Chapter 20: Ruins

Days had passed since Merlin encountered the lights. There had been good winds, pushing Merlin well on his way aboard the Eagle. However, the winds had pushed Merlin farther and farther away from the lights. By the end of the second day, there was no telling on what direction the lights lay.Yet, the lights were not to be last of the unusual events Merlin experienced on his voyage; far from it. For early on the third day, he saw something glimmering on the horizon. Being so far away, Merlin couldn't quite make out what it was. For a while, Merlin thought it might be one of those metal ships he had seen near the lights. Following this instinct, Merlin changed his course, and headed for the glimmering thing.

As Merlin came closer, he began to make out exactly what the object was. It seemed to be made of bronze. It was tall, and wide, and stretched across the sea as far as Merlin could see. Merlin didn't have to get any closer to know what it was: a bronze wall.Merlin knew from experience that no wall continued forever. It had to stop somewhere, somewhere there had to be a way to get in. So Merlin sailed along the bronze wall's edge, and surveyed the intricate markings that were carved on the sides.

The first markings Merlin saw were of people. The people were doing things, like holding a torch or rolling a wooden wheel. Then the pictures started to become more descriptive, showing a man riding a horse, man floating on the sea by way of a piece of wood. The pictures continued to get more and more descriptive, and Merlin began to see pictures like a man stabbing a giant with one eye with a flaming sword, a mountain being stabbed by a sword, releasing the wind, and a great many other pictures of those likes. These pictures were so detailed, it looked as if a great artist had carved it. Yet, it was the pictures ahead that Merlin wanted to see.

Merlin saw pictures of men shooting each other, not with arrows, but tiny little balls, that caused a small boom when fired. He saw the construction of a great metal pyramid, except it was only the skeleton of a pyramid, not the skin. He saw a great hollow metal box on wheels, which rolled over the flattened metal string beneath them. He saw more metal ships, these not quite so fantastic. He saw a box with pictures moving. He saw something like the winged-thing he had seen a few days ago, except it was white, and it flew off to the stars. He saw a strange, cylindrical object rotating around what looked to be like a giant blue marble, as if hung there with a piece of string. He saw everything, and the drawings were so realistic, they looked as if time itself had made them. The pictures even had color, something none of the other pictures had!

Merlin watched the pictures pass in awe. Such wonderful things, things he would have never had imagined in even the wildest of dreams! Then came a picture that Merlin would remember forever.The picture was of a city. Above it was a giant cloud. Yet, it wasn't the puffy clouds Merlin knew lived in the sky. This one was gray, and was shaped like a mushroom. In the next picture, the city was nothing but ruins, a sad site. Over and over this picture occurred, and it was always the same, a destroyed city with nothing left but its ruins. The cause was always the same: a gray mushroom cloud above a city. Then suddenly, there was nothing. No more pictures. Just a bronze wall.

Before Merlin could take in what was happening, a gust of wind came, pushing the Eagle into the wall, and forcing Merlin's head against it, knocking him unconscious as great bronze gates opened, and the Eagle was blown inside.

***

When Merlin woke, he found he was on the beach of a place he had never seen before. Yet, didn't this place seem so familiar to Merlin? As Merlin thought about it, it occurred to him that he had seen this place before. In one of his more enjoyable dreams. This beach was exactly the beach he had dreamt of once, in the dream where he was running along the water beside his son, laughing and enjoying himself. Merlin had thought no place could be so perfect as that beach, yet, here he was.

The beach had the perfect shade of golden brown sand, its waters were a majestic blue-green, and the sky was without a cloud. Everything was so perfect, yet. . . something was wrong. But what?

Leaving the beach, Merlin walked to where he saw buildings poking out over the horizon. It was not a long walk, and despite the sun shining brightly high above, seemingly never moving, it was perfectly warm. Along with the sun, the weather was odd; the wind wasn't blowing, not a single cloud as far as the eye could see, and everything was exactly the way Merlin liked it.

