The year: 913

The Enchanted Forest,
The eastern boundary of Essetir,
Albion

[Merlin's POV]

The inferno as I stepped inside it was cool on my skin. I recalled what I had seen before falling asleep. We: Lancelot and I, were in the middle of a rescue operation. Two men, one dressed in shimmering black robes, had walked into the bonfire confidently, and the other, dressed in purple, had tripped over his robes. The two had started interacting while Morgana lay unconscious with an odd-looking creature slumped in her lap. 

The one in front of me, pretending to be Emrys, was dressed in purple. Was he the youngster from earlier? 

When I exited the inferno, the imposter had shed the Emrys disguise. It was as I had guessed. The one standing next to Morgana's unconscious form was the young lad I had seen before drifting off to sleep. For some reason, this time around, he was wearing a mask. 

His eyes, as dark as mine, squinted. Was he smiling under the mask? For some reason, he reminded me of myself as a four-year-old trying on my father's robes, the only pair that mother had refused to let go of when in accordance with my father's wishes, mother had burnt all traces of him from our lives. I am sure she still had it, tucked somewhere where I couldn't see it yet close enough so that she could hold it when she needed to. 

"Come here, lad." He said, calling me over. It sounded like he was holding in a laugh that desperately wanted to make its presence known. 

I approached the now-masked lad. Raising my palm to indicate that I would attend to him soon, I crouched to check Morgana's condition. She was breathing, but it was shallow. Next, I glanced at the creature that the masked man had partially covered with a cloak that was a shade darker than his robes. 

"What is that?" I asked and shook my head. "First, tell me who you are." I demanded, and he shrugged, "A friend," then turning towards Lady Morgana, he added, "Her future is plagued with darkness, Mas...Merlin. When the time comes when you are standing against each other, I want you to take a moment and think about how you feel about her right now before you make your choice."

The youth sounded suspicious, to say the least. If the stranger was a seer and wanted to warn me, why did he not reveal all? Why bother with the riddles? Why cover his face? "Who sent you!?" 

"Merlin, I can't give you any answers; all I can tell you is what you already know: she has a pure heart." The man lifted the cloak to reveal the creature. It looked much healthier now. Its hide shimmered as if bathed in silver and gold dust. As observed earlier, it looked like part horse, part dragon. Though I didn't know what it was, I could bet it was not Akurra's offspring.

As if reading my mind, the masked lad said, "This is Skarla. Lady Morgana stole it from Yokr. I don't know how exactly she did it, but if she hadn't, this innocent baby would never have made it out of its egg."

A slew of thoughts entered my mind, but none were more important than what the thing was and what had happened to Morgana?

Before I could voice my queries, he added, "Skarla is an ussa. The only one of her kind in existence. From what I have been told, it was stolen from Lastshire centuries ago."

How did this lad know about Lastshire? Did he perhaps hail from there? 

"Unfortunately, those who found her egg kept it away from heat. It's a miracle that she made it out into the world," the stranger finished and petted the creature's head, "Ussas are mystical and kind. They are the only ones who can manipulate life force."

This young lad knew about life force manipulation! Did he know how the ritual was performed as well? How come he was taught, and I wasn't? I had never really envied another; the feeling didn't sit well with me. 

I opened my mouth to voice my queries, but he held up his hand and continued, "Lady Morgana has magic. I know you have suspected it for a long time. Morgana can hear Skarla's calls. I think that's how she found it. Since she is its savior, the ussa has imprinted on her. They are connected. Lady Morgana's dormant magic gave this creature life. A life for a life, Merlin. But since Skarla wasn't perfect, to begin with, Lady Morgana's magic did not run its course either." 

Was he hinting at the life-creating spell? Were life force manipulation and life-creating magic connected somehow? That couldn't be, could it? But if that's what it was, it would mean the creature was killing Morgana!

I shook Morgana's shoulders. "Wake up, Morgana! Morgana." If she had indeed given her life to the ussa without intending to, no amount of magic could make her wake up. I used an energy circulation spell to check if Morgana was losing her life force; it turned out that the imposter who had made himself look like Emrys wasn't lying. 

Ignoring that he could be dangerous, I begged, "I need to save her; tell me what I can do to save her." 

"There is only one thing you can do. If you pour your life essence into the creature, it will return what it has taken from Lady Morgana. But, mind you, your powers will be reduced," he warned and waited for me to make up my mind. 

I was in a dilemma. My destiny was intertwined with Arthur's. He was my priority. Would I be able to fulfill my part if I tried to save Morgana? My heart ached. How could I choose? Both of them were precious to me. 

"What if I stole back what the creature stole from Morgana?"

"Then Skarla will die, and you will have become the murderer. Your soul will be tainted forever," he replied, caressing the creature's head. The tiny thing shook its head and burrowed deeper into the mysterious youth's cloak. "There, there. Sweet one. No one is going to hurt you anymore." he reassured, petting the creature as if it were a dog. "Merlin will make the right choice, my sweet. Let's give him some time, shall we?"

It was then that it hit me. The masked young man was not of our time. "When did you come from?" I asked, and he grinned, "A thousand years in the future. Trust me, Merlin, you need to save this dragon. Your life depends on it," he urged. 

A thousand years!? Was that even possible? Maybe what Akurra had promised me was true; if this was how powerful magic was in the future, I must have saved Arthur and gotten the Albion of our dreams, where peace, prosperity, love, and magic reined supreme. 

"Fine. I have decided. I am ready. There is only one problem, I don't know how to do it." I confessed, making the man grin. He threw his arms out- as if inviting me to embrace him- and chirped. "No worries! That's what I am here for, aren't I?" 

Not long after, with my newfound friend's help, we had poured enough of my force into the ussa to revive Morgana, but before she came to fully, the youth, after handing me a bundle of clothes, which turned out to be a duplicate of what he was wearing, disappeared just like he had appeared: through a crack in the wall. Luckily, he had taken Skarla with him. 

I was just about done disguising myself as Emrys, thanks to the robes my masked friend had given me when Morgana opened her eyes. She recoiled when I reached for her; crossing her arms over her chest, she yelled, "Get away from me, you pervert!"

I moved away; looking offended, I shook my head and narrowed my eyes, "Is that how a lady should thank her savior?" I coughed like I was sick and pounded my hand on my chest to get the remaining cough out. "I crossed the river of fire to save you from those filthy ruffians, and you call me a pervert!? How rude! I, Emrys, may be a lawbreaker, but I ain't a pervert." I huffed and shook my head, conveying my disappointment, "I guess you can find your way back out of this place. Farewell-"

"I am sorry. I didn't know... Emrys, I would really appreciate it if you could help me get out of here." She requested. 

"Fine. But I am still upset at being called a pervert." I huffed again for dramatic effect and held my hand out to the woman, who was far above my status but had captured my heart at first sight.