Chapter 9: The Perfect Knight IV: Decieved
Author's Note: I'm back again after my Easter break! Sorry if this chapter seems a bit fragmented, I've done my best to make sure everything flows well, but I suspect that there are still some flaws in it due to me not working on the story for a while. As usual, all reviews, especially constructive criticism, are very welcome; I always like to know what you think of my story.
A lot of you seem to be concerned about the Lancelot/Morgana scene and what it really means. Rest assured that I do listen to reader input, but what you guessed was probably not where I was taking the story in the first place. The vision in Chapter one offers a glimpse of what I have planned for chapters far in the future.
Also going a bit more in depth into the magical system in Merlin's world; it's mostly for world building and to prevent Deus Ex Machina type spells. Please give me ideas on how to improve my writing on that regard if you think you could do better than me! (I do not know how to write action scenes well).
Prince Arthur Pendragon cursed Morgana yet again as he considered the day's events. It had been bad enough that the beast had slipped past his sentries and killed those he was charged to protect. He thought it could not get any worse, but then she had to convince his father to actually go and hunt down the beast himself! Was she foolish enough to not realise that she was sending him to his death?
The prince poured out a cup of Camelot's finest wine and took a sip; somehow he knew that he would need it if he was to get through this with his sanity intact. With his thirst sated, he turned his mind back to the problem at hand.
The words of the physician haunted him: 'A Gryphon is born of magic and it can only be killed by magic'. Arthur had always believed there was nothing he could not best with his wits and sword but today, when he faced that monstrosity in the courtyard, he knew that the physicians words were true. The prince scowled as he saw his manservant enter his room, breaking his chain of thought. While he normally enjoyed bantering with the idiotic servant, he had far more pressing matters at hand.
"What's on your mind, Arthur?" asked Merlin in his usual irritable voice. He was so much like Morgana in many ways, always poking his nose into business that did not belong to him.
"I'm thinking Merlin," said Arthur with a scowl on his face. "Maybe you should try it once in a while, it'll do you some good; perhaps then you'd remember to address me by my proper title."
"Is that 'Prat'?" asked Merlin with an innocent voice as went around with his cleaning duties.
"I don't have time for your games today Merlin," said Arthur exasperatedly. "Unlike yourself, I am charged with important duties. In fact, I'm buried in them now that I am to be the regent."
"It looks like you have more than that on your mind; perhaps you worry about your father?" asked Merlin. The manservant seemed to be fond of pointing out the obvious; perhaps he thought that he was being intelligent.
"Of course I worry about him," said Arthur angrily. "You heard what Gaius said, and he's usually right. I can't believe Morgana convinced my Father to ride out against the beast personally; she always tries to make me look like a fool in front of my father, but this time she puts her king in mortal peril!"
"What would you do if Uther did fall in battle?" asked Merlin quietly, voicing out Arthur's own fears.
"He will not; I could force that creature back, and so can he," said Arthur a little too quickly.
"But if he did?" pressed Merlin.
"I will do my best to keep the kingdom together," said Arthur in a voice that was barely more than a whisper. "Whether I succeed is another matter; my father conquered this kingdom, not me. The lords will not respect me in the way that they respect my father."
Arthur suddenly realised that his manservant had gotten him to say his fears out loud. If a mere servant could make him talk like a parrot, what would the lords do to him? He was not ready to be regent, and definitely not ready to be the king!
"I have faith in you," said Merlin unexpectedly. It almost made Arthur choke on the wine that he was drinking.
"The fact that I have your loyalty just makes things so much better doesn't it," said Arthur sarcastically. "I appreciate your sentiment, but don't think for a moment it makes me feel any better."
"Well I always thought that Kings only pretends to be sure of themselves," said Merlin in a pondering voice. "If you look like you know what you're doing and make the lords do what you think is best, I'm sure you'll do fine."
"I can make people do what I think is best..." said Arthur thoughtfully. "Somehow Merlin, you've actually said something that's intelligent for once."
"I have?" asked Merlin with a confused look on his face.
"Stay here, I'm going to see my Father," said Arthur as he hurried out of his chambers.
"What are you going to do?" asked Merlin hurriedly, as if he was afraid he had said something bad. "You won't be able to change his mind!"
