A Master of Two Servants: Morgana uses the fomorroh to manipulate Arthur into hunting down and killing Emrys. Little do they know the man they are both searching for is much closer than they think … AU of 4x06, 'A Servant of Two Masters'.

Warnings: gore and violence. Spoilers up to and for 4x06, 'A Servant of Two Masters'.

Disclaimer: Merlin is not mine. It belongs to the BBC and Shine.

A Master of Two Servants

Chapter Twenty-One

At the safe house, it was quite common to eat meals together in what would have once been a banquet hall, back when it was used by the old Lords and Ladies for more traditional means, such a summer social visits. When Merlin found Gwaine in the mostly-empty hall, at one of the large, long tables with Brangaine, his plate was piled high will all manner of breakfast foods and he looked more relaxed than he had out on the beach.

He'd gone to talk briefly with Lord Gilbert, who informed him that there had still been no word from Dafydd or Gale. Merlin, during his and Gwaine's escape, had managed to communicate with both Aithusa and Kilgharrah, so that someone was sent to get Gaius, Gwen and his mother out of Camelot as soon as possible. Seeing as Dafydd specialized in teleportation, and Gale was bored of hanging around Oldridge with his other, older brother, Ector, while Gareth and Gilbert had all the fun, they were assigned the task. Gilbert had expected them back by now, but ever calm, he had reassured Merlin that there was no need to worry.

"Everything all right?" Gwaine asked around a mouthful of food.

"Yeah," Merlin replied absently, slipping into the place beside him.

Brangaine looked up from her plate, her previous amusement at whatever joke Gwaine had been telling before Merlin arrived replaced by a look of sympathy. "Is there still no word?"

"Not yet."

Gwaine, still shoveling food, glanced curiously between the pair. "Word from who? Are we expecting more visitors or something?"

"Arthur managed to get Gaius and Gwen to leave Camelot," Merlin explained. "And since Morgana's going to discover my identity at some point, we decided get my mother out of Ealdor in case Morgana decides to pay her a visit. They'll be coming here."

"Who's supposed to be escorting them?"

"Gale and Dafydd."

"Gale?" Gwaine demanded. Merlin rolled his eyes, which the knight seemed to take as a conformation and muttered, "No wonder they're late. What is he, thirteen? Of all the people they could send, why him? I mean…"

Brangaine gave him a look that said, is now really the time? Gwaine's monologue came to a halt, with him looking moderately guilty. He muttered a barely audible, "Sorry," and, smirking slightly, Brangaine returned to her breakfast.

As if summoned by Gwaine's humiliation, Gareth, with two over-filled plates, slid into the empty seat beside Brangaine, giving the maid a beaming smile before shoving one of the plates towards Merlin. "Thought you'd be hungry."

Merlin shot him a grateful smile. "Thanks."

"I heard Gale's name," Gareth said, digging in. "Are they back yet?"

"There's been no word from them."

"None at all?" Merlin shook his head. Gareth gave a reassuring smile. "Well, I'm sure they're fine. It's probably the storm; it interfered with everyone's magic, even Kilgharrah's."

Gwaine frowned at Merlin. "You did magic, though."

"All-powerful sorcerer," Gareth offered in form of explanation. Gwaine considered this, shrugged and went back to eating his breakfast. A cruel smile crossed Gareth's face all of a sudden. "Kilgharrah, in case you're wondering, is the dragon."

Gwaine refrained momentarily from wolfing down his food. "Kilgharrah?"

Gareth's smile grew in both size and wickedness. "Yep. Oh, and just a heads up: he's rather angry that you told him to 'giddy up.'"

Gwaine looked up from his breakfast, eyes wide. Brangaine bit on her lip in a vain attempt to stop her laughter, while Gareth went guiltlessly ahead. Merlin, with an entertained smirk, bemoaned, "I'm never going to hear the end of it, am I? And it was bad enough before."

"He's quite adamant that he is not a horse," Gareth agreed.

"You'll never hear the end of it?" Gwaine, recovered from his shock, exclaimed. "I'll never hear the end of it, more like it. There's no way he's–" he gestured accusingly in Gareth's direction, "–keeping his mouth shut about this!"

