“Will we actually see the Once and Future king?” Gwydion could hardly believe what the boy enchanter was telling them.
“I believe so,” Merlin told the High Druid. “And we will also see the Knights of the Round Table.”
“Will Galahad be there?” Myfanwy asked for, like all of them, she missed the boy warrior very much.
“Yes, he will,” Merlin told her. “But he will have – changed.”
“It is a great honour for Myfanwy and I to accompany you, Merlin.” The High Druid’s voice was grave for he knew that what he and his daughter had been given would, as Merlin said, never be allowed to any other mortal in any other Time.
“It is no more than you deserve, Gwydion,” the boy enchanter told the High Druid. “Myrrdin Emrys requested most clearly that you, Myfanwy, Grim and Kraak accompany me.”
“How will we return to our own Time?”
It suddenly struck Gwydion that although it would be truly amazing to travel to the Future to see these events, it would not be so great if they couldn’t return to their own Time. There was still much for the Druids to do in the rebuilding of Camelot and Avalon.
“The Magic will only hold for a short Space,” Merlin told him. “Even Myrrdin Emrys can only hold open the Portals of Time for a brief moment. When his Magic has drained away we will return here and to our own Time.”
“Will we remember what we see?” Gwydion asked the obvious question for it gave great Power and Understanding to see the Future.
“We will remember everything that we see,” Merlin told him. “Unless we choose not to.”
“That would never be.”
The High Druid spoke for all of them. To be able to travel to the Future and see the Once and Future King and his Knights of the Round Table was definitely something that none of them would ever want to forget.
“Let’s go now,” Myfanwy said her eyes sparkling with excitement. “I want to see Galahad again.”
“Remember we will be unseen and unheard by all except Myrrdin Emrys,” Merlin told her. “There is no deceiving his eyes.”
“Which is exactly as it should be,” Gwydion agreed.
“Are you all ready?” Merlin looked around at his friends knowing that this was the Time that had been predicted by the Enchantment of Myrrdin Emrys.
Now was the Time to use the Great Enchantment that had been drawn from the Old Magic as a reward to all of them for the part that they had played in the Saving of Camelot and Avalon.
“Grim is ready,” Grim added.
“Just get on with it, will you, Merlin,” Myfanwy said thinking that she could explode with impatience at any moment.
With that the boy enchanter pulled what looked like an ordinary but highly polished black stone from his pocket.
But this stone was far from ordinary for it came alive in Merlin’s hand. Blackness swirled out from the stone so that it took on the look of the sky at night and was studded as if with stars.
Then the darkness swirled as if it held whole universes so that nebulas and fiery comets blazed through and finally out of it.
For a moment it was as if this universe was swimming around and over Merlin and his friends.
Then, and with no noise, the universe exploded and Druids’ Stones was completely empty for there was no sign of Merlin, Kraak, Grim, Gwydion or Myfanwy.
They had all vanished into thin air as the Future called them to it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING
CAMELOT
The king sat at the huge Round Table that had been made with such fine craftsmanship that it appeared as one piece of wood that had been hacked and incised from the widest tree to have ever grown in the Kingdom of Camelot or anywhere else in Avalon.
In truth it was many cuts of wood woven into the very fabric of the table. In this Time of the Once and Future king there was Great Craftsmanship and Great Skill as well as the Golden Days of Music, Poetry and Chivalry.
The king was an imposing figure for, even seated, he was a whole head taller than any of his knights who sat at the Round Table. It was not just the height of the man, it was also his breadth. He was immensely strong as he had needed to be to drive out the Norse invaders and bring peace and stability back to his land.
By the king’s side sat Myrrdin Emrys.
The man was dressed, as he always was, totally in black, and anyone who came close to him would see that he also had eyes that were completely coal black.
On the other side of the king was his queen, Guinevere. Her beauty and calmness shone out like a beacon so that any room that she entered would seem immediately to be full of sunlight and peace.