"I'll convince my father take the army along with him on his expedition," said Arthur as he marched down the hallway. "We need to secure our villages anyway before bandits decide to raid our people while the kingdom is distracted."
"Arthur, wait!" exclaimed Merlin frantically. "What about the gryphon? You know, the whole point of this expedition."
"Maybe our army will even kill the beast in the process; at the very least, I'm sure than ten thousand men will have no problem driving the beast off," said Arthur dismissively. "The important thing is that my father will stay alive."
Arthur smiled to himself as he walked out of his chambers, feeling better than he had in many days. If he couldn't prevent his father from going on a suicidal mission, then at least he could give him the men to protect him adequately. Somehow it always fell on his shoulders to fix Morgana's mistakes; despite the fact how she lorded her 'intellectual superiority' over him. She might win the arguments, but he was the one who kept the king, and therefore the city, safe.
The ring of steel upon steel rang from the countryside around Camelot; all of Camelot's knights had been ordered to prepare themselves for what lay ahead. Two two full legions of knights were to accompany him and secure the eastern villages at the edge of his kingdom. As the beast had flown east, Uther had said that he planned to slay the beast if they managed to find it. The entire city looked like a beehive that had been stirred into a frenzy; food had to be prepared for the expedition, and sending ten thousand men into the field on such short notice would take its toll on them all. Various other craftsmen worked furiously to create tents for the men and wagons for the supplies; Camelot had not been mobilised in such a manner since Uther first conquered it over two decades ago.
Morgana gazed out of her stained glass window, eyes filled with anger as she watched Uther inspect the knights personally. It had been a day since she suggested that Uther ride himself to slay the gryphon; she had been so confident that she would soon be rid of the man who had betrayed her father. Unfortunately, fate has worked against her; somehow Arthur managed to convince his father to take every last one of his knights with him on this so called quest. When they were children, Arthur had always managed to turn her well thought out plans into a tangled mess; unfortunately he retained that ability as he had grown into a man. But instead of making a fool of himself, his foolishness now jeopardized the safety of the entire kingdom.
It was obvious to Morgana that Arthur had not even bothered to think about the consequences of his actions. By taking the entire army, the king would leave the city empty of men. There would only be the untrained militia left, along with boys too green to ride and cripples too old to fight. She involuntarily shuddered as she imagined the sight of Camelot's army, trying to slay a beast that could not be killed by mortal weapons. Many will surely die, and the reputation of the throne will be severely weakened as a result. Even worse, the city would be completely defenceless while the army was away. Was Arthur really foolish enough to risk the entire kingdom just to keep Uther alive? She sighed to herself; it was more likely that he did not think at all.
"Milady," said Gwen timidly. "Is something bothering you?"
"We should all be worried," replied Morgana in a grim voice. It surprised her that nobody else seemed to grasp the danger that was at hand.
"If you're concerned about something, perhaps you could tell me about it; I may even be able to help," said Gwen in her usual cheerful voice. Morgana wished she could tell somehow about her true feelings, but she couldn't even trust the ones closest to her. It was ironic that Arthur's servant boy and the false knight were the only people who knew the truth.
"You wouldn't understand," said Morgana regrettably. As she said her words however, she had a sudden flash of inspiration. "But perhaps you could help me."
"I'll do anything I can," said Gwen earnestly.
"Say there was a murderer in the city," began Morgana hesitantly; she wasn't sure if she should say this out loud at all. "To bring him to justice, you would have to kill the innocents he deceived into defending him; would you do it?"
"My lady, I..." said Gwen hesitantly. Whatever she was expecting, it was obviously not a morality dilemma.
"If you did not kill him, he would continue to kill other innocents," continued Morgana quickly; even she was surprised by the defensive nature of her tone. "Surely it's best to end him before any others have to suffer."
"I don't know the right response to that," said Gwen at last. "If I may ask, why do you want the answer?"
"Leave me please," said Morgana resignedly. "I need some time alone to think."
