The emerald ring of the Duke gets the three of them by the porter, Felix.
Then, when two guards, Marcus and Sellic, appear above, Ralf quickly douses
one torch so that they can only be seen in swinging shadows. Once again,
the emerald gets them past. Finally, Ygraine appears and calls out to
Uther as if he were the Duke. And so, says Merlin, they take Tintagel.
This chapter is one which helps build the suspense of the moment. We
wonder at what point the King will be recognized and they will be the
sitting ducks Cadal warned Merlin about. But they pull it off and the
King meets his destiny with Ygraine.
New names in this chapter: Marcus and Sellic, two guards at Tintagel
Ralf tells the two guards they may return to the guard-room as their work is done for the night. One of them goes willingly, but the other hesitates asking Brithael (Merlin) if this is acceptable. Merlin plays his role perfectly and the guard follows his companion. Ralf is in awe of Merlin who sounded so much like Brithael that Ralf thought it was magic.
While waiting for the King, Merlin is unable to sit still. He paces
around in worry and heartache until he hears what he thinks is a woman's
step on the stairs. Then, he sees her, shrouded in a mantle and carrying
something. It is Marcia, the Duchess' lady-in-waiting, and she has tears
on her cheeks. She hands Merlin a child, wrapped against the cold, and
says sadly, Take care of him. Take care of him. Then, Merlin sees the
stairs appear behind her and he realizes that no one is there and there
is nothing in his arms. He fears now that there is death yet to come before
this night is over. So, he steps outside on the battlements and looks
up to the cloudy sky where the clouds suddenly part to reveal the star.
He watches it all night long and it hangs on in the sky even as morning
begins to break. It is only then that the heartache begins to leave him.
Merlin's vision of Marcia carrying the child to him foreshadows Arthur's
birth and it's only when the star, which has appeared to him so many times,
appears once again that he knows he has done the right thing.
Just as Merlin moves to enter the castle again, he sees Felix make for the gate below and Ralf behind him with dagger, whose hilt he uses to stop the old man. At the gate is an unforeseen problem: the real Brithael has returned to Tintagel. He has a message for the Duchess, he says, and he won't be sent around to the main gate. Merlin has Ralf make sure Brithael is alone and then he lets him in. He tells him that a fellow below attacked them and he wonders if anyone has been there that night. Ralf assures him no one has and then, Brithael tells him that the news for Ygraine is that the Duke is dead. They had tried to surprise the King's troops with an ambush and Gorlois was killed in the first sally.
As Brithael heads for the Ygraine's room, Merlin stops him by calling
his name softly. Merlin very nearly loses his life, but he is he says
fate's creature and a hostage to the future and he attacks. When Ulfin
appears at the sound, Merlin tells him to get the King and that the Duke
is dead. Brithael is outraged by this news and fights to avenge his master,
but Merlin is a wild animal who fights to kill, because it must. The
fight is terrible, but Merlin is able to kill Brithael with a last terrible
thrust of his broken sword. He is not without wounds, however, including
a horribly broken hand. Nonetheless, with no sign that an alarm has been
given, Merlin makes his way down to the shore.
Merlin's premonition of death comes true as Felix and the real Brithael
both die. The Duke's decision to attack proves to be the unexpected part
of the plan and one which they could not have foreseen. Nor could they
have foreseen that the Duke would die in battle, thus preserving Uther's
honor and his kingdom.
There is just enough light for Merlin to see his way to the sand, crawling and stumbling all the way. Halfway up from the beach he finds Cadal. He realizes his much-loved servant has a mortal wound and he covers him with his cloak just as Uther and Ulfin appear. Uther is bitter with Merlin who, he thinks, should have known about Brithael's return and the Duke's death before they even came to Cornwall. He believes they should have waited until the next day and then, those who had died would still be alive, the Duke would be dead and Ygraine would be his to claim. Merlin, however, replies that he would have begotten a different child. That night was Arthur's night. Uther is also bitter, because he didn't realize the price he would have to pay and thinks Merlin should have known. Again, Merlin reminds him that it is God who keeps the price secret, not him. Then, he tells Uther that there is only one God by whose light all men must live or die. Uther hears nothing, instead blaming Merlin for everything, even the deaths of Ambrosius and Vortigern. He says Merlin never pays and so, he will no longer be Merlin's puppet. Merlin must stay away from him and he'll not acknowledge the bastard he has created this night. Uther leaves him, at Merlin's command, awarding him only the hill he has already given him back in Britain.
Merlin is left on the beach with Cadal who is not yet dead and is watching
him. Merlin tells him everything that happened up above and Cadal relates
how he met Brithael and Jordon, mounted and ready to fight to protect
the King. Cadal is astonished to learn that Merlin killed Brithael and
says softly, Merlin . . . little Merlin, that couldn't even sit a horse
. . . You kill me. And Merlin realizes that he actually has by bringing
him along into this mess created by God. Cadal's final question concerns
whether all this could have happened as Uther claimed it could have. When
Merlin says no, Cadal replies, Well, with all the acquiescent faith
of the past eight years. Merlin promises him then that all that Ambrosius
wished for Britain will come to past: Ygraine will bear the child, give
him up as soon as he is born to keep him out of the King's sight, and
he, Merlin, will raise him and teach him all that he has learned from
Cadal, Galapas, and Ambrosius, and the child will be crowned King at Winchester.
Only then can Cadal die. Merlin sends his body to the sea where it will
be carried away as far as the western stars. As Merlin rides away, he
sees in the sky the star still bright until it seems to burst with a brilliant
light behind the young sun.
Uther proves himself to be exactly the character that Merlin believed: only
a regent to follow a great king and to precede an even greater one. He
blames all that has gone before on Merlin, because he hasn't the strength
of character to accept his own role in all of it. Merlin's final promise
to Cadal, however, paves the way for the coming of Arthur and the final
sign is the young sun coming up in a burst of light behind the star that
has always led Merlin down the right path.
Clapsaddle, Diane. "TheBestNotes on A Long Way Gone".
TheBestNotes.com.
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