Chapter 4: Chapter 3
Rhaegar Targaryen POV
When the rain stopped Rhaegar was the first to notice how weird it was, for it stopped so suddenly, and immediately after, the skies were clean and the sun brighter.
The prince gets out of the castle so he can take a better look, all the guests appeared to be of the same mind as they all come out of their tents to see what happened.
Rhaegar looks at the sky and shocked is not a word strong enough to describe, he stares open-mouthed because for some reason the sky around Harrenhal, the Gods' Eye, and the Isle of Faces are clean and sunny while the rain continues to fall hard on the surroundings, it was…
"Magic.". Rhaegar looks at his side and sees Arthur was the one who spoke, as shocked as the prince, staring open-mouthed at the sky. "What has Merlin done now?".
That was the million gold dragons question Rhaegar tells himself. Merlin made his father have two stomach problems just because he couldn't stand Aerys, understandable since his father tried to burn him alive, but the prince worries about what Merlin will do if Aerys complains about whatever the mage will accomplish now.
"I get the feeling we'll know soon," Rhaega says, looking at his friend with sorrow caused by the fear of the consequences that will take place. "If things get ugly, what would you suggest?".
"How about a vacation in Dorne?" Arthur tries to bring humor, but Rhaegar could see it was shallow and deep inside his best friend was of the same mind as him. "Honestly, it doesn't sound bad, I for once don't want to be close to Aerys when Merlin does his thing nor after he does his thing.".
"Rhaegar my son, do you know what is happening?". Rhaella says, grabbing the skirts of her dress and running at her son, confusion showing all over her face.
"No, but I have an idea of who is going it.". Rhaegar says with a small smirk.
Rhaella's eyes widen once she notices what Rhaegar meant by those words.
"By the gods, that boy will be…". Rhaella is stopped as the earth starts to tremble.
Rhaegar and his mother are white of fear because of the tremors, Valyria was said to have the same before the doom, and the family can't stop themselves from shaking in fear along with the ground, afraid that their destiny is sealed and that they will become ashes like Valyria was.
"FATHER LOOK!". Rhaegar turns to the side and sees the speaker was none other than Lyanna Stark, she was pointing in a specific direction, Rhaegar wonders for a moment why she is pointing in that direction for the only thing there is…
"The isle of faces.". Rhaegar yells and faster than ever turns around running in the direction of the island with everyone following right behind him.
After arriving at the edge of the God's eye lake Rhaegar feels the tremors intensify, he looks around and watches everyone sharing his worried over the shakes, but what happens next makes his eyes widen, his mouth open and his disbelief only increase.
First, the water in God's eye changes with swirls surrounding the water's surface. The tremors only increase and everyone watches as a castle is raised on the isle of Faces out of the ground, any comments or jokes about a castle made of dirt were shut, and everyone could see it was a castle made of pure and solid black rocks as the structure is raised, but it wasn't the end, far from it, as if swirls all over the God's eye lake, and a castle being raised out of nothing from the ground wasn't enough was came next looked like a miracle itself.
From the skies, a colossal tower slowly descends, its structure was completely different from the castle as its design looked incapable of being produced by human hands, and from the base of the tower, a pink light comes out, touching the ground of the isle and making all the green grass it has, turn into pink petals of all the flower types that Rhaegar has ever seen and not seen.
"By the gods.". Someone says as the tower reaches the ground and makes all tremors stop.
No one could speak, too impressed and shocked by what they saw to have words capable of expressing their feelings.
When it all appeared to be over they were all proven wrong, as the wind started to blow up a small section of a bridge was elevated from under the water of God's Eye, with someone walking over it. Every time the person on the bridge approached the edge a new section appeared under their foot just as they stepped into the air of the edge that would bring them down to the cold waters of the lake.
All lords watched in open-mouthed bewilderment as the figure approached them step by step. Despite everyone already knowing who was responsible for the new castle and bridge, they couldn't stop themselves from gawking once more at the display of power shown.
Once the bridge is finished, two poles rise from the ground on each side and are connected by an arc with; Avalon, written in it, and then two banners appear on top of each pole, they are both the same; a golden dragon over a black field.
