After three hours of hard riding through narrow trails in the forest at the foot of the Feorre Mountains, Iseldir led them into a valley. "Just a bit more," he promised
"Now I see why Uther's never managed to find this place," Balinor said with a little chuckle. Em rode behind him on the saddle, clinging on tightly for dear life.
Iseldir led the party through the deep ravine, navigating boulders, bushes, and fallen trees with ease. Finally, he found a little uphill stream that flowed into the ravine. It was wide enough for one horse at a time. It was a narrow squeeze, with steep stone sides. He coaxed his horse to follow the stream. Balinor, Hunith, and their children exchanged dubious looks but followed. They followed the stream for about thirty minutes. The land began to flatten out, and the steep sides eventually dropped away. They ended up on the shores a fast-flowing river surrounded by more woodland.
"We are still at the base of the mountains, but this is a fairly deserted area. The shortcut we just took is the only way to make it from Essetir without going through the mountains. You also have to climb the mountains from the Northland side to access it from there. In Camelot, you have to go through the Valley of the Fallen Kings.
"We call that the River Temperance. It flows into a small lake." Iseldir led them north, following the river downstream.
"How many Druids call this place home?"
"Nearly fifty families. Most camps have no more than a dozen." Iseldir looked troubled for a moment, but grinned. "They'll love you, and will be eager for the fresh blood. We've even set up farms."
"How did so many people find out about the camp? It's very…" Hunith struggled to find the right word.
"In the middle of nowhere?" Her newfound brother-in-law glanced over his shoulder, smirking.
"I was going to say isolated."
"Through telepathy, of course."
"Telepathy?" Hunith repeated the strange word. In the villages, most children learned their letters and simple arithmetic. She felt very uneducated, at that moment.
"Talking with your mind, love," Balinor told her. He didn't sound condescending at all, which was one of the reasons she loved him. He was very modest about his intellect and extensive education.
"Surely Balinor and your youngest three do it. All the magic-born can, once they are taught."
"Da never taught us to do that," Em muttered.
"Balinor!" Iseldir exclaimed in shock. "At least Emrys should know how to!"
"I focused on teaching them to mask their powers!" Balinor growled.
"That is the complete opposite of what an instructor of magic should be doing. Don't you remember the lessons of our childhood?"
"This is a different time. Our people were not hunted like animals by Uther and his men. My lessons focused on survival."
"Well, now they will get proper lessons." Iseldir's tone left no room for argument.
"Can we get lessons as well, Uncle?" Gilli asked, almost timidly.
"Have you magical blood, my lad?"
Gilli looked to Balinor. "I don't believe so," the boy's stepfather said, as gently as he could.
When Gilli's face fell, Iseldir said cheerfully, "There's still much to learn. I can teach you sword fighting, the healing craft, and mental defenses against possession and other magical attacks. Will, would that interest you as well?"
"No, thank you. I'd rather stick to what I know, Uncle. Have you any farmland?" Will inquired.
"We have a few fields. We always need extra hands. Your help will be greatly appreciated."
Iseldir suddenly turned his horse towards a steep hill on their left. "Follow me!"
"This camp is awfully hard to get to, brother," Balinor grumbled, urging his horse into a trot.
"You could always go to Camelot," Iseldir said sweetly.
"Iseldir?"
"Yes, little brother?"
"Shut up."
Iseldir shook his head, clucking his tongue. As they reached the top of the hill, Hunith's jaw dropped. "It's not a camp… it's a village!"
Below them lay a larger version of Ealdor. The hovels were slightly bigger, and the people looked a little more haggard than the peasants in Ealdor. Yet it was still surrounded by lush green forests, and they had carved fields out of them. Chickens and hogs wandered the village green, and women did laundry in their front yards. Children played in the dirt, laughing and clapping. Hunith's eyes welled up with tears.
"We call it Sábháilte," Iseldir said.
"It means 'haven' in Druidic," Balinor whispered.
That's when Hunith really started crying.
When Iseldir led them into Sábháilte, the other Druids watched them with a mix of suspicion and interest. They talked amongst themselves in low, worried tones. They spoke Druidic, so Hunith had no idea what they said. Balinor did not seem offended, so she tried not to make assumptions.
Iseldir took them inside a hut with a roof badly in need of new thatching. Once they were inside, it appeared to have two rooms; there was a narrow doorway covered with a ragged curtain on the wall opposite the front door. On a crude stool sat an older woman with the greenest eyes Hunith had ever seen. The woman dropped the cup she was holding when she saw Balinor walk in the door. He immediately went to her, and she latched onto him.
"My son, oh, my son," she kept saying. After a minute, with teary eyes, she fixed her green gaze on Hunith and the children.