"Of course not. It's just too good," Gareth managed around his laughter. "And I'm sure Kilgharrah won't be forgetting about anytime soon either. Dragons have very good memories."

"I wouldn't worry about Kilgharrah," Merlin said, laughing too. "He's only–"

Emrys?

Merlin flinched as the voice sounded through his mind. Across the table, Brangaine caught his gaze–she'd heard it too, but being more accustomed to the Druidic form of communication, it hadn't startled her so much.

Emrys, you are needed in the courtyard as a matter of urgency. Sir Galehaut and Dafydd have returned.

"Merlin? You all right?" Gareth asked, all joking forgotten.

"We're needed in the courtyard," Merlin hastily relayed the message, standing with Brangaine. Gwaine and Gareth followed hesitantly. "Gale's back."

"Oh, this is going to be fun," Gwaine muttered and pointed a warning finger in Gareth direction. "If you tell him about the dragon, I swear–"

Gareth, with an exasperated sigh, gave him a shove towards the doors before he could finish his sentence. Abandoning their breakfasts, they took the quickest route possible to the courtyard. It was at the center of the manor, concealed on all sides by the building; the only outside entrance was through a large, open archway that faced the sea, although it could be accessed almost anywhere from the inside. It wouldn't take them long to reach it. They raced through the corridors, where a few druids had gathered after no doubt hearing the message, and through the large wooden doors until they were out on the cobblestones.

Gale stood in the center, leaning heavily on Dafydd. His head and leg had been bound, no doubt by Gaius, who stood nearby in case the boy needed further support despite his insistence that he was fine. Hunith was with them, watching on in concern as Gilbert fussed over Gale, both of them talking over each other.

"Take him to his chambers," Gilbert was ordering Dafydd, while Gale said, "It's fine. Just a sprain and a tiny, minuscule, little bump on the head. I can walk and talk and–look, I'll show–ouch."

"What happened to you?" Gareth demanded, moving to Gale's side. "Don't tell me you hit yourself around the head with your own sword again."

Gale shot him a glare as Brangaine took his free arm, so he could take more weight off his ankle. "Again?"

"Merlin!" Hunith breathed in relief, when she saw him standing a few paces behind Gareth and Gale. She rushed towards him and threw her arms around his neck, pulling away when she noticed the sling that bound his injured shoulder and chest. "What happened?"

It was Merlin's turn to insist, "It's nothing."

"Patrol gone wrong," Gwaine supplied instead. "Happens a lot, actually."

Merlin glared at the knight. Hunith looked momentarily alarmed, but quickly recovered with a smile and an amused, "It's good to see you again, Sir Gwaine."

Gwaine gave her a charming smile. "The pleasure's all mine."

Giving Gwaine a firm look, accompanied by a light elbow in the ribs, Merlin moved to where Gaius stood, embracing the physician as he had his mother.

"I'm glad you're all right, Merlin," Gaius said.

Merlin smiled, glancing around the courtyard, expecting to see Gwen standing somewhere nearby. He had a lot to tell her–or explain, most likely. "Where's Gwen?"

Gaius seemed to pale.

"Where is she?" Merlin demanded. "Gaius?"

"I'm so sorry, Merlin." Gale, who must have overheard, hobbled towards him, shaking Dafydd off when the large sorcerer offered his support. He spoke more seriously and earnestly that Merlin had ever heard him do so before. "Morgana is already in Camelot. She sent a patrol after us and–I tried to fight them, but… Agravaine took her–he took Gwen." The young boy bowed his head in defeat, and Merlin was suddenly reminded that Gale was only just nineteen, barely used to duty or sacrifice. "I have failed you, Emrys, and I am sorry."

Before Merlin had the chance to speak, to tell him that of course he hadn't failed (and please do not start calling him Emrys as well), Gareth was by Gale's side, declaring adamantly, with one arm thrown around his brother's slumped shoulders, "You have done no such thing."

Smiling in a way he hoped would reassure Gale, despite the bubbling worry and fear in his chest, Merlin nodded in agreement. "He's right. You haven't failed, Gale."

"But–"

"Gaius and my mother are safe," Merlin interrupted. "You are safe. And we will get Gwen back. That's what matters. Now listen to your father and get some rest."

