For Ship.
A translation of At the end of the world by Ship.
THE STORY IS NOT MINE!
this is a translation of the Italian story 'At the end of the world' by Ship.
Cover image by Jessica
CHAPTER 8 OF 14
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Gaius finished serving the soup, while Arthur and Merlin remained silent to collect their thoughts, focusing on what they needed to say. Sitting on the bench, Arthur was staring at his mate, clenching his jaw, determined to speak first.
The senior doctor sat down, but not eating, sensing his guests' urgency to talk to him, obviously necessary. Therefore, he went straight to the point.
"A so large group of Alphas, away from their kingdom, one of the most important one, if not the most important of England, who has traveled for long to reach a land like this one, insignificant, cannot be an accident. As it cannot be an accident the fact that a doctor is travelling with them. A prince, a king, never leaves his people, except when due to important reasons"
Arthur nodded… he too hadn't started eating yet, still staring at Gaius. He shrugged and took his place as the leader he was, leaning his elbows on the table.
"Like you said, my journey is not a coincidence. I and my knights have been away from home for months now: in just over a week it will be the winter solstice and we have left our land that same day last year"
Gaius stared at him.
"The winter solstice... I still find it absurd to think about time by using the memory of the seasons, forgotten by nature... and yet, men cannot separate themselves from what used to be their culture"
Merlin, who had listened in silence to the conversation, smiled slightly, staring at Gaius to answer him tenderly.
None of them had experienced the things of which those words preserved the flavor, but they strongly felt the importance of what they represented.
"It happens because we all need to keep alive a minimum of hope even at the end of time, and with it our humanity. Otherwise, abandoning what we used to be, our history, there would really be nothing left"
Gaius nodded.
"Wise words for someone so young, who certainly has a lot more enthusiasm than an old man like me. And now, tell me why you are here"
Arthur stared at Merlin, silently telling his mate that he would be the one to start.
His voice was firm and Merlin could feel the influence he had as a great leader spreading in the room. Yet his aura surrounded them in a delicate way, without prevaricating in any way. The blond owned a royalty and majesty that was charming even Gaius… Merlin could feel it. The doctor seemed almost as impatient as they to discuss this issue.
"We have come in this land due to a twofold mission. Being a physician, Merlin came here to look for answers on the yellow fever epidemic that has been raging in Britain for the past months, having learned from a traveler in his village that here in Gedref you have apparently found them..."
Gaius raised his eyebrow and nodded, as if to confirm it, before staring at Arthur and then at Merlin. Then, the Alpha continued, now more relaxed after having received a more encouraging response on at least one of the things he was interested in.
"On the other hand, I and my men are traveling in search of a man: an eldest, an ancient languages specialist, known only to the chosen few, who once belonged to a people who had lived in Britain long time ago… at least that's what I heard"
Gaius nodded his head in agreement. "The language of the masters, the so-called Cathas..."
Arthur seemed to light up when he understood that the doctor was aware of the legends and continued.
"This man should be the descendant of some peoples who should have arrived from outer space, from other dimensions in the universe, from other worlds; peoples that once had landed on our planet through a portal of energy... and that had seemed to have the ability to know and master all nature's most powerful elements, to talk to animals..."
Gaius spoke again, confirming the fact that he knew what the Alpha was talking about.
"The people of the Dragonlords... originating in the Dragon constellation. They were called like this because they had brought those extraordinary and dangerous magical beings on Earth and because only they were able to tame them easily"
Arthur clenched his fists.
"Exactly ... the dragons, which men have exterminated for their own profit over the centuries: first by using them and then, when these beings rebelled against them, by imprisoning them, ignoring the legacy left by their Lords, killing all dragons"
Arthur was speaking with the soul full of expectations for that conversation: up to that moment, he had never met anyone in his life who knew his people's legends...
