Title: Resurgam
Fandom: Merlin
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin, Gwen/Lancelot, Elena/Gwaine, Leon/Morgana
Categories: Modern AU, Horror, Ghosts, Minor Character Death
Length: Long (16,037 words)
Warnings: Minor Character Death, Violence, Dark Themes & Disturbing Imagery

Author on LJ: fuckyeah
Author Website: La_Temperanza

Author's Summary:
Merlin can see dead people™, and Arthur's just indirectly invited the entire spirit world. To think, people said this party was going to be boring.

Review:
Continuing with my plan to rec "spooky" fics during the month of October, I'm going in a different direction with this one and taking the opportunity to review something darker and more horror-filled than my last offering.

Resurgam has a tense, dark atmosphere from the very beginning. La_Temperanza's language is evocative, making the grisly details seem all too real. Everything is so vivid and well-realized that reading this story is almost like watching a horror movie, in the best possible way.

I really loved the interpretation of Merlin's magic, his role in the spirit world and how he is still "Emrys", but with a vastly different significance. Arthur is also very well characterized; his canon qualities, such as his role as a leader and slightly prattish exterior, translate very well to this setting. There's a really terrific moment related to him that I won't spoil here, but that really sort of makes the whole story for me.

While Resurgam is definitively a horror story, the romance between Arthur and Merlin is charmingly well done. There's nothing like fighting off legions of the dead to bring two people together, after all. There are some small moments of levity that both keep you from being overwhelmed by all the darkness, and they also serve as a sort of contrast to make the more macabre elements seem even more so.

Resurgam