He had never supposed it to go so out of control. The plan had been flawless, thought-out to the smallest detail, all possible complications and corresponding countermeasures included. It should have been impeccable.
So why was it falling in pieces right now?
Merlin frowned, trying to think out about everything calmly once again. There had to be some mistake in planning, some point he had missed - he could still correct those before the damage became too severe.
If only there were no disturbance right now, but no. First, there had been Fair Claire, giving the old wizard nasty glares. The second one would be that meddlesome troll scholar, Trollhunter's mentor, who apparently simply never knew when to shut up.
They both hated Merlin's guts from the very start. Or perhaps, hatred was too strong to describe their feelings. Not that he ever cared about any opinions. The legendary wizard was quite used to scorn, disdain, or even curses others threw at him. He had crossed the line too many times to be liked.
The old man's mind trailed back to the time when the young Trollhunter had woken him up from the centuries-long slumber. Perhaps, that was the point when everything had gone to hell.
Merlin had a habit of checking possibilities through the Time Map. Of course, that never guaranteed a detailed picture, just glimpses, and the farther the point of time was, the more variations were available. Nevertheless, even that had been more than enough to get some grasp on the future.
The eventual human Trollhunter was set in stone, apparently. The circumstances varied, of course, and there were several possible candidates, depending on that. Yet, there had been only the one who would have become the champion in the highest amount of timelines.
James Lake Jr. Actually, Merlin was more or less content with that one - he was a hero and a confident leader. Some other candidates would be an embodiment of disaster. Besides, many of those would have never survived until waking up the legendary sorcerer.
It seemed the world had good chances to be doomed if James wasn't the Trollhunter. Merlin had learned more than enough about time and its mysteries to be sure that the main timeline would be likely to choose that variation even if for stabilizing itself.
Another undecided thing would be the time when the Trollhunter arrived at Merlin's tomb. The youngest one would have been just a pre-teen boy. The oldest the wizard had seen through the Time Map would be in his late forties.
Who in their right mind could say that a naive child would be equal to an experienced adult?
Merlin had hoped he would have to deal with a grown-up. The glimpses of the future he had seen left no space for any delusion. The human Trollhunter had no way to survive the final battle with Gunmar. All the possible futures were grim.
Unless…
Unless there would have been some additional factor in play, something to give his champion the upper hand. Merlin had thought out at least several dozens of possible ways, but not even one of those could tip the scales.
No, there had been one option, but the old wizard hated it with passion. It involved changing the Trollhunter's nature to its core. That kind of magic was the one from the gray area, only barely escaping being classified as dark arts. In a nutshell, it was not that different from all those manipulations Morgana had done to her changelings.
But was there any other choice? In the end, everything was right as long as it was a greater good. So what if Merlin had to resolve to the dubious magic? So what if one life had to be destroyed entirely? The world would be safe - and everything else didn't matter that much.
The old wizard had gotten used to other people considering him a heartless bastard - if anything, it had been easier to keep that image. He had never been the saint - not after so many times of sacrificing few for the sake of many. Merlin had never expected to be liked or get too close to anyone.
Because losing close people hurt too much.
Because emotions tended to cloud proper judgment.
Because if someone ever became too dear to the old man, he wouldn't be able to put the world as the main priority anymore.
That was something totally unacceptable in his centuries-old standoff with the Arcane Order.
And yet, Merlin's resolve wavered a bit when he had woken up from his slumber. James, who approached him, had been just a teen, a kid basically, no matter how mature for his age he had been.
Just why had the time chosen one of the more inconvenient routes? Not to mention that the Trollhunter had most likely come to some weird conclusions after defeating Bular and Angor Rot in some miraculous twist of fate that aligned all the favorable factors.
That was why Merlin hated to deal with youngsters - they were too naive, too hopeful, and rarely thought about the lasting repercussions of their actions. After all, the old wizard used to be one of those a long time ago.
His own attempt to save one dear life had spelled doom for hundreds. And even those losses were in vain, as he had failed in the end.
Merlin hated even the thought of witnessing someone else making the same mistake. Was it because it would invoke painful memories? Perhaps. Was preventing the disaster his own way of atonement? Who knew.
In any case, the legendary sorcerer could perfectly understand James Lake's wish to save his mother. No, not only that. He could sympathize, even relate.
Yet…
The old man simply couldn't allow the boy to follow his heart wish. That suicidal attempt would have led nowhere at best or, more likely, just sped up the probable world end.