When all eyes are away from the banners everyone hears someone clearing their throat, none other than Merlin Ambrosius who was now standing in front of them and under the arc that serves as the entrance of the bridge.
"Greetings," Merlin says, stepping to the side and gesturing his hands to the castle. "And welcome, to Avalon, the keep of House Ambrosius".
Needless to say, no one was expecting this, despite everyone knowing who the main instigator of these events was.
Before Rhaegar could say anything a roar of anger is heard, made by the worst person possible probably at the worst time possible.
"How dare you construct a keep on my kingdom without my permission," Aerys says, his face was purple with anger, and the voices in his head were probably screaming so loud that everyone present would be able to hear if they were real. "Guards, as you king I order you to…".
Aerys' orders were never finished because he was turned into a sheep. Rhaegar had to clean his eyes, blink once, twice then clean his eyes again to see if this was no deception. It wasn't, his father, Aerys, second of his name, king of the Andals, Rhoynar and First men, protector of the seven kingdoms, became a sheep, and the price knew exactly who did it as he watches said person pointing their staff at where Aerys is in his new sheep form.
"What?" Merlin says as he noticed all eyes on him. "He was asking for it, he tried to burn me alive, then he wanted to force me to hatch a dragon, I bet everyone here wanted me to do that. Can you imagine what he would do if he had a dragon?".
Rhaegar tries to de-escalate the situation, he approaches Merlin and puts a gentle hand over his shoulder.
"Merlin, I can understand your frustration, but things are more complicated," Rhaegar says, trying his best to sound like the older brother he was never able to be for Viserys. "Please can you turn him back?".
"Are you sure?" Merlin says, and Rhaegar notices by his tone that another quip was going to come out, and unlike others, this one would be true. "I mean, think about it, as a sheep Aerys can produce wool, and with this wool, clothes can be made to protect you and your family from winter, when you think about it, Aerys can do more for the Seven Kingdoms as a sheep than as a king.".
The kingsguard on any other day would've unsheathed their swords and attacked Merlin, but there was a problem with that, as of right now Rhaegar is their king due to the state Aerys finds himself in, there is also the matter that Merlin's magic makes then not eager to fight against the boy, they would, but considering Aerys is not their king anymore all they would die for was because of a sheep, not a king, not knight wants to be remembered for this.
"Merlin," a voice says, Rhaegar notices it belongs to his mother, and her eyes showed a pleading tone, Rhaella may not love Aerys, but he was still her brother and blood, the father of her children and no amount of hard feelings she harbors towards him Rhaella couldn't bear to just watch and do nothing. "Please, turn him back".
"Fine, but only because you asked," Merlin says with a tired tone and points his staff at Aerys, it glows, but the glow stops out of a sudden and Merlin retrieves his staff. "Before I do that, I think I should put a spell on him so he will be unable to order my death".
"You can't do it," Gerold Hightower says, despite Rhaegar's own feelings about his father he also couldn't allow Merlin to take Aerys' freedom away. "This is enslavement".
"Maybe, but do you really want to risk him ordering my death knowing that this time I won't just stay still," Merlin says, his staff touching the ground and the clear sky darkens once more, making Rhaegar and the others look at the grey clouds and the low sound of thunders forming. "Thanks to Rhaegar and the books he gave me I learned about what Westeros like to call; The field of fire, I might not have a dragon, like Aegon and his sisters, but I assure you, I don't need one to make history repeat itself".
Rhaegar could've sworn he heard people sweat along with gulps and gasps, throughout history, men make absurd claims to boost their pride and egos, or in attempts to impress soldiers or women, but Merlin was on a different level altogether, because he could actually back up his claim, and anyone who didn't believe it at this point were fools or blind.
"Do it," Rhaella says, giving no quarter, making the mage turn his staff at Aerys again and undo the spell.
"YOU DARE," Aerys screams, not surprising anyone since they would probably have the same reaction if they became a sheep, "I'll have your head, I'll put it on a spike, I'll burn your body, DO YOU HEAR ME,".
"Oh, sorry, were you talking to me?" Merlin says, after the spell was undone, he starts cleaning his nails on his robe and didn't pay a single attention to Aerys, or he did and was just pretending. "I was on a world of my own, would you mind saying that again?".
