“And now it is the time for me to return?”
Once more the regret of leaving his friends could be heard in the boy’s voice.
“It is,” Myrrdin Emrys gravely told Galahad.
“Merlin?” The boy warrior turned to face his friend but the boy enchanter could offer no comfort.
“This is how it must be,” Merlin told his friend in a tone that very much echoed that of Myrrdin Emrys.
“I shall miss you, Merlin,” Galahad admitted with a catch of sorrow in his voice.
“And I you,” Merlin said, “But I shall be with you - in another form.”
This made no sense to the boy warrior but before he could speak again, Myrrdin Emrys cut across his words and to Merlin.
“Then you understand?” He asked his amusement plain to hear.
“Of course,” the boy enchanter replied, “How could I not?”
“Will I see my grandson again?” Sir Lauriston had not understood a word of the exchange between Myrrdin Emrys and Merlin but did not wish to lose the grandson that he had only just met.
“You will be long dead before he is even born,” Myrrdin Emrys told the big knight bluntly and in a way that reminded Sir Lauriston du Lac very much of Merlin on one of his ‘off days’.
“Are you sure?” Sir Lauriston asked for this was certainly not something that he had expected or wanted to hear.
“If I say it is so, then it is so. I do not make mistakes,” Myrrdin Emrys replied sharply. “Now I must go, there is a Tide in these matters. I can dwell here no longer. Arthur has his twelve battles still to fight and he needs me in Camelot. Come Galahad.”
“Farewell, Merlin,” Galahad said while thinking that this had been the greatest and saddest day of his life. “Make my goodbyes to Myfanwy.”
“I will,” Merlin promised his friend.
Galahad looked around at the sad faces of all the friends that he had made and fought alongside since his spectacular appearance among the Great Stones of Avalon in the middle of that enchantment-driven night.
“Farewell, Kraak and Galapas and you Grim, I shall miss you all.”
It seemed impossible and cruel to Galahad that he should never see his friends again and he drew out the time of his leaving for as long as he could.
“You would miss Grim?” The ghoul asked in a voice that was trembling with emotion.
“Of course,” Galahad told his friend and he added fiercely, “And I shall never forget any of you for as long as I live.”
“Galahad, we must go – now,” Myrrdin Emrys’ voice cut through the air like a hatchet blow and then without any spectacular explosion or blazing lights the two of them quite simply disappeared.
“I’m afraid Galahad will not remember us,” Merlin said not bothering to hide his sorrow at losing his friend. “Myrrdin Emrys will wipe Galahad’s memories of us just as he hid the memories from his own time.”
Sir Lauriston was still stunned by all he had just witnessed and he too felt a great sorrow at losing the great warrior that he had only just discovered to be his grandson.
“How do you know?” The big knight asked Merlin almost accusingly.
“I just do,” the boy enchanter told Camelot’s Knight Commander more severely that he had intended.
With a great sigh the big knight drew himself upright.
He was more tired than he had ever known in his life and the many wounds and bruises that he had picked up in the Battle for Avalon were still fresh and very painful.
“What do we do now?” He asked.
“You return to Camelot,” Merlin told him bluntly. “There are hundreds if not thousands dead from the Riders of the Dark. They need you to be there, Sir Lauriston. That is your place now, to bury the dead and comfort the dying. To rebuild Camelot for the Battle King who is yet to come.”
“And what will you do, Raven Boy?” The Knight Commander asked still trying to take in all that had happened to him in such a short time.
“I also return,” Merlin told the big knight bluntly. “All of us, we return to where we belong.”
“Which is?” Sir Lauriston asked and the boy enchanter knew that the question was more about him than his friends.
It was as if the big knight knew that this was where the real Power in Avalon lay – with the son of Mithras Invictus, with the Raven Boy, the Dark Child.