Before long, Merlin found what seemed to be a path to the buildings. It was made of black stone, and had white and yellow lines going up and down its length in various patterns. Sometimes it was double line. Sometimes it was a dotted line. Sometimes it was an unbroken line. The path was very wide. If Merlin were to lay down across its short side, he would make it almost halfway across the path, and Merlin had become quite tall.

The buildings, as Merlin found, were part of the city that was in ruins. Just as shown in the picture. The big hollow metal boxes were everywhere, but unlike the picture, these had long tubes attatched to a rotating top, and were painted to match the forest. Strewn across the ground were tubes with a squarish base with a hole in it. In that hole was a stick, pushing out from the tube. Merlin, curious as he was, picked up one of the tubes and pulled the stick. He stumbled as he heard the thundering explosion and burst of light, and dropped it like an uncontrollable torch, and looked up to see a sign that said 'Welcome to Washington, District of Columbia!'.

Littered everywhere were tiny little metal balls, small enough to fit in to the tubes on the ground that was covered in blood. The buildings that Merlin had originaly seen were crumbling like bread rolled between someone's fingers. Exploring one of the buildings, Merlin saw some of the moving-picture boxes that had been on the wall. Merlin jumped when he heard a sound. It seemed to be coming from the room across the hall.

Merlin walked to the room cautiously, as if expecting ambush. Yet, all he saw was one of the picture boxes, this one moving. A man with white hair sat in front of a desk, holding papers as if to read them.

". . . is not going well," said the man as Merlin began to hear his voice coming from, the box, "Thousands have died and many more are at this very moment. It seems as though our great emperor has gone too far this time, declaring war on the Allied Chinese Republic, and the people are suffering. American troops are barely hanging on to survival in the Chinese Republic, and we have reports the Chinese are preparing an invasion of America and all who aided us in previous campaigns. I am sorry to say that the great empire we have forged since our emperor overthrew the failed democracy fifty years ago is looking into the sunset, watching the twilight of the American Imperialism. We have maybe weeks left. Enjoy them while you can." finished the man, a sad look in his eyes. Then the picture box went blank.

Merlin exited the building, his mind swarming with new information. He looked up and saw a building he hadn't seen before, this one untouched by the battle that had occurred here. It was a giant whit building and looked much like a futuristic castle, with many pillars, windows, and two long flights of stairs on either side. In the center of the building was something that looked very similar to the colleseum Merlin had seen in his travels. On top of the colloseum object was another one, this one smaller. Then was a giant dome, and on top of that, a small spire, with a statue resting on top.

By instinct, Merlin walked to the building, climbing the steep hill to get to it. Finding a door wasn't too hard. It seemed as though there was one every twenty or so feet. Merlin walked around in the building, looking at the many statues and pictures, presumably of people dead in the battle.

As Merlin walked, he began to hear voices. At first he had thought the voices were a hallucination, just something in his head. However, as he walked, they began to get louder and louder. Curious, Merlin walked towards the noise.

". . . must aid them! The Third War is going badly and it is time we come and fight along side the Light! They need us!" shouted an all too familiar voice.

Finding the room the voice was coming from, he walked in to the doorway and saw a rather tall man banging his fist on the table. "Why not?" he bellowed, standing up as he did so. The man's hood fell back as he swung around violently, and Merlin saw the graying hair, which told him who the man was, and that he had seen him only once before.

"Aurelianus?" whispered Merlin.

As soon as those words left Merlin's mouth, everything fell silent, and the man whirled around as if Merlin's words could harm him. As the man's green eyes rested on Merlin, they softened, and told of the emotions their master was experiencing.

"Merlin?" breathed Aurelianus, still in a fighting position, "Is that you? Is it really truly you, or are my eyes taking to playing tricks on me?"

"It's me." said Merlin flatly.

"Merlin? Oh it really is you!" yelled Aurelianus, running to Merlin and picking him up in his arms and swinging him from side to side. "What took so long?" Aurelianus sobbed, tears of joy streaming down his face.

"What do you mean?" asked Merlin.

"Oh, never mind! You're here now and that's all that matters," weeped Aurelianus, putting Merlin back on the floor, "My son has finally come back to me!"

