" Ok, then I'll choose the Number 2." Taylor Answered.
" Hmm… a wise choice." The Goddess of Çatalhöyük said.
It certainly surprised her that he would choose that number, not because it was good or bad but because it has the biggest number of fate nodes for that world's storyline.
" Now all you need to do is choose 1 item, so what will you take?" The Goddess of Çatalhöyük asked.
Taylor thought for a moment although he didn't need to because he already made a choice back when he first heard this rule, he still wanted to keep up certain appearances.
" I will take my bag of holding." Answered Taylor.
The Goddess of Çatalhöyük upon hearing his answer gave a smile before kneeling down and whispering in his ear.
" and I'll pretend that there is nothing in that bag for you."
Taylor although a little embarrassed for having been seen through so easily was more than happy to accept that genuine kindness.
" Thank you kindly Goddess of Çatalhöyük." Although he would acknowledge her title and call her so out of respect for her as an individual he would never truly acknowledge any other entity as a God except for the Trinity of the father, the son and the spirit.
" Very well, now lest send you on your way." The Goddess of Çatalhöyük said.
The Goddess of Çatalhöyük then stood up and led the way.
Along the way Taylor and the goddess talked about their personal views on a great many things and interesting they found out that most of their views aligned on many things.
Then they arrived at what appeared to be a gateway, Stone archway and all.
" Now remember, once you go through that archway your trial begins, A great many of your powers will be in a state of suspension outside your body so that you can't use them and they won't be able to have an effect on the world."
" All your knowledge will still remain though."
" I understand, and again, thank you."
"It is ok dear child, and one more thing, even after you complete the trial in that world and return, you will still be able to travel there at a later time."
Taylor was certainly surprised however after thinking it also made sense, after all, he was about to have a permanent effect on that world and if he suddenly vanished never to return would create a historical fallacy.
As Taylor walked and was about enter the gateway the Goddess of Çatalhöyük gave 2 reminder.
" Once you have successfully changed a fate Akasha will let you know, but you get to choose whether you will leave right then I'm there or stay around for a while longer as for choosing number 2 you will be given no time limit."
" And your connection to Firefly will still be felt."
Taylor gave a smile and said, "Thank you." he then completely entered the gateway.
"I wish you all the blessings and luck in all of your adventures my dear child." The Goddess of Çatalhöyük wished for Taylor.
…
As Taylor stood on a grass land, his thoughts and feelings were too distracted to focus on the area around him.
He was able to feel it, about 90% of his abilities while separated from his body could still be felt.
And he confirmed that he could also still feel the connection between him and Firefly.
Although whether time would pass between when he left and when he returns is still unknown to him.
After a minute he began to get his bearings.
Looking around he saw a forest to his left and about 800 m in front of him was a village, A village that could only be described as right out of the middle ages.
The village had a wooden fence surrounding it, about 3 farming fields and Some farm animals.
The houses had stone walls and thatched roofs.
Taylor first decided to make for the forest to his left to avoid being spotted, after all the clothing he was wearing wasn't something that would fit in terms of time period.
After entering the forest Taylor opened his bag of holding and pulling out his
(C) optimised clothing.
This item only had 2 primary abilities and 1 sub ability.
The two primaries are unbreaking and form change.
The second one is pretty simple, it'll just change its style and the materials needed to match it depending on how the wearer wants it.
It's the first that's truly impressive no matter the magical or physical damage done to it it will not show any of that damage, this doesn't mean it doesn't stop the damage, but you will always appear undamaged while wearing it.
It's sub ability was to always remain immaculate.
So Taylor put it on and it changed its form into a mediaeval style of clothing, while it didn't appear A simple peasant clothing, it was of higher status than that, it did not appear like the clothing of nobility or knights.
It also came with a cloak and hood something very common to wear for travelling.
" Ok so the story is sometime during the Middle Ages, while that does narrow down the story I am in quite a bit, I still can't make any absolute certainty's about which one it is." Taylor said quietly to himself.
" I guess going into the village is the best choice i've got right now." Said Taylor still just as quietly.
As Taylor walked toward the village he judged that based on where the Sun was in the sky it was around 4pm the which gave him around two hours until the sunset.
As he got closer some of the village folk took notice of his approach.
" Hey, who might that be?"
" No idea, but judging from the clothing they are wearing, they must be someone of importance."
" Maybe they were sent by the king?"
" unlikey they aren't showing the royal insignia, like all messengers do."
