Two, Miscontinues

Two, Miscontinues 

Before: As a challenge to read older entries it’s been fun to crack wise and ask who wrote my earlier work, I seem to remember M2 having half an ending from changing the target halfway. It can’t be as dark and erotic as M1. 

Before: Some plurals odd and dialogues too familiar, some “putting things in quotes,” followed by prose explanations and heavy thesaurus use, but so far is fun to make it plain and sharpen some curves where old paragraphs drifted into metered syllabic strays or personalization from characters not wholly unlike what I’ve become, and while loving my writing the clauses between commas seem donated sometimes leaving me repeat how i’d forgotten those balanced requirements making it a mystery, humble brag and perhaps it’s your favorite, making M2 unseemly with more depth than danger. 

Before: I can’t believe you people had read this, and I remember how impromptu all the plot-devices are, how it ended or how long these chapters get. 

Before: Some of these sentences should get line-breaks. It was nice to cross some t’s and dot some i’s. I was worried that M4 would be too heavy metal, but after reading M1&2 again, maybe time to return to form with shorter chapters. /I kid myself that it’s a shame you had to read this, and apologies to you that’ve read it already, for retelling it despite as much, but I was going to do it anyway, and miscontinues-three won’t be finished or published for years. Tho it takes me back, the writer clearly has some issues. Next I might do the oneoff-miscontinues, but with ‘episode descriptions’ and just for my madness/sanity. 

After: Longer than I thought, even longer than I remembered. Some interesting parallels in, the #socialdistancing (unless you need to riot) edition of:

Merlin 2: Reflections

M2.1 Prologue (July 2010) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2010/07/merlin-2-1-prologue.html 

Taking myself too seriously, foreshadowing the major aspects and minor events that are both unknown and unplanned. 

M2.2 Fledgling (July 2010) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2010/07/merlin-2-2-fledgling.html 

Introducing a flashback to vampire house Lemniscates and their newest humans, afraid and watching the vampires celebrate, watching them suddenly betray each other, someone drops a knife in the strongest one’s cage, and as a window breaks he escapes, only to be surround by all but one vampire, a lazy prince points at the boy, he doesn’t know he’s hit and the room of vampires goes quiet, the human does a real number on the hunter, and every vampire rushes him, he runs on walls and can’t be caught, he takes another one down and they vie to kill him, he jumps-out a low window into the mud, and the king calls-off the hunt and mocks his soldiers, and reminds them to secretly follow the escapee until adulthood. 

M2.3 Falling from Grace (July 2010) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2010/07/merlin-2-3-falling-from-grace.html 

Troy lays on the phoenix in the air for a day until afternoon, the others riding horses below, Merlin is mad at the weather and Nick and Ana almost asleep in the heat, discussing Troy’s flight so high only Ana senses the phoenix. Either Troy or the Phoenix aren’t ready to come down until ready, catching the air above the horses, beneath wings almost a furnace a toasted ground catches Troy and knocks him out for a moment, and they tell him jokes until he stands. Ana lays into his back comfort above the rocking saddle and points to phoenix ahead as fair a promise or warning or both, Troy’s frustration Merlin distracts with a pouch of pressed coins, when asked why Merlin tells him to find the High Tower aviary. Troy swings into the space between the phoenix’s shoulders and proud flight stubbornly afraid to leave their sight as the tower comes into focus. 

M2.4 Within the Walls of Utopia (July 2010) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2010/07/merlin-2-4-within-walls-of-utopia.html 

In high society and by city guards keep the walkways and the shops keep the visiting contractors happy with many families feasting, workers and spies both problems and solutions have places to purchase their needs, an ancient colosseum now a martial arts theatre with Merlin, Ana, Nick all in the bleachers, planning to meet Troy later. Criminals are delivered in crates and goaded-out with one of them being the escaped child now grown stoic since Gateways, as some run the weak are knocked-out and the mean are fought and our escapee escapes again, and later Nick sees the escapist drunk and arguing an oaf, we learn his name is David and Nick buys him a drink. Nick approves the pour and David chugs it, then another and humble-brags. David overpays with a single coin the bartender yeets and Nick pays tab in safe measure then notices the public, but David is gone, Merlin exits shadow and they know to follow him, Nick directly follows and Merlin buys a bottle from a distance. Nick runs after David and offers a combat adventure. David puts a knife to Nick before answering, limiting Nick’s choice of words. Nick pushes one hand against the blade and one hand against his heart, offering to introduce him to a challenging foe. Nickolas walks away and takes-off his shirt, then challenges David almost surprised. Nick eventually dies and eventually recovers for the first time in this book near the fence they broke and David is already running into Merlin, refreshed and focused, he tries to hire David as their messenger. Merlin floats and Nick cleans himself up, telling David he looks more native. Merlin stops floating and with Nick nodding David accepts the offer. Merlin pays him as Ana glows in the shadows then begins to heal David, but he opposes her magic. Ana tucks his sleeve then helps Nick with his shirt, and Merlin asks them to see the Aviary. 

M2.5 The Aviary (August 2010) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2010/08/merlin-2-5-aviary_10.html 

Somewhere in the castle commons a hallways begins hwere two guards stop David, hear him out, and escort them to the aviary foundation, their clothes apart from most do match David’s style but not his opinion kept quiet walking, the roof hall becomes spiraling stairwell stones solid and fitted in yesteryear, to a courtyard of statues below the tower reminding Nick of one of his pasts, as Merlin admires it they discuss the statue as Nick renounces. Nick decides to run up the spire, he speaks purposefully leading them up the stairs but isn’t specific about his distant past. Darkened doors with carved creatures like a store window, some rando asks for papers. A pause before jest, David insists they inquire about Troy. Ana asks for Troy and Phoenix, and the keeper wants payment to Ana’s surprise. A salacious moment before overpaying puts Nick on the fence and the manager in awe, and asking them to open the sluggish door. The aviary is white as two people approach, cold porcelain floors with cage ceilings as they clean and maintain for mystical animals. They feed the phoenix, nudging Troy aside, waving to Merlin et al, but giving a look and a smile at a bab rider across the way, next to an angry saddled winged-snake randomly striking at them, as a caretaker offers hospitality. They detest the coalish snake, Ana looks at the Midgard view at Jotun Mountains and Mount Thule at the Slidr River cutting the distant capital in half and watering Niflheim Forest below the North-Wall, Nick sees her in the light before the landscape, he quietly shares thoughts. They hold each other atop the tower as the world turns around them, interrupted by the warden. Everyone meets someone new and the phoenix likes David and Ana makes an invoice on the phoenix’s behalf. She speaks thru a smile until needed elsewhere. The distraction lets newborn snakes wander with one scaring the phoenix into eating it, another bites Troy and knife-throwing Nick sticks another with the phoenix breaking free to protect Troy, nestling atop him until he crawls out with glittering scar, and the warden calls for a Flamberge.  A bell is rung and they stare at the magic scar, the confusion is met with errant answers, with the warden unsurprised. Twins firstly confused by the scar begin to hunt baby snakes, the warden orders assistants to bring dogs for the same purpose. Assistants shuffle to catch them and everyone is just now realizing they’re twins despite having been given time to notice already. 

M2.6 Bastion of the Runelord (September 2010) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2010/09/merlin-2-6-bastion-of-runelord.html 

A magical atmosphere, passing thru the magic of this world, the rune prophet of Utopia overlooks a forest where a young boy wakes hungry. A Jotun archer hunting brings him from foothills to town and listens to his story and tests his instincts. He accepts duty with small human hands, but is summoned to the Jotun king. The size of the king’s hand and raised by the Spaewives, halflings of Jotun and Vanir. He’d explore and seek out another Viking until one summer he asks the Jotun to pretend he’s a slave and sell himself to Utopia, occasionally sneaking back for holidays sharing wares and maps. Two years later the Runelord and Merlin are talking about security problems, with the Runelord unhappy and Merlin almost mocking him. Runelord tosses cup thru window and guards then walk past it, admitting to Merlin he can’t pay the mercenaries that’ll soon turnabout alliance. His pride weak staring out the window he worries from the throne. A memory or thought questions him, given power by the runes that cannot speak to a pacing king. Merlin’s friends are brought in and see the pale king with signs of old travels who greets them, a library with bindings the color of his clothes of books collected over time looks unpolished and different to their tactical but durable clothing, and finishes his conversation with Merlin. He points with his drink in hand and sits while asking them their favorite punishment. His voice echoes with magic pain while stirring natural confusion, Merlin explains he’s yet to accept the job for their behalf. David and the others look thru the room and listen with Nick scanning titles even missing a question with Troy staring at the city, Ana in red directs calmness, David in fighting spirit hates their metaphors and syntax unlike the beggars he knows, the Runelord washes hands and David very close behind comparing the old animalistic religion on the walls and the seemingly random handwashing from a king in plain shoes, likewise comparing the notes of this mission to the cities broader culture, but then a servant brings a blue and smokey crystal, and the king ordering it be sent back. He points out, he complains about the heat. The Runelord turns directly facing David, and insists they share a drink with a compliment. Pausing to see Troy in the window with white leathery scars, a passing servant looks weak passing Ana stepping into the sunlight, this calms David to see them acting normally as the king shakes him and his view of scribes different from his changing opinions, as they discuss the why, but not the how. The Runelord stares thru one window and others thru other windows, and speaks his doubts. With all at a window except David the king walks him to the view, and explains the loss of lives to a personal detail. Some rando enters and puts a pouch on the table and bows quickly and quietly, as the king humbles himself to Merlin. The servant sets the table and kneels at the throne and with blessing spills rune-carved bones, the Runelord insists the villain of the story is still in the city. David isn’t as pleased as everyone when two messengers burst-in, there’s an attack just outside the walls. The king begs Merlin as we’re told specifically where the attack was. There’s a distant cry of rage, as they call for actions he offers them his kingdom for victory. He plies Nick with a treasure chest, quoting an ancient prophecy only he can remember. Angry and unable to fight the king orders a hunt. 

M2.7 Dark Agents (November 2010) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2010/11/merlin-2-7-dark-agents.html 

Fog in the distance and a blind vendetta a dark man unmistakably dangerous called the Termagant waits to be challenged, voices whisper hateful confidence, quickly shadows himself and measures many strangers closely one by one, but angered by a tavern. His focus breaks and he gathers dark magic from the ground, feeling hesitant he stands straight, and places dark energy against the building, as singing locals dance until explosive white light brings clearing and silence, a plume of fire swallows itself in the blue and black dawn, a crime scene with Merlin leading the inspection, beneath oak barrels survivors crawl from ash and splinters, as Nick and Troy pull someone out, dust and blood on a fighter dark and tatted as amazed as light and scarred Troy facing each other, inquiring as to why. A young Troy interviews and quiet Nick gets closer as the victim counts who stands, then the victim without scars hits everyone once and escapes into Utopia, this Merlin watches him run and waits for them to stand, as Ana calms her fingernails of hot iron cool, they discuss their confusions. Ana asks what he’d said to him, Nick isn’t pleased. She dusts him and all convenes at Troy’s nose, Merlin looks rested, and concernedly asks Nick if he recognized the likely immortal assailant. They check themselves and heal, Nick needs to know what just happened, and voices confusion. Merlin answers not as the medics clear the scene, they plan to catch him as Merlin advises patience. Another quiet recovery for the city.

M2.8 The Vulcan Temple (November 2010) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2010/11/merlin-2-8-vulcan-temple.html 

The secret immortal watches Nick from a large distance, they read a map to guess where he’s gone as people rebuild the tavern slowly, many passers silent worrying as people high and low make the same rumors, in a cafe most are silent and suspicious, the bartender settles a tab for two drunks between drinking songs, crossing off points of the map with news from scouts, and possibly just called David-Devlin they’re tiring, and they ask a local for blackmarket goods who admits nothing till they tell her it’s to hunt the Termagant. The waitress points to a place, says it’s near the temple of Vulcan. Ok we’re just calling him Devlin now likely. Devlin worries, as she describes the red color. Two guards patrol nearby, she changes her story while they approach. They take a drink, Devlin sees the two drinkers and the Phoenix passes over for a moment circling for the sun, he watches Merlin and them leave for the temple, losing track of them until hiding behind a new perch, to a white granite temple honoring fire with monks in the street, thru curtains over doors and walls with sounds of subtle chants or footsteps of gold design around the statue of Vulcan that holds fires in its hands as they hold ceremony in gold-painted faces, inside is quieter with meditation and research, Merlin asks about secret sales while they look foreign to the red-clothed devotees, asking one another points them down an alley, then in a doorway someone watches two kids sneak thru a narrow af alley, helping each other walk one talks, in honesty to Ana. Without commas or conclusion Devlin (aka David) finishes the drunk’s sentence. Devlin jabs one of them and follows them out of the alley entranceway, as Nick plans for them to separately visit the shop and watch the exits, until Ana reminds everyone she can hold a candle. Alley dust in the doorway the unknown immortal watches until Devlin enters to see many runes and old artifacts and some patrons, afterwar Nick browses aware of his onlooker thru the shop ignoring the big things at the door and hovering over the expensive maps at the desk at the detailed maps of places we recognize, as monks enter with the Termagant behind them, they deliver sulphur and after testing it they’re paid, the viper demon (Termagant) watches, the unknown immortal joins the room approaching Nick as the Termagant stares at sulphur, everyone becomes aware that danger rises, but nobody eyes the lit fuse in the flammables shop and boom. Devlin dodges blast force, Ana dislodges and dances to navigate fiery wind, the Phoenix calls Merlin watching the building’s final moment where in fires only Ana remains staring at two immortals with black clothes reaching for their knives. 

