"In a land of myth and a time of magic the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young man." "His name, Merlin." "So, Emrys." "Morgana." "When I found you, you were unconscious in the woods." "What happened to you?" "Morgana, who did this to you?" "Emrys." "The old man?" "He was here?" "He took the Fomorroh." "He destroyed it." "He knew of our plans to kill Arthur?" "He knows all our plans, all our secrets." " He knows everything." " Someone's telling him." "Ugh." "Gaius." "When I first asked him if he knew Emrys he claimed not to know, but he was lying." "I knew he was lying!" "Gaius." "He's the only one in Camelot who would know the Fomorroh." "It has to be him." "He's been telling Emrys everything." "Good." "Then he can lead us straight to him." "Gaius is loyal and very stubborn." "He won't do that willingly." "Who said he had to be willing?" "Up you get." " What for?" " A bath." "Where's breakfast?" " Say "ah."" " Ah?" "Merlin!" "I've set aside some practice time." "Oh, wonderful." "What for?" " Quarterstaff?" "Battle ax?" " Your speech." " Who to?" " The guild of harness polishers." "The guild of who?" "I don't know anything about polishing." "Fortunately, I do." " That'll take hours to learn." " You don't have hours." "First, you're to receive Odin's envoy." " Do I have to give a speech?" " No." "You have to listen to one." "Then you're to inspect the guards, perform a freeman's ceremony" " Oh." "And be a judge." " Preside over a trial?" " A garland competition." "Never get any time to myself." "I know." "It's almost like having to work." "Come on." "We don't have time for this." "No." "Come on." "Out." " Out of bed." " No!" "You're doing very well, Arthur." " I don't think so." " Everyone's saying it." "I'm glad your friends at the tavern approve." "I'm serious." "You are becoming a very good king." "Ugh." "Thank you." "You're still the worst servant I've ever known." "Enter." "Good morning, my lord." "May I have a word?" "Of course." "Uh, the matter I wish to discuss is a delicate one, sire." "Perhaps it would be better if we talked alone." "We know there is a traitor amongst us." " I wish I could deny it." " We have to consider everyone." "Even those dearest to us." "No one can be above suspicion." "Of course." "So." " One of your knights?" " No." "You're sure?" "I would vouch for each and every one of them." "Well, I have suggested Gaius before but I can't believe he'd betray you." "Nor I. Gaius has always been a loyal servant." "Indeed, a friend." "To me and my father." "Well, it was Gaius who told you where to find the sorcerer that killed your father." "Wasn't it?" "And we do know that he has dabbled in sorcery." "What if his interest in the dark arts has been rekindled?" "I've always believed I can trust Gaius." "Oh, me too." "Heh." "Perhaps I am being a little hasty." "It wouldn't do any harm to ask him some questions, would it?" "I'm not sure there's any need." "Oh, I believe there is, sire." "We're talking about your safety and the safety of the realm." "Somebody is plotting against you and it is my duty to investigate every possibility, however unlikely." "I'm sure that Gaius himself would respect that." "I wish to see the Catha." "He's expecting me." "You are Alator of the Catha warrior and priest." "You are Morgana Pendragon high priestess of the Triple Goddess and last of your kind." "What do you seek here?" "I need you to abduct someone from Camelot." "Camelot is no friend to our kind." "From what I hear, the young king follows Uther's ways." "You are a Catha." "Such things would not stop you." "Why should I risk my life for you?" "Because I'm willing to give you something in return." "It was forged on the Isle of the Blessed by a high priestess." "Its healing powers are without equal in the Five Kingdoms." "There is true power here." "This is a precious gift." "The person you seek must be important to you." "Yes." "I hope the man will lead me to my mortal enemy Emrys." "It is as you wish." "I will perform this task for you." "Please sit down." "Why have I been brought here in this manner?" "As the king's right-hand man one of my jobs is to ensure his safety." "If that means asking questions even of his most trusted servants then so be it." "No one is to take offense at this." "Have I done something wrong, sire?" "What is your attitude to sorcery, Gaius?" "It is against the law." "And do you agree with that?" "I understand the reason for it." "Uh, that's not an answer to the question that I asked." "The law is needed to prevent the abuses that have been perpetrated by sorcerers." "Can I ask you to be a little more direct with your answers?" "Do you agree that magic should be banned?" "Yes or no." " Yes." " Have you ever practiced sorcery?" " A long time ago." " Recently?" " No." " Then how did you know the sorcerer that killed Uther?" " I'd heard of him." " You told Arthur where to find him." " Yes." " That suggests you did know him." "I was told of a dwelling where he could be found." "Who by?" "I cannot say." "Have you ever met with him?" "It's a simple enough question, Gaius." "Have