Pt. 2

He slowly became aware of quiet voices and the clinking of dishes that seemed much too close after the silence. With a gigantic effort, Arthur opened his eyes to see a worried Merlin bending down over him.

"Arthur? Can you hear me?" the young warlock asked, concern clearly etched on his face.

Arthur tried to speak, but found he couldn't. Nodding and making sure his servant could see, he struggled to pull himself upright into a sitting position.

Merlin helped him, staying quiet as Arthur took in his surroundings. He realized with a start that he was lying on a cot in the Physician's chambers.

"Where did they go?" Arthur asked breathlessly. Merlin's face pinched into a frown.

"After you fell, they left the hall," he answered. "I don't know where they went. Some knights tried to follow them, but they had already disappeared."

"I must find them," Arthur said, trying to get up. Merlin pushed him back onto the bed, and Gaius came over with a sternly raised eyebrow.

"If you even think about getting out of that bed before I say so, I'll make sure you spend the next four days unconscious here," the old man threatened.

Arthur gulped and leaned back, not wanting to risk the healer's wrath.

Gaius pulled out a small pewter bowl and began mashing its contents into a thick paste. Gaius motioned for Arthur to roll up his sleeves, and Arthur complied, gasping with pain as he did so. His forearms where the creatures had grabbed him were a deep black color, as if burnt. They were also painfully tender.

Arthur saw Merlin wince in sympathy, and thought even Gaius grimaced slightly. "Frostbite," Gaius said, smearing the paste on the afflicted areas.

Almost immediately, Arthur felt a rush of warmth in his arms, dispelling some of the pain instantaneously.

"Oh, thank you, Gaius," Arthur muttered, closing his eyes in relief.

"You're quite welcome, Sire," Gaius said with a small smile. "The frostbite was caused by the creatures' touch, so it shouldn't be as long-lasting as the real thing. If it's not fully healed in a few days, come back and I'll see what I can do," Gaius said, falling back into the role of Physician.

Arthur inclined his head in understanding, although his brow was troubled.

"Gaius, what were those things?" the young prince asked, unable to keep a small tremor out of his voice.

"Perhaps I'll be able to tell you if you help me," Gaius replied, eyebrow still raised. "What exactly happened when they touched you?"

Arthur paled, not wanting to think about it. "It—it was cold. Very cold," he stuttered, trying to force his way past the emotion threatening to choke him.

"It felt…..angry. Rage and wrath and pain, everywhere," he continued. Merlin shifted uneasily, not liking the faraway look in his friend's eye.

"It felt like a wind, blowing over the world and everything in it. Except the world was hollow and lifeless. Everything was gone, and even though I could hear others screaming, could hear their pain…..It was so cold," Arthur whispered, wide-eyed and unfocused.

"So very cold….and alone. Nothing stood between us and the great granite barrier of time. We were crushed under its relentless march as the wind was around us and in us. There was nothing left but the screaming wind. And me. " Arthur was racked by a fit of uncontrollable shivering.

Merlin went to his master's side, vigorously running a hand up and down his shoulder, trying to bring Arthur out of it.

After a few moments, Arthur looked up at him dazedly, almost as if he had forgotten where he was.

"Here, Arthur," Gaius said, holding out a wooden cup. "Drink this."

Arthur silently obeyed, feeling the herbs trail hotly down his throat. Within minutes, the young prince was deeply asleep, the sleeping draught taking effect.

Merlin ran his hands shakily through his hair and Gaius sighed, turning to his young apprentice.

"Between what you told me about the creatures and what Arthur described, I'm fairly certain I know what we're dealing with. I can only hope that I am wrong," Gaius said, turning to fetch a book.

"It is called a sluagh," Gaius said, pronouncing it sloo. "Generally, they form in a crowd of restless, violent spirits that haunt whomever has done them wrong in life. I wonder what the spirits were referencing in regards to Uther's crimes," he mused.

"Wait, crowd?" Merlin asked, heart sinking. "You mean there are more of them?"

"Oh, yes, many more," Gaius answered. "Where they able to speak and act in unison?" he asked.

Merlin nodded, shocked. He hadn't told Gaius that detail.