M2.9 Duplicity (December 2010) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2010/12/merlin-2-9-duplicity.html 

As they stand their clothes smoke while the Termagant walks to the castle in mist with clean clothes, approaching the Runelord’s tower with Merlin in the window as clouds reveal stars,  the king’s advisers find abandoned posts and warn Runelord sending Merlin into fight mode, he uses a spell of tunnel vision and checks everyone’s eyes and finds a shadow spreading from behind himself, turning and following it he vents embers and breathes faded light to produce dark camouflage, even the Termagant’s tats are the opposite color of Merlin’s as he plants a box as Merlin sneaks closer in candlelight his dagger glimmers, but the Termagant can only see thru shadows in shadow-spell, and opens a snakelet box, hurrying out and hurries along, thru streets of sleeping city passed waking drunks, but when planting another bomb Merlin makes himself known, stepping out of cloud and into combat, chaos still smouldering as they stare each other down, Merlin looks weak and the Termagant looks worried and as each glow bright or dark, Merlin asks who sent him serving why Merlin followed him, Termagant gives one answer then blames the weather. Pacing around each other the demon finally attacks Merlin with a chained knife, only to leap out the tower window, but Merlin remembers the Termagant from somewhere and worries. Nick and his opponent still think each other are the bomber. 

M2.10 Symmetry (December 2010) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2010/12/merlin-2-10-symmetry.html 

Broken glass and a nearby commotion in the prison who wouldn’t want out if they new the Termagant, another dawn still in drought as vulcan priests enjoy the heat, someone stands with a blood cup and the Black Rose Immortal symbol on it wiping the blade at brim before drinking, small cooking fires rise into weak rains of summer winds and scars of rite Ana busy as ally to Nick walking thru fire with her close, smearing soot across forehead before attacking, and snaps Nick’s puppet neck all strings are cut, rising from the benefit of immortality, but Ana now fears the new immortal who doesn’t leave, Nick kicks up to stand but before balancing knocked down again, he’s toying with Nick who grabs hot iron by hand, dropping it for diplomacy, the other immortal is called Malek, and they question motives and describe the villain, not knowing who’s who. Ana watches Malek take and hit Nick with scaffolding lumber without warning them about the wall it was holding, Malek gets mad Nick doesn’t surrender and has a sword, but Ana holds a fire gem in Malek’s face, the more he turns his face at the gem the stronger the explosion. In tattered clothes Malek is larger and Nick is taller, Nick blocks Malek’s hacks, rolls from hammering strikes, and locks and lashes until falling into a rolling throw into many spikes and stands over Malek. Troy above riding Phoenix is pale from fires far high against dawn sky filling streets, his hands turned white from phoenix riding, lands heavy in the street in front of the Termagant, a spear vaults at its chest and the phoenix uses its wingspan to create pure light and choosing from powers to burn it, Merlin already running runs more towards it, the Termagant evaluating the smoke, Phoenix with Troy ready to fly, but wise to not turn their back on the demon. Termagant flees and runs toward Merlin with his crystal ball hammer and lightning eyes, the demon’s red-diamond hatchet dried blood looks black in sunlight running, the axe scares the phoenix away and Merlin screams for a storm, the tries to change Merlin’s mind and Merlin gives him a final warning, he tries to convert Merlin, and Merlin insults him. They mention and look at the evil in his veins, trying to intrigue Merlin. Warriors watch Merlin, Merlin watches Termagant, Termagant sees Ana far, Ana sees Nick, Nick watches Malek telling him he’s not the demon, but Malek doesn’t believe it. Devlin seems ready to punish Malek out of mere spite for sobriety, Malek calls Devlin a traitor, and an honest question ignored as Malek gets furious. Ana tries the truth, Malek calls it a lie. Malek bleeds coughing out, Ana burns blood and stands emotionless, Nick decides to pull him from the spikes and trust him to be reborn without a second conflict. Convulsing into another life immortal Malek grabs weapon, Nick drops weapon and walks carefully to him, asking for help, Malek kills Nick, again, calling it even and accepting a truce. Nick laffs, amusing Ana. Malek views the alleys behind the onlookers, who escape the phoenix landing and Troy screaming, they laff more and get serious to run after Ana towards Merlin vs Termagant. Ana prevents Nick from running, Devlin and Troy help other people, and the magic ones encroach on Termagant, for some reason Malek puts blood on his hands and face during his sneak, the weather is getting windier and darker, and Merlin calls the Termagant to a point. Ancient storm fills Merlin moving forward, dead air carries the Termagant hatchet with each swing losing chips of black sunshine and promises Merlin death. Merlin offers the demon his weapon just before it becomes lightning burning only the demon’s eyes, the hatchet defends and he promises Merlin death. Merlin drifts back and zaps again, the axe flies into Merlin without wound but energy to blunt it’s hit, yet only a bruise the damage acts like venom, Merlin takes a knee and Termagant rushes him, Merlin sees him sway. Malek gets there first, sees Termagant’s face, gets there faster, dropkicks the villain. Adding Nick now two immortals fight the driven venomous demon, brutal and constant, Phoenix encroaches and Termagant throws Malek toward its glow and lunges at Merlin, but finds Nick and throws him across the dirt, Malek rises, the demon searches for Merlin. With two knives now Nick has fangs driving demon to defense into Ana’s arms and a nest of fire hits the Phoenix, it breathes it like life accidentally draining Ana, Nick runs to her, and Malek sees wizard and warlock strangling each other, Troy sends an arrow to save Merlin and pisses off the demon, who charges Troy, and the Phoenix gets between them, fanning air and sand into glass and fire at the demon, shaking the demon so Troy can fly-off. The demon shields with more Cape of Darkness smoke and throws his blood at them, Merlin carefully stands and the demon throws a fireball, blocked by a cold wind, the Termagant makes an oath about their demise. Still trying to reach Merlin the demon feels lightning bolt as black veins burn orange, ashes rise and Termagant twitches, heavy swing Malek cuts only face not bone, trying to stand and stare off, Merlin electrocutes him until his wounds emit ashes, a lightning bolt deathblow reveals a heart made of darkness, and Merlin asks for its master. Merlin burns him again, but there won’t be an answer, as he asks for its master. Merlin quits, and the termagant promises death and mentions the weather. Last words prevented by blood, Merlin ends the pain as they hold it down. Merlin stammers to a seed cart, Merlin plants seeds in the body, the plant becomes a nightshade, it finally rains. Merlin stumbles to the seed cart, the Phoenix munches on the tree and Troy tugs it off, and Nick watches Ana wake in tears. Merlin limps to drink, Devlin tries to help and Merlin wants the tree destroyed. Healers heal, and fighters befriend. Malek thanks Merlin, who expects it’s not over. Runelord arrives with praises, helps Merlin carry his bottle, thanks him and asks who Malek is, Merlin whispers distrust and wants him held. Phoenix and Troy avoid a gathering crowd, unwilling to fly in the rain, his hands and scars are leather and white. 

M2.11 Clues and Yarns (January 2011) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2011/01/merlin-2-11-clues-and-yarns.html 

Dawn moons and ocean air in the dark afternoon, Merlin loaded into a wagon almost in a coma, with some wine and a tarp and they’re traveling. They agree on direction, a dry spring morning with wild herbs and empty bottles, Merlin wakes and drinks until a bump in the road, and greets the conscious world. Merlin empties the bottle and Ana mocks him for it. Merlin looks thru the bottle as a telescope, explaining he’s looking for invisible houses. They drink and discuss their current route. They listen to Merlin describe a distant flicker magnified with the bottle, a goblin with something shiny, the goblin makes one knife two and Merlin takes the horses, telling them he’s after a goblin charm. They’re willing to follow, Merlin describes goblins as slow then fast. It runs, they can’t see it. The wagon halts and Merlin doesn’t by leaping into the trees, they chase Merlin and are ready to fight. A Vervain and Mint pasture becomes branches and snares, unwise surprise gets Merlin two daggers in his thigh, without stamina the goblin waits for Ana whose magical defense high singes leaves almost obvious, Merlin runs right into a tree and pissed charges-up and elevates with hints of lightning, the goblin chooses who to escape first and wondering where the third is when Ana thumps him, Merlin hovers like night and ravens, they sit with it sleeping fireside, it wakes eyes closed pretending to sleep then darts into the trees, Merlin lets the weapon glow and he hears a whisper of his own name right before a wind blows, the couple protect each other they sleep amongst themselves and by morning are ready, the mountains are cold for rivers carrying clouds into forest fog across the forest to where they exit finding Shadow Lake mirroring nothing, a diamond torch at the shore shining pure coldness making snow of the breeze around it, property of a blue witch in white curtains and strips, from shore the black water freezes underfoot a bridge meeting a myrmidon with a message, chains and shoulders bring a chest ashore. Merlin and Ana push Troy out of the forest and hide themselves, the ice witch snaps her attention makes spear of black ice as Nick approaches, arms out he turns to show he’s unarmed, but before he turns around she’s left the shore and stabbed him thru, as birds scatter so do Ana and Merlin, she puts away her blade faster than Nick can blink, she kicks Nick over and mermen open the box, she moves each distance many feet each time he blinks toward the shore, she’s pissed and pointing them back into the blackwater. She goes to the wet box and freezes its locks and takes her key, her name is Halle (but later Hel). They avoid her cold footsteps and she requests privacy, but it’s Nick she’s telling when surprised he’s alive, they discuss how alive he is, the shards are freezing and painful to grasp and remove, she wants him dead and makes it worse then leaves, then he screams again and she questions herself then him. Nick introduces himself, she introduces herself and asks him to visit the Court of Seasons, he reminds her she’s killing him despite her thinking he’s just slow to kill. She walks and watches him, she questions his wit and he insults her. During a blink she stands over him, promising villainy. It surprises him with a weapon and in a blink she holds a dagger to his throat, he suspects her final offer. It snows on them and she teleports back one pace, and promises adventure. Ana is equally suspicious, Nick thinks he sees her cloaking spell like heat fumes and hurries to accept Hel’s offer. Ana steps forth layered unlayering and red, Merlin walks heeltoe ending dim for glow, Hel’s hand turns fog into knife as arm turns mist into shield, heat of Ana and Merlin turns frost into fumes, still no commas for names, where Merlin proposes truce. He shows her his hands, her armor returns to her magic, he walks in front of Ana who singes him, as Hel speaks waving her dagger, and describes the dagger as important. With a blink she holds the goblin dagger and Merlin awards it to her. She catches Nick looking at the empty chest, and promises them her power controls their fates. Merlin makes fists and promises a fair fight. Ana makes fire, another blink and Hel is farther away, promising to meet them on the mountain if it’s winter. With every blink she’s another stone’s throw over foothills, mocking them, skipping away. Damn, I just got that. 

M2.12 Missive Directions (February 2011) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2011/02/merlin-2-12-missive-directions.html 

In the same place the creatures guard their dark lake and Merlin returns to the forest, another morning walking in unmarked woods, not knowing what could be behind the leaves and find a small farm with puddles, down the path a man running, the village with a king the story calls Arawn who is dying who begged for health and in passing-thru Hel froze time and froze his soul making him her servant, now is a leader of an army drafting as it crawls, with like-minded leaders of the hunt, when Arawn rises from death he leads the bloodthirsty army against past enemies, then begins civil war, and threatens at every chance. His heavy voice almost echoes in the rain as Merlin Nick Ana closen to see his blood is muddy and as strong as ten, swinging sword and lashing angrily when he misses flinging blood that infects living and dead causing necromancy under black flag, they attack where he commands them until hearing only hunger, the frontlines of war with him in the middle, enjoying combat and pushing them toward the trees as fallen stand for unholy summoning, another establishing location the dead crawling over each other, eventually toward the City of Anther of king Hansel Johannesson the Quinn who has sent letters of alarm, the message makes it to Coolspring’s king Anders whose city just started being infected, shite, who has the intruders caged with the criminals, in delivering judgements he’s forced to execute them for killing the other inmates, but they promise the wraith will see the king now from their bloody eyes. Anders stands over them, sentencing them to death. They mock Anders, he tells the petty criminals to avoid felony, then ends them and orders them strung-up outside. They hang from Anders’ city and turn into zombies, so Anders burns them, and hunts for the one that crawled away. He takes the notes and finds many more, three towns later meeting Arawn’s principle horde, he already hated Arawn years ago so shoots an arrow and makes a lucky shot then hides, in a deerblind with a survivor calling it the Black Forest, finding abandoned weapons so Anders makes a second assault. Everybody dies, but Anders, in tactical retreat, the man running is Anders toward Merlin and bashing thru zombies to do so, warning Merlin to run with him. Time thaws the reign of unending terror. Merlin keeps moving, Anders catches breath standing in a puddle, they read his note, and ask him questions between his gasps. Merlin’s jaw drops reading the note, Ana asks why. Anders’ thoughts echo, and he gives a hunters’ apology. Ana asks how far danger is, Anders says not far enuf, and Nick is interested, Ana asks Merlin again. Merlin looks at Anders’ wounds, and confirms zombies are real. Fear and pain drains Anders, missing commas, semicolon quotes, Nick poorly calms Anders promising confrontation. 

