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Merlin of Middle-Earth

Chapter 3: Chapter Three

Summary:

In which Merlin shows off a few of his elven traits, everyone sees his real face, Lord Elrond makes his first appearance and Glorfindel praises Arthur's swordsmanship

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

They ate their lunch, with the knights occasionally asking questions about Merlin's magic.

Then Morgana asked about the time she had controlled Merlin with a Formarrah and Merlin had winced and rubbed the back of his neck furiously. Gwen told the story of how odd Merlin had been acting and all the times she had stopped Merlin from killing Arthur.

"Well I guess it's a good thing you're such a terrible assassin," joked Gwaine.

Elladan laughed darkly. "It's a good thing that Formorrah's can't control elves properly, or Arthur would be dead and no-one would even suspect who had done it."

"Why do you say that?" asked Gwen.

"Because with his magic, Merlin could have killed Arthur in a thousand different ways without ever pointing suspicion at himself," said Elrohir.

"Watching Emrys fight at full strength is awe-inspiring," agreed one of the elves who had accompanied them from Mithlond.

Arthur raised an eyebrow but didn't argue. After all, he'd never seen Merlin's magic, so he couldn't judge. But if he was more powerful than Morgana and Mordred, then he had to be really powerful.

"But the man who destroyed the Formarrah was old. He had grey hair, and a long beard," said Morgana.

Merlin nodded. "It was a complicated disguise. It wasn't a glamour, but a genuine change. Sort of like an aging spell would be for you."

"But that's the man who took the blame for Gwen when I tricked Uther into believing she had Arthur under a love spell," continued Morgana.

"That's true as well."

But Arthur was sitting up straighter now, staring at Merlin. "That man killed my father."

Merlin ducked his head, hair falling to cover his pointed ears again. Arthur opened his mouth, probably to start yelling and his hand moved towards his sword hilt, but Morgana caught his wrist.

"Arthur, it wasn't his fault." He looked at her, jaw clenched. "Agravaine planted a pendent on Uther while he slept. It reversed any healing magic and increased it tenfold. Merlin really tried to heal Uther, but my magic killed him instead."

Arthur closed his eyes and put his head in his hands. Gwen laid a hand on his arm and murmured soothingly in his ear. After a few moments, he sat up and looked at Merlin.

"I don't blame you Merlin. I did for a long time, but you really did try to save him. So thank you..."

Merlin lifted his head and they saw his eyes were filled with tears. "I wanted to tell you. That I'd tried so hard, that I had no idea what went wrong until Gaius found the necklace." The twins pulled him back to them, each putting an arm around him again.

When they had both calmed completely, the elves had cleared away the remaining food and everything was ready for them to continue.

"Can we still make it for dinner?" asked Mordred.

Merlin grinned. "If you let the horses run like they would for us."

"That sounds like a challenge," said Elyan.

Gwaine mounted, then looked at Merlin. "Come on then Emrys. Show us how you do it."

Merlin's smile was almost evil and the twins were laughing. "This should be fun. There aren't many who can beat Emrys in a race. Good luck."

Everyone mounted their horses and the knights realised that Elladan and Elrohir had moved their horses to be exactly level with Merlin's.

"Ready?" called Elrohir.

"To beat you?" replied his twin. "Always. To beat Emrys? Never."

Merlin glanced over his shoulder at Gwen, his cheeky grin in place. "Call it for us Gwen?"

She laughed, but did as he asked. "Ready? Set. Go!"

The knights called out the commands they had been taught and the horses leapt forward; the twins just ahead of them. But Merlin was ahead of the twins and pulling forward fast. They heard him calling to his horse, "Noro lim! Noro lim!" And it broke into a run, easily out pacing all the others. The wind carried his laughter back to them and it was a different laugh to the one they knew; it was light, musical and absolutely free, as though this was the best feeling in the world.

Merlin had slowed after a few minutes and allowed his horse to walk so the others could catch up. He murmured words in Sindarin in her ear, thanking her for bearing him.

When the others reached him, he grinned at them. Arthur was openly staring at him. "Why did you never ride like that in Camelot?"

Merlin shrugged. "I was trying to be human. I overcompensated a few times. I thought to better to be clumsy than un-naturally graceful."

Elrohir snorted. "Clumsy. This coming from the elf who can flawlessly perform every dance he ever tried, and can climb any tree you point him at better than anyone else I've ever seen."

"Like I said, I overcompensated. Besides, holding in my magic takes a lot of concentration."

