Chapter 29—In the Name of Albian
Merlin rushes to the Chalice Well. Arthur and the leader are fighting—the leader is very good. He kicks Arthur down on his back.
Merlin pushes the man back with magic, but he stands immediately, sword raised to fight Merlin.
"You can't hide behind your magic forever sorcerer!" he cries.
Merlin holds the sword out and it begins to glow with magic. He looks down at it, bewildered by the magic as the symbol of the Chalice Well glows well.
He looks up to block a blow from the advantageous leader and clashes sword with him. The leader pushes him backward with force and raises his sword.
"Look out!" Arthur cries. He grabs his own sword as Merlin blocks another blow.
The leader kicks him backward so Merlin slams facedown onto the ground—the Chalice Well glows brightly. Merlin pushes himself up to turn to help Arthur who has already intervened, the sword held out.
Excalibur's eyes are wide with surprise. Merlin sees her, his own face shifting to shock, and looks down at the sword—it is through Excalibur's gut.
"No."
Merlin pulls the sword from her as she falls backwards. He catches her and looks down at her face. Her own sword—Ewan—lies next to her. She was trying to help.
She smiles, shaking without meaning to. Arthur slays the leader finally and turns to see the scene—Merlin holding the bleeding girl.
Merlin shakes his head, tears rising to his eyes.
He roars out a spell to heal her—his eyes glow brightly but nothing happens.
"It's okay," she says with a smile, her dimples still visible. "Did we get him?"
Merlin looks up urgently, his heart beating so quickly he feels it will fall out of his chest. He sees Arthur standing over the dead leader. He looks back down to Excalibur.
"Yes, yes, he's gone," Merlin says, his voice shaking with grief.
She smiles.
Merlin shakes his head, pressing his lips together, and recites the spell in the dragon language, loud and angrily. Nothing happens again.
"You're a good sorcerer," Excalibur says, tears involuntarily rolling from her eyes. "Right?"
Merlin clenches his teeth and wipes her tears away. "As good as I can be," he says.
Excalibur smiles and nods, looking up blankly at the sky. "Good," she says.
Her once bright eyes become blank staring at the last of the stars as morning comes. The sun rises slowly. Merlin shakes his head.
"No," he groans. "No." He recites the incantation again and again, but nothing is working.
"Kellan," Arthur says.
Merlin continues. Arthur puts his hand on the sorcerer's shoulder.
"Kellan," Arthur says urgently. Lara and the knights come to the Chalice Well, hearing the commotion. They see the scene and become solemn. Lara swallows—she's seen dead children before, but now all she wants is to console Merlin for this terrible sight. She wishes the others knew that the sorcerer before them was their friend in mourning. She understands the pain of being in disguise among friends as she is now.
Merlin shakes his head. "She's gone," Arthur tells him.
Mortis steps slowly forward and kneels next to Merlin as he stares at the dead girl. She gently closes her eyes postmortem. Merlin sighs deeply and lies the girl down on the ground by the Chalice Well.
He looks at the sword that is lying by the Chalice Well's lid. It glows faintly, as if coaxing Merlin to finish what had been started.
Merlin stands slowly and picks up the sword from the ground. He holds it before him. He closes his eyes and the lid begins to glow bright blue along with the sword in his hand, still stained with the girl's blood. A life for the sword's power—the debt is repaid. The onlookers stare in awe—particularly Arthur and Lara.
Then Merlin's eyes open quickly and abruptly—they glow as brightly as the symbol and the sword.
Merlin's voice gains a double timbre as he exclaims, "Excalibur!"
He thrusts the sword down into the Chalice Well and blue light shoots like thunder high into the sky, engrossing Merlin and the sword. Everyone covers their eyes from the bright light, still utterly bewildered by the display of power.
The light stops abruptly and Merlin's eyes flutter shut as the light fades from the Chalice Well and the sword Excalibur settles with power.
Merlin opens his eyes slowly as he looks at the sword—it is cleansed of the girl's blood and is dripping with the rust colored water in the spring. The glow concentrates to a symbol carved to the blade—the symbol of the Chalice Well.
It faded but the magic was still within the sword—a sword forged from a dragon's breath, blessed by the waters of the Chalice Well.
—Merlin places the last stone on Excalibur's grave at the top of the hill. The knights and Arthur stand behind him. Lara fights the urge to console Merlin, even if she is Mortis.
"It's beautiful place to spend the rest of eternity," Arthur says calmly.
"She was a very brave girl," Randall says to Arthur. "Played with that sword more than any doll."
Merlin placed her sword Ewan on the grave gently. "She was going to be a knight," he says.
Arthur nods to the knights and they all bow away. Lara hesitates then turns to leave him be. Merlin puts his hand on the grave.
"I'm sorry," he says.
"Don't be, Emrys," Dristan says appearing behind him. "You have immortalized her."
Merlin looks back at him.
"The name Excalibur will be known for all time," Dristan tells him. "In the hands of the Once and Future King."
Merlin turns back to the grave and out toward the land—the land that with Excalibur, he and Arthur, will be Albian.
—Merlin is gone by the time Arthur and Lara go back to the grave. He is back in the forest standing before the stone that held Excalibur previously.
He recites the spell to himself and raises the sword. The Chalice Well symbols glows on the blade as he slides it into the stone. Merlin continues to hold the hilt in the stone and begins a stream of spells of the Old Religion, dark and solemn so that the next person to pull the sword from the stone can only be Arthur—the true king of Camelot.
The symbol of the Chalice Well is carved into the stone itself, glowing blue until it fades to await its king. Merlin releases Excalibur, turning away to return to Camelot.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you are interested in more of the lore of the Chalice Well, it does exist in the real Glastonbury where you can see the actual symbol that i describe in this piece of the story. Thanks for reading!-Evelyn Hawkins
