“It is not I who have disguised him from you and, as I told you, my son, there is one other, as I have said, who could in extremity mask the Past or the Future and that is you.”
Merlin shook his head in bafflement, this was just going from bad to worse he decided.
“I still don’t understand,” the boy said, “I don’t understand it at all.”
“He was sent by Myrrdin Emrys,” the god spoke as if lecturing a very small child and a rather backward one at that. “Does that name mean nothing to you?”
“Emrys is the name my mother gave to me,” Merlin said more to himself than to the god, “It means Child of Light.”
“Indeed it does,” Mithras agreed.
“And Myrrdin is the name of the hill that guards the entrance to the Crystal Cave,” Merlin continued.
“So now you understand the puzzle of the Myrrdin Emrys,” Mithras said.
Merlin wasn’t at all sure that he understood it, he knew what the name seemed to mean but that was impossible. Even though the conclusion seemed quite fantastic to the boy enchanter he worried at it like a dog with a bone.
“You mean….,” and here the boy paused because it seemed too fanciful to speak out loud, then he braced his shoulders in a way that was very reminiscent of his father.
“You mean,” Merlin continued, “That I am Emrys Myrrdin and at some time in the Future I have sent Galahad to myself in this Time?” The words had all come out in a rush as if the boy enchanter just wanted to get the ridiculous notion out of his head.”
“You have it,” Mithras Invictus told his son.
“But that’s stupid, idiotic,” Merlin continued. “Why would I do that?” So crazy was the idea that the boy looked as if he had been punched in the face.
“That I should perhaps not tell you,” Mithras said.
Merlin knew that the Elder god saw everything and was certain to know why Galahad had come out of the Future and into the Past.
“Should not?” Merlin stated rather too bluntly.
The half-smile disappeared from the Bull Slayer’s face, “Do not try my patience further, Merlin,” the god warned his son.
Merlin took a deep breath to steady himself for he was well aware how changeable Mithras Invictus’ temper could be.
“Then tell me this,” he said for this was the most important of question relating to the fair haired boy from the Future, “Can I trust him?”
“You can trust him with your life,” Mithras replied, “Galahad comes from mighty warrior stock and he will not have lost these skills even though he has forgotten them. You, my son, must help him to regain these abilities for he will be of great assistance to you in your battle with the Dark Forces.”
Merlin was still struggling to make sense of it all.
“Is that why I sent him back in Time?” the boy asked.
“Partly,” Mithras Invictus grimly relented, “Galahad’s life was in a very great danger in his own time. In danger through no fault of his own and he was completely blameless in the matter. You sent him to this time to protect his life and because you knew that he would be of great service in your battle with the Dark Lord and his Creatures of Darkness. If Galahad had remained in his own Time then Camelot, Avalon and the whole of Britannia would run with fire and blood. That is why he is here and in this Time.”
A lot of this didn’t make any sense to Merlin.
“If Galahad come from such warrior stock, surely his father and his knights would be able to protect him?” The boy enchanter queried.
“His father is the problem,” Mithras Invictus bleakly told his son, “And if Galahad was to die at the hands of his father’s enemy then, as I have said,” the god continued bleakly, “Avalon would run with a deeper ocean of blood than ever the Dark Lord could conjure.”
This still wasn’t making any more sense to Merlin.
“But you don’t care for Avalon anymore,” the boy said to the Elder god who was his father.
“I don’t,” Mithras agreed, “But you do, Merlin or Myrrdin Emrys, both now and in the future.” Which both of them knew was and always would be the truth.
“Galahad knows me as the Raven Boy,” Merlin said with a half-smile that again was not unlike that of his father.
“Kraak again,” the Elder god surmised, “But that was wise for Galahad could have been sent by the Dark Lord to kill you. I see that the King of the Raven Kind has not lost any of his cunning.”
For a moment Mithras Invictus looked back on memories that were obviously pleasant for him but then, as Merlin feared that it would, the Elder god’s face clouded over once more.
“Now leave me,” Mithras Invictus ordered in a voice that would brook no disobedience, “Leave me, I am bored with Avalon.”
