Alaia Skyhawk: Ok, pre-publish check-list: Cover art flaw fixed? Yep... Website rebuilt? From scratch, looks great, pity can't put it live yet... Proof copy fully read and edits made? In progress. Need to bug mother to hurry up and finish checking it.

Yeah, I'm on track for a September release of my book. When in September that will be though, remains to be seen. My website has seen a major overhaul. Due to the masses of spam I've had in the past through the guest book, I've removed that from the site and now just have a contact form. I may integrate a guest book back into it at some time in the future, though. I may also add a blog section, but I need to look into the html coding involved in automating the updates of that to make it easier for myself if I do.

Well anyway, on with the chapter :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

Music: Hear Our Prayer (Yuki Kajiura)

"Whom History Won't Remember" Episode: N/A

~(-)~

Chapter 72: Support ~Part 3~

"Pay attention, Merlin. The last thing you need is is to cut your own head off."

Merlin winced, correcting his hold on his sword and adjusting his stance. Six days of disturbed sleep, and hours on end of researching, had left him tired and not exactly as alert as he needed to be for this practice session. He was just lucky Leon was so good with a blade, because otherwise he'd probably have hurt himself already.

"Sorry."

He made the next swing of the drill, only for his sword to whistle through empty air when Leon took a step back and regarded him.

The knight sheathed his sword, frowning.

"I think it's best you call it a day at that. You're clearly not focused on this, and if you're not then it's pointless. Is something bothering you?"

Merlin sighed, sheathing his own blade and grimacing. At least he had several believable excuses to pick from. He'd learnt a while ago that things he said to Leon during these mornings, stayed with Leon. The knight never spoke to anyone about things the servant confided in him, not even Arthur. It supposedly was some unspoken Knight's Code thing or something, or at least that's what he suspected. Or it could just be Leon being nice, which given he was one of the most decent nobles he knew, Merlin had no trouble believing.

"I'm just worn out from running around after both Arthur and Gaius. Gaius makes sure I earn my keep, seeing as he's given me his spare room, and the prince tends to mound me with extra chores without warning me."

Leon moved to the nearby castle wall, turning and leaning against it with a rattle of chainmail.

"I'm surprised the prince doesn't give you more time to yourself. Compare your duties to those of say, the Lady Morgana's maid, or even the king's servants, and you do considerably more. Especially if you include your work for the Court Physician, in addition to accompanying Prince Arthur on some patrols."

Merlin shrugged, unbuckling his sword and tugging his basic chainmail up over his head to get its weight off his shoulders.

"I make time, when I get the chance. But the studies of ancient languages, and herbs, tend to eat into a lot of that. I got tied down an entire afternoon once, when Gaius decided to give me an extended lesson on the basics of human anatomy."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he hopes you'll succeed him as Court Physician someday."

Leon watched as the servant turned an interesting shade of red, before Merlin started to splutter and shake his head.

"Oh no, no. No way. I may know some of the basics of medicine, and a fair bit of herb lore, but that does not mean I want to be a physician. Seriously, it's not something I think I have a talent for."

The knight smiled a little, amused.

"And so where do you think your talents lie?"

Merlin went very quiet, staring at him, before eventually he sighed.

"I don't know. I guess I haven't figured that out yet."

Leon's smile widened slightly.

"Well when you do, I expect our prince and everyone else will be surprised."

Merlin had to fight not to laugh at that massive understatement. Yeah, it was going to surprise a lot of people.

"Maybe. Thanks for practicing with me again, Sir Leon."

It's fine, I came down to practice anyway, and so might as well take advantage of an available sparring partner.

The knight walked back into the castle, the warlock watching him go. It might have been lost on him at first, but he suspected now that Leon's convenient change of routine wasn't really so coincidental. He'd believed at first that Leon always came down here to practice on this particular day each week, but some discrete snooping since then had revealed he'd used to come the day before. This had the marks of Arthur written all over it, but if the two of them wanted to keep it quiet and not admit it, he would play along.

Merlin sighed, going back into the castle himself and dumping his gear in his rooms. He had just enough time to freshen up and change into clean clothing before racing off to get Arthur his breakfast, and as soon as the prince was gone he'd cheat at his chores again. But today... Today would hopefully be the last time for a while. With any luck, after tonight he'd finally get some decent sleep again.

