Chapter 34
The Saxon army was already visible in the distance. Arthur had hoped that the scouts had been wrong about their numbers, but he couldn't deny what his own eyes were seeing. The invaders stretched far and wide across the horizon. It was without a doubt the largest army Albion had ever seen, and he was about to fight against it.
From the top of the tower, Arthur looked at the men standing beneath him. He could see soldiers of many kingdom as well as druids. Men who just a few months ago called each other enemies were now standing side by side, ready to fight together for their freedom. Even with the coming battle in his mind he couldn't help but to make a small smile. Only in his wildest dreams he had seen an alliance such as this one.
He looked next to him, and he made a small nod at Merlin. That signal indicated Merlin that it was time to cast a spell that would make possible for everyone in the army to hear Arthur's voice. Merlin had given him that idea, and Arthur knew it was a good one, but it wasn't easy for him to accept using magic to his favour, especially on his person. While he now knew magic wasn't evil, years of having told otherwise didn't just disappear from one day to the next.
Arthur saw as Merlin's eyes glowed gold and he felt a tingling feeling in his throat. Some part of him still couldn't believe that Merlin was a sorcerer, no matter how many times he had seen it for himself. He couldn't shake from his mind the image of the young man who had a good hearth and couldn't hurt a fly, even if he wanted to. And it wasn't just that Merlin was a sorcerer, but that he was Emrys, the most powerful sorcerer who would ever live... Arthur was still a bit mad about Merlin lying to him about that, but he understood why he had done it. Besides, in the end none of that matter; Merlin was his friend, and of that, Arthur was sure.
But those were thoughts for another moment. Arthur moved towards the edge of the tower and looked at the men gathered below him.
"People of Camelot, Caerleon, Nemeth, Gawant, Mercia, druids of the forest," he said, looking at each one of them as he named them, his voice filling the entire battlefield. "We are gathered here because we face a threat like Albion had never seen before. An enemy who threatens not only our lives, but our values and our freedom. An enemy without honor, who has no problem in killing innocent people. An enemy who we will defeat.
"Yes, we are outnumbered, but that means exactly nothing. Their soldiers only fight out of fear. They are nothing more than slaves of their kings, pawns in their game. Look at the men besides you. Today you are not fighting because your kings ordered you to. You are fighting because you know what would happen if the Saxons conquer this land. You are fighting for your wives, your daughters and your sons. You are fighting for all those who can't. You are fighting for a purpose, and that's why they don't stand a chance against us!
"Today we fight for our future! For Albion!" Arthur exclaimed, rising his sword.
The soldiers raised their weapons in response.
"For Albion!" they exclaimed, thousands voices as one. "For Albion! For Albion! For Albion!..."
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"So, what now?" Merlin asked from atop his horse, looking ahead. Next to him, Arthur, Morgana and Dragoon were sitting on their own horses, looking the same direction. The enemy had suddenly stopped, and it didn't make any sense. They were too far away to attack using archers and any spell they casted from there would take so long to reach them that they would be able to block it easily. There was something they were missing.
"Hold your positions," ordered Arthur. His voice was back to normal, but the battlefield was silent enough for the soldiers to hear him. He could feel the expectancy in the air. The archers were readying their bows, the soldiers were clenching their weapons and the sorcerers were repeating enchantments in a low voice. It had been almost ten minutes since the enemy had halted, and patience was running low.
"Are they really expecting us to engage them?" Morgana asked Arthur in a tone that hinted Merlin that doing so would be a bad move.
"I don't think it's that," Arthur replied. "Look, there is movement in their ranks," Arthur said, pointing at a moving spot in the distance.
"It's a messenger," Dragoon said. "He's coming this way."
"You can see that far?" Arthur asked, astonished.
He shook his head. "I'm just guessing. It just seems like something they would do." Dragoon looked directly at Arthur. "Don't let him talk much, this is likely some kind of trick."
After all he had been through, Arthur already knew everything there was about dealing with messengers, but in his short time knowing Dragoon, he noticed that the sorcerer enjoyed lecturing others, so he just gave him a thanking nod.
It turned out that Dragoon was right. The messenger kept approaching until reaching the borders of their army. When the horse stopped, Arthur was able to get a better look at its rider. He didn't recognize that man, but he noticed something strange in him. The man's gaze seemed lost, as if he was in some kind of trance.