"YOU…" Aerys scream but is interrupted by Merlin.
"How about a deal, we put this behind us, and as a thank you I'll reconstruct Summerhall to its former glory," Merlin says with a smile, he knows greed haunts the heart of men no matter who and Aerys is not different. "I'll add a bonus and give you a prophecy about the birth of a dragon".
At this point, people's reaction to Merlin's words was just two, utter shock and utter disbelief. After stating that he can build Summerhall, something that sounded impossible due to the damage caused by wildfire, he stated that he can also give a prophecy about dragons, Rhaegar was already decided to talk with Merlin about the song of ice and fire and ask for his help, but now he knows for sure that the mage is the one who can make the prophecy comes true.
"Give me this prophecy about the dragon first, then I'll decide if I'll accept this deal," Aerys says, quickly turning around left and right, probably hearing the voices again, making Rhaegar wonder if Merlin will give them an actual prophecy or just said that because he knew it would make Aerys easier to fool, his thoughts are soon stopped once the mage's eyes start to shine.
"On the worst storm in history, a dragon will be born amidst blood, lightning will strike the land as a sign of its birth, thunder will resonate along with its first cry, and all the water dropping from the sky won't be enough to extinguish the fire in its heart," Merlin says sounding old and wise, Rhaegar and everyone else is agape by his words, the boy proved again and again that his magic is real, and while prophecies were a different matter, something inside all present was telling them to trust the mage's words, otherwise they will prove themselves fools.
"Is that it?" A woman's voice said, everyone turned their heads to the speaker and sees it was none other than Lyanna Stark, she would speak more but one of her brothers put their hands on her mouth to stop her from dragging more attention.
"Prophecies are tricky Lady Lyanna," Merlin says with a smile, from their interaction of the day before Rhaegar wonders if there was something over the mage's mind regarding the Stark girl. "This one I made will happen, no matter what".
"When will it happen?" Rhaegar asks without thinking, making himself the center of attention, he cursed himself inside his mind for being unable to hold himself back, letting his obsession with prophecies get ahead.
"Maybe tomorrow, maybe in a thousand years, this is the tricky part when prophecies come to play, they are always vague," Merlin looks at Rhaegar before looking at Lyanna again. "The meaning can also vary, a dragon will be born, but which type I wonder, it could be that Rhaella will give birth to a new child, it could be Elia's or, it could be an actual dragon, who knows".
Rhaegar turns to his father, now he was surer than ever that Merlin could help him fulfill the song of ice and fire, he put his hand on the man's shoulder making him stop staring at Merlin and not listen to any voice that might be hanging over his ears.
"Father, you have to accept the deal," Rhaegar tells him, he takes a look at Merlin and sees him waving his hands gesturing for everyone to leave saying; the show is over. "This is the chance to bring the former glory to our house".
"Yes, your words are truthful my son," Aerys says sounding like a king and making his son wish he could stay like this all the time. "Wisdom and ability have been displayed in our presence and we can't let it go away. Come my son, stay at my side".
They walk to Merlin, Aerys carrying himself like a king, his eyes focused, his back straight and the air of royalty all over him with every breath he takes.
"Merlin," Aerys says, making the mage stop shooing people away and focus on the king. "I've decided to take upon your offer, had your words been true then I'll let you rebuild Summerhall for House Targaryen, and once it is finished, I will personally declare the Isle of Faces and the God's eye lake as lands of House Ambrosius, and give you lordship so you can rule the lands in your castle".
Merlin bows to Aerys, Rhaegar wonders if it's mockery or because his father is actually behaving like a king. When his reverence is over, Aerys turns around making Rhaegar have to choose what to do once he hears the mage and the king speak at the same time.
"Guess I'll go find Lyanna," Says the mage.
"Come with me if you wish to partake in the council reunion I'll gather if you wish my son," Says the king.
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Merlin Ambrosius POV
After the debacle with Aerys, sitting at the top of a hill close to Harrenhal Merlin and Lyanna sit in front of each other, the she-wolf wanted Merlin to teach her magic, but apparently, her stubbornness was too great for her to understand that magic couldn't be taught like numbers or letters which brings the two of them here.
