Merlin walked up the old stone spiral staircase of the highest tower of his Order, the stairs sturdy under his old but agile feet, and the rail creaking under his firm grip. This would be the last time – he knew. He was here to say goodbye. At the top of the stairs, Seraphim would be waiting.
This parting had been coming since the day a vision showed him a future of King Arthur and his many just and progressive ways. Once Arthur was born, he would have to protect the boy from this Order. So he now had to leave.
And there was another reason. The visions also showed him a mysterious woman with long bright curls, whose face was always hidden. But through magic he knew what her presence felt like and that she was the one he’d been waiting to meet for centuries. The chain of events that would lead him to her had to start today.
“So…it’s time,” Seraphim said when Merlin entered the warm, fire lit room, with its large ornamented windows. He didn’t bother with Hello. Not when he knew Goodbye was coming. “We’ll miss your funny ways.” There was a hint of sadness in his voice – something Seraphim didn’t often show.
“Will you, mate?”
“Mate?!”
Merlin chuckled. “It means ‘friend’ in the future.”
“Merlin, we’re parting. For once be truthful: I know you can’t possibly see the future.”
“Do you, now?” Merlin laughed. Seraphim didn’t. Silence passed between them and Merlin observed his friend. Seraphim looked tired. Strained. “You look worried.”
Seraphim sat down. “The humans are rising into power, diminishing mages’ strength in the world. And a strong mage like you is leaving the Order? I still fear the ancient prophecy: about the human-king who will seal our fate.”
“Would it be that bad?” Merlin asked, thinking of Arthur and the great new world that he would create. He’d also foreseen that he himself would one day die to protect it all.
Seraphim grew angry. “How can you ask this? Humans are vermin. Spreading everywhere, growing in numbers, changing what we’ve built over centuries.”
Merlin sighed. “As I’ve often said: This is the natural way of things: empires rise and fall. Our time is over. We’ve given this world what we could and now it’s their turn.”
Seraphim rose and gave his friend one final glance, a farewell glance. “On this we will never agree, will we?”
“A snowball’s chance in Hell.” Merlin smiled.
Seraphim squinted at the phrase he didn’t know, but shook Merlin’s hand. “Goodbye old friend. The best of luck to you.”
“See you later alligator,” Merlin laughed at his own private joke, and then set out on a path that would one day make the world a better place.
This video story is a background for characters in Merlin’s Creed and Secrets of Camelot