A Bit of Scrying Changes Everything

Three false track and one too many close calls after leaving Ealdor, Balinor found the cave. It was perfectly suited for surviving. He made it his home. He tried desperately to not compare it to his life with Hunith. But as the second anniversary of his run from Ealdor rolled over him, while he sat at a bad in his cave, he gave in.

He went to one of the larger pools near the stream. He never was exactly good with scrying, but he was sure it was going to work perfectly. And so it did. He could do nothing but stare in mute shock as his jaw went slack.

Hunith was as beautiful as ever. But she wasn't alone in her home. No, she had a small child cradled in her arms. And as the child grabbed a plushy toy out of mid-air, the gold in its eyes left, leaving behind curious piercing blue. The little one was looking right at him, as happy smile lazily stretched across the chubby face.

The shock of it all broke his concentration. The images were gone like there were never there. By very ordinary puddle of water sat a man in obvious shock. Looking at the water like he expected it to turn into a unicorn and then cackle evilly or maybe spontaneously blow up.

Balinor wasn't aware of his surroundings or how long it took the pain in his knees to wake him from his shock. He couldn't proceed it. He had a child. A magical child. From what he saw a son, through it's hard to say from such a short glimpse with a toddler.

He had a child. He was a father. He had a child. About fifteen months old child and he never even saw, he wouldn't even know if his mentor wasn't so adamant and hadn't beaten the basics of scrying into him.

He was a father. He blinked. It had gone dark, while he was lost in his thoughts. He needed to meet his child. He needed to help Hunith. She wouldn't know how to handle that little miracle. Gods, the child must be powerful for his magic to already manifest.

And so during a stormy night wind rose in Hunith's home. And when this strange meteorological phenomenon ended it left a man in its wake. One that Hunith knew very well. She promptly threw herself at him, holding him tightly. She was afraid, that he'll disappear, that she'll wake up and finds out that this was just a dream. He held her just as tightly.

Over next few nights, they had a lot of discussions. And even though it tore their hearts, they decided, that they can't live together. But Balinor would be there for her. He would visit from time to time and as soon as possible, he would teach his son how to teleport, so he would have a way out if worst comes to worst. He also vowed to himself, he would teach Merlin how to scry, who knows, when he would need it and the basic healing….

Merlin couldn't believe when his father backed his mother. He understood, why they wanted him to leave Ealdor, but Camelot? Why was he the only one seeing how insane, that was? Even if he might be able to escape if worst was to come, tempting fate wasn't exactly a clever thing to do.

He sighed, as it was, he had a long road ahead of him. A way to even more secrecy. From his home, from his mother to the prison of the Great Dragon.