Merlin One-Shots

Distant Battle Cry

GUESS WHO'S BACKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!! Omg, it's been so long, but alas! I've come back bearing gifts! I'm going to try and post chapters over the summer since I finally got my motivation back. My first year of high school was a blast, even with the COVID restrictions. This chapter, it's part 2 to "A Destiny of War". Well, I won't keep you much longer with my rants. I hope you enjoy the chapter and have a wonderful day/night, love ya!!!

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King Arthur stood on the balcony that connected to his chambers, gazing into the early morning sky. So early that the heavens twinkled while the people and forest alike have yet to rise and work. He cherished these mornings, for it was the only time he was free from the woes of his kingdom's demands. The only time he can think for himself, and not the Court or Advisors or even the Round Table telling him what to think. Some days it's not so bad, the days where he makes a call and knows he did something right. Other days, however, it's suffocating. No chance to process an issue when he's presented with another and another.

Like all mornings, his thoughts eventually drifted to magic, and inevitably, Merlin. Although it was countless moons ago, the memory of that evening never lost detail, lost emotion. The day he banished the sorcerer. No. What was the word Merlin and others used? Oh, right - warlock.

A person who was born with magic; a person who did not choose to learn, but was given to by the heavens.

There are so many things Arthur wanted to change about the day he exiled Merlin. So many things he wishes he could change now. He wished he could travel to the druids and build a relationship with their people. To mend the broken trust and peace that his father - and himself - have brought upon the lands. But after that day...

Arthur sighed, rubbing his temples. What good was it? The day he banished Merlin was the day his soul split in two before falling into the black abyss of apathy and rage. The pit that once caged his golden heart then held a dark fire that fueled him. He had brought the iron first of Camalot down, sending legions of soldiers to hunt the magical down. Sorcerer, creature, priestess, he wanted to cut them all down.

But of course, those who are blinded by their emotions act foolishly. Predictable. Arthur had assembled his men and set forth, only for the Great Dragon to bring forth the rage of the heavens and sweep them off their feet like they were twigs in a hurricane. Upon the beast, Arthur saw him. Merlin. It seemed even banishment wouldn't stop the fellow from halting the attacks on his kindred. Looking back at it, Arthur realizes Merlin showed him mercy. He commanded the most powerful beast in existence and had every right to assassinate Arthur, yet he didn't. He didn't even slaughter his men. Just scattered and injured, but no casualties. Arthur believes it was all just a distraction. After that night, it seemed all traces of magic vanished from Camalot and the surrounding kingdoms. Druid camps were abandoned, and magical beasts disappeared. The only magical things left behind were ruins of the Old Religion, and even those seemed less...mystic.

Arthur, his heart still raw from everything, spent half of his kingdom's resources trying to find them, but after so many years began to give up. Instead, he had to remember that he was still a King with a plethora of citizens to govern over.

He lost so much to his blindness. Everything seemed more difficult to do, and there was no one to help him. Without Merlin, nobody understood him and what he needed. Guinevere, bless her soul, tried her hardest, but even she couldn't fill the spark that Merlin gave him. That annoying spark that didn't care about his rank in society, but made sure Arthur didn't lose his head to his stupidity. Merlin's banishment didn't leave him without one friend. It left him with nothing but his wife, and later, son. Gwaine and Percival vanished soon after Merlin did, and Leon never quite loosened up afterward. Arthur couldn't blame them. How could he? Merlin was the one who held their friendships together, not Arthur. Arthur knew Gwaine was only loyal to him for Merlin, and Percival trusted Gwaine's judgment more than any other.