They arrived at sundown, being met by the people with honor. It was the sight of Arthur that got everyone standing. They bowed respectfully for the king as he rejoined them after his absence. The newcomers they brought in form of the villagers were also well received. Before long the sun had vanished completely, leaving only the starry sky to light in the dark.

Merlin and Arthur noticed Morna standing alone, looking at the blinking stars above.

"I've always considered Geldrion my home," she said quietly, as Arthur and Merlin joined her. "I can't believe it's been destroyed. And all because of one man..." Her voice trailed off and she took a deep breath. "You know who he is, don't you?"

Arthur nodded and Merlin answered: "His name is Mordred and he is a druid. Arthur and I once helped him escape from Camelot, when he was only a child. Morgana begged us to."

Morna narrowed her eyes a bit. "She is the evil witch you've spoken of," she said.

Arthur nodded sadly. "She used to be like a sister to me. We were very close and she was a good and loyal friend until the day she discovered she had magic. It went against everything my father stood for and she felt... misunderstood, I suppose. Then she decided to take her revenge. Morgana believes she has the right to Camelot's throne. She is my half-sister by blood. Still, she hates me more than anything because to her I am just a clone of my father."

"I'm sorry that she betrayed you," Morna concluded.

Arthur nodded.

Morna shared a look with Merlin. It was a look of pity and understanding.

"I keep a secret too," Morna said then. It caught both Arthur and Merlin's attention. "I have deceived almost the entire village from the moment I was brought to Geldrion. You see, I am not the daughter of Alys and Adrian, though I've always considered them to be my parents. My real parents are both dead, but Alys found me and took me in. My parents raised me as their own, keeping the real circumstances of my birth hidden."

Arthur and Merlin were - to put it mildly - surprised. "You are a druid?" Merlin guessed.

Morna looked at them with her crystal blue eyes. "Yes, but that is not all. I have a twin brother whom I have never really met. I believe he might be the man who just destroyed my home and killed my father."

"That can't be possible," Merlin mumbled.

Morna muttered something under her breath and made some leaves whirl up like a small tornado appeared out of the blue. Now, with her blue eyes and small figure she looked more like a druid than anything else. She had the right eyes, Merlin could tell... and did she look like Mordred. It was not hard to understand why Morna had seen herself in him and Merlin didn't doubt for one second that she was telling the truth.

So you can hear me now? Merlin asked.

Morna nodded. "I can," she answered with words.

To Arthur, this little exchange made no sense, since he hadn't heard or understood what Merlin had 'said' and so he frowned questioningly. He would never learn to understand magic or the people who possessed it - not completely, anyway.

Morna looked sad. "I felt a strange connection, like I knew him from somewhere. My magic may not be as strong as either my mother's or yours, Emrys, but I know what I felt. I believe my brother is a very dangerous man." With that warning, she walked off to join her family and the rest of her village by fire where they got food and water and whatever else they needed.

Arthur then turned his gaze to Merlin, raising an eyebrow. "And what exactly happened there?" he asked.

"Nothing," Merlin said and flashed Arthur a quick smile. Even though he knew that Arthur was following him, Merlin's mind was occupied by other thoughts; why had Killgarrah not mentioned that Mordred wasn't an only child? And which part did Morna play in this game of destiny? A hand on his shoulder startled Merlin back into reality and what met him was a worried-looking Arthur. "What are you thinking about?" the king asked. "Be honest, Merlin."

"How is it even possible," Merlin answered. "I never knew Mordred had a sister..." Merlin trailed off again, thinking about all the problems Mordred had caused him whilst Arthur had been gone. The young druid was stronger than Merlin had first anticipated and had found the place where the people of Camelot where hiding at least twice. Then all of a sudden, he had disappeared into the blue. Later, Merlin had discovered that the reason for his disappearance was that he had invaded yet another kingdom for Morgana.

That was the third one.

Merlin looked at Arthur. "Mordred is almost as dangerous as Morgana herself. It is a wonder he didn't kill you when he came to Geldrion, pretending to simply pass through. Why he did that is a mystery to me."

"Maybe I can help there. He was very surprised to see me. I imagine Morgana has set some rules for him," Arthur said.

