A/N: Comfortember prompt and follow up to Whumptober No. 5 Hyperthermia
Alt. 5 Create
Merlin wiped the dripping sweat from his brow with the back of his arm as he hiked up to higher ground. The scorching sun beat down upon him, choking the very air as if the entire kingdom had become a blacksmith's furnace. They were going into their second week of this relentless heatwave, and Merlin had had enough. People had started dying a couple days ago, mostly the elderly. One had been a child. Not to mention the various people laid up from heat related illness. If this continued, more would die. And so Merlin had decided to do something about it.
Most of his duties as Arthur's manservant had been suspended until the brutal heat ended, giving him time to search through his magic book for something to help them. Now, he was making his way to the highest point close enough to the city for it to feel the effects but far enough away no one would catch him using magic.
He was dizzy and parched by the time he climbed to the rocky outcropping parallel to the hill Camelot sat on. Merlin turned his head to the blinding hot sky and shouted the incantation as loudly as he could. At first, nothing happened, and so he tried again. He shouted himself hoarse until the sky cracked with thunder and clouds billowed up out of nowhere. The sun was blotted out and a brisk gust kicked up. At first, the blasting air was hot, but within a few minutes, it turned cooler. Drops fell from the now dark sky, splattering Merlin's face lightly for the first second, then showering him in a deluge the next.
He tilted his head back to catch the rainwater in his mouth, laughing in sheer delight. He then turned to hasten back to the castle. The ground was muddy by the time he was running up through the lower town to the citadel, and people were just standing in the streets, basking in awe at the abrupt change in weather. Had it been any other day, they might have suspected sorcery, but everyone was too relieved to bother questioning it.
Merlin sprinted into the courtyard just as Leon and Elyan were helping Lancelot hobble his way out into the rain. They eased him down onto the steps to sit before jaunting out into the downpour themselves. Merlin jogged over and plopped down beside his friend. Lancelot had had a brutal time with the heat. His suffering had helped motivate Merlin into taking action sooner rather than later.
Lancelot smiled at him. "Your doing?"
Merlin just grinned back.
They sat there, promptly getting soaked and simply letting the brisk winds buffet their faces. But the surreality eventually wore off, and the storm turned colder, driving people back inside. Merlin helped Lancelot to his feet and back to Gaius's chambers where he'd been staying for observation and treatment. The winds were gusting through the castle halls through every window and door that had been thrown open during the heatwave. It rattled loose fixtures and battered tapestries, but the castle was in dire need of a cool down, so no one was shutting it up yet.
Merlin supported Lancelot back to the cot to sit down. Gaius's books were getting quite ruffled in the brisk breezes and the two men were dripping water everywhere. Merlin would no doubt get an earful over it, but it was worth it.
It wasn't often he got to do something purely good with his magic, not often he got to create something. And this…this was brilliant and powerful and alive.
He sat down next to Lancelot again and the two of them continued to just revel in the immense relief the magic borne storm brought them.