"I–I'm still sorry," Gale mumbled.

"Rest."

With one arm around Dafydd's shoulders and the other around Gareth's, Gale limped into the manor with Brangaine close on their heels. Gilbert lingered for only a moment to tell them to meet in the private banquet room in an hour, before following after them.

After finding Gauis and Hunith somewhere to stay in the manor–neither of them had any injuries that needed tending to, but were tired and shell-shocked from the unusual methods in which Dafydd had got them to the safe house–Merlin and Gwaine were the first to the meeting room. It was the same one Gilbert and Gareth had taken Gwaine to the day before. They were the only two people in there, Gwaine perched causally in the same chair he'd chosen previously, feat propped up on the table, and Merlin pacing restlessly back and forth.

"Merlin, sit down. You know what Brangaine said about resting," Gwaine said. Merlin didn't appear to have heard. "Merlin."

Merlin stopped suddenly at the demand, giving him an expectant look.

"Are you all right?"

"Fine."

Gwaine sighed. "A man who is all right does not pace, Merlin."

Pulling out the chair opposite Gwaine, he sat down and crossed his arms. "See. I'm fine."

"Oh, Merlin, you're so convincing," Gwaine drawled sarcastically. "If this is about Gwen, then firstly, it's not your fault. And secondly, she will be fine. Arthur is in Camelot–possessed or not, he's not going to let anything happen to her."

"Morgana is in Camelot."

"True. But what's to say she'll hurt Gwen? She wanted her alive, did she not?" Gwaine reasoned. "I'm as worried as you are, Merlin. I don't want to see Gwen hurt, but there's nothing you can do now–especially with Morgana in Camelot."

"She's going to take the throne any day now," Merlin muttered. "And we're expected just to stay here and let her."

"I don't know about that. But I suppose–"

Merlin shook his head. "Gilbert says we need an army, a battle strategy–that we have to wait until the time it right."

"You know, he's had years of experience. I'd say he's probably right." Merlin tried to argue, but Gwaine spoke before he could, "Because right now, you're in no state to be fighting–don't try to deny it; whatever spell or concoction the Druids could fix you up, you still wouldn't be back to full strength, and with the Mirror of Disaster or whatever it's called at Morgana's disposal, it's not going to be easy to defeat her. You're the one that said it'll take the force of war to win and we don't even have an army."

"And Arthur and Gwen? The rest of Camelot? What are they going to do?"

"They will have to be patient, and strong," Gwaine replied. "I hate the idea of them suffering, I hate knowing I have failed them, but what good are we to them dead? It'll take time, but we will save them."

"How can you know?"

"Instinct. Faith. Many other deep, poetical words." Gwaine paused to smirk at his own joke. "But I know we are doing the right thing."

Eventually, Merlin smiled. He still looked sad; Gwaine wondered if that look in his eyes, the heaviness of an unimaginable burden, would ever go away, even when they did reclaim Camelot.

"Thanks, Gwaine."

"For what? Telling your dragon to 'giddy up'?"

The Knights of the Round Table were going to be famous–for making others laugh at hugely inappropriate times.

Gilbert and Gareth arrived sometime later, with Dafydd and, unexpectedly, Gaius not far behind them. They took places at varying places around the large table, with little more than quiet greetings.

As soon as everyone was seated, it was Gwaine who spoke first, with a surprisingly concerned, "How is he?"

"He has a mild concussion and a sprained ankle. Nothing a little rest won't fix," Gareth replied. Glancing at his father, he added, "His ego, however, may be a little worse for wear; I doubt he'll be quick to forgive himself for what happened. You might have to talk to him again, Merlin."

Merlin nodded. "I will."

"What happened anyway? He's not–terrible at fighting and even so, this guy was with him. The knights of Camelot are good, but we have spent the last how many years being outsmarted by a sorcerer or two," Gwaine said, winking at Merlin across the table. "Surely, you could have done something."

"'This guy' is Dafydd," Gareth said. "And there's more to the story than what I'm sure you're presuming. Dafydd?"