Gaius grimaced. "They are all united in a common goal against Uther, then. You must stop them, Merlin, before they can start avenging their deaths on the king and his entire bloodline."

"How can I stop them?" Merlin asked. "They're impervious to weapons," he said, remembering the poor knight who had tried to stop the monsters with his crossbow.

"They have grown powerful enough to walk among the living. Only magic can banish them back to the netherworld," Gaius replied. "Fetch your book, quickly. There isn't much time."

Merlin ran to get his magical book, and Gaius looked at the Prince, sleeping peacefully on the cot beside him. Oh, Arthur, he thought. His heart ached for the young prince's burden.

That you should have to carry so much of your father within you is unfair in its own right. You should be judged on the contents of your own heart, not encumbered by faults which are not your own.

Merlin came back, hurriedly flipping through the book, trying to locate the spell which would banish the sluagh. Gaius shook himself mentally and helped Merlin find it.

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Merlin sat cross-legged on the floor, book laid out in front of him. His eyes were closed, and he concentrated hard on the spell the banishing would require. Gaius sat near the prince, quietly retying Arthur's bandages. Merlin had been there for twenty minutes now, and while Gaius knew that time was of the essence, he also knew it was powerful magic. Merlin was moving as fast as he could, and would stop the monsters just as soon as he had full mastery over the incantation.

Merlin's lips moved soundlessly as he repeated the words to himself. He forced himself to go slow, to get it correct. There would be no margin for error when he set out to confront the other-worldly creatures. Worry for Arthur and the people of Camelot crept through his mind, breaking his focus. Merlin impatiently shoved these thoughts aside; they wouldn't help anyone now.

Nothing would save them if Merlin couldn't learn this spell.

Merlin began to feel the pressure, began breathing more rapidly. Panicking at the thought of failing, at the thought of standing by and watching Arthur die, helpless to stop it while the sluagh laughed and laughed—

A firm hand on his shoulder made him jump. Gaius was in front of him, smiling kindly.

"You can do this, Merlin," he said, absolute certainty in his wise eyes.

Merlin gave him a wavering smile and focused his concentration once more.

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Outside the castle, the sky darkened and the clouds moved quickly. Mixes of other-worldly screaming and cackling had long-since forced everyone indoors. The wind howled and batted violently at every window. It shrieked at every door to be let in, so that others could feel the torment and agony, the one true legacy of Uther Pendragon.

Arthur stood before his knights, lined up in a strong row. Arthur felt a surge of deep love for everyone who stood here today, everyone who embodied the same principles as he did.

"I won't force anyone to join me," Arthur said clearly, voice ringing through the large room. "This is a personal choice you'll make, and no one need be ashamed for backing away." He paused, gathering his thoughts.

"This foe is unlike anything we have ever faced before. It is borne of malicious intent, and will stop at nothing to see all of Camelot gone, torn away by the accursed wind these spirits bring with them. However, I will stop at nothing to see these foul beings cast out of my home, away from my people," Arthur said, words ringing with truth and conviction.

"When I knighted all of you, I said that you must be brave without foolhardiness, decisive without arrogance, and strong without violence. These are the qualities I have seen in all my knights. I would not have called you here, had I doubted any one of you," Arthur said, eyes resting on every one of the knights' faces.

"The time has come for you to rise up and protect the people you swore to serve, and the truths you swore to uphold. We must go now, and defend our lives, our honor. All of Camelot depends upon it. Who will go with me?" he asked, looking around.

Everyone was silent for a moment. Suddenly, the smallest knight, one of Arthur's newest, stepped forward and said bravely, "I will go with you, Sire."

The knight next to him likewise stepped forward. "I, too, Sire."

The room filled with the promises of honor, of fighting in hopes of achieving something greater until everyone in the room had signaled their ascent.

Arthur smiled at the knights he had trained, all the lives he had touched. "We go out to face the dead in ten minutes," he announced. "Soon after, we will return triumphant. For Camelot!" he yelled, raising his sword into the air.

"For Camelot!" the knights shouted in reply, a glittering sea of weapons going to face the eternal wind.

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Merlin's eyes snapped open, knowing he had finally mastered the spell. Getting up, he ran out the door, knowing there wasn't a moment to lose.

