Merlin FanFic

Merlin Fanfic -- Hooded Figure --

Chapter 29 –

Merlin looked on horror at the destruction that had been caused in a nearby village. He rode through slowly on his horse taking in the sights of the dead all around him, they had been caught by surprise. There were still buckets full of water near the well in the centre of the village however they were now tainted by blood. This had to stop and Merlin had no idea how. There was no trace of whoever had done this, there were no survivors to tell the story. Suddenly Merlin stopped his horse as he noticed something odd with one of the bodies. Dismounting his horse, Merlin walked over to the poor deceased woman and he tried to settle his churning stomach. Bending down next to her, he noticed that she had slash marks across her body which had been made by a sharp weapon such as a sword. Frowning, Merlin realised that magic was not the cause, it was made by someone without magic. Merlin moved away from the woman and began to look at some of the other bodies that lay across the village and realised that not all of the villagers had been killed my magic. Some had been killed by a non-magic user. He felt physically nauseated and it took every part of his willpower not the vomit. This all needed to stop.
"Arthur! You need to see this." Merlin shouted in Arthur's direction without looking his way. He could not tear his eyes away from a woman's face, frozen in horror forever. Arthur's footsteps grew louder as he came closer until he was beside Merlin.
"What is it Merlin?"
"These wounds were not caused by magic. They were caused by a sword or something similar." Arthur frowned and bent down so he could look at the woman closer.
"Is she the only one? Are you sure?" Arthur hoped Merlin was wrong.
"No she is not the only one Arthur. There are others, magic isn't working alone here." Dread filled Arthur as he heard Merlin spoke.

Arthur sighed and stood and looked down at Merlin who suddenly seemed fragile. He looked tired and emotionally scared and this was bothering Merlin more than anything that they had gone through. The killers needed to be stopped and Arthur wished he knew what to do.
"What did the great dragon say?" He watched as Merlin flinched.
"Nothing that was of any use to us, he spoke in riddles." Arthur felt frustrated and angry. He had no idea who had caused this massacre but he wanted no more to happen. They needed to do something and fast. There was no evidence of who was responsible but something needed to be done. He needed a solution to save the rest of the kingdom, he could not have any more bloodshed.
"Is there any way that you can use magic to find who did this?" Arthur demanded.
"I don't know Arthur, I have never tried anything like before. I don't even know how."
"Well find a way!" Arthur growled and stormed off. He knew deep down that he shouldn't be angry at Merlin but he couldn't help it. He was angry at magic and the evil that it has and will cause, he wondered whether he should put the ban back on magic. Would this have happened if he hadn't taken off the ban? He could not answer that question and that was the most frustrating. He knew what his father would do but Arthur had promised himself that he would not be like his father.

"Found anything yet?" Merlin looked up from the book he was studying to see Gwen walking over to him holding out a drink. Smiling, Merlin took it and shook his head.
"No, not yet. I wish I had." Merlin was frustrated, he had been studying the old magical books for hours. He had exhausted several books already and he still had a stack to go through, he was desperate to find a way to make the killings stop. Gwen sat opposite him and gave him a sad smile.
"How's Arthur?" Merlin asked closing the book in front of him. Another book with no answers, he needed to take a break for a moment and Gwen was the perfect distraction. He watched her face fall slightly, she had always been good and hiding her emotions but Merlin knew her too well to know when something was bothering her.
"He is currently pacing and arguing with the councilmen. They want Arthur to re ban the magic to prevent any more attacks."
"What does he say?" Merlin knew Arthur would never do that but he still couldn't help the ounce of doubt in the back of mind. Gwen gave him a fond smile.
"You know as well as I do Merlin that he is not going to do that. We just have to find a way to find the people responsible to make this stop. I believe that magic can be good and so does Arthur but the councilmen were raised in an age where magic was bad and Arthur's mother was killed by magic. They are very reluctant to change but Arthur is trying to change that. Arthur is also using you as the best example of magic and the good that it can do. You can find the answer Merlin, I know you can." Merlin smiled and was glad that he had a friend like Gwen, she always gave him the best pep talks and made him feel better. Gwen always sees the best in people, it was her trademark. Merlin that had a thought.
"I think I know how to find out who the magic user was." Gwen looked surprised.
"Really? How?" Merlin didn't answer, instead he reached for one of the books he had already studied and flipped to a page about magic souls. He had read that those with magic always leave a part of themselves when they perform magic like a trademark. There was also a way in which you could see the mark of the magic soul, Merlin would just have to find some ingredients and perform a spell. Grinning, Merlin jumped up and ran in the direction of Arthur leaving a shouting Gwen behind him. He now knew how he could find out who was behind the evil that was happening.

The hooded figure stalked through the village looking for survivors, they wanted to make sure that there was one left so they remembered the face who brought evil down upon them. They wanted Arthur to know who they were and to know that they were coming for him. The rage raced through their veins thinking back to when magic was banned from Camelot and the fear and confusion it had to them. They had discovered magic later in life and had to find out how to control it alone and constantly lived in fear of their life. Now Arthur had allowed magic to return to Camelot and offered help and guidance to those that needed it, they felt disgusted. Arthur was a hypocrite. He had been brought up to believe that magic was evil and that those who possessed it should die, so many had died without needing to. It was time for Arthur to pay for all those that had suffered at his own hand as well as his fathers. The hooded figure stopped as they heard a muffled whimper, someone was hiding. Smiling, they looked around until they found a young boy cowering in a horse's stable. The boy cowered as the figure drew closer to him like a hunter stalking its prey. The boy looked up in fear at the figure and watched as they dropped their hood to show their identity. The boy looked at the figure in horror and knew that he was going to die.
"I want you to go to Camelot and tell King Arthur and Merlin that I am responsible for this and who I am. Also tell them I am coming for them."