Chapter 20: Camlann
"So she's taken residence at the abandoned fortress of Nordklipper," Lord Aquila remarked.
"And she has an army with her," General Evawn continued as the lords and their various advisors looked over the map of Argentia. "Not as many as we have, probably five or six hundred, but they're all gens magica."
"Why that fortress though?" Lord Hutmorda asked.
"Indeed, why?" echoed Lady Easton.
"Because she knew we wouldn't look there," Merlin replied. "It's the last place anyone would look. If I hadn't ordered my scouts to search every corner of the British Isles as soon as we'd heard of her return from the East we would have never found out."
"I think the more important question is how," Lord Cadwalader pointed out. "That fortress has been cursed for centuries. It should be utterly uninhabitable."
"Well, she does have an army of gens magica," Merlin pointed out. "No doubt at least one of them knew how to break curses, and Morgana's own skills are nothing to sneeze at."
"And yet you're the one who let her live," Lord Seraph pointed out.
"Please, let's try to be helpful Seraph," Arthur interjected.
"How should we proceed then?" Lord Cadwalader asked. "Wait her out? Try to outlast her in a siege?"
Arthur shook his head, "That won't work. She has an army of sorcerers. Even though there's only five or six hundred of them they'd be able to tear down the walls of any city before they came in range of our missiles. Then they'd level everything and execute everyone, and that's if we got lucky. What's more, if the scouts were right, then she has at least one dragon. Waiting behind our walls would only get us roasted alive."
"Well we can't just storm the fortress!" Lord Seraph protested.
"He's right," Lord Aquila agreed. "The Pirate King built the place to so that only he and his fleet could access it. It's built high on a cliff with walls so tall and thick that it would put the Trojans of legend to shame. There is but one entrance, on the seaside, but it is carefully concealed and no doubt heavily guarded."
"I know," Merlin replied. "The only reason it was abandoned in the first place and the Pirate King defeated was that the Romans paid handsomely for Antiocus Peverellus to curse the place with that elder wand of his."
"Couldn't we just curse it again?" General Evawn asked.
Merlin had to smile somewhat at the man's question. "Your faith in my abilities flatters me," Merlin replied. "But I am not so skilled as the Peverell brothers, at least not in curses. And even if I was, even I would have trouble casting a curse that couldn't be broken Morgana and six hundred other gens magica."
"It seems our only option is to attack the fortress," Arthur concluded. "The question is how."
"We could blockade the fortress on the sea-facing side with our navy," Lord Aquila offered. "Then, while they lie in wait for her to send ships out and thus reveal to us where the entrance to the fortress is, we attack on foot. Even an army of sorcerers with a dragon needs to eat at some point."
"That's if we can maintain the siege," Lord Hutmorda pointed out. "All it will take is for some of our ships to burn in the bay or for her men to start cutting ours down with curses for her to have gained victory."
At length Arthur asked, "She should still be bound by the sacred vow shouldn't she?"
Merlin nodded, "If she'd found some way to nullify it, I'd know."
"So neither she nor her men can harm me, at least not yet, and we still have Excalibur and its children forged for us by Selwig. While I still stand, even while she has the fortress and the high ground, we still have that advantage at least."
"And if this dragon destroys you?" Lord Seraph asked. "What then? As far as I know, a dragon is not a man."
"True, but the dragon will not attack men of its own accord unless it feels immediately threatened by them," Merlin replied. "If she does have a dragon, then it is not there willingly. It is a very difficult thing, keeping a dragon under control as a weapon of war. If it does attack Arthur, then it will have done so because it was directed to by its handler."
"Then that also gives us a way to neutralize the dragon, at least without killing it which would be equally as difficult as controlling it," Lady Easton interjected.
Merlin nodded in reply. "We free the dragon from its handler, and it will almost certainly flee the battle before it can be recaptured."
"Are the firelancers ready?" Arthur asked, referring to Merlin's devices for using the fire powder.
