Chapter 9
Notes: First off an apology for such a long wait between chapters 8 and 9. Sometimes when you write you just face big problems, that you cannot see an answer too. It may be writer's block, or a problem with the plot, or just plain real life getting in the way and interrupting the flow of what you are creating. In my case it was maybe a bit of all three, but at last I have got there. I thank everyone for their patience and I hope they enjoy this chapter, as it is rather pivotal to the story. I hope the wait has not ruined people's interest, and I would welcome feedback as this has been such a huge task to complete. Thank you.
As Merlin struggled to regain his senses, he was suddenly aware of his mind beginning to wander. It was a strange feeling, he could feel Galvan coming closer to him, and yet he seemed as though he was in a different place somehow. For a second he wondered just what was going on. Then he realized Galvan was almost upon him.
For the first time Merlin got a good look at him; he would have found it difficult to describe Galvan to anyone. He had quite a nondescript face, his hair was a sandy colour, but it was his eyes which immediately caught attention. They were bright blue, but there was something else about them. As he struggled to get up Merlin looked at Galvan again, and once again the sorcerer's eyes pierced into Merlin's. It made the warlock feel almost faint, but he regained his composure to stand and face his foe.
Merlin could sense that Mordred was beginning to win his battle with Galvan's assistant, and decided that he needed to stall the sorcerer until Mordred had finished the fight off, and then they would have an advantage. He stood tall ready to face Galvan; he was determined to show no fear. Suddenly Galvan spoke, drawing short before Merlin, an arrogant smile on his face. His voice swarmed over Merlin; a feeling of intense contempt entered Merlin's features.
"So Emrys you came after all." Galvan smiled. "I had hoped you would arrive and we could meet."
For a moment Merlin was genuinely puzzled. What did he mean he wondered, he had hoped that he'd come. He dismissed it reckoning that Galvan was just playing games with him.
"I don't think so Galvan." Merlin replied, contemptuously. "You cannot fool me."
Galvan laughed, "It was written in the stars that you would come. After all you are the only person who can stop me, are you not?"
Merlin ignored the question and stared at him in defiance. He heard a triumphant shout as Mordred finally finished the man off. Merlin waited as Mordred joined him.
"It seems you are outnumbered now Galvan." Merlin observed, looking him straight in the face.
"Release the people at once." Mordred said, taking a step towards Galvan.
"Mordred, Mordred, what on earth is the hurry?" Galvan replied, a smile still playing on his lips.
"Here we are 3 great sorcerer's should we not spend some time in contemplation of the world we inhibit? "A world." Galvan continued, "Where the greatest sorcerer living protects a man who will not allow magic into his Kingdom. The mighty Emrys sits by his side and watches his fellow sorcerers suffer."
"Arthur will allow magic eventually. It is people like you who are the biggest danger to magic never becoming law Galvan. It is you with your hatred and your twisted vengeance; imprisoning innocent people while you play your vile games." Merlin said, making sure he never lost eye contact with Galvan.
"There is nothing vile about magic becoming the dominant force in the land again. Just as it was in the days of our father's before us. Your father was a dragonlord was he not? How would he feel if he knew you were serving Uther Pendragon's wretched boy?"
"My father is not your concern." Merlin said, the sentence coming out in a low and menacing tone.
"What do you think Mordred?" Galvan smiled, walking over to him. "How do you feel about serving a traitor to our kind?"
"Arthur is a good man, more than you anyway; Now do I have to repeat my demand?" Mordred asked. "Release the people and release them now."
"And which people may that be?" Galvan asked, regarding both of them thoughtfully.
"You know damned well. The people who disappeared I met one a girl." Mordred insisted, his tone getting more impatient.
"Oh yes I think her name was Nina, was it not." Galvan asked. "We'll ask her shall we?"
Merlin and Mordred looked at one another, wondering what was about to happen now.
"Nina come and join us." Galvan shouted, his voice echoing around their ears.
