OOC Notes.

 

The following is the story of Merlin's Death as told by Dr Jessica Goodfellow in Kintala, in August 1812 (realtime August 2003). Originally told as part of the ritual to resurrect Merlin from his premature demise and acted out in front of the player group.

 

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The Death of Merlin

Let me start by saying that every thing I will tell you now is a personal anecdote. These are facts, they happened. They were even witnessed by some of you here.

 

I will now introduce those involved.

 

First we have Merlin. A very old man who made his home in the very heart of Black Briars Marshes. Known to the people of Faerie as Old Grey Hair, to the Winds as the Lord of Eagles and to all who met him as the greatest bard in Faerie.

 

Now Merlin lived a very long and very full life. There were very few constants, but one of those few who stood by him time and time again, was the woman he loved. This was no ordinary love, theirs was a love which spanned centuries, overcoming many obstacles, even death. She has answered to many names, but now, she is a healer and her name is Jessica.

 

Now being the greatest bard in Faerie, Merlin had had many students over the centuries, but one recently had his full attention. A young bard, inquisitive, bright, full of questions and eager to learn, her potential only just beginning to be realised. Merlin enjoyed a challenge and singled her out for special attention. The great bard's protegee - Mab.

 

---

 

Now it happened that Merlin was about a dangerous business. Servants of darkness had captured him and seen him tortured, his secrets torn from him and his body broken. He seemed to be lost to the Shards, until the Churchmen of Salem took advantage of a rare opportunity to find him, wresting him back from the darkness so he was with his love once more.

 

But their happiness was short lived.

 

Merlin was plagued by emptiness and horror at what he had revealed. He could not stand to think he might cause his love pain. That those who had captured him might come again and this time, take his love so they might torture her as they had him.

 

Merlin found a blade.

He took it and gave it to an angry young man, placing the dagger in his hand as he spoke, saying the most terrible things so that he might goad the young man into striking. The great bard’s words cut deep into the soul, they twisted, tearing at the young man’s heart, shredding it and replacing reason with hatred.

As rage blinded him, anger guided his hand and the blade bore down, piercing the chest of the great and mighty bard, finding its target in a single blow.

 

Merlin’s heart was split in two.

The blood poured from his chest and he fell to the ground, his life slipping away. He lay dying on the cold and unforgiving floor. All through the castle pain, despair, fear and anger swept, the emotions like cold tendrils touching every soul that they met.

 

Screaming in agony, the mighty bard’s protogee Mab tore through the castle, desperate to see who had caused such pain to her master. Wailing her despair she entered the room where the once great bard now lay, a crumpled, stained old man, his lifeblood seeping away.

The sight was too much for the young sidhe and she fainted dead away, collapsing by his side.

 

The lady Jessica was sleeping nearby, for it had been a trying day.

She awoke with a start, instantly aware that something was wrong. Leaping to her feet, her only thought was to find her love, the great Merlin, as she feared that something terrible had happened. She scooped up her healer’s bag and ran to where her love lay dying.

 

But, the air was like treacle. She had to fight for every step that she took forward, besieged as she was by the tendrils which surrounded her.

Despair. Fear. Sorrow. Hopelessness. Anger.

By force of her will she dragged herself to him, taking in his terrible state.

 

Horrified by what she saw, she reached out to save him, her hands finding his broken heart and trying to mend the pieces. Desperate she called out to him.

 

“Merlin. Stay with me.”

 

But it was too late. As her healing hands grasped his heart, it shuddered one last time and then was still.

Screaming in anguish, Jessica tried to call him back, she tried to make his heart beat again. She tried to save him. To make him stay.

 

But to no avail. Merlin was dead.

 

Merlin, the greatest bard on Faerie, no, the greatest bard on any of the Shards was dead.

The shocking news flew through those gathered at the castle.

Merlin was dead.

 

The word travelled at speed back to Faerie, as if on the breath of the wind itself. Within days, not a single soul had not heard the news. Not a soul, or spirit, or element, or animal could not help but know.

Merlin was dead.

 

All of Faerie mourned his passing.

 

---

 

But wait.

 

Was all as it seemed?

 

What I am now about to share is a deeper truth, and therefore a great secret.

 

I only tell it to you now because we are all allies standing against the same great enemy.

 

I talk to you in confidence, in trust, that you will hold this secret dear as I have done.

 

I said that Merlin was the greatest of bards, what I did not say was he was also the sneakiest, most devious, sly, twisted and cunning of men.

When he decided that he must die, he did not mean it to end there.

 

He had a plan.

 

Before he died, he made his preparations and in the moment of death, hidden in the maelstrom of despair, he made good his plans.

 

He split himself not in two, but into three.

 

The first part, his soul, he hid within his love, Jessica, so that he might be carried in her heart always.

 

The second part, his mind, he hid inside his protogee, Mab, so that his thoughts might guide her actions and words.

 

That left only his body, the physical shell now empty of mind and soul. For this, he called an old friend, imploring her to carry him away and hide his body in a safe place until such time as the spring came and with it rebirth.

So it was, that as the people mourned - his body was spirited away while they grieved. Hidden and invisible, it was carried beyond their reach to a secret resting place.

 

Now Merlin did not intend to remain in such a state, for he knew that there would come a time when Faerie had great need of him. So he left many complicated and confusing clues as to what had happened.

Trusting to his love to unravel them, to work out what he had done and to know what to do to bring him back to her.