"I don't doubt it," Merlin said. "I believe you're right. His intention must have been to force the villagers to bow down to their queen... instead he was shocked when he saw you, Sire." Morgana had taken other kingdoms than just Camelot. Her craving for power was unstoppable. But what was she trying to prove? That she could be queen over just one, enormous kingdom? To be that much better than Uther? Uther was something of a reckless man, but he had always held nothing but love for Morgana and he had treated her as such always. That Morgana hated him as much as she did was injustice, Arthur thought. Especially since she wasn't simply Uther's ward, but also his daughter and therefore Arthur's halfsister. All those things she had done were nothing like the Morgana he knew.

"How can we defeat her?" Arthur asked, looking Merlin straight in the eye.

"Perhaps with this knowledge," a strange voice said. It sounded like a young boy and Arthur instantly turned around to face this person. The knights quickly gathered around Arthur as they all drew out their swords along with the king.

Facing them was that same little boy that Merlin had encountered not so long ago with white hair and clear blue eyes; Sumata. His eyes rested coolly on Arthur as if inspecting him. Then a tiny smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"My name is Sumata. And it seems, Emrys," he continued. "That you do not need me after all. Your friend has regained his belief. However, no battle is won without a price to pay. You may think you have fate on your side, but defeating the witch will take some sacrifice which you must be willing to make. Otherwise you cannot hope to win."

Merlin looked very serious and didn't meet Arthur's confused gaze. Instead he made sure not to break eye contact with Sumata. "We know what is at stake here and so does Arthur," Merlin answered.

Sumtata's smile remained visible. "The young druid is strong as you very well know, but do not think he is easier defeated than the witch. He too takes part in this game of destiny. Like I have told you once before, Emrys, destiny cannot be cheated. And Mordred will be the one to bring about Arthur's death."

Arthur narrowed his eyes.

"Do not take my words as a guarantee for your victory or loss, use them only as knowledge. May you always remember the importance of destiny." Without another word, then, he turned around and walked away. It took Arthur no more than seconds to grab Merlin right shoulder, determined to know how this boy knew who he was.

And Merlin seemed to know what it was about since he sent Arthur a reassuring look. "Sumata is a seer. He knows all the futures we stand to face depeding on which choices we make. He believes that destiny is the most important thing there is."

"Yeah well, he sure is a freak," Gwaine broke in. "He as good as threatened the king's life!"

"You misunderstand, Gwaine," Merlin countered. "I admit Sumata may not be... particularly kind, but he is not evil. He doesn't take sides."

Gwaine raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "We better hope not for all our sakes," he said.

Merlin looked at all his friends. "I know magic is strange to you. I don't always understand it myself, but take a look around you; more people have joined our side every day. They all want Morgana gone, sorcerer, knight, king or citizen, it doesn't matter who we are or what title we hold. We all want the same; a kingdom that isn't corrupted by dark forces, a place where we don't have to fear for our lives every second of every day!"

More and more were gathering to listen to Merlin's words at this point. "We want a leader who is fair and trustworthy. Not someone who is greedy and vengeful. We want a place we can call home and be proud of. That's why we have to stand up to her now and show her that we aren't afraid. We can win this!"

Merlin went to stand beside Arthur. "Arthur, as always, I'll be proud to stand by your side till the end. You can be sure that every single person here will do the same."

What met Arthur was the faces of hundreds and hundreds of men and women who all had their eyes on him, all with some kind of respect and indication that they believed in him. Arthur felt like his legs could collapse under him any second. But at the same time he felt like he couldn't be stronger. All these people had hope. And as surprising as Arthur found it, it gave him hope too. A hope he hadn't felt in a long time.

Merlin's wise eyes rested on Arthur. The king was aware that he would never find some like Merlin. Even though he was clumsy, ridiculous, and had the worst humor in the five kingdoms, he was still loyal - and at chosen moments, he was a very wise friend. With Emrys by his side, Arthur could take up the fight against Morgana, even if the druid Mordred was part of his destiny too. No one said that it would be in this battle that Mordred would get his chance. No one said Arthur's end was near. But if so, Arthur was ready to sacrifice everything for Camelot - He would not loose everything to Morgana. Arthur raised Excalibur up high, because now the battle was neigh.