The sun has already set, and the temperature has dropped drastically, hence engendering rising coldness in the air. The Young Warlock went looking, throughout the Darkling Woods, if need be, the kindling to light a fire before their bodies started to shiver.
While he searched, Morgause sent her Blood Guards back to the cave that she currently occupied, to guard it and await further instructions there. And in addition, she brought her horse closer and tied him to a tree, while waiting for Merlin to return.
Before the Great Dragon lay down on the ground near them, the High Priestess asked him to reveal his name to her because she thought it would be a bit silly to constantly refer to him as 'the Great Dragon'.
Obligingly, he revealed his name as Kilgharrah, to which she reacted by a simple gesture of nodding in appreciation, content to now be in possession of that information.
About half an hour later they were sitting around a campfire.
They were silent for a few minutes, staring at the flames or covertly glancing at each other.
Finally, Merlin broke the silence "I have to admit, part of me was really frightened that you wouldn't take this admission of us being related well."
The Blonde Witch was faintly startled at his words but in agreement. She had been familiar with being closed off to people and seldomly trusted anyone, so she would be a liar if she didn't admit that a small part of her was also surprised by how smoothly this all went.
Naturally, she had her doubts at the beginning and was on the lookout for any trace, no matter how small, of lies that might come out of Merlin's mouth. And yet the evidence her little brother provided was so strong and conclusive that fighting it would've been a waste of precious time.
Plus, the dragons are ancient and sagacious creatures whose words hold great weight and to simply brush them away, without musing on them, would be foolish and unwise.
"You gave me every reason to trust you," she admitted with a beaming smile gracing her visage, logic destroying any remnants of doubt about what transpired in front of herself just a few hours ago.
"I just never thought I'd ever see you… by all accounts I believed you were dead." The High Priestess avowed, inwardly feeling grateful that wasn't the truth.
"You knew you had a brother?" the Young Warlock inquired, curiosity drenching his tone.
"I did," she responded with an affirmative nod, "But I was led to believe you had been executed, like many other magic users, under the tyrannical hand of Uther Pendragon. I lost all hope of finding you." The statement leaked out of her mouth followed by a facial gesture of combined sadness and guilt for not doing a better job of verifying such an important fact in her life.
"Who told you I was dead?" Her brother's brows furrowed as to why someone would say that to her without thoroughly making sure it was the truth, unless that person had a vested interest in keeping them apart.
"The High Priestesses under whose care and tutelage I grew up," Morgause answered, feeling strongly something was amiss, but deep down a small part of her desperately didn't want to acknowledge the truth that was now clear as day; they lied to her.
With an even bigger confusion in Merlin's eyes, he posed his next question, "But, why would those women, who took care of you in almost every way, tell you something that is clearly a lie?"
Their Winged Friend, who was listening to their conversation the whole time, resolved to take charge of this exchange and give the much-needed explanation that would definitely shine a light on this matter. "The High Priestesses are Machiavellian and self-centered individuals, Morgause. It is plain they paid heed of your potential and your power when they took you under their wing. They then deceived you by spewing lies about how your brother is dead, killed by Uther or his knights. They understood such a divulgence would increase your hatred towards the King of Camelot and shape you to be their perfect weapon."
To say that the Blonde Witch was livid would be an understatement; any denial she previously had was now futile, the matter was plain and simple. They had lied to her and used her for their own gains. Her blood boiled in anger, but part of it was as well directed towards herself.
How could she have been so stupid, she berated herself, to not realize that something was awry all this time. Because of that lie, her entire life had been so focused on her duties as a High Priestess, and her desire for revenge against the King of Camelot augmented, also due to that deceit. The worst thing is, she would've found her brother in a heartbeat and helped him if only she knew he was alive and out there.
Merlin suddenly felt a strong urge to comfort his sister, so he gently placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it softly, his facial expression mirroring his kind gesture with a smile that was both compassionate and encouraging. His action provoked an appreciative grin on her face.
The Young warlock set out to ask the question that had been plaguing his mind ever since he followed Morgana from Camelot, although it previously had been quelled because of the promise he made to their father to tell Morgause the truth about them being half siblings. "What exactly did you do to Uther? I saw Morgana yanking some kind of weird root from under his bed."