"In a time, now lost in history, they had created a civilization, never seen before. They had voluntarily chosen to join and to generate children with some earthlings, becoming the progenitors of a new kind of human being, one of nobler blood. This is why the children of those unions were called the CHOSEN ONES, namely the keepers of that Great Truth, which had to be handed down over the millennia... Human men and women of cosmic descent that one day will return to their original home, if they wished to"
"Or in case of need"
Gaius's response sounded deliberately prophetic.
Arthur nodded.
Merlin was shaking and could hear his heart beating faster, as he listened to Arthur talking about things that he had never heard before, but that he felt true and real, more than all the written and known history he had always studied, despite seeming just legends.
He tensed, hardly breathing, as he stared at Arthur and then at Gaius alternately.
The old man continued.
"The Pendragons. The Chosen ones. The ones who still bear the blood of those who had arrived from the stars a long time ago. The ones who will be saved"
Arthur nodded.
"My people. My direct ancestors. The mixed-blood men. My father was the last King of our noble lineage and now, I am his successor. In my veins runs the essence of the earthmen, but also of the Dragon. On the other hand, the man I'm looking for, the Catha, is the last pure-blood, the last descendant of the peoples of the stars, born from both parents with the blood of the dragon. He should be the last Wise Man, since the one we knew is now dead. The name of this man, an Omega, should be EMRYS, and he should possess the ability and the key to lead us to safety. Any idea who he might be? Do you know him? You must be a very learned man if you are familiar with the legends of my people"
Gaius stared at Arthur, saying nothing, and Arthur shook his head, misunderstanding his silence.
"You must be thinking these are just fairy tales. And yet ... all these stories have within them not only the beauty of a forgotten past, but also the hope for a present that is ending. The winter solstice has always meant strong solar flares and this year the forecasts for that day are even direr, terrible for life, given the force with which the sun is destroying these lands. We could really be at the final days of the world … and all of us should desperately cling to this possibility to save ourselves, so that human race may survive somehow. We have a vital need to track down the last master"
Gaius sighed and at the same time started eating, purposely ignoring Merlin's astonished gaze next to him, feeling it full of confusing questions. In that moment, the old doctor chose to protect him.
Merlin was still too inexperienced about those things to drag him offhand in the middle of all this.
"Let's take one step at a time, Your Highness ... the things to say are innumerable. I'll start by telling you that the two reasons why you are here are closely related ... there is a lot to clarify, to discuss, to talk about... Our journey toward a new future has just begun. Besides, I too have been waiting for you, for a long time in fact. I still cannot believe that my prayers were answered"
Arthur tensed his shoulders, full of expectation.
"Then, are you Emrys? Are you the Catha? Can you give me some answers?"
Gaius smiled.
"No..."
Merlin held his breath, paralyzed on the spot, due to the fear that even one breath could reveal him. Obviously, he had understood that he was the Emrys Arthur had mentioned, although he had not the slightest idea what the two men were talking about.
What his role in the story was.
The fact that he had been taken from his family and from his people when he was way too young had ruined him the chance to learn about a part of his life that he had to know, a very important part, which he suddenly was missing. In that moment, he was afraid that the events of his past could interfere with the future of all of them.
The brunet stared at Gaius, fearing that the doctor could say something, dragging him in talks that he was not ready to face. However, he instantly knew that his godfather would never betray him and that he would never talk about him, at least not now.
Gaius found a different path in order to answer to Arthur.
"I'm not Emrys, but years ago I met the Catha you're looking for ... but then, I lost track of him… a long time ago"
Arthur lowered his head, shaking it, unsatisfied.
"You won't be able to help us then? You have no idea where he might be?"
Gaius finished his soup, ignoring him. Then, he continued with an anxiety in his voice that contained all the expectations about the future and every thrill for what lay ahead.
"Are you in possession of the missive ... of the parchment? The legacy of the writings handed down by the Chosen ones? Is this why you are looking for the Catha? To make him translate it? The parchment that was lost a long time ago, hidden to protect it and long sought by the Chosen ones ... the key to salvation, left by the people of the stars to their descendants"
Arthur nodded.
