Merlin and the Land of Mists: Book Two: The Minotaur

by P. J. Cormack

  “You think the Dark Lord will return?” Stormrider asked.

  “He will return,” Merlin said with certainty, “He will not surrender Camelot and Avalon so easily.”

  “Still it was well done, Raven Boy,” Kraak told him.

  Stormrider bowed his head to Kraak the silver forelock hanging long over his blue eyes, “The unicorns have heard of the part that the Raven Kind played in the defeat of the Dark Lord and we salute you for it, Kraak.”

  “The Raven Kind will always fight for the Raven Boy,” Kraak replied, “And we will fight to the death if necessary.”

  “As will the unicorns,” Stormrider confirmed, tossing his silver mane so that it sparkled like so many jewels in the sunlight.

  “What have you heard, Stormrider?” Merlin asked.

  “We have heard very little for the Dark Lord keeps close counsel. Even more so since the dragon has sworn to fight for the Raven Boy,” the unicorn replied.

  “Draago has not been seen since he foreswore to the Raven Boy,” Kraak told Stormrider.

  “It is true is it not that you are a Dragon Master?” The unicorn asked Merlin.

  Merlin nodded his head, “I didn’t know it until my father told me. But yes I am.”

  “Then you have the commanding of the dragons,” Stormrider continued.

  “There is only one dragon,” Merlin told him, “Draago is the last of the Dragon Kind and I prefer to ask rather than to command.”

  “And you are certain that the Dark Lord will return?” The unicorn asked once more, it was not a pleasant prospect for either Camelot or Avalon.

  Once again that bleak look came over Merlin’s face, “I’m absolutely certain and so is Galapas.”

  “How is Galapas?” Stormrider asked, the unicorns held great affection for Camelot’s High Mage. Although not of the Old Magic himself Galapas had always had an affinity with Avalon’s magical creatures.

  “Oh the usual,” Merlin told him, “He moans that my hair is too long, my clothes are too shabby and that I don’t act like a prince and he says that my manners are like those of a wolf.”

  “Galapas speaks true,” Kraak put in, if ravens could smile then he would have been smiling.

  “Thank you for that, Kraak,” Merlin said ironically.

  “Galapas has been a faithful servant to Camelot,” the golden unicorn added.

  “And also to my father,” Merlin agreed.

  Stormrider moved uneasily his hard hooves beating a sharp tattoo on the rocky surface of the Great Stones. He was uncomfortable, as were many of the Avalon’s magical beings, at the mention of Mithras Invictus. Although the god had done the unicorns no harm there was too much blood involved in his worship for the unicorn’s taste and Mithras was also the Bull Slayer, the god who rides the bull while he slit its throat and unicorns have the same number of legs as bulls.

  “Perhaps it is best not to speak of such things,” Stormrider said, deciding to diplomatically change the subject, “I have heard that the Dark Lord searches for the source of your power,” he told Merlin.

  Merlin sighed, “I sometimes think that it would be best if he did know it. Then perhaps he would leave Avalon and Camelot in peace.”

  Kraak shook his head for that did not seem like a very good idea to him, “It would not please your father,” he said, “He keeps the secret of your birth well-guarded from the Dark Powers and it could give the Dark Lord power over you if he knew your birth-date.”

  “You’re right, Kraak,” Merlin agreed, “But all the same I sometimes feel as if I have to defend Avalon with one hand tied behind my back.”

  “Even so,” Stormrider told him, “I believe that you are more than a match for the Dark Lord, Raven Boy.”

  “Let’s hope for Avalon’s sake you are right, Stormrider.” Merlin told the golden unicorn.

  The Great Stones shook as there was a sudden crack of thunder. Dark purple clouds were gathering on the boundaries of Avalon and lightning could be seen flashing from cloud to cloud before lancing down into the ground where trees and gorse burst instantly into flame.

  There was something supernatural in the way that the storm clouds had arrived so suddenly into what had been such a perfectly clear blue sky. The clouds rolled and seemed to push against the very boundaries of Avalon and then fall back, only to reform and come crashing forward again. Suddenly the day was less bright and there was a feeling of menace in the air.

