Short Story: Merlin and the Dragon Queen chapter 4

[milo]

After the Romans left, the royal hall was silent. Everyone looked over to Arthur and then Merlin but not a single word was spoken. The unnatural silence continued for what seemed an impossible amount of time until finally Gawain jumped up from his chair, slammed his battle-axe on the table so hard a chip flew up from the otherwise flawless surface and let out a shout,”AAAAAAaaaaaahh!!! IF I EVER SEE THAT PILE OF ARROGANT ROMAN HORSE TURDS AGAIN I AM GOING TO BEND HIM OVER AND JAM THIS AXE IN HIS SCROTUM!”

With the tension broken, the room erupted in laughter and conversation. After a bit, the noise settled down and the tone sobered again. King Ban turned to Arthur, “Do you think the emperor intends to overthrow Camelot?”
Before Arthur could answer, King Bors broke in, “Should I start assembling my troops? Arthur, I would like to send support for Camelot, but I am not sure, maybe I should be fortifying my own kingdom?”
Sir Kay followed closely, “Surely Rome wouldn't attack one of their own provinces without provocation.”
The conversation continued along this fashion for a bit and Arthur allowed it, knowing they needed to speak their minds before they would calm down.
Finally, he stood and spoke, “Clearly, Gaius sent his seneschal hoping to provoke us. He failed. To attack a Roman province without provocation would be illegal so we have left him no option but to slink back to Rome as a failure.” With that, he looked to Merlin who nodded silently in agreement, hands folded in front of him. Arthur continued, “Now for the truage, we will see. Next month, I will need to send a diplomatic party to Rome. Sirs Ban and Bors seem the perfect selection to bargain on behalf of Camelot and all of Britannia. In the mean time, we will continue to train arms. It will be winter shortly after that and the channel will be all but impassable. That should buy us enough times to make our decision at the spring games tournament.”

Nods and murmurs of agreement went around the table and knights and nobles broke off into conversation among themselves. Arthur and Merlin moved away from the table to where they couldn't be overheard, “What do you think, old friend? I cannot imagine assembling an army of that size and not using it.”
Merlin pressed his lips together in thought for a moment before speaking, “I suppose you are right. He may have been overconfident in his ability to provoke us so we might have bought ourselves a bit of time. Britannia is an outer province. Rome hasn't paid her much attention for some time. As long as there is peace in Rome, Glycerius will look to shore up Rome’s interests. I have a plan, Arthur, but I need to make my way now, time is scarce.”
Arthur looked downcast, “but Merlin, you just got here! There is much we need to discuss. I have kings from all of Britannia looking to Camelot daily, what should I do with them?”
“You will build the greatest assemblage of knights and valor in the history of man, Arthur.” Merlin swept his arm over the room, “fill this table with the best and the bravest and rule Camelot together as one. Give each a voice. Make them swear an oath - not to you, but to Camelot, to the principles of justice and nobility!”
Arthur felt a shiver in his spine as, for the briefest moment, he could see the table and the hall packed full with knights of Camelot, “give me an oath, Merlin. Give me an oath of Camelot and I will make it so!”
Merlin looked to Arthur, then bent to one knee, “I will commit no murder, but only use my sword against enemies of Camelot in fair combat. I will never consider treason against my king or my brothers of the round table. I will seek first to help any that have need and always put the cause of good before the cause that is myself. I will show mercy for mercy’s sake and I will represent both Camelot and King in all my actions until even my enemies look upon me with love for they will know that I am Camelot as Camelot is me.”
Arthur drew his sword and rested the flat of the blade on both of Merlin’s shoulders, “Rise, sir Merlin, and as a knight of Camelot be true!”
The room had turned silent and every eye was watching the two of them. As Arthur finished, everyone burst into cheers and applause. Gawain rushed over and immediately sank to one knee, looking up to Arthur he began to speak, “I will commit no murder . . .”

Merlin slipped away as the knights and nobles crowded around Arthur to witness the birth of a ceremony that would outlive Camelot itself. He went directly to the stables and had the stable boy fetch his perfectly groomed horse. Merlin whispered in the horse’s ear. The horse shook his head. Merlin considered for a moment - it would be far easier to return to the crystal caves riding and plan his next move from there but things seemed to be escalating far more quickly than he anticipated. As much as he hated to waste the power, knowing of his impending confrontation with Aelphaba, the only option was to fly straight through to Avalon. Merlin clucked several times and shrugged as the horse shrank, returning to the form of a mouse. He bent and picked the mouse up and placed it in one of his pockets. From there, Merlin headed to the great tower of Camelot and climbed the circular stairs up to the top. He leaned against the parapet, spread his arms, spoke a few words and leaped into the air as a falcon.

Merlin’s first instinct was to head south toward Dubris to spy on the Romans and their Gaulish allies but he knew he wouldn't have time for that so, after testing his wings with some swoops and dives and spinning through a cloud or two, he headed northwest. It would take over ten hours of flight to reach the North Sea. From there, Merlin would need to fly East and cast the spell to raise the mists of Avalon in the midst of the North Sea by the light of the moon. After passing through the mists, Merlin would still need to travel several hours more before he would approach the great Aelfish kingdom of Avalon. As tired as he would be, he would need to circle a good portion of the island and approach from the south, hoping the range of Ischilith would cover his approach allowing him to defy Oberon’s decree and once again return to Avalon. From there, he would need to find Aelphaba, the dragon queen.

When approaching Avalon from the south, one is first struck by the barren beaches of soot-covered black basalt and chunks of amber volcanic glass. These rise quickly into the crags of the Ischilith mountain range but, rising above everything and dominating the view is mighty Ischilith itself - a volcano as old and active as the the earth, spewing a non-stop stream of volcanic clouds and ash into the air. Occasional pools of cooling lava, belch up clouds of sulfurous gases along the plains rising up to it. Merlin broke through the mists with the dawn but tried to fly high to save his lungs from the caustic air, relying on his falcon’s vision to guide him. Even from far away he could see her - Queen Aelphaba was pacing a large flat circular area that rested between two distant mountains. The edges of the clearing were flanked by several large dragons, some appeared to be sleeping while others stood as unmoving as sentinels. She was obviously waiting for him so Merlin didn't bother trying to conceal his approach, choosing instead to fly the most direct route. As Merlin flew into the clearing he came in close to Aelphaba, dropped to the ground and immediately reclaimed his human form.

As tall as Merlin was, Aelphaba stood even taller. She was stunningly beautiful - her long body was dressed in a shimmering gown of different shades of green that clung to her lithe form. Her face was angular with a regal authority, her eyes were deep emerald and her hair raven black. She circled Merlin slowly, drawing her face dangerously close to the back of his neck, “Myyrrddryn, “she spoke his name in Aelfish, slowly and silkily, “what brings you to Avalon, half-child? Surely you wouldn't break Oberon’s law just to chat with little ‘ol me?” Aelphaba’s lips finished the statement with a knowing smile.
“I have need of a dragon, my queen,” Merlin spoke with an easy confidence.
“Do YOU!” Aelphaba’s voice broke suddenly but she immediately recovered and returned to her low, silky tone, “do you, Myyrrddryn half-child, have need of one of my beautiful children? Well, why would I allow that? Tell me, why shouldn't I just have one of my little beauties eat your little man’s body for a snack?” Merlin didn't answer immediately so Aelphaba continued circling him several more time but then came to a sudden stop right in front of him, looked him in the eye and placed one of her long fingers below his chin, “Well? You know Oberon has demanded you dead if found on Avalon?”
“Perhaps you should do as Oberon commands, my queen,” Merlin replied, “or, perhaps you should make your own decisions about your beautiful children.”

