Merlin: Dawn of the Dragonlord

Chapter 14: The Curse

Chapter 14: The Curse

Arthur was brought out of his reverie by a new presence in the Hall.  A man was walking towards him with irregular footsteps.  He was limping and leaning heavily on a stick.  The giant knight Gregory was following him like a watchdog.

An intense, pitiless knot had taken birth in Arthur’s stomach after reading the inscription on the stone wall.  The resulting flow of emotions was overwhelming and somewhat new to him.  Hopelessness was not part of his vocabulary.  He needed to understand just what had happened to this kingdom.

“Who are you?  What the Hell is going on here?” he bellowed to the newcomer.

“I’m Sir Galahad,” said the limping man.  “I’m a knight, though not a very good one, as you can certainly see.”

“I’m Lancelot,” said the younger knight, “and this is…”

“I know who you are.  Gregory just told me,” cut in Galahad.  “You shouldn’t be here.  Don’t you know there is a curse?”

Arthur rushed forward to face this new person.

“I asked you a question, Knight,” he growled.

Lancelot was more tempered.  “We just had a close encounter with your curse and we killed at least one of them.  It was a very large wolf,” he said.

Galahad’s sneer turned into a playful grin.  “You’re the lucky ones, then,” he said happily.  “It could have been worst; you can trust me on that.  Still, it would have been wiser to stay at the inn.  When you passed through the village, didn’t they tell you there was a curfew?”

The knight was limping towards the round fireplace.  Seeing that Arthur was beside himself, Lancelot decided to follow the other, unsteady knight.

“We didn’t see any village,” said Lancelot as he helped Galahad sit down on a log.  “We came through the mountain path.”

Sir Galahad looked from Lancelot to Arthur in wonder.  “That way is shut.  How did you…?”

Arthur had already pulled out the map from under his tunic.  It was the only belonging that he had not left with the horses at the inn.  He felt a weird attachment to the map; he almost snatched it back when Galahad made a movement towards it.

“I did not think that I would lay eyes on such a thing in my lifetime,” mused the knight, the wonder still in his voice.  “Then again, strange things are happening around here that shouldn’t be happening.”

“Do you mean the curse?” asked Lancelot.

There was not much age difference between Lancelot and Galahad, Arthur noticed, but their appearance held many contrasts.  Lancelot’s face was delicate; Galahad’s skin was sun burnt and scarred.  Lancelot had the strength of youth and he could maintain his back straight even on the unconventional chair.  Galahad, on the other hand, was hunched, leaning with his hands on his knees, whether it was because of his injury or some other burden, Arthur could not be sure.    

“I don’t mean the curse actually.  I mean Merlin.”

Now this is a tale I want to hear, thought Arthur eagerly.  He took a seat opposite Galahad.

“The curse has been here a long time,” explained the knight, a dark look on his face.  “When Balinor’s father realized what Uther was doing to the dragons and the Dragonlords, he grew angry and fierce.  He wanted to send the Great Dragon Kilgarrah to destroy Camelot.  But Balinor had such a deep hatred of violence and war…  Well, as you imagined, there was an argument between the father and the son, at the end of which Balinor left.  The King was dying and he wanted to settle his affairs.  He named his cousin as his heir and announced to all that he would pass on the Dragonlord gift to his son, regardless of their disagreement.  But Balinor had already left to try and smooth things out in Camelot, along with all of the others heirs with whom Balinor had grown up.  On the day of the announcement, at the end of the banquet in fact, a messenger came in and declared that Uther had killed all the Dragonlords and that the great dragons were no more.  The King went into a fiery rage and destroyed all that stood in his way.  He went to the Black Lake and called upon the Old Powers and some say that is how the curse came to be.  After that, the King returned to this Hall, carved these words into the stone, and thrust his own blade into his heart.  As he lay dying, he placed the sword on the wall and he sealed the weapon there with deep magic.  And no one has been able to pick up that sword ever since.  Well… no one except Merlin.”

“Why am I not surprised?” said Arthur, grinning.

Shadows from the fire were dancing on Galahad’s face.

“This I know mostly from my father.  I was only a young lad at the time.  They are all leaving the Valley now.  When the old king is dead, Aria’s Cradle will be no more.  The first home of the Dragonlords shall be the last.  No one wants to live in a place that’s cursed.  Not even Merlin can change that.”

The knight let out a long sigh and in it there was great sorrow.

“Merlin has magic,” said Lancelot stubbornly.  “He is a Dragonlord too.  Surely he can lift the curse that his grandfather put forth.”

The other knight was shaking his head.  “No,” he retorted.  “The darkness has taken hold.  What used to be random occurrences happens now every night.  Merlin needs to understand that he can do no more for the race of dragons and Dragonlords.  But he is so… stubborn.”

“Tell me about it,” said Arthur.

Galahad was staring meaningfully at Arthur now.  “Merlin will die if he stays here.  This darkness… it is not good for him.  He must go back to Camelot.”   

Arthur leaned back on his chair.  “How well is he taking that news?”

“Not very well,” growled the knight.

There were interrupted by a loud screech.  

“Wolves don’t sound like that,” said Arthur, jumping to his feet.

Escalading the crumbled stones only took him a few seconds.  As he stood on the pile of rocks, more screeching filled the night sky.  And then he saw them.  Flying high above the lake, five winged creatures were circling like birds of prey who have found their next meal.  Their huge bat-like wings were casting shadows over the pale moon.

“What are they?” whispered Arthur.

As he wheeled around, eager to hear the answer, he saw that several guards and the giant knight Gregory had returned to the Hall.  Galahad was gesturing to them and giving orders.

“Open the gates!  Allow in anyone who seeks shelter.  Get to the tunnels and let in the knights!”

The level of urgency had evidently reached a peak as more people started to pour into the Great Hall.  Women and scared-looking children came in with blankets and settled themselves on the piles of hay at the end of the room.

“What is going on?” asked Arthur, coming down from the rocks.

“Daemons.  Creatures of dark magic.  They don’t come out too often but they’re bringer of death,” said Galahad as he was showing the way to two elderly women.

Arthur glanced around.  The Great Hall was filling up rapidly.  He even spotted a few knights who had just dropped their swords to the floor and were now panting and wiping their brows.

Arthur wrestled his way towards the small group of men.

“Where’s Merlin?” he bellowed.  “And where’s Gwaine?”

The knights were shaking their heads.  

“You left them out there?” yelled Lancelot, outraged.

“You don’t understand!” said Galahad.  “Merlin doesn’t allow us to go against the daemons.  It requires powerful magic to repel them.  If you go out there, you’ll only get him killed.”

“Well, I don’t care!” replied Arthur.

And without further argument, he took up his sword and rushed towards the caved in wall.  He didn’t care about his own safety.  He didn’t care about what was out there.  He was Arthur Pendragon and he wasn’t going to coward in a keep with the women and children while there were men in danger out there; especially if one of them was Merlin.  He’d never hear the end of it.

“Arthur!  I’ll go!  You stay here where it’s safe!” Lancelot was shouting above the screeching and the screaming.

But that did not slow down Prince Arthur.

And then he heard, “Swefe nu!”

And then, he felt extremely drowsy.

And then, he fell into a deep, deep sleep.