Pride swelled within as the menacing shadowmancer was thrown backward. Once again, his magic had not failed him, sending the other colliding with bark some distance away. Merlin was quite sure he’d never felt so satisfied to hear something crack, but then, the warlock had darkened immensely with the years. Times had made him desperate and he was no longer the gentle boy had stepped into Camelot, unwilling to hurt even a fly. What he had not bet on, however, was the man getting right back up again. Merlin could already feel that pride peeling away layer by layer. His opponent was tired, bloodied, but he seemed sickeningly more determined than he had been just a moment before.
A blade — a large and frightening-looking blade, was conjured up in the shadowmancer’s hand and Merlin’s eyes widened. No. No, he could fight this. There was power radiating from that blade, Merlin could feel it in his pores, in his bones, as if the magic within him wished more than anything else to come out and properly react, to fight back. The boy’s confidence had shifted, drifted to hide away somewhere. It always went missing during the most desperate of moments, he felt, and this — this was a desperate moment.
Merlin had already begun to step back, but panic set in the moment the shadowmancer lunged for him, madness evident in the look in his eye and in the horrific sound he made. The warlock stumbled the rest of the way back, managing to trip over something in the process — a stone, a root, his own boots, who knew. All he knew was that he was suddenly on his back in the dirt. He jerked his torso upward, pushing off against the ground. He hadn’t even made it halfway to his feet before the sound of thunder erupted from the sky and a bolt of lightning struck true Merlin could smell the damage so near to him and his eyes remained upon the shadowmancer’s newly charred body as if he were afraid it might miraculously move again.
It did not.
A figure, male, emerged from behind that body, staff in hand as he glided there above the ground. Merlin was rendered entirely speechless. He bowed to him and the warlock’s bottom lip quivered as he continued a poor attempt at processing everything which had just happened. Who was this man to wield such powerful magic and carry it down with him as if he were some sort of saviour from the heavens? Movement caught his eye, though, and his gaze fell upon the approach red-haired woman and the great beast he never imagined he could have been so glad to see again. ”Y— You…” he muttered, starting to stand, but simply dropping back to his knees. It was not from pain, but from a confusing blend of exhaustion and awe.
Sarah stood pale as exhaustion began to overwhelm her now; the adrenaline rush was fading into memory. Trembling fingers desperately tried to hold on to the staff and added pressure to the already wounded beast. The display of crisp flesh was enough to cause a grimace, but for Sarah it was another unfortunate event she would have to deal with later.
Or rather.. she was dealing with it now.
There was a man behind her Archon, a man that she assumed was here because Aunduin lead him. But before she could even face him entirely, the summon returned to its master and extended his hand to her, palm facing to the now clearing heavens. Lifting her hand from the soft fur of the wolf, it was tiredly placed, palm up, into his own. He was translucent yet solid all the same, for she felt the gentle curl of his fingers whilst bringing her arm higher so that her small hand would meet his face. A kiss was all he took with him as his body now turned to wisps of energy, spiritual remnants.
Like that, the figure had dissipated into the air, seemingly vanished before the eyes of Merlin. Sarah’s hand lowered to eye level, where she noticed a few sparks where his unearthly lips met her flesh. From her hand, her eyes trailed over to where Merlin was and slender brows furrowed at the center. Never did she wish for another to get involved, the ordeal itself was terrifying, why would she subject another to face them?
But the shadowmancer had gone after him, had he not? Not because he was witness to an attack, but he harbored something just as precious as she. A few cautious steps were taken forward, avoiding the mess between them, “Are you hurt?” She found her voice coming out of her rather strained, and in case he had not heard her, she moved closer to his side.
But, the closer she moved, the more she realized that something about him was rather extraordinary – he was not some unlucky soul to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was lucky to have found him, for when her eyes finally settled on his own, Sarah was pulled in deeper, past the surface of his gaze. In return, he could see her for what she was as well, a maiden of magic, one, who like him, shared a common trait. Closing her eyes, the summoner broke the soul gaze and hung her head low.
“Dragon lord,” now it was Sarah’s turn to feel her knees touch the moistened ground as the staff slipped from her grasp. Auduin came to them quickly, worried about his master’s condition, but she ignored the pleading whines and extended a dirtied hand to Merlin’s kind visage. “W..why, of all the people to have sought, you find the one I did not wish to be involved,” the words were spoken in hushed tones to the beast, who tried to quell the spark of anger in her voice with a nuzzle to her arm.
Her gaze shifted to her companion, along with a bitter smile, which faded all too quickly when facing Merlin once more. There was so much to say, to ask, but she had to know the weight of the situation first.
“Did he say anything to you, hurt you in anyway?” The pain was taking its toll on her, driving her closer to the brink of simply letting her body go into slumber, but her mind was racked with thoughts. If she had come way out here, drove these merciless beings to the door of his realm, what is to say that they would not come again. One already found his existence while being engrossed in a battle with her. Like her, he would be chased out, hunted like an animal – all because their gifts were to be feared by others. The thoughts plagued her and Sarah had trouble focusing on the situation in its present time.
goldeneyesofcamelot-archive reblogged this from maidenofsummons and added: She was an impossible woman, impossible in the very best of ways. Merlin had never come across somebody as kind as she...
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fiery-spirit reblogged this from goldeneyesofcamelot-archive and added: Aunduin snarled viciously at the male before him, even began to circle him when he drew close enough. The threatening...