Merlin looked up at the huge tattooed figure of his father the Elder god who was Mithras the Unconquered, the Bull Slayer.
“Will I see you again, father?” The boy asked in a quiet voice.
“Whenever you wish, my son,” Merlin felt a lightning of his heart at the god’s words, Mithras Invictus was the most vengeful of all the Elder gods and many, quite rightly were in fear of him but, to Merlin, Mithras was his father and he loved him.
“Whenever you wish,” Mithras repeated, “If you can get past the Guardian Spirits of my Shrine.
Merlin grinned up at his father remembering how the banshees had fled from him, “Oh, I can certainly do that.”
Mithras looked almost proudly at his son. As the most powerful of the Elder gods, he greatly approved of Merlin’s treatment of the Guardian Spirits but even so he gave the boy a hard appraising look.
“Trust Galahad,” he told his son, “He will be a formidable ally at your side, although, one day, you will send him back to his own Time for he will be much needed there.”
With that the huge figure of Mithras the Unconquered began to fade from sight for, as Merlin knew, the god had lost interest in his adopted home of Avalon.
“The Raven Kind have not forgotten you, father,” the boy enchanter shouted to the rapidly disappearing figure of his father, “And neither have the unicorns,” he added for good measure.
As the god finally departed from the Crystal Cave he turned back to look at his son.
“Only men have,” the Elder god said and then he was gone and the Crystal Cave was just an empty shell for there was no enchantment or the Old Magic there anymore. Merlin resignedly made his way back to the hidden entrance of the Bull Slayer’s shrine for his father had given him a great deal to think about.
CHAPTER SIX
THE HIILS ABOVE AVALON
Galahad was feeling totally and unbelievably lost. It was as if he was living in a dream or to be more exact a nightmare and that soon he would wake up and be back in a world where he belonged. And it would be a world where he knew where he lived and who he was, for Galahad was only a first name and he had no idea of what his family name was. ‘What am I?’ Galahad asked himself ‘What do I do, what am I good at and why am I here?’ It seemed to the boy that he had arrived in a world where he was either not believed or openly distrusted and it was not a good place for him to be.
Galahad was so lost in these thoughts that he didn’t hear Merlin’s approach and it was a complete surprise to the fair haired boy when he looked up and saw the Raven Boy gazing down at him from tall boulder. Feeling as miserable as he did Galahad thought that the Raven Boy was the last person on earth that he wanted to meet for the boy seemed to openly dislike him. Even so Galahad made an effort to be polite.
“Greetings, Raven Boy.”
Merlin continued looking at the fair haired boy quizzically and Galahad felt as if he was being mentally dissected like some dead animal.
Finally Merlin spoke and he was not particularly polite, “How did you know that I would be here?” The boy enchanter asked.
Actually Galahad had no idea as to why he was there. He had just been wandering in the foothills of Avalon and something had drove him to where he had ended up.
“Why, is
it so secret?” Galahad decided that he really had had enough of the Raven Boy’s distrust.
“Not particularly,” Merlin replied, “I just don’t like being followed.”
“I wasn’t following you,” Galahad told the boy enchanter, “I just knew that this was where I should be and that I should meet you,” Galahad was surprised at his reply. Until that moment he had not given the Raven Boy a thought but then he realised that what he had said was true because this was where he had needed to be to meet the boy.
To Galahad’s surprise the Raven Boy jumped down from the boulder and stood in front of him and what was even more surprising to Galahad was that the boy was not scowling at him.
“I think my father must have led you here,” Merlin told him.
That made no sense to Galahad as he hadn’t seen anyone since he had left Mo Dhachaidh.
Galahad looked around but still he could see no one other than the Raven Boy, “Where is your father?” He asked, “I would like to meet him.”
“He has left,” Merlin told the fair haired boy and that made no sense to Galahad either.
“I was hoping that he might tell me how to find Merlin,” the boy said.
For the first time since Galahad had met him Merlin smiled, “I know that now,” he told the boy.
Galahad was startled by the Raven Boy’s reply, this was the last thing that he had expected him to say.