Merlin was sneaking through the castle halls again; he had lost count the amount of times he had crept around these shadowed hallways since he arrived in Camelot. He was headed back to the library, where he supposedly he was to teach Morgana more about the nature of magic. However, he had different plans in mind this time. He would have to make her see reason somehow; Arthur was simply not yet ready to be king! As he rounded the final corner to the library, he instead found Morgana writing something at a wooden desk, rather than just reading as she usually did. She didn't look up as he sat down beside her.
"Late again Merlin?" asked Morgana nonchalantly as she continued to write. "I'd expect you to know how to keep the time by now."
"Look Morgana, I've been thinking..." began Merlin.
"Good, it's about time you spent a bit of time using your head," said Morgana as she cut Merlin off. She finished whatever she was writing with a smooth flourish and finally looked up to gaze at Merlin. Merlin met her eyes, as if he was challenging her. He had gone over their previous meetings in his mind and realised that he had always acted with submissiveness towards her; if he was going to get her to respect him, that would have to change.
"I'm here to tell you that you're making a big mistake," said Merlin in his most self assured voice. It was almost like trying to be Arthur, except that he was being reasonable. He expected Morgana to simply dismiss him as she usually did when he challenged her views, but she merely leaned back in her chair and looked at him with a confrontational stare.
"And pray tell, what might that be?" asked Morgana in an irritated tone. "What makes you think that you, a commoner with no education, would know better than me?"
"I might not know much about politics, but your hatred towards the King is clouding your better judgement," said Merlin fiercely. "The entire army is heading out to try and kill something that can't be killed! What would happen if that army was destroyed?"
"I have already taken that possibility into account," said Morgana in a dismissive tone. "I've sent the remaining men we have to watch over the lords we have here in Camelot; if they try and rebel against the crown, I'll have them executed."
"So you're willing to let all those knights die?" demanded Merlin. Surely she wouldn't be so callous when it came to so many human lives.
"Not all of them will be killed, the beast is not powerful enough to slay them all," said Morgana after a moment of hesitation. "None except Uther and his personal guard would die if Arthur wasn't such a idiot."
"He cares about his father. Wouldn't you do the same if you were in his place?" said Merlin quietly.
"My father was not a cruel and petty man who would betray his closest friends and send countless innocents to their deaths," said Morgana furiously; it seemed to Merlin that he had said the wrong thing by comparing Uther to her father. However, he was not going to back down before her now; that would only make him look weak.
"And what about you?" countered Merlin. "You are sending innocents to their deaths just because of your hatred for Uther. Are you not betraying Arthur's trust by sending a man he cares about to his death?"
As he finished his question, he was instantly thrown into the air; he cursed himself for his own stupidity. He had angered Morgana to the point where she snapped, and she had reacted instinctively. Instinct was the first of the six magical emotions needed to power spells; it allowed one to focus their powers related to air, the magical element used to push or pull on physical objects. Unfortunately, he was one such 'object'. Both Morgana and Merlin were sent flying backwards. Morgana landed on a pile of cushions in the library's corner, while Merlin flew in the opposite direction and slammed into an unyielding stone wall.
Magic demanded balance; for every action you did, there was an opposite force to counter your spell. Morgana had forgotten this fundamental law as she pushed on him, meaning that she was also pushed backwards by the force of her own spell. As he groaned from the pain, he managed to cling onto one thought; Morgana did not intentionally use her powers against him. Intent was the second of the magical emotions; it allows one to access the power of the Earth and change the physical reality in minute ways, including making one heavier so that you would be more resistant to external forces. At the very least, it meant that Morgana wasn't trying to kill him... not deliberately anyway.
Shakily, Morgana got up to her feet; she slowly made her way across to Merlin. To the warlock, it seemed that she was fearful of what had happened, but still angry at what he had said.
"You may be right," said Morgana in barely more than a whisper. "But to get rid of someone like Uther, perhaps I need to be as heartless as he ever was. My father was the better man, and look where that got him."
She held out a hand to him, but Merlin wasn't one to give up so easily. He would not accept her words; in his heart, he knew that Morgana was a better person than Uther! He just need to convince her to believe the same. He got up to his feet by himself and met her gaze once more.
"I don't believe that," said Merlin with false confidence. "You don't have to act like Uther. There is another way!"
"I'm done talking with you," said Morgana, anger creeping back into her voice. "You can either follow me, or step aside; just don't get in my way."