"What a nice turnout!" the man said, without looking directly at any of them.
Dragoon frowned; he knew that voice. "Ilko is speaking through him," he told the rest.
"People of Albion," the man kept talking, "you don't have to die today. The only thing I want is the two sorcerers called Emrys and Dragoon. Are you really going to risk your lives for them? Just hand them over, swear fealty to us and you can live the rest of your lives in peace."
"We have seen what you call 'peace'," Arthur exclaimed. "We have seen the bodies of those you killed for no reason. Albion will not surrender to someone like you."
The man in the horse faced Arthur, although his eyes still looked nowhere.
"Arthur Pendragon I presume," he said. "As far as I've been told you are a personal friend of Emrys, of course you would want to protect him, but what about the rest. Can you really order thousands of your men to die for just one person?"
"These men are fighting because they believe in our cause, something you probably can't understand." Arthur looked towards the soldiers. "Men, I order you, if any of you feels that we should give in to their demands say it now!"
The battlefield turned silent. The messenger gave a look around and he let out a dry laugh.
"Fascinating," he said, wearing a wicked grin. "So be it, then."
The man began convulsing and his skin turned red. Dragoon raised his hand just as man exploded into a ball of fire. The fire moved towards the soldiers, but suddenly the flames they stopped moving forward and started moving upwards instead, as if it had hit an invisible wall. Dragoon closed his fist and the wall closed around the flames until they were all quenched.
Arthur was about to tell Dragoon something when the flames disappeared and he was able to see the enemy once again. Thousands of men were coming their way.
"Alright men, this is it!" he exclaimed in a commanding voice. "Archers, get ready!"
Arthur was waiting for the exact moment to fire. His eyes moved behind the enemies charging at them, where more than half of the Saxon army had remained still. Arthur didn't understand why they would split their forces, and he didn't like that at all, but the ones charging were the immediate threat and they were getting closer.
"Fire!" he ordered, raising his right hand.
On Arthur's command the sky filled with arrows. The Saxons summoned magical barriers or cover with their shields, but they still suffered several losses. Some of them raised their hands throwing fireballs back at Albion's army, but the druids were ready for that and they blocked them.
When the enemy was close enough, Arthur realized something: while they were carrying Saxon's banners, many of those men came from Albion. He wasn't surprised to see men from Essetir, he had known for a while now that they were allied the Saxons, but they weren't the only ones. Some of the men showed Cornwall's emblem on their armor. They were Odin's men.
"I guess we now know why he didn't answer," Morgana said, as if reading his thoughts.
"He's an idiot!" Arthur exclaimed. "What was he thinking allying with them!?"
"I'm actually surprised he didn't do it sooner," Morgana said.
"We had made a deal."
"And the Saxon's probably offered him a better one."
"He'll regret taking it," Arthur said, in a somber tone.
He looked again at the archers who had finished reloading and indicated them to fire again. This time even more enemies fell, but they kept moving towards them.
"Ready your swords!" Arthur exclaimed. "Charge!"
Letting out a battle cry, Albion's soldiers charged ahead, towards the enemy. The two armies clashed and the sound of metal against metal filled the air.
Arthur hated staying back, but he knew that in this battle his first task was to lead. Besides, there was something very wrong about the tactics the Saxons were using and he had to find out why. He looked at his men. The knights of Camelot were fighting as if possessed; they knew exactly what was in stake here. The other kingdoms weren't doing bad either. Even in close quarters, Nemeth's archers were living to their reputation, and Caerleon's soldiers held their ground as if they were made of stone, not to mention their size. Arthur made a mental note to ask later exactly what they ate.
Since there was no sign of the kings, Merlin, Morgana and Dragoon used their magic to help the soldiers, but after a while it was hard to distinguish friend from foe in the midst of the battle. Their principal target were the enemy sorcerers, but they weren't as many as they had suspected, and the druids were doing a very good job dealing with the ones there were.
While there were losses in both sides, everyone could see that the battle was going in Albion's favor. For every man Albion's army lost, they killed at least five. Still, even then, the rest of the Saxon army held their position in the distance.