As Taylor got closer he waved at the 2 one was a man who appeared to be repairing some of the fence and the other a woman talking to him.
" Hello, good gents, I am afraid that I got a bit turned around in the forest, would you be so kind as to tell me where I currently am?" Taylor asked choosing to use some high class manners thinking that it would fit his current role.
The 2 looked add each other as if coming to a realisation.
" Uh… *cough* greetings honourable sir, you are currently in Ealdor." Replied the man.
" Ealdor you say, and whose kingdom does Ealdor lay in?" Taylor asked, hoping that his current guess for the world and story was correct.
" Our village is within Cenred's kingdom, good sir." Replied the woman.
This confirmation gave him all the certainty he needed.
The world he is in is bbc's Merlin one of his favourite series.
And compared the the Merlin in his fate universe, the Merlin in this one is a much better person.
" Well Thank you both kindly, would you be able to tell me how to get to Camelot from here?" Asked Taylor.
" Well is due west and about a months travel on horseback, nearly 2 on foot." Replied the woman.
" Well thank you kindly good lady, may I have the pleasure of knowing your name." Taylor asked.
The woman looking a little embarrassed replied, " I can assure you sir, that I am no lady, and my name is Hunith." Hunith replied.
" Ah yes, a pleasure you can call me Taylor." Taylor felt silly for not recognising Merlin's mother but I had been a long time since he watched the series and she only showed up a few times.
Taylor thanked the two by giving them some gold coins, which required a extremely small bit of mystery to pull off, making sure the gold coins had all the right markings, making sure his actions remained hidden from them under his cloak.
Although the two tried to reject, Taylor insisted and made sure it was in their hands, before running off due west.
" Well he is one generous young man." The man said seeing that there was enough gold that they could improve their village massively.
" indeed, but why do I feel like that name rings a bell?" Hunith said lost in thought.
…
As Taylor went deep into the forest he soon stopped, he opened his bag of holding and pulled out the (EX) token of identification.
" Ok, hopefully my luck can help me with creating a helpful identity." Taylor then activated the token by injecting a small wisp of his mystery.
It glowed and then after what felt like 10 minutes, it was finished, all he need to do now was let these new memories flow into him.
After about 30 minutes of accepting all these new memories and all the knowledge and experience that came with it, Taylor felt a bit torn.
On one hand, he had become the Archmage of the old religion, A position that didn't originally exist until he made it for himself.
Because of this, him and the High priestesses split forming two separate factions of the old region, Taylor named his faction the sorcerers tower.
He is also turning 50 this year, and due to his skill level, he was able to reverse his aging progress so he would biologically remain about 25.
What could be considered both a benefit and a downside was the fact that Uther who hated magic knew that even if all the forces of camelot attacked him their chances of success were fairly slim to none.
And this was his identity and skill level without using any mystery or any of the items in his bag of holding.
So a type of peace treaty was made it stated that the Archmage Taylor and any sorcerer/sorceress that was under his direct command would be spared from being hunted or executed within Camelot borders.
But archmage Taylor and any sorcerer/sorceress under his command, cannot stop or impede with the enforcement or hunting of the sorcerer/sorceress that were not under his commands before being found.
Or the protections for Archmage Taylor and the sorcerer/sorceress under him will no longer be in effect within Camelot's borders.
This treaty also marked the end of the great purge.
So it's a little iffy for Taylor especially considering he would have to have a 'entourage' of camelot knights if he plans to stay in Camelot.
One very good thing though, was that during his childhood Merlin actually studied under him in secret for about 2 years, while he didn't teach him too many spells he did teach him greater control over his magic.
So now he also has a reason to visit Camelot.
Then it hit him like a freight train.
"Ohhhh… the numbers correlate to which series I would go into, Series 1 2 3 4 or 5." Taylor continued, " let's see if I recall, Morgana would be the one most affected during this time."
He thought on everything he could remember about series 2.
' Morgana's experience during this time it's made up of about three major points, The first she would learn that she has magic and would then make contact with the Druids, Second, she meets her half sister Morgause, and lastly she gets used as the core for a mass sleep magic by said sister in which Merlin has to kill her to break the spell, though it really ended up Merlin poisoning her and then her sister stopping the attack in order to learn about what poison was used to in order to save her.'
" So what should I do? Change Morgana's fate or change the Fate of someone less important?" Taylor was at a crossroads.
The reason for these crossroads, because once he chose a fate to change he couldn't choose anyone else's.