As she turned to leave him, Merlin knew that he would have to stop her; if he had to have to force her to do the right thing, then so be it. He reached and tapped into his natural instincts, the same force that gave him the need to protect Camelot. Slowly but forcefully, he pushed Morgana into the far wall. With focused intent, he increased his own weight to counteract his own spell; his feet planted solidly on the stone floor as he stood against the full force of his own spell.
Pinned to the wall by his will, Morgana somehow looked more dangerous and beautiful than before. He limped towards her, his back still aching from the impact with stone moments earlier.
"You know as well as I do that what you are planning will lead to disaster," said Merlin. "If our army is weakened and Uther dies, everything will fall apart! I doubt the sons of the lords will rest for long; most of them wouldn't give a damn about their fathers if it means they gain the throne."
"What makes you think I care about the fate of this city?" asked Morgana stubbornly. "What if I was willing to let Camelot tear itself apart so that Uther meets the end he deserves?"
"I don't believe that," said Merlin simply as he closed in on her. "You wouldn't destroy everything your father built. You're simply too proud to consider that you did not have everything planned out perfectly."
"Either way, it will be too hard to change Uther's mind," said Morgana resolutely; the fire in her eyes remained undimmed despite the fact that he had the upper hand over her. "I'll find some way to keep the kingdom together. Now are you going to let me down or not?"
"Not until you admit that you were wrong," said Merlin in a firm voice.
As he leaned in towards her, Morgana's scent began to overpower his senses; she smelled both sweet and overpowering at the same time, like a rose that had been freshly picked from the King's gardens. In some ways she was very much like a rose; she was extraordinarily beautiful, but her thorns were sharp enough to draw blood from all those who sought to master her.
Morgana took advantage of his lack of concentration; her eyes flashed gold as she pushed against him with the full force of her powers; for the second time in that night, he was thrown across the library. Because she was already against a wall, she could use it as leverage and transfer the force pushing on her to him, thus doubling the strength of her spell. Merlin shut his eyes and tried to prepare himself for the pain that would soon follow. Just as he was about to crash into another wall with earth shattering force, Morgana reversed her spell and pulled on him, grasping on a solid bookshelf as she did so. The spell caused Merlin to slow down enough to make the final blow soft by comparison. As he lay on the ground, dazed by the impact, he barely managed to see Morgana walk over and kneel down beside him. She cocked her head to the side as she looked over him, as if to prove that she would always be far above his station.
"I did nothing wrong Merlin; I simply did what needed to be done," said Morgana softly. She paused for a short moment before continuing, as if she did not want to say what came next. "But you do have a point; saving the army is of vital importance."
"So you do admit that you were incorrect," said Merlin with a smile as he tried to get up, despite the fact that he was still seeing stars in his vision. Morgana quickly laid a hand on his chest and forced him back down, as if trying to make him admit that she had been right all along. Well whatever, she wanted, Merlin was not going to give it to her.
"Everything was going well," said Morgana angrily. "If Arthur wasn't such an idiot, Camelot's army would not be under threat at all."
"So Arthur managed to ruin your plan," said Merlin audaciously. "Maybe that's just a sign that it was a terrible idea in the first place."
"Do not push your luck. Do you want to see if your head is thick enough to break through that wall behind you?" said Morgana in a arrogant voice.
Merlin just lay where he was, stunned that he had managed to make Morgana resort to such crude speech. Somehow, in some way, he had achieved a victory over her, although he did not know how.
Morgana couldn't resist a smile as Merlin finally decided to head her advice and kept his mouth shut, but quickly smothered it when she realised that she had to resort to threats to achieve his silence; she was usually far more subtle than that. She still couldn't believe the audacity the warlock had shown, but she couldn't help but admit there was some truth in his words. Perhaps she had been too rash with her actions by not considering how Arthur would respond. When she had finally collected her thoughts, she lifted her hand and motioned for Merlin to rise.
"So how do you think we can keep Camelot's army intact?" asked Morgana at last.
"Does saying my opinion count as 'pushing my luck'?" asked Merlin, that cocky smile still on his face.
"If I didn't want to hear it, I wouldn't have asked you," replied Morgana exasperatedly. She was not in the mood for games.
