Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.
Welcome to the crystal caves
The great hall was almost silent, as everyone took their seats. Around the table sat Arthur, Gwen, Elyan, Leon, Percival, Gwaine, Tristan, Isolde and Gaius. They all knew what they were here to talk about: Merlin.
"I have come to a decision," Arthur started. "We are going to find Merlin. We will bring him back to Camelot, where he will swear never to use magic again. If he does not, he will be sentenced to death, burnt at the stake as the law states."
Gwen was on her feet in seconds, glaring at Arthur from her place across the table to him.
"You cannot do that, Arthur Pendragon." She stated, trying to keep herself as calm as she can.
"And why not?" Arthur demanded.
"Because he is your friend," Gwen answered. "Your best friend."
Gwaine nodded in agreement as does Percival, who was seated next to Gwaine. Elyan squeezed his sister hand, to show his support. He could not help kill the man, who had given his sister extra time with their father. Someone who did all in their power to save Gwen, even when it meant going to the flames instead of her.
Gaius was also glaring at Arthur from his place beside him, if only he understood Merlin never had a choice whether he practised magic or not. He was born with it. Beside him, Isolde and Tristan were nodding their agreement.
"Merlin is a sorcerer," Arthur stated. "He cannot be allowed to live if he practices magic. It is evil. We have all seen the damage it does. Look what it did to Morgana!"
"Merlin is not evil! Morgana and Merlin are two totally different people!" Gwen exclaimed. "Would someone who is evil, risk being killed to save the life of someone they had only just meet?"
"He killed a man! Merlin would never kill if it wasn't for magic corrupting him!" Arthur almost yelled.
"Yes, he did," Tristan agreed. "But the man he killed was going to die anyway! You were going to chop off his head or hang him. What is the difference?"
For this Arthur had no answer, it was true the man was going to die anyway. Merlin had chosen to save a life and, while he did take one to do it, he did it knowing he would be put to the pyre as a result.
"We should not blame magic for what Merlin did, with or without magic Merlin would have tried his hardest to save Isolde!" Gwaine explained. "Think about it, princess... Merlin goes into battle with us, he has no armour or weapons and yet he always makes it out alive and with little to no injuries. And so do we! Even when we are hopelessly outnumbered!
"And that is thanks to Merlin and his magic! We manage to kill all the magical creature we have ever faced, that are said to only be killable with magic, and yet we kill them! But only because we have Merlin's help."
Arthur simply glared at Gwaine who smirks slightly, knowing Arthur knew it to be true.
"If we had all paid more attention, we would all know Merlin has magic," Percival agreed. "Things always happen around Merlin, but we never thought to think about it, we always said it was luck. When it was in fact, Merlin."
Again, Arthur couldn't answer.
Beside him Gaius smiled, it was good to see that so many people were willing to speak out against the King for the sake of Merlin. But Gaius knew Merlin was unlikely to return, he would most likely think he was no longer welcome. With a sad smile, Gaius knew he would not see his ward again for a long time.
"Leon," Arthur muttered. "We have not heard your opinion on the matter yet."
Leon looked around at his friends. He didn't know what to say, he was loyal to the King, but Merlin was a good friend of his and had helped him time and time again.
"I believe magic can be used for good," Leon finally spoke. "The Druids have healed me before, even though I was a Knight of Camelot and should have killed them on sight."
Arthur sat down, it was clear no one was going to agree with him, he didn't even need to ask Gaius to know what he would say.
"So, what do you think we should do?" Arthur asked, one elbow resting on the arm of his chair while he rubbed his temple in frustration.
"We need to find him and bring him home," Gaius answered. "Camelot is where he belongs, it is his home."
)o(
Merlin walked through the perilous lands and had been walking for better part of a day.
In his hands was a staff of white wood, covered in runes and other magical symbols. He could feel the power radiating off it, mixing with his own magic. He almost wished Gwaine and Arthur were secretly following him like he and Gwaine had followed Arthur through these lands.
But he knew they were not, the chances were Arthur would kill him next time they meet, a meeting Merlin was not looking forward to. Merlin could beat Arthur with a snap of his figures or a signal word, but he would sooner die then use magic against Arthur.