Seeing they had now the numeric advantage, Arthur raised his hand, signaling the other kingdoms to flank the enemy. Before they knew it, the Saxon's were being attacked from everywhere. It was a bloodshed. Arthur didn't understand why they didn't surrender, but the enemy kept fighting until every single one of them was either dead or badly injured. Arthur tried to find if Odin was among the dead, but there were just too many.
All around him, the soldiers let out a winning cheer, but Arthur didn't join them. He knew something was going on. This had been far too easy. Merlin, Morgana and Dragoon were also in silence, looking at the enemy. Arthur was about to tell the soldiers to regroup, but something caught his attention. In the horizon, what seemed like a pillar of black light started rising towards the sky. Arthur couldn't determine exactly the size of it, but if it was as far as it seemed, it had to be as wide as a small village. When it finally reached the sky, the pillar glowed gold for a second and then it turned back to its dark self. He saw the soldiers pointing all around them. Following their gaze, Arthur saw that other pillars were appearing the same way as the first. There were five of them, and they spread out in a way that they surrounded Camelot from away.
"I'm an idiot!" Dragoon exclaimed, sounding angry at himself. "How did I miss this!?" He grabbed Arthur by his arm. "Tell your men to fall back. Get them away from the dead."
Before Arthur could say anything, the last pillar reached the sky and five beams of light appeared, moving from one pillar to another, creating a five pointed star over their heads.
"Is this what I think it is?" Morgana asked, alarmed.
"Is a resurrection spell," Dragoon explained. "A huge one."
"Can you really do that? Bring back the dead?" Merlin asked him.
"Not really, but you can animate their bodies," Dragoon explained and looked at the king. "Arthur, the soldiers, now," he repeated.
"But this is not possible," pointed out Morgana, while Arthur moved away to give orders to the men. "Morgouse told me that spells like these require human sacrifices to work. The amount of people needed to fuel a spell this size would be enormous. We would have noticed if someone—" suddenly Morgana stopped and opened wide her eyes.
"Exactly," Dragoon said.
"What? Exactly what?" Merlin asked, shifting his gaze between Dragoon and Morgana.
"The attack to the villages weren't random," Morgana said, in a low voice. "They were sacrifices for this spell."
Merlin clenched his fists. For some reason, this knowledge made the attacks on the villages even worse. Magic wasn't supposed to be used like that. Magic was made for helping people, not hurting them. In his life, Merlin had been forced several times to use magic against others and he hated how that felt. What kind of men would be capable to kill so much people just for this?
"So, what now? How do we stop it?" Merlin asked, looking at Dragoon.
Dragoon saw as the dead started to stand up and once again he cursed himself for his stupidity. All who had been killed in the battle were now under the orders of the two kings, even those who had been on Albion's side. He looked at the five pointed star that marked the sky above him.
"We can't stop it," Dragoon answered. "Not while the one doing this is still casting the spell."
"Do you think this is Ilko's work?" Merlin asked, remembering the things Dragoon had said about him.
"It has to be."
"The soldiers are ready," said Arthur, approaching the three of them. "How bad is it?"
"Bad," Merlin replied. "Apparently the only way to stop this is defeating Ilko himself."
"What about the spell you used to vanquish those skeletons?"
Merlin looked at Dragoon, who shook his head.
Arthur let out a sigh. "So, what's the plan?" he asked to anyone who could answer. He was good planning attacks against armies, but against magic he needed advice.
Merlin looked at the front lines. The resurrected enemies were already fighting against the soldiers. The dead moved slowly and were easily defeated, but every time they fell they just rose again. Even losing their head didn't seem to be an impediment for the enemy. They were relentless, and the soldiers couldn't keep fighting them forever.
"There is no choice, we have to go to them," Merlin answered.
"You know that exactly what they want, right?" Arthur asked him.
"Still..." Merlin replied.
Arthur looked at Dragoon and Morgana, who nodded.
"Alright," he said, "just give me a minute."
"Arthur, you can't come," Merlin protested, recognizing that look in the king's eyes, "it's too dangerous."
"Merlin, while I appreciate your concern you need to remember that I'm the one who gives the order around here. Besides, you don't have a chance against all those men, no matter how powerful you think you are." He looked at Dragoon and made an inquisitive look. "He is not that powerful, right?"
"Not yet," Dragoon replied, making a small smile.
