Legends of Camelot

Book 1-Merlina

Prologue

The man with the black hair had been digging all night. He was one of the Believers. He was one of those that believed the story of Camelot was true. That meant, somewhere in the world, there must be a descendant of Merlin, the greatest Archmage to ever live. And somewhere here, the man, an archeologist by trade, figured he’d find the staff of Merlin. Merlin had been the only one who could stop Morgana from winning against Arthur. But ultimately, he’d failed. Everyone knew the story. Arthur married Guinevere, and Merlin had mysteriously vanished. After Merlin had vanished, Morgana had used her magic, and her knowledge of the love shared between Guinevere and Lancelot to bring Arthur down, and Camelot with him.
Then, suddenly, the man was forced to bring his attention back to his work, as his small shovel hit something. He’d found something! He dug around it excitedly and saw under the ground…a simple white staff, with a green jewel at the top. If he was right…it was the Seeing Gem. According to some, it was with this jewel Merlin could see the future. It must be! And if he was right, then this was indeed Merlin’s staff. With it, Merlin had done so many great things. He reached for the staff, excitement flooding through him.
All of a sudden, the man was blinded by a bright light. Blinking, he looked up and his jaw dropped. A beautiful woman stood before him. Her hair was a brilliant blonde, like the sun. Her eyes were ocean blue. Her skin was fair, and she wore a dress as blue as any river or lake. The man stood there, stunned. Then the woman spoke, “Ye, who would take Merlin’s staff, be wary. This staff will not allow the touch of any save its master, or the one who would bear it to its master.”
The man couldn’t speak for a long time. This woman had confirmed everything he’d ever believed, but what had she meant? Staves were not sentient, they could not choose who would hold them. But of course! This was a special staff. It was the staff of Merlin! Of course it would have an enchantment or some such to prevent just anybody from touching the thing. There were only two questions left to the man, one he asked, the other he considered. “Lady, what is your name?” He asked. The other question was about his worthiness, which she could not answer for him.
“Dost thou not know?” she said, slyly. “Then I shall not tell thee. Consider me no more than a messenger.”
And before the man had time to think, there was another blinding flash. When he could see again, the woman was gone. That gave him some time to mull everything over. It was possible that was the fabled Lady of the Lake. But, was he truly near her fabled bed of water, or could she appear before him because she was somehow connected to the staff? And would he be able to touch it? These thoughts haunted him. If he was correct about his lineage, it was less likely the staff would accept him. But what if it did? What then? He didn’t think he’d be the master of the staff, not that he wanted to be. He had no aspirations for power, he just wanted to prove the legends more than legends. The man with the black hair sat in indecision.

Hm...It's certainly an intriguing start, tho I do have a number of questions and concerns. You said you wanted to be a writer, so I'll give you a choice here. I can be concerned with not discouraging you if you aren't sure you're committed, and leave you with less advice but maybe more eager to make things better, OR if you're sure you want to grow as a writer, even if it means bruising your pride, I can go through this and give you everything I think could use some work. The first one isn't gonna be painful, but the second one will give you a lot more to work with in terms of getting better.

Go ahead and give it to me straight. Though I will say I almost never put as much detail into the start as I do the main plot. It's supposed to be just enough to get people intrigued, without spoiling the main plot of the story. But I prefer to get better, not stay the same.

Seriously, feel free to ask questions, make comments, and critique. Some questions will be answered as the story continues (if I ever figure out how to make it make sense) and some won't be answered until the next couple of "books". (It's supposed to be a series of three "books".) But asking those questions will help me decide which need to be answered throughout the first story, and which can wait until the next. Critiquing, even if it's just spelling and grammar errors, will help me improve. I like constructive criticism.

