An Unlikely Alliance

An hour later, Merlin and Vortimer sat playing a game of Shatranj, which Vortimer had learned from a Persian trader who happened to be selling a set.

 

Though Merlin was supposed to be concentrating on the game, Merlin found he couldn't. He kept thinking about his conversation with Vortimer just over an hour previous. A born leader. The idea bounced around in Merlin's head.

 

Merlin also realized that in order for him to officially accept Vortimer's proposition, Vortimer's suggestion of alliance must be accepted. Being honest with himself, Merlin realized that was a far shot.

 

"The Shah is dead," Vortimer said, moving his Rukh to a place so that no matter what Merlin did, the Shah would die on Vortimer's next turn.

 

Vortimer put his hands behind his head and admired his move. Vortimer had a smug look on his face, a well deserved one it was, for Vortimer had won three out of three of the games that had been played.

 

As though the fates had been waiting for just that moment, a messenger popped his head through the flap of the medical tent.

 

"The Uther and Aurelianus War Councils have finished discussing your offer, and wish to inform you of their decisions," the messenger said, as if fearful of what Vortimer would do to him.

 

"Marvelous, tell them to come in!" Vortimer said cheerfully, still celebrating his wins.

 

Without another word, the messenger left the tent and fetched the War Council members. In file, just as they had left, the men reentered the tent, forming again around Vortimer's bed.

 

Aurelianus was the first to speak. "Vortimer, the Councils of Aurelianus and Uther have talked and we have ultimately decided that we will accept your proposal of alliance, on two terms."

 

Vortimer attempted to look surprised. "Oh? What might those terms be?"

 

Before answering, Aurelianus looked around and the elite men around him. "Our first term is that the three War Councils that are represented here today be merged into one for the duration of this war and anytime the Saxons should think to attack us again."

 

"Granted."

 

"And our second term is that once this war is over, provided that we win…" Aurelianus trailed off before continuing. "Is that you and I shall share the throne of Britannia, as we both know I am the true heir."

 

Vortimer could not help but be impressed by the audaciousness of the term. Yet, it was true. Aurelianus was the true heir, not he. To give up the throne would be the absolutely right thing to do, but Vortimer was reluctant to give up his throne. As it was, Aurelianus was only suggesting that Vortimer share the throne with him.

 

"I offer a counter proposal," Vortimer said finally, "We share the throne, but either of us will rule of different places. I should get England, as I have lived there all my life, and you should get Wales, as you have lived here for the past almost thirty years. As for the Kingdom of the Picts, you and I should rule it together."

 

Aurelianus thought for only a second before speaking. "Accepted."

 

Without any other words, everyone save for Vortimer, Catigern, Pascent, and Shiroix, who was now lying on his bed again, walked quickly and quietly out of the tent. There was nothing left to attend to, and no reason left to remain in the tent.

 

Merlin began to walk to his own tent as he left, but Aurelianus called to him.

 

"Merlin, we must speak. Come with us."

 

Obeying the simply command, Merlin jogged back over to Aurelianus and the others, falling into stride with Blaise.

 

"Where are we going Blaise?" Merlin asked, curious as always.

 

"You shall see Merlin. Just wait." Blaise said softly, never looking over at the boy beside him.

 

Indeed, Merlin did see where they were going before too very long. They were taking him to the tent where the War Council had held their meeting only the previous morning.

 

As quietly as they had left the medical tent, everyone entered the War tent. Everyone sat down in a chair, leaving Merlin standing at the end of the table closest to the entry flap.

 

"Merlin," Aurelianus started, "I should like to introduce you to some friends of mine. They have been on my side for many years, and are serving on the War Council."

 

Merlin eyed the group before him. There were only three he did not recognize. They must be the friends Aurelianus was talking about.

 

Aurelianus beckoned to one of the three, whom then stood to face Merlin. As etiquette dictated, Merlin bowed before the man. The man acknowledged the bow with one of his own, albeit not as low as Merlin's had been.

 

"Merlin, this is my dear friend Sire Leodegrance, King of Carmelide. He is a fine warrior, and an even greater king."

 

Leodegrance grinned widely and moved to shake Merlin's hand. Merlin quickly took note of the man's features; scruffy beginnings of a beard, shoulder-length dark brown hair, a silver circlet on head, fairly young, tall, handsome, muscular, and medium purple eyes.

 

"You have a strong grip boy, a warrior's grip! I expect that you were on the battlefield yesterday winning the battle for us?" Leodegrance said in a pleasant, vaguely Welsh voice.

 

"Yeh shoulda seen him takin' on Vortimer all by himself Leo!" Uther said pride fully, "He was doin' a fine job of it too!"

 

Almost imperceptibly, Leodegrance's eyebrows arched, now full of respect for the young warrior. "Is that so? I suppose my earlier comment has more truth to it than I had expected."

 

Aurelianus decided to butt in before a lengthy conversation started. "And over there is-"

 

"Gorlois!" Uther interrupted, just noticing the man. Upon hearing his name, the small man in the corner beamed at Uther and chest bumped with Uther. The two men began laughing heartily and beating each other on the back.

 

"It's been a long time Uther," Gorlois said, his oversized belly bouncing up and down as he spoke.

 

"Five years it's been! How've yeh been these days? The war had any effect on yeh up till now?"

 

"Ahem!" Aurelianus coughed, beckoning not so subtly to Merlin.

 

"Oh, yes, pleasure to meet you boy. Now where were we Uther?" Gorlois said, barely glancing in Merlin's direction. Apparently the two men were very good friends, but Merlin would never have guessed such. The only thing the two had in common was their circle beards. Other than that, the two were almost complete opposites. While Uther was tall and bulky, Gorlois was short and overweight. Uther had tanned skin while Gorlois was rather pale. The more Merlin observed them, the more differences he observed.

 

Aurelianus let out a sigh. "Quite sorry about that," Aurelianus said, "They're just happy to see each other again. They last saw each other when the two saved each other's lives in an adventure in Normandy five years ago. Needless to say, they became good friends because of it. But that's a tale for another day. There's one more person I want you to meet Merlin. Ulfius, why don't you introduce yourself?"

 

The third person got up from where he was sitting and walked through the crowd of socializing men to Merlin and Aurelianus.

 

The man was in truth, not a man at all, but still merely a boy, maybe a year or so older than Merlin himself. He was slightly taller than Merlin with tanned skin that complimented his shoulder-length ivory-colored hair, which was worn straight in a fashion that reminded Merlin of a flickering flame. The boy had a decidedly Slavic look about him, with hard, unforgiving eyes.

 

Merlin bowed to the boy, but did not receive a bow back. Rather, the boy gave a mere nod of the head, acknowledging Merlin's bow. Merlin wondered how the boy could be so ignorant of Briton customs. "Aren't you a bit young to be on the War Council?" Merlin asked the boy.

 

"Aye. Yet, who said I was on the War Council?" the boy asked in a thick accent that confirmed Merlin's suspicions of his Slavic origin.