"Not yet," Merlin replied. "We don't have enough of the devices made yet nor do we have enough ammunition."
"But do we have at least some?" he pressed.
"Yes, but they've been trained to fight as units, if we-"
"We don't have a choice Merlin," Arthur interrupted. "Some of them is still better than none. Gather your best men. We'll take them with us."
"So we mean to lay siege to Nordklipper then?" Lord Cadwalader asked.
Arthur nodded. "It's our only real option. Gather your forces," he instructed. "We must all meet on the field of Camlann before the week is out. I will also be sending some of my knights with you, as guards. We shouldn't rule out the possibility that Morgana knows we've discovered her and will try to send assassins to impede our efforts."
With that, the council broke and the various city leaders went off to write to their cities to begin preparing their troops immediately so that they would be ready to depart immediately upon their return from the council. Arthur instructed the navy, much of which was docked at Camelot, to begin their own preparations and to send word to the rest of the fleet. Merlin for his part, sent word to everyone he could within his order as well as the captain he had put in charge of training the firelancers to prepare for the siege. Just as Merlin had finished sending his final message on its way via one of the many owls he had acquired for his official communiques, he heard a rumor from one of the knights that he didn't much like.
Merlin began to search the castle for Arthur. When at last he found him, he said, "Tell me it isn't true."
"You'll have to be more specific," Arthur replied as he gathered provisions for himself for the journey to Nordklipper.
"Mordred," Merlin said. "You've assigned Mordred to be one of Lord Aquila's guard?"
"Yes," Arthur replied. "What of it?"
"Arthur, you are the priority here. If you fall then Excalibur's power is lost and all the other swords lose their power as well. That could be the difference between victory and defeat in a siege like this."
"And what does that have to do with Mordred?" Arthur asked.
"Arthur, you know that he's the best of your knights. He's skilled with a sword and is one of the greatest wizards of our time," Merlin argued.
"And so is Cadogan," Arthur replied.
"Arthur."
"Merlin, I am well skilled with a blade myself," Arthur pointed out. "I will be well guarded, even without Mordred, my armor is goblin-made and its integrity has been confirmed by Selwig. And I hold Excalibur. I will be fine." Merlin wanted to protest but he was silenced by the look his friend gave him, a look that said, "Leave it."
"Fine then," Merlin replied at length. "Mordred stays with Lord Aquila, but at least allow me to help guard you."
Arthur waited a moment before nodding and replying, "If you can do that and direct your own men at the same time."
"Thank you," Merlin replied before turning to leave his friend.
"One more thing Merlin," Arthur said, catching him as he was about to pass through the doorway.
Merlin turned back to face Arthur and asked, "Yes?"
"Guinevere has been feeling a little under the weather lately. It's a somewhat more recent development and with the battle preparations, we don't have any of the regular physicians available to look at her. Would you mind just paying her a visit? I know it's not your area of expertise but-"
"I'll see what I can do," Merlin interrupted. "Luke taught me a few things before he left." The mention of their lost friend's name stung them both a little, but far less than it would have months ago when they'd first heard of his death.
"Thank you," Arthur replied with a smile before returning to his own preparations.
Once he left Arthur behind, Merlin began to search the castle for Guinevere. When at last he found her, he told her that Arthur had asked him to take a look at her and see if he could do anything for her apparent illness. "It's not too bad," she replied. "It comes and goes."
"What are the symptoms?" Merlin asked.
"I've been really tired lately," she began. "I sometimes get nauseous without warning but no vomiting. Some minor headaches. I'm also not eating like I used to."
"How do you mean?" Merlin asked.
"A lot of the things I used to like just make me sick now."
"Are you still eating enough?"
"More than usual actually," Guinevere replied. "Just different things I guess."
Merlin had a hunch as to what was troubling his friend's wife, but he had to be sure. "Guinevere, would you mind spitting in this cup?" he asked as he held out a small cup. When he noticed her reluctant and somewhat disgusted expression he continued, "Or pee if you'd prefer that. I just need some body fluids and I'd rather not bleed you. It's for a potion that'll hopefully tell me what's going on with you."