"Yes... My father has dedicated his entire life to look for it. But it's useless if its text remains an impenetrable mystery for us. We have no one that can translate or decipher it..."
Gaius leaned against the back of his chair, staring at him. Merlin was looking at both of them.
The Omega was paralyzed by the tension.
The brunet felt as if he was slowly sinking in despair, because the fact that Emrys could not help all of them, that he was not able to translate the missive, despite obviously being the last Catha, meant they were doomed, that all humanity was doom. He was terrified.
The path of salvation was within reach, near, but impossible, because fate had taken him from the life he should have lived, the path he should have built, the man he was supposed to become, everything (including his own family)... when human civilization had erased everything, including the dignity of all races.
.
But then Gaius went on and his heart filled with hope once again.
"Yet, not everything is lost. I may not be the last Catha, but I know the ancient language. I might be able to translate the missive"
Arthur stood still, his heart like a hammer, and Merlin felt his own moving from his chest, rising in the air ... so much that he continued the conversation for everyone.
"Have you had occasion to learn it? To study it?"
Gaius nodded, sweetly smiling at him.
"I'm happy I can help. I may not be able to fully interpret the missive… but to translate it? That's for sure"
At that, Arthur stood up, invaded by hope. He moved to take his personal bag and collect the old parchment.
When he came back and sat down, his hand was shaking due to the emotion. Yet, Merlin's voice, when the brunet turned to the elder healer, was trembling even more than his.
"You have also said that the yellow fever epidemic is closely linked to the topics we're talking about, as well as the motives that cause only few people to heal from this disease, right? Why is that?"
Gaius looked at him with sad eyes, knowing that what he was about to say would cause them a lot of pain… a pain that he knew all too well.
"There is no cure for this disease. The people who have fought it and won have healed by themselves, through their own immune system..."
Merlin bit his lips.
"As I thought. But how come that the natural defenses work for some individuals, but they don't for others?"
Gaius's shoulders slumped, the weight of that difficult truth expressed all over his posture ... and Arthur too seemed to understand.
"Merlin, sometimes the easiest explanation is before our eyes, but it's so hard to see, because it is difficult to accept"
Merlin shut his mouth at his godfather's words.
"It's a selection, isn't it? Nature itself is choosing who is going to survive. We are at the end of time ... only a few will be saved. What is happening here is a selection among the races"
Gaius's silence said much more than a thousand words. Then, Arthur softly spoke, staring at the old man in front of him.
"Only the Chosen Ones will survive"
Gaius nodded.
Merlin felt deeply won and defeated, tired. So many years of struggle were ending in a cruel choice made by nature, decided thousands of years before.
"The ones that will be saved will do so thanks to his/her DNA ... simply because destined to survive"
"What about the 'homecoming'?'"
Arthur's voice sounded bitter. Gaius stood up, picking up the missive from the Alpha's hands, when he handed it to him.
The next words hurt them even more, because they made them aware of a plan that existed since the beginning, hard and inescapable, but that now was the only chance to survive for human race. After all, in the circle of life it didn't matter who was saved, but that the race could have a future.
"The peoples of the stars had always known of the possible end of the human world, given its self-destructive nature... They had come to Earth, as a superior civilization, to give men the possibility not to end, to survive one day, in order not to disappear from the universe. For this reason, they had passed on their gene code, mixing it with earthmen', allowing human people to have a future inheritance and to improve for when it would all be over. They created the CHOSEN ONES specifically for this bigger plan"
Merlin hugged himself, feeling cold, despite the warm air around them, "We don't need to fight then. Only the chosen ones are going to survive. The keepers of the new essence… the ones who will create a new mankind... free of the barbarism that's always set it apart"
Gaius nodded and Arthur finally turned to look at them ... his eyes were the fierce and hard ones of a leader that had to remind them of the current urgencies.
"Provided that we can translate and explain the missive, enough to find the right path and save human race. As we have always wanted to"
Gaius nodded and finished.