As an incentive, Merlin makes his staff disappear in thin air and Lyanna couldn't stop smiling out of excitement, barely standing still as the mage could see the girl wanted to jump and scream with happiness.
"So," Merlin says, trying to hold a smirk after thinking of the perfect way to deal with the thorns that the winter rose in front of him has. "You want to learn magic?! It is very hard, are you sure?".
"Are you kidding me?" Lyanna asks with a mocking grin. "All girls in Westeros are learning to be ladies, and to be a yes sir no sir wife, while I am in front of the most powerful wizard in the world, of course, I want to learn magic.".
Merlin laughs hard, grabbing his stomach and closing his eyes otherwise they will have tears flooding them, Lyanna doesn't notice the real reason why the hysterics though, which is perfect for Merlin.
'I hope I can run faster than her when she finds out.'. Merlin tells himself as he tries to calm down and look the rose of Winterfell in the eyes again. "It is easy to be the most powerful wizard in a world where you are the only wizard around. But that doesn't matter, if you really are committed to learning, I'll teach you the secrets of the high mysteries that exist and fly through the cold air of our lives.". Merlin almost snort seeing Lyanna nodding at him because she believed him easily when he told her that speaking with poetry words helps with the studies of magic.
Moving his torso to the side the mage grabs a wooden plate full of pineapple slices, Lyanna's mouth is watering just seeing how beautifully cut the pieces are. The she-wolf tries to grab a piece, but her hand is slapped by Merlin who shakes his head.
"No no no.". Merlin says, waving his index finger in front of Lyanna's nose, almost touching it, annoying the heck out of her to the point he can see veins popping in her forehead. "This is not for eating, it's for your training.".
"How is pineapple supposed to help me with my training?". Lyanna asks, annoyed and probably thinking Merlin is making fun of her, he is, but she doesn't know yet.
"I'll explain, now grab two slices and repeat what I'm doing.". Merlin says as he grabs two slices and almost puts them over his eyes, Lyanna stares at him with a blank expression, not believing how ridiculous this training is, Merlin knows because Morgana was the same when used this trick on her.
Like before, thinking about past incidents causes another migraine to Merlin, these are different though as instead of showing Arthur and the girl it showed three visions of Merlin, for some reason he sees himself with a different appearance, the first vision is the same one he had when he first awoke on Westeros, himself with short black hair and blue eyes in one, in the second vision he is an elder with a long white beard covering a bald head with a hoodie, and on the third vision, Merlin was a woman, for some reason.
'Why am I seeing these visions? What do they mean?'. The mage asks himself, massaging his temples and catching his breath, his only credible assumption was that the holy grail is responsible for the visions since he never had them before making his wish.
"Merlin… Merlin… MERLIN.". Lyanna says making the mage open his eyes and realizes her face is but a few inches from touching his, normal logic would dictate that he should be embarrassed from being this close to a girl, but Merlin is far from normal, so his only reaction is his eyes twitching in annoyance due to the she-wolf scream while his head was exploding in the inside. "Are you gonna explain about the pineapple or not?".
"Oh yeah, of course.". Merlin says as he notices Lyanna still hasn't put the slices over her eyes, almost forgetting about his prank and barely disguising his chuckle. "Okay, now follow me and put the two slices over your eyes, I hope you remember to close them before doing it, but I have faith that you aren't this dumb.".
Merlin laughs at his own quip as Lyanna punches his arm, she follows his lead and closes her eyes, after putting the slices of pineapple over her eyes, Merlin takes his slices out and watches Lyanna making a fool of herself and doing the utmost effort to not scream and laugh.
Not letting a good fruit be wasted Merlin starts eating the slices he'd cut and watches Lyanna and hears her complaining with the biggest grin he ever had.
"This is so dumb.". Lyanna grunts.
"You'll get there.". Merlin says, snorting and immediately hiding it with a cough.
"I hate you.". Lyanna says.
Merlin just ignores her as he procures a book with his magic and starts reading, just wondering how long it would take until she notices the facade. From time to time the mage stops reading and takes glances at Lyanna to see how she is fairing.
"You still haven't told me why putting pineapples over my eyes will help.". Lyanna asks, making the mage raise an eyebrow, since she would probably never manifest her magic, he should at least teach her the basic knowledge.
