Chapter 11: Starting Anew

"Hello Merlin," said a voice, "I've been waiting for you. It's time for you to learn what you can truly do."

Merlin was in a place very familiar to him; the woods of Ala Bora. He was looking around for the source of the voice when a boy steeped into the clearing. Merlin was startled to see it was him.

"Jorma!" the other Merlin shouted, shape-shifting to become a red dragon, then a white, and then back to his normal self. The other Merlin looked over at the awestruck Merlin, and disappeared into a mist.

"Merlin, wake up! Uther shall leave without us if you don't get a move on!" shouted Bernie, walking towards the tent he and Merlin shared. Groggy, Merlin got up, stretching his long legs as he did so, and put on his traveling robe. Uther hadn't been planning on leaving for another few days, but battle had called him away. It seemed as if the Saxons had been planning their revolt for years, for everything was already in place. Merlin had to go with Uther, for he had promised that he would advise Uther.

"Ah, good, all ready! Now we can start our journey to Uther's magnificent castle! Oh, what a joy to be called upon by a king!" rambled Bernie.

"Bernie, I have a question. Do you mind if I ask it?"

"No, not at all!"

"Well, last night I had a dream. In it, I saw myself, and I said-"

"Don't say it now!" interrupted Bernie, "I know what you are talking about. The Quine. It's one of the two things that make each wizard's abilities different.

"What is the Quine?"

"It's a dream that shows you a spell that will give you special powers. These special powers can be anything from shape-shifting, to instantaneous transport, to for seeing the future or past. Mine was the Elemental Earth, which allows me to control anything having to do with the ground beneath us. Really quite useful."

"What's mine?" asked Merlin.

"Well, the part of the dream after you hear the words usually shows you what your spell will do. To activate the spell permanently, all you have to do is say it, but you never know what might happen, so it will be best to wait until we're in the forest."

Understanding his dream better, Merlin walked out of the tent with Bernie, only to be met with a chorus of voices.

"They've come to celebrate," Bernie told Merlin, "There isn't really any thing to celebrate, to tell the truth, but people want to celebrate after their lost, so we let them."

"Good to see yeh, Merlin! I thought yeh would never wake up! But then, I guess that can be expected. After all, you haven't slept since the night before your birthday," said Uther, who had been waiting outside the tent.

Presented with the white horse Merlin had ridden to Atlantis, the trio set off, Geoffrey yelling to Merlin that he would send a messenger when the time for the meeting came.

"Alright, let's see what your Quine is," said Bernie once the trio was in the forest.

"Jorma!" screamed Merlin.

Suddenly, Merlin felt his skin moving, and felt as if something were growing out of his skin. He started to see different colors, his hearing became more fine-tuned. Then it was over.

"Oh, my," said Uther, astonished.

"Amazing. You are a shape-shifter," said Bernie, "here, look at yourself," holding up a mirror.

Merlin had become a lion!


"Try thinking of somethng else," said Bernie, "you might shape-shift into it."

A few minutes later, Merlin had become a red dragon.

"Amazing. It's been so long sonce I've seen a shape-shifter. I had forgotten how majestic the changes are. Well, now go back to your normal self, so I can take us to Uther's castle," said Bernie, awestruck.

Shape-shifting back to his normal shape, Merlin couldn't help but think that he was starting his life all over again. He had lost almost everything he held dear, and was now starting anew.