“Best not to say,” Merlin told Camelot’s Knight Commander for he knew only too well Sir Lauriston du Lac’s unswerving loyalty to his king. “But you should have a word with Uther Pendragon and make sure that he leaves Galapas alone,” the boy continued.
“Or you will leave him squealing like a pig again?”
The big knight had tried to make a joke of it but it was plain from Sir Lauriston’s face that he did not approve of enchantments being cast over his friend and king.
“Something like that,” Merlin agreed and there was no mistaking the hardness and also the warning in the boy’s voice.
“That sounds like a threat,” the big knight told the boy enchanter.
“It is,” Merlin replied in a manner that Mithras Invictus himself would have approved of.
For a brief moment the boy enchanter’s eyes and those of Sir Lauriston locked and the big knight felt a chill run down his back at the coldness and power that he sensed in the boy.
“I swear that Galapas will be safe from the king. I swear it on my life,” the big knight said breaking eye contact with the boy enchanter who stood before him.
It was enough for Merlin. The boy knew that Camelot’s Knight Commander had given his pledge out of respect for the High Mage and not from any fear of the Bull Slayer’s son.
The boy also knew that Sir Lauriston du Lac would never break a pledge, the big knight carried too much honour in him for that.
Merlin nodded for he knew that what Sir Lauriston had promised was enough.
The big knight walked wearily away to return to the carnage and death that was in Camelot.
Suddenly Sir Lauriston felt very old. His wounds, although not life threatening, were deep and he ached from head to toe from his battle with the Warriors of the Dark.
Even deeper than this was the loss that he felt now that Galahad had left his Time forever, if Myrrdin Emrys was to be believed. And who was this strange man who apparently could move between Times and Places as he wished?
None of the Minor gods and not a few even of the Elder gods would be able to do that. If he had not witnessed Myrrdin Emrys’ arrival and then departure with Galahad he would not have believed it.
The loss to his Time of the boy warrior left a deep scar across the big knight’s heart. To have and then to lose a grandson who would perform great deeds for this Battle King of the Future was almost more than he could bear.
It was cruel that the Gates of Time had been firmly shut by Myrrdin Emrys so that he would never have sight of the boy again.
It seemed hard and unwarranted to the big knight but he guessed that so it was with Magic. Whether it was the Dark Magic or the Old Magic, there was a Coldness that always lay at the very heart of it.
There was no more that Sir Lauriston du Lac could do and with a sigh he rode away from the Great Stones.
In the distance he could just make out a small band of knights who had obviously come from Camelot and were seeking him out not knowing whether their Knight Commander was dead or alive.
Sir Lauriston knew that he would have to lie for to them for the truth was just too impossible for anyone to believe.
Merlin watched the big knight depart. The boy had always liked Camelot’s Knight Commander and the man was a steadying influence on Camelot’s dangerously unstable king.
Once again the boy sighed knowing that both Camelot and Sir Lauriston du Lac were worthy of a greater king than Uther Pendragon would ever be.
Sir Lauriston had fought bravely in the Battle for Avalon, Merlin knew, for the man’s scars and wounds were more than a proof of that.
But the boy was also aware of how
little time the big knight had left to him. Merlin had already seen the dark-stained hue that ran over and around the man. The boy enchanter knew that this was a sign that Sir Lauriston was not long for this world and this knowledge saddened him.
“Will you return with me, my house is still your home?” Galapas’ words cut across the boy’s thoughts.
“No,” Merlin shook his head for he knew that his presence at Mo Dhachaidh would be like a red rag to a bull. The bull, in this instance, being King Uther Pendragon.
Also Mo Dhachaidh was not where his destiny now lay, Merlin was certain of that.
“No,” Merlin repeated, “My place is in the Crystal Cave, Galapas. It is where my father would wish me to be.”
“Will you visit me?”
It seemed to the High Mage that everything that he knew and held dear was changing in this one day.
He was also aware that, for all his love of studying, he would miss the dark-haired boy enchanter who had been a part of his life for the last ten years.