Guinevere eventually acquiesced and spat in the cup for Merlin. "Thank you," he said. "It'll just be a few minutes now." With that, Merlin set to work on his preparations. When everything was in order, he poured the saliva into the bubbling cauldron and waited for his answer. When he had it, he rose from his chair. "I'm going to find Arthur," he informed Guinevere.
"Is it bad?" she asked worriedly.
"No," Merlin replied with a smile. "Not bad at all."
When he'd finally returned with Arthur he apologized for the wait. "I just figured you'd both want to get the news at the same time," he explained. "Arthur, Guinevere," he began, "you're going to be parents."
For a moment they were silent and then Arthur asked, "Are you sure?"
"Quite," Merlin replied with a smile. "This was one thing that Luke made absolutely sure I knew how to do before he left. In fact he expected this to happen a lot sooner."
Wide, joyful smiles broke out on his friends' faces. They were soon laughing. "I'm going to be a mother," Guinevere said disbelievingly, tears of joy running down her cheeks.
"And I'll be a father," Arthur said.
"No," Merlin replied. "You'll be a great father."
"You know what this means right?" Guinevere asked.
"What?" Arthur replied.
"It means that you have to come back."
"Don't worry," Arthur replied as he moved in to kiss his wife. "I will, I promise."
"I'll leave you two alone," Merlin finally said, rising from his chair to leave. As he closed the door behind him, he couldn't help but smile. Perhaps, despite all the bad things there were in the world, despite men who murdered their brothers in faith and wizards who sought to rule mankind, perhaps there was enough good to make it all worthwhile. Maybe, just maybe, things would turn out well after all.
The forces of Argentia had all met on the fields of Camlann and were now completing the march to Nordklipper. Merlin noticed that there were far more of them than there had been when they'd fought the rebellion and the men were better equipped and better trained than they had been in those days and that was encouraging to know. He could see some veterans of the rebellion among them, reminiscing about old times, but he also saw some new faces. Green soldiers eager to prove themselves and serve their country. Merlin stayed close to Arthur and his guard, keeping his own men close in case he had to send his wizards or his firelancers to fight at a moment's notice. Though everyone was quite certain that Morgana was still at her fortress, Merlin knew that if anyone were to try and surprise them by battle on an open plain, it would be Morgana. Thus, they had also sent scouts out ahead of them and to the sides of the large force to warn them if Morgana's forces were approaching.
Thus far, it seemed that she would remain in her fortress and try to wait out the siege. Merlin hoped that their luck would hold. If Morgana chose to meet them in open battle, she'd almost certainly send her dragon first. The beast could roast the entire army alive if it was directed to do so by its handler. Fortunately, they had a contingency plan for such an event and even though it wasn't a very good plan, it was still the best they had.
It was while Merlin thought of these things that he spotted the mounted scout riding back toward the bulk of the force at top speed. Merlin tensed as he pointed out the rider to Arthur who halted the column of men when he too saw the scout. Once the scout was near enough to be heard, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "The enemy approaches!"
Arthur wasted no time in giving the order to prepare for battle and no sooner had the men spread out to avoid the dragon's flame than the very beast they had prepared for soared overhead, unleashing a bestial roar right before belching flames upon the nearest group of soldiers it could find. Mounted on the back of the dragon, keeping careful control over the reigns that bound the beast, was one of Morgana's sorcerers, dressed in robes of black with a white dragon embroidered on the back.
Merlin had to struggle to give orders to the wizards and firelancers under his command, trying to yell over the crackle of searing hot flame and agonized screams of the men whose flesh it melted like candle wax. "Firelancers, wizards!" he shouted over the noise. "Take out the dragon's handler!"
As soon as his men began to fire spells and projectiles in the direction of the beast, Morgana's foot soldiers appeared over the horizon. Once the two armies had sighted each other, Morgana's men took advantage of the confusion and devastation raining down from the dragon and charged into the Argentian forces.
