Author's note: I am not going to say much. Just thanks to the guest reviewer who has answered my question. Today's question: Who's your least favourite character in Merlin? Mine is Arthur Pendragon.
On with the story.
Chapter 29
Departure of a father
You think I am the only one cursed.
You think The One is kind to you.
You think you are better than me.
You think you are blessed.
...
You are wrong.
You and I are not so different.
You and I are both cursed.
You and I are both immortal.
...
Cursed to live till the end of time.
...
That same voice haunting his sleep for three nights in a row.
Those same dark red eyes filled with hatred glared at him in his every dreams.
That same hideous creature torturing his mind with the same ominous words relentlessly.
The creature which he had defeated two years ago at the isle of the cursed.
He was becoming restless with each passing days. He had thought that maybe with time it would pass. But when he had woken from sleep at the night before the rescue mission, he knew for sure that he needed help. The problem was not any people could help him. Not his friends. Not his colleagues. Not Gilli. Not Daegal. Not Roy. Not his beloved wife. Not his mother.
There was only one man who could help him. The one man who had helped him when he was at his lowest. He who had given him a ray of hope when there had been only darkness around him. He who had taught him many secret of arcane arts in these last two years.
The man who had become his mentor and almost become like a father figure to him. The fisher king. Uriel Ignotus.
It's true that Gaius had been his first mentor. That old man had cared for him deeply. He had loved him like his son. And in return, Gaius had been loved by him greatly too. That old man had been his rock, his support, his confidant.
For what Gaius had done for him in Camelot was something he knew he would never be able to repay.
He would always be grateful to that old physician. He would always be the father he had never had.
But there had been one thing that he hadn't liked about his first mentor. His over protectiveness. He had always been so worried that his ward would be caught. For that, Gaius had always urged and sometimes, forced not to use magic too often.
He had known that Gaius had been doing this because he had thought that he had been protecting his charge. But the truth was that Gaius's over protectiveness had made him feel like a caged animal devoid of any freedom.
His mother had sent him to Camelot to learn how to control his magic. Gaius's guiding hand had helped him to accomplish that. And moreover, Gaius had given him a magical book to study the art of magic.
In the begining, Merlin had thought that the knowledge preserved inside that one book would be enough to protect Arthur and fulfill his destiny. For some time, the book had actually been more than enough to suffice his needs.
But when Morgause had come to the picture, he had slowly begun to feel that only raw power would not be enough. He had felt that Morgause had been much more talented than him and he had always been afraid that he might not be able to overpower her. Hell! He would've died at her hand in the throne room had Gaius not intervened in that fight.
From that moment on, he had known that he would need to learn more about magic and it's heritage if he wanted to defeat his enemies and save his friends.
Unfortunately, there had been no one in Camelot other than Gaius who would help him in that matter. And Gaius himself had never been powerful enough to help any sorcerer except about basic magic. His only forte was healing magic and his young ward had always been a hopeless case in that specific school of magic excluding some rare occasions.
As a result, he had begun to feel helpless from time to time and every time he had hated it. He had felt helpless when That hag Calliech taken Lancelot as the sacrifice. He had felt helpless when the dorocha made his magic useless.
He had felt helpless when Uther had died before him; unable to realize what had been happening. He had been helpless when the formorrah had controlled his actions. He had felt helpless when the Lamia had been eating away his friends' consciousness.
He had been helpless when he had known that Agravaine had lied to everyone and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. He had been helpless when Gwen had been under Morgana's spell and unable to undo it. He had felt stupid when he had first realized that he had no idea about the Disir.
Merlin had never thought back about those incidents when he had been in Camelot. In fact, one trouble in Camelot had always led to another and Merlin barely had enough time to think about the past troubles.
But here in Elmet, he now had enough time to ponder about these things. At first, he had thought that his inaction had been the cause of his helplessness. Then, after much thinking he had realized that in many cases, it hadn't been his inactions that caused his helplessness rather it had been his lack of knowledge.
In these last two years, he had studied much about magic and it's heritage. The more he read, the more he realized that how much ignorant he had been about magic.
He, Merlin Emrys was the powerful sorcerer of legend and he hadn't been able to teleport or make a truth serum or become invisible back then for crying out loud.
He was taught by Finna, Alice, Daegal, Freya, Vendrick and Nayem in various schools of magic. His skill as a warlock had increased twenty fold than his skill he had had in Camelot.
He was grateful to all of his teachers. But in truth, it was Uriel whose lessons he had enjoyed most. Granted the former king was not an official master of the academy but the present king of Elmet took private lessons from his predecessor.
Merlin had learnt many thing from Uriel. He had honed his power in the field of ancient religion and he could now harness the power of ' The Calling ' more efficiently because of Uriel's teaching. He now knew more about magical history and it's origin.
