The Legend of the Magician
"Once upon a time, a long time ago…" the voice of Merlin thundered loud above the deafening chatter of all the noblemen and brave warriors of King Aurelius's court.
"…there lived a giant in Ireland…" almost everyone had turned towards the source of the voice, and even the people who had had their backs facing him had had to turn around.
"…who through an enormous amount of effort arranged a series of gigantic boulders into a large circle…" by now everybody was interested only in what he alone had to say.
"…it carried these boulders all the way from Africa, with its own single strength. The size and weight of these boulders are far greater than any human being like us could ever possibly shift, no matter how many of us there were." Some people were now looking at each other wonderingly, feeling completely astounded.
"We are trying to figure out a way to build a monument, we don't want to hear any fairy tales!" one of the noblemen shouted from the back of the crowd.
"Hahahaha" everyone burst into laughter, and the noisy chattering began once more as they all turned back to talk amongst themselves again.
Merlin sighed to himself. "These people don't know how to think, they can only use their strength" he mumbled in his throat.
"And how can we bring them here…if they are that heavy!" As soon as this was uttered everybody became silent almost immediately, even before the sentence had been finished, for this was the voice of none other than King Aurelius himself.
"Why should we travel all the way to Ireland, when this kingdom has plenty of large boulders to supply us…" Aurelius voiced his opinion. Of all the people, he alone had faith in Merlin, but this time even he couldn't help but be puzzled by Merlin's story about these boulders in Ireland.
"It's not as simple as you think, your Majesty" Merlin answered "these boulders are no ordinary rocks, but in fact have great magical powers. Anyone who is ill, once bathed in the water that has been used to wash these rocks will immediately be cured miraculously. Thus it is only befitting that these rocks are used in the construction of a monument in honour of your Majesty's brave warriors, for no other rocks can equal their superiority."
Finally, many noblemen and warriors volunteered to go with Merlin to bring back these magic boulders, and soon they set sail with Uther, King Aurelius's brother, who had been assigned to command the troops on this journey. On this occasion Uther was given the chance to become much better acquainted with Merlin, and to become even more aware of the greatness of his magical powers.
This was not the first time that Merlin had demonstrated his mighty skills. Prior to this he had made prophecies about the Kingdom of England and the various leaders who would reign over this empire, whether it be Aurelius, Uther, or the next king who in the future would become the greatest ruler of all, that is, Arthur, son of Uther. And Merlin was counselor and advisor to them all, offering advice and assistance in times when sorcery was needed.
Predicting the future was Merlin's greatest talent. Despite his odd clothing, there were few people who ever noticed the way he was dressed, for whenever anyone met him they were always far too absorbed and excited about what he had to say.
Merlin had a serious face, and was always frowning. He was not extremely tall, and his long flowing beard was the colour of pure silver. His cloak, with a hood that covered his head, was of a deep purple colour, so dark that it almost appeared black, even in broad daylight. This cloak was decorated with a pattern in gold thread but was so old and soiled that it was difficult to make out the design, which depicted the twelve signs of the zodiac, arranged vertically down the front of the cloak with six signs on each side. The signs on the right consisted of Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, and Virgo, while the left side was comprised of Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. No one has ever seen Merlin dressed in any other clothes, but maybe this is just because he only wore other clothes when no one else was around.
Besides this, Merlin always wore around his neck a chain with a coin that was imprinted with the image of a dragon. It was the type of dragon that did not have wings, and when asked about this Merlin replied that it was a dragon of the East, as these do not have wings, unlike the dragons in England. He had had this necklace ever since he was a child, when it was given to him by a friend from China.
This friend from China was a wise man who had a special talent for healing people of diseases, as well as being able to foretell the future. He was among one of the Chinese people who had travelled with a junk vessel that had sailed over to trade along the coasts of the West. At that time he had made a prediction:
"Merlin, you are going to become a great man, and your name will remain forever on the lips of people and will continue to echo throughout all of eternity…" the hoarse voice of the ancient wise man said, then he was silent for a moment.
"…but you are also subjected to a curse, for in the end you will be defeated by a lady." This was the last prophecy that the wise man made before he departed, and as a parting gift he gave the dragon pendant to Merlin for protection, which is the reason that he has always worn it ever since.
Merlin stroked his pendant once more; he could still hear the voice of the wise old man echoing in his ears, "…You will be defeated by a lady." He, defeated by a lady? To this day he still has not met a single lady who possessed greater magical powers than he.
