1001 NE, Spring
There was commotion in the camp. Merlin went to look at the battlefield, to see what saidin had done to the earth around them. The men had made an effort at burning some of the dead, and smoky fires were off in the distance. He'd felt Asha'man channelling in the early morning; from the small number of bodies visible he could see that they'd been out clear the field.
Merlin had just stepped away from the limb of a body when a powerful surge in saidin originating from the camp made him swing around; the weave was strong enough for Travelling. He reached out and took hold of saidin and prepared a few nasty weaves, and strode back to where he could feel the Gateway.
He made his way through the tents, stopping at the command tent; it was the Dragon Reborn himself. The Aiel women, the Maidens, stood in a loose circle around the meeting tent. He could feel saidin being held within the tent and moved in closer, dropping the weaves and releasing saidin. It wasn't safe to channel around al'Thor, who was perilously close to madness. Sometimes when Asha'man around him held saidin it seemed as if he was on the verge of striking them down. No, it wasn't safe to hold saidin around the Lord Dragon.
A couple of Maidens, spoke to the soldiers, who then ran toward the tent, darting fearful looks at the women over their shoulders. They watched Merlin but made no move to stop him coming nearer. He ducked through the tent flaps and was pinned by al'Thor's piercing gaze. The other Asha'man were there already, Kullyn dropping his placating hand and stopping mid-word.
"I hear you had a large part in this victory," said al'Thor.
"My Lord." Merlin ducked his head, stepping through fully. The tent flaps moved behind him. Al'Thor's cold eyes shifted behind him, and he nodded at the man behind Merlin.
"Asha'man Emrys' aid was invaluable in this skirmish," said Arthur from behind him. Merlin stiffened in surprise.
"This battle proved its purpose," said al'Thor. There was a mass of movement as commanders came into the tent. Merlin moved to stand with the other Asha'man, but stopped at the brief touch on his elbow. He looked at Arthur, and then moved to stand behind him when the men took their places. The Asha'man watched him, noting where he stood.
"The Seanchan have joined me," said the Dragon Reborn answering a question Merlin had missed. He pulled his attention away from Arthur. "There was a meeting with the Empress, and we have come to an agreement; the forces have done their work here. We now march to Tarman Gai'don."
There were gasps all around. Merlin couldn't see who'd made them. His belly wrung with nervousness and horror. One of the second-in-commanders turned, emptying his stomach at the side of the tent. The sour stink of vomit rose to Merlin's stomach and a couple of others looked ill.
"You march in the morning. The Asha'man will make some Gateways to bring you nearer, but you will move at a pace with the others going north, to join the Borderlanders. We will await you at Tarwin's Gap, Pendragon."
The commanders and High Lords moved into a close circle around the Dragon Reborn in a mass of questions and raised voices. They grew silent, one by one, and then the Dragon Reborn began giving his orders. They began leaving once they'd had their new orders hammered into them with that cold, hard voice. Merlin wandered closer to the other Asha'man. Their time would come soon, he knew.
He hadn't long to wait, and then they were pinned to place by al'Thor's eyes. "Kullyn tells me your ability has improved again, Emrys," he said. "Hold as much as you are able."
The amount of saidin al'Thor held increased. He was a raging torrent, and it only increased. Merlin waited a moment, and then did the same, encasing himself in the Void, moving into an loose stance.
He drew more of the prickling current of saidin into himself, feeling more alive with every moment. Through his enhanced senses, he became aware of all the men's reactions; from the other Asha'man's deliberate quietness, to Arthur's hands tightening on his belt, the slight creak of leather a loud crack. He looked over at Arthur briefly, noticing that he wasn't watching Merlin, but al'Thor. Merlin looked back at the Dragon Reborn.
He was struggling, his face a mask of tightness even through the calming effect of the Void. He should have been the centre of stillness in a raging current of saidin, but instead he seemed to be struggling. Abruptly it faded and al'Thor's face grew cold. "Is that as much as you can hold?"
"Yes, Lord Dragon," said Merlin through tight lips, the prickling sensation of being on the edge of safety making him all the more aware of being alive. He felt bead of sweat slide down the middle of his back.
"Release!"
Merlin let saidin go abruptly, feeling drained and as if all his senses were suddenly blunted. Arthur shifted toward him, but made no other move. The Lord Dragon was still holding saidin.
"You are closer in ability to me now," said al'Thor. "You'll take your place with me at Shayol Ghul when the time comes. If you jump again it will aid in the end, but you are still now far stronger than when Min saw you beside me at Tarmon Gai'don."
The other Asha'man's eyes jumped to him suddenly, speculation and surprise barely hidden. They had likely supposed prior to yesterday's fight that he wasn't strong. Merlin remembered Arthur's shock the day before; Arthur had likely thought the same, too.