 

"Oh, I believe there has been a misunderstanding here," Aurelianus said, "You see, Merlin, Ulfius's father served on my War Council after being exiled from his tribe in the east. Under normal circumstances, I would introduce you to both Ulfius and his father, but… But his father was lost in the battle yesterday."

 

Merlin suddenly felt a pang of guilt. He shouldn't have said what he had to Ulfius. He looked sheepishly over at Ulfius, curious to see what was on the boy's face. To Merlin's surprise, Ulfius had only a touch of saddened emotion on his face.

 

Merlin began to apologize for his behavior, but Ulfius held up a hand to stop him. "Enough about my father. It's best to put that behind us. I'm Ulfius. And you are?" Ulfius said, holding out his hand for Merlin to shake. Merlin gripped Ulfius's hand and shook it firmly twice.

 

"Merlin."

 

"Nice to meet you Merlini," Ulfius said, a smirk crossing his face.

 

Merlin for his part could not believe he was being called Merlini, and moreover, from a person he had only just met! Terribly rude he thought.

 

Aurelianus barked a quick laugh. "I'm sure you two will enjoy being tent mates."

 

"What?" both Merlin and Ulfius exclaimed as one. Aurelianus could certainly tell they weren't getting along well already, so why put them together in a tent?

 

"You heard me."

 

"But I already have Shiroix as a tent mate!" Merlin protested, Ulfius nodding as though he already knew this.

 

"And Shiroix has recently been moved to the medical tent while he heals up, leaving empty space in your tent, and Ulfius here can help to fill it."

 

The two boys had to agree with Aurelianus, though that did not stop them from arguing further.

 

Holding his hands up, Aurelianus spoke forcefully. "It's decided. You two will be tent mates. End of discussion."

 

Before Merlin and Ulfius could protest further, Aurelianus clapped his hands three times to gather the attention of the people in the tent. Once Aurelianus had their full attention, he poured himself a glass of beer, as did the rest of the adults present.

 

"Cheers," Aurelianus said, "To a new alliance with Vortimer against the Saxon invaders!"

"Cheers!" everyone said, clinking their glasses together while beer spilled.

Propositions

When Merlin awoke, he was lying on a bed in a tent. How he had got there, Merlin had no idea. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep under the maple tree in the middle of the night.

 

"Ah, you're awake," Blaise said, entering the tent with Merlin's favorite: pancakes. Blaise put the tray of food on Merlin's lap, and told him to eat.

 

"How did I get here?" Merlin asked before even taking a bite.

 

"When you ran away last night, we let you be. We couldn't just leave you out there, however, and so several hours ago Caedmon led us to you. You two have a psychic connection now Merlin; no matter where either of you are, each of you will always know where to find the other one. It's a gift Merlin, and it saved your life just last night."

 

Vortimer. What had become of him, Merlin wondered. Was he dead? Was he still unconscious?

 

The memory of the previous night's events awoken within Merlin, Merlin found that he couldn't eat. That all he wanted to do was curl up and go back to sleep. He didn't want to know the aftermath of yesterday's battle; he was scared what it was.

 

"Come with me," Blaise said taking the tray off of Merlin's lap and placing it on a small table.

 

Quickly, Merlin threw the covers off of him, and followed Blaise without a word. Merlin did wonder where Blaise could be taking him, but kept his thoughts to himself.

 

Soon enough Merlin did find out where Blaise was going: the infirmary tent in the base camp. Merlin could only think of one reason why Blaise would take him to the infirmary tent. Vortimer was alive, and Blaise wanted Merlin to see that.

 

Blaise held the flaps of the tent open for Merlin and gestured for him to go first. Silent as ever, Merlin nodded his appreciation and walked in. To Merlin's surprise, only two beds were occupied. However, Merlin did notice that there were several people who chose to stand. Doing a quick look around the room, Merlin found that Aurelianus, Catigern, Vortimer, Pascent, Shiroix, the entire War Council and several others he didn't know were present. Vortimer and Shiroix were the only two in beds. Everyone else was gathered around Vortimer's bed.

 

"Welcome Merlin," Aurelianus said, his face down where Merlin couldn't see it, "We've been waiting for you. To save Vortimer the effort of explaining everything twice."

 

Merlin had no clue what Aurelianus meant. To save Vortimer explaining what twice?

 

"Catigern forgives small boy. Small boy didn't lie to Catigern and Catigern is sorry," Catigern said in a deeply solemn voice. To Merlin's utter surprise and terror, Catigern walked over to Merlin and gave him a giant bear hug that had Merlin lifted off his feet and lost in Catigern's giant chest and arms.

 

As Merlin was put back on his feet, he realized that Catigern was the only person in the room without a scratch on him. Everyone else was injured somehow, most of them minor injuries, but injuries just the same.

 

"Shiroix!" Merlin shouted turning to face his friend as he realized that Shiroix must surely have been injured himself. The Shiroix that Merlin saw in the infirmary was far different from the Shiroix he had seen confidently attacking Vortimer last night.

 

Undoubtedly, Shiroix had a great many minor injuries beneath the sheets that covered him, but Merlin knew the Shiroix had lived years on his own; he'd be fine, just fine with those injuries. That left Merlin only able to see and know what had happened to Shiroix's upper torso, arms, and face. What Merlin saw, nothing could have prepared him for. Shiroix's entire face was cut open, stemming from the left of Shiroix's face and spreading all the way down across his right eye and ending on the right side of Shiroix's jaw. Furthermore, Shiroix had a long cut on his left arm, not as deep as the one across his face but just as serious, that went from his wrist to his elbow. Both wounds were crusted with dried blood, fresh blood seeping from small holes in the dried blood.

 

Shiroix simply watched Merlin as he looked on in terror.

 

"What happened to you?" Merlin finally managed to ask.

 

Shiroix tried to laugh before responding, but his laugh came out as a ragged cough of pain. "What happened was that I learned when a sharp object is flying through the air at you, you duck."

 

It dawned on Merlin then what had happened, who had screamed last night. It had been Shiroix, from Vortimer throwing his scimitar. Judging from the looks of it, Merlin guessed that the scimitar had slashed Shiroix's face, and Shiroix had tried to deflect the blow with his left arm, which only had caused more damage.

 

Merlin would have stared forever at Shiroix's now sliced face had Pascent not spoke just then.

 

"Well we should begin the council immediately. We must discuss what will happen next, and who knows how long that will take!" the small and bookish Pascent said.

 

"Pascent is right," Vortimer said, propping himself up with one arm so as to sit instead of lay. Pascent and Catigern aided Vortimer with this, Pascent fluffing his pillow and Catigern sliding the covers up to Vortimer's bandaged torso. Caedmon had probably broken every rib in Vortimer's body.

 

"What council?" Merlin asked, "What am I here for?"

 

Before anyone could respond, Vortimer looked over at Merlin with shocking blue eyes with a hint of sea green. "This council is for us to determine who the enemy is. I've been told you really aren't Saxons, but if that is so, then the question remains if we should ally and combine our power to drive out the Saxons, or if this war between our two peoples is to continue if we find that we would sooner kill each other than the Saxons. So to settle this, your War Council has told me what your circumstances were. Now it is my turn to tell you what happened."