Chapter 1

Thudding feet, rasping breath, gasping for air as the seventeen year old, black haired woman ran down the street. Her navy blue robes fluttered around her ankles, and her long raven-black hair whipping around her face. In her hand, using it to push people aside, was a white staff with a green gem at the top. She was late. Very late. But if she was very, very lucky...Before she could finish that thought, she rounded the corner that lead to the conclave center, known as FaeCo. Standing just outside of what appeared to be an office building, stood a tall, slender woman wearing a blue dress that flowed and streamed down her body. Her blonde hair cascaded down her neck, to her upper spine, and her cerulean eyes were sparking with impatience.
"You're late, Merlina." said the blonde haired woman.
"I'm sorry, lady Nimue. I couldn't find my staff." Merlina replied, looking embarrassed.
"Honestly, Merlina. You can't be late to classes. We've already got issues since you're not a proper mage."
Merlina went absolutely red from mortification. But it was true. While magic users could be dependent on an item, never before had a dependent been so utterly dependent as Merlina was on her staff. All dependents, with the exception of Merlina, could, in an emergency, use uncontrolled bursts of magic to get out of an already hopeless situation, without access to the object that they were bound to. But it would have been just that, uncontrolled. Able to hurt friends and family nearby, as well as enemies. For Merlina, however, it was different. She had not magic without the staff. But the staff in question could only be used by her, though no one knew why. But none of that changed that Merlina was constantly on the edge of expulsion from magic school.
"Sorry. Really. It won't happen again." Merlina said, with as much regret as she could project.
"Make sure it doesn't." Nimue said sternly, then she smiled. "Now that I've done the hard part, just let me say, otherwise, you're doing very well. We couldn't ask for a more dedicated student. Now come on. We need to get you to class.
They entered the building that housed the Mage's conclave together. And a more office-like building could not have been pictured. Not surprising, Merlina reflected. After the last war many centuries ago, companies had completely taken over the governing of the world. Magic users, magic creatures of all different kinds, and even some normal people went in and out of the FaeCo building, a clear sign that the millennia long fear of magic was going away and had been for quite a while. In fact, FaeCo was the main conclave. A safe haven for all kinds of magical creatures and people. It was large, several stories high. And many underground as well. As they reached the elevator, though, Merlina drove her musings out of her mind, to focus on getting to and paying attention to classes. By the time they'd reached the floor the classes where supposed to be on, she'd just about succeeded.
Nimue left Merlina at her class, and Merlina went in. Her teacher didn't say anything, but gave Merlina a severe look as she took her seat.
"As I was saying, for many years, magic was illegal in many countries, due to the fear of magic that normal people had during the earliest days of the world. Much magic lore was lost, and only rumors remain of places like Camelot, where magic was not only allowed but encouraged..."
It went on for hours. Or that's how it seemed to Merlina.

End part 1 of Chapter 1

I may do this occasionally. Either because I'm pressed for time due to work, or because I'm not sure where to go from there. Sorry. I'll try to get part 2 out fairly quickly.

In my opinion, you should start out with the setting and time so the reader has an understanding of where your character is and what the era is. For example, the start of your chapter 1 shows a young black haired girl running down the street. Where is the street located? Is it a dirt road or is it pavement? Cause the title 'Legends of Camelot' does not immediately indicate that it is in a medieval era, especially with some stories being placed in the modern era yet having the word knight in the title. Though all of these are just my opinion, you will find your writing style, and people will love it. Have fun writing! c:

Nice start,it’s really interesting can’t wait to see the finished writing.

Chapter 1 Part 2

As the teacher continued her lecture on magical history, though "history" was pushing it, as most magical history was lost during the "age of fear" as the period during the early dark ages to the late twenty-second century were commonly known. Much of the "history" was now more myth and legend. Still, Merlina leaned forward into her desk eagerly. Camelot was her favorite legend of the bunch. It always had been. She'd gotten her hands on as many books with as many versions on the story as she could find. It was enthralling to see how a legend could affect reality. So, since she was enjoying herself so much, it probably wasn't too surprising that time passed amazingly fast. The class was over in what seemed mere seconds.
Merlina found herself outside the classroom in the hallway, wood door swinging closed behind her and the other students. She made her way down the narrow hall, doors on every side, each for a different class. But Merlina wasn't heading to any of the indoor classrooms. She was headed toward the doors that lead to the outdoor classroom. This was where they practiced spells. Or in Merlina's case, used her staff to attack and defend herself without saying the actual spells. Not every mage needed to speak spells, but most dependents did need to. This was another class she loved. She'd always wanted to be a mage, though it hadn't seemed possible, and she found herself thinking back to the day it had become a reality

