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Post by Tosca on Apr 19, 2007 7:56:08 GMT 9.5
*runs around in circles being erratic and fic-junkie-ish* See, I could try to write an entry, but by now I've gone so far into cold turkey it would probably end up with Merlin charging up and down the food table and stabbing people with carving knives.
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Post by Mab Rox on Apr 19, 2007 7:56:54 GMT 9.5
ROFLMAO! That...would be a bad thing. I'll have a crack at it when I get home.
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Post by Tosca on Apr 19, 2007 7:59:21 GMT 9.5
*sigh of relief* Damn, today has truly been a rubbish day. Ran out of cigarettes, no alcohol in the house, no caffeine AND no Mab-fic-fix. What the hell is the world coming to?! Although, I did get to go feed baby squirrels with syringes of milk. And weigh hedgehogs. But alas, I was attacked by a crow today too. It sucked.
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Post by Mab Rox on Apr 19, 2007 8:01:18 GMT 9.5
Sounds bad.
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Post by Tosca on Apr 19, 2007 8:03:28 GMT 9.5
*examines new shape of several fingers* Well, he didn't really hate me, because otherwise I would have had no ears. Apparently. *beam*
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Post by Mab Rox on Apr 19, 2007 8:11:24 GMT 9.5
Crows...are either very awesome or very evil...most of the time both. However...
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Post by Tosca on Apr 19, 2007 8:14:14 GMT 9.5
...ravens are better. I'm sure if Louis had been a raven we would have got on like a house on fire. Tosca's friend: .....Tash, what are you doing? You're supposed to feed the birds not... worship them. Idiot. Louis: *reckons this new approach isn't that bad* Me: <333333
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Post by Mab Rox on Apr 19, 2007 9:23:48 GMT 9.5
Merlin was rudely awakened from a dream. Nimue had been there, but that was all he could remeber...Nimue and Mab holding a cup that Merlin was sure was the Holy Grail. Hold it, and then handing it to Uther.
"Wizard!" snapped Uther's guard, punctuating the word with a shake. "Price Uther requires your presence."
Merlin stood. Off to the side, he caught a nearly liquid movement in the shadows. He frowned, but pushed the sight aside, sure that it was just the wind.
From where she stood in the shadows, Mab smirked. She could tell from Merlin's demeanor upon waking that the dream that she had sent him had been a success. The sight of her holding the Grail and then giving it to Uther must have set up even more suspicion of the Prince on Merlin's part, especially as she couldn't remember telling Merlin that their blood link would enable her access to his mind and dreams. Of course, now it was only dreams, as Merlin grew ever closer to the world of mortals.
Prince Uther watched carefully as Merlin walked--was dragged, more accurately--into the throne room. He was surprised as the Witch--Queen, came the quick correction, just in case she could read his mind--followed at a leisurely pace. She didn't seem too worried at anything, but he decided it best not to talk to her. He didn't want anyone thinking he was talking to air.
Mab smirked slightly, and made her way easily up to Uther. When she spoke, her voice echoed around the room, but only Uther could hear it.
"I see that Merlin has been playing with witchcraft and befouling your court."
Uther made a noncommittal sound, drawing looks from his guards. He passed it off as a cough.
"But enough of him," said Mab. "I have come to tell you something."
Uther didn't respond.
"Merlin will continue brining havoc upon you and your castle. This will only end when the Holy Grail is returned."
Uther raised an eyebrow.
"I happen to know where it lies."
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Post by Incapability on Apr 19, 2007 16:18:26 GMT 9.5
Prince Uther's mind was in conflict, and he wasn't liking it in the least.
Of course it was an appealing idea to retrieve the Holy Grail, this most searched-for relict of his faith. He could already see himself, riding into Rome in triumph, to show the cup to the pope and demand that the religious center of Christianity was transfered to Britain, where the Grail belonged ... But the Witch - Queen! - had told him to send Merlin on the quest, together with his most loyal, most christian knights. Much as he would like to have the wizard out of his way and away from his court, he could not become friendly with the thought of his pagan hands besmearing the Holy Grail, with him abusing it for his evil, devilish deeds. Especially after what he had done just recently. No. Merlin could not be allowed neat the Grail.
