OMG 200 REVIEWS!: I genuinely can't believe it! Always thought that my story would have been one of those ones that gets a couple of reviews at first but then shrinks back away by chapter three : ) But no, I totally underestimated you gorgeous, beautiful, fantastic, lovely, stunning, amazing, utterly fabulous people who read and review my stories without fail!

A big thanks to serial blogger, Niyin, Glimfire, lord starlight, Magic Cabbage, Sangita, Neyah444, SilverMoonEyes23, van-maniac and loaadddsss of other dazzling people out there who have made me soo happy! Most of these people have been following this story from day one and have made me grin so much I've thought my dimples were going to be embedded in my brain ;D So thanks again to everyone who have read and reviewed this story!

OK, stupidly-long thank you speech over! x

Author's Note: Okay guys, these chapters are going to start getting longer so beware! This chapter shows just what sort of an army Emrys is planning to build up here. I thought that maybe some of the travelling and riding scenes got a bit tedious and the conversation Emrys has with a certain magical creature may be a bit abrupt and short : / Right, please review and let me know if things got a bit longwinded or if you really liked it : ) Thanks everyone! x

Disclaimer: I still do not own any characters of Shine and the BBC's TV programme Merlin (wish I did!) but any added characters and plotlines were completely my genius! All mistakes and splelnig errrors are also my own, which are not so genius…

Chapter Forty Four

Perilous

Emrys had been gone for a while. She gazed down at the large map stretched in front of her. She and Emrys had been scouring it before for 'places they would have to stop off'. Emrys had said they needed an army but Ceira hadn't quite anticipated the scale of this army. About half an hour before, he had told her he was going to go and get some supplies for the journey. Ceira didn't know exactly what sort of supplies they would need but he had let him go anyway.

"So what do you think? Which one do you want?" Emrys' voice came unexpectedly from behind. Ceira whipped round and stared at him. But as soon as she saw what he was talking about her face broke into a wide grin.

"They're beautiful," Ceira breathed.

"They're both geldings so you can pick whichever one you want. This is Kelpie and this is Griffin." He gently shook the reins of each of them in turn, showing her which was which. Harnessed to the reins were two stunning, black geldings. The one that he had indicated as Griffin had a glossy black coat and small white star half-hidden by his neat forelock.

Meanwhile, Kelpie was completely different. Although he was also inky black, he had no white markings, and even if he did you wouldn't be able to see them beneath his huge forelock that flopped over his eyes and halfway down his face. His overgrown mane hung way past his neck along with his tail that brushed the ground as he stood there. Floor-length feather lined his hooves and he had deep dark eyes, just like her own. They were both so alike but different at the same time. But there was something about Kelpie that Ceira couldn't take her eyes off. She stroked her fingers gently over his nose and he whickered softly. Ceira tilted her head and looked at him.

"I love them both but I think I'll take Kelpie," Ceira said, smiling as the horse began to lick her fingers fondly.

"OK then Griffin. It looks like you're stuck with me," Emrys sighed, patting the horse's neck.

"Where did you get them from?" she asked taking Kelpie from him and starting to tie him to a nearby tree.

"I don't think Camelot will notice if it's missing a couple of it's horses," Emrys replied casually. Ceira was sure that a sly grin flashed over Emrys' face beneath that hood.

"I'm guessing that you learnt their names from their stable doors then?"

"Yep."

Ceira smiled and shook her head.

"So what are we taking on this journey then?" Ceira asked, rolling up the map handing it to Emrys. Emrys tucked it beneath his cloak and shrugged.

"To be honest I can't think of anything we would need. Oh, wait a second." Emrys ducked into the hideout and was back out again straight away. He was tucking something else into his cloak but didn't make any indication to what it was. "Well let's get going then." Emrys lead Griffin into the middle of the clearing and mounted him with ease, taking up the reins and adjusting the stirrups which Emrys must have stolen with the horses. Ceira did the same, lining Kelpie up next to Griffin and swinging herself up onto his back in one swift movement. She untangled the reins from Kelpie's mane and settled herself in the saddle. She nodded at Emrys to let him know she was ready to go. Emrys nodded back and murmured the spells to let them back out of the force field. Ceira gently kicked Kelpie into a trot and then a long-strided canter. Emrys lead the way in front, sitting comfortably on Griffin's lively canter. Soon they were weaving their way through the trees as though they had owned these horses for years.

