Chapter 1 "yes, professor"
Merlin had been living in The Netherlands for one whole year now. For the five years before England had become haunted to him; and because so much time had passed since he had last seen Arthur it frightened him more than he had ever anticipated. He saw the firures of Priestesses roaming the streets day and night, wandering through the mists and rain calling out to eachother and The Mother Goddess herself. Among them he heard a young woman in dreams and hallucinations. She spoke of war and rebirth, not that Merlin remebered her exact words when he woke. He had lived in that particular area too long anyway; people would start to question why he hadn't died yet and why he and his "grandson" were never in a room together.
The last time he had left England he had helped to start a nation; unintentionally of course, he had picked up the rifle to look like he belonged in the army he was staying with. He hadn't known how to use it then and he didn't know how to use it now. He sighed now thinking of all the wars he had lived through. Each time he beleived that to be when Arthur would return to him. But deep down each and every time he knew, it was not the time. Possibly, it never would be time.
But in his new life here he had no need to appear as an old man, he was his proper age serving as a young Professor of Arthurian Legends to an oblivious, or mostly oblivious, generation. Today was the first lecture of the year and he was already late. Stumbling into the hall he dropped all of his things at his desk, took note of the quarter full room, and began to fiddle with the projector. He had always hated projectors. It was embarassing enough that he has a Professor dealing with this but for all his power this small contraption mocked his skill and knowledge. For the most part he had stopped using his magic though. Technology was magical enough for him.
Merlin jumped when the door burst open, as all the students did, and a thin, tall woman with dark wavy hair wearing dark colors rushed to her seat. Merlin eyed her from the corner of his eye for a moment, her hair and clothing were dishevled and it appeared her hair was not dark colored just dirty. He continued to mess with the machine a moment longer before surrendering and using his magic to power the infernal divice. The powerpoint came to life with a clip of handrawn portraits of Arthur and his knights riding on horseback towards the Lake of Avalon lined with Saxon barbarians, all of them- including Sir Mordred the traitor- on foot save for Morgana who defiantly sat on a rearing horse in the middle of them raising a hand clenching a bloody decapitated head and lifted her chin in a dare to ride forward. The video ended in a flash of light as Arthur and his men neared the enemy line and Morgana threw forth the head with a chilling cry of "Come to die!"
When the clip had ended he turned towards the class. "Alright," he said. "Welcome to Arthurian Legends. You will be here for the remainder of the year. If you wish to study Mythology get out and go next door, I speak only of truth for I was there. I am Merlin, after all these years I don't really have a last name so I suppose to you I will be Emrys. I am not lying nor am I joking, young man in the red." Merlin gestured towards a student in the back of the room who had been whispering to a friend nearby. "Then why aren't you old?" he called down. "I am old." Merlin replied. "I don't like to look my age, obviously you don't like to act your age." he grinned at a woman in the front who had laughed at his jest.
"Now then, let us begin. Morgana Le Fay Pendragon, a woman known by many names throughout time whose origin may lie in the title of The Morrigan. The Morrigan being the Celtic Goddess of war and death, generally displayed as a Raven or Crow as a physical body for the Goddess herself. There are some who say Morgana was fatefully named after her, for some of her other names, such as Morgan, resemble closely the sound of The Morrigan. There are also those who beleive Morgana, or Morgan, was a reincarnation or incarnation of the Goddess The Morrigan. Either way she was evil for the remainder of her days following many singlehanded rebellions against the King, her father, Uther Pendragon. Now, the name Le Fay means "of the fairies" from which stems another of her names which you might all know, Morgaine Le Fay. The same Morgaine as Marion Zimmber Bradley's novel, "The Mists of Avalon". There are other users of the name but that's the first that comes to my mind."
"Now as for as I am concerned the only magic involved in her birth was of her mother's royal Avalon blood. Whether or not that is why she is "of the fairies" i would guess is debatable. Her other surname, Pendragon, means "Great Dragon" and is a symbol of great power;" he paused for a moment, reflecting breifly on what he knew of her and her death, it made him horribly miserable. "It was a fitting name seeing as she had great power. I wish she had chosen a different path for its use." Her path was part of one of the most influencial legends in history. the voice of the woman from his dreams rang clear in his head. "So, onwards with the lecture, let us look into her childhood.'' he said moving to his desk and picking out a remote for the slides. The next slide was a potrait of Morgana, one that had been painted of her when she was a young girl sitting happily in the gardens outside of Tintagel Castle. She was born to be a ruler, that passage was stripped from her when you murdered her sister. the woman said to him. You set her on the path of darkness which lead her to her death . Merlin did not know how to respond to the voice while teaching. He rubbed the back of his head hoping he could ignore the voice. The time is near and you are not prepared. the woman said. Stop wasting time on the past and look to the present, I am near and so is Arthur! she said, nearly yelling. They are alive. They are coming. I will raise them with myself, back to the dark ages! Back to the time you know best! Back! the voice cried. Back! Back! It all will return in it's glory and power! The ruins rise from the dust and the grave yeilds its dead! Back Emrys! You must go back!