Present Day

Crystal Thornheart awoke and prepared for another day at the Camelot Magic Temple. She began setting the table for breakfast and upon realizing that her son, Merlin, had no intentions of getting up on his own, she decided that she would have to get him up herself…again… Merlin was studious, hardworking, and earnest…when he wanted to be. The biggest thing holding him back in his magical studies was his lack of motivation. For 20 years she had raised him, and for 20 years she had struggled to get him excited about working on things that he saw as boring, or a waste of his time…

Crystal entered Merlin's room and saw him still in bed, sound asleep.

"Merlin, honey, it's time to get up! You've got a big day ahead of you today!"

Merlin responded by rolling over away from her and groaning as if to shoo her away… "Alright then…if that's how you want to do it!" Crystal clasped her hands together and channeled some of her magical energy. She then thrusted her hands in the direction of Merlin and called out an incantation.

"Aqua Laniatus!"

Several small waves of water shot forth from her hands impacting Merlin with enough force to knock him off his bed. He shot straight up, drenched and quite angry with his mother's method of waking him…

"Geez! What'd you do that for?!" he yelled.

"I tried to wake you up the normal way, but you didn't seem interested in that!", she replied.

Her quick comeback had placed him on the defensive. Not able to come up with a retort of his own, he accepted defeat.

"Alright…I guess I should get ready…".

"Yes, you've got a big day ahead of you! I'm sure Adrienne is already down there waiting for you!".

With that, Crystal left Merlin to dry himself off and prepare for the day. He wasn't sure what she meant by 'a big day ahead of him', but he figured that whatever was intended by that statement would become clear soon enough…

Merlin bathed himself and then stood in front of his mirror, trying to decide if it was worth the time and effort to shave his beard stubble and comb his scruffy, dark-brown hair. Merlin had never been one to care much about his appearance, aside from dressing presentably. Deciding that his hair's natural look would be fine, and that maybe he wouldn't a bad idea to try and grow a beard, he simply got dressed, threw on his glasses, and went downstairs for breakfast.

Arriving at the kitchen table, he found his mother, Crystal, and his mother's ward, Adrienne, already at the table eating. Adrienne, a dark elf, had come to live with them a few years ago. Merlin took a moment to ponder. Had it been five, no, maybe four years? He could almost remember it like it was yesterday…

Four Years Ago

It was a day like any other. Merlin had just arrived back home after a day of training at the Camelot Magic Temple. His mother hadn't come home with him today, stating that she had some business to attend to. Frankly, he didn't mind this as she would almost surely nag at him to practice his magic for a few hours more, in spite of the fact that he had just spent the entire day doing just that! Crystal Thornheart is a Master Sorceress at the Camelot temple, and she expected nothing short of perfection from her son. She had always said that Merlin was one of the most magically gifted individuals she had ever seen, but that talent alone wouldn't be enough to excel in magic. Of course, Merlin hoped to be a Master Sorcerer one day. A life of magic was all that he had ever known and being able to cast fantastical spells to fight off outlaws and dangerous creatures in order to protect the commonfolk was what every child had dreamed of. A true fantasy that not everyone could live. But despite these aspirations, Merlin enjoyed down time. He enjoyed having time to relax without Crystal hounding him to practice more. So, on these evenings when Crystal would have administrative matters to attend to, he would certainly capitalize and do absolutely nothing…

A couple of hours later, Crystal finally arrived home. Merlin had done nothing but loaf around on the sofa since he had been back. He had expected her to quiz him on what he had been doing, but she didn't. This alerted Merlin that something more serious might be going on.

"Merlin, listen honey. There's someone who's going to be living with us starting today."

This intrigued Merlin. Who was this person? More importantly, why would they be moving in?

"Did you…adopt someone?", he asked.

"Oh no.", she quickly dismissed this, but then began to elaborate. "This person has…been through some rough things here lately… So, we're taking her in".

"She? A girl is moving in?", he inquired.

"Yes, but like I said, she's been through quite a lot, so please be sure to be kind and treat her well".

"Of course, Mum!", he replied. "So…is she here now…?"

"Yes, she's outside, but before I bring her in, I have to tell you something."

The way Crystal was behaving seemed odd to Merlin. Why would she insist that he treat his new housemate well? Of course, he would do that! He had no intention of being mean to her just for the sake of it. And now there was this piece of information that Merlin had to be told before he could meet her, something was off…

"She's a dark elf…", Crystal stated.

Suddenly, her bizarre behavior made sense to Merlin. He recalled hearing of wars against elves, both dark and light, in the past by humans, and in turn by the elves against humans. No one was certain of who started it all, and frankly it didn't matter. For thousands of years, humans warred against the elves, and the elves against the humans and each other. At some point, the humans and light elves were able to see past their differences and came to a reluctant truce. It was far from being to where they were openly fond of each, but no longer were they openly hostile. The dark elves, however, were not part of this arrangement. Humans and light elves each took their turn slaughtering the dark elves in times of war, and brutally oppressing them in times of peace. But none of this really meant anything to Merlin. He had never met, let alone seen an elf, light or dark, before.

"So, is it true what people say about them? What I've read in the old history books. Are they lesser beings than us?"

"Not at all. In fact, as far as magical talent goes, they far exceed us."

Merlin was content with this answer. If Crystal said it wasn't true, then it probably wasn't true. The only thing Merlin could do was be friendly and welcoming.

"Alright then", Merlin said. "Bring her in, I'm ready to meet her!"