“Of course,” Merlin told man who had been such a faithful guardian and friend to him. “I’d miss your cooking,” the boy added with one of his rare smiles.
“You’re joking,” the High Mage said for he knew that although he had many talents cooking was not one of them.
“I am joking,” Merlin admitted. “But you have my word that I will visit you.”
The boy enchanter turned to the Dragon, Griffin and Unicorn who had all been so determined and steadfast in their fight for the Old Magic in the Battle for Avalon. Without them Merlin knew it would have been pretty well impossible to defeat the Dark Lord.
“You are true Heroes of Avalon,” the boy gravely told them. “Men will sing praises of your prowess and deeds until the end of Time and even beyond. Draago return to Dragons’ Lair, Firewing return to your Hidden Forests and Stormrider return with your herds to Unicorn’s Plain. Your work is done here and I will never forget how all of you fought for me on this day.”
Without saying another word the three Mythical Beasts of Avalon took to the skies and soon were mere smudges on the horizon.
“Kraak will stay with the Raven Boy.”
The big raven looked a sorry sight with his feathers torn and bloodied. Wherever the fighting had been the hardest that was where Kraak and the Raven Kind had been and it showed in the big raven’s battered state.
Merlin was well aware that thousands upon thousands of the Raven Kind had fallen that day and he knew that this was a debt that neither he nor Avalon would ever be able to repay.
“Grim too will remain with the Raven Boy,” the ghoul told Merlin and this was no more than the boy had expected from his friends.
“I never doubted it,” Merlin said but he, like Galapas, knew that the order of things was changing and that nothing in Camelot or Avalon would ever be the quite the same again.
It was good to think that, at the least and for a little while longer, he would still have the big raven and the smelly ghoul by his side.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
MANTA GORE
THREE MONTHS LATER
Merlin was swimming in the deep waters of Manta Gore.
It had been a strange three months, the boy thought. First there had been the huge task of burying the large number of dead from the Battle for Avalon and the eventual defeat of the Fallen Angel and his Four Horsemen of the Dark.
Many parts of Camelot had been completely destroyed by the thunderbolts that had been hurled down by the Dark Riders. Merlin knew that Sir Lauriston du Lac had been tireless in his determination to rebuild the houses, shops and workshops that were so vital to Camelot.
The Knights of Camelot had put away their swords, lances and armour and had worked shoulder to shoulder with Camelot’s survivors as they set about the task of rebuilding their city and their lives.
King Uther Pendragon had been noticeable by his absence but he had, at least, opened up Camelot’s Treasury and large amounts of gold and silver had been gifted to the men, women and children who had withstood and survived the Dark Lord’s attack.
Merlin had settled to a life, as he had said that he would, in the Crystal Cave for there had been a great many changes in the boy’s life.
Galahad had become a good friend and it was hard for him not to miss the boy warrior. Merlin also knew that there were many new challenges that he would have to face as the Future rushed towards the Present.
There were Prophecies and Deeds that only he, the son of Mithras Invictus, could achieve. He also knew that Camelot stood on the brink of a Golden Age but he also knew that this Golden Age would not materialise without his help.
Kraak and Grim were, as ever, the boy’s faithful companions and were constantly at his side. The only place where they would not accompany Merlin was to the heart of the Crystal Cave for this had been the home of the Elder god and it was not fitting that they should enter there.
Deep inside what had once been this Shrine to Mithras Invictus was a cavern where every inch of the floor, walls and ceiling were covered with light reflecting shards of crystal.
It was a magical place and it had been the home of a god and it was only fitting that none should ever be allowed entrance there except the Elder god’s son.
The boy had not forbidden the chamber to the raven and the ghoul but they both knew that the place was holy and not for them.
Merlin was brought back from his remembrances by Kraak’s harsh call and the boy readied himself should any stranger be approaching.
With the victory at the Battle for Avalon Merlin’s Powers had grown even stronger. He also knew that during the time that he spent in the Crystal Cave some of his father’s Great Powers had permeated onto him.