Explanation of Donate Button and Editing

Recently, I have been invited to travel with People to People as a student ambassador to Europe this summer. The trip is very expensive, so I have started asking for donations from people. If you would like to donate, click the button and enter the amount you would like to donate. Even the smallest donation will be greatly appreciated! If you would like more info, go to ssenrahontour.blogspot.com.

Also, I have gone and edited Merlin's Story. The last sentence in Apprenticeship has been cut.

Chapter 19: Lights

Merlin had been sailing for a few days now. It had been almost a week since he set off from Jeddah. The winds had been merciful and pushed his ship to the edge of the Red Sea in good time. If the winds kept this way, Merlin would be in the Indian Ocean before the end of the hour.
Merlin kept sailing, not paying the slightest attention to the dark clouds gathering. He was solely focused on getting to the ocean. Perhaps if he had looked up or down every now and again, he may have been able to avoid the storm. But he hadn't.

Merlin noticed the clouds only when it was too late. The rain began to come down, and Merlin heard a soft rumble in the distance. Knowing he was to face the worst storm ever to be seen, Merlin went below deck and braced himself for the inevitable titanic waves.

They did not come immediately; first came the lightning, which struck one of the three masts, and collapsed on the deck with a thud. The winds forced Merlin to listen to them as they screeched their sickening screech, and tore the ship apart, making the noises every man at sea feared: the voice of death.

Then Merlin spotted a leak in the side of the ship. It was a small leak, but a leak all the same, and one that would eventually sink the ship if not tamed. Merlin knew he had to fix it, but the only things that could plug the hole were on the upper deck. Courageously, Merlin ran onto the deck, grabbed a small cork, and shouted his victory to the winds. His victory would be short lived.

As Merlin was walking back to his hole, he heard a noise from behind him. Looking back, he saw what appeared to be a man of water. His chest was bare, and he had long hair flowing around his shoulders. He was as large as the largest waves, more than likely larger. In front of him, he held a trident. For what seemed to be years, Merlin and the water man stared at each other, neither blinking, neither swaying. Around them the storm had stopped, watching and waiting for the outcome of this meeting. Then realization dawned on Merlin.

"Poseidon?" he asked.

The water man gave a slight nod, and lunged at Merlin with his trident. As he collided with the ship, he became water, washing over the deck and swiping Merlin off of his feet. As he sank to the depths of the ocean and began to lose consciousness, Merlin thought he saw the face of a man looking at him.

***

Merlin woke to find himself on the coast. It was very cold, and there was deep snow all around him. His ship was nowhere to be seen, and the sun was setting fast. How Merlin had gotten here, or even where he was, was something Merlin would probably never know, but Merlin knew one thing: he didn't come here by accident. He was meant to be here. Why, he would soon find out.

The sun set in a spectacular array of orange and red and yellow colors, shifting as it settled into its bed behind the mountain, tossing and turning until it was comfortable. Yet, when the sun set, it was dark for only a few minutes. Merlin thought he must surely be in the land of the gods if the sun rose and fell so quickly. However, it wasn't the sun making the feeble light, nor the stars, nor a flame or torch, or any other light-making object Merlin could think of. It was a curtain in the sky, waving like a flag in the breeze. The curtain was painted brightly with colors, all sorts of colors, red, yellow, blue, purple, and many other colors Merlin had no names for. The majority of the curtain, though, was the same shade of green as Merlin's eyes, a bright green that was caring and understanding, and had a hint of blue, a blue that told the tragedies Merlin had encountered.

"This is why I'm here," whispered Merlin to himself, staring at the semi-transparent curtain that waved in front of the stars. Looking closely, Merlin thought he could see something emerging from the curtain.

As the thing came closer, Merlin could see it had the shape of a globe that had been split in half with its sides pushed in closer to the center. It came closer and closer, and before too long, Merlin could see long sticks coming out from the sides, a couple sticking out from the top, intricately carved patterns, and writing on the side of the object.

The object settled in the water, and Merlin walked towards it, realizing it for what it was: a ship.