"Our chances won't improve that much if you go along," Merlin pointed out, ignoring what Dragoon said.
"That's why I'm bringing our army with us," Arthur replied.
"But what about Camelot!?" Merlin asked.
"Some of the soldiers will stay back to protect it, of course. We have endured worse," he said, pointing at the risen enemies. Morgana cringed slightly at those words. "And besides," Arthur continued, "if I'm getting this magic thing right, the dead will go back to being dead once we defeat Ilko, won't them?"
"Yes," Dragoon confirmed.
"Then we march towards them. It's our best chance."
Merlin looked at the enemy in the distance. He knew that Ilko and Roth were somewhere among all those men. Merlin had never been able to figure out people like that. How could they justify killing innocents? How could they sacrifice their own people? What was it about war that they craved for it? Merlin had always tried to understand the point of view of others, even his enemies, but this time he wasn't able, and he wasn't sure if he would have wanted to if he could. Whoever they were, they wanted to harm all he hold dear, and for that he had to fight them. They all had to fight them.
He looked at Arthur and nodded.
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The enemies were getting closer, but this time the soldiers of Albion were the ones advancing. Merlin didn't like the idea of leaving the dead attacking Camelot, but they had left many soldiers behind to protect it, and after being attacked by the skeletons and the immortal army, it was true that these ones were kind of lame. Still, Merlin knew that Ilko didn't cast that spell to defeat Albion's army, but to weaken them, force them to split up and make them attack Saxon's main army heads on. It had worked.
Focusing on the fireballs coming towards them, he now realized why it wasn't a good idea to be the attacker in these kinds of things. Creating blast of air, he managed to stop two that were coming their way. Dragoon, Morgana and the druids were also doing the same, protecting the entire army as it moved forward. Even then, the enemy had enough sorcerers to outnumber Albion two to one and many fireballs went through Albion's defenses. Merlin shuddered at the thought of all the soldiers they had lost approaching the Saxons.
When they finally reached the enemy, the soldiers started to fight each other and Merlin's real task began. Around him, Arthur, Morgana and Dragoon were on their horses fighting back the enemies, waiting for him to guide them. He closed his eyes and tried to find the kings. He didn't have to look much. Ilko glowed like a beacon in the night. The amount of magic he was using to sustain the spell was terrifying.
Following the direction Merlin was pointing, Arthur ordered the knights to make way for them through the Saxon's army. The knights pushed against the enemy, creating an empty path for them. Merlin moved behind them, blasting enemies right and left. Some of the knights fell, but that didn't slow them down. The knights of Camelot were really a force to be reckoned with.
They had almost crossed the enemy lines when Merlin saw something that looked like a giant beast charging towards them from one side. It was moving at an incredible speed and it pushed away all the soldiers in its way as if they were made out of paper, not caring if they were friend or foe. When it finally reached the group, the thing jumped towards them, grabbed Dragoon from his horse, and kept running forward before any of them could react. Merlin was able to get a good look at it as it passed next to him, and based on Dragoon's descriptions, he was almost sure that thing had been Roth. He stopped his horse and looked around, trying to find out where they had gone, but the man was too fast and the battlefield was chaos.
"Merlin, we have to keep going!" Morgana exclaimed. Even if she was yelling, her voice was hard to hear over the sounds of battle around them.
"It was Roth! He grabbed Dragoon!" Merlin replied.
"He can take care of himself, we can't remain still!"
Merlin looked around. The path that the knights created was closing all around them. He give one last quick glance at the direction Roth had taken, but he wasn't able to find them. Morgana was right, they had to keep going. They had to stop Ilko and save Camelot. Dragoon could handle Roth.
Right?
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Dragoon was still flying backwards. He, in all honesty, had not seen this coming. When he noticed Roth, the man was already next to him, and before he could react they were moving away at an impossible speed. That's what he gets for messing with a berserker. In the end Roth, still running, had grabbed him by the hand and flung him forward. Dragoon was a bit surprised that he still hadn't hit against anything hard enough to stop him from keep moving that way, but that seemed to be the case. There had been a few soldiers in his path, but they had just slowed him down a bit and given him a back ache.