Al'Thor rounded to the other Asha'man. "You two are to Travel and to familiarise yourselves with each location, jumping back for supplies and messages from those left behind. It will be a slow progress. I would bring you with me," he turned back to Merlin, "but you still have your task here. Pendragon," he continued, "make your men ready. You have one month before we strike at the Dark One and seal him away forever."
Al'Thor nodded at them all, and with a wide sweep of his arm, left the tent. There was a stronger feeling of saidin, for the Lord Dragon hadn't released the Source, and then they were gone. The three Asha'man looked from at him. Kullyn shifted a little.
"Asha'man, if you will; I would speak to Emrys."
They looked at Arthur for a moment, and then slowly left the tent; taking enough time about it to challenge. Arthur watched them, smooth-faced, and turned to Merlin when they were gone.
"You are as strong as the Lord Dragon, I gathered from that," he swept the tent with a hand. "And yet he keeps you here, where any may strike at you, against the forces of Light. Why?"
Merlin looked at Arthur deliberately. He wanted to see Arthur's face for this. "He knows about the bond, that I bonded with you before I left your service."
"Is that all he knows?"
Merlin knew what he was asking. "Yes. High Lord Pendragon."
Arthur flinched a little at that.
"I told you that Min, the Lord Dragon's companion, saw a foretelling that you would die if I stayed away. She also saw that I would die. We're both needed at Tarmon Gai'don; it might be that the Dark One could be sealed without our presence there, without whatever actions it is that we would take, but it's not certain."
Arthur nodded abruptly. "I will see to it that you have a soldier guard at your tent at night. If you will send Lance in when you leave."
"That's not necessary."
"You forget that my life is tied to your well-being, Asha'man Emrys, by your doing. The day you die is the day I die." Arthur was grim. Merlin nodded quickly, and once outside caught Lance's eye and nodded towards the tent. He waited outside and heard the rumble of voices. Lance's voice developed an edge. When he stepped out, he scowled at Merlin and then gestured to a soldier, taking him aside and speaking rapidly. His hand flicked at Merlin a couple of times; Merlin supposed the gist of it was that this soldier would now guard his tent.
Merlin strode to his tent, using Cat Crosses the Courtyard, using it to exude arrogance and alertness. The other two Asha'man were nearby, and they seemed about to come over when he shook his head at them, and made his way on to his tent. He slipped inside, worn from his use of saidin. He knew Lance to be Tairen to the bone, distrusting of the One Power, and wary of Merlin. For some, the presence of Asha'man was too big a matter to bear, and Lance wasn't the sort to let any apparent threat to Arthur pass easily. He heard a man settle outside his tent, alert to danger, whether it came to Merlin or from him.
Eyes flinched away from Merlin wherever he went; word had got out that he was as strong as the Lord Dragon, and suddenly he was feared as being more dangerous than before. As if they hadn't seen what he'd done at the battle; Merlin's stomach dipped at remembering his strange, deadly weaves, half-remembered, and yet he had never learned them.
He was practising weaves just outside of camp, trying to see how they fit together, when he heard a footstep behind him. He turned a little; it was Arthur.
"My Lord." Merlin let the weaves go. "Is there a problem?"
Arthur watched the camp packing up with a backdrop of the battlefield. He was silent and Merlin let him be, watching him. He was always content to be in Arthur's presence, oddly; sometimes he thought it was a result of the bond, even if other Asha'man made no mention of this from their bonds. The light caught Arthur's profile and a deep shaft of want went through him, and Arthur snapped around.
"Merlin." There was a wealth of warning in his tone, but Merlin felt a thrill at Arthur's use of his first name, for the first time since he'd arrived. "You will not use this, this bond," said Arthur, coming closer. Merlin looked at him warily; he could wrap him in Air before Arthur took it into his mind to do whatever he was planning. Arthur stopped within arm's reach, ran a quick eye over Merlin's body, at his hands, still cupped from using the Source.
Arthur reached out and ran his thumb down Merlin's face, a dark smile coming over him. "You want me." Merlin shuddered a little, and said nothing. Arthur came closer, and Merlin could feel his heat against his body, not quite touching. "You want this," he said again, and licked up the side of Merlin's neck. Merlin stood still with effort.
"High Lord," Merlin said hoarsely. He stepped back, conscious of the bond, of his muffling it. Even so, he was certain his arousal was still reaching through the bond; he could feel an echo coming back at him. Arthur's face was suffused with colour, his eyes hot with wanting. Merlin felt a deep shame; what he was doing to Arthur was worse than rape. "High Lord, by the Light, I apologise most deeply." He bowed.
Arthur made towards him, surprise displacing the earlier, lust-filled look. Merlin wrapped him in bonds of Air and took several steps back, and, leaving dignity behind, ran away.