The ship had three masts, all close to one another in the center of the ship. Each of the masts were connected to one another in an intricate array of rigging and lines. The hull was rounded, unlike the junk, and its headpiece was an eagle, which seemed live up to the name of the ship: Eagle.

Climbing aboard the ship, Merlin saw it was much like other ships he had been on, only bigger. Much bigger.

It was not long before Merlin, not so rushed this time, pulled up the anchor and put it near the side of the ship. Then Merlin raised the sails and caught the wind blowing to the south.

***

A week had passed since Merlin had set sail aboard the Eagle. Upon closer inspection of the vessel, Merlin had seen the hold had enough supplies for a year's voyage, that there was a small kitchen, and that it had comfortable living quarters.

As Merlin was just getting into his bed, he felt a sudden chill. Looking out the porthole, he saw. . . nothing. Nothing at all. All he saw was black, as if the world had just ceased to exist. Merlin, although not the expert sailor, knew he shouldn't be looking out only to see black. He should be seeing fish and water and sand. During the night, yes, perhaps he would see black. Only one thing was wrong: the sun still shone. Yet, Merlin saw only black.

Wondering as to what going on around him and why, Merlin trekked up to the upper deck. Upon emerging from below, Merlin's jaw dropped in disbelief, awe, amazement, wonder, and all other similar feelings. For the sight he was seeing was one no one had ever seen before, and one that he would fondly remember for the rest of his life.

No longer did Merlin see only black; he saw now a wide sea, shining a mighty blue, fish jumping through it and dolphins swimming in it, surrounded by a thick fog. Merlin, however, was far more interested in what was above, below, and on the sea.

A curious creation was above the water, Merlin noticed. It seemed to be a thick stick with odd shapes sticking out. They looked almost like. . . like. . . like a bird's wings! On the sea, Merlin's attention was torn between two sights: the sight of what seemed to be giant metal ships shooting small, rounded objects and large, elliptical objects at each other, and the sight of an eye almost as bug as he was, possibly bigger. Suddenly, the eye jumped, and caught the strange flying thing. With the eye came a giant body that must have been as long as the walls of Caernarfon Castle were tall. From the sides were giant flippers, which were close to half the size of the ship.

The giant creature landed back in the water with a tremendous splash, rocking the Eagle. When the mist cleared, there was nothing. Everything had disappeared. Everything.

Looking around for the strange but wonderful sights, Merlin saw that the giant creature was coming back. This time, it didn't swim along Merlin's vessel; it went under and bumped it, hard. Merlin, unprepared for the sudden bump, stumbled. His wand, which had been loosely held in a large pocket, flew through the air, spinning, going faster and faster towards the water.

Just as the cane-wand was five feet above the water, it was almost as if time slowed. The falling wand righted itself, and stayed upright. Slowly, ever so slowly, it came closer and closer to the water. Awed, Merlin just stayed where he was, his hand drooping over the side like a dead plant and his mouth and eyes wide-open.

The wand touched the water, but it did not sink. It was as if the surface of the sea had suddenly become hard as a rock. The water was perfectly flat, and the wand was standing straight up as the lights began to appear. From everywhere, where ever Merlin looked, he saw a small white light, scarcely bigger than his hand. All the lights shone brightly, and appeared everywhere. Some were on the surface of the sea. Some were on the deck of the Eagle. Some were even in midair, looking like pieces of parchment.

It took Merlin some time to figure out exactly what had happened. Years in fact. But when he finally figured it out, he cried, for what he had seen was something marvelous, something that would rock the very foundation of both the Dark and the light. Yet, if he told anybody, he would be criticized, and would be mocked. So when he figured it out, he kept it to himself, and tried in vain to find the place again. It was only when he realized that never would he be able to go to the magical place of lights and strange creatures, that he returned home and stayed there, and unknowing played right into the hands of fate, coming closer fulfilling his destiny.

Celebrating 100 Pages!