"Magic is not like using swords.". Merlin says and makes an 'ah' to stop a sarcastic remark from the rose of Winterfell. "With swords, it all depends on the strength of the body, with magic, it all depends on the strength of the mind.".
"Okay, so putting pineapple over my eyes is better for my mind than reading a book?". Lyanna asks and Merlin laughs at both her sarcasm and her ignorance.
"And because she has pineapple over her eyes.'. He quips in his mind before proceeding. "This is supposed to teach your mind serenity, too much knowledge of the magic arts can be damaging if you have a weak and unbalanced mind, this training is so that you can empty your mind, making everything that enters incapable of damaging you and so that you can always stay in control over your thoughts and knowledge.".
"Okay, but why pineapples? Why not watermelons or oranges?". Lyanna asks, raising her head a little and almost opening her eyes before Merlin notices and stopped her, almost cracking up at this point.
'Because it was the only fruit I've found.'. Merlin thought as he tried to find a perfect excuse for the bullshit part without laughing, the explanation he gave was real, but her training was not. "Pineapple's smell is distracting, emptying your mind with the smell always over the air is a fast way to show improvement as I normally don't have my students using it on their first try."
"What's next? You'll try to distract my mind while I concentrate with horseshit?". Lyanna asks, annoyed that she is not managing to get it right.
'Now that you spoke of, I will.'. Merlin thinks while at his breaking point. "No *chuckle* nothing like that, just proceed with your meditation, and you start to feel some pull tell me so we can proceed further".
After a few more minutes Lyanna loses all her patience and takes the slices off her eyes only to see Merlin laying on the ground, one hand supporting his head while the other holds a book, puffing her cheeks and with a face redder than a tomato for being making a fool of Lyanna snarls, making the Mage look over his book and look at her with a bored expression before changing it to a cocky grin.
"Being angry won't help you to clean your thoughts," Merlin's mockery was reaching new heights with that tone.
"AAAAAAAAH"
With a scream, Lyanna launches herself at Merlin, attempting to strangle the mage who grabs her hands with his own as she sits over his waist, grunting and snarling with the mage's laugh.
"You look cute when angry, you know that". Merlin says honestly.
"SHUT UP," The she-wolf tries to bite Merlin's nose but he evades by leaning his head back to the ground.
"Okay lady Stark we better stop, not only is this position precarious but we could AAAAAAAAAAH"
Just as Merlin was about to warn Lyanna, they both lose their balance and fall over the hill, to avoid somebody getting hurt, Merlin wraps his arms around Lyanna's waist and she does the same by wrapping her arms around Merlin's neck.
"HAHAHAHA" Merlin laughs, despite Lyanna's screams given how scared she is due to the speed they are rolling the mage finds the experience, situation, and company too funny to not laugh and feel happy about it.
After a few seconds, they stop rolling, Merlin is above Lyanna his hands were now both right beside her head, purple eyes meeting gray, and Lyanna starts blushing looking at the cute face a few inches away, Merlin's smile was sweet and innocent, she tries to tell something but is too nervous once Merlin approaches even more, his mouth was over her ear and his whispers made Lyanna's spine shivers soon followed by her whole body.
"Why are you blushing my lady?" Merlin's voice was so smooth and roses petals would feel like harsh coal in one's hand compared to the sound he just made.
Merlin rolls to the side and only stops once his body is in the opposite direction of Lyanna's, their heads touch each other and Lyanna is still stuck due to what just happened.
"I wasn't completely lying," Merlin tells her, making her come back to the real world. "Focusing your mind with distractions really helps".
"Can I become a mage one day?" Lyanna asks with fear in her voice, afraid of being rejected.
"You can, but will you?" Merlin's voice was serious now, Lyanna wasn't able to see due to both their heads staring at the sky but his expression was one of focus. "Magic takes years to learn Lyanna, I think you should give up on this dream, be a lady, start a family, and have kids".
"I DON'T WANT TO" On fours Lyanna stares intensely at Merlin. "I don't want to, I want to be my own person, not spend the rest of my life locked in a good-looking prison and only be a broodmare".
"*sigh* You are not the first and won't be the last woman married to a man she doesn't like against her will," Merlin gets up now and sits in front of Lyanna so they can see each other face to face. "What makes you special, oy why should you be spared of this grim fate?".