The rocks were brought over from Ireland and erected into position, arranged exactly as Merlin had seen in his vision. It was the greatness of this rock monument that led it to be called "Stonehenge", and it was widely talked about by all who saw it throughout the reign of King Aurelius, and until his death.
Uther became the next ruler. He was a brave king, and whenever war erupted the event was always preceded by the appearance of the vision of a dragon, and for this reason he came to be given the name of "Uther Pendragon". The people loved and admired his courage and earnestness. However, although he was a courageous ruler, he still committed a dishonourable deed in his time, for he fell in love with a lady who was the wife of the Duke of Cornwall. Her name was Igerna.
So Merlin helped Uther to transform into Gorloïs, the husband of Igerna. Even though he had not been completely willing to do this, it was another occasion in which Merlin assisted his king by using sorcery.
"Merlin, I beg you, I will do anything but let me be with her for just one night. Please help me…" Uther pleaded to Merlin as a child would for his favourite toy.
"But…it's not right, your Majesty…she has a husband, and the Duke of Cornwall is loyal to you." Merlin tried to bring him to his senses.
"My heart is about to shatter, Merlin, if you don't help me I will invade them tonight and win her myself." Uther exclaimed as one who has lost his mind, but he appeared to really mean what he said.
Merlin did not want England to lose such a strong leader, and he could already foresee something in the future which even he himself would not be able to prevent; for he knew that it was the fate of Gorloïs not only to lose his wife, but also to meet his death.
"Tonight I will perform a ritual, and when the moon is directly overhead, go into the castle and do as I tell you. Don't act in a way that will draw any suspicion towards yourself, and everyone you meet will think that you are Goloïs." Merlin reassured Uther.
Uther's soldiers tricked Goloïs out of the castle and killed him the woods, and the disguised King Uther entered the castle and spent the night with Igerna.
Not long afterwards Igerna discovered that she was pregnant and eventually gave birth to a son, and this child was none other than Arthur.
Before any of this happened Igerna already had a daughter of her own whose name was Morgan. She was born three years before Arthur, and Merlin later accepted her as an apprentice because he felt guilty for his assistance in causing the death of her father and wished to make up for it. Although Morgan was very bright and managed to learn all the spells that Merlin taught her at an amazing speed, her heart was filled only with anger and vengefulness. Even though she was still a small girl, her wickedness had already caused her to be nicknamed the 'Dark Fairy', and commonly she was also known as 'Morgan le Fay'. She was only a little girl, with the beauty of a goddess, but her evilness was equal to that of the devil.
"I can teach you only the substance of my magical powers, but you alone are responsible for the decisions about what you will do with the things you learn." Merlin said to the young girl, "But remember, only the beauty within your heart will bring you true happiness."
"I would like to take your advice, but my father is dead…" She answered, looking at the ground.
Then she raised her head, her eyes flashing with a strange gleam, and looked at Merlin coldly.
"You promised my mother that you would teach me everything about sorcery, is that not correct?"
"That is so, that is what I promised her." Merlin reaffirmed his word.
"Then…you don't need to teach me anything else!"
And with that she hurled her staff to the ground and uttered a spell, and the staff was transformed into an enormous black cobra that slithered towards Merlin and raised its head, ready to destroy him. With the speed of lightning, Merlin reached out and grabbed it by the neck before it could strike.
"Turna backum!" and the shape of the cobra returned once more to a mere wooden staff. Merlin looked up to see Morgan, but she was no longer there.
"I really will be able to pass on to her only pure knowledge and nothing else," he said sadly.
When Arthur was still a very young boy, Uther asked Merlin to take his son away and hide him in a safe place for fear that his life will be under threat from the people of the murdered Duke of Cornwall who are hungry for revenge. So Merlin placed the boy under the care of a noble knight called Sir Ector, who himself already had a son called Kay.
Sir Ector brought Arthur up as his own son, and Kay treated him like a younger brother.
Eventually King Uther fell seriously ill and passed away, and this triggered a huge debate among the noblemen as to who was to become the next ruler. None of them were aware that Uther had left a son behind, that is, no one except Merlin.
For the next several years, England was without a ruler. Gradually Arthur grew up and reached an age when he should become king, but Merlin knew that if he were to suddenly announce Arthur as the rightful ruler of the land, no one would accept it.