The store had never been there before. Merlina knew that. She spent a lot of her free time walking down that specific road, as it lead past FaeCo. She wore blue jeans and a navy blue t-shirt speckled with stars, a pattern she loved. The fact that the store was knew, and rather suddenly there, she couldn't help being curious. She stepped into the shop and looked around. There was a lot of old-looking furniture, meaning that it must have been an antique store. Puttering around the rather small shop was a man with black hair. The hair was streaked with silver. A bell jingled above her head as she entered, and the man looked up with a smile. "Welcome." he said, jovially. "Feel free to look around, young lady. I hope you find something to your liking."
"Thank you" Merlina said, graciously. She did look around. A lot of the stuff was interesting, but nothing really grabbed her. In fact, she was turning to leave when she saw it. It was a simple thing, but it didn't belong. And it seemed to call out to her. A simple white staff with a green gem sat to one side. As if placed there as an after thought. Merlina approached it, enthralled. It seemed the staff was...calling to her. But that was such a silly idea. It couldn't be. She reached out her hand toward it to examine it closer when a hand closed around her wrist, stopping her. The man with the black hair let go, saying "Be careful of that staff, young lady. No one has been able to touch it. Much less pick it up. That's a magical staff. It will hurt you if it doesn't like you.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"No, no, it's not a problem. I just wanted to warn you before you hurt yourself. If you want to pick it up, feel free to try. But at least you'll have thought through the possible consequences."
Merlina eyed him, thoughtful.
"Look," said the man with the black hair. "I'll make it more interesting. The staff is taking up room. Not much, but it doesn't make my little shop look all that great. And it's driving away customers when they try to take it. They become afraid that all my merchandise will hurt them too. So if you can take it, and it doesn't hurt you, you can have it. I don't really need or want it."
"I...see..." Merlina thought about her options. If it was a magic staff and it accepted her, she could be a mage, like she'd always dreamed. But if it didn't accept her, or if it was a fake...but if it was a fake, he'd have sold it to her, not given it to her...right? Finally, she decided. She would take the plunge. She reached out, and picked up the staff. Nothing happened, except for a mild tingling up her arm. And the man with the black hair's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"Well, I see it likes you. Well, I'm a man of my word. You can keep the staff. Congratulations, young lady." He said, merrily.
"Thank you." Merlina couldn't believe it. At thirteen, she was a little old to be joining magic school, but being able to use magic would get her in more or less automatically. The conclaves didn't want untrained mages out in the world.
The man with the black hair nodded and smiled. Then waved as Merlina walked out of the shop.
Merlina never saw the shop again. But lady Nimue had accepted Merlina into the school, overriding those who doubted.

Merlina shook herself out of her thoughts as classes finally ended. Her "spells" had been more or less exact, and she was quite proud of herself, in spite of her distraction all day. She had this feeling that something was coming. Something that would change her life, forever.

End part 2, end chapter 1

I like the world you created and your writing style, eager to read more. I read that you loved to have feedback and there were somethings that caught my eye so here it comes: on the end of chapter 1 part 1 you wrote that the class seems to take forever but in the beggining of part 2 you wrote that the time passed amazingly fast and I do think it odd that Merlina(beautiful name) is completly lost in thought during her spell lesson. Doesn't she have to be focussed practive her spells? Also the first sentence of chapter 1 part 2 kind of turned in another direction midway so the beginning is a bit of. I hope it is usefull critique.

Whoops. Yeah, its a bit harder to keep consistent when I'm not doing chapters in one fell swoop. What I'm thinking of doing is, when I'm done with this story re-posting it all at once with changes to make it more consistent and detailed. I think it will be useful in making this story even better. I'm working on the next chapter now. After all, we can only see improvement from here. And I want to finish it before even considering re-posting it as one fell swoop. Thanks everyone for helping.

The way I see it, I have a couple options for the main inconsistency. Because the fast/slow class can be explained. We've all had days that pass impossibly fast, and yet annoyingly slow. I mean, its typically the difference between classes and days, but we've still experienced a day, week, or year again. But the worst incongruity can go one of three ways. I can get rid of it completely, and put how Merlina got the staff elsewhere (I was considering putting it in the Prologue of the next "book" originally.), it could be hinting at Merlina having more power than anyone thinks she does. Or it could just be that she was working with spells familiar enough that she might not need to focus as much attention on them. Don't worry, I'll have decided by the next draft what to do.

