Britain

3,034 years since initial death
‡━━━━━━━━━━ † ━━━━━━━━━━‡

There it was.

Home.

It didn't take long before they finally arrived back in Somerset. The everlasting fields stretched for miles, while their home laid atop the center hill. Cadbury Castle was their home, overlooking all of eastern Somerset. It was smaller than the other castles in Britain, and not as heavily defended, but it was still a sight to behold.

Walls surrounded the hill, completely concealing the fort within. Dozens of small homes lay scattered within the hill while the main fortress was situated near the center. Hundreds lived in this area, many of whom played a vital role in the military, defending the land from Saxon invasions.

The gates were raised when the knights arrived, and their families rejoiced. Everyone had a loved one to return to, except for Merlin. Despite several women loving him and wanting his hand, he refused. Love was not something he had considered again for many long years.

Although he suffered through unimaginable pain and deaths over the centuries, nothing was comparable to heartbreak. For it left wounds that could not be healed, and scars that would not be concealed. He's had more friends than he could count, more relationships than anyone could have in a single lifetime. Each and every one of them ended in death and despair.

Arthur was his only friend now, and he knew that their friendship wouldn't last long. He would either die in battle, or of old age. No matter the circumstance, it wouldn't make a difference to Merlin. All he could do was make the best of it, and to cherish the time he has with him.

Upon reaching the Great Hall, they sat at a round wooden table. Their mugs were filled with ale, they enjoyed getting drunk together while celebrating their victory. Musicians set the atmosphere with their tunes, often playing the lute, while women danced along. Some of the men had walked away, escorted by maids that only served for their pleasure. Even when some of those women approached Merlin, gesturing him to follow them, he refused.

He chose beer and ale over women. Merlin would usually drink the most at these occasions. The others would cheer him on, amazed by how much alcohol he could chug and still stay fully conscious. Nobody questioned why he drank so much, most of them figured it was simply just for his own self amusement. But he drank in hopes of forgetting his past, the worst moments of his life. Despite how much he truly did drink, it never went away. He still remembers everything.

A moment of silence plagued him. While everyone around him drowned in cheers and alcohol, he kept his head low. Looking into his cup, he could see his own reflection ripple in the drink. He stared into the face of a man he wishes he could return to. A loyal man who only ever wanted to protect his family.

He can never forget that part of his life. Those times spent in the deserts with simple goals. He misses it more than anything. Most importantly, he misses the ones who were present in his old life.

Continuing to watch his own reflection, he remembered one more thing about himself. Parting his lips, he spoke out loud. "Maalik Seti."

"Hmm?" Merlin's solace was interrupted by Arthur. 

"Maalik Seti. You wanted my name. Now you have it."

As he expected, Arthur looked back at him with curiosity. "I've never heard of such a name for a Briton."

"It's a foreign name, not one I expect anyone here to recognize. I merely changed it to Merlin so I may fit in with the rest of the Brits." His tone dropped as his expressions appeared saddened. Not wanting to draw attention to himself, he called for another round of ale and ignored it.

The more he drank however, the more willing to speak he became. He managed to let out a slight chuckle as he continued. "There was a time when they never pronounced the 'L' in my name, despite it being spelled with one. They called me Ma-rik. Then two thousand years passed and my name was finally spoken properly."

"Two thousand years?" Arthur laughed back at him, raising an eyebrow. "Drunk from two cups of ale already? A jester you are, Merlin. Or should I say, Maalik."

That made Merlin freeze as he glared back at Arthur. His expressions suddenly darkened as he gritted his teeth. "You will never speak of that name again. I am Merlin, and that is what history will remember me by. Do you understand, Riothamus?"

Arthur was shocked, sitting silently in confusion and a bit of fear. He nodded his head, rolling his eyes as he tried to escape the awkward situation.

The hall remained quiet except for the few lute players that continued playing cheerful tunes. Arthur could tell his friend needed to brighten up, therefore he called for some of the nearby women to come over. Turning back to Merlin, he responded as the women approached. "What you need is a fair lady's touch. How else do you think I have lasted this long without Gwenivar?"

Merlin sighed as the girls massaged his shoulders and giggled. He wanted to smile, a part of him actually wanted to accept their offer and take the women elsewhere. But he knew it wasn't right. Instead, he remained unwilling to oblige. "Apologies my ladies, perhaps another time."

Turning his head towards Arthur, he seemed dismayed. "It is beyond me to consider women as a tool of my own satisfaction. If I wanted a whore's hand, I'd find one myself."

"Peace, Merlin. I apologize."

"Ridiculous." Merlin was losing his temper again, he's never spoken this harshly in front of Arthur. "I do not require help, not from you, and not from a woman. I'll regain what I've lost alone, and they'll do the same. What had been lost by a woman, would be saved by a woman. You write that down and you remember it."

Arthur became confused by these words. "Whatever do you mean by that last statement? What could a woman possibly lose besides her own dress or virginity?" He laughed at his own joke for a second. One of the ladies around him heard his joke, glaring at him. In response, he hid his face inside his cup of ale.

