Leon had promised to himself that he wouldn't think about it again.

That promise had lasted six hours.

He lay in bed that night haunted by fantasies of Mordred's piercing eyes and his hands all over Leon like that day when Leon had gotten hurt during training. In Leon's mind, those butterfly touches rested just a little longer and drifted over delicate areas.

Leon hadn't quite realized how much he fancied Mordred. Leon wasn't innocent; he had been with men before. He had never been caught quite so off-guard, however, and felt somewhat betrayed by his own mind that had kept this from him.

Of course, he wasn't blind. He had known Mordred was handsome and clever and well-built. But then, so were all of knights. That didn't mean he would be fantasizing about them.

That brought to mind an image that he immediately squashed, buried and promised to himself he would never examine again.

But then, he had also promised himself that about Mordred.

The next day, as Leon went about his business, something bothered him.

There was something he wanted to know. Something that factored into Merlin's dramatic exit from council, something that explained how very pale Mordred had turned then. Something to explain the tension between Merlin and Mordred and something to explain Arthur's sudden show of respect for Emrys.

There was something about Emrys he wanted to know, though he wasn't quite sure what it was. And after last night, he wasn't sure he would be able to look Mordred in the eye just yet.

There were other sources of information. Namely, that book that Arthur had taken out. It should be back with Geoffrey by now.

So he went up to the library and Geoffrey led him into the hidden room of magical curios and books.

The book on Emrys was thin and its paper delicate. It was old and though the title was too faded to read, the pages were well woven into the spine and the writing crisp.

"Be careful with that," said Geoffrey, "It is difficult to find true collections of druidic legends. Most of their stories are shared verbally and many of them come from seers. Much is lost or misunderstood due to mystification, so true collections like this one are very rare. Do not lose it."

"Mystification?"

"It's a tendency that sorcerers, including seers, have to speak in riddles."

So it was called mystification. Leon wondered if Mordred knew or if it was a term used by non-magical people. He would have to ask him later.

Leon thanked Geoffrey and promised to treat the book well before retreating to his chambers with it.

Now he could see what the fuss about this Emrys was.

The book was divided into short works from different authors. Leon skimmed it and found Emrys' name speckled throughout, but not in all of the stories.

Part of him wanted to skip to those parts, but the part that won out chose to read the book from cover to cover to understand the whole of druid belief.

After all, he was curious about Emrys, but the chance to understand the druids more thoroughly was difficult to pass by. He wanted to know more about the clans that drifted through the forests of Camelot and preached peace. Or rather, he wanted to understand one druid in particular.

So, he started at the beginning.

The first story was about magic. It didn't describe magic as the rituals of the High Priestesses or the fireballs of vengeful sorcerers. According to the author, magic was rather the spark of life. The thing that made babes take their first breaths, that made sprouts push from their seeds and that created the bonds between lovers. Magic was life. And it was to be protected and cared for.

That was all the first author had to say.

The second author was more disparaging. They spoke of a kingdom that had foregone magic until the crops withered, the fish died in their creeks and the land became uninhabitable.

Leon recognized it as the Perilous Lands.

That writer went on to warn that a greater assault on magic would come and that magic would be driven from Albion entirely. They warned that the death would spread like disease and weaken magic until it ceased to exist entirely.

Leon paused on the grim thought. Were they speaking about the Purge? The book was clearly written decades before that. It didn't make sense until Leon remembered the book was written by seers. He felt a pang of sympathy for this druid who had glimpsed into the future only to see Uther's genocide against his people.

The next writer was more hopeful.

Even from text, they seemed young and excited. They claimed that though they too had seen a grim future, they had also seen that the dark times would be turned around a king who would be king again and a wild warlock.

The following stories expanded on these characters.

The wild warlock appeared most often. Some said he lived in a forest. Others said he lived by a lake. They all named him as powerful in magic and a source of hope. Many said he went mad, either by witnessing a traumatic fight or by experimenting with dangerous magic.

Later stories said he was immortal. They named his eternal life as the source of his madness. Other more grim voices described very graphic, impossible torture. Well, impossible without magic and against mortal men.

Though there were many stories, no one ever heard his name so they called him by the word for immortal in the druid tongue : Emrys.

And though he would be mad, he would also be kind and wise. He would guide a king to restore magic to Albion and bring about a golden age.

They called this king the Once and Future King. Leon suspected the title was some seer hogwash that would only make sense to Leon if he could see the future too.

It was the stories of the Once and Future King truly captured Leon.

They spoke of a brave king who would fight injustice in the court and save his people. They spoke of court intrigue and terrible battles. They spoke of wars against the undead and a sword pulled from a stone that could slay them. They spoke of battles against dragons and corrupt magical creatures and...

Leon knew this story.

He hadn't heard this one from Mordred. Neither had he heard it from the druids or any sorcerer.

He had heard it piece by piece at a tavern, from a prince recounting his adventures after finally returning home.

This was Arthur's story.

And that meant Arthur was the Once and Future King.

It answered a question Leon hadn't asked himself, but should have : Why would a druid become a knight of Camelot?

