"Merlin…Merlin, where are you?" The soldiers searched for Merlin everywhere, searching through the forest that surrounded the giant oak tree. It has been three days since they first set out on this hunt, but there has been no sign that their quest was likely to succeed.
"Sir Galahad, where did you actually see Merlin last?" King Arthur questioned.
"Your Majesty, I really did find Merlin and Vivien within this area only two days ago. Hmmm…it had looked like they were having some problems, I saw Vivien crying." Galahad recounted the scene he had witnessed.
"And by now has Vivien been found yet? Where did she go?"
"We sent men to search for her everywhere, even as far as her mother's house. The entire household has been questioned, but no one knows her whereabouts, your Majesty," another knight reported.
"Then…arrest her mother and everyone in her family and imprison them all!" Arthur firmly gave out these strict orders.
"But…ummm…it's like this…"
"No buts, just obey my command!" Arthur was cross that no progress had been made leading him to information about Merlin, or even Vivien. Where could the two have gone?
No one knew what had happened that day except for Morgan, for she had been the cause of all that had occurred. But no one, not even she, knew where Vivien had gone.
So where had Vivien suddenly vanished to? The truth was that Vivien had not actually gone anywhere at all, but had been made invisible by fairies of the woods, for that day was Midsummer's Eve, the day when the King of the Oaks would annually pass the duty of looking after the forest on to the Queen of the Hollies, so that the seasons may make a transition. It was within this area that the fairies had gathered to celebrate this event.
'Taranis' the King of the Oaks was a leprechaun. Leprechauns are usually about 2 feet tall, dressed in shades of green all but for a bright red cap, except for Taranis who wore a crown and a cloak. Today their season had drawn to an end and it was now their turn to rest, so they were here to meet with the queen of the pixies.
'Brigrid' the Queen of the Hollies was a pixie queen. Pixies come up to about our knee-height, and have four delicate little wings on their backs. They do not possess many magical abilities but can fly and can also expand to human size or shrink to the size of an acorn. Their special duty is to bless newborn infants.
"You can't do this, Taranis, you are meddling in human affairs!" Queen Brigrid warned.
"But she is Merlin's lover and he is our friend. He once helped me out long ago when I was in trouble, and anyone who helps out a leprechaun will have our eternal gratitude and we shall repay him at every opportunity." Taranis argued.
"Then why don't you rescue Merlin himself?"
"It is his fate, you yourself know that, and we cannot change it. But Vivien is another matter…"
"All right, I won't argue with you anymore. So then what will you do now?" the Queen wondered as she saw that Vivien was still unconscious.
"First of all we must help her to regain consciousness and tell her what has happened. And we must look after her."
"Wait a minute! You are going to let her see you? I will not agree with that idea!" the Queen disapproved.
"You are not required to help me, I only ask that you don't stand in my way."
"But the season is changing and you are leaving. Who will take care of her?"
"I will ask either the gnomes or the dwarves to protect and provide for her."
"The gnomes! The dwarves! You may as well ask the goblins to look after her!"
"Then what do you want me to do?" King Taranis was getting frustrated.
"How about this. I will tell my people to take care of her for the duration of this season, or until she is safe from harm. But you will owe me," The Queen suggested a bargain.
"Okay, whatever you wish!" Taranis accepted instantly and thanked her gratefully.
The leprechauns had all departed and now only the pixies remained, hovering around Vivien, trying to bring her back to consciousness by sprinkling water on her face and wrapping a cold wet cloth around her shoulders, where the tree had struck her and pinned her down.
After a long while Vivien began to stir slightly. She felt dizzy and her shoulders were throbbing with pain. She slowly sat up and opened her eyes, and the sight that they met stunned her for the picture that she was confronted with looked like an image out of a dream.
No less than twenty pixies both male and female surrounded her, and the one that stood directly in front of her was different from all the others. She was a lady with a beautiful physiognomy, clad in a shining emerald green dress that gleamed in the sunlight. Perched on her head were a red cap and a small crown that sparkled radiantly, and she had wings and held a wand in one hand.
"Don't be afraid, I am Brigrid, queen of the pixies. Our friends the leprechauns saved you, and we will look after you until you are well again", the Queen explained by way of an introduction.
