The mission he had been given seemed to be hundreds of life times ago. Never had he expected this chance to come again and yet he realized that everything played out the way it always did. Wars were always going to be fought and men were always going to die. One man would always think it was his duty to lead people to greatness, disguising his own selfish desires. Leaders were always tyrants in the end. He had seen more wars and civilizations rise and fall than he had hairs on his head. Helping Uther now would not save anyone.
He had saved the son at least.
Uther caught sight of Excalibur and called Merlin to bring to him, but the D.R.U.I.D did not move.
“Fight me yourself, cowardly king,” Hengist spat from his helmet. The Cantus being lashed out with his armored tail, taking Uther’s feet out from under him. Some of Uther’s men tried to step in to help, but the other Cantus guards kept them at bay.
“Get up!” Hengist kicked Uther who rolled to the side and leapt up, getting ground between them.
Uther stared up at Hengist and removed his helmet. “This is the way it should be then. No mecha, no armies. Just you and I. After all, you say I killed your brother. So, let it just be between us.”
Hengist mocked him by laughing. “And deprive myself of more war? We have already nearly razed your new planet to its beginnings. As this winter comes, I do not intend to leave you or your people any shelter from Camelot’s biting ice!”
The Cantus being raised his sword above his head and prepared to carve Uther in two.
In that moment, the world slowed for Uther as he met Merlin’s eyes. The D.R.U.I.D did not move to help him nor did anyone else, held back by a taller, stronger army. At Excalibur’s feet knelt Nimueh. She had seen Merlin and followed him out to the battle. In her childlike state, she seemed like a girl, begging her father to come back. Her hands were clasped in front of her heart and fear widened her round eyes.
The bodies of brave soldiers become vivid to Uther’s eyes. The odd, sour stench of Camelot’s flora burning told him that all he had worked to build was turning to ash as he fought a war on a universal level. He had a son to take care of. A tiny little family, in one house, on one planet. The measurements were not lining up. He had tried to lead an entire planet. An entire race.
A sharp pain erupted in his ribs and suddenly it became painful to breathe. Warm liquid flooded his mouth as he choked and a strange red light flashed in his eyes, blinding him momentarily. He blinked and saw Hengist’s devilish face before him, a look of disbelief in his eyes as well. Looking down, he saw that he put his power-blade right through Hengist’s heart. Dark, hot, red blood cascaded down onto his hand in the cool night air.
A loud, universal shrieking went up among the Cantus beings and a mass retreat began immediately. The crowd around Uther thinned out quickly and Urien suddenly appeared at his side. Uther realized he had fallen backwards, an odd weight on his chest. Looking up, he saw the glowing blade of Hengist protruding from his ribs.
“Medic!” Urien began to shout through the mass of panicking men.
Through the horde of suddenly running forms, Uther spotted Merlin, white among the grime, standing still and watching. As the sound faded away, so did Uther’s sight, except for the vision of Merlin just standing by.
***
The light that greeted Uther’s eyes glowed red. He noticed right away that he was not in the D.R.U.I.D med ward, but the small one created recently by the humans in the top floors of what was left of City Pendragon. The machines were all human crafted, the staff—not glowing in the red light—were all human and all the instruments were human-made.
“Where is Excalibur?” he wheezed out. “I saw it during the battle.”
A tube came out of his lungs, siphoning out liquids that had accumulated there. It was very red. He sighed to test his lungs and found them well enough. Flexing his fingers and bare toes, he found the rest of him responded just fine; he hadn’t lost any limbs.
A soft glow to his right alerted him to Merlin’s presence. A mottled wave of emotions took him at the sight of the D.R.U.I.D.
“You didn’t do anything in the battle to help me,” he said first, conscious of the weakness in his own voice. He thought he sounded hurt and wanted to sound angrier. “You just stood there while I was fighting. I almost died!” He had lost control of his emotions now. He turned his head away to hide the brimming tears.
“Where is Igrain?” he moaned.
“I told you, she died,” Merlin said flatly. He waited until Uther faced him again to speak again. “I buried her and she has a marked tomb. You can be shown where it is.”
Uther swallowed and then winced. A sort of sadistic satisfaction granted Merlin some ease at seeing this. He didn’t wish Uther harm, but he wanted him to understand what he had brought to the planet.
“Merlin, what can I do to repair what I’ve done?” Uther asked softly.
“What have you done, Uther? Perhaps you should realize what has been done here before you rush into a mad frenzy to repair your damage.”
His face fell and fear crept in. “What? What has happened?”
Standing up, Merlin began to pace around the hospital. “If we start from the beginning it will take all night. So, I’ll highlight your actions for you, shall I?” He gripped his staff tightly in his hand as he continued to walk.