"The knights had a particular magical impression that one rarely sees in someone that has no experienced in the practice of magic," Dafydd explained. "Not only were they completely under Morgana's command–which leads us to believe she is already in Camelot–but they were unstoppable. They could not be killed, no matter what we did. No injury, no matter how debilitating, phased them. My main priority was to protect Gale and Guinevere, and so we were forced to flee. I had not realized, though I should have, that Agravaine had taken knights aside for the sole purpose of retrieving Guinevere and returning her to Camelot. By the time that I did realize, it was too late. I took Gale to Ealdor for treatment and when he had recovered enough, I bought him here with Gaius and Hunith. I could not have gone after Agravaine and his men. I did, however, manage to put a protective enchantment on Guinevere. Morgana should not be able to harm her with magic."

"Good. Thank you, Dafydd."

"It was the least I could do. I regret that she had to return to Camelot under such circumstances."

"They'll be in Camelot by now, then?"

"Most likely," Dafydd agreed. "They found us remarkably fast. I had shielded our camp and was surveying the area, but I did not sense their approach. Morgana must have aided their attack somehow."

"Magically?"

Dafydd nodded.

"So they're, what…. indestructible? We couldn't kill the knights even if we wanted to?" Gwaine questioned.

Gareth raised his eyebrows slightly. "Do you want to?"

"Of course not! Do you think I like the idea of my men, my friends, following Morgana's every command?" Gwaine hissed. "You know that I would take my own life before I even thought about taking a single one of theirs."

"To answer your question," Gilbert cut in, giving his son a warning look. Gareth glanced apologetically at Gwaine. "No, we do not know of a way to kill them. While we know not the full capabilities of the Mirror, we know enough that it is highly unlikely a method will become apparent to us any time soon."

"I think I might know of a way," Merlin said. "A sword forged in dragon's breath."

"If there were any way the knights could be defeated, it would be that," Gaius agreed.

Merlin sighed. "But Gwaine's right–none of us want them dead."

"And Morgana knows that," Gareth added. "She's using it to her advantage. She knows that whatever resistance she's met with, they'll hesitate to kill their own men."

"Exactly," Gwaine muttered. "Anyone in Camelot that might rebel would be going against their own friends and family to do so. That's a sacrifice no one should have to so much as consider."

"They might not have to," Gaius said.

Everyone turned to look at him. "What do you mean?"

"The knights are simply apparitions of their former selves," Gaius replied. "They take no solid form."

Even Gilbert looked confused by Gaius' statement.

"They're what, exactly?" Gwaine asked.

"Ghosts," Merlin guessed. "It's the Mirror of Deception. She's deceiving us."

Gwaine frowned. "I still don't get it."

"Neither do I," Gareth murmured. "But this is getting weirder and weirder. And I don't like weird."

"You have no sense of adventure," Gwaine accused.

"Can you blame me when this counts as an 'adventure'?"

"Merlin," Gilbert said, before Gareth or Gwaine could bicker any further. "Would you please explain it to us?"

"Impaling the knights with a magical blade wouldn't kill them," Merlin elaborated. "It would return them to their mortal form."

"Merlin is correct," Gaius agreed.

"Nope." Gwaine slumped further into his chair with a loud, frustrated sigh. "Still don't get it. Start from the beginning?"

"That sounds like a sensible idea." Gilbert nodded at Gaius. "Gauis, I take it you are familiar with the history of the Mirror?"

"I am."

"Then please, fill us in."

"A great many years ago," Gaius began. "The Mirror was created by the first High Priests and Priestesses to allow them to better communicate with the deities of the Old Religion, and harness the magic of the earth with more selective and focused methods. It granted them with the ability to take magic from another magical being, object or even shrine. At first, it was used for good, but hunger for the power it possessed lead eventually to what some call the Infinite War, for it spanned many centuries until there were too little people left to fight, and what is now Camelot and the kingdoms beyond were rendered a wasteland. Only one High Priestess, of the many that fought against each other for the Mirror, survived.

The High Priestess that the Mirror fell to, when the war finally came to an end, put a heavy price on its power–eighty human souls, one for each of her ancestors that had been involved in the conflict. No mortal would be able to participate in such a ritual. There a very few people with the magical capability either."

