“In an unforeseen turn of events, the last piece of the famous Priory Oak, which was housed at the Abergwili Museum in Carmarthenshire has gone missing. CCTV footage of the area shows a suspect, around 6ft tall, with long white hair and a long white beard. The suspect was shown to be
wearing a deep red robe, and carrying a brown satchel, and was shown to be at the scene of the crime only minutes before the Precious artifact was stolen. The detective in charge of the case, Detective B. James, released a statement earlier today.”
“It is in the best interests of the town of Carmarthen for the piece of Priory Oak to be returned to the museum immediately. There is a lot of superstition surrounding the Oak, and the survival of the town itself, and since the incident in 1970, it is not something that should be taken lightly. We
are doing everything in our power to discover who the suspect shown on the tapes exactly is, however it has not gone unnoticed that the suspect looks remarkably similar to Emrys Du Lac, who
has been missing for over two weeks now. Anyone with information to either of these crimes should contact their local authority immediately.”
“Well folks, there we have it. Superstition working its way into the 21st century and into a police investigation with an 84 year old possible suspect is one of the last things I would have expected, yet here we are. After the break we’ll head over to—”
Merlin turned the TV to silent, finally sitting down with his cup of tea and staring at the wondrous piece of wood in front of him. He could feel the power inside of it. Feel it calling to him. It was another thing the people here had got wrong in the legends.
Although the tree did house some of Merlin’s power, he was not currently physically trapped inside it, which many of the people believed to be the case. Nimueh had tried it ages back, when Merlin
first started to spiral after Arthurs death all those hundreds of years ago. But she had been unsuccessful, and all it had done was make Merlin extremely claustrophobic. He could hardly shower with the door shut behind him it got so bad on some days. But when he got out, a part of him had
been left behind. And he left it there willingly, glad to be free from his wooden prison.
The deep brown of the bark seemed to be filled with life, despite everything it had been through over the years. Poison and fire, and even a car crash. Yet still a piece of the Priory Oak remained.
Merlin reached out a hand, and his breath caught in his throat. Eyes glowing gold as he finally made contact. It was as if Pandora’s box had been opened. There was no going back now, he knew that for
sure. Centuries came flooding back to him as the forgotten parts of his power filled every fibre of his being with a newfound sense of being alive. An energy he had not felt in quite the while.
It was the same sense of power he had first experienced when he had first spoken to Kilgarrah as one of his own. As kin. The same sense of power he experienced when Kilgarrah gave him the answers he needed to save Morgana all those years ago.
He could bring Arthur back. He could actually do it. For the first time in a long time, he had hope.
***
He was doing this for Arthur, only Arthur.
He didn’t enjoy it, no.
It was only for Arthur.
He would never enjoy or crave what he was doing.
This was only as a last resort.
He repeated those five phrases in his head the entire bus ride to Caerleon. Never leaving his mind open for doubt. It was the only way he felt in control. He was doing this for Arthur. And he needed to remember that with every inch of his being.
***
When he arrived, Merlin was shocked at how similar and different a place could be at the same time.
On one hand, the outlay of the fortress, and the energy the earth seemed to hold here was exactly as he remembered it when Leon and his family had been the nobles of the court.
But the life of the building was gone. Gone were the high walls, and the many people, nobles, servants, commoners and even occasionally royalty, that would wander through its many halls.
Tourists replaced them. Modern nuisances who felt the need to trample over historic sites like they owned the place, only to add to the decay and destruction a site like Caerleon would be facing. But there were enough tourists to do what he needed to.
In his loose fitting jeans and a bright polo shirt, cap pulled low over his eyes, Merlin was unrecognisable. Not to mention no one knew him as his younger self in this generation. He found it easy enough to get a good vantage point of the site, and pulled a sketchbook and some charcoals out of the brown satchel he had by his side. The perfect cover if anyone wanted to know why he was here for more than ten minutes for the tour.
Watching the crowd around the site, he easily spotted his first targets. Eyes glowing gold, they were struck by a strong wind. Hats and glasses flew into the air, and a small child was pushed onto the
grass beneath her. Everyone quickly standing up, and looking about. Trying to find some sort of explanation as to what the hell had just happened to them.
Next it was a whisper. No more than
three words, but three words that no one would want to hear with no one besides them. Eyes glowing gold as his powers sent the message to all those who were around the site.
Leave this place.
Worried glances grew, and the whispers amongst the group of tourists grew louder with each passing minute. He could tell some of them thought something was going on, but none of them yet were worried enough to cause a scene.
One last time for Caerleon, Merlin’s eyes gleamed gold. He mustered all the strength he could into creating a very image which had haunted the walls of Camelot long ago, not that far from where they were today. A cold wind began to sweep across the site, bringing with it odd looks, only for
them to grow quiet as the first child broke through the wind.
“Look, mommy, a man on a horse! He’s getting closer!”
“Is that… a sword?!”
“Everyone please calm down!”
“He’s got a sword! We’re all going to die!”
“Forget the sword you dumbass he’s riding towards us! RUN!”
Merlin watched, a small smile creeping its way onto his face as the tourists struggled over each other, all fighting to get their way, and trying to get out of openings that were just too small to fit that many people. All sense of logic had been lost, as the black rider got closer to them with every
second. Almost upon them now. They all turn and stare at the midnight black stallion, charging towards where they stood. Petrified with what is about to happen!
“Mommy! Watch out!” The small girl shouts, as screams fill the air.
Eyes flashed gold, and the horse disappeared into thin air, taking the rider with it. Merlin packed up his sketchbook and charcoals, a smirk painted across his face showing really how far he was willing to go to bring back his king. “I’d do anything for you, Arthur. This is just another way I can help you. You’ll see in the end. You’ll forgive me.”
***
In the following days, strange sightings because the norm for the United Kingdoms. People claiming all across the land to have seen knights, and horses and ladies in lakes, and even a dragon or two.
Magical beasts, unicorns, pixies and the odd afanc became the most spotted creatures in wales. Only to disappear without any evidence.
People claiming they were pushed by invisible forces. Injured by punches that came from nowhere. Cut by swords which they could not see nor hear, but could feel for sure, and which cause immense
pain. Injury levels spiked, as did the number of people administering themselves to hospitals for
help, after seeing things they could not explain. All the while, Merlin practiced his craft. Creating illusion after illusion, making them more and more detailed, more and more realistic.
Drawing on memories from long forgotten times to show everyone that everything he said as Emrys had indeed been true. That none of it had been a lie. Not that he was doing it solely for that, though.
He was still doing it for Arthur.
Only for Arthur.
But the phrases he used to ground himself were quickly losing meaning.
YOU ARE READING
Only For You
Fanfiction"I'm a sorceror. I have magic. And I use it for you, Arthur. Only for you." ~~~ For 1500 years, Merlin has tried almost everything he could think of to get King Arthur to return. Every incantation, every spell, every ritual, during every possible ph...