The Blonde Witch reminded herself that she chose her brother instead of her solemn duty as a servant of The Old Religion, and thus she realized the best way to answer the question was with complete openness and honesty, "It's a Mandrake root. For the enchantment to work, first the plant must be submerged in a potion containing the victim's tears, the second part is the spell that I incanted, and the third part is that the root, still coated with the potion, must be placed in close proximity to the victim in order to take the effect. It induces nightmarish hallucinations to drive the sufferer mad. And there are another two things about such enchantment: it must be renewed with a fresh mandrake root every day and the effect can be intensified by damaging the said root."
Merlin was a bit conflicted as to what to do with such knowledge. Part of him was aware that without Uther in the picture the Kingdom might fall into a state of disarray but without the aforementioned king, there wouldn't be a need for so many devious schemes to overthrow him.
He, furthermore, was cognizant that his sister could've lied to him but instead, she had settled upon being sincere; she chose him rather than her mission to get revenge on Uther Pendragon for everything he's done to magic users.
Lastly, The Young Warlock wasn't born yesterday. He had noticed that wasn't the entirety of the plan, so he decided it wouldn't hurt to pry for more information on the whole plan of action, considering she obviously made a choice to place her trust in him. "That isn't the total sum of the ploy, is it?"
Morgause had to give it to her little brother, he had a keen and intelligent mind.
Before elaborating the rest of the plan, she gave him a smile radiating with admiration. "That was only the first part of the scheme. The second part consisted of two segments. I was planning to give Morgana the Rowan staff- it's a magical object that has the power to perform necromancy, raising Camelot's dead warriors in the form of skeletons. That, in addition to the aid of Cenred's army, would ensure that Camelot is as good as conquered. For all the might of Camelot's knights, they wouldn't be able to fight successfully on two fronts."
Hearing the name of the King whose man killed their father darkened Merlin's countenance.
"Cenred?" he uttered the name as if it were some kind of obscenity.
"Yes. Is something the matter?" she queried in a slightly cautious but curious way, noticing a hint of disgust in his voice.
A tearful expression manifested on Young Warlock's phiz when he replied to her question. "Cenred's man murdered our father; he died in my arms."
The High Priestess clenched her fists. Two feelings inside of her battling for dominance, anguish and a huge anger that was self-directed because she had allowed herself to trust that sorry excuse for a king despite her better instincts screaming inside of herself the entire time, warning her that he would stab her in the back the moment she lets her guard down.
"Balinor is dead?! How did that come to pass? Please tell me everything." Her features were distorted with rage.
Before explaining to her what happened in exhaustive detail, he used his sleeve to wipe his eyes before the upcoming tears could appear. "After I freed Kilgharrah from his imprisonment, using a sword from the Knights of Medhir, because their blades were forged by the Old Religion, he instantly started to attack Camelot."
He glanced at the aforesaid dragon before continuing the elucidation. "Gaius let Uther Pendragon know that in order to stop Kilgharrah from attacking the Kingdom, we needed a dragonlord. The King initially thought there was none such individual left until Gaius informed him that one survived and that his name was Balinor. In the light of such admission, Uther finally sanctioned the quest, although a bit reluctantly. It was then that I finally found who my father was, Gaius told me just before Arthur and myself left to search for Balinor. When we finally found him, on Cenred's territory,he'd been living in a cave like a hermit for nineteen years. Arthur was in a bad state as a consequence of an untreated wound he received from Kilgharrah, so our father healed him."
His sister decided to interrupt his story on account of the huge interest building up in herself, about what sort of person their father was and what kind of life he led. "Brother what kind of a man was our father, how did he end up living in such poor conditions?"
The Young Warlock suddenly had a lump in his throat and emotions of uneasiness and sadness started to emerge in his physiognomy.
His Winged Friend, being very observant, noticed Merlin's outer struggle to answer the question, so he resolved to do it instead for him. "Near the end of the Great Purge, Uther tricked him by asking him to bring me to him so he could broker peace. But the King clearly lied. I was imprisoned beneath Camelot and all dragonlords except Balinor were rounded up and slaughtered. Gaius helped Balinor escape and he lived in secret with Merlin's mother. During that time, they fell in love with each other, but even then Uther wouldn't let him live in peace, so he sent his knights to Ealdor, even though the aforenamed village lies outside of Camelot's border's, to hunt him down. Balinor was unfortunately, once again, forced to escape."
