Chapter Ten

Camelot: Fifty Years after Camlann

Merlin held Gwen's hand as he sat by the elderly queen's bedside, tears cascading down his face.

"Not again," he choked. "I can't bear to loose you too."

"My dear Merlin," she replied. "You knew this time would come."

"That doesn't make it any easier. You are the last. I have no-one left now."

"That isn't true. You have new family here now. You know how much young Prince Gethin looks up to you and I'm quite certain he'll value your advice as much as I have." She looked up at him and shook her head with a fond smile. "You still look so young."

"Hardly young."

"Not a day over sixty." She smiled weakly. "Seriously, how have you stayed looking so youthful? You must be at least eighty by now."

Merlin laughed, despite himself. He now really was Dragoon. "My magic has helped heal me in many different ways and I think it's likely I'll be around for quite some time yet." It was the closest he'd ever come to telling her the truth. "Rest now, my darling queen."

"I shall." She sighed. "Do you have any knowledge of the other side, Merlin? Do you know if Arthur will be waiting there for me?"

"Any knowledge I have gained has been cryptic and confusing but, I hope so, Gwen, I really do hope that you'll meet him again some day."

~o~0~o~

More tears flowed as Merlin stood in front of the great Pyre in Camelot's square, mourning the death of his queen, his friend, his only true comfort these last fifty years. Surrounding him were all the great and good of Camelot; lord and ladies, knights and commoners and many royal and noble guests from Magon, Mercia, Middle Anglia and Wessex.

As Merlin watched the flames dance towards the sky, other funerals came to his mind; Will and Freya's, the stone cairns covering his father and Morgana and then, suddenly, other faces hammered into his mind with such intensity that he actually staggered before his arm was grabbed firmly by King Magon, now standing to his right.

"Merlin? Do you need to sit down?" Prince Gethin asked kindly from the other side.

He waved the concern away with the flick of a hand, suddenly aware that these were not mere memories but important visions. But what were they trying to tell him?

Lancelot, Elyan, Gwaine, Arthur, Gaius, Percival, Leon, Gwen.

The eight faces appeared again, and again, each time accompanied by other images; the first time he'd met them, the last time he'd seen them alive, their deaths or funerals. Around they went in a circle until one further face joined the group; a tall, skinny young man with dark hair and expressive, blue eyes.

Lancelot, Elyan, Gwaine, Arthur, Gaius, Percival, Leon, Gwen … Merlin.

Nine? A circle? He paused, trying to make sense of the visions, trying to remember something he'd been told a long, long time ago.

"Ensure that Camelot remains safe, even after the original circle has been closed."

"What circle?"

"The Stone Circle of Nine."

"The original Round Table!" he shouted. "I understand now."

"Merlin?" Queen Rozeen asked, concerned.

"It's just me left now," he replied calmly.

"I know. I'm sorry."

Merlin shook his head. "No, no, that's not what I meant. The circle is now closed. Which means that all I have to do is wait until it opens again." He smiled brightly then, unaware of the confusion he was creating. "I understand now. Will showed me how it started and now I know how it ends. The Once and Future King. I shall see him again. I shall see them all again."

~o~0~o~

The king and queen returned to Magon whilst young William was to take charge of Camelot.

"Gethin, you old fool," Merlin chided himself as he rode back towards the Crystal Cave. "The young prince is called Gethin in this life. Ha, Will! What would you have thought if you'd known. That you, who had so despised nobility and royalty, would one day be the ruler of Camelot and all set to marry a young Mercian princess." He chuckled again, making his way confidently to his own territory, to look for the 'gift' Magon said he'd left for the wise old sorcerer there.

"Look at that, Merlin," he cackled. "Poor boy from Ealdor has come good, hasn't he? Now has his own grand house, fit for the lord he has become. It's no Camelot, by any means, but still far more than you deserve, I'd say."

Merlin had fought Gwen and Magon on this for years, having no real intention of leaving Camelot whilst the queen was alive and planning to spend as much of his time in the Crystal Cave afterwards, but they were quite right when they said that a base was needed to control his territory, even though they were talking about installing some lord or other here after his death. Something which apparently was not going to happen any time soon, despite appearances.

So, Merlin had invented a successor – a distant cousin – and said that he'd now leave to manage his estate whilst waiting for the young man to arrive. If Magon or Gethin needed his assistance in the short term he would visit them as himself and endure the usual amazement at his apparent good health. If they asked for him in years to come he'd cast a transformation spell to become young Merlin, and pose as his own relation.

In the meantime he would place special enchantments around his land to ensure that anyone with greedy or violent thoughts would just go around in circles in much the same way as he had when he'd been banned from entering the cave. The few remaining Druids and occasional traveller that wanted to pass through would be more than welcome to do so, but Merlin didn't want anyone settling here permanently either. He'd already seen his birth village of Ealdor abandoned along with many others, whilst new villages had sprung up elsewhere to replace them. He had no intention of having some great city grow up in such a sacred space and so promised himself that he would do what ever was necessary over the years to ensure this place remained isolated for as long as possible.