In a word, Uriel had made Merlin understand what magic truly was. The fisher king was not so vague as Kilgharrah. He was straight forward and answered any of Merlin's questions if he could. The former king had also taught him about battle strategies, history of Albion, diplomacy and sword fighting. Merlin realized through these lessons that Uriel was much more wiser than he let on and he had no quarrel to share that knowledge with Merlin.
Truth be told, sometimes he had thought that Gaius had held back from teaching him as if he was afraid. Merlin knew it was absurd and felt guilty immediately for thinking something like that about Gaius who had always loved him unconditionally.
Merlin had to admit that Gaius might be a father figure to him but as a mentor, Uriel was much better than Gaius.
That's why he was looking desperately for his mentor just after returning from Amata. He needed to talk with Uriel and he needed to do it now. If anyone could explain his dreams and the cursed one's words, if anyone could help him it would be Uriel Ignotus.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Uriel was at Grand Library reading his own written book ' The triple goddess' rise and fall '. Merlin had helped him greatly in writing it specially the part where Merlin fought with the Djinn. Uriel hadn't seen it so he had to rely on Merlin's description alone.
He had finished writing it last year and it had become one of the most popular books among the adult citizens of the city. On the other hand, the youngsters had said the book was boring except the last part where Merlin had dueled with Ajajil.
Uriel couldn't help feeling a bit proud of his work. He had never written any book during his mortal life. And his first attempt on writing was arguably a complete success. Why shouldn't he be proud?
Although it was true that without Merlin's constant pushing and encouragement, he wouldn't have been able to complete the book. After all, he was renowned for slacking off in work during his reign.
Speak of the devil. Uriel raised his eyes from the book after sensing that someone was coming towards him. It was Merlin.
He smiled at the young king fondly. Merlin didn't smile back as he came closer. In fact, he looked worried and his hair was a complete mess. His eyes looked like they were full of fear. And he looked paler than usual.
Uriel frowned at the king's very out of character behaviour and appearance.
" I need to talk to you, mentor. " Merlin said without letting any emotion slip through his voice.
But Uriel could sense a hint of desperation in his voice. After teaching the young man for two long years, Uriel had learnt to read Merlin's mind. He could tell when the king was feeling good and when he was not. He was already suspecting something was wrong with Merlin when the rumours began to spread. Now Merlin's voice confirmed Uriel's suspicions.
So, he jumped to the right question. " What's wrong, Merlin? "
Merlin seemed surprised at Uriel's question. He blinked and began to ask.
" How did you... "
Uriel stopped him in the midway.
" I have been teaching you for two years, Merlin. I know you well enough. Now tell me what's wrong. "
Merlin hesitated at first. Seeing this, Uriel pulled out a chair beside him with his leg, put the book he was reading on the long reading table.
" Have a seat. "
Merlin sat down without a word.
" So? " Uriel asked raising his left eyebrow. ( He knew Merlin always opened up to his previous mentor when he did that )
" I had a dream. " Merlin said while sitting down.
" Nightmare, I presume? " Uriel asked in a worried tone.
" Yes. "
" Tell me about it. "
Uriel had thought that Merlin might hesitate to tell him but to his surprise, Merlin began to tell him everything that he had seen and heard in his dream.
Uriel began to pale when he heard Merlin's description but kept calm for the sake of his protégé. After describing the dream and voice completely, Merlin stopped.
" Are you sure that's what you heard and saw? Ajajil? You saw him? " Uriel asked hoping against hope that Merlin might say no.
" I am positive. " Uriel tensed visibly at this.
" What is it? " Merlin asked noticing the tenseness in Uriel.
Uriel took a deep a breath.
" I think it's time. There's no use to hide it from you now. "
" What are you talking about? " Merlin asked in a clueless voice.
Uriel stood up. " Follow me. "
" Why? "
" No question. Just follow me. "
" Hey, I am the king. You have to answer me. " Merlin protested.
" A king who says I am the king... "
" Is no king at all. I know. You told me that. But I need answers. Not more questions. "
" You'll have your answers where I am taking you. Be silent and follow me. "
That shut Merlin up and he began to follow wordlessly.
They went out of the library and began to walk towards the white gold tower. Merlin thought they were going to the Necropolis again.
But Uriel went to the levitation chamber when they entered the tower. Merlin follwed him behind and soon he was levitating upwards with Uriel using the levitation portal. They reached the top of the tower and Uriel ushered him to the roof of the tower.
After reaching at the center of the roof, Uriel looked back at Merlin.
" Here is where we need to be. "
" Why here? " Merlin asked still at a loss to make out anything of his mentor's sudden weird behaviour.
" Because I want to say goodbye. And I want to say it properly. "
" What are you talking... " Merlin couldn't finish the sentence.
" I'm sorry, Merlin. "
" What? " To say Merlin was puzzled would be an under-statement. He couldn't understand a thing Uriel was saying.