"First stop, the Mountains of Isgard," Emrys called back.

Lancelot struck down one of the new guards for the umpteenth time. He lay upon the ground uselessly. Lancelot sighed and slid his eyes up to the sky.

"Come on then, one more time. I'll even blindfold myself, so you'd better get me," Lancelot said exasperatedly. As he crossed the field he passed Leon who was also trying to put one of the new guards through their paces. By the looks of it, Leon wasn't having much more luck than Lancelot. Leon looked up at Lancelot and rolled his eyes tediously. Lancelot nodded in agreement. These guards really had to up their game or they wouldn't have a chance on the battlefield. That was if they were training to go on the battlefield. Everyone had been left in the dark a little after Arthur had told them that morning that they had to prepare themselves as best they could and would have to work harder than they ever had before. Despite this he had said nothing about why they had had to do all this or what it was all for.

Lancelot grabbed the blindfold from the side of the field and held it up to his eyes. He tied it behind his head and held up his sword in front of him.

"OK, come on then. Don't worry about hurting me, just do your best." Lancelot swayed on the spot waving his sword gently in front of him awaiting someone to take a swing. Sure enough Lancelot heard running footsteps from behind him. Lancelot swung round and blocked the swipe which made an echoing clang ring out over the field. He blocked another and another, ducking a couple of times and even doing a forward roll over the ground and springing back up behind his opponent. Lancelot attacked with a couple more swings which were just about blocked in the last second. Lancelot could sense his opponent running out of options. There were a few more swipes and stabs before Lancelot ended the fight by kicking the guard to the ground and taking off his blindfold. Lancelot opened his mouth to scold the guard for not having quicker reactions but then decided not to.

"We've got a lot more work to do with you," he sighed simply.

The horses both slowed to a walk after a lengthy distance of canter. They both stretched down their necks and let the cool winter air flow over them. Emrys looked up through the trees ahead. He craned his neck further when he saw there was a gleam of daylight ahead. The sunlight had been finely filtered through the canopy above so they had been in half-darkness for the past hour. Ceira had noticed the light too as she came up beside him and smiled across at him.

"So, what exactly are we going to be doing in the Mountains of Isgard?" Ceira asked.

"We're going to be visiting a couple of the residents there. I know of groups of… people who could help us in our endeavours. You'll see when we get there," Emrys said briefly. He didn't want to reveal too much yet. She would see what he was talking about soon.

After about five minutes of slow walking they emerged from the forest and they finally felt the breeze back on their faces, even if it was icy cold and stung their skin. Emrys encouraged Griffin to speed back up to a canter. Griffin reluctantly obeyed and strode out through the tall grass that they now rode through. Ceira followed, Kelpie talking long strides behind. The Mountains of Isgard were soon within view, their peaks looking like shards of mirror stabbing up through the ground. The light reflected off the snowy summits and shone in the winter light. It took Emrys' eyes a couple of moments to adjust to the bright light before he could fully focus on them. He surveyed the land that still lay ahead that they would soon have to cross to reach the mountains. It was a considerable ride but if they kept up the pace they should be able to reach the bases in about two hours.

"We're going to climb those?" Ceira exclaimed. Emrys smiled.

"No. The people we want to find live at the base of the Northern Mountain which is the closest to where we are now," he heard Ceira breathe a thankful sigh of relief,

"but if we're going to get there any time soon we're going to have to speed up a bit," he called back. "Come on Griffin, just a bit faster," he murmured in the horse's ear. The gelding snorted unenthusiastically but accelerated into a gallop. Emrys sensed Kelpie speed up too, eager to follow his leader. Emrys readied himself for a high speed run across the grassy plains that lay before him.