“Yes, Myyrrddryn, I may have need of a favor myself. Perhaps I will help you after all. Do you suppose if I lent you one of my beauties you would owe me a favor? Yes, I suppose you would, “ she answered herself, “and I suppose I might find I have need of a favor some time soon. A very certain favor and a very certain sometime, yes, Myyrddryn, but first, you must beat me in a challenge of forms.”
Merlin looked up at that. Aelphaba was terribly powerful and, being queen of the dragons made her even more dangerous but she was not known to be very good with forms. Merlin, on the other hand, was famously good with forms, once rumoured to have fought even Oberon himself to a standstill in a battle of forms.
“I suppose we shall limit to the standard three forms, then?” he proposed.
“No, Myyrrddryn, just one!” she snapped back.
“Well, that’s not much of a battle of forms, then ”Merlin started.
“and I pick first!” Aelphaba interrupted, immediately growing and changing into a massive green dragon, “I choose the form of a dragon, for dragons never die!”
“With the grace and humility of a queen, of course,” Merlin started.
“Choose your form!” Aelphaba interrupted him again, impatiently.
“Very well, then, I choose the form of a man.” Merlin replied, and didn't change at all.
“No magic, Myyrrddryn! Don’t you try to use magic!” Aelphaba’s voice had grown with her size, booming down at Merlin from dragon-Aelphaba.
“Of course not, my queen. But of course, being a man, I will use a man’s weapon,” and with that, he produced a gleaming sword from within his robe.
The dragon, Aelphaba jumped back, deceptively graceful for her size “You dare bring iron to Avalon?! Oberon will eat your liver!”
“Not iron, my queen,” Merlin replied, flourishing the sword in the sun.
“Ahhhh, mithril. Where did you get a mithril blade I wonder?” the dragon looked at him curiously, “it doesn't matter though, you were a fool to choose a man with a metal stick to battle a dragon.”

The dragon advanced on Merlin who backed away in a circle, holding the sword in front of him. The dragon stopped, opened its mouth wide and let loose a torrent of flame, intending to engulf him and end the battle immediately. As the flame reached the sword, it was all consumed by the blade.
“No Magic, Myyrrddryn! We agreed, no magic!” Aelphaba roared at merlin in petulant rage.
“Not magic, my queen, this blade has tasted dragon’s fire before and hungers for more,” Merlin answered, continuing to hold the blade in front of him.
“No matter. I don’t need dragon’s fire to kill a man,” the dragon pounced toward him and swiped her massive taloned right foot at him. Merlin deftly stepped aside and brought the sword down with a sweeping motion, slicing the dragons foot cleanly off. Aelphaba turned her head to the sky and let out a roar of pained rage, shifting her massive weight to her haunches and shaking her right arm, spattering the ground with heavily flowing blood.

Merlin took the opportunity to head for the edge of the clearing, knowing he was at a severe disadvantage in the open. Aelphaba’s tail swept the earth spasmodically, struck Merlin and knocked him into the air. Merlin landed with a gasp, ten yards away with the wind knocked out of him and released his grip on his sword which continued to fly and landed with a clatter far out of his reach. Aelphaba, regaining control, breathed fire to the ground directly in front of her heating it cherry red and pressed her hand to it to cauterize the wound, clenching a cry of pain between her dragon’s teeth. She turned to see Merlin lying on his back, just regaining his senses and let loose a torrent of dragon’s fire at him. Merlin rolled out of the way, got to his hands and knees and started crawling in the direction of his lost sword, blinking away the tears forming from from the smoke. Aelphaba pushed herself into the air with her powerful haunches and a single flap of her dragon’s wings landing in front of Merlin just as he reached his sword. Forgetting about her wound, Aelphaba shifted her weight forward to swoop her powerful jaws in for the kill but as the weight hit her missing foot she stumbled and cried out in pain. Merlin dove in a somersault and came up with his sword. He twisted on his right foot, swung the sword in an arc and finished with the point right at Aelphaba’s neck.

“Oh very well, already, you win!” Aelphaba cried as she shrunk back down to her normal form. She was holding her right hand tenderly in her left. It had reformed but it looked pinkish and painful. “Come, Myyrrddryn, let’s fetch you a dragon. I have the perfect one in mind, an ancient red, older and meaner than me. You can have her for one month and one day but I am warning you, Myyrrddryn, don’t let her taste human flesh. She hasn't tasted man in millennia and once she remembers the taste I don’t think she’ll ever want to give it up again.”

As Merlin and Aelphaba discussed the terms of their deal, back in Dubris, an army of more than thirty thousand Romans and Gauls broke camp and started the march toward Camelot.

[Todd]

Happy to see another chapter. I was waiting for my serial novel. A few comments below:

After the Romans left, the royal hall was silent. Everyone looked over to Arthur and then Merlin but not a single word was spoken. The unnatural silence continued for what seemed an impossible amount of time until finally Gawain jumped up from his chair, slammed his battle-axe on the table so hard a chip flew up from the otherwise flawless surface and let out a shout,”AAAAAAaaaaaahh!!! IF I EVER SEE THAT PILE OF SMARMY ROMAN HORSE TURDS AGAIN I AM GOING TO BEND HIM OVER AND JAM THIS AXE IN HIS SCROTUM!” --fits Gawain's characterization though smarmy seems a little modern.

With the tension broken, the room broke out in--maybe erupted into to minimize the broken/broke repetition laughter and conversation. After a bit, the noise settled down and the tone sobered again. King Ban turned to Arthur, “Do you think the emperor intends to overthrow Camelot?”
Before Arthur could answer, King Bors broke in, “Should I start assembling my troops? Arthur, I would like to send support for Camelot, but I am not sure, maybe I should be fortifying my own kingdom?”
Sir Kay followed closely, “Surely Rome wouldn't attack one of their own provinces without provocation.”
The conversation continued along this fashion for a bit and Arthur allowed it, knowing they needed to speak their minds before they would calm down.
Finally, he stood and spoke,--while there's nothing wrong with it you may be able to cut the and spoke as it's implied “Clearly, Gaius sent his seneschal hoping to provoke us. He failed. To attack a Roman province without provocation would be illegal so we have left him no option but to slink back to Rome as a failure.” With that, he looked to Merlin who nodded silently in agreement, hands folded in front of him. Arthur continued, “Now for the truage, we will see. Next month, I will need to send a diplomatic party to Rome. Sirs Ban and Bors seem the perfect selection to bargain on behalf of Camelot and all of Britannia. In the mean time, we will continue to train arms. It will be winter shortly after that and the channel will be all but impassable. That should buy us enough times to make our decision at the spring games tournament.”

Nods and murmurs of agreement went around the table and knights and nobles broke off into conversation among themselves. Arthur and Merlin moved away from the table to where they couldn't be overheard, “What do you think, old friend? I cannot imagine assembling an army of that size and not using it.”
Merlin pressed his lips together in thought for a moment before speaking, “I suppose you are right. He may have been overconfident in his ability to provoke us so we might have bought ourselves a bit of time. Britannia is an outer province. Rome hasn't paid her much attention for some time. As long as there is peace in Rome, Glycerius will look to shore up Rome’s interests. I have a plan, Arthur, but I need to make my way now, time is scarce.”
Arthur looked downcast, “but Merlin, you just got here! There is much we need to discuss. I have kings from all of Britannia looking to Camelot daily, what should I do with them?”
“You will build the greatest assemblage of knights and valor in the history of man, Arthur.” Merlin swept his arm over the room, “fill this table with the best and the bravest and rule Camelot together as one. Give each a voice. Make them swear an oath - not to you, but to Camelot, to the principles of justice and nobility!”
Arthur felt a shiver in his spine as, for the briefest moment, he could see the table and the hall packed full with knights of Camelot, “give me an oath, Merlin. Give me an oath of Camelot and I will make it so!”
Merlin looked to Arthur, then bent to one knee, “I will commit no murder, but only use my sword against enemies of Camelot in fair combat. I will never consider treason against my king or my brothers of the round table. I will seek first to help any that have need and always put the cause of good before the cause that is myself. I will show mercy for mercy’s sake and I will represent both Camelot and King in all my actions until even my enemies look upon me with love for they will know that I am Camelot as Camelot is me.”
Arthur drew his sword and rested the flat of the blade on both of Merlin’s shoulders, “Rise, sir Merlin, and as a knight of Camelot be true!”
The room had turned silent and every eye was watching the two of them. As Arthur finished, everyone burst into cheers and applause. Gawain rushed over and immediately sank to one knee, looking up to Arthur he began to speak, “I will commit no murder . . .”--I like all this. The oaths, building the idea of Camelot

Merlin slipped away as the knights and nobles crowded around Arthur to witness the birth of a ceremony that would outlive Camelot itself. He went directly to the stables and had the stable boy fetch his perfectly groomed horse. Merlin whispered in the horse’s ear. The horse shook his head. Merlin shrugged as the horse shrank, returning to the form of a mouse. Merlin bent and picked the mouse up and placed it in one of his pockets. From there, Merlin headed to the great tower of Camelot and climbed the circular stairs up to the top. He leaned against the parapet, spread his arms, spoke a few words and leaped into the air as a falcon.--This makes me wonder what was the point of mouse to horse again--appearances?