Chapter 2

Merlina was starting to leave FaeCo when she heard someone shout her name from behind. She turned around to see Nimue running toward her.
"Lady Nimue?" Merlina said, curious.
"Sorry, Merlina, but I was thinking, you should stay here for the rest of the school year. It would make it easier to get to classes on time. Besides, that's what the conclave is for. So? What do you say?" Nimue stated, seriously.
"Lady Nimue, I'm honored. Really. But..." Merlina hesitated, ready to say no. Then she thought again. Nimue was right. It would be easier to make it to classes if she housed in the conclave for the duration of classes. "Well...alright, my lady. I'll have to let my parents know, so they don't worry."
"Of course, Merlina. But you're old enough to make your own decisions. So do what you need to do, but stay here." Nimue insisted.
"I will. Thank you, lady Nimue." Merlina turned around, to find the nearest phone. Technology hadn't always worked around magic, but places like FaeCo had worked hard to change that. They worked with normal people to make devices that worked with magic around. Some now even worked better. She picked up the phone and dialed her mother's cell number. When she picked up, Merlina stated, "Hey, mom."
"Oh, hello, Merlina. I assume since you're calling you're going to be late?"
"Well...sort of. Lady Nimue has offered to let me stay on campus for the duration of classes."
"Well, that's great Merlina. But are you sure you want to?"
"Yes. I am. I can't keep being late to class. And home's a little far away. Don't worry, I'll come back at the end of semester. And I'll be as safe as I can."
"Well...alright, Merlina. I'll have your father fly you your things so that you have enough clothes. We love you. Do well."
"Thank you, mom." Merlina hung up, and smiled. Nimue stood behind her, watching warily.
"Well?" She asked.
"Dad'll bring my stuff. I'll stay until the end of semester, since you've been so kind." Merlina stated.
"Good. I'll show you to a room. I'm sure your dad will find it easily." Nimue beamed.
"He should." Merlina agreed. She followed Nimue as she was lead to the rooms. Mages were uncommon enough that most rooms, though they could hold more than one person per room, it often wasn't needed. As was the case in Merlina's new room. Though there was only one bed, if there was a need, there was enough room to squeeze at least one more bed. Possibly two or three, if the non-essential furniture was taken out, but that would have been really pushing it. Merlina looked around, as Nimue, pleased that Merlina seemed happy enough with the room, left to attend to matters of business. Merlina sat on the bed, humming to herself. Her dad would be here any minute. It didn't take him very long to get where he wanted to go.
There was a knock at the door. Ah, good, Merlina thought, Here he is now. Merlina went to open the door.
The man at the door wasn't her dad. In fact, she didn't recognize him at all. He was tall, and had brown hair and eyes. "Are you Merlina?" he asked.
"...Yes?" Merlina said, very cautiously. "And you are?"
"It doesn't matter. Come with me."
"No. I don't even know who you are!"
"Come with me right now!" the man yelled. Then, more calmly, "It's important. Lady Nimue wants to see you."
Merlina thought this was a rather blatant lie. What could Nimue want? But on the other hand, the man seemed extremely worried. Merlina debated her choices, as the man got more and more anxious. Well, I'm protected by the magic I know. And if Lady Nimue really does want to see me... She nodded. "Very well. I'll come."
The man nodded jerkily and turned away. He lead her down the hall and toward the elevator.
As the elevator doors opened, Merlina realized that she was in a part of FaeCo that she'd never been in before. "Where are we?" she asked the man with the brown hair.
He didn't answer. He motioned for her to follow, and, not even knowing where she was, she felt she had little choice but to follow. So she did, regretting coming with him.
As they went down the seemingly endless hall, Merlina studied the environment. It was very basement-like. The walls were bare concrete and wires were hanging down some of the walls. It was a poorly lit, desolate place. Finally, the man with the brown hair turned into a room, and Merlina followed. Inside was equally as bare as the outside. In fact, the only thing in the room, was a pool of water. It cast the walls in blue, reflecting the limited light of the room itself onto the walls.
"Come closer." said the brown haired man.
Merlina felt herself drawn toward the pool, until she stood on the very edge, looking in. It looked to her like a seeing pool. One of those places where a skilled mage could see the future. In fact, she was so drawn to it, that she didn't even notice the man creep up behind her. The first thing that made her realize anything else was going to happen was a firm shove to her back.
Merlina lost her balance, flailed wildly, and fell into the "water." She fell, fell, fell, and then everything went black.