Vivien was still dazed by the recent events, and tried to search her memory to find out what had happened.
"Merlin…Merlin…Merlin…Where are you?" She looked around; she had never seen this place before. Although she was well acquainted with the land within this region, her current location appeared completely unfamiliar.
"This is our terrain. It is disguised from normal human sight," the Queen said in response to her apparent confusion. "Your Merlin has departed."
Tears streamed down Vivien's face and she was overcome with misery as she thought about her own ignorance and stupidity in falling into Morgan's trap and unknowingly being used to cause Merlin's undoing.
On King Arthur's side, when he was totally at a loss as to where to find Merlin, he could only resort to Morgan and hope to rely on her magical powers to track Merlin down, as she had once been his apprentice.
Morgan pretended to assist him but apparently to no avail.
But then one day a goblin appeared before Morgan. Goblins are small like the pixies, leprechauns, gnomes, and dwarves, but not one amongst these other folks will have anything to do with the goblins because of their spiteful nature.
"I am Balor, and I have something to report to you," the goblin introduced himself. The truth behind his reason for coming to Morgan was that he wanted to revenge himself on the pixie queen for once having embarrassed him in front of all the fairies at a public gathering. "I know where Vivien is."
"Where?" Morgan eagerly inquired.
"Slow down. First you must make me a promise."
"What promise? And how do I know that I can trust you, when I have never even met you before?" Morgan summoned her wand out from beneath her cloak and pointed it at the goblin before he had time to realise what was happening. "Shu her tu!" The goblin was hurled through the air and pinned to the wall. He tried to struggle free, but although there was nothing actually holding him against the wall he could not come lose.
"Now will you tell me, my little demon."
"Don't hurt me please, I only came to give you news about Vivien. She is with the pixie queen, deep in the enchanted forest on the north side of the castle…" And he proceeded to give a lengthy description which included instructions on how to gain entry into the enchanted forest.
"Thank you very much, if everything you say is true then I will give you a handsome reward. What would you like from me?"
"I…er…I only want you to capture the pixie queen for me that is all." And he went on to give the most despicable display of embarrassment imaginable.
Morgan did not wait; she hurried immediately towards the place that the rascal of a goblin had described to her. Ah…yes, this is the entrance; it is a gigantic tree that has a hollow in the trunk large enough for a normal person to pass through. Morgan quickly entered into the dark crevice, and before she could leave through the other end the sight that she encountered was that of a group of pixies dancing merrily, with Vivien watching.
"She really is here!" she thought to herself.
"We have an invader!" the tiny voice of one of the pixies broke out and at the same time a loud whistle echoed through the woods. Within an instant the pixies and Vivien had vanished.
Morgan hastily came out from the tree hollow, but it was too late. All was silent and not a trace remained of the pixies or Vivien.
Furious, Morgan shouted "Come out and fight me, Vivien, don't just hide!"
Silence. No answer.
"I swear that I will search till I find you, no matter where you are."
And then she destroyed the great tree that stood as the entrance to the enchanted forest, until it fell thundering to the ground.
In anger and desperation Morgan went as far as to suggest to King Arthur that he should execute Vivien's mother and siblings, but the King refused, seeing that that would be going too far and that keeping them imprisoned was more than enough.
After that there was nothing more heard about Vivien, and no goblins appeared before Morgan. Morgan felt that she had committed a great error, and realised that she should have made friends rather than enemies. From then on she tried to improve her methods, forming friendships and allies, and frequently asked for the assistance of others to help her accomplish certain deeds rather than doing them herself, until this became a habit.
Although Morgan may not have been able to obtain Merlin's magic robe and make it become her possession, her magical powers had increased. After Arthur's final battle had come to an end and his life had drawn to a close, the story of Merlin, Morgan, and Vivien became a legend that was passed on through the generations, and it was generally believed that Merlin was destroyed by Vivien, his lover, while Morgan had simply vanished with time.