But then, the Witch - Queen! - had been rather insisting on him coming along, refusing to tell him where the Grail was to be found until he gave his consent. He had told her that he would think about it, and after long, painful hours of weighing the glory against the risk, he had finally come to a decision.
"Queen! I have decided to let the Wizard come. Now tell me where my knights can find the Grail."
Mab stepped out of the shadows as if she had been standing there all along, simply waiting for the would-be king to make up his mind. A smile was playing on her features as she was congratulating herself on her ingenious plan. Not only the most powerful Christian knights, but Merlin as well would spend the rest of their lifes in the wild forests of the country, searching for something that could never be found by any of them because none had the pure heart that was required.
"Listen carefully, my Prince. The men on your quest must pray for a night and a day, and then they must ride out towards the North, riding until the weakest of them gives up and returns. There, they must rest and pray for another day. If indeed they are worthy, the Grail will send them a sign."
Uther frowned upon hearing these cryptic words. This quest sounded awfully long and tiring, and he did not recall that she had spoken of 'worthiness' before. "Did you not say that you knew where it lies? Why do you talk in riddles?"
A feline smile was playing around her lips. "Ah, but where lies the challenge if the Grail is collected like a due tax? Would that honour its holyness?" Uther nodded. That made sense. Of course. His knights had to be worthy of finding the Grail.
"Now collect your best men, Prince, and let them go on the quest. And don't forget your promise ..."
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Post by himiko on Apr 20, 2007 5:19:46 GMT 9.5
Merlin stared around the room he had been moved to suspiciously. This morning, for some unknown reason, he had been unceremoniously pulled from the dungeon and shoved in here. It wasn't the "being unceremoniously pushed and shoved" part that made him suspicious. That, he had grown used to. It was the fact that this room was actually fit to be used that surprised him. It had a bed, and a chair, and windows (admittedly, with bars on), and, whilst not luxurious, was a far cry from being a dungeon, either. So why had Uther suddenly moved him up here, especially since the last time he had seen the prince, he had started ranting about using foul pagan magics in Uther's court, and he wouldn't stand for it, and so forth. Merlin hadn't had the oppurtunity to explain to the prince that he couldn't actually use any magic at the moment, and Uther had seemed most displeased with him.
A flash of light behind him alerted him to Mab's presence. He turned to see her standing in the shadows of the room, her eyes shining out of the darkness in a particularly eerie manner.
"What now?" Merlin snapped in exasperation.
"Uther plans to send some of his knights to search for the Holy Grail," Mab replied coldly. Merlin ws momentarily surprised that Uther was planning to have his knights embark on a quest when he had a throne to snatch. But then, Uther, from what Merlin had seen of him, was greedy for glory and wealth. Finding the legendary Holy Grail would certainly appear to him.
"Good for him," Merlin said flatly, "What does that have to do with me?"
"He plans to send you with them," she replied smoothly, walking closer to Merlin. He stared at her, not bothering to hide his suspicion.
"Oh, and I don't suppose you had anything to do with this, did you?" he asked sarcastically. Mab simply gave him one of her cold, mocking smiles.
"Does it matter?" she asked, "Uther's already decided that you're going. He's got into his head that he'll find his grail- or, you and his knights will find it for him- and suddenly he'll be rich and powerful beyond even his wildest dreams." The last part was said in a rather contemptuous tone.
"And if I refuse?" Merlin asked evenly. "If I have no interest in helping Uther gain fame or glory?"
"Then Uther will declare you a traitor and sentence you to death," Mab replied in irritation, "You know he'd love another excuse to. And I'd rather not have to waste my precious time getting you out of a hanging sentence."
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Post by Tosca on Apr 20, 2007 5:20:24 GMT 9.5
There must be something... Merlin thought desperately to himself as he was shoved rather than aided onto a horse, hands still bound. There must be a way to convince them that this was madness. It was only a few days after he had been informed of Uther's plans, and already the hasty prince was leaving. Far too soon to be prudent. Merlin could almost taste Mab's influence on the air.