It made sense if Mordred believed Arthur would restore magic, make peace with the druids and be the greatest king to ever live.

It was strange, he thought, to read the words of someone in the distant past comment on events that had taken place recently in Leon's life.

Would it have changed anything if Leon had read this earlier? If Arthur had?

He tried not to dwell too much on the what-ifs.

The latter part of the book was less about the visions themselves, and more about discussing them. What did Emrys' actions mean about his character? What could be extrapolated?

Emrys himself became more and more of a legendary figure the further Leon read. What had been a wildman became a scholar and then a figurehead of magic. The druids idealized his philosophy and made it their own. Latter essays wondered if he was human at all, or if he was some magical creature like a changeling or a diamair.

The timing of Emrys' arrival during the Purge may not have been a coincidence and one writer thought he was some sort of protector of magic or a being so close to magic itself that it felt threatened by its purge.

Another suggested that Emrys was the incarnation of magic itself. And incarnations of the natural world were called deities. They believed that Emrys was a lost deity who didn't know his own nature and who would not know what to do if treated as most gods were : with reverence, offerings and worship. After all, he never behaved as gods did in their visions.

The following writer responded directly to that one by wondering what would happen to a god who never received worship or respect. Would it affect them? Could they die? How could anyone know?

Deserters of the Old Way may wonder, but we have Seen Emrys' madness. Pyres may burn him, but blasphemy shall fray his mind. This prophecy may yet be overcome with proper respect.

What follower of the Old Ways would deny worship to the Lord of Magic himself?

Morrígan's lost priestesses vie for the veneration he is owed.

Mysticism prickled at Leon's skin. He could recognize it now. It felt like swimming in deeper waters than he could manage without ever having left the shore. It was the feeling of discovering something impossible but discovering it all the same.

A god who did not know he was a god. How strange.

And madness induced by a lack of worship. Was that really so?

Emrys doesn't mind. But I don't like to see him forgotten.

Those had been Mordred's words.

A god who did not know what he was, who could hide himself from recognition and whose symbols of power were used in ignorance. Emrys was cloaked in mystery so thick that without the druids, knowledge of him would certainly disappear.

The druids were a nomadic people and had very little. Leon doubted they had temples or altars dedicated to him. He doubted they could manage much besides small offerings and prayers.

That would put Emrys' main place of power either at the original Round Table, which was abandoned. or at Camelot's. The one in the council room was only one being visited by people and that probably made it equivalent to a main temple for Emrys. And no one had known.

No one except Mordred. And what was a new knight to do?

They were lucky things things had played out as they did.

Now, at least three of them knew, and Arthur had made a statement about Emrys, if briefly, so everyone else seated at the table would at least know his name.

Leon had more faith now that Emrys wouldn't go on a killing spree unprovoked, but he didn't want him to lose his mind.

Leon really didn't want to deal with a mad god who could smite people.

When Leon finished the book, he was happy to find that he understood Mordred's people that much better. The druids had strange notions about equality and pacifism that Leon couldn't quite agree with, but he could see the way these views were reflected in Mordred.

The most notable was Mordred's pacifism.

It was somewhat expected for problems between men of good standing to be settled in duels. Most knights had quite a few under their belt, including Leon. Such duels were rarely deadly and they allowed you to fight properly against those who offended you without harming your status, surroundings or friends.

Mordred, however, had never fought a duel. That wasn't to say he got along with everyone. His silent brooding and serious demeanor got under the skin of many, but it never came to a challenge.

Mordred sort of just... slithered out of those situations. Leon didn't fully understand how. It rather reminded him of how some ladies of court managed to worm their way out of scandal.

Mordred was a very pacifist knight. Or, if Leon thought of it like the authors of the book, a very violent druid.

Hmm.

A sudden thought came to him. If Leon had recognized Arthur as the Once and Future King, then surely Arthur had recognized his own story reading this book. Since they were sometimes together, Arthur may have identified who Emrys was.

And that would explain his sudden turn of behaviour.

He needed to speak to Arthur.

"Leon?"

It was Guinevere who answered the door in her nightgown. Leon hadn't realized how late it had gotten during his reading and hoped he hadn't woken her.

"Could I speak to the king?" he asked her.

Guinevere smiled politely.

"Sure. Come in."

The royal chambers were huge, gawdy, and far from immaculate. Merlin was in charge of them, after all, and the years had done little to improve his skill in household chores. There was a comfortable disarray to it that somehow put Leon at ease. It felt lived in.

Arthur himself was seated by the fireplace with his sword in his lap, inspecting it carefully in the firelight. He was dressed more casually than usual in loose trousers and an untied tunic. There was a slightly rumpled look to him. His hair was mussed, his shirt wrinkled and his shoes were nowhere in sight.

When Leon approached, Arthur looked up from the blade. He seemed tired.

"It's late, Leon," he said as way of greeting.

Leon sat down across from him. There was no point in leaving now.

"My apologies. I hadn't realized how late it was."