 

Without waiting for Merlin to respond, Vortimer launched right into his tale.

 

"You see, twenty-six years ago, two men landed in Britannia at Hraefn's ate named Hengist and Horsa. The two were brothers ruling a tribe of Saxons, a tribe of the fiercest and most capable as it would be. At first, my father saw that allowing the brother's to stay would be foolish, and invited them to a feast to tell them they were unwelcome. Alas, the elder of the two brothers, Hengist, brought his beautiful daughter Rowena to the feast. My father couldn't help himself; he was in love with Rowena. After several months, my father went to Hengist and asked if he could have his daughter's hand in marriage. Hengist said yes, knowing full well it would make him Vortigern's father in-law, and as such, Vortigern would be required to allow Rowena's family to stay. So my father asked Hengist if he would stay, on the condition that he and all the Saxons in his land serve as mercenaries under his banner. In return, the Saxons were free to settle as they pleased on the Isle of Thanet.

 

"My father was married to Rowena and soon the two were awaiting the arrival of me, their first child. Only a year after I was born they had Catigern and Pascent here, my twin brothers. All the while, Hengist and Horsa were extorting land and money from my father, gaining more and more control of the country.

 

"One day eleven years ago, my father said no to Hengist and Horsa. He soon found that they didn't accept no as an answer, as a full scale war was launched. My father was a coward and fled the kingdom, leaving me, just a boy at the time, to rule a country and war while taking care of my family. For that, I can never forgive my father.

 

"Now here we are, fighting this endless war against my grandfather and his brother. For the last eleven years it's only been a defensive war. No land has been lost or gained on either side, and few fights. Hengist is keeping his men in his kingdom, waiting for me to attack. When I received word that Deganwy was a secret hideout for some of Hengist and Horsa's troops, it made perfect sense. A sneak attack behind us, and while we're distracted in Wales, Hengist attacks in England. Thus I attacked. I had no idea that the people here were possible allies of mine or else I should not have attacked.

 

"I do not beg for your forgiveness. I know my mistake cost many lives and I can never hope to make up for every loss of life. But if we join together, this war will be over sooner! Far less will die if we join hands than if we remain neutral to one another! Alone, we are weak against the Saxons. But together; together we stand a chance. Together we can send them back to Germania to live out the rest of their days in shame and indignity! Now what do you say; do I have a new ally today or do we part ways?"

 

The room was quiet for several minutes as Vortimer looked everyone in the room straight in the eye, forcing them to look away. All but Merlin that is, who calmly held Vortimer's stare. To Merlin's surprise, Vortimer smiled at Merlin.

 

"Normally men, I'd leave you to discuss amongst yourselves, but seeing how I am injured as I am… Well, if you could discuss outside it would be greatly appreciated," Vortimer said in a pleasant voice to the men around him. Everyone except Catigern, Pascent and Vortimer got in file to leave the tent. Uther walked over to Shiroix and carefully picked him up in his giant arms.

 

"You boy!" Vortimer said, pointing a finger at Merlin, "I would like you to stay. I wish to speak to you. Also, Catigern and Pascent, I would like to speak to the boy alone if you would please."

 

Merlin watched as Catigern and Pascent obediently followed their brother's orders. Merlin couldn't wrap his head around it; Catigern and Pascent twins? It didn't make any sense.

 

"Sit boy," Vortimer said once the tent was empty save for Vortimer and Merlin.

 

Merlin obeyed Vortimer, and sat on the foot of Vortimer's bed, careful not to sit on Vortimer's legs.

 

"What's your name?" Vortimer asked.

 

"My name is Merlin."

 

"You're a great warrior Merlin."

 

Whatever Merlin had been expecting to come from this conversation, it most certainly was not that.

 

"I beg your pardon?" Merlin asked politely. He wasn't sure if he should trust Vortimer or not, and treated him as such.

 

"You were born to fight Merlin. A day will come when no one can match your skill with the blade. I suspect you'd be a great tactician and strategist. You are a born leader, just as I was. People want to take orders from you Merlin. They want to serve you. To them, it's an honor to serve under your leadership. And your fighting only makes them respect you even more Merlin. I expect great things will come of you someday, and I hope that I get to see it."

 

"I'm sorry, I don't think I understand."

 

"What do you mean you don't understand? Did you see how the War Council looked at you when you entered this tent? They were in awe of you Merlin; they were glad to have you on their side. You could potentially kill them all if things were otherwise.

 

"Merlin, I have a proposition for you. You don't believe me about your abilities, so I'll give you the chance to prove your worth to yourself. If my proposal of an alliance is accepted by your War Council, then I will be your puppet in the War Meetings."

 

"What does that mean?" Merlin asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

 

"It means that you and I will hold private conferences just before the Meetings and you will tell me what you think our next move should be. Should you make any errors, I shall advise you on what is brilliant and what is foolish. However, this will most likely be far and few between, if ever. Most of the time, we will go with your strategy, which I will voice in the Meeting and try to get it accepted."

 

Merlin thought about this for several seconds. Accepting Vortimer's offer would mean he would have raw power behind him, even if it was channeled through the king. But…

 

"Sire, you said that this was a proposition. What do I have to do in return?" Merlin asked, knowing full well that Vortimer wouldn't offer anything free.

 

Vortimer merely smiled without his eyes and stared Merlin down. "You are right, this is not free. My condition is that I will give you my voice in the War Meetings, only if you serve me by being a bodyguard of mine from now until a month after the end of the war if and when we win."

 

"Deal." Merlin said without a second thought. It was perfect; Vortimer was giving Merlin a greater position of power by this proposition, both by using his voice in the Meetings and allowing Merlin to be his bodyguard. If Vortimer happened to betray, then Merlin was close and could eliminate him if necessary. It would have been foolish if he hadn't taken the opportunity.

"Excellent."

The Battle of Deganwy

"Are you sure you heard correctly Merlin?" asked Blaise.


 
As soon as Merlin had heard Vortimer give the order that they'd be attacking within the hour, he had ran as fast and hard as he could back to camp, and had burst into Blaise's tent. Blaise had asked Merlin what the matter was, and after hearing had gathered together the rest of the War Council to hear what Merlin had discovered.


 
"Yes, I'm positive I did," replied Merlin hastily, eagerness in his voice as every minute that passed was another minute wasted, another minute closer to Vortimer attacking.


 
Blaise look over at Uther, whose head was hung low. "Uther? Is it true? Did Vortigern have other children? Are they really commanding this army?"


 
Uther looked up at Blaise, looking much older with red eyes. "Yes, Vortigern had several children, his eldest, Vortimer, starting the war with the Saxons. Both Reli and me knew that, but we had thought Vortimer was still in Kent, not here in the Kingdom of Gwynedd, so Reli assumed it was Vortigern attacking. It made so much more sense, so I'd never thought to question it."


 
Everyone was quiet for several minutes. Uther was genuinely sorry, and tears were flowing down his face into his unkempt beard. No one in the tent had seen Uther cry before. The large man had always seemed so strong and warlike. Now here he was crying.