Merlin noticed the shadow first, and then the girl came into view. She was dressed in a green cloak, which shuffled along the floor. The girl was slight and as pale as Merlin had ever seen. She came over standing by Galvan.
"Yes my master?" she asked, looking at him but ignoring Merlin and Mordred.
"Where is everyone being held Nina?" Mordred asked, his voice gentle and concerned.
Nina turned into Mordred's direction though avoiding visual contact with him. "People? What people?" she asked, dully.
"Nina surely you remember me, we met when I was on the other side of the water; you asked me to rescue you and the others."
"I have never seen you before sir." Nina replied, briefly staring at him.
"Nina please think; we can help you but please remember. This man will only do you and the others harm." Mordred said, a bit of desperation entering his voice.
"There are no others." Nina replied, her voice light and almost disappearing into the air.
"What sort of trickery is this?" Mordred said, impatience in his voice as he turned a glare onto Galvan.
"Mordred please-" Merlin said, quietly. Merlin could sense the younger man's desperation, but there was one thing that occurred to him. He was determined to try it out. He slowly approached Nina, stopping just before her. He looked into her face carefully, gently trying to persuade her to look at him properly.
"My name is Merlin, Nina. Tell me where do you come from?" Merlin asked, in a gentle and considerate voice.
She briefly looked his way, and in that second it confirmed to Merlin his fears. She was being held by magic, it was the reason she had refused to be open with Mordred. Her eyes looked vacant as if staring into a void; Merlin knew that the spell would be a strong one. It was just one more complication that he and Mordred faced in this quest; he decided to let Mordred know his suspicion.
"How long do you think you can keep Nina a prisoner like this?" Merlin snarled, an intense anger in his eyes. "You are a coward Galvan keeping people slaves to your ambitions. Release her and allow these people to be free again."
"They are no slaves, when the revolution comes they will be at the forefront of this glorious crusade. They will be the people who lead the vanguard, when we march into your precious Camelot and take your King and Queen. If you are respectful Emrys I may even let you watch as we take their heads off." Galvan said, a hideous smile on his face.
Merlin could feel anger rise in him, as well as a cold fear. Suddenly he was devoid of ideas, he could sense Mordred's rising impatience, and he feared the young man would do something rash, if he didn't think of something quickly.
"You will never take over Camelot Galvan; your cause will fail." Merlin asserted.
"Is that so Emrys?" Galvan replied, his hand taking out a piece of paper from his pocket, and folding it.
Merlin struggled to see what was on the paper, but he could see something. When he looked again he saw it was a symbol, but what of? Galvan noticed Merlin's sudden interest and walked up to him showing him the symbol clearly. It looked to be a number of triangles all joined together, with ancient writing around them that Merlin could not translate.
"Mean anything to you does it Emrys?" Galvan asked his eye brows rising. "What about you Mordred?"
"It is the symbol of the Gederd." Mordred replied, glaring at the sorcerer.
"Yes indeed the symbol of the Gederd." Galvan turned his back and began to walk around. "There was a time when this mighty tribe ruled this land, a time when magic dominated the landscape. The High Priestesses ruled from the Isle of the Blessed, sending their messages on the wind. Everything that was important was created from this time gentlemen. Our magical ancestors invented the world we now take for granted. Until the day the arrogant King in Camelot dared to destroy our magical heritage."
"This has nothing to do with Arthur, what his father did." Merlin interrupted.
"What has your King done since to right the wrongs of Uther's reign?" Galvan shot back, anger blazing from his eyes. "Has he ever reached out to the magical community in Camelot? No he has not. I bet he does not even know about your powers, maybe I will tell him when I have taken over Camelot. How do you think he will react Emrys? I am sure he will be so impressed."
Merlin tried not to show any fear as Galvan blazed on with his threat. The idea of Arthur being told about his magic was causing Merlin severe fear. He was simply not ready for Arthur to know yet and he knew timing would be everything. But he could not afford to show any kind of fear to Galvan. His head shot up.
"He won't find out Galvan because you will not get near to Camelot." Merlin promised.
"Release the people you are holding."