The lump in Merlin's throat was finally gone, and his mental strength was restored, so he cleared his throat to signal Kilgharrah that he is ready to be a narrator again of this sad and, in the end, tragic story. "At the outset, our father was rather aloof and was inclined kind of staunchly to let Camelot fall. It was only when he heard me bringing up Gaius' name while conversing with Arhur, that he had a change of heart and his demeanor changed towards the fate of Camelot and its citizens. Later we had a somewhat long conversation in which I divulged that he is my father. It was at that moment, after I disclosed this vital information, that he made known that he had a daughter named Morgause. Apparently, Balinor and your mother, Vivienne, had a brief affair, which resulted in you being born. I was beyond thunderstruck when I perceived such a colossal knowledge. I informed Balinor that we were somewhat acquainted but that our relationship was not friendly, to put it mildly. But when he practically begged me to find and relay his message to you, I agreed, for more than one reason. I always wanted an older sibling, and not to mention we both want to see magic wielders living freely in Camelot. Our methods may be different, but the goal is the same. Our father eventually agreed to accompany us back to Camelot, only to be killed by one of Cenred's men"
The Young Warlock's visage was tear-stained by the end of recounting how he met Balinor and the circumstances of his untimely death.
The Blonde Witch didn't fare any better. She was foaming at the mouth in rage, her eyes filled with tears.
Seeing her brother's shattered physiognomy, she tenderly enfolded him in her arms and gently stroked his tousled hair with the purpose to soothe him. He buried his face in her neck for a minute or two until he became serene once more.
When they broke the embrace, Morgause hissed through gritted teeth "Cenred will pay for this very dearly."
"Promise me he will die a painful death." Merlin beseeched his sister.
"Don't worry little brother, before death finally reaches him, he will wish that he never met me." The High Priestess assured him, a wicked grin written all over her face.
The aforesaid grin quickly became replaced with a lugubrious expression. A pregnant pause occurred before she admitted a rather bitter truth. "I deeply regret not finding him in time. It was unquestionably imprudent of myself to think that I would have ample time to get to know our father."
Merlin patently knew this is a moderately painful subject for his sister, given the misfortune of herself never meeting Balinor, so hesitation emerged in his interior but it swiftly diminished because fast-growing curiosity got the better of him. "Why didn't you reach out to him for all these years?"
The Blonde Witch flinched slightly before replying, self-directed anger and not-so-miniature embarrassment creeping on her visage. "I was just so angry that he never reached out to me, like I mentioned previously. I deluded myself into thinking that there would always be sufficient time to search for him. In time I became so immersed in my solemn duty to free magic in Camelot, that such a task took precedence over everything else in my life, even family. Sadly, now I will never get the chance."
The Young Warlock had nearly forgotten that in the inside pocket of his brown jacket there is a wooden figurine of a dragon. Balinor had carved two such items, one for him and the other for his sister.
"Our father firmly believed that you were killed in pursuit of all those who possessed the gift of magic, I think that is the reason he never sought you out," Merlin revealed in a somber tone, before he reached inside his pocket and handed her the figurine accompanied by a statement. "Balinor made one of these for both of us."
Before gently taking the figurine in her hands and holding it like it was the most precious object in the world, the High Priestess provided him with a soft and radiant smile. She followed it with words full of deep gratitude. "Thank you, Merlin. This means a great deal to me."
He reciprocated her with the, more or less, identical smile that was a clear gesture for 'you're welcome'. His sister deposited the dragon figurine inside the saddlebag before she once again sat down by the fire.
Naturally, Kilgharrah was conscious of the fact that Morgause was curious about what kind of life her brother lived so far. So, a somewhat creative idea formed in his mind that could most likely prove to be very illuminating by giving her a detailed cognizance into Merlin's life.
"I know you're interested in what's happened in your brother's life ever since he stepped foot in Camelot. I can help you with that." The Great Dragon addressed the Blonde Witch.