The Future

The years went by and the valley remained peaceful and undisturbed just as Merlin had hoped. The warlock divided his time between his house, the Crystal Cave and the various administrative courts within the area – generally appearing as a middle aged or elderly Lord Emrys who was always well respected and whose advice was regularly sought by any king or lord in trouble.

As time went on the idea of smaller administrative centres became adopted throughout the greater area; younger sons being granted parcels of land, whilst the title of king began to have less and less significance as the years went by. Power shifted, minor wars broke out and the names and pronunciations of words became corrupted. Even worse, the great castle of Camelot became unsafe and the stones started to be taken away for use elsewhere. Progress appeared to go backwards for a while as the numerous large, imposing castles that the sorcerer remembered from his youth were replaced by simpler houses and enclosures, not dissimilar to the one that Merlin still owned.

"I am an old man now," the latest king said to Merlin during one meeting. "But my middle son has just finished building his new house at Cauldron and will continue to administer that, even as my eldest controls Magonsæte."

"Sorry?" Merlin asked blinking at the unfamiliar names. "You mean Camelot and Magon?" The two old men just stared at each other for a long time.

"That is what our land has always been called," the king eventually continued. "Magon's place of ambush, after the sad end that once wise king came to."

"Ah, I see." Merlin tried desperately to work out just how many years had now passed. "But, why Cauldron?"

"Because of the natural dip in the land that the ancient city once occupied. I do seem to remember it being called Cameldron when I was a boy, but it was soon decided that name made no sense and my father corrected that odd spelling as soon as he took over."

"Ah..." It was amazing how quickly things changed. How quickly people forgot. "So, the history of King Arthur and Camelot?" Merlin asked. "You don't believe that Cauldron was that place?"

"No, I believe the Welsh have now claimed that legend. They have a site they believe fits the description very well."

"Ah, I see." There was not a lot else he could say to that.

Mercia's power continued to grow and Merlin attempted to keep track of all the families and the blood lines of Leon and Magon but, despite his best efforts, peace was becoming a rare concept again as constant wars for the numerous small thrones were regularly fought. At least his valley and the cave remained safe – his powerful spells and charms continuing to do their work - keeping all aggressors out of the area.

~o~0~o~

And then, one day, Merlin awoke feeling very odd indeed. He had no idea what was different at first, other than he felt amazing. As he got out of bed, he instantly felt stronger and lighter and was stunned at the speed he was able to move towards the stove. It felt a little like that time, long ago, when he'd travelled back in time and found himself in a younger man's body.

Shocked by that idea, Merlin held out his hands and blinked in surprise on seeing them smooth, strong and unwrinkled. Moving cautiously to the small mirror, he was stunned to see the reflection of a skinny young man with short dark hair staring back at him.

"What's going on? I haven't cast that youth spell for many years now." He coughed on hearing the sound of his voice, now much lighter and higher pitched than he was used to. After clearing his throat several times, he spoke the words that would usually change him back to normal but, nothing happened. After that he took the potion that he needed on the rare occasions his spell didn't work, but still he remained young.

Finally, Merlin cast the ageing spell which instantly had him back to what he considered to be his ordinary, elderly body, only to discover that the 'revert' spell quickly changed him back to a youth.

"What's going on? Why am I like this now? What is different?"

Then that vision hit him again; the image of nine familiar faces around an old stone table in an ancient castle, and finally Merlin understood.

"The circle has opened!" he shouted excitedly. "The first of the Round Table is reborn and the other seven are sure to follow soon." He turned back to the mirror with a huge smile, his blue eyes now bright and excited, his face now much as it was when he'd been in his twenties. "And I have regained my youth to help my task. To help me find Arthur."

~o~0~o~

End of Book One

Book Two: Master of Time: Advisor of Kings

The story of how Merlin discovers all his friends reincarnated and again assists Arthur in his ongoing quest to keep the land of Albion safe for future generations. Much is now different, including Arthur who is not the heir to the throne and is subtly different to the young man Merlin once knew. And yet, the similarities remain and Merlin can again take his rightful place at the centre of The Circle.

"For he will always appear when Albion has need of him and you will always be there to guide him."

Coming soon.

A/N: Have made a fairly decent start to Book Two but it is quite complex in places and I have a few things that need to be sorted out before I can start sharing it. That quote of Taliesin is important for this larger story as it give me the excuse to come back as many times as I like - to as many points of history as I want. Currently I have a rough idea for Book Three but nothing more at the moment. Luckily I have no other stories to distract me at the moment so this will continue to be my priority.

As usual I shall keep my PP up to date with my progress and likely publishing dates. Thank you so much for your continued support on this one. ~ Jaq

3/11/13