Merlin’s first instinct was to head south toward Dubris to spy on the Romans and their Gaulish allies but he knew he wouldn't have time for that so, after testing his wings with some swoops and dives and spinning through a cloud or two, he headed northwest. It would take over ten hours of flight to reach the North Sea. From there, Merlin would need to fly East and cast the spell to raise the mists of Avalon in the midst of the North Sea by the light of the moon. After passing through the mists, Merlin would still need to travel several hours more before he would approach the great Aelfish kingdom of Avalon. As tired as he would be, he would need to circle a good portion of the island and approach from the south, hoping the range of Ischilith would cover his approach allowing him to defy Oberon’s decree and once again return to Avalon. From there, he would need to find Aelphaba, the dragon queen.

When approaching Avalon from the south, one is first struck by the barren beaches of soot-covered black basalt and chunks of amber volcanic glass--love the detail. These rise quickly into the crags of the Ischilith mountain range but, rising above everything and dominating the view is mighty Ischilith itself - a volcano as old and active as the the earth, spewing a non-stop stream of volcanic--seems redundant clouds and ash into the air. Occasional pools of cooling lava, belch up clouds of--too many clouds in my opinion sulfurous gases along the plains rising up to it. Merlin broke through the mists with the dawn but tried to fly high to save his lungs from the caustic air, relying on his falcon’s vision to guide him. Even from far away he could see her - Queen Aelphaba was pacing a large flat circular area that rested between two distant mountains. The edges of the clearing were flanked by several large dragons, some appeared to be sleeping while others stood as unmoving as sentinels. She was obviously waiting for him so Merlin didn't bother trying to conceal his approach, choosing instead to fly the most direct route. As Merlin flew into the clearing he came in close to Aelphaba, dropped to the ground and immediately reclaimed his human form.

As tall as Merlin was, Aelphaba stood even taller. She was stunningly beautiful - her long body was dressed in a shimmering gown of different shades of green that clung to her lithe form. Her face was angular with a regal authority, her eyes were deep emerald and her hair raven black. She circled Merlin slowly, drawing her face dangerously close to the back of his neck, “Myyrrddryn, “she spoke his name in Aelfish, slowly and silkily, “what brings you to Avalon, half-child? Surely you wouldn't break Oberon’s law just to chat with little ‘ol me?” Aelphaba’s lips finished the statement with a knowing smile.
“I have need of a dragon, my queen,” Merlin spoke with an easy confidence.
“Do YOU!” Aelphaba’s voice broke suddenly but she immediately recovered and returned to her low, silky tone, “do you, Myyrrddryn half-child, have need of one of my beautiful children? Well, why would I allow that? Tell me, why shouldn't I just have one of my little beauties eat your little--cut the little before beauties man’s body for a snack?” Merlin didn't answer immediately so Aelphaba continued circling him several more time but then came to a sudden stop right in front of him, looked him in the eye and placed one of her long fingers below his chin, “Well? You know Oberon has demanded you dead if found on Avalon?”
“Perhaps you should do as Oberon commands, my queen,”--nice touch Merlin replied, “or, perhaps you should make your own decisions about your beautiful children.”

“Yes, Myyrrddryn, I may have need of a favor myself. Perhaps I will help you after all. Do you suppose if I lent you one of my beauties you would owe me a favor? Yes, I suppose you would, “ she answered herself, “and I suppose I might find I have need of a favor some time soon. A very certain favor and a very certain sometime, yes, Myyrddryn, but first, you must beat me in a challenge of forms.”
Merlin looked up at that. Aelphaba was terribly powerful and, being queen of the dragons made her even more dangerous but she was not known to be very good with forms. Merlin, on the other hand, was famously good with forms, once reputed to have fought even Oberon himself to a standstill in a battle of forms.
“I suppose we shall limit to the standard three forms, then?” he proposed.
“No, Myyrrddryn, just one!” she snapped back.
“Well, that’s not much of a battle of forms, then ”Merlin started.
“and I pick first!” Aelphaba interrupted, immediately growing and changing into a massive green dragon, “I choose the form of a dragon, for dragons never die!”
“With the grace and humility of a queen, of course,” Merlin started.
“Choose your form!” Aelphaba interrupted him again, impatiently.
“Very well, then, I choose the form of a man.” Merlin replied, and didn't change at all.
“No magic, Myyrrddryn! Don’t you try to use magic!” Aelphaba’s voice had grown with her size, booming down at Merlin from dragon-Aelphaba.
“Of course not, my queen. But of course, being a man, I will use a man’s weapon,” and with that, he produced a gleaming sword from within his robe.
The dragon, Aelphaba jumped back, deceptively graceful for her size “You dare bring iron to Avalon?! Oberon will eat your liver!”
“Not iron, my queen,” Merlin replied, flourishing the sword in the sun.
“Ahhhh, mithril. Where did you get a mithril blade I wonder?” the dragon looked at him curiously, “it doesn't matter though, you were a fool to choose a man with a metal stick to battle a dragon.”

The dragon advanced on Merlin who backed away in a circle, holding the sword in front of him. The dragon stopped, opened its mouth wide and let loose a torrent of flame, intending to engulf him and end the battle immediately. As the flame reached the sword, it was all consumed by the blade.
“No Magic, Myyrrddryn! We agreed, no magic!” Aelphaba roared at merlin in petulant rage.
“Not magic, my queen, this blade has tasted dragon’s fire before and hungers for more,” Merlin answered, continuing to hold the blade in front of him.
“No matter. I don’t need dragon’s fire to kill a man,” the dragon pounced toward him and swiped her massive taloned right foot at him. Merlin deftly stepped aside and brought the sword down with a sweeping motion, slicing the dragons foot cleanly off. Aelphaba turned her head to the sky and let out a roar of pained rage, shifting her massive weight to her haunches and shaking her right arm, spattering the ground with heavily flowing blood.

Merlin took the opportunity to head for the edge of the clearing, knowing he was at a severe disadvantage in the open. Aelphaba’s tail swept the earth spasmodically, struck Merlin and knocked him into the air. Merlin landed with a gasp, ten yards away with the wind knocked out of him and released his grip on his sword which continued to fly and landed with a clatter far out of his reach. Aelphaba, regaining control, breathed fire to the ground directly in front of her heating it cherry red and pressed her hand to it to cauterize the wound, clenching a cry of pain between her dragon’s teeth. She turned to see Merlin lying on his back, just regaining his senses and let loose a torrent of dragon’s fire at him. Merlin rolled out of the way, got to his hands and knees and started crawling in the direction of his lost sword, blinking away the tears forming from from the smoke. Aelphaba pushed herself into the air with her powerful haunches and a single flap of her dragon’s wings landing in front of Merlin just as he reached his sword. Forgetting about her wound, Aelphaba shifted her weight forward to swoop her powerful jaws in for the kill but as the weight hit her missing foot she stumbled and cried out in pain. Merlin dove in a somersault and came up with his sword. He twisted on his right foot, swung the sword in an arc and finished with the point right at Aelphaba’s neck.

“Oh very well, already, you win!” Aelphaba cried as she shrunk back down to her normal form. She was holding her right hand tenderly in her left. It had reformed but it looked pinkish and painful. “Come, Myyrrddryn, let’s fetch you a dragon. I have the perfect one in mind, an ancient red, older and meaner than me. You can have her for one month--loved the fight, fae usually say things like one month and one day, just options but I am warning you, Myyrrddryn, don’t let her taste human flesh. She hasn't tasted man in millennia and once she remembers the taste I don’t think she’ll ever want to give it up again.”

As Merlin and Aelphaba discussed the terms of their deal, back in Dubris, an army of more than thirty thousand Romans and Gauls broke camp and started the march toward Camelot.