So Merlin laid a plan. Using the mysterious powers of sorcery, he created a sword that was thrust deep into a rock. On the sword were engraved the words:
"Whosoever pulls out this sword is the rightful heir to the throne of England."
Countless knights attempted to draw the sword from the stone, but all to no avail. In the end they all agreed to hold a tournament, in the hope that this event would reveal to them a man with the exceptional strength to withdraw the sword.
Kay, the son of Sir Ector, was among those who were to participate in the tournament, and Arthur accompanied him to the event. However, upon arrival at the tournament grounds Kay discovered that he had left his sword behind, so Arthur offered to return and fetch it. But when he reached the house he found it to be locked and utterly vacated, as everyone had gone to watch the tournament. At a lost as to what to do, Arthur began to retrace his steps back towards the tournament grounds with this head hanging down, but on the way it happened to be his luck to encounter the sword buried by magic deep in the rock. Filled with joy and relief, he hurriedly withdrew the sword, not caring as to what sword it was as long as his brother had a chance to compete in the tournament, and swiftly set off to deliver the weapon.
As soon as Kay set eyes on the sword he immediately knew where it had come from, and quickly informed his father. The pair were overwhelmed by incredulity at the object that they witnessed before them.
"Arthur, where did you get this sword?" Sir Ector questioned in disbelief.
"I found it thrust into a rock in front of the pavilion, Father, so I pulled it out for Kay," Arthur replied.
"Take me to the place and show me what you did!" Kay grabbed Arthur's arm and together the two headed towards the rock to return the sword to where it had originally come from.
"This is it." Arthur slipped the sword back into its initial position in the stone.
"Let me have a go." Kay tugged at the sword, but it did not budge.
"My turn." Sir Ector tried the same thing, but the sword remained stuck fast as if it had never been removed from its place.
Arthur was perplexed by the situation and the behaviour of the two. He was sure that they could only be pretending, and unintentionally he laughed out loud.
"What are you laughing about, Arthur?" Kay asked angrily "Why don't you try again and see if you can still do it!"
"Very simple!" Arthur drew the sword out as easily as he would from a sheath.
As soon as Sir Ector saw this he fell to his knees before Arthur, and Kay quickly followed his example.
"Father! Kay! Why are you kneeling before me? Please get up! Don't! Don't mock me like this!" Arthur pleaded to them.
"No, your Majesty…oh King…Arthur…I am not your father, and I never dreamed that in truth you are of royal blood!" Sir Ector exclaimed in sheer admiration, and he told Arthur everything from when Merlin had first brought Arthur to him as a tiny infant.
So Arthur was crowned King of England, and although initially people were unwilling to accept this, there was no one else who could remove the sword from the stone regardless of the number of attempts they made, other than Arthur who was able to perform this feat over and over again as simply as if the sword were only thrust into soft wood.
And after that Merlin had appeared before everyone and revealed the fact that Arthur was really the son of King Uther, and when they learnt this the people and all the noblemen were filled with gladness.
Later in his reign Arthur lost this sword in battle, so Merlin found him a magic sword, the sword Excaliber, which had previously been in the possession of the Lady of the Lake. Eventually they established the famous "Knights of the Round Table", and all through this time Merlin remained a trusty advisor to King Arthur, even though they did not always agree on every issue.
The end finally came to Merlin after everything seemed to have settled into its place - Arthur had wed, there were many brave and skillful knights who had become part of the Round Table, the kingdom was firmly established. Merlin now wished only to live the last years of his life in peace, after all the exhaustion he had been through from being advisor to three generations of rulers.
But it seemed that the karma he had created with the killing of Goloïs was catching up to him. He had deceived Igerna into believing that Uther was her husband, and now it was Merlin's turn to fall an inescapable victim to the power of love. The young lady was named "Vivien", and Merlin taught her everything he knew of sorcery. But in the end she grew tired of him and helped to bring a curse upon him that has trapped him within an oak tree ever since. And occasionally someone would find this oak tree and would be astonished by the extremely grievous face of an old man which they thought they could see in the bark of the tree, and would be reminded of the face of Merlin. But he will always remain there, a helpless and lonely captive, until Vivien returns to reverse the spell and release him…
"What a fascinating story, but does it only end here?" The little ten-year-old boy wondered to himself. It was already past nine o'clock at night.
"Don't go to sleep too late, my son, or you'll get up late tomorrow." A voice came from outside the room.
"Yes Father."
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