Arthur was still watching him. "Was everything we know about you a lie?"

Merlin shook his head. "No, Arthur. It's true I'm not as clumsy as I pretended to be, but nearly everything else was true."

"Are you any good with a sword?" asked Elyan. "We couldn't beat any of the other elves we fought."

There came twin sniggers, then Elladan said, "Emrys is terrible with a sword compared to other elves. Hand him anything you want to throw and he's very skilled. He's above average with a bow, but not amazing. It was quite amusing when we were growing up."

Merlin snorted. "You're exaggerating. I'm just about average with a bow and I'm only good with throwing knives because my magic helps, as you well know, Elladan."

Gwaine chuckled. "At least we can still claim that strength."

But Elrohir was still smirking. "You still don't want to fight him. He's terrible, but only compared to another elf. Emrys could still beat most men."

"Then we'll have to have a bout when we reach Imladris," said Leon. "Without you holding back for once."

Merlin laughed, but nodded. "If you want."

They continued on with their journey, beginning to move deeper into the valley. When they got close to the bridge, the singing began. Teasing the knights for their hair length and the style of their armour, laughing with the twins and complimenting the ladies. Merlin laughed with them, but didn't join in the songs.

When a comment cut a little close and Mordred flushed darkly, Merlin immediately snapped in Sindarin and the song died out for a few minutes before resuming as a simple tra-la-la.

"What was all that about?" asked Leon.

Merlin shrugged. "Sauron's been defeated. We'll be celebrating for years yet. Some of us get this way with too much wine."

"Why didn't they call for you?" said Morgana curiously.

Merlin winced. "That will be coming soon. It might take them a while to recognise me like this. Then there'll be uproar."

"Why?"

Merlin winced again. Then Elladan took pity on him and said, "He's been gone for nearly twenty years. It's not long for an elf, but the whole valley has been missing our favourite little one."

"Emrys is the youngest elf in Arda, so everyone dotes on him a little," continued Elrohir.

The others accepted this until an elf recognised Merlin at last, and the cries began to ring out around them.

"Lord Emrys!"

"Emrys Val'istar! Aaye!"

"Cormamin lindua ele lle, hîr nín."

At this last one, the twins started to chuckle. "Have you been holding out on us, muinor?" asked Elrohir.

Merlin was blushing slightly.

Gwaine grinned, "What did she say?"

"The translation is roughly, 'My heart sings to see thee, my lord'," replied Elladan.

"It's nothing," protested Merlin. "I've been telling her for centuries that I'm not interested and you know that."

But Leon had picked up on something else. "Why 'my lord'?" he asked.

Merlin winced. Then he pulled his horse to a stop and looked back at his friends from Camelot.

"I grew up here. I know every tree like the back of my hand, and can name every elf that lives here. I was my duty to do so." He closed his eyes briefly, then said, "My full name is Emrys Elrondion. Which means -"

"Son of Elrond," said Gwen.

Merlin nodded. "I am his youngest son. It doesn't make me a prince because Adar is a lord, not a king, but it does give me a title, same as the rest of you."

Arthur had clenched his hands around his reins for a moment, then he relaxed. "Alright. I can accept that. But why didn't you tell us when you told us the rest?"

"I didn't want to throw too much at you at once," said Merlin, looking uncomfortable.

"I can agree with that," said Elyan. "It would have been too much in one long speech."

Merlin smiled at him in thanks.

"So is there going to be a fancy ceremony when we get there?" asked Gwaine.

"Not tonight," replied Elrohir. "There'll be feasting and songs tomorrow though, once there's a little more time to prepare."

"Adar knows we're coming," said Merlin.

"How?" Percival was frowning.

"We crossed the Bruinen," replied Elladan. "It's the outer edge of Adar's protective power, so he knows when someone enters the area around the valley. No-one with ill intent towards the valley can safely cross the ford. The river would have swept them away."

There were a lot of wide eyes at that, but they were distracted by the calls of the elves around them again as they began to move forwards once more.

The elves crossed the bridge on horseback, but those from Camelot led their mounts, not quite trusting their control without speaking the language they were trained in.

When they were mounted, Merlin lifted his arm and pointed.

"There's our destination. The Last Homely House."

Mouths fell open in amazement.

"Merlin. It's beautiful," said Gwen softly.

"Thank you, my lady," he replied with a half bow from his mounted position. "Now, allow me the honour of escorting you all."

Gwaine chuckled at the formal language, but easily slipped down the line a little to allow Morgana to ride ahead of him.