"Unlike all of them, I'm willing to do anything to escape it". Lyanna says, fierce and brave making Merlin shake his head in disapproval.
"Careful Lady Stark, you may not like the consequences". Merlin gets on his feet and offers a hand to Lyanna who accepts.
"I'm willing to try". Lyanna says.
"Try what?" A newcomer says behind them, making Lyanna turn around and Merlin tilts his torso to the side to see who is behind them.
"Nothing, what are you doing here Ned?" Lyanna says while Merlin walks to stand at her side.
Merlin sees the frown on Ned, and at his side is Robert, for a moment he wonders if they are lovers, but Robert fathered a bastard already, and Ned was shy when Merlin made his bet about dancing with whoever the mage chooses, making the mage believe he is the type to get nervous around women.
"Robert and I were looking for you, the Melee is about to start so I thought you would want to wish him good luck," Ned says, Merlin wanted to cringe at his pitiful attempts to make his sister like his friend, Merlin knows that on their wedding night, Lyanna will cut off what makes Robert a man, and he had met the girl only yesterday, for her own brother to not realize it yet was ridiculous.
Lyanna crosses her arms, frustrated, she looks at Robert and then at Ned before grunting for no reason. "I'm cheering for Brandon".
"But he is representing house Ambrosius". Robert says, not feeling dejected, probably too busy focusing on the fact that there will be a fight happening soon to realize his wife-to-be has just shunned him. "You should cheer for me or Ned".
"I can cheer to whomever I want, thank you very much," Lyanna's grumping makes Merlin chuckles, and not noticing her approach, and too late to realize the kiss she gives him on the cheek, followed by a sweet smile. "Good luck in the Melee Merlin, if Brandon wins, House Ambrosius will definitely be respected and rise faster than any other in the history of Westeros".
Lyanna then leaves the three at quick paces, Ned calls her but she ignores making the second son sigh in disappointment, a few pats on the back from Robert make him feel better, Merlin, on the other hand, was too uninterested in the two friends and just makes his staff return, unfortunately this display of magic makes the two turn their attention back to him.
"What is your deal?" Robert asks, grumpy as Lyanna but not as cute.
"Nothing really, House Ambrosius was just made so I haven't decided what type of trades and deals to make to keep the economy". Merlin says, looking at his staff up and down, feigning ignorance.
"He means what are your intentions with his bride". Ned says, in defense of his friend.
"Just friendship". Merlin looks at Ned but ignores Robert. "She is a good person, she has fire, and looks like she is in need of a friend".
"You ruined our plan". Robert says, his bark was so ridiculous to the mage that the spit flying out of his mouth was more interesting than his words. "I was supposed to make Lyanna come with me to see the Melee and cheer for me".
Merlin can stop himself from giving Robert a look so blank he might've just stopped working entirely.
"Okay, and how is that my problem? You could've spent the whole day with her, but instead you were around doing I don't care what, maybe you are the problem, not me". Merlin says, not caring anymore and ready to leave.
Ours is the fury indeed, when Merlin finish speaking Robert was so red and full of rage that the mage could've sworn the was steam coming out of his nostrils and ears.
"LISTEN HERE YOU…" Robert says but is interrupted too late by Ned.
"Robert don't or you…" Ned says before getting interrupted too.
The cause of their interruption is that Merlin made two buckets full of ice-cold water appear over their heads, and once the water finished falling the buckets are next, covering their heads and giving Merlin enough time to teleport away, right next to Brandon's tent so he could congrats his champion and wish him good luck.
"I wonder whom I shall tell first about the bath I just gave those two. The father, the older brother, or the youngest?" Merlin ponders as he walks toward his champion's tent.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Zhorvak
Zhorvak another chapter finished, this was supposed to be longer, I was going to cover the melee and the ball in it, but I decided to do it in the next chapter and cover the archery and joust as well so I can finish the first arc and get started for the next one, the next arc I’ll try to be short and just write two chapters before going into Robert’s Rebellion.
Anyway, thank you for reading, please leave a review, feedback always helps and is appreciated. (please be polite if you didn’t like it)
Add it to library if you wish.
English is not my first language.
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