TEXT: Merlin 4.10 - A Herald of the New Age "In a land of myth and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young man. His name...Merlin". FOREST - DAY King Arthur, the knights and Merlin rest in the forest, Elyan wants to drink from his flask. Sir Elyan: All right, who drank all my water? Gwaine burps. King Arthur: I believe you have your answer. Sir Gwaine: You said I could have some. Sir Elyan: I said you could have some. I didn't say you could drink every last drop. Elyan throws the flask at Gwaine. Sir Gwaine: I was thirsty. Sir Leon: Here. Have some of mine. Leon throws his arm forward, but loops it back and tosses it to Percival behind him. They laugh. Sir Elyan: That's very funny. Sir Percival: Here. Unlike these ignorant fools, I share with my friends. Percival steps forward with his flask but tosses it to Merlin. Arthur smiles as the others laugh. His smile fades when he sees a clothes line in the trees. King Arthur: Shh! Merlin: What is it? King Arthur: I saw something in the trees. There. They approach and find a place strung with strips of cloth. Sir Percival: What is this place? Arthur seems slightly disturbed as he looks at a red flag picking up in the breeze. Merlin (nervously): This is a shrine. In the time of the Old Religion, they built shrines like this to appease restless spirits. We shouldn't be here. They keep still, the cloth waving eerily in the wind. Gwaine grabs Merlin's shoulder to scare him. The other knights smile. Merlin: It isn't funny! Gaius told me about places like this and they're cursed. Another breeze stirs up out of nowhere. A raven bursts out over head and they jump. Leon smiles. Sir Leon: There's your spirit, Merlin. Arthur seems more disturbed. King Arthur:
SUMMARY:
The Camelot Knights stumble across an eerie Old Religion shrine deep in the forest. Elyan ignores Merlin's warning, and drinks from the well. After returning to Camelot, Elyan starts seeing a drowned child's spirit who finally possesses him, and orders him to kill Arthur. Elyan's attack on Arthur fails but Agravaine pressures Arthur to execute him. Gaius and Merlin find the shrine, which was the place of one of Uther's ruthless slaying of druids. After Arthur realizes Elyan is possessed when he tries to kill him again, Gaius tells him the spirit won't rest in peace until the crime is atoned for. At the shrine, Arthur reveals to Merlin he was the one who led the attack on the druids' camp. Arthur swears to the spirit something like that won't happen again, and the spirit forgives him, leaving Elyan.