They rode through the archway, led by Merlin, Elladan and Elrohir, with Arthur and Gwen just behind them. Then came Morgana, with Leon beside her, and then the rest of the knights, organised more simply by whoever happened to be closer to the front when they fell into formation.

They dismounted, and two elves, both with long dark hair and brown eyes, came down the steps to greet them.

"Lord Elladan, Lord Elrohir and Lord Emrys, I am glad you have arrived safely. It is good to have you home Lord Emrys," said one.

"Perhaps you might introduce our guests," suggested the other.

Merlin smiled at them both. "Lindir, Erestor, may I present, King Arthur Pendragon of Camelot. His wife, Queen Guinevere, and his sister the Princess Morgana. These are some of his knights. Sir Leon, First Knight of Camelot. Sir Gwaine, Sir Percival, Sir Elyan and Sir Mordred."

"We are honoured to meet you all."

Merlin looked back at his friends. "This is Lindir, Steward of Imlardis and Erestor, Lord Elrond's Chief Counsellor."

"I have arranged rooms for you all," said Lindir with a bow. "I hope you will be comfortable. I can direct you to the bathing rooms, should you wish it, or to one of the dining halls."

Arthur glanced at the others, then said, "I think the bathing halls would be very welcome, thank you, once we have put our bags in our rooms."

Lindir bowed again, then gestured up the steps. They all followed him.

Erestor fell into step beside Merlin. "Your father has already retired. He is not long returned from Gondor to visit Lady Arwen. He asked me to tell you that he will see you at breakfast, when he can greet you properly."

"Of course, Erestor, thank you for informing me. I look forward to it."

Lindir showed them each a guest room, allowing them to collect clean clothes from their saddle bags before showing them the bathing rooms. "We have shared bathing rooms, one for men and one for women. I hope this is acceptable."

"It's lovely, thank you Lindir," said Gwen.

He seemed a little surprised at the warmth in her voice, but bowed gracefully as he left, telling them to simply ask an attendent to show them back to their rooms if they got lost on the way back.

Merlin had vanished somewhere between the courtyard and their rooms but he reappeared not long after they had settled into the baths, the twins right behind him. He stripped off easily and slipped into the water with a brother on each side.

The knights were trying not to stare, but it didn't matter because Elladan had soon let out an odd mournful sound at the sight of the large burn over Merlin's heart.

"Muindor, I thought you said you were fine," he chastised, examining the scar carefully.

"Obviously he isn't!" said Elrohir, lifting Merlin's arm and pointing out dozens of small silver scars, as well as the large teardrop shaped sting on his back.

Arthur crossed his arms in front of his own scarred chest. "I think you've got some more explaining to do, Merlin."

Merlin carefully told the stories behind the burn mark, the sting and as many of the others as he could remember. The rest he dismissed as from bandits or assassins over the years.

Arthur and the knights looked amazed, but the twins still weren't happy.

"It still doesn't explain all the scars," Elrohir almost pouted.

Merlin sighed. "Athelas doesn't grow in Camelot. If it did, I'd have had a lot easier of a time over the years. I couldn't get rid of the scars without it, as you very well know, so stop fussing. Yes, I have a few scars now. It's not like you two haven't got hurt over the years," he reminded them.