Many hundred years had passed, and people assumed that Morgan would have died by now. But no, she was still alive, and had never thought to neglect her intention to find Vivien. But she had learnt that in order to achieve success in anything you had to have assistance, so she began to pass on her knowledge and skills to a few people that she had selected, teaching them everything from charms and spells to how to make medicines from herbs and how to control various enchanted creatures. In addition she also wrote books on magic, and all this resulted in the formation of various schools of magicians throughout England under the name of the 'Morganians'.
The Morganians would meet annually, and Morgan herself would appear before her disciples only once every year. She was busy practicing skills that would enable her to contact the goblins, and was determined to be able to do this no matter how long it would take, because the mistake that she had made in the past by assaulting a goblin, invading the enchanted forest and destroying its entranceway had made the chance for her to find Vivien seem further away than ever.
But the reason that Morgan had not aged at all was because she had accidentally discovered one of the secrets of the dragon pendant. One night during a full moon she went for a walk to relax after an exhausting day spent practicing magic. Suddenly a young man came running past. He was a thief fleeing to escape arrest by the town authority, and Morgan had grabbed his arm. Then an amazing thing happened, for the dragon pendant began to glow eerily, Morgan's hand became fixed on the man's arm as if held by some form of adhesive, and there was a sudden rush of hot energy as a green light flowed into Morgan's body. She felt indescribably invigorated and rejuvenated, but after a few minutes the young thief was transformed into a wrinkled, white-haired elderly man. Alarmed, Morgan instantly released her grip on his arm.
When the town authority arrived at the spot they found her with an old man. They inquired whether a young man had been seen running by and the young man shook his head, and Morgan gave the same response. Once they had left the old man also departed, but this time he no longer had the strength to run.
So it was in this way that Morgan stumbled upon one of the secrets of the dragon pendant, and she would use this method every fifty years to ensure that she always remained looking young. And it looked as if Morgan was becoming a better person, for she had learnt to use other people to do her work for her. But this illusion of a reform was only temporary.
Gradually Morgan's teachings of charms and spells spread throughout England and across to France, eventually scattering across almost all of Europe…
Until one day, a close female disciple of Morgan's passed away, as a result of a fatal illness that was beyond any cure. Even Morgan was sick because she had sucked out the life energy from a man had a deadly disease. Even her most magical remedy could not improve her condition, and she watched the life of her closest friend slip away. Then suddenly she saw another body emerge, separating from the prostrate form of her dying friend. But this second shape appeared much fainter, and looked light and faded.
"Mace, is that you?" Morgan spoke to the pale figure.
"Yes, what has happened to me?" the shape replied.
"You are dead. If I am not wrong you're now a spirit, yes, you are a spirit. How come I can see you? That means that I am also…no…I don't want to die yet…"
"My master, I must go, someone has come to take me."
Morgan saw a dark mysterious man clad in a long black robe with a hood that hid his face. In his hand was a weapon that looked like a spear but the blade resembled a long sickle. He was advancing on a black steed, and when he reached them he struck Mace's new body with the sickle, slicing her at the waist.
"Don't!" Morgan screamed desperately, but it was too late. Mace's severed body faded into a cloud of smoke.
"Your time has come as well…" The voice of the mysterious man was chilling, and although Morgan had encountered countless fearsome and terrible things in her lifetime, she couldn't help but feel a tingle run down her spine at these words.
Conversation with the mysterious man and the process of bargaining that ensued led to Morgan's discovery of a new skill, the art of communicating with the spirit realm and various forms of ghosts and demons. It was this new knowledge that enabled her to be completely cured as if nothing had happened, because she was able to obtain the recipe for a miraculous drug from the ghosts and demons. This unexpected series of events caused her to become even more evil and confident than before, to the point that the Morganians ended splitting up into two streams: the "white magic" stream which continued to use sorcery but did not interfere with the spirit world, and the "black magic" stream which increasingly became involved with evil spirits.
Morgan tried to force everyone to follow her, but many people after learning communication with the realm of the dead lost their mind to the point of insanity, because they could not bear the images that they had witnessed.
Then one day Morgan finally learnt how to contact the goblins, through the mysterious man who was the messenger of death. And from that day on the fairy world lay in great danger.
Circa AD 1600
England
Morgan had two close disciples, Deimos and Phobos, the only two people who were able to master the art of communicating with the dead, which at that time was the ultimate skill Morgan possessed.
