Merlin

Merlin is a half-fae from Caerleon and works as an advisor to Arthur Pendragon. Merlin is recognized as a very powerful man due to his extensive knowledge of the world and how to weild magic. He is also notorious for being quite brash and cold to most people, as he has a dislike for most things, unless you have a pretty face. 
== Family Background ==
It all starts out in Caerleon, a husband and wife living peacefully with their three daughters. The husband was a very wealthy man, with much land for farming and livestock which led him to live a happy and a prosperous life. This prosperous life made a dark and ancient fae, named Fobos, quite jealous of the man, for he was much more successful. Fobos began killing the man’s livestock, which caused the mortal man much distress, but it did not quite break the man. Fobos was still quite angry that the death of the mans livestock had not broken him more, so he took to strangling the man’s youngest daughter in her sleep. The sorrow did not break the man’s spirit still, but it caused great suffering for the man’s wife. The fae began to haunt the man's wife, entering her dreams and tempting her to end her own life, to ease her suffering she felt from losing her youngest daughter. The wife soon hung herself in the livestock barn, leaving just the husband and his two remaining daughters. This still hadn’t been enough suffering for the demented fae, Fobos, so he began to tempt the middle daughter. It didn’t take long for her to succumb to the temptations of the fae and she soon committed adultery with a squire from Caerleon. She was found guilty and was buried alive for the sins she had committed. The husband became so grief stricken by the sudden amount of loss in his life that he soon fell ill and perished from his own melancholy, leaving only one daughter behind. 
This daughter, Eigyr, was soon haunted by the evil fae, as he wasn’t satisfied with leaving anyone from the once prosperous family alive. After watching her sister succumb to temptation, she sought the help of a priest to protect her from the evil that lurked in her dreams. He ordered her to pray to the gods every night and to mark herself with the holy markings before going to sleep each night. Doing this kept the evil fae from her dreams and the woman devoted her life to the gods, swearing herself to the church and its Gods, and in return she never suffered from the dark temptations of the fae again. The once young daughter began to grow and mature in a lovely and spiritual woman, living a pure and happy life. When she had reached the middle of her life, she fell ill with a fever and was too weak to perform her nightly ritual of prayer and marking herself with the holy markings for a single night. The evil fae had bided his time and jumped upon the daughter’s vulnerable state. As she slept, the fae came to her and impregnated her while she slept. When she awoke she realized that something had changed and that she was no longer pure.
== Origins ==
After realizing what had happened to her, Eigyr tried to continue on with her life as normal but soon discovered that she was with child and could no longer hide her condition from the priests and priestesses she interacted with daily any longer. She feared that she would face persecution for no longer being clean and sought out the guidance from the priest once again. He ordered her to identify her lover, which she was unable to do, so she was imprisoned until the child was born. Months passed and the child was delivered. The baby boy was a shock to everyone that laid eyes on him, covered in hair and with eyes dark as night. The daughter, now a mother called the beast-child Merlin after her unfortunate and late father. After the priest laid eyes on the hairy child, he ordered him to be baptized to clean him of the obvious dark presence that lurked within him. The ritual worked and almost immediately the hairy beastly looking newborn appeared as a normal baby boy, his eyes as blue as the clear sky, his skin no longer covered in hair. 
After a passing of eighteen months, Eigyr nursed him and reared him in the confines of a prison cell, at which time it was determined that he was able to eat on his own and walk independently. Eigyr was struck with grief, to which Merlin tried to comfort her by telling her that that he would save her from execution. Stunned that her infant son had spoken such clear words, she dropped him onto the cell floor and he began to wail. The guards returned to the ruckus and called Merlin’s mother mad for her wild claims of the baby speaking. Soon, Eigyr was brought before the judge to carry out her sentence, where she pleaded her innocence; that she did not know who the man was that had impregnated her. The judge did not believe her claims so Merlin intervened on his mother’s behalf. The judge, guards and priests were all amazed that the boy was capable of speech and listened intently to him. Merlin challenged the judge, stating that if he needed to, he would happily prove everyone’s guilt as well as his mother’s innocence. Merlin claimed to know the judge’s father better than even he did, and requested that if he could prove his mother’s innocence, that she must be spared. The judge agreed, but told Merlin that if he failed, he too would suffer the same fate as his mother; death.
