characters, or other such things. All I own is my own made up characters. Everything else I've taken: in or out of context with the movie.

At the end of every chapter I'll try to give definitions of the words I think my be forign to some.

Read, review and please... enjoy!

I stood on the top of the Tor looking out over the surrounding lands. Glastonbury had been my home for more of my life than not. But it was not the Glastonbury that the world new. My Glastonbury was Avalon. I was a priestess of Avalon, having been chosen when I was only a small girl to come to the Isle of Apples. When they came my mother wept and tried to fight them but it was Grandmother who held her back saying "It is a better fate for her to go, then to stay and suffer at the hands of the Romans." At the time I knew not what she meant.

Now standing on the Tor, looking out into the sunrise, I saw them. I group of boys, some no older than myself, riding horses. They were traveling north. A small legion of Roman soldiers surrounded them. "They are new knights for the Roman named Castus. They are Sarmatians." came a voice from behind me. I turned my head to see a senior priestess approaching. "They come, as did their fathers and uncles, from a land far from here to fight for a man who is not of their blood. They come because they are told to. They fight because they have no other choice." Her voice was grave.

"But why don't they just refuse to go?" I asked. My own nine year old mind unable to comprehend the thought of slavery. "Why do they accept this life?"

"Because, child." began the older woman. "Were they to refuse, their families would be desimated. Killed as punishment for their refusal. They come because they fear for their mothers and sisters."

"If I had the power to do something about it, I would. I'd set them free. The Goddess would assist me. Wouldn't she?" I felt a strong welling of helplessness. Something I'd never felt before now.

Smiling down at me, the violet garbed priestess said "Someday perhaps. When the Goddess gives you the charge you will go. But for now, you need to tend to your studies. Come." She tugged at my small hand and I followed her down the hill into the village that surrounded the Holy Mountain.

It has been four years. I still think of those young knights. How they must be missing their families as I missed mine when I first came here to Avalon. Sighing I returned to my study scroll. I was thirteen and needed to learn the knowledge to be accepted into the higher rankings of priestessess. I was busy reading when the High Priestess, Morgaine, herself, approached me.

"Nimue, come with me." she said in a most regal way. The power resonating off the rocks as if it emmanated from her every pore. The group went quiet. I stood and silently followed her.

I said nothing as I was brought before a group of priests. All of them stern of face and just as silent as I was. "You will take the trials now." said a very old voice. It came from the Elder Priest. He was the oldest male of the Order and he knew just as much about the Goddess as the Hight Priestess did.

I was taken into a secluded hut and drilled on the uses of herbs by one priest. In another I was instructed to cast a proper Circle and call the Gods and Sanctify the place. I did as I was told. A feeling of exuberance filled me. I knew I was doing well.

In yet another tent I was set apart from another candidate, a girl I had known all my life. She had come from my village and we had made the journey to Avalon together. We were instructed to enter each other's minds. We had been told certain things before going into the hut. I was told to envision a datepalm tree crowned with a laurel. beneath it there was a lioness and a bull calf. They were feasting on berries and laughing. I was to keep this vision in my mind and my friend was supposed to "see" it and be able to tell the priests what I had in my mind.

I looked into her mind and saw an odd scene. There was a young woamn. She was older than I was. She had the hair of a Briton yet she wore the clothes of a Roman. She was doing the wash in a small lake. A young boy was there, also dressed as a Roman. He ran up to her and hugged her tightly. There was a burning village in the background. And above the whole scene was a brilliant sword. It was engraved with runes that I could not make out. I watched the scene with baited breath, unable to look away as the fire engulfed the mother leaving the son to scrape at the dirt, trying to free the sword from a mound. Tears streamed down my face and I collapsed in a heap on my little deerskin rug.

When I awoke the priest asked me what I saw. When I told him he nodded his head in astonishment. "You are powerful, child. So powerful that you yourself do not yet know the scope. It was in my head that you saw this vision, not your friend's. I was blocking you but you pushed through my defenses as if there were none. Come with me. I am Merlin. I will be your teacher."

I left Avalon three days after to join Merlin and his people. I was to go north of the Great Roman Wall and become what the Romans called a Woad. I followed closely to Merlin as we traveled. He talked of great trees and plants with healing properties. When we reached the Wall it was as I had heard. A huge stone structure that stretched from one side of the Isle of Brittain to the other. I took one more step towards my destination when I heard horses. A group of young men were riding towards us.

"We are too deep in the wood for them to see us." said Merlin. "Although we can see then fine." I watched as they rode by. All of them were foreign looking.

"Are those Sarmatian knights?" I asked.

"How do you know of the knights?" asked Merlin. He stopped walking and turned around to meet my eyes. There was no lying to him.

I told him of the sight on the Tor four years past and what my priestess had told me about them. All Merlin did was nod and lower his head.

"Another people taken hostage by the Romans. I fear many of them will not live to see the lands of their birth again." He sighed and told me to "Come along." I did.

We came to a place by the Wall where the trees grew tall enough to climb up and over. As I climbed I looked back at those young knights. My mind swam with wonder as I watched them spar against each other. They seemed happy enough. I slipped down behind the Wall and they went out of my sight.

I walked through more woods. The deeper we went the denser the trees got. Until we came upon a village of huts and fires. I was introduced to Merlin's daughter Guinevere. We became good friends. I learned much of the wood and of the peoples of the north. I learned of the Romans in more detail then I had on Avalon.

It would be another ten years before the words Sarmatian knights would grace my ears. Even though thoughts of them would penetrate my dreams once in a while.

Author's notes:

Tor: the Hill of Glastonbury is often called the Holy Tor by pagans.

Morgaine: my take of Morgan Le Fay, she is said to be a witch and priestess of Avalon

Nimue: Welsh name for the Lady of the Lake in the Arthurian myth.

Merlin teaches Nimue because in traditional Craft practices, Men taught women and vise versa.

Merlin is given the title of being Guinevere's father purely out of a line in the movie "My father told me great tales of you." said by Guinevere.