Old Merlin gets an apprentice after spending a century crying by the lake and now has to be the master of a young sorcerer who has no idea how insane his master can be.
Merlin and his apprentice escorting the new king of Camelot.
Old Merlin:....
Apprentice: 👀
New King: *talking nonsense about being a direct descendant of the great King Arthur*
Old Merlin: I'll push him off the cliff if you confirm it was an accident.
Apprentice: Master, behave yourself, please. 😰
Old Merlin: This idiot doesn't even know what he's talking about!
Apprentice: Master, you can't be sure, I mean, Queen Gwen could have been pregnant when the king died or...
Eris and Muriel are gonna have the biggest babies of all time. Auntie Portia is going to be holding a four foot toddler who's just started walking. Dina, Miras, and Marjan are Asra's darling nephews and niece
Aldert makes a final plea to his lifelong friends, when war turns to tragedy, a normal life for his family becoming an improbable fantasy.
Part two of my contribution for the 'Echoes of the Past' event hosted by @arcana-echoes. This time, we looked at the moment that my apprentice had to leave her old home for good.
Warning for mentions of death and war. Once again, no beta, as well die like Fools!
I'm running out of time.
Aldert had no idea how long he had been running. He couldn't afford to. The ship was going to leave any second. This was his last chance to save his daughter.
Despite how fast he was running, Katarina still remained fast asleep in his arms. Her freckled cheeks remained tear stained, from the moment her found her standing just mere centimeters away from the rubble.
The rubble wherein her mother lied.
As Aldert made a sharp turn through an alley, the dock came into view in the full moon's light. A cargo ship floated, and boarding it were two figures.
He made it.
She'd have a chance after all!
Aldert bolted, maneuvering through unsuspecting pedestrians, who simply looked at him confused as they found him weaving through. He was barely able to catch himself before he could fall on the docks, but as soon as he reached his friends, he fell to his knees as his legs acted, his heart raced, his lungs begged for air.
“I thought I wasn't going to catch you before you two left.” He said in between huffs. “I made it. I made it.”
“What the hell are you doing here?” Annike asked, her voice stunned. She knelt down to meet Aldert in the eyes, grippung his shoulders. “Why are you here so late? Why is Katarina with you? Does Ingrid-”
Jacobus walked to Annike, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Give him chance, sister.”
Annike turned her head towards her brother. Aldert could hear a sigh coming from her as she stood up. Aldert followed shortly, but his shoulders stiffened when he felt Katarina squirming in his arms.
“Papa?” She asked groggily.
“It's alright, my darling,” Aldert hugged Katarina a little tighter, stroking the top of her head. “Go back to sleep, it will be alright.”
“Explain yourself, brother.” Jacobus requested.
Aldert was quiet for a long time. Where would he begin. How could he begin?
“The Kercher family,” Aldert began. “One of Ingrid's brothers, he found the hideout. And their soldiers managed tear it down along with the rest of the warehouse.”
Aldert took a moment to pause. The siblings looked at each other with wide eyes. Annike's face in particular seemed bereaved, and Aldert knew her next question.
“Is.. is Ingrid…”
“She managed to get Katarina out, but…”
He let out a choked sob. He had tried to keep his emotions in when learning the fate of Ingrid. He'd never see her again, her beautiful smile and kind eyes. He'd never hear her laugh, smell the scent of dried tulip on her, run his finger through her hair.
“Oh… brother…”
Aldert did not notice the feeling of Jacobus's hand on his shoulder. He didn't want his friend's pity. He didn't deserve it. If she hadn't left her family, joined the rebellion, she'd still be alive.
“If I hadn't courted her…”
He failed Ingrid. But he would not fail their daughter.
“This is no life for a child,” Aldert spoke. He peered down at Katarina's peaceful expression, the way she curled in his arms.
“She can't stay here.” Aldert's voice cracked slightly. “Take her with you. Find a place where she'll be safe. She deserves to grow up like a normal child.”
“We'll have to speak with the captain,” Annike hesitated. She shook her head. “but he wouldn't turn away both of you, not while-"
“No,” Aldert interrupted. “I need to stay. Here.”
Annike blinked. “You're joking."
“All of this is my doing. I lead them both to a life like this.”
“You can't just let her go like this.” Jacobus was next to speak, the disbelief in his voice palpable. “Her mother's gone, now she needs you more than-”
“She needs a life I cannot provide. Please, I need your help. Just this one last time...”
There was no way. He knew Jacobus and Annike since they were children. They always treated him like family. Family wouldn't reject each other, would they?
For a while, neither responded. Aldert's lips trembled. He wouldn't be able to protect her. Not like this. They can't reject her. They had to take her.
“Alright.”
