DISCLAIMER:
The characters in Merlin
(BBC) belong to Shine
Television and the BBC, etc., i.e., not me.
I'm just borrowing them for a
while to spin a tale
With
Power… Arc I: the players
Prologue: The Budding Physician
By firewolf
July 2009
@>;-'-
Merlin was thirteen when his
home became one of the little villages caught up in the middle of a
tussle for power. “Cendred and Uther were at war,” the village elders
said, then advised their brethren to listen and cooperate with the
soldiers should they come to occupy the village.
There had even been a wagon that left the village to King Cendred’s
capital with many of the men of the village, including Will’s dad. And
though the men had gone willingly to serve their King, Will still never
forgave King Cendred when his father was carried back on his shield
some six months later.
This war was also when the young boy met his first Knight. And while
the man was commanding and forceful when he ordered the adults about,
he was still—kind to them and listened to their grievances if they had
any and worked to accommodate them when it was possible. Merlin learnt
then about a knight’s oath and their creed which gave obedience and
loyalty to their King and offered care and protection to his subjects.
In the months and years that the war stretched, their little village
was to meet with many more armies headed by the knights of the two
kings. And with these honourable men at the helm of their soldiers,
Merlin soon learnt that his village had very little to fear or worry.
The heraldry hoisted over their village may have changed from a gold
dragon on a field of red to a silver falcon against a blue sky many
times, but the elders, the women and the children never had to fear
from the soldiers who mostly kept to themselves and only visited to see
their healer or pay court to some of the of age girls.
Their Elders were in fact quite pleased. Some had lived through wars in
the past where the soldiers had wreaked havoc in the villages they
occupied. However, back in those days they didn’t have a concept of a
Brotherhood of Knights with a chivalric code that would encourage all
the people to love and respect them.
This idea attracted many daydreams from the children of the village.
However, Merlin felt himself more interested in the Elders to whom
these Knights and soldiers paid their respect. The village healer was
to find himself attentively assisted by Merlin who’d eagerly hunt the
wilderness around the village for the herbs he needed. Sometimes he’d
even be helped by the Knights and soldiers who’d amicably carry the
skinny little boy on their shoulders so that he could reach the higher
branches of the trees for the parasitic plants the healer asked for
which would help bring down the fever of their injured comrades. Merlin
never dared tell them that he really didn’t need their assistance when
he had his magic to help him harvest the herbs from difficult to reach
places. However, Merlin could appreciate the thoughtfulness of the
visitors in helping him to support their village healer.
So despite the war, Merlin did not think his village suffered very
badly. Though like the rest of the village, he did mourn the loss of
life and cringed at the maiming of these brave men who fought at the
command of their kings.
Eventually though, the war came to an end. And Ealdor was no longer a
village in King Cendred’s outlying regions, but near its heart.
While pleased for the war’s end, a now sixteen year old Merlin, felt a
touch of sadness for the soldiers’ departure. Still—the interest in
healing which was sparked by the war grew ever greater in Merlin to
learn how to care for the sick in their own village. This made Hunith
so proud of her son, and she’d tell him often of her brother, once of
Camelot but now of King Cendred’s household, who was a great Court
Physician. And she’d promised him that when he came of age, she’d let
him travel to their King’s city to apprentice under him.
That time could not come soon enough for the excited young man, whom
all in the village could see was destined for a far greater life than
could be achieved in their little hamlet. So when Merlin finally
reached his eighteenth year, he was off on the first day of Spring
towards his destiny…