Once the forces met, it was all chaos. The Argentians were scattered in small clusters in their effort to avoid the dragon's breath which it continued to pour out on the back half of the army which had yet to encounter Morgana's foot forces. Left and right, curses struck Argentian soldiers. Some cried out in agony as they were cut open or pierced by invisible blades, but many of them simply fell to the ground, eyes wide and empty. Despite this, the groups held fast and strong. Merlin was thankful for the power of Excalibur which Arthur now wielded bravely, trying to cut down as many of the sorcerers as he could. He was also thankful for the swords that Selwig had made for the other lords, swords that drew on and amplified Excalibur's powers.
The Merlin and his order were now occupied trying to defend the firelancers from attacks by the enemy foot soldiers. Meanwhile, the few men they had armed with the fire powder devices fired into the air relentlessly, trying their best to hit the man who controlled the dragon. At first Merlin had tried to continue to direct the other small groups who were combating the foot soldiers to come together and strengthen their forces, but his shouting was in vain, even with his voice magically amplified. The sound of steel ringing off of shield charms, the sizzle of all manner of martial magic soaring through the air, and the cacophony of explosions from the firelancers drowned out any and all intelligible speech.
As the battle raged on, Merlin noticed that not a single one of Morgana's men had pursued Arthur. In fact, they actively avoided him and did their best not to be run down by him and his guard so as to avoid being killed. "Excellent," Merlin said to himself. Morgana was still bound, she hadn't yet figured out a way around the magic that kept her to her word. But these thoughts only led Merlin to wonder why she'd chosen now to attack rather than wait in her fortress. The knot in Merlin's stomach tightened as he considered that perhaps, things were going more or less as she had planned, despite not being able to neutralize the power of Excalibur.
Finally, without warning, a body fell from the sky, smashing one of Morgana's men underneath it. Merlin noticed that the one who had fallen was also one of the enemy and he looked up to see the dragon departing the battle, it's reigns trailing behind it, no longer in the hands of its rider.
"I hit him!" one of the firelancers that Merlin had been guarding whooped. His celebration was short lived, however, as a curse hit him causing him to double over. Merlin turned to find that the poor young lad had vomited copious quantities of blood. In anger, Merlin fired a spell of his own back at the caster, sending the enemy soldier flying high through the air to land with a sickening crunch several yards away.
By now, Morgana's men had noticed that they no longer had any air power and the fear that Excalibur and its children had been inducing in them turned to panic. They turned and fled, doing their best to not be struck down as they ran off to regroup. As the enemy regrouped, so too did the Argentians who fortunately still had numbers on their side. As the last of Morgana's men left the foray, Merlin overheard one cursing, "Where the hell is the Black Knight? The King was supposed to be dead by now."
At first Merlin was confused by the statement but then it dawned on him what Morgana's plan had been. She meant to kill Arthur here and now and to wipe up the whole of the Argentian forces all in one fell swoop. But she couldn't kill Arthur herself, nor could any of her men do it, her vow prohibited it. The vow did, however, prohibit one of Arthur's own men killing him.
As the realization dawned on Merlin, that there was a traitor in their midst, he began to leave in search of this "Black Knight". Merlin did not recall having any such knight in the service of the realm but supposed that it was probably a marker, to allow the enemy to know who not to kill. At first Merlin thought only to look among the knights until he realized that the traitor didn't necessarily need to be a knight, he just needed to be dressed like one, with all black armor. As Merlin weaved his way through the ranks of their army, which was now pressing its advantage against the enemy, moving forward steadily in an attempt to encircle Morgana's forces like a great maw closing in on its prey, he came across Lord Aquila. At first he was inclined simply to pass him and his guard by when he noticed that Mordred was no longer among his guard.
"Where's Mordred?" Merlin yelled over the noise of the pounding feet and rattling spears and swords.