In hindsight, Merlin had definitely chosen the worst approach to the conversation he had with his champion. He had never been good when it came to talking with youngsters. Well, he had never been good in communication as a whole, which had gotten him a reputation as a rather nasty person. Through all of his long life, there had been only a handful of people who could read him easily. Everyone else would more likely misread or misunderstood. With no one bothering to correct the misconception, it just kept pilling and spreading, painting the picture of a self-centered and arrogant prick (not that Merlin hadn't those traits as well, which only complicated matters more).
It had happened again with the young Trollhunter. Everyone would blame the old wizard for forcing his champion to change his own nature. It had been always so much convenient to have a villain to blame, rather than accept the occasional need for a sacrifice. Even James himself subconsciously had known that there was no other choice - the route he had chosen was one of the least losses.
Merlin had never forcefully submerged the young man into his cursed concoction. The Trollhunter had made that choice himself - and deep inside, the legendary sorcerer was grateful to him for it. In the end, the boy had reminded him about so many of his own stupid decisions.
They had won the fight against Gunmar. At least, that part of the plan had reached the goal. Morgana, on the other hand…
Merlin had clearly miscalculated when it came to his former apprentice. In his defense, he could probably say that there had been no opportunity to test the sealing method he had used. Or that Morgana had always been the kind of prodigy with impossible to predict progress.
Well, did any of that actually matter? The good side had won against the Pale Lady in the end, even if nothing had gone according to Merlin's grand plan.
Perhaps, they all had gotten too careless. Maybe, all of those small divergences had been pointing out the immediate need for the change or correction of the initial plan. Yet, the old wizard had refused even to admit that he could be wrong.
The truth was that he had always been too stubborn and too confident in his own skills and knowledge. That was his weakest side, his Achilles heel.
Besides, back then, in the aftermath of the Eternal Night, no one could ever guess that everything would go downhill too soon.
They simply couldn't know - not with Merlin holding back the information about their main enemy, the Arcane Order.
Why though? He couldn't explain it himself. To prevent panic? To give the Trollhunters some breather? Or perhaps, the old wizard simply had gotten too used to acting alone, without relying on anyone.
Merlin's plan would involve the thorough preparation for the overall defense against the ancient deities. The first step for that would have been reducing their mobility - and Morgana's defeat had been exactly that. The nastiest thing about shadowmancy had always been its access to basically every single location in the world. As long as the user had an anchor, no place would be truly safe.
Without their champion, the Arcane Order had lost such a horrifying advantage, meaning that now it would have been possible to run and hide from them. So the most logical course of action would be finding a good location for the proper fight while keeping Nari and Genesis Seals as far from each other as possible.
Merlin had planned to assemble two teams - the one he could use as the protectors of Genesis Seals and another one to keep guard at the flying castle. He had been thinking a lot about available resources and how to use every single of his allies in the most efficient way.
But before that, there had been the issue the old wizard had to address as well, namely all the stuff surrounding the Heartstone in Arcadia. Only a handful of people throughout all of humankind's history had been aware of its true importance. It was the Crystal of Genesis, the one holding enough power to overhaul the entire world.
Everyone else had thought Gunmar had drained it entirely - and it couldn't be further from the truth. That Heartstone had the ability to replenish its own energy. It was indestructible.
The problem was that Merlin would prefer every single uninvolved person as far from Arcadia as possible just in case if it came to the worst and the city became the epicenter of the final battle. Trolls would be the most difficult to evacuate. Between their weakness against the sunlight and their overall tendency to hold to their homes, it would have been nearly impossible to convince them to move somewhere else if the only reason had been some vague future danger.
Despite what some people claimed, Merlin had never been that heartless or ungrateful. The good-willed trolls had proven to be reliable allies as they kept fighting against Gunmar's forces throughout centuries, while humanity had done basically nothing to help. If anything, the legendary wizard could at least keep them out of danger as his token of gratitude.
That had been the reason for all that travel to New Jersey. Well, at least partially. It also had been the way to prevent the Arcane Order from finding Merlin's location.
All the planning had gone through the window all of sudden. The old man had expected only Bellroc and Skrael as their enemies, with Morgana being out of commission for good. So how had it been possible for another dangerous enemy to exist?
Hullgar. The Green Knight. The mysterious being wielding the dangerous antimagic. His entire being reeked of death and decay. Merlin still remembered the encounter with a shiver - that champion had been vile, corrupted to his core. Even Morgana hadn't left such an evil impression after her downfall.
