Disclaimer: I don't own Angel the Series or Merlin (BBC)

Thanks to deitclast, my beta-reader

The chapter is a bit disjointed, I'll agree, because in part I wasn't sure what to do with it. I did try to get some major plot points moved on, and I will be trying to do better at integrating episodes and the Illyria/Wesley angle, but they'll be more tangential for most of them.

The Ruins of My Kingdom To Come

By Alkeni

Chapter 6: Cornelius Sigan

In the month since the arrival of Wesley and the Lady Illyria in Camelot, Morgana's dream hadn't led to anything. The Lady Illyria generally remained in her chambers, while Wesley had taken to helping Geoffrey in the library, introducing him to some sort of new system of organizing the Royal Library. The Dewvi Desimol System, he called it? Merlin couldn't remember. Wesley promised it would make things much easier to find, but in the meantime, the place was a mess, much to Gaius' annoyance.

He had told Gaius about the power he'd felt coming off of Illyria, and Morgana's vision. Both things troubled Gaius, but he wasn't sure what to make of them. They didn't have enough information, and with the kind of power that Illyria was displaying, neither of them wanted to provoke her if she genuinely meant no harm – and the month she'd been here had shown no signs that she was plotting anything, or trying to influence Uther or anything even close.

When he reached Gaius', he found the physician unfolding some kind of parchment onto a cleared off table. "Ah, Merlin, there you are. Shut the door." He said. Merlin shut the door behind him, and reached for the parchment. Gaius slapped his hand away. "This map is at least two hundred years old. It must be handled carefully." He finished unfolding it, and it was indeed a map. "I knew the name Illyria sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember from where, so I put it aside. Yesterday, I was helping Geoffrey and Wesley when I found this map inside one of the books."

"Several hundred years ago, for quite a long time, the whole country was ruled by an Empire from points south known as Rome. This map was made from older maps of that Roman Empire. This spt here drew my eye, and you can see why." He pointed, and Merlin followed Gaius' finger with his eyes, reading the word.

"Illyria?" Merlin couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice. Who would name someone after a region in the world. The idea of naming someone 'Albion' for example...seemed absolutely absurd. "So you think she's named after this part of the world? Maybe from there?"

"Its possible. I'm not sure what it means, to be perfectly honest. But it is very odd. And there is a great deal more odd about the pair. Including what I believe to be a rather encyclopedic knowledge of magic and demons from Wesley."

"You think he can use magic? And...Demons? What are those?" The term sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it at all.

"I don't know if he can use magic, but his questions about the purge were insightful, to say the least. He knows the mechanics of it, to say the least." He started to fold the map back up as he kept speaking. "Demons are a kind of magical beast or creature. They're not very common here in Albion, but they are in other lands, they say. Beings of pure malevolence and destruction. They come in many varieties and forms. He was reading a work on the subject from the library – not that it was a very reliable text – and I'm quite confident he knew just how unreliable it was."

"What does it mean, though?"

"I haven't the slightest idea." Gaius replied softly.

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Merlin wanted to tear his hair out. This Cedric was driving him insane, and he was still trying to wrap his head around the power that the Lady Illyria had, and what they were up to. But with Cedric trying to take his job, he couldn't spare any time to focus on trying to keep an eye on the recent arrival. Especially since it was obvious Cedric was up to no good.

Apparently, his annoyance at Arthur's thickness, and his frustration with the entire situation showed all over his face as he walked into Gaius' chambers.

"What's wrong now?" The physician looked up from the large book he had been slowly paging through, and the piece of parchment in his hand.

Merlin set his bag on an empty table and sighed. "I saved Arthur's life, someone else got the credit. Just the usual." He saw the book and the parchment and approached. "What are you doing?" He came around the table to look.

"I found this inscription on the scepter." Gaius said, indicating the parchment.

"What language is that?"

"I don't know." Gaius admitted. "Sigan would have known many."

"Sigan?" The name rang no bells whatsoever for Merlin

"Its his tomb." Gaius said, as if stating the obvious.

"Who's he then?"