"If this is about Merlin, don't bother. Mordred's already given me a dressing down."

Quiet, pacifist Mordred, reprimanding the king? Leon couldn't imagine that.

"He has?"

Arthur hummed and looked away from Leon to resume his inspection of his sword. It was certainly a beautiful blade, but the attention he gave it made it seem like more than a simple weapon. Maybe, to Arthur, it was. Or maybe he was just avoiding Leon's eyes.

"Oh, yes," said Arthur, "He had a whole speech too on behaving at the Round Table. 'It really is unwise to shame a warlock for their magic at the place of power of the god of magic himself,'" Arthur quoted in what Leon guessed was what Arthur thought he sounded like. " 'The Round Table's a symbol of equality, it's disrespectful to pull rank on anyone.' I'm the king; pulling rank is what I do!"

Leon sat through the rant somewhat at a loss. Guinevere had vanished off somewhere and Leon had the distinct impression that she had left Leon at her husband's mercy so she could escape from this very rant.

On the other hand, this was the thing Leon had been missing. This was why Mordred had reacted as he did at council. It hadn't been about the way he treated Merlin, it had been about the disrespect it showed toward Emrys.

"The very audacity of the man," grumbled Arthur, "Anyway, he is right. I'll figure out how to apologize to Merlin somehow, and to Emrys. I don't need another lecture."

"Actually," said Leon, "I meant to speak to you about this."

He placed the book on the table between them.

Arthur's eyes narrowed at the sight of it and he met Leon's eyes with a guarded look.

"What of it?" he asked with feigned indifference.

"I know you read it. Geoffrey said you had taken it."

"As is my right."

"The passages on the Once and Future King seem familiar, don't you think? Arthur, this is about you."

Arthur sighed before answering carefully.

"It isn't the first time I have heard of that term. It isn't even the first time I've been called that. The content of that book has... clarified much about the past several years."

"You knew?"

Arthur waved off Leon's incredulity.

"Not truly. Some of the druids and monsters I've met have called me that. They've never really explained it. The monsters usually try to kill me; druids tend to wander off without elaborating."

That followed with everything Leon knew of druids.

"And the book clarified what exactly?" he asked.

"When I was younger, I was a bit... eager to throw myself into fights. I didn't care if a fight was hopeless as long as it was right. And I always won those fights in the end."

Leon nodded seriously. Though Arthur seemed embarassed by his recklessness, Leon was just proud that the arrogant little prince he had taught had grown to have such an unshakeable sense of justice.

"However," he continued, "it doesn't make sense for me to have won them. Most magical creatures cannot be killed without magic, but I managed it. When I was in hopeless danger, I would be guided to safety somehow. When I had to fight the undead, I found Excalibur." He brushed the hilt of the sword. "It doesn't make sense, but that book says it was Emrys' work. Emrys sent me magic when I needed to slay a beast. Emrys gave me a sword to slay the dead. And the thing is, Leon, it makes sense. For the first time in a decade, somebody has an explanation beyond my getting lucky or being skilled."

Leon didn't immediately react. All that really went through his head was : Oh. That's why he decided to worship Emrys overnight.

Leon didn't know what he would do if he found out a god had been backing him up for years without knowing about them. But why would Emrys do that? He got nothing out of Arthur all this time. Worst, Arthur had actively led hunts against magic. Why would Emrys help someone who hurt his people? Even Arthur's good nature was relatively new; Merlin wasn't wrong when he called Arthur a royal prat. So then, why?

The only thing Arthur had done was, as he so eloquently put it, was to throw himself into hopeless but noble fights. But surely that wasn't enough to sway a deity. Leon was under the impression that sacrificing pheasants or fervent prayer was more popular.

But then, Emrys wasn't that sort of god, was he? He lived among men and thought himself one. The question wasn't whether or not Arthur's bravery could be enough to sway a god. Rather, it was whether or not it would be enough to inspire the favour of a man.

And that question was easy to answer : of course it was.

In that castle with that the true Round Table, Arthur had had nothing else to offer, and he found the fealty of a diverse group of people with it, Leon among them. Under everything else, the will to fight despite the odds and the bravery to stand for what is right were all that truly mattered. That was what had inspired Leon, Elyan, Gwaine and all the Knights of the Round Table.

Of course it could have inspired Emrys.

And maybe, just maybe, part of the inspiration they had felt that day had been Emrys'. They had been at his table, after all.

"Do you know who he is? Emrys?" he asked Arthur, "Apparently he lives in Camelot as one of its citizens."

Arthur blinked.

"Really? I didn't think he was literally here. I imagined he would be more," he made so hand motion that might have meant "wind" in other circumstances.

Leon deflated.

"So you don't know," he said, "I suppose it was a long shot."

Something suddenly sparked in Arthur's eyes and when he sat up, Leon knew he was up to something.

"But you know who might?" asked Arthur rhetorically.

Leon tasted the answer leaving his mouth before he fully made the decision to speak. Arthur, who hadn't really been expecting an answer, soldiered on with his idea and they ended up saying the name at the same time.

"Mordred."