Elladan nodded, reluctantly letting it go when he saw the logic of his little brother's argument.

~~~

The next morning was bright and sunny. The party from Camelot were woken by servants, and they were given comfortable but still fairly formal clothes, as it was to be the first time they would meet Lord Elrond.

Merlin came to show them to the dining hall and they almost didn't recognise him. He was dressed in pale blue elven shirt and brown leggings and his feet were bare. The real changes were to his hair and face though. He was still recognisable, but he seemed to have that inner glow that the other elves had now, and his features were more noble somehow. His inky black hair now reached the bottom tips of his shoulder blades and the sides were braided to show his pointed ears.

"Mae govannen," he greeted them. "Good morning."

"Merlin?!" Arthur looked amazed.

Merlin flushed slightly. "I lifted the glamour spell last night. This is my real appearance."

Gwaine whistled and Elyan punched him on the shoulder with a hiss of his name.

"I don't mind, Elyan," said Merlin quickly. "I don't want everyone to suddenly start treating me differently now. Obviously, I'm not a servant, but I'm still your friend."

Arthur reached out and clasped his forearm. "Of course you are Merlin."

The smile he received in return had Gwen and Morgana blushing and the knights slightly wide-eyed.

"Thank you Arthur. Now, allow me to escort you to breakfast."

They followed Merlin to an open terrace, set with several tables. There were several elves already sat at one and they stood as Merlin led them through the arch.

"Emrys," said the elf in the middle, spreading his arms open wide.

Merlin grinned again and moved gracefully forward to embrace his father. "Adar, quel amrun. Nae saian luume."

"Anann chen ú-gennin, ionneg nîn."

Then Merlin stepped back. "Adar, may I present King Arthur Pendragon of Camelot and his wife Queen Guinevere. His sister Princess Morgana, and his knights. Sir Leon, Sir Gwaine, Sir Percival, Sir Elyan and Sir Mordred."

Elrond bowed, "Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo."

"Mae govannen," replied Arthur, bowing in return. He had carefully learned the greeting from Cirdan on their journey and at Elrond's smile, he hoped he had said it right.

"I believe you have already met my sons, Elladan and Elrohir," said Elrond, "and Lindir and Erestor. This is Lord Glorfindel of the House of the Golden Flower, previously from the lost city of Gondolin."

They all bowed, in return to Glorfindel's, then Elrond gestured for them to sit. They had their own table, with Merlin sat beside his brothers on one side, and his father on the other.

Part way through the meal, Morgana said to one of the attendants, "May I ask what Emrys said to Lord Elrond earlier? I was hoping to try to understand more Sindarin."

The maid smiled at her. "Emrys said, 'father, good morning. It has been too long.' and Lord Elrond replied with 'I have not seen you for a long time, my son.' Lord Elrond's greeting to King Arthur is a traditional one in Quenya, rather than Sindarin, and it means, 'May a star shine on the hour of our meeting'. I hope that answers your questions, my lady."

Morgana thanked her, and the maid curtseyed and slipped away.

~~~

After breakfast, Merlin showed them around, ending at the training grounds. The knights were eager to spar, though not with any of the elves. They knew it would be useless to try.

But to their surprise, there were several men at the archery range; their targets a lot closer than their elven counterparts.

One of them called out to Merlin, who replied with a smile.

Then he turned back to the others. "They're Rangers, members of the Dunedain. They protect the lands from attacking orcs, goblins, wolves and so on. They answer directly to Aragorn, King of Gondor. Most of them are what's left of the nobility of Arnor, still doing their sworn duty to protect the people. A lot of people forget where they come from and their purpose, so they don't always get a good reception in some places. But they have a close alliance with Rivendell, even more so now that Aragorn has married Arwen."

"Arwen is your sister, isn't she?" asked Elyan, and Merlin nodded.

"If you want to train with the Dunedain, I'm sure they'll be happy to spar. But their training methods are very different to yours, so it might be interesting."

The knights agreed, then Morgana noticed that some of the Rangers were female and decided to join in. Gwen shrugged and said she might as well too. So they all returned to their rooms to change.

When they got back, they found Merlin flat on his back, pinned by Elladan's sword.

"This looks familiar," called Gwaine.

Merlin grinned at him, then flicked his wrist and Elladan was lifted easily into the air to hover above the ground as Merlin got to his feet. He lowered his brother back to the ground, then grasped his forearm quickly in thanks for the spar.

"Anyone want to take on my little brother?" called Elrohir, from where he was polishing a dagger. "Like we said, he's terrible, for an elf."

Elyan glanced at the others, then called back, "I'll give it go, Merlin."

Merlin grinned at him, picked up his sword and beckoned him into position.

The fight was longer than Elyan had held up against any of the elves in Mithlond, but was still over too quickly for his pride. After that, Merlin bested Percival though pure speed, Leon through agility and Gwaine by determination and force of will, though the last fight was very close and lasted a lot longer.

The Dunedain and the elves on the training field had watched every fight with wide eyes, amazed at the skill of the Camelot knights.

Then Arthur stepped forward and everyone fell silent. He drew Excalibur and a wave of shocked whispers and gasps ran through those watching.

Elladan stepped forward and took Merlin's training sword from his hand, replacing it with a gold-hilted blade that shone almost blue with the burnish on it.

"It's only fair," he muttered to Elrohir, who nodded seriously.

The fight was long and Arthur was amazed at his friend's skill. The blade in his hand seemed to match Merlin as well as Excalibur matched him; both weapons acting as extensions of their arms. Merlin landed a few lucky hits, simply because he had trained with Arthur for the last ten years and knew his technique completely.