Deimos was a small, agile man who was prone to loquacity, and his white hair which was swept to the back of his head made him look exceedingly like a hawk. Even his piercing eyes resembled the eyes of a hawk, and he actually was able to transform himself into one, and frequently did so. He knew over fifty spells, specialising primarily in the concoction of various poisons and lethal potions.
Phobos, on the other hand, was a gigantic man, and consequentially rather clumsy and slow in movement. His body was covered in thick hair, and he had the strength of more than five men. He had mastered less than ten spells, but was honest to the highest degree and seldom spoke unless necessary. He also had the ability to change himself into a bear.
"Deimos, Phobos, go into the enchanted forest and seek a woman called Vivien, and bring me the magic robe!" Morgan uttered the command, for she had now found out how to enter into the enchanted woods.
Ever since Vivien had come to live with the fairies she had never once left the place, even though her wounds had long been healed. What struck her as odd was the fact that within one day the pixies, leprechauns, gnomes and dwarves would all alternate and take turns to come and look after her and attend to her every need, treating her like a princess. She never took advantage over these adorable tiny folks, and would sing to them frequently every day. Only a bit over ten days had passed by…
Then she began to miss her mother, and her brothers and sisters, so she decided that she must bid the fairies farewell, for she was now strong and healthy again. But there was one secret that the fairies had not yet told her…
"King Taranis, I think that the time has come for me to depart," Vivien spoke
"Errr…that's just it, it is now time for you to go," King Taranis said to himself, "but there is something that I have to tell you, Vivien, that is, the matter of time…" he stopped, unsure as to how to proceed.
Vivien noticed his discomfort and knew that there was something weighing down his mind.
"You can tell me, sir, tell me what the matter is."
"Well, the thing is, we haven't told you that our time is different from the time in the human world."
"What do you mean, different?"
"It's like this. You know how you human beings have always believed that us fairies are immortal? Well the truth is that the difference is really in the time…errr…how can I explain it so that you will understand? It's like this, the reason that when human beings see us they claim that we never grow old but always remain fresh and young, is because…um, do you understand what I'm saying?"
Taranis tried to explain, but he himself was confused trying to describe things according to human perception.
"Sir, you are not making any sense," a gnome called Brain piped up. "It's like this, one day in the enchanted forest is equal to one hundred years in the human world," he explained simply.
Gnomes are small creatures like the pixies and leprechauns, with a height of only 1 foot. They are experts on precious stones and underground treasures, and possess all the knowledge of the world, being able to learn any skill or language within a short period of time.
"What?!…Then that means that over a thousand years have passed already!" Vivien's face reflected pure incredulity.
"Then what about my mother, and my family?" she thought.
"If that is true, then what year is it now?"
"Counting from the day when you first joined us, it must now be sometime in the 1600s in the human world."
"You are teasing me, aren't you?"
"Us gnomes never joke," Brain said firmly, even those his face was smiling the whole time.
"Oh, then what am I going to do?" Vivien was confused by the unexpected turn of events.
But before she could figure anything out, her thoughts were shattered by a whistle that signaled the presence of danger.
"We are being invaded!" the guard's shouted warning resonated throughout the enchanted woods.
This time there wasn't only one invader like the time before, this time there were at least a hundred. They were the goblins, a whole army of them complete with weapons, riding astride miniature horses. At the back a large bear came lumbering, with a hawk perched on one shoulder.
Within an instant both the hawk and the bear had turned into human beings, and there stood Deimos and Phobos, Morgan's closest followers.
"Finally we have managed to find you, Vivien," Deimos said to her.
"Who are you? How do you know my name?" Vivien asked in surprise.
"Morgan is my master. She has been looking for you for over a thousand years. At last, the thing that my master most desires has come true. Come with us, Vivien!" Deimos spoke with pleasure.
But it wasn't going to be that easy, for by now the armies of the pixies and the leprechauns had assembled, and their numbers seemed to amount up to three times that of the goblins. The goblins have never been brave, but this time they were daring, probably because of the two men they had with them.
