Beetlejuice
Season 2: The Sleeper Saga
Episode 25: Past Inquiries
Merlin took the time to study his new home for some time, while under the watchful eye of 'Laurence Juice'. Realizing that alchemic spells such as the projection gate take up a lot of energy and seal themselves off when disrupted, her was most likely safe so long as he stayed in the cottage or in the forest and didn't return to the Neitherworld for a while. 'This might be a good time to meditate.' He thought to himself. He located one of the three bedrooms and sat on the floor with his back against the bed, closed his eyes and began clearing his mind. After a few hours of meditating, images of the past began to invade his mind. Images of a time before Grimnak became the Black Mage and was once called the Golden Mage.
The three brothers walked side by side among other dragons, assisting humans and other creatures with their problems, ranging from assisting felines out of trees all of the way up to solving marital disputes. They especially enjoyed entertaining children using their various skills. One brother began juggling rocks that easily fit into his palm watching the children laugh while the other two engaged in conversation. "Brother Merlin." Began Grimnak, his voice kind and suave. "I've been thinking about these humans and their curious ways." Merlin looked in his mid thirties at this moment. Bright blue eyes full of youth and experience at the same time. His brown hair was long enough to touch his shoulders and he himself stood about five and a half feet tall with a slender build. His tanned skin spoke of the long journeys he and his brothers had been on under the sun and the soft smile on his face spoke of the wonders they had experienced. "What about them?" Merlin asked. "Well, they are such a short lived species. Perhaps they need someone to lead them to their full potential." Grimnak answered. Merlin simply chuckled slightly and looked into his brother's eyes with his answer. "They reach their potential on their own with the help of other humans. They don't need dragons to tell them what to do. Besides, a leader leading a people only leads them to his own potential not their individual potential. This is why humans live in communities and in separate homes. It is so they can discover their individual potential and contribute it to others. This is why we help and not lead."
"But if one with our wisdom leads these people, won't the humans stop these senseless wars?" Grimnak asked. "Perhaps." Merlin answered. "But then what would they learn? Even suffering brings with it harsh lessons. We should not take that away from them. If they don't learn not to hate, then hate would be all that they feel." "Do you keep with you, a book of these corny lines?" Grimnak asked his brother. Merlin simply began belting out laughing at his brother's response. After wiping a tear from his eye, Merlin answered, "But they do hold some truth in them do they not?" Grimnak lightly smiled at his brother and then continued gazing across the English countryside, simple villages of humans living happily with their families.
The three brothers continued on with their journey to observe and assist humans along the countryside, admiring the natural beauty of England's rolling hills and plains. Through their journey they heard rumors about the wars and battles, each rumor being more and more disturbing and saddening. Thoughts of leading this great nation to world victory and uniting other countries as one ran through Grimnak's mind as they stopped at an inn for a drink. He continuously brought himself up to thinking that his destiny was to end the suffering of this world and bring in a great era under his family rule, with his brothers by his side, as if something was whispering in his ear. "Brother, are we not better than the humans? Was it not them that invented war and suffering? Can we not show them the error of their ways?" He would often ask to Merlin. And Merlin would always answer his questions in the same humble manner, "It is not we who should rule them but they who shall learn how to live as themselves." His words getting more and more cryptic with every question Grimnak asked.
It was only a matter of time before the whispers drove Grimnak to insanity. The third brother respected as a king in the nation, Merlin thought of as a great seer and scholar, and the people fearing Grimnak more and more as he drove himself into his own darkness and madness. Then the day came, Grimnak's madness grew such that he began to hate his brothers for denying him his destiny for so long and no longer thought of having them by his side as he ruled. The whispers of madness now like shouts in his head, no longer able to ignore them. His magic potential had now become incredibly strong, combining spells using his knowledge of alchemy to get a desired result, thus expanding his potential exponentially. An entire village had been leveled by his hands and its people all slain, the two brothers the only ones still standing in Grimnak's way.
