Sanctuaries
DJ Dubois
November-December 2023
Notes Part 1: This story is an alternate version of "The Witchfinder" from Merlin Season 2.
Notes Part 2: Merlin and his cohorts belong to the BBC and Shine. Other characters' copyrights will be brought up as needed. Please send comments to dante0220 .
Introduction
The triple goddess observes….
A gardener tends a plot of land. Loving hands till the earth. Seeds drop into furrows. Water and Sun nourish the ground. Ideal conditions raise harvest from shoot through growth to maturity. Benefit comes from such crops' flowers and fruit. Each sustains the other. Symbiosis links them.
If only men would understand. Men and their hate…Men and their Intolerance…What they can't control, they crush. Vanity rules such beings rather than necessity. Consideration would lend itself to coexistence rather than coercion.
Tell that to the Pendragon….eye roll
I have bewailed such behaviors on the respective parts of Uther and Arthur Pendragon. In this case, Uther reaped fear from his planted mindset within Camelot. He summoned Aredian the so-called "Witchfinder." Much as with the so-called "Inquisition" of a later age, False Evidence, Forced Confession and Coercion met his ends. He sent many of my children to their untimely end.
Tears fall with each pyre. Their souls proceed to their reward. That I can do at least.
Emrys, it seems, had his issues around Camelot. Depression weighed on him. Mourning distracted him following Freya's death at Arthur's hands. His mind wandered. As you all have seen, Errand in the woods left him with a moment to himself. Meditation desired Entertainment. Spell shaped smoke to look like a horse. Alas, Uther's fear caused a woman to overreact. Thus, Intolerance's spark landed amidst Ignorance's hay. The inferno spread quickly. Aredian arrived soon after. Gaius, despite his earlier sins against me, did not deserve that torture. Emrys and Morgana Pendragon are too central to my plans.
The Bards' twists made it appear as if the matter was settled in Camelot. The truth, however, was much, much different. Fortunately, Emrys has friends in other places. As we shall see, United Front would need to deal with Stupidity and Intolerance. Despite the authority, all hung in the balance….