Chapter 2

It was late 1940 that we began our first mission together, slipping into occupied France from Spain and hence into Nazi Germany. Yes, we do mostly use mundane forms of transport, for all we can teleport and use portals. The energy exchange can be detected from great distances and is a dead giveaway to other magic users. We were ostensibly looking for the 'Spear of Destiny', which we believed had been used by the powers behind the Nazis to enhance the ability of their armies.

Was it the actual spear that pierced Jesus? I doubt it, as did Morgana, but it was an object of power, plus it was being used to empower one of the most evil empires that mankind had subscribed to.

Objects of power? Well, they're quite rare and have been touched or crafted by one of the higher powers; they can also be used by normal people, if they know how. We tend to keep a close eye on them, they're mostly in museums now or locked vaults. The Vatican has supposedly got the largest collection, but they don't generally approve of Mages as such. Few of the major monotheistic religions do, relying on their own small coterie of theurgists to manage the extra spiritual nature of the world.

Higher powers? Difficult that one, we're not talking about God, rather beings with godlike powers who are technically subordinate to God. We have been told that God is commander-in-chief of what we think of as the hosts or armies of the Almighty and some of these higher powers are subordinate to him. Others are the host of the Enemy, who is not a god and is technically under God's control as one of his creations, yet has a big army which fights against the host of the Almighty and has done since the split between heaven and hell. There are also neutrals who are often worshipped as gods, but aren't God. So higher powers are senior angels or demons, though try to call one by either name and kiss goodbye to your existence. We don't know why they make objects of power, every time someone asked them, that someone died. We finally took the hint and now keep out of their way. They have a plan, but revealing it is not on their agenda...

On our journey neither of us spoke Spanish, French or German of course, but as magic users it was easy to read the mind of anyone speaking to us and give them the impression we'd replied to them; same with any papers requested. Thus it was we arrived in the Holy City of the Nazis, Nuremburg in the Third Reich. Which is where we suspected the spear had been hidden when the Nazis grabbed it during the Anschluss of Austria. A city full of people under a regime that had almost reached the pinnacle of its power. Its armies had swept all before them; arrogant doesn't even begin to describe the self-belief of the city's populace. Finding the spearhead though was another matter entirely. Nuremburg was a fair size and whoever had hidden the spear, knew exactly who would be looking for it.

It took us weeks, but it was becoming obvious that the object of power was to the North of Nuremburg in the castle.

It was December the 18th that we finally found the vault where it had been hidden and broke through several defences, both magical and physical. As we stepped inside it became obvious that we weren't alone.

A young man sat waiting for us, his face calm, his poise assured, yet there was also the impression of a great weight of years in his eyes.

"Hello, Morgan le Fay, I've been expecting you," he said.

"Merlin Emrys," she replied.

I was feeling a tad confused here. I'd read Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, it couldn't possibly be surely? And was I fighting for the wrong side? Yes I knew that a Mage called Merlin was part of the cabal who fought against the Council, but 'The Merlin?' Plus my Morgana was actually a living legend of the evil kind? No wonder she wouldn't answer questions about her past.

"Your young journeyman here seems confused; our fame precedes us it appears," Merlin said.

"He knows appearances can be deceptive," she said.

"He knows the legends too, I can see," smiled Merlin. "Along with the villain."

"He also knows I've never lied to him," she said.

"Save by omission," Merlin replied. "You never told him you were the 'actual' Morgan le Fay now did you?"

"I swore a bond," I spoke to Merlin.

"We'll speak of this later, my Mage?" I enquired of Morgana.

"Yes John," she replied.

"You've trained him well," said Merlin. "Not well enough, but well."

What hit me next was a powerful spell of immobility, freezing every muscle in my body, including my heart. I nearly died in the first few seconds, but my training and a little native talent came to the fore. Instead of trying to fight the spell, I cast another, mentally forming the glyphs and sigils in my mind, so causing oxygen from the air to be bonded to my cells and carbon dioxide removed in lieu of my circulatory system and lungs. Normally such a spell would be years of training beyond me, but needs must and a body desperate for air will find a means if one is there and believe me I was desperate. The spell I cast didn't stop my body's attempts to draw breath, but it did keep me alive to witness my first magical battle.