"What?" was the lord's reply.
"Sir Mordred, from your guard," Merlin repeated.
"I gave him leave to protect the King," Lord Aquila replied.
At first Merlin was inclined to simply leave, relieved that his friend probably yet lived. Then one of the other knights guarding Lord Aquila said, "He was a bit odd about it though."
"Odd how?" Merlin asked.
"Well, he turned his cloak black before he left."
Then it dawned on Merlin. He put the pieces together, his dream with the mystery man and Morgana, the raven and the serpent, Mordred's strange behavior from before they'd learned about Luke's murder. On the one hand Merlin wanted to simply deny it, on the other, he was shocked at the betrayal, but on still another hand, Merlin knew he had to act. Mordred was the Black Knight and he wasn't going to protect the King, he was going to kill him.
Quick as he could, Merlin rushed through the ranks of their forces. As he neared the front lines he could see that as the Argentians pressed forward with their attack, the enemy continued to flee, desperate to escape their impending doom. Merlin was nearly back to Arthur when he saw Mordred emerge from the ranks of the surrounding soldiers and make to strike his friend. "Arthur!" Merlin yelled.
Merlin's call caught his friend's attention, but only too late. Even as Arthur realized himself what was happening, Mordred thrust Clarent, the sword that had once been Arthur's, into the King's side. Merlin felt the pain he saw displayed on his friend's face as he continued to rush to his aid, hopeful that he could still save the man. Arthur's pain quickly turned to disbelief and then to rage as he thrust Excalibur into Mordred's midsection. Both men released their grips on their respective swords and collapsed to the ground just as Merlin arrived, dropping to his knees next to his friend.
As Merlin drew out his wand, using it to tear open Arthur's now disempowered goblin made armor so he could treat his wound, the entire battlefield felt the magic that had emanated from Excalibur leave them like a receding tide baring the seashore to the cold sky above.
"Protect the king!" Merlin called, ordering his wizards to form a protective ring around them. Merlin motioned to Cadogan, "Tell Lord Aquila that Arthur has fallen but that we must continue to press the advantage. We still have to win this." Cadogan nodded and reluctantly left Merlin, Arthur, and Mordred within the circle of wizards. "I need a physician!" Merlin called.
"Don't waste time with me," Arthur ordered. "It's not too bad." In truth, it seemed that he was right. Though the goblin made sword had pierced Arthur's plate and cut through his mail it seemed to have only made a small cut on his side, little more than a graze. At the same time though, Merlin's friend looked weak and in pain, as if something was happening to him on the inside, something that couldn't be explained by the rather minor blood loss that had occurred through the cut which Merlin had now sealed.
"Arthur," Merlin insisted. "You look much worse than 'not too bad'."
"We don't have time," Arthur said. "Excalibur needs someone to wield it. Someone needs to finish the battle."
"Lord Aquila is doing that," Merlin replied.
"Not well enough, his sword has no power so long as Excalibur is without someone to use it. We are faltering."
As much as Merlin didn't want to admit it, he knew Arthur was right. Their attempts to defeat the enemy had already become more of a struggle as the enemy had no doubt felt the retraction of the swords' power as surely as the Argentians had. True, they had superior numbers, but the enemy still had magic at their disposal.
When the physician finally arrived to continue the treatment of Arthur, Merlin rose from his friend's side and walked over to the traitor. Surprisingly, the wizard was still clinging desperately to life. "Why?" Merlin asked, his expression a mixture of rage, sorrow, and disbelief.
"It was for you Merlin," Mordred replied, blood seeping from his mouth. "He was the first obstacle to our existence and supremacy. As long as the gens non magica can be more powerful than us, they will always seek to destroy us. We have the power so we ought to use it."
"You're wrong," Merlin replied.
"Am I?" he asked. "What about what they did to Luke? Or my parents? What about kidnapping me away and then trying to burn me alive when they discovered that I had magic? The gens non magica are evil and must be destroyed. My father was right. Morgana is right. We were meant to rule them. Not the other way around."