On Guinevere’s other side sat the greatest and most pure of all the Once and Future king’s knights. He was dressed simply in white making a harsh contrast with the blackness of Myrrdin Emrys.
This knight was young with long fair hair that fell to his shoulders. On his shield and tunic there was no emblem for this was a man without vanity. Even so such was his fame in Camelot and beyond that his plain white tabard was far better known than those of any of the other knights of the Table Round.
This was a knight who walked and fought with such ease that he hardly ever seemed to tire. He would always grant ‘Pax’ to anyone who surrendered to him for there was no desire in him to kill.
Even so there was none fiercer on the battlefield than this knight for wherever the fighting was the greatest and hardest that was where he would always be.
His enemies would stumble away rather than face the cold ice-blue eyes of the greatest of Camelot’s knights. He had never been defeated either in battle or tourney and had a form of attack that none had seen before. Many had tried to copy it but all had failed for they lacked the training and skill of this warrior.
The knight would leap high in the air and drive his sword almost vertically down and hard into his opponent’s neck. It was said that this was a move that had only ever been perfected by one other warrior and that was the mighty Greek warrior known as Achilles who had fought in the Trojan Wars some two thousand years before.
There was a shimmering in Time and Merlin, Grim, Kraak, Myfanwy and Gwydion found themselves in a minstrel gallery high over the huge Round Table where sat the finest and most renowned Knights of Camelot.
Myfanwy, as always, was the first to speak. Even though she had been told by Merlin that none could see or hear them her voice was a whisper for the sight that was before them was almost holy.
“Where are we, Merlin?” Myfanwy spoke so quietly that the boy had to strain to hear what it was that she said.
“Camelot,” Merlin replied looking down with some satisfaction at the scene that was laid out before and beneath them.
Myfanwy gazed around herself and in wonder for this most certainly did not seem to bare any resemblance to the Camelot that she had seen on her excursions to confront King Uther Pendragon.
The room seemed brighter, more airy and there was a great sense of calm about it that definitely had not been there in King Uther Pendragon’s time.
“I don’t recognise any of it,” she told the boy enchanter.
“We’ve travelled to the Future,” Merlin reminded her.
“By Myrrdin Emrys’ magic?” Myfanwy queried for she still struggled with the concept of being able to cross the Boundaries of Time.
“Yes,” Merlin agreed. “This is our reward for triumphing in the Battle for Avalon. If we had lost to the Dark Lord and his Dark Magic none of this would have been possible. It would have been lost for All Time. We will not be able to stay for long,” he reminded his friends who seemed to be totally overawed by what they saw all around them.
“Who is the king?” Gwydion asked speaking as softly as his daughter had.
“That is the Once and Future king, King Arthur Pendragon,” Merlin told the High Druid, “And the queen who is sat by his side is Queen Guinevere.”
“Where is Uther Pendragon, the Deathbringer king?” Myfanwy aske
d looking around herself with some distaste.
“He’s long dead,” Merlin grimly told her. The boy enchanter was going to add ‘he had served his purpose’ but refrained from it, realising that he was beginning to sound more and more like his father.
“We are very privileged to be permitted to see this,” Gwydion said, his voice still little more than a whisper.
“Yes, we are,” Merlin replied knowing that no mortal had ever been allowed to travel in Time as Myrrdin Emrys had permitted them to – and certainly not a ghoul and a raven.
“Can they see us?” Myfanwy asked for nobody seemed to be taking the slightest notice of the rather strange group that had appeared by enchantment high in Camelot’s Great Hall.
“No, they can’t,” Merlin told the Druid girl. “We are Spectres from the Past and we are as nothing to them. But Myrrdin Emrys knows we are here. His eyes see everything.”
“Who is the knight seated alongside Myrrdin Emrys,” Myfanwy queried, “The very good looking one.”
Myfanwy had a feeling that she knew the knight in the white tabard but she was sure that she would never have forgotten anyone as handsome as that.
“That’s Galahad,” Merlin told her while trying to keep the grin off his face. “Or rather Sir Gilead du Lac as he is now known.”
