One Fall Day

One fall morning Gwen and Merlin were working their way through Brocéliande Forest searching for a certain plant to use in their magic. Merlin had seen it in a vision and knew that it was deep in the forest where it was dangerous to travel. It was afternoon by the time they stopped to break for food and assess their progress.

They sat down on the trunk of a large fallen tree to eat their small meal of bread and cheese. Before the meal was over, they heard something large moving through the brush. Being this deep in the forest, they knew whatever it was could be dangerous. Both swiftly crouched down behind the tree they had been sitting on and waited to see whatever was making noise.

Gwen pulled her bow from over her shoulder and nocked an arrow. Merlin looked at her incredulously. As they crouched there, they saw two men tromping through the trees and looking around them constantly. As the men got closer, Gwen and Merlin could see that they were dressed far too warmly for the climate. These men were clearly not from the area and unaccustomed to traveling in the forest.

Merlin started to rise and greet the travelers, but Gwen pulled him back down. Giving him a stern look, Gwen peaked over the log. As they got just within her range, she stood and called to them in a commanding voice.

“Who are you?”

Fear moved across the men’s faces when they saw Gwen. Her bow was drawn in preparation and aimed at the ground in their direction. She looked fierce. While Gwen was busy intimidating the men, Merlin stood up next to her and waved. Gwen glanced over and gave him another stern look. Merlin mimicked it back at her, and then turned to the men.

“Hello! Don’t let my sister frighten you. Where are you headed? Maybe we could help you. My name is Merlin, and this is Gwen.”

The two men looked apprehensively at each other. They were young and had similar features, but varied in build. The larger of the two was blond while the other was dark-headed and more slight. Both looked back at Merlin and then to Gwen. The blond spoke first.

“We don’t need help. Thank you for the offer. We will be going on now.”

As they turned toward the depths of the forest, Merlin called to them again.

“Are you sure you know where you’re going? That way just leads deeper into the forest. I don’t think that is where you want to end up.”

The two stopped and looked around. When they started this journey the forest was just like any other, but now it was hard to see the sky through the canopy, the trees and plants all looked alien to them, and the noises they had heard recently were unsettling. They hadn’t seen anyone else for hours, and probably wouldn’t see anyone else if they kept heading deeper into the forest. They both knew they would have to trust these strangers.

The blond looked back at Merlin and Gwen. Gwen still had tension in her bow.

“Okay,” the blond one said, “we are looking for Armorica. Do you know how to get there?”

Merlin grinned. Gwen figured the plant was a lost cause at this point.

“Yes, we do! If you’ll join us, we can take you there.”

They started towards Merlin and Gwen but stopped when she raised her bow.

“Stop. You still haven’t told us who you are or what you are doing here.”

Realizing that Gwen would not be pacified without some sort of answer, the dark haired one said, “I’m Ambrose and this is Uther, my brother. We are from the coast north of here. We are traveling south to live with our mother’s family. She and our father died recently, so there is nothing left for us in the north.”

Gwen lowered her bow some. She could tell this was part of the truth. She looked at Merlin. He knew there was something else too, but he shrugged. Gwen turned back to them.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

She slung her bow back across her shoulders and started back off in the direction she and Merlin had come from. Merlin followed her, while Uther and Ambrose jogged to catch up. When they were back in the familiar parts of the forest, Merlin started to chatter about the different trees and plants they were passing, and soon enough they reached the edge of the forest. As the trees ended, fields rolled out in front of them and they continued to walk along. It was getting dark.

Merlin looked over at the brothers. They didn’t have anything with them. Nothing to sleep on, no food, and no water. They only had what they were wearing. Merlin found this curious but decided not to ask. Instead he said, “Our home is just up here. You should stay for the night and we can take you to the village tomorrow. We have food and a place you can sleep.”

The brothers were wary but were too tired to resist. They had traveled a long way with no food or rest. “Alright.” said Ambrose, “Thank you.”

As they turned up the path, they could start to make out the shape of a large castle among the surrounding trees.

“Who are you exactly?” asked Uther.

Gwen looked over her shoulder, and said, “Our mother is Morvryn, the Queen of Armorica.”

The brothers looked at one another for a long moment. Then Uther spoke, “I may not have been wholly honest earlier. Ambrose and I are not here to find our mother’s family, and we are not from the coast. We are from Briton and looking for Morvryn. Our father, the king, was killed and we fled across the channel to find safety and allies. Our mother said that Morvryn would know what to do. Will you take us to see her?”

The details for this story come predominantly from Geoffrey Monmouth's work Historia Regum Britanniae in which Merlin is a composite character created from the preexisting characters Myrddin Wyllt and Emrys. According to Geoffrey Monmouth the brothers Ambrosius and Uther are young when they are exiled to Brittany after Vortigern has their brother, Constans, murdered and takes his place as King of Briton. Later after Ambrosius and Uther come back to Britain and over throw Vortigern, they befriend Merlin.

In my story I decided to have them meet Merlin, Gwen and Morvryn after they are exiled but before their return so that Merlin and his sister, can be a part of their efforts to retake the throne. Consequently, Merlin and Gwen needed to be in Brittany, where the brothers were exiled. To make this happen, I have Merlin and Gwen originating from Brittany. In Geoffrey's version, Gwen and Morvryn aren't involved in the story at all, but I decided to include them as important characters so that there was a more diverse cast.

The cover photo that you see above is of a forest and field in Brittany France. I chose this photo because it matches the picture I had in my mind of their little troop walking out of the forest and into their adventure. I have always found a forest/field setting change to be ominous. On one hand, the forest may be dark and wild while the field is light and familiar, on the other hand the field means being exposed and vulnerable while the forest can offer protection and cover. Similarly, although Merlin and Gwen are heading home, Uther and Ambrose are headed into the unknown. Inversely, later on in the story, Gwen and Merlin will be heading into the unknown of Britain while Uther and Ambrose will he heading home. I hope to use a similar scene transition later on to parallel this one.