Chapter 6

A/N: Hello, thank you all for the reviews, you guys are amazing. So, this chapter may have a sudden start. And no Falcon Feast. Sorry?

Enjoy.

It was Merlin's birthday and the day of the feast. He was just about to depart to Camelot and asking Mother Earth for power he did not yet have when something in him shifted. Painfully.

Molten gold coursing through his veins, hot like a fire. Tendrils of the liquid fire licked his mind and heart, burning him. 'Help me,' he cried, 'please, someone help me! It burns. Gaius, Mother, Arthur, Gwen! Father, Aithusa, Kilgarrah, please! Help me! It hurts so much- I'm burning! The fire- it's eating me- please! Help me, please! Kilgarrah- the fire! Please... Help me...'

'Merlin? Merlin? I will! I will. Merlin...'

Merlin fainted.

When he came to, it was to a very familiar face. ' You always manage to surprise me, young warlock', Kilgarrah said smiling down upon him, 'Though I must say I am happy to be surprised by you once more. The world thought you dead and it was indeed an empty world'. Merlin, overjoyed to see an old friend, jumped up and ran towards the Dragon to run his nuzzle against his chest: 'Kilgarrah! I am so glad to see you!', he barked. Kilgarrah let out a loud booming laugh. 'And I you, my kin!' he said fondly and he lowered his head. They stayed contently in this strange embrace for a while, until, with a solemn sigh, Kilgarrah raised his head again. 'I felt your change and heard your plea for help. The fire you felt, were your Dragonlord-powers returning to you. These powers are not meant to course through inhuman blood, and your wolf-body reacted violently. As soon as I heard your cry, I tried to dampen the pain, but that would mean dampening your powers. As I am a servant to your powers, I could not lessen your pain. For that, I am sorry'.

'Don't be', Merlin said to him, 'You came, didn't you? I couldn't be more grateful. With you, at least, I can talk. With Arthur, I couldn't. It would hurt us both too much. He is better off thinking I am dead, than a wolf. He doesn't need me anyway. He has accepted Magic and is a great king. He is fulfilling his destiny without me. He doesn't need me anymore'. He sounded more like he was convincing himself, and failing miserably. The Great Dragon shook his head: 'You and I both know that is not true. You need each other, your destinies lie together. Even I, distant as I am from your life in Camelot, know that you are each other's rock. Your friendship balances you. It still does'. Merlin knew this. Why else did he have this bond with Arthur, why else did Arthur visit his gravestone? They still cared, and missed each other dearly.

'You are not very surprised your powers returned to you, young warlock. Why is that?'

'Today, a great feast will be held in Camelot', Merlin said, 'The ban on magic will be officially lifted. I overheard Arthur saying it was secretly in my honor, as it is my birthday, and he wished I could be there. I promised myself I would. I think he will reveal who I really was and what I have done for Camelot. To have recognition for my sacrifices... I wouldn't miss it for the world. But I will need a lot of magic to witness the feast without being seen. So I asked Mother Earth to give me as much magic as I needed. To show her why, I connected her to my bond. Drawing magic from the land is easier if you ask her help nicely. She must have thought I would need you' .

Kilgarrah stared at him for a long moment. Then he said, with a thoughtful hum: 'Indeed...'. Merlin frowned. 'Kilgarrah?' 'Mother Earth, as you call her, knows of your destiny now? She knows you will bring her peace and a Golden Era should you be rejoined with your other half?', Kilgarrah asked. 'I guess', Merlin answered bewildered, 'Kilgarrah, what-?'. Kilgarrah laughed long and loud- a happy, victorious sound Merlin had not heard before. His old friend sounded so young and free, Merlin guessed this was what one could hear in the clouds above Albion long before the Great Purge- when Dragons and their young Dragonlords soared through the high blue skies just for the thrill of it. He remembered wishfully the first time he had sat upon Kilgarrah's back and flown.

'It seems, Merlin, Mother Earth has given you exactly what you and her, both, want and need', the Great Dragon answered him. 'You're talking in riddles again, Kilgarrah!' Merlin scolded. 'On the contrary, it is clear as day. The land whishes you to fulfill your destiny. For that, you have to become human again'. He continued:

'She has helped you by telling you where to look, but she has not helped you any further. She wants you to succeed yourself. Mother Earth is a mother indeed!' If that was how a mother worked, then truly Kilgarrah was one as well, Merlin thought amused. Then his mind kicked in and Merlin's legs gave out. He sank to the ground, astounded and hopeful. 'I can become human again?' he whispered. No. He couldn't, could he? Not without anyone dying. The change had cost the sorcerer his life, but not only the sorcerer's.

Merlin had once scent a trail of wrong magic on a hunt, and followed it. He had found a round area, half a mile in diameter, which all other animals avoided and where nothing grew anymore- a scar in the earth that reeked of death and black magic. At the center of it, he had found the bones of an enormous wolf, the sorcerer's remains. Merlin could feel nothing but pity for the deluded man, but was angry at the price his delusion had cost nature. Merlin would not allow such destruction, not ever.

'No. How could I change back, without anyone or anything dying? The change... It costs too much. I have seen it. There is not enough power...' Then, Merlin figured out Mother Earth's clues. 'I need you, don't I? A Dragon is, after all, the most powerful magical creature'. To which Kilgarrah replied: 'And you are the most powerful warlock. Yet, there is more power needed to change you harmlessly.'

'More power?, Merlin yelled, 'What other power is strong enough? Life, the Earth? I refuse to hurt my Mother, be she my mother in blood or otherwise!'

'No one shall be hurt!' Kilgarrah thundered. Then he calmed and said: 'Think, my Lord'.

Merlin thought. Then he said: 'When Arthur was beside me and slept close to me in the cave, I felt complete. I felt more powerful than I had ever felt before, as the bond between us was sated. You were right. Destiny is the greatest force, and a shared one even more so. We must get close to Arthur, or him close to us. Then, maybe, if the gods are willing and Fate smiles down upon us, we shall see if the powers of a shared destiny and its herald are enough to change me back' .

'I have taught my pack not to attack humans if not threatened first, and the wards I have set around the cave would hold after my death- I am certain they will hold after I am changed. The previous Alpha shall be given back his place in the pack before I leave. My pack will be safe and led well; I will not have to worry for them. Both my family in Camelot and my pack in its forest shall be protected. That is nothing less than what I wish. Tonight, I hope I shall have it'.

Merlin had the strange feeling he finally was acting as the true stuff of legends, as Emrys. And, ever himself, he broke the tension by saying : 'Well then, it'll be quite a busy night!'

Merlin had no idea how true that statement was.