I adore this story, and I love what I have crafted. It is about time that we get to see someone without overwhelmingly op characters born to nobility etc... Magic really a fun thing to play with and frankly it was underutilized and underplayed. Merlin was too powerful and just was too capable of using magic without effort, training or literally anything. He just got things and it bugged me. That's what I like about Morgana, she earned her power and her skill etc...

Kilgarah was often bored, this was true of countless immortal beings, but being sealed away in a cavern with a magic draining shackle only increased that boredom to the point of near insanity. However, the moment Merlin entered the castle a level of that boredom faded but it also came with the fear that the boy would never free him. Merlin's judgment was not always clear, the boy was biased and fearful and struggled to be objective. He was also deeply self-centered at times... to be honest, Kilgarah almost lost hope at times. Especially when the future became harder to see due to Merlin's indecisiveness.

When he heard the prayers of Daphne, a witch with no great power or destiny but with a profoundly clever and dedicated mind, his hope was rekindled and that toxic boredom faded. Here was a student he could mold, manipulate and help. Here was a way he could undo the damage of Uther's evil, get revenge and freedom all at once without overly affecting Merlin's powerful future. Here was a way he could ensure that his knowledge would not die with him, should Merlin fail... Here was a way to freedom should Merlin's failings become to great.

It was not wise to pour your hope into one being, and Kilgarah was nothing if not wise.

Extending his senses with a skill in telepathy that even Merlin at his strongest would never achieve, the Dragon could see through all of life. Through mortal eyes, through magic eyes, through the eyes of the birds and animals crawling about. He often did this to keep informed and to stem the tide of boredom... at the moment he was seeing through a raven's eyes and watching his newest student, Daphne, watching as she and Young Morris clanged wooden sticks against each other. The girl struggled greatly, her inexperience showing, but she was determined and it showed.

She was not a looker among her kind, taller than most men and thicker with a head of curly brown hair and big brown eyes. She had skin as pale as Merlin's, and a strong body from a life of labor. He knew, from reading her mind, that she often went on hikes for herbs and spent at least a few days a week hunting with her bow. She had powerful forearms, taunt and bold and covered in scars from her previous life as one of the castle's maids.

What stood out however was her eyes, bold and beautiful and brown, oozing an air of intensity and strength that so few had. The girl looked strong, her gaze forceful and intelligent and intense but deeply warm. The kind of eyes that could command the less wary and see through the veil of bias and stupidity so few people bothered to look past. He admired those eyes and would not have their light fade before it was time.

Laying more comfortably against the rocks of his prison, the Great Dragon continued to watch the girl as she mastered her body and the simple skills she had promised him and herself. It was profoundly entertaining and comforting knowing that maybe, just maybe, he actually had a future to look forward to. One of his own making, beyond the machinations of destiny and magic...

"""

Daphne's everything ached by the time she returned to her home, it had been an exhausting day. She had delivered three babies, had four patients die because they were dumb as rocks, extracted a dozen pieces of glass from a very dumb child, and set two broken bones. That she had worked on magic and worked on swordplay for about four hours on top of that really didn't help matters much. Thankfully there was more than one cure for pain and soreness in her Grimoire, she was eager to try them. Any new magic was a good thing as far as she was concerned.

She could only hope she had everything needed to create the potions she needed. Walking over to the cubby where her magical supplies were held, she pulled out her grimoire and quickly found and read the page on the potions she needed. As it turned out, she had everything and the potion was not hard to make. Within twenty minutes the potion was made, the spell was cast and the potion drank. It tasted sweet, to her shock, and it's effects were instant. Her muscles tingled as cold energy radiated through them. A sigh of sheer relief overtook her, leaving her with a smile on her face and a sense of pride in her work.

"Very good work, my dear, that potion was expertly crafted. Your experience with preparing medicine and tonics seems to have allowed a greater ability to prepare such remedies." Kilgarah's presence gently drifted through her, making her smile.

"I aim to please... and it is beyond good to feel this much better. So, on what are we working on tonight? More telepathy I presume?"

"Naturally, as I said mastery of this technique is vital to freeing me and giving you the abilities to save those persecuted by Uther's malice."

Getting comfortable, she allowed her mind to expand, her focus to sharpen and her magic ( weak as it was) to radiate outward. She leveled her breathing and uttered the magical words needed to channel the powers in question so that she could tap into the power of her mind. With the words acting as a medium, it actually wasn't that hard to connect to her teacher.

'What else is there, beyond reading and speaking to others with my mind?" She asked, curious. This was how he taught her, she would cast the spells needed to channel her powers and they would simply talk or he would have her reach out to others, passively reading or feeling others as they moved through Camelot. It was tricky and tiring but deeply exciting and fun.

'You can stun others, sense danger, sense magic with far greater efficiency, speak to certain magical beings, resist mental attacks and charms and a variety of other facets. It really is a great tool for magic, and in fact, it is that collective of aspects that is why the Druids teach their people this skill first and foremost among all their magical skills."

"Wow... that is quite a bit... I love it. So... how long does it take to get so I am able to cast this magic without a spell?"

"Likely a month, though it will tire you greatly as you are not naturally magical, by the time you have been practicing for about six months it should come as naturally as breathing. It depends entirely on your effort, talent and the strength of your mind. Some people's mind cannot handle this form of magic, it is simply not in their nature, however, I can tell from your current abilities that you do not suffer from that limitation.

Now, enough of that. Let us begin your exercises. Today we will mentally discuss the most powerful Sorcerer of learned magic, Cornelius Sigan, the sorcerer that played a massive part in the creation of Camelot itself. He was of such power that before his death he was working on a means to preserve his life beyond the limitations of his flesh."

Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

This is going really well... we will time skip to the Mark of Nimueh episode next one, and my OC will have been practicing magic for about a month at that point...

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.