He glanced over to his now cleared table, no longer was it covered with books. There was just one small pile of notes tied into a scroll to one side, and on the floor was the bag he'd be using tonight to carry everything.

Merlin came out of his room, ignoring Gaius' concerned frown while eating his breakfast, and hurrying out as soon as he was done. Tonight, he'd either be rid of the Mage Stone or he wouldn't, and no amount of Gaius worrying about him overreaching himself was going to stop him from trying.

The day progressed just like any other ordinary day, except for one point where he stopped in an alcove to watch Gwen pass by. She still had sadness in her eyes for the loss of her father, but there was a stern resolve there too. She was going to keep moving forward with her life, she wasn't going to give in to grief and pain.

Seeing her strengthened his own resolve, even as his nerves grew over the course of the day. By the time he'd taken Arthur's supper tray back to the kitchens, he was fit to tremble from them. But he didn't allow himself to, he hadn't spent the past six days working on all this for nothing.

When he arrived back at Gaius' chambers, the physician was already packing the stones and simple tools his ward was going to need. That was the one main surprise from the research, that such a powerful undertaking would require so little, but then it only highlighted how much of it would depend on the sorcerer attempting it.

Heading into his room and coming out with the scroll of notes and the Mage Stone, Merlin put them into the bag and shouldered it.

Gaius watched him, his concern for his ward even more evident than it had been earlier.

"Merlin, are you really sure you want to try this? You'll be manipulating a part of the magic of the land itself, and I don't think I need tell you the risks. With all the books you've read this past week, you know."

Merlin sighed.

"I know, a lot of those who tried it ended up with their magic crippled for the rest of their life. But I'm not a normal warlock, Gaius, my magic is so natural to me that it's like I'm part of the land anyway. That has to count for something."

The two of them regarded each other in silence, before the physician stepped forward and held him close in worry.

"Just be careful, and make sure you come back in once piece. I'll be waiting until you do."

His ward stepped back from him and smiled, saying nothing as he headed for the door with a wave of his hand. Outside it he let his calm façade crumble, biting his lip at the edge of fear he felt inside. but then Gwen's resolved expression came back to mind, and he set off down the tower without any further hesitation.

Getting out of the city was easy, as always. It was dark, but not quite late enough for the guards to be on high alert yet. Getting back in would be more of a challenge, but he'd deal with that when he got that far.

Once clear of the city, Merlin looked back at it. It was strange to think how much Camelot felt like home now. He really couldn't imagine himself living anywhere else. Yes it had its flaws and shadows, it's dark secrets and hidden regrets, but there was so much light as well. It wasn't hard to imagine himself living here in the future, with Arthur as king and magic accepted again. It was a dream worth taking risks for.

He closed his eyes, settling his mind into silence so he could sense the ley lines, setting off once he'd confirmed the direction of the small convergence he was going to use. It was on one of the big ley lines that met up at the Lake of Avalon, and while that one felt like a river, the two that merged with it were little more than streams. But hopefully that would be enough, for like he'd said to Gaius, the Mage Stone wasn't all that big. He didn't need a big place to hide it.

Merlin arrived at the convergence just over an hour after leaving the city, immediately clearing the leaves from the ground above it with a flick of magic. He then set down his back, pulling out a plain wooden rod and starting to draw a series of concentric circles into that bare earth by the light of a little glowing ball he'd conjured. Then, after consulting his notes, he started to draw runes into each band those circles formed, leaving the middle empty but for a little star-shaped mark to indicate the centre.

His nerves were returning as he pulled three small pouches out of his bag. The first contained small shards of agate, which he set one-by-one on the outermost runes to ensure the balance of the ritual and help it to focus. The other two contained chips of clear quartz and small pebbles of copper, which he placed alternately on the runes of the next circle in, to assist in amplifying and channelling the energy of the spell. Lastly, in a pouch around his neck, he hung a small piece of amber he wasn't about to ask how much Gaius had paid for. It was flawless, perfectly clear without any intrusion of leaf or insect, and he'd given it to him for its protective qualities when used for magic. He'd given it to help him stay safe.

Biting his lip anxiously, the spell-circle complete, Merlin carefully moved to the centre of it and stood over the star-shaped mark there. This was the moment of truth, when he'd find out if his research had paid off, or if the lack of any real magic books on this topic would mean he'd failed to find some key part needed for this. All he could do now was take a deep breath and try.