Around Merlin the land was passing in a blur, using magic to make him travel faster, every step was covering a mile. He knew the trip to the tower would take days otherwise and he didn't have days to waste.
Merlin finally reached the land cliff overlooking the tower. The first time Merlin had seen the tower he hadn't paid that much attention to it, being more worried about the creature attacking Arthur at the time. But now he got the chance to really look at it.
The tower was grey, like the colour of a dusty bone. Parts of the walls were falling away and destroyed. Merlin shivered. The place looked positively evil, the curse that had affected these lands really had destroyed it.
Removing the travelling spell he'd been using, Merlin quickly made his way over to the tower. As he entered the courtyard, his skin began to tingle, his magic was moving under his skin and feeling like it would break free any moment.
Standing in the centre of the courtyard, Merlin looked around, he was surprised the tower was still standing, it was in such a state of ruin. Taking his staff in both hands, he raised it into the air and he yelled the words of the spell and slammed the staff down into the ground, not unlike what Morgana did with the skeleton army.
Merlin smiled as he felt the raw power flowing around him, from him and mixing with the Earth Magic around him. The ground began to shake and before Merlin even had a chance to move, burning bright gold magic explodes from the ground around him.
The light faded and Merlin glanced round. The tower was transformed into a stunning bright white tower of stone, much like Camelot and didn't look so evil anymore, it looked magical in fact. Grinning, Merlin grabbed the staff and rushed out the courtyard.
The sight that greeted him, would make anyone smile. The land had been returned to its former glory, there was even a small town surrounding the tower. Across the land, trees and plants had returned to life and grown strong and tall once more.
Villages and towns had been rebuilt. Animals and birds roamed freely. You could feel the magic in the air. The sky had changed from a hazy orange and red to a sky blue littered with fluffy white clouds, even the sun seemed to shine brighter.
Merlin just smiled, it felt good to use his power to create such a land.
)o(
It was late afternoon when Arthur, the knights, Isolde, Tristan, Gwen and Gaius set off to try and find Merlin. It had been rumoured that there were some Druids in the Valley of the Fallen Kings. So that was where they were heading.
If the Druids didn't know where Emrys was, then no one would. As they entered the valley, Gaius could understand why Merlin said it was like hitting a barrier or a wall. The pure power of the place hit with such a force, you stopped.
Gwen, who noticed Gaius stop, looked at him with concern.
"Is everything alright, Gaius?" She asked, voice laced with concern.
"Yes, I'm fine. I just thought I saw something that is all," He lied.
He didn't think Arthur would be able to cope with another 'betrayal' quite yet. He only practised the odd spell, even after all the years since the purge and his promise, but he was still a sorcerer and he still had magic.
Before they entered the valley they left the horses, no animal would enter the valley for more than a couple of feet. Gaius was surprised Arthur and the knights ever got their horses to travel through the valley. It was a miracle the skittish horses had gone as far as they had reached. And so, they were forced to leave the horses near the entrance to the valley.
Gaius couldn't shake the sinking feeling of dread that seemed to settle in his stomach the deeper they got in the valley. He understood why Merlin hated the place, because of that oppressive magic that blanketed the valley, but that wasn't it and his bad feeling was proven true as bandits streamed from every hidden place around them, streaming down the banks like ants out an ant hill.
"Everyone this way!" Arthur yelled as Percival lifted Gaius into his arms, carrying the older man far quicker than Gaius would have been able to move on his own. Not that Gaius was too pleased about it, though.
Weaving in and out of murderous bandits the knights quickly surrounded Gwen trying to protect her and Gaius who was being carried by Percival, as they moved. They finally came to a cave.
"In here quickly," Arthur commanded, sounding much like the King he was.
Gwen gasped as they enter the main cave, where crystal lined walls all around them, lighting the cave with an un-earthy glow.
"It's beautiful!" She breathed, looking around in awe.
"Welcome to the crystal caves," A voice behind them said.
)o(
Hey, I hope you enjoyed that chapter. I'll update soon. Until next time,
Blessed be,
TreeOfLife1997.