AN: The first scene of this chapter was revised on 11/29/14 to reflect the changes in the upcoming plot.


Cernunnos looked up to the sky. The clear expanse of the night above him glittered with stars. He smiled to himself and glanced down at the pixie who carried the child of Arthur Pendragon. The little boy was sound asleep. He hadn't even noticed he'd been taken from his chambers.

There were ancient wards placed around the citadel of Camelot that had prevented Cernunnos from entering personally. But that hadn't mattered, he had plenty of creatures willing to do the deed for him.

Camelot... the place where he had taken the child from...was not the same caste that Bruta had lived in when Cernunnos had been free. It had surprised him when he had arrived at that place, after following the magical trail left by his snake. He could feel the energy of the land running underneath it, very similar to the place Bruta had originally called Camelot. However, the place Cernunnos had known was further north.

One of his scouts that he had sent to the area had returned with very interesting news.

The original castle was in ruins. Although, the castle itself was not what Cernunnos was interested in. It was what laid underneath. The tombs and catacombs of the decrepit towers were still in tact. Inside them, sealed by blood magic, was something more precious to the beastly god than anyone could have imagined.

He planned to journey back to the keep in the Perilous Lands to retrieve his captives and then turn towards the place where he could truly begin to put his plans in motion. He cast his thoughts towards Alvarr and the others he had left behind in the castle near the sea. He felt an emptiness in that direction.

It made him angry to sense that the sorcerer and the girl were no longer there, but before he contemplate the reasoning behind it, something caught his eyes.

He saw the bird overhead. It glinted in the moonlight and the oddity made him curious. Mentally, he called to the bird - summoning it to him.

The Lord of Beasts' eyes narrowed, when he realized that the creature wasn't natural. He motioned to a Sidhe nearby, and sent out a call to the birds of flesh and bone that he was able to control. Grinning triumphantly, he watched his denizens take it out of the sky.

Turning his mind back toward the keep, he knew his decision had been made. If anyone was left in that place, they would have to fend for themselves.

Cernunnos called silently to his denizens. Plans were changing, but it didn't seem to bother him as the gathering of creatures heeded his orders and the company turned north.


Four men hunkered down in their cloaks, as the horses plodded along slowly over the muddy path. The weather had taken a turn for the worst, as the winter storms began to rise throughout the land. The current downpour was nothing like the storm that happened over a year past, but it was still wet and miserable when travelling through the rain. Their cowls were pulled down low over their faces, and conversation was nonexistent.

Before the downpour started, Leon and Gwaine had been riding side-by-side ahead of the other two. Merlin and Cai brought up the rear and discussed things that went completely over the heads of the other two. Although, a small part of the conversation included ideas for magical defenses around the city. Leon was curious about the things Cai had learned among the Catha, which Merlin, for all his power, had remained rather ignorant about.

The majority of Merlin's knowledge of magic was focused on spur of the moment reaction. Now, listening to someone who had been formally trained, even for a short time, the difference was painfully obvious.

Their progress was slow, as much of the road had been washed out or overgrown, as they approached the mountains. Many times they had to backtrack, and lead their horses on foot, in order to find a way through.

"We should be close." Cai muttered loudly to Merlin, coming up along side the warlock. "Can you feel that?"

Merlin nodded, "I can." He couldn't describe what he was feeling. It was a tickle at the edges of his magic, something warning him and calling to him at the same time. An ancient magic that was wholly unknown and strangely familiar. "I wish Bran was here. He might have a better idea of what it is."

"For all we know, it could be him."

"What do you mean?"

"The cauldron...his father's lands and legacy...He should have died hundreds of years ago himself."

Merlin had to admit he'd given brief thought to that very idea himself. He had dismissed it, however, as unlikely. "I've never been through this area. Does it seem rather dense?"

Nodding, Cai tried raising the rim of the hood to look around more. "It does. Sir Gwaine!" He called out. "You've been through this area, correct?"

"Aye!" Came the response, muted by the din of the rain.

"Does it seem different to you as well?"

"Each time I've brought a patrol this way, it's changed. Last time I couldn't even get close to the tunnel. It was so thick with brambles. We kept getting turned around...Couldn't even seem to reach the surrounding mountains. The horses spooked often, and by the third night of looking, we were no closer and the magical critters were keeping us up all night."

"It's like the old magic...the days before man...has come almost completely alive again." Cai commented, feeling the air.

"What do you mean?" Leon asked, curious about the place and the situation.

"There is a story I learned, of the Old Gods. Lord of Beasts, he was called. He is a druid legend. They have carvings of him, and they are all the same. A man with antlers like a stag, holding a serpent with ram's horns in one hand, and a golden torc in the other."

