Rise Of Albion

Bio: In the year 2013, Albion's greatest need has arisen, aided by an ageing Merlin, Arthur must reclaim his kingdom, but old enemies threaten all he holds dear.

In the place once known as Avalon, a great stirring was occurring, in the nearby town of Richmond (Ghost tales from England suggest Arthur can be awoken from under the keep of Richmond Castle so I'm using it) however; an old man slumbered in his small house, undisturbed by most of the world. This man had long grey hair and a beard; he had wrinkles around his eyes and in the corner stood a small staff. His name? Merlin.

Now Merlin was no ordinary man. He was a sorcerer, from the days of old, when dragons such as the fearsome Kilgarrah ruled the skies, and great armies such as the armies of Camelot patrolled the land, before the times of the Saxon's, during the early Dark Ages. Merlin was an old man now, but he knew he must hold on no matter what happened, for one day Albion's greatest need would arise, and the Once and Future King would return to save his kingdom from destruction.

Merlin lived alone in his house, accompanied solely by a small cat that snoozed soundly as well. He would not have noticed any strange occurrences that night, unlike the people who were on the nearby roads. People driving past the castle noticed strange lights, the silence of animals and small tremors beneath their vehicles. None stopped to wonder what was occurring, merely to hurry past. No-one noticed the slight whispers in the wind, the calling of small voices, all saying one name "Arthur."

The next morning, Merlin awoke in his house to the sight of his potions bubbling that he had started the night before, the old herbs, impossible to find now, lingering on the shelves, as fresh today as they were when picked, two, three hundred years before. The cat mewled as it stretched across the bed and leaped off, eager to begin the new day. Merlin thought about how he could prepare some remedies, reminiscent of Gaius when he noticed the cat was gone.

'Gwen!" Merlin called to the cat. "Guinevere! Silly cat." He smiled as it strolled into the next room as he climbed out of the bed, his back sore with years, his once youthful smile now covered with wrinkles, he was not the man he once was, back in the day, yet his powers were just as strong today as they had being at the final battle on the plains of Camlann, when he had helped to rout Morgana's forces.

Merlin walked into the next room, and collected his staff, clutching it for support as he pulled on his coat and his shoes, and walked out of the front door, allowing himself to bask in the sunlight. He began to walk down the street, towards the road leading from the town and towards the castle, where he could go to gather some more plants he would need for the day. He walked with his staff in hand, a sense of purpose in his day, giving him more energy than what would be expected from an elderly gentleman. He quickly found himself on the road, overlooking what was once the lake of Avalon, now a field in the country. He began to walk past, before noticing something that had not being there before. A pattern on the grass, the pattern was hard to see from ground level, but muttering a spell, Merlin glanced from above, and was shocked to see a message written in the grass saying "The time has come for the great test of Albion, Emrys, you are needed." Merlin dropped the basket for his herbs and began to walk over the field, towards the castle that was once the source of Avalon's power. He was half-way across when the ground beneath him gave way, and he fell into the darkness. He found himself in an underground cavern, a cavern that was filled with water, swimming to the far end, where he spotted an embankment, Merlin climbed out of the lake soaking wet, staff still in hand, to see one of the guardians of Avalon hovering there gesturing for him to follow.

'Come Emrys, you are needed now more than ever.' It spoke in his mind as it began to drift away.

Merlin followed the guardian with a sense of awe, dread and excitement all at once, awe that Avalon had survived, excitement at what he knew must happen, and dread, dread as he had failed to save Arthur, dread as he must now face his old friend again, and dread as this was the end of the peaceful life he now knew.

Merlin ventured further into the underground caverns that led off from the waters of Avalon, following the being as it went further into the caverns. It eventually led out into a large and rather grand looking cavern, gilded with gold and other precious metals, glittering from the cavern roof and walls, He saw several large buildings of grandeur, all encircling a glittering tower full of wonder and riches, and atop that tower, there was a domed room, with a number of people within it.

'That is where we are headed Emrys.' The being said, seeing where he was looking. 'Time for the great test to begin.'

Merlin followed the guardian into the large tower and began to walk up a winding staircase, towards the summit. They finally reached the top to see a long corridor leading to a small set of steps up to the domed room. Merlin and his companion quickly covered the length of the corridor and reached the stairs. They were plain compared to most of the city, including the stairs and corridor they had just passed, these were plain white stairs, not covered with precious metals. Merlin ascended these to find himself in the domed room, looking at a large table ahead, and at the head of the table, drinking from a goblet filled with wine, staring Merlin straight in the eyes was a man Merlin had not seen for over a thousand years, a man who looked no different to what he had when Merlin had burned his funeral barge.

'Lancelot.'