Together We Will Rule The World

[em]

“You think I would join forces with selffish and cruel magic? Never”

There was no way he’d join her. she could ask him a thousand, even a million times and each time the answer would be ‘no’. He had a destiny to lead – Arthur to protect. He would make Arthur king! Not her. All that Nimueh would do was use her magic to turn everyone against eachother. Nimueh wouldn’t even see the light of day once he had his way. She’d killed Gauis. That wasn’t what Merlin had agreed with her on, she was meant to have taken his life in exchange for his mother’s! Now Gauis had paid the price. And for what? This was a vicuous circle that always ended up backfiring on Merlin. He wasn’t leaving this island until Gauis was brought back to him. safe and well.

He watched her – she was conjuring up yet another fireball to throw at him. he’d managed to dodge one, but didn’t know how long it would be until he was struck down.
Merlin knew he had to be strong. Just seeing Gauis’ lifeless body on the floor made the anger build up inside of him.

That was when it hit him. the fireball that she’d sent cascading through the air and into his chest!
He was knocked to the ground like a lifeless weight. His chest felt like it was on fire, the burning sensation seering through him. he struggled for breath as the burning grew more promentant.

“Pity” he heard her words echo

Merlin looked up and saw her face that was slowly becoming fuzzy. No – he wasn’t about to die on Arthur. He wouldn’t – he couldn’t! he was going to make him king, carry on his destiny for goodness sake!

“Together we could have ruled the world”

Merlin wasn’t going to go down without a fight. He made sure that she wouldn’t have the last say on this matter. He managed to conjur up some words, making sure that they would be the last she heard. They came tumbling from his mouth like a panting venoumous rasp.

“The day I join you…will be the day I die”

[/color]



Tagged: Nimueh
Setting: Isle of the Blessed
Timeline: End of S1

[Deleted]

Merlin was done for. If the fire ball that had just charred his chest wouldn’t put him over the edge, a simple spell of hers would to the trick. He was lying on the ground now, probably only half conscious with the pain, and he might even see his irrevocable end himself.
She had not been lying, it WAS a pity. If he was to join her side, their power would be beyond compare in all the world, nothing would ever be able to stop them. Merlin was a raw diamond, hardly polished at all until now but even at this point in time you could tell the invaluable gem he would become one day – but only with the right polishing of course. And that polishing he seemed to reject even with his dying breath. Truly, a pity that his heart was so goody-good, because for Nimueh there was only two ways to deal with people equally powerful to herself. First you try to make them allies once you know their full potential, but if that goes wrong for whatever reason, they become your enemies. And there is only one way to deal with enemies: Get rid of them as fast and thorough as you can!! She had done that now, but she still feeled a little regret. Not for killing him, but for the missed chances. Why did righteous people have to be so bloomingly stubborn? Well, it couldn’t be helped, she thought as she turned away to complete the ritual.

“The day I join you…will be the day I die”

That sent her turning around to him, chuckling. Oh sweet defiance! Didn’t he realise how stupid that sounded as he was practically on the brink of death? Hang on… a completely audacious and crazy idea sparked up in her mind, but Nimueh was experienced enough to know that the craziest ideas mostly were the best. The way Merlin had voiced his defiant speech, probably meant to be memorable last words had touched something deep inside Nimueh, but it was no feeling of pity, it was a feeling of triumph! A faint inkling of a way to turn his words into reality… it was risky and it was a horrible bargain to strike, but with the powers she had already seen sleeping still in this young warlock, the risk was very well worth taking.
“The day you die?” she repeated, treading closer again, raising her hand. “Well, I would say that can be arranged for. Forþrysme!¹” Her fingers slowly forming into a claw, she started to enclose them around the air over him.

¹: Choke!

[em]

The invisible powerful grip was now pushing into his throat was making him even weaker than he felt already. No matter how much he didn’t want to admit – Merlin knew that he wouldn’t get out of this one. The blow that the fireball had caused had already caused some internal damage so it seemed. It was hopeless, he wasnt strong enough. He tried to speak but couldn’t as the grip on his throat tightened, Nimueh’s words still echoing all around him.

“No!” he managed to rasp out and tried to get to his feet, something was keeping him down though. He clutched his throat to try and pull the sensation away, but no matter how hard he tried, he could now see his surroundings swirling around him.

He had to stay awake, he had to try and be strong. For Arthur and for Camelot. The dragon failed to mention what would happen should he or Arthur die with their destiny uncompleted.

Merlin slowly felt everything leaving him. The image of Nimueh above him becoming more and more blurred. “No…” he breathed as his hands began to slip away from the clutch he had on his throat.

With his body feeling heavier than before all Merlin felt like he wanted to do now was close his eyes and sleep. It seemed his eyelids were winning the battle of trying to make him shut them. His body now felt heavy. Merlin’s eyes flickered from Nimueh and focused on the sky instead.