"Hang on...what?" Merlin stopped and stared at Cai. "A golden torc?"

Cai nodded, confused at first why this particular detail would be important. Then, it dawned on him. "A torc was taken from your mother, when she was attacked!"

"...And that was just days before the first reports of creatures stirring. Bran and the others came this way, not long after." Merlin was beginning to see a path of reason emerge from all the chaos.

He wasn't the only one beginning to put the pieces together. The four men had stopped and Leon turned to the others. "Nothing was ever found of the thief. What if it was someone working on behalf of this Beast Lord?"

"There was a carving, in the tomb, when my patrol met with Bran outside the tunnel. It was different than the ones I was shown in my training. It showed four men at different connecting points on the wall. Three appeared to be casting some power, and the fourth one stood near a depiction of the Lord of Beasts, the only one I know of without the serpent or torc."

"As if the fourth was a focus?" Merlin asked and Cai nodded. "We'll have to look into it more. For now, however..." The warlock threw up his hand, unmindful of the water that streamed into his sleeves.

It soon became painfully obvious that they wouldn't be able to reach the tunnel, even with magic.

"There's no way we're going to get through here." Merlin said to the others. "Let's head on into Mercia and see if we can get to the bridge."

"You thinking maybe the dwarf knows something?" Gwaine asked.

"Worth a shot, at least."

"What if we get caught by Bayard?" The rogue questioned. The treaty with Mercia had been strained, due to the alliance with Lothian. On top of that, no word had come from King Bayard in months. Gwaine was in the worst position of all, to be entering Mercian territory due to his ties...and the fact that the last time he was in Mercia had him, Percival and his sister fleeing the area...with a few, rather upset, business partners of his sister's first husband, chasing them. It made Gwaine a little wary. His commander's next comment, didn't help the situation.

"Then, we leave you as a distraction, and continue on around the borders to the sea. Maybe we can get through to the Perilous Lands near the cliffs." Leon suggested. He glanced at Cai, who nodded in agreement.

Before Gwaine could mutter a protest, Cai smiled intimately at his companion, and began talking. The rogue rolled his eyes.

"Remember when we went there as kids?" Seeing the quizzical looks of the other two men, Cai explained, "We were maybe seven or eight. Our fathers decided to take us out there to meet with a salt merchant. Someone...wandered off, chasing a gull."

Leon looked anywhere but at Cai. He kept a straight face and deadpanned, "I have no idea what it is you speak of."

Cai snickered. His green eyes lit up with mischief. "Of course not. You see, there was this boy who was a bit of a troublemaker. He was easily distracted. Whilst he was down by the seashore one day, he thought that chasing seagulls would be much more worthwhile than learning his father's business. He convinced his companion...more like threatened, truth be told...to go with him."

"I did not threaten you!"

"Oh, so it was you!" Gwaine sniggered, happy to know he wasn't the only one to have a sordid history. "Leon: the Troublemaker...Has an interesting ring to it."

The blond knight rolled his eyes, and began leading his horse around some of the twisted underbrush, intent on heading north. The others followed, as Cai continued his tale.

"I don't know how far along the shoreline we went. A ways on down, hidden in the cliffs, was a cave. Tired of chasing birds we couldn't catch, we wandered into it...'searching for pirate treasure.'"

"There was the wreckage of an old ship outside of it. It looked promising...especially when I was eight!"

Cai bit his tongue and continued, "We started into the cavern, even though I protested. You see, I'd been to sea before. My first voyage was when I was six. My father took me to France to see where our family had come from. I knew a bit about the tides and remembered how quickly it could come in. We went into the cave, as far as we could, before we started losing the light from the entrance."

"...And that was the first time you ever used a spell around me." Leon shook his head. "I panicked. Remember, I was raised in Camelot. Even though, at the time, we were outside its borders. Everything I had been taught concerning magic said that it was evil. Then, here's my best friend conjuring a weird, golden thing in his hand."

"He pulled out his dagger and started threatening me. We were yelling back and forth. I was being sensible..."

"HA!"

"...Trying to convince someone we needed to get out of there. Then, it was too late, and the tide was coming in. I said to Hell with it, and started heading deeper into the cave, trying to find another way out, or higher ground. He tried to get out the way we came in, and got hit hard by a wave. I barely managed to snag his cloak and haul him out, before the tide took him. We both legged it as far into the cave as we could."

Merlin and Gwaine weren't hiding their amusement at their friend's expense. The brunette had to rub salt in the wound. "Well, I guess that explains why I hear you get a bit sea sick, eh?"

