They walked through the stone archway. Before them was an ancient throne room. Compared to the one in Camelot, it was bland. There were no tapestries on the wall and very little light shone in to light the room from the narrow windows near the ceiling since the room was mostly underground. There was a long stone hallway leading to two thrones on a raised dais. They walked forward, steps echoing in the cavernous hall. Merlin and Mordred each got the feeling that the place was somehow sacred. They tried to make their footfalls as soft as possible to reduce the noise when they walked. Merlin and Arthur proceeded to walk up the stone steps. Arthur immediately threw himself on the throne like it was his own, one leg draped over the arm, and leaned back to think. Mordred walked past them to inspect the rest of the room while Merlin stayed by the second throne. He could feel the power radiating off of the cold stone throne. It was a low throne with low arms and a low back but it was clearly not made for a dwarf. The throne itself was inornate with only a single carving in the centre of the top. It looked like a Druid mark, but none he had seen before. Merlin tentatively lowered himself into the throne. Surprisingly, it felt very comfortable. He leaned back and looked over the great hall. In his mind's eye, he could see a vision of what the room had looked like in its glory days.

People adorned in vibrant colours filled the halls that were brilliantly lit by thousands of candles. A small band of traveling musicians played in the far corner including a large harp that seemed to be playing itself. Now that he looked closer, he noticed that the candles were floating and there was snow falling from the ceiling that dissolved above the heads of the people. Merlin felt a grin spread across his face. Then he noticed an unfamiliar weight upon his head. He glanced up but couldn't see anything. He reached his hands up instead. Hesitantly he felt a thin metal band around his head. He couldn't see that it was silver, but he could feel elaborate symbols covering the crown. He lowered his hands in awe, wondering why he seemed to be inexplicably in a position of power. And somewhere in the back of his mind, it felt right. Like returning home.

But then he felt a presence next to him and turned, still smiling, to see Mordred in stark relief to everything else. He appeared almost angry at Merlin. It jolted him out of his vision and his smile slipped. Merlin felt his head but the crown had vanished with the rest of the vision. Mordred raised his eyebrows. Together they glanced at Arthur. Thankfully, he had not noticed. Just to be cautious though, they said nothing and Merlin stood, leaving the strange throne behind. As he glanced back at it, the mark on the back faded to smooth stone.