"You must be the woman who has bewitched my Balinor so," Emerald said. She put her hand on Hunith's cheek and kissed it. "I lost a daughter, many moons ago. It seems the gods have sent me another."
"Hello, Emerald," Hunith said a bit timidly. "It's so good to see you, at long last."
"Very good," Emerald hummed. "Call me Emery. Everyone does." She turned to the children. "And these must be my lovely grandchildren!"
As she was introduced to each child, she kissed them and held them close. Will squirmed a bit, but submitted to the attention. Gilli, who was an affectionate child, seemed to greatly enjoy the doting nature of his step-grandmother. He had never known any of his grandparents. Em watched the woman he had been named after carefully, his wide blue calculating and serious. Mordred hid behind his mother's legs at first, but Emery managed to coax him out.
When Sefa was handed to her, Emery started crying. "I always wanted a granddaughter," she said tearfully. "She's so beautiful, Hunith. My little Sefa. I adore her name."
"She's named after my youngest sister, who died during childbirth."
Emery cupped her daughter-in-law's face. "You've suffered greatly, child. The healer in me can sense it. You will be safe here, you and your children." She straightened, and suddenly her tone became much more commanding. Later on, Hunith would come to know it as Emery's "leader voice". "Now, you all are clearly exhausted. Get some rest. There are blankets in the back room. I'll have Maud get Cedran's old cradle for Sefa."
Ushered off to bed like children, Balinor, Hunith, and their brood wrapped themselves in the old blankets and practically collapsed on the straw-littered floor. Sefa was placed in a cradle that a beautiful, golden-haired woman hauled over. The woman, Maud, simply seized Balinor in a hug and then left them be. "We can talk later. Get some sleep," she said. Her voice sounded like wind chimes.
They awoke a few hours later. Emery and Maud gave them bowls of pottage flavored with onions, turnips, oats, and salted fish. Iseldir was nowhere to be seen. "He's off at my place, sleeping," Maud told them with a fond grin.
"Where's Cedran?" Balinor asked. "I haven't seen the boy since he was in diapers."
"Where's Cedran?" Balinor asked. "I haven't seen the boy since he was in diapers."
"He's hunting, bless him." Maud glanced at her nephews and niece. The boys sat on the floor, eating, while Sefa was on Balinor's lap. There was only room for the four adults at the small table. "William, my Cedran's only a year older than you. He'll be grateful to have another boy his age around."
"Are there not many children?" Balinor asked.
"Of course there are. We are Druids," Maud chuckled. At Hunith's confused expression, she laughed. "Our people are known for having many children. I found one to be enough, personally."
"I really wanted a girl," Hunith murmured.
"Ma, I'm hurt!" Will said dramatically, clutching his chest.
"Oh, hush, you," laughed Hunith.
"She's always favored Sefa. I understand now," Balinor whispered loudly to his mother. "It makes so much more sense."
Everyone burst into laughter. It warmed Hunith's heart to see her children fed and happy. Maybe, just maybe this isolated and safe place would become a home to them.
They slowly integrated themselves into the community. The men spent two months constructing a little two-room hut next to Emery and Maud's hut for the family. When Hunith stepped inside after they finally finished it, she cried her eyes out. Hunith, Balinor, and the children who were old enough pitched in with the field work during the day. At night, Hunith helped cook and Balinor instructed the children of the community.
"Lessons are very important. It's how Druids learn their culture and develop their magic skills," Balinor explained one night.
All the children began learning to speak and write in Druidic immediately. The oldest three struggled the most with it. Mordred took to it like a duck in water, and Sefa's first word was the Druidic word for Granny, Móraí. The children adored Móraí Emery. Eventually, as the year wore on, they spoke Druidic as if it were their native tongue.
Em's magic proficiency soon became apparent to all. He was put in lessons with children in their late teens, and it quickly became apparent he was mastering the spells with little trouble at all. Iseldir eventually began teaching him one-on-one. Mordred was simply content to babble spells that conjured pretty pictures in fire or water.
They also made new friends. Mordred played with the little children. He was especially close with a little girl named Kara. As Maud had predicted, Will and Cedran soon became inseparable. Gilli bonded with a couple boys. Em, however, struggled to make friends. The other children were intimidated by his "freaky" magical abilities. His brothers and elder cousin let him in on their fun, though. Balinor reconnected with Druids he knew from his youth, and Hunith soon became fond of them as well.
Hunith and Maud became very close. Maud reminded Hunith of her sisters—she was fun and carefree. She wore breeches, declaring that she found skirts too cumbersome. She specialized in healing magic, and had an extensive knowledge of herbs. She often sent Hunith into the forest to fetch her herbs.