"How?" The High Priestess perked up at hearing those words, indeed she was very curious about what kind of life her little brother led.
Young Warlock also paid close attention to Kilgharrah's words, markedly interested in how this could come about.
Their Winged Ally answered in a serious tone. "Crystals in the interior of the Crystal Cave contain knowledge of past, present and future. Through scrying you will have the chance to view everything that has occurred, since the Young Warlock entered Camelot.
Merlin frowned, clearly having never heard of such a name, which engendered eagerness and curiosity in his inner self, to hear more about what was, from what he just learned, no doubt, a wonderful and magical place.
Carefully weighing between pumping for more knowledge or waiting for either of them to elucidate more about that place, he selected the latter.
A cheerful and much obliged grin shaped up on Morgause's face which was a body language for being tremendously intrigued by the Dragon's offer, not just for the abundantly craved chance to observe and learn more about the life of her newly found sibling but moreover for the opportunity to visit and explore the aforementioned Cave.
She noticed curiosity that was also gradually creeping in on her brother's physiognomy and chose to satisfy his unsaid wish for information. "I learned from one of my studies that it is the birthplace of magic itself. Kilgharrah is right, those crystals inside the Cave will allow us to view past events."
Merlin instantaneously became exuberant in prodigious measure, because he realized that in that Cave, his sister will be able to see first-hand everything that came about from the moment he arrived in Camelot, but at the same moment, he mentally face-palmed himself how he hadn't remembered in the first place, about experiencing almost the same type of magic before.
"Those crystals are similar to the Crystal of Neahtid then?" The Young Warlock questioned the twain, but more in a rhetorical way in view of the fact that he deeply sensed that his postulation was right on track.
He was aware that his sister had most likely heard of such a powerful and precious instrument of magic, her being High Priestess and all. And, as it happens, he had already conversed with Kilgharrah about it, the same day he came across the aforenamed Crystal.
The Dragon, being a venerable and insightful creature, anticipated Merlin would make the connection sooner or later, so his bearing didn't change in the slightest, but the Blonde Witch's reaction, eyes wide opened and astonished facial expression, to her brother's question was evidently noticeable.
"How did you find yourself in possession of the Crystal of Neahtid?" Morgause queried with the prior mentioned expression still lingering on her visage.
"The Crystal was locked away in the castle vaults. My guess is Uther took it upon himself to secure it because he feared it could be used against him in some way. To cut a long story short, since you will be able to see for yourself all the details of it in the Crystal Cave, there was a successful attempt to steal the Item. Besides, I'm quite bewildered that Morgana didn't inform you about it, since she played a huge role in it. In any case, the Crystal was later reclaimed by Arthur, and I was tasked to guard it. My attempt to resist its transfixing pull was ultimately in vain. It showed me a vision of Kilgharrah attacking Camelot. Needles to state, that version of the future came to pass," The Young Warlock reported, in a manner that visibly indicated he was pretty stressed about what befell with the previously mentioned instrument of magic.
The High Priestess's visage was entirely pensive for a minute or two. Truth be told, she was ruminating about what she had just discovered about her sister.
It was now, one could say, painfully obvious that Morgana wasn't entirely forthcoming about every single thing that occurred to her in relation to anything magical.
Furthermore, the Blonde Witch was aware she wasn't wholly truthful with her either, therefore it prompted a pang of guilt in her inner self, mostly concerning the fact she used her own sibling as a vessel for a sleeping spell without giving the Raven-Haired Witch all of the details of her plan, and that act of withholding the truth, unbeknownst to her at the time that particular event unfolded, had put Morgana in grave danger. After she disappeared with her sister, she was strongly blaming Merlin, but now she was fully aware it was unfair of herself to put all the blame on her brother.
Morgause rapidly canceled that train of thought, shelving it to discuss it later, preferably with her sister being present, as well.
Now was the time to focus on a far more pressing matters, for example, she was, now more than ever aware of the fact that her brother poisoned Morgana not out of malice, but because he was in the possession of the knowledge that to render the sleeping spell, null and void, the vessel had to die. Into the bargain, she strongly assumed Merlin deduced that Morgana was the key component for the prior mentioned spell.
The High Priestess internally prayed to the Triple Goddess, in an uncharacteristically humble way, because pride, for the major part, typified her personality, not humbleness.