Very nice. I'm looking forward to the next chapter.

Best,

Todd

[milo]

Happy to see another chapter. I was waiting for my serial novel. A few comments below:

After the Romans left, the royal hall was silent. Everyone looked over to Arthur and then Merlin but not a single word was spoken. The unnatural silence continued for what seemed an impossible amount of time until finally Gawain jumped up from his chair, slammed his battle-axe on the table so hard a chip flew up from the otherwise flawless surface and let out a shout,”AAAAAAaaaaaahh!!! IF I EVER SEE THAT PILE OF SMARMY ROMAN HORSE TURDS AGAIN I AM GOING TO BEND HIM OVER AND JAM THIS AXE IN HIS SCROTUM!” --fits Gawain's characterization though smarmy seems a little modern.

With the tension broken, the room broke out in--maybe erupted into to minimize the broken/broke repetition laughter and conversation. After a bit, the noise settled down and the tone sobered again. King Ban turned to Arthur, “Do you think the emperor intends to overthrow Camelot?”
Before Arthur could answer, King Bors broke in, “Should I start assembling my troops? Arthur, I would like to send support for Camelot, but I am not sure, maybe I should be fortifying my own kingdom?”
Sir Kay followed closely, “Surely Rome wouldn't attack one of their own provinces without provocation.”
The conversation continued along this fashion for a bit and Arthur allowed it, knowing they needed to speak their minds before they would calm down.
Finally, he stood and spoke,--while there's nothing wrong with it you may be able to cut the and spoke as it's implied “Clearly, Gaius sent his seneschal hoping to provoke us. He failed. To attack a Roman province without provocation would be illegal so we have left him no option but to slink back to Rome as a failure.” With that, he looked to Merlin who nodded silently in agreement, hands folded in front of him. Arthur continued, “Now for the truage, we will see. Next month, I will need to send a diplomatic party to Rome. Sirs Ban and Bors seem the perfect selection to bargain on behalf of Camelot and all of Britannia. In the mean time, we will continue to train arms. It will be winter shortly after that and the channel will be all but impassable. That should buy us enough times to make our decision at the spring games tournament.”

Nods and murmurs of agreement went around the table and knights and nobles broke off into conversation among themselves. Arthur and Merlin moved away from the table to where they couldn't be overheard, “What do you think, old friend? I cannot imagine assembling an army of that size and not using it.”
Merlin pressed his lips together in thought for a moment before speaking, “I suppose you are right. He may have been overconfident in his ability to provoke us so we might have bought ourselves a bit of time. Britannia is an outer province. Rome hasn't paid her much attention for some time. As long as there is peace in Rome, Glycerius will look to shore up Rome’s interests. I have a plan, Arthur, but I need to make my way now, time is scarce.”
Arthur looked downcast, “but Merlin, you just got here! There is much we need to discuss. I have kings from all of Britannia looking to Camelot daily, what should I do with them?”
“You will build the greatest assemblage of knights and valor in the history of man, Arthur.” Merlin swept his arm over the room, “fill this table with the best and the bravest and rule Camelot together as one. Give each a voice. Make them swear an oath - not to you, but to Camelot, to the principles of justice and nobility!”
Arthur felt a shiver in his spine as, for the briefest moment, he could see the table and the hall packed full with knights of Camelot, “give me an oath, Merlin. Give me an oath of Camelot and I will make it so!”
Merlin looked to Arthur, then bent to one knee, “I will commit no murder, but only use my sword against enemies of Camelot in fair combat. I will never consider treason against my king or my brothers of the round table. I will seek first to help any that have need and always put the cause of good before the cause that is myself. I will show mercy for mercy’s sake and I will represent both Camelot and King in all my actions until even my enemies look upon me with love for they will know that I am Camelot as Camelot is me.”
Arthur drew his sword and rested the flat of the blade on both of Merlin’s shoulders, “Rise, sir Merlin, and as a knight of Camelot be true!”
The room had turned silent and every eye was watching the two of them. As Arthur finished, everyone burst into cheers and applause. Gawain rushed over and immediately sank to one knee, looking up to Arthur he began to speak, “I will commit no murder . . .”--I like all this. The oaths, building the idea of Camelot

Merlin slipped away as the knights and nobles crowded around Arthur to witness the birth of a ceremony that would outlive Camelot itself. He went directly to the stables and had the stable boy fetch his perfectly groomed horse. Merlin whispered in the horse’s ear. The horse shook his head. Merlin shrugged as the horse shrank, returning to the form of a mouse. Merlin bent and picked the mouse up and placed it in one of his pockets. From there, Merlin headed to the great tower of Camelot and climbed the circular stairs up to the top. He leaned against the parapet, spread his arms, spoke a few words and leaped into the air as a falcon.--This makes me wonder what was the point of mouse to horse again--appearances?

Merlin’s first instinct was to head south toward Dubris to spy on the Romans and their Gaulish allies but he knew he wouldn't have time for that so, after testing his wings with some swoops and dives and spinning through a cloud or two, he headed northwest. It would take over ten hours of flight to reach the North Sea. From there, Merlin would need to fly East and cast the spell to raise the mists of Avalon in the midst of the North Sea by the light of the moon. After passing through the mists, Merlin would still need to travel several hours more before he would approach the great Aelfish kingdom of Avalon. As tired as he would be, he would need to circle a good portion of the island and approach from the south, hoping the range of Ischilith would cover his approach allowing him to defy Oberon’s decree and once again return to Avalon. From there, he would need to find Aelphaba, the dragon queen.

When approaching Avalon from the south, one is first struck by the barren beaches of soot-covered black basalt and chunks of amber volcanic glass--love the detail. These rise quickly into the crags of the Ischilith mountain range but, rising above everything and dominating the view is mighty Ischilith itself - a volcano as old and active as the the earth, spewing a non-stop stream of volcanic--seems redundant clouds and ash into the air. Occasional pools of cooling lava, belch up clouds of--too many clouds in my opinion sulfurous gases along the plains rising up to it. Merlin broke through the mists with the dawn but tried to fly high to save his lungs from the caustic air, relying on his falcon’s vision to guide him. Even from far away he could see her - Queen Aelphaba was pacing a large flat circular area that rested between two distant mountains. The edges of the clearing were flanked by several large dragons, some appeared to be sleeping while others stood as unmoving as sentinels. She was obviously waiting for him so Merlin didn't bother trying to conceal his approach, choosing instead to fly the most direct route. As Merlin flew into the clearing he came in close to Aelphaba, dropped to the ground and immediately reclaimed his human form.

As tall as Merlin was, Aelphaba stood even taller. She was stunningly beautiful - her long body was dressed in a shimmering gown of different shades of green that clung to her lithe form. Her face was angular with a regal authority, her eyes were deep emerald and her hair raven black. She circled Merlin slowly, drawing her face dangerously close to the back of his neck, “Myyrrddryn, “she spoke his name in Aelfish, slowly and silkily, “what brings you to Avalon, half-child? Surely you wouldn't break Oberon’s law just to chat with little ‘ol me?” Aelphaba’s lips finished the statement with a knowing smile.
“I have need of a dragon, my queen,” Merlin spoke with an easy confidence.
“Do YOU!” Aelphaba’s voice broke suddenly but she immediately recovered and returned to her low, silky tone, “do you, Myyrrddryn half-child, have need of one of my beautiful children? Well, why would I allow that? Tell me, why shouldn't I just have one of my little beauties eat your little--cut the little before beauties man’s body for a snack?” Merlin didn't answer immediately so Aelphaba continued circling him several more time but then came to a sudden stop right in front of him, looked him in the eye and placed one of her long fingers below his chin, “Well? You know Oberon has demanded you dead if found on Avalon?”
“Perhaps you should do as Oberon commands, my queen,”--nice touch Merlin replied, “or, perhaps you should make your own decisions about your beautiful children.”

