Revelations

Morning came without any disturbances, and at sunrise an elderly, long and white haired man was leaving the camp at the edge of the clearing. He was carrying a brown knapsack on his back, and a stick in order to aid his weary body as he made his way through the forest. Little would people know that this elderly man was the most wanted man in all of Camelot. Someone who was supposed to burn at the pyre on this very day, and someone who would surely bring about a desperately needed change in this world.

Merlin had awoken rather suddenly before first light. He hadn't planned on it, but he had dozed off none-the-less. He couldn't remember if he had dreamt or not, but assumed that he for once hadn't, as he usually remembered the visions from the other world. Perhaps he hadn't been asleep for long enough, or maybe his sleep hadn't been deep enough.

He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, glancing down towards his dirtied body and dirty clothes afterwards. He needed to wash and change his clothes, and thus he ventured to the nearby stream, still alert of his surroundings. Camelot would surely not give up so easily, so most likely the woods would be crawling with knights in search of him. He stripped off his clothes and stepped out into the stream, soaking his hands in the water before he scrubbed himself with the liquid, trying to remove as much of the dried mud as possible. He got most of it off, but he'd need a proper bath in order to get squeaky clean. He supposed that this would have to do for the time being.

He returned to his camp carrying his dirtied clothes in his hands, dropping them to the ground as he approached the knapsack. He reached inside and pulled out a blue tunic, his trousers and a jacket. Looked like this worlds Merlin had been forced to leave in such a hurry, where he hadn't been able to bring his clothes with him, nor his book at that. A moment later he found himself fully dressed, and somewhat clean. Now would be a good time to go over everything that had been packed. He quickly located the map Morgana had mentioned, the letter he had noticed during his escape and the food which would last him two meals. At the bottom of it all was a dark, tightly wrapped cloak, which he pulled out. That would actually be rather handy. Gaius had also packed a waterskin, most likely to ensure that Merlin stayed hydrated through the trip. He truly appreciated the thought and consideration.

The letter was opened as he sat himself back down onto his straw bed with crossed legs. His eyes begun to pass over the letters that had been written on the paper, reading each word that seemed to have been written in Gaius' handwriting.

"Merlin. I have packed some supplies for your journey, and I hope that you will find good use for them. I am writing this letter with some risk, therefore I must ask that you destroy it once it has been read, in case you are recaptured.

There is something you need to know before you reach the Sanctuary.

They must never know of what has happened, and that you are not the Merlin they have all been following. They can not know that passing over to a different world is possible, and they can not know that the individual they are following no longer shares their agenda. If they find out, they may choose to follow their own path and select a different leader, which would render you powerless when it comes to making a change.

Morgana spoke to me about what she had dreamt after your arrest, and I am afraid of what may happen if they view your sudden change of heart as an act of betrayal. You must be careful, my boy, and you must avoid suspicion. The changes you can make can not be made suddenly and without careful consideration. This may mean that you will be forced to make choices you personally would not make.

I would never ask of you to set your own beliefs and personal feelings aside if it was not of the greatest importance. Once you have fully settled in at the Sanctuary, I hope that you will be able to find ways to change things for the better for all of our sakes.

I wish you the best of luck in the time to come, my boy.

Sincerely,

Gaius."

The words on the paper filled Merlin's mind with things he had not even considered. He hadn't thought about how the ones at the Sanctuary would react to his sudden chance, nor how they would react if he told them that the impossible was in fact possible. Words of his capture had likely reached the Sanctuary, and if he returned with completely different views and a new agenda, it would damage his credibility greatly, and they may believe that he had completely turned against him. At worst, he could be faced with an execution there on counts on treason. He didn't dare think about it. Again it would appear that he would have to keep a secret, but this time his secret would not be so easily kept hidden.

He lacked a great deal of crucial information, not to mention he didn't know if he'd be able to act like the twisted and darkened version of himself if put on the spot. Magic had been relatively easy enough to hide, but being a completely different person, who doesn't have anything in common with the person he'd be replacing would most certainly not be an easy task. He had never really been in much of a leader position at all in his life either. He had mostly been following and picking up the pieces after Arthur's stupid decisions, and then having to save the prat because of it.