  Kraak turned to look at Merlin, “The Dark Lord?” He asked.

  Merlin looked hard at the gathering storm clouds. He could see no Blood Riders in their midst and yet what had been a perfect day now felt spoilt and ruined.

  “It could be,” he told Kraak, then he turned to the king of the unicorns, “Stormrider gather the unicorns to you and find out what you can about the Dark Lord. I want to be better prepared for him this time.”

  The great golden unicorn bowed its head once more, the wind was already blowing his silver mane and tail so that they looked like banners in the last of the fading sunlight. Without another word the King of the Unicorns turned and galloped away before leaping into the sky and flying high over the Great Stones. He travelled far faster than any normal horse would ever manage for Stormrider was of the Old Magic as were all the unicorns.

  “I go too,” Kraak told Merlin, “The Raven Kind will listen to the wind for you, Raven Boy. If the Dark Lord is returning then we will know.”

  With that Kraak flapped his powerful wings and he too rose high into the sky. Merlin watched him go until the raven was only a mere spot in the distance.

  The boy could feel the Dark Lord’s tentacles searching around Avalon. They were looking for any weakness in its defences so that the Dark Magic could once more try to enter and destroy Camelot and Avalon.

  Merlin knew that there were indeed failings there. In spite of Galapas’ pleading, and even the evidence of the destruction brought about by the Blood Riders, King Uther Pendragon had steadfastly refused to rebuild Mithras’ altars which were the god’s Ring of Protection for Camelot and Avalon.

  Merlin sighed, Camelot’s king was a complete and utter idiot he decided and the sad thing was that many more of Avalon’s innocent citizens would once again die on account of Uther Pendragon’s pig-headed obstinacy and stupidity.

  CHAPTER THREE

  AVALON

  CAMELOT CASTLE

  THE GREAT THRONE ROOM

  King Uther Pendragon sat on Camelot’s high backed throne as was his right as King of Camelot, King of Avalon and Lord of the Marches. Seated on a similar throne was his newly wed bride Queen Alona. Uther and Alona had been friends since their childhood. As a boy Uther Pendragon had lived at the castle of Alona’s father, Lord Merrimont, for some two years whilst his elder brother, King Ambrosius, had secured Camelot and Avalon from the Saxon hordes that would have overrun the country and who would have killed every living thing that they could find there. King Ambrosius had been more than a match for these undisciplined, flaxen haired hordes and had driven them back into the sea from whence they had come.

  Uther had been lucky in that his protector. Lord Merrimont, was one of the finest knights in the whole of Britannia and it was from this courageous war leader that the young Prince of Camelot had first learnt the skills of war. Uther had had a natural aptitude for fighting, whether it was on foot or on horse, and soon his skills were more than a match for those of his tutor and any knight at Merrimont Castle. Added to this ability was great strength and so Uther Pendragon had become a fine and feared warrior. Uther was a head taller than most men and was a truly ferocious sight in battle and certainly one that most knights would sooner avoid than fight.

  As often happens with many powerful and intense men Uther had been attracted to the gentle child that was Lord Merrimont’s only daughter. Alona had always seemed wise beyond her years and she was the perfect match for the volatile Uther Pendragon. Uther had always suffered from an evil temper and there had been times when this had made him seem almost uncon
trollable. It was at these times that the young Alona would go to him and then all his anger would flow away from him as she sat and teased the young prince.

  Alona had never been far from Uther’s thoughts but the early and unexpected death of his brother, King Ambrosius, had brought Uther to the throne of Camelot and somehow there had seemed little time for anything and certainly not for marriage. It had been the onslaught of the Dark Lord that had made Uther realise his own mortality. If he had been killed there would have been no natural successor to the Throne of Camelot. This had prompted Uther to do what he should have done many years before and that was to marry his childhood sweetheart and crown her as Camelot’s queen.

