Thaumaturgy

Chapter 9

An hour later the pair, Merlin and Dirk, were fully washed and the day was drawing to its short winder conclusion into night. Bright and orange and pink hues spread across the sky like paint on an artist's palette and the air was crisp as an apple. As they re-dressed their breaths hung misty in the cold between. Ushered away from the pool, they followed the young white haired boy who had been sent, to fetch them, as they were running late for dinner, and the Druide elders had grown impatient with waiting. Thr ye entered the twnt revernatly. Is was full of ffragarnce and a fire birned in the middle. a shrounded figure sat opposite them, covered in cloaks and roabes o they can't be seen.

"Er, heelo" said Merlin. He looked at Dirk who looked at him back. They were nervous, and it howed in their matching blue eyes.

The figutre raised its arm in salutation and called in amystical womanely voice.

"Hail, Emrys, and Dirk. You ahve come to seek council from us." she annoiunced prophet-like.

"yes." Dirk saif, unprepared with formality for the occasion.

"I an Cwynyllyr, the Seer oif the druids, shepeherd of the trees, defender of the forests and of th animals, keeper of the night. You seek to know the meaning of Morgagana Le Fay's vision of doom." She spake.

"Yes, we do" confitrmed Metrlin. Cwynyllyr through a small bundle of herbs into the fire that burned softly between them, causing the flames to flare up high, licks of green flickering aptly between the burning reds and yellows, for a moment and filling the tet with the nostalingic scent of burgermot and sage that reminded Merlin of a nebula childhood memory that slipped away from him like water through his fingers before he could grasp it, trickling.

"The visiosn of the witch Morgana are like motlen lead; they could be many things if the right techniques are applied. She has the destruction of the mighty sword, but the lead could be cast into a marital cup with as much ease. One horseshoe can fit on many feet. Your future is a black: only you can withdraw the steel of ytour future from the forge of destiny: and smelt from it the path of life you desire." she said ina an onimous voice as shadows cast by the brightly lit fire scattered the walsl of the tent spookingly. Dirk formd a frown: her works were abstracyt and confusing. he was not used to the oblique nature of magical inytercourse, which was fogged liked the mists above a mountain lake.

"So, you're saying that we can change the future poor Morgana saw, if we learn the mystic ways to do it?" he asked slowly, unsure of the ground on which he trod as though it were the vast Swamp of the Forbidden Lads.

"All potential futures have their flaws: they are like metals that has not been refined. it has imperfections and it will break. You must refine the future of your choice to make it strong, and unbreakable, or it could also break, and be taken away from you." In the smoke above them picture formed, lines of swords shattering until one left, glowing brilliant. Dirk was amazed.

"So we have a choice. Morganas's future may not come to pass at all" He said enthralled. Merlin watched him, smilling happily at how entranced he was by the magic around him. His heart expanded and twistered with affection for the blacksmith's are.

"Is is so, young one." Cwynyllyr bowed her head resolutely.

"We can go home Merlin!" Dirk said haapily, looking at him with bright and cheerful eyes, that Merlin could not help but o reply his smile.

"Thank you so much" Merlin said to the druid woman, staning up and mgoing forward like he was going to grap her knarled hand: only to catch himself in time and give an awkward bow instead, much to the Eld seer's amusement.

"Your welcome to stay for the feasting tonight, my grandson Mordred will take you to the dinning area" she said with a nice sweet smile, with her violet eyes twinkling with pride as she looked upon the bleak haired boy who had stepped back into the tent with the. Vibrating with both joy and exitment, Dirk and Merlin followed him out twards the raging campfiere in the middle sof the druis camp were most of its inhabitants sat eating, already.

When they had been served up their bean and mushroom stew, something which had prompted a look of scorn from Dirk when he found out that the Druids obstained from eating meat, as their natural magic reacted badly to it, and they objected to the killing of animals, they sat together near the fire. Merlin smiled happily as he shooched closer to Dirk on there log, siting well in the other man's personal spac, his magic calling out and buzzing just to be close to the grumpy blacksmith, not they he knew he was his soulmate, he felt like ihs magic had been more attached to him, and was more free to be around him.

"Chear up, clotpole, it's good." He said, of the food in fromt of him that Dirk was stil pulling a face at: like a child.

"It would be better with a brisket of venisen" gumbled Dirk, with no real heat - he would never admit it, but the food was good, Merlin saw through his deception anyways and grinned at him from the side of his face cheekly.

"You boorish crettin. Your being rude." He told Dirk. Dirk repsondedn by stickling out his little pink tongue in a way that Merlin thought proved his point alot. Suddenly; the pair were distracted from their gentle bickering by the sitting down of the druid Cachamwri.

"Salutatations Emrys and Dirk." He said, smiling kindly with an air of calm oozing from his poors.

"Why do you call Merlin that? Emrys, I mean His name is Merlin, not Emrys." Dirks questioned seriously, tonne serious as he inclined forwards towards the Druid to whom he was speaking by the fire.

"Emrys will always be Emrys to us, we have known about him for a long time. He was foretold." Answered the Druid, deep voice full of mystism amd curiosutisty... Merlin grinned instead of taking the situation seriously: like Dirk.

"Don't question it, you've done well from it, he joked, eyes flickerying to Dirk's clothes arm were his name sat. Cachamwri Nodded widsely.

"Aaaah, yes. I offer you congratulations....I can sense your relationship has grown since you have come to us....but you are not yet fully bonded young warlock and blacksmith." Said Cachamwri with a knowingly smile. Merlin blushed gently in a way that Dirk found adorable.

"You must seal your bond in a ritual, it is that way of the Druids, and you are a creature of magic, so..." he continued, and trailed of like Melin shoudl know what he means.

"I know about the ritual," Merlin blurted out, blushing reader than the fire between them. Dirk looked confused, he hadn't grown up with magic and he didn't know the rituals and celelbrations it incovled.

"Ritual?" he asked, with a chance of his eyebrow.

"Yes, you and your soulmate must seclude yourselves from this prying world for one turn of the moon and seal your bond. Bodily." Explained the astute Druid. Merlin stared at the ground, over cone with emmbarasment. Dirk couldn't help, but tease him, and pretended confusion some more.

"Bodily? What do you mean by bondily?" he said with a string of feigned innocence in his tone. The Druid was happy to elaborte to help the coupole:

"Well what you and Emrys need to do is give yourselves over to each other, physically, with the act of l-" he stated. Merlin stood up abrutly pulling Dirk up with him by his big hand aswell.

"Yes!! Thank you Cachamwri!! I think we get it. We'll be going now. To our tent. Not for that. Thank you for the food. It was lovely." He shreiked shortly, as he dragged a lauging Dirk away from the food and eating arena.