Mordred's voice almost made Merlin jump. He had almost forgotten the young man was still with him. He looked over to him once more noticing the annoyance on the young man's face. He could sense the impatience in Mordred's features. He signalled over to him, to stay calm. But as he did so, Mordred caught hold of Merlin's arm.
"The Alter!" Mordred said, with alarm.
A cold fear came over Merlin as he watched Galvan walking over and getting ever nearer to the Alter. He knew he must do something, reaching deep into his magic, he unleashed a spell, which he threw across the room, causing Galvan to stumble onto his knees. For a second Galvan stayed down on his hands and knees, but before Merlin had time to react again, the sorcerer threw a spell of his own, across the room, forcing Merlin and Mordred to duck.
Galvan than got up onto his feet, laughing as he did so. "Is that the best you can do Emrys?"
"Get away from the Alter, or I will have no choice other than to kill you." Merlin demanded, his voice sounding extremely loud to him.
"Kill me?" Galvan said, pausing before the steps, which led up to the magnificent magical Alter. "I would like to see you try. Tell me how does it feel to kill your own kind Emrys? How many of us have you already slaughtered, for your dreaded King?"
"The only people I have killed Galvan have been ones who have used magic for their own gain. They are the traitors to magic. For those who use magic to further their own ambitions, to those who persecute people who do not have magic. I will have no hesitation in destroying you if I have to." Merlin said, keeping his voice low and menacing.
"We need to get him away from that Alter." Mordred whispered to Merlin panic in his voice.
"I know." Merlin whispered back. "We need to distract him, first though."
Mordred looked around and realized the girl was sheltering in the corner of the room, as if hiding away. Mordred motioned to Merlin and he took a quick look at her. "I have an idea." Mordred whispered.
Mordred went over to where Nina was standing putting his hand out to her; his eyes locked on hers, his manner as gentle as he could muster. "It is okay Nina; will you come over with me? We will go slowly, as slowly as you need too."
The girl regarded him for a moment as if trying to make her mind up. As Mordred looked at her, he could not entirely read the emotions on her face, if there were any there at all. She seemed totally devoid of anything, other than fear as she continued to stare at him. Mordred blanked out Merlin and Galvan's voices in the background, concentrating only on Nina.
"We passed through a pretty little village on our way to Landez. It was only small, with a lovely forest on the outskirts; it had a waterfall not so far away. You could hear the sound of the water from what felt like miles away. I remember we stopped and rested the horses for a while; it was such a peaceful little place. I think they called it Sanderneare." Mordred carefully touched one of her hands, realizing as he did so that the girl was thinking, a faraway look in her eyes.
"Sanderneare." She repeated, softly. "Did you see the big pear tree on the edge of the forest?"
"Yes I remember." Mordred smiled, "It was huge with beautiful white flowers on it. No pears though"
"I will never see it again." She replied sadly, attempting to slip her hand out of his.
"You will if you trust us Nina. We can help you we can take you home again, but you must trust us."
Nina looked over to where Merlin was moving over towards Galvan. She appeared to be considering his appeal; for a moment Mordred thought she would agree, but a sudden fear took over her features.
"No I cannot. You do not understand how powerful he can be, he will kill you both." She said, again trying to pull away from Mordred.
"Nina I am going to tell you something, because I think you deserve to know the truth. Merlin and I have been given an old ancient spell. Together we have been given the power to overcome Galvan but we need your help as well. I know it's asking a lot, but I promise we will take you and the others home. Please consider this we cannot do this without you."
Suddenly Galvan's voice echoed across the room.
"Nina come over here girl."
Mordred pleaded with Nina, as she turned to go, after a few seconds of looking at him, she nodded. "What do you want me to do?"
"We need you to distract him just for a second, so that we can take him by surprise." Mordred whispered, letting her go as he did.
"I will see what I can do." Nina said, then put her head down as she walked passed Merlin over to where Galvan now stood, by the Alter.
"Get me the vial girl, the time has come." Galvan said, his tone aggressive.
Mordred stood next to Merlin.
