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After the battle of Camlann, Arthur and Merlin returned to Camelot and established a kingdom that was prosperous and open to magic. But, like all things, it could not last.
Less than 20 years after the victory at Camlann, Camelot fell, driven apart by internal unrest, hostility from surrounding kingdoms, and an ill-timed climatic variance that resulted in a historically low harvest, only exacerbating the unrest in the kingdom. After being forced to flee the kingdom and leave behind everyone they knew and everything they had, Merlin and Arthur had a falling out. For almost seven decades they saw nothing of each other, each too stubborn and proud to admit that they were wrong and make amends for the past. Only, when the empty feeling of loneliness had grown so large and strong that it sucked all love and laughter and light from life, did the two former friends again seek each other out. They had little trouble putting aside their differences, as the thought of forever alone was more daunting than anything that stood between them. They reconciled and, together, faced eternity.
And so time passed, constant and unyielding.
Seasons came and seasons went. People loved and lived and laughed and lost. Civilizations rose to new heights, and just when it seemed as if they truly had become invincible, they fell, just as quickly as they had risen. And in the midst of all of this change, drawing the earth and its people in directions not even conceivable by those before them, Arthur and Merlin remained constant. Where the world around them was full of separation, ravaged by the winds of change, they alone were steady in their unity. Steady, but not stuck. At first, they tried to hold on to the ideas of their time, but as this soon became impossible, they adapted. They remembered the customs and wisdom of the past, but they also allowed themselves to learn from the present. As the world around them changed, they changed with it. As the world learned, so did they.
And so time passed, constant and unyielding.
Arthur and Merlin saw good and bad. They saw true beauty. They saw society learn to accept people for who they were. They saw stunning displays of kindness, compassion, and love. They saw over and over again the amazing capacity of the human heart to help others. And as they watched all of these good things happening around them, they too felt lighter, younger, happier. They saw how every single person had the ability within them to make the world seem just a little warmer, the sun seem to shine just a little bit brighter. But there was also a back side to this coin of life: for every moment light, there is darkness waiting just around the corner. They saw true evil.
They saw society commit unforgivable acts against those who were different. They saw appalling displays of cruelty, greed, and hate. They saw over and over again the awful capacity the human heart had to hurt those around it. And as they watched all of these horrible things surrounding them, they too felt the pain of those targeted. They saw how every single person had the power within them to spread pain and suffering, how a single person could destroy the lives of thousands. It was overwhelming: the evil seemed like a blanket draped over everything, dulling the colors, the light, the music.
And yet they endured.
Because, in the end they always had each other. Arthur always had Merlin’s quick, witty responses and wide smiles, the kind that lit up the room, to startle a laugh out of him even when the chaos of the world surrounded him, ripping him apart and scattering him in the wind. And Merlin always had Arthur’s quiet, sincere words and gentle eyes, the kind that Merlin could just pour his soul into, to coax a smile out of him even when he felt like he was drowning in the pain of those around him as he stood powerless, unable to help.
And so time passed, constant and unyielding.