No, this time, the primal deities had found a way more dangerous pawn for their plans. The good side had been entirely defenseless against the Green Knight. Moreover, they had lost their best fighter to some kind of unknown magic.
Merlin still couldn't believe how fast he had managed to react after noticing that the obsidian shard had been more than just a nasty projectile. No, that one was the amalgamation of some vile magic, something even the old sorcerer had never seen before - and he was an expert when it came to various wizardry. The shard had tried to force its way into the Trollhunter's heart, and not even a single one of methods to stop or remove it worked.
The time stasis had been the last-ditch effort. In a way, it had been acceptance of Merlin's own powerlessness even if he had claimed aloud that it had been the way to win more time.
The thing was that they had no time to spare for the thorough research on corruption and hexes. The Arcane Order was already breathing down their necks. And the old wizard simply couldn't prioritize helping his champion when there were more urgent things to do.
No matter how of disadvantage it was, they had to face the Arcane Order without young James.
The backup plan would be gathering every single fighter available. There should have been some left in Arcadia.
But…
Doing so would also mean involving Hisirdoux.
Merlin's mind trailed back to his youngest apprentice. Back in Arcadia, he had considered visiting the boy but had ended only watching him from the shadow. Somehow, it had been so ridiculous - would it had been so difficult to approach the youngster? To talk to him about anything?
Perhaps, the old man had been afraid to hear accusations or see the disappointment in Hisirdoux's eyes. Hadn't it been the same with Morgana? She used to admire and respect her teacher so much, yet all of that affection had turned into scorn eventually.
Merlin was just scared to live through it for the second time. Yet no one would ever learn about that weakness of his soul - he had learned to put an indifferent facade a long time ago.
The old wizard stopped his train of thought abruptly as he had noticed the troll scholar approaching him. Without any doubt, there would be another round of nagging and colorful insults. As if there were any time for that!
At least, the troll was alone this time. Fair Claire had collapsed for some reason not that long ago - most likely, as a result of all the stress and recent overstraining getting to her. That was why Merlin had gotten the opportunity to think in solitude for a while, as the meddlesome scholar had been busy caring for the girl.
The break had been pretty brief, apparently.
"So would you care to find the way to save Master Jim at last?" the troll asked, the barely hidden irritation evident in his voice. So, he had decided to continue from where he had stopped.
"Perhaps, if you bothered to think broader, you'd notice our current predicament!" Merlin snapped at last. "Helping young James isn't our first priority!"
He wasn't going to stand that nonsense anymore. Right now, he had to summon Hisirdoux and…
"I cannot believe that I used to admire someone like you," the troll uttered. "The more I learn about you, the more disgust I feel. Apparently, you have been using Trollhunters for dirty work all this time, as some rumors suggested!"
The legendary wizard shrugged. He wasn't listening attentively in any case. He had to focus on pinpointing his apprentice's location, and the background noise didn't help at all.
"I may be a troll here, but you are the one with a stone heart!" Blinkous continued his angry speech. "Helping Master Jim maybe not be your first priority, but it is the first for me! But who I try to convince here? As if someone of your ilk would ever understand what it means to consider someone your child!"
That was an unexpected low blow. Merlin couldn't even imagine those words could hurt so much and make him forget about the current task momentary.
And then…
It felt as if someone had forcefully yanked the part of his soul, and the foolish troll had nothing to do with that. The pain and sense of loss were nearly physical - the legendary wizard had to take some breathes as he felt his legs threatening to give way under him.
He knew what it had been exactly - it was the bond between him and Hisirdoux shattering into nothingness.
That could only happen in two situations. Either his apprentice died or decided to remove the magical link. Neither of those was a good case scenario.
Losing the someone Merlin had held dear suddenly had become too close to reality.
Whatever the troll imagined, the wizard also had the one he considered his son, and apparently, Hisirdoux could easily change his list of priorities…
A sudden yelp made Merlin came back to reality. Blinkous was watching the stasis crystal containing the Trollhunter with a mixture of shock and terror, never noticing the old man's turmoil.
"What is going on?" the troll inquired, pointing out at some hair-thin cracks forming on the smooth surface.
"Impossible," the wizard whispered, refusing his own eyes. That had been time magic of the highest quality, it simply couldn't fail like that!
Nothing was going on according to the plan…