"Is that your idea of justice?" Merlin yelled in anger. "Might makes right?"
"It's not about justice," Mordred argued back. "It's about survival."
Merlin shook his head. "No."
"Merlin, don't waste your time on Arthur," Mordred said, more calmly. "Please, you can't help him. He will die no matter what you do."
"It's just a graze, he'll be fine," Merlin insisted.
"No," Mordred replied. "The sword, that was the one the Shadow used to-" Mordred was interrupted by a fit of coughing but Merlin didn't need him to finish. He remembered well enough what had happened between his own father and Clarent. The sword had stabbed the Shadow in the shoulder right before he had used it to channel a killing curse straight into Lord Aurelianus. Since it was goblin made, it took in only that which made it stronger. Merlin realized now, that the sword would spell death for anyone who was cut with its blade.
"Please Merlin," Mordred continued. "I don't want to die."
"Perhaps you should have considered that before murdering my best friend," Merlin replied angrily as he marched up to the traitor and grasped Excalibur's hilt as the blade jutted out of Mordred's belly and his armor.
"Please," Mordred begged. "I have a son."
Merlin had been ready to withdraw Excalibur from the traitor's flesh when he'd heard that. "By whom?" he asked both out of curiosity and surprise, the anger vanishing from his features for a moment.
"Morgana," Mordred replied. "Please, I love them. And my son will need me. He's only an infant."
For a moment Merlin pitied Mordred. He remembered the young outcast at the Slytherin table. Merlin thought back to how happy Mordred had been when he'd been reunited with his real father. Could he really deprive another child of his father, especially since that father was someone who had once been close to him as well?
But Merlin's moment of pity was brief and it soon turned back to anger. "Arthur's unborn child will also need him," he replied forcefully, tightening his grip on Excalibur and placing a foot on Mordred's chest. "Arthur also loves Guinevere, and if what you say is true, and he has no chance of recovery..." Merlin let the statement hang between them for a moment. "Then you deserve to die." Merlin wrenched up on the sword drawing it out of Mordred's body.
For a moment, Mordred winced in pain. He tried to cry out in agony but instead blood gushed forth from his mouth and the wound in his midsection. Then, he lay still and lifeless, staring off into the infinity of the blue sky above. Merlin turned from Mordred and strode past where Arthur lay, his physician still tending to him, trying to figure out what was the matter. Merlin raised the sword and, doing as his friend had instructed, took charge of the battle. Once again, the Argentian forces rallied and though they lost many men in their final maneuver, at the end, they were victorious.
As the last of Morgana's men fell, Merlin advanced on their leader, the witch who had been the source of so many of their problems, the witch that Merlin should have killed when he'd had the chance. Now he was going to right that mistake. "Avada-" she began.
"Expelliarmus!" Merlin shouted, cutting her off.
The witch stumbled back as her wand was thrown far from her hand. "Wait, Emrys," she said, holding out her hand in a desperate last attempt to save her skin. "Wait. You don't want to fight for these people, they're gens non magica. Think of all the evil their kind have done." Morgana's look grew more panicked as Merlin continued to close the distance between them, a horde of very angry Argentians all around him, his firelancers at the head of the circle that closed around the witch, ready to shoot her out of the sky if she even tried to transfigure herself into a raven and escape. "Think of Luke, think of what Uther did to Gorlois!" When Merlin stopped, she thought she had finally convinced him, but her expression of victory quickly fell from her face as Merlin leveled his wand at her. "You're going to kill me?" she asked incredulously, a manic smile breaking out on her face. "You can't kill me!" she shouted. "You don't have the-"
"Avada kedavra!" Merlin shouted interrupting her. It was the affair of an instant. The green bolt struck her square in the chest and Morgana fell to the ground, wide eyed and lifeless, the manic smile still upon her face. That was the first, and the last time Merlin ever cast a killing curse and his only regret, was that he hadn't done it sooner.