The execution of Merlin’s mother was delayed until the judge’s mother could be brought before the court to prove Merlin’s ability. Merlin tried to persuade the judge to let his mother go, to spare the judge the embarrassment and shame he was about to reveal about his origins. The judge stubbornly insisted that Merlin prove to him who his own father was. When the aged woman finally arrived, Merlin revealed to the entire court that the judge’s father was not dead, because his real father was sitting in the very room they were seated in -- as one of the older priests; the judge’s mother had actually committed adultery decades earlier. Merlin watched contently as the aged woman’s face drained of all color as she tried to weakly deny the accusations of her adultery from a boy, no older than eighteen months. She called him the devil, to which he responded with more information about their affair and its duration and that their relations had been so recent as the night before last. 
With much despair, the judge’s mother pleaded with her son for mercy, confessing that her accuser, Merlin, had been right. The judge came to terms with the fact that this small child had been right and acquitted the infant’s mother of all charges since he could not condemn his own mother to such punishment. The judge had one final request of Merlin, to reveal who his father was. Merlin replied in front of the whole court that his father was Fobos, the dark and ancient fae of fear, it had been him who had ravished his mother when she had fallen ill and failed to pray the darkness and evil away for one night.
== Education & Abilities ==
* Elemental Magic – The ability to control and manipulate the various naturally occurring elements that surround us. Either by concentration, reciting various verses or even a subtle hand gesture, the control of the element stems from the users mind. A great deal of concentration goes into wielding elemental magic.
* Alchemy- a power and process that changes or transforms something in a mysterious or impressive way. This often involves the uses of potions as well as a combination of elemental magic.
* Time Walking – The ability to step backwards or forwards into time without being effected by the time shift physically (aging). Merlin has the ability to rewatch events of the past, but he lacks the ability to foresee the future. Time walking has been part of the reason as to why he knows so much more about the world surrounding Ga’leah. This was not an ability that was taught to Merlin, it was something that he was born with the ability to do.
* Metaphysical Magic - Through deep understanding and contemplation of the nature of the universe, it is possible to gain access to hidden powers of the universe. These powers are a reflection of the deep mysteries of the universe and the nature of what is. With such a deep understanding of what is and why it is, it is possible to understand why and how some effects should, and therefore do come into existence. It is further possible to understand why and how other things should, and therefore do go out of existence.
== Arthur ==
The relation between Arthur and Merlin began as something quite casual to begin with. Arthur had just come to take his place as the rightful king at the tender age of thirteen. Merlin was sought after by several of Arthur's advisors to offer his knowledge and wisdom of the world to the youthful boy-king. Merlin did his best to treat Arthur as a king and give him advice, but he quickly began to realize that the boy-king didn't need advice on how to rule Caerleon, he needed guidance on how to grow up and a friend to come to. Merlin quickly fell into the full-time position of friend as well as advisor. Merlin was often the one who knew where to find Arthur before it was realized that he had gone missing. On more than a few occasions the boys own self-doubt led him to try and fled his new found position. Arthur is one of the only mortals that made him realize that he needed to help mankind better itself before it destroyed itself.
Merlin was there to watch Arthur grow up and into the role of king. He began as a mentor of sorts, responsible for getting the boy-king into trouble but also aiding in getting him out of it as well. He watched him fall into patches of self-doubt and did his best to bring Arthur back to the realizations that he was a great leader with many people on his side. 
Over the years the relationship between Merlin and Arthur has only grown stronger. They have had their fair share of troubling times and unexpected event, like being placed in the crosshairs of an unknown sorceress on the way back to Carleon. Or when Arthur and Gwen wished to hide away from the courts for more privacy and fell in a hole that Merlin and Nimue (disguised as Viviane) discovered that was soon attacked by a shapeshifting stone monster that wielded electricity. 
== Morgana ==
Merlin's first encounter with Morgana happened quite early on in his life, during his time spent attending the Sortilege. Both caught on rather early that they were at this school to be controlled, not educated, so a relationship based on mutual distaste for the Sortilege began. They spent their time together sneaking in and out of the library and practicing in secret the things that they could learn on their own. It didn't take long for a romance to blossom between them. 
The two half-fae found comfort in the acceptance they found in one another, but they would ultimately split down opposing paths and find that they would no longer be able to accept one another. 
The two magical beings simply could not see eye to eye. Merlin refused to dabble in dark magic and it was a sort of obsession that Morgana had for the darkness that ultimately drove Merlin away. The end to their relationship was not pleasant but their differences simply could not be pushed aside.