To an outsider looking on there would have been little to see, though any outsider would have died in an instant had they been there. However unlike a mundane, I watched titanic forces being arrayed by both Merlin and Morgana as each sought to overcome the other. My own efforts to free myself were of no avail as I had no idea how the spell against my body worked, though I suspected it had to do with nerve impulses, still the 'cure' I'd come up with had possibilities. I reached out with my mind again, not to attack but to affect the air around Merlin, to draw off his supply of oxygen and hopefully weaken him, though not suddenly, just gradually enough in the hope he didn't notice what was happening. Did it work? I'm not sure but he was labouring to breathe until with a glare he simply winked out of the room leaving behind a small thunderclap as air rushed into the area he'd been standing in. The spell that had me paralysed released at the same time and I collapsed as various muscles rebelled for a second leaving me sprawled on the floor.

"That was impressive," Morgana said. "I'm sorry about that, John. I'd hoped to protect you better than I did. I didn't expect him to simply lock all your muscles. I'm sure he didn't expect you to survive it either."

"Was that really Merlin? And are you the real Morgan le Fay?" I asked.

"Yes," she replied angrily. "I am and we'd suspected he was behind the Nazi regime for his boss Elymas, though this is the first confirmation we had of it."

"Isn't he supposed to be one of the good guys?" I asked.

Morgana said nothing at first, merely picking up the spear from its case. She produced a duplicate from her pack which she then forged with her mind into a perfect replica, identical in every way save one, it had no power.

"We'd best go," she said. "He'll send reinforcements to slow us down when he recovers a little. I'll explain everything once we're safe."

We left in a hurry, unseen by any of the guards. Well, they saw us; they just forgot they did at practically the same instant.

Leaving Nuremburg and Bavaria was not as simple as getting in. We managed it by heading South into Italy and hence to Spain, carefully shielding our minds from several attempts to track us down mentally. Along with several internal security checks which were time consuming but not really any danger to us, merely a means to slow us down. I did suggest teleportation or using a portal, but Morgana did not want to use that type of magic in enemy territory. It would just require one of Merlin's compatriots to detect such a spell in order to affect its outcome – we might arrive turned inside out. En-route Morgana filled me in on what had really happened with Merlin, Arthur, Mordred and herself.

It happened just after the Romans had withdrawn from Britain. The land itself had split into warring factions, some bringing in Saxon mercenaries to help defend their frontiers. Yet there were still several large Roman towns and the land in places still prospered. The fly in the ointment had been Uther, a hill king from the Welsh marches. An overweening ego and a desire for power had brought him into the court of Vortigern, a British warlord, and into the clutches of a young talented Mage called Merlin, who sought to use Uther for his own ends. Following Vortigern's death they headed west away from the invading Saxons and insinuated themselves into the court of Morgana's father, Duke Gorlois of Duntagell in Cornwall. Uther and Merlin had proceeded to usurp the crown by dint of using mind control so that Uther could seduce Gorlois' wife Igraine. They took the eventual child of that issue, Arthur, into the care of Merlin after which Uther had killed their host, and his men killed off all Arthur's half siblings and rivals to the throne of Duntagell. Uther then tried and failed to unite other kingdoms and territories under his rule. Morgana, Igraine's daughter was the only one to escape the slaughter by means of using a new found limited magical ability, set off by the trauma of the events, to avoid the treacherous guards seeing her. Her sisters Elaine and Morgause were caught and slain. Sadly she was unable to conceal her escape from Merlin who, noting her inner glow, captured her and took her as his concubine. Those were tortuous years, not helped by the fact that she soon fell pregnant with Mordred, her only child. He was whisked off to be brought up by other women in Uther's harem, she was also a virtual slave to Uiuiane, Merlin's other concubine, and had to nursemaid Brianna, Merlin and Uiuiane's spoiled brat of a daughter. Whilst she had a natural talent for magic she learned very little from Merlin, a few healing spells was all he'd deign to teach her, mostly to repair the bruises, wounds and contusions his abuse had occasioned her. She hated him to her very core, more so for his constant sexual demands which she was powerless to prevent, such was his mental control over her. Nor was she aware of any other magic users she could appeal to.

Chapter 3 »