"Hurricana!" Deimos said and at the same time pointed his wand at the leprechauns' army. A sudden storm appeared and violently blew the leprechauns in all directions, but the pixies who were able to fly were able to escape such treatment, and they immediately responded by letting their spears hail down on Deimos. Deimos hadn't been expecting this, and the miniature spears stung him like a swarm of bees. His arm swelled up and became covered with tiny red dots, with some spears still buried in his flesh, and he moaned in agony.
Meanwhile the goblins had taken this opportunity to launch a vicious attack on the fallen leprechauns, who still lay scattered by the storm Deimos had conjured.
Seeing this Phobos transformed into a bear once more and began pouncing and thrashing at the fluttering pixies.
The war had begun, and could be counted as one of the most significant battles in the history of the fairy world.
As soon as Vivien realised what was happening, she called out her wand and, pointing it at large overhanging branch, cried "Neaterise!" As a result the branch immediately dropped down and crashed onto the bear. "It worked!" Vivien thought.
"Vivien, you must flee now, go with Brain and Brigrid! I will stay and fight the enemy." Taranis cried hastily.
"No, I will stay with my people!" Queen Brigrid refused defiantly.
"But the pixies must have a queen, and the queen must be safe!" Taranis declared with reason.
Before the three could leave a huge flame shot towards them, but fortunately the magic robe which Vivien still wore was able to protect them from harm. It was a magic flame from Deimos.
"We must go now, please believe me Queen Brigrid! Let's go Vivien!" Brain cried excitedly. The gnomes were not familiar with warfare.
So the three hurriedly set off. Queen Brigrid touched her wand to Vivien's arm lightly, generating a spark that spread all over her body, and within seconds Vivien was able to fly like the pixies. She grabbed Brain and flew after Brigrid.
Seeing thus Deimos turned himself back into a hawk and pursued their flight, leaving the fairy war to continue on of its own accord.
Brigrid had never travelled far from her territory, unlike Brain who had been everywhere, but always underground. So neither of the two were familiar with where they were going, and the hawk was catching up quickly. They all flew out through the giant tree that was the other entrance to the enchanted forest, getting closer and closer to the edge of the woods, until they could see the sea lying just ahead. At the edge of the forest the ground ended in a steep cliff that dropped down to the sea.
Vivien could see many sea vessels below. They were mostly large galleons with three masts, each mast with a double sail except for the last one. Between the last two masts were cloth riggings on both the port and starboard sides of the ship, which were meant to assist in the steering process. All of these galleons were currently in full sail and heading out to sea with a red, white and blue flag that featured a cross fluttering atop each mast. These flags were in fact the national flag of England, but Vivien was oblivious of this knowledge for she had never seen these banners before, as they had not existed in her time. She told Brigrid to approach one of these ships by skimming close to the water surface so that they would not be spotted. But the truth was, no one would have been able to see them anyway, for although the three had left the boundaries of the enchanted forest behind, the power of the pixies were still in effect and they were concealed from human eyes.
Thus, to the people in the sea vessels below the only thing visible was the sight of a hawk flying straight at them. Coincidentally, one of the crew aboard one of the galleons was at that moment standing atop the front mast testing out his bow and arrows, and seeing the hawk he targeted it and fired.
The arrow shot directly towards the bird, and Deimos caught off guard was instantly pierced through his torso. Everyone onboard the deck clapped and cheered the man for his accurate aim, but almost immediately the hawk falling through the air was transformed into the figure of a small man, and plunged straight into the sea. The ship's crew stood gaping in disbelief and utter bewilderment at the astonishing scene they had witnessed.
While they all stared aghast at the body of the man that had just fallen out of the sky and into the sea, Vivien and her two tiny friends took the opportunity to sneak onto the vessel and hide under a lifeboat, which lay face down on the starboard side of the ship.
The sailors hauled the man's limp body out of the water. He was already dead. The archer hurriedly climbed down from the ship's mast and stood shocked, pale and trembling. But within minutes the body slowly began to deteriorate before his eyes; the skin and flesh shrivelled over the bones and before they knew it all that was left was a pile of dust, which was soon blown away by the wind, leaving only the arrow which had struck the fatal blow. The atmosphere onboard the ship had suddenly become silent and lonely, no one said a word for the rest of that day, and many concluded that this was the spirit of the ocean come to haunt them, so they held a ritual to beg the spirits of the sea for forgiveness.
