Bearing the Path to Destiny

A/N: Well, this is it. The Final Chapter of my story and the Destiny series. I'll save the rest for the end of the chapter. I hope you love how things wrap up from here.

That's how it is with legends. The greater they sound, the more must've got left out.

~ Tim Tharp, Knights of the Hill Country

Chapter 50: Epilogue, The Legend lives on

The years passed and Arthur ruled the kingdom both strongly and justly bringing about the golden age that many had only dreamed about. Nearly the whole land of Briton was with Arthur and with the addition of Albion and Eire there had never been such a kingdom in the land's history. On Eire, Connor had helped keep the land to Arthur's wishes and he and the knights have visited these lands proud and happy with how he was handling things. The people across both Briton and Eire were enjoying a time of peace that Arthur and his friends and allies were safeguarding. Arthur's court was made of men from many corners of the kingdom: Camelot, Albion, Welsh, and Celts. Despite where they came from, all of them had taken to wear Arthur's crest along with the one of their origin. The red dragon banner of Camelot became renowned far and wide. Eventually, despite where any of them were from, they all became better known as the Knights of the Round Table.

Perhaps the biggest change to the land was its regard towards magic. The new laws regarding magic were now the same as the laws for those without them. It could be used but it wasn't to be abused. The level of punishment brought down on those that did varied on the situation as it would for anyone non-magical that violated the laws or caused an incident. It was a fairness that few of this generation had ever seen in their lives. A new code of conduct was made for those of magic to follow which was approved by Merlin. Its creator was Morgana. Morgana's role as the new 'Lady of Albion' with a seriousness few truly expected of her. With everything that had happened due to her actions she was determined to prove herself worthy of this 'second chance' that she had been given. She had her own council of priestesses set up in Albion similar to the one that had been had in the Isle of the Blessed with Malcolm as an advisor. Kalen was among the first to support the new council as it filled him with some nostalgia of the old times. Connor had often sent messages to her saying that she hadn't given him reason to doubt his choice and keeps hoping that she never will. Many still distrusted her but it didn't damper Morgana's efforts to do the duty that was set before her and help take care of the people now in her charge. Still, relations between the peoples were shaping strong.

Politically Camelot was blossoming as it was on a personal level. After seven years most of the knights had found themselves with a wife. Percival had married a merchant's daughter that he had rescued from some bandits that had tried to steal and harass her. The two of them were currently on high alert for the birth of their first child that would be born practically any day now. Elyan had fallen in love with the sister of one of Camelot's bakers and already had a young daughter. Leon, surprisingly, had found love with a druid girl who would visit Camelot time and time again with others for trading. He had his own son and was expecting another child soon enough. Even Gwaine settled down as he had found love with a village girl he had met on a diplomatic visit to Eire and brought back to Camelot with him. Bedivere wasn't married yet but he was currently romancing a local girl who picked herbs at the request of others. Garrett was in between romances at the moment but he was still hopeful of finding 'the one.' Kay, who had joined the court three years into the new reign, was still trying to get a woman to bear being with him for more than two months without wanting to strangle him. Sirs Galahad and Tristan were a little sad at all of this but were still happy for all of them just the same as they knew the joys of love from their own lost ones. They became quite good friends from this understanding. Arthur felt a pang at the thought of their children but he then thought of his own child.

The Pendragon family was shaping itself up to be good and well. Arthur and Guinevere's son Amr was growing to be quite the loved young prince. He was a fun loving boy that would be seen playing alongside some of the other local children in the city. Arthur and Gwen were proud to see that their son wasn't letting his position as prince rule him like it did with Arthur as a boy. As Amr got older Arthur and Guinevere started to see that he was coming to resemble his late half-brother Will in terms of his hair and looks. Merlin sometimes felt he was staring at a ghost whenever Amr laughed or got angry as it was almost an exact copy of Will when they were kids. Amr showed a tendency for mischief much like his brother but otherwise he was taking after Arthur as if he were his own flesh and blood. At the age of ten he was already starting his training to use a sword and eager to be a great a warrior as his father. Whenever Arthur could he would help teach his son some of his own sword techniques. As his training went on Arthur thought that Amr was a natural and could one day even be greater than him as he had not only him to train him but over half a dozen surrogate uncles who were each great warriors in their own right.

