Okay all, thanks to everyone who reviewed and added me to their alerts and faves lists. I really appreciate it. I hope you all enjoy this next chapter.
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The Influence of Hades.
Chapter 2 – Covenant.
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Arthur couldn't believe that Merlin was dead. It was something that didn't fit right. The others seemed to be completely silent. None of them knew what to do. It was still far too strange for any of them to cope with. Time seemed to have sped by quickly, without them realising it, as it was now nearly sundown. Arthur was still holding onto the limp form of his friend.
"We... we need to get him back to Camelot." Arthur said softly. The others made to move towards Arthur and Merlin when they heard a crack of a twig. Arthur had hold of his sword hilt within seconds. They were extremely shocked when they saw the cloaked figure approaching. Arthur recognised the emerald green cloak without question. He glared as the hooded figure revealed herself quickly enough. Morgana and Arthur were face to face for the first time since she had made an attempt on the crown. She looked down at Merlin.
"So Morgause wasn't lying. He-he really is..." Morgana's voice trailed off. She couldn't speak the word dead. That would make it so final.
"How dare you Morgana. You came here to see if Merlin was dead? Why? So you can run back with the information to your sister?" Arthur spat out questions. Morgana flinched at the venom that was laced into his words.
"I didn't know she planned to kill Merlin. I was only told when Alvarr reported that he had done the deed. I never thought..." Morgana's words trailed off. She was thinking the same thing that none of them could express. None of them imagined Merlin dead at any time.
"It doesn't have to stay this way you know."
The group turned to stare the new presence. There stood a young girl with hair the colour of dark honey, mixed with chestnuts. Her skin was a caramel hue, and her eyes were a bright and powerful green, almost reminiscent of emeralds. Her hair was tied in a complicated braid, with golden string woven through it, and she wore dangling pear drop gold earrings, as well a small golden stud in her nose. Morgana noticed that she had small golden studs pierced all around the rim of her ears, lower down were golden loops, but around the top of the ears were studs. In fact the new stranger wore heavy gold bracelets and anklets, as well as a golden medallion around her neck.
"Who are you and what the hell are you talking about?" Arthur asked incredulously.
"Well, I am Evadne, an acolyte priestess from the temples of the Gods. I've not been given a specific God to serve yet. You say your friend has passed on?" The girl, Evadne, asked softly.
"He's dead." Leon replied.
"There is a chance to bring him back. In fact it is a better chance than the one he took trying to get a cure for the Questing Beast's bite."
"The Questing beast?" Arthur asked.
"I think he should explain it to you. That is if you are willing to commit to the covenant and make the necessary journey. You may just be able to bring him back." Evadne replied cheerfully.
"What is this covenant?" Arthur asked.
"It's a covenant between you, Hades and Merlin of course. A promise you make, that you will take the journey into Tartarus to see Hades. In that time, your friend's body will not rot or decay. However, should you give up on the journey at any point, the covenant is broken and you will have lost any chance to save Merlin." Evadne answered softly.
"Can anyone take this covenant?" The group gaped at Morgana as she stood waiting for Evadne's response.
"You can indeed take the covenant if you wish. It would bind you to the journey, the same as Arthur's would." Evadne replied. Morgana looked at Arthur.
"I need to ask him a lot, and he needs to answer me or I'll never be able to escape from the mess I've caused, for him or for myself." Morgana said softly.
"Why would you help?" Arthur asked. He wasn't sure if he was directing the question at Morgana or at Evadne. It was Evadne who gave an answer first.
"I saw this happen in a vision. As an acolyte of the Gods, it is my duty to help those who are worthy of my help on their journeys." Evadne stated.
"That's the only reason?" Arthur asked.
"No. I was told by the great Oracle of Delphi that it was my destiny to help in this quest." Evadne replied again.
"And this Oracle's word is without question I suppose." Arthur stated.
"It exists without a whisper Arthur Pendragon. The Oracle of Delphi is blessed by Apollo's sight. She is the only one who can give you your future fully and wholly. If she can't then no one can." Evadne quipped. No one else asked the strange girl anymore questions about this famed Oracle.
"So you came all the way from where?" Morgana asked.
"Greece is where I came from Morgana." Evadne answered.
"You came all the way from Greece to help us? How long have you known Merlin was going to die?" Lancelot asked incredulously.
"Eight years. Now you really should decide what your decisions are. Only two can make the covenant at a time, and Merlin's body will need to be guarded." Evadne said softly.
"Wait a second? Why would Merlin's dead body need guarding?" Everyone gave Gwaine a dirty look and he looked slightly sheepish. "Well it seems odd that someone who's dead needs guarding." Gwaine added.
"As soon as Morgause realises what Arthur is doing, she will send her own people to attack and destroy Merlin's body. If she does this, Merlin will have nowhere to return to." Evadne answered sincerely. Arthur took a deep breath. He wasn't sure what to do.
"I'll take the covenant." The group stared at Morgana.
"Are you sure of this Morgana? A covenant is not something to take lightly. Once you've made it, you will have a bond with Merlin that you can't break." Evadne stated kindly. Morgana nodded.
"There is too much I need to know and he's the only one who has the answers. He's the only one I can trust to give me the truth despite everything." Morgana replied. Arthur licked at his lips.
"How can we trust you?" Arthur asked Evadne.
"Because there is no other choice if you want Merlin back." Evadne shot back.
"I will take this covenant as well." Arthur said. Evadne nodded and she knelt down next to Merlin's body. The others moved back. Evadne looked at Merlin's face for a moment, and then she looked at the group.