end chapter 2

Chapter 3

Lady Nimue Rivard sat behind a ordinary-looking brown desk, shuffling through papers. Someone like Merlina thought of her as the head of FaeCo. But actually that wasn't quite true. She worked for the man really in charge. She looked up at a knock. "Enter" she said, casually. A man with brown hair entered and bowed. "Is it done?"
"Yes," He said, "she won't be a problem anymore."
"Good, I'll let him know." Nimue nodded, "Yes, he'll be very happy to be rid of the nuisance."
She made eye contact with the brown haired man, and an unspoken understanding went between them.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Merlina was encased by the blackness to the point where she couldn't tell if she was awake or asleep. It was also hard to tell if she was still falling, or if she was rising. Where was she? What had just happened? She tried to think, tried to make herself think, but as she did, more confusion washed over her. As she finally started to get her thoughts of events in something like order, a faint light glimmered above. She was headed toward it. But was it up or down? She wasn't sure if she would ever really know. At least, that was what she'd thought before she realized she actually was rising. She was in water. It was light enough for her to see that. She struck out to try to get out of the water faster. Her robes weighed her down, and her staff took up one hand, but she managed somehow to break the surface of an enormous lake. She swam to the shore and crawled out, gasping for air and dripping wet. She solved being wet, once she caught her breath, with a quick spell and looked around. The shore was covered in grass. It stretched as far as the eye could see. In fact, she'd never seen so much green. She'd grown up in the city. Though her father had often spoken longingly of having time to take her to the forests of his youth.
Merlina pushed herself up, onto her feet, trying to figure out what to do next. She could go back into the lake on the off chance that it would take her back to the room she'd been in earlier. Or she could try to find someone who could tell her where she was. But as she was deciding to try the lake, she straightened, and turned. Behind her was a rather large group of rather...rough looking men. They were looking at her in a way that sent chills up and down her spine. They came up closer, and she backed up, but with the lake behind her, which might not do more than make her extremely vulnerable. And she wasn't especially fond of the idea of testing to see if she would be taken back to FaeCo with these...people nearby. After all, if she was in danger, being in the water could only slow her down. So she backed up as far as she could, then stood her ground, trying to keep them all in her view, as they circled her.
"Well, pretty lady, what's a young one like you doin' out here by yourself. After all, any man should be escorting you."Said one man, most likely the leader. He was shorter than Merlina, but extremely muscular. And he was leering at her. His eyes landed on her staff. "Well, I see you are a woman of some means. We'll just be taking everything you have on you."
"You think so, do you?" Merlina said calmly. Her eyes blazed, dangerously.
"You be a good little damsel and surrender. There's more of us than you know. Give us everything and you might just make it out alive."
"I'd like to see you try."
They attacked, and Merlina found that the leader had told the truth. As they started toward her, the leader signaled and seemingly hundreds of other brigands were upon her. And she was fighting for her life.
Despite how different magic can seem to others, it is a weapon, and like any other weapon, it takes energy to use. And no one has limitless energy. It has to run out eventually. But Merlina had been training for months. Her energy levels and spell knowledge were better than some, though no where near as good as someone like Lady Nimue, who had been training for years. And every person has different amounts of energy. Practice can make it easier, less energy used on a specific task when practiced enough. But it still takes energy. As she cast spell after spell, and felled brigand after brigand, she could feel her strength beginning to wane. Her vision became grainy from exhaustion, and started to dim. If she used too much more, she could die. But there were still more coming. She could hear the hooves of their horses. But that didn't make sense. She hadn't seen any horses among her attackers. But she didn't have time to spare. She was still surrounded, and she was quickly loosing energy. The horses came closer, and two young men, dressed like old-fashioned knights came riding quickly in the direction of the fighting. On had blonde hair, blue eyes, and carried himself well. The other, who looked like the older of the two had brown hair and eyes. Both were well muscled, and they did not look happy at the fight going on. She couldn't be sure in her barely conscious state if they were unhappy that she had downed so many of their friends, or if they were unhappy that so many men were attacking her. She barely noticed the brigands running for the hills, or the blonde haired man practically jumping off his mount and running to her, as her energy failed her at last. The blonde haired man caught her as she lost consciousness.

OK, so here's some feedback I need. Do you like the opening to chapter 3, or should I take it out. It is Merlina's story, so part of me wants to remove it. On the other hand, without spoiling where I'm going with the story, I feel like the scene was important to later. So what do you guys think?

