3.5 stars ( )

Free Kindle Book ( )

This short story was a little bit confusing to begin with, but once it got into its stride I enjoyed it. ( )

Oh, my soft spot for all things King Arthur. After having finished a rather long book, I thought it would be a good idea to read a few short stories to get myself back into a reading groove. And of course, I also thought I’d return to a love of mine --- Arthurian stories.

Morgan Pendragon has disguised herself as a boy and offered her services to King Vortigern. She ends up working as a healer in his dungeon to get close to a certain prisoner; a man who can tell no one who he is, where he comes from, or which side he’s fighting for. When Vortigern gets nothing from him after days of torture, he decides to sacrifice the man to appease the gods in an attempt to hold off Uther Pendragon’s impending invasion. Morgan, not willing to watch him die, helps him to escape and finds out he’s more than just a soldier. He’s a man with magical abilities --- a man named Merlin.

Morgan and Merlin are some of my favorite characters from Arthurian stories. Morgan was slightly different; softer, less hostile, less magical, and for me not nearly as interesting. It’s not a bad thing, I just have a general standard in my head for the character of Morgan and she’s a meaner and harder figure but this Morgan did fit this particular story better. As for Merlin, I usually think of him as very self-assured and able to make decisions supernaturally so his being helpless again took me out of my comfort zone. He needed Morgan to survive both physically and emotionally, but again, it fit with the story being told. All in all it, was good and I might look up a few more things by Anna Elliott particularly Twilight of Avalon. Dawn of Avalon is the short story that serves as the prequel to that book. ( )

Summary: Long before Arthur became the High King, there were forces of Fate moving in Britain. One such happenstance tossed together two young people: Arthur's half-sister Morgan, the seeress, and Merlin, a druid who also catches ripples of the future - or is it the past? Their separate destinies will soon drag them apart, but together they will contrive to steal from fate one perfect day to call their own.

Review: I liked this story quite a bit, although I'm admittedly a sucker for a good love story. It was a little bit strange, however, since I'm so used to the standard Arthurian retelling where Merlin is substantially older than Arthur (and therefore than Morgan), that it felt a little bit strange recasting him as a romantic lead. Maybe because of this, it took me a little while at the beginning of the story to get my bearings and pin down who each of the characters was, and how they fit into the world that Elliott had already created. Once I got my footing, however, it was a highly enjoyable story - nothing too meaty, but a fun distraction. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Although this story is nominally a prequel to Twilight of Avalon, neither is required for understanding the other, so if you like Arthuriana, Elliott's writing, or good free short stories (or all three), it's worth checking out. ( )