"Why didn't she just seal it off for good?" Gareth asked. "That would have saved everyone a lot of trouble."

"At the time, she sought revenge. She blamed her many losses on anyone who fought in the battle and rather than grant them peace, she trapped their souls and therefore magic within the Mirror's glass, which simply added to its power," Gaius replied. "However, her son convinced her that the Mirror must be taken somewhere none could use it and the magic it possessed made inactive. The Priestess took crystals from the Crystal Cave and used them to bind the magic within the glass, adding the price of the souls so that the power was inaccessible even if the Mirror was found. It took all her magic to do such a thing and she died shortly afterwards, leaving her son the Mirror. His life was dedicated to locating Avalon. It is said that upon his final breath, he threw the Mirror into the waters and was accepted into the Isle for his sacrifice."

"But Morgana has it now–and she has full access to its power, apparently."

"It was a few centuries later, hailing from the Mage dynasty–"

"Oh, oh, I know them!" Gwaine exclaimed, before Gauis could go on. "They were the first Kings and Queens–well, the Old Religion equivalent–known to exist. Weren't they the most powerful magic-users ever to live?"

Everyone was staring at him. Sheepishly, he mumbled, "Sorry."

"They were, yes." Gaius glanced at Merlin, in a way that told Gwaine that they were the most powerful magic-users ever to live, but things had changed. "As I was saying, Goreu Mage, hailing from her dynasty, sought out the Mirror to defeat his uncle, Ysbaddaden."

"That's true? The Legend of Ysbaddaden's Mount isn't just a legend?" Gareth demanded.

"Yes."

"Bloody hell," Gwaine said, eyes as wide as Gareth's. They looked like two children that had been told their favorite bedtime story wasn't just as story–which was exactly what Gaius was saying. "There were giants?"

Merlin smirked. "Once."

"You knew?"

Merlin's smile grew. "Yep."

"So the Pendragon's, are they actually related to this Goreu?"

"That, no one knows," Gaius continued. "The association most likely comes from the method in which Goreu retrieved the Mirror. Uther's father took Camelot by force when Uther himself was just a boy, but the Pendragon's are still of royal decent. In order to retrieve the Mirror, Goreu sacrificed one of the Pendragon descendants to the Sidhe in exchange for their release of the Mirror."

"I thought that he was a good man–a man of honor," Gareth said.

"Arguably, he was."

"I doesn't sound like it."

"There was no other way to retrieve the Mirror." This time, it was Merlin that answered.

"The sacrifice was a willing one," Gaius added. "Goreu himself could have made it, but he was the only one powerful enough to use the Mirror, for even rendered dormant by the crystals it was of some use–enough to defeat Ysbaddaden. I presume you are familiar with the rest of the legend?"

"Goreu released his magic into Ysbaddaden's Mount upon his death?"

"And Morgana used that magic, along with her own, to complete the ritual," Gilbert finished. "It was the only way she would be powerful enough."

Gaius smiled in approval. "Precisely."

"That doesn't explain how it came into her possession," Gwaine stated.

"Morgause," Dafydd finally spoke up.

"Morgause?"

"For many years after Goreu's death, it was used for simple and mostly harmless means–"

"It hardly sounds harmless," Gwaine scoffed, interrupting Gaius yet again.

"They would have used it to scry," Merlin offered.

Gwaine looked thoughtfully oblivious. "Scry? Sounds like spy."

Gareth chuckled. "That is the general purpose of that particular branch of magic: to spy on one's enemies using a reflective object. Mirrors, crystals, water–anything of that variety."

"Can't we use that on Morgana?"

"We could try," Merlin said. "But Morgause would have taught her all about it. She'll know enough to counter our attempts."

"And we'd risk giving away our destination," Gareth added.

Gilbert didn't look like he had heard much after the mention of Morgause. "We knew of Morgause and Vivienne's affiliation with the Mirror, but I do not understand how it could have gotten into their possession?"

Gareth, Merlin and Gwaine fell quiet in interest.

"As I'm sure you know, Vivienne's short stay on the Isle of the Blessed sparked her feud with Nimueh," Gaius answered. "They were forever in competition. Although Vivienne never became a High Priestess, she wielded the Mirror far better than Nimueh ever could. The other High Priestesses became concerned and after a number of… mishaps because of their continuing rivalry, the Mirror was returned to Avalon before either were drawn to its true power, but I fear Vivienne had already been tempted.

