Merthur - The King and His Guardian Angel

Chapter 23 - Fateful Encounters

There's a wild thrill shooting through Merlin's veins as the dragon carries him up into the sky. The sound of the howling wind and the feel of the frigid air rippling through his hair makes him bounce with energy. Despite having already ridden the creature once earlier he can still hardly believe his eyes as he begins to sail towards the stars. The higher he travels up into the night sky the more breathtaking the view becomes. He can see every cloud, every star as the dragon soars through the air. He wants to reach out, wants to grab the glimmering lights in the sky, but of course that isn't possible. He risks a glance down, suddenly feeling nauseous as he watches the castle shrink below them. The forests come into view, the entire expanse of trees in front of him seem almost surreal as he stares out over the horizon.

"Merlin," Kilgharrah suddenly speaks up, shaking him out of his reverie, "we must hurry."

He sends another glance downwards, seeing the incoming army start to plunge through the gates and he's suddenly thrust back into reality. Kilgharrah is right, time is of the essence. He shuts his eyes and takes in a deep breath. He calms the rapid beating of his heart, shuts his mind off to the howling winds around him. Instead, he focuses on the thrum of magic always in the air, always in everything around him. He concentrates on the threads of energy that entwines itself on every living being and uses that to help him find what's broken. He searches through the magic that surrounds him, digging down deeper and deeper until he finds it, the disturbance in nature's balance.

He opens his eyes, able to feel the dark magic pulsating out from a single source somewhere deep in the Forest of Ascetir. He looks down to Kilgharrah and pats the dragon's head before pointing out into the distance. "Over there. That's where Morgana is."

With a single flap of its wings the creature puts on a burst of speed. It cuts through the air, quickly soaring over the city and towards the forest. When Merlin can feel the pulse of dark magic just below him it seems as though hardly any time has passed. Kilgharrah drops down, flapping its wings gently and landing in a clearing a short distance away from the source. Merlin dismounts from the dragon, giving it a warm smile before stroking its muzzle. "Thank you, Kilgharrah," he says.

The dragon bows its head, a smile seeming to play across its lips. "It was my honour, young warlock. I wish you luck in your endeavour."

Again, Merlin smiles. "And I wish you luck in yours."

With one last smile Kilgharrah looks to the sky. It stretches out its wings and flaps them once before launching into the air. A blast of wind, sends leaves and grass flying towards the warlock's face and he has to raise an arm to shield himself from the debris. By the time he looks up the dragon is already gone, having disappeared into the night.  

Merlin smiles, muttering a silent goodbye before looking towards where he knows Morgana will be waiting. There, in the distance, a dilapidated castle sits alone, immense magical energy emanating from its core. 

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Arthur charges towards the army with weapon raised. He thrusts his new blade into the closest skeleton, expecting the creature to shrug off the blow as usual, but to his surprise the skeleton starts to shriek. He pulls his sword out quickly, staring in surprise as it starts to glow a bright blue. The creature then crumbles into a pile of ash, being picked up and carried away by the wind a moment later. The king looks down in amazement at the weapon in his hand. Where in the world did Merlin get this?

Before he's able to think for too long another skeleton lunges in his direction. He sidesteps the blow, knocking the weapon out of the creature's hands before slicing at its neck. Again, the skeleton disintegrates, leaving behind nothing but a pile of dust.