"If I didn't know any better I would swear he was truly your son," Merlin said as he and Arthur watched Amr receive instruction from Bedivere.

"He is my son," he said simply with no trace of doubt in his tone as he looked over at his boy. "No less than you my brother Merlin." That made Merlin's grin widen. "It's still not too late to make it official you know. I don't know what you two are waiting for."

"Who ever said Morgana and I were waiting for something?"

Then, there was the other branch of the Pendragon family. When Merlin had visited Albion at Morgana's request it created a spectacle that many still found amusing to talk about for years to come. Merlin went through the Manor doors and as soon as he set his eyes on Morgana…he fainted. It seemed that their night together before the final battle had quite the consequence as his eyes fell on her swollen belly. It was over two weeks later that Morgana had given birth to a girl, and a few moments later a boy. Twins were a rare occasion as were fraternal twins. They named their raven haired green eyed girl Meghan and their raven haired blue eyed boy Magnus. They bounced between time with their mother in Albion and with their father in Camelot. The most surprising thing was that even with the children, Merlin and Morgana hadn't decided to get married. They knew they did love each other but marriage seemed to be out of their sights. They supposed it came from both having complicated family history but they agreed they didn't need to be husband and wife to love each other or their children.

"You know what I dread most Merlin?" Morgana had asked one day as they watched their children play in the fields of the Albion Manor's grounds.

"What?"

"How one day our children will hear of all the things that I did and will come to me and ask me if any of it is true. I'm afraid they won't be able to even look at me the same way ever again."

Merlin brought her in closer and gave her a soft kiss on the side of her head. "Morgana," he mumbled. "Despite all the things we have accomplished and for all of our power we can't change the past. All we can do is make sure the world has as few of the old problems as necessary for our children to face. You've helped do that with the new 'Code of Albion". You also helped save people and Albion when you stood against Mab. They'll hear about that too. They know you love Albion, you love magic and you love them. That should tell them all they need to know about their own mother."

Morgana had tears falling from her eyes but she was still smiling brightly. "Thank you Merlin…though, I think you might have left out one thing on your list of what I love." She then brought him in for a gentle kiss that was cut short by their children making a show like they had seen something grotesque which had the two laughing.

As the twins got bigger it became quickly apparent that they had inherited their parents' gifts of magic. Meghan often talked of strange dreams while Magnus often made things move whenever he got really angry or scared. Also, they showed signs of being drawn to dragons namely to Madoc and Aithusa particularly. Despite that they were pretty normal children and normal siblings. They argued with each other like any other brother and sister and Arthur and Morgana often shook their heads at them when they went at it as it reminded them of themselves when Morgana moved to Camelot.

This wasn't to say that things were perfect in their lives. One of the greatest tragedies to come their way was the passing of Gaius. Five years after the war Gaius had contracted some kind of heart ailment. According to both him and Eli it wasn't uncommon for men his age to receive. Everyone had trouble to accept that a man who had gone and bared so much in his life could be succumbing to something like this. Gaius however wasn't upset at all which shocked all of them. On his sickbed he claimed that he knew it was coming.

Merlin was at Gaius side in tears and holding his hand. "Don't say that," he cried when he had said that.

Gaius lightly smiled at him. "Merlin, it's alright. In the last five years I have experienced more happiness than I have in my first fifty. To see you, Arthur, everyone build great lives for yourselves, all the children and what the kingdom is shaping into…I couldn't be happier. Don't waste time mourning me my boy, it's my time now. I'm ready."

"Who says that we are?" he argued.

"You are," he said a little sternly. "I've always had faith in you Merlin since you came into my life and I still have faith in you leaving it."

Merlin nodded and leaned in to give Gaius a soft kiss on his forehead.

When his heart succumbed the city spent the next few days in mourning as there was hardly one of them who hadn't been treated by him. Merlin and Arthur especially took it hard as they lost someone who was as dear as a father to them both. Eli took Gaius' position as Court Physician and he hoped he brought honor to it as Gaius did; Merlin assured him that he and Gaius were sure that Eli would be as Gaius had taught and prepared him well.

A few of the demons and damned men that escaped the battle, now free from their bond to Vortigern tried to seize power for themselves. They weren't very strong or bright by themselves which played towards their eventual failures but Camelot was finding them troubling all the same.