“Wooh,” seemed to be all that Myfanwy could say and even Kraak looked startled for the Knight of the Unmarked Tabard was certainly the most impressive knight that the King of the Raven Kind had ever seen.
“Galahad is mighty knight,” Grim also whispered and the awe and admiration could be heard plain in his voice. “Galahad is mighty lord,” the ghoul added, saying what they were all thinking.
“Yes, he is,” Merlin agreed.
“Can we hear what they are saying?” Gwydion asked for they were so far above the Court that the voices were quiet and unintelligible.
“We can,” Merlin agreed and seemed to just lift one hand and suddenly the voices of the king and his Knights of the Round Table could be plainly heard.
“My brave knights,” it was the huge figure of the king that spoke. “My brave knights, the struggle has been long and hard. Eleven great battles we have fought and eleven victories we have won. We have all lost trusted comrades but their deaths have not been in vain for Camelot, Avalon and the whole of Britannia now stand triumphant and free.”
Here the king took pause to look around and both Myfanwy and her father noticed with a start that a number of the seats at the Round Table were unoccupied for these were the knights who had fallen, as good men always will, in the Struggle for Freedom.
“There is one more battle to come,” King Arthur told his knights, “One more battle that is the Battle of Badon Hill. Then and only then will the Forces of the Invaders be finally driven back into the sea and beyond our shores. Our people will live in peace at last which is no more than they so richly deserve.”
Here the king looked proudly around at his knights once more before continuing. “Men will speak of your exploits until the End of Time and they will speak of you as they speak of other Heroes from Other Times. One more battle,” the Once and Future King repeated, “And then we can all rest in a land that is at peace. Thank you for your loyalty and courage, my knights. Now I know my queen, Queen Guinevere, wishes also to give thanks you.”
With that the king sat down and the beautiful figure of his queen gracefully rose to address the Knights of the Round Table.
“Brave knights,” Queen Guinevere spoke in a light voice but one that still echoed around Camelot’s Great Hall. “Like my husband I wish to thank you for all that you have done for Camelot and Avalon. Thanks to you our children and our children’s children will sleep soundly and safely in their beds at night. My husband called you heroes and heroes you are – each and every one of you. The bards of our land and beyond will sing of your exploits just as they sing of the Great Battle for Avalon that was won for us by other heroes. I speak of Kraak, the King of the Raven Kind, Stormrider and his Unicorns, Firewing the Griffin, Grim the Ghoul, Draago the dragon, Gwydion and the Druids, the Dark Child and the Golden Boy Warrior. You, my husband’s bravest warriors, are fit to be mentioned in the same breath as these earlier Heroes and Protectors of Camelot and Avalon. From the very depth of my heart, I thank you all.”
Queen Guinevere sat down to thunderous applause with many of the knights thumping the Round Table in appreciation of the words that the queen had just spoken.
High up in the gallery above King Arthur’s Court, Gwydion, Myfanwy, Kraak and Grim looked at one another in amazement. They had never expected that the Future would pay such homage to them.
Before any of them could speak Galahad or Sir Gilead du Lac, as he was now known, stood up and there was an immediate silence.
He was the one that all the remaining Knights of Camelot held in the highest esteem not only for his great skill and bravery on the battlefield but also for the chivalry that the Knight of the Unmarked Tabard always carried about himself like a cloak.
“Gracious queen,” Galahad said bowing his head to Queen Guinevere, “On behalf of all the noble knights gathered here, I thank you for your kind words. The Company of the Knights of King Arthur’s Round Table will, I truly believe, shine as a beacon that will blaze throughout all Ages and all Times. We are truly honoured and blessed to be here. Now, with your blessing my queen, let us ride to Badon Hill. To your husband King Arthur Pendragon’s last and greatest victory.”
Like Queen Guinevere, Galahad had spoken quietly but such was the Power and Strength that he carried within his very soul that his words echoed and bounced around the walls of Camelot’s Great Hall. Even in the simple act of rising from his seat at the Round Table it was evident that here was a knight who moved with grace and strength and who would be a fearsome opponent on any battlefield.
