Merlin met Arthur's gaze with a glare. Did he think this was funny? How on earth was he supposed to get himself out of this mess without revealing his secret? From what he could tell Arthur still hated magic with a passion. There was no way this was going to end well.
"Sit" was Arthur's only response to the look that had been known to send a High Priestess cowering.
Merlin weighed his options for a moment and then sat in the chair indicated, having realised that he probably didn't really have a choice.
"Explain" was Arthur's next command.
Gwaine apparently saw this as the ideal moment to lighten the mood. "Well Princess, I should think that's obvious. Either Merlin's been holding out on us or someone's been doing crazy things to the mead!"
Percival, unfortunately for Merlin, chose that moment to assist Arthur in his pitiful attempt at an interrogation. "Perhaps you should have Merlin read the letter from Lord Bertram. It's probably got a pretty good explanation regarding this whole business." Merlin's glare quickly had him backtracking. Why couldn't it have that effect on Arthur?
"Of course you don't have to read it out loud Merlin! Just read it to yourself and then you can summarise the bits that are important."
All eyes turned to Arthur, who sighed and said in a resigned tone "I suppose that's as good a plan as any at the moment." Then as Merlin was taking Lord Bertram's letter out of his jacket Arthur turned to Gaius and Geoffrey, a look of curiosity suddenly plain on his countenance. "Gaius, Geoffrey, have either of you heard of this 'Isle of Elfrael' before? It did not escape my attention that its rightful ruler is blissfully ignorant!" Merlin snorted, he was never going to hear the end of this.
"I believe I have Sire" Gaius replied as Geoffrey nodded his agreement. "I was under the impression however that is was a mere myth."
"A tale told to the children of peaceful sorcerers during the time of the Great Purge to give them hope during their darkest days." Geoffrey elaborated on Gaius' thin explanation.
"So that Ethan was probably a sorcerer and I just let him walk out of here without so much as blinking?" Arthur demanded.
"It would be impossible to say for certain without proof Sire" was Gaius' guarded reply.
Meanwhile, Merlin was engrossed in the letter he had just received:
My Dear Lord Ambrosius,
I write to petition you regarding a matter of some delicacy. I do not know how much you have been told and so I shall start at the beginning.
Two years before the Great Purge began, a powerful Seeress came to the Dragonlords foretelling the black event. We questioned her at length regarding possible paths we could take to prevent its ever coming to pass but she assured us there were none. However, she also told us that the future was not devoid of hope. In time, with the aid of the Lord Ambrosius (one of our own) The Once and Future King would rise up and unite the lands of Albion. Under his rule there would be a Golden Age. A time of peace and prosperity, where all peoples would be free, including the Dragons as well as those with magic.
However, she warned us that Uther's plan to eradicate magic may actually succeed if action was not taken. Indeed the very future of our beloved Dragons as well as our own noble order was at stake. So with the aid of the Dragons we hatched a plan to shield as many innocents as we could. There was an Island. One separated from Albion by many leagues of ocean, large enough to comfortably house at least ten thousand. In the past its only inhabitants were the Dragons and their Lords. It was the place where all Dragons were called forth from their eggs and raised under the combined tutelage of the adult Dragons and Dragonlords. Though we were loath to share this special place with outsiders, we agreed it was necessary for the future of Albion, not to mention to spare the lives of the many innocents who would otherwise perish at Uther's hand.
Your father's family (The House of Elfrael itself) has commanded the Dragonlords since before history was written. At the time, Lord Balinor was the only surviving member of this noble household. Kilgarrah at that time had the honour of bearing the title of Great Dragon. (We the people of Elfrael were all deeply saddened to hear of the passing of these two most honourable creatures and I offer my most sincere condolences for the loss of your father. He will be sorely missed. The Dragons have yet to name a successor, so saddened are they by the loss of their kin. At present their second-in-command, Uriah, continues to lead them.)
However, I digress. In order to cast an enchantment powerful enough to transport so many people to Elfrael and to conceal it from the outside world, one Dragon and one Dragonlord had to remain in Albion to serve as anchors. It was our intention to transport them to Elfrael immediately after the enchantment had been successfully cast, but something went wrong. Although we were able to communicate with them by scrying, it quickly became apparent that Kilgarrah was no longer able to locate the Island as a result of the enchantment we had cast. When Uriah and I attempted to return to Albion, we discovered an impenetrable shield not five leagues from the Isle's Eastern coastline.
We agreed to elect a Regent every five years from among the Dragonlords, until such time as we could find a way to break through the barriers formed by the enchantment we had cast. The Dragons however, were satisfied for Uriah to lead them indefinitely as their second-in-command. It has taken us until this moment to reach you Merlin. Even so, we were not so foolish as to remove the barriers completely. Our Isle can only be reached by Dragonback, as was the case before we chose to transform our Isle into a safe haven for those Uther sought to destroy.
There are currently more than five hundred Dragons living on the Isle of Elfrael. In the two years leading up to the Great Purge, we were able to rescue eight thousand, nine hundred and fifty-two innocents (a tally that included the Dragonlords and their families). Our offer of sanctuary made to the Druids was respectfully denied at the time. They assured us that their magic was sufficient to hide the location of their camps. They also told us that they would be needed to assist Emrys (That is the druid translation of Ambrosius) in times of great need. I can only hope that their sacrifice has benefited you.
Although it would be my dearest wish to have you permanently reside here with us, I realise that such an act may very well prevent the Golden Age of Albion from coming to pass. I would however, respectfully request that you visit us and appoint a family of Dragonlords to rule in your stead. Such an act would not strip you of your rightful title as this is a throne from which one cannot truly abdicate. Such a visit from you would also provide our people with much needed hope.
I have sent my son Ethan to you so that he and Niall may guide you back to Elfrael. Niall has recently entered his seventieth year on this earth and is confident in his abilities to carry you both such a distance. Please express my gratitude to him once more for volunteering to undertake such an important task.
I look forward to meeting you in person.
Yours, most respectfully,
Lord Bertram.
Merlin's first reaction was hysterical laughter. Uther was such a liar! He had not managed to kill one single Dragon or Dragonlord! They simply disappeared. Merlin wondered if Uther had ever found that odd, or if he truly was arrogant enough to declare them dead and take the credit without so much as bothering to verify what fate had befallen them in reality.
Next he discovered that not only was he in fact a nobleman (Lord Merlin Ambrosius, only son of Lord Balinor of the House of Elfrael! What a mouthful!) but there was a rather large and quite obviously magical island named after his family! However, his laughter did not reach its true climax until he discovered the sheer number of magic users that had escaped Uther's wrath. The man must be turning in his grave!
He sobered up a bit when he read of the Druids' refusal to seek refuge in Elfrael. They shouldn't have made such sacrifices for him, he wasn't worth it. His smile returned in force when he thought of meeting Niall, not to mention the look on his face when he realised Kilgarrah was very much alive! Merlin was at a loss as to why their scryers had not seen him alive and well in recent years.
His fellow members of the round table had ceased discussing the myths and legends surrounding the Isle of Elfrael the moment Merlin's outburst began and were staring at him with stunned expressions on their faces.
What do you think? How's Merlin going to explain this fit of hysteria to Arthur? I will try to update soon. Please review!