Chapter 4

Merlina's eyes were closed. In fact, it felt as though they had been glued shut. She could feel she was laying on something hard, so not her bed at home. Maybe the bed at FaeCo? If that was the case, had the portal and bandits been some kind of dream? It hadn't felt like a dream. And if she had fallen asleep on her new bed at FaeCo, she couldn't imagine why her father hadn't woken her up, or why she couldn't at least hear him knocking. She finally forced her eyes open. It was harder than it should have been. And she was tired, so tired. At first, the world was blurry, but that wasn't stopping her hearing. Someone was rustling around the room. Then a man's voice spoke. "Ah, you're finally awake. How are you feeling?"
"Um..." Merlina blinked once, twice, three times. Then the room came into focus, and she looked over at an gray-haired man looking her direction and smiling. "I...I'm fine, I think. Tired, but fine."
"I supposed that's not overly surprising, considering you were on the verge of collapsing when my boys found you. Do you remember your name?"
"Merlina. Merlina Zanash. And you?"
"I am Lord Ector. A pleasure to meet you."
Merlina did her best not to gawk at him. Ector was a name she recognized. And had heard only once in her life. But then again, someone who was a noble could be named Ector. It couldn't be the same one.
"Anyway," Ector continued, "now that you' are awake, I shall call in my boys if you agree. After all, they will be pleased to see that you are better."
Merlina nodded and Ector left the room. It was the first chance she had to really look around. It was a small enough castle-like room. In fact, the stone was thick, and fairly ancient looking. But not nearly as ancient looking as many of the preserved castles around England, or any other country. So was this a more recent castle than any she'd seen pictures of? But that couldn't be. No one built with stone anymore. It wasn't efficient or cheap enough. She pushed herself slowly into a sitting position as two younger men, both roughly her own age, came rushing into the room.
"You're alright!" said the blonde-haired man, excitedly. He wasn't especially muscular, or at least it didn't show as well as some Merlina had met. "I was worried when you passed out that you might not make it."
"Arthur, calm, down, you're frightening her." said a man who also had blonde hair, but was far more muscular. He was built like a broadsword, while Arthur was built more like a rapier. "My name's Kay, and this...person...is named Arthur."
"It's a pleasure to meet you both." Merlina said, eyes darting between the two men. Arthur and Kay. Two more names she'd heard. Arthur was a common enough name that it wouldn't have bothered her much if not for the names Ector and Kay, two name's she'd only heard in stories. "I'm...sorry if this sounds strange...but where am I?"
Arthur answered. "You're in my father's estate, in England. Are you alright?"
"Yes. Yes, I am. Just tired."
"Well, I guess that isn't such a surprise. You did take on who knows how many bandits. Looks like a very large group swarmed you. I was impressed by the way. Are you a traveler?"
"Um...Yeah, I guess you could say that." Merlina looked around again. Kay looked older than Arthur. "Are you both knights? You look like knights." Or rather, they looked like ancient medieval versions of knights. Knights that no longer existed in the same way in modern times. So what were they doing here?
"Actually, we're squires. Kay's almost done his training. He's participating in a tournament in a few weeks." Arthur sounded excited for his brother.
"I see. Well, I wish you luck, Kay." Merlina stated
"Thank you." said Kay
"Anyway, I'm feeling much better. Is there anything I can do to repay your kindness?" Merlina asked
"Well...Do you have any skill in healing?" Arthur asked
"Um..." Merlina knew a couple spell, but wasn't entirely sure if that counted. "Sort of."
"Great. Our teacher is sick. No one seems to know what's wrong with him. Maybe a new perspective can tell us." Arthur sounded excited again. Hopeful even.
"I can try, at least. I won't guarantee anything." Merlina stated, cautiously.
"Sounds good to me. Thank you, Merlina."
"No problem."
Merlina pushed herself off the bed. "Take me to your teacher."
Arthur lead her out, Kay following behind as she wondered what exactly she'd gotten herself into.

Chapter 5

The man in the room Merlina was taken too was ancient. He looked up at her, as she entered alone. His eyes seemed to widen, as she took in the grey-white hair, and deathly pale skin. "Well, well," he croaked. "I didn't think I'd live to see this day."
"Um..." Merlina hesitated, uncertain by what he meant. "I...I'm here to see if I can help you."
"I doubt it, young one. You clearly don't have enough magical power to cure this illness."
Merlina looked down. "I have no magic outside of my staff."
The man smiled at her. "Yes, I can see how that might be a problem. The unfortunate thing is that this ailment is a powerful magic spell. Only an Archmage could cure me. And there are no Archmages. Arthur doesn't understand. There's nothing to be done."
Merlina nodded, ashamed of her weakness. And the man smiled at her again, "Here, take this. You may find it useful." He handed her an old-looking book. "I have no use for it anymore. And I'm sure you can learn a lot from it"
Merlina nodded again. "I..."
"Hush, child, there's no need for apologies. Now go on, tell Arthur you tried, but couldn't do anything. I need to speak with Ector one last time, and I'm sure Arthur will either run off in tears or want to say goodbye."
Merlina did, and Arthur went in to say goodbye one more time. When he came out, he was quite, besides thanking Merlina for trying. They didn't speak for the rest of the day.
Merlina looked up as Ector walked into the room. This time, Arthur did run off crying. Kay went after him, to comfort his brother.
Ector looked at Merlina, and said, "He asked me to make you Arthur's new teacher. Seemed to think that you've got a lot of potential. And that you'd do Arthur some good. What do you say?"
Merlina thought about it. She owed this family her life. If not for Arthur, Kay, and Ector, she would have likely been killed by the bandits. As much as she wanted to go home, she couldn't just abandon this family with a debt unpaid. Mind made up, Merlina nodded assent. "I'll do it."
"Thank you." Ector said. They smiled at each other, then Merlina left, to seek out Arthur.
Merlina found Arthur, sobbing. She didn't say anything. She just sat down next to him. They were unfamiliar enough to each other, that she did not put her arms around him, consolingly, though she wanted to. But she forced herself to sit there, companionably, being there if he needed to talk, but otherwise just being there. Then, he said, "He was my teacher. Kay teachs me a lot about sword play, he's on his way to being a knight. But..."
"But the old man was a beloved teacher. A member of the family."
"Yes. I'll miss him."
"I would think so."
"Are you going to stay?" Arthur sounded pleading.
"Yes," Merlina replied. "Apparently, your teacher saw great potential, and wants me to continue your education. I agreed to do so. I hope you're not upset."
"I think I'm fine with that. Not sure right now. Pain's too raw."
"I understand. I'll give you a few days before we start. Let me know if you are ready before that, but you need time to grieve."
"Thank you. I appreciate it."
Merlina nodded, and got back up. "And you can talk to me if you need to."
Arthur nodded his thanks, and went back to contemplating the land before him.