She prayed that the rift created between her siblings, in time, would be able to be sealed.
There was one other thing that bugged her to a quite enormous extent. For what possible reason would Merlin make a decision to be dishonest with Morgana, to begin with? She had some small-scale inkling as to why her brother picked out such a course of action, yet this was a severe exigency, and she was yearning to hear the truth right from the Source.
"What I do not comprehend is why you never let Morgana know about your powers? She briefed me that you were privy to the fact that she has magic. How come you wouldn't trust your own kind?" The Blonde Witch quizzed in a tone laced with an abundant dose of curiosity, while eyeing him intently and hence noticing his small vince.
Kilgharrah caught sight of the dilemma, in which Young Warlock landed himself, written all over his phiz, so he decided to take the initiative and respond to her quizzing. "I believe I would be the one to take the majority of the blame in this particular situation."
Morgause raised an eyebrow, darting a curious gaze at him. "To what possible end would you advise Merlin to not be honest towards his own kin?"
The Great Dragon replied in a tone that was undeniably exhibiting this as a grave, and by no means, a joking subject. "The ancient prophecies speak of Morgana being a threat to Arthur's reign, but, fortunately for all of us, the situation is no longer the same. With Merlin's decision to seek you out, unveil the reality of you two being siblings and thus forge a peace between the pair of you, the circumstances are currently, one could affirm, more or less, completely reversed. The Young Witch needs to be brought into the circle of trust, the sooner the better."
Merlin furtively released a sigh of relief as a preparatory to the speech, which he had been preparing in his head ever since this heart-to-heart commenced.
"It wasn't just Kilgharrah, Gaius too advised me not to divulge to Morgana, that I also have the ability to cast spells. He almost rigidly assumed, for both her safety and mine, it would be better if I would permanently keep my mouth shut about it. But recalling the past now, it is crystal clear I should've been straightforward towards her from the beginning. A considerable number of tragedies, in all likelihood, would have been prevented. I will regret that for the rest of my life," The Young Warlock lamented, followed by a rueful smile.
After Merlin's wholehearted acknowledgment of regret, his recently discovered sibling chose to alleviate some of the burden weighing heavy on his shoulders.
The Blonde Witch knew it would be unfair for Merlin to take upon himself the grand total of the blame. She then remembered what she had previously been thinking about the fact that her brother arguably sensed the treachery she committed towards her sister.
"I will help you set things right with Morgana, plus I know you figured out that I deceived my sister by not telling her that she was the source of the enchantment that was putting the Camelotians to sleep. For that, I owe it to both of you to make amends." The High Priestess voiced out her solicitous wish to set the record straight, and all the while an encouraging and genuine grin danced on her face.
The Young Warlock nodded gratefully, sending her the most radiant smile he could muster.
As if the Dragon was actually psychic, and could see inside their minds, he anticipated their next move, word for word, almost verbatim.
"Morgause, I can give you the enchantment that will boost your telepathic abilities so it can reach your sister all the way to Camelot." Kilgharrah presented an unexcelled solution to their problem.
Because they were indeed racking their brains, trying to come up with the best possible way to send Morgana a message. Enthusiastic and broad smiles were plastered on both siblings' facial expressions. It was a sign, plain as day, of expressing gratitude.
"Step closer. I'm going to give you the previously mentioned telepathic enhancement via my breath. You will have a short window to reach your sister then." The Dragon explained in a calm but serious manner.
As the Blonde Witch approached him, Kilgharrah breathed a fine mist over her. She immediately felt her telepathic ability spike in large magnitude.
So she closed her eyes, concentrated on Morgana and sent her an explicit message 'to come to Darkling Woods, same meeting spot, at once, matter of life and death.'
In Camelot, Morgana was in her chambers, sitting on of the chairs inside, brushing her hair gingerly, almost ready to retire for tonight, when she, all of a sudden and rather unexpectedly, heard her sister's voice inside her head, leaving an unequivocal message, to meet Morgause at the same location as the last time.
Her mind was racing; how could she get out of Camelot at this late hour without raising even a small amount of suspicion? She quickly put on her red traveling cloak and snuck out of her room.