"Well I think the easiest way to kill the creature and save the King..." said Merlin. He voice trailed off when she cast an icy stare in his direction. The very idea of it was inconceivable to her; how could Merlin even think of using his powers to save the king who wished for the death of the entire magical bloodline?
"When you learn how to destroy the beast, perhaps it would be better if we could kill it after the king is dead," said Morgana in a voice that brooked no discussion on the matter. Merlin however, did not seem to sense the subtitles in her voice. She reminded herself that this was not like one of the debates in the court at all; the boy talked with elegance equivalent to that of a battering ram.
'Yet this same boy has won you over with his cause with words,' thought Morgana to herself. She didn't know whether she should be annoyed or impressed with the warlock.
"Well I don't think killing Uther right now would be the best idea," said Merlin earnestly; he actually seemed to think that she would tolerate discussion on this matter. "Arthur is not ready to be king yet; even with the army intact, I don't think he'd be able to rule well."
"I'm glad you've noticed that," said Morgana wryly. "I intend to rule Camelot while Arthur can sit on the throne and play at being king."
Merlin seemed to be shocked by her proposal, but he was a commoner and she shouldn't have expected him to understand the intricacies of the court. Most men believed that the one who sat on the throne was the one who held ultimate authority. While this may be true in Uther's case, she knew there were other kings who merely acted as puppets for the powers behind the throne.
"I don't think Arthur is going to hand over the kingdom to you just like that," said Merlin cautiously.
"You don't know him as well as I do then," said Morgana casually. "He'd much rather fight with swords and horses than to accept the responsibilities of ruling Camelot; for all his bravado, he is still just a boy."
"I don't know about that," said Merlin. "His father's death will change him; he'll want to make him proud."
"If he decides to actually try and rule himself, he'll let the country degenerate into civil war within a month," said Morgana amusedly as she tried to imagine Arthur running the kingdom. Most of the time he didn't even bother to come to the court sessions at all, instead preferring to engage in practice sessions with his knights.
"I think you're underestimating him," said Merlin stubbornly. She frowned as he kept up his argument. Why wouldn't he just stop protecting Arthur? It was maddening!
"I really do not understand your faith in Arthur," said Morgana inquisitively. "Half the time, he treats you like dirt."
"It's not something you'd understand," said Merlin with a sigh. "Although sometimes, I really do hate my lot in life."
"In any case, my decision is final: The King will have to die," said Morgana in an unconcerned voice. "Once he is dead, the army will have to retreat and bring his body back to Camelot."
"But maybe we have to kill the creature before it kills Uther so we can protect the army. What if he stays in the back and lets the beast slaughter his men?" asked Merlin in a desperate voice. It almost made Morgana want to give to the boy; he really seemed to care about the men who would surely die in Uther's defence. But as her mind turned towards Uther's crimes against her father, her heart hardened again.
"I know Uther," said Morgana in a confidant voice. "He always underestimates his enemy, especially when surrounded by so many of his own men. He'll lead the charge, thinking to gain all the glory for himself, and he will be among the first to die."
"But..." began Merlin, Morgana raised a hand to cut him off.
"I don't want to hear anything more about leaving Uther alive," said Morgana sharply. "You need to find out a way to kill that creature; leave the rest to me."
With that she turned to leave the library, only to remember the document she had been writing earlier.
"Oh and I suspect you'll be needing this," said Morgana as she walked over to Merlin. "It's the letter you need to forge for Lancelot. You might not need it once Uther is dead, but we should always prepare for the worse case possible."
Somehow she didn't think Merlin shared her view, but she did not need him to agree with her; all she needed was him to find a way to kill the gryphon. Nevertheless, a part of her wanted Merlin's approval for some unknown reason. She quickly cast aside those thoughts; the only thing that really matter to her was to see her father avenged. She would not let her feelings for Merlin, whatever they were, get in her way.
Merlin walked back to his own chambers with a small limp, his mouth forming a small frown as he considered the night's events. While he had managed to convince Morgana to help save the army, he did not succeed in his other task. He sighed to himself; he supposed Uther probably deserved the grisly death that awaited him. Still, he couldn't help but wonder about what would happen to Arthur if his father met an untimely end.