" I am sorry for hiding the fact from you that you are immortal. " Uriel said in one breath.
Merlin would've asked Uriel to repeat the words again but he had heard it clearly. Crystal clear.
YOU ARE IMMORTAL.
He had heard it. The same words that he had been hearing for three nights. He had heard it from Ajajil and now he heard it from his mentor. Suddenly, he felt weak on his knees. He would have fell down hadn't Uriel grabbed his hand.
He began to shake uncontrollably.
So, it was true. What Ajajil said. He was immortal. It couldn't be. It just couldn't be. He wanted to grow old with Freya and his friends. He wanted to see his son grow up. He wanted to live. But if couldn't die, then he wouldn't be able to live at all. He would be an undead. A waking corpse. Doomed until the end of time.
He felt soothing touch of his mentor on his shoulder and that broke the dam. He hugged Uriel tight and silent tears began to fall from his eyes.
" It's going to be alright. It's going to be alright. " Uriel murmured in Merlin's ear while ruffling his hair gently.
" No. It's not alright. How can you say that? " Merlin pulled out from the hug and asked his mentor with an accusing glare. His voice was still shaking uncontrollably.
" You don't want to be immortal, right? " Uriel asked in a sad voice.
" Of course not. Who would ever want to live forever? " Merlin screamed out the last part.
" Just as I suspected. But I can help you. "
Merlin's head shot up hearing Uriel's last words.
" You what? " He asked. A sparkle of hope was glittering in his eyes.
" I can help you lose your immortality. "
" How? " Merlin couldn't say anything else. He was too overwhelmed.
" The One has given you this immortality because your soul will lift a curse during the third year of your reign. How it will be done, The One hadn't told me. Only that he has given you a choice. You can remain immortal after that or you can lose your immortality. "
" I want to be mortal. You are saying that someone or something will make me mortal if I only to chose to become mortal? " Merlin asked with a happy voice.
" Yes. Do. You. Want. To. Be. Mortal? " Uriel asked the question slowly and clearly.
" Yes, without a doubt. " Merlin said.
" Are you one hundred percent sure? "
" Yes. " Merlin answered resolutely.
" Then hold still. " Uriel rested his left hand on Merlin's chest.
Merlin couldn't understand what was happening and suddenly a bright blue light engulfed him and Uriel. He looked at the light with awe. Just like it appeared, it also vanished suddenly.
" What did you do? " Merlin asked after the light faded.
" I placed the spell granted by The One which will snatch the immortal part of your soul after you lift the prophesized curse. "
" This is the third year of my reign. Which means the said curse will appear soon and I will also be mortal soon, correct? "
Uriel nodded but he still looked sad.
" What are you still looking sad, mentor? " Merlin asked fearfully.
" Because I have to go back to Avalon now. It was my last job to offer you the choice. Now that it's done, I have to go back. That's why I delayed to give you the information about your immortality. I didn't want to leave. "
Merlin was dumbstruck. He couldn't say anything. So, Uriel continued.
" You are the best thing that had happened to me after I came here. I never had any son or daughter. " He stopped there, took a deep breath and continued again.
" When I began to teach you, you were just my student and my king. But in these two years, you have become more than that. "
Tear was threatening to run down Uriel's cheeks. He was checking it with all his emotional might but he could sense that he was breaking down inside. In the end, a lone tear fell from his eyes and he said,
" You have become a son to me that I never had. "
Merlin's eyes widened hearing this.
Uriel then chuckled. " I guess I was selfish. I didn't want to leave. But my work here is done and I have to go the place where I belong. " Uriel's form began to fade.
Merlin became alarmed at the sudden change in his mentor's appearance.
" Mentor, you can't go. I still need you. You can't just leave me. "
" I have taught you everything I can, Merlin. I am proud of you. You won't need me anymore. Be a great king. "
" No, don't go. There must be another way. " Merlin yelled while watching helplessly his mentor becoming fader with each passing seconds.
" I wish there was. But there is none. Be strong, my king. Goodbye. May we meet at the afterlife. "
" My son. "
And then he was gone. No one would believe that the fisher king was standing there just a minute ago. He vanished. Just like that.
Merlin stared at the spot where his mentor was standing only a second ago. He still couldn't believe he was gone. He was at a loss what he should do.
' Be strong. ' Uriel's word vibrated in his memory.
Yes, that's what he would do. He would be strong. That man had called him as his son. A thing that even Gaius hadn't called him. He would never be able to repay that man. The least he could do was to honor his last wish.
He wouldn't cry. He would be strong. He would be a great king.
" I promise you. " He looked up at the heaven.
" Father. "
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
So, how did I do? Sorry for the shortness. Next chapter: Arthur and his entourage going to Elmet. Aren't you guys excited. Please leave a review. They are like a breath of fresh air for me. Have a nice day ( or night ). Happy reading.
Adios
- Assassin of Syria