you met him?" "Yes or no." "No." " And you would be prepared to swear to that?" " Yes." "On oath?" "Yes." "Hmm." "Thank you, Gaius." "It's been most informative." "Is that it?" "Mm." "For today." "Was it really necessary that you treat him like that?" "Your life is at stake, sire." "We cannot afford to be fainthearted." "And you saw with your own eyes." "He was lying." "He's definitely hiding something." " Heh." " But we can't be certain." " We have no proof." " No." "You're right, sire." "We do not." "But I fear that if we keep investigating we might find some." "Come in." "Ah." "Close the door, would you?" "Merlin, I realize what a loyal and trusted servant you are so I have a very special errand for you." "What do you think?" " It's beautiful." " It's a present for Arthur." " Heh." " Oh." "It's been crafted by the sword-smiths of Gedref but unfortunately, the blade has become somewhat dulled during the journey." " Would you sharpen it for me?" " Of course." "Oh, and, Merlin?" "Leave it for the king to find in the morning, hmm?" "Ha, ha." "Yeah." "It will be my pleasure." " You're late." " Let us not waste time then." "Merlin?" "Ah." "Sleep now." "My lord, he was seen riding away from the city." " No, that can't be true." " Sire." "You were right." "A white stallion has been taken from the royal stables." "Where would he be going?" "Why leave at this time of night?" "I could hazard a guess, sire, but I think a thorough search of his belongings may well provide us with the truth." "And this was found in Gaius' chambers?" "I am as disappointed as you, sire." "Someone so close, so trusted." "Well, it's not merely the discovery that he was a sorcerer, is it?" "It's" "It's the lies." "Lies and years of betrayal." "I know it's hard to believe, isn't it, sire?" "But we both saw him refuse to condemn magic." "We both knew he was hiding something." "Neither of us want to believe it, but now with this hasty departure in the middle of the night..." "These are not the actions of an innocent man." "There can be no doubt." "Gaius is the traitor." "I'll send out a search party as soon as possible." "No." "What purpose will that serve?" "Let him run." "As you wish, sire." "How can you believe this?" "I know how you must feel." "We questioned him." "He's been consorting with sorcerers." "He more or less admitted to it." "And that makes him a traitor?" "Why run if you have nothing to hide?" "He's given his life to this kingdom." "He would never betray you." "Then explain his actions." "All right." "They're lies." "Gaius would never run off in the night." "Look, I know it's hard." "No break-ins were reported." "His possessions are missing." "A horse has been stolen." "He would not leave without saying goodbye to me." "Agravaine has made this story up." " I shall ignore that last comment." " Because he's your uncle..." " ...you will not see who he really is." " Merlin!" "I've had my heart broken enough already today." "I don't want to lose another friend." "Gaius condemned himself." "There's no more to be said." "You had a difficult journey." "You must be tired." "It's time to wake up." "It's time for the fun to begin." "Get on with it, Morgana." "Whatever you want to do, just do it now." "I'm not afraid to die." "Dying is the easy part." "Wouldn't be in such a hurry if I were you." "My friend here is going to help me get some information." "Some information you might be a little reluctant to give." "I want you to tell me where Emrys is." "I don't know anyone called Emrys." "Oh, I think you do." "Do what you will." "I will never tell you anything, Morgana." "Alator is no ordinary torturer." "He's a Catha." "Priest of the old religion." "He has at his disposal some skills only known by initiates." "But you're a learned man, Gaius." "I'm sure you know exactly what he can do." "Thought you were him." "Agravaine's behind this." "He's done something to Gaius." "Arthur told me what you said." "He won't listen to me." "I'll do what I can, but Agravaine's his uncle." "He" "He trusts him more than anyone." "Yeah." "Do not resist the fire." "Let it into your mind." "Let the flames search out your thoughts." "Feel them burn into the darkest recesses of your mind." "Let them shine a torch on your deepest secrets and bring them to the light." "Tell me about Emrys." "Tell me, Gaius." "Where can we find Emrys?" "In Camelot." "Where in Camelot?" "Emrys is" "Emrys is the name by which he is known to the druids, but to me" "I know him by a different name." "Tell me, Gaius." "No." "Who is he?" "He" " He is the most powerful sorcerer who has ever lived." "What is his name?" "His name is Merlin." "For the druids' legends are true." "Merlin is Emrys." "A man destined for greatness." "A man who will one day unite the powers of the old world and the new and bring the time that the poets speak of." "The time of Albion." "Okay." "We should split up." "Yeah." "Gwaine." "If you find him, don't wait for me." "Black horse belongs to Gwaine." "He's a hothead." "We've got to be careful of him." "Go to Gaius." "If he remains alive, we're all in danger." "You can rest assured