Still moving through the air, Dragoon turned around to look where he was heading. There was a tree ahead, and he had just a few seconds before hitting it, maybe less. He extended his hands towards it and casted an air spell to decrease his speed. Dragoon noticed that it was working, but he also knew that Roth couldn't be far behind him. The second he had slowed down enough, he stepped to the ground and without looking back he casted a wall of ice behind his back. Judging by the axe that drove into the ice just a moment later, that had been a very good idea.
Dragoon saw as Roth struggled to get his axe out of the block of ice. He looked around trying to find Merlin and the rest, but he couldn't. The two armies were fighting all around him, and the path Roth made bringing him here had already closed. The sounds of the ice cracking reminded him that he had his own problems to take care; the others would have to make do on their own, at least until he had dealt with Roth. Dragoon wasn't totally sure if they were a match for Ilko, he wasn't even sure if he himself was, but he knew that if anyone had a chance it was those three.
He unsheathed his swords and got ready. Since the last time he fought against Roth, he had upgraded his weapons, just in case they met again. They were swords made of an special alloy of metal and magic which, among other things, annulled any force that hit them, theoretically allowing Dragoon to block Roth's attack heads on without dying. He already tried them successfully against normal humans, but a berserker was another thing entirely.
He had started to lunge towards Roth when the berserker let out a deafening roar as he managed to remove the axe from the block of ice, shattering it in a hundred pieces. Dragoon was able to dodge the ice, but that forced him to step back. He quickly blinked behind Roth and attacked him with his swords, but the berserker turned around as if he knew exactly where he was and he hit Dragoon with the hilt of his axe, sending him to the ground.
Dragoon stood up quickly, cursing. A man that big shouldn't be able to move that fast. It just wasn't fair. He could see Roth moving towards him with a grin on his mouth. He wasn't even running, just walking calmly towards where he stood. Dragoon got the feeling that the man wanted to enjoy this fight as much as possible. Well, at least he wasn't very smart.
He looked at Roth's feet and his eyes glowed gold, transforming the ground below him into quicksands to trap the berserker. That was the same spell that Dragoon had used to beat him the last time that they had fought, and while he didn't expect it would defeat the berserker again, he had at least hoped that it would buy him some time. It didn't. The second Roth's feet started to sink, the man's eyes glowed gold and the ground went back to normal. Roth grin widened as he swung his axe towards Dragoon's head. Dragoon positioned his two swords to parry the attack and prayed.
He didn't exactly knew when he had closed his eyes, but when a second passed and he was still alive, Dragoon opened them to see Roth's surprised face looking back at him. The berserker's axe was resting above the two swords completely still. Dragoon hadn't even felt the hit. Dragoon promised himself that if he survived this he would make sure to pay a visit to the blacksmith and give him a hug, but he then realized that the man probably had been dead for years by now.
Roth was still trying to get to him, hitting his axe again and again against the swords. Taking advantage of his confusion, Dragoon waited until the axe was coming down and moved out of its way, making Roth lose balance. This was his chance. He lunged forwards and unleashed a flurry of slashes with his swords. Dragoon managed to land many blows until he had to move back due to the axe coming at him. He paused and looked at his enemy trying to assess the damage he had done. Dragoon was sure that his swords had hit him directly, but Roth was barely injured. Not only he was strong and fast, but apparently he also had hardened skin. Definitely not fair.
"I have to confess, I was expecting this to be easier," Dragoon said, panting.
"I will break all your bones, one by one!" Roth exclaimed. Angry berserkers weren't known for their conversation skills.
Roth grabbed the hilt of his great axe with both hands and his eyes glowed. When he moved his arms apart, he was now holding two identical axes, one in each hand.
"Oh, come on!" protested Dragoon, just before adopting a defensive stance.
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Arthur had lost count of how many enemies he had killed. His arms were tired, but he didn't care. Too many people was counting on them, and they were going to deliver. He plunged his sword into a soldier's chest and looked next to him, where Merlin and Morgana were dealing with the last lines of the enemy's defenses. They had lost the horses and the rest of the knights had stayed behind them, holding the enemy back. Now they were on their own, but they were far from helpless.
Merlin could feel that Ilko was getting closer. The man's magic was so strong that he felt hard to concentrate in anything else. He rose his right hand and a Saxon was sent flying backwards. He rose his left one and a fireball hit a sorcerer that was busy blocking one of Morgana's attacks. The enemies kept falling, but it felt that for everyone he defeated two more occupied his place. At least they distracted him a bit from what was about to come. Merlin looked with his third eye to the blinding light that was Ilko's power. Just to think that he was about to fight that...