As of today, the final document of Merlin's Story has reached 104 pages. It is approximately 20,304 words. When completed, a novel should stand at about 75,000 to 100,000 words, equivalent to around 300 to 400 pages. By the end of the week, I should be about quarter of the way done with Merlin's Story, standing close to 25,000 words. Currently, Merlin's Story is 18 chapters, and the next 10 chapters are planned and drawn. Merlin's Story is also attracting a lot of attention; I get an average of six visitors a day, two of them from the US and the other four international. I have two regular readers from London and one from Switzerland.

Chapter 18: The Shipyard

"Ready Merlin?" asked Khoury.

"Give it your best shot." replied Merlin.

Upon hearing those words, Khoury ran at Merlin, holding a small elliptical ball in his hands. Merlin moved rapidly toward Khoury, trying to keep the ball from passing the goal line. Khoury was running so fast, he tripped over his own feet and lost the ball. Merlin, having years experience of walking rugged terrain, had no difficulty staying on his feet. He retrieved the ball as Khoury was still getting up, ran to the opposite end of the grass field, and crossed the line of sticks Khoury and Merlin had made by the beach.

"Beginner's luck!" shouted Khoury at Merlin.

"That may have been so, but we've played this game all week. I don't think I'm a beginner anymore." replied Merlin, handing Khoury the ball as he walked back to his position.

Some children had been watching Merlin and Khoury play, and asked to join in. Merlin and Khoury welcomed them. Throughout the rest of the morning, many other players were attracted, and before long, one team had seventeen, the other eighteen.

"Seems to me that you aren't playing a fair game," said a man from behind Merlin, "Mind if I join?"

Turning around, Merlin saw it was Abdul, returned from Mecca. Oddly, a week after Abdul had found Merlin wandering the desert, he had been called to Mecca, and hadn't told Merlin and Khoury why.

"We are one short; of course you can play." replied Merlin, a broad grin coming across his face.

As it turned out, Merlin's team won time after time. Strangely, it was always Abdul carrying the ball across the goal line.

After a few matches, Khoury and Merlin left their teams to speak with Abdul.

"Good game Khoury!" shouted Abdul to his son as they walked towards each other.

"How did you get so good?" asked Khoury.

"I'm the one who taught you the game, remember? I was coming back from a mission in the north where I had heard of a game they called 'fute ball', and taught you how to play when you were just a little boy."

"So why were you wanted in Mecca?" asked Merlin.

"I have another mission. They want me to go to a port some ways south and across the sea." replied Abdul.

"Won't you need a boat?" asked Merlin.

"Already have one," said Abdul, "Want to see it? Come with me."

Before too long, they were at the shipyard. Resting in the shipyard was a wide variety and array of ships. But the most curious ship was the one Abdul was pointing at.

The ship, unlike most that Merlin had seen, was shaped like a banana, and it hull was squared. Towards the back of the ship was a small cabin, with two windows. Behind the cabin, there was a small sail, insignificant compared to the massive sail on the cabin and the large sail close to the head of the ship.

"I've never seen the likes of this ship." said Merlin.

"I would say you haven't! This kind of ship is rare in parts, especially were you come from. I'm the only one with a ship like this as far as India." replied Abdul proudly.

"What kind of ship is it?"

"It's a Chinese junk. An Indian man had bought one from someone else and I bought it from him. It is a truly rare ship in most parts, and an extraordinary one as well. One of the fastest ships out there at eight knots. Now come on; let's get home. I'm sure you two want to hear about my trip."

Several hours later, long after Abdul had finished telling about his journey, Merlin laid in bed, sleep slowly overcoming him. He had been staying with abdul and Khoury for two weeks, long enough to refresh himself, and he was ready to continue his quest. The only problem was, he didn't know where to go. That hadn't kept him before, but it did now.

Merlin fell asleep still thinking of what Blaise had told him years ago, and was visited by dreams of the future. He saw himself on the sea, a storm coming close. The storm hit, and Merlin was knocked into the ocean. Just then, he woke, knowing he had to continue his quest by sea.

Silent as silence itself, Merlin stole into Abdul's room and placed a note, explaining why he had left and why he had taken the means he had. Then he followed the path to the shipyard, taking great care not to wake anyone in Jeddah.

