The Map of Honor

Fanfiction
Title:	The Map of Honor
Author(s):	destina
Date(s):	16 January 2012
Length:	12,700 words
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Merlin
Relationship(s):
External Links:	The Map of Honor (LiveJournal) The Map of Honor (AO3)
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The Map of Honor is a Merlin/Arthur story by destina. It's a canon-era hurt/comfort story that has technically spoilers through 4x03, but the author tweaked the timeline on certain things in early season 4, for the sake of better storytelling.

Summary: Arthur sustains a mortal wound in battle, and makes preparations to accept his fate. Merlin has other ideas.

Though the summary might suggest otherwise, there is no character death in the story and it doesn't come with any warnings.

Recs and Reviews

"This is one of the most romantic stories featuring Merlin/Arthur that I've read in a very long time. The summary lays out the fic: Arthur is wounded, believes he will die--and goes on to do everything the noble King Arthur would do--but Merlin, being Merlin, won't let that happen. There's a great sense of Arthur simply knowing Merlin even without knowing his secret, and that knowledge is realized beautifully as Arthur comes to term with his own death and what he can still do with what time he has left. The knights are wonderfully characterized, as are Arthur (Arthur, Arthur, Arthur) and Merlin. Dialogue flows easy and genuine and the actions of all make a terrible sort of sense (especially the knights). I know the fic is 12k, but it reads like a dream, and when you get to the end, you'll want it to go on and on. Go read!"

"This is a wonderful hurt/comfort fic, with elements taken from S4 but mostly it’s an AU, with Arthur going into war not long after Uther’s death, falling in battle with a fatal wound and the fic follows the hours/days that follow. It is heart breaking and romantic. And does a wonderful job of writing a post-4.03 reveal fic."

"Hurt/Comfort, slow, visually vivid and intense, just how I like my magic reveals. The Merlin in this story is hopelessly devoted to Arthur but not naive about it, a trait I like in my fictional characters (ie Mazikeen) and I appreciate the symbolism of the - physical - journey mirroring the characters' emotional one."

Though The Map of Honor is definitely a Merlin story, the tone reminds me of a story based mainly on Arthurian legend. Maybe it's the gravity of King Arthur on his death bed, making arrangements with his knights, but more than that, I think it's the surety with which Destina writes dialog that's clearly from another era, but is never stilted or stiff. She also handles a lot of strong emotion with restraint.

Leon, Lancelot and Gwaine's varied voices ring true for each of them, and we get a great sense of Merlin's power, the loyalty he inspires, and his love for Arthur. His scenes with Arthur are brilliant; I especially loved that since Arthur expects to die, he feels he has nothing to lose in being honest.

The magic reveal happens in the middle of events that make it impossible to discuss until later, and that gives Arthur time to think through his response, and Merlin and the knights time to worry. When Arthur and Merlin speak about it, the scene is beautifully done.