1A/N: Hello everyone! I am back from a long hiatus during which I tried to get ahold of my book and writing, but I could not stay away from fanfictions for long. Here is my latest creation, once again paying hommage to a series I am still missing four years after its last episode. And I want to pay hommage to one man in particular who left for a better place not so long ago, and without whom my favourite character would not have had the same taste. Sir John Hurt, voice of Kilgharrah, the Great Dragon.
For now, enjoy the first two chapters. This fic will be different than anything else I've ever written.
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or any character and plot present in the tv show. I only own my main OC Asah, the plot surrounding her, as well as some other minor characters.
Chapter 1
The five figures were advancing in-between the trees, dark cloaks shielding their faces from view. Two forms were definitely smaller and thinner than the others. They belonged to a young woman and a small boy she was pulling forward as they strode onwards.
They were in a hurry, late to a gathering that would redefine their fates for the century to come. They had been summoned from all corners of the kingdom, young, old, men, women...only some had answered the call, but their mission was set.
The young woman quickened her pace as her blood hummed in her vains at the proximity of her kin. She was born with magic, you see, and the ink adorning her biceps was a brand that put her - and her companions - in extreme danger.
"Asah, slow down!" came the plea of the child. She looked down at the ten-year-old and calmed her frantic pace. He was red in the face for having walked for so long, and she couldn't help but pass a hand through the tendrils of dark brown hair that shadowed his eyes.
"We are almost there, Seth."
He sighed and glanced at their companions. The oldest, a gentle man who had been the healer of their tribe, smiled at the child and handed him a canteen before turning to the girl. "The boy needs rest."
"We all do, Kunar," she answered, pointedly staring at poor Jaly who was leaning against a tree, his pale skin looking almost blue in the light of dawn. "I can feel them close."
The older man nodded gravely. Among their group, Asah had been the guide, the protector, her powers keeping men and beasts alike at bay. Despite her young age, she was respected by her peers.
Once Seth had drunk his fill, the group of five started again at the renewed speed. Asah led them deeper in the forest, blood singing that other magical beings were near.
It took them another three hours to reach the gathering. All five stepped into a crowded clearing where people from all origins were scurrying around. Seth stepped away from Asah to run to his cousins, who had seen him arrive. At the same moment, a man without age with a triskell inked on his cheek walked up to her and assessed her form.
"I am Hector, leader of the Northern tribe."
Asah pulled down her hood and the sun that had started shining in the sky set her hair on fire, their bright orange mirrored in her amber eyes. "My name is Asah, from the East."
The man looked her up and down again, then reached out to her with his mind, the way only magical beings could converse.
"You were born with magic." She nodded, and he gasped softly. "Come. They will want to see you." Hector gently took her arm and led her forward.
Asah sent a silent plea to Kunar who nodded before going to join Seth, who was after all still in their charge.
Hector led her through lines and lines of tents until they reached the end of the clearing. Asah recognized some faces, either from neighbouring tribes or trading groups, but most of the crowd she did not recognize. Their purpose had indeed reached all corners of Albion.
There was a circle of elders on this side of the camp. Asah was led to them and a cacophony of voices erupted in her head at once. They were greeting her with a reverence she was not used to.
"The child," one was saying, "she will help us."
"She is too young," was arguing another.
"She is powerful," counter-argued yet another.
Asah stepped forward, chin up in defiance. "I will help."
And old woman who was facing her smirked, her wrinkled face taking a frightful look. She switched to normal speech, a crone-like vibrato escaping her chapped lips. "What will you help us do, child?"
Asah dared snarl at the elderly woman. "I will free our High Priestess. If it is the last thing I do."
The crone's smile widened. She was satisfied.