The biggest problem for them would undoubtedly be the ones given to them from Mordred and Mab. The two stayed in hiding as they tried to wait out the time for Vortigern's recovery. Pretty soon, they went active in trying to find some way to revive their king quicker. Remnants of Vortigern's forces often would attack and spread terror in his name but they would be quickly repelled by Arthur's court. Mordred and Mab left Lucien to deal with Arthur and Merlin but eventually he too was destroyed. They then decided that as long as Arthur and Merlin were still reigning strong then even if Vortigern did wake then it would all be for nothing. Camelot must first be destroyed.

They know that brute force had failed them once so they had to go for a different approach. One method they tried was to destroy the union of kingdoms from within. They felt the key lied in Merlin's son Magnus. As time went on the children of Arthur's court grew to be wily teenagers. Prince Amr, Magnus and Meghan were getting more and more involved in the state of the grand kingdom. Mordred carefully approached and tried to tempt Magnus with thoughts of taking power and control seeing as how he was the true heir to the throne by blood rite after Arthur. It seemed possible for it to be a success for as Magnus got older he and his father Merlin began to drift apart. Magnus had a love for battle with either swords or sorcery and wouldn't hesitate to head into a fight which Merlin frowned upon. He felt his son was too reckless and foolhardy to handle most situations well while Magnus felt his father's attitude to avoid fighting at all costs was delusional and unrealistic. He countered that if he had acted that way then he and his sister wouldn't even be here right now which his son turned back on him on how that was his real concern. It was his sister Meghan who would try to use reason and have fighting be a last resort. They would often fight on how it was Meghan that was his favorite child over him. It got even worse when his son went and fashioned himself a sword forged in the dragon's breath behind his back. Merlin could see that his son grew up to have a little too much of his mother's fire in him.

It seemed like the perfect access for Mordred and Mab however, these plans ultimately fell through. Merlin's son might have a love for fighting but not for power. His mother taught him better than that by telling him stories of what that path had led to for her. He felt that maybe he might've been his mother's favorite as his sister was his father's. Magnus was loyal to his uncle Arthur and to his cousin and best friend Amr. When it became clear what Mordred was trying to do with him he didn't hesitate to try and blast him to pieces. Mordred hadn't been ready for fighting him and retreated but Mordred and Mab saw that he would one day be a deadly enemy himself. They tried corrupting and recruiting the emerging surge of sorcerers in the land but not one of them ever was enough to tip the scales for them.

Ultimately, Mordred and Mab did find a way to bring down Arthur and Merlin. With time they were able to refresh their army of Saxons numbers and went for a final clash at the Plains of Camlann with Mordred at its head. Yet before Merlin could go off to be with Arthur as he met this foe he had received an urgent message from Morgana that she needed his help. Arthur insisted that Merlin go to her and that he would be fine. Merlin arrived at the meeting place where he found Morgana on her knees with her back to him.

"Morgana?" he asked as he approached. He heard tears and he immediately yanked his neckerchief off to offer it to her.

"Merlin?" she cried out weakly.

"What's happened?" he asked putting a gentle hand to her shoulder which encouraged her to slowly start standing. "Why are you here?"

"For you."

Suddenly, she turned and sprayed him with some kind of shining dust. After a few seconds of spitting what went into his mouth he saw that they were seeds because some kind of vines were growing all around him and engulfing him. Morgana then went and yanked the red dragon chain he had hard off his neck and tossed it away along with his neckerchief. He looked up and despaired to see a mad smirking smile on Morgana's face before his body was fully enveloped. As soon as it did, Morgana's smirking facial image blurred and was replaced by Mab's scarred one. Ever since Morgana scarred her face Mab had never hated anyone more. This was the perfect thing to harm her. To have the last thing the one who had her heart see was her face as she doomed and destroyed him.

She had infused seeds with the strongest draining curse magic she could find to create something that could truly destroy one of Merlin's power. The vines started to harden together until it turned into a tree. "I have amazed even myself," she whispered as she saw her work take root, literally. "Not even Merlin will escape my Tree of Fate." She had ran experiments on the enemies they captured that had magic with this new weapon. It was years of work and victims before it became perfected to be put to use against Merlin. The tree would grow on the sustenance from Merlin's magic until it sucked him dry. Since his life is tied to his magic and the process would kill him she customized the tree to bear a fruit which would contain the soul of the one it took. For someone of Merlin's power it would be a while though. "How long will it be until you bear fruit?" she asked greedily stroking one of the branches that were growing out. The most brilliant thing about her tree was that its victim could only be freed by a stronger power than its victim but with Merlin she doubted there would be someone powerful enough to free him.

