Circa AD 410
England
Merlin had once had a lover before when he was still in his youth and did not yet know that he possessed magical powers. Her name was "Nimeva" and he loved her dearly, but she was killed by a fire-breathing dragon. Merlin was overcome with grief, and began to learn to make use of his magic.
Later on he met Vivien, who was the exact replica of Nimeva in appearance, but in personality the two couldn't be more opposite. Vivien was very self-centred, and Merlin would try to please her in every way, so much that she became annoyed with him…
Vivien was a ravishing beauty. Her eyes were clear, sparkling oceans of blue; her long flowing hair was a rich cascade of gold; and her skin was of such a startling pure whiteness that anyone who happened to see her would have to turn back to look at her again. She was a small girl, but with an extremely fine figure.
The reason she had accepted Merlin as her lover was because she had been pressured by Morgan, who promised to give her everything she desired once she has learnt everything from Merlin. Morgan had said that the reason she needed to obtain these spells was just in case she ever needed them to help her mother and younger siblings.
But Vivien often lost her temper because Merlin called her "Nimeva" so frequently that she felt as if he did not actually love her, but only wanted to be with her because she reminded him of his past lover.
"Merlin, you deceive me, you do not really love me," Vivien complained.
"I truly do love you, Nimeva…um…Vivien." Merlin forgets every time.
"See, you won't forget her! My name is Vivien, and I want to be myself and not anyone else! So if you love me, I want you to love me for who I am and not because I look like someone else!"
Vivien then remembers Morgan's words when she told her that if she really wanted to test Merlin's love for her, she must ask him for the secret of his enchantment and the cause that would make him lose his powers. So she said to Merlin,
"Merlin, if your love for me is true you must tell me what would cause your magical powers to fade." She looked directly in Merlin's eyes as she asked this.
Merlin never thought that anyone would dare to ask him this question. He who had never been angry with anyone before now yelled at her furiously "How dare you! You ask for something which you have no right to know!"
Vivien was so astonished by his sudden rage that she burst into tears.
But it seemed as if some mysterious magical force in the area had come over Merlin to soothe his fury, so that he was calm again almost immediately. He felt regretful about having been so aggressive, and apologised to her. But Vivien refused to quell her tears, so he drew her towards him and kissed her, but this only caused her to weep more uncontrollably.
Merlin never once guessed that his life would be drawing to a finish within only a few minutes from now. Even though he had been aware that his time would be coming to an end fairly soon, and had already once bade farewell to King Arthur, he was not able to foresee into the near future.
What had just occurred earlier urged him to finally decide to reveal his deepest secret to Vivien, if only to let her have her way.
"All right, Vivien," he called her by the correct name for the first time. "I will tell you my secret. There is no force on earth that can as much as harm me, unless…I am deprived of the two objects that contain all of my powers. These two things are…"
"Merlin!" A yell interrupted him from far off in the distance, and soon the shout was followed by the appearance of a knight galloping towards them upon his steed, robbing the two of their privacy and shattering the intensity of the moment.
"Merlin…" the knight gasped, breathless with exhaustion. "I have been searching for you everywhere. This is the last place where I expected to find you."
"What is the matter, Sir Galahad?" Merlin queried.
"King Arthur urgently requests your presence!" Sir Galahad was still struggling to catch his breath.
Merlin turned back to glance at Vivien. She was still staring at him intently, as if still waiting for his answer.
"Tell the king that I will be there presently." Merlin wished to clear things up with Vivien and settle the situation once and for all, for he knew that he was able to vanish and appear before King Arthur before the knight would even be back to report.
The knight swiveled his horse around and disappeared amidst a storm of dust, and the sounds of the cantering soon faded into silence.
An atmosphere of loneliness and solitude hovered above the forest grounds. It was dusk in late summer, not far off from the time of year when the season would make its transition into autumn. The two were sitting in a clearing in the middle of the woods, where a small creek trickled through and a large oak stood tall in all its proud splendour and regality.
Vivien had ceased her weeping, and without a word was staring at Merlin expectantly.
Merlin gazed at her absentmindedly. He felt as if he were in a trance. His ears seemed to have filtered out all the noises of the world around him and he was now oblivious to all sounds but the beat of his own heart, which reverberated and echoed in his mind with every pulsation. Why does he have to tell her? He was tormenting himself with this question. He glanced at her face again. Did he really love her that much? Yes, he did, because she was so like Nimeva, or did he love her because she was Vivien?
It was as if a spell had settled over Merlin's heart again.
"I insist, Vivien, that I truly love you, more than you would ever think. I will tell you…the two critical items which contain all of my powers are my magic robe, and the dragon pendant…"
As soon as Merlin had finished this confession, he felt relieved as if a mountain had been removed from his chest. He had not shared this secret with anyone for a long time, a very long time, at least a hundred years, no, more like two hundred. But he had always been healthy and never looked as old as he really was.
"That is a lie."
"I am not lying."
"Then prove it."
"Sure."
