The Raven Knife {Masterpost}
Title: The Raven Knife ~ the sequel to “The Wolf and The Phoenix”
Author: dk323
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Age disparity (16 year old and 35 year old OCs), character death (not Merlin or Arthur), violence (includes animal eating human), intentional self-harm (not Merlin or Arthur), swearing
Word count: 76,565
Characters/Pairings: Merlin/Arthur, background Lancelot/Gwen
Disclaimer: The show Merlin is property of the BBC. The “His Dark Materials” trilogy is property of Philip Pullman (daemons and subtle knife ideas). The Dark Is Rising book series is property of Susan Cooper (particularly for Bran's appearance). The Chronicles of Narnia series is property of C.S. Lewis (Aslan mention). Story includes references to various Disney films, character names from Game of Thrones (Sansa, Arya, Nymeria) and one-off references to "Harry Potter" and "The Secret Garden." No money is being made.
Summary: Merlin’s life is forever changed one night. He encounters the Prince of Darkness who gives him a device that awakens his sleeping magic. After seeing family he’d never known existed, Merlin visits his mother to ask her about his deceased father. Unexpectedly, he discovers that two iconic fairytale characters are a part of his family tree. The immortal Prince of Darkness sets out to ruin Arthur and Merlin’s relationship on the eve of their remembering. The irony is that the dangerous Prince is another world’s Arthur.
After Arthur remembers his past life, he is forced into a cursed coma by the Prince. The way to save Arthur exists in another world. With the Raven Knife and its young wielder, Merlin has a chance of succeeding. But Merlin hadn't realized how deeply troubled the Prince of Darkness would be. Before the summer comes to a close, someone will die at the Prince's hand.
Author's Notes & Thank You's & Dedications
--> This story deals with the idea of daemons and the subtle knife (going by a different name) from the His Dark Materials trilogy. Also Bran’s physical appearance is from The Dark Is Rising book series. Yet he has a different back story and personality, which makes him an AU! character. While this story is a sequel to another story (The Wolf and the Phoenix -- link to that story above), this story stands alone. Though of course, those who've read the other story will be familiar with some of the characters already. Thank you so much to those who have shown interest for The Wolf and The Phoenix as your support helped motivate me to get this sequel off the ground and complete it. :-) <--
I want to thank my betas/cheerleaders: a8c_sock, rotrude , otterfudge and reni_m for helping me to make this story the best it could be. The Britpicking was much appreciated. :-) Your feedback and support was invaluable.
Thank you to my amazing artist, blood_songs90. I enjoyed working with you. : -) You created such inspiring and beautiful pieces. Thank you for giving life to some scenes and the Raven Knife via your artwork.
Thank you to the_muppet for doing such a great job at organizing this challenge and making sure everything runs smoothly. You're a star! :D Also, big thanks to the paperpushers support comm for motivating me in finishing the story. Everyone was so great and helpful. I'm glad of the comm's existence -- participating in the comm was very helpful and kept me going through the sometimes harrowing process.
~ > I’d like to dedicate this story to my friend - you know who you are - who introduced me to the HDM series giving birth to The Wolf and the Phoenix story and now this sequel, The Raven Knife. Also, for the idea to make Arthur’s dog, Cavall, a Norwegian Elkhound (as her dog is one). Also, interesting fact, Vikings wanted to be buried with their Elkhounds when they died because the dogs were so valuable to them.
~ > Merlin’s puppy, Lux, is inspired by my dog who sadly passed away during the course of writing this fic (he lived 16 and a half years).
A/N Cont'd & Further Acknowledgments
(Includes daemon name meanings, The Dark Is Rising references in story)
Reference Resource: Merlin's godly side of the family & the World of Magic
For clarification purposes, here's a resource with some key familial relationships laid out in one entry. Particularly the Daemon World! Merlin's godly side of the family and the World of Magic (King Merlin of Camelot and then members of the White Diamond Clan). Once these characters and worlds are introduced in the story, this entry will be helpful in reminding you of the relationships. Or you can take a peek before reading since it's not really spoilery.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 & Epilogue
AO3 Link (The Raven Knife in Four Parts) Art Masterpost
~ CAST (images embedded throughout the story) ~
These are for the OCs of the story as I'm big on visuals and I dreamcast some of the OCs. Everyone knows how Merlin and Arthur look like, so they're not included here.
The Protagonists
1) Josh Dallas (Prince Charming/David Nolan on the TV show "Once Upon A Time") plays Robin*
2) Gin Wigmore (singer from New Zealand) plays Ophelia*
3) There's also Bran who is a photo manip (done by reni_m) of an actor in his pre-teens, maybe? The image is included in the story and now, this actor doesn't look like he did at that age.
4) Lucinda Dryzek (young! Elizabeth in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl) plays Mithian (she's 13 years old) who is an incarnation of a fairy tale character. {character reveal in story}
5) Matthew McNulty (Misfits) plays Charlie Potter.
* Robin and Ophelia's reference images aren't posted when they're first introduced but a little later in the story. If you're interested in seeing how they look ahead of time, then google Josh Dallas and Gin Wigmore. I hope there are some fellow OUAT fans who are already familiar with Josh Dallas! ;) And Gin Wigmore is a talented singer, so I'd recommend checking out some of her songs (i.e. Don't Stop, Devil In Me, Hey Ho, Oh My God, I Do (music vid for that involves a merman which is rather appropriate for this story :p)).
OCs (currently alive) who have familial connections to Merlin
1) James McAvoy plays James, Merlin's uncle who's an immortal god
The first role I saw him in was as the faun, Mr. Tumnus. I love the Chronicles of Narnia series, so yes, that's the role of his I'll highlight. Other films I've seen him in: X-Men: First Class, Atonement, The Last King of Scotland, Becoming Jane.
2) Isla Fisher plays Ceridwen, Merlin's aunt who's an immortal goddess (chosen because I wanted a redhead for the part, and she had the right look)
The Enemies
1) Bradley James with creepy black eyes plays the Prince of Darkness (another world's version of Arthur)
2) Eva Green (Starz's Camelot) plays Morgaine, half-sister and wife of the Prince of Darkness
Deceased Characters
1) Luke Mably (The Prince & Me) plays Hephaestion/Phillip (in his reincarnated life), Merlin's father + James's older half-brother, Ceridwen's younger half-brother (Ceridwen is the oldest amongst the three siblings). In his reincarnated life, he died before Merlin was born.
2) Teresa Palmer (The Sorcerer's Apprentice) plays Alice, Robin's twin sister who died six years before the start of this story.