"Well?" Merlin asked, his eyes not leaving Galvan's.
"She is going to distract him, we can then get between him and the Alter. He needs to be standing at the Alter to do the spell, as long as we separate him from that, we can do what we have too."
Merlin nodded, "Prepare yourself then Mordred."
Mordred nodded in reply, like Merlin he was intently staring at Galvan and watching as the girl slowly moved towards him with the vial in her hands.
"This is holy water, water from the Isle of the Blessed, the most potent and powerful source. Once blessed by the moon there will be nothing you can do to stop my march to Camelot. Then my revenge against Arthur Pendragon will begin. Maybe you would like to watch me Emrys, I will let you stand right next to me."
Merlin didn't answer; his nerves were suddenly tied up deep in his chest, he felt so tense he could barely breathe. He tried to concentrate on what he had to do, while taking a little look at Nina, who continued a slow walk over to where Galvan stood. He hoped that Nina would find the courage to help, and he knew it was asking a lot from a frightened young girl, but he had met many a brave soul who had performed above and beyond the call of duty when needed to.
She was passing Merlin and Mordred with the vial high in her hand, Merlin noticed Galvan was preparing himself for his ceremony and for a second he seemed in another world. As Nina finally passed Merlin she nodded brieftly at him, and Merlin knew she would come good.
Galvan had his head down when Nina approached him and she paused standing a little way from him, then in a movement so quick Merlin and Mordred almost missed it,she threw the water from the vial at the sorcerer's face.
"What have you done you stupid child!" Galvan shouted. At first he was angry his voice shouting, his arms waving around, but suddenly his hands went to his eyes, as if sheltering them from a bright light. "My eyes, you've blinded me."
Merlin and Mordred needed no second invitation running over to where Galvan staggered around like a wounded animal. Mordred reached him first, and just as he made to put his hand out towards Galvan the sorcerer shouted out a spell, and Mordred found himself flying through the air. He landed with a big bang against the wall, his senses feeling suddenly void. He struggled to get up, but there were stars before his eyes, and he had to give up.
"Don't come anywhere nearer Emrys, I can sense you and I will deal the same with you." Galvan threatened.
"Don't be stupid Galvan it's over, you know it is." Merlin began walking over to where the sorcerer was leaning on a table.
"I have not come this far to give up now on my ambition I can assure." Galvan said, looking up for the first time.
Merlin could tell that Galvan was still having trouble seeing, so he continued to walk towards the injured sorcerer, making sure he had his own back to the Alter. "Ambition?" Merlin said, staring hard at the man. "You don't have any ambition, it is nothing but hate and it will only lead to you getting destroyed in the end. Ambition is about building a world where everyone can thrive. A world where both those with magic and without learn to tolerate and live together for the best of humanity. That is the world that I am trying to build with Arthur. I know in the end he will listen and learn to accept magic, but only if we show patience."
"How many more years do we wait, how many more have to die?" Galvan shouted, getting up to face Merlin, nose to nose. "I have watched almost my whole family be slaughtered in the name of the Pendragons, and yet you want me to trust him, why should I?"
"Because we don't have a choice, it is do it this way or nothing will ever change, and magic will always be banned. I don't want that any more than you." Merlin remarked, seeing a movement he noticed Nina was helping Mordred to his feet. The younger sorcerer seemed a lot steadier so Merlin relaxed, suddenly coming to a decision. "I know those with magic have suffered, as my own father did. But so have those without magic, they too have suffered at some sorcerer's cruelties down the ages. This is a war with no winners Galvan you must know that by now. You said at the beginning that I have betrayed my kind by being at Arthur's side. But he is a great man, and I know in time that he will come to accept that magic has its place in Camelot. But that will only happen if we all work together for the same thing peace and understanding. I am a man of pity I will give you a chance to repent your sins, if you want to be a part of this world. But I warn you if you turn me down then I will finish this job, and it will cost you everything."
"Repent my sins?" Galvan laughed, "I have done nothing wrong I will finish you off."
