Chapter 17

The return to Camelot filled itself up more quickly than Arthur could have imagined, everyone from the council to the rest of the knights were all looking to Arthur to take charge. Agravaine seemed happy to see him, though there was a tone in his voice that Arthur didn't like very much. His first thought was to dismiss it, Agravaine was his last living relative besides his father and he wanted the closeness of family, but if these last few weeks had taught him it was to be aware of everything and never assume that the person your speaking to is really what they are presenting to you. So instead of just ignoring the barely disguised contempt, Arthur noted it for examination later.

Once his court duties had been taken care of and he'd seen his father was in much the same state as he'd left, Arthur decided it was time for that conversation with Merlin.

He found Merlin, tending to the fire in the grate in his chambers, at least that's what he supposed Merlin had intended to be doing, he just seemed to be lost staring into the flames.

"Merlin?"

"Oh, Arthur," said Merlin standing up and dusting off his hands, "sorry just kind of got caught up."

"It's okay," said Arthur, "I was looking for you anyway, I thought it was time we had that talk."

"Yeah, I still don't know what to say about it," said Merlin.

"Just tell me what you saw," said Arthur, "you went through this to find out about your original vision, of the funeral pyre. Did you see it?"

"I caught a glimpse of it, but I saw you standing in front of it, so it must have been someone else's pyre. I don't know whose so don't ask, when I first fell into the fire it was like seeing a thousand pictures pass me by in just a few seconds, I barely had a chance to see something before it was gone. I think the spell went wrong somehow," said Merlin.

"In what way?" Arthur asked.

"I saw so much, but it moved so fast I could barely see anything. I think the vision spell combined with the aging spell and I saw much, much farther into the future than was intended."

"How much further?" Arthur asked.

"Hundreds perhaps even thousands of years," said Merlin, he smiled at the shock on Arthur's face, "I don't know how far it was they seemed to use a different calendar."

"What's the future like then?" asked Arthur.

"Amazing!" said Merlin smiling, "and frightening. I saw it like I was walking around inside the vision it was very intense."

"What did you see?" asked Arthur.

"Huge buildings, covered in glass built to the sky, lights everywhere with no torches or candles. People rushing around, riding in metal carriages that ran without horses, and metal birds flying in the sky with people in them too!"

"You can't be serious!" cried Arthur, "It sounds like magic run amok."

"No, it wasn't magic, or it wasn't treated as magic. I don't know how to explain it," said Merlin and he shook his head.

"This city of glass was it Camelot in the future do we last that long?" asked Arthur.

"No, it wasn't Camelot," said Merlin.

"How do you know?"

"Because the next thing I saw was a room full of people, and they were all there to learn about the history and legends of Ancient Britannia, specifically myths surrounding the most famous of all kings, King Arthur and his knights of the round table," said Merlin grinning at Arthur's shocked expression. "They all knew about you Arthur, hundreds of years from now people will still be telling stories of Camelot and of you and the knights. Camelot may not survive the test of time, but you will, you and the principles you stand for will be remembered forever."

"I don't know what to say," said Arthur after a few moments pause, "I'm not trying to be a legend, I'm only a man, trying to do the right thing most days."

"And that is why you will be remembered," said Merlin.

They sat quietly for a while contemplating the consequences of Merlin's vision.

"It doesn't have to change anything," said Merlin, "just be who you are and let history figure out the rest."

"What about you?" Arthur asked suddenly.

"What about me?" Merlin asked confused.

"You're important to Camelot and to any legacy I might leave behind. Aren't you in the legends of Camelot?"

"Well I am mentioned, they call me a wizard, and I'm depicted with long grey hair and a beard and wear a pointy hat," said Merlin.

"That's a good look for you," said Arthur tilting his head to one side as if imagining a pointy hat.

"I'm not wearing a pointy hat," said Merlin scowling, and then failing to suppress a smile.

"So, are you the most famous wizard in all the land?" asked Arthur.

"I'm pretty famous in connection with Camelot," said Merlin, "but no, some other wizard is more famous than me in the future."

"Really who is it?" asked Arthur.

"I've never heard of him, so he probably hasn't been born yet," said Merlin.

"But he'll be more famous than you?" asked Arthur.

"He's more recent for that time, I think," said Merlin, "I didn't get a lot of details, but apparently his name is Harry."

"Harry?" Arthur frowned, "What sort of a magical person is called Harry? Merlin is bad enough, but Harry?"

"What's wrong is Merlin?" asked Merlin.

"Nothing," said Arthur, "if you like weird names, I suppose it's fine."

"Merlin is not a weird name, and anyway it's better than having a boring and unbelievably common name like Arthur. I mean try for some originality please," Merlin smirked at Arthur and quickly dodged a goblet being thrown at his head.

Epilogue

Merlin cleared away the dishes from his and Gaius' evening meal.

"Merlin?" Gaius called.

"Yes?"

"About your vision…" Gaius trailed off.

"What about it?" asked Merlin sitting down at the table with Gaius.

"You said the vision showed a time that you thought was hundreds perhaps even thousands of years in the future," said Gaius.

"That's right," said Merlin.

"Merlin do you know the difference between a vision like yours and a seer's prophesy?" asked Gaius.

"I never really thought about it," said Merlin.

"A seer has the gift of sight, they can see events and people and places anywhere at anytime, and they don't have to be involved with the events to see them. Visions project a person into their own future, everything you saw in the crystals you saw come to life before your eyes, isn't that right?"

"Yes," said Merlin frowning, "what are you saying?"

"You're not a seer Merlin, the spell you cast created the vision you saw, a vision of your own personal future."

"That explains it then," said Merlin.

"Explains what?" asked Gaius.

"It explains why when I saw that group of people learning about Camelot that I was the one in the front teaching." He looked at Gaius thoughtfully, "Am I going to live forever Gaius?"

"I don't know, Merlin, visions can be hard to interpret, you may think you'll live a thousand years, but perhaps what this vision shows is that you may travel to the future one day."

"Time travel!" Merlin laughed, "How could that be possible?"

"By magic!" said Gaius.

Author's notes: That's all folks! Thanks for the memories and I hope you all have great weekend. Later Cynic.