M2.13 Secrets of the Dead (March 2011) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2011/03/merlin-2-13-secrets-of-dead.html 

It’s getting dark and the wounded fight and lose to the curse of undying, wandering or crawling, and bothering faster wildlife with growls, survivors sneaking thru rainy forest avoiding danger actively, Anders leads with cloudy eyes and shaking cold, and saying he’s paranoid. Ana and Nick having doubts and Merlin tells them to distrust Anders to break silence. Anders is almost jumpy as they leave the trees, he asks how it starts and they tell him some acceptable truths. He avoids corners and shadows, asking more questions like how to win and they say beheading is best. Anders begins to forget his direction, dropping his weapons he lags and wanders, his eyes turn shiny black before looking to Ana, they notice his conversion and start to distance. For some reason they don’t put him down and Anders' demise feels unnaturally forced. The undead wander in search of crude oil, as Merlin considers a firebox trap. Citizens fighting lure enemies to demise, but in the next room an unnamed huntress and a warrior named Declan, asking who Merlin is. Declan is big carrying both broadsword and club, but Nick is quicker with a dagger’s warning and promises action. Ana looks at lamps and Merlin promises they’re alive. Merlin surprises the huntress and she swings, so Declan swings at Merlin, but his magic of wind sets these actions apart, and asks them to stop. Magic in his voice makes them pause when the horde makes them panic, Merlin tells Nick to lead the dead. Declan hammers bodies against walls to clear Nick’s path, warning Nick who assures the large arbiter. Nick takes Declan’s dropped sword and starts cutting fools down, Declan calls the huntress Nerys and they begin guarding the witchcrafters. Warriors of defense, magicians of offense, and it begins hailing waves of salt, Ana breathes and fires grow thru the tinder box home as they watch her stretch open while every constriction burns down. Merlin pulls a swig and molotovs it, saving Declan and Nerys with surprise, Declan yeets Nerys to safety. Merlin turns low fires into blue burning vortices, interrupted by an explosion. Declan weighs a rooftop while Nerys skips along walls, building to building, Declan sets a spiky trap, while Nick taunts the undying with angry truths and poking fun, the hunters spring the trap and Declan jumps on the spiked press, Nerys hits fuel with flaming arrows. Ana walks with a torch, igniting the dead, and clearing her path with sways of fire. Merlin ekes forward waiting for something to jump at him, seeing Nick saving Declan once before giving the sword back and Declan starts cutting them down, occasionally Nick will shoulder his way out of a fight. Merlin’s weapon turns black blood to dry rot until the streets are empty. As trust begins Declan approves of Nick. Well there’s a pig in the road, but Declan says it’s inedible because of unholy water. Nerys ends it, and Declan says it’s for the best. They burn the last of the bodies, finding spoiled foods of abandoned society, more spring rains and budding trees, and they discuss combat. Nerys takes the first watch and Merlin learns they’re treasure hunters, but she drops from the roof to explain they were hired to kill zombies in exchange for anything they wanted, leaving Merlin to ask and learn where the undead escape, but warned not to look. Merlin is honest, choosing to hunt instead of trap and Nerys volunteers them. They seek the zombie nest, the undead are quiet and watching, the dawning sun peaks between horizon and stormcloud, one secretly watches Merlin leave and what he sees is seen by Arawn the Zombie King, whose fortress is surrounded by combat. War and storm, striking zombies as the zombie king sees thru their eyes, filling his mind with afterlife as they coordinate attacks, hoping to cut-down Arawn, tired and cold they fight the arisen slaves undead, traumatized by it all including Arawn’s enjoyment, are losing their battle. They join the horde in the cemetery garden, Merlin watches their loss from very far with Arawn standing at a stone archway, a hard battlefield to cross, the few survivors cut thru foes and race passed Merlin. Nick finishes one of their opponents and starts offense between defense, what Nerys can’t cut down she carves out with Declan close and clubbing. Merlin and Ana make no first strikes to zombies slow and sightful, so he takes up a cane and removes the slowest watchers, some leap and he shocks them dead or Ana turns black fire to dust and boils black blood. Nick kills in paths and joins Declan, for either rejoined or surrounded rest, he sees Merlin blue blast out of a tackle, Nerys is quick and intentional, while Nick is angry and resilient the zombies are zeroing-in. Nick is too late to pull the vein turning black after seeing a bite wound so he grabs a potion and drinks, his style suffers and his worry thrives when seeing himself in the next zombie defeated, the bottle says poison and drops with him to his knees, he doesn’t know which death comes next. The poisons spread, he sees Ana. She runs thru wake of fire fast in fear trying to catch him, he says he’s fine. Crying over his wounds, coals glow and her cry ignites the air into baptismal fire, her tears white silver melting. The eyes of the dead see his body glow and disintegrate, flowing fire ends Arawn’s connection to many of those eyes. Dust clouds roll as Ana doesn’t know she’s temporarily invincible, but the gods respawn Nick screaming, covering, and burning lungs. Merlin isn’t sure what he just saw with Nick making toga on the other side of that wagon, and asks what’s up. Nick points oppositely at Merlin’s nearest attacker and then brawls his way to the nearest weapon and cemetery gates. 

M2.14 The Midnight Ghoul (April 2011) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2011/04/merlin-2-14-midnight-ghoul.html 

Arawn is preternatural, as undying continues their biggest foe he toggles sight, Nick sees Nerys and Declan with rags over their mouths, topical, fighting a minion using sharpened chains.  Merlin is finishing the last of the drones, impaling them. Nick faces a giant zombie. Merlin impales another explosively. Chains catch Declan’s sword, everyone cuts him down to size head final, Nick looks to the castle, where Ana and Merlin have another wave of minions before they can do anything else. Nick runs toward Arawn’s huge voice, snuck up behind him, so Arawn tosses his guard at Nick, then tosses a second guard at Nick, even Delcan is amazed and pulls Nerys back, when Merlin calls for a time-out. They touchback, but Merlin doesn’t retreat from the Ghoul King who tosses (some) more generals in their general direction and dips into the old stone monastery. Arawn sinks drifting tiles as he walks, constant undead supercompensation of size where wounds are slow to close, racing thoughts heavier. Moss and roots and weak moonlight from the roof, Nick from a hole in the wall challenges Arawn specifically for throwing bodies, but Arawn calls Merlin out. Arawn speaks from his throat and every zombie with fading sound. Nick assesses Arawn then charges, this is Arawn fighting with fists and red eyes who grabs Nick by the britches and throws him thru a wall. A brick wall. Merlin uses white fireball and dislodges Arawn’s foot, tho Ana uses a red fireball forcing Arawn behind a table, as Arawn grinds his teeth and Merlin wanders in the open. There is wine and gold thrown with the whole table at Merlin, Merlin has a long needle, but Arawn’s magic can see Merlin thru eyes of a head, Ana sees Nick and runs to him, with Merlin asking her to burn everything. Arawn won’t be ignored and as Merlin covers the dying eyes there are others letting the zombie king walk over silver straight at him, explaining his ruthless rituals. In these ruins Arawn throws pews, Ana raises holy fire and leaves with Nick, then Arawn pitches his plans to Merlin. His words are few, Merlin hears/senses madness and tries speaking truth, but Arawn can only describe hunger. Arawn doesn’t care for nice words and attacks Merlin’s hiding spot, hiding by another set of eyes Arawn hunts with jagged sword, for half a second Merlin sees the Ice Witch named Hel before she vanishes, disadvantaging Merlin, in fires thin air and heat slow Arawn who realizes his horde is dunzo and calls out, Merlin tries to reason from a safe distance. Happy to hunt, walking scars like a tree, Merlin promises to bury him, Arawn promises to climb out. There is only fire and moonlight now, Nick reintroduces himself. Nick annoys him, but Merlin is cornered, and the better opponent, so Arawn leaps at him. Merlin flies and Arawn catches a lightning bolt, Nick jumps and drags daggers, trying to canopener this dude’s head off, as the last stray zombies come to his aid Ana gives them Greek fire, Arawn climbing to stand and Nick leads him away from Merlin with an insult. Arawn swings behind himself, Merlin dodges and drags Ana out too, so that Arawn has to chase them, and give insults. Arawn grabs Ana, and says something terrible. She becomes fire until he releases and laffs, smiles, and asks them over for dinner. They summon fires, burning into submission and clawing earth, beneath them. Arawn stops crawling, they make Nick new clothes and heal before filling their pockets and cleaning their weapons and cremating him. 

M2.15 The Soldiers of Cromlech (June 2011) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2011/06/merlin-2-15-soldiers-of-cromlech.html 

A wispy sky and the first flowers, Merlin walks a horse 1000 steps then digs a hole. He fills it with treasure and examines the weather. To continue vacation with unburied wealth Nick wears chains and bracelets holding his daggers, Merlin wears many rings, and Ana a subtle crown. They also have a bag of weapons, and Merlin asks Nick where they’re going. Birds and ivy follow as Nick asks some questions only Merlin could answer. At sunset they make campfire, they’re having a good time when the narrator says the witch Lynn was at the Aviary a few chapters ago is now at a riverbank. Another narrative introduces the Soldiers of Cromlech rise from a hill’s soil with stone hands, black marble faces and ivory weapons, a leader then the rest, each with a rune carved somewhere on them. The next morning has fresh air and curious wolves, Merlin floats in sleep, Nick doesn’t and starts waking up, Ana and he decide to wake him. Nick sneaks up, and asks if he’s sleeping. Celadon trees are given Ana’s warmth to accelerate an apple’s growth, she’s about to catch it when a snap distracts and it falls, it wakes Merlin to fall also, as Nick hunts breakfast, but finds eight statues. He’s not sure if he sees them, he’s not sure if they’re moving, so he runs back to camp, where Ana throws apples at Merlin. They sharpen their wit when Nick runs in, telling of statues. They observe the statues cautiously, Merlin checks for traps as Ana shouts to stop Nick. Nope, Nick touches on and all eight tear him up to toss him to the leader, Ana and Merlin grab Nick and barely withdraw, statues speak without sound while Nick pulls rusty weapons out of himself. They walk thru Merlin’s air and breathe thru Ana’s fire, so he takes a different rune and turns the earth instead and the statues lose their balance and the rune turns to dust, Nick pins one to ground with a sword for only a moment, and one throws Merlin into a tree. Nick leaps onto another blade, it watches him die, shocked before and after Nick wakes and breaks a blade in the statue’s throat. Merlin makes wind that burns Ana’s magic, it kinda works, but forces Merlin’s hand full of sulphur to crack the Quartz King’s chest open spilling lava, and Merlin jumps back because the angry statues turn happy to keep fighting, so Merlin warns them, and one called Sebastian answers. Nick lunges with a jagged branch thru the exposed heart, as a statue pulls Ana’s hair, so she cuts her hair and presses the knife where he doesn’t like, she taunts this statue named Brach. The fighting stops, Merlin worries about his allies first, as they almost ignore Brach. Nick’s weapons are damaged, Merlin asks for Brach’s weapon. It’s heavy and drops, Brach pleads and Merlin asks him questions, but he doesn’t say. They threaten him, he says the weather on Midgard. Brach looks at the ground sword that Nick takes, and it’s heavy, but it can harm his stone skin so Nick ends him. They search the bodies then follow the river, they find a paper arrowed to a tree, it says “North,”, signed by “Troy”, and as they walk they see a wild horse with a dead rider, with a matching arrow, and when Merlin, Ana, and Nick are long gone the rider shapeshifts into a black man with battle scars. 

M2.16 The Harlequin Forest (July 2011) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2011/07/merlin-2-16-harlequin-forest.html 

It rains on hoods and tents, in one Merlin makes for Ana two bracelets into one, which dries the dirt while making them magnetic, and outside Lynn of Hazelwood, and her sister Etain, they wear white willow and walk riverbank and thick fog, the two women meet as soft flowers melt/wilt and grasses grow in the heat, leather braided crowns and black hair, they are allies, and Lynn asks Etain to kill Merlin. They look into the river, they mention a trickster and a wedding. Lynn takes her fog into the forest, they well-wish in parting, and with a hint of smoke Etain follows the sun. 

M2.17 Porter’s Vale (July 2011) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2011/07/merlin-2-17-porters-vale.html 

As the evenings get warmer it keeps raining enuf to catch them between towns, Nick can’t dry his clothes with heat like Ana nor wind like Merlin, and then for some days it’s dry almost hot, a marsh turns to ponds around farms with dry roads. Summer comes at noon, and it’s heating up. A clear day so bright when sunset comes it doesn’t fade to black, Ana can snap her fingers for fire as the endless daylight begins, only deep roots and native seeds survive the burnoff. A stream from the mountain sates their horses in this farmland, a song of wind and wheat, and when they see the river they run, Merlin let’s his horse drink first while Ana and Nick dance in it, and the horses guzzle. Something knows they’re here. Merlin is counting his blessings and something doesn’t add up, wandering they see and seek a northern farmhouse as the warmth wraps Ana, Merlin and Nick horserace to it. Etain knows they’re here. Ana doesn’t race and calms her horse by keeping it cool with heat-waves rising everywhere, but her horse is stubbornly nervous still. Flashback: this morning: The lady innkeeper says hello to her scarecrow and does stuff, while (probably Etain’s) magic makes it alive. Now: Etain spies on Merlin. There’s a screen and Merlin rides from the trees, finds the innkeeper and her kids, and the scarecrow leaning on the barn. He cuts them loose with its eyes on his back, Nick hunts for trouble, she wants the children freed first, she doesn’t wait to run, and when Nick checks-in he’s suddenly thrown into the croft. The scarecrow named Kuebiko sentences them and attacks. It has blind eyes and Troy hits it with his unique arrow, it does nothing. Merlin hurls a sickle, it does almost nothing. Kuebiko hurls it back, instead of fighting Nick he just tears his heart out. Nick is handling it well, literally handing over his heart then plopping, the scarecrow laughs with the ravens. The scarecrow puts the heart where its own should be, their names were Celia, and Thurston and Mila, and they’re leaving on horses. Kuebiko runs after them, Merlin tries stopping it with liquid light, but only wounds the scarecrow’s shadow, Ana tells him to chase. Troy+Phoenix pick up Ana, the grains begin grabbing the horses because the scarecrow conducts the wheat like a symphony of destruction, Ana jumps into the wheat cushioned by field and her own fire, burning footsteps behind the scarecrow. She grabs the heart, Nick is running as fast as possible while covered in blood. Merlin runs closer toward the scarecrow’s now red eyes, the field swallows the horses, the scarecrow calls himself Erlking. The sky is red while Kuebiko floats as winds blow him toward them, when Phoenix lands the wheats attack it and so it eats them back. Without the sun Ana uses the Phoenix to burn the demon, it angers the scarecrow, the wheat slows Merlin and Nick, until the scarecrow punches Ana. She’s not happy and instantly screams-stabs Kuebiko in the eye, it’s not happy and throws her 30 paces. She cleans and paints the hook dagger with fire, finally Merlin electrocutes the seedy grass so Nick can fight to march thru it, he falls and his bloody hands are all that can stop the unholy fields unnamed. Ana toys with the scarecrow by dodging its attacks on a circle of ash, Merlin saves the victims and Nick wants revenge. The scarecrow sees Nick and Ana front and back, and Phoenix stomps closer. Kuebiko swears at them, the Phoenix is afraid, and Ana cuts the demon again and falls back as Nick jumps on it’s back and it reaches for his head while screaming protest. It climbs onto Nick as Ana burns its neck, she’s thrown again when she finally snaps, the field becomes fire and a vortex of burning sand swallows the scarecrow. The wheat subsidies without magic, as the demon screams about tricksters and the weather. Nick stands covered in coal and takes back the heart, and walks away with cinders in the air. The countryside burns and there is thunder, they stand in the fumes, except for the Phoenix happily resting in ash and baulking something at Troy. Cool night brings fog and fresh air until dawn, revealing scorched earth releasing ground vapors, as Merlin enters a trance to summon rain clouds with spent lifeforce, as skies and eyes grey it begins raining. 

