The Raven and the Wolf

The Heritage of the Raven's Apprentice

What's this now? The fourth chapter? We're not even halfway done yet. I'm pretty sure no one is reading this, but that might just be because I just started on this whole thing today. Give it time, Ami. If you write it, it will be read. Whether the reading is done by me or someone else is a completely different subject. I think anyone who's reading this is brilliant. Humanity, brilliant little species you are. Absolutely brilliant.

Morgana's House in the Woods

Deep in the forest of Camelot, there is a house. Well, it's more like a hut, but the one who lives inside it calls it a house. When she was younger, she was compassionate and caring and all the things a young lady should be, but a life of hatred had worn her down into something unpleasant. If Uther Pendragon were still alive, he would have believed it was magic that made her evil, but magic was only a conduit to convey her anger. She was angry about so many things: angry about how she had been lied to about her father, angry about the death of Morgause(Tomorrow would mark the anniversary of her sister's death), angry about the way people with magic were treated, angry about not having the throne that she believed was hers, and angry that her plans refused to go her way. She believed that she would bring the Old Religion back to Camelot, and she would, indeed, have a part in that but not yet. For now, she did her best to bring down the kingdom of Camelot. Already, she had rid it of a possible queen, and she had a spy at its heart. So far, Agravaine had been loyal to her and only feigned loyalty to Arthur as far as she knew. He constantly came to her to inform her about the goings on in Camelot, but most of the things he told her were useless things that she could never use against Arthur. He was a bit annoying and an idiot as far as allies went, but she had to work with what she had.

Normally, Agravaine entered silently, often scaring her into holding a knife to his throat, but on this dark night, there was a loud knock at her door. As she walked to the door, she wondered what useless information Agravaine would give her this time. Instead of Agravaine, a young man about Merlin's age looked up at her from outside the door. He had hair as black as a raven, and his eyes were just as dark. She could see in those eyes that he'd been wronged just as she had, and he wanted revenge just as she did. He held an old leather book under his cloak, and he knelt as he held it out to her.

“My Lady Morgana,” the boy said. “I wish to bring down Camelot.”

Morgana took the book delicately and blew off some dirt and dust. A Raven's head was drawn on the cover, still present after hundreds of years of wear and tear. Morgana could sense the magic between the pages before even opening the book, and there was something familiar about it. The writing on the inside was scrawled in the language of the Old Religion, and although Morgause had taught her much about the language, she wasn't as skilled as she would like to be.

“What is this?” she asked. “Why did you bring it to me?”

“My name is Shane Corvus,” said Shane. “My family has passed down this book from generation to generation, and I have received this recently upon my father's death. He was a sorcerer, and King Arthur found it fit for him to be executed. As if it made Father a bad person for using magic to heal people. As if it made Mother a traitor for marrying him. As if it made me an animal to be hunted because I'm a sorcerer's son.” Shane was practically seething, and Morgana could only nod. She knew all too well how Camelot treated sorcerers. “This is all I have left of him,” he continued, pointing at the book. “My lineage traces all the way back to Tiro Corvus. He learned much of what he knew because of another sorcerer known by the name Cornelius Sigan, and he even helped Sigan in his studies of immortality. This book holds all that he knew about it, and according to it, Sigan succeeded in obtaining immortality. Under the castle lies Sigan's tomb. On his coffin, there is a jewel which holds his soul, and if it is removed, his soul will be released.”

“And Sigan will take his revenge on Camelot,” Morgana finished. “I remember something of it from when I lived in the palace. Uther had people digging under the castle, and they found Sigan's tomb. A thief attempted to steal a jewel, and Sigan's curse was released. There were terrible beasts. They killed many people. I remember that Uther had sealed the tomb after the event.”

“Yes,” Shane said. “But it wasn't a curse that was released. It was Cornelius Sigan, himself. According to the book, Sigan's soul would go into whoever removed the stone.”

“Well, if his soul did go into the thief, he was somehow defeated by something or someone.” Emrys, she thought.

“But you cannot defeat his soul, only send it back into the stone. That thief also likely had no idea what he was doing, and he probably had no magic. Sigan would be limited in a body of a person who had no magic, but if a person such as myself were to take his soul into his self, Sigan still wouldn't be to his full height of power, but much more powerful than in a normal vessel.”

“So you wish to take this upon yourself?” Morgana asked curiously. He nodded. “Then, why come to me?”

“While I know that I can handle the guards with magic, I do not know the palace, and I do not believe that I can find a way into the tomb without guidance.”

“If you believe that I will accompany you, you are mistaken, Shane Corvus.”

Shane shook his head. “I do not wish for you to risk your life for me. I only ask that you deliver some means for me to find my way to the tomb, like a map or –.”

“A spy?” Morgana asked. “I'll contact someone. You can stay here with me until that time.”

That chapter was short too. Sorry. I hope you liked it. If you like Sherlock fanfic, you should read my friend DeductibleMandi 's story called "Through the Looking Glass of a Microscope." I'm proud to be the one who gave her the idea, and I was glad that she's writing it. She is doing a good job so far, but it's not done yet. Encourage her to do more.