Gaius set the parchment down and looked at Merlin pointedly. "Merlin, he's the most powerful sorceror to have ever lived. You didn't grow up in Camelot, but for those of us that did, Cornelius Sagan was a figure of nightmare."

"Why?"

"Sigan's powers. He could change day into night, turn the tides, and legend has it-" Gaius cut himself off as someone knocked on the door. "Who is it?" He asked, standing up.

The now familiar, clipped tone of Wesley's voice came through. "Gaius. I was wondering if I might have a word with you."

"Come in." Gaius replied. Wesley opened the door and saw Merlin, but it didn't faze him. "I wanted to talk to you about the tomb that the King's men found underneath the castle-" He looked at the table and saw the writing on the parchment. "What's this." Before Gaius could stop him, he approached the table and picked up the parchment, examining it carefully. A look of surprise spread across his face. "Where did you find this?" He asked Gaius slowly.

"It was inscribed on a scepter in the tomb. Your tone – you recognize the language, don't you?"

"I do." Wesley replied, then muttered something in his native language. "I can't tell you exactly what it says – I'm not that familiar with it. I can tell you Three important things, however. One, this language is a variation of the Nakazian Demonic Script. Two, this word means 'inhabit to control'. Its usually translated to mean 'possess' however. And this word here is the verb 'to live again'. I honestly couldn't tell you what form the verb takes, or who is supposed to be living again. This is a rather sloppy version of Nakazian, to say the least."

"So I was right. You do know a great deal about demons." Gaius said, his voice somewhat accusatory. "You said you only knew legends and myths."

"Demons, vampires and other forces of darkness, yes." Wesley said. "Its what I've spent most of my life studying and fighting. And of course I lied. The situation warranted it." He said glibly. "What's more important is that you two are keeping just as much hidden. Such as the fact that you, Merlin, are a sorcerer of substantial power, albeit with untapped skill at the moment. And you, Gaius, have been hiding this. Or how about the fact that Morgana shows all the signs of a seer? Shall we sit down and discuss things?"

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Wesley couldn't help but smirk at the expressions on their faces. He hadn't been planning on revealing things like this so soon, but the discovery of the tomb moved the timetable up. While he hadn't had any specific reason to believe something bad was going to come out of the opening of the tomb, he knew full well that something bad was going to happen. Experience with this kind of thing came with a sort of cynical skepticism about strange and new occurrences.

"Oh, come now. Sleeping draughts? She's not suffering from any of the conventional sleep related disorders, and she radiates magical power." He sat down. "Let me put all my cards on the table, as it were." All the cards on the table. Like hell. "Illyria and I are indeed from a far away place called Los Angeles, but we didn't get here in any sort of conventional way, and we didn't have retainers that were killed by bandits. Out enemy was indeed a group of three beings – powerful demons with many minions and allies – known as the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart. We were engaged in a critical battle, when a spell that I cast went...well, it went horribly, horribly wrong, and Illyria and I ended up here. We had little time to come up with a cover story, I'll admit. Uther's hatred of magic made it easy to come up with something workable, however."

He raised a hand before either of them could speak. "I'm not finished yet. You'll want to know this. Illyria is..." he considered his words carefully. "Not entirely human. To be honest, I'm not sure what she is. But her abilities stretch beyond the human norm. she is stronger...faster...possesses incredible regenerative powers. If you stabbed her right through the middle with a sword – even if you could get through that armor of hers, and no, I'm not actually sure if it comes off or if its just part of her skin – she'd recover within minutes, if not sooner."

Gaius cut in before he could say anything more. "That is quite a fanciful tale. If its true, why are you telling us now?"

"Because I have enough experience to know that the discovery of long hidden tombs under castles is not a good thing. And because a demonic language was found inside that tomb." He sighed. "What I wouldn't give for my books right now. I could translate that completely." he looked at Gaius. "Whose tomb was it?"

"Hold on." Merlin cut in. "How can we know you're not a threat to Camelot?"