“Yes, Myyrrddryn, I may have need of a favor myself. Perhaps I will help you after all. Do you suppose if I lent you one of my beauties you would owe me a favor? Yes, I suppose you would, “ she answered herself, “and I suppose I might find I have need of a favor some time soon. A very certain favor and a very certain sometime, yes, Myyrddryn, but first, you must beat me in a challenge of forms.”
Merlin looked up at that. Aelphaba was terribly powerful and, being queen of the dragons made her even more dangerous but she was not known to be very good with forms. Merlin, on the other hand, was famously good with forms, once reputed to have fought even Oberon himself to a standstill in a battle of forms.
“I suppose we shall limit to the standard three forms, then?” he proposed.
“No, Myyrrddryn, just one!” she snapped back.
“Well, that’s not much of a battle of forms, then ”Merlin started.
“and I pick first!” Aelphaba interrupted, immediately growing and changing into a massive green dragon, “I choose the form of a dragon, for dragons never die!”
“With the grace and humility of a queen, of course,” Merlin started.
“Choose your form!” Aelphaba interrupted him again, impatiently.
“Very well, then, I choose the form of a man.” Merlin replied, and didn't change at all.
“No magic, Myyrrddryn! Don’t you try to use magic!” Aelphaba’s voice had grown with her size, booming down at Merlin from dragon-Aelphaba.
“Of course not, my queen. But of course, being a man, I will use a man’s weapon,” and with that, he produced a gleaming sword from within his robe.
The dragon, Aelphaba jumped back, deceptively graceful for her size “You dare bring iron to Avalon?! Oberon will eat your liver!”
“Not iron, my queen,” Merlin replied, flourishing the sword in the sun.
“Ahhhh, mithril. Where did you get a mithril blade I wonder?” the dragon looked at him curiously, “it doesn't matter though, you were a fool to choose a man with a metal stick to battle a dragon.”

The dragon advanced on Merlin who backed away in a circle, holding the sword in front of him. The dragon stopped, opened its mouth wide and let loose a torrent of flame, intending to engulf him and end the battle immediately. As the flame reached the sword, it was all consumed by the blade.
“No Magic, Myyrrddryn! We agreed, no magic!” Aelphaba roared at merlin in petulant rage.
“Not magic, my queen, this blade has tasted dragon’s fire before and hungers for more,” Merlin answered, continuing to hold the blade in front of him.
“No matter. I don’t need dragon’s fire to kill a man,” the dragon pounced toward him and swiped her massive taloned right foot at him. Merlin deftly stepped aside and brought the sword down with a sweeping motion, slicing the dragons foot cleanly off. Aelphaba turned her head to the sky and let out a roar of pained rage, shifting her massive weight to her haunches and shaking her right arm, spattering the ground with heavily flowing blood.

Merlin took the opportunity to head for the edge of the clearing, knowing he was at a severe disadvantage in the open. Aelphaba’s tail swept the earth spasmodically, struck Merlin and knocked him into the air. Merlin landed with a gasp, ten yards away with the wind knocked out of him and released his grip on his sword which continued to fly and landed with a clatter far out of his reach. Aelphaba, regaining control, breathed fire to the ground directly in front of her heating it cherry red and pressed her hand to it to cauterize the wound, clenching a cry of pain between her dragon’s teeth. She turned to see Merlin lying on his back, just regaining his senses and let loose a torrent of dragon’s fire at him. Merlin rolled out of the way, got to his hands and knees and started crawling in the direction of his lost sword, blinking away the tears forming from from the smoke. Aelphaba pushed herself into the air with her powerful haunches and a single flap of her dragon’s wings landing in front of Merlin just as he reached his sword. Forgetting about her wound, Aelphaba shifted her weight forward to swoop her powerful jaws in for the kill but as the weight hit her missing foot she stumbled and cried out in pain. Merlin dove in a somersault and came up with his sword. He twisted on his right foot, swung the sword in an arc and finished with the point right at Aelphaba’s neck.

“Oh very well, already, you win!” Aelphaba cried as she shrunk back down to her normal form. She was holding her right hand tenderly in her left. It had reformed but it looked pinkish and painful. “Come, Myyrrddryn, let’s fetch you a dragon. I have the perfect one in mind, an ancient red, older and meaner than me. You can have her for one month--loved the fight, fae usually say things like one month and one day, just options but I am warning you, Myyrrddryn, don’t let her taste human flesh. She hasn't tasted man in millennia and once she remembers the taste I don’t think she’ll ever want to give it up again.”

As Merlin and Aelphaba discussed the terms of their deal, back in Dubris, an army of more than thirty thousand Romans and Gauls broke camp and started the march toward Camelot.

Very nice. I'm looking forward to the next chapter.

Best,

Todd

Thanks, as always for your comments Todd. It is pleasing that most of them are quick fixes. I definitely struggled with this chapter, for some reason drawing to a blank and having to force the words several times so to me it felt rushed.

The largest concern you address is the horse. Originally I forgot about the horse, but when I re-read the previous chapter I realized it would be out of character for Merlin to forget his obligations like that so I had Merlin ride the horse back to the crystal caves and then turn into a falcon which just became too burdensome and lost the image of Merlin turning into a falcon at the top of the towers. Now, of course, I hate it when stories explain things, but I will explain now. For a wizard like Merlin, a simple transformation spell on the mouse would take a "slight" bit of magic and of course riding a horse takes none. A self transformation takes quite a bit more and holding the form (a form tends to try to revert to its natural state. With the mouse this is irrelevant as a mouse lacks the ability to revert but a wizard has the power so he must constantly fight the reversion) plus flying forty leagues takes quite a bit more power. Merlin knew he would need to conserve power. Now if he could have ridden a horse to Avalon he might have considered it. Of course there was the time factor as well. Better to keep him as a mouse, I have a feeling Merlin may need a horse later . . .

[Todd]

I agree that Merlin would keep his obligations. I just wondered why he didn't fly initially. I get it now. You could probably have Merlin consider riding and decide that the need is too pressing despite the use of more power.

It could fit in I think fairly simply.

Explaining prose is never as bad as explaining a poem--don't worry.

[milo]

I agree that Merlin would keep his obligations. I just wondered why he didn't fly initially. I get it now. You could probably have Merlin consider riding and decide that the need is too pressing despite the use of more power.

It could fit in I think fairly simply.

Explaining prose is never as bad as explaining a poem--don't worry.

An elegant solution that I am going to implement post haste.

[ellajam]

Hi, milo, I enjoyed this. I especially loved how your brought life into Aelphaba, I could hear her.

I had no problem with the mouse/horse bit, I liked it, I was even waiting for him to check his pocket when he went from falcon to man, feeling it squiggle in there.

Thanks again for posting these.
Typo:That should buy us enough times (time) to make our decision at the spring games tournament

[milo]

Hi, milo, I enjoyed this. I especially loved how your brought life into Aelphaba, I could hear her.

I had no problem with the mouse/horse bit, I liked it, I was even waiting for him to check his pocket when he went from falcon to man, feeling it squiggle in there.

Thanks again for posting these.
Typo:That should buy us enough times (time) to make our decision at the spring games tournament

Hey Ella! I am glad you read and enjoyed this. I will correct the typo. I actually had that same thought of merlin checking his pocket and now that you mentioned it I will shamelessly add that in as well. I think it makes a good reminder for the reader, especially if merlin ends up using it again . . .

[ChristopherSea]

Happy New Year milo! I thought that I would try to catch up with your story in 2014. You have really picked up the action in Chapter 4. Here are some possible edits and corrections:

After the Romans left, the royal hall was silent. Everyone looked over to Arthur and then Merlin but not a single word was spoken. The unnatural silence continued for what seemed an impossible amount of time until finally Gawain jumped up from his chair, slammed his battle-axe on the table so hard a chip flew up from the otherwise flawless surface and let out a shout,”AAAAAAaaaaaahh!!! IF I EVER SEE THAT PILE OF ARROGANT ROMAN HORSE TURDS AGAIN I AM GOING TO BEND HIM OVER AND JAM THIS AXE !”

