Realms of Sci-Fi

Chapter 03: Merlin

The battle was joined with a clashing of swords and shields. Rain poured from the sky in thick sheets, turning the ground into mud under the hooves of horses and the armored boots of warriors.

In the midst of the chaos, a bolt of lightning dropped straight down and impacted hard enough to crater the ground and throw back everyone who was nearby. The fighting slowly ended as more and more of the warriors noticed a man had been deposited where the lightning had struck. Draped in a robe of shimmering blue, the man's white beard extended down past his narrow belt. A wooden staff as tall as the man was gripped in his right hand, and the crystal at its pinnacle glowed like the brightest star in the night's sky.

The man raised his staff above his head, and the ground surged up underneath him in a column of earth until he stood high enough to be seen by all. A wave of his staff across the sky turned off the rain and pushed back the clouds to allow the afternoon sun to shine through unobstructed.

"Warriors, hear me!" the man yelled. His voice was like thunder and carried on the wind to every corner of the battlefield. "I am Merlin, and this fight is over."

"Bring him down!" someone shouted, and a volley of arrows fired toward Merlin.

Pointing the glowing crystal of his staff toward the incoming arrows, Merlin caused a fierce wind to surge toward them until the projectiles were blown far away. When he raised his staff again, lightning began crackling around it.

"Does anyone else wish to challenge my authority here?" Merlin demanded. No one spoke, so he dispersed the lightning and continued. "You have all fought long and hard to decide who shall rule this place, but do you not see how you weaken not only yourselves but everyone? When your warriors die on the battlefield, the strength and protection they could've offered to the realm is gone, leaving it in a diminished state and vulnerable to outside threats. Therefore, we shall change this."

Merlin pointed his staff at the ground and a giant boulder shoved its way out of the soil. The stone broke and split, pushing itself apart until a round table and accompanying chairs had been formed. Although only twenty-five stone chairs were present, there was room enough for more than a hundred and fifty at the massive table.

"Each of your noble houses shall send their favored son here," Merlin explained. "They shall no longer be princes but knights, Knights of the Round Table. No one shall be greater than another, all shall be equal, working together for a common purpose. We are one land, one people, and one realm. No more shall there be squabbling over which house shall be in dominance, for the realm is of benefit to all, in service to all."

Merlin watched the crowd, and when no one moved to object, he concluded his speech. "For dealing with outside powers, it shall be necessary to have a singular figurehead in order that ambassadors and visiting dignitaries will not have to speak to each and every Knight. To that end, I shall appoint a king I have selected for this purpose. He shall rule with you but not over you for the duty of the King is to provide harmony not an iron hand. Each and every one of you has a voice, and the King shall ensure that it is heard and respect is properly given. Tomorrow at high sun, have everyone assembled here for the coronation of your new King and the installation of the Knights. Until then, return to your homes."

Although it was clear some wished to continue the battle, none were willing to challenge Merlin's power. The crowd slowly dispersed until Merlin stood alone. Raising his staff once more, he called down a lightning bolt that wrapped around him in a blinding cocoon of writhing energy before taking him skyward in a flash.

Lighting poured from the walls of the transport chamber, twisting and entwining like vines into a shell of energy. When the shell was complete, it exploded outward in a burst of blue-white sparks, each glowing particle fading away in mid-air. The transport process left Merlin standing in the center of the chamber where the energy shell had been.

"Were you successful?" a voice asked over the intercom.

"Yes," Merlin answered, his words echoing slightly because of the close confines of the curved walls. "The foundation has been laid. What the humans build upon it remains to be seen."

Merlin left the transport chamber, the doors opening automatically at his approach. Waiting in the corridor outside was one of Merlin's people. Standing four feet in height, the gray skinned being had a large oval head with black orb eyes. Only three fingers and a thumb were present on each hand. A sleeveless robe of black trimmed in silver covered the alien from the neck down.

"We'll need to adjust the staff," Merlin told the alien. He twisted the staff in his hands to unlock it, sliding the crystalline circuit housing out of the wood sheath. Pointing to one of the golden computer chips suspended inside the clear shaft, Merlin explained the problem. "The terrain modifier circuits are sluggish and don't respond as fast as I would like."

"I'll have the technicians work on it at once," the alien promised, taking the circuit housing from Merlin and hurrying away with it.

Walking with a measured pace to a window, Merlin looked down on the blue world below him. Humanity had such great potential; they only needed guidance in the right direction. It was why he and his race had established the Avalon space station in orbit and why Merlin had been altered to appear as one of the locals. With their help, the possibilities for humanity's future were endless. Merlin's beard didn't entirely hide his hopeful smile.