 
After a long silence, Blaise spoke. "Get the men ready. We fight as soon as possible. As we speak here, Vortimer is gathering his men to assault Deganwy, and the battle won't be one easily won."


 

***

 

Not more than ten minutes following his departure from the tent of the War Council, Merlin was leaning on Caedmon, dressed in full battle armor, including a helm from a foreign land called a spangenhelm. Caedmon himself wore his own specially crafted horse armor. Together, the two would charge into battle. Soon as it was to be.


 
Merlin was waiting between the hills that the army had arrived between, staring out to Deganwy. The view was breathtaking in the setting sun's light, even more spectacular than had it had been that morning. Light reflected off the face of the sea surrounding the small peninsula that Deganwy was situated on, bathing Deganwy in a golden glow. The one thing that ruined the picture was the army in front of it.


 
"Beautiful, isn't it Merlin?" Blaise asked from behind Merlin.


 
Merlin simply nodded his head without turning to face Blaise.


 
"The army has begun the march, Merlin. It's time to join them."


 
Without another word, Blaise turned around and began running to the army. Merlin didn't follow. It wasn't time yet.


 
Ten minutes later, Merlin mounted Caedmon. A silent message passed between rider and ridden in less than a second. They would protect each other in the battle ahead. Neither would die without the other by his side. Their fates were intertwined, and both knew it. Not speaking a word, Caedmon galloped with Merlin on his back to join the army in time for the battle.


 
The next several minutes were long and agonizing. Not a bird flew in the sky. The only noise to be heard for kilometers was the muffled sound of feet and hooves walking through the grass. It seemed as though the world had stopped to watch the battle of Deganwy.


 
The leaders of the army stopped half a kilometer away from Deganwy, and turned to face the army. Merlin thought Blaise was going to speak, as he had before, but instead he patted Uther on the back, and walked to a vacant spot in the lines.


 
Everyone looked at Uther expectantly. What words of wisdom did the great warrior have for his men?


 
"Men, women, wizards, and others," Uther began in a deep, booming voice that carried even to the back of the army. "Many of yeh will die this day. But know this: if yeh die, yeh will die honor'bly, fightin' the tyranny of Vortigern and Vortimer. If yeh die here this day, yer name will be remembered forever, and the children whom yeh've left behind will live knowin' that their ma or pa died for a worthy cause: to unseat the tyrants that rule this once beautiful kingdom!"


 
Uther's words were met with a cheer of approval from the army. Drawing his sword, Uther delivered the final words of his rallying speech.


 
"Before the day is out, Deganwy will be safely in our hands, our enemy fleeing with the blood of their own spilled upon this battlefield! This day will be ours!"


 
With those final words, Uther turned his mare around and began riding towards the army besieging Deganwy. The army quickly followed behind him.


 
Everything became a blur for Merlin, as if he were in a trance. Merlin barely registered that the armies had collided, and the fighting had begun. He saw everything, but heard nothing. He saw men falling in a voiceless scream. Swords clashed without their familiar clangs. Merlin realized that this bloody carnage was war. War was not the glorious grandeur that everyone said it was. It was a horrifying bloodbath over trivial causes that could and should have been resolved otherwise.


 
Merlin fought without thinking. If he thought about the people he was killing, he would not make it through the day.


 
As Merlin mindlessly sliced the man in front of him, he turned to see the armed forces of Deganwy engaging the flank of Vortimer's army. There was no turning back now; this battle must be won, or else Deganwy would fall.


 
Merlin took a brief moment to survey the battle around him. Vortimer was winning. Despite the tactical advantage of Uther's and Aurelianus' forces, Vortimer simply had far too many warriors on his side.


 
There was only one way this battle would end: if Vortimer died. Merlin knew this as well as any other man on the field, but no one else fighting knew what Vortimer looked like. Merlin was the only one who could end this battle.


 
Riding around the battlefield at dangerous speeds on Caedmon, Merlin searched for Vortimer.


 
"I see him Merlin," Caedmon said in Merlin's head at the exact moment that Merlin spotted Vortimer himself. Vortimer, dressed in full armor save for a helm, was fighting next to the biggest man Merlin had ever seen, even bigger than Uther. This man had no need for armor, and indeed, was wearing nothing but a loincloth around his waist that hung down to his knees. His upper body exposed, Merlin could see the man's veins coursing up and down under tanned flesh. The man was wielding a giant double-edged battle axe, at least twice as big as the one that Uther carried. Merlin estimated that from end to end, the blade was at least three feet wide, and another four feet long from the handle to the end of the head. The weapon must have weighed a ton, but the giant of a man swung the axe one-handed as easily as if it were his own arm.


 
The man was at the very least seven feet tall, towering over the men around him. The man appeared invincible to all, and surely would inspire fear amongst the army he fought. Surveying the man from head to toe, Merlin noticed something rather odd about the man: his head was too small for his body, and the only normal sized body part to be seen; even the man's neck was muscular!


 
Merlin hesitated. He didn't want to fight this man. It would be suicide, no, slaughter. But in a show of great will, Merlin rode Caedmon into the fray.


 
Vortimer never saw Merlin coming. But the man fighting beside him did see Merlin, and before Merlin could get any closer, he swung his meaty left arm into Merlin's abdomen, throwing him off Caedmon to fifty feet away. Merlin felt like the man had broken every bone in his body, and wouldn't have doubted it if someone had told him exactly that.


 
Merlin felt a strong hand picking him up off the ground. Turning around, Merlin saw the hand belonged to a grim Uther. Merlin turned to look in the direction that Uther was, and saw the man protecting Vortimer.


 
"Look at that beast of a man. Bet yeh never'd seen the likes of him before!" Uther said with a tone of wonder and awe.


 
"I don't believe I have," said Merlin with a touch of resentment in his voice, as was to be expected after being thrown by the giant of a man. "He's protecting Vortimer. He's the one on the giant man's left."


 
Uther looked over at the smaller man, who looked to be an effective warrior himself. Vortimer was swinging a long, elegant scimitar around him. It seemed no one could even touch him. Thought that may have been more from his bodyguard than his actual skill.


 
Not saying a word, Uther rode further into the crowd. His intent was obvious: kill Vortimer and bring an end to this battle and restore his brother's honor and dignity by placing him on the throne. Uther would die if he had to. It was written in his face.


 
"Merlin, I need yeh to fight Vortimer while me distract his guard," Uther said as they drew nearer. Merlin nodded his consent. Only Uther had a chance of holding off the guard long enough to kill Vortimer. That left Merlin with the job of killing Vortimer.


 
"When I say 'now'," Uther continued, "I want you to use the momentum to jump over the guard and fight Vortimer and while the guard is momentarily distracted, me will surprise 'im.


 
Seconds passed between then and when Uther said now, but it felt like ages. Merlin could have sworn time slowed down purposefully simply to build up the suspense of the moment. Once again, Merlin had the feeling the world was watching this battle, unsure of what to make of it, but clearly interested.