It wasn't long before Merlin saw the ships. He quietly looked at them, searching for one in particular: Abdul's Chinese junk.

It took a while to find because it was so small, but Merlin found it with about an hour until sunrise. Merlin din't have long to raise the sails and prepare the ship for travel, and so raced against time. If Abdul were to see Merlin stealing his ship, Merlin wouldn't be able to continue his quest, keep his promise to Blaise.

Just as the sun was coming over the horizon, Merlin cut loose the anchor, and caught the south wind. Within seconds, Merlin was sailing away from the coast, and was on his way to the Utopian Realm.

Chapter 17: Wandering

"Take this and go to the Utopian Realm." Those words had been a few of Blaise's last. And those had been the words Merlin had been hearing in his head for a long time. Merlin couldn't remember how long ago Blaise had died. Hadn't it been. . . Two cold times since Blaise died? Yes, that was right. Two years since Merlin had last seen Blaise, the Young One, Pertcha, Geoffrey, and all of the others. At times Merlin forgot about the people of his past; other times, he couldn't sleep for he kept seeing them and hearing them. They were all around, so close Merlin could reach out and touch them. But then they weren't there. It had merely been a trick of the desert.

Was Merlin in the desert? He thought about. Yes, he was in the desert. Blaise had once taught him geography. From what Merlin remembered, he had recently passed the Mediterranean sea, and had crossed over into Africa. He was walking across what he thought was Egypt, and at the time he had had to cross a river, his mind had gone blank, and he had crossed the river and left it, thinking he would run into another in an hour or two. He had forgotten the river must be the Nile, the only water source any human being with no supplies could get necessary hydration from. Merlin was a wizard though, and that did a little to help him along his way.

Now Merlin was crossing the wide and endless expanse of what he thought to be the Sahara, or whatever other desert he was crossing. It was an endless task, and a life or death one at that. If Merlin were to stop even for a moment, he would surely not get back up. If he didn't get back up, he would die. So he continued, day and night, night and day, never straying from the constant walking.

Merlin knew he didn't have much longer to live. He had to find a town and soon. Whether it be large or small, wealthy or poor, so long as Merlin could get some water and rest. He had had no rest since he had left the water.

Merlin heard a sound behind him. It sounded like the clop of a horse's hooves. Instinct took over Merlin and he broke into a sprint fast enough to rival any horse. The horse's hooves also sped up. Merlin ran and ran, the same routine he had done since Blaise's death. It was the routine to survival, and Merlin desperately wanted to carry out his promise to Blaise; take the ring to the Utopian Realm. And he couldn't do that if he was dead.

Slowly but surely, the horse caught up to Merlin, and its rider tried none too gently to pull Merlin onto his horse. Merlin purposefully slid off the horse, and landed head first in the sand. There happened to be a rock not to far under the surface, upon which Merlin hit his head and fell unconscious.

***

"Father! He's waking up!" shouted a small boy of about Merlin's age.

Looking about him, Merlin saw he was in a a damp cottage, which looked to be made of some sort of yellowish stone. He was sitting on a thin blanket on the floor. Other than his uncomfortable bed, there was no other furniture. Furthermore, there seemed to be no other people as the boy returned with his father.

The man the boy called father had brown eyes, a goatee, and was wearing a sand-colored turban on his head. He looked at Merlin with something like concern in his eyes.

"Are you alright?" asked the man, kneeling down to be eye-level with Merlin.

"Yes, I think so." replied Merlin, rubbing his temples.

"You hit your head pretty hard. What's your name stranger?"

"My name. . . My name is Merlin."

"Interesting name. You don't come from here do you?" asked the man casually.

"No. I come from Britain."

"Britain!" exclaimed the boy, "How long have you been traveling? It must have taken ages to get here from Britain by foot!"

"I have been traveling for two cold times."

"Well Merlin, you are welcome to stay with us for a while. You must be very tired after such a long journey." said the father, apparently impressed with Merlin's perseverance.