He quickly cast these troublesome thoughts aside; they weren't going to help him figure out how to kill the gryphon. It was nearly midnight, and no doubt Arthur would have him working early in the morning. However, as he lay in his bed his mind was still focused on the events in the library. The magical 'duel' he had with Morgana had been exhilarating. He had never felt so alive before; she was almost as powerful as him, but she simply didn't have serious degree of control. He always found that his magic had come naturally, but she seemed to have to force every action. Perhaps that would be something they could work on once this debacle with the army was over.
Slowly, the warlock drifted off into a deep sleep as his mind finally succumbed to his body's needs. The last thought before he fell into the world of dreams was the faint scent of roses.
As Morgana prepared herself for the night's rest, her mind was focused on the problem at hand. Merlin might be powerful, but she did not want to rely on him alone to save the army. If only she could incite rebellion from some of the minor lords; that would force Uther to keep most of the men in Camelot. Time was her greatest enemy however; any such plot would take months to prepare, and Uther was determined to ride out within the week. She had to admit that she and Uther shared some similar traits. Like her, when Uther decided to do something, nobody could stop him.
She suddenly paused as she considered Uther's strange actions; why did he accept Arthur's suggestion that he take the entire army with himself? The king was a tyrant yes, but he was not stupid. By taking the army away he left his city defenceless; why would he do such a thing? Perhaps he feared that Arthur would try to usurp him, but it had been Arthur who told Uther to take the army in the first place. Besides, it was near unthinkable that Arthur would be able to plot anything at all. She donned her nightgown and subconsciously slipped under her bed covers. While she wanted to figure out this puzzle, the magical duel had left her exhausted, and her body slowly succumbed to the need for rest.
She could see a great fortress, but it was not Camelot; this city was carved from a mountain and far more grand than Camelot could ever hope to be. And yet it seemed to her that something was missing. The peasants went about their tasks with an air of hopelessness around them. As the vision faded, she thought she saw a feminine figure standing watch from the tallest spire in the city. She was clad in a flowing violet gown and crowned with a circlet that seemed to radiate with the light of the sun. As the image faded, Morgana realised with shock that this woman could be none other than herself.
It was always dark in the caves beneath Camelot; the human king made his sorcerers carve the structure from beneath the very mountain that protected the north side of the city. Perhaps he wanted to drive Kilgharrah mad; instead he had simply become a lot more patient over the years of his imprisonment. And yet that patience was fast running out.
Kilgharrah had been unable to make any progress towards driving a wedge between Morgana and Merlin, the two most powerful humans of this age. Men did not understand the full intricacies of magic; such knowledge was kept by the dragons alone. These two humans were named Magus, or Warlock in the human tongue; beings who could use all six magical forces inherent in this world, as the dragons could. He had seen visions of the future, a future both were united under a single cause. He could see the beginnings of the eternal empire, spanning both ends of this earth. No force on this world could stand against them. The age of men would last for all time, timeless and unyielding. He could not allow that to come to pass!
Yet every day it seemed that this future was already unfolding within his very eyes. The warlock grows closer to Morgana with each passing day, and despite her distrustful nature, she had begun to warm herself to him. Nothing Kilgharrah did seemed to have any noticeable effect. Were the gods so unjust? Are the humans to remain unpunished for their traitorous deeds?
Kilgharrah knew he would have no answers; his god abandoned his race long ago. He was the last of the great firedrakes of old, the great winged beasts born in the icy fortress of the North. He had no other choice but to keep trying, for what else was there for him to do?
Lancelot sweated as he helped his fellow knights slowly dismantle one of Camelot's many defensive catapults; his hands blistered from working on the rough wood. There were so many levers and bolts on these contraptions; if left on his own he wouldn't even begin to know where to start his task if there weren't engineers instructing them. The knight did his best to try and remember every detail about the machines as he worked on it; this information may become useful one day.
Once the catapult was finally reduced to its component parts, the engineers carefully placed the metal parts in woven cloth bags, and the wood used to make the catapults were piled onto wagons. When dismantled, the jumbled pieces of wood looked more like firewood rather than machines of war. The king had ordered them to do this task in the depth of night; obviously he wanted it to be kept secret, although he did not tell the men why. It didn't take long for him to finish his task, and the engineers swiftly dismissed them, as if they were afraid that someone had seen them.
