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Wishlist 3900 Gems It appears that once you pull back the fake, magical skin that Merlin hides in, you will find nothing but a broken dragon. His hide is cracked and shattered, his wings are brittle and his magic bubbles over out of his scales. Without his skin, Merlin would simply fall apart.

ART x ╭━ Hoard ━━━━━━━━━━━━╮ ╰━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━╯

ALCHEMIST'S NOTEBOOK •••••••••••• Merlin is not a dragon many know much about. There are rumors of course, stories and the like, but who can tell truth from fantasy? Merlin came to the Isle of Avalon when the Warlord Uther conquered it. There are stories of how Merlin used his superior magic to help Uther win his war, but there are very few who believe it. Those who knew Uther, knew he needed nothing from a Spiral the size of his claw. It was said that Uther brought Merlin into his tribe (as he did with most rejected and wayward dragons) after Merlin had been thrown from the Oculus of Eleven. He claims to have been an Arcane Magistrate, but no one knows the full story on how and why he was forcibly removed from his position. Whatever it was, the Oculus was happy enough that Merlin disappeared. When Uther needed help from Merlin (who did indeed play his part in the take over of Avalon), Merlin asked for a hatchling in return. Uther thought nothing of it and agreed. When the time came for Uther and his mate, Ygraine, to pay with a hatchling, Merlin allowed Ygraine to choose. She chose Arthur. Arthur was a small hatchling, far smaller than even his mother. Ygraine did not think Arthur would survive. She thought she had tricked Merlin, finally outsmarted him. She was wrong. Merlin had raised Arthur himself, healed him of his early hatchling-sicknesses and raised him to be a king. Merlin insists that it is because he loves Avalon and their clan and wishes to see Uther's legacy continue, although there are very few who believe that. The Spiral lived in a cave as far away from the main city as he could. He held no love for Camelot, or even for Avalon, but he did love the magic that the Lake itself emanated. The purpose of Merlin raising Arthur to King level status remains a mystery, although surely one with a dark overtone. The only thing for certain is that Merlin only intervenes when Arthur is at risk. Anyone who tries to take away power from the king will suffer the full rage of Merlin. Even on his best days, Merlin is a terrible creature, but where Arthur is concerned, he is even more terrifying. Not to be trusted, he works with magic. Do not anger him, or your death will be tragic. Able to raise even a sickly hatching into a king, if you hurt his hatchling, what he will do to you will hurt much more than just sting. Though he seems mighty, under his skin he really is fragile and weak. And though he is mysterious, it seems unfair to call him a freak. Serving no one, he lives alone. Many things about him are still unknown. So beware of the wielder of magic and potions, because if he is mad, he has the power to move even the ocean.

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Before Uther died, Merlin took an oath to him that he would scatter the Imperial's bones in an effort to never allow him to rise as part of an Emperor. Merlin swore that he did this. Years later, when the clan dances on the line between war, an Emperor is reported to be on the shores of Avalon, barely kept at bay by the strong tides of magic. The entire Isle was shut down and quarantined for it's protection, the magic of the Lake kept the creature out. Scouts were sent to gather more intel on the creature, while the leaders of all the lands in Camelot attended an emergency Summit. Eventually reports were made of the main head of the Emperor; the head was Plague, thick black feathers covered the head and neck, and the tatters of a purple cloak hung on it's wings. All the scouts agreed, the resemblance to the late Warlord Uther was uncanny. Eventually, Merlin was brought in for questioning. Merlin insisted that he did as Uther instructed and distributed his bones. The Emperor did not act as a wild beat however, this Emperor seemed determined to only find a way through the fog of the Lake.

UTHER WARLORD | RUTHLESS | THE BLACK KING

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There were many strange happenings all over Sorneith and many dragons were too preoccupied with the destruction and missing deities and wild Emperors to truly question why and when Merlin disappeared.

It was a strange thing indeed, but not that anyone would have known. Merlin's Cave was only accessible by a slim Spiral, and there were so few of those in Camelot, much less any that were brave enough to enter Merlin's Cave.

Finally, it was the Spiral of Hel's Wood, Hellawes, that finally informed the King and Queen that Merlin was missing. She didn't say why she had gone to Merlin's Cave, but then again, no one was going to ask her.

And so it went for months that Merlin was gone. Festival came and went and were celebrated out of custom than of joy.

When Merlin did return, he did so suddenly. Though many were curious, none were dumb enough to question him. Only Arthur was allowed to do that.

And so it came when Arthur asked him where he had been. Merlin replied that he was off looking for a way to destroy the Emperor. When Arthur asked what had happened, after all it was obvious that Merlin had come back from his travels different. But it wasn't just the dark cloak, it was the strange and eery hood that he wore, something about it made everyone uncomfortable.

And only when Arthur ordered it, did Merlin remove the hood. There were not many witnesses you understand, but word travels fast and with a story this strange, who could know the true but those that were present?

To the horror of everyone present, Merlin's eyes were glowing.

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Everyone knows that Merlin's skin is a protective layer that shields his frail boy from the world. He used all his Arcane magic to stitch together seals and sigils, woven together with the magic of the stars. But that was no more.

It seemed Merlin was getting riskier with his magic. No one knew what he was searching for, what he really wanted, but magic was most certainly at the center of it. During Starfall, the magic pulsed in the air and every Arcane dragon could feel the steady beating of the magic as well as they could feel their own hearts pounding away in their ribcages. Camelot during Starfall is always a huge celebration, not only because they live on a magical island, but because their King was born from magic and the Queen was more than mystical enough.

Merlin was the only one who seemed very uninterested in the festivities, which was very unusual. Merlin seemed to always enjoy the chance to show off his magic and secrets to those that gathered to see. However this year, Merlin was slinking in and out of shadows and corners, avoiding any and everyone that approached him. Eventually he abandoned the festivities all together and sough refuge away from the main city. He flew to the edge of the Isle to where his own private cave was.

In his cave (the entrance to which was so tiny, even another Spiral would have difficulty entering), Merlin had hoarded his own personal stash of magical items, all of which he had used in some shape or form to cast some sort of magical experiment. Merlin whispered at the shrine to the Arcanist and asked for a Starfall miracle. Merlin wanted the knowledge of the stars. He wanted it so badly he would draw it on his scales if he had to. He was tired of a fake skin woven with magic. He wanted his own scales to radiate magic as one could only observe in the Observatory, out in the emptiness of space.

Perhaps the Arcanist was in a good mood, or perhaps he was too caught up in the festivities to really understand what he had granted. Either way, that night, in the eerie darkness of Merlin's cave, the powers of the very cosmos were sewn into Merlin's scales, and the vast knowledge of space filled his very core until the stars literally glowed from within him. Any screams that Merlin may have made would have been lost to the empty air around his secluded cave.

When he emerged, the pink skin was shed and flaking and sagging as the magic was pulled from it. Merlin's scales were now blue and purple, his core alight with the power of the stars, and a crown of Arcane runes shining brightly about his head.

Merlin was blessed with the power of the oracle. He was blessed with the knowledge of stars. He was a creature with vast knowledge of the entire universe. He was a creature to truly be feared.



"To call me a liar is a bit of an exaggeration. I just have a habit of...concealing some truth. That doesn't make me a liar, that makes me clever!"
"[Merlin] spent five days literally doing nothing, just lounging about, then in one night goes on a massive murdering spree, just to celebrate by eating poisonous berries."