 
"Now!"


 
Merlin launched himself into the air with a powerful leap worthy of a lion, somersaulting over the giant man and landing on Vortimer's left lightly while swinging his sword over his head to hopefully sever Vortimer's head from his shoulders in one move.


 
Merlin's blade was met by Vortimer's scimitar with a loud clang! Merlin looked up to see Vortimer smiling wickedly at him. For the briefest part of a second, the two held their gazes. Then Vortimer broke the blade-lock and swung his scimitar in a round house. In response, Merlin jumped three feet into the air, just above the swinging blade, caught it, and pushed off of it, allowing him to corkscrew over Vortimer. In retaliation, Vortimer tried to kick Merlin in the stomach while he turned around, only to find that Merlin was sliding between his legs and regaining his feet behind him. Merlin braced himself as Vortimer delivered a powerful overhead strike against his sword. It wasn't enough. The force of the below had all of Vortimer's weight behind it. A risky move, but it crippled Merlin's defense, what with being on the ground from the force of the blow.. Now Merlin was at Vortimer's complete mercy. Vortimer pressed his scimitar to Merlin's throat, almost drawing blood.


 
    "Your last hour has come. You die in blood," Vortimer said as his arm muscles tensed to deliver the final blow that would end Merlin's life. Merlin hoped it would be painless.


 
Merlin kept his eyes open as the fatal stroke came, staring deep into his killer's eyes. He would die staring into those cold eyes.


 
Neither Vortimer nor Merlin ever heard or saw what was coming. Out of the midst of battle, Caedmon reared up on his back hooves and kicked out at Vortimer. On Caedmon's armored back was Shiroix, swinging his own sword at Vortimer. In defense of the surprise attack, Vortimer threw his scimitar at the most direct source of danger, which he deemed to be Shiroix. Merlin heard a faint scream in the background as he watched Vortimer fall beneath Caedmon's hooves.


 
Within seconds of Vortimer's defeat, the guard was beside him, scooping Vortimer into his giant arms as if they were a cradle.


 
"STOP!" the guard roared to the world as though it would actually listen to him. In a way, the world did listen to him. Over the span of maybe a minute, all the clanging and screaming and fighting died away. Realization struck Merlin; the battle had actually stopped because this man had told it to.


 
The giant man looked at the fragile figure in his arms as a tear sprung from the corner of his eye and travelled down his cheek and off his chin. Then he recomposed himself and with immense hatred, glared at Merlin.


 
"You!" the man said in an unsteady voice, "You killed Catigern's brother! Now Catigern will pay for his brother's death in your blood!"


 

Putting Vortimer's body on the ground gingerly but quickly, the guard assaulted Merlin, waving his battle-ax high in the air. The man wanted revenge, he wanted compensation for Votimer's death.

 

Merlin ran. What more could he do? He ran for his life from the devastated ax-wielding man. The men of both armies cleared out of his way.

 

"Come back here you coward! Catigern must kill you to restore his dead brother's honor! Come back!"

 

The urge to look back finally overcoming Merlin's common sense, Merlin saw that the guard had collapsed on the ground and was trying to get back up to attack Merlin without success. Tears were streaming down the guard's face as he clawed the ground in a last desperate attempt to pull himself to Merlin. The man was experiencing a full emotional breakdown. Merlin didn't run any farther as he realized that he was to blame for this man's pain and suffering. It was his fault, and no one else's.

 

Merlin approached the giant of a man cautiously while the man himself sobbed uncontrollably and mourned Vortimer's loss.

 

"Catigern," Merlin said, assuming that the man he was approaching was Catigern. The man looked up, confirming Merlin's assumption.

 

"What does Catigern's brother's murderer want?" Catigern asked.

 

"Vortimer isn't dead," Merlin said, "He's only unconscious."

 

"Liar! You feed Catigern lies! Well Catigern won't listen to you! Catigern won't fall to your blade like Catigern's brother did!"

 

Merlin resolved that there was nothing else to tell Catigern. Catigern blamed him as Vortimer's murderer, and Merlin wondered if he really had killed Vortimer.

 

Slowly, Merlin walked around Catigern, his eyes never leaving the massive man weeping on the former battle ground. Then he ran when he was safely around Catigern. He ran and didn't stop. He ran past the grounds where the army had set camp, he ran past the forest, he ran past everything until he could run no more. He stopped running by a tree, a giant maple tree that covered Merlin from the world. There Merlin sat, and he wept. He wept for the possibly dead Vortimer, for the emotionally broken Catigern, for everyone he had abandoned today when he couldn't put up with the world any longer.

Hours later, Merlin stopped weeping. He stopped weeping, but his pain didn't subside. Even though it had been hours since it happened, he could still hear Catigern's screaming and crying in his ears.

Vortimer

Merlin sat barely three hundred yards from the walls of Deganwy Castle. It had been a long walk to the castle, and had decided to take a short rest. The rest had served two purposes, them being that Merlin could rest, and the second being that he could watch Vortigern's army. It wouldn't be easy to get in, but it was midday and the troops were getting restless. All Merlin had to do was wait for an opening.


 
There! On his feet in seconds, Merlin ran through a narrow opening in the army, and was now in between the army and the castle. Merlin took a second to make sure he hadn't been seen, and looked around, trying to find the War tent. That was where Vortigern would be.


 
Not seeing it nearby, Merlin began to walk. He had no idea where the tent would be, or what would make it stand out from every other tent. Yet, Merlin knew that as he walked, he was getting closer to the tent. He could feel it in the pit of his stomach, and odd feeling of intuition.


 
Lost in his thoughts, Merlin nearly ran into one of the guards just outside a tent he hadn't noticed up until now. The tent was considerably larger than the other tents and the only one that had guards posted outside of it. Made out of red felt, the tent was much more decorated than the other plain, virtually colorless tents. It would make sense to assume this was Vortigern's tent. Granted, it was very different from the last tent that Vortigern had used, but that night had been one of urgency. This was probably Vortigern's personal tent for his own private use.


 
Merlin quietly snuck into the tent under the opening flaps. He was never noticed by the guards.


 
"… push back the Saxons to Thanet, back to whence they came," said a young man in his twenties. He had blonde hair and eyes of which their color changed with the reflection of light. He had a grim look on his face, pouring over a poorly drawn map of the area. Upon his head rested a golden circlet similar to Vortigern's, the only difference being it was slightly smaller. This young man was obviously king of something… But of what? Vortigern was the king here, not this man, whoever he should be,


 
In the corner sat a small man with small circular spectacles. He appeared a very bookish person, with a long nose and small brown eyes peering through glasses that kept sliding down his nose. As if to look even more the picture of a bookworm, he wore a long robe and carried a book under his right arm, and stumbled on his sentences as he spoke quickly, as if he were unsure of himself.


 
"Yes sire, of course, whatever you say must be done is surely such," said the small man quickly, furiously scribbling notes in a journal on a table next to him.