"... and that we find a great leader, willing to guide those who will survive with courage and strength"
Merlin stared at Gaius, smiling, and then at his man: everyone in the room knew they didn't need worry about that…
The Great King, the new leader, was already among them: Arthur had always been destined for great things and his fate was now very clear.
He would become the Once (of the past that was ending) and Future King.
If all of them were destined to have a future, that's it.
Gaius put down his pen after transcribing the translation of the missing sentences in the missive.
He got up and began to read it aloud:
'And good luck will return,
when the dragon's chosen ones will find each other.
When the Dragonlord
will tame their prince,
Just to be tamed in turn.
When the Alpha and the Omega will draw
the constellation, tied together through the Bond,
and the light of the first star will shine in the distance...
The Chosen Ones will finally return
up there, to the distant planet of the dragon, at home.
Where the ancestors and masters will welcome the Chosen Ones like brothers,
in the land that is theirs too,
once walked through the space portal, opened by the cosmic sacred sword...
Excalibur is the path that will take home those who have survived.'
.
Merlin realized that long tears had taken to fall on his face; he couldn't control them. He wiped them away furtively, before Arthur could see them.
He hadn't had the slightest idea of the world that Arthur and Gaius had revealed to him and at the same time, he was not even able to translate the missive, since he didn't know the mysterious language...
But now, he knew for sure that he would play his part in that story, because he knew exactly how to interpret the ancient writing.
However, he took the luxury to recover and catch his breath before speaking, because Arthur was still thickly speaking with Gaius.
"Why is it speaking of a constellation drawn by an Alpha and an Omega, Gaius? Do you know why?"
Gaius slowly nodded.
"Knowing the legends... I always thought that two people, destined to establish the Bond between them, would perhaps carry on their skin, like a birthmark, a sky map of some constellations, which would reveal the position of the planet of the Dragon in the universe... but it has always been just an idea of mine, not a sure thing"
Arthur nodded. A sense of uneasiness filled him at these words, which he decided to ignore for now, not being able to go further.
Then, he mused aloud, seeking confirmation in the other two men.
"We have to find the portal that will lead us to the planet of the dragon ... namely home. The portal is a sword"
Gaius ran a hand over his face, tired.
"Probably the last master, the Catha, must know where the portal is..."
Gaius stared at Merlin, sad, as if realizing only then that Merlin's broken destiny was a huge impediment to their mission.
Merlin stared at him. Then, the brunet's voice rose high, sweet as that of a child, singing a soft song...
"A sword for me...
Come play with me?
Mine is already in my hand,
You have to retrieve yours.
We fight like true warriors
Let us fight!
A sword for you ... my King.
A King who still hasn't got one!
Let's go take it from the stone over there!
Excalibur is shining, waiting for your hand,
In the split mountain, where the sea enters it along with the moonlight...
It is stuck fast in solid stone
The sword of the dragon belongs to Courage.
And we, with courage, will go and get it"
.
Arthur was staring at him dumbfounded, a shiver in the soul and in the heart painted on his face, his breath broken; he is cold.
A thousand questions in his head, only one answer that he didn't dare to think about.
"How do you know this rhyme? What song is it? Where could you ever heart it, since it speaks about the sword Excalibur ... about the portal?"
Merlin looked down, tensed due to the memory of his father, that when he was a child had forced him to memorize this song, like a game...
A game that was going to save all their lives one day.
His parent had taken care to leave him a safe end if fate would have ended up separating them...
Balinor had taught him the legacy that Merlin would have needed more than anything else: the way to the portal.
The sword was in the split of the mountain, south of the Omega village where he had lived, now completely deserted, just a day ride from where they were now.
He knew it because he had seen the sword once, surprised that the song wasn't just a fairy tale.
As a child, he had wanted to pull it out of the rock many times, but no one had ever succeeded, since it had stayed still as stone, stuck in it.
.
Merlin looked up at his man, ready to lie to him for the umpteenth time.
