Vortigen huh ?

Now this is how to properly do an angst-filled Merlin whump fic. Marvellous!
This was once again a very compelling read from beginning to end. I liked the fact you have managed to stay true to the original source material as possible from the way the plot was structured to how accurate the characters were portrayed towards each situation they faced. I'm thinking this could slot in somewhere between the end of Series 3 and the beginning of Series 4; I might be wrong! Vortigern and Kildare were nice additions to the story, they were well structured and very likeable (Kildare I very nearly sympathised with in one chapter, which probably wasn't a good sign). Having Iseldir as Vortigern's son was quite a shocking revelation. It actually made sense when I thought about it, what with him being druid chieftain and all.

Sorry, I'm waffling! Anyway, keep up the good work as always. Enjoy your day! :)

GP99

arthur, honey, merlin /not/ being magic is ridiculous... and, merlin with magic would not be clumsy and hopeless and dangerous, but beautiful and graceful and necessary. :D
i love that iseldir is vortigern's son! a son to be proud of, i think!
i like how your arthur shows his affections in those tiny, brief touches, rather than anything more effusive, it's more in-character, and i think merlin understands him perfectly well without the every-other-minute hugs!
are you sewing this story right back into canon, or will there be changes?...

i'm actually very glad you didn't choose to have arthur single-handedly fighting his way past guards/druids... the boat and the darkness and the water and the serpent and kildare briefly conscious to sort-of save them was /infinitely/ better!

i'm always interested to see arthur's thought process when the question skirts very close to what merlin thinks of magic, and if he might possibly be affected by it - and in what way... it's amusing in a melancholy way, that arthur is determined to protect merlin from magic...
it's really terrible and sad, when you can see the bad guy's point - yet can't convince him, he's going about it the wrong way...
arthur's taking baby step, i see. magic can only be fought with magic... but it's not just a necessary evil, a weapon, it can be used for good as well... shall we get there with this story? i guess we'll see...
ps, can i just say, /poor/ merlin!...

okay, so we have vortigern's help so far, but only the first step has been taken. at least he and merlin are tentatively on the same page - to destroy the dark magic - but what happens when/if kildare turns against them and/or has his life endangered by what they're doing?...
(and i still feel like arthur's going to find out about emrys sooner or later...)

merlin!whump and worried!arthur... perfect. :D

emotionally complex, i really appreciate that. a conflicted bad guy, a potential ally, but misguided and clinging to his own sort of hope...
i can't help but think, what if arthur was told why they were really there, and what if he rejected merlin b/c of magic, how that would affect merlin's battle against the tree's influence...

i really like your story of the tree's origins. created to teach people to live in happiness and love, pain and revenge twisted it to teach people the opposite... and in the end, that revenge consumed /everyone/, without changing anything or making it better... yeah, that's what revenge does.
interesting character, vortigern. loyal to his leader for /reasons/, but still with his doubts. ties to gaius but every reason to hate camelot and feel like gaius made the wrong choice in staying to serve uther. and he can /see/ the contradiction that is characteristic of arthur...
hey. did merlin's magic help arthur (a la 'poisoned chalice' ep)?

i like the way you've got arthur and merlin for this, arthur (obviously) totally underestimating his servant, but still determined to protect him, fully aware of the differences in the reasons for the way he treats merlin vs. the way the druids do. that kind of shared understanding that merlin will do the same, serve and protect and obey arthur - so arthur's got to be careful what he asks of him, in the situation. merlin fully aware of the danger arthur's in, and not at all sure that his magic can overcome, but still incorrigible... :)
arthur courage gives merlin courage, and vice versa, and you've shown rather than told that, with this scene, quite nicely.
and /vortigern/ is a /physician/?!

Very well written!

Thanks everyone. :-)

Thank you Wil. Thoroughly enjoyed the story and will be sure to visit it again one day.

Loved it!

I love it! Thanks so much for writing!