 
The young man's face drew an exasperated look on his face. "How many times have I told you, Pascent, to call me Vortimer? I am not our father and as such want to be treated otherwise, and I am also your brother. You owe me no allegiance, despite my being the elder and my ascendancy to the throne. Do we understand each other Pascent?"


 
The small man nodded furiously and scribbled down some notes.


 
"Oh for heaven's sake, stop that!" exclaimed the man Merlin took to be Vortimer.


 
The other person, the small bookish man, Pascent, threw the note book to the side and put one leg over the other while lacing his hands and putting them in his lap, as if nothing had happened. A comical moment, Pascent's face had a fake pleasant smile plastered to it.


 
Vortimer rolled his eyes and shook his head. To think this clown was his advisor… Very sad indeed.


 
Going back to what he had previously been speaking of, Vortimer began talking once more, keeping a careful eye on Pascent to make sure he didn't write down notes. "The Saxons are our enemy, but thankfully we have found a base of theirs here, at a remote outpost in Wales. Now we must drive them out, and hope that a victory here will bring the Saxons to their senses and they won't dare to fight me much longer thereafter. Meanwhile, my forces are engaging other Saxon forces across all of Britannia. Soon the war will be over. But first, our troops must gather at Epsford, where we will rest before marching to attack Hengist and Horsa at Hraefn's ate."


 
Merlin had heard all he needed to hear, and left the tent. Who were Hengist and Horsa? Where were Epsford and Hraefn's ate? Why did Vortimer think that Deganwy was under Saxon control? Did Vortimer even really know what was going on?


 
Outside, Merlin saw that the sun was much lower in the sky than he had expected it would be. He estimated about two to three hours before sunset. Two to three hours before battle. Merlin would be hard pressed to…. To do what?


 
Suddenly Merlin realized that he had no idea what to do. Should he go back and tell Blaise? Or should he tell Aurelianus that reinforcement had come? Should he try to kill Vortimer? What should he do? He didn't know, and found himself wandering. He just walked, hotly debating with himself what he should do. Merlin had not come to a decision when Vortimer walked out of his tent, closely followed by Pascent.


 
As Vortimer walked, the army around him quieted and looked over at their leader. Merlin could see that they held Vortimer in great respect, much greater than they had with Vortigern. A born leader, these men were Vortimer's to command. His voice strong and powerful, it carried with little effort on his part as he spoke.


 
"Men, we have been laying siege to the enemy castle for several months now. They are on the verge of starvation, and surrendering their castle to us, giving us a bloodless victory. But these cowards are too good for a bloodless defeat! For months they have stood behind their walls, hoping we would flee, just as they would have in our position! But we are the stronger men, and we will give the cowards behind their walls what they deserve! Tonight, we will attack! Your orders are simple: leave no man, woman, or child alive to see another day. Take no prisoners; we have no need for them. Any man who spares another will not be spared themselves. Now, prepare men. We attack within the hour."

Update

After some time with writer's block, I've picked up Merlin's Story again and am working at a good pace. As you can see by the new ticker, I have set my deadline for November 1, 2011. At first, does not seem very far in the future. Look again. That's one and a two thirds years from now. That gives me more than enough time to finish if I'm not lazy and encounter few problems to finish writing. I do not plan on being finished revising by then. If I am, I will be genuinely impressed by myself. If I do not reach my deadline, then I will simply set a new one for myself. Kind of defeats the purpose of the deadline, but I'm not just going to throw away Merlin's Story if I don't make it on time.

Below is the next chapter in Merlin's Story. Enjoy! Note: in the final document, Ambro's name has been changed to Ambrose, more reflecting his personality.

Deganwy Castle

"Alright men! Move out!" shouted Blaise as the fist rays of light came. As one, the army sat up and packed their things away, and was marching off as Merlin was still waking up. As Merlin scrambled to pack up his things, Caedmon and Blaise walked over.

   

"Merlin, you're going to have to be faster if you're going to fight with the army," Blaise said, "I'll give you a break today, but be wary in the future. Understand Merlin?"

 

Merlin hastily nodded his head. After several nods, Blaise walked off to join the army.

 

"Are you ready to ride Merlin?" asked Caedmon in Merlin's head.

 

In response, Merlin swung his legs over Caedmon's body and sat down, not bothering to place a saddle on Caedmon. As soon as Merlin was sitting on Caedmon's back, Caedmon took off from a stand-still to a lightning sprint. Merlin clutched Caedmon's mane in his hands and held on for dear life, watching the trees fly by, hoping Caedmon wouldn't run into any of them.

 

"Are you having fun Merlin?" asked Caedmon. Merlin could have sworn that Caedmon had an amused tone in his voice.

 

Within seconds, Caedmon had caught up to the army, but he didn't stop. He sped up if anything, and quickly bypassed the riding army, shooting out far in front of them. It was almost as if Caedmon was being playful with the other horses, egging them on to run with him.

 

After a while, Caedmon stopped sprinting and slowed to a trot, and joined the rest of the army. Meanwhile, Merlin's heart was pounding from the thrill of the ride. It had been scary, but fun too.

 

Several minutes later, Shiroix led Thunder up beside Caedmon. "Nice of you to join us Merlin."

 

"I can't control Caedmon Shiroix," said Merlin with a thin smile.

 

"Sure you can Merlin! The only difference between a horse and a unicorn is the horn. They both listen the same, you just have to break him. Mind if I take a shot at it?"

 

"Yes, Merlin, why don't you let him? He could be taught a lesson in unicorns," said Caedmon in Merlin's head with an angry tone.

 

Merlin had no idea how Caedmon spoke inside his mind, but Caedmon's words brought many pictures of his defeats at Shiroix's hand at just about anything. No matter what Merlin did, Shiroix always seemed to be better. In magic, in archery, in riding, in axe throwing, in dueling, even in eating. Merlin had never once beaten Shiroix, not once had he performed as well as Shiroix had, ever.

 

"You have a rivalry with him?" asked Caedmon.

 

Surprised at Caedmon's question, Merlin wondered how Caedmon had known what he had been thinking of.

 

"I heard you Merlin. If you think a thought, I will hear it. It is part of the bond that we have now and always will have until our dying days."

 

Basing his next move off this new found knowledge, Merlin thought of him getting off Caedmon and letting Shiroix get on, and Caedmon bucking Shiroix off.

 

"I have something better planned Merlin," said Caedmon with an eager tone.

 

"Alright Shiroix. He's all yours," Merlin said with a faint smile, and slid off Caedmon. Shiroix didn't waste any time and slid on to Caedmon from Thunder, his feet not even touching the ground.

 

As soon as Shiroix was on his back, Caedmon raced forward. Shiroix, being as good as everything as he was, was not easily thrown off. While it had taken Merlin two hands to hold on at the speed Caedmon was going, it only took Shiroix one, with the other held high in the air.

