Aouregan's Journal

Title: Alea jacta est
Fandom: Merlin
Characters: Merlin, Arthur, Morgause, Morgana, other canon characters
Content Notes: Magic reveal, AU: Canon Divergence, Canon Typical Violence, Hurt Merlin, Male Friendship, Supportive Arthur.
Rating: Teen and up
Summary: Merlin knew that he had to make a choice. It was either to save Morgana from the clutches of Morgause or to prevent Camelot from certain destruction. He knows that once he makes his choice that the die has been cast and that there is no turning back, but when he makes a decision, he discovers that the consequences are severe.
Author's Note: The meaning of the title is ‘The die is cast’ or ‘Let a die be cast/thrown’ and is a Latin phrase that was used by Jules César that means that once you make a decision or once there is some motion that takes place, that there is no return. In César’s case it was said shortly before battle as he crossed the Rubicon river to attack Rome. In this story, I have found the phrase to be fitting as Merlin had to make a choice that set him on a path that he could not return from.

This story was meant to be my Canon Merlin fic last year. The due date has long passed, and I am extremely sorry to the mods of the community for not finishing on time or publishing it. However, life happened and now that I am working at a lab, I haven't been writing as much anymore. This story is based off the episode ‘The Fires of Idirsholas’ and represents what I feel should have happened. It annoyed me a lot that Merlin's magic wasn't revealed to Arthur until the end when the two of them were supposed to build Albion together. Due to the length of this story, I have decided to divide it up into chapters.

This is unbeta-ed. If there’s any mistakes, please let me know so I can fix them. Originally, the story was meant to be titled ‘Choices’ but I thought that the title I chose was more fitting for what the story was about.

( Chapter One: The Die is Cast )