In that moment, more than ever, he had to appear calm in order not to end up on a path that by bringing them to the Bond would also misled the fate of everyone else.
They had to stay focused on a single goal.
"When I was a child, I had lived in an Omega-Beta village with my family. We children used to sing it often, while playing war. It dealt with a sword that was stuck in a stone in the split of the mountain near our village, by the sea"
"Have you ever seen it?"
Merlin nodded and Gaius smiled, staring at the two men before him, and with them, at the future.
"After the translation, we have also found the interpretation. We'll find the sword and we will find the portal"
Arthur was shaking, as he started at his mate.
"Are you able to find this place? Is it possible that the sword may still be there?"
Merlin slowly nodded.
"It's at one day ride from here, toward south. The place is called Tintagel. We'll find it. No one has ever been able to pull it out. The legend was that that sword is awaiting one hand and one hand only: that of the Once and Future King, and apparently also the right time. Now, perhaps, we have both"
Arthur sat down again, shivering due to the euphoric but also confusing sensations he was feeling, filled with important and vital prophecies. Finally, he was able to release the tension that had been suffocating him for a year now, abandoned to the hope that eventually everything would be fine.
"We have to leave ...right away. The solstice is approaching ... we don't have much time"
Gaius nodded.
"And you will. But you need a plan first... I'll speak to Alator… we will convene a meeting with the others, the chosen ones of our community. Few we are... We descend from the Pendragons, which over the centuries have scattered in all the lands ... and in many other villages. This should already tell you that we too are survivors. We have been waiting for this moment for a lifetime"
Arthur slowly nodded.
"Let's assemble... I also need to talk to my knights"
Gaius nodded, while Merlin suddenly felt fatigue taking over and Gaius approached him.
"In a few hours we are having a very important meeting, Merlin. It would be better if you rest a couple of hours to regain your strength. Finish your soup and rest. Without you, it would not be the same. Sweet dreams, my boy"
Merlin nodded, drinking from his bowl. Then, he got up again, this time without Arthur's help, and went back on his bed.
The Alpha's eyes never left him.
Arthur was about to leave Gaius's house to go and talk with his men, but before leaving he stood still in front of the doctor for a moment.
Merlin was sleeping and Arthur was finally able to address the issue that was troubled him since that morning ... and now more than ever, after all those revelations.
"Gaius... I need to ask you a question"
The other man looked at him, inviting him to go ahead.
"I would really appreciate it if you could answer me with the utmost sincerity, professionalism and experience about a very personal matter"
The healer understood what the other wanted to know even before he said it.
"Merlin, my mate... he looks like a Beta and rationally I judge him as such ... but my gut keeps telling me that he could be an Omega. Do you think it is possible, even though I'm a Prime, that I may be wrong? Do you have a professional opinion you can give me? Is it possible that Merlin is an Omega the lacks the typical Omega smell because of something I'm not aware of?"
Gaius sighed, knowing that he couldn't lie to their new leader and king, but neither betray Merlin.
Therefore, he tried to find a solution that could help the two young men.
"The only answer I can give you, Arthur, is that in this case, if Merlin is an Omega, you should try to understand the reasons that are forcing him to hide his nature, and respect his silence. Alternatively, you may try to talk to him in order to find a way to convince him to reveal himself. Of his own free will"
Arthur crossed his arms, tensed.
"Are you basically confirming that he may be one?"
Gaius shrugged.
"... I'm just saying that it should be him the one to tell you and nobody else… if he is one, of course. Maybe you should think about it and try finding a way to make him open up to you? However, I hope I don't need to remind you that the punishment for anyone who establishes the Bond is death"
Arthur slowly nodded, ready to go.
"Thank you, Gaius. For your honest answer and for everything"
Gaius bowed his head in reverence.
"If your mate ends up being an Omega ... I am sure that you will find a solution"
Arthur too lowered his head as to say goodbye. He left, full of many solutions in his head. However, due to his character, he could only contemplate a single path.
Merlin was an Omega? Arthur was going to force him to reveal himself.