M2.18 The Liminal Passage (September 2011) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2011/09/merlin-218-liminal-passage.html 

Merlin takes a knee, Troy makes a fist with whited hands, Troy gives Merlin his flask. Merlin drinks, Nick stands over the dead enemy, and Troy walks in circles with Phoenix watching and playing again, and Troy/Nick trade complaints. Ana watches Merlin take a deep breath and rest on his back, telling them she thinks he’ll wake up, only to realize the lady and her kids are still there and demanding answers, when they tell her to see the scraped up kid, so Troy carries the kid and tells Nick to get supplies from the Phoenix, so he grabs two potions and promises himself to Ana and they jump in the river. 

M2.19 The Saracen Empress (October 2011) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2011/10/merlin-219-saracen-empress.html 

A town in the midlands, wives eating outside husbands already working fields to replace what burned yesterday, boys watching Merlin wake up. Merlin buys a slow horse and a wide hat, they travel and Troy walks to stretch his legs, his skin is somehow leather and untanned, perhaps whited gloves. Ana and Nick with two horses and one set of eyes are mostly taken with each other, as Phoenix flies too fast to ride, and plants grow to be watched. As the first harvest ends and the next begins they eat a lot of flatbread and it’s hot, they meet a logger, to ask where the nearest town is. He stares at Troy hiding in a hood, and Nick gets the logger to answer. The logger looks where he pointed and sees the Phoenix orange and red catch some animal down the road, Troy warns him not to stare before jogging down the road, letting the logger apologize, and they’re on the road again. Some tree shade cools Merlin’s hat, a light wind, with rags and bones in the trees without ravens, the same road meets a city built around a small ancient castle, smooth streets and paint on upkept buildings, but not one straight road a maze surrounds a church and training camp full of weapons with everyone at a wedding. The saracen witch Etain, her friends call her Eden, she marries King Ragnar Roekeson, they start the afterparty and put on their party clothes/uniforms, while far out Merlin can hear the music. They party it up while their parents talk shit to each other, where Ana suggests Merlin should enjoy himself. He checks a mirror and loses his cloak, and somehow he’s suddenly in the right clothes and gives wine and a rose to a woman and they dance on their toes thru the curtains. Troy hides his hoodie and enters wearing a hide jacket, Nick and Ana stay long enuf to change into strangers’ coats. Soldiers disguised as servants hiding tattoos of vines aren’t not drinking here and there, this is nice everyone enjoying the party, they joy when the King and Queen enter, even the mercenaries. There’s some distrust b/w queensmen and kingsmen who smile inside saying nothing outside guarding the same door, as seen by Ana and Nick from a window of a room they broke-into. Nick and Ana hold arms in the hall, they approach the guards of the gift room who thank them for their donation so Nick has to hand over his purse and tell some lie about donating lands in a silly accent. As they walk away the guards think it’s a lot or a little, Nick gets Ana a nice fur coat from the visitors’ closet. Back at the party Etain is happy and the people are confident, and soldier servants happy to keep cups filled instead of having to jump, Etain and Ragnar prepare to toast. They approach the balcony and people focus, he says the realm is stronger then toasts. He brings her tight and tells them to thank the stars and party all night. The music starts and the dancing begins as many types of people eat the same way, careful food and careless gossip between them, just before evening Merlin dances with a maiden in a field fireside until night when the castle windows glow with song and light. By now there are no scouts and others sleep, in cool night Etain has a thought of her symbols on her soldiers, the tattoos against the open window evening make the servants seem incomplete to her, not everyone socializes when soldiers and mercenaries stay sober, and not everybody gets along when they finally start drinking, until very late as the party animals are sitting and singing and other such adult activities. Enter Milton, Claus, and Ryan. They use codewords and suggest something to the king, and he summons someone. Ragnar spills his wine and his plans to pay for a war. The king’s a little thirsty, so he pours a little drink, as Clause suggests moving thru Celadon. He picks another location, and picks an area to surround and says it to Ryan, but calls him Royce. The room quiets and shakes as a thunder fills the room, he grabs his sword and hears Etain promises Ragnar he’ll die, but he’s too drunk to learn, welcomes her and promises to protect her honor, the servants kill the kingsmen and disarm the king, confused as Etain leads the insurrection. Her hand becomes fire, he holds his breath. She tells him not to beg, he says his last words, she promises him death, he begs again, she corrects his statement, he begs for her soul, she labels him a sport hunter. She tells him exactly why, and he makes demands and insults. He’s shot and cut as everything she touches burns, the castle breathes air in and fires out. A soldier named Jacobi climbs thru fire without blinking, fires shine in the blood on her face, as he congratulates her. She’s impatient, bored, and says she’s glad it’s done. Her path is unique, albeit reckless, and nobody knows why she did this yet. There’s some infighting and combat when the mercenaries fight the murderers, some with blood in their teeth chase Etain, but she’s throwing fire that Ana can hear. Etain’s magic explodes every drink and bottle in flames with a word, panic at the disco, it’s madness and a massacre. Troy (and Phoenix) were out in coin and drink game with kingsmen and queensmen when the fire started, the witch from a previous chapter Halle/Hel skips past them and the Phoenix fears her shadow, Troy calms it with wild words, her shadow travels slowly, they attack Troy in the playground, the castle burns and lightning churns and he meets many swords and as wolves howl at the flames he might be dead, one of them says drinking was a distraction. As he gets up they’re running at Nick, as he fights them Troy gets there after they’re down. Halle browses the street and touches the frozen fires, there’s a hobo shouting crazy ideas that can see her whom she lets live, passing with a cold that perhaps he’s used to. Etain is dancing in the fire and the locals aren’t staying to watch, Halle enters the room with a declaration. Troy moves thru the fleers and sees Merlin looking into the castle, soldiers stop him for not running away with everyone else, but he blows them over. Merlin doesn’t know he walks by Halle, Ana and Nick are putting-on the wrong clothes when warned by someone. Merlin is gathering his magic when Nick steps out of a shadowy hallway, asking permission to get into a fight, and he fights one of the confused kingsmen who just cut someone else down in one swing, even servants are helping fight against Nick, and he doesn’t know who’s who, but few remain. Ana walks with fingernails sparking against walls when more of Etain’s Saracens think she’s a target, three she stops the first with his own weapon, the second with an ally’s weapon, and the third with a knife of fire and pain, and thanking them for the exercise. She notes their rose tattoos and hides, Etain in the dark hallway and dragging dagger and sparks from a red blade. One of Etain’s soldiers grabs her and points to Merlin, she runs at Merlin, but he skips the fight, her guards pass a scarred boy who sets a puddle of alcohol on fire while they run thru it. Soldiers chasing Merlin find Halle first, they don’t know her so they attack, they lose arms and minds to ice magic, she looks at Merlin, but lets him escape. Merlin makes a loud entrance to interrupt Etain, he insults her plan and she admits it’s not elaborate and gives him a warning. Nick finds some murderers barricading the doors for Etain to escape, and it’s a brawl, Etain watches entertained, Ana watches entertained, Nick eventually turns to them both for comment, as Merlin is amused and tells Nick he can fight Etain too if he wants. Ana enters and Etain creates a slow-growing sun in her hand blinding and blighting them, while telling them to pick their battles better. She leaves with a quick wagon driver, Merlin and Ana are blind, when Nick can breathe he says she’s getting away. They’re still blind so he rides after Etain, finally Troy comes and helps/checks them. Troy waves to the Phoenix and it lands heavy and wings out with some glow, jumping on the Phoenix he says a battle oath and calls the Phoenix Alerion. It’s flight throws the air and Ana likes the pet’s name. Dawn shows Etain’s road to an old bridge and her looking back at a glow blending with morning with two riders Jacobi and Wynn when they all stop to roll up their sleeves and wait for Nick. 

M2.20 Martyr Art (November 2011) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2011/11/merlin-220-martyr-art.html 

As scavengers approach the burning castle the sun reaches for the sky, the forest isn’t peaceful and with dark mountains behind them they fire arrows at Nick, with wind arrows and dangerous lightning, Etain smiles as more arrows glide from Jacobi and Wynn riding at him, but their horses carry them with Troy’s arrows right passed him, so she orders the driver to hurry. Nick throws a knife and rides over who falls, another knife and she thanks him for playing with a fire tide that grounds the horse with Nick still on it and waves goodbye. Nick stands and walks while the horse sleeps, Phoenix/Alerion drops a body and lands to tell a joke, they vow to fight. Troy cleans his reclaimed arrows, but drops from bloodless wounds, so Nick rushes Troy back toward Merlin. The survivors are salvaging the castle or hiding from the Saracen soldiers playing the lyre for Lynn(Mist) with sounds of gold coins in the background. Merlin and Ana are away to meet Nick, the vapor/mist rolls and freezes in a cold area at the castle where candles won’t light. Ana and Merlin see a riderless horse, and a bucking horse throwing a body, which has the rose tattoo and makes Merlin angry then seeing Nick carrying Troy. Troy’s dry wounds breathe when he does and he’s having trouble moving, Merlin orders stitches immediately and Nick asks about the tattoos and witches, and Merlin explains Etain’s underworld family. Ana conflates an infamous trickster to Merlin’s trickeries and he says it’s not the same (even tho we haven’t seen too much of that yet…), and compare’s Etain’s mission as if by experience. Despite slowing time, Halle runs to spy on Merlin, he catches her out of the corner of his eye and she vanishes in a panic. Nick blames Etain for Troy’s wounds, and Ana explains the nature of fire staring back at the smouldering castle. Nick stands dusty in falling rain and rising moon that creates an eclipse, without the sun Phoenix and Troy’s stomachs twist, Merlin waits watching the eclipse end and Troy feels better, but his wounds are still open, when Phoenix rises it’s larger, hungry, and starts gnawing on the soldier, Troy pushes them off and makes the phoenix eat leaves instead, and says he has no taste for meat. The phoenix really wants to eat the body as Merlin watches with questions. It starts raining at the castle on Mist Lynn Viviennedaughter sitting at abandoned throne, dead bodies everywhere and black wine, she pauses to think and only the torn curtains move, Halle returns from spying on Merlin, and Lynn tells her to go back out and follow Merlin, when asking if she should help him, Misty Lynn ignores her until Ophiucus stands behind Halle. He’s in position with the sound of a whisper, warning them both that Merlin’s on his way back here and so they’re off and about. Lynn floats out, and Halle floats into the arms of Ophiuchus and reminds him to be quiet before they too go different paths. 

M2.21 Secrets of Darkness… (November 2011) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2011/11/merlin-221-secrets-of-darkness.html 

Tonight it’s dark at an apple tree near a creek, a deer eats an apple in a pasture the locals call Wolf’s Prairie under storm against night, as dense forest roots reach deep two drunks eat the apples until darkness ends them both, the darkness looks at nature when lightning whispers in farest night with nightlife eyes in open darkness, three days the lightning-struck wait for Valkyries and now the air is breathable again, Merlin and the gang are eating apples riverside, horses tied to the tree eating apples, Troy throwing apples at Phoenix, the shadows enter the forest leaving them to play, Merlin’s tattoos heal as he wraps and holds the ends of glowing lines around his turning hand, the unholy shadows watch the ink lines as strings of forbidden symbols thru fabric and leading to his heart, as the others glow harmlessly. Closer look spying and the wind wakes Merlin who sees only sprawling darkness, the darkness sees Troy’s wounds and is very confused/amazed by the Phoenix, and healing Troy isn’t sure what he sees, but the Phoenix takes a second and is very sure it’s seeing a demon. Phoenix opens into a battle stance and howls fire at it, the shadow’s spirit breaks against fire and vanishes, everyone’s awake and nobody knows why, eventually they calm the phoenix with diamond fire. Troy sleeps in the phoenix shoulder, Ana isn’t sleeping well anymore, Nick is her pillow and be fine nonetheless, and Merlin dreams of clouds adrift, accidentally burning himself on the phoenix at dawn and fights said clouds until he realizes he’s both standing and awake. They hunt and eat, and discuss philosophy. Phoenix mocks them with a conversation its own, the follow the river uphill thru forest of sooner autumn as the trail ends, a different atmosphere begins with colors of dusk and that shadow demon reveals itself, as Merlin apologizes the shadow demon Nott (Night) tells Ana to kneel, Ana knows the demon’s name and face. Nick is already kneeling, Troy and Phoenix are already backing out, like Troy’s hands and scars, Nott is pure white. Her message to them is Etain has gotten the Fire of Dagr, they’re not sure how to trust the bright darkness, she suggests if Troy is afraid he can go, so Merlin gives Troy a challenge knife and tells him to leave. They fly breaking trees, Merlin calls the glowing shadow Night, who says what we know, Etain works with two other witches, suggests Merlin level up, and then mounts a nightmare named Hrimfaxi (Rimefox), only the sound of lightning and the sight of thunder, and after wishing them luck skirts beyond the light. Winds bring rain and rivulets. 

