Howlingwolf
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For five years now, since the afternoon Arthur was twelve, he had gone down into the roots of the castle nearly every day of his life. He knew what was down there. He knew, better than anyone living, that there was no terrible beast in the dark. There was nothing down there at all but the only boy he loved best in all the world.
Or,
The story of a boy (a dragon) imprisoned beneath the earth, and his Prince Prat.
Series
- Part 49 of Merthur fic
Bookmarked by Howlingwolf
08 Jul 2026
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With King Uther’s health rapidly deteriorating, Arthur Pendragon must do what all kings before him have done: go on a quest to prove himself the next worthy leader of Camelot. But when his quest leads him to a mysterious tower with a rumored dark past, Arthur begins to question the things he’s been told.
There are stories about what lurks in the tower outside of Gorra. Some say it is the wellspring of evil itself; the beating heart of all magic. Others claim to have glimpsed a twisted creature through its single dirty window. They say whatever lives there is cursed—trapped forever in a labyrinth of rooms, and if you go in, you don’t come out. Nobody ever comes out.
Arthur is sure they’re all old wives’ tales. The building is clearly abandoned, after all. But as Arthur delves further into the tower’s past, nothing is quite as it seems. Is this place truly home to a monster, or is there something else afoot? And who is the mysterious man who wanders its halls?
Inspired by art by count-pudding . A merthur-shaped mystery for BBC Merlin Reverse Big Bang.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 71,930
- Chapters:
- 21/21
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 45
- Kudos:
- 217
- Bookmarks:
- 51
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- 4,118
Bookmarked by Howlingwolf
14 Jun 2026
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"One more word out of you, and I swear to God I will send you into exile."
He knows it’s not the pyre, knows there’s much worse, but banishment would mean staying away from Arthur forever – and, as pathetic as that might sound, he thinks he would rather die than let that happen. It is clear that the feeling is not reciprocated, clear that in Arthur’s eyes, he will never come first. There’ll always be people coming before him, and he’s made peace with that long ago – but if even Agravaine can come before him, then anyone could, no? Anyone could replace him. Call Merlin a traitor and have Arthur get rid of him. Anyone could.Merlin no longer feels safe in Camelot.
or:
Arthur threatens Merlin of banishment.
To Arthur's eyes, it's all forgotten.
To Merlin's, however...
Well, let's just say that his faith in their mutual destiny, once unwavering, finds itself faltering at a dangerously quick rate.- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 17,949
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 2
- Comments:
- 174
- Kudos:
- 2,896
- Bookmarks:
- 721
- Hits:
- 30,073
Bookmarked by Howlingwolf
11 Jun 2026
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Navigating life events that turn his world upside down, including his ascension to the throne and a revelation that rocks him to his core, Arthur's ever-evolving relationship with Merlin becomes the most important of his life. No one ever said love was easy.
“I would die before I hurt you,” Arthur said, his voice strangled. “I would kill anyone who ever tried to do you harm and it pains me to think that you could ever fear me.”
“I don’t understand,” Merlin said breathlessly. “You’re the king, you – ”
“I’m not standing here as a king, Merlin!” Arthur shouted, his voice breaking as he did so. “I’m standing here as a man, a man who believed he knew you completely, a man who thought you were the one constant in his life, a man who thought…who thought you were his,” he finished, horrified to feel tears pricking his eyes.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 102,622
- Chapters:
- 18/18
- Comments:
- 1,126
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- 5,318
- Bookmarks:
- 1,640
- Hits:
- 161,699
Bookmarked by Howlingwolf
10 Jun 2026
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A hand grasped his arm, sending a brief thrill down Merlin's nerves as he was forced around to face the person behind him. Armour gleamed in the firelight: supple chainmail glinted, and the solid iron of a pauldron curved lovingly over one broad shoulder. The length of a sword blade separated them. The point hovered, steady and sure, over Merlin's heart, braced to run him through, but he did not care about any of that. He was too busy drinking in the sight of the man before him.
He could never forget him, no matter how many centuries had passed.
'Arthur?'
When Merlin ultimately fails in his destiny, the fading remnants of magic that linger in the modern world fling him not just back in time, but sideways as well. He ends up in a Camelot where all his friends are alive, well and aware of his magic.
He ends up in a Camelot where his alternate self died almost a year ago.
Can he, Arthur and their friends still forge the golden age he was once promised, or will grief and suspicion tear them apart?
Series
- Part 1 of Hiraeth Universe
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 507,440
- Chapters:
- 100/100
- Collections:
- 16
- Comments:
- 11,034
- Kudos:
- 11,237
- Bookmarks:
- 3,103
- Hits:
- 659,914
Bookmarked by Howlingwolf
04 Jun 2026