enchanted | a. pendragon [on hold]

i | the curse of cornelius sigan

"To deter grave robbers," Arthur realized.

"Well, there's plenty in here people would want to steal. Have them secure the tomb," Uther ordered. "Guarding it is your responsibility, Arthur."

Arthur nodded as Uther turned to leave. "Yes, Father."

A yawn escaped Lia's lips, making Merlin chuckled. "Have fun guarding. I'm going back to bed." She moved to leave but paused and glanced at Merlin. "You go first, and I'll follow. Death by booby trap doesn't sound very pleasant."

"Ha, ha," he said, laughing humorlessly. Then he grabbed Lia's shoulders and shoved her forward — he knew she'd be safe as it was the same path Uther had taken moments ago. Lia giggled at his annoyed face before heading back to the castle. Hopefully, she could get some rest before Gaius woke her again in a few short hours.

| | |

While Merlin accompanied Arthur and some knights hunting, Lia and Gaius had spent most of their day trying to find out who the tomb belonged to. They had even traveled back down to the caverns to examine the coffin. There had been odd writing in a language that Lia didn't recognize written around that glowing blue stone. Once they were back at the physician chamber, Gaius began combing through all his books, with Lia helping as much as she could. The more that they learned about who the grave belonged to, the more worried Gaius grew.

Eventually, Merlin returned from the hunting trip. He entered the room with his head hanging low. Lia frowned, not liking that he looked so upset.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, frowning.

"I saved Arthur's life, someone else got the credit. Just the usual," he said, sighing. "What are you both doing?"

"I found this inscription on the scepter," Gaius explained to Merlin.

He came over and read the text over Gaius' shoulder. "What language is that?"

"I don't know," Gaius admitted. "Sigan would have known many languages."

"Sigan?" Merlin repeated, unfamiliar with the name.

"It's his tomb," Lia told him. It had taken them some time to figure it out.

"Who's he?" Merlin asked.

Gaius looked at him, surprised. "Merlin, he was the most powerful sorcerer to have lived."

"Really?"

"I didn't know either," Lia told him, not wanting Merlin to feel stupid for not knowing.

"You two didn't grow up in Camelot, but for those of us that did, Cornelius Sigan was a figure of nightmare," Gaius told them.

"Why?" Merlin asked, leaning on the table.

"Sigan's powers. He could change day into night, turn the tides, and legend has it, his spells helped build Camelot itself," Gaius explained.

"What happened?" he asked.

"In the end, he grew too powerful and the King at that time ordered his execution," Gaius said.

"I just don't understand why you're so worried," Lia told him. "He's already dead."

"Sigan couldn't bear the thought that his wealth and power would die with him, so he became obsessed with finding a way to defeat death itself," Gaius told her.

"You think he might have succeeded?" Merlin asked.

Gaius looked down at the book. "Let's hope not, for all our sakes."