Look at the sky….Look at the sky….Look at the sky.
He needed to stay focused on that one thing. Not on the witch. Never the witch.

But soon enough, even the clearest blue was replaced with the darkest of nights.

[Deleted]

Contrary to common assumptions Nimueh took no pleasure in killing. It was a necissity, not something to enjoy. Enemies needed to be wiped out to not pose amy threat to you and your plans, but the day you enjoyed making those suffer that had not caused any personal offense to you, you knew you had lost your soul. Merlin’s only fault was that he had chosen to wrong side to stand with, and in doing so had spoiled a few of her carefully laid out plans. But in the end, he had been as easy to play as any other, because what made him strong in defying the luring call of ‘cruel magic’ as he called it, was also his biggest weakness: He cared too much for others and almost nothing for himself. He was the born hero, willing to sacrifice his pure heart so another could live. That’s how she had managed to lure him here after all, to give him one last chance to join her side. He had refused as she had thought he would, but instead of getting rid of him now, she would force him to do what he had never wanted: Become one with her kind of magic. The old Merlin would die and in his place a new Merlin would rise: A Merlin no prophecies could have ever foretold: One who would place his love of magic before everything else, without such a choking amount of conscience to weigh him down.

The boy’s struggle was not a long one, thanks be to the Goddess of all! Hadn’t she known him to be on the brink of death already, she would have never chosen to choke this last spark of life out of him and instead had used a quicker method. She saw his fingers twitching grow weaker, she saw his gaze shifting to the sky, wide open, trying to focus, but soon this focus was broken and that special spark in someone’s eye that many people called an image of the person’s soul, vanished as well, leaving those once childlike trusting eyes glassy and simply dead.
But Nimueh didn’t allow herself to stare into them for too long, she had a ritual to complete after all, unfinished rituals were a dangerous business, and especially one dealing with life and death. It had gone wrong before, in that one fateful night that had been the turning point in seemingly everyone’s history. Ygraine’s death had been caused by her being so weak after Arthur’s birth. If you opened the door to the Otherworld to take a soul, the Otherworld grabbed the weakest soul within it’s reach and took it in return, no matter who it was.

With Merlin’s death the exchange of lives had been complete, but instead of finishing up, closing the gate again, Nimueh would have to alter the ritual for her new needs.
Raising her bare hands up into the sky, she called in the Old Language:
“Spirits of the Otherworld! The bargain is complete, you have taken your toll, a life for a life. But I, Nimueh Ó Liatháin, High Priestess of the Old Religion, ask you for another favor. Return this boy to me, but only his shell, and not his soul. His pure soul now belongs to you alone. Give him a mind and soul that will make him follow my teaching, so he can embrace his new destiny: Ruling the world at my side. For this I pay a price in blood!” she finished, reaching to the dagger at her side, piercing the creamy white skin of her other arm with its sharp blade, letting a good twenty drops fall on the stone altar. “With that I thank you, spirits and call upon the ancient powers bestowed on me to seal the gate!”

[em]

Swirls of colour flickered around the darkness. A high pitched scream replaced silence. Hushed and evil like whispers spoke to him in the darkness. His time was now, and he would rise again. That was what they told him. With his strength combined and magic far more powerful to him than before, he would be the creator of a new world, a new Albion. A new era.
He would have a purpose. No destinies. No lives to protect. This was it. This was for his purpose – a call of destiny that only belonged to him. The swirls around him began to take hold, as though they were lifting him up, engulfing him in all their glory. With a final flash of light, everything went dark once more.

Merlin’s eyes snapped open. The first thing he saw was just how magnificent the darkest of clouds could look on a wonderful dismal day. It set the mood just perfectly. He slowly got to his feet, his eyes finally coming to rest on the woman who stood before him. His expression was one that could be mistaken for a glare. The evilest of glares for that matter – and it was.

Without any word to her he looked to the sky, his eyes flashing red. A clap of thunder and a flash of lightening tore through the clouds - as a result, the rain began to pour down on the pair of them.
Satisfied with his work (although not showing it) he looked back to Nimueh. It was then his gaze fell upon the old man lying by the stone crypt. He slowly made his way over and crouched down beside the body, pulling the arm so he could see exactly who it was.

He remembered this man. He remembered his face. The name escaped him though. He must have done something wrong in order for him to die at the hands on Nimueh. Merlin gave a small smirk at this. How very wrong he had been to become involved with her. He pushed the body back and rose to his feet again, not giving the lifeless form a second look.

[Deleted]

Had it worked? Normally Nimueh wasn’t one to doubt herself or her abilities, but playing with life and death was always tricky business. There were powers even beyond her grasp even if she had permission to deal with them. The Otherworld was a scary and blunt place, there was no good or evil, there was just spirits and the Great Mother as the entity filling up the vast space of nothingness. You might think of this Mother figure being caring and kind, but Nimueh had made too many contacts with the ‘Other Side’ already to doubt this notion at least a little bit. But she had fulfilled her part, had given a life for a life and a blood toll on top of that, so her bargain should not really be denied now. If anything, the powers she dealt with were not treacherous. They simply didn’t care for human affairs or any emotional ties, or even what a human being would call justice. They had their own timeless notion and take on justice.