"I told you that humans need someone to stand up and show them all what true suffering is. Someone who can end war and bring them real peace." Grimnak cackled as he spoke, the madness present in his voice and eyes as if it was something tangible. "Ruling the humans like this can only bring them more suffering and tragedy." Merlin shouted to his insane brother. Merlin then turned to his brother and called him by name, however the pronunciation and vocal sound of the name became muffled the moment the world left Merlin's lips. Then image in his mind began to get hazy and he watched as the blurry shapes engaged in a fierce battle. The blurry shapes got blurrier and blurrier until his vision simply went white and he snapped out of his meditation.
"Damn." Merlin thought to himself, "What was my brother's name?" He then thought about the other situation that ran through his mind during meditation, "Oh,
Grimnak. Why? I thought you would have eventually given up on this foolish endeavor." He then signed deeply and dropped his gaze to the floor in between his knees in sad nostalgia.
Meanwhile, in the Neitherworld, Grimnak was also meditating. Trying to figure out where his nameless brother could be hidden. 'Damn, why can't I remember my brother's name? I thought that the spell only affected Merlin. Perhaps he used a deeper magic than a simple forgetting spell. Could he have discovered some sort of ancient spell?' He thought to himself. 'How long exactly have I been imprisoned?' As he asked those questions to himself, images of his time traveling with his brothers flashed through his mind, desperately trying to get a hint at The Sleeper's name. Every time he thought that he remembered his brother's name, it would come to him as a blur rather than words and he found himself quickly flustered. "Damn! Why do I have to forget his name? I wasn't even around when he was put to sleep. I don't even know what happened to him after they imprisoned me. So, why?"
Merlin finally gave up on remembering his brother's lost name and focused on his growling stomach. "I wonder if there is anything for a dragon to eat." He said to himself aloud. He proceeded to the pantry where he could proceed to locate any food when he heard faint whispers in the air. A familiar voice that he longed to hear and whose name he struggles to remember. The whispers were so faint that he barely heard them until he stopped moving to think. It was then he heard the words faint as a maiden's whisper, "The dragon sleeps on the water's edge, upon the stone and light of which he beds. When the name is said and he begins to wake, the light of day he shan't forsake. Upon this day of familiar prize, look in at burnt sand in size. In daylight's conflict awake again, to reunite those close to him. Remember not until that day, when all of light will fade away. A secret kept for ages past, shall awaken and cease the quarrel at last." After the final word was whispered, the rhyme began to repeat itself over and over until it burned itself into Merlin's memory and he began repeating it by heart.
Ben arrived home from school that day. "Laurence, I'm home." He had gotten so used to addressing his duplicate as both his grandfather and by the duplicate's given name, Laurence, almost as if it was truly his grandfather. Ben only stopped when he began to hear Merlin's mumbling voice from the pantry. Morphing back into Beetlejuice he quickly made his way to his fallen old friend. Upon entering the pantry, Merlin started over with the words of his recent prophecy, "The dragon sleeps on the water's edge, upon the stone and light of which he beds. When the name is said and he begins to wake, the light of day he shan't forsake. Upon this day of familiar prize, look in at burnt sand in size. In daylight's conflict awake again, to reunite those close to him. Remember not until that day, when all of light will fade away. A secret kept for ages past, shall awaken and cease the quarrel at last."
"Merlin, wake up! Are you alright?" Beetlejuice called to the ancient man. Merlin then blinked twice as he snapped out of his trance and came back to reality. "Oh." He moaned as he placed his right hand against the right side temple of his head. "What happened?" Suddenly he remembered hearing the whispers from earlier, which slightly agitated his headache. "Oh, now I remember. The next prophecy. This happened with the Golden Maiden Prophecy, as well." Beetlejuice gave the old man a worried look and asked him, "Are you ok?" Merlin looked back at the guardian ghost's expression, realizing that despite his ancient appearance, he was probably now worse-for-wear due to the stress that new prophecy placed upon him. "Yes," Merlin sighed, "I'll be fine. For now we wait." "Wait for what?" Beetlejuice asked. "We wait for destiny to take its course." The old man solemnly replied.
End of Season 2 Episode 5