He felt drained, slightly dizzy, and just plain odd. The loss of his powers felt like more than it should. It felt almost like a blow. Of course, he was severely disadvantaged now; he had grown use to using magic, even if he had never grown to like it. But resent it or not, it was half of who he was. The darker half, the less worthy half, but still half of him all the same. Had it been wiped out completely? Surely not. Surely even Mab couldn't just erase half of who he was. His blood was the Old Blood, was her blood. Even if she were capable of blotting out half of Merlin's essence, why would she want to? It galled Merlin how much the thought of being disowned by his mother and archenemy actually stung.
And Mab was pleased that it stung. Of course, she hadn't wiped away anything of Merlin's magic; what use would he be to anyone without it? No, a part of her still held out tenuous hopes for him in that respect. Maybe one day, when the land had been restored, he would come around to her way of thinking, or might be persuaded to. For now, it almost touched her to see a small flame of resentment kindle in him at the thought of her dismissal. But it was only a small flame, possibly because he was too shrewd to believe that, but probably, Mab admitted, because he didn't really care.
It irked Uther greatly having to bring the wizard along. Preparations had been made, oaths had been sworn, and now they were ready to ride off into the uncertain future on the promise of a decidedly shadowy fairy witch - yes, a queenly one, but even so. Why was Merlin's presence necessary. Already he had humiliated him at their first meeting and used his ungodly powers to spread great distrust amongst his men. Even now, they were suspicious of him. The son of the man who had had to have a carving knife extracted from his chest was amongst the assembled party, and he was not the only one who was surveying the prince under hooded eyes. All because of that damned wizard and the Old Ways. And this entire quest was practically in the name of the Old Ways! Uther shuddered. At least his men didn't know that much. It was quite possibly the notion of the seekig Grail that tied them to him, not loyalty in itself. No one was really loyal to a lunatic; it was too dangerous.
Merlin himself sensed some of the tension and caught some of the mutinous glances directed towards young Prince Uther. As the formalities of their departure stretched on, he considered the situation, or what might be the situation. Wizardry seemed to be closed to him, for now at least. He was sure something would come of that, eventually - that it would be explained. And without it he was not completely toothless. Both Ambrosia and Mab had something in common, though they might not have been willing to admit it, and that was intelligence - and the combined teachings of them both might be enough to save his life. But his was not the only life at stake. Merlin knew full well that if Mab had led Uther into this, there would be no Grail at the end of the chase, but something far more sinister. The men were walking to their own death, or worse, and all he had was the concoction of Ambrosia's wit and Mab's cunning to dissuade them, to open their eyes.
[Damn double postings... but it fitted in OK, actually]
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Post by himiko on Apr 21, 2007 6:05:26 GMT 9.5
Mab watched, unseen, as the group of men on horseback saluted Prince Uther and turned to ride away from the castle. As he was hustled towards the castle gates by the men on the horses next to his own, Merlin turned his head to look round. Mab allowed herself to become visible to him, and stared him directly in the eyes. Merlin glared back at her. Mab responded by flashing him the sunniest smile she could muster and giving a little wave as he rode away, smirking quietly to herself as he turned away in anger.
She waited quietly until the last horseman had ridden out of the castle, and the gates had been closed behind them. Her plan had worked perfectly. Uther had sent some of his best and most devout knights after the Grail. Of course, he had kept back just enough knights to ensure that he could take the throne with relatively little struggle. Just enough, that is, provided that those knights were united under Uther. Mab's intention was to ensure that they did not remain that way for very long. She and Frik - and even Merlin- had begun to rouse suspicion and distrust in the minds of many of his knights, these feelings need simply be fanned into full flame. Then, Uther and his men would destroy each other, handing the country back into her hands.
She surveyed the remains of Uther's court. At least a third of his men had disappeared in search of the Holy Grail. Uther had wanted to send more at first, but she had managed to talk him out of it. Mortals, unlike her kind, had relatively little patience. Eventually, they would give up their futile search for the Grail to return, and she had no intention of there being enough of them to cause her any sort of trouble. When those knights returned, she was determined that they- and Merlin- would find themselves in a country under the rule of the Old Ways once more. She would have to keep an eye on Merlin, of course, make sure he didn't get himself killed, or manage to cause her further trouble. But other than that, she thought, turning her gaze on Uther, other than that, it was simply a matter of exploiting the young prince's weaknesses to bring his court crumbling down around him.