This ship was journeying to the far east…
Phobos returned to Morgan and reported to her of the events that had taken place in the enchanted forest.
"We've found Vivien, mistress, but…she…escaped," Phobos confessed, fearful of his punishment. But Morgan was silent and did not display signs of fury, as she had already been informed of the circumstances by the magic marble that she had invented. She had seen everything through this magic marble, and although the image had not always been clear she was able to guess most of what had occurred.
She had already planned her next steps. Now that Vivien was out of the enchanted forest it would not be so difficult to find her, for Morgan had followers all over England, and even in France, as well as throughout all of Europe.
Her hunt for Vivien began once more. The news that Morgan desired Vivien's capture spread to all her followers throughout Europe, but still no one could find her.
AD 1611
England
During that time, England was under the reign of King James. Before his coronation, he had eliminated some of the noblemen of the royal court under the accusation that they were sorcerers who communicated with evil spirits or practised black magic, and the terms "wizard" and "witch" were born. The roots of these words originated from the Bible, and had initially referred to those who gathered herbs to make charms, and practised spells and sorcery.
And because this was an age when education was flourishing, and more men were studying in fields such as modern medical sciences while the women were still using herbs and tradition healing methods, the result was that it was mostly members of the female race who were being accused as witches.
On top of this the King had produced his own translation of the Bible, known as the King James Version, and in the text certain sections were dedicated to bearing down on the practise of sorcery. Because of this, certain groups and individuals began to quote these passages and using it as a means to get rid of their enemies. And so the campaign to destroy all wizards and witches began, but despite all this King James remained a good ruler, and under his reign the people were peaceful and happy…
"We're in trouble, mistress, the Court and the Church are issuing laws to eradicate us!" one of Morgan's disciples reported to her at their annual conference.
"Don't be so stupid, no one can harm us, have you forgotten that we can fly on the brooms that I received as a gift of magic, can transform into any animal, and can perform magic spells, not to mention being able to fly or become invisible." Morgan explained to her followers who had gathered at the meeting.
"But…many have been captured! In England they were hanged and in the rest of Europe they are usually burnt alive at a stake!"
"They are the people who don't know what's good for them. I told them to come and learn more spells, but they refused; some saying that they didn't want to interfere with the spirits and demons, others saying that they were afraid. And now what happens to them! They cannot survive! But wait…" Morgan was thinking hard, "Since it is so, why don't you all disguise yourselves as witch- and wizard-hunters and mingle with the Court and the Church, and in the meantime help me to search for Vivien. I don't know where she has hidden herself, but find her and bring her to me!"
In those days countless people were accused of being witches and were hung, burnt alive, or tortured in various ways to confess that they were a witch. These were mostly users of white magic, and the reason they had confessed was because they could not endure the physical torment and had to admit that they were practising black magic, as confessing to witchcraft and being executed was the preferred alternative to being tortured. But even some users of black magic were caught, although most escaped by transforming into various animals, flying, or becoming invisible, so that to this day not many were left of the white magic side, whereas black magic remained widespread and in abundance.
But still no one had heard of the whereabouts of Vivien, and with time the hunt to exterminate all witches gradually came to an end.
Time passed on in the world of normal folks. England entered an age of colonisation and began invading the east. Morgan did not let this opportunity slip by, and in fact it was she who was behind this sudden race to colonise foreign countries. Her people would always be mixed in with the troops, and no matter what country England managed to conquer, Morgan's army of black magic would instantly seize control over the activities of the local magicians in order to find out any news related to Vivien, and sometimes to take away the resources of that region for their own use.
"I don't understand…Vivien, where are you?" Morgan murmured to herself. Morgan had by now become one of the greatest people in the world of enchantments and sorcery, with followers all over the world - in England, Europe, Asia, Africa, even America, and anywhere else that magic is used - and in everyone of these regions she had immediately sent her people in to keep an eye out for signs of Vivien.
"No matter how many thousand years it takes me, I will find you!"
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