Merlin and the Observatory

Through His Eyes

Why hello there. Thank you for dropping by! I will say that this is my first fanfic out of many (hopefully!) so let's just see how this goes. I'm a sucker for Merthur and pretty much all things a n g s t but we'll get to that later.

I wanna thank @Simply_Problematic for giving me the balls to finally post something, and for making my cover. Please go and check out her awesome work. For now though, let's get bloody started.

The old warlock had seen many captivating things in his time. Buildings that reached beyond the clouds, incredible displays of art and human brilliance, and, of course, legendary creatures of the older age that have long gone. But even Merlin had to admit that the place he had made for himself along the side of The Lake of Avalon was one of the more beautiful things.

He didn't even refer to it as his "home"; that title belongs to Camelot and Camelot alone. No, it was more of a thing that he just...did. Or just renovated. The place he spent most of his time in modern-day England.

During the early 1900s, those living near The Lake of Avalon at the time couldn't help but notice the unusual number of stars and constellations that could be seen directly above the lake. It was almost...magical. Naturally, astronomers flogged to the area and commissioned for an observatory to be built to expand their knowledge of the world beyond our own. When Merlin first heard of this idea, he thought it silly. Merlin could see all of what the sky could give him perfectly fine from where ever he was, no big telescope necessary. At least, if he sat on the tallest tree he could find. To be honest, he just didn't want dollop-headed scientists to get in his way when Arthur returned. Merlin knew Arthur was going to be incredibly confused about the world over 1,000 years later; he didn't need curious scientists bombarding them.

Merlin watched each day pass as the observatory took shape. Until it was finally completed 7 months after permission was granted. Merlin was ever so glad Arthur didn't come back during the time the builders were there. He didn't want to have to wipe that many memories.

Of course, war broke out twice for England in the space of 30 years. Resulting in the observatory being re-purposed as a bunker of some sort for the war effort. Merlin didn't really know and just continued his job in waiting for Arthur. He was convinced his King would come back during the Second World War; Albion needed him after all. But he didn't. So, Merlin kept waiting.

Once the wars were over, authorities decommissioned Avalon Lake's Observatory and it was subsequently abandoned in the late 1940s. Only a few years after would Merlin decide he wanted to actually go inside and see what all the fuss was about back in the day when it was first built.

He stepped inside through the rotted door and within only 10 seconds of being there, broke a pot. A pot? "Of all things." he had muttered to himself, staring at the smashed brown china on the floor. Then a certain Prince and his smashing of a pot once upon a time came to mind. Merlin smiled fondly at the memory. He walked further into the building and was surprised at how much bigger it was on the inside. Three floors high and one unofficial floor right at the top with no roof. Built for those exceptionally clear nights for astrologers to see the heavens with no aid of a telescope. Merlin fell in love with the building.

He quickly got to work.

By 2012, Merlin classed his observatory to be at its prime. He had renovated each floor to his own style, cleaned and polished the furniture (with magic, of course) and took a few trips to a shop called...IKEA? He didn't really know. What he did know was that they sold gorgeous golden lights that would go well with a particular floor. Even if they were powered by magic and not by battery.

The first floor was what many would call a general living space. Granted, it was the floor that Merlin spent the least time on. Along with kitchen facilities, it had a lounge space with a blue corner settee, a television and a few coffee tables. A window, that might as well have been the wall, that gave Merlin a view that he had grown so familiar with. The glistening waters of Avalon that he had waited by for centuries. Merlin thought he would be waiting for centuries more, giving his desire to renovate the observatory a further push.

It was the second floor that was quite possibly Merlin's favourite. Definitely not because this was where the golden lights came in. It was a beautiful, serene area filled with old artifacts that Merlin had collected over the centuries and stored in his old hut. Old goblets, jewellery with faded gems, and many other ancient items laced the oak tables in the room. If not on the tables, on any shelf with free space. He even had a dusty record player and gramophone in one corner. But the main spectacle of this floor was without a doubt, the seemingly endless collection of books and documents painted in golden light.

Merlin had a section for everything. Spellbooks, works of early fiction, Greek mythology, diagrams of constellations, music sheets, and copies of scripts from the Shakespearean era. All of which well-loved, but not faded. Like how every book should feel. You name it, Merlin had it. But his most precious part of his library was that of the texts of Arthurian Legend. He kept that part of the floor in the best condition he could maintain. Most books published with even a hint of the legend of King Arthur in its words were kept by Merlin and placed there once he moved in. Whilst the display was in flawless condition, these particular books were not. Rather, Merlin had scribbled all over bits that were wrong in each book. Such phrases like: "WRONG!" "NOT EVEN CLOSE" "I ACTUALLY SAVED HIM THAT TIME" "NO, HE WAS A COMPLETE CLOTPOLE" "I DID THAT!" were written in red pencil in each account of Arthurian Legend. Immature? Maybe. Entertaining? Absolutely.

Wax candles hung from black candle holders from the ceiling, overgrown flowers dangled from the tops of shelves and from the high windows. Wind chimes crashed softy together all day, the smell in the air was refreshing yet held a timeless simplicity. The whole floor really was an unimaginable beauty, so it's understandable why Merlin claimed this as his sleeping chambers. A simple bed in perfect view of the entire floor was all he needed.

That wasn't even the last floor.

Whilst Merlin adored the Library of Avalon (as he dubbed it), he knew at the time when he moved in that he'd have to incorporate the gaping telescope on the third floor of the observatory somehow. In one of his many efforts to fit in with modern-day humans, he decided to see what all the fuss was about in staring at the night sky. But this time, with proper equipment.

Basically, he became an astronomer himself. Merlin documented new stars and constellations that he was sure hadn't been discovered yet. With each new cosmic sighting, Merlin would paint it on the ceiling above him, adjacent to where he saw it in the sky. He even added some findings from old astrology onto his artwork. By the 1990s, the ceiling had been replaced by waves of golden stars, depictions of the planets and a plethora of constellations like no other. And Merlin just kept enhancing it with more over the next few decades. The background of the ceiling and the walls of the entire third floor were painted dark blue so Merlin could feel immersed in space.

The walls of this floor held maps, worn and ripped, of Old Albion and other places across the world that Merlin found the most fascinating. As well as his own made charts of the inky blackness above.

Merlin had deliberately left a part of one wall unoccupied for a specific reason. If Arthur ever came...when Arthur came back, he wanted his help in painting a picture of Camelot. Merlin had known Camelot well, but Arthur had lived there during his childhood and had some of his best times there. It was his home. Like how it was Merlin's. So, he left that part blank as he continued to wait for his King's return.

Little did Merlin know; he wouldn't be waiting for much longer.