With the tension broken, the room erupted in laughter and conversation. After a bit, the noise settled down and the tone sobered again. King Ban turned to Arthur, “Do you think the emperor intends to overthrow Camelot?”
Before Arthur could answer, King Bors broke in, “Should I start assembling my troops? Arthur, I would like to send support for Camelot, but I am not sure, maybe I should be fortifying my own kingdom?”
Sir Kay followed closely, “Surely Rome wouldn't attack one of their own provinces without provocation.”
The conversation continued along this fashion for a bit and Arthur allowed it, knowing they needed to speak their minds before they would calm down.
Finally, he stood and spoke, “Clearly, Gaius sent his seneschal hoping to provoke us. He failed. To attack a Roman province without provocation would be illegal so we have left him no option but to slink back to Rome as a failure.” With that, he looked to Merlin who nodded silently in agreement, hands folded in front of him. Arthur continued, “Now for the truage, we will see. Next month, I will need to send a diplomatic party to Rome. Sirs Ban and Bors seem the perfect selection to bargain on behalf of Camelot and all of Britannia. In the mean time, we will continue to train arms. It will be winter shortly after that and the channel will be all but impassable. That should buy us enough to make our decision at the spring games tournament .”

Nods and murmurs of agreement went around the table knights and nobles broke off into conversation among themselves. Arthur and Merlin moved away from the table to where they couldn't be overheard, “What do you think, old friend? I cannot imagine assembling an army of that size and not using it.”
Merlin pressed his lips together in thought for a moment before speaking, “I suppose you are right. He may have been overconfident in his ability to provoke us so we might have bought ourselves a bit of time. Britannia is an outer province. Rome hasn't paid her much attention for some time. As long as there is peace in Rome, Glycerius will look to shore up Rome’s interests. I have a plan, Arthur, but I need to my way now, time is scarce.”
Arthur looked downcast, “but Merlin, you just got here! There is much we need to discuss. I have kings from all of Britannia looking to Camelot , what should I do with them?”
“You will build the greatest assemblage of knights and valor in the history of man, Arthur.” Merlin swept his arm over the room, “fill this table with the best and the bravest and rule Camelot together as one. Give each a voice. Make them swear an oath - not to you, but to Camelot, to the principles of justice and nobility!”
Arthur felt a shiver his spine as , for the briefest moment, he could see the table and the hall packed full with knights of Camelot, “give me an oath, Merlin. Give me an oath of Camelot and I will make it so!”
Merlin looked to Arthur, then bent to one knee, “I will commit no murder, but only use my sword against enemies of Camelot in fair combat. I will never consider treason against my king or my brothers of the round table. I will seek first to help any that have need and always put the cause of good before the cause that is myself. I will show mercy for mercy’s sake and I will represent both Camelot and King in all my actions until even my enemies look upon me with for they will know that I am Camelot as Camelot is me.”
Arthur drew his sword and the flat of the blade on both of Merlin’s shoulders, “Rise, Merlin, and as a knight of Camelot be true!”
The room had turned silent every eye was watching the two of them. As Arthur finished, everyone burst into cheers and applause. Gawain rushed over and immediately sank to one knee, looking up to Arthur he began to , “I will commit no murder . . .”

Merlin slipped away as the knights and nobles crowded around Arthur to witness the birth of a ceremony that would outlive Camelot itself. He went directly to the stables and had the stable boy fetch his groomed horse. Merlin whispered in the ear. The horse shook his head. Merlin considered for a moment - it would be far easier to return to the crystal caves and plan his next move from there but things seemed to be escalating far more quickly than he anticipated. As much as he hated to waste the power, knowing of his impending confrontation with Aelphaba, the only option was to fly straight through to Avalon. Merlin clucked several times and shrugged as the horse shrank, returning to the form of a mouse. He bent and picked the mouse up and placed it in one of his pockets. From there, Merlin headed to the great tower of Camelot and climbed the circular stairs up to the top. He leaned against the parapet, spread his arms, spoke a few words and leaped into the air as a falcon.

Merlin’s first instinct was to head south toward Dubris to spy on the Romans and their Gaulish allies but he knew he wouldn't have time for that<.> testing his wings with some swoops and dives and through a cloud or two, he headed northwest. It would take over ten hours of flight to reach the North Sea. From there, Merlin would need to fly East and cast the spell to raise the mists of Avalon in the of the North Sea by the light of the moon. After passing through the mists, Merlin would still need to travel several hours more before he would approach the great Aelfish kingdom of Avalon. As tired as he would be, he would need to circle a good portion of the island and approach from the south, hoping the range of Ischilith would cover his approach allowing him to defy Oberon’s decree and once again return to Avalon. From there, he would need to find Aelphaba, the dragon queen.

When approaching Avalon from the south, one is first struck by the barren beaches of soot-covered black basalt and chunks of amber volcanic glass. These rise quickly into the crags of the Ischilith mountain range but, rising above everything and dominating the view is mighty Ischilith itself - a volcano as old and active as the the earth, spewing a non-stop stream of volcanic clouds and ash into the air. Occasional pools of cooling lava, belch up clouds of sulfurous gases along the plains rising up to it.

[Love this rich geological narrative!]

Merlin broke through the mists with the dawn but tried to fly high to save his lungs from the air, relying on his falcon’s vision to guide him. Even from far away he could see her - Queen Aelphaba was pacing a that rested between two distant mountains. The edges of the clearing were flanked by several large dragons, some appeared to be sleeping while others stood as unmoving as sentinels. She was obviously waiting for him so Merlin didn't bother trying to conceal his approach, choosing instead to fly the most direct route. As Merlin flew into the clearing he came in close to Aelphaba, dropped to the ground and immediately reclaimed his human form.

As tall as Merlin was, Aelphaba stood even taller. She was stunningly beautiful - her long body was dressed in a shimmering gown of different shades of green that clung to her form [these suggestions may make her more dragon-like]. Her face was angular with a regal authority, her eyes were deep emerald and her hair raven black. She circled Merlin slowly, drawing her face dangerously close to the back of his neck, “Myyrrddryn, “she spoke his name in Aelfish, slowly and silkily, “what brings you to Avalon, half-child? Surely you wouldn't break Oberon’s law just to chat with little ‘ol me?” Aelphaba’s lips finished the statement with a knowing smile.
“I have need of a dragon, my queen,” Merlin spoke with an easy confidence.
“Do YOU!” Aelphaba’s voice broke suddenly but she immediately recovered and returned to her low, silky tone, “do you, Myyrrddryn half-child, have need of one of my beautiful children? Well, why would I allow that? Tell me, why shouldn't I just have one of my little beauties eat your little body for a snack?” Merlin didn't answer immediately so

[just a general comment milo: you may be using ‘so’ perhaps too often as a conjunction (close to six-times this chapter)]

Aelphaba continued circling him several more time but then came to a sudden stop right in front of him, looked him in the eye and placed one of her long fingers below his chin, “Well? You know Oberon has demanded if found on Avalon?”
“Perhaps you should do as Oberon commands, my queen,” Merlin replied, “or, perhaps you should make your own decisions about your beautiful children.”

“Yes, Myyrrddryn, I may have need of a favor myself. Perhaps I will help you after all. Do you suppose if I lent you one of my beauties you would owe me a favor? Yes, I suppose you would, “ she answered herself, “and I suppose I might find I have need of a favor some time soon. A very certain favor and a very certain sometime, yes, Myyrddryn, but first, you must beat me in a challenge of forms.”
Merlin looked up at that. Aelphaba was terribly powerful and, being queen of the dragons made her even more dangerous but she was not known to be very good with forms. Merlin, on the other hand, was famously good with forms, once rumoured to have even Oberon himself to a in a battle of forms.
“I suppose we shall limit to the standard three forms, then?” he proposed.
“No, Myyrrddryn, just one!” she snapped back.
“Well, that’s not much of a battle of forms, then ”Merlin started.
“and I pick first!” Aelphaba interrupted, immediately growing and changing into a massive green dragon, “I choose the form of a dragon, for dragons never die!”
“With the grace and humility of a queen, of course,” Merlin started.
“Choose your form!” Aelphaba interrupted him again, impatiently.
“Very well, then, I choose the form of a man.” Merlin replied, and didn't change at all.
“No magic, Myyrrddryn! Don’t you try to use magic!” Aelphaba’s voice had grown with her size, booming down at Merlin from dragon-Aelphaba.
“Of course not, my queen. But of course, being a man, I will use a man’s weapon,” and with that, he produced a gleaming sword from within his robe.
The dragon, Aelphaba jumped back, deceptively graceful for her size “You dare bring iron to Avalon?! Oberon will eat your liver!”
“Not iron, my queen,” Merlin replied, flourishing the sword in the sun.
“Ahhhh, mithril. Where did you get a mithril blade I wonder?” the dragon looked at him curiously, “it doesn't matter though, you were a fool to choose a man with a metal stick to battle a dragon.”