This was going to turn into a headache, but he couldn't complain. At least he had a purpose in this world, although it wasn't quite what he had imagined it would be. Honestly, he hadn't thought that he'd have a purpose at all, but maybe he had come here for a reason. There were a place he could go in order to get answers to what was to come in the future, but he did not wish to travel there, not after he had realized that knowing the future had been what had set everything into motion. He wouldn't make such a mistake. Not in this world.

Gaius' wishes were followed, and the letter was burned at the mutter of a word. He wished that he could have kept the letter for some comfort, but he understood his mentors concerns perfectly fine.

The cloak he had been given were flung over his shoulders and attached at the front, and his neckerchief was removed and stored away. He begun the preparations for the aging spell, deciding that, now that he had the cloak to hide his clothes, traveling as an elderly man would be the best way to avoid detection.. Assuming this worlds Merlin hadn't used an aging spell as well at some point. If he had, then that would've been a major flaw in this strategy. He'd just have to keep his fingers crossed.

It did not take long before the Young Warlock had turned old, looking to be about eighty years, with long white hair, long white beard and a slightly crooked posture. His bones were aching and he felt fragile where he stood, but he knew that his body was as healthy as it had been only a few moments ago. The sun was now rising in the skies, and it was time to leave the camp which had been his home ever since he had arrived at Camelot.

He picked up a decently length stick from the ground as he ventured through the forest, using it to support himself as he walked through the rough terrain and towards the road. In his vacant hand he held the map, making note of the location of the sanctuary. It shouldn't be more than a days travel on foot, but that was assuming that he would be able to maintain his normal speed in this aged body, which he doubted. He would likely have to set up camp for the night at some point, but he aimed to cover as much distance as possible before then.

He found the road eventually. He passed a few carriages and some travellers at that, but he was met with nothing but kindness and compassion. Some people stopped to speak to the old man traveling alone, wondering where he was headed, and if he needed any assistance. It was highly unusual to see a man of his current age, let alone one traveling. Life expectancy was a bit higher for the nobility, than it was for the common folk, but even for the nobility reaching the age of eighty was highly uncommon.

He could have sworn that his heart stopped in his chest the moment he saw Camelot red appear on the road ahead of him. A patrol of knights, whom were without a doubt searching for him. He could feel their eyes upon him as he stepped out towards the side to allow them easy passage. However, he released a sigh of relief the moment the knights nodded their heads lightly in a sign of respect and gratitude. They didn't recognize him, and for that he was thankful.

He carried on along the road, passing through one of the villages that were closest to Camelot. Nobody recognized him in this place either, receiving the same amount of consideration he had gotten on the road. He was beginning to realize that being an elderly man may have it's benefits, especially if you are the most wanted man in all of Camelot.

Wanted posters with a bounty had been hung up in various places, with a very accurate drawing of himself upon the parchment. Anyone who hadn't seen his face before, but had seen one of those posters would have been able to recognize him immediately. Arthur must have been pretty angry at the fact that he had escaped, for posters such as these were rarely hung up within the kingdom. They hadn't even done it for Morgana in his own world. In fact, he couldn't remember a single occasion where he had seen one of these before.

His feet soon carried him out of the village and back onto the road. He would have been a bit more alert when traveling these roads, but due to Camelot's frequent patrols through the kingdom, he doubted that there would be any bandits lurking nearby, hoping to capitalize on an elderly man traveling alone. Really, it would be the safest time for anyone to travel now, and yet the roads had been emptier than usual. Perhaps Camelot had issued a warning for the citizens and villagers to stay off the roads and keep inside, as there was a dangerous warlock on the lose. Dangerous.. He was nowhere near dangerous for anyone, but Arthur didn't believe that.

He came to a halt at the side of the road, reaching inside his cloak, retrieving the map he had received. He briefly checked to see if he was heading on the right path, which he was. This was going surprisingly well. He had half way expected there to be more difficulties, though it was dusk, and he needed to consider setting up camp for the night..

His train of thought was abruptly brought to a stop as he felt something cold press against the skin of his neck. God damn opportunists.

"How about you kindly hand over your belongings, old man?"

