The original Merlin in the Dresden Files is a VERY mysterious character. He formed the current version of the White Council, created the Catholic Church, was keeper of the Swords, created Demonreach and was its first Warden, probably was first Gatekeeper (at least mortal wise), saved the important text from the fires at the Library of Alexandria and wrote the 7 Laws of Magic, and probably a whole bunch of other stuff. Seems quite full on. Some of the magic he has performed was so advanced, so impossible, it seemed impossible to a regular user a few lifetimes later.
However when we go searching the internet we realise Merlin is much more complicated. It was Geoffrey of Monmouth who formalised the character we know today. He combined the welsh folk hero druid Myrdinn Wyllt (Merlin the Wild) and/or Merlin Caledonensis and Ambrosius Aurelianus (a Romano-Brit war leader) to form what he called Merlin Ambrosius (in Welsh: Myrddin Emrys) (Old Welsh: Embreis). So we have this madman prophet druid cross war leader wise man. He was a cambion (born of a woman and an incubus - a sex demon that seduced women and impregnated them with demonic spawn). This is the original source of his powers in Monmouth's stories. Eventually he engineers Arthur's birth and the kingdom of Camelot. He serves as Arthur's advisor until eventually he is either killed or sealed away by the Lady of the Lake (sometimes called Nimue).
In latin his name is Merlinus.
He became associated with the tale originally attributed to Ambrosius Aurelianus, the tale of two dragons. In it a powerful warlord called King Vortigern is trying to build a tower that keeps crumbling, and is told by his advisers that he needs the blood of a bastard to stop it crumbling. However the real reason it keeps collapsing is that two great dragons are fighting beneath it: a white dragon (representing the invading Germanic Saxons) and a red dragon (representing the Celtic Britons; originally representing the Welsh). It is Merlin's wisdom in the retelling that solves this.
Eventually Merlin in his early days goes on to create Stonehenge, uses his magic to disguise Uther Pendragon so he can sneak into Tintagel Castle unnoticed and impregnate the wife of his enemy Gorlois, Igraine. This is how he engineers Arthur's birth.
Here is where things get crazy. In later retellings by Robert de Boron (a french poet), he is actually created to be a demon spawn to become the Antichrist in order to reverse the Harrowing of Hell (the event where Christ after his crucifixion descended into Hell to free all the souls trapped there since the beginning of the world). But he is baptized at birth which frees him of Satan's power and so the plot is thwarted. However he keeps his knowledge of past and future, has great shape-shifting powers, is a joker, and is obsessed by the Holy Grail.
His apprentice is often Arthur's half-sister Morgan Le Fay, which in the traditional tales they are not enemies, contrary to the later works. Often she is either a lover or unrequited love interest. In some tales he is also the teacher of Vivienne (Nimue) the Lady of the Lake.
So to my thinking - we have a lot of differences and yet a lot of similarities and call backs in the Dresden Files to the original tales. Morgan's knife is a weapon involved in great magics, powerful as Amoracchius, which may not be evil in and of itself. However as the Circle had it, and it was tainted with Nemesis or whatever leads to nemesis (some say Power could be), it probably was involved in some dark stuff at one time or another. He held the swords, one which was Amoracchius under the name Excalibur, and the Holy Grail features heavily in the later Arthurian tales.
Merlin in the Dresden Files is probably pretty dead or at least out of commission. We are told he is NOT the british prisoner in Demonreach. Which could again be misdirection, or perhaps he is down there but a different prisoner. Or he is elsewhere. I would say if he is around in some form, chances are Morgan Le Fay is too and so is Nimue. In Hellboy, Nimue is the Queen of Blood and a peer of the Queen of Darkness Hecate. It would not at all surprise me if she existed too - and was in fact either underneath a fairy Queen mantle OR perhaps Nimue or Morgan or both lead the Fomor or Circle. I know this is getting a bit convoluted but there are definitely big connections.
So perhaps Merlin was half White Court vampire, half mortal. Perhaps he was a starborn too (the antichrist thing). He likely was a shapeshifter of LTWs level or higher. He also has great knowledge of future and past. He could just as easily be Harry (via TT), or related to him through one family or another. Yes this is all quite nuts - yet there is plenty of the secrets of the future tales I think embedded in here.
What are your thoughts?