Morgana blinked behind an enemy and drove her sword into his back. She hated this new feeling inside her. She actually felt bad for having to kill the man. His enemy! She didn't understand why she would feel bad about it. It didn't make any sense. Since when had she became so weak? She didn't remember feeling anything similar when she was fighting Sarrum's men. What had happened in between? She glanced at Merlin who was fighting next to her. Oh, right... Well... It was worth it.
Arthur didn't know if they realized this, but Merlin and Morgana were fighting as if they were one. Without even talking one covered the flanks of the other or complemented each other spells. Arthur wasn't sure that was because of their training together or if they were talking with their minds like sorcerers do, but it was impressive anyways. He finished his current enemy and look around looking for the next, but no one showed up. They had finally crossed the enemy lines.
Merlin was panting, but there wasn't any time to lose. In the distance he could see the source of all the magic, a solitary man sitting with his eyes closed on some sort of throne. He started moving towards the man. Arthur and Morgana were following him closely. It was definitely Ilko, but Merlin couldn't figure it out why he didn't have more men with him. As if answering him, a dozen black tendrils shot out from where Ilko was sitting and dashed towards them.
Morgana didn't hesitated. She grabbed Merlin by the armor and dragged him backwards. She extended her hand and a wall of light appeared before them. Dragoon had warned them that Ilko used death magic more than anything, so she had practiced ways to counteract it. The tendrils hit the wall and quickly drew back, but the impact pushed her backwards and she had to struggle to stand her ground. She saw as the tendrils squirmed frenetically and then slowly disappear, but before she could celebrate her victory, another set of tendrils appeared.
Arthur saw the tendrils coming towards them. While most of them were headed directly towards Morgana's shield, some were moving in a wide arch, and were coming at them from the sides. Arthur tightened the grasp of his sword and got ready. Merlin had told him that his sword had been enchanted by a dragon, which was why the skeletons exploded when he hit them. He only hoped this would be a similar case. When the tendril was close enough, it changed its path and lunged directly at his chest. Arthur managed to dodge it and cleave it in half. For a second nothing happened, but then the black tentacle just vanished into thin air.
Merlin was glad that the sword had worked. He knew that Arthur didn't like the feeling of being helpless against magic, and it gave him a chance to fight back. But enough of that. With a movement of his hand he created a wall of stone that blocked the coming tendrils and then he casted a set of fireballs in Ilko's direction. They couldn't win this if they didn't attack. He felt very good with himself when the fireballs dodged the tendrils moving at them, but when they were about to hit Ilko, a wall of black light appeared in front of him, blocking them. Merlin could swear he saw a smile in the man's face.
Morgana was getting tired. She was fighting to move forwards while the tendrils hit the wall pushing her back, again and again. At first they had been intervals between sets of tendrils, but the closer they got to Ilko the faster they came. By now the tendrils hit her wall practically all the time and she could barely advance. Arthur was dealing with the tendrils that escaped her wall while Merlin attacked Ilko with all he had, but his spells just clashed into black walls that appeared from nowhere.
"I won't be able to hold this much longer!" Morgana exclaimed, dropping to her knees with her hands extended towards the wall.
"He blocks everything I throw at him," Merlin exclaimed back in a frustrated voice.
Merlin looked back at Arthur. He too wouldn't be able to keep fighting against the tendrils much longer. He had to do something, but everything he tried seemed pointless. Ilko was just too powerful. That's it! He needed more power. He needed Emrys. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. Tried to access the magic inside of him. He could feel his actual magic, but the power he had accessed when he went into 'Emrys mode' was nowhere to be found, which wasn't that surprising taking in account that he had tried to access it countless times before in much better conditions that this one. Dragoon had told him that the power would show up when he needed it. Well, now he needed it. Where the hell was it?
"Come on!" Merlin yelled aloud.
Arthur looked at him. He didn't exactly understood what Merlin was doing, but he trusted him enough not to ask. He seemed really focused. Maybe he was casting some sort of super spell, but he didn't like the look on his face. Two tendrils rushed towards Merlin, but he was able to stop them before they hit him. His task was to protect him, and Merlin's task was to protect everyone else. No pressure.