When Hunith was on one of her many herb-collecting forays, Balinor accompanied her. Five months later, she discovered she was pregnant. Balinor and the children were overjoyed; the whole community was. Hunith would soon discover what Balinor meant when he said Druids "consider all children blessings" all those years ago. All the women in the village took Hunith into the forest and prayed over her pregnant belly. They hung dried flowers from the ceiling for good luck. They gave her an amulet that "guaranteed" a safe delivery and a healthy child. A kind man named Aglain built a cradle for the baby. Maud gave her herbs to ease Hunith's morning sickness and constant headaches.
On the night of the birth, Hunith was moved next door to Emery and Maud's hut. They kicked Balinor, Iseldir, and the children out. About three dozen people lingered in the village green for a good part of the night. After ten hours of labor, Hunith and Balinor welcomed another baby boy into the world. He was strong, healthy, and fat.
Two-year-old Sefa was besotted with her baby brother. She doted on him and called him "her baby". William, now fifteen, assumed the dutiful role of big brother that he had had since age three, when Gilli was born.
They struggled with a name for four days. They threw around a great variety—George, Gaius, Iseldir, Merlin, Ejred, Sage (Hunith's favorite flower), et cetera. Finally, Maud said while preparing lunch one day, "If I had another boy, I would have named him Daegel. It means 'from the dark stream'."
Hunith turned to her. She was nursing the child at the table. "That's it! His eyes as dark, like river pebbles. Daegel!" She turned to Maud. "Get Balinor from the fields, and tell him our son is named Daegel!"
That night, Emery, as leader of the community, called everyone together for the naming ceremony. There were about two hundred Druids assembled in the village green, quietly talking amongst themselves. However, when Hunith passed her son to his grandmother, they immediately fell quiet. A sacred event was about to take place.
Emery spoke in Common for the sake of Hunith; her Druidic was rudimentary at best. "Today, we are gathered to celebrate a new life. Our people have been persecuted—beaten, murdered, and burned. We have been reduced to outcasts, lingering on the edges of society. Even in the darkest hour, we remain strong. We hold onto what is ours, and we cherish it. The great circle of life continues, and the Druids lost to Uther's genocide will slowly be replaced by the children our women bear—like this child in my arms right here.
"We must continue to rebuild, to fight for our right to practice magic and teach it to our children in peace. One day we will not be outcasts anymore. Druids will be able to rejoin society and be equal to our non-mage brothers and sisters.
"This child has been given a very traditional Druidic name—Daegel. May he stand as a testament to the fact that our culture and people can never be wiped out!" Emery lifted the child above her head. "Fáilte, Daegel!" she yelled.
"Fáilte, Daegel!" the Druids chanted.
When Balinor nudged her, Hunith finally joined in. Seeing her tiny little babe, surrounded by his kin and his people, she felt a renewed sense of hope for the future. Perhaps one day she could return to Ealdor, and maybe even Camelot to see her parents and siblings. She would be able to bring her magic-born children with her, not just Will and Gilli. They could meet Balinor, and Gaius would be able to see his old friend again. What a blessing that would be.
The Druids then sang a few songs in their tongue that Hunith was unable to understand. Balinor and the children hummed along. Emery was horribly off key, but she tried her best. Maud, though…
Maud had the voice of a goddess. It was a hauntingly beautiful soprano. Her voice seemed to caress Hunith's ears, and she felt as if she were in the realm of the gods, hearing angels sing. Hunith could listen to her sister-in-law sing forever.
After the singing was over, everyone returned to their homes for supper and bed. Like the peasants back in Ealdor, the Druids in Sábháilte rose and went to bed with the sun. It had just started to sink on the horizon.
Maud, Iseldir, Emery, and Cedran joined Hunith and her family for dinner in their hut. Emery had made honey cakes for the event. They had their usual pottage of onions, turnips, oats, and salted fish. Sefa kept trying to say Daegel's name and butchering it with her little toddler lisp. "Diggle, Daegall, Daegee," she kept repeating.
Everyone laughed and offered a toast to the child's future.
A/N: Hello there! There's one thing I want to clear up - Cedran is supposed to be Cerdan, Mordred's Druid teacher in the show. I misspelled his name Cedran, and I actually like it a lot more than Cerdan, so I just ran with it. I apologize if that is confusing. Let me know if the route Iseldir takes Hunith and Company on to get to the Druid camp is really confusing/doesn't make sense. I tried so hard to have that part make sense, but I'm not satisfied with it. I want to thank everyone who has favorited, followed, and reviewed this story, it makes me so happy to know people are still into Merlin five years after the show ended.
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or any of its characters. The OCs are mine, though :)