In reply Merlin merely smiled, a cold smile. He had Mordred by his side now and he didn't even need to look at the younger man to know that he was ready. With the Alter at their backs and their faces on Galvan, a momentous magical force began to fill around them. A sudden strong wind began to blow around the room, knocking things off tables, filling the room with a numb like coldness, as if winter had arrived in the minute. Merlin and Mordred slowly moved towards Galvan their eyes orange and glowing, forcing the other sorcerer further and further back. By now he was stumbling over things that had fallen on the floor. As he struggled to keep on his feet so the voices began to entangle in his mind. The words seemed to overtake his conciseness blocking all other thoughts out.
In an effort to stop the words and the spell from gaining more strength Galvan put his hands onto his ears, and started to chant a spell his father had taught him. But the more he shouted the more the words tumbled about in his mind, and the louder and stronger the voices of Merlin and Mordred became. He roared out grabbing a goblet lying on the floor, he threw it in their direction but the goblet merely bounced off them and back at him, glancing him on the head, forcing another cry from him.
"Nina, Nina help me." Galvan shouted, but there was no sound from Nina, or movement either, he now knew he was truly on his own. But he would not go down without a fight, and with all his strength he threw out a spell which produced a fireball. He prepared to throw it at the two sorcerers, but before he could stop it, it had blown out as if someone had thrown water over it. All he could do was stare as his magic his last ally had appeared to desert him. All of a sudden he felt so cold. Like he was an old man at the end of his days, he could sense his strength was ebbing from him. He closed his eyes wishing for it all to be over, for a second an image of his father came into his mind. "I want you to promise me my boy you will never stop trying to bring magic back to the land." He felt tears in his eyes for a few seconds as he relived the promise he gave to his dying father. He had done everything he could, he knew that now.
By the time he felt the stabbing pain in his side, he was already accepting of his fate. He staggered on to the floor, clutching his side. From feeling cold the floor seemed so hot as if his soul was burning from his body. He could sense his end was near he cursed the two sorcerer's who had brought him to this state. They would never understand the pain of people like Galvan. He almost pitied them, they would never get their pretty brave world, the Pendragons would always be the Pendragons, just like his father had always said.
For one last second he opened his eyes seeing Merlin standing above him, looking down a look on his face he could not read. Not that he cared he had only one thing to say to him.
"You are a traitor to your kind may you rot in a hell of your own making Emrys." He said. Merlin's eyes regarded him coldly for a few more seconds, then turned orange once more as a quick and ruthless movement from his hand finally finished off Galvan for good.
For a second there was a silence in the room, and all Merlin could do was stare at the body of the man that had been his biggest rival. He felt little pity for Galvan now, against his better judgement he had given the man a chance to repent, he had not taken it. Now he would be in a place that would judge him far harsher than in the present one. In a way he hoped he would find a kind of peace, but he had a feeling Galvan would always be a restless spirit, like so many of his kind. The years had been cruel for some of those with magic, but they had let it blind them to what was reasonable and just. Merlin sighed, wondering if the world he was attempting to create would ever come to fruition. His unhappy thoughts were interrupted by a hand on his shoulder, he had almost forgotten about Mordred.
"We did it." Mordred said, his voice stunned and so young sounding.
"Yes we did, well done Mordred." Merlin smiled resting his hand on the young man's shoulder, and letting a smile play on his face.
"Is he really dead?"
The voice took both Merlin and Mordred by surprise and they both turned around to see Nina walking her way over to them. She had been sheltering under a table as she watched the confrontation between the three sorcerers's awed and frightened at the same time. But as Merlin watched her she seemed suddenly more alive, for the first time colour had come to her face.
"Nina thanks for your assistance." Merlin said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "What you did was really brave, and we would not have managed this without you. I hope you were not too scared?"
"I cannot believe he is dead, this means I can go home me and the others." Nina suddenly smiled, making both Merlin and Mordred smile in return.
"Yes I promise you we will take you all home." Mordred said, for the first time feeling quite emotional and proud.
To be continued.
8