Gaius watched him go with fear in his heart.

Merlin ran to the royal courtyard, struck by the silence and emptiness of the town. Nothing moved or made a sound except for himself. And the wind, he thought, and shivered.

The sluagh, many more now, howled and whirled on the wind currents around him, causing to him to duck and dodge between them as he searched for Arthur. The sounds of metal clashing and yelling helped him pinpoint the location, and he quickly ran the distance.

Arthur was already deeply engaged in battle, ducking and weaving in an elegant, deadly dance as he fought the dead. He had tried not to see, but several of his brave knights had already fallen. Their cold, still faces looked sightlessly at the sky, reminding Arthur of his broken vow to keep them safe.

He slashed at a spirit as it flew dangerously close to his face, cackling as it passed him. Their swords didn't seem to be doing much as the hordes of sluagh continued to advance innumerably. Suddenly, all of the spirits that had been flying around chaotically came to the ground. Hundreds taking on the intangible, shifting shape, they lined up in militarily straight rows and said as one, "We have been waiting, Arthur Pendragon."

Arthur felt a chill go up his spine, and yelled as he and his knights rushed at the oncoming armada.

Merlin stood at the edge of the battle, eyes closed tightly. He was trying to feel all of the spirits, to encompass them all under a single spell. Hearing a cry of pain he recognized with a jolt, his eyes flew open to see Arthur in the grasp of several sluagh. Writhing in pain, he slipped to the ground, and Merlin's fear turned to rage.

Screaming the words of magic as the other knights continued their assault, Merlin's eyes turned bright gold. The spell exploded from him, hitting all the spirits in the entirety of Camelot at once. His power was wholly uncontained, and overwhelmed the creatures as they fought and screamed, wailing about retribution and payment. Insanity borne of an eternity of bad-intentions and helpless waiting slowly culminated as the spirits began fading out of reality together.

The feelings of hate and rage in the air were so strong they were almost palpable. Merlin fought the urge to gag and concentrated on holding the spell. He was rapidly tiring and knew he wouldn't be able to keep it up for much longer.

Fortunately, the spirits began losing much of their energy, slowly dissipating as it was set aside in the patient face of eternity once again. Merlin kept his eyes tightly shut. A tear leaked from the corner of his eye. They were all so alone, all they'd wanted was justice, to be repaid for what had been done to them. When Arthur is King, he'll fix this, he called to the spirits in his mind. Somehow, he'll fix all of this.

The only answer he got was the screams of a thousand tormented souls and the melancholy keening of the wind through the empty streets of Camelot.

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A few days later, Arthur was in his chambers, looking down at the once-again peaceful streets of Camelot. The sluagh had been banished back to the spirit realm by some unknown force, Merlin had informed him. Uther suspected sorcery and had sent out a team of guards to search all of Camelot. Arthur would have laughed if the irony hadn't been quite so terrible.

He couldn't help but remember what had happened to the people his father had wronged, how they had felt as they faced eternity alone and unanswered.

He was deep in thought when Merlin opened the door to his chambers. "Is there anything you need, Sire?" Merlin asked, wanting to help.

"No, thank you. I'm fine, Merlin," Arthur said distractedly, still staring out the window.

"You're not your father, Arthur," Merlin said quietly, wanting to reassure the young prince. To his surprise, Arthur whirled around angrily.

"So what? That doesn't matter! So much has been done in the name of Pendragon that no matter how many good deeds I do, no matter how many wrongs I right, I will never be able to outrun the past. The Pendragon Legacy," he said ironically, remembering the words of the sluagh.

Merlin walked over to the window and looked his friend squarely in the eye. "You have always done more for the people of Camelot than Uther was willing to do. You have always risked your own life to help others. The crimes of your father are not yours to bear, Arthur. You will make your own mark and your own legacy, once you are king. You will be the greatest King Camelot has ever known." His words rang with conviction, and his eyes reflected complete, solemn faith.

"But will it be enough?" Arthur asked desperately. "Will it be enough to forgive the sins of the past?"

Merlin stayed quiet, utterly hating Uther in that moment for putting his son through this.

"It's a good start," Merlin said finally. He moved closer to Arthur, and together they looked out over Camelot.