 

Unfortunately, Merlin was such a devious, cunning and sly old man, while his love Jessica was as honest and straight forward as the day was long. The clues and hints were so complicated, she was deeply puzzled and at a loss as to his meaning.

 

---

 

The only thing Jessica was sure of was that Merlin was not dead.

 

While all around her mourned, wailing their grief, threatening violence and squabbling over his inheritance, she simply waited.

To her, it was only a matter of time before he returned. His soul hidden deep within her heart touched hers, and without understanding why, she believed.

She believed he was alive and when the time came, he would return to her.

 

She stared at the clues and shrugged. She did not understand now. But she would. She had faith and she trusted in him.

 

Poor little Mab however, had no such reassurance. She was awash in grief, her mentor was dead and she was alone. Her friendship with Jessica became strained and she sought the company of others, seeking to put her past behind her, trying to forget.

 

So it was that Mab came to love. It was her first love, sweet and chaste.

Mab fell in love with a Roma man, one who returned her affections and led her to believe he cared. Then he drove her from him. He told her he was promised to another. That their love could never be. That they were no more.

 

Poor, poor Mab.

She was hurt and crying inside.

The pain overwhelmed her and she thought to end it. To remove the pain once and for all, stopping anyone from ever hurting her again.

 

Now Mab was a bard, a very talented bard. She looked at the weave around her and she began to cut the threads that bound her to it.

She threw down her musical instruments. Burnt all her song books. Destroyed her pretty things. And then she ran away.

 

Merlin came to her then in her thoughts and her dreams. He told her not to despair. Not to give up. That he needed her help.

 

---

 

Under Merlin’s guidance, Mab came to be with Jessica once more.

Then disaster struck.

 

On Faerie, a darkness descended over the shard, a new dark age began.

 

The oceans boiled.

 

The mountains sank.

 

And Atlantis rose from beneath the waves.

 

The land was torn and rent, its screams echoed by the wind as the fires released from its depths burned once more and chaos rained down on Faerie as a wall of water swept in from the sea, swallowing the land in its murky depths.

 

Faerie drowned and the passing of so many souls echoed throughout the Shards. The power surged, the spirits screamed and despair raged into a tremendous storm, which even now tears through the skies of Faerie.

 

Faerie’s need was great indeed. But still Merlin had not reappeared.

 

Jessica and Mab came together and talked.

 

They decided that the time for hiding was past. That Merlin was needed by Faerie and he was needed now. No matter how angry he may be at being disturbed, nor how stubborn, his wishes and foibles were irrelevant. Faerie needed him.

 

---

 

Now Merlin had left clues, puzzling clues.

 

One such clue was a rhyme.

 

“If you would find me, look under my chair.

I’m not there now, but if you wait, I’ll be there.”

 

To Jessica and Mab’s minds, it seemed reasonable to assume he had hidden himself somewhere he used to sit. The place they first thought of was Black Briars Marsh, now many yards under water.

 

Undaunted they decided to try to resurrect him from his slumber.

 

Jessica reached deep down inside her, seeking the part of Merlin she knew was hidden there.

When she found him, she grasped him hold and drove him from her into Mab.

 

Mab received him gladly, then began to sing.

 

She told of their need for him and sang of Black Briars, taking herself and the two parts she now carried deep into the weave that was Faerie. Chaos threatened to unravel the threads, but she was a strong and able bard. She moved with ease until her song found Black Briars itself and there she wove with all her heart, to join the parts of Merlin as one.

 

Alas, there was nobody there.

 

She sang in vain.

 

The soul and mind of Merlin she carried with her screamed in terror as they were thrust together, becoming one insane maelstrom driven mad by what he saw within his beloved Marsh.

 

Sobbing, Mab’s song faltered and she returned to the waiting Jessica, weighed down by her failure. Even as Jessica, her heart suddenly empty began to grieve for her lost love, now many months dead…

 

---

 

Many women would have crumbled under this failure, but neither Jessica nor Mab could give up.

Faerie's need was great and they held the fate of the great bard Merlin in their hands.

 

Jessica returned to the clues that Merlin had left her, once again examining them from all angles, desperate to see what it was that she had missed.

 

Mab meanwhile, consoled the grieving Merlin who rested in the back of her mind. Their thoughts in turmoil, as they tried to come to terms with what they had seen.

 

Jessica widened her search, combing through the records for any mention of Merlin's chair, be it on Dust, or Salem, or Archipelago or even Frontier. She even turned her attention to Earth, but all was to no avail.

 

Merlin was inconsolable and Jessica could do nothing to ease his pain.

 

The answer came from Callam, brother to Mab.

He knew of a place, high in the mountains on Faerie where the watchers sat, communing with the four great winds themselves. Watching over the whole of Faerie as it passed beneath them. This place, was known as the High Mages Seat.

 

Mab wanted to walk in the weave, but Jessica and Merlin would not let her as it was too dangerous.

 

Instead, Jessica reached out to Faerie, calling for aid. But the storm still raged and her voice was lost in the wind. She was thrown as driftwood, from wave to wave in an endless ocean, unable to be heard.

 

So it was that Mab called out to the watchers, asking for aid.

 

And one answered.

 

One came.

 

His name was Corax and he was the key to the final piece. The missing body of Merlin.

 

And so it was that the three pieces of Merlin were brought to Kintala, so that all who are gathered here might share in the return of the great bard.

I ask you to remember…