  The peoples of Avalon and Camelot had readily taken to their new queen. Although she was shy Queen Alona had an inner goodness and love for Avalon that was impossible to ignore. She had all the fine looks of her Celtic subjects, dazzling blue eyes and dark raven black hair, and this bound her closer still to the minds and hearts of Uther’s people. Uther had never been a popular king as his brother Ambrosius had been. He was respected for the great warrior that he was and admired for the way that he defended Camelot against all who would attack that great city. But he had never been loved for there were too many tales of his foul temper and often inconsistent rulings. Queen Alona had changed all that for she was deeply loved from the very start by all in Avalon and part of that love had been passed onto her husband, the king. The inhabitants of Avalon did not like change and with the marriage of King Uther Pendragon and Queen Alona Merrimont they saw a continuing of the Pendragon line that had protected Camelot for many hundreds of years.

  Now Queen Alona sat alongside her husband as Galapas, the High Mage of Camelot and Sir Lauriston du Lac strode across the Great Throne Room to meet with their king and queen. It was King Uther Pendragon who spoke first which was as it should be for he was Camelot’s king.

  “Well met, Galapas. We have not seen you at Court since my wedding.”

  The High Mage was a tall, bleak looking man and he had been High Mage of Camelot since King Ambrosius’ time. There was respect between him and the king but Galapas had always disliked the ways of the Court and preferred the open spaces of Avalon’s meadows and mountains to the intrigues of King Uther Pendragon’s Court.

  The High Mage briefly bowed his head, he would not kneel before King Ambrosius and he certainly wasn’t going to kneel to his younger brother. “My apologies, sire and also to you my queen. There has been so much to do since the Blood Riders’ attack on Avalon.”

  The Blood Riders had been summoned by the Dark Magic of the Dark Lord from the very depths of the Underworld and had been sent to destroy Avalon and Camelot. Hundreds of Avalon’s inhabitants had been killed with many of villages burnt to the ground. Just when it had seemed that everything would fall to the Powers of the Dark Lord Merlin had ridden the dragon, Draago, to Camelot’s aid and blasted the Blood Riders across the Abyss. King Uther Pendragon had been slow to acknowledge the debt that he and his kingdom owed to the boy enchanter. It was as if the king resented what the boy could do and which he most certainly could not.

  It was Queen Alona who spoke, “How is Merlin?” She asked the High Mage.

  The queen was, as always, concerned with the welfare of all those who lived in her husband’s kingdom even when they were as powerful as the son of Mithras Invictus.

  “I see very little of him,” Galapas replied, “He likes to be out in the hills with the Raven Kind and Avalon’s other wild beasts.”

  Galapas had been Merlin’s guardian since his mother had brought the very young child to Camelot’s High Mage. Princess Ailidh, who had some magical powers of her own, recognised quite correctly that her father’s court was not the place for Mithras Invictus’ dark eyed and raven haired son. Particularly as she so steadfastly refused to name the Elder god as the boy’s father. To do so, Princess Ailidh knew only too well, would have put the boy at great risk in the early years of his life.

  “I have heard,” Queen Alona said her voice ringing with excitement, “That the unicorns have been seen again in Avalon.”

  “They have indeed,” the High Mage agreed his bleak face for once smiling, “With Mithras losing interest in Avalon the mystical beasts were either leaving or fading away. They can only be sustained by the Old Magic for without that they simply do not exist but now they return.”

  “And Merlin has this Old Magic?” Queen Alona asked.

  “My lady he runs with it and it is Merlin’s enchantment that has brought back the Mystical Beasts to fight for Camelot and Avalon. Merlin fears that the Dark Lord will return with new and more powerful allies.” Galapas continued.

  Queen Alona’s face was full of concern, “It is a terrible burden for a young boy to have to bear. How old is Merlin?”

  “Merlin is eleven years old,” Galapas told her.

  “He is too young to have the defence of our lands thrust upon him, far too young.” Queen Alona looked deeply worried.

  “For an ordinary eleven year old boy it would be,” Galapas agreed, “But Merlin is anything but normal. He is the son of Mithras Invictus, Mithras the Unconquered who is the most powerful of the Elder gods. Merlin loves Avalon with a passion and sees it as his sacred duty to protect our land now that his father will not do so.”