As the man stood up to leave, Merlin asked a few more questions. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you names?"

"No, of course not! My name is Abdul and my son's is Khoury." replied the man.

"Where am I? Thebes? Memphis?"

"Heavens, no! Why Thebes and Memphis are on the other side of the Great River! This is Jeddah!"

"Where is Jeddah?"

"You don't know where Jeddah is!" exclaimed Abdul, "You truly are a stranger. Jeddah is only a day's ride from Mecca, the holy city of Allah. I was returning from spreading the faith when I saw you. You had better get some rest Merlin. It's been a long day for you."

Abdul ushered Khoury out the door. Within minutes, Merlin was fast asleep.

Chapter 16: The Wild Hunt

Hurry, hurry, hurry, Merlin's wings seemed to say as he beat them up and down, and yet, Merlin was already flying as fast as he could, which made it all the more frustrating.

Merlin knew time was limited. He knew he had maybe a few hours left to reach Blaise, if he was lucky. If he wasn't. . . Merlin decided not to follow that thought through to its conclusion.

Hurry, hurry, hurry, Merlin kept hearing, for every moment in the air was another precious second in which Merlin could save Blaise.

How will you find Blaise? taunted a voice in Merlin's head, How will you save him? What if you don't arrive in time? When Merlin thought these questions over, he realized he didn't know the answer to any of them.


Merlin was woken from his deep thoughts when he heard the clop-clop of a horse's feet from far below him. As he listened closer, he heard the familar clink of a scabbard hitting the buckle of a belt. Merlin knew at once that the rider could be none other than Blaise.

Looking ahead of him, Merlin saw a small clearing, and flew faster towards it, hoping Blaise's course would take him through the clearing. Slowly, Merlin shape-shifted to his normal form and walked to the edge of the clearing, ignoring the glare the windows of the cabin in the clearing gave him as he walked past. For some reason, Merlin felt as if something monumental had happened here.

Or was going to.

Merlin heard Blaise's horse approaching the clearing. Curiously, the horse stopped abruptly where the clearing met the forest. Blaise dismounted his horse and walked calmly and slowly to the cabin. Blaise did not knock; he simply kicked the door wide open, splintering it. Curiosity won over Merlin's better judgment, so he followed Blaise.

The cabin was empty. There was nothing in the cabin, nothing at all. Which seemed odd as it had clearly been built several years ago, as could be told by the decaying wood. Again, Merlin felt the monumental feeling, stronger this time. On impulse, he looked out the window nearest to him. He thought he could see a boy of his age running into the forest. But Merlin had never been able to quite trust his own eyes, due to poor sight. Blaise had once promised him glasses.

Blaise. Where was he? Merlin got up from the window sill and began to look for Blaise. Moments later, Merlin heard a thundering boom come from the bedrooms of the cabin. Already forming a plan, Merlin ran towards the bedrooms.

Merlin heard swords clashing against one another. He knew that one of the swords he heard was Excalibur, Blaise's sword. The other was one he had hoped he would never be near again if Merlin was right.

Flying around the corner, Merlin saw to people fighting. Blaise was one of them. The other had his back turned to Merlin. Suddenly, the man with his back turned took out a wand a screamed an incomprehensible word. As a result, Blaise went flying through the solid wood wall and landed on his back in a bath tub. The man came flying at Blaise, wielding his sword high above his head as if it were an ax he would bring down on Blaise's head. Blaise quickly rolled out of the way and on to his feet.

The man's sword was stuck in the wood floor of the cabin. Taking advantage of the man's predicament, Blaise ran at the man, swinging Excalibur from the side in a long arc. The man merely said another word and Blaise's foot froze, causing him to trip. Anyone could clearly see the man was an expert when it came to magic. If the battle continued to progress this way, Blaise would die.

The two continued to fight each other, driving one another into the clearing. for the third time, Merlin felt the monumental feeling. It was the strongest feeling of them all, so strong, Merlin fell on the ground and struggled to get back up. As he lay on the ground he heard Blaise and the man yelling at each other.

"It's been many long years that I have been waiting for this day!" shouted Blaise at the man.