Morgana was trying hard to stay awake. She could feel her magic running out with every tendril that hit the wall. Was this how she died today? Without even being able to reach the one attacking Camelot? She had expected something more. She smiled, amused by her own arrogance. She was about to die and she had problems that it wasn't spectacular enough. The worst part was that she actually didn't care about that. She would gladly accept the most boring of deaths if that meant she got to spend a bit more time in this earth. A bit more time with him. With a smile on her lips, her eyes closed and she collapsed to the ground.
Merlin felt the wall of light disappearing and he opened his eyes. Morgana was alive, but she had fainted and the tendrils were rushing directly towards her. Arthur was trying to move to block them, but he would never get to them in time. Merlin saw her lying there and he remembered the prophecy he had sworn to prevent. He would not lose her. Not like that. That moment he finally was able to feel it, his true power, calling him as if it had always been there. His eyes filled with gold and the tendrils stopped midair, as if fighting an invisible force. He looked towards the man sitting on the throne and extended his hand. A single fireball came out of his fingers and rushed towards the enemy.
"Block this," Merlin said, in a completely calm voice.
The fireball suddenly moved up and split into tenths, if not hundredths, of smaller balls of fire that moved towards Ilko. The tendrils disappeared as countless explosions filled the place where Ilko had been.
Arthur couldn't believe what he was seeing. To think that one man could have a power such as this. The explosions kept going, one after another. It seemed like they would never end. Above him, the five pointed star was starting to disappear, as well as the pillars that created it. He kneeled next to Morgana who was starting to move again and helped her stand up.
After a few minutes the explosions finally stopped and the smoked started to clear. Merlin didn't really expect to see much of Ilko after that, but in the middle of the crater he had made, a black sphere floated above ground. It descended slowly and disappeared upon reaching the ground. Where the sphere had been, now stood a man, looking right at them.
"Hello, Emrys," Ilko said, as his mouth slowly widened into a wicked grin.
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A/N: I hope you liked it!
Fight! Fight! Fight! (These final bosses are hard!)
Alright, coming back to reality, just one chapter more to go!
I must say, I don't think that I can finish this before new years, and I don't want to rush the last chapter, but who knows? Maybe a Christmas Miracle happens and I convince the ghost of chrismtas future to just mail me the finished chapter. (disregard the temporal paradox created by this)
So, just in case... Happy New Year Everyone!
Thanks Patiku, Assassin of Syria, mersan123 and Lady Flurryous for the reviews =D
Patiku: Can't I? Can't I!? MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA (?)
Assassin of Syria: Thanks for the unsinning review!
mersan123: Thanks for the review! Now I'll feel bad for your extremities if I take too long writing the next chapter T_T. The pressure!
Lady Flurryous: That review is probably longer than my first chapter xD! I agree that Gaius could have done countless things infinitly better, but the hard thing with stories like this is trying to find out where the actual character ends and the plot holes begin xD (although if we assume everything was as intended, then yes, Gaius sucks :p). Baby Morgause timeline is indeed a bit strange, since at that time one would suppose that at some level the purge was already on its way, but that would meant that Arthur's mother had already died in childbirth, and as far as I understand Morgause is older than Morgana who is older than Arthur. Also, the reason why Morgause was smuggled out of Camelot was never trully clarified (although the purge seems the obvious answer, ignoring the timeline). Another thing that we assume but is never truly confirmed is Vivienne having magic. Maybe magic skipped a generation xD? As I said before, when one talks about this I always have the feeling that I'm trying to justify plotholes rather than actual plot. The same with Kilgharrah attacking Arthur and all that. That's why I try not to dwell too much in those details. However, in this story I tried to justify a few things that went unexplained in season 5 (like Aithusa healing Morgana, or Arthur doing nothing after hearing the name Emrys at the end of season 4). As far as prophecies go, it's true that the show used them as they pleased and wasn't very consistent, which I tried to justify a bit with Dragoon explaining that there are many types of prophecies and that they are mostly pointless. Basically, you could say that Dragoon is anti prophecy, while Kilgharrah is pro prophecy xD. As everything, the truth probably lies somewhere in between.