Chapter 50 [Camelot—Three More Turns of the Hourglass Later]

[A/N: Arthur's about to get a lesson in what coalition building is about….]

Sol slowed its descent halfway between noon and sunset. Its rays washed over the encircling mob of knights around Camelot. It glinted off something moving and metallic in the woods.

The standoff was coming….

Merlin observed Camelot's western wall. I never thought I'd see it like this! He winced at the invaders between them and their goal.

"Too bad you cannot wave your hand and make them vanish." Arthur frowned.

"Too bad I cannot make your attitude just vanish." Merlin rebutted. "Remember the last time we faced Cawdor?"

"Aye. Camelot and Cawdor fought near the Isle of Shalott. They should have beaten us. There was that earthquake and the storm. And…" Arthur narrowed his eyes.

"Now even you get it." Merlin shook his head. "Aye. That was me."

"That was…you? Really?" Arthur raised an eyebrow. Uncertainty and Fear ate at him. His former servant decided to turn a battle from the shadows singlehandedly….

…he drove back 5000 knights and made it look easy…

…no wonder Mithian desired him….

"Really." Merlin nudged past him. "We have our talents. There are my magic and brains. There's your cracked sword and head." He grinned.

Arthur shoved him back. "And your whipped arse."

"Let's ask Gwen about that." Merlin insinuated back. As he said that, he saw something floating in the distance from the east. "What is that?" He pointed at the air. "Meudaich!"

A section of air glowed. It enlarged the object in question until they could see it…

…or rather her….

"It is Princess Josiane! She is back!" Merlin realized. He grinned and pumped his fists. "And look!"

Under the Princess, a line of almost Roman-style knights and a dark clad one of warriors massed at the eastern woods' edge.

Blue Gallic knights and orange clad Tintagel knights pushed up across the southern road.

Merlin! Kilgarrah called over the connection. King Rodor wants us to lead the army. Are you ready?

In a heartbeat. Merlin sucked in a deep breath. His eyes glowed. He smacked the ground.

Aftershock shook the ground. Fissures ripped open. The Mercians and Cawdorians lost their footing. Horses reared and bucked their riders. Heavy equipment sank under its own weight.

"Look familiar?" Merlin looked to Arthur.

Arthur stared at Merlin. "That really was you!"

"Yeah it was." Now I am. A certain Camelot king could stand a lesson in how useful dragons are, Merlin noted.

Indeed. I am coming to you. Kilgarrah soared over the tree tops. He landed with barely a rumble on the snow covered field. "Whenever you're ready."

"You really are going into battle on that?" Arthur frowned.

"Yeah. That is kind of what a dragon rider is, Arthur." Merlin climbed up onto Kilgarrah's back. He looked around for Rodor.

Rodor stepped under the emerald banner with the dark eagle across it. "Knights! Today we strike a blow for freedom and understanding! We are together! FOR NEMETH, CAMELOT AND BRITANNIA!" He drew his sword. "PRINCE MERLIN!"

Here goes! Mithian, I love you. Merlin nodded to Kilgarrah.

Kilgarrah flapped his wings. He ascended quickly into the late afternoon sky and flew over the battlefield's western edge. As he did so, he spied the newcomers crashing into the enemy's eastern flank. I believe your Princess has indeed been busy! We have a chance now! He soared over the red and black horde. Plumes of fire rained down on the enemy. His tail battered catapults.

Merlin cast spells from his brother's back. He put small sections of the invaders to sleep. He redirected the flames from Kilgarrah's bursts to surround and intimidate the opposing knights. "FORWARD!"

His friends pressed the advantage in other ways. Malodius charged into the fray. He bowled through those same knights. His claws rent armor and smacked weapons from their hands. Josiane streaked over the battlefield's other end. Her hand ran through the air. Heavy goop ensnared still more invaders. She swooped lower still. Her scimitar slashed through the enemy horde. At her side, a broad-shouldered figure with some plates over his chain mail dropped lit containers of Byzantine fire onto the enemies' heads. His sword kept pace with her scimitar. Gawain, Britomart, Percival, Lancelot, Ywain and Galahad gave no quarter. Arthur, Leon, Count Boeve and Hector outdueled their counterparts.

Armies slammed into the crimson and dark on all fronts. Accolon and King Bors threw their knights into the fray. Rodor led his troops from the west. Rather than running (as Meleagant thought they might), the Amazons exacted Pain's lessons on their western neighbors with spears, arrows and swords. Roman troops pushed the enemy back. Beside them, the darker-clad men hacked and parried against Cawdorian weapons.

Onslaught bent, bent and bent the mighty invaders. More and more of their numbers fell before the allied armies. Others writhed from burns, arrowpoints and myriad injuries. Their eyes beheld their own tactic turned against them.

Before they were the army without end. Now they beheld a true global alliance spanning most kingdoms and faiths around or connected to the Roman Sea. Magical beasts remained immune to their weapons and exacted their own malice upon them. Now the newcomers' swarmed over their battered ranks. Their relentless offensive had broken their encirclement.

They turned and retreated toward Camelot…nay they ran like frightened deer before the hunters. They rushed back across the drawbridge with their torn tunics between their legs. Nerve evaporated before that searing fire. Some even tried to start raising the drawbridge before everyone got across.

Merlin pointed at the enormous chains holding that in place. "Briseadh!" Canary glowed in his eyes.

The chains' respective top links shuddered and twisted on their own. The spells' forces shredded them. Said chains fell to the earth broken.

Rodor pointed his sword. "PRINCE ARTHUR! THE HONOR IS YOURS!"

"FOR THE LOVE OF CAMELOT AND BRITANNIA!" Arthur, much as with the invaders, struggled to deal with the scope of this battle. He marveled at the tactics. Admiration over such diverse kingdoms and tribes' cooperation warmed him. Disbelief over how magic was turning the tide (again) against Meleagant raged in his head….

…and his former servant now Prince in his own right was near the center of this whole effort….

He buried the thoughts. He drew his own sword. "ON ME!" He spurred his own horse onward across the drawbridge. Outrage burned within his craw. He wanted his beloved city cleansed of the invaders' plague. Still, he would be fair. "KNIGHTS OF CAWDOR AND MERCIA! YOU ARE SURROUNDED! WE HAVE BREACHED THE WALLS! YOU ARE BEATEN! DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND SURRENDER! I WILL TREAT YOU FAIRLY!'

"I would take Prince Arthur seriously!" Rodor rode up beside Arthur. "There is no need for anyone else to die!"

The combined armies stopped their assault. They exchanged looks. In unison, they dropped their swords and shields.

"YOU WILL BE ACCORDED HONORABLY, KNIGHTS! THANK YOU!" Arthur vowed. He dismounted to inspect the prisoners.

Rodor turned to Galahad. "Take Lancelot, Gawain, Britomart, Ywain and Malodius to the Upper Town. We sweep the entire city! Not a single Cawdorian or Mercian will hide from us!" He watched the emerald wave flow up the cobbled way toward the citadel. He motioned for Merlin and Kilgarrah to follow the troops.

Merlin banked and followed his subjects' numbers toward their goal.

"I still do not believe it!" Arthur declared.

"Merlin, it seems, was capable of much more than either of us guessed. I hope after today your father will understand that." Rodor turned his attention back to the opponents.

Arthur looked around. It was a brave new world indeed….