The Purge followed shortly after that. Vivienne set out to find Avalon and the Mirror, most likely in vengeance or fear, but the destination was concealed from her and she could not stray far from her home, not when Uther visited them so regularly."

"Is that what drove her to madness?" Dafydd asked.

"Perhaps, although it would not have been the only attribute."

"When she returned here," Gilbert murmured, a distant look in his eyes. "She was obsessed with Avalon. I did not understand it, nor the ramifications of my actions when we warranted her visit there. Dafydd and I accompanied her ourselves, but nothing seemed amiss, though she left the very next day."

"We have reason to believe that she went to Morgause," Dafydd said. "And told her of the Mirror before her final disappearance."

"It was Morgause who took the Mirror from Avalon as Goreu did," Gaius confirmed. "She struck a different bargain with the Sidhe. The Sidhe pride themselves in being the oldest creatures of the Old Religion, but the Dochraid challenged that. Morgause agreed to kill the Dochraid in exchange for the Mirror. The Sidhe, driven by greed and spite, were happy to oblige. They were ignorant, however, to the Dochraid's knowledge of the Mirror's power."

Merlin frowned. "But the Dochraid is alive."

"Ector sent men to Ysbaddaden's Mount," Gilbert replied. "They found the Dochraid's body there, but very little else."

"Morgana must have been made aware of the bargain, then."

"She would have been aware that the Dochraid knew the spell which would enable her to harness the Mirror's power, yes, but whether she knew of the bargain or killed the Dochraid out of greed, we cannot know. But we do believe she has harnessed the Dochraid's magic for her own, using the Mirror."

"So the Mirror's powerful, we know that, but what can it actually do?" Gwaine cut in. "And more importantly, what, exactly, has it done to the knights?"

"The ritual is a complicated one. Perhaps–"

"Gaius," Gilbert interrupted. "Nimueh knew of the Mirror's power better than anyone–even Vivienne. I am not foolish enough to believe that she would not have educated you on the matter."

"Very well," Gaius said, sighing. "Morgana would have managed to lure the knights to Ysbaddaden's Mount somehow–most likely with help, either from Agravaine or another ally. The ritual requires only one of the knights, one with the closest bond to the others; someone they would all consider their leader."

"Would she have chosen Leon?" Gwaine guessed.

Merlin shrugged in reply.

"The ritual involves first breaking down the barricades that protect one's soul; whatever power Morgana could have accessed with the Mirror mostly dormant would have seen to that well enough. Once that is done, the soul can be taken freely and, though Leon's (if he was the chosen) camaraderie with the other knights, their souls would also become reachable. That, I believe, is what would have caused the storm: Morgana's summoning of the Mirror's power."

Gwaine turned to Merlin. "Is that what you… sensed?"

"I think that was the completion of the spell," Merlin replied.

Gareth, Gilbert and Gaius looked at him with varying degrees of alarm. Even Dafydd looked concerned by what Merlin had said.

"What happened?"

"I could hear her reciting the spell. It didn't feel right. The magic she was using was–painful. And more powerful than any spell I'd felt before," Merlin explained. "When it was over, it was as though… we were there. We were the souls inside the Mirror."

"You and Morgana?"

Merlin nodded. "I think it was a prophecy of sorts. A warning."

"Did you see anything of great importance?"

"No. I don't remember much of it, now."

They all knew he was lying. Gwaine was giving Merlin a long, level look that said he wouldn't get away with it, but the knight was the first to speak again, "What's the point in the ritual? And what happens when the spell is completed?"

Gaius was giving Merlin the same, I'm not letting this go look. "The point of the ritual is to ensure that if someone were to access the power, those whose souls were taken would remain loyal to the sorcerer or sorceress completing the ritual, and prevent them from falling prey to the madness that drove many during the Infinite War. What the High Priestess did not anticipate, was that the new Mirror-bearer would be in full control of their loyalty. A loyalty so fierce that they would have no choice but to follow the Mirror-bearer's every command.

