A few weeks after their trip to Londinium, Ector could only contemplate the sky with a gloomy gaze, a bottle of alcohol at his feet.
News of the city's destruction circulated throughout the land, along with the death of Uther Pendragon at the hands of his brother, Vortigern.
Even though he had been warned by Merlin and the man himself during his visit, hearing the news still made his heart ache.
"It's the best mead I've had with me. It may not be much, but please accept it, my old friends." Ector said as he poured the contents of the bottle onto the floor and, once it was emptied, he placed his fist on his chest before he prayed for both his king and the soldiers who fell during the fight that happened at Londinium.
Ector had long known that death was part of their duties as knights, whether it was killing people or getting killed. But despite knowing this fact, it is never easy for him to come to terms with the deaths of his comrades whose bodies may be left rotting in the destroyed city.
The least he could do now was to give them a proper memorial in the small village he had grown fond of and which was still safe from the skirmishes that were taking place across the country.
"I witness this end of your time in our world. Rest now, so that we may drink together in Annwn."
And after praying on his knees for several minutes, he finally stood up before leaving the premises, returning home where he will perform his last duty as a knight of Uther, which was to raise his child to become the future king of Britain.
That was the mission Uther gave him the night of his visit at his castle, and the reason he was called by him in the first place as the day following Uther's tragic demise, Merlin announced a prophecy that shook the whole land upside down.
King Uther's successor has been chosen.
That person will be the future king.
The new king, the advent of the Red Dragon, will now gather the Knights of the Round Table, while the White Dragon will be defeated.
The king is still alive and well, and that proof will come soon.
Though Ector did not believe in Merlin's prophecy about the chosen King of Britain, he did feel the same air from the girl as he did his king. He felt that he must raise her as a knight, and he wished for her to grow.
And it was a duty he must achieve no matter what as, soon upon Uther's death, Britain slowly entered the Dark Ages with warfare becoming a part of everyday life.
While the island was not a rich land to begin with, crops on the island began to gradually become scarce as the soil slowly changed, losing its fertility. People's lives began to deteriorate day by day, becoming darker and more hopeless every day. Even their village is not safe from the changes happening as groups of bandits and Gael invaders from the other side of the sea.
It became clear to Ector that if nothing was done and things continued this way, they would soon destroy themselves alongside the island in the near future.
However, despite the current events, Merlin's words that spread throughout the island still gave people a slight hope in them as they all eagerly awaited the arrival of the future king who will unite the country and bring peace with him. The only downside of it being Vortigern who was looking for the king's successor fiercely, sending his troops all over the country.
Thinking about how all believed in the words of Merlin, the renowned great magus who had served as King Uther's aid and defender of Britain, Ector couldn't help but shake his head as he knew of her twisted personality, personally thinking that she didn't care about the problems going on and felt nothing but amusement instead.
He never managed to understand that person nor could tolerate her personality, despite her support to the crown.
But he was also deeply relieved that he noticed she seemed to have calmed down, her pranks having lessened in intensity and mostly involving her son instead of the country as a whole like she used to when he was young.
Thinking about his son, he couldn't help but to have mixed feelings about him.
As a knight, he was proud to see his son possess immense talents when it came to weapon wielding to the point he was surprised how fast he became skilled under his tutelage, surpassing many of his subordinates he used to train himself.
Sword, lance, spear, bow, axe, even hand-to-hand combat.
Kay would absorb everything he learned from him like a sponge.
But as a father, he was also saddened to make his son fight on the battlefield at such a young age, despite his talents. He wished he had continued to be the innocent child he was before he suddenly became invested in his training, instead of always wanting to play around.
However, he was quite puzzled by her change in behavior which happened within a day, with Kay suddenly becoming more interested in swords, but also more polite and sort of distant towards both him and his wife, the latter lamenting that her son no longer hugged her with a smile like he used to do.
'I wonder if something happened that day for Kay to change that much? While he did… mature, to say the least, and became more responsible, he didn't change that much.'
But despite the change in his behavior, he found himself able to trust his son's abilities, especially after witnessing his actions and feats during the siege. Fortunately for him, it seemed his experience left no sort of trauma in him, unlike many squires who were paralyzed with fear after experiencing the horror of wars first hand.
He sincerely hoped that such things would never happen to his child, but with Merlin keeping involving herself with him, to say he wasn't worried would be a lie, even if he doesn't let it show on his face.
'I did ask him to train by himself while I educated the young lord, helping her to learn how to write, but I haven't seen him since this morning. Where did he go? Don't tell me, with the Great Magus...'
"Sir Ector!"
As he walked down the path to his home, he was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard someone call his name, prompting to turn in the voice's direction with his usual stern face to see one of the militiamen running in his direction.
"What is it, Ieuan?"
"Ah, I came… to deliver you a message… from your son…"
Seeing the young man speak with a shaky voice, Ector couldn't help but to let out a frown.
"What did he say?"
"He asked to tell you that he won't be present for lunch before heading to the bandit camps who have settled in the area with this beautiful lady."
Hearing this, Ector felt a headache as he quickly let out a groan, placing his hand over his eyes.
"And you didn't stop him?"
"We tried but… we eventually quit after he wiped out the fifth camp."
'Why did this happen...'
Ector could only let out a groan, not knowing that most future events that would occur in the province were not orchestrated by Merlin as he had first thought, but all happened because of Kay's own initiative.
It would take him a few years to figure out that, much to his misfortune, Kay and Merlin were much more alike than he imagined, much to his shame and increasing gray hair.