Aldert looked up. Hope filled his heart, the most he had felt for a long, long time.
Jacobus opened his arms, and Aldert slowly shifted Katarina so she would lie comfortably in them.
“I… will send letters where I can. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
Katarina began to stir once more, her eyes- the eyes she shared with her mother- looking at him?
“Papa?”
As selfish and cowardly as it may have felt, Aldert had hoped she wouldn't wake up when he left. He didn't want to see her cry. He didn't want to see her like this as he said goodbye
“Stay strong, my vuurligie.” Aldert spoke softly, stroking his daughter's cheek, planting a kiss on her forehead. “I love you. I love you so much.”
A sudden commotion from behind Aldert caused him to look back. People began to talk, which became frantic screaming. People began to run as the sound of galloping horses echoed through cobblestone.
A sailor peered over the ship, visibly agitated. “Oi! You lot going to stand there or what? Captain would rather have the ship remain in one piece!"
Aldert began backing away, not daring to look behind him. “Go. Now!”
“Papa!” He could still hear her voice. She was calling out to him. She needed him. He couldn't stay. “Where you going? Papa!”
I must introduce my WHA OC’s. I’m an anime watcher, but I’ve started to read and collect the manga too, and I really tried to make these characters fit into the universe of WHA^^ I haven’t designed a Watchful Eye for the Atelier, but I may do that to let the group exist in the wilderness.
Fujina and Kennia are both apprentices to Inika, with Kennia finding Inika because of her sister being an apprentice under her and Fujina being unable to find another person to apprentice under while in the Great Hall^^ I think they are quite silly!
The Compassionate Apprentice with a cryptic, unknown past.
Favourite food: Honey-glazed Sweet Potato
Favourite Drink: Ginger Tea
Favourite Flower: Tulips
Name: Katarina Aleida Hirsch
Nationality: Vivelan
Gender and Pronouns: Cisgender Woman
Occupation: Healer, Magician's apprentice
Sexuality: Asexual Panromantic
Romance: Muriel (but is also an apprentice who can be paired with Nadia, Portia and Asra)
Best Friends: Portia, Julian
Backstory
Born to the disowned daughter of a corrupt yet prominent noble family of Vivelan, and the leader of the revolution in the country, Tari had spent her early childhood in hiding for her safety. Sheltered, but surrounded by a loving community with a goal to make their home better, her life was switched when the ruling class fought back. An attack left her mother killed, and her father realised a revolution was not the kind of reality he wanted his daughter to grow up. So he gave her to his childhood friends, Jacobus and Annike (siblings, not lovers), asking them to take her far away, where Tari can live a peaceful life.
A year was spent travelling to various cities before Jacobus and Annike decided to open up a shop in Vesuvia. There, Tari got too experience as normal of a childhood as someone like her can expect. She learned the magical ways of her Adoptive uncle and aunt, proficient in light manipulation and healing magic, though because she learned the skill instead of already having an innate ability to do so, she is prone to having energy/life drains whenever she puts too much effort into magic.
During her younger years, she had met Asra and Muriel as children, and developed decent friendships with them. Seeing Asra's talent in magic, Jacobus and Annike started training him as well, in exchange for Asra teaching them some of the magical abilities he knew, like tarot-reading.
During Tari's late teens, Jacobus left Vesuvia to return back to Vivelan, to see where he can pick up the pieces of their old life. He sent letters regularly, updating Tari and Annike about his travels until about five months, when the letters randomly stopped.
They had no time to react, as it was shortly after that the plague hit. Annike and Tari volunteered to provide their healing abilities to help Vesuvian folks. It was not long after that Annike caught the plague, and was sent to the Lazaret, never to be seen again.
After a grueling fight with Asra, Tari worked under Julian Devorak as his apprentice, providing her healing abilities and in the process learning how to become a doctor herself. It was only a matter of time, however, until Tari could no longer safely evade the plague.
Years later, with no memory of her past, Tari had become a magician in her own right, specializing in light manipulation, healing and defensive spells and tarot reading. Called to a mission, with her loyal fawn familiar, Sachie, by her side, Tari is tasked woth investigating the murder of the former Count Lucio, which will probe to not be so simple of a task.
Personality
A sweet and kind person, Tari is almost always willing to go out of her way to look out for others and lend a helping hand, even at her own expense. She has an optimistic worldview, and will often try to see the brighter side of difficult situations, especially as a way to cheer others up. While she isn’t outwardly shy, she is rather introverted in nature and does have a calm disposition most of the time.
She is awkward and gets flustered very easily when someone flirts with her or gives her a compliment. Tari tends to struggle with her own inner battles and self worth, but tries to hide it with her cheerful and optimistic nature. She is an overthinker and very insecure about herself, way more critical about herself than she may realise.