Awesome, so she traveled back in time to Arthurs time? Thats so cool I like it how you make it so that Merlina didn't know directly she is in the arthurstime. As for your question in the earlier post I think its easier to decide on that if you written more that way you can see if you would miss the information from that alinea.

Yes, yes she did. I'm glad you like that part. And yeah, that's true. When I'm deeper in, we can all see how certain things being included or not included can affect the story. Thanks.

Chapter 6

A few days later, the lessons started. The days flew by. When Merlina wasn't teaching Arthur, and when he deigned to join them, Kay, she was watching Arthur and Kay fight each other. When she wasn't doing either of those things, she was practicing magic. However two weeks later, it was more than sword fighting, they were working on jousting. When she asked, Arthur explained that there was a tournament coming up. Kay was entering, and for him, since he was so close to being done as a squire, it would be his last real test before full knighthood. Arthur would act as Kay's squire for the duration of the tournament. He was taking good care of Kay's sword for starters. Merlina allowed a day for pure training, but instead of watching, she went exploring. She wanted to see more of this place that seemed so familiar, and yet, she was sure she'd never been.
It was late afternoon when she found the confirmation of all she'd suspected. She came upon the place described so often in legend. A small, flat, stone, with a sword inserted. Inscribed were the words that spelled the fate of whoever would pull that sword out. She gently touched the hilt of the blade, reverently, and thought. She knew what she had to do. But she spent the entire time back to Ector's home figuring out how to do so.

End Part 1

Chapter 6 part 2

The day of the tournament finally arrived. Merlina stood by Arthur's side as he made sure he hadn't forgotten anything for Kay. "You should participate, Arthur." she said.
"Not this year. Kay needs help with weapons. He's not officially a knight yet, so he doesn't warrent a real squire. So I'm doing that for him. This is his chance to prove he's trained enough to have earned a knighthood. I could still use some practice before I try my hand at this."
As Arthur was speaking, Kay came over to heckle his brother. "So, Wart, is everything here?"
"Of course. I was just checking. I don't think I forgot..." Arthur trailed off, and suddenly looked sheepish.
"What is it?" asked Merlina.
"Kay's sword. It's not here."
"What?" Kay asked, stunned. "I thought you'd brought it!"
"So did I," Arthur admitted. "I guess not."
Kay look upset. "My turn's coming up soon. I need that sword."
"I'll run back home and get it." Arthur said.
Merlina shook her head. "No, your home is a bit far. But I know where a sword can be found nearby. Come with me, Arthur."
Arthur nodded and followed Merlina. She hoped that he was too distracted by his worry over his mistake to realize where exactly they were going.
She was fortunate, because Arthur never even questioned the sword sitting in the stone. Never seemed to see the writing on the blade. Didn't seem to realize the importance of pulling the sword out of the stone. In fact, he was so eager to get back, that Merlina never got the chance to tell him before he was running off back to the tournament. Merlina followed more slowly.
They arrived back on site, and Arthur handed Kay the sword. But as Kay took it, he looked down, then glanced back at Arthur. He realized what had just happened. "Father!" Kay called, "You need to see what Arthur just did."
Arthur looked startled and confused as Ector came over. "What's going on?" Arthur asked, anxiously. "I didn't do something wrong did I?"
Kay and Ector ignored him for a while, then Ector turned to Arthur and said, "Arthur, do you know what this sword is?"
"Um..." Arthur couldn't speak. He wasn't sure what was going on.
Merlina spoke up. "It's the sword of Britain, Arthur. For years, it's been sitting in that stone. And on it is written, 'whoever should pull this sword from this stone shall become king of England.'"
Arthur stammered, then "No, not me. Maybe it was a fluke."
Kay, "That's what I was thinking. I think we should give others a chance before just deciding that Arthur of all people is to be our new king."
Ector didn't even speak. He handed the sword to Kay, and looked around at the people now gathered around the family. They all clearly agreed.
Merlina nodded, took the sword from Kay, and, with the large group following behind, and her staff in her hand, she led the way back to the stone. She slipped the sword back to the stone, gave it a quick tug to make sure it was in all the way, and, when it didn't even budge, stepped away from the stone. Not too far, but far enough that others started to try their hands at it.
Not one person had any more luck than Merlina had. Everyone, with the exception of Merlina and Ector, gave it a real try, but the sword refused to come out. But as Arthur was finally allowed a chance to take the sword again, another voice rang out.
"Now hang on, just a moment. I thought everyone got a chance at this thing. Back away boy, and let the real king give this sword a pull." Merlina and Arthur looked around to see a man with pitch black hair. His eyes were brown, cruel, and his smile was deadly.
"Who are you?" asked Merlina, cautiously, preparing for something to go wrong. There was something about him that she didn't like at all.
"My name," said the man, dark black robes swirling as he came to a stop, "is Morgan."

End Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Merlina was stunned. Another blow. But this one was really different. Morgana Le Fey was the prominent villain of Arthurian legend. But here, Morgana wasn't Morgana. She wasn't even female. Morgan. He'd called himself Morgan. It couldn't be. It had to be wrong. She shook herself, and looked at Arthur for his opinion. Arthur shrugged. "He's right, he should have a shot before I just take the sword."
Merlina nodded, then, "All right. You have a point. Everyone should give it a try." She sensed the magic coming off him in waves. It was dangerous, and she'd never felt anything like it. Well, in all fairness, she'd never felt the magic off of anyone before ever. It was one of those things that only a true user of magic can do. She shook herself again, and, as unobtrusively as possible, placed herself between Arthur and Morgan. That magic she sensed, more than any similarities between names convinced her that this man was dangerous, and a potentially serious threat. Though what exactly she could do about it, she wasn't exactly sure.
Morgan moved to the sword, and pulled. Merlina watched cautiously, knowing he would fail. After all, however powerful Morgana had been claimed to be in magic, she could never have beaten Merlin, or that kind of spell. The spell of an Archmage isn't so easily overcome. Morgan cursed, and turned upon the two. "What trickery is this? I should be king. It is my right, and yet the sword comes out for that child?" Morgan pointed at Arthur. "Well, I'll show you what happens to those who cross me!"
Morgan started chanting. Merlina, realizing what was going to happen, raised her staff, and chanted a quick protection spell. She was just barely quick enough. Morgan's spell was still strong enough to break the shield. But, that shield was strong enough to also deflect his attack.
Merlina stated, "You will not harm Arthur, Le Fay."
"Le Fay?" asked Morgan. "I don't think any one has ever called me that before. But I like it. I like it a lot." and with that, the battle truly began.
No matter how much time passed, Merlina could have never told you exactly what happened that day. They ended up in a Wizard's duel, Morgan casting spell after spell. Merlina blocking and, where possible, casting attacks of her own. Then, all of a sudden, a spell Morgan cast not only broke her shield, her staff shattered in her hands.
"No!" Merlina gasped. There was no hope now. She was no mage. That staff was her only access to magic. And Morgan seemed to realize it.
"If I'd known you were so weak in your magic, girl, I would have aimed for that staff. It's your only access to magic, I think." Morgan taunted
Merlina looked as defiant and not scared as she could.
"Move aside, girl, and I will spare your miserable life." Morgan said, dangerously.
"No." Merlina replied, as bravely as she could. She refused to show her fear to this man. "I will not let you harm Arthur, even if I should die defending him."
"Well, well, I never expected this. A little hero is on the stage. And I'll bet she's defending the man she loves." The harsh voice, leering and mocking, caused Merlina to blush. She wasn't in love with Arthur. She told herself that firmly. She just couldn't let this man die. He was important. He was kind, and gentle. Sweet even. And it was important that he live, because he was an inspiration. She didn't respond to Morgan, she simply threw her arms open, in a futile gesture of protection.
Morgan started chanting, and Merlina glanced around quickly. Most of the other people had run off when the duel had started. Good.
Finally, Morgan cast the spell, and Merlina threw her arms up in front of herself, and closed her eyes, waiting for death to come to her and Arthur.
Nothing happened. There was no pain, no nothing. She would have expected dying in this instance to hurt. A lot. She opened her eyes, and her mouth dropped open. Surrounding her and Arthur, out of no where, was a shield. Unbroken, and strong. Morgan stared in disbelief, as he quickly started to cast another spell. And it didn't even penetrate the shield. Merlina looked around, for the unknown protector, but it was just her and Arthur. So where had it come from?
Morgan cursed, and said, "You were lucky this time, girl. You will not be next time." And he vanished.
After he vanished, the shield vanished, and Arthur asked, "What just happened, Merlina?"
"I...don't know." Merlina admitted. "I thought we were dead. All my magic resulted from the staff. We should be dead. I'm going to have to figure that out."
Arthur nodded, then, under Merlina's watchful gaze, drew the sword from the stone once again.