Mab thought it was a matter of time before Merlin was out of the way forever and they had his soul but there was one thing she hadn't anticipated: Twin Telepathy. Magnus and Meghan had a rare ability that born magical twins seemed to be the only ones to have. They could always talk to one another with their minds like the Druids could but could do so at no matter what distance. When Magnus was marching with Camelot's army to fight against Mordred and the Saxons and his Uncle Arthur told him that he hoped his mother would be okay. He contacted his sister who was currently with his mother in Albion and asked why she didn't say anything about their mother being in trouble but the response was nothing but confusion. Morgana and Meghan went off to where Merlin went to find Mab in front of a tree growing undoubtedly by magic.

"Mab!" Morgana shouted as they went for her.

"Morgana," Mab shouted back in savage satisfaction.

Meghan noticed a flash of red and saw a familiar red neckerchief abandoned on the ground. "Where is my father? What did you do to him?"

Mab smirked. "Let's just say that saw that he's finally going to blossom."

The mother and daughter duo drove Mab away before she could take off with her new tree and after some investigation were horrified to learn that the tree had Merlin trapped inside. Even together the two of them couldn't release Merlin from this tree. After performing some time related magic on the area they were horrified by what they saw of how Merlin came by this fate.

As if that weren't bad enough the Battle of Camlann had dire consequences. Camelot had emerged triumphant but at the cost of their king. Arthur had engaged Mordred on one on one combat, Excalibur clashing with Clarent, but Mordred was able to use his magic to tip the scales and wound Arthur with Clarent. Amr and Magnus came to Arthur's rescue but Mordred fled before he could fall under their intensity. A piece of Mordred's sword had gotten stuck in his wound and would eventually claim his life. News reached them of what was happening to Merlin and no one knew how to save either of them. The kingdom was at its lowest point that hadn't been seen in years.

Madoc, Aithusa and the other dragons had come up with a solution together. Human magic and dragon magic wouldn't save them but there was hope with the Fae magic of the Sidhe. Their magic would remove the damage that Mordred's cursed blade had inflicted as well as safely remove all traces of it from his body. At the same time, the roots of the tree would run into the lake and its magic would run into them to Merlin and keep him alive. The two of them and Morgana were linked by the Trinity of the Goddess which would work to their advantage. Morgana would cast a binding spell on Arthur to Merlin's tree. When Arthur was fully restored and returned to this plain of existence the energy released would be enough to break through the tree and free Merlin as well. The only downside was that this plan would take a great deal of time, lifetimes of time. Especially as the wound Arthur had was deep and much of Merlin's power had already been absorbed into the tree. Arthur didn't hesitate with going through with the plan as Merlin wouldn't even pass on and his soul would be harvested for Mab and Mordred's purposes. Arthur and Merlin's tree were brought to the Lake of Avalon.

Morgana had performed the magic perfectly to bind the two friends together and they laid the sleeping king on a raft to lead to the middle of the lake where its lady rose from the deep and brought Arthur down with her with a promise that she will watch over him as he healed and gathered power to free Merlin. Their children, Guinevere, Morgana and all of their friends gave them a worthy send off and promised to keep watch over what they have built. Morgana spent a great deal of time at this place, always with a grief stricken face as she mourned the fact that Merlin's last thought was that he thought she had betrayed and condemned him to a fate worse than death. She took off her own dragon chain and insisted that her daughter have it while her son have his father's. She then took Merlin's neckerchief and the rose he conjured for them and placed them on the tree. Seeing how broken his mother had become, her daughter had risen to handle her responsibilities on her behalf while her son vowed vengeance on Mab in the name of his father. The now King Amr Pendragon himself also vowed vengeance on Mordred in the name of his father.