Even at that distance Myfanwy could see the kindness, humility and compassion that she had always known to be in the fair-haired boy warrior named Galahad in her own Time.
The Druid girl had always recognised something fine in the boy warrior but never in her wildest dreams had she believed that he would become what many, throughout All of Time, would know to be the finest and most gracious of the Knights of the Round Table.
Suddenly, as Galahad retook his seat at the Round Table to thunderous applause, Time stopped.
Where there had been much clapping and speech there was now nothing but silence. It was a frozen tableau, an image very much like a painted picture.
All the Knights of the Round Table remained completely motionless as did King Arthur and Queen Guinevere.
It was then that Myrrdin Emrys got to his feet and looked straight up at the Spectres from the Past that were Merlin and his friends of the Old Magic.
“It is Time for you to return to your own Time,” Myrrdin Emrys spoke quietly but his words carried easily across the air and the Power of Enchantment that was in the man could be felt as a tangible force. “My magic can hold you here no longer.”
Merlin looked down at Myrrdin Emrys and he also spoke quietly but his words too echoed around Camelot’s Great Hall and with an equal Power to those of Myrrdin Emrys.
“Thank you, Myrrdin Emrys,” the boy said with great gravity, “Thank you for showing this to us.”
Myrrdin Emrys did not speak but bowed his head in acceptance of Merlin’s thanks and then Time moved once more.
And Merlin, Grim, Kraak, Gwydion and Myfanwy were brought back to their own Time and Place at Druids’ Stones.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
DRUIDS’ STONES
AVALON
It was as if Time had not passed at all and their voyage to the Future had never happened.
Merlin and his companions were stood in exactly the same position that they had been in before Myrrdin Emrys had opened up the Portals of Time and taken them to see the Once and Future king and his Knights of the Round Table.
Merlin knew that if anyone or anything had been observing them they would h
ave seen nothing for there was not even a heartbeat in their Taking and their Returning.
Even so Myrrdin Emrys had left them their memories and they all knew that they what they had seen they would treasure for the rest of their lives.
“Wasn’t Galahad, I mean Sir Gilead du Lac, fantastic?”
Predictably it was Myfanwy who spoke first and the Druid girl’s eyes were sparkling with wonder at all that she had seen and heard.
“The Druids will never forget this, Merlin, - never,” Gwydion said and his eyes too were sparkling exactly as those of his daughter.
“Nor the Raven Kind,” Kraak said in the humblest voice that Merlin had ever heard the King of the Raven Kind use.
“Grim will not forget either,” the still rather smelly ghoul admitted.
“Does King Arthur win his last battle, the Battle for Badon Hill?” Gwydion asked Merlin for he had felt not only the Power and Strength of the Battle King but also the man’s Kindness and Compassion.
“Yes, he does,” Merlin said while wondering how he knew these things before realising that Myrrdin Emrys’ invitation to the Future had contained other reasons as well as rewarding them for their Great Victory over the Dark Lord that was the Fallen Angel, Lucifer.
“But there is a great price that he must pay,” the boy added as a feeling of deep sadness crept over him.
Gwydion realised something that he had seen before in the Dark Child, that was the boy enchanter, and which now seemed to the High Druid to be clearer than ever.
“You know, Merlin,” the High Druid said, “Myrrdin Emrys has a look of you about him.”
Merlin knew the answer to that but it was something that he most definitely would not reveal.
For once the boy welcomed Myfanwy’s inevitable interruption.
“Nonsense,” the Druid girl told her father in no uncertain manner. “Myrrdin Emrys is an old man. Merlin can be infuriating but he’s certainly not old.”
Merlin looked gratefully at Myfanwy. On any other occasion he would have taken her to task for calling him ‘infuriating’ when she could be the most infuriating person that he had ever known. For now he was just grateful to her for her interruption.
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