"You're not very bright are you, Merlin." Wesley drawled. "Or at least, your common sense is lacking." Gaius disguised – badly – his laughter with a cough. Merlin couldn't help but glare at the physician. "If we were a threat to Camelot or to Prince Arthur or even the King, wouldn't we act by now? We've done nothing nefarious because we have nothing nefarious to do."

"Then what is it that you want?"

"What do I want? I want some time in peace, to cope with a great deal of things, and work out a excess of aggression on demons and vampires, if I can find any. I want to stay here in Camelot for a while. As for Illyria? I couldn't possibly tell you what she wants. She's no doubt plotting how to take over the Kingdom and from there all of Albion, but she does that all the time. You have no reason to worry, as long as we and everyone else in Camelot is alive, that she'll actually try anything." Well, at least while I'm alive. I doubt she'd keep herself under control if I died suddenly. Unless she needed to for purely pragmatic reasons.

"That's oddly specific." Gaius noted.

"It is." Wesley replied. "And if either of you even think of turning us in, I'll make sure you burn for the use of magic, Merlin, and that Uther and Arthur die before we get subdued." He smiled. "Nothing personal towards you or them. Just good business." He laughed.

Gaius and Merlin just looked at eachother, expressions somewhere between shock, confusion and 'what the fuck?'

"You try that, and neither of you will make it as far as the stake to burn yourselves." Merlin said, no bravado in his voice.

"I believe that you'll do everything you can to make that happen. And I personally wouldn't want to place a bet on a fight between you and Illyria." He sighed. "Look, I want my stay here in Camelot to be a peaceful one, or at least one not spent worrying about you and what you'll do, and I imagine you'd rather have peace of mind about me as well. We've gotten the threats out of the way, correct?" Merlin nodded. "We both know where we stand. Perhaps you can judge Illyria and I, and if we pose a threat, by our actions?"

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Sigan in the body of the would-be thief Cedric stood at the center of the destruction his magic and his gargoyles had wrought, looking at Merlin, his voice calm beside the devasation, tone soothing, reasonable. "Does it? You're young, Merlin. Look inside yourself. You have yet to discover your true power. I can help you. Think, Merlin. To have the world appreciate your greatness. To have Arthur know you for what you are."

Despite himself, Merlin felt himself...almost pulled in by Sigan's words. Not just from what appeared to be a powerful personal charisma, but also the very fact that the words themselves were tempting. But...Merlin knew it couldn't be. As much as the idea was tempting...

"That can never be. " Not as long as I want to remain true to myself, and who I am.

"It can, if you join me. Together we can rule over this land. Arthur will tremble at your voice, he will kneel at your feet." Sigan countered, still trying to sell his line to Merlin. Does he mean it...or is he planning to back-stab me the moment it becomes convenient? Merlin wondered idly. He opened his mouth to speak, but someone else did before he could.

"I'm afraid that your plans and mine are not compatible." Both sorcerers turned to the right to see Illyria approaching through the rubble. "Either you will give up on them, or you will be cast aside as a carcass. Make up your mind, Cornelius Sigan."

"Who are you, woman, to make such bold threats against me?"

"I am Illyria." She said, taking a step forward. "I am far more than your petty human form and mind can comprehend. I walked this earth when it was still young, when you and your kind were nothing more than the muck at my feet. Your gargoyles have injured my Qwa'ha Xahn, and for that, you will pay in blood and flesh."

"I am Illyria. God-King of the Primordium, and you, Cornelius Sigan, are my enemy. That is not a place you want to be."

Sigan laughed. "Bold words, 'God-King'!" He mocked. "But I have conquered death. I am immortal!"

"Nothing is immortal, Sigan." Illyria somersaulted the distance between them, coming up to drive her fist right through his skull. Cedric's head exploded, gore splattering everywhere.

"You didn't have to kill him! That wasn't Sigan's body!"

"The body of the host would not have survived any method of removing Sigan from it. You may cast your spell now, warlock. I presume you came here to face this one with one in mind." Before Merlin could say anything else, she turned around and jumped, landing on an upper balcony, and entering the castle from there.