“You do,” Galahad jumped to his feet and even Merlin had to notice the smooth athletic way that the boy moved. “Will you take me to him?” He asked.
Merlin made no move but continued to look at Galahad with that half-smile, “Are you sure that you remember nothing except what you told me?” He asked.
Galahad sat down again. He felt that the Raven Boy was playing a game with him, building up his hopes only to smash them down again.
“How many times must I tell you,” he snapped at the Raven Boy, “I know nothing more than my name, if it is my name, that Myrrdin Emrys sent me here and that I must find this man called Merlin. I know nothing else.”
“Your name really is Galahad,” Merlin told him. There was more here than he knew the boy enchanter thought to himself for as Galahad had lost his temper he reminded the boy of someone that he knew and knew well but couldn’t put a name to.
“How do you know?” Merlin was brought back from his day dreaming by Galahad’s question.
“My father told me.”
“And he would know?” Galahad queried.
“Yes,” Merlin told him, “He would. He knows everything.”
Galahad jumped up again his excitement shining in his face.
“Then he knows who Myrrdin Emrys is and where I can find Merlin.”
“Yes, he does,” the boy enchanter agreed, “And so do I – now.”
For a moment Galahad looked stunned and wondered if the Raven Boy was playing a rather unpleasant game with him.
“Then tell me the answers,” Galahad almost shouted at Merlin.
“I am Merlin.”
That certainly wasn’t the answer that Galahad had expected and for a moment he just stared at the Raven Boy as if he couldn’t believe that the boy would treat him so badly.
“I don’t believe you,” Galahad said finally, “You are the Raven Boy.”
“That is what the Raven Kind call me,” Merlin told him gravely, “But my true name is Merlin.”
“There must be some mistake,” Galahad said sitting down again his face a mask of despondency.
“There is none,” Merlin told the boy, “I am the only Merlin in the whole of Avalon.”
Galahad shook his head as if trying to make a sense of it all, “Then who is Myrrdin Emrys?” He asked.
“That’s me as well,” Merlin replied knowing how unbelievable it must sound to the boy.
“You sent me to meet – you?” It was probably the most far-fetched thing that Galahad had heard in his whole life.
“Something like that,” Merlin actually grinned as he spoke to the boy because even to him it sounded more like a riddle rather than the truth which it most definitely was.
“I find this very hard to believe,” Galahad said looking more lost than ever. “And I do not like you Raven Boy or Merlin or whatever it is that you call yourself.”
Merlin could completely understand that, after all he had given the fair haired boy a pretty hard time since their meeting at Manta Gore. Even so the boy enchanter knew that the safety of Avalon and Camelot lay with him and the Old Magic which was far more important than whether he was liked or not.
“I am all that stands between Avalon and the Enchantment of the Dark Lord,” Merlin told the boy who was now stood in front of him. “And I really couldn’t care less whether you like me or not. My father tells me that you will help me to protect Avalon. If that were not the case I would hold you in the Crystal Cave until you can return to where you came from.”
Galahad had had more than enough of this, “Don’t bother,” he shouted at Merlin, “I leave you, Raven Boy. There is nothing for me here. Send me back to wherever I came from in fact send me anywhere. Anything is better than here and your company.”
“If you were to return to your own time you would be killed and Avalon needs you here,” Merlin bluntly told him.
“Your father again?” Galahad said.
“Yes,” Merlin replied bleakly, “And if he predicts it then it will be so.”
“I don’t believe you,” Galahad shouted at the boy enchanter.
“It is the truth and if I did return you, my father tells me that Avalon will drown in an ocean of blood.”
For a moment Galahad was stunned and with that came a cooling of his temper.
“He said that I would do that?” Galahad asked in a shocked voice.
“Your death would be the cause of it,” Merlin said grimly.
Galahad shook his head, this was all too much for the fair haired boy to take in.
“I still don’t understand,” he said looking completely lost and Merlin decided that it was time to make peace between himself and Galahad. After all they were both on the same side against the Forces of Darkness.
