Disclaimer: I still don't own Merlin, and after seeing how it ended I'm glad it wasn't my creation.

Warnings: everything worth warning you about was pretty much covered at the end of TSB, and there'll be a few lighter chapters to enjoy before the trouble starts, so I'll save the warnings until they're necessary.

Sorry this is so short; it's just a prologue, but I wanted to post something so you all could get your alerts set up. Future chapters will be longer.

"Well, Agravaine, what do you have to report?"

As he looked into the deep blue eyes of the boy seated before him, Lord Agravaine tried to ignore the ripple of unease traveling up his spine. Only five years had passed since Morgause sacrificed herself to bring Mordred into the world, yet this was no child facing Agravaine across his carved mahogany desk; Morgause had insisted that they couldn't wait for Mordred to grow up naturally, that he needed to be ready to carry out their plans as soon as possible, so Agravaine and Kara, the druid girl who'd served as Mordred's nursemaid, had fed him potions that accelerated his growth. For every year of his life, he'd aged three, and now appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen years old. His powers had grown along with his body and, though Agravaine loathed admitting it even to himself, he was beginning to feel intimidated in his ward's presence.

"Things have gone on much the same as they have for the past five years, my lord. Uther still clings to life, though the last vestiges of his strength are waning; I believe we will be rid of him before another season has passed, so we must be ready to strike immediately once he is gone. We must destabilize Arthur's reign before it begins."

"Why haven't you done that already? What have you been doing during the five years you've sat at the prince's side?" Mordred snapped.

"My lord, I have worked tirelessly to ingratiate myself with Camelot's upper echelon," Agravaine protested, stung by the implicit rebuke for not having done enough. "I am now Arthur's most trusted advisor, while the other lords, who have always respected my house for our long and prosperous stewardship of the kingdom's lands, know they can rely on me to guide our hotheaded young regent, to temper his youthful impetuosity with age and wisdom. The problem is that Arthur has proved less hotheaded and impetuous than your mother and I anticipated. At present, all his authority is borrowed from his father, and he has shown great respect for that fact; he has recently begun showing a bit more leniency to those caught practicing magic, but aside from that he runs the kingdom much as Uther did, showing the nobles he can maintain order, and he still acts as if he believes the king might recover at any time so no one can accuse him of being eager to ascend to the throne before Uther's body is cold."

"Hmm. It seems strange to think my mother, who I've been told was a very insightful woman, could have misjudged him so. Are you sure he takes advice from no one else?"

"He is close to the court physician, Gaius, an inconveniently shrewd man. I suppose the physician might be advising him. Fortunately, Gaius is also an old man, and old men frequently suffer accidents. Shall I arrange one?"

Mordred considered it. "Not yet, but watch him, and anyone else close to Arthur. Now tell me about Merlin and Morgana."

"I have little to report on that score, my lord," Agravaine said apologetically. "They still live in Dagon under King Balinor's rule and by all accounts are very happy together."

"Are they?" Mordred leaned forward, his eyes lighting up with intense interest. "Do they love each other?"

"I believe so; everyone says they do, and I saw nothing to indicate otherwise when they visited Camelot and I had a chance to observe them. But that was three years ago, and I haven't seen them since. If I may ask, my lord, why do you always inquire about them? Why do you fixate on them so?"

Mordred looked up sharply, his eyes narrowing dangerously at Agravaine's audacity in questioning him. "Morgana crippled my mother, weakening her so much that she died giving birth to me," he hissed. "She must pay! As for Merlin…" His feelings toward that man were much more complicated, harder to put into words. He knew the warlock wasn't his father in any traditional sense, but they shared blood nonetheless, and with Morgause gone, Merlin was the closest thing to family he had left; he refused to consider his aunt Morgana as such after her betrayal, and the Pendragons were unworthy of being acknowledged as any relation of his simply because there was no magic in their inferior bloodline, even without taking Uther's crimes into account.

After a moment, Agravaine cleared his throat to bring the boy out of the contemplative silence he had lapsed into. "My lord, would you care to discuss putting our plans for the rest of Albion into motion? Current conditions appear favorable-"

"Yes, I will give the matter my full attention…in time. There is something I must do first."

"Oh?"

Mordred stood up and paced between the table and fireplace. "I've spent all my life in this castle, hidden away from everyone except you and Kara, but now I'm finally old enough that I no longer require your protection, and I want to see more of the world. It's time I met Merlin."

Hope you enjoyed the introduction to Mordred; I think it's going to be lots of fun exploring his psyche.