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Post by himiko on Apr 24, 2007 2:49:18 GMT 9.5
*random bump/poke style post*
;D
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Post by Tosca on Apr 24, 2007 5:11:31 GMT 9.5
As Merlin kept his balance as best he could while his horse, leashed to the reins of a fellow steed, paid little attention to the discomfort of the bound human on his back. His mind wandered back to his last meeting with Mab, which had typically ended with her cryptic disappearance bang in the middle of a conversation - if you could call it that. Somehow, Merlin doubted that she would waste any of her precious time delivering him from a hanging sentence - or any other peril he was likely to face on this treacherous journey... and so for the moment he remained silent, and obedient, pondering their fate.
Mab was also musing. If the country were to return to the Old Ways in Uther's absence - and it was likely people would be somewhat confused about their prince leaving on a sudden quest when the English throne was at its most vulnerable - she would need a suitable pawn to succeed him. She no longer had much face in champions - she had experimented both in the mortal world and through her own creative talents, and neither of the results had been applaudable. Whatever path, or whatever cat's paw she chose now would require careful forethought.
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Post by himiko on Apr 24, 2007 5:46:09 GMT 9.5
Merlin shifted uncomfortably in the saddle. They had been riding for several hours now. He could tell that the horses were beginning to tire, and he couldn't imagine that the other riders could be much more comfortable than him. Arranging his face into what he hoped was a pleasant expression, rather than a grimace of pain, he turned to the nearest rider.
"How long are we going to be riding for?" The man glanced around for a moment, as if hoping that Merlin had spoken to someone else. When it appeared he could no longer avoid the matter, he spoke, quickly and in a low voice, as though he didn't want anyone else to overhear him talking to Merlin.
"Until we find the grail." Merlin blinked at the stupidity of this statement.
"But surely the grail will take days to find, weeks, even?" he suggested, "We cannot keep riding until then."
"We ride until the weakest tire," the man said gruffly," Then we ride further, until we find the grail." Merlin struggled with the effort not to sound exasperated or patronising.
"Won't the horses tire by then?" he suggested. The man looked cross at the suggestion.
"Then we travel by foot!" he announced grandly. Merlin sighed to himself, before shifting back around to face forwards. Clearly, this was going to take some time. ---
Mab stared thoughtfully into space. Of course, whoever she chose would have to follow the Old Ways- she couldn't afford to repeat the mistake she had made with Vortigern by thinking that just because a person wasn't a Christian meant that they would follow the Old Ways. Nor could she afford the time to try and train someone in the ways of the Old Ways. If the country hadn't grown used to having a human ruler, she would have tried to do away with the throne altogether, and let the Old Ways be the uniting force behind the land, but until the New Religion was washed away, and peace restored, such a measure would be fraught with difficulties. Whoever she chose would have to be a strong enough and able enough leader to gather support for their cause, and be fully ready to listen to her.
With a flicker, she vanished back to the Land of Magic.
"Frik!" she called. The gnome scurried into the room, bowing as he neared Mab.
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
"I need you to make me a list, Frik. I want every lord or leader in this country named, I want you to find out how many of them are pagan, and I want more details about them specifically." Frik seemed to wilt visibly as Mab added to her instructions.
"Ummm... of course, Madam," he murmured unhappily, no doubt thinking about the enormity and tedium of the task that awaited him, "When should I start?"
"Immediately!" Mab snapped. Frik bowed unhappily and scurried off.
Mab stared after him for a moment. No matter how quick Frik was at compiling this list for her, if he was to be thorough- and he knew far better than to be anything but- then it would still take a long time, and she was impatient to begin her search. Very well then. Whilst Frik wrote out this list, she would go to Anoeth, and ask Idath to gaze into the Cauldron of Rebirth. The future was by no means settled yet, but a glance into what the near future might hold might well help her to find a leader for her people more quickly than she had anticipated.
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