“Your father is a mighty warrior,” Merlin told the boy, “Possibly one of the greatest knights who has ever lived. He would seek to avenge your death until Avalon and Camelot would be plunged into a war that would leave everything here as a desolated and wasted wasteland. Nothing and no one would survive.”
Even Galahad looked stunned at this, “My father could do all this?” He asked in a quiet voice.
“And more,” Merlin told him, “That is why Myrrdin Emrys sent you back in Time to me.”
“But if you are also Myrrdin Emrys…” Galahad said dubiously while still trying to get his head around Time Travel and Merlin being young and old and apparently in two places at the same time.
“That is me,” the boy enchanter wryly agreed, “Or at least an old me.”
“I wish I could remember what you looked like as an old man,” Galahad said with a smile coming to his face for the first time since he had materialised at the Great Stones of Avalon.
“Fortunately you cannot and you never will be able to,” Merlin told him dryly, “My father tells me that I can trust you with my life,” the boy enchanter told Galahad.
Even Galahad was stunned at that, “He did?”
“He also tells me,” Merlin continued, “That like your father you are of a mighty warrior stock. He says that you will not have lost these skills you have merely forgotten how to use them. He told me to help you regain them.”
“And do you always do what your father tells you?” Galahad asked with a wry smile as if he already knew the answer to that question.
“Not always,” Merlin replied bleakly.
“Will you this time?” the fair haired boy questioned.
“I’m not sure, perhaps” Merlin said knowing that there was no reason why he shouldn’t help Galahad, it was just that he wasn’t sure how to help the boy rediscover his fighti
ng skills. It might be best, the boy enchanter thought, if Galahad went to Camelot Castle to train with the Knights of Camelot but that would take an awful lot of explaining as to who the boy was and then King Uther Pendragon would get involved and that would not be at all helpful. Galahad could well end up in one of Camelot’s dungeons.
Galahad was blissfully unaware of all these thoughts that were whirling around the boy enchanter’s head.
“If you did help me I could get to dislike you a little less,” he told Merlin and once again the way that the fair haired boy stood and moved that reminded Merlin of somebody else and somebody he knew very well he thought.
“I will do what I can,” Merlin replied as he tried desperately to think as to who it was that Galahad reminded him so strongly of, “All I care for is what’s best for Camelot and Avalon.”
“I am prepared to try to help you if I can,” Galahad told him.
Merlin came to a decision, Camelot Castle was not the place for Galahad he decided. King Uther Pendragon could well take his dislike of the boy enchanter out on the boy.
“First we must see how good are or you can be. Then I will decide,” he told Galahad.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE GREAT MOUNTAINS OF AVALON
DRAGON’S KEEP
It was the first time in a hundred years that they had all met together. They were the three Mythical Beasts of Avalon. Stormrider was the King of the Unicorns, not only was he was far bigger than an ordinary horse but unlike most unicorns he was a golden colour with a mane and tail that were the colour of silvered snow. His eyes were blue and like the other two Mythical Beasts his eyes could see the wind. Draago the dragon was there for it was his home of Dragons’ Keep that they had agreed to meet at for it was protected by Deep Enchantment and the Forces of the Dark could not overlook them.
Draago was the last of the Dragon Kind and had already lived for many hundreds of years. Indeed the dragon had been in a deep, enchanted sleep when the Dark Lord had roused him by the Dark Magic and enslaved Draago so that he might serve the Forces of the Dark. It was Merlin who had freed the dragon from the Dark Lord’s hold over him and now the boy enchanter was Draago’s Dragon Master and Dragon Rider. The dragon had sworn to defend Avalon with his life and a dragon can never lie. The third of the Mythical Beasts was Firewing the Griffin, Firewing rarely visited Avalon for the Griffins preferred warmer climates as befitted an animal that was half lion and half eagle but like his two companions Firewing was of the Old Magic that had once ran through Avalon with the presence of Mithras Invictus. Now that the Bull Slayer was turning his back on the land that he had once loved so much the Griffin had carried his allegiance to Mithras’ son who, like Stormrider and Draago, he called the Raven Boy.
Merlin and the Land of Mists Book Three: Galahad Page 4