Changes came over the land and in magic in the years that followed. One of the great changes of magic was to the dragonlords. Since Merlin wasn't dead and was stuck in an in-between state there would be no way for the gift of dragon speaking to be passed on. Together with all the dragons, Merlin's children had made a change to that crude rite of passage. Instead of death, the gift will come at the passage of life. When those of dragonlord blood had come by the age of 18 then they would have the gift bestowed on them. Also, it wouldn't matter if they were a man or woman, they would have the gift. Soon enough both Meghan and Magnus could speak the dragon tongue and control the dragon's as their father and ancestors had. Eventually they went on to have children of their own and saw the gift pass when each one reached of age. The near extinct race of Dragonlords became a full fledged race again with each one of them having Merlin and Morgana's power running through their veins.

Further changes of tradition happened over a century later. Eventually, those descended from Magnus became known as the Red Dragon Bloodline while those descended from Meghan became known as the White Dragon Bloodline. The Red Dragon bloodline leaned more with a warrior's mindset while the White Dragon bloodline leaned more into wisdom and enlightenment; especially with the seers gift passing more through that side of the family over the other not to say that warriors didn't spring up once and a while like enlightens didn't spring up from the other side either. Eventually the dragon numbers started to suffer as their enemies started hunting them. In response, two new traditions came into being. Meghan's eldest child watched over Aithusa while Magnus' eldest watched over Madoc. That responsibility would be given to their eldest when they came of age and then to theirs and so on as they were Merlin and Morgana's most beloved dragons. They would also protect and watch over the lake until Arthur and Merlin's return. As for the rest of the dragon bloodlines, when each reached of age they would be given a dragon egg which they would hatch and be bonded to for life. Soon time had its way with them and the title "Dragonlord" simply became Dragon. Each one of them would also wear appropriate red or white dragon pendants that were similar to Merlin and Morgana's originals. This would identify them as true dragons to others. Only the dragons that were bonded to Madoc and Aithusa wore the Merlin and Morgana's originals.

Mordred and Mab's evil extended for many years. Eventually, Amr and Magnus had kept to their promise and destroyed the two evil sorcerers but not before they secretly left an evil legacy behind: their son. Also, Vortigern had revived in time and he manipulated the grand kingdom's fall by playing Amr's children against each other when their father passed and left the kingdom to his eldest. Vortigern turned them against each other and watched as the kingdom collapsed on itself. Vortigern raised Mordred and Mab's son as his own with power and evil until his own demise at the hands of the Red and White Dragon bloodlines. Eventually their son took Vortigern's demon cuffs for himself and set to continue their dreams of revenge against the Dragon bloodlines, the Dragons and Albions.

Over the centuries magic became eclipsed by the coming of science and fell into things of legend. Though it took a blind side to most of the world the struggle between its good and evil waged on. Though history these struggles fell into stories and misconstrued incidents of history like the Salem Witch Trials, the Bermuda Triangle and Roanoke. By the twenty first century Mordred and Mab's son still commanded the side of evil through a secret organization called the Illuminati and it as well as his schemes fell into urban legend like Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster and others against the dragon bloodlines and all those that follow Merlin and Morgana's ways.

Albion and its people that had broken away and hidden itself from the world. Magic kept the city cloaked and away from the reaches of technology until the time was right for them to be open again. Even centuries later its Order of the Bear remained strong and firm as they fought against their counterpart The Illuminati as they awaited the return of Arthur and Merlin themselves. The city had evolved but things like its Manor, Academy and Museum stayed historically preserved. In the center of the city stood a great marble statue built by Morgan herself. One of Albion's greatest lord whose name had been forgotten in the world's history but not theirs: Connor. The front of the city, had two statues on either side of a front gate. One of a valiant man with a sword and the other of a wise man with a ball of light in his. The only preserved images of two men that had been reincarnated countless times through history as had their stories.

Arthur's story seemed to blend and mix many times with those of Kay, Connor and even Mordred in terms of his family, his upbringing and his life but the one thing that always stayed true was what he built in his reign. Merlin's story seemed to blend with Gaius in his relations with the Pendragon family but his power, achievements and wisdom remained firm. The only thing that seemed sporadic was the details concerning his personal life. Morgana's history seemed often to blend with Nimueh, Morgause, and Mab in terms of their lives and their fates. Prejudices and misconstrued interpretations shaped and manipulated their stories. Albion seemed to be the only place where the story was captured at its genuine telling, save for one other place.

