And like the cycle of the year, we begin again

by katherynefromphilly

Set after the Merlin Series 5 Finale "Diamond of the Day".
Canon Compliant. In Character. Arthur Pendragon Returns.
Cover art by Lao-Pendragon

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For many long years Merlin waited.

For the other part of his soul, for the other half of his life. He was born to serve Arthur. So that meant he was also born to wait. Even if it took a thousand years. Even if the wait seemed never to end.

Until one day, suddenly, it did.

When Arthur stumbles from the Lake of Avalon 1,500 years after his death, he finds a world unlike the one he knew. Faced with the loss of everyone he loved, and the threat of impending prophecy, Arthur must learn what it means to be not just a king, but the Once and Future King. Merlin does all he can to guide him, even as he struggles to hide his love for his king, and his fear of losing him again.

Story includes sass, banter, horseplay, & True Love.

848 pages, Unknown Binding

Published November 27, 2016

Reviews

[Irina S.]

Siempre estoy conflictuada a la hora de poner una calificación, porque siento que cualquier número se queda corto para reflejar todo lo que implica una historia.
Considero que hay muchos actos de valentía en este mundo y uno de ellos es escribir. Sentarte y escribir. Permitir que las ideas en tu cabeza no se queden solamente en ideas, sino que las palabras se materialicen y fluyan, se hagan realidad, y aún más, después mostrárselo al mundo.

Este fanfic me acompañó a sanar una herida de hace muchos años: la muerte de Arturo y la eterna espera de Merlin. Lo leí disfrutando cada momento y me hizo redescubrir emociones que me importan. Y por ello le doy las gracias.
Lo veo como un rito de iniciación casi obligatorio dentro de los fanfics Merthur: calma la angustia de la separación de los protagonistas y te abre la puerta a un universo creativo inabarcable. Por eso tiene su lugar y merece ser leído.

Pero, con el tiempo y al seguir leyendo descubrí que hay historias todavía más sorprendentes, que nos recuerdan aún más la belleza que el ser humano es capaz de crear.
Así que lo que intento decir es: no se queden solo aquí, sigan explorando. Hay mucho por encontrar, y cada historia nueva lo hace todo aún mejor✨

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Y sí, ya sé que nadie me preguntó, pero ya que llegaron hasta acá, personalmente quería recomendar los dos que más me encantaron: Hiraeth y Sorcerer’s Bane, ambos de BeautifulFiction.
Y de paso, ¿por qué no? compartir tres canciones que siempre me retrotraen a todo lo que es el universo Merthur (y quizás a alguien también le pueda servir para evocarse): The Call de Regina Spektor, This is Home de Switchfoot y The Lakes de Taylor Swift.

[Ru & her books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m absolutely obsessed with this fanfic! In love with it! Hands down the best one I’ve ever read in my life and that’s saying something, because I’ve been reading fanfics since 2009. I’ve read hundreds of fanfics across different fandoms, but this one completely stole my heart. Maybe it’s because Merlin is my all-time favorite show, it’s literally carved into my heart and this fanfic felt like the season 6 we never got.

The ending of season 5 traumatised me, but this fic healed me. Five stars honestly aren’t enough; it deserves infinity. I can’t remember the last time a fic made me this happy. I just know I’m about to fall into a reading slump after this one! Infinity stars for my babies Merlin and Arthur 🥹😭

Ps: I read it within 3 days!!! And it is almost over 840 pages. I would’ve finished it sooner if my eyes didn’t hurt so much from reading.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

not to be dramatic but this piece of literature fcking changed my life. it is so well written and filled the whole the merlin finale left in my heart (iykyk). it‘s exactly what i hoped would happen after what we saw happen in the final episode. i am so thankful this exists and found its way to me because my life is better because of it. the essence of both merlin‘s and arthur‘s characters are so well captured and everything they do and say is so on brand it feels like it‘s canonically a sequel to the series. i genuinely loved every single chapter and i can‘t wait to read the next parts 😭 @ the author thank you thank you thank you if you ever start selling physical copies pls let me know until then i will have to print it out and put it in my bookshelf in case someone asks to see my favorite book (sorry the song of achilles). seeing merthur edits on tiktok hits different now because i now see the scenes from this before me and i am smiling watching them now thank you so much. ♥️♥️♥️♥️

[Loie☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded to 4 for Goodreads
Overall, it was enjoyable, a bit of a trek to get through, had loveable original characters, and I liked how they incorporated stuff from the show, but it didn’t quite punch me in the gut like I was hoping it would.
I will definitely be on the hunt for another fic set directly after the fifth series to fill the hole in my heart that’s still there after the last episode.

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Currently rereading forever

[Madalina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written for fanfiction. The characters are true to source material and the plot is quite interesting, it really feels like it is the legitimate continuation of the story in the tv series.