But she didn’t need to wait for long. Soon after she had finished the ritual, Merlin’s formerly dead body began to move again, and as he stood up she immediately could see the change in his eyes, even without the slight scoff her now weared as a facial expression. Gone was this childlike innocence, this borderline naïve positive take of the world these eyes had always carried, and it was replaced by annoyance and something almost to be called cruelty. With a feeling of high amusement she realised he immediately used his newly gained powers to change the weather into something probably matchin his mood. A little on the cliché and dramatic side, but they could work that out later just fine. It took some time to learn the art of subtle aloofness and cruelty, but it was not like Nimueh couldn’t teach him. She had no doubt that the new Merlin would be an apt and at the same time enthusiastic pupil.

“Merry meet, Merlin”, she greeted him softly and bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement, then watched with interest as he approached Gaius’ body. It would be interesting to find out what his memory had left with him and what not.
“Do you know why you are here Merlin? And do you know who I am?” she inquired, curious for the answer. Merlin was incalculable right now and she would do well to be on guard until she had figured him out. It would not be the first time in history for creation to turn against master.

[em]

“Do you know why you are here Merlin? And do you know who I am?”

Merlin’s gaze fell on Nimueh once again. She appeared to have her guard up if Merlin could sense her own lack of judgement any better. He slowly shook his head, giving a small laugh of disbelief. “What do you take me for Nimueh? Im not the idiot who you chocked to death”. Yes, he remembered that part, where he’d been a disgustingly innocent and righteous servant who had ventured with only one desire. To kill her. Of course he knew why he was here now.

He slowly made his way towards her, “You’re not doubting yourself now are you?” he asked calmly and looked at her a little worried. “After all, you are the one who called for the otherworld to bring me back.” he stated.

He picked up the cup of life that was resting on top of the crypt and examined it, eyes flickering to Nimueh and back down at the cup itself. He held it up to examine it a little more. It was a curious and powerful object to say the least. “Strange, isn’t it? How one moment I couldn’t hate you anymore for killing a friend, and yet now I find myself thanking you for it”. Merlin looked back over his shoulder to where the body of the man was still laying. “I remember him – vaguely…” he began, but found himself saying nothing more.

Merlin held out the cup for Nimueh to take, “You might be wanting to save this for another occasion – just incase”.

[Deleted]

“What do you take me for Nimueh? Im not the idiot who you chocked to death”

Merlin spoke true words, words of confidence and words that deeply reassured her, even made her enjoy this little conversation they just had started. This truly was a Merlin more to her liking, freed of the burden of conscience and morals, free to speak his evil mind and act on it. How reasonable even a boy could be if you took all that away from him! It was nothing short of a miracle, but a wonderful prove that once again Nimueh hadn’t miscalculated in her scheming. This probably would become her best scheme ever, as there was no turning back now. The old Merlin was dead and even though the new one might share his memories, the feelings attached to those were lost forever. A greater success could never be found anywhere. It was hard for Nimueh to stay calm and collected right now when all she wanted was to break the sky asunder with a cry of sheer triumph.
”So I see”, she replied with a catlike smirk. “I take you for a very wise man, even for your tender age. Your soul has matured now, Merlin, far beyond your looks. So no…” she looked him up and down, “definitely not an idiot.”

She now chuckled herself at his bold remark. Right now she was far too content to bother that Merlin had all but insulted her. He was like a baby lion right now, unused to his ferocity and therefore toying a little with it, to test his boundaries. She would let him test for the time being, but she was also ready to lash out and show him his place should he overstep lines too drastically.
”You should know me well enough to know I hardly doubt myself Merlin”, she answered with an almost jovial wink. “So, yes I did know very well what I was doing and know it still, don’t you worry. We two…”, she locked his gaze, “we two are destined for greatness, and now that you have overcome your stupid old self, finally we can set on this path.”

When Merlin looked again at Gaius, some alarm bells inside Nimueh’s head started ringing. Perhaps she should get rid of his body very soon, to not give Merlin a constant reminder of what once had been. Maybe… maybe she should suggest he disposed of the body himself? To sever all ties there once might have been to it?
”Don’t bother about him any more, Merlin”, she suggested softly. “He was an old fool, whose heart was poisoned by being around Uther too much. This is your past, but this”, she made a wide gesture with her hand, encircling the whole island, “this is your future. Your home if you want or your reinforcement camp. Whatever you want it to be.”
Then she took the cup her presented her and simply nodded. This was truly an artefact not to be messed with. It could be one person’s salvation but another’s greatest doom.