he won't breathe another word." "I'll deal with Merlin and this hothead." "Agravaine!" "So it was you." " You abducted him." " What?" "No." "What are you doing?" " He's unconscious." "I'm trying to help." " With that?" " I want to see if he's still breathing." " And is he?" "Just." "You can see the breath is still on the blade." "Look." " Now do you believe--?" " How did you know he was here?" "Guards on the western gate saw you and Merlin leave." "Knowing Merlin's concern for Gaius I thought there must be some new information at hand." "I just followed your trail." "You agree he was abducted, then?" "Yes." "Of course he was." "Now let's get him back to Camelot without delay." " Come on." " We have to find Merlin first." "No!" "I fear if we do not leave now, Gaius will not survive." "We've no time to lose." "Give me a hand." "Look, the people who took Gaius have already fled." "I saw them with my own eyes from the ridge." "We must get back to Camelot by nightfall." "Come on, Gwaine." "Help me!" "Please." "Merlin can find his own way back." "You really are a thorn in my side, aren't you?" "When will you learn not to meddle with things you couldn't possibly understand?" "It's difficult, isn't it when there are so many painful ways for me to be finally rid of you?" "I don't care what you do to me." "I want to know what you've done to Gaius." "Gaius had some information I needed." "The whereabouts of the sorcerer Emrys." "If he gave it to me willingly, his suffering would not be prolonged." "But if he did not" "If you have harmed him" "Why are we discussing his fate when it's time to decide yours?" "Not whether you're going to die alone here in this godforsaken place." "That's going to happen anyway." "But how." "And precisely how painfully." "Alator." "This is Merlin." "He's just a serving boy but he's the most troublesome serving boy I've ever known." "I take it your time with Gaius was fruitful?" "Gaius told me everything." "So you know who Emrys is?" "Indeed I do." "Not only do I know who Emrys is I know exactly where he is." "Then tell me." "Never." "Merlin, I am Alator of the Catha." "I am honored to be of service." "You have magic." "I understand the burden you carry." "I have lived with it all my life." "I have been shunned, persecuted and sometimes even hunted in every corner of the five kingdoms." "I understand what that feels like." "You're not alone." "From what Gaius told me I do not have your great powers, Merlin but I share your hopes." "For I and others like me have dreamt of the world you seek to build and we would gladly give our lives to help you do it." " What happened?" " We found him." "He'd been kidnapped." "He's in a bad way." "It seems I misjudged Gaius." "Merlin was right all along." " We were lucky he found him." " Indeed." "If it hadn't been for the tenacity of your boy Gaius would be dead." "We both owe Gaius and Merlin an apology, my lord." "I'm ashamed." "Why?" "Your secret a secret I thought I'd protect with my life" " Gaius, you could have died." " But if Morgana had found out" "She didn't." "She didn't count on Alator's true loyalties." "I worry that one day I'll let you down." "My worry is Arthur." "We can't tell him about Agravaine." "He needs to know." "We don't have any evidence and you've seen how dear he is to Arthur." "I think I owe both of you an apology." "Not to me." "To Gaius." "Yes." "Merlin, will you give us a moment?" "Does that mean I get the morning off?" "Yes." "Yes, you can have the morning off to clean my chambers, polish my armor and launder my clothes." "You certainly know how to apologize." "Are you all right?" "I'm just glad it's all over." "I made a mistake." "I've looked after you since you were a nursling, Arthur." "You should have known I love you far too much ever to betray you." "Gaius who abducted you?" "I couldn't say but I'm certain they were in league with Morgana." " What did they want?" " Information about you, Camelot." "To help bring down the kingdom." "Did they get it?" "Morgana got nothing from me." "I'm grateful." "But there's a matter that still concerns me." "When you were asked about the sorcerer who killed my father you lied." "I did, sire." " You admit it?" " I chose to protect him." "I feared you would seek him out and execute him." "That would have been a grave mistake." "The sorcerer did not kill your father." "Uther was dying." "He tried everything in his power to save him." "Contained within this great kingdom is a rich variety of people with a range of different beliefs." "I'm not the only one seeking to protect you." "There are many more who believe in the world you are trying to create." "One day, you will learn, Arthur." "One day, you will understand just how much they've done for you." "Merlin." "There's something at work here that I don't understand." "Are you suggesting sorcery?" " A lamia." " Aah!" "A creature of magic." "They could control the mind of a man." " Get away from her." " It's something about you, Merlin." "It's the way she looks at you, as if you were the enemy." "We're the ones in danger, Leon." "She's led us to a trap."