Merlin's gaze lifted from the map, scanning his surroundings. A small group of three. They probably intended to take advantage of someone's sense of security when the roads were so heavily patrolled. The chance of someone traveling alone would be much higher, rendering them easy targets.

"My apologies, but I fear that I have grown hard of hearing in my old age. What did you say, young man?!" Merlin practically shouted, as if to prove his point. He had picked up the sound of rapidly approaching horses in the distance. The bandits had likely not heard it yet, and it was probably a Camelot patrol. He may not even have to use his magic, it could resolve itself perfectly fine on it's own.

"I said.. Hand over your belongings, old man!" The bandit stupidly repeated, much louder than before, only further aiding in drowning out the sounds of the approaching patrol. Turns out that he had yelled loud enough to the knights to hear, for when they appeared, they already had their weapons drawn. The two other bandits were quick to draw their weapons, before the shout of their leader caused them to dash off to the side of the road and into the woods.

"It's not worth it!" Had been the words the bandit had shouted, and in the time the Camelot knights were upon them, they were disappearing into the woods. Some of the knights were swift to dismount, giving chase into the woods, whilst the remainder stayed on the road.

"Are you all right? Did they harm you?" one of the knights questioned. Merlin directed his gaze towards the knight, before he shook his head lightly. "No, they did not, and I have the lot of you to thank for that. Had you not appeared when you did, then I fear what may have happened" He stated, bowing his head lightly.

From the woods he could hear the sounds of metal clashing. It appeared that the knights had caught up to the small trio, his head turned in the direction of the sound, and the knight judged that as worry.

"Do not fear, they will be captured and tried for their crimes. They will not be able to harm you, nor anyone else any more." Merlin turned his head back towards the knight, nodding it lightly. "That is a relief."

"May I ask where you are headed? It will be night in not too long, and traveling alone is not safe, especially not at night."

"I am merely headed to the village just down this road. I am traveling to visit my son and his family." That ought to be a decent excuse he supposed, not something anyone would question, not that he could see a reason for why anyone would question an old man.

He caught glimpse of the knights appearing from the forest from the corner of his eye. The three bandits appeared to have been captured and bound, and were quickly flung onto the horses as the knights mounted them once more. "We must ask that you accompany us to the closest village, and continue your travels in the morning. We can not leave you here with a clean conscience, knowing what may happen."

"I would hate to be a burden, or to slow the lot of you down any further" Merlin stated in response. Sadly, the knights wouldn't have it, and he found himself escorted back to the village he had left not too long ago. It was a bit of a setback, but when one of the knights offered to pay for a room in the local inn he didn't object and graciously accepted.

He would simply have to redo the aging spell in the morning, should it disappear during the night.

It pleased him that he spell had lasted the night when he awoke the next morning, it saved him the hassle of redoing the spell, and allowed him to leave bright and early, but not after he had breakfast. It was the last of the food that Gaius had packed for him, and he only hoped that he'd be able to reach the sanctuary today, or else he'd have to go hungry.. He could always find something to eat in the woods, but he really did not wish to have any more of that foul tasting soup.

The rest of his travels went smoothly, and soon he found himself standing before the entrance to the sanctuary. It was quite remarkable and breathtaking, and he couldn't help but to think that it had been constructed through the assistance of magic.

The sanctuary was surrounded by a massive stone wall, something which could take decades to build be hand, but had been erected in merely a few years, from what he had heard. He reached into his pocket and retrieved the vial with the potion he had created before his departure to Camelot, chugging down the foul tasting substance. He removed his cloak, finding that his aches and crooked posture disappeared at the same time, the effects of the spell wearing off. He was just thankful that the potion had actually worked. He could maybe have dispelled it without the potion, but he went for the method he knew worked.

At the sight of who it was, the guards at the entrance were swift to open the gates for him. He was being welcomed with open arms, but perhaps understandably so. This place was supposed to be his home. A place his counterpart had constructed, and the place where he had lived. He stepped through the gates, remembering the words Gaius had written. He needed to avoid suspicion. He had to make it seem like he belonged there, that this was his home. There was no going back now.

This was his home now, and he needed to adapt accordingly.