== Nimue ==
Merlin almost immediately saw through the glamour that Nimue wore when she first came to Caerleon, and his noticing peaked an interest in Nimue that would initially bring them together. Merlin had the knowledge that was refused to her in Affalohn and she happened to be quite attractive beneath her glamour. 
Nimue sought out the Grand Vizier of Caerleon and struck a deal with him. He would teach her the magic that was forbidden to her by The Order and she would repay him with her body. When Nimue would come to his tower for her lessons she would often tease Merlin and quite consistently turned him away, insisting that they keep to their deal. The teasing seemed to eventually get the better of Nimue and after quite a tantrum by Merlin, Nimue finally gave into the sorcerer.
From there, their relationship only became more strange. Merlin began looking forward to the visits by Nimue, and not because he looked forward to putting his hands on her, he began to care for her saw much potential in her ability to handle magic. Is was then that the guilt began to set in. Merlin began to feel as if Nimue were only sleeping with him to further her lessons to try and appease him and all he desired at that time was her being there with him because she enjoyed his company. It was around this time that Nimue came to his chambers quite late and attempted to dissolve their agreement.
Both came to terms that they had feelings for one another and that those feelings were shared and so they began to build a strong relationship with one another. 
Over the years their relationship has evolved into something quite strong. 
== The Blight ==
Merlin was infected with the blight during the botched execution of Arthur's wife, Gwen. Lancelot stormed Caerleon with an army of blighted creatures at his back and a battle was underway. During this time Merlin was doing his best to keep the blight at bay as well as keep those around him protected from being infected and adding to the problem. 
After the initial infection, Merlin was locked away in his tower, armed guards at his door and only being disturbed to be fed. He obsessed over books and magic to try and find a way to rid the blight not only from his body from from Ga'leah. Soon his mind became too clouded to think and he relied heavily on Nimue's brilliance to try and find a cure; sending Arthur to find her (Viviane) and deliver a helpful book. It didn't take too long for Nimue to find use in the book. She had created a potion that could hold the blight at bay in his body for hours at a time. She used this potion to safely travel with Merlin in order to find the kidnapped king. It was there that they were face to face with an old friend, Morgana, who attacked the couple on their journey to save Arthur.
After sustaining extensive injuries, Arthur was returned to Carleon, but not seemingly without a hitch. Darkness had been forced into his mind and the King that Merlin had come to adore over the years quickly began to retaliate against those that cared about him most. The battle that took place between the small group would be the last.
It would be after this battle that Merlin had slipped away from everything. The small glimpses of reality that he could hold onto for brief moments of time were used to try and end his own life. Nimue was quick to visit him where he pleaded with her to end his suffering and when she declined he tried to force her hand upon him. During this dramatic event, Nimue is able to calm the blight writhing within Merlin long enough to take him outside of his tower and lock him away into a deep sleep within the trunk of a tree until she can find a way to remove the blight from him or to end his suffering by taking his life.
== Death ==
Nimue ultimately kept her promise to Merlin. As discussed the wizard would be peacefully put to sleep and Nimue would painlessly take his life to ease his suffering. When the day came, Nimue and Merlin ventured out into the Yarrow where he was sealed away in a tree. Once the sleeping potion began to take effect and Merlin was asleep, Maleficent appeared and began to botch the whole thing. Instead of allowing the wizard to pass peacefully, Maleficent began to torture the man, twisting the tree and squeezing him within; she would not let Nimue do something so easily. 
Maleficent had other plans in store for the wizard. He would not pass quietly, his death was an opportunity for the blight's reaches to spread even further. As the wizard died, the pieces of his soul that were saturated with the blight were split into four separate parts and manifested themselves as the four horsemen sent to destroy Ga'Leah. 
== Resurrection ==
Since Merlin died and the blight had been cleansed from his soul, he was left in purgatory to choose if he would return as a fae or a human. Merlin saw this as an opportunity to help combat the blight even though he vowed to never become such a foul creature; there was much left undone. 
When Merlin returned to the physical world, his body was pristine and he was no longer sick with the blight. He, was however, a completely different man. When the blight had been ravaging Merlin's soul, it attached itself and fed onto the goodness within him. When Maleficent ripped the blight from him, it tore away those parts of his soul, leaving him with bitterness and hate; most of that has found a way to target Nimue and he has vowed to make her life a nightmare since returning to the physical world.