Tales of the Lorekeepers 01 - Rise of the Red Dragon

vision, the one you had, if we leave Vortigern and his army to themselves.”
    “As I’ve seen it,” Myrddin said, “the Saxons will march to Dinas Ffaraon in the next few weeks, and descend on a weakened and tired army. They will exterminate every one of them. It will be the downfall of the Britons and our people will be erased from history.”
    “Visions,” mumbled Uther. “They change all the time, your visions. It doesn’t mean anything.”
    “They change because we can act on them before they happen. You see, my brother, we must act now, if we are to save our people.”
    Uther studied his brother. He tried to find a flaw in Ambrosius’ plan, but he knew his elder brother was right. He looked at Myrddin.
    “And you are sure you can convince Vortigern to let you live long enough for us to overthrow him?”
    “With one word, my lord.”
    “And then what?” wondered Uther.
    Myrddin stood up and took place next to Ambrosius.
    “Your people are standing on the edge of an abyss, a bottomless pit of despair,” he said. “They have lost all hope and are patiently awaiting certain death. They follow Vortigern because doing otherwise means they would have to face the fact that they are doomed. We have to give them back their courage. If we were to provide them with a strong sign, a rallying symbol toward their rightful king, and show them that he can lead his army to victory, it would give them a chance to defeat the barbarians.”
    “And you can provide them with such a sign?” asked Uther.
    “I can, my lord,” answered the child.
    Uther looked into his older brother’s eyes.
    “If you get killed, Ambrosius Aurelianus, I will invade hell myself, track you down and smack you so hard the devil himself will take pity on you.”
    Ambrosius’ face lit up with a large smile.
    “Then it is decided,” he said. “We will go to Vortigern. Uther will stay here at the monastery, with the men, in case the Saxons decide to return and look for Myrddin. They probably didn’t forget the little magic show you put on for them earlier. Make sure they do not learn he has left this place or they will hunt us down.”
    For the next fifteen minutes, everyone at the table voiced ideas and suggestions. Details were studied, a plan was put together, and it was decided that they would contact Uther and his men once the traitor had been killed. As for Samuel, he kept quiet, but listened attentively. After all, this was a unique opportunity for him to learn strategies and tactics he could use in cosplay events and role-playing games. Who better to learn these from than Uther Pendragon and his brother Ambrosius? Lucian would undoubtedly be impressed with this newfound knowledge.
    He did not notice the young Myrddin sneaking up behind him.
    “You were right not to intervene, Samuel. It could have had disastrous consequences for all of us,” said the wizard-to-be.
    Samuel’s blood froze in his vein. His heart jumped in his chest.
    He knew. Merlin knew Samuel’s secret, he knew who he truly was.
    “Don’t worry,” continued Myrddin with a smile, “Your secret is safe with me. If you are wondering how I know you are not from our world, it is quite simple. You see, I always have these visions of events to come, and have seen most of the possible endings. I constantly see people I have never met before, but I have never seen you in any of my visions. I have to admit, I was quite thrilled to meet you and very much looking forward to it. My visions of this specific council always included your companions, but you were hidden from my mind. I had realized there was someone else in my visions, but your identity was hidden, as if by a mist. For a long time, I questioned why it was so, why I could not see this last man at our meeting, but then I realized it was quite simple: you must be from another world. That is the only explanation.”
    Samuel could only nod slightly.
    “I knew it!” exclaimed Myrddin. “However, it also begs the question of why you are here, doesn’t it? Again, I had to ponder many possibilities, but only one of them really made sense. You are here to accomplish a task or protect us, am I right?”
    Again, Samuel nodded.
    “Can you tell me what it is?”
    “I – I’m not sure,” said the Lorekeeper. He hesitated for a moment, but then decided to answer the boy’s question. “I’m here to make sure everything goes as it’s supposed to.”
    Myrddin clapped his small hands and smiled