"I don't want to fight you!" screamed the man, his voice as sharp and cold as ice. It was a voice Merlin would recognize anywhere; it was the Young One.

"Of course you don't! You're afraid I will avenge your father!"

"I didn't kill Ambro!" said the Young One calmly.

"Then why is he not with us?"

"He left! He suddenly disappeared just as he was about to kill me! Why won't you believe me?"

"You most certaily earned your name, Shiroix, or as ot means in the Speech, teller of lies."

"I am not lying!" screamed the Yoiung One with fury as he brought his sword so hard against Excalibur, Merlin heard a high pitched squeal, which undoubtedly meant Excalibur had recieved a deep gouge.

Merlin overcame the feeling that had grasped hold of him just as the Young One went for the killing blow. He ran around the corner and screamed a word at the top of his lungs, pointing his cane-wand at the Young One.

"Zamaj!" Merlin bellowed. Suddenly, out of nowhere, came a stampede of giant dogs, slobber trailing behind them as they raced towardsthe Young One and Blaise. Among the dogs were blood-red stags, fire-orange birds, and horned lions. Leading the stampede was a creature riding a skeleton horse. The creature's face had much resemblance to that of a goat, except it was as black as ash. It had pointy ears, much like some of the elves Merlin had seen. It also had horns and two shrp fangs coming out of it mouth facing up like an elephant's tusk. When the creature turned it's revolting features so it's red eyes were looking straight into Merlin's green eyes, Merlin felt one thought.

I am Pertcha, was the thought the creature sent Merlin as it passed him.

Pertcha turned her eyes back on the Young one and threw a flaming sword at him. It hit him right between the eyes.

Seeing the sword, the stampede behind Pertcha started to ravage the Young One's body, leaving nothing, not even a bone. Just as quickly as they had come, the stampede left, except for Pertcha.

"Who are you?" asked Merlin.

I am Pertcha, the leader of the Wild Hunt and the bringer of death, replied Pertcha.

"Why did you come?"

You summoned us.

"Will I see you again?"

Only when your time has come.

With that final word, Pertcha and her steed too left.

Merlin looked around for Blaise. He saw him lying on the ground near the cabin.

"Blaise!" yelled Merlin as he ran to his mentor.

"Merlin?" asked Blaise weakly, "Is that you? What are you doing here?"

"I had a dream and came to save you."

"It is too late for me. . ."

No, it's not. I could use the healing spell you taught me."

"You don't understand; I have seen Pertcha before. She told me the next time I saw her, it would be my death." said Blaise, his voice ever weaker.

"Merlin," continued Blaise, "I am dying, and there is nothing you can do. I will always rememer my time with you and your mother because it was the happiest time of my life. Take Excalibur; pass it on to Uther and his son. For your self, take this." With that, Blaise handed him the ring Merlin had seen in the dream. Merlin took it and put it in the pocket of his robe.

"Take this and go to the Utopian Realm. I am trusting you with this; do not let me down. Fare well Merlin." Blaise turned his head to face the sky and held his arms straight up. "Spirits. . . have I redeemed myself on this day?" Blaise asked of the sky, just as he had in the dream.

Slowly, Blaise lowered his arms, the light in his eyes slowly dying. Then he was dead.

"No! Blaise, no! Don't leave me! Don't leave me! I'm not ready! Stay here Blaise, stay here!" sobbed Merlin, tears rolling off his cheeks onto Blaise's lifeless body, "Blaise. . ."

For hours, Merlin sat there, shedding tears for his uncle. Watching from deep in the forest, Pertcha almost felt regret for what she had done. She herself shed a few tears for Blaise. Crying was something that Pertcha had never done, and yet, here she was. Although Blaise was dead, Pertcha would make sure to do something to ease Merlin's pain. Something. . .

Unable to think of anything at the moment, Pertcha took to the skies, heading back to her master Arawn.

Below Pertcha Merlin continued to cry, and would for several hours. Even after he stopped, he would still feel the pain of losing Blaise, and would continue to feel the pain for many long years.