Merlin closed his eyes, holding his arms out to the sides, forcing himself to keep his words clear and steady. This wasn't so much a regular spell, it was more of a chant. Two phrases to repeat over and over, while calling to the magic and hoping it would work.

"Cume brimlada drylic, ablinde me gefriodhsum ait. Me hrine aleon thu me aergestreon, me hrine amhain afeorse se. Cume brimlada drylic, ablinde me gefriodhsum ait..."

The runes of his circle started to smoke, as he gritted his teeth and pushed down on the convergence of the ley lines beneath his feet, still chanting the spell over and over. The ley themselves seem to stretch, resisting the pull, fighting him and protesting. In his mind, Merlin could feel his grip slipping from them frighteningly quickly. Didn't the magic understand how important this was? Didn't it understand that he wouldn't be asking this if he didn't believe it was what was best for everyone? He continued to grit his teeth, the blackening of the runes progressing further and further in towards the centre of the circle, until he caught the faint smell of hot leather from his boots and his chant broke off into a shouted plea.

"Lystan!"

He jolted, feeling the oddest thing. It was like a voiceless scolding and a sigh, as if the magic of the land were saying 'Why didn't you just say that in the first place?'

The runes cease to smoulder, instead glittering silver the sight of his now open eyes, and with a shiver up his spine he felt the ley lines move and settle as the runes then went dark. He looked down at his feet, sensing what he couldn't see, and with great caution against hoping too soon he went and got the Mage Stone from his bag and returned to the centre of the circle with it.

The stone glowed in his grasp, almost like a rebuke against being cast out of reach from the world, before he dropped it over the star mark and it vanished into thin air. He could still sense it, sense the tiny space within the power of the ley where it now resided. Here in a place where the Old Magic would let no one but him take it back.

The tension suddenly flowed out of him, Merlin almost collapsing in relief as he quickly gathering up the stones he'd used and packed them back into his bag. He then used his magic to erase his spell circle and re-cover the area with dead leaves, trudging away through the forest unaware of just how exhausted he was. He didn't yet realise it, but was was only his magic and his resolve keeping him on his feet.

It was after hearing a faint thud outside his chamber door that Gaius found him, slumped fast asleep where he'd dropped just inches from the threshold. The physician quickly bringing him inside and settling him for the night. After all his efforts, Merlin deserved to rest.

~(-)~

The following morning it was a considerable headache that woke Merlin up, followed immediately by a degree of confusion. He was in Gaius' bed, and even before he could say anything the physician handed him a small cup with some wierd smelling liquid in it. He gulped it down with a grimace, knowing it was for the headache probably written all over his face, and his mentor swiftly replaced the small cup with a larger mug filled with soup.

"You've still a little while before you need to go to work. How did it go last night? You didn't have the stone with you when you when I found you on the stairs, so I'm guessing you must have done something."

Merlin took a sip from the mug, responding with a small smile.

"I did it, I put it where no one but me can get it ever again. I think I annoyed the magic though, the magic of the land."

Gaius tilted his head, curious.

"And what makes you say that?"

Merlin looked a little sheepish.

"It resisted me until I said 'please'."

Gaius stared at him for several seconds, before immediately starting to chuckle.

"Only you, Merlin. Only you... Hurry up and drink that soup, and I'll make you something to help you stay awake today."

He moved away from the bed, Merlin watching him as he started to mix another no doubt horrid-tasting potion. But still, he had to smile feeling both happy and sad. Having Gaius, having him as a father-figure in his life, he felt lucky. But at the same time it also helped him understand how Gwen must feel right now. If it ever came that he lost Gaius, would he be as strong as Gwen had been? Would he ever be able to face it like she had? He wasn't sure, but he didn't dwell on it. After all, it wasn't something he was likely to have to deal with any time soon.

~(-)~

Alaia Skyhawk: Foreshadowing! (Evil grin) Apologies for the slow updates this week, as you can guess from my little blogs in my author notes, I've been spending a lot of my writing time working on things for the launch of my book. Things should return to normal over the next few days, seeing as I've got most of that work done now :)

And here's the translation of the spell Merlin used. I doubt you need me to tell you what "lystan" means.

"Come paths of magic, become my safe place. My touch gift you my ancient treasure, my touch only take it. Come paths of magic, become my safe place."