Chapter Text
The butcher beckoned the young boys inside of his dark cabin, Merlin and Will were all too happy to satisfy their curiosity on how chickens were properly cut up. They both wanted to go out with the hunters one of these days and help feed their mums.
The children eyes’ got big when the burly man, Jack, roughly dropped a struggling chicken onto the countertop. They glanced at each other silently, both had assumed the chicken would already be dead.
“Watch, this is how you break a chicken’s neck without having to wash your knife.” Jack said as he carefully laid his hands on neck and gently pushed the head until the eyes were facing the floor. The chicken went still, accepting its soon demise.
Will flinched as the man pulled the neck backward, over the curve of it’s spine with a quiet crack. If Jack wasn’t watching Will’s reaction, he would’ve seen Merlin’s involuntary glimpse of gold. Merlin licked his lips, he had a feeling that the crops would prosper this year, as he watched the blood drip drop onto the ground.
He walked out in a daze, with Will pulling him away by the arm. His magic usually stirred agitatedly with every moment, every beat of his own heart. Now, it was still as a lake, and Merlin didn’t entirely grasp why.
“Merlin. Merlin. Merlin!” Will’s voice yelled from the other side of a field, why was he so far away? It didn’t matter, surely, Will did what he wanted. Besides, he needed to know what happened with his magic. He stood in front of the still lake, the unknown depths welcoming him, and he wanted to so badly it hurt. Memories slipped from him like dirt crumbling in his fists, something terrible had happened last time he dived into it. It couldn’t have been so bad if he didn’t remember, so what could go wrong?
SLAP.
“Huh, what?” reality came zooming back, and Merlin looked up at his best friend’s scared face. The grains of wheat were replaced with looming trees and the sky was considerably darker as if an hour or two had passed.
“Where are we?” Merlin asked as he rubbed his face with a pout, no landmarks particularly jumped out at him.
“I had to bring you deep into the forest, your eyes were glowing really bright, it…...it didn’t look good.” Will said shakily and did something that surprised him, he hugged him.
“What happened, all I remember is the chicken, and” Merlin then broke into a grin, “we don’t have to worry about crops this year, Will! Isn’t that great?”
“The crops? What has that got to do with anything, and how do you know that?” Will asked with a frown as he pulled back, but Merlin’s body swayed with him.
Merlin’s grin then turned into a confused frown, “I just know it. When the life left that chicken, I wondered what happened to it, like did a life spark leave our crops and that’s why they’re dying? If so, why can’t the life spark of that chicken go into our crops, since the chicken isn’t using it anymore, right? I think I put the life spark into the crops without thinking.” Merlin admitted with a sheepish shrug.
“Merlin.” Will’s face was pale in the waning sunlight, “You know the stories as well as I, only human sacrifices are enough to power an entire harvest, and it’s difficult even for powerful sorcerers, not a chicken and a kid.”
+++
Merlin gasped as he woke up from his dream, the color of chicken blood still fresh in his mind. It has only been about a week since Nimueh had left the world, and his mind was plagued with memories from his childhood. He needed to talk to someone, anyone, please. So he grabbed his jacket and made his way the few steps into Gaius’ chambers, his mentor would help him.
The power to Mirror Life and Death was a terrifying first taste of his birthright. Merlin had shuddered later as he recalled the pure joy as the very magic of the world bending to his very will. He also felt more as he raised his hand to the thunderous sky. Merlin couldn’t exactly describe all of it to Gaius.
“More?” Gaius’ eyebrows pushed together as he mulled over the strange phrasing.
“More, like the sky was my second skin, like I could feel…..” Merlin frowned as he tried to put into English, “A bit of everything, really.”
“The storm was of your own making, was it not?” Gaius said in between spoonfuls of his broth. Merlin nodded in confusion.
“From what you’ve told me, you’ve always influenced the weather to some degree when you were younger. You might have outgrown it as you reined in your wild magic as you grew. However, combined with your extreme emotional distress and the enhanced magic of the Island, you created a storm that was seen from miles around. And….” Gaius hesitated with a crease in his wrinkled brow.
“What is it?” Merlin pressed curiously.
“And this is only talked of in magical theories, but it’s possible you might have truly glimpsed into the larger magical reservoir held in the very fabric of the world. That storm was you, other sorcerers could only coax clouds with great skill and it’s difficult to create storms. However, you have described the feeling of sensing every blade of grass, lightening, and exhale of the world. Everyday.” Gaius explained and looked down at his empty bowl as the two of them absorbed this information.
“I thought the ability was lost, or at least confined to only sacred places that only Priests and Priestesses could sense vaguely.” Gaius finally looked at his ward, wishing that his boy gained an ability that wasn’t so…..lonely.
“Great, now I’m even more of a freak. Not only do I get the power to Mirror Life and Death, I can sense nature and become it.” Merlin ate the rest of his broth with a unrestrained harshness.
“Merlin.” Gaius put a comforting hand on his ward’s arm, “I know what you’re thinking, you are not a monster.”
“Gaius---”
“No, don’t think about it. You were gifted these abilities, never cursed, and I have a feeling it will help you in the years to come.”
Merlin stacked the wooden bowls as he stood up from the table, silently ignoring Gaius’ watchful eyes. He stopped in front of the door to his room and turned around and said thank you for his wise words. Mum had taught him to be polite even if he disagreed. However, Gaius seemed to sense the emptiness belying the words, but decided not to call him out. Merlin was grateful, since he didn’t feel like talking anymore that night.