Even so it was with a sense of relief when he saw Camelot’s Knight Commander step onto the river bank. Quickly the boy swam over to the big knight for it was the first time that he had seen the man since what men were now calling ‘The Great Battle for Avalon’.
“Greetings, Raven Boy,” Sir Lauriston still seemed to prefer to call Merlin by the name that he had always been known by the Talking and Mythical Beasts of Avalon.
Merlin heaved himself out of the water being careful not to splash water over Kraak who was not too keen on getting his feathers wet.
The boy grabbed his cloak and began to towel himself dry with it.
“King Uther Pendragon has issued a pardon for both you and Galapas,” the big knight told him.
The boy’s only reply was to blow what could well be described as a rather rude ‘raspberry’ at Sir Lauriston’s announcement.
The big knight could not help but smile. For all the new Power that the boy carried with him he had not changed so very much from the small boy with the tangled hair and coal-black eyes who had confronted Camelot’s king so many times and not so very long ago.
At least that was what it seemed to the Knight Commander and he struggled to hide his amusement at the boy’s reaction to this offer of pardon.
“I thought that you would be pleased,” the big knight continued while trying to keep the smile off his face.
“Why should we need a pardon when we have done nothing wrong?” Merlin asked and Sir Lauriston du Lac had to admit it was a pretty good question and one that he could not answer without being disloyal to his king.
“Well, at least it will make life easier for Galapas,” that seemed a ‘safe’ answer to Camelot’s Knight Commander.
“No,” Merlin replied and once again he spoke very much as his father, the Elder god, would have spoken, for there was more than a hint of anger in the boy’s voice.
“No,” Merlin repeated, “It will make life easier for Uther Pendragon.”
There was no doubt in the big knight’s mind that this was a very real threat as to what would happen to anyone who tried to lay a hand on Camelot’s High Mage.
Sir Lauriston decided that it was more than time to change the subject yet again.
“The rebuilding of Camelot is going well,”
he said feeling that this was very much safer ground than discussing the enmity that existed between the boy enchanter and Camelot’s unstable king.
“How many died?” Merlin asked knowing that many men, women and children had fallen beneath the fire and brimstone that the Four Horsemen of the Dark had rained so brutally down on Camelot.
“Just over two thousand,” Sir Lauriston admitted his tone bleak, “And at least two or three times that number wounded. Some so badly that they are not expected to survive.”
“And my father’s altars?” Merlin asked once more returning to the thorny subject of the destruction of the Elder god’s altars.
“King Uther hasn’t mentioned them,” the big knight admitted. “Will you rebuild them?” He asked the boy.
Merlin shook his head.
“No, Mithras Invictus has left Avalon and those days are gone forever. The Dark Lord has been banished from the World of Men and any threat to Avalon will come from other mortals, not from gods and Fallen Angels. And Avalon will have a new protector, but that is yet to come.”
“The Once and Future King,” Sir Lauriston had heard Merlin half speak and half prophesy of the great Battle King who was yet to be born and who would bring protection not just to Camelot and Avalon but to the whole of Britannia.
“The Once and Future King,” Merlin said in agreement but knowing that there was a great deal of work to be done before this king was to come into the world.
“King Uther is re-establishing his Court,” Sir Lauriston continued. “King Gorlois has travelled from Cornwall.”
“King Gorlois,” Merlin said feeling that a ghost had just walked over his grave.
Sir Lauriston was surprised at the boy’s reaction.
“Yes, have you heard of him?” The big knight asked.
“Yes, I have,” Merlin told Sir Lauriston but thought it best not to mention that he had not just heard but also seen King Gorlois in one of his visions in the Crystal Cave.
He also knew that Cornwall’s king would bring his very beautiful and much younger queen with him to Camelot.
Merlin and the Land of Mists: Book Five: The Battle for Avalon Page 15