Leon gave them all a tight-lipped smile, mounted his horse with dignity, and began riding ahead...without looking back.

(*~*~*~*)

"This was too easy." She said out loud, raising her hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight that glared off the rolling sea in front of her.

Aylass had waited until Enmyria had Alvarr's attention thoroughly engaged for the evening. A few hints to the goblins, had them hunting for nonexistent gold, especially since their lord had left two nights prior. Her pilfered knife made short work of...whatever that creature was...Aylass wasn't sure she wanted to know. She just hoped it was dead.

Most of Cernunnos' mythical beasts went with him, for which she was thankful. The antlered monster still trusted Aylass to an extent.

Finding the secret passage Bran had described was simple, with his flawless directions. She took a deep breath of the fresh sea air. "Thank you, Bran."

She looked up and down the coast. The sky was clear and blue. The visibility seemed to go on for miles. To the left, she barely discerned the outline of the castle, high on a cliff. Turning to the right, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Greetings!" A jovial voice spouted. "Name's Grettir, and I'll bet you're looking for Strength right now."

"Uh..." She bit her bottom lip and narrowed her eyes at the dwarf sitting on a rock. "Not really. Who are you?"

The short warlock laughed. He leaned forward and whispered, "I'm a bridge keeper."

Clicking her tongue, Aylass looked around. She leaned down and whispered in return. "There's no bridge around here."

"See that pile of rubbish over yonder, behind me?" His thumb jabbed the air over his shoulder.

She looked over his head and saw the washed-up wood he was indicating. "I see," she said patronizingly.

He sighed, "The storm washed it out...and me right along with it. Now I'm a bridge keeper, on the seashore, until some tide decides to wash it all away. Next, I'll be a bridge keeper at the bottom of the strait." He rolled his eyes. "Just what the fishies down there need, right?"

"I'm sure you could find a mermaid who will keep it in her seaweed garden as decoration."

"You're cheeky. No wonder Strength likes you. You'll keep him on his toes."

"Are you saying 'Strength' is someone's name?"

The little man shrugged innocently. "Now, I suggest you run off and meet your true love, before that crazed God fellow returns to find you missing. Up the coast, you'll find a river mouth. Follow it along, until you find what little remains of my bridge. Wait there for your hero to arrive."

"My 'hero'...really?"

"Well, it'd be polite for you to at least let him think that. He has been searching for you for a while now. It'll help boost his confidence!"

"Boost his ego and give him a big head, you mean?"

"Oy. Your children are going to be royal pains in the you-know-what!" He snapped his fingers, and disappeared, before she could respond.


AN: Um...Hi XD well, what can I say...my muses ran off to the Nox home world (it's nice this time of year.) Where Merlin's also been hiding learning about his roots as a Dragon Lord...in a more futuristic sci-fi setting. (Check it out, it's called Brave New World! Yes...technically it's a crossover, but...I try to be rather in depth with a lot of the explanations, and footnotes, so other than the Merlin series, you don't really need to know the rest of them) And well, this poor series got shoved to the back burner.

After almost a year of nearly continuous writing, and a post every other day. I needed a bit more of a break than I originally anticipated. As it stands this series currently encompasses 6 individual major story threads. (yes 6, because the original one shot has been separated from the rest of it, like it was supposed to be.) And a few little missing scenes here and there. With the amazing proofread puffin Nance's help "Two Sides of the Coin" and now the continuation "Flipping the Coin" have been edited! I'm working on Knave right now, and planning to fake my death or something before I get around to Cauldron.

No...Nance, I would never let all your hard work go to waste! *blinks eyes rapidly. Sips on glass of mead. Wonders if a fiery car crash is totally possible to pull off.*

SO...8 separate postings (9 if you include the complete and total MA Mergana scene that I posted exclusively on Heart of Camelot)...one of which is snippets and 1 total crack Sherlock crossover... Winner of Best Dialogue at the HoC 2013 Awards (Two Sides of the Coin) . 453K+ words, 180 some odd chapters and over 1300 reviews in total... I am NOT giving up on this fic, or you wonderful, amazing, beautiful fans! I will try my best to get back to posting to this at least every other week. So...not the speed it used to be, but I think I burnt myself out a bit there.

ANYHOO! Welcome to all the new peeps who have fav'ed/ fallowed/ spent days on end catching up and reviewing along the way! YOU GUYS ROCK!

*AIRKISSES* to everyone! And free Santa cookies to everyone who reviews! :) Oh hell...just free cookies to everyone who is still reading this.