M2.22 Patterns in the Ivy (December 2011) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2011/12/merlin-222-patterns-in-ivy.html 

A posse approaches an guarded moving wagon, children ambush the wagon, and it's a trap, but the children win anyway, finding only weapons and chains and after a lucky hunt, another pack of their tribe attack a campfire from far then closely, taking their supper. If high enuf Troy/Phoenix could see the camp, as Merlin plays magic tricks with Nick’s knife. Merlin isn’t sure and tells him to throw it into a tree. It doesn’t throw far, because it’s drawn to Troy who’s far in the one direction. The forest children sleep in Samsara County then wake and travel eventually one tribe of children, planning another attack and this time losing, when two adults secretly follow their retreat, learning where they sleep and heading back with tree cuts for directions, back to a camp of a warlady and a hunter and several trackers, she makes him tie the shoes on her feet, when the scouts tell her where the attackers sleep when Dak the Blackguard and Tatiana the Warlord (Warlady) says it’s time to regroup and hunt. Tatiana kisses Dak, ordering the camp to seem busy so she can set a trap. The children attack a campfire in a field, but run into arrows allowing the scouts to attack, the camp is big so the kids have to hide in the grass and fight what they can see, the survivors drink the blood of the enemy encampment, an act of hunger, with Merlin looking into the sky when they enter the same field, Nick offers to be ambassador to their approval. Nick puts on a fake grin and marches, but these little bastards are hiding everywhere and stop him, he asks Merlin for advice. Merlin decides to walk up and ask a question with his hand in the air Ana close behind, announcing their search for Troy, when Nick mentions all the bodies Merlin calls him a pacifist. Merlin’s hand is in the air again, he snaps his fingers with wind, light and echo, as Ana bows to the breeze everyone else is thrown down, Nick demands answers, and Merlin loses his chill and threatens everyone. Some of the children hug his ankles and beg him to help, Ana doesn’t trust them and demands answers, they describe an evil spirit as their excuse. The children are piling up, the young kneel, the eldest prostate, and one named Keith begs for them. Ana sees a wounded child, she dapples blood to amuse then cauterizes the wound during the distraction, as Merlin takes suggestions. With the new ideas more children come and hold Nick’s legs, in debate the children finally describe how the leaders turned against the people, they’re frantic and making Ana cry, after a 2-0 vote they plan to liberate the children. Even the wounded are preparing for a fight, someone named Yeadon reports on enemy locales and Señor Keith shows them a map. Merlin and Nick feel ready to fight, the children want to rush, but Merlin wants them to watch him work. Merlin holds a glass ball and a shadow flies high, he tells the children who Troy/Phoenix are. They land and the children hide, Troy describes the army ahead as the children stare at them and talk about where he’s been. They gank a scout and approach thru trees. Tatiana is heavily tattooed and Dak covered in red, they drink black wine, their fighters wear too many weapons as trophies, Merlin goes in. Dak in red scales and the priestess in tattoos and silk, the way they speak to each other is powerhungry. Nobody knows what Merlin is about to do, and he only asks Troy to wait a minute before making an entrance. Troy takes Phoenix up and when Merlin gets close lands and just announces Merlin as a wizard. Nick laffs almost too loud, Ana taps him in front of the scared kids, Merlin puts away magic cards and the army is already eager to fight Phoenix, Merlin brushes the phoenix covering his hand in powder, Tatiana impatiently shouts to Merlin. She calls him Cambion and is very sure of herself, causing Merlin to define the terms of her surrender. While the ground grows dry with Troy everyone is closing the circle around them, and Dak speaks very sure of himself. She puts her hand to his shoulder and steps into the grass, demanding Merlin to serve her, he agrees by revealing the glass ball and it sings before exploding, when the bodies hit the ground the arrows and fists start flying, Tatiana points her soldiers at the woods, the living in on her hand, Dak joins their direction, promising her a victory. Dak sees Troy ride into the air, then attacks Merlin spitefully, Dak’s fighters realize they walk on leaf covered mud. Phoenix swoops and yanks a fighter upward, but the fighter is too fat and gets dropped on cavalrymen, it grabs another, this time meeting whips and swords, so it easily burns and breaks and kicks with claws thru them and flies again, Troy pulled onto one wing, Alerion turns midair, Troy flips them off as the phoenix spins him back onto saddle, they run huddled toward the forest. They curse and swear at Troy catching breath before a new flight toward Merlin, as it lands Merlin makes a gust of wind to help it land and is turned into a cloud of fire and embers at the nearest foes. Nick attacks the edges and Tatiana sees him undie, which to put it briefly is the same as the realistic dream she had that drove her mad/panicked in the first place, which didn’t get it’s own chapter for some reason, in silk and silver she watches them spear Nick to the ground. Fires burn branches where Ana flames thru foes, she worries about Nick, before burning someone back, the mud dries around a villain who’s stuck and is crushed by the phoenix, she tells Troy to stay aware. Troy leaves her to drink and she turns a rope into a fire-whip, only using a dagger when danger gets too close. Merlin sees Tatyana approaching a foe, using a glow to distract she can predict their every attack, she dodges a lunge to cut one down and stick him up, she dances around an axefall to cut puppet strings and his voice, with two daggers into the foe behind her pulled and thrown into two more, la danse macabre her skills take the weapons from their hands, when Merlin shoots a bloody arrow, which she avoids with instinct and opens her eyes at Merlin. He shoots two arrows together, with Nick speared in the background Merlin shoots Nick’s executioners, while Tatyana sends the rest at Merlin shouting at Nick to get up. Merlin hides behind trees as Tatiana follows, as Dak walks into the bushes and weeds of forest edge hunting for him, with Ana running toward the cries of children, each fight she delivers gathered clouded sunlight in bursts. Tatiana washes her face in blood for war with Nick waiting, she walks indirectly, Nick throws a knife that scratches her shoulder, she’s impressed, but runs screaming barefoot at him, her skills surpass his and she kills him and watches to be sure he doesn’t get up, she leaves and she turns back, she leaves as he holds his breath and ninjas her heart, she fights and then falls. Dak watches Nick run into the trees, when Nick’s knife flies into Dak’s neck without blood he breaks the blade and growls, ignoring all to stand over Tatiana refusing to help her reaching out, soon kneeling to close her eyes, he takes the ring from her wrist, examining then breaking it, then sees the dagger and looks into the woods, where two of Tatiana’s servants, Clis and Amicus, think he’s killed her, so they vote to avenge their seeress, the first arrow misses and he dashes, missing the second shot he hides, eventually without words Dak ends Clis, and since Dak is a draugr he uses a trollskap spell and shapeshifts into Clis, letting him easily end Amicus after a question and word, and then abandons the scene of the crime. The foes hunt children, Alerion lands behind them, as they turn they’re burned and speared and the children tear them down from behind. Merlin charms a rune and tosses it, if an enemy steps on it a random spell stops them, but they take too long to make and he has to fight, catching up to Ana who uses a red glowing rage to tear a villain down, ordering him held up for execution, when she realizes he’s dead she kills him again, Merlin and Ana remind each other to pay attention. Ana taunts the fallen as the victim runs in any unwise direction. Nick has drawn unhealthy attention and he’s eventually captured, taken toward Tatiana’s wagon, but they argue over who deserves the credit, giving Nick luck to tear into the nine of them, first strongly then angrily, as Merlin and Ana watch him stop the last four with a sword in his back. Nick smiles happily for the exercise and Ana’s face, but shows exhaustion by laying into the grass, and after a joke points to a building hiding in the distance. They secretly approach it, it looks quickly abandoned long ago, a secret chamber is romantically decorated with plants and crystals. Outdoors, Troy and phoenix catch a trap and Troy is lynched, Alerion bites and throws the anchorman, knocks a tree dropping foe to ground and pecks him, more attack. An ogre wakes up from a blanket of earth and grass, huge and fast from a smaller perspective swinging a stone branch beating Troy’s foes like bugs, until bowing to the phoenix in servitude and slunking back into a nap there on the spot. Nick moves toward sunlight and sees the ogre close his eyes where red leaves float to the ground, Merlin answers the questions about ogres and they plan to camp and take turns on watch for the night. The ogre peaks and Merlin winks, when Nick finds people hiding in their home. 

M2.23 A New Day Yesterday (December 2011) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2011/12/merlin-223-new-day-yesterday.html 

A clever chamber in an abandoned grain mill, with its own secret antechamber filled of many survivalist things, Merlin reads the bedside journal and Ana snaps the candles on, Nick requests to join them, and Troy takes his usual watch awaiting dawn light, when they all realize the owners Dyved and Geneva are hiding right in front of them cleverly camouflaged in the abandoned section, Merlin asks an innocuous/vague question to test their responses. Nick looks up at Alerion high in the night ignoring them, they apologize formally and stay the night, the mill has been disused, Troy lands and slides right off the phoenix colors of white in moonlight and red in firelight, they eat and discourse well. Dyved and Geneva eat well in the warmth the first time in a while, eventually describing the hereditary lands of Enoch, but wanting to know how they have magic, explained as divine provenance and ominous. Alerion causes a stir losing favor with Nick, Merlin explains the greater evil at large and learns they’re spiritual. They drink and bond. If you were to walk ten minutes in that direction, you’d find the scared shapeshifter Dak-Clis (Tatyana’s bf that shapeshifted into his dead attacker) and the witch Mist meeting. Mist reminds New Dak his losses are Merlin’s fault, Dak deflects to her actions, she reassures him, they agree on little except hatred for Merlin, she gives him Black Diamonds to take to lure the sheriff of Pethuel and replace him to wait and kill Merlin. One of Dak’s rando henchmen tries to kill her for the black diamonds, she turns his stomach to knots and leaves, but the pain remains with Dak smiling. So Merlin rests with them becoming bored and making plans with the stars as they drift off, probably from lasting adrenaline Dyved asks Merlin how bad the war goes and Merlin tries changing the subject, Troy wide awake explains why they fight, Ana explains who they fight, and Merlin coaxes Ana to explain when they fight. Either way, the witch Mist has been listening to the whole thing, avoiding the many types of magic had by this coven fireside. Merlin feels something, but sees her not. 

M2.24 Hamadryad (January 2012) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2012/01/merlin-224-hamadryad.html 

Black dirt and green grass at a deep creek where the unknown is silent and morning dew, a unicorn eats moss, the first cooler breeze this side of summer brings a ground fog, whereof the phoenix Alerion pouts and nests here, soon they see the unicorn, Alerion flies straight upward dragging Troy one-handedly leaning heavily into saddle, the unicorn stomps/digs to warn the others how prepared to fight it is, or seems to be, it points it’s horn at Merlin, he grabs his wand ready to stir, they ask how serious, Merlin says it’s enuf to scare a phoenix. Ana’s fire and Merlin’s light amuse the unicorn before it looks one way and runs another, as they discuss how cool that was Nick subtly realizes there’s a spy. A kid dirty with ashes, sad the unicorn ran he smiles with fangs seeing them and runs straight for Nick, Ana separates them with fire and he attacks Merlin, Merlin separates himself instinctually maybe with lightning tattoos, he’s on the ground stunted/shocked when Troy’s arrow hits his leg, Merlin says kill him, and Troy needs to be sure. Nick puts him to rest and a raven squawks, the ice witch Halle vanishes after a blink in the starting sleet. Dryads (living tree people) sneak even closer than before, fog fades revealing moss and clouds remain, they follow a new road until evening. Merlin sits when Troy arrives, as Nick and Ana find some moss, Troy asks Merlin some questions about men and magic, by the time Nick and Ana head back so do the dryads, with many weapons and uninviting armor, one of them carrying the vampire boy, forest magic bends trees toward Alerion that refuse to grasp at its fire, when Merlin sees Nick and Ana running he sees the dryads behind them. Apple dryads attack and Nick ignores opportunity to fight, eventually in combat Ana’s fire does more damage albeit less than predicted, in distraction Nick kills one. Walnut dryads come next, with Troy and Alerion escaping trees and Merlin using an echo to vibrate/daze any trees still growing in all directions. The echo temporarily blinds Alerion and Troy. Ana reaches and chokes, but she’s scraped by a blade that glows and drops from the enemy hand. Ash dryads come, as tall as men. Oak dryads come, with forest magic moss and mist surround all, now they surrender. The dryad king Margrave reveals himself, Nick is brought out refusing to surrender and tossed to Merlin. They seem worried and when they realize Nick is their target, Nick is charged for trespassing and the mood shifts. They’re taken to a dryad court of the Hamadryad where the air is frosty, Merlin looks for something a divisive exit as spectators climb into trees, the Hamadryad speaks formally as Merlin begins vouching for Nick. Hamadryad approaches them and stares at Nick, telling them it’s Nick’s second crime. Nick is taken and struggles, then the Hamadryad charges them for killing the vampiric boy, as they apologize Nick offers to take their punishments, they argue the ethics of Aesir law vs Dryad law. Margrave approves and Nick submits to added punishment, telling Ana the next checkpoint is a place named Vanagon. Vines pull Nick into the swamp in directions. Hamadryad warns them of a voice that wants Merlin dead, Merlin thinks this means he’s next to be buried and attacks the Hamadryad successfully, in concert running as Troy shoots a fiery arrow at Ana’s feet behind him, she makes the fire into a circle and sends a ring of fire, a burning ripple scorching waves outward, hurting some and blackening others using roots to anchor, she runs on the fire wave as sapling dryads rise as reinforcements, soon she runs burning a black path, reaching up and taken by Troy/Alerion, but demands to be let fight recharged with phoenix fire, despite Troy’s uncertainty. Phoenix finds cold and Ana finds warmth until she lets go, when she stands she opens her eyes, red of melted glass, fires of obsidian bloodlines, bordering translucent, burning footsteps, her attackers are cracked open or parts of them erupt or both and they realize she’s overpowered up close, while Merlin is underpowered and forced to cut thru living attacking vines with a machete, she fights a crowds and goes to save him, but she’s got her own vines to burn off, he’s using lightning but running out of energy, eventually Merlin and Ana team up just to take off. A wind pulls the clouds aside, the moonlight gives Merlin strength and he pulls Ana relieved until he has to catch his breath. Merlin drops a teardrop of moonlight covering the ground in white fire as they escape into a field, Ana’s wounds burn white struggling to heal shut, they stumble and continue until the dryads stop following them, without reason why. Merlin inhales moonlight and exhales wind that pushes bright cold away from Ana and apologizes for the unfortunate magic, they drag themselves to shelter. 