The dragon advanced on Merlin who backed away in a circle, holding the sword in front of him. The dragon stopped, opened its mouth wide and let loose a torrent of flame, intending to engulf him and end the battle immediately. As the flame reached the sword, it was all consumed by the blade.
“No Magic, Myyrrddryn! We agreed, no magic!” Aelphaba roared at in petulant rage.
“Not magic, my queen, this blade has tasted dragon’s fire before and hungers for more,” Merlin answered, continuing to hold the blade in front of him.
“No matter. I don’t need dragon’s fire to kill a man,” the dragon pounced toward him and swiped her massive taloned right foot at him. Merlin deftly stepped aside and brought the sword down with a sweeping motion, slicing the dragons foot cleanly off. Aelphaba turned her head to the sky and let out a roar of pained rage, shifting her massive weight to her haunches and shaking her right , .

Merlin took the opportunity to head for the edge of the clearing, knowing he was at a severe disadvantage in the open. Aelphaba’s tail swept the earth spasmodically, struck Merlin and knocked him into the air. Merlin landed with a gasp, ten yards away with the wind knocked out of him and released his grip on his sword which continued to fly and landed with a clatter far out of his reach. Aelphaba, regaining control, breathed fire to the ground directly in front of her heating it cherry red and pressed her hand to it to cauterize the wound, clenching a cry of pain between her dragon’s teeth. She turned to see Merlin lying on his back, just regaining his senses and let loose a torrent of dragon’s fire at him. Merlin rolled out of the way, got to his hands and knees and started crawling in the direction of his lost sword, blinking away the tears forming from the smoke. Aelphaba pushed herself into the air with her powerful haunches and a single flap of her dragon’s wings landing in front of Merlin just as he reached his sword. Forgetting about her wound, Aelphaba shifted her weight forward to her powerful jaws in for the kill but as the weight hit her missing foot she stumbled and cried out in pain. Merlin dove in a somersault and came up with his sword. He twisted on his right foot, swung the sword in an arc and finished with the point right at Aelphaba’s neck.

“Oh very well, already, you win!” Aelphaba cried as she shrunk back down to her normal form. She was holding her right hand tenderly in her left. It had reformed but it looked pinkish and painful. “Come, Myyrrddryn, let’s fetch you a dragon. I have the perfect one in mind, an ancient red, older and meaner than me. You can have her for one month and one day but I am warning you, Myyrrddryn, don’t let her taste human flesh. She hasn't tasted in millennia and once she remembers the taste I don’t think she’ll ever want to give it up again.”

[milo, it seems that some sort of reply or action by Merlin is missing after this grand duel. Perhaps he could also pull his mouse/steed out of his pocket umarred. It could add some amusing relief as well]

As Merlin and Aelphaba discussed the terms of their deal, back in Dubris, an army of more than thirty thousand Romans and Gauls broke camp and started the march toward Camelot.

That sparring match was so enthralling and convincing that I assumed it was to the death at first! Nice work, cheers/Chris

[ellajam]

Aw, Chris, for a moment I thought we had a new chapter, faked me out. I enjoyed rereading this one anyway.

[ChristopherSea]

Aw, Chris, for a moment I thought we had a new chapter, faked me out. I enjoyed rereading this one anyway.

Sorry, I am way behind and it takes hours to really review a chapter!

[milo]

Happy New Year milo! I thought that I would try to catch up with your story in 2014. You have really picked up the action in Chapter 4. Here are some possible edits and corrections:

After the Romans left, the royal hall was silent. Everyone looked over to Arthur and then Merlin but not a single word was spoken. The unnatural silence continued for what seemed an impossible amount of time until finally Gawain jumped up from his chair, slammed his battle-axe on the table so hard a chip flew up from the otherwise flawless surface and let out a shout,”AAAAAAaaaaaahh!!! IF I EVER SEE THAT PILE OF ARROGANT ROMAN HORSE TURDS AGAIN I AM GOING TO BEND HIM OVER AND JAM THIS AXE !”

With the tension broken, the room erupted in laughter and conversation. After a bit, the noise settled down and the tone sobered again. King Ban turned to Arthur, “Do you think the emperor intends to overthrow Camelot?”
Before Arthur could answer, King Bors broke in, “Should I start assembling my troops? Arthur, I would like to send support for Camelot, but I am not sure, maybe I should be fortifying my own kingdom?”
Sir Kay followed closely, “Surely Rome wouldn't attack one of their own provinces without provocation.”
The conversation continued along this fashion for a bit and Arthur allowed it, knowing they needed to speak their minds before they would calm down.
Finally, he stood and spoke, “Clearly, Gaius sent his seneschal hoping to provoke us. He failed. To attack a Roman province without provocation would be illegal so we have left him no option but to slink back to Rome as a failure.” With that, he looked to Merlin who nodded silently in agreement, hands folded in front of him. Arthur continued, “Now for the truage, we will see. Next month, I will need to send a diplomatic party to Rome. Sirs Ban and Bors seem the perfect selection to bargain on behalf of Camelot and all of Britannia. In the mean time, we will continue to train arms. It will be winter shortly after that and the channel will be all but impassable. That should buy us enough to make our decision at the spring games tournament .”

Nods and murmurs of agreement went around the table knights and nobles broke off into conversation among themselves. Arthur and Merlin moved away from the table to where they couldn't be overheard, “What do you think, old friend? I cannot imagine assembling an army of that size and not using it.”
Merlin pressed his lips together in thought for a moment before speaking, “I suppose you are right. He may have been overconfident in his ability to provoke us so we might have bought ourselves a bit of time. Britannia is an outer province. Rome hasn't paid her much attention for some time. As long as there is peace in Rome, Glycerius will look to shore up Rome’s interests. I have a plan, Arthur, but I need to my way now, time is scarce.”
Arthur looked downcast, “but Merlin, you just got here! There is much we need to discuss. I have kings from all of Britannia looking to Camelot , what should I do with them?”
“You will build the greatest assemblage of knights and valor in the history of man, Arthur.” Merlin swept his arm over the room, “fill this table with the best and the bravest and rule Camelot together as one. Give each a voice. Make them swear an oath - not to you, but to Camelot, to the principles of justice and nobility!”
Arthur felt a shiver his spine as , for the briefest moment, he could see the table and the hall packed full with knights of Camelot, “give me an oath, Merlin. Give me an oath of Camelot and I will make it so!”
Merlin looked to Arthur, then bent to one knee, “I will commit no murder, but only use my sword against enemies of Camelot in fair combat. I will never consider treason against my king or my brothers of the round table. I will seek first to help any that have need and always put the cause of good before the cause that is myself. I will show mercy for mercy’s sake and I will represent both Camelot and King in all my actions until even my enemies look upon me with for they will know that I am Camelot as Camelot is me.”
Arthur drew his sword and the flat of the blade on both of Merlin’s shoulders, “Rise, Merlin, and as a knight of Camelot be true!”
The room had turned silent every eye was watching the two of them. As Arthur finished, everyone burst into cheers and applause. Gawain rushed over and immediately sank to one knee, looking up to Arthur he began to , “I will commit no murder . . .”

Merlin slipped away as the knights and nobles crowded around Arthur to witness the birth of a ceremony that would outlive Camelot itself. He went directly to the stables and had the stable boy fetch his groomed horse. Merlin whispered in the ear. The horse shook his head. Merlin considered for a moment - it would be far easier to return to the crystal caves and plan his next move from there but things seemed to be escalating far more quickly than he anticipated. As much as he hated to waste the power, knowing of his impending confrontation with Aelphaba, the only option was to fly straight through to Avalon. Merlin clucked several times and shrugged as the horse shrank, returning to the form of a mouse. He bent and picked the mouse up and placed it in one of his pockets. From there, Merlin headed to the great tower of Camelot and climbed the circular stairs up to the top. He leaned against the parapet, spread his arms, spoke a few words and leaped into the air as a falcon.