As he walked back to his assigned quarters, Lancelot wondered why the king wanted them to dismantle the catapults in the first place. The machines were designed to be mobile; surely if he wanted to take them along on the expedition, he could simply have his army roll them out of the gates. But as he thought about the expedition itself; the more it seemed to him that something was out of place. If they were really just securing the outer villages, two full legions of men seemed to be far too cumbersome for the task.
When the truth dawned on Lancelot, he was almost tempted to hit himself for his own stupidity; why didn't he see it sooner? The fact that they were heading straight east towards the outer villages, rather than securing the nearby villages first, should have told him what he needed to know in the first place. The disguised catapults, the way they were headed, and even the number of men they were taking; they all pointed to one thing alone.
Uther planned to strike against Essetir.
Merlin groaned as someone shook him from his slumber. It was still dark, and it seemed that he had just closed his eyes mere moments ago. He lifted a hand up to swat away whoever it was beside his bed, only to feel the touch of cold steel as his fingers slammed into chainmail.
"Lancelot?" asked Merlin as he rubbed his sleepless eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"There's no time to explain everything Merlin, but Uther is marching on Essetir," said Lancelot urgently. "He plans to take down the kingdom before Cenred can react."
"Can't it wait till tomorrow?" asked Merlin sleepily; his mind was not functioning properly yet. However, as Lancelot's words finally registered in his mind, Merlin immediately bolted upwards.
"Attacking another kingdom?" asked Merlin in shock. "How could you know that? And what about the gryphon?"
"I don't think the gryphon is on the King's list of priorities," explained Lancelot quickly. "I believe that he just wanted to use the Gryphon as a cover so that he could mobilise his army without the other Kings suspecting anything."
"That does sound like something Uther would do," said Merlin as he immediately bolted up. "But I think you're wrong on one count."
"And what do you think that is?" questioned Lancelot.
"He plans to have Arthur kill the beast while he goes off to war," said Merlin in a grim voice. "I don't think he'll be able to drive it off again!"
"I think that's the least of your worries," said Lancelot. "I recall you saying that you came from Ealdor?"
"Yes, I do," asked Merlin in confused voice. "But what does that have to do with anything?"
"Uther didn't pack much in the way of food; I'm guessing he did not want to alarm Cenred or any of the other kings," said Lancelot. "But he ordered his men to prepare many empty wagons to be bought along with him."
"You haven't answered my question," said Merlin, his confusion evident in his voice.
"I thought I made it obvious; he plans on pillaging every village between his borders and Cenred's capital," said Lancelot; his face showing pity towards Merlin. "I'm sorry Merlin, but there's nothing we can do now."
A/N: I hope you enjoyed my first chapter back. Originally I intended to make this chapter a lot longer, but I realised that I might lose some people if I introduced too many new plot elements all at once. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon! (Should be up before Friday). This next one will be where all the action will be taking place, so I want to do it justice.
P.S Did anyone guess what Uther was actually doing before the ending of this chapter? Oh and did you like the way I implemented the magical system in Merlin? I'm writing an index below to explain more clearly how magic works. I have my own set of 'Canon' I wrote up for this fic to give it a better sense of direction. Also I finally did my first Arthur PoV in this fic. Please tell me if you think I got his character right or not.
Remember, I love each and every one of your reviews!
ARS ARCANUM:
The Strength of the spell itself depends on the natural ability of the one who casts the spell, as well as the strength of the emotion they are drawing on.
Magical Element: Air
Emotion required: Instinct
External Effects: The ability to use one's mind to push or pull physical objects to or away from yourself. Forces you create push back on you with equal force in the opposite direction.
Internal Effects: Grants one the ability to see the world in a slower time; i.e have faster reaction speed.
Magical Element: Earth
Emotion required: Intent
External Effects: Changes your own mass. (Altering the way gravity works by increasing or decreasing its pull.) Can only be used on yourself.
Internal Effects: Enhances natural senses (strength, sight, scent, vision etc.)
More coming soon (They are already planned out, but haven't been used in my fic yet).