 

In response to Shiroix's expert riding, Caedmon suddenly turned to the left, but he kept skidding forward due to the speed he had gathered, and could not turn. However, Caedmon hadn't wanted to turn. As he had moved his body to the left, he jumped, creating a massive force that hit Shiroix full, knocking him off Caedmon's right. Yet, Shiroix still held on to Caedmon's mane, thus he absorbed all the shock when Caedmon landed, allowing Caedmon to sprint off in the direction that he had turned before jumping, and dragged Shiroix along with him. After some time, Caedmon did a complete one hundred eighty degree turn. Shiroix lost his grip on Caedmon's mane, and with all the momentum Caedmon had had, flew twenty feet across the forest and straight into a giant tree, which of course, had to be between Shiroix's legs.

 

For several minutes, Shiroix just lay there while Merlin and Blaise came over to him, moaning in pain.

 

Blaise spoke first. "No one ever told you not to insult a unicorn did they Shiroix?"

 

"No," Shiroix squeaked softly.

 

"Well now you know not to. Might want to keep that for future reference."

 

"Will do."

 

As Shiroix painfully got up, he steered clear of Caedmon and mounted Thunder with a great deal of moaning and whining. Quite unusual for Shiroix, but then again, he'd never been thrown by a unicorn.

 

Merlin looked over at Caedmon and thought good thoughts of his congratulations before mounting Caedmon. For once, Shiroix had been shown his place.

 

After several hours, the sun was finally visible in the sky. At this point, Blaise turned around on his horse to address the army.

 

"Attention men! Now that it is daylight, it is time that we use our magic to cut our journey shorter than it would normally be. All of you are to participate in this spell, it will take a great deal of power to transport more than two hundred men and women across an ocean to a land several thousand kilometers from here. On the ready men!"

 

As Blaise spoke these words, the army halted, the people which made it up summoning the power they would need from within them. Merlin could feel a great deal of powering coming to the area, fueling the spell that was about to be performed. Some provided a great deal, others provided a lesser amount. Yet, all contributed.

 

Merlin felt the presence of strong magic in the area, much stronger than everyone else combined, emitting from only a few sources, three that Merlin could count. One of the sources was Blaise. Blaise was emitting a powerful magic, much more powerful than Merlin would have ever imagined anyone capable of. Yet, what shocked Merlin was how weak Blaise's power was comparably to the others.

Blaise's was weak enough that Merlin could pick out where it was coming from, as he could everyone else as well. The only sources he couldn't define were those that were much more powerful than Blaise. One of them seemed to come from some faraway place, being very faint and hard to find. The last of the sources seemed darker somehow, a dark spot in the midst of a light collection of magic. The darkness almost completely covered the army, it's power overshadowing the presence of the other lighter magics that Merlin sensed. It still grew, growing ever more powerful by the second, as if it were drawing power from the sources around it and making it its own, dark power.

 

Then the spreading darkness quickly began to recede, to go back to its point of origin as a bright magic, a clean, white magic appeared and overpowered the dark magic, forcing it back. No matter how hard the dark magic tried, it could not penetrate the white magic and foul it. The white magic was using very little of its power to force the dark magic back to its place. The white magic was unstoppable, a great and powerful force that only wanted peace, whereas the dark magic wanted to have everything for itself, absorbing into the lesser, weaker magics.

 

Merlin closed his eyes, and felt the presence of the white magic everywhere, all around him, providing more than enough power to fuel the spell for everyone. Unlike the dark magic, it left the others magics alone, instead only adding its own power to the spell. The dark magic had tried to fuel the spell itself by consuming all others. It had wanted the glory of fulfilling the requirements of the spell without help, and it had failed, giving birth to the white magic.

 

For several moments, the world sat still. All was quiet, the white magic's disembodied presence floating in the air. Nothing moved, nothing breathed, nothing was anything. It was all one, it was all itself, one unified body of many things that came together to be one.

 

The silence was broken when Blaise shouted the words of the spell to the heavens, taking the army to Wales. When Merlin opened his eyes, he saw Deganwy Castle in the distance. The army could easily arrive within the hour.

 

People in the army began to mutter. They weren't supposed to have landed here! They were supposed to have landed kilometers away, they were supposed to have had a great distance to cover before coming within sight of Deganwy Castle, yet, here they were, Deganwy Castle looming in front of them.

 

None in the army had seen Deganwy before, aside from Uther and Merlin. The last time Merlin had seen Deganwy had been in the dark, and thus Merlin hadn't been able to see Deganwy very well. Here now in the early morning light, Deganwy was a spectacular site. Like many things, the first impressions were unreliable. The land Deganwy sat on was the neck of a peninsula, both ends of which ended in two hills, a slight dip between them like an 'm' shape, which was where a large gate lay. Merlin estimated that Deganwy was about a kilometer and a half wide, from end to end. Its towers had been built higher since Merlin had last seen the castle, and it appeared far stronger than before.

 

In front of Deganwy Castle was a giant, awe inspiring army. Every man just stood still, unmoving, waiting. The men were obviously well trained, and would be a worthy adversary, especially considering the navy that was blockading escape from Deganwy out the back entrance. It would be a hard fought battle for the sea fortress.

 

Blaise turned his brown and black spotted mare around to face the army.

 

"Men, in front of us lies Deganwy Castle, currently under siege by the followers of Vortigern. Tonight, we will break that siege. Meanwhile, the War Council will gather and develop a strategy for tonight's battle. The rest of you can rest up. I don't want worthless soldiers fighting tonight. Execute."

 

The well trained army broke apart upon Blaise saying 'execute'. Everyone went every which way, going to go find means of relaxation. Some men sparred with sticks to sharpen themselves for the night's battle, others pulled out a blanket and made a hammock between two branches to lay down on. A few pulled out their wands and used simple magic to set up a sea of tents for the men. Within minutes, the nearby area looked fittingly like a military camp.

 

Merlin dismounted Caedmon, giving him a cracker before he left, and walked up a small hill for a better view of Deganwy. Deganwy was a beautiful castle, very mystic, especially considering the army camping outside its walls. Merlin found it hard to believe that such a great place could possibly be defeated, but then again, the battle hadn't been won yet. The War Council was determining the course of action as Merlin looked over at Deganwy.

 

The War Council. What were they going to do tonight? Two and two formed in Merlin's mind to become four. What if he spied on the War Council? He'd know exactly what they planned tonight. He could help them without them ever knowing he had been there listening!

 

Quickly and quietly, Merlin moved over to the War Council's tent. No one saw him, no one stopped him. No one questioned him. He was free to go and listen in on classified strategy.

 

"There you are Merlin," said Shiroix from no more than a foot behind Merlin, scaring the living daylights out of him, "I've been looking for you. So how long have you been considering spying on the War Council?"

 

Merlin turned to look at Shiroix with a pained face. It figured. Shiroix knew exactly what Merlin had been planning. As always, Shiroix was better than Merlin. Doubtlessly, Shiroix would want to repay Merlin for the riding incident earlier in the day, and here Merlin was, providing him with the perfect opportunity to get even and more.

 

"Relax Merlin, I'm not going to tattle on you. No, rather the opposite. I myself was going to spy on the Council because I could, much like you are. However, I'd rather not be discovered, and so I have a proposition for you."

 

The word 'proposition' caught Merlin's attention. "What do you want Shiroix?" Merlin asked with a suspicious tone.