M2.25 A Raven’s Eye, Does Mischief Spy (February 2012) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2012/02/merlin-225-ravens-eye-does-mischief-spy.html 

A black beast hunts and hides again from the world of men, a single fire in dark underground, Etain bathes in a hot spring, two randos descend hillside and inquire, she invites them both, but the water is too hot, she thwarts their attempts to escape and takes their items. Nick has freed himself of prison and clothes, he walks toward an area between the cave and the boiling water, three academy students (Bolak, Sotheli, and Maia) stop talking seeing his birthday suit, he answers their question in passing and they bid him well, moments afterward Etain sees him walk and investigates, when she realizes it’s Nick she follows him, but she loses him as he takes the clothes left at the boiling red water, and starts running. 

M2.26 Three Tongues (March 2012) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2012/03/merlin-226-three-tongues.html 

A black violent winged reptile with a crown of horns, in the venting caves Etain visits, a nest of bones and blood and beast notices her presence, her burning hands calm its initial attack, she judges the fiery amphibian/wyvern, her heart begins filling with fire at the sight of bones, seeing more and more of the floor, she listens for whispers until seeing it stares, it eats as she follows the blood to a pool and paints her face, a handful of blood pours into the other as ash. Bolak and his friends wait at Morris Fell, when some of their friends arrive. Bolak et al are healers and they’re about to all hunt the monster/wyvern in the cave. The discussion fades to weapons checking, getting focused and drinking temporary potions. They enter the cave, torch light against it’s glassy eyes, it goes to war with the small tribe of magical hunters, in the comotion Etain blows out their torches with her magic, fire melts someone quickly. Their first attack fails, the warriors hammer and dagger and launch into it in quick turns successfully, driven back but failing to pin it before the tail-club strikes, it crawls thru cave over foes and thrashing unwanted rider injures itself and howls fire, a hammer-claw and broken tail as two more only slow it dangerously close, it’s escaping a narrowing and turning back only to breathe fire and escape more. It enters a large cave and howls, finding witches and archers and tossing one of them into others, they’re in different groups as they heal up and find the missing friends. Etain pretends to cower covered in blood, she pretends to be afraid of the war party, she pretends to thank one of them by warning him, adding to the confusion she blows him a kiss and it ruins his mind, as he collapses she takes his weapon and drags a dagger with sparks into the darkness. 

M2.27 Nom de Guerre (April 2012) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2012/04/merlin-227-nom-de-guerre.html 

Merlin focuses during meditation having waves of ideas until self delusion, his dreamstate wilts grains and raises weeds, his dreams become darkness, he sees the Norns, they describe finding Merlin with shared sentences and circling each other, confusing him by mentioning the weather and leaving with reassurances spoken, unwilling to wake Merlin faces attack from the dream Norns, so Ana awakens him. Adrenaline filled he describes parts of the dream. His subconsciousness still has fading illusions of startling danger, Ana tries to get his attention. In silent question they clean up and leave only to find the fighters of Morris Fell, who need healing. The warriors warn them to avoid the cave, Merlin/Ana just want directions to Vanagon. Afterwards Ana sheathes and leaves with some acknowledging. Merlin pulls light hair dark and poorly hides it with a hat, soon they are in the orchards of a community, triangle cabins cut into the red rising sun, mountain air makes sleet for a moment, they soon realize they’re in a very militarized war college surrounded by a city, in the old quarter called Gelliwig with a sheriff named Zeke. The draugr Dak waits in line to see the sheriff today, asking him to settle a land dispute with force, the sheriff allows it for the right price. Draugur (Dak 2.0) smiles at the behavior, then kills the sheriff and shapeshifts to become the sheriff (Dak 3.0). Merlin and Ana enter with a fake tattoo, they decide to look for Nick. Merlin enters the old saloon, for not playing a game a wild drunk takes a swing at Merlin, he stops the attack swiftly, when a second man takes a swing at Merlin, Nick stops the attack swiftly, as a big dude stands up, Nick fakes his first punch and body throws the giant instead, then stops Merlin from glowing and tries rushing him out, where they run into the impostor sheriff. Merlin walks backwards when Nick kneels for Dak 3.0, who tells him to leave. Nick haphazards out, Dak 3.0 makes arrests. They clean up, Nick stares into an alley where Merlin walks down so he follows him, when private Nick describes his degradation and regeneration with gory detail, and asks about the stone soldiers. Ana welcomes him back, they rest with poets nearby and questions for each other. They discuss the war college being third of what was four, that the sheriff is high in station, but low in rank, and that only healing magic is allowed since the loss of the fourth academy. Merlin sends Nick for food to talk to Ana who pines over him instead. They plan a reup, and rearmament. The phoenix Alerion flies dark and quietly drops Troy on the city wall, rolling, waking up and knocking out a guard, dumping booze and body into the street and wearing a potato sack and entering the nightlife. A waitress asks if Merlin hunts the dragon and has to explain the wyvern pests in the caves. Draugur (Dak 3.0) is having a wake and buffet with the former sheriff, and mocks him almost for being dead. Evening music plays until someone tosses a coin for a dans. Merlin’s morning makes sense to merchants, with introductions he looks around a particular store. If the Draugur had noticed Merlin earlier he wouldn’t be planning city sedition to draw him out, killing his way up the chain of command until able to rewrite laws, a week afterward emptying cells, a week afterward silencing prayers, a fortnight afterward strange priorities. Draugur is trying to piss everyone off, eventually figurative and pretending to be insane and speaking to the fog, which is literally Lynn (the Mist), she elicits malice and questions his loyalty, he lists his malices and she asks what his next step is. She gathers darkness and confronts him, to avoid punishment he explains vaguely that they have free will, lost in thought she returns to warn him not to oppose her, when asked for help she declines. She travels with fog from the room down steps, hiding and spreading whispers thru the city, the corrupt don’t trust themselves, a power struggle continues as soldiers become mercenaries, agriculture becomes conflict, in the hours while Merlin plays a game of chess that becomes a stalemate. Merlin and Nick watch Ana obtain a mystery piece to their maligned puzzle. A sunny morning Troy walks the wall for clues, Merlin walks the street parallel, acting as strangers. More go fight wyverns and fewer return, the wrong pennies fall from the right pockets, as even ravens resort to tricking snakes. Draugur uses magical heat-vision watching the ravens, an honorable deputy named Bodvar comes to the sheriff (Dak 3.0)’s office, Draugur’s dishonorable deputy Reetur offers to silence Bodvar, but Draugur kills Reetur for no obvious reason. When Bodvard enters, Draugur pretends to’ve been attacked and they call for help. When the guards come he tells them to arrest Bodvar with blood on his lips. A bell for the gallow, Draugur condemns him before a crowd, and Bodvar promises that spies will kill him, he looks at clouds unnaturally fast, all while Merlin watches protesters. Spectators wait, as Draugur asks for his excuse, spectators jeer as Draugur exploits the issue in sentencing him, and asks for his last words. Bodvar says the sheriff is an imposter. Nick approaches with a painted yellow face and limping, Merlin can’t see the scar on Nick’s face, but a second Nick drinks across the street, the first asks Merlin for a plan, but before he answers Merlin stands alone again, confused, the first Nick approaches Merlin, confused. He doesn’t wait for Nick and drops smoke bottles and screams there are demons. Troy prevents a shot at Merlin, Drauger sees Nick draw a throwing-knife and hangs Bodvar asap. Ana picks up a child and takes Merlin’s smokers and turns them into smokey flashbangs. Things are starting to get rioty as Draugur prepares to fight Nick on the stage. The child cuts down Bodvar, Draugur looks away from the sound of Nick’s feet and sees Merlin standing in the smoke, he asks Merlin where Nick is, and Merlin sarcastically says he’s alone. Draugur points a broken sword, Merlin holds out a smokebomb to bluff him, he throws the sword so Ana explodes the smokebomb, the fire slows the sword, but paints his hand marble. Drauger is blind and stammering when they unleash their anger, he escapes and Ana has to drag Merlin thru the smoke and guards toward the jail, where the guards are killing inmates and think Merlin is a terrorist. Drauger finds his underground altar, with Bodvar seeking revenge with And and Merlin almost behind him. Nick stops Bodvar to cut the ropes from his wrists, a storm so large it’s still far approaches. Merlin pauses to let his chapped hand cool/heal, Ana apologies as Merlin thanks the stormy gods. Bodvar doesn’t wait for teamwork, but Merlin offers him backup. Nick wants intel, but Bodvar can only convince them that the sheriff is a demon, and with little else they pursue the demon. Bodvar goes to the jail, allies question loyalties, traitors stab them in the back, the wind sweeps the fog and the city goes on lockdown to trap the traitors, Draugur unable to celebrate the chaos when warned Bodvar is in the palace and grows terribly silent. Former students start retaking the stronghold, zealots and reclaimers pay the costs of war, Nick pays the price of death and from dragged on the ground toward a window he drops two soldiers, Nick makes his way thru more baddies and sees Draugur, so he readies multiple weapons and enters the room. Bodvar tells Merlin to stay and heal, angering him into a blue glow, immediately following Ana who had time for a costume change, she takes a ceremonial weapon off the wall and walks to the sounds of thunder and thoughts of fever. Rebels help who Ana distracts and Merlin shocks and hammers those who provoke him on his way to the observatory. Drauger begs himself in the mirror, Nick leans on the doorway to peek in when Draugur grabs him as a hostage in one hand and a glass ball in the other, Merlin questions his sanity, the demon replies to brag, with Nick trying to quip. Draugur insults their cause, and rejects their statements. It’s windy, lightning shows glimpses of bones and wax, and the eyes of Draugur looking into the storm, he praises his identity. Merlin requests he surrender, suggesting themes a demon would enjoy, Draugur gives sympathy in denial. They surround Draugur, who demands they stop moving. Nick cuts the glass ball arm, Ana clubs Draugur with a weapon too hot to steal, Nick pins the demon and Merlin moves close. Draugr laffs, then explains why his own plan failed. Merlin summons light and the demon fears, showing cracks in his face as he begs Ana to be like Etain and giving excuses for the past. Draugur looks ill as he explains his curse, and Merlin demands to know the hexer. With intimidation Draugur tells of three and names nothing but the weather. Draugur gives advice then stabs himself at the interrogating spear… and jumps out the window, the storm hides if he survives the fall. 

M2.28 Causerie (May 2012) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2012/05/merlin-228-causerie.html 

Halle (Ice) washes in a stream making ice from passing water, Lynn (Fog) arrives to ask why she’s not hunting Merlin, she’s calm and vague as Lynn floats in mist dragged across the water. The fog is pulled into the stream, Lynn informs her that Draugur is ousted and she’s to punish her lands, Halle approves. They are protective of each other. 

M2.29 The Hourglass (June 2012) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2012/06/merlin-229-hourglass.html 

Merlin trades a melted crown for a night and good meal at “The Hourglass'' inn, Ana and Nick turn in and Merlin doesn’t, they return to find Merlin drunk and Troy entertaining interesting tales, as the patrons come and go Merlin’s purse keeps everyone’s cups a little fuller, telling jokes to those whom listen. Drunk Nick loses his feet and clonks a big dude, it’s enuf to get him punished by the locals, but not enuf to sober him, thinking it’s an attack Nick starts to fight with diminishing returns. Troy escorts his company out, but a local has the fighting fever and attacks him. Troy catches the first punch and Nick adds the newcomer to his brawl doing as much damage with his head as his hands. Merlin and Ana wait as Troy leaves with the company. Ana admires him and Merlin bets he wins. Nick is held and approached, he almost falls asleep before dropping four like clockwork, he wears them down and counts them out by paying karma’s tab to the bartender. Nick runs off with Ana. Merlin finds Troy to tell him to go north. Merlin walks toward the forest, by morning Nick wakes him up where they plan a northward continuation. They’re walking in grasslands when Alerion is scared by distant wings and flees, the wings are two valkyries who drop a thing, for some reason it’s a doll and they don’t know why, they discuss the best way to track Troy. An ancient church surrounded by moss, the two valkyries prepare the essences of their items for magic to curse a child as monks are hostage, one winged-man reads from memory, walks passed the monks, and openly explains disappointment, with one running into the valkyrie’s sword and thrown from it like wool, and as others beg a whisper of coldness puts them into dangerous sleep. A lone monk swears an oath renouncing the old and is thrown struck thru everything until the wall. Merlin steps forward to save the child and sees the black and white valkyries, he is loudly warned. Merlin steps back to capture attention from Nick moving forward as Ana unties monks unsure who to trust.  Merlin counts his options as he learns them, eventually asking them their goal, they tell him nonsense before attacking. Merlin’s attack grabs the hourglass turned, the castle is trapped in a gravimetric time dilation. Nick attacks the valkyries outside the bubble, stopping one, but not another. He rises, kicks the arms off a candle holder and throws it into one. Merlin fights the valkyrie with Nick slowly falling for his first attack. Nick watches them grab their shields from behind themselves, his loss of life is regained immortally wicking life from their feathers when he wakes to roll and cut them low, taking wounds and dying in darkness, opening them to healing cuts like a wounded animal. Ana sees Merlin and the valkyrie promising violence then trading blows, she tries to burn the valkyrie who dodges into the broken pews with Merlin climbing over them after it. Wings make wind and throw Merlin, it stands with them open, angry, and larger than the rest. Candles melt as the air grows heavy around the glowing hourglass, for Nick the more time burdens the more he benefits from fatigue experience, and even becomes an advantage, his remaining foes are punished. Merlin’s enemy blocks with wings, Nick tricks one into attacking another, Ana burns a pair of wings in her defense and Nick shortens it in her defense. The hourglass runs out and Nick and Ana can help Merlin, the valkyrie using wings as shields blows them over, Merlin’s spells are ineffective, a bloody Nick steps over broken wings, the sun falls with the last grain of sand and it’s night. The valkyrie dives slamming thru Nick who dodges tackle and draws blood, when new valkyries are breaking-in, a light washes everyone into sleep. He wakes in blood and winged-bodies as they arrest the evil valkyrie, he protests with the leader standing over Merlin. The church is trashed, the valkyrie still screaming that Merlin is a danger, and then Merlin is awarded the hourglass for his trouble. They are flown as he walks to it, Ana and Nick check each other then call to him as he walks to it, it must be damaged because he inhales its smoke and drops the hourglass, the sand spills over broken glass, without looking he suggests to ride the horses outside a solid wall, with them not sure what he sees, Nick is sure Merlin is possessed by magic, so he throws a knife and Merlin catches it. Merlin steps outside and talks to Troy before he lands, eventually coming to ground, explaining the valkyries that chased him suddenly had better things to do. The child cries from the altar with a name bracelet “Lilith”, but vanishes when the light bends. Nick and Troy gather feathers, and leave after sounds of night animals from sight of unnatural blood. Three fresh horses and supplies are outside like a new level VG. In an empty church a girl scurries between shadows, growing months by the minute, clouded eyes and drinking blood, looking for memories in the sands of time, eventually leaving before sunrise. 

