Merlin sat to Gwen's right.
"The Great Dragon has advised me on something of great importance. When Albion's need is great Arthur will return." dumb silence.
"Merlin, Arthur is dead." Sir Lyon's voice came from the left,
"Sir Lyon do you consider yourself wiser than I on such matters?"
"No, of course not."
"Arthur will rise again and he will need help. I know of a spell, when you are on your death bed I will you case you in stone, cast with a dragon's breath." Merlin looked around, 5 faces staring at him.
"Merlin that's insane." laughed Gawain nervously
"I do not know why but Kilgharrah says this is what must happen if Arthur is to rise again." Percival spoke next,
"That sounds crazy to me but Merlin is the wisest of all men. If he says we need this, we need this. I am with you."
"As am I." Gaius stood up,
"And me." the Queen stood next
"And I." Gawain stood now. The table turned to Sir Lyon,
"Can't be left out now can I." he rose also.
Merlin had lost track of how many years he had been in Camelot, the magic still preserved everything but still he felt that he was a sole life in a dead city. He spent most of his days utterly devoted to finishing Gaius' work but even with unlimited time a pursuit of medicine was long and unending. One night he set aside all his books and looked out of his window. He did not know how many thousands of years it had been since he returned to Camelot, had he been wrong, should he have stayed out there? He drifted into sleep with this thought, still fully robed. When he woke the next morning he decided he must find something out. He journeyed through the lower town and to the statue of Kilgharrah.
"How long have I been waiting and how much longer?" the silence sat for a long time but just as Merlin rose to leave the dragons voice sounded,
"Everything of the Old Religion is in circles, because the very world itself is a cycle young Warlock."
"What do you mean to say?"
"This world was built for men and it falls to men."
"You mean to say the world will soon fall?"
"It already has Merlin, the cycle must now repeat itself, when the time is right Arthur will come."
"I don't understand."
"Albion's great need is simple. It must be forged once again."
"But it will just fall again!" Merlin was growing frustrated,
"No. It was your destiny to break the cycle with a unified Albion. Albion could not survive long without Arthur."
"You mean to say I failed my destiny?!"
"No, you prolonged it. I gave you every warning. You live still because you have not yet finished."
"Mordred."
"Yes. You should've headed my words Merlin. He will never know it but just by killing Arthur he reshaped the fate of the earth."
"So I must wait until civilisation rises again, then brake the cycle."
"There have been 13 cycles of this world. Creation, destruction, creation, destruction. And behind these walls, of this, most ancient place, you were protected from the end of the 13th, now the 14th begins. You have not long to wait."
"Thank you, Kilgharrah."
"One last thing. When the time is right the magic will break on this place and the cycle will strike you down, even if you are immortal."
"What?" but silence had fallen.
Merlin laid back in his bed. Thinking. Even if Arthur did rise again there would be no army, no followers, just 7 people in a castle. He made a mental note to visit the dragon shrine in the morning. And with that we closed his eyes and let himself drift into sleep. The next morning he journeyed to the lower town, through the houses and shops that had once been alive with life.
"How do I do it? Even with Arthur back we have no army, no land." he spoke directly to the shrine. The silence was longer than yesterday but eventually,
"Merlin you will only succeed if you discover the way yourself. Only you have the power to bring back Arthur and your friends."
"How? How do I do that?"
"A circle has no beginning and no end."
"Stop talking rid- wait. You mean if a circle is going one direction it is also going the other."
"Yes Merlin."
"I need to turn back time!"
"For want of a better wording, yes."
"But how? That's impossible."
"For a mortal." silence fell. He knew what he must do, summon a god. Or rather a goddess in this case.
He had decided that it was best to travel by magic - not that he thought he would be able to leave otherwise - to the cauldron. He rested on arrival, deciding he'd need all his strength to summon the Triple Goddess. The place was serene, a sanctuary of magic in the changed world. The large blue pool sat in the base of the pale cut rock, perfectly circular and un-blemished for all of time. He waded into the pool, waist deep,
"Ego, Emrys magnus, et vocavi te et quarta ut in sortem in terra!" he called out to the cliff face. His voice echoed all around him, bouncing of the rock. Then the pool began to shift, bubbling and rippling then from the water something emerged. The water turned a godly white as, from the water, a young woman rose, a divinely pure face, hair the colour of the pool. She was nude but as he beheld her the water rose to form a pure white robe around her.
"Emrys." her voice was like a whisper that filled his mind,
"The god on Earth." Merlin said nothing,
"Powers greater than even gods themselves." Merlin stood speechless
"You have lived more than a million years Emrys, you did not come here to stare."
"Y-ou know why I came?"
"I know all. As do you, even if you do not know you know."
"I am just a man." the goddess smiled and put her hands on Merlin's shoulders,
"No, you are Emrys the great. Builder of Albion, slayer of the Highest Priestess of the earth Morgana, and the one destined to break the cycle of the Old Religion. The god on earth." Merlin's voice was caught in his throat,
"Please, help me then. Reverse the cycle."
"This will cost you gravely Emrys." her smile had gone and her pure whisper now sounded darker,
"Anything."
"You pay with your mortal soul. You will be a god on Earth forever more."
"I will never die."
"Not until the world itself dies, no."
"Very well."
"By doing this your powers will be reduced to how they were. You will recall little of this. It will be a thought, pushed to the depths of your mind till something awakens it."
"Your price is high."
"Your request is also."
"Do it." she smiled again and stepped close to Merlin,
"Only you have that power Emrys, embrace my power." she moved forward and kissed him deeply.
"Retrorsum." he whispered softly into her ear. She nodded and laid back into the water, the white light blinded him as she disappeared beneath the water.
A/N: Thanks for reading. Any reviews at all are much appreciated so please do.