Merlin’s first instinct was to head south toward Dubris to spy on the Romans and their Gaulish allies but he knew he wouldn't have time for that<.> testing his wings with some swoops and dives and through a cloud or two, he headed northwest. It would take over ten hours of flight to reach the North Sea. From there, Merlin would need to fly East and cast the spell to raise the mists of Avalon in the of the North Sea by the light of the moon. After passing through the mists, Merlin would still need to travel several hours more before he would approach the great Aelfish kingdom of Avalon. As tired as he would be, he would need to circle a good portion of the island and approach from the south, hoping the range of Ischilith would cover his approach allowing him to defy Oberon’s decree and once again return to Avalon. From there, he would need to find Aelphaba, the dragon queen.

When approaching Avalon from the south, one is first struck by the barren beaches of soot-covered black basalt and chunks of amber volcanic glass. These rise quickly into the crags of the Ischilith mountain range but, rising above everything and dominating the view is mighty Ischilith itself - a volcano as old and active as the the earth, spewing a non-stop stream of volcanic clouds and ash into the air. Occasional pools of cooling lava, belch up clouds of sulfurous gases along the plains rising up to it.

[Love this rich geological narrative!]

Merlin broke through the mists with the dawn but tried to fly high to save his lungs from the air, relying on his falcon’s vision to guide him. Even from far away he could see her - Queen Aelphaba was pacing a that rested between two distant mountains. The edges of the clearing were flanked by several large dragons, some appeared to be sleeping while others stood as unmoving as sentinels. She was obviously waiting for him so Merlin didn't bother trying to conceal his approach, choosing instead to fly the most direct route. As Merlin flew into the clearing he came in close to Aelphaba, dropped to the ground and immediately reclaimed his human form.

As tall as Merlin was, Aelphaba stood even taller. She was stunningly beautiful - her long body was dressed in a shimmering gown of different shades of green that clung to her form [these suggestions may make her more dragon-like]. Her face was angular with a regal authority, her eyes were deep emerald and her hair raven black. She circled Merlin slowly, drawing her face dangerously close to the back of his neck, “Myyrrddryn, “she spoke his name in Aelfish, slowly and silkily, “what brings you to Avalon, half-child? Surely you wouldn't break Oberon’s law just to chat with little ‘ol me?” Aelphaba’s lips finished the statement with a knowing smile.
“I have need of a dragon, my queen,” Merlin spoke with an easy confidence.
“Do YOU!” Aelphaba’s voice broke suddenly but she immediately recovered and returned to her low, silky tone, “do you, Myyrrddryn half-child, have need of one of my beautiful children? Well, why would I allow that? Tell me, why shouldn't I just have one of my little beauties eat your little body for a snack?” Merlin didn't answer immediately so

[just a general comment milo: you may be using ‘so’ perhaps too often as a conjunction (close to six-times this chapter)]

Aelphaba continued circling him several more time but then came to a sudden stop right in front of him, looked him in the eye and placed one of her long fingers below his chin, “Well? You know Oberon has demanded if found on Avalon?”
“Perhaps you should do as Oberon commands, my queen,” Merlin replied, “or, perhaps you should make your own decisions about your beautiful children.”

“Yes, Myyrrddryn, I may have need of a favor myself. Perhaps I will help you after all. Do you suppose if I lent you one of my beauties you would owe me a favor? Yes, I suppose you would, “ she answered herself, “and I suppose I might find I have need of a favor some time soon. A very certain favor and a very certain sometime, yes, Myyrddryn, but first, you must beat me in a challenge of forms.”
Merlin looked up at that. Aelphaba was terribly powerful and, being queen of the dragons made her even more dangerous but she was not known to be very good with forms. Merlin, on the other hand, was famously good with forms, once rumoured to have even Oberon himself to a in a battle of forms.
“I suppose we shall limit to the standard three forms, then?” he proposed.
“No, Myyrrddryn, just one!” she snapped back.
“Well, that’s not much of a battle of forms, then ”Merlin started.
“and I pick first!” Aelphaba interrupted, immediately growing and changing into a massive green dragon, “I choose the form of a dragon, for dragons never die!”
“With the grace and humility of a queen, of course,” Merlin started.
“Choose your form!” Aelphaba interrupted him again, impatiently.
“Very well, then, I choose the form of a man.” Merlin replied, and didn't change at all.
“No magic, Myyrrddryn! Don’t you try to use magic!” Aelphaba’s voice had grown with her size, booming down at Merlin from dragon-Aelphaba.
“Of course not, my queen. But of course, being a man, I will use a man’s weapon,” and with that, he produced a gleaming sword from within his robe.
The dragon, Aelphaba jumped back, deceptively graceful for her size “You dare bring iron to Avalon?! Oberon will eat your liver!”
“Not iron, my queen,” Merlin replied, flourishing the sword in the sun.
“Ahhhh, mithril. Where did you get a mithril blade I wonder?” the dragon looked at him curiously, “it doesn't matter though, you were a fool to choose a man with a metal stick to battle a dragon.”

The dragon advanced on Merlin who backed away in a circle, holding the sword in front of him. The dragon stopped, opened its mouth wide and let loose a torrent of flame, intending to engulf him and end the battle immediately. As the flame reached the sword, it was all consumed by the blade.
“No Magic, Myyrrddryn! We agreed, no magic!” Aelphaba roared at in petulant rage.
“Not magic, my queen, this blade has tasted dragon’s fire before and hungers for more,” Merlin answered, continuing to hold the blade in front of him.
“No matter. I don’t need dragon’s fire to kill a man,” the dragon pounced toward him and swiped her massive taloned right foot at him. Merlin deftly stepped aside and brought the sword down with a sweeping motion, slicing the dragons foot cleanly off. Aelphaba turned her head to the sky and let out a roar of pained rage, shifting her massive weight to her haunches and shaking her right , .

Merlin took the opportunity to head for the edge of the clearing, knowing he was at a severe disadvantage in the open. Aelphaba’s tail swept the earth spasmodically, struck Merlin and knocked him into the air. Merlin landed with a gasp, ten yards away with the wind knocked out of him and released his grip on his sword which continued to fly and landed with a clatter far out of his reach. Aelphaba, regaining control, breathed fire to the ground directly in front of her heating it cherry red and pressed her hand to it to cauterize the wound, clenching a cry of pain between her dragon’s teeth. She turned to see Merlin lying on his back, just regaining his senses and let loose a torrent of dragon’s fire at him. Merlin rolled out of the way, got to his hands and knees and started crawling in the direction of his lost sword, blinking away the tears forming from the smoke. Aelphaba pushed herself into the air with her powerful haunches and a single flap of her dragon’s wings landing in front of Merlin just as he reached his sword. Forgetting about her wound, Aelphaba shifted her weight forward to her powerful jaws in for the kill but as the weight hit her missing foot she stumbled and cried out in pain. Merlin dove in a somersault and came up with his sword. He twisted on his right foot, swung the sword in an arc and finished with the point right at Aelphaba’s neck.

“Oh very well, already, you win!” Aelphaba cried as she shrunk back down to her normal form. She was holding her right hand tenderly in her left. It had reformed but it looked pinkish and painful. “Come, Myyrrddryn, let’s fetch you a dragon. I have the perfect one in mind, an ancient red, older and meaner than me. You can have her for one month and one day but I am warning you, Myyrrddryn, don’t let her taste human flesh. She hasn't tasted in millennia and once she remembers the taste I don’t think she’ll ever want to give it up again.”

[milo, it seems that some sort of reply or action by Merlin is missing after this grand duel. Perhaps he could also pull his mouse/steed out of his pocket umarred. It could add some amusing relief as well]

As Merlin and Aelphaba discussed the terms of their deal, back in Dubris, an army of more than thirty thousand Romans and Gauls broke camp and started the march toward Camelot.

That sparring match was so enthralling and convincing that I assumed it was to the death at first! Nice work, cheers/Chris

Thanks for the work, Chris. I am most likely to in-line edit most of the changes.

I stepped away from this for a bit as unforseen circumstances left me unable to enter it but i hope to return to it pretty soon.

[ChristopherSea]

My pleasure milo. I am enjoying your epic tale!