M2.30 Bound by the Moon (July 2012) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2012/07/merlin-230-bound-by-moon.html 

Troy and Alerion hear a mental sound, Nick asks where they’re going, Merlin gives a strange answer prompting Ana to check with him, leading to partial daylight lunacy as Ana and Nick catch up on Nick’s backstory, telling of his time at Solmani when poor farming drove many to highlands and highlanders to raiders, without answering the question she invokes it again. He continues that he had joined them and when outnumbered was outgunned, and speaks of his first considerate burial and crawling from beneath, she asks of his perception then, he tells of his revenge for the years until the next. They discuss and excesses of retribution before Merlin clarifies there’s a monster leaving smoke and misery very far from them. 

M2.31 Gargoyle (July 2012) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2012/07/merlin-231-gargoyle.html 

In the city Teice we meet Ophiuchus and his bag of snakes, watching a chain of buckets put out a fire and travelers waiting to see if they can loot, always relevant, from the black sky behind him a wyvern spreads its wings, as he approaches the fire, Draugur is lighting these fires, he takes a drink and lights a bottle then tosses it, now tipsy after the last, almost turning to see Oph and almost bowing as Oph demands answers. Draugur turns to rushing soldiers as Oph leaves thru a shadowy alley, far from the chaos Merlin still approaches Teice and seeing what could be a wyvern like he did last chapter, they watch it drift and slowly turn toward them, Troy feels the wyvern’s wings in the air, the wyvern attacks fearing Alerion’s fire and focusing on Troy, a spiraling dodge inverts outward forces on its axis almost throwing him, but catching the air and roles reversed, Alerion grabs the black wyvern, sounds and struggle, two wild monsters in hunt and war, Troy drives Alerion climbing thru monster midair descending to creek Eitur, bating clawed wings falling further with fire against phoenix and a falling stream of black smoke, in fresh fire and ash Troy shoots an arrow to its eye, claws of fire swing it toward the reservoir. Lynn of Mist brews a red death when Oph brings her snakes, informing Draugur destroys and Merlin is somewhere hereabouts, belaying order to interfere and ordering Oph follow Merlin following Draugur. Troy leaps to clay shingles hoping to survive as Alerion and wyvern smash thru, Troy breaks his fall with a thousand tiles and someone’s cluttered balcony, Alerion crawls to opening in need of the sun still fighting the wyvern coming at it to flee the locals killing it. Alerion’s bite is all that matches the wyvern’s talons, tearing wing then chest and dragging it thru a roof and using the foe as a shield when the bricks fall, in front of Lynn (Mist) and Ophiuchus (her servant), she becomes smoke and he dives for the doorway, it breathes useless fire at the phoenix, the flames flicker from its wounds, Alerion sees its heart and wants to eat it, and when the church bells sound it does. Draugur laffs at ruins of the church and the failed wyvern, Merlin sneaks toward this villain, Ana helping wounded, Nick jogs straight at Draugr, who holds an orb forward, Nick spins swinging blade that stops at bone like stone, Draugur swats him fifty yards, As Draugur threatens Ana, Merlin chides him, which brings out a tirade of cliches and opinions maniacal, Merlin suggests it’s a thin line at best. Meanwhile, behind the facade of an innocent looking bookstore, Nick is skewered and at peril with Ophiuchus, in two false pretenses Nick asks to be saved from his trappings and Ophiuchus awkwardly helps him, with them both pretending to mend they both sort of phone it in as Nick dies, again, until screaming awake and demanding directions for the fight he owes Draugr. Ophiuchus points Nick at Draugr, happily. Nick grabs the sword that flew with him and walks out. Back outside, Merlin insults a mad Draugur, distracting again as Nick gets personally close but Draugur dodges, Nick only targets D’s secondary measures, the back step, the blocking arm, until caught and electrocuted while guising at Merlin, Nick gasps and swords the arm seeing him guard the orb, so all enmity at that with first crack a matching thunder from the sky, and shocking Nick again accidentally shocks them both, becoming a beast beneath Merlin. Nick stabs no-look into him, turns and twists his wrist, breaking it from the sphere to fall, the light is gone before hitting the ground. Merlin unrolls his sleeves and picks up the cracked orb, it mends around a dark core, only to crush as ashes. Troy peeks from the distance asking if ended, sooted and sweated they lord over the body seeing one eye has turned to ash also. Alerion looks for a nest and they wonder what Merlin plans over the corpse, they could care less and off. Ophiuchus insults Draugr before a snake crawls from the body, into his hand. 

M2.32 Snake in the Grass (July 2012) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2012/07/merlin-232-snake-in-grass.html 

Merlin looks at scattered flames, a local guy is amazed by him, the local dialect is how Merlin learns about the city's past few days, Ophiuchus mentions the local picks dead men's pockets, and Merlin is struggling with the dialect and asks Ophiuchus to ask about this now damaged city's council, learning they're overpaid and rigging games, everyone stops to think. Feeling the end of his use, Ophiuchus questions Merlin carefully, learning there he'll be, the next tourney. Nick and Ana reconnect, Merlin and Ophiuchus stand over the body again, offering to be Merlin's guide there, they agree. They shake and rest and dawn's trip is to a lake, a trail into forest, they speak of the rumors and dissent with Ophiuchus implying it isn’t insurrection, Ana looks to Merlin to gauge his trust, Ana suggests honesty as Merlin begins asking Ophiuchus questions, pitying agents of upheaval with Nick supporting this thesis, Nick and Ana realize something is up, Nick acts as voice of tyranny, with Ophiuchus intrigued and Merlin stating his discomfort with people while condemning trust. At moonrise, Troy sleeps on a flying phoenix pale in reflection, Ana lights a magic torch, Alerion doesn’t trust Ophiuchus, and Troy is sent to find the tourney. Of chatty plans Ophiuchus reveals he wants to attack the entire tourney, they lean into their personas, Merlin waits to answer his newest question carefully while waiting for something bad to happen or the other shoe to drop. There is low fog, they trade quips common to youthful wars as Ophiuchus continues showing his own colors, there is high fog, it slows the horses, they have worries that become questions, they walk their horses silently, Ophiuchus first to be impatient, Ana’s fire magic only glares. Merlin sees fog, they follow the road, wandering next to each other as Oph grows paranoid, they are short sighted, but to Lynn it is clear as day. Lynn puts her hand to Oph, he pulls her into saddle, they take the fuck off. 

M2.33 Fete of the Golden Dawn (Aug 2012) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2012/08/merlin-233-fete-of-golden-dawn.html 

Oph and Lynn lay in a field, covered and uncovered, she speaks to him of commitment, they ride off. A town only for medieval competitions with honest and dishonest competitors, high pitched barn-houses and tented camps and mud, oh it’s a renfaire with overdressed paiges, a covered judges stage has heavy guarding, Halle is the monarch they serve, so many pillows, out at the stage Etain sits alone at the sunlight of the field, each region hangs a banner and kneels once and she disdains, Halle grows bored also. Lynn walks and vanishes as Oph rides into town, she avoids notice with glare of sun toward her personal tent, by afternoon she’s in a hoodie waiting for evening, the three witches convene, and they despise Merlin, plotting his capture. Halle finishes armoring and Lynn leaves, passing Oph, who goes to Halle, and makes out with her. Eventually Etain starts the competition with a showing of fire, Halle takes the stage last, Oph tells the crowd to kneel in service to a new empire, before tomorrow’s games. The mumbles are distrusting of sudden new leadership, they harass Oph, he looks to the three queens, Lynn rises and clarifies that it’s not for Oph, but to the three, they’re still not having any of it. Etain asks if she can knock him down, would he rise to one knee, the main heckler says bring it on. Etains hand raise in concert to flames, Halle skipping visible time appears at stage edge and warns them, in a moment she’s giving the heckler waking terror with a nightmare blade, another moment to silence his agony, the crowd attacks too slowly, she cuts thru seven men in seven blinks, signaling Etain who holds so much fire that when she makes the final step onto the grass everyone is kneeling, Oph checking on Halle, he tells the kneelers it’s all or nothing. All bow heads, but one is standing and calling their bluff, and Lynn walks on the dead, her own soldiers kneel. There are snipers filling up the shadows around the field. Lynn holds fresh blood in her hand, promising the obedient won’t be harmed. The holdouts kneel, a quick convert named Adakan is first to sleep, an interesting if not albeit irrelevant fact. A quiet morning quickly becomes drinking and tournament, when Merlin rides up. Focus centers on the opening ceremony, The ceremony evokes tales of the first bison to meet a hunter, and the games begin. A little time-delay and Troy/Alerion land nearby, Troy gears-up while kids carefully approach Alerion, they mistake him for a legend of stories, pulling him to the fest with Alerion trudging thereafter, spectators stall and reach to him, the phoenix largely objects on behalf of its master, Nick wins another game in the confusion, while Ana gets new clothes to replace this one burnt, the police aren’t sure just who Troy is, fighting-thru for diplomatic measure, the people kneel without being told to Troy/Alerion glow, Nick walks, but Merlin nods against it, so he kneels, the three queens bow to phoenix and rider. Fiery Etain respects the phoenix, but it fears her, Lynn waits, Halle’s coldness only enrages it, the crowd gasps, Lynn approaches and Troy thinks she looks like the rider in the Aviary. She contacts phoenix with sounds of steam, Etain calls for something to feed it, Halle calls for the people to leave the gaming field, then Etain gets to meet it. Halle and Ophiuchus both share one peaceful moment, before they agree that Merlin is near and how to find him. Halle slows time for only her and Oph, but Alerion isn’t phased, only slowed and squinting at her, she releases time to not alarm the phoenix, still ignoring Nick on the field. All wait for Troy to break the silence and he does with a call to party, cheers abound. Etain points to Nick to fight in front of the phoenix, but Nick thinks he’s outed for some reason, but he’s in a crowd and certainly outnumbered, the heckler Adakan is back, asking Lynn where the priests have gone, she tells him justice has been served, some of the crowd boos over the silence, with Nick trying to stop Akadan, the guards arrest Akadan first. Nick gets the crowd riled up again, Troy goes with Etain, and Merlin runs thru shadows toward saving Akadan. I’m kinda surprised they didn’t arrest Nick here instead. Ophiucus can’t find Ana or Merlin, parly in not remembering what they look like. Merlin traipses thru quiet route, finding them already laying into him, he pretends to be off and prattles on then knocks the guards out, he enters making demands and gasses the guards, Akadan breaks his chains to escape the smoke not knowing wtf is going-on, exiting the smoke and venting at the guards before taking their weapons, Merlin asks his motives, learning they’re apt motives. Ana joins, they’re blending into the crowd and talking, they stalk high ranking soldiers, Ana picks her target out, Nick places in third, Troy says some nice words for the two and squints at Nick, with the Red Guards of the Three Queens thru-out the grounds, and a rebellion thru the crowds, the winners of the many events are sought by the different armies represented here, many if not most waiting for the coin earned, at midnight a battle in darkness, archers getting anyone in front of a tent, the witches hear the war and Troy offers to escort Lynn away, but she’s out before she answers, Halle is patient and does her nails, Etain begins getting angry and marches out, Halle snaps and vanishes. The witches target torchbearers first, guards kill prisoners and Nick loses it. Ana walks in darkness and avoids quarrels, holding a glowing knife that burns what it burdens, when tackled she scalds enemy thought into screams. Merlin favors trap-like attacks and this saves the truly wounded. Merlin/Ana update, they speak in code I don't remember, Ana burns a stray and sends him into danger, and Adakan says goodbye to an old traitor. Ana/Merlin stop arrows with magic, and make an ally of a sniper, only to see the fog rise and Lynn waiting for them. Lynn deceives Merlin and attacks Ana, she blasts Lynn and flees, Merlin jumps after a portal in the smoke, for some reason, Ana uses fire magic to explode kegs, Merlin covers his eyes. Lynn survives and screams until seeing Merlin, he flips her off and she screams eluded. 

M2.34 Forest of October (Sep 2012) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2012/09/merlin-234-forest-of-october.html 

Autumn trees and wolves, Etain tracks and Lynn follows far behind, Halle is always one step ahead and bored waiting, Etain and Halle start in-fighting, Lynn lets them fight for a sec, before showing her resolve to kill any opposition, then assigning targets according to weaknesses, choosing to end Merlin herself. In the morning we find the competitors are not filled with joy in serfdom as they manage their dead. Merlin gathers supplies and Nick barters for better armor, they leave without Ana or Troy, walking down a road thru a wheat farm they watch to cavalrymen ride-down a runner, this hunt is ended swiftly, before riding at Merlin/Nick and worried about something at the horizon abandon questions for them. Nick/Merlin question what the rider did, they come to a roadsign for Arkona when archers attack, Nick runs under the arrows, a man named Harvaldr tells Merlin his friend is dead, Nick sits up with arrows and they spear him dead again, they mistake Nick for a different supernatural being, before Merlin can help Nick retaliates and removes any doubt, they were attacking Nick’s stolen armor, Merlin bets they can help find Quinn. 