When the spell is completed, the knights will be under Morgana's control. Their souls are in her possession and without them, they can take no mortal form. While they may appear as they always have, it is merely an illusion; a deception, as Merlin said. They do not think or feel beyond Morgana's orders, for they are ghosts, shadows of their former selves. Think of it this way: they are simply armor with nobody inside, controlled by an external force. And like armor, they can take almost any blow, any spell, and can be as easily fixed as they are broken, for Morgana has taken away any capacity to feel and made them her immortal servants. They have their own armor, and that is the Mirror's magic. Magic is their only life force now; it is the only thing that sustains them without a soul."

Gwaine stood abruptly and went to stand by the window, his shoulders tense. Merlin watched him for a moment. Then, adjusting the material of the sling around his arm, he asked, "Would a sword like Excalibur work?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"So there is a way of stopping them?"

"The magic in Excalibur would banish both Morgana and the Mirror's power from the vessel."

"The vessel being the knights?" Merlin questioned. Gaius nodded. "And it's that magic that took and has possession of their souls. By banishing it–"

"–Their souls will be returned to them," Gwaine finished, turning away from the window with a grim look of satisfaction. "I get it now."

Gareth, however, still looked confused. "And being run through wouldn't harm them? If Excalibur can kill even the immortal, surely it would kill them too, especially if this magic it supposedly banishes is in fact their 'life force'?"

"The retuning of a soul to ones body is almost as spectacular as the taking of it," Gaius explained. "It would cleanse the body of any magical or non-magical malaise, even a wound from Excalibur. And once their souls have been returned, they will not need the Mirror's magic to sustain them."

Gwaine's anger had vanished, replaced with a devilish grin that begged for action. "Then where is this sword?"

"In a rock," Gareth said. "And I'm not sure letting is loose on Morgana just yet is a good idea. Kilgharrah certainly won't be happy about it–and you're not exactly in his good books as it is, Gwaine."

"Let is go," Gwaine growled.

Gareth grinned. "Never."

Gilbert yet again put a quick end to their playful quarrelling, "If the sword were to fall into the wrong hands, Gwaine, it too could be used for the wrong means, just as the Mirror has been."

"And technically, it belongs to Arthur," Gareth added.

"Great. Brilliant," Gwaine snapped venomously. "The only plan we have and–"

"I will speak to Kilgharrah about it," Merlin announced, before the knight could continue.

Gwaine seemed to relax at this, smiling slightly and suddenly, the tension leaving his shoulders. "Well, then, sounds foolproof."

"Whatever happens, the Mirror needs to be destroyed," Dafydd said. "That was the mistake many made in the past, not ending it once and for all."

Gilbert nodded in agreement. "But the question is, how?"

"That, I cannot answer," Gaius admitted. "But I believe there is someone who can."

"Who?"

"There is a legend that the High Priestess who took possession of the Mirror rests at the Pool of Nemhain."

"The Pool of what?"

"One of the Five Gateways to the Spirit World," Gaius replied. "It is said its waters are black as night and still as death itself, and it is there that you will find her."

"Then I must go," Merlin decided.

"She will demand a heavy price," Gaius warned. "You will not be granted leave until it is fulfilled."

"I am willing to pay the price, if it must be done to save Camelot."

No one spoke for a while. Gwaine reclaimed his seat at the table, slumping in the chair with a look of thoughtful worry that the other members of their small meeting shared.

"Is there no other way?" Gilbert asked of Gaius.

"I'm afraid not."

Gilbert turned to Merlin. "And you are willing to pay the proposed price?"

"Yes," Merlin replied.

"Very well." Gilbert placed his hand on Merlin's uninjured shoulder. "You will travel to the Pool of Nemhain as soon as Brangaine deems you fit to travel. And in the meantime, we prepare to reclaim Camelot."

A/N: aaand we have an explanation about the knights. I hope it made sense. Hopefully, in the next couple of chapters: how Gwen and Arthur are managing in Camelot, what Morgana is up to now (because she's always up to something) and Merlin's quest to the Pool of Nemhain. Then some action. Gotta love action. Camelot can't be Morgana's forever, after all.

Feedback is much appreciated :)