  “Do we know what these new allies for the Dark Lord might be?” King Uther Pendragon, ever practical, asked his High Mage.

  Galapas shook his head, “I’m afraid not, sire.”

  “If anyone can discover them, it would be the Raven Boy,” Sir Lauriston used the name that the Raven Kind had given to Merlin. Sir Lauriston had a great admiration for the young enchanter recognising that it had been Merlin and his dragon, Draago, who had saved Camelot and Avalon from the Dark Lord’s first attack. It was not an admiration shared by King Uther Pendragon who, in some unaccountable way, resented the god Mithras Invictus and had transferred that dislike to his son.

  “Uther has told me,” Queen Alona said and once more her eyes were shining with excitement, “Of the great service that Merlin performed for Camelot. I would very much like to meet him, Galapas.”

  “I will ask him, my lady,” Galapas’ reply was hesitant for he knew Merlin’s aversion to the pomp and ceremony of King Uther Pendragon’s Court, “But Merlin…” the High Mage let his words drop away for he did not want to give offence to Camelot’s queen who he happened to like very much.

  “...Merlin is Merlin,” the king finished dryly for Galapas, “But perhaps you would tell him that we would consider it a great favour for him to come to Camelot and meet our queen.”

  “I will do my very best, sire,” the High Mage said but he knew that there would be little chance of the boy ever coming willingly to King Uther’s Court.

  Camelot’s Knight Commander decided that it would be prudent to change the subject, “I have heard that dark storm clouds have been seen over the Great Mountains that surround Avalon,” the big knight said, “Could this be the Dark Lord gathering his forces to him once more? It is not the season for thunder storms.”

  “It is more than possible, Sir Lauriston. We will only know in the fullness of time.” Galapas replied. Personally he was convinced, as was Merlin, that the Dark Lord was returning and that once more Camelot and Avalon were in grave danger from the Dark Forces. Even so he did not want to spread rumours that could lead to a wholesale panic until he was completely sure of the facts.

  “Queen Alona and Sir Lauriston are forming a new company of knights,” King Uther told his High Mage, “It will consist of only the very best of knights who have been distinguished by their bravery and loyalty to Camelot.”

  “We will call it the Table Round,” Queen Alona agreed, “For no man will be above another. They will all be equal in chivalry and their love for Camelot and Avalon.”

  “We rely on you, Galapas,” the king said, his voice taking on an almost bullying tone, “We rely on you to protect us from the Dark Lord’s sorcery. You are our only de
fence against his Dark Magic.”

  The High Mage shook his head, “I’m afraid that I am no match for the Dark Lord, sire. His magic is too strong for me, it is almost god-driven.”

  “But not for the Raven Boy,” Sir Lauriston du Lac put in quickly.

  “He defeated the Dark Lord before,” Galapas agreed, “And he is of the Old Magic, but as Queen Alona said he is only eleven years old and it is a huge burden that we place on him.”

  “But he is said to be the son of a god,” King Uther Pendragon put in. The king was well aware that the Elder god was Merlin’s father but often could not bring himself to acknowledge the fact publicly.

  “He is truly Mithras’ son, sire,” Galapas said with a forbidding look on his face. He was well aware of the king’s previous attempts to denigrate Merlin, “You can be sure of that. If he were not then none of us would be standing here for we would have all been killed by the Blood Riders and Camelot burnt to the ground as were the unprotected settlements beyond Camelot’s borders.”

  “And none of those villages will ever rise again,” Sir Lauriston put in, “For there is too much sorrow there and nothing will grow where the Blood Riders’ fire has scorched the ground.”

  “You must remember, sire,” Galapas looked around to Queen Alona and Sir Lauriston for support, “That although Merlin’s father is an Elder god his mother was mortal. Merlin can die as easily as any of us in this room and just as painfully and quickly. He is not immortal.”

  “We ask too much of him,” Queen Alona said and once more her concern was etched across her face.

  “Our first duty is always to protect Camelot and Avalon,” the king replied grimly, “Nothing else is of any importance.”