M2.35 Soil’s Song (November 2012) 

https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2012/11/merlin-2-35-soils-song.html 

Today Merlin and Nick are handcuffed, being brought to an enemy camp they escape, they’re not really running away while watching the guards sleep, making small talk with one of the patrolmen Meldún, flat modifiers I didn’t like -ly at the time, and Quinn is a machiavellian friend of Merlin’s that they can’t find, Nick inquires about Quinn, the hot cold of autumn, they roll into a farm with some piecemeal buildings, among the troops escorting Merlin/Nick is a man with a scar on his face paying for something. Finally Quinn sees and meets Merlin, they drink over maps of stash houses and zombie territories, stragglers from before, and where they think Etain is, they discuss the politics of seizure in that Etain’s mercenaries are well paid and poor bedfellows. They gather their thoughts and make plans. Ana shows up with a dude tied to a horse, the town size is procedurally generated, Nick and Ana jog their memories of each other. For some reason Quinn shows Merlin a zombie, stalling perhaps, ok it’s an exposition scene explaining the zombies got so many that so many more fields were unharvested, Ana cleans and ends the scene with fire. Quinn thinks the evil is physically contagious and speaks in crusading terms, Merlin points out the monster displayed is a termagant. Ana emerges from bright fire, Merlin needs to reup and Quinn wants to join the hunt. Troy/Alerion land almost in fire, telling he’s lost Lynn, Ana listens to firesong, she thinks she hears Etain on the march to kill Quinn since she could hear the phoenix in the wind too. Ana can hear them, Merlin can see the shadows of nearing scouts, so they gear-up, but Nick hauls ass into the forest alone, Ana warms up and heads out, using torches against them, Phoenix/Ana team-up, Nick charges thru camp and snatches Ana of the ground to horseback having scouted a prepared front. Merlin paces forward, turning cold to fire and convinces the roots to let burning trees fall around his attackers, fresh ash in the air he controls the arena, eventually rushing toward a wagon cage of the undead. All is a shadows and moonlight war, a cemetery near a coal mine entrance, graves with zombies chained into them, Quinn/Merlin/Ana/Nick dialogue, sidle up and start in, Nick learns the hearts are cursed, Ana has to burn thru hers. 

M2.36 Inside the City of Glass (Nov 2012) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2012/11/merlin-236-inside-city-of-glass.html 

A cold torch who’s light gathers cold and snow, with an ice castle barely visible on the mountain rando kids steal the torch and run it to town. The caves of that mountain where Ana can kinda see thru dark, Merlin leads the way pulling Nick, Quinn uses a magic ring that barely glows for reading, they hap cooks and potato peelers, Ana leads the act pretending to be Etain while the others subdue them then split the group up, ascending two different tunnels. Quinn’s man Aghen left, Merlin right, Aghen finds the courtyard and ceremonial entrance. Inside, Halle has the nightmare blade, from her window she can see the torch being taken into the forest with a mental connection to it, as she tests the blade’s bloodless magic. Her scribes write warrants for the heroes of the story. Merlin et al search the catacombs, Nick does most of the heavy combat quickly, until stalwart with many of the palace’s premier guards, they pin him and go after Quinn’s group, Merlin uses lightwind and Quinn adds arrows to it as the heroes are surrounded. Halle speaks to a group of warlords, while Nick escapes, gets killed yet again, and when they ignore him he ends the door guards to her meeting, then is thrown to her feet. The whole war college is waking to the combat scenario, Ophiuchus is demanding status updates, he uses black magic like storm clouds and thunder, a black ice snake swims, the corpse is resurrected as Draugur 4.0, the ice snake seems irate. Fires dot the evening mountainside, Nick can’t get a hit on the king of warlords, who deserves a little more backstory but wears stainless steel dragon armor, Merlin et al amused no longer, fill the warlord king with arrows, Nick is still itching for a fight so runs ahead and finds Ophiuchus, well shit now m3 needs a new ending. Nick finds candle-smoke and ceremony, Oph finishes Draugur’s resurrection spell, handing him Arrnumai’s orb with orders to protect it. The ice viper exits the water calmly as Halle bursts into the room, pissed about the coup d’etat, and in her rant points screaming at Nick, who screams and jumps from the snake strike, Oph is ordered to destroy all. Merlin paces the crystal chamber, the dry air lends him static and the smooth floors lend him silence. Halle reveals a glass sphere and begins blood magic that make the living cold and the air bright, the castle shines from the mountain, the light strengthens Merlin’s perception as he and Quinn fight thru, Merlin finds Halle with blood-dipped hands, he taunts her with absurd questions while moving around the room, she denounces in repartee, then binds him to the floor. 

M2.37 As the Palaces Burn https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2012/11/merlin-237-as-palaces-burn.html 

As things excite the prisoners escape the brig and it’s a donnybrook with looting of items too dangerous for normies, Nick is doing a lot of running from a snake he can’t hide from and a termagant he can’t escape, they outwitting each other beneath dry macabre humour, the 12-foot snake skewers his leg, he wastes energy fighting while it releases him poisoned, the immortal becomes sick and undying, Oph’s boots start with heels as Nick does his best to dodge each strike, the snake waits for him to fall down, Nick aims and eliminates Oph’s left eye on the far side of his face, slowing him, the venom could be rising, Oph insults him. - Merlin struggles to escape Halle’s net, the castle foundation cracks for all to hear, the chaos for all to see. As Ana struggles to burn amongst ice Halle brings her personal guards, Halle almost ready to ignore her in search of Quinn perhaps, but Ana threatens her, she orders Ana dead and now she has something or someone to burn for warmth for her survival, a malice distraction as Halle strolls by and away with slower time, leaving ana to fight the eight at the top of the crystal stairwell. Merlin is being burned by the net drowned in puddles with held breath, the ice floor gives out, and another, the others with him, not so much, the coins that weighted the net forever lost, some prisoners stayed to riot and leave with each rumble. Nick is viper blocked and snake-like Oph is partially blinded in the cold, but the phoenix sees all heat sigs clearly, Alerion finds hunger seeing the black ice snake, and lands on the balcony as if to wait, Nick hits the wrong eye and gets strung up, Alerion attacks and rages at the small doorway, Nick’s hanging now blocks the only exit. High winds fight to cool the cracking castle. Alerion can’t be hungrier, Nick hides among statue heads, Oph finds him and runs him thru, which finally kills him. Oph's reinforcements inspire Nick to bounce out. The ground groans, brokens walls crumble into diamonds, where water melts the hallways like furnaces, Alerion spreads its wings and hypnotizes the viper before tearing it apart, Troy takes rare pieces from it. Nick comes back to see them both eating the snake, and saves them from it, before realizing anything else they laff. Merlin uses a sword to walk, finding Halle and hiding in fire before she can turn and see him, then defensively raising fire before she can turn and hit him. She warns him of his future and he replies, but is interrupted by a collapse that traps her in water, forced to hold her breath and learn if her magic will make her sink or swim. The crumbling and waters begin spilling down the burning hillside, Merlin says his goodbyes, she recedes into the dark waters behind the clear ice, and he goes. Halle crawls from icy water, Lynn watches unhelpful. Nick/Ana search for each other, Merlin fights with lightning as long as he can keep dry, as the castle gives way in whole Nick sorrows on uneven floor, interrupted by another wave of warlords and Draugur 4.0, in rage he revenges untouched in conclusion the Draugr is toast. Nick contemplates the black sphere, it’s powers, but runs to the sound of screams, finding Lynn in her own rage and degrading Halle where the ground is icy and flat with fissure nearby. He bumrushes them and Oph grabs his throat out of nowhere, they prepare to split him and find the orb, the other two somewhere in the crumble, Lynn thanks him by ordering him and his plot armor thrown down the crevasse, Nick shouts his taunts for Oph at Lynn, before his breath is out he disables Oph in three moves, and finishes his breath threatening Halle/Lynn. The obsidian ball, the glowing dagger, Nick headfirsts and they step over Oph to look into the chaos below, Lynn descends alone. 

M2.38 Wasted Sacrifice (Nov 2012) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2012/11/merlin-238-wasted-sacrifice.html 

Nick leaps to his death, fog rolls down and Lynn exits it, but hides from Alerion landing in the dark tear between mountains, Troy/Alerion watch Nick gather his thoughts, Lynn sneaks closer trying to snatch Troy without Alerion seeing, the ice temple becomes an avalanche, with Merlin riding ice and Ana desperate to burn something for spiritual sake, but wouldn’t it be nicer if fallen ravaged Nick jumps into the water to save her and they wash out uncovered save for a cinematic curtain or something, but they’re washing away with the water and Merlin helps Ana to water’s edge, his helping hand and air magic helps fuel her pyromancy and she burns his energy until he pulls his hand free. There is black oil in the water, blood washes from the clothes of the bodies, some alive are foes too tired and allies such as Quinn, those who run down to the burn line find heavy conflict. Learning this, a foe takes a hostage and screams for Quinn, they tried to warn him that Quinn was right behind him in his rant. Ana hugs the hostage, Quinn tends his wounds, and suggests visiting a general store for upgrades. 

M2.39 Seduction of Fire (Nov 2012) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2012/11/merlin-239-seduction-of-fire.html 

Nick walks out from behind some rocks, rooty tooty fresh and fruity Troy throws Nick a leather shawl and notices Nick’s journal stapled shut by dagger. Troy can scry Ana’s heat signature, and Nick can’t wait. It's a halloween party in the town they find, paints and drinks with Ana/Troy reconvening, hating the separation they start weaving and Merlin orders them out. Morning, Merlin wakes up the squad, tells everyone they’re going to Colorinth, the red hills, Ana hopes to fight Etain, Merlin promises they’ll fight obsidian eyes and warns everyone. A posse searches the town, Merlin chooses Troy/Alerion to lead them off, Alerion rises to spiral and stretch in flight of fire toward and over them. This side of the mountains is dry under colorful night sky, a forgotten temple hides a geothermal bath, Merlin makes them wait behind, waiting they see a snake, they some snakes, they see all the snakes, before realizing it the horses freak toss and bolt, they fire up and fight back, before finished Oph comes for Nick, Ana refuses to kneel and the snakes eyes grow dark and attack, Nick fights with a burning torch, she breathes smoke with a fiery heart with many snakes and jungle to burn back, Nick clubs/swings Oph sending sparks and snakes flying, Nick trips over the king boa heading to her, Alerion backs her up but bites almost more than can chew, Troy seems invisible to the snakes after learning to tread lightly. Oph knows to wound Nick before attacking the others and Troy doesn’t see him, or does he, and turns shooting out Oph’s good eye, still able to see their glow he pretends to weep, Ana can’t super-charge from the phoenix, because it’s happy go lucky eating snakes, Troy grows confident, Nick tackles Oph for Round 2, but his ground game is slippery and he’s stalking Troy again, Alerion blocks Oph, he dodges out running into Ana, she’s livid and realizing Nick is chasing Oph into the jungle, Oph runs into the cave where Merlin went, Alerion block Nick, fighting with the bird leads to a regroup of heroes. Light from his tattoos fed by the warm air he follows, finding a lit cavern and Etain in cascading water, Lynn approaches, discussing their plot points, we see them before Merlin learns, the stage is silent as confrontation reserves as Etain rests, Lynn leaves and Merlin attacks, immolation and seduction, she bares her sign, he commits to endure, they tithe and drink until truce with wine and sunflower petals. 

M2.40 The Grand Conjuration (Nov 2012) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2012/11/merlin-240-grand-conjuration.html 

Troy gathers snakes for sale as Alerion makes parts of them, Ana/Nick join them, they contemplate recruiting a manager of equals, Merlin pops out of the cave matter of factly, walking on grass between ashes and blood, he claims the caves are empty, save for scraps of many travellers, Quinn is gone from sight, they eat snake and pick a direction. Afternoon comes and doesn’t end, the fog rolls in and thru, Alerion flies unable to see the ground, it’s a witching hour, their senses are betrayed, Troy collides with ground in the distant highland, the fog becomes smoke, Nick looks lost, Merlin looks within, Ana looks without. Nick inspects a wall of mist that turns to gravel with touch, everyone powers up and draws down before ambush, Troy shoots a fire arrow that doesn’t burn in the silent distance. Lynn walks thru parting smoke, the fog pulls Nick thru quicksand, running out of spell Merlin calls for a challenge, she taunts him and as he lifts his step she vanishes into thick smoke, he tries luring her out with insults, she keeps offering to trade Merlin each of his friends for him to leave, his magic is absorbed thru all of the fog that she commands, his eyes gloss and tattoos glow, he puts a powder into the thick air amplifying his magic, bodies fall, but not Lynn. She haunts him with only footsteps and laughter in separate places. Merlin admits obvious truths, her vague truth leaves him without answers in silence, she becomes immune to him quite close behind him, he walks into her clutches and is driven to the wall. 

M2.41 Ghost of Perdition (Nov 2012) https://mjbanks.blogspot.com/2012/11/merlin-241-ghost-of-perdition.html 

Almost one-sided Lynn goes for Merlin’s heart, they feel his final perturbations, a hand of tosses her, shock and awe, the savior is a man with a scar on his face and familiar eyes, she fears more than she can flee, the stranger disallows it, disinterested and disenchanted by it, with added pleas he hangs her up to dry with the valkyries, the fog fades, Nick recognizes his voice, but not from where, running to Ana running, while Merlin tries his best to revive and realize, he tells them who he is and I’m not sure I believe it, in grand explanation he tells why they wanted Nick, offending Nick and surprising Ana, I’m not sure if Nick used to work for the guy or not, the stranger gives a recap of every scarred ally they had out of order surrounding the unanswered questions without best answering them, enigmatic, the valkyries bring the stranger a present, he explains how Oph wound his way into the story before giving the gift to Merlin, the story continues with a final thought.