Merlin removed his cloak and the necklace with the dragon pendant, and held it out to her.
"Now, try using the skills that I've taught you and cast a spell on me!" Merlin places himself entirely into her hands to prove his words to her.
As soon as Merlin had removed his robe he looked just like any ordinary old man. The aura and splendour that had once radiated from him now vanished and he was left looking pathetic and pitiful. He was now dressed only in clothes of simple, faded white cotton. No one had ever seen Merlin like this before. Even though Vivien had often been alone with him, even she had never seen him like this. For he now appeared like any ordinary person, with no magical powers whatsoever.
So Vivien knew immediately that everything Merlin had told her was true and that there was no need to prove anything any longer. She could see for certain now that Merlin truly loved her with all his heart, so she decided to return the magic things to him.
But just as she was about to restore the dragon necklace back to its owner, she was suddenly ceased by an enormous gust of wind that hurled her forcefully away from Merlin. This gust of wind had appeared out of nowhere despite the fact that there were no winds in this area, and Merlin knew at once that this wind could only have been created by some form of enchantment.
And sure enough a figure began to appear between the two people who had previously been on their own. Merlin gazed at it intently and was able to make out that it was a female form.
"Morgan!" he exclaimed.
"Yes, it is I." Morgan pulled out a wand and pointed it at the dragon pendant that had fallen to the ground, "Ariva cum!" The pendant floated into her outstretched, and she grinned wickedly.
Morgan was no longer the young girl that Merlin had known. He had not seen her for many years now, and in that time she had grown into a full adult. She was now a tall, thin lady, with pale skin and jet black hair. Her golden-brown eyes glowed and made her look strangely fierce and mysterious beneath the black swathes of clothes that swirled around her. But despite the iciness of her glare, her appearance still held an overpowering quality of feminine beauty and elegance.
"Thank you very much, Vivien, my trust in you was not wasted."
"You used me!" Vivien cried out in anger.
"No, it was your own foolishness that prevented you from seeing through Merlin."
Before Merlin could move Morgan pointed her wand at him and uttered a spell, "Shu her tu!" and Merlin's body was cast violently at the trunk of the great oak. Morgan didn't wait, she began attacking him mercilessly before he had a chance to collect himself, for in addition to not having the magic robe that protected him from all spells his dragon pendant was now also lost to Morgan.
"Komobinay," Morgan finished off, and with that Merlin's figure became stuck to the trunk of the oak. He tried to struggle, but found that his body was paralysed, frozen against the tree. Merlin never dreamed that he would ever lose to anyone so easily.
"…You will be defeated by a lady." The voice of the wise old man was once more resonating inside Merlin's head. "Has my time come to an end already."
Merlin's form slowly sank into the wood of the oak as if it were quicksand. But before he was completely encased in the tree he declared in a loud voice,
"I curse you, through the power of my magic possessions which you now hold, that the day you bear a child will be the day of your death. Cruza butra!"
As soon as Merlin's voice had died away the dragon pendant that Morgan held in her hand began to glow radiantly, and she could feel the power of the curse, the sensation of it penetrating throughout her entire body. But Merlin had forgotten to think of Vivien. She still stood holding his magic robe in her hands, and now the golden pattern of the twelve signs of the zodiac embroidered on the cloak also flared up and shone brightly, and the power of the curse also spread and permeated through her.
Then Merlin's figure was swallowed up by the oak tree.
"No!" Vivien cried in a voice that split through the air and sent the birds fluttering out from the trees.
Morgan turned to Vivien.
"Hand the robe over to me now!"
"In your dreams!"
Vivien rose to her feet and took out her wand, "Frio troptic!" she cried. Flames shot out from the end of her wand straight towards Morgan. But before they reached her, they parted in the middle and split into two streams of fire, one going to the left and the other to the right side of her without causing her any damage, for she had raised the dragon pendant up in front of her in defense.
Vivien was stunned by this unexpected outcome but she quickly regained control of herself. She put Merlin's magic robe on just in time, for Morgan was now casting her own spell back against her,
"Hurricana!" As had happened before a gust of storm now rose and headed directly at Vivien. But this time, as soon as the wind reached her it just blew past, without creating any threat of danger.
The pair could now see the extreme power that the two enchanted objects contained, and immediately knew why Merlin always wore the robe, and never removed the dragon necklace from around his neck.
But Morgan was many times more intelligent and educated than Vivien, as she had come from an aristocratic family, whereas Vivien was only from a common background. So Morgan quickly realised that in order to eliminate Vivien she had to use other methods, rather than continue to attack her directly with spells and sorcery. She now pointed her wand at a large branch that hung above Vivien's head,
"Neaterise!" The branch broke off and fell on Vivien, catching her off guard and knocking her to the ground. She became unconscious.
Morgan advanced upon the sprawled out figure, but before she could reach her a bright illumination burst out all around Vivien and she was enveloped by a cloud of smoke. When the smoke faded away her body was no longer to be seen, and only the fallen branch remained to mark the spot where she had lain.
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