"Where is the nearest body of water?" Evadne asked.
"The lake of Avalon is one mile east into the Darkling woods." Morgana replied. The other men blinked and stared at the two women.
"The lake of Avalon? That might just be the best place. We need to get Merlin there." Evadne replied. Without any encouragement, Percival picked Merlin up as though he were a baby. Lancelot took hold of his horse's reins and Percival's horse as well. The others took hold of their own horses. Arthur went to take the reins for Merlin's horse when he saw Morgana's hand take hold of them. The horse seemed quite happy for Morgana to lead him, as they carried on walking.
When they finally came across the lake, Arthur and Leon looked more surprised than they probably meant to.
"How come I've never seen this lake before?" Leon asked softly.
"It's the lake of Avalon. It's rare for it to be shown to those without magic, and it's unlikely that you'll ever find it again after this." Morgana said softly.
"So Merlin must've known about this lake." Arthur asked.
"He stopped you drowning in it." Evadne chipped in.
Morgana, Arthur and the others all looked at Evadne. "I have the sight. Morgana saw you drowning, but she had no idea how it would end. I on the other hand had the power to see further. That is what happens when you devote yourself to a good cause." Evadne stated.
"I didn't make any choices back then." Morgana hissed angrily.
"No you didn't, but you were untrained and had no idea where to go to for training." Evadne replied. The group were silent as Evadne looked around. Before long she came across a large and mostly flattened stone. Probably, if people did come here, they would pick such a spot to sit, the stone was white and smooth along the top and round at its edges. It was almost like a giant pebble. Evadne gestured to Percival to place Merlin on the stone. After that was done, the others watched as Evadne drew arcane symbols with some sort of liquid she had taken from a container in the bag that no one had noticed she carried.
"What is that?" Elyan asked.
"The oil of the temple. It's holy. Once it is lit, anything inside its circle is protected by Prometheus' fire." Evadne replied.
"Then why do you believe Merlin needs us to protect him?" Elyan shot back. Evadne smiled gently as though gazing on a small child who didn't know any better.
"Nothing is infallible, except the Gods themselves. There is a chance that Morgause may know how to negate the effects of the holy oil. It's not likely but I don't wish to take the risk." Evadne said softly. She was drawing a large circle. There was enough space inside for the Knights.
"I suggest that any of you staying here, would come to sit within the circle now. I don't want any of you smudging the symbols when I've finished." Evadne chirped cheerfully. The Knights looked at Arthur.
"If it's going to protect you all I doubt it's going to cause you any harm." Arthur said softly.
"You won't be burnt. In fact you might feel a little bit cold. But don't worry. While you're in there no harm will come to any of you. But should anyone try to get through it before Merlin wakes they will feel the effects of its power." Evadne said.
"And if we should fail?" Arthur asked. Not wanting to think about that, but needing to know the consequences for his Knights.
"Oh don't worry. If the covenant is broken the fire will die immediately. It's all very complicated but if you fail the fire will die and the Knights will be able to leave with Merlin's body, or without should they choose." Evadne replied. The Knights made no more arguments after that. They went and took up positions sitting around Merlin.
Evadne gestured to Arthur and Morgana to step forward after a while.
"Have you finished?" Morgana asked curiously.
"No. But there is a part of the covenant that hasn't been enacted yet, so I'll finish the protective circle once it's complete." Evadne replied. Both Morgana and Arthur followed Evadne into the circle and saw Evadne take out something from her bag. Arthur gave Evadne a strange looked as she used a rather beautiful, ornamental dagger to slice off a lock of her hair, and then she handed the weapon to Arthur.
"It will be your covenant between you, Merlin and Hades" The girl said seriously. "And my lock of hair is my covenant to help you and be your guide." She added. Arthur nodded and sliced off a golden lock of his hair, wondering what else was needed for this covenant. Morgana took the dagger next. She stared at it for a long moment, and then sliced off a lock of her own dark hair. Evadne took their hair, along with her own and placed it in Merlin's hand, before closing it into a fist. She gestured to Morgana and Arthur to leave the circle and then left it herself. She looked at the Knights.
"Are you sure you wish to do this? You might be here for a few days. I don't know if you'll feel hungry or not." Evadne asked. Gwaine grinned at the girl.
"It's alright. We've all got food in our packs, and I took the liberty of filling our water skins while you were drawing this little circle." Gwaine quipped. The others nodded. Evadne nodded, and then suddenly said a few strange words. A flame burned brightly in her hand and she placed her hand face down towards the oil. Suddenly the oil flared up. None of the group could look at the fire directly. It burned in so many different ways, the symbols burning and taking shapes as they fizzled and burned over and over again. Arthur and Morgana stared at Evadne.
"The covenant has been made. Now for the next step." Evadne said softly.
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Okay all that was the end of this chapter. As for why Morgana is in this all of a sudden, it's because I like the idea of Good Morgana. That and the siblings arguing might make brilliant comic relief if I feel like writing comedy. Anywho, please R&R and let me know what you think, and here's a preview for the next chapter.
Arthur felt chilled to the bone, as he watched the grey mass shifting and changing within the river bed.
"The River of Styx is made of the souls of the damned. They're doomed to stay here for all eternity. They're always waiting for someone to come that they can take over, and perhaps return to the world of the living." Evadne explained. Morgana shivered as she looked into the river.
"It's horrible." Morgana said softly.
"It will be your fate if you carry on the path that you've chosen Morgana." Evadne told the young woman sadly. Morgana recoiled away from the river.