Week 12 Storytelling: Arthur Avenges Merlin

Arthur sat alone in the great hall. The round table was cleaned and polished, as the feast had been over for hours, and all the knights retired to their beds. The king noted the wind breezing through the vast room, occasionally biting at his ears. The fire by which he sat staved off the chill, though. It was not as big as it had been only hours before, there was but two logs melting away inside. The shadows danced around the room like performers, delivering a private show for Arthur. This was the first calm moment he had to himself in many days, perhaps even weeks. Before all this kingly business, he thought to himself, I scarce could get a passerby to look at me. He snickered as he considered the boy he once was, and the man that he had fought so hard to become.

Then the doors to the hall opened, and a gust of wind came through, blowing out many of the candles and swerving the fire from side to side. Arthur turned and saw a servant of his approaching with something in his hands. The item looked familiar.

"My lord the king," the servant addressed Arthur as he bowed low, "I have grim tidings for his majesty."

Arthur could've guessed it from the man's demeanor. He stood with his head bowed and eyes on the ground. He extended his hands and produced the item he carried. It was a pendent, in the shape of a swallow, made of pure gold. Arthur new what this meant. For he had such a pendant made special for his friend and mentor, the wizard named Merlin. Arthur took the pendant and felt such a sadness overcome him the likes of which he'd never known.

"How did it come to be?" Arthur asked softly.

"Some commoners found him under a stone. he had been trapped for some time, as the decay had already begin to set in. This was there as well."

The servant reached into his bag and produced a small parchment. Arthur took it as well and read the writing upon it.

It was Vivien

                                                                        ...

Several weeks had passed and Arthur sat once more in the hall. This time several of his knights accompanied him as they ate and told their stories of valor. Then a squire approached with a scroll and delivered it to Arthur's hand. Later, in his chambers, Arthur read the missive. It gave information on the whereabouts of the sorceress Vivien. For when he learned of Merlin's death at her hands, all his sorrow turned to rage and he sent out many servants and knights to track her down. Now was his chance to bring her to justice. For she murdered his friend.

Arthur set out with only his horse and his sword Excalibur. He rode for a day and then another. Then he reached a small hamlet that bordered a swamp. There the people warned him of the witch that had taken the swamp as her abode. Arthur feared not. For the Lord was with him. He left his horse with the villagers and ventured into the swamp on foot.

It felt as though he was being strangled as the air was nigh unbreathable, and smelt of rot. He knew it to be an enchantment Vivien had set. For he knew of her skill, as she had been a student of Merlin himself. Arthur's blood boiled as he thought of her betrayal. Merlin trusted and loved her more than any. He taught her all his ways. She killed him when she no longer needed him. Vivien must die, he thought.

"Why have you come, Arthur Pendragon?" a voice rang out from the dark tangled branches.

"To seek revenge for one I loved. Perhaps you know of him. His name was Merlin!" Arthur shouted with what breath he could muster.

A taunting laughter came from the woods as a woman appeared before him. She was slender and beautiful. Her long black hair hang down to the small of her back. There was no mistaking the witch called Vivien. She spoke, "He was an old man who was soon to die anyway. The fool annoyed me with his constant advances. I had learned enough from him, so I shut him away. Had he been as wise as he claims, he would've seen it coming. Now go, before I reunite you to him."

"You have confessed your guilt to me, "Arthur declared as he drew his sword. "I sentence you to death!"

At this Arthur lunged forward, but hit only air as the witch vanished before him. He turned only for his cheek to meet her clawed hand. He stumbled backward, pawing at his wound and slashing Excalibur at her. She pounced of him and set him supine in the mud. He scrambled to his feet pointing the sword tip at her. He lunged again to impale her, but she glided out of his way and sent her elbow into his forehead. Blood leaked from his wound as Arthur struggled to breath. Her super human dance became difficult to track as his vision became obscured by the blood. Then she was gone again. Arthur turned and once again met her strike. This time he was ready. He caught her hand mid swing and sliced at her. His blade married the flesh of her stomach, creating a painful wound. She screamed and stepped back.

Now the air was thickening and Arthur was gasping for air. He fell to his knees. As his sight was growing dark, he looked up and saw Vivien, now shape-shifted into an crow, trying to fly away. He brandished Excalibur and threw it straight at the witch. The blade found its mark, and the crow came tumbling down. Vivien transformed back into her human form before she hit the ground. The air immediately began to clear up. Arthur lumbered toward her as he regained his breath. He saw Vivien laying motionless on the ground. The blade stood erect as it had so many years ago. Only this time, instead of the stone, it was in the heart of Merlin's murderer. Arthur wiped away the blood from his brow and retrieved his sword.

The witch lay dead, and Merlin had been avenged.

Merlin and Vivien by Alfred Tennyson; Source: Wikimedia Commons

Author's Note: This story is the continuation of the story of the Passing of Merlin. In it, Merlin is tricked into wandering into a tomb by his pupil and romantic interest Vivien, who then traps him with a stone. The story ends with her merrily wandering off. I wanted to tell the story of Arthur's reaction and quest for vengeance after learning of his friends death. I am aware that in some versions of the Arthur saga that Vivien is actually the Lady of the Lake that give Arthur the sword, but for the sake of my story I made her to be more of an evil witch.

Source: King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1902).