Crystal smiled at him. Perhaps happy with his eagerness to meet someone different than himself and accept them into his home. Crystal opened the door and the dark elf girl stepped in, slowly, cautiously. Merlin's eyes widened. He had read about the elves' appearance before in old textbooks, but to finally see one in person…

Her pitch-black hair ran just down to her shoulders. Her dark gray skin almost looked purple in the den's light, and she had two dark red eyes which would've normally been rather off-putting, but in her case, with her gentle face and demeanor, Merlin actually admired them. To him, she seemed an exotic beauty. Unlike anything he had seen before, but beautiful, nonetheless. He smiled at her, hoping to ease her tension, but she just continued to look around nervously, guardedly.

"Merlin, this is Adrienne. Adrienne, this is Merlin," Crystal stated, trying to usher the two closer to make an introductory handshake, but Adrienne was reluctant.

"Umm, h-hi…", she anxiously replied.

"It's good to meet you! I'm hoping we'll get along well together!" Merlin stated very enthusiastically, again trying to ease her tension.

He held his hand out, waiting for her to shake it. She stared at it for several seconds, almost as if she was evaluating whether or not he was a threat… Finally, she uneasily raised her own hand and shook his. He smiled at her again, trying for a third time to ease her fears, but for a third time, he failed.

Crystal spoke up, "Well, then Adrienne, why don't I show you to your room? You've had a long day, so you can put your things down and relax!"

She showed Adrienne up the stairs to their vacant bedroom. Merlin noted that Adrienne seemed much more comfortable with Crystal than she did with him. Granted she had probably known Crystal for longer, even if it was only by a few hours…

Crystal returned and sat down on the couch.

"I don't think she likes me", Merlin stated plainly.

"She's nervous around humans", Crystal sighed. "I told you, she's been through a lot".

"Yeah, I was going to ask, what did you mean when you said that?"

She looked at him, a faint touch of sadness in her expression. "It's…it's not my place to say…".

Merlin hadn't thought of anything good when Crystal said that Adrienne had been through a lot, but the fact that she wouldn't even tell him meant it must've been worse than he thought…

"Well…I guess I should go and get started on my homework from today's lectures…"

He started to walk upstairs when Crystal called out to him.

"Merlin", she said, "Thanks".

"For what?", he asked.

"For trying to be welcoming", she replied. "It will take her some time, but she'll warm up to you…"

Present Day

"Merlin!", Crystal shouted at him. "What's wrong? Are you sleepwalking now?"

"Uh no, just…lost in thought for a moment…". He looked at Adrienne and smiled.

"Morning Adrienne."

"Good morning, Merlin."

She smiled back at him. It was just as Crystal had said all those years ago. Slowly but surely, Adrienne had warmed up to him over the last four years. He considered her to be one of his best friends, his sister.

"Adrienne, have you told Merlin your good news?", Crystal asked.

Adrienne looked towards the floor. Whatever this 'good news' was, she didn't seem to be treating it as such…

"Um, the council has seen fit to promote me. To the rank of Witch", she stated.

Merlin's immediate reaction was silence. Within the magical world, there are ranks based off one's experience and abilities. At the bottom are Apprentices, those who have recently discovered their magical abilities and are training to control them. Then are the Mages, ones who have demonstrated a competency for novice-level magic and are trusted to carry out basic missions whilst supervised. Above the Mages are the Wizards and Witches, experienced magical practitioners who can be trusted to supervise those ranked below them. At the highest level are the Sorcerers and Sorceresses, masters of the magical arts, entrusted with the most dangerous of tasks. Even above them are the Master Sorcerers and Master Sorceresses, a rank that Merlin's mother, Crystal Thornheart occupies. And now, hearing that Adrienne, whom is two years younger than he, has outranked him, Merlin couldn't help but feel a bit of jealousy, no matter how much he tried to suppress it…

"Sorry Merlin…", Adrienne said, seeming to sense that Merlin was upset.

"You…you don't have anything to be sorry for. You deserve it!"

He sat down next to her and placed his hand on top of hers. "Congratulations! I'm happy for you. Really, I am."

She smiled at him, and he returned it. He may have been jealous, but he was genuinely happy for her. Ever since she arrived, Crystal had said Merlin was the second most magically gifted individual she had ever seen. And Adrienne, well she was the first. In Merlin's mind, the promotion was definitely deserved.

"But to be promoted to Witch at only 18 years old!", Crystal interjected. "I'm not sure I've ever heard of such a thing before!"

"I couldn't have made it this far without the two of you, Ms. Crystal", Adrienne stated.

"Oh nonsense! You've made it this far because of YOU", Crystal replied. "Your talent combined with your work ethic has brought you this far, and if you keep it up, it will take you much further."

"I…thank you. But I truly don't know where I'd be without the two of you…", she said solemnly.

"Hey, we're family, Adrienne.", Merlin chimed in. "We have each other's backs!"

"Which brings me back to what I was going to tell the two of you", Crystal stated. "Now that Adrienne is a Witch, she'll be the leader and supervisor of your team!"

"You mean it'll just be the three of us?", Merlin asked.

"Yep, just the two of you and Arthur."

Arthur, an Initiate Spellknight sent to train in partnership with the Sorcerers roughly two years ago, had become fast friends with Merlin and Adrienne. Together the three of them formed a team and to this point had been carrying out low-level missions under the supervision of another Wizard. But it seemed that now would be time to prove themselves…

"So that's why you said we have a big day ahead of us", Adrienne said.

"That's right. Today will be the first mission that you three take on your own. Your first opportunity to truly prove yourselves", Crystal answered.

"Well, if that's the case, I guess we better head out then", Merlin stated.

Adrienne and Crystal agreed, and they left for the Camelot Temple. Crystal, eager for them to take on their first mission as a trio, and Merlin and Adrienne excited, but also anxious for what would be in store for them…

To be continued…