Matthew and Miles swam for the shore and got to their feet when they reached the shallow end. As they walked to their girlfriends their pendants bounced of their chests, the red one from Matthew and the white one from Miles. Matthew looked down at his torso to see that there was no sign of the scar he suffered from a week ago. When he had to leave Megan from their date he had to make some half assed excuse but unfortunately he couldn't say that he had a surprised date with a demon warrior of the Illuminati. Their battle in the warehouse he had taken the fight too had luckily been labeled as vandalism but thankfully there was no body to have the authorities look more closely at it. Illuminati demons and disciples don't tend to leave bodies behind though the demons did leave their venom in the wounds they inflict by their claws. Thankfully the waters of this lake heal better than anything. Miles was wishing he could have seen how this turns out during his nap in the van rather than seeing that they would be stuck in traffic if he didn't tell Matthew to make the detour. That's the thing about being a seer, sometimes you couldn't have a say in what you saw.

When they reached their girls they bent down at them. They looked over at the tree with that red cloth flapping in the breeze next to that green rose. 'Wish us luck,' they prayed to it.

"Megan," Matthew said softly.

"Lauren," Miles also said softly.

The girls picked themselves up on their elbows to face their respective boyfriends.

"Ready to lay with us?" Megan moved to make room for Matthew on her blanket but he stopped her.

"No, not exactly." He then nodded to his cousin. He was better at this delicate stuff than him.

Miles was still nervous but he swallowed it down. "There is something we need to tell you both. We just need to ask that you two remain calm and listen to everything until we finish."

"Is it something that we'll have to smack you about?" Megan asked narrowing her eyes at Matthew.

"Don't sound so accusing," Matthew smirked before he went serious. "Maybe but please save it until after we are done."

"Earlier," Miles said taking over. "You asked us about the topic for your term papers and the stuff in our house." He looked over at his cousin.

Matthew smiled. "Watch, you're about to see something cool."

Miles rolled his eyes but they went to stand next to each other before their eyes flashed gold and they slightly lifted up into the air. Megan and Lauren jumped to their feet. They looked at their boyfriends up and down in shock. Lauren actually bent down and waved underneath their feet just to make sure that this wasn't a trick or they were imagining things. The next hour was full of explanations and questions but no fallout as feared. There was only wonder and excitement.

"Merlin?" Lauren asked as she stroked the tree. "Merlin is in here?"

"Yeah," Miles smiled at his girl with relief pumping in his veins.

"And Arthur is in there?" Megan asked pointing over to the water. "We swam right over King Arthur Pendragon?"

Something like that," chuckled Matthew.

"Amazing," Lauren whispered.

"How were they like?" asked Megan.

Matthew and Miles smiled mischievously at one another.

"Well, we don't know," said Matthew.

"But we have two friends that do," finished Miles.

The two of them then made roars into the sky. Over in the woods on the other side of the lake two very big figures stirred in their sleep.

Madoc the Red Dragon shook his head to wake himself. "Looks like the boys are calling us," he mumbled to Aithusa. "They must've told their girls everything."

The White Dragon let out a big yawn. "We've heard so much of these girls. I can't wait to finally meet them."

"Then let's go make an entrance. There's nothing better than a human's first reaction to us," he said with a gleeful anticipation.

Aithusa laughed and lightly nuzzled him with her jaw. "You could be such a child sometimes," she said in jest.

End of Chapter 50

A/N: That's the end. Did you like who Matthew and Miles turned out to be? This is what Dylan had talked about, his sweet revenge against Uther Pendragon. The family line continues for centuries even after Camelot has faded into the annuls of history. It is fruitful and strong though the line is the pride of the magical world and stands side by side with the dragons. I hope you also liked how the world had wrapped up for everyone. Sadly, it looked like Kilgharrah's prophecy did come to pass after all just not in the way he made it sound. His trust in Morgana did lead Merlin vulnerable and astray the way that Mab used it against him. The quote at the beginning of the chapter brought what that professor had told the girls in the first chapter about the legends.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me and followed my stories from start to finish. I had a good time writing them and I hope you will remember them well. When I started it was before the last season and as it ended I felt it was too rushed and stopped prematurely when there was so much that could've gone on. This has made it better and I know there are quite a few that feel the same.