 

"I won't tell Blaise that you were planning on spying on him if you go in for me and report to me everything that was said. Everything. I'll put an invisibility spell on you so that you won't be caught quite so easily. Do we have a deal here?"

 

Merlin considered Shiroix for a minute. He gets to go undercover with an invisibility spell performed on him. He gets the information that he wants, and all he has to do is tell Shiroix just what has happened in the Council. It sounded great, except for one thing, but that could be easily changed without hassle.

 

"Alright Shiroix, I'll do it. But I'll cast my own spell."

 

Shiroix snickered. "You? Perform an invisibility spell? I doubt that you can perform one. Alright, let's see it then."

 

Taking a deep breath, Merlin whispered several words while watching Shiroix. After Merlin completed the spell, Shiroix's eyes grew wide, and his jaw dropped ever so slightly. Obviously, Merlin had successfully completed the spell and was now invisible. To test it, Merlin walked over to the right, and then jumped to the left. Shiroix's eyes stayed where Merlin had been.

 

"I told you so," said Merlin as he walked carefully away, unable to resist teasing Shiroix.

 

Quickly and quietly, Merlin walked to the tent of the War Council. In less than a minute, Merlin was listening by the entrance to the tent, not spotted, no one knowing he was around. Then he realized he was invisible and could actually go into the tent without trouble. Naturally, Merlin did such.

 

"… as if there was a surge of power coming from somewhere in the army," said Envok in his deep sing-song voice, standing up in a corner of the tent while everyone else sat in magically conjured chairs around a table with a three dimensional map of the area demonstrating the geography and altitudes of Deganwy.

 

Blaise spoke next. "Yes, we all felt that power. Even Uther here, and if a mortal has sensed it, then it was very powerful indeed. Far more powerful than the magic of anyone else thus far that the Light has encountered, save for a few."

 

"What gets meh is taht this is the fi'st time this has happ'nd in liv'n mem'ry," Anthon pondered aloud in his deep accented voice.

 
"No, Anthon, not the first time in living memory. There are some who still remember the last time it happened. Granted, it was very, very long ago, and there are few still alive who were such back then, most of which are veterans of the Wars who want nothing more than to forget the horrors of war. The only others who aren't such are either in exile, or else are of one of the other races. I can only think of three others who are among society that remember, and at this time, none will be of any use."


 
"Alright now, yeh lost meh; so apparently there has been this kind of power before?" asked Uther, holding his hands up in a stopping motion.


 
"Yes, Uther, but this is far more powerful than the last time, and at the time this last happened, the wizards who had caused this surge were the most powerful in the land, and look at what they accomplished. Now imagine that on a much greater scale…" Blaise explained calmly to Uther, trailing off in the end.


 
"Blaise," said Envok calmly, breaking Blaise out of his thoughts and back to reality, "The last time a surge like what happened back in the forest happened, great change happened. What's to say that won't happen again? We could be facing another war, and this time, there will be no mercy, no tricks, no hiding places. We'd have to fight our own against an invincible enemy, and we all know that the war would be far greater than the last time. After all, if the surge was so much more powerful, then what's to say that the war won't also be such?"


 
Blaise stroked his chin thoughtfully. "That is precisely what I was thinking."


 
For the first time, Geoffrey spoke. "But there were four major factions in the surge Blaise. One was yourself, we could all tell it was you, there was just something like you in it. Then there was the magic that someone was performing from afar, adding to the spell. We don't know who that was, for all we know it could have been a Dark wizard leading us to a trap. This could all be an illusion for all we know! And then there was the darker magic, something we've never seen before. Magic is magic, it's always been that way. Then there comes this magic, the magic that felt darker and almost overtook the army, taking everything for itself. Then the white magic, a pure aura of magic, again, something never seen before, magic is magic, which pushed back the darker magic and added its power to everyone's, though it could have fueled the spell itself."


 
"Geoffrey, I can tell you that the magician from afar is an ally," Blaise said, his half moon glasses half down the bridge of his nose, "I remember feeling his magic once before. It has never been something I could forget. After all, you hardly feel the aura of someone's magic, let alone feel such a unique one."


 
"A'right tehn, what 'bout the oth'rs?" asked Anthon, clearly very interested, as demonstrated by his wide eyes.


 
"Well, my magic had very little to do with anything. The far magician powered much of the spell. As for the darker magic and the white magic, we can only guess who they are, but we do know they came from within the army, so that leaves about two hundred possibilities," Blaise said, a far off look appearing in his eyes, "Yet, tomorrow we will have even less to consider. The two magicians are destined to fight one another late in life, and they will not die tomorrow. One will die at the other's hand, and the one who stands will die from heartbreak more than any other cause. Why these great friends will turn against each other and fight to the death, no one knows. Only time will tell." The misty look left Blaise's eyes, and his shoulders slumped.


 
"Did you…?" asked Envok almost with some emotion.


 
"Yes, Envok. I saw them battling on a hill not far from here. They have inexplicable link between them that they are discovering at the end of their lives, as they duel each other above a battle that will decide the fate of all of us, far off into the future. Yet, the battle won't decide the fate of the world, but rather the two magicians high above. I didn't see much, but I know that the magicians I saw are much older, too old to be anyone currently in the army. We have long before this battle, and maybe we can avert it."


 
Uther decided to speak up after waking up from a five minute nap, or rather the one he had tried to take. "Didn't we come here to plan this war, not one to come?"


 
Blaise nodded his head several times, as did the others in the tent. "Yes, yes we did, so let's take a look at what is happening," Blaise said, moving his hand, palm down, over the table in a sweeping motion. Magically, little figures and boats popped out of the map, and the water and trees began to move. Merlin figured that this was what was happening outside on the night's battlefield.


 
"As you see, for any normal army, there would be no way to get to Deganwy and no way to let them know that tonight we fight. Yet, we are not that normal army. We are an army of wizards and magicians, and so we can send a message to Ambrosius inside. As for tonight, well, we can have several wizards perform fire spells to break up Vortigern's tightly packed army, and a few water spells too. This will create a path for us to get through and separate the army in an effort to even the odds. Then, if all goes well, Ambrosius will see the fighting outside, and send his army to surround Vortigern's, us on one side, and Ambrosius on the other. Completely surrounded, the men will panic, and from there, it ought to be easy to finish the battle and claim victory here at Deganwy. Where the war takes us after tonight, well, that's a story that will tell itself."


 
Merlin sensed the council was over and left the tent. His mind swarmed with the new found facts and strategy he had stumbled upon. About a hundred yards away, Merlin saw Shiroix, waiting for Merlin to come and tell him what he had found. Merlin also saw Deganwy, not more than a kilometer away.


 
"We can send a message to Ambrosius on the inside," Blaise had said. What if Merlin did it himself? He could even spy on the enemy while he was there, pick up on things that would greatly help Ambrosius and Uther win the battle, and maybe the war.


 
Thinking thoughts of glory and greatness and helping his friends, Merlin set off to Deganwy Castle. He was going to spy on Vortigern without his ever knowing.