The towering mountains cast a freezing shadow over whoever got too close to them, as if they though that if they transferred their iciness to those who passed, they would be able to get some of their warmth back. The grass that they had been galloping across for the past two hours was beginning to shrink away the further they walking into the shadow. Spying a thin path leading in between two of the smaller mountains. It looked like with one blow of the wind the peaks on either side would collapse in and block the way. Despite how treacherous it may look, they would have to follow it as it was the only visible way round to the base of the Northern Mountain. Emrys spurred his horse on between the mountains. Ceira followed reluctantly. Pebbles became dislodged at the top of the cliffs and came tumbling down, the clatter echoing round all of the mountains for what seemed like an age. Griffin's ears twitched round in every direction nervously. Emrys squeezed him on, not wanting to stay for any longer than he had to. The further they travelled down the path, the narrower it seemed to grow. It twisted this way and that, winding its way round the cliffs. Just as Emrys thought the path would get so narrow it would cease to exist, it bent abruptly round to the left. He heard Ceira breathe in sharply at the scene that may in front of them. It was a sort of well in between the mountains, about the size of the jousting arena but in a circular shape. All of the snow off the surrounding cliffs had gathered in the dip in the land in the bottom to make the ground coated in it. But the really terrifying things were the creatures that were perched around the edge of the clearing. They were everywhere, glaring down from every available perch and prowling around the ground, their feet sinking into the snow as they moved. They were fearsome looking creatures, every pair of amber eyes falling upon them threateningly as they entered the clearing. They had the head, front half of the body, front legs and wings of an eagle and the back half of the body, back legs and tail of a lion. Their feathers gleamed from the snow reflecting the light onto them and their tails flicked uneasily. They were Griffins. Emrys' horse, oblivious to their matching names, was still extremely nervous and was very reluctant to step forwards. There was a second of each side sizing up the other in silence. Emrys decided he'd better step forward or the Griffins may think that they were threatening them. Emrys squeezed his horse encouragingly forwards. Unwillingly, Griffin moved forward to confront the beasts. Emrys could feel every eye in the clearing boring into him, including Ceira's. Unexpectedly, one of the Griffins stepped forward also and held its head high to establish itself as the leader. Emrys bowed his head slightly without breaking eye contact with the creature, its golden eyes not escaping his gaze.

"Íc béon Emrys, sé alor drýcræftiga ond mín æfenhlytta, Ceira. Hwæne sayt ðu?" Emrys spoke clearly. The Griffin tilted its feathered head a little and opened its hooked beak.

"Íc béon Sorgian, sé béotmæcg sylfum þisne áhafennes. Hwá gescéadnes óu áscian?" Sorgian (the Griffin's name) hissed in a screechy voice.

"Mé duguþ cuman æt ábiddan ár frofor æt wíghryre Arthur Pendragon. Wé béon æfesn bæt æscplega wiðer Camelot. Ælfsogoða ðu áfégan?" Emrys waited apprehensively for an answer. Had he been to hasty to think that the Griffins would help him? After all, they weren't the best of friends with humans. Although, he wasn't any ordinary human and they seemed more lenient towards sorcerers. The Griffin's eyes flashed as it thought. When it seemed to have come to a decision it took a step closer.

"Lé þæs Griffins ælfsogoða frófor ðu ond úre æfenhlytta, Emrys," Sorgian uttered. Emrys breathed a silent sigh of relief. Emrys bowed low over his horse, again not breaking the gaze.

"Ôu ælfsogoða ne béon aþwát, Sorgian. On sé éower dæg wé ælfsogoða áflygennes," Emrys added before turning Griffin from the clearing and retreating back past Ceira. She was looking completely bewildered at all that had just happened but followed obediently.

As soon as they had turned the corner, Ceira unleashed her questions.

"What was all that about? Who was that? What did you ask? What are they going to do? What even are they anyway?" Ceira asked, completely perplexed.

"They are Griffins. That was their leader, Sorgian. I asked them whether they would help us to defeat Arthur. They said they would. They have had run-ins with Arthur in the past. Fatal ones," Emrys said sombrely.

"Why? What happened?"

"The Griffins' former leader, Hawkre, was killed. He was killed by Arthur. Sorgian was the second dominant so he has taken over as leader. They have pledged revenge against Arthur ever since," Emrys explained. Ceira was silent for a second, soaking up all this information.

"So now they're going to help us," she concluded.

"Hopefully. He said that he and an army would meet us at Camelot in two days time, so we'd better get a move on," replied Emrys.

They reached the end of the path and were back out into the open once more. Emrys halted Griffin and pointed across the field towards a cluster of trees in the distance.

"That's our next stop. The Forest of Balor," Emrys said to Ceira. Ceira stopped Kelpie and followed Emrys' gesture.

"How far away is it?" Ceira queried, squinting and trying to judge the distance for herself.

"At least three hours but we're going to make it in one," Emrys said, spurring Griffin on into a canter. Ceira grinned and shook her head. She squeezed Kelpie into a canter also and followed Emrys across the field.

Author's Note: Yep, bit of a long one this one : ) Hope you liked though! Review and let me know if you did? x