Then Arthur managed to hook his blade under Merlin's and knock the sword clean out of his opponent's hand, lifting Excalibur's tip towards Merlin's neck.

Merlin's eyes were wide and shocked and when Arthur dropped his sword, he saw that the expression was matched by everyone watching. He stood awkwardly for a moment, not sure what to do.

Then a voice came from behind him. "The last time a Man defeated Emrys when he fought with that blade, it was Aragorn, King of Gondor and he is of the blood of Numenor. Never before has another of the Race of Men done this. You are truly a great warrior, King Arthur."

He turned and saw Lord Glorfindel watching him.

"Your standard is well chosen, Arthur Pendragon. You have the strength to match your blade, and you are well worthy of it." Glorfindel bowed smoothly and gracefully and that wave of whispers broke out again. Then the golden haired elf straighten up and left the training field.

"What was that about?" asked Morgana.

Merlin had sat down heavily on a bench, still staring at Arthur. "Lord Glorfindel is one of the most powerful warriors in Arda. He has defeated a Balrog without magic and returned from death as an Ambassador of the Valar. For him to say you are a great warrior..." Merlin shook his head in amazement.

"What's a Balrog?" asked Mordred.

"A Demon. Think twice, maybe three times Percival's height. Made of fire and ash. Sword to match its height and sometimes a whip as well. Gandalf defeated one and it took all the magic he had. Glorfindel did it without magic. He died from his wounds, but he killed it first."

The knights were wide eyed at this information. Arthur looked stunned.

"I don't understand how he returned from the dead," said Morgana. "I brought Lancelot back, but he was just a shade, an empty shell. It wasn't really him."

"It was the will of the Valar," replied Merlin. "They are the Powers of the World. They helped Eru create and shape Arda. They sent Glorfindel back to help combat Sauron."

They were silent for a time, then Leon asked, "What did he mean about your sword, Merlin?"

"Oh, it was forged in a dragon's breath, same as Arthur's. It can kill that which is already dead. But mine was also made by the High Elves of Gondolin before it was burnished with dragon fire, so it's stronger even than Excalibur. It's name is Êlnaur, which means Starfire."

"Excalibur was forged in a dragon's breath?" said Arthur.

Merlin nodded. "I took the finest blade Tom had ever made and had Kilgarrah burnish it. I had meant to give it to you to fight the Black Knight, but your father took it instead." He shivered. "Kilgarrah was not happy with me for that. I swore that only Arthur and I would ever wield it after that. I hid it in a lake for years until we had to retake Camelot from Morgause's immortal army. When that battle was over, I placed it in the stone until Arthur would need it again."

"So that story you fed me? It was just a lie?" Arthur looked slightly hurt.

Merlin winced. "The history of the sword was a lie, yes, but it didn't change the magic I placed on it. Only the Once and Future King could pull out the sword and only when he believed he could. You had to believe in yourself for it to work and that was what I was trying to achieve at the time."

Arthur looked conflicted for a moment, then reached out and clasped Merlin's shoulder in his hand. "Thank you Merlin."

He didn't say anything else, but Merlin's smile showed him that his unspoken words were understood all the same.

Then Gwaine said, "Uh, is no-one going to mention that Merlin was on first name terms with a dragon?"

Merlin sighed. "In Arda, we all know that all dragons have names. And the dragons in Albion are tiny compared to the ones here. I didn't feel any real threat from Kilgarrah. He was angry at his imprisonment and full of hate towards Uther for killing the rest of his kind, but he always stuck close to the prophecies. He gave a lot of good advice over the years to protect Arthur. His advice on Morgana and Mordred was less helpful."

"What did he say?" asked Mordred curiously.

"It was always the same. 'Kill the witch', 'don't trust the druid boy', 'they will bring down Camelot' and so on. Unfortunately it made it a self-fulfilling prophecy. I didn't tell Morgana about my magic and she turned to Morgause for help instead. I refused to trust you Mordred and it meant you didn't come to me when you needed help with Kara." He shrugged. "It made me so angry when I realised what had happened, but Kilgarrah was dying then, so I couldn't yell at him too much. I miss him," he finished softly.

Notes:

Another chapter done. Lockdown is good for something I suppose.
Hope you're all safe and well, and best wishes to everyone reading this.
Still really appreciate kudos and comments, but just having this read is amazing!
Hope you enjoyed it

Notes:

I've been working on this one for a while, and I have no idea how long it's going to be yet, but I'm enjoying it.
Hope you enjoy it.
Comments bring out my happy!