After taking a deep breath, Merlin was slowly returning to his senses. "Virginity has nothing to do with this matter. What an ill observation. A virgin girl could handle herself better than thyself. The point is that I shall worry about myself, just as a woman should worry about herself. They're words of wisdom, hell maybe even a prophecy that any lady may desire to fulfill."

Taking another sip of ale, Merlin looked away in silence as he pondered. "I'm sorry for my behavior however, it was unacceptable of me to lash out in such a demonizing manner."

"It's ok, Merlin. We've returned from a clash, I understand if you need time to recover."

"Nay." Merlin's mind snapped back to reality. He needed to avoid breaking down again. "We shall celebrate as the proud knights we are. No more sorrows!"

Nobody could keep up with Merlin's mood swings. The unsolvable conundrum that is his mind would confuse anyone beyond any form of limitations. With brief sparks of humanity retaking control of his brain every once in a while, he tried his best to overcome his past thoughts and move forward; even if it was all too abrupt. Though he can imagine how utterly speechless Arthur had become, gazing into his eyes with so many questions.

This certainly was not the way anyone had imagined the celebration would go. But with Merlin finally relaxed again, it was time to continue. Arthur carefully unsheathed his sword and raised it in the air before pointing it towards the center of the table.

"For Camelot, for Somerset, and for Britain!"

Everyone around him proceeded to do the same, all pulling out their swords and laying them towards the center of the round table, forming a perfect circle. Merlin joined in with his blade, finally deciding to set aside his sadness and have his fill of good fortune.

"For Britain!" They all cheered.

Arthur continued. "We have earned this victory, and I'm proud to stand by you all. I would not be here today if not for our court wizard, Merlin." Everyone chuckled at the comment, including the 'wizard' himself.

The cheering proceeded as it became louder. Arthur sat by Merlin and spoke directly to him while patting his shoulder, "You have my thanks friend."

"Don't mention it Arthur, we are knights after all." Merlin responded.

Arthur looked around him. "All I see are men seated at a round table. However, laying my eyes upon thee, all I can witness is the sight of an incredible warrior that has undoubtedly saved my life today."

"A warrior I am, that I happily oblige. To be graced in such a presence is most honorable, a title I'm proud to possess."

"Is that poetry I hear?" Arthur's eyes widened. "A knight, a wizard and a fair poet. Is there anything you cannot become?"

Merlin chuckled, letting out a wholesome smile. "While my cruel years have not been so kind and forgiving, they have granted me an art in wisdom. I sit here now with an ale in hand, staring at us brave knights and can only imagine the legacies we shall hold for generations to come."

"All I imagine is more time away from the battlefields. They've ought to call us knights of the bloody round table if all we do is sit around here after each skirmish." 

They both laughed at his comment. The celebration continued for hours, until it became too late to stay awake. Soon enough, the Great Hall was empty, the round table remained in the center. Cadbury Castle was as silent as a mouse, only a few soldiers stood guard by the front towers.

Everyday was the same around here. Drinking, chatting around, standing guard, and training in the barracks. It was the usual routine, but it wouldn't always be like this. Saxon rule was spreading, the Germanic people had already raided several parts of Britain.

It was death and destruction everywhere they went, and it wouldn't be long before that reached Somerset. The entire Eastern part of Britain has fallen into Saxon hands, including the vast and magnificent city known as Lunden. The first Saxon settlements in the country were being established, their captured territory was slowly increasing. If it continues, they'll become unstoppable.

Merlin knew it was only a matter of time before they would soon be dragged into battle once more. It means having to kill again.

But rather than feeling anxious about it, he felt relaxed. Over the past thousand years, he's regretted almost every kill he's ever had. The fact that it continues to haunt him only frustrates him, and the numerous wars that constantly affect him have started to aggravate him.

War was approaching Cadbury Castle. If Merlin doesn't overcome his thoughts and emotions, then everything he loves may be destroyed. He must murder his enemies to save his allies.

It just doesn't seem right. That's what an old part of him still believes in. That's what Maalik believes.

However, Merlin believes otherwise.

‡━━━━━━━━━━ † ━━━━━━━━━━‡
Historical Notes:

Nothing remains of the magnificent hill fort, Cadbury Castle today. All that lies is a hill often believed to have been the location of a fort given the evidence.

Depiction of Cadbury Castle during the 5th century

Cadbury Castle today

Boys were often trained how to fight from very young ages, some even ranging as young as seven years old. While the men fought in wars, the women, children and elderly were often left alone to tend for themselves. With many of the most demanding jobs secured by men, the women weren't left with many other options.

Hence some women turning to prostitution. It was a risk they were willing to take to maintain a comfortable life for their families.

Due to the circular and domed architecture of the Britons, the Romano-British keeps would have looked similar to the image below, but on a far larger and majestic scale. Especially for a king, it would have been large enough to fit several dozen knights and allow for several festivities and customs.

Standard Romano-British temple

‡━━━━━━━━━━ † ━━━━━━━━━━‡